Chapter 167 – Struggle for Dominance (6)
Blyer’s main army was stationed at the Beneta border, and its elite forces were currently with Kal in Etor.
The only troops left to defend the castle were a minimal force.
With Elton’s team having scouted the troops in advance, I was confident that the total number of reinforcents mobilized from Blyer would be around 300.
Sure enough, the troops erging from Blyer’s castle matched my expectations.
A unit of knights on horseback and spear-wielding infantry.
Since they weren’t coming from far, they quickly reached the Wailing Hill.
“…What the—?!”
They had responded to the beacon fire, but upon arrival, they were t with a colossal inferno—the entire hill was engulfed in flas as if the world itself were burning.
As they hesitated, unable to advance further, the knights noticed a ragged group gathered at the edge of the fire.
The territory’s commoners, who had been transporting corpses, were huddled together, avoiding the flas.
“Seize them!”
Realizing these people might know sothing, the knights led their troops toward the commoners.
They closed in, their horses trampling over the scorched ground, until they reached the carts piled high with bodies.
Then—
“Attack!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The timid-looking commoners—who had been quietly watching the approaching soldiers—suddenly transford.
With deadly precision, they drew weapons hidden beneath the carts and charged forward.
The knights were montarily stunned.
Not with fear, but disbelief.
A scoff.
“These pathetic wretches dare…?”
A leading knight, sneering at the audacity of these ragged fighters, swung his sword down at the man in front.
Sskak—!
“…?!”
His head flew into the air—along with his sword.
It thudded to the ground, rolling lifelessly.
The knight had been their commanding officer, and his sudden death caused the entire formation to falter.
A brief silence filled the battlefield.
The man who had landed after decapitating the knight calmly shook the blood from his sword.
The blade shimred with a visible aura.
Aura Sword.
The knights finally got a good look at his face.
“L-Lochter Felice…?!”
“Kraaaaaah!”
Lochter let out a ferocious roar, his killing intent surging in all directions.
The knights’ horses panicked, rearing up in terror.
As the knights struggled to regain control of their mounts, the 100 ard rebels lunged at the foot soldiers with rciless intensity.
“Kill every last one of them!”
“You bastards! We’ve been waiting for this day!”
The fury in their movents was not that of ordinary soldiers.
They were forr noble retainers—the true survivors of Blyer’s past.
Despite being outnumbered, the battle had already tilted in our favor.
With their commander dead and Lochter Felice leading the charge, the knights began to flee—racing back toward the castle.
The foot soldiers followed suit.
But…
They had nowhere to run.
A group had already cut off their retreat—our people were waiting.
I watched as the desperate soldiers ran straight toward us.
“Leave it to .”
Kal, leading Elton’s team, dashed forward.
Though only ten in number, they were so skilled that even a 5-star warrior like Lochter would struggle against them.
I summoned the Blood-Drinking Chalice and aid at the fleeing knights.
What followed was a one-sided slaughter.
Completely surrounded, Blyer’s forces were quickly annihilated, leaving the ground soaked in blood.
***
“Lord Alex, I failed to recognize you.”
“Ah, so we et again.”
“My na is Heinz Bell.”
I studied the old man before with curiosity.
Baron Heinz Bell.
A key figure in the Anti-Kal Blazer Alliance, he had supported Lochter Felice for years, helping him establish a military stronghold in Laup Forest.
In the original story, he had died too soon, so his role had never been significant.
But now…
The old man who had pulled the cart beside turned out to be the leader of the fallen nobles.
‘Is this fate?’
“Lord Heinz.”
“Please, ask anything.”
“The things you told earlier… were they all lies?”
“No. My two sons truly were taken to the mines. Everyone here is in the sa situation. The families of those marked for purging were either enslaved in the mines or sacrificed by the Shamans.”
“Then… pulling the carts was…?”
“A daily task. No one else wanted to do it, and since it involved leaving the territory, it was the easiest way to avoid surveillance.”
Straightening his tattered clothes, Heinz bowed deeply before .
He must have heard from Lochter that I was the one leading this group.
“Please, lead us.”
“I can only help. Leading your people is your responsibility, Lord Heinz.”
I couldn’t take full responsibility for them.
The best I could do was support them, as I had done with Beneta.
But Heinz misunderstood my words as a rejection.
He dropped to his knees before .
And then—
The others followed, kneeling in unison.
“Do not abandon us! We will do anything!”
“We will stake our lives on this!”
Even Heinz—a noble—lowered his head to the ground, throwing away his pride.
Lochter spoke.
“That man… is the only one who can stand against Kal Blazer.”
Heinz had to be secured—no matter what.
I let out a sigh and glanced at Lochter.
His stubborn expression told everything.
If I rejected Heinz, he’d turn against .
‘I thought you trusted ?’
I scratched my head and finally gave the order.
