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Atria’s Northern Border.

This place remained incredibly quiet even after the war between Dedorant and the Empire broke out.

It might sound strange, but if you think about it, it makes sense.

The Empire had mobilized the First Legion to swiftly suppress Dedorant.

Until then, both the Ministry of War and the General Staff had been operating under that grand strategy.

The result was the operation to capture the Royal Capital of Dedorant, spearheaded by the Western Legion.

Atria’s North wasn’t particularly important from the Empire’s perspective.

Their goal had always been Dedorant, the central Royal Capital.

If they could reach that place and eliminate the leadership in one fell swoop, the war would be over.

Dedorant was well aware of this, so they pulled many troops out of Atria.

They were thoroughly decimated by the Imperial Army, fulfilling their role as bait.

As a result, Dedorant achieved a decisive victory over the Empire.

With the situation as it was, both the retreating Empire and the victorious Dedorant were catching their breath.

Once they completed their reorganization, they would have to fight another massive battle in that land.

This meant that this place could not be considered a primary battlefield from the past to the present.

“Attack!!”

Meanwhile, Atria’s North was being ravaged by suddenly arriving forces.

These were not the Imperial Army. No, it would have been better if they were.

“Push forward! You despicable Atria scum!”

“How dare you defile our sacred sea?!”

The identity of those confronting the dwindling Atria forces was—

A nightmare that they absolutely did not want to face.

“Uwaaaah! Demons, they’re demons!!”

They had large horns on their heads, their bodies radiating a chilling glow.

No matter how much they attacked, these monstrous entities relentlessly pressed on.

“Hold the line! Hold, I say!!”

The commander desperately urged resistance, but he knew it was impossible.

Even if they had a proper troop, it would be difficult to discuss victory or defeat against such foes.

Let alone the fact that Dedorant had taken away all their manpower; how could they fight?

—Gugugugugu!!

A massive steel shield approached like a colossal fortress.

It resembled a living iron bastion.

The heavy, cold spearheads protruding from its sides were soaked in the blood of Atria’s soldiers.

Whatever approached would be skewered in an instant as it continued to advance.

These were Dedorant’s heavy infantry from Nobogord.

And they numbered an astonishing thirty thousand—a massive force.

There was no way the puny garrison could match them.

As the Atria defenders were on the brink of annihilation—

—Pwoooosh!!

“Knight Order! The Knight Order has arrived!”

“Reinforcements have arrived!!”

At the sound of the trumpet in the back, everyone cheered.

Just moments ago, those who were screaming for their lives and trying to flee regained their composure.

Though not as great as Dedorant, Atria still had its own respectable forces.

In particular, the Knight Orders stationed in various regions could be considered the elite of the elite.

They were the kind who could not be casually touched even by Dedorant.

“Push the demon tribe back beyond the border!”

“There’s no need for a head-on clash! Strike where their cavalry isn’t and force them into a corner!”

“This is our land. Our Atria’s territory! Protect it with your lives!!”

The heavy infantry from Nobogord was a tremendously powerful troop type.

They could effectively withstand cavalry charges.

However, they were not invincible. Gaps naturally existed.

—Swoosh! Whoosh!

The Atria knights grabbed the bows they had stowed in their saddles.

Then, they jointly unleashed a barrage of arrows at the Nobogord forces.

Soon, an immense number of arrows flew towards the shield wall.

“Kugh!”

“Ugg!”

They truly were heavily armored infantry, and their shields were no joke.

They wouldn’t crumble under mere arrows; they were not light infantry.

However, the assault allowed for the slightest crack to appear in Nobogord’s defenses.

And the knights of Atria were no weaklings to miss such an opportunity.

“Charge in! Tear open the gap!”

“Waahhhh!!”

They seized the fleeting moment of weakness, lunging forward.

The Deo Ethnicity, like Dedorant, infused with the fierce spirit of battle.

They would deliver the iron hammer of rage to the demon tribe daring to trample on their territory.

Just as Atria’s knights were about to split the formation—

—Clop, clop, clop!

Suddenly, the center of Nobogord’s formation parted to the sides.

Through that opening, a single rider emerged.

Small. That was the first thought of the Atria knights upon seeing the rider.

Looking closely, they weren’t even armored in Nobogord’s equipment. That was the Empire’s armor.

An Imperial knight among the demon tribe? Had the demon tribe finally sacrificed their pride?

Meanwhile, the rider slipped out from the Nobogord formation and slowly moved forward.

With a spear in one hand and a sword at their waist, they appeared threatening for just a moment.

But that was immediately nullified by the fact that they were a whole head shorter than Atria’s knights.

—Clop, clop, clop.

Just as the hooves of the horse were slowly lifting, all of a sudden, the rider quickened their pace.

—Dududududu!

“Charging alone, huh?”

“Are they insane?!”

Taking a quick glance behind, it seemed the Nobogord forces had no intention of moving.

If a knight or cavalry charged first, it would be the infantry that supported them.

The knight of the Empire and that demon tribe didn’t seem to be in sync at all.

Clearly, there was some internal discord.

Whatever it was, it was a fortunate turn of events. If they boldly charged forward like that, it would actually be a help.

Such courage could bolster the morale of their allies.

But if they fell flat on their face, it would do the opposite and plummet morale.

It was a game of momentum where a victory seized with just a few skirmishes could change everything.

—”The fool! Does he think we’re on the same level as the defense squad?”

