The distance between the gate and Baron McCleary was vast.
It was generally impossible to break through the enemy forces swarming ahead, but in Roman's world, things were different. 'The enemy commander is careless.' Perhaps it was because the Cairo Kingdom's strength was pitiful.
Baron McCleary had stepped forward slightly to observe the situation.
Of course, that distance was far enough to be considered safe, but it was not so far that he could not approach at all.
In an instant, Roman changed his plan.
Originally, securing the space at the gate until Stephen and his soldiers set up the barricades was the priority, but the moment Roman locked eyes with the enemy, he stomped the ground. 'I will kill the commander.' A quick way to end the war.
As he had experienced on countless battlefields, the moment the commander’s head fell, the enemy would inevitably collapse.
“Stop him!”
“The enemy is alone!”
The soldiers of the Hector Kingdom were furious.
Seeing Roman daringly step outside the castle, they attacked him with fierce expressions.
The sight of countless enemies entangled was enough to take one’s breath away.
Weapons flying from all directions would claim a life at the slightest moment of carelessness.
However, no attack could touch Roman.
Tatatatang.
He deflected all the attacks.
Moreover, the soldiers who had attempted to strike him were soon screaming as their limbs were severed and they fell.
Hundreds of enemies.
It was common sense that they had the advantage.
Roman should have fallen, yet as time passed, the casualties among the soldiers only increased.
“Get out of the way!”
“I will make it so you can no longer move!”
The knights of Hector, having received Baron McCleary's orders, rushed in like a storm.
They were not ordinary knights.
They were aura warriors who could manifest their aura, and different forms of aura formed from their swords.
Kwarururung.
Mana exploded.
With the simultaneous attacks coming in, the soldiers of Hector were convinced that this time they would take down Roman.
However. 'Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, Second Form.' Taking a deep breath, mana surged within him and he unleashed his aura towards the rushing enemies.
The strike of the heavenly demon.
The knights of Hector, who had been so confident of victory, vanished with blank expressions, unaware of the outcome.
Kwakwaqwang! The power was shocking.
The aura manifested by the knights scattered like dust blown by the wind, and their powerful bodies, clad in steel armor, were reduced to unrecognizable chunks of flesh, as if torn apart like paper.
Everyone was left in shock.
Only then did they realize that the being they faced was a monster they could not dare to confront.
Seeing hundreds of enemies and still charging in, they had judged that it was still manageable.
Roman Dmitri.
In his life as a martial artist, fighting against hundreds was common.
He had always been outnumbered, not just against these small fries, but against those known as masters of the martial world.
He had taken Stephen's advice, believing it unnecessary to overextend himself.
But now.
Confirming that the commander was within striking distance, Roman wanted to end the battle in his own way.
Tap.
He stomped the ground.
Before he knew it, Baron McCleary was right in front of him.
He looked at Roman with a shocked expression.
Having slaughtered dozens of soldiers and torn apart Hector's aura warriors in a single blow, this was not part of Hector's plan to ambush Cairo, and Roman Dmitri's power was too strong to be calculated or stopped.
His eyelids trembled.
His mind screamed for him to flee, but in that moment, he recalled the orders he had heard before leaving the Hector Kingdom. 'There is no need to forcefully breach the defense line.
Just buy as much time as possible.
We need sufficient time for our plan.'
“Damn it.” Just one hour.
A reckless attack had created variables.
Baron McCleary drew his sword.
He too was a swordsman.
As a swordsman capable of using second-tier aura, he intended to give his all rather than remain a defeated commander who failed the operation.
“I am Baron McCleary of Hector! I will personally…”
In a flash.
Whoosh! The moment Roman arrived, Baron McCleary's head flew off, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
His judgment had been arrogant.
From the moment Hector's knights could not withstand a single blow, he should have decided to flee.
The death of the commander.
Roman raised the head high into the sky and shouted with a voice infused with mana.
“I have killed the enemy commander!”
At that moment, as if it were a lie, everyone on the battlefield stopped moving.
The atmosphere froze cold.
The soldiers of Hector were at a loss.
Although their commander was dead, they still had enough strength to not surrender immediately.
In the midst of the chaotic situation, it was once again Roman Dmitri who shattered the silence.
Swish!
“Grah!” Roman slashed down the enemy before him.
It was an irrational decision.
Normally, after killing the enemy commander, the typical choice would be to urge the soldiers to surrender using that as leverage.
Perhaps if the opponent were the Barco family, that would have been the case.
Roman had indeed killed the Barco father and son, the instigators of the war, and ended the situation, but now the circumstances were different.
Hector.
They had launched an attack without warning.
Not only was it a war without justification, but other defense lines were also under attack from the Hector Kingdom.
Roman raised his voice.
“Soldiers of the Cairo Kingdom, listen! We do not have the luxury to secure prisoners. Moreover, other defense lines are currently under attack by the Hector Kingdom. If we spare them now, they will surely return as enemies. Even if we bleed here today, we must risk our lives to execute the enemies!”
The war with Barco could be described as a brutal internal conflict.
Since it was a dispute within the same kingdom, once the commander was dealt with, the soldiers who admitted defeat would not return as a future threat.
