Chapter 81: Unprepared Disaster (2)

1 hour ago.

At the time when the sun was high in the sky.

The soldiers guarding the first line of defense, including Kai, looked at the border with a leisurely expression, just as they did on any other day.

The duty was always a continuous cycle of boredom.

There wasn't a single ant in sight, and the monotony of the duty with the taciturn deputy was even more tedious due to the lack of conversation.

Eventually,

the deputy could no longer bear the boredom.

The senior soldier sat on the ground, leaning his head against the wall, and said in a gruff voice,

"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if anyone comes or when the shift ends."

"Understood."

It was a routine situation.

On the southern front, where no one ever came looking, there was no need for two people to stay awake and guard the border.

How much time had passed?

The junior soldier urgently called out to the senior soldier.

"Hey, wake up! You need to see this!"

"Damn. What is it... Huh?!"

The senior soldier, waking up from his nap,

was about to let out a burst of anger but was instantly speechless when he saw the landscape outside the city walls.

In the distance,

a large number of people were approaching the first line of defense.

At a glance, they were clearly armed troops, and at their forefront, the flag of the Hector Kingdom was fluttering.

It felt as if his circuits had completely shut down.

For about ten seconds, the senior soldier stood there, dazed, before he snapped back to his senses and shouted at the junior soldier,

"Contact the commander immediately! Hurry up!"

"Ah, understood!"

The situation was dire.

Even at the very front line,

it took a considerable amount of time for the appearance of the enemy to be reported to the commander.

By the time the troops, who hadn't even fully armed themselves, hurriedly arrived, the approaching enemy was already quite close.

"What the hell is going on here!"

The commander of the first line of defense,

Lord Donald, confirmed the border with a pale face.

As reported,

the Hector Kingdom was advancing, and it seemed that they would soon attack the city walls.

According to the manual, they should have immediately launched an attack.

Using the defensive weapons prepared on the city walls to block the enemy's approach was the primary response, but even as the soldiers rushed up and prepared their arrows, he couldn't bring himself to give the order.

'Is this really an intention to declare war on Kai?'

Hector and Kai.

Their relationship wasn't bad.

Especially the Hector Kingdom, which was known to have recently fallen into difficult times, had no reason to start a war in this situation.

Perhaps it was just a military drill or had some other purpose.

If it were really an intention to start a war, there would be no reason to advance openly with flags flying in broad daylight.

Moreover,

the Hector Kingdom lacked a just cause.

Just as a noble's cause is important in noble society, a just cause is necessary in a war between countries.

His mind became complicated.

The arrows, taut and ready, awaited the commander's order, but Lord Donald ultimately swallowed his command.

'If I give a hasty order and start a war, that's a problem beyond what a mere noble can handle. Given that the Hector Kingdom is advancing with their flag raised, it can be interpreted that they are willing to talk. I'll talk to the commander of the Hector Kingdom and make a judgment then. It won't be too late.'

Lord Donald,

a typical puppet commander with no experience in war,

ultimately decided,

"Lower your bows for now. If we show that we have no intention of fighting, the Hector Kingdom will also be willing to talk."

He made a truly foolish mistake.

* * *

The Hector Kingdom.

They had no intention of talking.

As they got closer to the city walls, the war drums sounded, and they were ordered to charge.

Boom! Boom!

"Charge across the nation!"

"Attack!"

Thud, thud, thud.

The situation unfolded in an instant.

The soldiers of Hector, leading with siege weapons, quickly rushed forward, and the soldiers of Kai, caught off guard, were at a loss.

The war had begun.

On the southern front, a scene that was never supposed to happen was unfolding, and it was difficult to accept the reality of the situation.

Finally,

Lord Donald regained his composure.

What he had thought was impossible had become reality, and now he had to prevent the enemy from breaching the city walls to survive.

"Everyone, fire your arrows!"

"Fire!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Hundreds of arrows.

The arrows that soared high in the sky rained down on the enemy like a storm.

Despite the threatening sight, not many of the enemy were killed.

While the Hector Kingdom had raised their shields in preparation, the accuracy of the arrows was embarrassingly poor.

Most of the arrows failed to even reach their target and were stuck in the ground, and those that did reach the enemy were blocked by the shields.

This was not just a matter of training.

While some soldiers had been lazy in their training, others had been drinking since the morning, their faces flushed red.

If they had known a war would break out, they would never have drunk.

But the war was sudden, and it was impossible to shoot arrows well while struggling to keep their balance.

It was a mess.

They hadn't even managed to kill many of the approaching enemy, and other problems began to arise on the city walls.

"We're running out of arrows."

"Quick, bring more arrows!"

"The magic weapons aren't working?"

"Damn it!"

It was a comprehensive crisis.

Due to the lack of preparation, some soldiers ran to fetch arrows, and the magic weapons purchased years ago were covered in dust and failed to function.

This scene revealed how complacent Kai had been.

Unlike the western front, where one could die at any moment, the southern front had become complacent and had neglected the most basic aspects of defending the front line.

Ultimately,

thud, thud.

Ladders were placed against the city walls.

Seeing the enemy quickly climbing up, Lord Donald realized the gravity of his mistake.

'At this rate, we won't last long.'

His face turned pale.

In a clearly unfavorable situation,

judging that the first line of defense couldn't hold, he shouted at the soldiers,

"Contact the reserve forces immediately! Send all personnel stationed in the reserve forces to the first line of defense and report to the royal family that the Hector Kingdom has declared a surprise war! This is urgent. Move quickly!"

The situation was dire.

The war had become a reality.

From now on,

it was time to pay the price for complacency.

* * *

At that moment,

the news that the fifth line of defense was also under attack reached Henry and the soldiers, who were quickly moving.

"Huff, huff."

He was out of breath.

Even after walking for a long time, trying to run at full speed without a break made him feel dizzy.

The distance between the fifth line of defense and the reserve forces was farther than expected.

According to the officer's explanation, it would take about two hours to walk, meaning they had to run for at least an hour from now.

'Those guys on the southern front, do they really have no sense? If the purpose of the reserve forces is to quickly support the defense lines in an emergency, they shouldn't be more than an hour away, right? Damn, what a bunch of idiots.'

He felt a surge of anger.

Just a day ago,

Henry had thought it was nice that the reserve forces were in a quiet place, but he had completely forgotten about his past.

The reality was too harsh.

However,

Henry couldn't see Roman and his troops anywhere in his field of vision.

'Roman Demitri will arrive soon, right?'

Immediately after receiving the news of the war,

Roman led his troops and quickly rushed out.

It took less than three minutes for them to disappear from Henry's sight.

He tried to keep up, gritting his teeth, but they vanished in an instant.

Henry felt a sudden sense of shame.

He had mocked Roman Demitri for training hard while other nobles rested in the shade, but now, at the start of the war, the physical difference was clear.

In contrast,

Henry and his soldiers were all panting and looked like they were about to die.

Running without a break under the scorching sun made their mouths dry and they felt dehydrated.

Finally,

Henry collapsed on the ground.

The shame was temporary.

He compromised with reality, breathing heavily, and said