Chapter 82: Unprepared Disaster (3)

The moment he heard the news of the enemy's attack, Roman knew that the Fifth Defense Line wouldn't hold for long.

'The Southern Front has always had low defense awareness, but the Fifth Defense Line, under the command of Baron Bruce, is in the worst condition. With outdated equipment and a rotten mindset, even if they manage to hold on, they won't last more than two hours. I need to arrive within at least one hour.'

This was the information from Lucas, and the same content was mentioned in the book given by MacBurny.

Time was running out.

Roman informed the officer of the reserve unit that he would go ahead and then quickly moved with his soldiers.

The reserve unit was about two hours away.

Logically, halving that distance was extremely difficult, but Roman's soldiers followed him without a single complaint.

This was the moment when their training paid off.

The soldiers, who had been climbing mountains daily with heavy gear, didn't even break a sweat running on flat ground.

After running for a while, they reached the vicinity of the Fifth Defense Line.

At that moment, a man came running from a distance, and Roman stopped, signaling his soldiers to halt.

"Oh, it's the reserve unit's troops!"

The man was delighted.

Baron Bruce.

To him, the reserve unit was like an oasis in the desert.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and approached Roman.

"Are you the commander of these troops? Let's skip the formalities. First, take me to the rear. It's more important to inform the royal family of the danger on the Southern Front than to help the Fifth Defense Line right now."

He was still panting.

Roman looked at Baron Bruce, who was treating him casually, as if it were natural.

'The commander of the Fifth Defense Line.'

It was the face he had confirmed from the roster.

The problem was that he shouldn't have been here during the war.

There were only two possibilities: either the Fifth Defense Line had already fallen, or he had fled alone.

"Baron Bruce, why are you here alone without any troops?"

"Baron Bruce?! Have you ever seen such a presumptuous brat? If you're from the reserve unit, you're at best a minor noble, yet you dare to speak to me so casually?"

"Looks like you're misunderstanding something..."

Snap.

"Ugh?!"

Roman grabbed Baron Bruce by the collar.

His pitiful struggles were meaningless.

Baron Bruce tried to push Roman's hand away, but the strong grip held him firmly in place.

Roman Demitri looked down at Baron Bruce, and for a moment, his heart turned cold.

The ferocity in his eyes was something Baron Bruce couldn't bear.

Roman said, "Your presence here means one thing: the commander abandoned his troops and fled. According to military law, deserters can be executed on the spot, regardless of rank. Do you understand what that means?"

"You can't possibly..."

"I can."

Swish!

The wind blew.

Before Baron Bruce could see Roman draw his sword, the blade, reflecting the sunlight, had already cut his throat.

Baron Bruce's head fell to the ground.

His face, unable to accept death, was filled with terror.

Thud.

Roman shook off the blood.

It was a shocking situation.

Killing a noble was a huge event, but Roman's eyes, looking at the body on the ground, were calm.

"At least if you had ordered a retreat and fled, you wouldn't have died by my hand."

This incident wouldn't be a problem.

It was wartime.

The only witnesses were Roman's soldiers, and they weren't surprised by the situation either.

In the process of collapsing Barco, Roman showed his predatory nature.

Perhaps, when Baron Bruce screamed, they too had hoped for the same outcome.

"Let's go."

Roman took the lead, and the soldiers, not wanting to lose sight of him, quickly followed, leaving Baron Bruce's body behind.

* * *

It had been only an hour since the enemy's attack began.

Despite the advantage of defending, the Fifth Defense Line, with its breached gate, had become a hell of chaos.

Thud!

"Ugh."

"Ah!"

Screams echoed from all directions.

The soldiers of Hector Kingdom mercilessly slaughtered the soldiers of Cairo, and the constant influx of enemies through the gate caused numerous deaths.

There was no way to stop it.

The dusty magical weapons didn't work, and even if they tried to shoot arrows, the enemies had already breached the walls.

Still, the soldiers fought to the end.

Because Baron Bruce had ordered a desperate defense, Steven, the only knight at the Fifth Defense Line, swung his sword in anger.

"Die!"

Thud!

The enemy's blood splattered his face.

Steven, known as a 'real soldier' at the Fifth Defense Line, cut down the enemies one by one.

Twelve soldiers had already died by his sharp sword, but there was no end in sight.

Seeing the endless stream of enemies, Steven's mouth was dry.

'Damn, damn.'

It was over.

It was already a lost battle.

If the gate had held, they might have been able to resist, but once it opened, there was no way to stop the enemies.

'I knew a day like this would come.'

Complacency had spread.

Everyone knew that not maintaining the equipment and neglecting guard duty was wrong, but if everyone had been complacent for generations, it became a custom.

The Southern Front was heavily influenced by the commander.

As a single knight, Steven couldn't change much, and accepting the reality led to the current situation.

Rumble.

The wall collapsed.

The enemy surged through the breach.

It was a dark moment.

Despite having the advantage of defending, the Fifth Defense Line couldn't hold for even an hour and faced the threat of collapse.

'I can't let everyone die here. I need to retreat and save the soldiers for the future.'

He frantically looked for the commander.

Command was the commander's domain.

