The Commander's Absurd Retreat and the Mad Spearman's Counter
In truth, after all the battles fought so far, it had been nothing short of a miracle that they had held the Fourth Defense Line with such a foolish commander.
“...What did you just say?”
“Commander, we are preparing to withdraw the main force back to its original position.”
“What the hell does that mean? We’re fighting right here, and you want to pull the main force back behind us... what kind of insane situation is this?”
One soldier muttered, his voice thick with disbelief.
It made zero sense to any sane mind.
And Hadel felt the exact same shock.
The order meant he was abandoning everyone present here.
Yet the messenger sent earlier had continued in a panicked rush.
“We will combine forces with the troops stationed at the outskirts and fight on favorable ground.”
“...So you intend to recall the Second Defense Line support troops rushing to strike the Kar tribe’s main camp?”
Hadel’s pupils trembled violently.
If that was true, it would be the worst blunder imaginable.
They had only been thinking of holding the current position.
‘No.’
Even that was impossible now.
Half of their soldiers had already died in the previous fighting.
Even with Arteon’s small special unit delivering a crushing blow to the Kar tribe, the actual number killed was minimal.
Most had simply been wounded and were out of the fight.
That was precisely why this opportunity was more critical than ever.
“The Kar tribe’s strength is now only half as powerful. This is the perfect chance to strike them down. If we give them time to recover...”
They would simply repeat that hellish cycle.
“How long...”
More soldiers would die here, reinforcements would arrive, and more would die again.
Was that the madness they had to repeat?
Hadel spoke firmly.
“Inform the commander immediately of the situation here.”
Hadel relayed the retreat of the Kar tribe and their favorable position to the commander.
The messenger nodded quickly.
“We must move at once.”
“Understood.”
The messenger vanished at full speed.
“...”
Hadel stared in the direction the messenger had fled, unable to hide his unease.
A situation this absurd had never been imagined.
He sighed deeply, feeling as though the soldiers fighting on the front lines had been reduced to fools.
But at that moment.
“...Captain, what if we do this?”
“What do you mean?”
Arteon hesitated briefly, then spoke with calm conviction.
“...”
Hadel fell into silence, lost in thought.
According to military law, what Arteon suggested would be a violation.
But...
“If this can truly become a new move...”
He had no choice but to decide.
Hadel nodded.
“Very well. I will take full responsibility for everything related to this.”
Arteon nodded in return.
***
Ulgraak reached the designated retreat point at the edge of the hill.
Seeing Makcrowdon already waiting there, he frowned slightly.
No obvious wounds marred the man’s sturdy frame.
Ulgraak approached and asked.
“Makcrowdon, why did you issue the retreat order?”
His low voice carried a dangerous tension.
He had expected to punish any commander who deliberately sabotaged the strategy.
But...
“If we had not retreated, both you and I and all our warriors would have died.”
Makcrowdon looked at him calmly.
Ulgraak’s forehead furrowed deeply.
“What nonsense is that? You lost your life? Did that guy really... fight that strongly?”
Makcrowdon had known about Arteon’s duel.
Among the Empire’s soldiers, aside from Seran, no one else could match him in strength.
Yet Makcrowdon simply recalled the recent battle and pressed his lips into a firm line.
Then he continued slowly.
“Only now do I understand why you restrained such a warrior so severely against that young Imperial soldier.”
His eyes gleamed.
The fight.
Insane combat ability that defied the boy’s youthful appearance.
But even more astonishing was his real-time judgment of changing situations and choosing the optimal action.
It was...
“Veteran-like movements from years of grinding on the battlefield. How did that young Imperial soldier who barely looked twenty years old make such judgments... I still can’t imagine it.”
He added the unprecedented quirk of his spear techniques.
And the most fatal was his control over aura that was simply astonishing.
“Aura control of a level I have never seen in any warrior I met. With that kind of free manipulation, I would have at least double the stamina of even you... no, perhaps even more.”
“...”
Ulgraak fell silent at Makcrowdon’s words.
If what he said was true, issuing the retreat order had been a perfectly sound judgment.
