Leaving the battlefield behind, Edwin Hector headed towards the makeshift command post.
The temporary tent designated as the command center was already filled with the high-ranking officers who had received orders from Edwin Hector.
“Jackson. Report the situation.”
“Understood.” The leader of the Ranger unit, Jackson, stepped forward. “Immediately after the first defensive line was breached, I ordered the 3rd Battalion to deal with the remaining enemies as per the commander’s orders. However, since about an hour ago, communications with the companies belonging to the 3rd Battalion have been cut off one by one. At first, I thought it was just a communication issue, but seeing that three companies have lost contact in succession, it seems they have encountered the enemy.”
“What is the estimated casualty?”
“About 300 men.” His expression hardened.
This war had been conducted under a perfect plan for victory.
Yet, the fact that Hector’s warriors had died due to a single variable stirred Edwin Hector’s temper.
“The troops on the southern front mostly chose to lock the gates and defend. Given that situation, our losses must be the doing of Roman Dmitri, who killed Baron McCleary at the fifth defensive line. My fears have become reality. Roman Dmitri has chosen to remain on the southern front and oppose us instead of fleeing over the mountains.”
His voice sank.
The name Roman Dmitri had never sat well with him.
The moment the well-oiled plan began to falter, Edwin Hector had etched that name into his mind.
“A variable has arisen in the plan. If we leave Roman Dmitri unchecked, it will surely lead to further problems.”
“Commander.” One of the high-ranking officers spoke up.
The man with a square face said in a firm voice, “As you said, a different variable has emerged from the initial plan. Baron McCleary is dead, and Roman Dmitri will rally the remnants to disrupt our plans. However, that is not the most critical issue.
The southern front consists of five frontline defensive positions and one rear position. Now that the most important rear position and the first defensive line have fallen into our hands, if we capture the remaining defensive positions, the southern front will naturally lose its strength. Look at the forest.
It is more important to break down the defensive positions in front of us than to deal with that rat named Roman Dmitri.”
Small gains can lead to great losses.
Roman Dmitri was a minor variable.
If they were to be swayed by him and fail in the siege, they could not guarantee the success of the plan from that point onward.
Three days.
It was not time for Cairo.
Regardless of whether they had other thoughts, he intended to completely dismantle the defensive positions within three days and tighten their grip.
Therefore, he restrained Edwin Hector.
He had learned from experience that when Hector revealed his discomfort, he often acted outside the bounds of common sense.
But Edwin Hector had already reached a conclusion.
“No. What is important now is not to focus on the second defensive line, which I expect will not retaliate, but to eliminate the variables that could disrupt the plan in areas I do not anticipate. Withdraw the troops immediately. From now on, we will completely annihilate the rats of the southern front.”
At those words, confusion rose on the faces of the high-ranking officers.
The second defensive line would not hold for long.
The high ground was in sight, yet Edwin Hector’s judgment to withdraw the troops was not easily followed.
One of the officers spoke up.
“That is a reckless decision. The remnants are few. We can occupy all the defensive lines first, and then deal with them afterward. With that level of troops, they cannot turn the tide.”
That was a valid point.
Edwin Hector was not unaware of that fact, but from the moment he received the initial report, an ominous feeling had lingered.
An instinctive sense.
People say that instinct and common sense are different.
But in the end, instinct also arises from common sense.
After revisiting plans countless times over the past year, his instincts classified Roman Dmitri as a risk factor.
Edwin Hector said, “I do not misunderstand your intentions. However, as the commander, I must always prepare for the worst. The worst I fear is not failing to dismantle all five defensive lines within three days, but the existence of Roman Dmitri, who may roam freely on the southern front and create unforeseen variables. We do not have time. If Roman Dmitri creates an unpredictable variable, we will face a situation worse than failing to breach the defensive lines.”
It was a simple issue.
Problems that could be managed and those that could not.
Edwin Hector focused on the latter.
The defensive positions could be dismantled somehow, but Roman Dmitri’s movements could not be fully grasped.
“I am not choosing the worst but the lesser evil. If, after hearing my explanation, the majority still insists that breaking the second defensive line is the priority, I will relent and follow their opinions.”
In truth, the high-ranking officers understood.
They knew that when Edwin Hector made a decision, there was a reason behind it.
Yet, they posed a common-sense question because they could make human mistakes, even if just once.
Everyone nodded.
It was a sign of understanding.
Jackson spoke on behalf of the others.
“We will follow the commander’s orders.”
Did they realize that with this decision, the Hector Kingdom would step into the southern mountains, where Roman Dmitri awaited, earlier than planned?
The sun began to set.
As the farmers returned home to have dinner with their families, bright flames erupted from all directions, piercing through the darkness.
Crackle.
The soldiers of Hector lit their torches.
“When you spot the enemy, do not attack recklessly, but blow the horn immediately. The remnants of Cairo include Aura Knights. If we slowly corner the enemies and attack all at once, we can deal with them without suffering significant losses!”