He intended to convince Baron Bruce to retreat the soldiers, but he couldn't find the commander anywhere.

'No way.'

Suddenly, he remembered Baron Bruce running alone.

At the time, he didn't think it was a retreat.

How could a commander of a defense line flee without a proper fight?

His blood ran cold.

Steven realized this was his death ground.

"Damn pig."

He could follow him and flee.

But he didn't want to.

To save himself at the cost of everyone else was dishonorable. He believed it was more honorable to fight to the death.

"Roar!"

He charged with his sword.

He cut down enemies, one after another.

He was already a dead man.

Baron Bruce wouldn't let survivors live to expose his faults, and there was no reason to spare someone as important as Steven.

He felt relieved.

Accepting death, Steven continued to fight, taking more and more wounds.

Swish!

He cut down an enemy.

Feeling the life leave the enemy through his sword, he was stabbed from behind.

Thud!

"Ugh."

Pain shot through his mind.

Death was imminent.

He barely managed to cut off the head of the soldier who stabbed him and saw a sword falling from above.

'It's over.'

He had reached his limit.

As he accepted death, a man with black hair appeared, splashing red blood.

* * *

When Roman arrived at the scene, the gate had already been breached.

There was no time to think.

He rushed forward and gave orders to his soldiers.

"I'll lead the charge. Follow me and clear the enemies one by one."

It was like his previous life.

Cheonma Baek Joon-hyuk.

He always led the charge and fought the enemies first, achieving the great feat of pacifying the martial world.

It was no different in this world.

If he could kill more enemies, he knew he could end the war with minimal casualties.

Roman leaped into the chaos and swung his sword at the enemies who noticed him.

Thud!

The massacre began.

The two soldiers who attacked him first lost their heads in one strike, and the soldiers who surrounded him from all sides fell, bleeding, in the blink of an eye.

It was overwhelming power.

Roman, like a wolf among sheep, cut down the enemies one by one and advanced quickly.

He didn't rush.

Maintaining a proper distance from his soldiers, he naturally drew most of the enemy's attention.

"Monster!"

"Kill that guy!"

The soldiers of Hector Kingdom.

They realized Roman wasn't an ordinary person.

They attacked him simultaneously, but no matter how many attacked, the dead were always from Hector Kingdom.

In just five minutes, Roman had cut down dozens of soldiers.

Blood dripped from his sword, and Roman was drenched in blood.

Then, he saw a man fighting desperately against the enemies.

'Steven?'

A name from the roster.

According to Lucas's information, if Steven was assigned to the Fifth Defense Line, he would be the only one with any value.

Therefore, Roman made a quick decision.

He cut down the enemies in front of him and, at the moment Steven accepted his death, cut off the head of the enemy who was about to kill him.

Thud!

The head rolled on the ground.

There was no time for introductions.

Many enemies had already entered the wall, and Roman continued to cut down the rushing enemies.

"..."

The scene stunned Steven.

Unable to accept that he was still alive, the sight of Roman mercilessly cutting down enemies was shocking.

Was there such a person on the Southern Front?

His mind became complicated, and he suddenly remembered someone.

"Roman Demitri. He is scheduled to be assigned to the reserve unit of the Fifth Defense Line."

This morning.

He had heard this from Baron Bruce.

Hearing that a Ranker was assigned to the Southern Front, Steven couldn't accept Roman Demitri's presence.

Rankers were strong.

They were needed on the Western Front, and if Roman Demitri truly cared about the kingdom, he shouldn't have been assigned to the Fifth Defense Line.

But it was a misunderstanding.

Seeing how quickly Roman had arrived, Steven realized how hard he must have run.

Thud!

"..."

He finished off the last remaining enemy nearby.

Roman wiped the blood from his sword and approached Steven.

"Are you Steven?"

"Yes."

"Baron Bruce is dead. From now on, you are in charge here. Based on your years of service at the Fifth Defense Line, tell me what needs to be done to defend this place. If you think it's hopeless, I, as the commander of the reserve unit, will order a full retreat."

It was a perplexing situation.

His mind couldn't process it.

Roman sought advice based on Steven's 'experience,' and after a short but careful thought, Steven said:

"Actually, the battle is already heavily tilted. Logically, retreating is the right decision, but it would give the enemies a favorable position. There's a river behind the Southern Front. To prepare for a prolonged war, the enemies need to secure a route for their supply troops. They can't drag the war out without occupying the five defense lines."

He organized his thoughts as he spoke.

Initially, he thought they should give up.

But the more he spoke, the more he realized they couldn't abandon this place.

Then, they needed to turn the tide.

"There's only one way. We need to stop the enemies from pushing through the gate. The breach in the wall isn't wide, but the gate is different. If we can secure just 10 minutes, we can use the reserve barricades to block the enemies' entry, even if it's a makeshift solution."

It was the only way.

If the enemies fully entered the city, there would be no hope.

Steven knew it was a very difficult choice, but it was the best decision considering the future.

But it was an impossible task.

With so many enemies already inside, how could they break through and secure the gate?

Then, Roman said without hesitation:

"I'll secure the space for the barricades. You, prepare the barricades and move the troops immediately."

Hearing this, Steven could only widen his eyes.