Chapter 155

unedited

[The position of commander-in-chief will be given to Grand Duke Evinhart, who has been protecting the borders of the empire from generations]

Caelion, who was still in his teenage years, was forced into the battle of the northern border with very small troops by the emperor. The enemies who frequently invaded the border were not large, but there was a significant difference in troops from Caelion’s army.

As the brutal war broke out in the barren land, the reinforcements that were supposedly sent by the emperor did not arrive for a long time. Even Uriel, who was supposed to protect him, went missing one day.

Caelion and his small troops knew that it was another assassination attempt by the emperor. The reinforcements will magically appear if Caelion dies.

But he didn’t die easily. He miraculously won and survived the difficult battle. But the miracle didn’t last forever. Stranded in a small mountain without food or support, they were eventually surrounded by enemies and only waited for death.

The enemy only feared Caelion’s archery skill, so they used isolation tactics against the imperial army. They surrounded Caelion’s troops, camped in a distance where Caelion’s arrows could barely reach them and waited for the troops to die on their own.

And then the miracle happened once more.

Swish-

When the breeze flowed in, the light of the camp where the enemy camped was extinguished, followed by several screams.

“Agh!”

“Keugh!”

The screams quickly quieted down that made the enemy in the other camps doubt their ears, but a few seconds later, the other camp next to that first camp suddenly darkened.

“W-Who is that! Agh!”

“Ugh!”

After a short scream was heard, the same thing was repeated in the camp next to it. Someone was infiltrating the enemy’s basecamp and slaughtering them in the dark.

“There’s an intruder!”

“Catch the intruders!”

Upon hearing the urgent notice, soldiers rushed out of every camp to find the intruder. Naturally, they ran toward Mount Atalan, where Caelion’s troops were located.

“Kill him! If we kill the Grand Duke, they can’t fight anymore!”

Uriel’s shadow appeared behind the enemy who was trying to advance into the mountain.

Later, what the enemy witnessed was not war or a duel, but a slaughter. Uriel’s long sword moved quickly, leaving only traces of silver and blood splatter, and those who stood under the moonlight collapsed in an instant.

He wasn’t a human at all.

As Uriel single-handedly swept off the enemy camp, they were pushed toward Mount Atalan, where Caelion’s army was located. The enemy helplessly stood there and got stabbed by Uriel because they were barely able to get on their senses.

“A-Archer!”

When the archers equipped their bows at the enemy general’s command, they quickly aimed at Uriel. But the moment he stepped on Mount Atalan’s border and commanded to kill Uriel…

Swish! Thud!!

An arrow penetrates the enemy general’s left eye. He collapsed on the spot and couldn’t move.

“Your Highness!”

It was Caelion who aimed the bows. Thanks to Uriel, the enemy general had forgotten about Caelion’s existence and had been pushed to the border of Mount Atalan.

That was the end of the battle. The enemy, who just lost their leader, looked alternately at Uriel and Caelion in fear and surrendered. At first, the imperial army did not believe in this miraculous victory, but soon this story spread throughout the empire.

Uriel, who reunited with Caelion’s troops with enemy blood dripping from his long sword, was nicknamed ‘the Reaper’. And the Battle of Mount Atalan remained a legend.

However, Uriel, who sat in Apollonia’s bedroom, savoring the sweet iced tea with a pretty smile on his face, did not resemble ‘the Reaper’ at all. Rather, it reminded her of a big dog.

‘When I first met him, I thought he was as dangerous as a wolf.’

Whether he read Apollonia’s mind, Uriel began to deliver his report.

“If the news from Rajan arrives, Paris’ honor in this war will be useless.”

“Why? I heard Rajan surrendered.” Apollonia asked.

Paris was a hot-blooded young man who had no knack for politics or mind games. But on the battlefield, he was no less talented than his father. In terms of martial arts and military strategy, he was not inferior to anyone.

Except for Uriel and Caelion.

“Rajan has expressed their intention to surrender for a long time. But Paris didn’t accept it because he didn’t like the condition they offered.”

“Is that so?”

“No matter how hard I tried to stop it, he kept advancing to Rajan, and so their side requested for a one-on-one duel.”

“With Paris?”

“No. They wanted either me or Caelion to step up.”

Apollonia couldn’t hide her surprise. Paris’ martial arts were excellent, but he was not as tough as Caelion or Uriel.

It was already strange to choose a representative for a duel, and it was even more strange that they chose someone else over the supreme commander, Paris.