Chapter 177 – For A Certain End (3)

At that time, as the nobles said, Baron Winston arrived in the Northeast. After ordering the soldiers to rest, he called for the captains to hold a meeting.

Swish.

And then he opened the map.

The lieutenant, who was appointed to one area, said,

“If we advance a little further from this area, we will find Count Adelian’s estate. And Adelian is a commercially developed city, so it isn’t quite used to military stuff, but the problem is we don’t have much time. According to what the main unit said, we have ten days here. We need to fight, but dealing with each enemy on the way to Dmitry will take up too much time.”

“You’re right. Ten days is a tight schedule. Even the march to Dmitry is tight.”

The captains looked concerned. When no one else could think of an answer, they all turned to Baron Winston.

Winston was the commander who served on the Western Front. He was a noble from the outskirts, but he joined the nobles’ faction since he was recognized for his skills in defeating the Kronos Empire’s attempts to invade the kingdom.

And after that, whenever there was a military-related fight, Marquis Benedict would always put him in charge.

He checked the map for a while. It was something he had confirmed before the dispatch because he wanted to be extra careful considering that it was a battlefield.

“You people are right. Ten days from today, considering the travel time, pointless fights will only make things worse. Which means we have to minimize the fights and the distance… and the fastest way is to pass through these estates here.”

Tak. Tak. Tak.

He put three pins on the map—Adelian, Rollo, and Conrad. He already had a plan.

Baron Winston, who repeated the names of the three estates, looked at the captains and said,

“There are pro-Dmitry factions in the northeastern area. In the wake of the battle with the North, Dmitry carefully established the Dmitry alliance, but that doesn’t mean that they are already loyal. And Adelian, Rollo, and Conrad were the three estates that were not pro-Dmitry before.”

Adelian was neutral. Rollo and Conrad were from the Northeast Nobles’ Alliance. When Roman Dmitry held the tournament, Rollo and Conrad sent out their family swordsmen.

Then there was a way.

“Adelian is a commercial place. They don’t want their link with the Central Government to be cut off, so they want to avoid any extreme situations. In the case of Baron Rollo and Viscount Conrad, there is a high chance that they still hate Dmitry now. Therefore, send a message to all three of them. What we want is not their cooperation. All we need is a way to get to our goal without any issues and an extension of time.”

Winston was clever. He made a decision that didn’t require the opponent to make extreme choices. While the opponents turned their gazes, the nobles turned around and moved as inconspicuously as possible.

It was a normal thing to happen in war. Even though he could be unconditionally discovered by the enemy’s scouts and attacked, if he managed to take down Dmitry with the help of those three nobles, then he would be fine.

The command was given, and the magic communication device was connected.

[We, the nobles’ faction, do not have any grudges against the nobles of the Northeast. All we want is Dmitry, so if you choose to turn your heads, we will reward you accordingly. Choose. If you want to fight to the death, the estate that rejects this offer will be turned into a sea of fire.]

It was a proper warning. He didn’t think any more time was needed.

And one hour later, the three estates said that they would accept the proposal.

Three days have passed since then, and Baron Winston’s forces moved through the night. They passed Count Adelian’s estate before anyone knew, and their speed increased as they entered Baron Rollo’s estate.

And while moving, the lieutenant asked, “… Commander. Do you trust the Northeastern nobles? If they had set a trap on purpose, we are likely to be attacked from all sides.”

“I know.”

He thought about the unknown variables. There was no way the commander of the Western Front hadn’t thought of that, so he said,

“First, we need to move quickly to lessen the risk. Even if this is a trap, they have been in a quandary since the moment they accepted our offer. The main unit said that most of Dmitry’s troops have joined the war. Then, the troops here are nothing more than ragtag. Do you think they can win against our elite troops?”

“No.”

“Right, it’s impossible. The soldiers of the nobles’ faction had gone through the toughest training for rebellion. War means that we cannot deal with things like those written in books, and if the enemy attacks thinking we are trapped, then we are at an advantage. It is a golden opportunity. Originally, we were supposed to fight behind the walls. No matter how different the soldiers’ skills are, the other side will be the one taking the most damage. But what if the land is open on all sides like this? In a fight with troops from both sides, the Northeast will collapse under our force.”

He made this decision with betrayal in mind, as he didn’t trust his opponent. He used them since he needed them, but he had no intention of being careless.

A battlefield was always like that. Those who talked about romance and blindly believed in others would die without lasting even a year.

“There are not that many cities with warp gates in the Cairo Kingdom. And among them, Benedict and Adelian are included. And if troops come from Adelian, there is a way for us to deal with them and even seize the warp gate. If that happens, Dmitry will have a fire set on their feet.”

“… as expected.”

The lieutenant admired him. The man from the Western Front was so different.

The commander, who survived the battlefield of blood and death, chose the most appropriate way to destroy the opponent. Every choice he made was deliberate. The nobles were confident, and they planned on taking down Dmitry at once. But…

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

The night fell, and fire erupted from every direction. As expected, the lords of the Northeast betrayed them.

Adelian, Rollo, and Conrad, the three lords, didn’t have to worry about anything.

Who was Roman Dmitry?

If they looked at his previous actions, they would see that he was the type of person who had his own ways of giving punishment and reward.

It was clear that the traitor would be destroyed no matter what excuse he made, and if they wanted to maintain their relationship with Dmitry, they needed to do this.

Then the choice was obvious. As soon as Baron Winston sent the offer, they contacted Dmitry and asked him how to deal with it.

