Kevin's intentions were realized.
One of the soldiers he had deliberately sent.
He approached Edwin Hector, his face pale with fear, and began to recount his experience as if he were vomiting words.
"There is definitely a magician in Cairo's camp! We illuminated the darkness and confirmed that there was nothing there, but suddenly, Cairo's soldiers appeared and attacked us! Please believe me. They didn't just hide in the bushes and launch a surprise attack. It was as if they emerged through a mirage, piercing through space!"
Even as he spoke, his body trembled.
The demon who had cruelly killed his comrades.
Every time he thought of Kevin, the soldier anxiously glanced behind him. "…Commander. It seems the enemy has set a trap."
It was Jackson.
Reports of being attacked from all directions had come in.
Despite having a numerical advantage, if they were being attacked unilaterally, there was a possibility that the soldier's words were true.
"Jackson.
There is no magic that can hide a large number of people. They can create illusions with illusion-type magic, but the enemy is launching surprise attacks from at least four different locations simultaneously. The likelihood of them using magic scrolls is extremely low.
The magic scrolls of the High Circle are strictly managed by the Magic Tower, so it is impossible for them to have such a large quantity in the southern front. Therefore, there is only one possibility. Cairo possesses a magician from the High Circle.
Do you think that makes sense? That such a being is holding its ground on the southern front, not the western?"
"Impossible."
"Yes, it's impossible. This isn't magic."
Magicians.
They are rarer than aura knights.
Most belong to the neutral organization known as the Magic Tower.
Like the Golden Bank, they operate across the entire continent, and those born with mana talent hoped to join the Magic Tower nine times out of ten.
The reason was simple.
The Magic Tower is a treasure trove of knowledge, and if one wished to grow as a magician, they had no choice but to choose the Magic Tower.
Thus, only a few magicians existed in each country.
However, Edwin Hector could not comprehend that such a formidable being had appeared on the southern front.
'Roman Dmitri has something special.
He is not acting impulsively against our pursuit; he has lured us into the mountains after making thorough preparations in advance.
Perhaps he is trying to buy time.
The longer we are trapped in the mountains, the more damage our forces will suffer.
The southern front will find its footing, and the moment the troops sent by the Cairo royal family arrive, the situation will turn in an instant.'
He looked at the broader picture.
The chess pieces moving quickly.
While the attrition here would be fatal, Edwin Hector had no intention of retreating. 'A single retreat.
The moment we lose momentum, it’s over.'
Even if they withdrew their troops and the frontline defenses were breached, could they achieve their goals as intended? It would be difficult.
Roman Dmitri would gain fame for defeating Hector with a small number of troops, and that fame would surely provide a justification for Cairo not to give up.
The war is swayed by momentum.
The moment a hero named Roman Dmitri is born from this war, the atmosphere of defeat will inevitably thicken.
'It is still too early to withdraw our troops.' Soldiers were dying.
But it was something they had prepared for.
To save the Hector Kingdom.
Everyone had sworn to give their lives, and Edwin Hector would not let their lives be in vain. 'I will wait for the right moment.
I hope Roman Dmitri falls into my trap.'
At that moment, a voice came through the communicator. [Roman Dmitri! He has appeared!]
The situation changed rapidly.
It was different from before.
Previously, they had no way to catch him when he attempted to attack and hid in the darkness, but this time, light illuminated the direction Roman moved.
The light of mana exploded and shot fragments in all directions.
It pierced through Roman's body, and while there was no physical pain, it revealed him like a firefly.
The aura knight's death was not in vain.
As the movements quickened, the commanders connected communications.
[Roman Dmitri is moving north!]
[He just changed direction to the opposite side!]
[Second Company! Second Company! That rat is heading your way!]
In an instant, a encirclement was formed.
Hector's soldiers systematically cornered Roman, and no matter how fast he was, he could not escape the encirclement at human speed.
To achieve this, Edwin Hector spread his soldiers wide, prepared for losses.
The moment Roman Dmitri was spotted, they quickly ascended the mountain and pressured his position from an advantageous height.
A net was spread to catch Roman.
As time passed, the net's range narrowed, and at some point, soldiers began to confront Roman.
In such a situation, the Hector Kingdom thought.
They had finally cornered the enemy, and Roman Dmitri was like a rat trapped in a cage.
Although they had lost many allies because of a single individual, dealing with the ghost that had tormented them all night was now just a matter of time.
Roman stepped on the tail.
As he fled, scattering the light of fragments, Hector's soldiers attacked as soon as they spotted him.
"Die!" "I will avenge my comrades!" The soldiers rushed in like a swarm.
Roman Dmitri.
The demon who had killed countless allies.
Remembering the fear they had felt all night, the soldiers' eyes were filled with venom.
