BXBX NOVEL Chapter 87
Acar bowed his head with a stern expression, but the middle-aged man in front of him simply took a long drag from the cigarette in his mouth.
“…Hoo.”
Uncertain emotions dispersed into the air along with the smoke.
The man’s cold gaze was fixed on Acar.
“Is there really anything you need to apologize for? This Damian you fought at Makstri… Was he strong?”
“Yes, he was. If we were to fight again, I would lose every single time. At least, for now.”
Acar bit his lip.
His clenched fists at his waist trembled slightly.
It was clear what kind of emotions were swirling inside him.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man in front of him spoke.
“One day, you’ll have the chance to pay him back. But… there’s something more urgent we must do first.”
“Yes, sir. Please give me your orders.”
Acar looked at the man in front of him.
The man wore an eyepatch over one eye, and his hair was wild, like a lion’s mane.
His massive frame and solid muscles gave the impression he could rip apart even rocks.
This was Leopold, the Cavalry Commander of the Iren Kingdom.
The highest authority in the kingdom’s military and the strongest warrior.
Leopold spoke to Acar.
“There’s unusual activity from the Spanian forces near the northwestern border. You will stop them and immediately declare war on Spanian.”
“…So it’s come to this?”
“The war has already begun. We were just unaware.”
Right after Acar’s return, what had been dismissed as conspiracy theories started surfacing.
The ones who made the decision were Chancellor Parel and Cavalry Commander Leopold.
After the meeting where they discussed executing Acar, Parel began investigating all officials connected to the Empire.
And soon after, a bloody purge swept through the Iren Kingdom.
Those caught in the storm were mostly people of high status or wealth.
They were all trash connected to the Empire, feeding off the kingdom.
Although it had taken a long time to reach this decision, execution came quickly.
It took only three days.
In that short time, over thirty high-ranking officials were killed, and more than a hundred of their associates lost their lives.
Of course, not all spies were caught in such a short time, but it was clear the kingdom was prepared to fight back against the Empire.
“And you, Acar, will lead the vanguard.”
“I will fight for the kingdom with my life!” Acar shouted.
Leopold nodded.
“I entrust the northwestern border to you. Prepare for deployment immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Acar’s eyes flashed as he stood.
He had lost to Damian before, but…
‘If we meet again, I’ll have to thank him.’
He owed Damian a debt.
As Acar marched toward the battlefield, a sense of grim determination settled on his back.
* * *
Penroni, Northwestern Iren Kingdom.
Being close to the border, the city’s security was tighter than other places.
But despite that, the Spanian forces had no choice but to advance here.
“With the attack on the Baroque Kingdom having failed, we must cross this point.”
The man at the vanguard spoke with a determined expression.
He had buried his bones in the Spanian Kingdom, risen to the rank of general, and fought countless battles.
But he could confidently say, never had there been a battlefield as wretched as this.
‘…Is it right to be holding onto the kingdom’s last moments like this?’
It felt like he was just pushing the kingdom’s soldiers into a dead end at the Empire’s bidding.
But then—
“What are you standing around for?”
“…We’ll move without being told.”
A general standing behind him approached, carrying a massive mace slung over his shoulder.
His size was that of two average adults put together.
His protruding belly resembled that of a heavily pregnant woman.
But the fierce glint in his eyes and the grip on his mace gave the impression he could tear anyone apart.
This was Pakilonte, a general of the Empire.
With his arrival, General Bebileon of the Spanian Kingdom sighed and looked ahead.
The border was already crowded with Iren Kingdom’s troops, but that didn’t matter.
They had two thousand Imperial soldiers backing them up.
A combined force of five thousand troops.
It was the perfect number to kickstart a bloody festival to signal the true beginning of the war.
But what pained him was that he had to be the one to initiate this war, devoid of any honor.
Grip.
His hand trembled as he held his sword.
He wondered if the day would ever come when he could repay this humiliation.
‘But by then, I probably won’t be around.’
He felt nothing but guilt for those who would come after him.
Still, no matter how dirty or dishonorable—
‘To survive is to keep moving forward.’
He would walk this filthy path himself.
Swoosh.
Bebileon looked at the soldiers behind him.
All had solemn expressions.
It wasn’t the fear of war.
They all likely felt the same as he did.
Bebileon spoke.
“Remember, everyone! This war is for our future generations, and this is how we live! Set aside your pride and lay down your lives for a kingdom where our children can smile!”
“Uaaaaaah!”
The soldiers roared, raising their morale in response to Bebileon’s words.
Watching from behind, Pakilonte chuckled.