[Open the way. Just lure them in and wipe them out.]

And now the alliance has come forward, with countless troops surrounding the enemies, and flames that shone the land.

Wheik!

Wheik!

“Baron Winston. We have received reports that you are trying to coax the nobles here with the idea of attacking Dmitry. The nobles from Marquis Benedict’s faction are treasonous. If you surrender, your choice will be taken into account, and you will be given mercy. But if you rebel, you will be charged with rebellion like Marquis Benedict.”

It was Jonathan, the captain of the knights. Dmitry’s flag was fluttering behind him.

And at the sight of the enemies filling his vision, Baron Winston was shocked. The number of enemies was too great. He expected a good number, but it looked like all the troops from the Northeast had come here.

“… Commander.”

Baron Winston focused his eyes as he drew his sword. He wasn’t going to compromise now. Even if there were many enemies, he believed that the nobles’ elite troops could crush them.

“Stop talking nonsense! Marquis Benedict is not a traitor! That is just an accusation spread by Dmitry. Rather, I give you this proposal, if you surrender now, Marquis Benedict will accept you with great generosity, but the moment you show hostility…”

Rumble.

He raised his aura. There was no going back. They had already crossed a river too wide.

“We will kill all of you right here.”

He had a menacing power, but no one seemed to be shaken. Baron Winston was someone who had experienced battles countless times, and the people in the Northeast under Dmitry? They had only experienced Roman.

There were people who were also Roman’s enemies here. For those who had already experienced extreme terror in front of Roman, Baron Winston didn’t look like much.

In this precipitous situation, Jonathan finally made a decision.

“Knox. Please.”

“Yes.”

Tak.

A man stepped forward.

Even at that time, Baron Winston had no idea what Jonathan was planning.

Like the concerns of the nobles, the variables turned into reality.

Dmitry had magicians, even 5-circle ones too.

“Fire Cannon.”

Wheik!

The flame was strong. The moment Winston looked at them, the fire had already hit the nobles from their side.

Kwakwakwang!

Wheik, wheik!

“Kuak!”

“Ackkk!”

A strong flame was cast again. Hundreds of their soldiers were swept away at once as they were charred black. However, the soldiers nearby weren’t safe. They were also caught in the fire and were rolling on the ground in pain from their skin burning. It was just one spell, but the result was too strong.

Baron Winston, who witnessed it, could only shout,

“All attack!”

He already made the choice, and winning was the only way out. The magic of the magicians terrified the soldiers but they still believed in their strength, but…

Puak!

Puak!

The results in front of his eyes were different from what he had expected. And when the troops faced each other, the soldiers from the nobles’ faction were slaughtered one-sidedly.

Dmitry’s men were slaughtering them all at once. And Baron Winston couldn’t accept this situation.

The ragtag soldiers of the frontier must have had crude skills, but Dmitry’s soldiers seemed like they didn’t lack any experience compared with the soldiers from the Western Front.

However, they didn’t know that last year, when Roman Dmitry gave those around him time to prepare, it didn’t just mean his own subordinates, like Chris, but all those related to Dmitry.

Dmitry’s soldiers learned to fight. Just like Roman’s men, they didn’t know how to handle mana, but they learned how to make their bodies strong. And this was the result of their intense training.

The more Roman Dmitry grew, the more the soldiers wanted to become stronger, and they all worked hard without taking any breaks. And as a result, they were totally different from a year ago. In order to kill one Dmitry soldier, at least ten of the nobles’ soldiers had to die.

Kang!

‘This is insane.’

As Baron Winston tried to attack, an unknown knight blocked his path. And only then did he see the reality. They ignored the Northeastern’s skills and power, yet these people were sharper than them.

The nobles’ plans were all in Roman’s palms. The reason he attacked Benedict with his elite troops was that he knew that the other troops back home wouldn’t have any trouble.

However, Baron Winston was desperate now. To live up to Marquis Benedict’s expectations of him, he continued to shout for victory until the end, but he eventually died at the hands of Captain Jonathan.

Slash.

He had also learned the Asura technique, and being one step above Baron Winston, he killed him at once.

And that was all. On the fourth day after Dmitry attacked Benedict, Baron Winston’s troops had been defeated.

It’s been a week since the war started. It was as if they went back and forth between heaven and hell every day.

And in one morning, the nobles clenched their fists at the reply from an empire’s faction.

[We will join the nobles.]

It went as planned. If an empire’s faction joined them, then the situation could be changed.

But at that moment…

Kwaang!

Kwaaang!

“We have bad news! A part of the wall has now collapsed. The repairs on the castle’s wall were being carried out, but it wasn’t easy because the kingdom’s troops were continuously attacking. Please give us an order. At this rate, we won’t be able to last long.”

The lights went off, and Marquis Benedict had a contorted face.

One week. It should have been just one week, and he could have managed to get the empires’ factions to join, so the walls shouldn’t be collapsing like this.

“Baron Winston? What happened to Baron Winston?”

“T-That…”

Viscount Owen was speechless. A few days ago, they had lost all contact with Baron Winston. According to the plan, there should have been immediate results, but word started to spread that contact wasn’t being established.

His stomach churned at this unforeseen situation.

At that moment, more despair struck them.

“We got a call from Baron Winston’s lieutenant! The army that attacked the Dmitry estate was annihilated! Baron Winston died on the spot, and the defeated soldiers had run away!”

“…!”

Defeat.

Only then did he realize it—the fact that there was a place lower than hell.

At this dark reality, Marquis Benedict’s mind sank into the abyss.