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“…Who the hell are they?” Acar muttered, unable to hide his astonishment as he watched the Imperial soldiers flee without looking back.

As the Imperial soldiers began to retreat, the remaining forces of the Spanian Kingdom also started to waver. General Bebileon stared in disbelief at the fleeing Imperial troops.

“What… happened here?”

The Imperial commander who had been commanding them from behind was nowhere to be seen. All that was left were disorganized soldiers, fleeing and dying like a ragtag bunch.

‘To end like this… so pathetically…?’

What had they come here for? What had they sacrificed their lives for? How could the ones who pushed them into this mess flee so easily?

His clenched fist drew blood as his nails dug into his palm. The circumstances they were in felt utterly lamentable.

But still…

‘…We have no choice but to burn everything here.’

They had to pour out everything they had on this battlefield. Only then…

‘I wish I could have seen it just once more.’

He hadn’t even heard his child call him “Dad” yet. The image of his baby wriggling their hands before he left for the battlefield flashed in his mind. Though he would perish here…

“Burn everything on this battlefield! Our families will live on in our homeland! Bury your bones here!” Bebileon shouted.

“Yes, sir!” The soldiers of the Spanian Kingdom roared.

Their faces had turned red, some were even shedding tears. But they fought, not for themselves, but for their families. And so, the flames of the battlefield began to wane.

* * *

“I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon,” Damian said.

“Neither did I,” Acar replied.

The Acar standing before him had a different air about him, as if a lot had changed.

‘It seems there’s been quite a bit of turmoil internally.’

Being swept up in political whirlwinds often left people utterly drained.

Even without that, it was common for one’s vigor to wane significantly.

Such was the case with Acar, who now looked like he had aged years in just a few months.

But Acar spoke calmly to Damian.

“How did you do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the battle with the Imperial army earlier. How did you manage to drive away 2,000 Imperial soldiers with just a hundred men?”

“Numbers don’t matter when they’re just a ragtag bunch.”

Damian was sincere. The Imperial troops were nothing but trash, pushing the Spanian soldiers forward while having no intention of doing anything themselves. Even their commander wasn’t particularly well-known within the Empire.

‘Perhaps notorious for his nasty personality at most.’

Damian knew the real Imperial elite forces and the distinguished knight orders. When they advanced, no one could stop them, and the continent had turned into a sea of blood. They were like a bloody storm—a force of nature that left no options but surrender.

“…The real threat is yet to come.”

“What?” Acar asked, confused.

“No, it’s nothing,” Damian muttered, shaking his head.

More importantly, Acar’s presence on the front line indicated that things had been resolved, at least to some extent.

“It seems you’ve managed to sort things out.”

“We had some help from you, after all,” Acar admitted. Damian had indeed helped confirm their suspicions about certain issues, and Acar expressed his gratitude. Damian merely offered a small smile.

“It was your own doing. You don’t need to thank me. There’s still much left to be done.”

For now, they had only put out the immediate fire. Acar nodded at Damian’s words.

“Are you heading back now?”

“Yes, we have to. Our mission was to assist you in holding off the Imperial forces.”

“…There’s talk of an alliance between our kingdom and Baroque,” Acar mentioned.

“That’s something for the higher-ups to decide. If an alliance does happen, we might meet again.”

After shaking hands with Acar, Damian turned and headed toward his troops.

Damian looked at his men and asked, “I assume none of you idiots died on this battlefield?”

“No, sir!”

“Not at all, sir!” came the replies.

However…

“…”

Apart from the squad leaders who had previously fought at Border Post 3, the rest of the troops were experiencing their first real battle.

‘Still, this wasn’t the most grueling of battles.’

Yet, the emotions felt on a real battlefield, where people died, seemed to have left a strong impression. The expressions on most of the soldiers’ faces were quite stiff.

Just then…

“Captain! Jerka’s squad leader has hurt his arm!” Kyle called out, gesturing to Jerka, who was wincing in pain.

“Hey, shut up!” Jerka muttered in embarrassment as Damian turned to him with a serious look.

“It seems Jerka should request more intense training from the instructor when we get back.”

“What?! Captain, no, please!”

“Haha! Serves you right for acting tough,” Kyle laughed heartily, patting Jerka on the shoulder.

Several members of the unit who had been tense started to laugh, and others began to show faint smiles on their faces.

Kyle’s prank had lightened the atmosphere that had been stiffened by their first real battle. Jerka, however, didn’t seem to realize it was a joke.

“You’ve all done well. But know this—there will be more operations like this ahead. Steel your hearts and keep yourselves in check. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” the soldiers responded loudly.

The Caion unit had returned to their usual state, their voices echoing confidently. Damian nodded in approval and gave the order.

“Let’s head back.”

