Chapter 92 – The Shadow Ghost (2)

 

The soldiers of Hector literally couldn’t believe the sight before them.
Rather than the fact that a knight of Hector was killed in a single blow, they were stunned seeing a man running toward all of them by himself.

“An enemy!”

“Kill him!”

Dozens of soldiers of Hector rushed in to take down the one man who had managed to kill a knight of Hector with a single blow.

And Roman Dmitry, who had appeared on the battlefield all alone, struck the enemies head-on as if the massive difference in number was nothing to him.

Slash!

Papak!

“Kuaaak!”

It was literally a one-sided massacre.
The soldiers who had rushed in great force had already left the world while screaming, and the soldiers who had stopped to comprehend what just happened had their entire bodies cut down by a single sword.
It was literally just a sword.
There was no sign of even an Aura on that sword.
Although it was purely based on physical ability, Roman Dmitry was slaughtering his enemies as if it was too easy.

One by one—every time Roman moved his sword, death followed.
Some even stretched out their arms to try and hold down Roman, but before their arms even stretched entirely, Roman killed dozens of soldiers in his vision.

He was truly a monster.
Nevertheless, the thing even more shocking than the overwhelming force was that Roman was fighting all of them by himself.

“This is insane!”

“The enemy is alone! Keep calm and attack him!”

“Attack from all directions!”

It was an unusual situation.
Too many soldiers were focusing on a single enemy, but they still couldn’t understand how Roman was committing a one-sided slaughter despite being all alone.

Hector’s soldiers continued to groan.
Their common sense obviously said that a large group would win against a single enemy, but as the fight progressed, the corpses lying on the floor were only those of Hector’s soldiers.

Nevertheless, they didn’t know it was an unfair fight in the first place.
They didn’t know that Roman was someone who, rather than injuring his enemies over time, cut off their necks whenever he got the chance.

From start to finish, it didn’t take that long.
Shortly after Brandt recognized that the existence before him was Roman, what seemed to be hell in his eyes had unfolded on the battlefield.

Puak!

That was the end.
Even the last soldier had now fallen down on the ground.
And seeing all of Hector’s soldiers lying on the ground without even moving slightly, Brandt looked at Roman with a pale expression.

“…What the hell just happened?”

Brandt couldn’t believe that such a monster existed in the Cairo Kingdom.

The greeting was short.

When Brandt saw Roman introduce himself as Roman Dmitry, his heart began to pound intensely.

’…Was it really true that he was going to do the guerrilla operation?’

When he saw him talk with Count Donald, he mentioned abandoning the First Defense Line.
However, that could also be seen as giving up the Southern Front.
It was a common-sense decision anyway.
As the Warp Gate had already fallen into the enemy’s hands, there was no way for them to survive against the Hector Kingdom while staying here.

The geographical advantage of mountains? That looked like a joke as well.
The Hector Kingdom would surely have a hard time dealing with the remnants hiding in the mountains, but there was no place on the Southern Front that they could use as a fortress now.
Summarily, guerrilla operations weren’t a good strategy.
While they were taking advantage of being in the mountains, the enemy could instead block the escape route and annihilate the remnants as well.

‘Nevertheless, Roman Dmitry stayed.
Although he had enough time to escape, he didn’t give up on this place.
Come to think of it, it was a bit unusual even when he contacted Count Donald.
He noticed that the Warp Gate was captured but still contacted us and suggested we run away as well.’

It almost seemed like foresight now.
Obviously, Roman’s judgment was correct, but the guerilla operation was still reckless.
Nevertheless, Brandt couldn’t help but look at Roman with respect.
Roman Dmitry knew he was in danger, but he stayed behind and continued to fight for the Cairo Kingdom.
Thus, Brandt said, “Sir Roman Dmitry, you were right.
Count Donald made a decision to stay and ended up dead, even though you had given him the right advice, and the First Defense Line has now fallen into the hands of the Hector Kingdom.
This war is already over.
The Hector Kingdom has already gone to deal with the Second Defense Line, and they won’t last that long.”