But the real shock came next.
Makcrowdon took a brief breath, as if lost in thought.
“If we relied purely on strength to pin him down... Tiera Kund would have had to come himself.”
“...!”
Ulgraak’s expression hardened.
Tiera Kund.
The strongest 4-feathered warrior in the Kar tribe, nearing the fifth feather.
His reputation had already been sealed among the Kar.
Makcrowdon muttered on.
“But now... what we must restrain most is something else entirely.”
“...What?”
He was starting to feel afraid of what the next words would be.
“His growth.”
“...?”
Ulgraak looked at him with a puzzled expression, but Makcrowdon continued.
“Even in the heat of battle, he shows a growth rate that defies logic... he keeps getting stronger in real time.”
“...”
Ulgraak remained silent, for he had felt it himself.
When they first met, he had thought the Imperial soldier was only slightly stronger.
But the more they clashed, the more that belief collapsed.
Especially in the later stages of the fight, even blocking his attacks had become a struggle.
“He had taken a serious injury too.”
Makcrowdon nodded in deep empathy.
That was why...
Seeing Ulgraak fall silent, Makcrowdon spoke again.
“It is humiliating, but to end this fight decisively, we have no choice but to unite our forces.”
“...You mean to fight as one?”
Surprise laced Ulgraak’s voice.
“Exactly.”
A proud man like Makcrowdon uttering those words.
Ulgraak could not hide his shock.
Makcrowdon had no desire to say it, but victory was more important than pride now.
He added in a low voice.
“The higher-ups are watching the Fourth Defense Line very carefully.”
“This place?”
Ulgraak asked.
“The Northwest First Defense Line has already fallen to them. If this lake area is also taken by the Imperial dogs... they will have a direct foothold into the heart of our kingdom.”
Ulgraak listened in silence.
This land could never be surrendered to them.
That was why Makcrowdon had been sent here.
“Soon they will push into this direction.”
Makcrowdon’s voice grew even lower.
“Here... we must prepare for the final battle against that man.”
At those words, Ulgraak slowly... yet firmly nodded, already sketching the coming fight in his mind.
***
Most soldiers of the Fourth Defense Line knew Leorn’s temperament.
Able but reckless, yet one who always completed what he set out to do with brutal determination.
That was why, despite higher-ups requesting a change of command over his bad judgment, he had pushed forward without hesitation.
So they had believed this time would be no different.
“If the commander is truly in charge, he will certainly withdraw the main force and fight from the rear. We can delay them for a while, but sustaining it for long is impossible.”
“...”
Hadel’s words made Seran clench his teeth.
He had never imagined he would hear such a foolish report at the moment he was wounded.
Hadel looked at Seran and asked.
“Can the battle still be fought?”
“As before, fighting a commander-level opponent is impossible. But aside from that, aura is usable, so... breaking their formation or facing ordinary warriors is entirely possible.”
With his left arm unusable, facing even Ulgraak and the three-feathered warriors would be a struggle.
Even with aura, basic swordsmanship was the foundation.
At those words, Arteon spoke.
“I will handle them. While I do, Seran-nim and Hadel-nim should finish the remaining stragglers, and we can seize the initiative.”
“But you face two opponents. If both can use aura... you alone cannot possibly deal with them.”
“I will buy time. Leave the rest to you two.”
A calm yet resolute reply.
Seran looked at Arteon with clear regret in his eyes.
But Hadel analyzed the situation with the utmost cold precision.
If he truly handed over the two aura-using commanders to Arteon...
“Then by combining with Seran and reducing their numbers...”
If that was all they could achieve, they would still seize the advantage in the ensuing battle.
“Prediction says they must hold out for at least twenty minutes. During that time we cannot assist you... will you be all right?”
Hadel asked Arteon.
Arteon nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“I can do it.”
At that answer, Hadel’s eyes flashed.
He was not sure how far he could trust this youth...
“...”
Yet he felt as though the young man would truly succeed.
Eventually Hadel made his decision.
“Then... let us act quickly.”
Every soldier present nodded, preparing for the battle to come.