In a building at the southern training camp, Mackburney leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"Huff, huff."
His condition was dire.
The armor, tightly woven with chains, had been completely torn apart, exposing his bare skin, and blood flowed freely from his split abdomen.
Thankfully, his insides had not spilled out.
While an ordinary person would have clutched their abdomen with one hand, Mackburney was unable to do so as he aimed his sword with his one good arm at the approaching enemies.
"Just leave him; he'll die anyway."
"Why not give up? I can put you out of your misery."
Hector's soldiers approached, sneering.
There were three of them.
They surrounded Mackburney slowly, weapons aimed, ready to strike at any moment.
The tension was palpable.
Mackburney's mouth felt dry.
Dizziness blurred his vision, but he bit down on the flesh inside his mouth to stay alert.
"Damn it, you bastards."
A bitter taste spread in his mouth.
Even the blood felt like water, slightly quenching his thirst.
"Whoever attacks first, I swear on my life, I will kill you. So come at me. If you have the guts to sacrifice yourself for your comrades, then attack me with your life on the line. I will personally bite into the nape of your neck."
He growled fiercely, his eyes glinting with venom.
The sight of Mackburney, not flinching at all, made Hector's soldiers hesitate to attack.
It was not just a simple threat.
The soldier who had underestimated Mackburney and attempted to attack lay cold on the ground now.
"Damn it."
He swallowed his curses inwardly.
Though he tried not to show it, his physical condition was truly at its worst.
It would not be strange if he collapsed at any moment.
He was holding on solely by willpower, and Hector's soldiers, knowing this, took their time.
"If only my right arm was fine, I would have killed them all."
Despair washed over him as he faced the harsh reality before him.
Back when he fought on the western front, Mackburney could easily take on two or three enemies with just one sword.
He had not learned swordsmanship systematically; it was a practical skill he had honed on the battlefield, and many of Kronos's soldiers had fallen to his aggressive and unpredictable swordplay.
But now, things were different.
His left arm would not move as he wished, and he had barely managed to kill anyone before ending up in this mess.
It was over.
Death was looming.
Mackburney wanted to take at least one more enemy with him before he died.
"What happened to Roman Dmitri?"
Suddenly, the face of someone he had found impressive came to mind.
Roman Dmitri was the first true noble he had met at the southern training camp, showing a readiness for war unlike the others.
He was the only one who did not let his guard down on the southern front.
Although he had been assigned to the fifth defensive line, Mackburney felt that Roman would have accomplished something, no matter what.
He was curious about what Roman was doing now.
Strangely enough, at the brink of death, the person who came to mind was not family or friends, but Roman Dmitri.
"That means I still have lingering attachments to the battlefield."
He gripped his sword tightly.
Lowering his stance, he prepared to charge at any moment.
Blood flowed from his abdomen, but his sharp gaze searched for the enemy's weakness.
Then it happened.
Boom!
"Ugh!"
"Attack!"
A loud noise erupted from outside the building.
Roman was a step too late.
When he arrived at the southern training camp, it was already in ruins, with soldiers' corpses scattered everywhere.
It was a horrific sight.
Sounds of commotion still echoed around.
Judging that the enemies had not all fled, Roman gave the order.
"Immediately eliminate the remaining enemies and rescue any survivors."
"Understood."
Soldiers, including Chris, spread out in all directions.
Roman carefully surveyed the area.
According to the dying soldier's words, the southern training camp had been attacked by the Kingdom of Hector.
Among the corpses strewn about, there were also soldiers from the Kingdom of Hector, who seemed to have worn only light leather armor for quick mobility.
Most of the bodies belonged to soldiers of the Cairo Kingdom.
Just by looking at the corpses, it was clear that Hector's surprise attack had been effective.
He raised his mana, expanding his senses and listening closely to the surrounding sounds.
"…Mackburney?"
Amidst the many sounds, a familiar voice reached his ears.
Mackburney was fighting someone, and from the sound of his labored breathing, it seemed he was in a dangerous situation.
Without hesitation, he dashed toward the building not far away.
Upon entering, he was met with an unexpected scene.
"What, what is this?!"
"Has Cairo already sent reinforcements?"
Hector's soldiers looked flustered.
According to their calculations, there should have been no reinforcements arriving at the southern training camp.
With the frontline defenses under attack, they never expected support to be sent to this place, which held no special significance.
But who was that person?
As Hector's soldiers aimed their weapons with hostility, Roman assessed the situation, alternating his gaze between them and Mackburney.
"He's still alive."
Mackburney was one of the survivors.
Though he looked like he could drop dead at any moment, he still had the strength to stand on his own two feet.
His eyes were filled with shock.
Ignoring Mackburney's expression, Roman approached the enemies.
"I'll capture them alive."
As Hector's soldiers shouted for him not to come closer, Roman suddenly appeared before them.
Wham!
Crack!
Roman's fist struck the face of a Hector soldier.
Blood erupted violently, and the soldier's eyes rolled back as he collapsed, leaving him unable to move even if he regained consciousness.
When another Hector soldier, filled with rage, attempted to attack, Roman dodged the blow and subdued him in the same manner.
Thud!
A powerful punch.
And fingers stained with blood.
The situation unfolded in an instant.
Even though they were seasoned soldiers, two of them were taken down in the blink of an eye.
The last one tried to flee.
As he sacrificed his comrades and dashed toward the opposite door, he was unexpectedly grabbed by the nape of his neck.
