The Hector Kingdom was a step behind when they were chasing Roman. Naturally, when they arrived at the scene, they only saw the cold corpses of their allies and Roman standing alive there. The damage was quite serious. A feeling of fear crept into their minds. Nevertheless, that was only the case until the Captain of the Ranger Unit, Jackson, arrived.
"This is as far as you go!"
He directly stepped on the tail. When he saw that Roman was still dealing with Hector's soldiers, he didn't delay his attacks and directly manifested an Aura to deal with Roman.
Rumble!
The Aura erupted like an explosion. And simultaneously, Roman understood that Jackson was a 4-Star Aura Swordsman.
Clang!
Kaaang!
The moment their swords collided, a massive aftershock was created on the battlefield. The Aura that rose from Roman's sword wasn't pushed back when it collided with Jackson's Aura, and Jackson's face was stained with shock when he saw that Roman had managed to block several of his attacks. It was natural. After all, Valhalla had said that Roman Dmitry was a 3-Star Aura Swordsman. Nevertheless, as Roman had blocked his attacks, he was clearly far superior to a 3-Star Aura Swordsman.
'Roman Dmitry is underrated.'
He felt goosebumps rise on his skin. Finally, he understood why the soldiers of Hector had been slaughtered like that in the past by Roman. The state of four of the Defense Lines was disastrous, and there was no way ordinary soldiers could do something like stop Roman—Just like what was happening now.
"Help Captain Jackson!"
"Attack!"
All of Hector's soldiers ran when they saw a gap. As Roman and Jackson were colliding with each other, they wanted to aim from behind and fatally wound Roman. They all aimed for Roman's blind spots precisely. In a fierce battle with Jackson, Roman shouldn't have been able to look back, but Roman somehow swung the sword behind him without even looking back and was able to defend himself from Jackson's attacks as well.
Puak!
With a single blow, all the soldiers were sent to the afterlife. Roman, who dealt with the danger as if it was nothing, slammed the ground and drove Jackson away instantly.
'This guy!'
Jackson was stunned. Roman had the leeway to deal with the soldiers while dealing with Jackson as well. Although it was disconcerting that Roman was more powerful than he thought, his instincts from experiencing the mountain warfare sent him a warning sign.
Jackson was a 4-Star Aura Swordsman. The public only knew that Jackson was the Captain of the Ranger Unit, but they didn't know exactly how strong Jackson was. That was why Jackson's name wasn't there in the rankings of the Hector Kingdom. He had opted for security over fame, and his attack forced Roman Dmitry to become shocked—At least, that was what he believed. Contrary to his expectations, Roman was just calm. Rather than the reaction he had expected, Roman didn't seem to care much about the fact that the opponent was a 4-Star Aura Swordsman.
Although Jackson was doing his best to push away his opponent, the feeling of insecurity didn't go away. Obviously, Roman Dmitry was caught in a trap, and there was no way Roman could get out of this alive. Yet, how the hell was he staying that calm?
'It doesn't matter what kind of goal you had. The moment you met me, there was no way left to escape.'
He suppressed his doubts. This fight was already over. Because of the one minute Jackson had earned,
Beep!
"There!"
"Besiege Roman Dmitry!"
Thousands of lights began to shine from behind Jackson. It was a perfect siege. Enemies rushed around quickly.
Although he wasn't captured for even a few minutes, the siege of the Hector Kingdom made Roman hold his breath.
"Surrender," said Jackson wildly. If Roman resisted till the end, he was prepared to take damage and kill Roman. It was ideal for Roman to surrender, so he gave him time to choose.
"Surrender? That's funny."
Roman laughed. Roman wasn't too surprised that he was a 4-Star Aura Swordsman, as Jackson had expected. The fact that Hector must have had a powerful force on their side to attack the Cairo Kingdom was predictable in the first place, and the opponent being Jackson wasn't a variable. Naturally, as soon as Jackson appeared, he began to deal with him without panicking. Jackson's skills certainly weren't as good as he had thought of them, but it was well within the range he had expected them to be in.
On the other hand, Jackson was confident of his victory. The confidence on his face was based on his experience and conviction that Roman was now cornered.
Roman smirked when he saw Jackson's confident face.
"Even if I surrender, the Hector Kingdom will make sure to kill me as I am too big a danger to be left alive. Still, didn't you think something was strange while you were chasing me? Why did I go right into the trap the opponent had laid? Why did I draw your attention while running away in the mountains? There are three reasons. First of all, the fragments of light crystals attached to the body cannot bind me."
Roman raised his mana. As the mana that originated from the dantian circulated throughout his body, the fragments of light crystals attached to his body came off without much effort. It was so shocking that Jackson was truly perplexed. How were they able to catch Roman in the first place? It was because his ability to hide in the darkness was disabled, thanks to the light crystals. However, if that could be solved so simply, the current situation would make no sense.
The ominousness in Jackson's body continued to grow. He feared what Roman would say next.
"Secondly, I have the confidence to get out of this siege under any circumstances. You all will see that soon. No matter how much you surround me, you will never be able to capture me."
And finally, Roman spoke while gazing directly into Jackson's eyes.
"The last thing I wanted was for you guys to fall for my tricks and overlook something crucial. Jackson, you're the Captain of the Ranger Unit. The fact that you, such a powerful piece of the Hector Kingdom, are here means that the defenses of Edwin Hector have been neglected."
At that moment, Jackson's eyes widened so much that it wouldn't be wrong to say they were about to fall out of the eye sockets. His heart also sank down to the bottom. As soon as the ominous imagination in his head appeared, Jackson hurriedly kicked the ground to block Roman's intention and ran directly toward him.