—”Actually, this is good. If we swiftly deal with him, our Atria side’s momentum will return.”

—”Using that momentum, we can crush the Nobogord forces easily.”

Yeah. It wasn’t hard. Just one knight. Just one person.

No matter how exceptional the rider, they could never stand against hundreds of knights.

—Pshhh! Boom!

But such thoughts in the Atria knights’ heads didn’t last long.

As if lit by a flash, the charging Imperial knight turned some of them into headless corpses.

The remainder stood in disbelief, doubting their own eyes at the gruesome sight.

“W-whaaaat?!”

How was this even happening? What was going on?

The enemy was merely a single knight. Just one charging recklessly.

Yet, why was it their own allies falling around them, showered in blood?

“Capture him! Attack! Aatttaaack!!”

“The opponent is just one! Just one person to fight—gakk!”

A spear sliced through the air and pierced the chest of an Atria knight.

That was just the beginning. With every thrust of the spear, at least three knights were battered and bloodied.

Wherever the Imperial knight charged, screams and blood sprinkled the ground, only leaving corpses behind.

This wasn’t a mere scuffle with standard guards; it was against Atria’s knights!

“This is insane! What the hell is happening?!”

“A monster! That’s a monster!!”

None of Atria’s knights could withstand more than one engagement against that Imperial knight.

Just one clash would spell death. No exceptions—newbies and veterans alike would fall.

As it turned out, some panicked, flailing around only to join their fallen comrades.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together! Aim for the horse! Target the horse first!”

“Break the spear! If you can’t do that, hug the spear and die! Hurry!!”

The knights, barely maintaining their wits about them, struggled to bring the enemy down.

But the knight’s horsemanship was extraordinary. As soon as they thought they had surrounded him, he was already gone.

Chasing him only led to more falling comrades, their spells of horror echoing once more.

In the midst of it, a few knights sacrificially managed to snatch the spear away.

Seeing that, the knights surged toward the unarmed enemy.

However, the Imperial knight clicked his tongue.

“I really didn’t want to use this.”

Getting blood on a gift wasn’t something one looked forward to.

But those were their enemies and, at the same time, the enemies of her older brother.

Kaya, who loved that brother more than anyone else in the world, unsheathed her sword without hesitation.

And exactly ten minutes later, the Atria Knight Order near the border was annihilated.

*

“Haha, this is just too much, isn’t it?”

Charlua shook her head in disbelief as she watched the scene unfold.

Isn’t this a bit unfair? One sibling a genius strategist, the other a monstrous warrior?

If the Empire ended up being the enemy, how on earth were they supposed to deal with them?

Charlua found herself nodding vigorously, remembering that age-old adage once more.

Never provoke those who are hard to deal with into becoming your enemies.

“Lady.”

Beside her, the demon tribe’s commander, who had been watching, spoke up.

He appeared to be itching to achieve some glory himself.

Wasn’t the glory of war being entirely swept away by the Imperial knights?

“Let’s hurry then. But don’t go barging in over there.”

“Of course. What demon would interfere with the fight of a great warrior?”

They had received orders from Kael. To lay waste to the Atria border.

To shake the public sentiment of Atria, so Dedorant couldn’t just ignore it.

“Make it so that the reorganized enemy isn’t able to choose the weakened Imperial army before them, but must divert their attention elsewhere. If ignored, public sentiment would shift, making future outcomes uncertain.”

If the others had been in a rush to fill in the gaps after the Western Legion faced heavy losses, it was different for Kael.

He saw the war through a broader lens.

Instead of simply filling the gaps, he planned to deter enemies from attacking altogether.

The greatest challenge for Dedorant would be the unlimited expansion of the front.

Truly, how was it that he could selectively dig into their weakness like this?

But this was both a remarkable feat and an incredibly difficult aspect.

“How can I not admire you, oh genius strategist?”

Charlua smiled brightly and set the Nobogord forces into motion.

Since he trusted her with such a task, she was determined to do her best.

*

While the Nobogord forces were moving in Atria’s North, the Imperial army was not resting.

Desperate Dedorant also attempted to launch attacks against the wounded Imperial forces.

But every time, Kael responded not with combat, but with ‘this.’

—Kwaaaang!!

“What the hell are these insane Imperial bastards doing?!”

“Do they have money to spare?!”

Covering the sky was the bombardment from the Magical Corps.

Magic was undoubtedly an impressive technique. However, while potent, its efficiency left much to be desired.

It required immense materials, mana, and wizards to cast just one spell.

There had been many instances where armies deployed the Magical Corps to the battlefield.

However, there had never been a case where magic was used so freely at the slightest hint of trouble.

The resource expenditure was too great. Each battle consumed enormous military supplies.

Neither the Empire nor Dedorant nor any nation on the continent had done so before.

However, recently, it was as if the Empire had gone mad, hurling magic at a frenzied pace.

No matter how much they spent or how many military supplies they had to allocate, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.

And behind it all lay the powerful assertions of one man who had gained all authority.

“Though magic might be a money-devouring ghoul, isn’t it far better to launch a few more legions than to bear losses we cannot afford? Let’s not hold back. A thousand magics are worth less than a single soldier.”

If the Ministry of Finance had heard this, they would have been mortified, yet no one could stop it.

The Ministry of War and the General Staff had became the man’s loyal assistants.

And above all, their supporter was none other than the Emperor of the Empire.

 

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