A group established a camp in the vicinity of the border between Cairo and Hector. It was a secret base that no one could see from outside, and hundreds were residing there.
"We just got the report that they passed through the Southern Training Center and are heading towards the rear. The plan seems to have worked. The Cairo Kingdom is completely unaware of our strategy and is focused on blocking the attacks on the Defense Lines."
It was a report.
And the man who received the report while staying calm, Edwin Hector, looked at the map spread out on the table.
"It is too early to be careless. Tell the commanders attacking the Defense Lines of Cairo to take more time and not rush it. The important thing for us is not to destroy the wall right in front of us. If the plan works, the entire Southern Front will fall into our hands soon."
In this operation, they had to be absolutely secure to stay alive and succeed. That was why they took an entire year to figure out the boundary and patterns of the Southern Front, and even before they had begun the operation, they had sent a Ranger Unit led by Jackson to infiltrate the Southern Front.
It was a dangerous route as they had to go up a steep mountain, but this morning, Jackson reported that he had arrived at the designated spot and hid himself well.
The actual operation would begin now. They had successfully hidden their true intentions behind the surprise attack, which had made the Cairo Kingdom stunned.
'The power of the Southern Front is weak. If we had attacked with all our forces, it would have fallen down in just 4 hours. However, that alone does not mean that we would have completely captured the Southern Front. After all, what matters the most on the Southern Front is the existence of Warp Gate. If Cairo's main forces are transferred to the Southern Front through there, the fight will become extremely difficult.'
No matter how negligent the Cairo Kingdom was, it wasn't that they had completely given up their attention on the Southern Front. The Warp Gate was a magic artifact. It helped to move long distances at once, and the existence of the Warp Gate was enough to turn the tides of war. Because of the Warp Gate, the troops on the Western Front could be moved to the Southern Front and vice-versa in an instant. It was something that was physically impossible, but the Warp Gate could make it possible. Therefore, occupying the Warp Gate on the Southern Front was the highest priority. The main intention was to cut off the possibility of enemy reinforcements arriving instantly, but it could also be used aggressively if Hector could manage to use it after they captured it.
Connect—That was a method through which the coordinates of a Warp Gate could be reset, and instead, it could be used for the ones who captured it to bring more forces and supplies. Thus, a Warp Gate was usually equipped with an explosive device.
And the rear of the Southern Front of Cairo had a Warp Gate. That was the reason why Roman and his troops were able to reach the Southern Front in ten days, and Cairo had the Warp Gate in the rear so that they could handle any emergencies. It was believed that the rear was a safe place, even if enemies attacked the Southern Front, as the Warp Gate could be used to summon allies or destroy the enemies while they were trying to capture it.
And that was Edwin's target.
'The Cairo Kingdom is completely careless as of now. They didn't even think that we would attack them at least once, and now, the current attacks on the Defense Lines will have their full attention. Now is the right chance. If Jackson's Ranger Unit can secretly infiltrate the rear and take over the Warp Gate, then we can devour the entire Southern Front at once.'
That was if they succeeded. This was a strategy where defeat was not acceptable.
Because of the absence of the Warp Gate, the Cairo Kingdom wouldn't be able to send troops to the Southern Front, and if Hector could attack them from the rear and front simultaneously, then all the Defense Lines would fall down eventually. From then on, it would be easy. The moment the Southern Front was taken over, the Hector Kingdom would be able to take the initiative.
In the basement of the secret base, a Warp Gate was installed painstakingly over a year. Thus, as soon as Jackson would report the good news, all the troops from here would be moved to the rear of the Southern Front.
Edwin Hector said, "We must not rule out the possibility that this plan can fail. And if the worst does happen, be prepared to destroy the Warp Gate. If Jackson fails there, we will destroy the Warp Gate and move on to Plan Two."
"Yes."
When he heard the cruel and ration decision, the knight bowed his head.
'He is called the Star of Hector for a reason. And because of Edwin Hector, the Hector Kingdom might finally be revived again.'
He was certain that the birth of their prince was a blessing to the kingdom.
McBurney got up quickly. He had fainted because he felt relieved when he realized he would make it out alive, and thanks to the recovery effect of the potion, he was able to regain his consciousness quickly as well.
"Ugh…"
Still, there was pain in his body, and especially, his stomach was hurting a lot. The potion did heal the wounds, but that didn't mean there were no aftereffects from a deep wound. Upon examination, he noticed that the skin near his stomach felt too sensitive. It seemed like someone had stitched it when he had fainted.
"You are awake, Sir?" Chris asked.
As soon as he saw Chris, the memory of before he fainted struck his mind. He remembered that just when he was about to accept his death, Roman Dmitry came and saved his life.
'How was he able to show up at the Southern Training Center, though?'
A question arose from within him.
Roman Dmitry was supposed to be on the Fifth Defense Line. Even before the Training Center was attacked, he heard that the Fifth Defense Line was in a difficult situation, and that meant Roman should have been there and helping others. Obviously, there was also the possibility that Roman might have run away because of the dangerous situation, but he knew that Roman Dmitry wasn't that kind of a person. But wasn't the battlefield the place where the true character of a person often came out?
McBurney asked Chris frankly about what all happened. And the answer that came back astounded him.
"When we were informed that the Hector Kingdom had attacked, we all headed straight for the Fifth Defense Line, and there…"
The explanation was short. Still, it got rid of all of McBurney's concerns. Instead of running away, Roman Dmitry had headed straight forward for the Fifth Defense Line and defeated all of the enemies there.
