Darian, the leader of the Salgarez mercenarypany, felt like he was having a nightmare.


    ''A punitive force carrying the Emperor''s g? Tumaria has gathered troops at the border. Are they really nning to start a war?''


    He knew that since these were troops dispatched directly by the Emperor, they would definitely not be ipetent men.


    They might have sent imperial knights, or amander from a prominent family could have brought troops from a powerful family to further his career.


    No matter how skilled the Salgarez mercenary group was, they could not contend with such a force.


    And if these imperial troops were sent to the gray area of the border, there was no way Tumaria would let it pass unnoticed.


    They would bring more troops and cause trouble. From then on, no one would care about the Salgarez mercenaries.


    But howe it''s so quiet?


    "Captain! The Tumaris are attacking from the north!"


    "...What?" Darian was left speechless by the news that followed.


    He thought it wasn''t true, but what if it really was?


    ''... Hardion and Tumari really joined hands? For something like this? So quietly?''


    Darian shut his eyes tightly.


    Now that the fighting hade to a halt due to Emperor Madius'' policies, the mercenarypany''s operating funds had reached their limit.


    The weekly wages gradually decreased, and now it had be difficult to even maintain the mercenary group.


    They can''t disband a mercenary group.


    They had been fighting as mercenaries for a very long time, generations, and all they could do was fight. Even if they wanted to leave Dabron and settle somewhere else, they couldn''t.


    They were tied down by a contract and their operating funds were slowly drying up, so they didn''t have the money to even try to move.


    Perhaps Govan, the Marquis of Davron, intended to slowly disintegrate the Salgarez mercenary band and then absorb them.


    ''You fucking noble bastards.''


    There was little Darian could do to protect the Salgarez mercenary band he had inherited from his father, so he ended up jumping into the gamble.


    Darian''s gamble was unexpectedly sessful, but the problem was that it was too sessful.


    Davron remained passive in response to Tumari''s sudden deployment of troops, which allowed him to plunder the surrounding viges with gusto.


    Just a little more, just a little more… After moving, in order to secure a ce, he tried to loot a little more. And then it came to this.


    Standing on the edge of a cliff, he could only watch as the sharp de of the spear pressed down on him.


    "Captain! What are we going to do?"


    When Darian didn''t give any instructions, the other mercenaries got frustrated and grabbed him, urging him on.


    Darian was too young. He was a mature man in his thirties, but he was still a childpared to his father, who had led the Salgarez mercenary band for over forty years.


    Darian gritted his teeth as he was pushed by the rough hands and words pouring down on him. It can''t end like this.


    "Get a good grasp on them! We''ll break through at one point, so find their weak points!"


    Only then did the mercenaries start moving hurriedly at Darian''s direction. In the past, they would have done everything on their own without any instructions, but with the generational change, everything was creaking.


    Fortunately, however, they had extensivebat experience and were well versed in the terrain of this rocky hill, fortifying it.


    Thanks to this, they could buy time by preventing them from digging in like crazy.


    Otherwise, they would have been prated long ago.


    If they have time, they can do it step by step, but if heck experience, he will stumble in unexpected situations.


    That is the limit of amander with ordinary talent. If he could have carried out everything as nned in his head with unhinderedmand here, he would not have remained as a mercenary leader, but would have been promoted by Goban and be a noble.


    The mercenaries moved along the rocky hill, and soon information arrived to Darian, who was anxiously waiting for a report.


    "What? Really?"


    "Yes! I saw it with my own two eyes!"


    Darian seemed to cling to a thread of hope, but also felt faintly anxious, at the fact that both Hardion and Tumaria had sent out only 15 troops, most of whom were ordinary soldiers.


    "There are only three strong ones among the Tumaris, and the rest are just soldiers. But I can''t even get close to them. I don''t know what hit them or how."


    "What about Hardion?"


    "There are three knights in full te armor, and the rest are soldiers. They don''t seem to have any intention of attacking. They''re just blocking the road."


    In this narrow canyon, three knights in full te armor are like a steel tank. They are absolutely imprable.


    "But there''s one strange guy."


    "A strange guy?"


    "He is carrying the Emperor''s g, and he is wearing a cloak with the Imperial emblem."


    "… What the hell! They''re royalty!"


    Darian screamed, hitting his helmeted head hard. It''s the end. Even if he break through the enemy lines, there will be troops outside to protect the royal family.


    "But that guy, although you can''t see him well because he''s wearing armor, he was really short. He was hiding behind the soldiers and walking around holding only a g."


    "… Are you saying that he is a child?"


    "Yes."


    Darian bit his lip while clutching his head.


    He didn''t even realize that the blood flowing from his torn lip was pooling on the tip of his chin. There''s no way back anyway.


    They won''t ept surrender either. No, they may ept their surrender and then publicly execute them in a horrible manner.


    "… I''m taking that guy hostage."


    "Can we escape?"


    "We can''t just die."


    Darian made a decision. "Everyone heads south."


    He nned to take the royal family hostage and escape. If he kept going like this, he was going to die anyway, so he would struggle as much as he could.