Suddenly, sharp weapons struck Roman from all sides.
At that moment, Roman's body blurred.
Instead of fleeing, he suddenly changed direction, plunging into the space filled with soldiers and swinging his sword.
Flash! Blood splattered.
The soldiers, filled with venom, were torn apart in a single strike, and Roman did not stop, cutting down the soldiers who followed him as well.
His movements were so fast they were hard to see.
Every time numerous soldiers confronted Roman, blood was scattered everywhere.
Just moments ago, they had shown intense venom as if they could swallow any opponent, but they were now helplessly slaughtered by a single individual.
But, "Chase!" "Don't let him escape!" The pursuit began now.
The enemies were in hot pursuit.
Even if he cut down several enemies in an instant, more enemies appeared to chase after Roman.
There was no space to flee.
A perfect net had ensnared him.
As time dragged on, Hector's elite began to emerge.
Boom! Boom! Explosions of aura erupted from all directions.
Aura knights.
They charged in, raising their auras.
Among them were three-star aura knights, and the powerful aura that tore through the air was an attack Roman could not ignore.
The soldiers of the Hector Kingdom were convinced that this time their attack would succeed.
According to the commanders, Roman Dmitri was a three-star knight, and there was no way to deal with several aura knights at once.
In a critical situation, as the flames of aura surged from all sides, Roman exploded the mana from his lower dantian. 'Heavenly Demon Sword Technique: First Form.' The sword flashed.
The raging mana collided with the aura filling his vision.
Boom! "Gah!" "Aaaah!"
The powerful explosion swept the aura knights away.
Their swords, shimmering with aura, were cut down in an instant, and the fragile bodies behind them were torn apart as well.
It was a single strike.
A shocking scene.
Despite showing such a tremendous attack, Roman left the spot without a single breath out of place.
Everyone was in shock.
Roman was a terrifying enemy.
He had completely surpassed common sense, and they realized that even if they caught his tail, killing him was a separate issue.
However, that only made them more determined to follow.
He was such a strong monster on his own.
But what would happen if they let him escape? They didn’t even want to imagine.
Even if they captured all the positions on the southern front, Roman Dmitri seemed like a demon who would slaughter the soldiers of the Hector Kingdom no matter what.
Everyone was filled with rage.
The soldiers of the Hector Kingdom threw their precious lives away like mere grass, and to stop Roman's movements, they were willing to thrust their necks into swords.
It was desperate.
A golden opportunity to kill Roman.
They acted not with cold reason but with instinct.
Just ten minutes.
A short time.
During that time, the blood of those who had died formed a river, and with every movement, corpses were trampled underfoot.
But when did it start? People began to feel something was off.
Roman Dmitri.
The demon who seemed just out of reach.
Was he really fleeing?
Suddenly, a thought arose.
It was a possibility that made their hearts sink, a very ominous possibility.
Thud! "Cough."
Again, he dealt with the pursuing enemy.
Blood flowed from his sword.
Roman shook off the blood and calmed his slightly rising breath. 'My stamina is also reaching its limit.'
Heavenly Demon Sword Technique.
It was a technique Roman could not use frequently.
But with the aura knights of Hector charging from all directions, he had no choice but to exert himself.
At that moment, beneath Roman's feet, a knight with a long gash across his chest gasped for breath and cursed at Roman.
"Do you really think you can survive here? Hah, hah. That will never happen. Thousands of soldiers are surrounding this place. No matter how strong you are, hah. In the end, you will have to die a miserable death!"
He struggled, shouting, looking up at Roman with bloodshot eyes.
In that instant, Roman chuckled.
Humans were always the same.
Just like Thompson's case, people fell into the same delusion in certain situations.
"Why can't you realize that I willingly walked into this trap? Even after seeing the knights advancing using magic artifacts, I let them die and allowed fragments to pierce my body."
"W-What do you mean?" The Hector Kingdom.
They could not even dare to imagine.
Roman Dmitri.
He was the bait.
By deliberately waving his tail, he had set the stage for the soldiers of the Hector Kingdom to chase after him.
The knight's face turned pale with horror.
Looking down at him, Roman spoke the cruel reality.
"Countless people are running around to chase me. You think your encirclement is perfect, but there will always be flaws in what humans do. One minute. No, even just thirty seconds. The first enemies to arrive will foolishly risk their lives thinking they must catch me no matter what. Isn’t it amusing? Because you cornered me, you are more careless than ever."
He knew how reckless this operation was.
But the Heavenly Demon Baek Jung-hyeok had always lived this way.
A reverse strategy.
A being that acted shockingly.
"So let’s see how far this goes. It’s still far from dawn."
The enemies would soon realize.
Roman Dmitri.
No, in Baek Jung-hyeok's world, common sense did not apply.