Chapter 98 – The Unexperienced World (2)

Kevin’s intention worked. He had left one of the enemy soldiers alive on purpose. When that soldier finally reached Edwin Hector, his face was dyed with terror, and he trembled while revealing what he had experienced on the battlefield.

“C-Cairo’s camp has magicians in it! They are suddenly appearing from the darkness, where no one should have been, and then started to attack us instantly! Please believe me! It wasn’t a normal surprise attack like attacking after hiding in the bushes! Literally, as if it was all a mirage, they appeared from thin air!”

All of his body was trembling while he was speaking. A demon had brutally killed his comrades. And whenever he remembered the face of Kevin, he kept checking to see if he was behind him.

“…Commander. It seems like the enemy had set up a trap,” remarked Jackson. Now, reports were coming that mentioned the enemy had attacked them from all sides. Even though they had the numerical advantage, they were unilaterally slaughtered, so there was a chance that what the soldier had said was true.

“Jackson. There is no magic that can completely hide someone in this world. There are some Illusion-type magics that can show illusions, but the enemies carried out a surprise attack in at least 5 places simultaneously. The possibility of them using Magic Scrolls is quite low. The Magic Scrolls are strictly managed by the Magic Towers, so there is no way that the Southern Front can have them. Then, there is one more possibility—Cairo possessing an Archmage. Still, how does that make any sense? Why would they put an Archmage on the Southern Front rather than the Western Front?”

“That’s impossible.”

“Right. That is impossible. That means what they used was not magic.”

Even a normal Mage was several times more precious than an Aura Swordsman. Moreover, most of the Mages were affiliated with the neutral organizations, the Magic Towers.

Just like the Golden Bank, the Magic Towers were groups that worked for the benefit of the entire continent. It was well-known that nine out of ten people, who were born with the talent of handling mana, hoped to be in one of the Magic Towers. The reason was simple. The Magic Towers were a literal treasure trove of knowledge, so if one wanted to grow as a Mage, they had no choice but to go there.

There were only a few Mages in each country. That was why Edwin Hector couldn’t understand why Cairo would put a great being like that on the Southern Front.

‘There is something special about Roman Dmitry. He didn’t oppose our attempt to capture the Southern Front instantly but lured us into the mountains with all preparations in place. Maybe this is a trick to buy time. The longer we will stay in the mountains, the more damage our troops will take. The Southern Front will also find a way to relax, and the moment the troops from Cairo’s Royal Family arrive, the tide of this war will be turned around at once.’

Edwin looked at the entire chessboard and the quickly-moving pieces. The battle here would be fatal, but Edwin Hector had no intention of retreating.

‘The moment we retreat and lose our momentum, this war will be over.’

Instead of defeating the troops, if we focus on capturing the Front Defense Line, will we be able to achieve the goal? No, it will be hard. Roman Dmitry would gain the reputation of defeating the Hector Kingdom’s troops with only a small force, and that will surely give Cairo a justification to not give in to Hector’s demands. War is driven by force and morale. The moment a hero named Roman Dmitry is born in this war, Hector will be dyed with defeat.

‘It is too early to go head-on.’

Even though many soldiers were dying, he had a goal—Saving the Hector Kingdom. Everyone had sworn to give their lives for that, and Edwin could not let their deaths be in vain.

‘It’s best to wait. Roman Dmitry will eventually fall into my trap.’

Just then,

[Roman Dmitry! He has appeared!]

He heard those words from the Magic Communicator.

Roman Dmitry had finally begun to move.

Swish.

The darkness was gone. The moment the light from the magical artifact lit up the surroundings, the Aura Swordsman’s face was colored in shock.

“Kuak?!”

Puak!

Roman Dmitry was right in front of him. He appeared from the darkness and pushed the sword into his chest before he could even react. Eventually, he began to stagger. However, after he knelt down while blood was flowing out of his body, strangely, a smile spread across his face as he looked at Roman.

“Cough! W-We finally got you!

Flash!

There was an Aura Explosion! His intensely boiling mana created bright light through the artifact. He was already ready to die. Still, before he lost consciousness, he hoped to place a bell on the neck of Roman in exchange for his death.

Flash!

“Roman Dmitry!”

“Roman Dmitry has appeared! Form a siege!”

The situation turned around quickly. It was quite different from before. That was because they didn’t have any way to catch him as he hid and attacked from the darkness previously, but now, bright light was shining from Roman while he was moving. When the Aura Swordsman created an Aura Explosion, many fragments of light crystal shone all around and shot at many things. Some of them even managed to enter Roman’s body, and even though he wasn’t feeling any physical pain, his body was now shining brightly. The Aura Swordsman didn’t die in vain. And the quickly changing situation, the captains also did their best and linked communications with each other.

[Roman Dmitry is moving toward the North!]

[He just turned the other way!]

[Second Company! Second Company! The rat is coming there!]

In an instant, a siege network was formed. Hector’s soldiers systematically drove Roman back, and no matter how fast he was, he could not seem to get out of the siege. Until this moment, Edwin Hector was prepared for damage and had spread the soldiers far away. But the moment Roman Dmitry was found, Edwin made his men climb up quickly and pressured Roman from the vantage point.

He was convinced this was the end. He had spread out an entire net to catch only Roman. And as time went on, the range of the net began to narrow, and finally, forces to face Roman began to emerge. In such a situation, the troops of the Hector Kingdom thought that finally, Roman Dmitry had been cornered. Many allies were lost because of only one person, but it was now only a matter of time before they dealt with the ghost that was haunting them.