Thud.
"Gah!"
"I told you, I'm taking one with me."
It was Mackburney.
He was quick to catch on.
Realizing that Roman intended to capture the enemy alive, he did not slice him with his sword but instead choked him with his left arm.
With only one arm, the resistance was fierce.
However, Mackburney gritted his teeth and held on, and before long, the Hector soldier fainted.
Thud.
"Hah, hah."
Mackburney collapsed onto the ground.
He had reached his limit.
His mind was hazy, and a foul energy surged within him.
In his fading vision, he saw Roman's face.
"You did well. From now on, leave it to me and take a moment to rest."
With a gentle motion, Roman poured a potion over Mackburney's body.
He could not express his gratitude.
As the potion's energy spread throughout him, Mackburney lost his grip on consciousness.
The situation was under control.
After checking the area around the southern training camp, Chris reported the results to Roman.
"There weren't many soldiers from the Kingdom of Hector. I found and dealt with twelve enemies on the spot, and rescued five survivors from the southern training camp. According to the survivors, Baron Vale was injured while fighting Hector's soldiers and fled into the mountains."
It was unexpected.
Baron Vale, whom Roman thought would flee immediately like Baron Bruce, had shown some willingness to fight the enemy.
But that did not change the outcome.
Most of the soldiers at the southern training camp had perished due to their negligence, leaving barely ten survivors.
"The main force of the Kingdom of Hector attacked the southern training camp and then left. According to the survivors, the enemy numbered at least several hundred. There must be a reason they are using the strategy of feigning an attack in one area while striking in another."
A possibility emerged.
Roman's conviction grew stronger.
Although he had a rough idea of the enemy's intentions, he could not make hasty judgments.
Countless lives depended on his decisions.
Aware of the weight of those words, Roman did not rush his steps.
"What about Hector's soldiers?"
"They have all been confined in one building."
There was only one way to verify the truth.
As Roman moved forward, he spoke.
"Chris, until I give the order, no one is to enter the building. That is an order."
"Understood."
With that, the creaking sound of the building's door closing echoed as it swallowed Roman inside.
Inside the building, Hector's soldiers were bound.
As Roman entered, one soldier, his face a mess, shouted.
"Don't keep us alive in this pathetic state! Just kill us! I won't say a word to those cowards from Cairo anyway! Ugh, spit!"
Thick saliva dropped to the ground.
Roman paid him no mind.
He neither reacted to the soldier's words nor responded.
Instead, with a cold expression, he laid out his plan.
"I will give each of you three minutes. I cannot allow more time due to the urgency of the situation. The rules are simple. Answer my questions. If you provide the desired answer within three minutes, I will grant you a painless death. Otherwise, you will experience excruciating pain until the moment of your death."
"You bastard!"
"Kill us, just kill us!"
Hector's soldiers thrashed about.
Roman calmly fixed his gaze on one of them and asked the first question.
"What is the purpose of the Kingdom of Hector?"
"Go to hell!"
The soldier clamped his mouth shut.
The troops involved in this operation were composed of fiercely patriotic soldiers.
They showed a firm resolve not to divulge any secrets, even if it meant death.
Time passed.
As the soldiers continued to scream, Roman delivered the death sentence.
"Three minutes are up."
Thud.
He pressed down on the blood.
At that moment, the Hector soldier did not understand the meaning of those words.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
His muscles twisted, and intense pain engulfed him.
"Ahhhhh!"
"I call that the technique of 'twisting muscles and bones.' You will suffer the agony of your muscles and bones twisting until you slowly meet your end. You have attacked the Kingdom of Cairo. I have no intention of sparing such enemies, and the only exception will be for those who cooperate with me."
As they witnessed the scene unfolding beside them, the expressions of the soldiers quickly hardened.
Seeing their steadfast comrade scream with white eyes spread fear among them.
"Second question. Why are you at the southern training camp?"
It was the question of the Grim Reaper.
The soldier swallowed hard.
He wanted to shout surrender, but the moment he recalled the secret oath he had taken, he could not bring himself to do so.
"Three minutes are up."
"Ahhhhh!"
He too fell into the abyss of hell.
Now it was the last one.
As Roman approached, the third soldier, not even having been asked a question yet, screamed in desperation.
"Do you think this will change the outcome? It's already over. Even if you hear the 'operation' of Hector from my mouth, you have already crossed the line where you can stop us! So go ahead and do as you please. The Kingdom of Cairo will pay the price for their negligence, and you will leave your names in that shameful history! Hahaha!"
He laughed, desperately trying to hide his fear.
In that moment, Roman looked at him with an inscrutable smile.
"I was waiting for that answer."
"What do you mean?"
"I never expected the truth from you. I just wanted to see how you would react. If you are that confident, I can deduce one possibility."
The soldier was taken aback.
Roman dropped the bombshell.
"The rear defenses. Your true objective lies there."
At those words, the soldier lost his composure.
That was enough.
The answer he did not seek was merely bait to elicit that reaction.
"Now die."
Thud.
He pressed down on the blood.
Leaving behind the last soldier's scream, Roman exited the building.
"The simultaneous attack on the southern front was merely a ruse. Their true objective lies elsewhere. If they have indeed succeeded in their operation, the southern front is as good as fallen."
His blood ran cold.
It became clear.
The southern front was in far greater danger than people had anticipated.
The leak of a plan he thought was perfect was the second variable that the Kingdom of Hector had not foreseen.