Chapter 146 – The Alternative (4)

Count Douglas was flustered by the sudden turn of events. Not only did Roman Dmitry intervene in the war, but he immediately asked him to make a choice.

‘Damn it. Dmitry is joining the war.’

It felt like his blood was running cold. Due to Dmitry’s participation in the war, the victory of the north could no longer be guaranteed.

‘Now that it has been declared, this situation cannot be undone. Then, as Roman Dmitry said, we must choose between the two options. Which of the two choices benefits the north?’

A battle of great warriors? Never. In the war with Hector, Roman Dmitry defeated Butler, and had risen to the continent’s ranks.

Actually, in the Cairo Kingdom, except for the Royal Knights’ Captain, no monster could rival this man.

Count Douglas, who recently heard rumors of Roman holding a tournament, sent six of his men, and not a single one of them lost.

Three fights. In a situation where Roman’s victory was certain, the odds couldn’t be guaranteed even after two battles with Roman.

In particular, the existence of Chris, who was famous like Roman, made it impossible to win a battle between great warriors.

‘It is an unconditional defeat. We brought so many troops, yet we will end up being losers. The problem is that I cannot choose hand-to-hand combat either. The north’s forces will be enough to overwhelm the alliance of the northeast, but Roman Dmitry’s participation changes everything.’

After the war with Hector, rumors from the capital went around the Cairo Kingdom. Roman Dmitry slaughtered hundreds of enemies all alone when they were isolated in the south and opened the gates after taking back the fortress.

This wasn’t something a normal human could do. And even if the war rumors were just exaggerations, Count Douglas believed that there had to be truth in them.

He was sure of it. The hero of the Southern Front was Roman Dmitry. Going against such a monster in hand-to-hand combat didn’t sit well.

‘What am I supposed to do now?’

The Northern Beast couldn’t move forward or step back. Even as a man with a fearsome nature, Roman Dmitry’s fame made him hesitate.

He was in a difficult situation. The situation turned into a mess just because of the participation of one family—the Dmitry family.

The other lords of the north weren’t much different. Normally, they would have been the first to encourage him to move forward, but now they only waited for Count Douglas to decide. With all the talk about Roman Dmitry in the Cairo Kingdom, they didn’t want to fall prey to heroic stories.

An awkward silence lingered.

Right then…

“May I make a suggestion?”

Roman broke the silence.

Roman knew the troubles of other people. They could walk back in defeat if they offered a compromise to save face.

But…

‘I don’t want that.’

The Douglas family and the lords of the north were such good prey. They were like barbarians threatening the Northeast Alliance, and he would be the one to defeat them.

In this case, the northeast took Dmitry’s hand. Perhaps, rather than swearing allegiance, it was right to say that they compromised with an enemy and talked in order to resolve their immediate threat.

Then, what steps were needed to end the final stage of the plan? In an instant, the Northeast Alliance had come under Dmitry’s protection, and Roman needed to show them how comfortable life would be if they held hands with Dmitry.

Going against the Northeast Nobles’ Alliance, the Douglas family came. The moment they couldn’t hold back their anger and set foot in the northeast, they got caught in the trap.

Roman said,

“The proposal is simple. Let’s have a battle of great warriors, but I will deal with three warriors at the same time.”

At that moment, everyone looked shocked. They would admit that Roman was strong, but they didn’t expect such a foolish proposal to be made.

“It is something hard to refuse, child.”

He dug the trap. It was a very tempting offer. Rather than just hand-to-hand combat and a battle of great warriors, a three-on-one battle felt like a disadvantage, favoring the side with more numbers.

And Count Douglas had twin swordsmen who were well-known under him. The older one was a 3-star, and the younger one was a 2-star. Their skills were recognized as they went around defeating many strong swordsmen.

But Roman knew that, and he had intentionally laid out such a proposal. He deliberately laid out this plan so that the opponent would think they had the upper hand, and he waited for their answer.

Count Douglas, the man whose temper never calmed down. How could someone who has lived with anger and is even angrier now want to be given an advantage? But the fact that Roman defeated Butler was what scared him.

And to him…

“If you are that worried, then you can increase the number of warriors to five. I want this war to have a clean end.”

Roman said.

He purposefully spoke arrogantly in order to enrage Count Douglas.

Count Douglas took a while. He walked away from the lords of the north, went to the northeast nobles and declared with an expression not hiding his anger,

“I will accept it.”

What were Roman’s intentions?

Roman knew that provoking Count Douglas would make him accept the battle of great warriors.

He tried to suppress his emotions and make a rational decision, but the moment he said five against one….

“I know that Roman Dmitry is strong. He defeated Homer and even defeated Butler, so his strength has been proven. But it is five people. And, no matter how strong he is, there is a limit to how many people he can handle with only two legs and arms. If I send out talented people from families, couldn’t one of them beat Roman?”