“Understood!” The commander of the 3rd Company of the 2nd Battalion raised his voice.
The southern mountains were vast.
If they searched indiscriminately, they might miss the enemy, so they chose to spread their forces from the bottom and ascend slowly.
If the enemy appeared, there was a risk of losing their lives, but once the enemy’s position was revealed, they could completely surround that area from all sides.
This was Edwin Hector’s thought.
Rather than wasting time on vague searches, he aimed to completely wipe out the remnants in one decisive move.
Flames flickered.
The soldiers slowly climbed the mountain.
They were so cautious that even stepping on dry leaves startled them, carefully observing their surroundings.
“Hoo, hoo.” At the forefront was the company commander.
Breathing out white mist, he shone his light around with a stern face.
According to the survivors who followed Baron McCleary, Roman Dmitri was truly a ghost of the battlefield.
A moment of carelessness could lead to death.
No matter how much they prepared for battle, vowing to risk their lives for the country, neither the company commander nor anyone else wished for the misfortune of being the first to die.
Step by step.
As the flames illuminated the darkness, the areas untouched by the flames were shrouded in shadow.
“Right side?”
“Nothing unusual.”
It was a soldier following closely beside him.
As he poked the ground with a spear, the company commander judged it was safe and turned his head.
In that instant, suddenly.
“……!”
Darkness enveloped the soldier.
He could neither blow the horn nor call for help from the company commander.
In that fleeting moment, his neck twisted backward.
The soldier, unable to even resist properly, fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Yet, the company commander did not hear that sound.
Not only the company commander but the other soldiers too, even when a comrade died right beside them, continued to move forward without looking back.
“Left side?”
“Nothing unusual.”
It was a signal of death.
Once the company commander confirmed that there were no issues, the darkness that followed took the soldier’s life.
One by one.
At first, they felt no strangeness.
However, as the flames around them gradually dwindled, the company commander belatedly realized that something was going wrong.
“What, what is this?!”
His face turned pale.
The soldiers had vanished.
Clearly, when they set out, many had followed him, but now, looking around, the number of flames illuminating the darkness had noticeably decreased.
His heart sank.
Despite maintaining a good distance while walking, such a situation had unfolded, and he hurriedly blew the horn.
No. He tried to blow it.
Crack.
The company commander’s neck twisted.
With the horn in his mouth, he crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
That was the beginning.
One by one, Hector’s soldiers began to fall in the mountains.
The secret did not last long.
The deaths of the soldiers were soon discovered, and the silence that had settled in the darkness was pierced by the loud sound of horns echoing everywhere.
“Enemies have appeared!”
“Check your surroundings! Block the escape routes and corner the enemies!”
Everyone was in chaos.
Soldiers with fire in their eyes checked their surroundings.
Among them were Aura Knights illuminating the darkness with magical artifacts, but no matter how much they searched, they could not see the enemy.
“Where could they be?!” It made no sense.
A comrade had died right beside them.
Naturally, they should have been nearby, yet they could not understand how they had vanished without a sound.
In a place far from them, in an area shrouded in darkness, stood a man. ‘The judgment of the Hector Kingdom is bolder than expected.
I had anticipated they would seek to gain the most during a guerrilla operation while attacking other defensive positions, but the Hector Kingdom has decided to block the variables even at the cost of abandoning the second defensive line.
Who could their commander be? From the surprise attack to the decision to target the warp gate, they are certainly not ordinary.’
A smile crept onto his face.
Rather than being flustered by their extreme reaction to a slight provocation, Roman felt a surge of pride.
Flames flickered across the mountains.
It seemed they had not led a single battalion on a vague search but had drawn all their forces into the mountains, leaving only the minimum necessary to pressure the defensive positions.
The southern mountains were rugged, with limited terrain to hide.
The commander of the Hector Kingdom had perfectly grasped that fact, boldly abandoning areas that could be discarded while accurately targeting places where the remnants of Cairo could hide.
The judgment was correct.
Roman’s forces were indeed there, but the Hector Kingdom had not anticipated one variable: Roman Dmitri.
They did not know what kind of being he was.
This was not about the level of strength.
The treacherous mountain terrain and the darkness that obscured their vision were factors that restricted both sides’ movements, yet Roman could move freely in the darkness.
‘It’s been a while since I felt this sensation.’ The method of fighting using darkness.
People thought that Baek Jung-hyeok, the Celestial Demon, always wanted to confront his enemies head-on.
The truth was different.
In the days when he lacked power, Baek Jung-hyeok had to adapt to living in the murky darkness to meet his father’s expectations.
At that time, people called Baek Jung-hyeok by another name: ‘Ghost Shadow.’
Roman awaited the decision of Hector.
When the darkness descended, he hoped they would enter the mountains.
From now on, it was the stage of Cheonma Baek Jung-hyeok, or rather, Ghost Shadow Baek Jung-hyeok.