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“You’re going to die.”

The word pierced Acar’s mind in an instant.

Acar quickly ducked and rolled on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

Because of the slope, Acar’s body rolled rapidly downward.

Scratch!

He finally stopped, scraping against the ground, and got up.

“Huff… Huff…”

Just one strike.

But the sensation that chilled his spine made his breathing ragged.

Damian looked down at Acar from above.

Acar bit his lip as he looked up at Damian.

There was no longer the mocking atmosphere from before.

His cold, sunken gaze felt as if it was stabbing Acar in the chest.

“Hoo…”

Acar lightly exhaled and gripped his sword again.

‘The terrain puts me at a disadvantage.’

Moreover, his opponent wielded a spear.

His attacks from a distance were more threatening than Acar had imagined.

‘A series of rapid strikes… that’s the answer.’

With the last strike, Acar had found some kind of answer.

Since Damian used a spear, blocking swift, close-range attacks wouldn’t be easy.

The only issue was how to close the distance between them…

Acar looked at Damian.

He wondered if there was a gap in Damian’s defense.

‘…Relentless.’

But seeing Damian’s perfect form with no openings made it hard to breathe.

“If you won’t come, I will.”

Despite this, Damian was the one feeling more urgency.

When analyzing the combat potential of each unit member, it was clear that as time went on, it was the Makstri unit that would be at a disadvantage.

‘I’m still not accustomed to close combat.’

Thanks to Damian’s rigorous training, they had become used to defending against enemy attacks.

But constant defense wouldn’t solve anything. Eventually, they had to kill the enemy and end the battle.

Slash!

Damian charged at Acar.

Running slightly down the slope.

Swoosh!

With incredible speed, Damian’s spear extended towards him.

“…!”

Bang!

Acar instinctively raised his shield.

The distance Damian had thrust his spear from—

Roughly four meters.

‘This is insane…!’

A perfect attack, calculated to the maximum range, factoring in both his speed and the spear’s reach.

Acar, pushed back by the strike, looked at Damian through the shield.

But then…

‘He’s gone?!’

Damian’s figure had vanished in an instant.

Acar furrowed his brow and glanced around.

And at that moment—

Clang!

A powerful strike swung down from above, and Acar raised his shield.

“Gah!”

He blocked the attack, but the force felt like his shield hand was tearing apart.

Grind!

Acar deflected Damian’s spear to the side and immediately lunged at him.

“Hiyah!”

Tadak!

Acar charged forward, and Damian leaped back.

But this time, Acar’s speed was faster.

“I’ve got you!”

Acar’s eyes gleamed.

His sword aimed for Damian’s leg as it thrust forward.

Swish.

Damian twisted his waist to the left, dodging the attack.

But Acar had anticipated his dodge.

“Let’s see if you can dodge this too!”

He quickly swung his sword.

It wasn’t a powerful attack, but it was a series of quick strikes that would definitely inflict damage.

These rapid hits were highly dangerous to Damian, who had no shield.

Clash!

Damian quickly retreated as he observed Acar’s attacks.

‘This is…’

It was impossible to avoid all of them.

Not just because of the short strikes, but also the sword’s precise and sharp paths.

Clang! Ting! Swish! Clang!

Damian swiftly maneuvered his spear to block Acar’s strikes while leaping sideways.

Constantly retreating on the sloped terrain was risky.

But as Damian moved sideways—

“Hiyah!”

Vwoom!

As if Acar had anticipated it, he leapt toward Damian.

His sword, now imbued with magic, hummed slightly as it pointed skyward.

“Block this!”

A blow swung at point-blank range.

An attack meant to ensure Damian couldn’t dodge.

Damian stared at Acar’s sword coming down at his head.

‘A good attack.’

In his previous life, he would have struggled to block it.

Even if he could see it coming, his body wouldn’t have had the physical ability to dodge it.

But now, Damian was different.

Flick!

“…!”

Acar’s eyes widened as he swung his sword.

It looked as if Damian had disappeared.

Bang!

Acar’s sword struck the ground where Damian had just been.

Realizing his attack had missed, Acar quickly stood and raised his head.

‘Above?’

But there was nothing there.

Acar instinctively swung his sword backward.

A creeping sense of unease told him Damian’s spear would come from behind.

Whoosh!

But once again, his sword only cut through empty air.

“Where are you?”

Acar shouted.

And at that moment—

“That was really close.”

“…!”

Acar raised his shield as a voice came from right next to him.

Thunk!

Something caught underneath the shield.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Acar’s shield was lifted high, pointing toward the sky.

Damian’s cold gaze fixed on Acar’s now fully exposed torso, with his guard wide open.

“I admit it; you’re among the top fighters I’ve faced.”

In his past life, Damian had battled and defeated quite skilled knights within the Empire.

But he could tell for sure—this one was no less formidable than them.

‘The Kingdom of Eren, huh…’

He’d never heard of someone like this before. No wonder, though.

By the time Damian had been dragged into the army in his past life, the Kingdom of Iren had already been trampled by the Empire.

‘Despite having someone like this… they still fell so easily?’

He acknowledged that the Empire’s power was enough to swallow the entire continent.

However, with a warrior of this caliber, it was baffling how the kingdom vanished without a trace.

‘Was there internal strife?’

His thoughts became tangled.

He didn’t know the internal affairs of other kingdoms, but it was a plausible guess.

‘A daring strategy… and impressive skills.’

Wasn’t his name Acar?

Why wasn’t he known?

‘If he died before the era of war even began…’

Damian’s eyes grew cold.

Signs of the Empire waging war on the continent were appearing sooner—one to two years earlier than in his past life.

If the Kingdom of Iren’s strength weakened in this accelerated timeline, it would only hasten the inevitable.