"He truly is amazing."
McBurney was being sincere. There would have been no time to prepare against the surprise attack from Hector, but Roman managed to make the best judgment and produced the best result, as well. The determination and power he had shown in the process proved to McBurney just how great he was, even though he had not seen it happen through his own eyes.
'As expected.'
The only one who had truly prepared for a war, Roman, did not disappoint him. The fact that someone like him was on the Southern Front actually comforted McBurney.
Nevertheless, they couldn't continue their conversation anymore. It was because Roman had come out of the building.
Roman checked the condition of McBurney. As soon as he confirmed that there were no major issues, he went straight to the point.
"Please tell me in detail what happened here."
"Yes."
He began to recall everything. Even though his physical condition was miserable, he remembered everything that had happened.
"We were attacked by the Hector Kingdom about 2 hours ago. As usual, we were preparing for the next batch of trainees that would be trained, but the soldiers of Hector Kingdom appeared and attacked us suddenly. I quickly summoned my men and tried to fight them, but there was no way we could achieve a good result because of the overwhelming difference in our number of troops. And the result is what you see. We were pushed back unilaterally, and we do not even know if Viscount Bale is alive or dead."
2 hours—That was the important point. It was obvious that the enemy had already infiltrated the Southern Front for quite some time as they had attacked so quickly.
"Was there anything special about the outfit the enemies were wearing?"
"Everyone had light armor on them, and the face of the enemy commander seemed to have scars."
"Scars?"
"Yes."
Light armor and a face full of scars—That reminded Roman of a specific person. While he was investigating the South of Cairo, he came to know about a key person in the Hector Kingdom.
"It could be their Ranger Unit."
"…Ah!"
McBurney's eyes widened. It seemed like he knew something.
The commander who leads Hector Kingdom's Ranger Unit is said to be a man who has scars on his face and has been awarded numerous medals too.
It was a thing he had heard a long ago, which was why he couldn't remember that right away, but he was surprised that Roman had got it right, and that too, in an instant. Nevertheless, that alone wasn't enough to satisfy his curiosity, so he asked, "If it is their Ranger Unit, they could have infiltrated the Southern Front before others. However, I do not understand. Why did they attack the Southern Training Center? If they wanted to occupy an advantageous position, wouldn't it make more sense to create an advantage by breaking down the Defense Lines first? But they are moving in the opposite direction. Instead of attacking with all their forces on the front, they are aiming to attack the Training Center from the rear."
"I was thinking the same."
"What do—"
"Since the Training Center is at the rear of the Southern Front, you were all bound to be attacked."
As McBurney looked confused, Roman continued, "The Hector Kingdom seems to be using a "Smoke Screen" plan. Attacking the Defense Lines that are in the front is just for deception. Their true purpose is the Warp Gate behind us."
That was unexpectedly shocking.
When he arrived back at the Training Center and saw the soldiers, Roman thought, 'The fact that the enemy has attacked the Southern Training Center means that their true destination and aim aren't the Defense Lines of the Southern Front. If we follow this path, the only destination they can reach is the rear of the Southern Front. But what is the purpose of it? If they make a mistake, they will be surrounded both in the rear and the front as well.'
Only one theory came to his mind—The reason for attacking the front was to create a "Smoke Screen" that could help them capture the rear of the Southern Front. Then, couldn't they use the Warp Gate to create variables?
At that time, it was just a theory, but after he tortured Hector's soldiers and saw their reactions, he became sure of it.
'The Hector Kingdom has strong plans to make this war a success. A winning strategy which they are sure to succeed.'
Their true purpose wasn't only to capture the Warp Gate in the rear of the Southern Front. If their plan was successful, then not only would the Hector Kingdom be able to cut off the reinforcements that Cairo would try to send, but they could also increase their options by inviting forces and launching an even more aggressive attack.
The Warp Gate was the most surprising thing he had learned about yet in this world. The magic artifact that allowed one to travel through space convinced Roman that magic was something as great as martial arts.
The strategy created by Edwin Hector had now been discovered by this unknown man.
McBurney jumped up. He was in pain, yet he didn't seem to care about it.
"Shouldn't we currently be assisting the Southern Front's rear if they have such a plan? Is it alright if I join the fight against them?
"No."
Roman shook his head.
According to what McBurney had said, the Rangers Unit had attacked the Southern Training Center around 2 hours before they had come here. That meant one thing.
"It has almost been an hour and a half since Hector's Ranger Unit attacked the Southern Training Center and left. That is enough time for them to put the plan into action. Mr. McBurney, have you gotten word from the rear that the enemy has attacked them yet?"
"…It cannot be."
"Right."
Despite knowing the truth, Roman wasn't in a hurry. To be precise, there was no reason to rush anymore.
"They have been preparing for this war for a long time, and they should have captured the Warp Gate by now. What we need to do from now on is clear. If the enemies appear from the rear, the troops of the Southern Front, including us, will be isolated. We have to fight and survive against the troops of the Hector Kingdom in here without any help from the Cairo Kingdom."
It was as expected. At that time, Hector's Ranger Unit had succeeded in capturing the Warp Gate on the Southern Front.
Editor's Thoughts: This was an amazing chapter. The Southern Front is in much more danger than it was revealed lol. Edwin Hector truly made a good plan. It will be interesting to see how Roman moves on and defeats Hector with his troops.