He bowed his head.
He didn’t know why Roman was moving all alone, but he was sure that the guerilla operation would be meaningless now.
Knowing who Roman Dmitry was, Brandt rather raised his voice and urged Roman to get to safety.

“You want me to give up?”

“Yes.
There are things in the world that are physically impossible.
I have just witnessed how strong Sir Roman Dmitry is, but the number of people the Hector Kingdom has brought is too large.
There is no way you can defeat all of them by yourself.
So, how about retreating through the mountains? No one will point their hands at you.
I have witnessed how Sir Roman Dmitry has truly done his best here, and I will let the others know about it as well.
So, please make a wise judgment and get to safety.”

Perhaps…

Brandt thought that Roman had come back to take revenge for someone he lost while going up against Hector.
Actually, he could think of no other reason why Roman Dmitry would be moving alone with his common sense.
Therefore, he thought that Roman had lost his subordinates and was now getting revenge for them.

‘It’s a wise decision.’

Roman judged that Brandt’s advice wasn’t wrong.
Actually, even if they all retreated now, no one would think bad about Roman.

Still,

‘I don’t like it.’

That was not because of patriotism.
That wasn’t because Roman Dmitry was from Cairo and the Southern Front where he was serving fell into the hands of the Hector Kingdom*.* The only reason Roman judged it like that was because it was a matter of self-esteem.

Roman didn’t want to make words like “Even though Roman was present on the battlefield, he didn’t make much of a difference and did nothing” into reality.
That was the same reason Roman had risked his life for.
Still, for something like risking one’s life, the gains to be gained here were small, and there was much to lose.
Nevertheless, in the process of being born to reaching the peak in Murim, a world where the weak served as food for the strong, Baek Joong-hyuk learned one thing.

‘I cannot set a precedent that undermines me even once.’

That was it.
That was why he stayed here and didn’t run away.
And gazing directly into Brandt’s eyes, Roman said, “No.
This war hasn’t ended yet.”

Roman looked back at the situation from the outbreak of war till now.

‘The situation of the Hector Kingdom is bad due to famine.
As the food to feed people has turned scarce, it is impossible for them to properly secure military supplies.
Nevertheless, the fact that they waged war means that the Hector Kingdom was in a desperate situation.’

It was a simple thing—Hector was aiming to solve their nation’s problems through this war.

‘All of Hector’s Kingdom’s actions can be explained by such a strategy.
There is little incentive to them invading the Southern Front, given it is barren when compared to other areas.
But after observing how they made an effort to get control of the Southern Front and capture the Warp Gate rather than launch a straightforward invasion across the border, they were aiming to isolate the Southern Front flawlessly.
They will probably try to contact the higher-ups now and negotiate until they come to an agreement.’

Roman read the intentions of his enemies.
As Hector wanted to end the war as soon as possible, their weakness was exposed.

Thus, Roman said, “This war is a very special case.
The reason the Hector Kingdom wanted to occupy the Southern Front so soon was because they couldn’t afford this war to go on for a long time, along with the obvious reason of reducing their own sacrifices.
Every war has a purpose.
And Hector’s purpose is to solve their nation’s difficulties through this war.
That is why they are aiming to completely capture the Southern Front.
They want to negotiate without any problems.”

“…What?”

Brandt was stunned.
Roman’s words were hard to understand.
Going to war because the nation was going through difficulties.
How could he accept something like this as the reason?

“It is a simple matter.
The Hector Kingdom attacked the Southern Front, which they couldn’t even profit much with.
Do you think that Hector will continue to defend the Southern Front while their people continue to starve in the nation? Of course not.
They are now betting the fate of their nation here.”

When the nation was on the brink of destruction, Hector decided to draw their sword to live.
If they did nothing, they were going to die anyway.
Thus, they made their last effort to continue to survive—wage war.

Roman made his decision.

