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They were running as if their lives depended on it, but no clear path for escape was visible.

“Sub-commander! Shouldn’t we rest for just a moment? The troops are going to collapse at this rate,” Kyle, who was running alongside Dianal, gasped as he spoke.

Kyle was known for his endurance, even among the Caion unit. If even he was this winded, the condition of the other troops was obvious without having to look.

Especially those running at the rear—it must have been a struggle just to keep up.

“We’ll rest here for a short while. Squad leaders, make sure everyone knows their operation points in case we need to split up if the enemy appears.”

“Understood.”

“Huff… I’ll head to the rear to check on the enemy’s position,” Terka said, catching his breath.

But Dianal shook his head. “I’ll go. You all rest.”

“…Understood.”

Dianal’s stubbornness reminded them of Damian. Or rather…

‘He’s trying hard to emulate the unit commander.’

It was probably due to this obsessive effort that Dianal could display such incredible feats in battle earlier.

‘Blocking an Aura Master’s attack…’

No one with just one life would have dared to attempt something like that. If he had faltered even slightly, his body would have been sliced in half by the Aura-infused strike.

Losing two swords was a significant blow, but…

‘It could’ve been worse.’

Terka sighed softly as he watched Dianal move toward the rear.

Jerka approached Terka.

“Isn’t the sub-commander pushing himself too hard?” Jerka murmured in a concerned tone.

“He’s trying to fill the gap left by the commander.”

“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

It was obvious to anyone that Dianal was overexerting himself. But as Dianal made his way to the rear, he bit his lip.

‘If only I had been better…’

He couldn’t stop thinking about the two shattered swords and the memory of blocking Galveron’s attack.

‘Could I block it again?’

It was reckless bravery—he only succeeded because he didn’t fully grasp the danger.

Even if he regretted it now, it was unclear if he could pull it off again if faced with the same attack.

“How did you lead us in such situations, Commander Damian?”

The absence of Damian felt painfully large now. And…

“Damn it, they won’t even give us time to catch our breath.”

The open plain stretched out before him, making the enemy easy to spot.

Which also meant they could be easily spotted by the enemy.

‘So, we’ll barely have time for one breath, huh…’

Dianal quickly scanned the surroundings.

There wasn’t much cover on the wide plain, aside from a patch of tall reeds. But it wasn’t large enough to hide the entire unit.

“…Damn it.”

Dianal bit his lip.

They had successfully diverted the enemy’s attention and saved their reinforcements, but…

‘At this rate, we’re all going to die.’

A decision had to be made here.

Dianal quickly summoned the squad leaders. Despite barely resting for ten minutes, everyone seemed slightly better, their breathing more stable.

Looking at the gathered squad leaders, Dianal spoke.

“I’ll take the fastest archers and move into the reeds. At that moment, Kyle, Jerka, and Terka, you’ll divide the troops into three groups and move to the designated points.”

“You’re staying here?”

“What do you plan to do against the cavalry, Sub-commander?”

Kyle and Jerka asked in shock. It was impossible to outrun cavalry, even with the fastest archers.

Dianal replied, “We’ll hold out in the reeds for as long as we can, then escape.”

Right now, buying time was the only option.

‘The kingdom’s reinforcements must have realized what’s happening by now.’

That was why Dianal had deliberately chosen to flee south—there was a higher chance of meeting additional reinforcements if they moved in that direction.

‘We have to survive.’

He still didn’t understand why they kept being thrown into battlefields filled with monsters like this, but…

―Don’t die. Surviving by any means necessary is your top priority.

He couldn’t go against the commander’s orders.

Dianal addressed the squad leaders.

“Once you’re completely clear of the point, fire the signal flare to distract the enemy. We’ll use that moment to escape.”

“…Understood.”

“Stay alive. The commander told us not to die.”

“Right.”

Dianal nodded. Then he turned to Paul, the leader of the archers.

“Sorry to put you in such a dangerous position.”

“It’s an honor,” Paul responded quietly.

Even if Damian were here, he would have given the same orders.

Paul looked at his archers and gave a nod.

“From now on, we’ll follow the sub-commander’s lead.”

“Alright, let’s go!” Dianal said, scratching the ground with his sword scabbard as he quickly moved toward the reed field.

It might have seemed like a trivial gesture, but…

“…Hmm?”

Galveron, watching from a distance, noticed the faint trail of dust rising and turned his gaze in that direction.

And the direction they were heading…

“Hah? Do they really think they can buy time?”

He found the sight of them running toward the reeds laughable.

It was a fairly sizable patch of reeds, but…

“Do they think we’re playing hide and seek?”

But Galveron had no intention of giving them much time.

He raised his hand and shouted,

“All troops form a triangle formation! Spread out wide and capture them in one go!”

“Yes, sir!”

At his command, the three hundred cavalrymen began to fan out, spreading wide on either side.

With over thirty lines of cavalry spreading out, it looked like they could sweep through the reed field and capture the enemy in no time.