With their first mission successfully completed, the Caion unit set off back to Balfeite. Meanwhile, higher up the chain of command, things were moving swiftly.

* * *

Inside the Baroque Kingdom’s grand conference room.

This room, where the highest officials of the kingdom gathered, was reserved only for discussions of the nation’s most critical affairs.

“Thank you all for gathering despite your busy schedules. Let us commence the meeting immediately,” said Mateurus, the Chancellor of the Baroque Kingdom.

His long white beard and eyebrows, which partially covered his eyes, were completely white with age.

His calm demeanor resembled that of an old village elder, but his piercing gaze was enough to overwhelm anyone.

The officials nodded at Mateurus’ words, and the secretary overseeing the meeting pointed to the map on the wall.

“Currently, the Cartelia Empire is utilizing the Spanian Kingdom to wage war against other nations. This appears to be more than just a mere display of power against neighboring countries.”

Now that the Empire’s intentions were exposed, they would no longer be able to use the Spanian Kingdom as a pawn. Both their assaults on the Baroque Kingdom and the Iren Kingdom had already failed.

“They even put a lot of effort into their invasion of our kingdom, if I recall correctly,” said Count Laklaman, the chief secretary from the Royal Office, seated on the left side of the conference room.

Everyone knew about that incident, and they all nodded uncomfortably. Mateurus turned to Laklaman and asked, “What does His Majesty think?”

“He’s greatly displeased. While the Empire’s military strength is considerable, they cannot possibly dominate the entire continent. Yet their recent actions suggest they might be planning to wage war against all the kingdoms on the continent.”

The Empire’s ambition to unify the continent was nothing new. They had always harbored the desire to conquer neighboring kingdoms whenever the opportunity arose.

Thus, whenever the Empire started a war, all neighboring countries became intensely vigilant, closely monitoring the Empire’s motives and strength.

The previous war with the Spanian Kingdom did not see other kingdoms intervening.

The Empire had a clear enough justification, and it was assumed that the conflict would end at a manageable level as long as Spanian was not fully absorbed.

But given the Empire’s current actions, it was no longer something that could be ignored.

The Empire aimed to completely assimilate the Spanian Kingdom, turning it into their own power base.

“What do you think is the reason behind the Empire’s sudden aggression?” Mateurus asked.

“We can’t be certain. However… if we had to guess, it could be that they now feel prepared,” Laklaman suggested.

“That’s our assessment as well,” added Victor, the commander of the 2nd Corps and one of the prominent generals representing the Baroque Kingdom.

Mateurus turned to him and asked, “What do you mean by that, Victor?”

“Just as Count Laklaman mentioned, it seems they are ready to wage war against the entire continent.”

“…So, you’re saying…”

“Their troop numbers haven’t suddenly increased, and it’s not as if there’s been a sudden advancement in magitech. The only conclusion we can draw is one thing.”

Victor’s expression darkened.

“…It means their number of Aura Masters has increased.”

The atmosphere in the conference room turned icy cold. The term ‘Aura Master’ carried a weight that everyone present understood deeply.

Mateurus swallowed hard. “The Empire officially has three Aura Masters, correct?”

“Yes, that’s the official count.”

“So, if there’s an increase, that means they now have four?”

“Possibly even more.”

Victor was certain. Otherwise, the Empire’s current aggressive posture wouldn’t make sense.

“Aura Masters can dominate a battlefield single-handedly. They are said to be able to fight against ten thousand soldiers by themselves.”

Aura Masters were considered natural disasters in their own right, and only another Aura Master could stand a chance against them.

The Baroque Kingdom, even as the second most powerful nation after the Empire, only had two Aura Masters.

Furthermore…

“Smaller kingdoms like the Spanian Kingdom don’t even have a single Aura Master.”

“The Spanian Kingdom does have a general who can wield aura, though not at a master’s level. The Artian Kingdom has two Aura Masters.”

The Artian Kingdom, located on the far left of the Baroque Kingdom, was the nation furthest from the Empire. Situated on the outskirts of the continent, they had maintained friendly diplomatic relations with the Baroque Kingdom. Thanks to both Baroque and Artian, the balance of the continent had been preserved thus far.

But if the Empire had indeed secured four or more Aura Masters…

“If that’s the case, the balance has been disrupted. The Empire’s soldiers are already superior in quality and quantity.”

The Empire boasted highly trained soldiers in great numbers, with the added advantage of Aura Masters. There was no longer any reason for them to hold back.

While they had been acting discreetly, trying not to provoke the other kingdoms too much, the recent exposure of their tactics suggested otherwise.

“They’ve been moving covertly, but now that they’ve been discovered, they won’t stay under the radar any longer.”

Victor’s words left the officials in the conference room visibly tense.

In other words…

“They are about to begin their full-scale war.”