“We do not have to face the forces of Hector out here.
If the number of enemies is ten thousand, then dealing with only one hundred of them, which is only 1%, will change the tide of this war.
The Hector Kingdom will suffer because of staying out here, and the Royal Family of Cairo will not easily accept the request of Hector.
That is why we have hope.
That much is enough.
Just by creating a small variable, we can burn the plans of Hector to the ground.”

When he heard those words, Brandt couldn’t hide his admiration.
The thoughts he had weren’t wrong.
Roman wasn’t an ordinary person, and his perspective on the battlefield was quite unique.
The only problem was that Roman’s plan wasn’t as easy as he made it sound.

“…Will that even be possible?”

“It is possible.”

Brandt couldn’t continue any further.
That was because before he even asked Roman about his doubts,

“We have already achieved the intended purpose.”

Roman Dmitry shocked him.

The Hector Kingdom had begun its attack on the Second Defense Line.

“Charge!”

Thud!

Rumble!

The Flare shot the wall.
Some of the walls had already collapsed due to the repetitive attacks, and Cairo’s soldiers could be seen screaming while being covered in flames.
Nevertheless, Edwin Hector wasn’t attacking them in a hurry.
Now that they had finished contacting the Royal Family, time was on Hector’s side.
From now on, minimizing the damage on their side was the highest priority.

“The plan is perfect.”

They had been preparing for it for one year.
And Edwin Hector had finally turned the situation he had played countless times in his mind into reality.
While distracting the enemies’ focus, they occupied the Warp Gate.
That was when the war had already ended for Cairo.
In Edwin’s plan, once they captured the Warp Gate, there was no possibility of them losing this war.
Actually, even saying they had already crossed the hurdles wouldn’t have been an overstatement, either.
From now on, they only needed to deal with the remnants of Cairo and receive an appropriate compensation to end this war.

Nevertheless, even though the entire situation seemed advantageous, Edwin Hector still had troubles in his heart.

‘In my plan, Baron McCleary’s death was never counted for.
The Fifth Defense Line is the weakest among all the Defense Lines.
However, Baron McCleary still died.
Roman Dmitry.
Does it mean that he was a variable powerful enough to overcome the vast difference in power?’

Edwin Hector always doubted himself.
Even if he was in a situation in which everything was going smoothly, he always looked back and tried to find any mistakes or things he might have missed.
Nevertheless, no matter how many times he had looked back, the variable known as Roman Dmitry didn’t seem to be that strong.
His reputation was well known, but a 3-Star Aura Swordsman wasn’t someone who could turn the tides of war.

‘Contrary to the original plan, our attack on the Fifth Defense Line failed.
What are the variables we need to watch out for? Even though I have looked through it repetitively, there are no variables strong enough to put us at risk.
Even if Roman Dmitry leads an entire army against Hector, Cairo cannot defeat Hector with their current power on the Southern Front.
Even if Roman Dmitry’s force is more than we expected, although it could be difficult, it wouldn’t be fatal.
The Hector Kingdom is not weak enough to be swayed by only a single individual.’

Before he attacked the Second Defense Line, Edwin Hector had given the order to deal with any remnants of Cairo.
He was concerned they would increase Roman’s force, so he decided to block anything like that from happening.
He did his best to suppress his doubts.
Even though his nerves kept warning him, his head had concluded that nothing wrong would happen.

Just then, a soldier entered and reported, “Prince Edwin.
The contact with the First Battalion, which had left to deal with the remnants of Cairo, has been lost.”

Even though it was only one report, the ominous thing soon spread.

“We have lost contact with the Second Battalion.”

“The contact with the Third Battalion is no different.”

With each report, Edwin Hector’s face turned as cold as ice.
Because of the variable, his ominous feelings seemed to be turning into reality.

Editor’s Thoughts: Finally, Roman has begun to counterattack the strategist of Hector.
How will Edwin respond? The next few chapters will be interesting.
We will see guerilla operations in action soon.