“In this battle, we offer the Caion unit of the Baroque Kingdom as a sacrifice. Anyone who falls behind will be left here to die, so grit your teeth and follow me!”

“Yes, sir!”

With a resounding shout, Galveron’s cavalry began their charge into the reed field.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

It had been over half a day since Damian entered the territory of the Spanian Kingdom.

Riding without rest, he finally spotted a distant, blurry group.

‘Is that our allies?’

Damian’s eyes sparkled momentarily, but then he saw something.

“…!”

At the forefront of the unit, which was moving quickly, he recognized Kyle. Damian shouted, his voice infused with mana.

“Kyle!”

The powerful voice echoed across the plain, causing Kyle, who was leading the unit toward a designated point, to turn his head.

“W-What?! Commander!”

“Kyle! Report the situation!”

Damian dismounted quickly, glancing at the soldiers around Kyle. There were barely a hundred left.

The sight immediately triggered a sense of unease in Damian’s mind.

And then…

“Sub-commander Dianal is currently leading the archers to lure Galveron’s cavalry away. Myself, Jerka, and Terka divided the remaining troops and are moving to our designated points.”

Despite the urgency of the situation, Kyle delivered the report as concisely as possible.

Damian’s expression darkened at the news.

“Where are the other two groups?”

“They’ve split in different directions…”

“…Damn it.”

Damian gritted his teeth.

Trying to regroup the units now and head toward Dianal and the archers would be foolish.

Of course.

Even if they gathered all the troops they sent to safety, what difference would it make against someone like Galveron?

‘Galveron…’

The Empire’s fourth Aura Master.

Aura Masters were rare, and yet, it seemed every battlefield Damian went to was filled with them.

‘Is this my curse?’

It felt as if everything happening was his fault.

But even so…

“Kyle, continue moving to the designated point. I’m going to join Dianal.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I came with you?”

“No.”

Damian replied firmly.

Against an Aura Master, soldiers who couldn’t wield mana would only get in the way. They were more likely to become sacrifices to Galveron’s Aura.

‘Instead…’

Damian knew it would be better to create a single opportunity and land a decisive blow before escaping.

It would be a dangerous gambit, but…

“I have to go.”

Damian mounted his horse again and gripped his spear.

‘You fool.’

Why did you choose to face death in my place?

Past or present, nothing had changed. You’re still as stubborn as ever.

If you die again, how do you expect the rest of us to live on?

Clenching his jaw, Damian thought:

‘I won’t let you die twice.’

This time, he would save him.

With a firm pull of the reins, Damian spurred his horse toward the reed field.

Rustle-rustle-rustle!

In the heart of the cavalry’s charge, the reeds swayed wildly in the wind.

Watching the shifting reeds, Dianal crouched low and exchanged a nod with Paul.

Nod.

Nod.

With a silent signal, Dianal began moving quietly to the other side.

From what he had observed, the cavalry was moving in a wide formation, sweeping through the reeds like the wings of a bird.

They would run in a straight line, then change direction and sweep across again.

‘They’re overlapping their search points.’

It seemed they believed the entire Caion unit was hiding in the reed field, so they were conducting a thorough sweep.

With three hundred men, it wasn’t possible for the enemy to shift positions so quickly, so they were meticulously checking each section.

‘Good thing I only brought the archers.’

Before entering the reeds, they had kicked up dust with their scabbards and weapons, which seemed to have thrown the enemy off.

“We’re moving.”

Dianal whispered softly and quickly moved in the direction where the cavalry had just completed their sweep.

They had managed to evade the enemy’s search up until now.

‘By now, they must have moved on…’

Now, all they had to do was escape.

Dianal gathered his troops at the spot the cavalry had just passed, crouching low.

He quickly addressed his soldiers.

“What do you think about breaking our arrows and sticking them diagonally into the ground with the tips facing up? We’ll create a trap.”

“You’re thinking of injuring the horses’ legs.”

Nod.

Even if they managed to escape, they had to slow the enemy down to have any chance of survival.

Of course, it was unclear how much damage a trap created by thirty men could inflict, but…

‘We have to try something.’

Everyone nodded in agreement with Dianal’s idea.

“Let’s hurry. Spread out and plant the arrows in the ground.”

His voice was quiet, but the urgency was evident.

The archers quickly emptied their quivers and set to work.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Some broke the arrows, while others moved quickly to plant them in the ground.

‘Once they realize we aren’t on the other side, they’ll definitely come back this way.’

When they hit the arrow trap, that would be their chance to escape.

Dianal hurried to plant the arrows, creating the trap.

But then…

“Interesting trick you’ve got there.”

“…!”

A voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

Dianal, startled as if he had seen a ghost, whipped his head around.

Standing there were a dozen knights.

And in front of them, dismounted and watching them with cold eyes, was none other than…

“G-Galveron…!”

It was the Aura Master himself.