Chapter 59

Chapter 59

“Haaargh!”

Boom!

“One more time!”

Kuaaaang!

Crash!

With a thunderous roar, the battering ram finally destroyed the gate of the Baroque Kingdom’s border guard base.

Smiles spread across the faces of the Spanian Kingdom’s assault soldiers.

But at that moment...

“I’ve beheaded the enemy commander!”

“......?”

A sudden shout came from behind.

Not only the assault soldiers but everyone nearby turned their heads to look back.

There, they saw the severed head of Falcon, impaled on a spear and raised high.

A soldier of the Baroque Kingdom shouted once more.

“I’ve beheaded the enemy commander! Drop your weapons and surrender!”

“Fa-Falcon, sir!”

“This can’t be....”

The soldiers of the Spanian Kingdom couldn’t hide their devastated expressions.

Falcon was a commander who could wield magic.

Although he was only a lieutenant, his combat prowess was far superior to most knights.

No one expected Falcon to die at such a border.

The soldiers turned their gaze to the man in front of them.

“Commander Crael, what do we do now?”

Crael was the deputy commander of Falcon’s unit and the one with command authority in his absence.

Crael’s expression hardened at his subordinates’ question.

“.......”

It was a situation where a decision was difficult to make.

They had opened the gate of the enemy base, but without Falcon, their fighting power was significantly reduced.

They could either surrender and beg for their lives or fight to the death.

All eyes were fixed on Crael.

Crael, with a determined expression, spoke as if making up his mind.

“......We will.”

Hearing Crael’s words, the soldiers all nodded in agreement.

* * *

“I’ve beheaded the enemy commander!”

Kyle shouted loudly as he raised Falcon’s severed head impaled on a spear.

The booming sound of his voice echoed across the entire mountain.

Dianal turned to Damian and said, “We’ve won!”

With the enemy commander dead, their morale would be utterly shattered.

If they surrender now, they can all be captured as prisoners, and this will end.

But...

“It won’t end that easily.”

“...Why not?”

Dianal asked at Damian’s words.

Even though their numbers were still superior, it was only marginal at this point.

More than fifty Spanian soldiers had already been killed by the special forces, and the number who died crossing the base was even greater. Now, even their commander was dead.

Of their three hundred troops, only slightly more than half remained.

Compared to the number of border guards in the 3rd division, the numbers were now almost even.

But those numbers were only effective when their commander was alive.

There was no reason to fight to the death.

However, Damian shook his head.

“They’ve got nowhere to return to. Even if they want to surrender, they can’t.”

“Then... does that mean they’ll keep fighting?”

Dianal asked.

But before Damian could answer, a loud shout erupted from the base.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Charge!”

Dianal quickly turned his head toward the sound from the base.

Before they knew it, the gate was breached, and the Spanian soldiers were rushing into the base.

Just as Damian said, they showed no intention of giving up the fight. Instead, their momentum surged as they shouted with even greater fervor.

Damian looked at the special forces and spoke.

“Break through these guys and head to the base as quickly as possible.”

Before the charging soldiers could even swing their swords—

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Damian’s spear pierced through their bodies, sending them to the afterlife.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It happened in an instant.

The Spanian soldiers, as well as Pereron, were left speechless.

How could a spear strike so quickly?

‘Is this his true strength?’

Pereron was awestruck. Damian’s spear had been so fast that even his eyes couldn’t follow it.

Moreover...

‘...It’s not just about speed.’

Vincent observed closely.

The moment the spear, pulled back slightly, was thrust into the opponent.

‘An unbelievable sequence.’

It was a spear technique that killed with minimal movement.

He thrust just deep enough to ensure instant death and pulled back only to the extent needed to gather strength for the next kill.

Thrust, pull, and thrust again.

It was a simple act performed with astonishing efficiency.

How many among them even recognized what they were witnessing?

“.......”

Vincent felt chills run down his spine.

And he wasn’t alone.

The Spanian soldiers, who had been swinging their swords madly just moments ago, were now hesitating, frozen in place.

Vincent shouted!

“Stop! If you halt now, we’ll find a way. We understand the situation you’re in... we’ll find a way!”

Finally, his words reached them.

The soldiers, having lost all hope of victory, didn’t know what to do.

Clatter.

“I... I surrender.”

“I can’t die here.”

Clatter, clink, clank!

One by one, they dropped their swords to the ground and knelt.

With the rapid spread of defeat, all remaining soldiers accepted their loss and surrendered.

Pereron shouted.

“Restrain them all!”

Though they were restrained, they planned to treat them as humanely as possible.

After securing the prisoners, the border guards surveyed the bodies scattered inside the base.

Fallen comrades and enemies alike.

The number of dead, both inside and outside the base, easily exceeded two hundred.

Just a few hours.

In those few hours of battle, so many had died.

“.......”

Still, there was a sense of gratitude that the death toll hadn’t been even higher.

If they hadn’t surrendered and continued to fight...

‘Most of us here would have died.’

Vincent looked at Damian, resting amid the busy border guards.

That man...

‘He saved everyone here.’

His mind felt muddled.

“Is the battle truly over?”

Vincent muttered softly as he gazed at the distant rising sun.

And then...

Swish.

Damian quietly observed the busy border guards.

Soon, this event would be reported to the legion.

‘When that happens, the kingdom will have no choice but to act.’

It was already clear that the Empire had used the Spanian Kingdom to attack them.

This was an undeniable provocation, a disgraceful act that could not be overlooked.

The kingdom would surely examine the situation thoroughly and would not let it slide.

‘If that happens...’

Damian closed his eyes quietly.

This might accelerate the timeline of war, but one thing was certain.

“...The war is about to begin.”

The inevitable was drawing closer, faster than they had anticipated.