Though these thoughts passed quickly, Damian’s decision led his spear’s trajectory to change.

Stab!

“Ugh!”

The spear aimed at Acar’s heart plunged into his side.

Acar believed he had twisted his body just in time to avoid a fatal blow.

Slash!

Damian pulled the spear from Acar’s side, slashing at his thigh before rushing at him.

Wham!

Closing the distance, Damian struck Acar’s chin with the butt of his spear.

Thud!

With a dull sound, Acar’s legs, which had been holding him up, lifted off the ground.

The impact was strong enough to make his entire body jolt.

Acar, struck on the chin, felt his vision black out and collapsed to the ground.

Thud.

Acar tried desperately to get up.

“Ugh!”

His head spun, and his legs wouldn’t hold him.

Like a newborn calf struggling, Acar crawled on the ground.

Damian stepped on his chest and thrust his spear toward Acar’s throat.

“I’ve captured the enemy commander! The war is over!”

Damian shouted loudly, his voice amplified with magic.

The surrounding soldiers paused their fighting.

“…What?”

“Did Acar lose?”

Despair filled the eyes of the Iren Kingdom soldiers.

Acar was a remarkably skilled commander in the kingdom.

He was expected to become a leading general of Iren within a few years if nothing went wrong.

“A-Acar lost…?”

“This can’t be…”

The Iren soldiers were overwhelmed with despair.

This guerrilla attack had been entirely based on Acar’s prowess.

They believed that if Acar could fight the enemy commander, victory would be theirs…

“Drop your weapons! Surrender, and your lives will be spared!”

“…Is that true?”

Acar, pinned to the ground, looked at Damian, who had shouted.

He wasn’t worried about his own life.

But…

“Will you spare the lives of my men too?”

“Of course, if they surrender.”

“…”

Acar fell silent.

Their defeat was undeniable.

Even the slightest thrust of the spear at his neck would be enough to kill him.

Moreover, the enemy’s soldiers were still intact, and above all, Damian…

‘If he wanted to, he could kill us all.’

Acar shut his eyes tightly.

As a commander, his pride and dignity were in shambles.

‘But I can’t send my soldiers to their deaths over such trivial matters.’

It would be a pointless, inglorious death with no honor, victory, or gain.

Acar spoke to Damian.

“…I surrender. Spare my men.”

“Are you serious?”

“Seriously or not, what choice do I have? I surrender. But please keep your promise.”

Acar looked Damian straight in the eye.

Damian nodded.

Acar then shouted to his men.

“Drop your weapons! We have lost!”

“A-Acar! But…!”

“Don’t waste your lives! Drop your weapons!”

Although the soldiers tried to argue, Acar silenced them with a single command.

The Iren soldiers hesitated but eventually dropped their weapons.

Clatter! Clank!

They discarded their weapons.

Toot! Toot!

Someone pulled out a small horn and began to blow, signaling their surrender.

Damian signaled to the leader of the third squad.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The sound of whistles echoed, signaling a ceasefire.

The Makstri unit approached to restrain Acar, but…

“That’s enough. Just confiscate their weapons and escort him to my room respectfully.”

“…Pardon?”

“I have something to discuss with him.”

“…Understood.”

The soldiers looked bewildered.

Is this how things are normally done?

Not being professional soldiers, Damian’s command puzzled them.

Instead of restraining Acar, they took his weapons.

“D-Don’t try anything stupid.”

“If you act up, we’ll call for reinforcements immediately.”

The soldiers had seen Acar’s strength firsthand.

Even unarmed, Acar could easily overpower them if he tried.

The soldiers, fearful, warned Acar as they escorted him, but Acar silently walked to Damian’s room.

Once there, Acar sat across from Damian.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

“What meaning? You surrendered, didn’t you? I just want to talk. Besides, your men are only restrained, not threatened. They’ll be fed at sunrise.”

“For that, I thank you in advance. But… what do you want to discuss with me?”

Acar’s curiosity was piqued.

From what Acar had seen, Damian wasn’t the type to gloat after winning.

What could he want to talk about after a life-and-death battle?

Damian, wearing a serious expression, asked Acar.

“Do you know the current state of the Empire?”

“…The state of the Empire?”

It was an unexpected question.

Acar knew that since the Empire’s victory over the Spanian Kingdom, it had shown unusual movements.

As Acar remained silent, Damian continued.

“The Empire is looking to conquer the surrounding kingdoms, starting with the Spanian Kingdom. And… the next target is the Kingdom of Iren.”

“What?!”

Acar’s expression twisted slightly.

It was the calmness with which Damian discussed such a huge matter that threw him off.

But Damian continued calmly.

“Aren’t you curious why I let you live?”

“…”

“There’s only one reason. Without you, the Kingdom of Iren will fall far too easily.”

If the Kingdom of Iren fell, the Empire would soon reveal its fangs to the continent.

In a way, the Kingdom of Iren was a great shield delaying the Empire’s ambitions.

Moreover…

‘Despite having someone like him, the Kingdom of Iren still fell silently…’

There must be a traitor within.

Otherwise, no matter how small the kingdom, it wouldn’t fall so easily.

Damian spoke.

“There’s a spy within the Kingdom of Iren. If you don’t find them… the kingdom will soon be devoured by the Empire.”

“That’s ridiculous…!”

Acar jumped to his feet.

But when he thought about the recent events within the kingdom…

‘There are too many oddities.’

It felt as if his trust was shattering.

Damian stood and met Acar’s gaze.

“I could be wrong. But there’s a higher chance that I’m right. So… someone needs to verify it.”

It was worth checking.

Damian looked at Acar and said.

“I want you to be the one to do it.”

“…”

After a long pause, Acar finally asked Damian.

“Why are you telling me this?”