“What a load of crap. They should just charge already.”
He sneered at Bebileon and his soldiers.
The sight of what was essentially the remnants of a fallen nation talking about the future was too laughable to bear.
And then—
“Frontline troops! Charge!”
“Uaaaaaaah!”
“For the kingdom!”
“Uraaagh!”
With Bebileon’s shout, the soldiers let out fierce cries.
The soldiers of the Spanian Kingdom charged toward the Iren Kingdom’s border.
Standing behind the border defenses, Acar watched the approaching Spanian soldiers.
“…This is a tragic sight.”
He knew why they were attacking this place.
The Empire had completely taken control of the Spanian Kingdom.
It was no surprise they had been forced to come here.
Grip.
But that didn’t mean they could give up this position.
They had people they needed to protect, too.
Acar drew his sword.
Ahead of the border, several large pits were covered with branches and bushes, creating traps.
It was a tactic he had learned at Makstri.
There were only a few real traps among the hundreds of meters of concealed pits.
But that was enough.
“Archer unit, ready!”
At Acar’s command, the archer unit nocked their arrows and aimed at the sky.
Once the enemies entered range—
“Fire!”
Whoosh!
Hundreds of arrows shot up at once, casting shadows across the ground.
At the overwhelming barrage, Bebileon shouted.
“Raise your shields! Block the arrows and continue to charge!”
But then, he noticed the foliage ahead.
At a glance, it looked like a trap concealed beneath.
‘Decoys? Or real?’
He hesitated.
It was too risky to just charge through without confirming.
Bebileon batted away an incoming arrow and shouted.
“All units, halt! Hold your positions and block the arrows with your shields. First Unit, move the ladders, and Second Unit, verify the traps!”
“Yes, sir!”
It was a frantic situation under the downpour of arrows.
First Unit brought in ladders to help navigate the obstacles while Second Unit began inspecting the foliage.
“It’s a trap!”
“This is also a trap!”
The real traps were concentrated in the center.
Bebileon’s expression twisted.
“This one’s a decoy! No trap here!”
“This one’s clear too!”
With real and fake traps mixed, there was no time to clear all the foliage and check.
“Ugh!”
“Aaargh! My arm!”
The shields weren’t large enough to cover their entire bodies.
The longer they delayed, the more soldiers were lost.
General Bebileon shouted loudly.
“Set the ladders in the center and advance through there! Move quickly to breach the enemy’s traps!”
“Yes, sir!”
It was a swift and decisive call.
The Spanian soldiers hastily set ladders in the central area to cross the traps.
Seeing this, Acar’s eyes flashed.
“Archer unit! Prepare concentrated fire!”
Click, click, click.
He had anticipated they would push through the center.
Now was the time to focus their attacks there and reduce the enemy’s numbers significantly.
‘They’ll be too busy climbing the ladders to defend themselves properly.’
This was the critical moment.
Acar’s eyes gleamed as he shouted.
“Fire!”
But before his command could even be fully issued—
Boom!
“Aaaaagh!”
“Noooo!”
“…!”
Acar was stunned as boulders suddenly rained down from the sky.
Where did these come from?
And then he saw it.
“…Catapults?”
At the rear of the Spanian forces, a set of catapults had appeared.
Acar’s face contorted in anger.
‘Were they hidden by magic?’
He realized that the Imperial troops had been with them all along.
“Hahaha, you must be quite surprised.”
Pakilonte laughed heartily, seeing the rocks land perfectly.
“Reload! By today, we will cross the Iren Kingdom’s border!”
With this kind of support, failing to breach the border would be a disgrace.
Pakilonte grinned as he watched the catapults being reloaded.
There were six in total.
Just a few more volleys, and they could completely shatter the enemy’s forward formation.
“Hahaha, I can already see them panicking and running with their tails between their legs.”
The rain of arrows that had been falling on the Spanian soldiers had ceased.
The impact of the catapults was evident from the sudden halt in the enemy’s assault.
Pakilonte shouted.
“Charge, you dogs! Go bite those bastards! Hahahaha!”
But just then—
“Commander Pakilonte!”
“…?”
The atmosphere was heating up, but a soldier came running, throwing cold water on it with urgent news.
“Unknown forces are approaching from the left flank! They’re moving toward us quickly!”
“What did you say?”
There were no new reinforcements expected…
And from the side, no less?
Pakilonte turned his head in haste to look at the direction the soldier had indicated.
A force had closed in almost within reach.
“…What the hell is that?”
Pakilonte’s face twisted as he saw the unknown army closing in on them.