“… still, it is tough. The fact that he defeated Butler means there is a chance that Roman is a 5-star.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? Doesn’t this mean the other way too? No matter which of the two options he gave us, we have to deal with that monster. So, I think the only way to increase our odds of winning, even by a small margin, is to choose the most advantageous situation. And this is something that I didn’t reveal to the public, but I have twin swordsmen under me who once defeated a 4-star swordsman. And although their opponent had just reached 4-stars at that time, it also means that they were perfect.”

“Is that true?”

Everyone asked. Swordsmen who defeated a 4-star swordsman? If that was true, then maybe they had a chance.

Count Douglas said.

“I will have my twin swordsmen participate in the battle. If what I said isn’t true, there would be no reason for me to jump into this. Just three more men have to agree with me on this. Roman Dmitry has to be as strong as the rumors say, but he is still a man in his mid-20s. And as he gained fame and power, it surely made his young blood boil with excitement. That’s why he made a risky decision to show off his strength now, even if the situation is disadvantageous to him. This is our chance. When he is still arrogant and running around like this, we can cut off his breath and devour the northeast.”

Everyone’s eyes were red. Whether their opinion was right or wrong, it didn’t matter. Roman crossed the line, and Count Douglas thought he wouldn’t have a day of peace unless he fought back now.

Finally…

“Okay.”

“I will follow the words of the Count.”

“Like the Count, I think Roman Dmitry made a mistake. I admit that he is strong, but it is arrogant to ask us to deal with five people at once.”

They gathered their opinions, and the nobles made the decision. They were sure that they could crush Roman Dmitry’s arrogance.

A noble from the Central Government came to observe. The rules were simple. Count Douglas and the lords of the north would send out five swordsmen, and Roman said he would deal with them alone.

“Phew.”

“Do not be nervous. After all, the other person is also a human like us.”

The five swordsmen representing the north stepped forward. Roman was already waiting for them, and the moment he looked into their eyes, they became nervous.

Roman Dmitry. The man with a great name. To the swordsmen in the Cairo Kingdom, he was like a new legend, so the fact that they were dealing with him terrified them.

And they believed they had a chance of winning. Before the confrontation, Benton, the oldest of the twins, told them about a plan to ensure their victory.

Benton said,

“Everyone take my word for this. The moment the fight starts, Bentel and I will move from both sides and aim for Roman Dmitry’s blind spot. Left and right. Attacks that come from both sides will force Roman to use both hands to defend. And the pincer attack starts by cutting down his flow. While we are drawing his attention, if you attack Roman from different directions, he will be pushed back without a chance to counterattack.”

“From then on, it is our fight. If the opponent tries to attack, you attack the opponent’s possible gap in his defense and make it impossible for him to land an attack. We have many on our side, so if we can do our best, then one of us can win.”

Bentel, the younger one, continued.

The twin swordsmen. Because of the lead they had taken so far, the other swordsmen trusted them.

“Let’s go.”

Finally, the time came, and when they faced their opponent, the twins raised their mana.

‘This fight is in our favor.’

‘You made an arrogant choice, man. If we win here, we gain the new name of defeating Roman Dmitry.’

It was a golden chance. They were confident enough to defeat even a monster with a clear plan. Their mouths were dry as they held their swords and waited for the signal to start the fight.

It was then…

Flutter.

The flag was dropped.

Benton and Bentel moved by kicking the ground for a push.

Rumble!

Aura exploded.

There was an explosive power from the push of their legs, and as planned, they moved for Roman’s blind spot.

They were neither fast nor slow.

The two attacked Roman almost simultaneously, and the three other swordsmen who rushed after them also thought of attacking if the timing worked out.

But…

Flash!

“…!”

Puak!

Blood splashed, and no one saw what happened.

The two swordsmen who ran at the same time were both bleeding.

Their chests were ripped open, and they fell to the ground in shock.

Thud!

That was it.

They took their final breaths.

It was such an embarrassing situation, and the swordsmen who rushed in late stopped walking.

“Fuck.”

“He killed the twin swordsmen in one hit!”

It was embarrassing.

The results were right ahead. The other swordsman gulped down.

Looking around him, Roman said,

“When I heard that Count Douglas declared war, a thought flashed through my mind. What was he thinking when he decided to come here to the northeast? When Barco was alive, people always tried to solve problems with the northeast through simple dialogues. Why didn’t problems get solved with words now?”

Drip.

Drops of blood continued to drip from his sword.

In this open land, Roman’s voice resounded.

“In the end, it is a simple matter. They didn’t even care that the Dmitry family was here. If not, there would be no reason for the lords of the north, including Count Douglas, to come and make this choice. And that fact, to me, is very irritating.”

His eyes were looking around.

And he stopped at one person.

It was Count Douglas.

Looking at his shocked face, Roman said in a calm voice,

“Even now, I will give you a chance to end the battle of great warriors. It seems that the war ended too blandly to be called a war that is being observed even by people from the Central Government. So what do we do now?”

Said Roman.

Contrary to his tone, his remarks made Count Douglas widen his eyes.