Nevertheless, he was late. As soon as Roman had finished his words, he had kicked a tree and jumped into the air with movements that weren't possible for a human to do. It was the pinnacle of the footwork techniques of Murim. All those who had made this siege were left behind with their faces looking like idiots.
As Jackson saw Roman kick the trees and disappear quickly, he shouted crazily, "Damn it! Go to the prince right now! The prince is in danger!"
The situation was reversed, and Roman had stunned Hector once again.
Roman knew that there was a limit to the strategy of gnawing at enemies through a guerrilla operation. At first, it was a lot of fun because the enemies didn't anticipate his skills, but as talented people like Jackson appeared, he knew playing around anymore would be difficult.
Roman was not the Heavenly Demon. If he was Baek Joong-hyuk, the one who had conquered the entire Murim, in the first place, the life of Roman Dmitry wouldn't have been in danger even if hundreds of Jacksons had appeared to fight him. That was why he needed a new plan that was in line with his current abilities and could ruin the operations of the Hector Kingdom.
'There is only one way to end this war with a small number of troops. The Commander—Once Edwin Hector, who planned all this, is killed, the Hector Kingdom will not be able to continue this war any longer.'
He then turned his gaze.
Edwin Hector was everything to Hector.
From then on, Roman intentionally communicated with Hector and instilled fear in his enemies while grasping the flow of mana through the device.
'The Magic Communicator is a device that allows people to send their voices to the other end through the connection of mana. If I can figure out the flow of it, I can find where Edwin Hector is speaking from. And if the contact is successful, there is no need to contact him again. If I remember the unique mana flow from the magic device used by Edwin, I can find him out where he is with my skills.'
He planned it from the start to the end*.* All of Roman's plans were thoroughly calculated. He had contacted the man on purpose to grasp the flow of mana and had deliberately thrown himself into the enemy's trap. Then, he dragged them far away so that once the enemies decided they had cornered him, the powerful people who were protecting Edwin would come forward to take him down. He just gently wagged the tail they wanted to catch. Even though he had the skill to escape from the start, Roman took the risk and dealt with them. The plan was truly reckless but worth trying. It was based on high risk and high return. And on the battlefield, making daring decisions that could change the tide of the battle was a powerful weapon that Baek Joong-hyuk possessed.
Chak!
The scene around him passed away quickly. It was thanks to the Light Footwork Technique. His body, which was constantly exerting mana, was moving like a beast through the forest to find its prey.
He examined the flow of mana and felt that Edwin Hector was nearby. And as expected,
"Huh?!"
"Roman Dmitry!"
He found Edwin Hector. The escorts around him all looked bewildered and tried to block Roman, who had suddenly appeared, but they all got killed right away.
Puak!
The wall dividing Roman and Edwin was down. Now, it was time to deal with Edwin Hector. And just as Roman was about to cut off his head,
"…!"
He saw that Edwin Hector only had cold, subdued eyes while gazing directly at Roman.
When he made the decision to pursue Roman, Edwin said,
"Perhaps Roman Dmitry has already dug a trap ahead of us and is expecting us to pursue him. At first, we dealt with him on a whim, but that man isn't the kind to show up without a plan. Sacrifices are bound to happen in this plan, and even thousands of our men can die because of the trap Roman Dmitry has laid, but even so, we must pursue him. Only one thing—We need a clear result of slaughtering the enemies who have been resisting us till the end rather than being idiots who got hurt when they fought only two hundred troops."
His heart became cold the moment he set foot on the mountain. The war had already begun. No matter who the opponent was or what they had planned, Edwin wanted to win the war. Besides, the opponent was a monster called Roman Dmitry, which meant that man had to be taken down at all costs. He was sure that Roman Dmitry would come back as a greater danger to them if they left him alone.
"Roman Dmitry is like an unbridled foal. He obviously moves with a plan, but we cannot predict his actions. Then we need to focus on one fact—The opponent's purpose. If I were him, what would the most important thing be? Of course, there is the possibility of trying to prevent us from taking over the Southern Front over the span of 3 days. Nevertheless, if you think about it carefully, there is a simpler way to end this war once and for all rather than digging a trap and reducing the number of enemies slowly."
"…No way."
Jackson's eyes widened. He now seemed to understand what Edwin was saying.
"Right. That is to kill me, the Commander of the Hector Kingdom. He may decide that coming here and killing me is easy while our troops will be pursuing him chaotically. It is truly a reckless plan one cannot choose unless they are crazy. Nevertheless, when I felt the hostility that man was showing me through the communication device, I understood that he was someone crazy enough to carry out that absurd plan."
It was only a possibility. Thus, he wasn't sure if it would happen. Still, if it did, Edwin Hector decided to use it as an opportunity.
"The soldiers of the Hector Kingdom have laid down their lives for the kingdom. And I, too, will become the bait for the kingdom. If Jackson reveals that I am defenseless by pursuing him, that man will surely think of it as a chance to end this war as soon as he can."
Edwin Hector was reckless as well. Even though he knew how dangerous it was, he was ready to do it to win this war as soon as he could.
"The moment Roman Dmitry appears in front of me, we will have a solid chance to deal with him."
And now, as Edwin had expected, the man, Roman Dmitry, had appeared in front of him. It was truly an absurdly risky decision. Edwin Hector had used everything he could to prepare for this, and the escorts had run in faster than expected.
Ssshnnggg!
Mana suddenly rose from Edwin Hector's body. Nevertheless, it was different from the way an Aura Swordsman used mana.
"Inferno!"
Wheikk!
Rumble!
An intense flame headed straight for Roman.
Edwin Hector, the heir of the Hector family, a child born with the blessings of heaven, was a Mage.
Rumble!
Bang!