Edwin had stepped on Roman’s tail. Hector’s soldiers attacked all at once as soon as they saw Roman running away and trying to scatter the fragments of light crystals.

“Die!”

“I will avenge my comrades!”

The soldiers rushed toward Roman Dmitry while being filled with madness. Roman was a demon who had killed countless of their comrades. The soldiers’ eyes were dyed with fury when they remembered the memory of trembling in fear while not being able to sleep.

Huk!

Sharp weapons attacked Roman from all sides, and at that moment, Roman’s body darkened. Instead of running away, he suddenly changed his direction and swung the sword at the soldiers.

Puak!

Blood splattered. The soldier’s body was exposed because of his fury, and he was taken down with one swing. Still, he didn’t stop as he began to cut down all who had attacked him. He was moving so fast that it was hard to see him with the naked eye. Thousands of soldiers’ blood had splashed everywhere. Apparently, they were filled with so much hatred toward Roman that they weren’t careful enough, and were slaughtered by him.

Still…

“Chase him!”

“Do not miss him!”

The chase had just begun. All the enemies were trying to bite his tail. Even if several comrades were cut down, even more enemies appeared and chased after Roman. There was no room to escape. He was caught in a perfect net. As time dragged on, the masters of Hector also appeared.

Kwang!

Auras shone all around. All Aura Swordsmen raised their Aura and ran towards him. Among them, there were even 3-Star Aura Swordsmen, and powerful Aura that ripped through the air was an attack even Roman couldn’t ignore. The soldiers of the Hector Kingdom were convinced that their attacks had worked this time. The captains had told them that Roman was a 3-Star Aura Swordsman, and there was no way he could deal with so many Aura Swordsmen at once.

In the situation where flames made of Aura were aiming for him from all directions, Roman instantly exploded his mana.

‘Heavenly Demon Sword Art; Second Move.’

His sword flashed. Mana that rose up wildly collided with the Aura that filled his vision.

Kwakwakang!

“Kuak!”

“Eukkk!!”

The Aura Swordsmen were swept away in the powerful explosion. Their swords, which were shining with Aura until a moment ago, were cut off, and a trail of blood was left behind as their bodies had been torn apart.

The scene that a single blow had created was stunning. Still, despite such a great attack, Roman left the scene without a single gasp. Still, everyone was in shock. They all had realized how formidable Roman was as an enemy. He was completely beyond their common sense, and they realized that even if they grabbed him by the tail, he would kill them.

Nevertheless, they continued to follow him recklessly. If Roman was such a monster by himself, what would happen if they missed him and he regrouped with his unit? They didn’t even want to imagine it. Even if they captured all the camps on the Southern Front, Roman Dmitry seemed like a demon who would somehow slaughter all the soldiers of the Hector Kingdom despite that. Everyone succumbed to that feeling. The soldiers of Hector threw away their lives, and they were even prepared to have Roman’s sword on their necks if that could stop the movement of Roman. Even though it was miserable, ironically, it was also a golden chance to kill Roman. This wasn’t being done because of cold and rational thoughts but purely due to instinct.

Ten minutes had passed. It was a short time normally. However, the blood of those who had died during that short time was enough to create a river, and with every move, they seemed to be trampling on bodies.

Since when?

People thought it was weird. It seemed Roman Dmitry, the demon, could be caught in a short time, but why wasn’t he being caught? Then, was he even really running away? The ominous thought that flashed in their mind made their hearts sink down to the bottom.

Puak!

“Kuak!”

This time, as well, he dealt with the pursuing enemy. Roman just wiped off the blood that was dripping down the sword and calmed his breathing.

‘My stamina is also reaching the limit.’

The Heavenly Demon Sword Art wasn’t something Roman could use often with his current body. However, as Hector’s Aura Swordsmen continued to rush in from all directions, he had to use everything he could and exert his strength.

Just then, a swordsman who was on the ground with a cut on his chest cursed at Roman.

“D-Do you think you can survive here? Huff… that will not happen. Thousands of troops are coming here. No matter how strong you are… Huff… In the end, the only way this will end is with you meeting a horrible death here!”

He was furious. He looked up at Roman with bloodshot eyes while screaming.

At that moment,

Smirk.

Roman smirked.

Humans are always like that. As it was with Thompson and the others, people fall into illusions in certain situations.

“Why did you think I fell into that trap like that? Even when I saw the Aura Swordsmen coming forward with magical artifacts, why did I kill them and leave my body in the range of the shattering artifacts?”

“W-What do you…”

The Hector Kingdom couldn’t imagine it. Roman Dmitry, the bait, had deliberately waved his tail to them and showed them what they wanted to get.

The knight’s face was stained in shock. Looking down at him, Roman told him the cruel reality.

“There are a lot of people running around to pursue me. You might think that the siege is perfect, but in the end, there are bound to be loopholes in what humans do. One minute—No, even for 30 seconds, the enemies who reach me first are quite stupid for trying to risk their lives to catch me. How silly is that? The fact that you all are less prudent than ever because you think you have cornered me.”

He knew how reckless this was, but the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joon-hyuk, had always lived like this. He thought backward and was a being who was disruptive.

“Then let’s move to where I need to go. There is still a lot of time until sunrise.”

The enemies would soon understand that Roman Dmitry—No, the fact that common sense didn’t work in the world of Baek Joong-hyuk.