However, the soldiers of Hector were different.
Even if Baron McCleary was dead, they had an obligation to fight to the end as part of Hector.
Therefore, they did not even suggest surrender.
Even if they were to be torn apart and bleed like cornered rats, it was necessary to decisively deal with them now that they had the momentum.
Simply being on opposite sides was reason enough to be brutal.
Seeing Roman slaughter the enemies without mercy, the soldiers of Cairo cheered and poured out of the castle.
“Follow Roman Dmitri!”
“Kill all the remnants of Hector!”
They blocked the escape route.
The cornered soldiers of Hector sensed that they could not return alive from this place.
Henry Albert.
By the time he arrived, the tide had already turned.
He had heard that the fifth defense line was on the verge of collapse, but the scene before him was entirely different.
“... What is this?”
Outside the castle, a one-sided massacre was taking place.
The soldiers of Cairo, who should have utilized the advantage of defense, were attacking the enemy with faces twisted in rage, as if they were possessed.
How could this have happened? He could not comprehend it.
One thing was certain: even amidst the fierce battle, Roman Dmitri's presence stood out.
‘Roman Dmitri is this strong?’
It was truly an overwhelming presence.
The cornered soldiers of Hector charged in desperation, but the moment they faced Roman, their limbs were torn apart without mercy.
Numbers were virtually meaningless.
No matter how many charged in, the outcome of death remained the same.
In the past, Henry had witnessed a fight between rankers.
Even then, he had thought that rankers were beings of a different dimension, but even the glorified figures in his memory could not compare to Roman.
The divine who had defeated Homeros.
At just 25 years of age, Henry had confidently boasted that he would be weaker than the rumors, yet he felt that Roman Dmitri was rather underestimated by those rumors.
And Roman's soldiers were no less impressive.
Especially figures like Chris, Kevin, and Puki displayed strength that was hard to believe for mere soldiers.
It was now clear.
The situation was different from the news.
The variables stemmed from Roman Dmitri.
‘...
Now I understand why my uncle insisted that I get close to Roman Dmitri.’
He swallowed hard.
His uncle was right.
Birthright was not important.
Roman Dmitri was a monster that would one day swallow the Cairo Kingdom whole.
Henry shouted urgently to the soldiers still in shock.
“Help Roman Dmitri right now! Leave the other stragglers behind and prioritize protecting Roman!”
As he issued the command, he followed the soldiers from the back.
The situation had settled.
The soldiers of Hector did not fight to the end.
In fear that they might be annihilated, they abandoned their comrades and fled in all directions.
In the process, most of them died.
Roman chased after them to cut off their breaths, but there was no way to kill all the enemies fleeing simultaneously.
When the battle ended, Chris immediately ran to Roman.
“Chris and 30 others. There are no casualties.”
After the fierce battle, fortunately, no one had died.
However, that did not mean everyone was unharmed.
Each of them had at least one injury, and those with more severe wounds had red flesh visible through torn skin.
Despite such injuries, not a single groan escaped their lips.
Especially Henderson, who was likely not accustomed to such large-scale battles, kept his mouth tightly shut with a face drenched in cold sweat.
“You’ve worked hard. Use potions to treat your wounds.”
“Understood.”
There was no special treatment.
But even that was enough.
Nearby, Stephen could only stare in astonishment.
‘...
Did he supply potions to all the soldiers?!’
Potions, the healing elixirs made in the Mage Tower, boasted a considerable price even at the lowest grade.
Yet, Roman's soldiers used the expensive potions without a second thought.
At a glance, they seemed to be at least mid-tier, and they poured an entire bottle over their wounds.
Sizzle.
The flesh burned, emitting a foul smell.
The wounds healed rapidly.
Stephen began to understand why the soldiers trusted Roman Dmitri so blindly.
‘Overwhelming power, bold judgment, and a generous heart towards the soldiers.
The trust between Roman Dmitri and his soldiers was not formed by mere chance.
It is because of someone like him that they would follow him into the flames.’
His admiration was short-lived.
Roman spoke to Stephen.
“You will stay here to manage the battlefield and prepare for a second attack. We need soldiers well-versed in the geography of the southern front.”
“... Are you planning to leave right away?”
“The war is not over yet. Even in this moment of peace we have found, soldiers of the Cairo Kingdom are dying elsewhere.”
The war had begun.
A single victory did not signify the end of the war.
Roman's eyes glinted fiercely.
“I will not stand idly by while the Hector Kingdom tramples this land. I will not stop until I have killed every last one of those from the Hector Kingdom who have crossed the border.”
At those words, Stephen felt a chill run down his spine.
It was clear that Cairo was at a disadvantage in this fight.
The attack from the Hector royal palace was sudden, and the advantage of defense had not yet disappeared.
Yet, somehow, he felt that this man before him would accomplish something great.
Roman shouted to his soldiers.
“I will give you ten minutes from now. Prepare to set out.”
“Yes.”
The soldiers of Roman obeyed the command.
Two hours after the outbreak of war, the fifth defense line had successfully held.
And that was the first variable that the Hector Kingdom had not anticipated, as well as the starting point for another variable.