“Load the corpses of the knights and soldiers onto the carts.”
“Then…?”
“If we’re going to fight Kal, we need your strength. Let’s go together.”
“T-Thank you!”
“But report to Lord Lochter. He will lead you, not .”
Heinz imdiately understood and turned to bow before Lochter, just as he had with .
Lochter looked conflicted, scowling at .
‘Seriously? You still don’t get it?’
‘Why do you think I spread those rumors and made you a hero?’
I grabbed his shoulder, my voice sharp.
“This is your chance to correct your mistake.”
“…My mistake?”
“The ‘banquet’ with Kal in the underground prison.”
“If you hadn’t accepted Kal’s offer that day… If you hadn’t pledged false loyalty before everyone… these people wouldn’t have fallen so easily.”
“…I thought it was the only way to save them.”
“Then correct it. Accept them. Unless you want to lose everyone again.”
“I’m not the one they need…”
“This is your last chance. Are you going to run again?”
Lochter let out a hollow laugh, locking eyes with for a mont before finally nodding.
With that, he accepted the fallen noble faction into his ranks.
At this mont, the Anti-Kal Blazer Alliance, the only force capable of checking Kal’s rise, was born years ahead of schedule.
It was done.
The foundation was set.
Now, all that remained was to absorb everything into it.
“So, what’s next?”
“We take the castle. Then we bring down the mines.”
“…Do you really think that’s possible?”
Their expressions said it all—Could we really do this with so few people?
But I was certain.
We could take both the castle and the mines—without significant losses.
If anything, my real concern was what would co after.
‘Ti is running way too damn tight.’
The true objective of this battle wasn’t just victory—it was how many people we could evacuate.
We needed to lead everyone deep into the mines.
Because inside, hidden within its depths, lay the so-called “Passage”—the only escape route.
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
I pulled aside three mbers of Elton’s team and placed them by Lochter’s side.
Elton’s team was excellent at deception and quick-witted.
I had them don the crimson cloaks and instructed them on what to do.
Lochter, standing nearby, listened without blinking.
anwhile, the bodies of the Blyer knights and soldiers had been loaded onto carts.
Underneath the corpses, hundreds of weapons lay hidden.
“Take the carts into Blyer Castle.”
“The gates won’t open for us…”
Heinz hesitated, but I simply gestured at Elton’s disguised team, their crimson robes marking them as Shamans’ subordinates.
“They’ll open. There aren’t enough competent guards left on the walls.”
Within Blyer, many of its remaining citizens still followed Heinz and the old noble faction.
If Lochter showed himself publicly, announced the Anti-Kal Blazer Alliance, and marched with those loyal to him, the castle would collapse from within.
The people of Blyer had lived under oppression for too long.
They weren’t loyal—they were afraid.
All they had ever needed was a spark.
And if the one leading them was Lochter Felice, the fallen heir turned hero…
‘They will rise up.’
Once the people revolted, taking the mines would be even easier.
After all, the guards stationed at the mines numbered only 300.
No, the real threat wasn’t Blyer—it was the forces Kal would send next.
“Do we have signal flares?”
Heinz scrambled for a mont before bringing back a bundle of old firework-like flares.
I examined them, then turned to Lochter.
“Once the signal flare goes off, how long will it take you to reach here at full speed?”
“No matter where I am in the castle, I’ll be here within a minute.”
“Then listen closely—no matter what, if the flare goes off, you run. Even if you’re pissing, you drop everything and run here. If you’re late, I’ll be dead.”
Lochter was our strongest fighter.
But I was sending him into the castle—because his re presence was the key to rallying the people of Blyer.
He needed to be seen—only then would the rebellion take root.
“You’ll fight here?”
“Yes. And rember what I said—don’t try to save everyone. If you hesitate, our allies will die.”
“Understood.”
Lochter nodded gravely, then climbed into one of the carts, covering himself with the tarp.
A mont later, dozens of carts, led by Elton’s disguised group, began their slow march toward Blyer Castle.
Watching them leave, Karl let out a dry chuckle.
“You had worried for a second.”
“Worried?”
“There was a bounty of 1,000,000 gold placed on Lochter’s head. I thought it’d be a problem. But if we’re flipping the entire castle, that bounty’s aningless.”
“…Any other rumors?”
“Yeah. Apparently, Lochter has been accused of assassinating Viscount Tomzael.”
“…Assassination? Lochter?”
“It was based on the testimony of Captain Wiley. The story’s gaining traction.”
“…If Lochter had been moving alone, this could have been a disaster.”
“Exactly. But with the noble faction backing him now, that story won’t hold up.”
Karl frowned.
“Neither of these rumors existed yesterday.”
“That’s because soone deliberately spread them.”
“Whoever it was… they’re inside the castle.”
Karl’s expression darkened.
“I tried tracking them down. But they’re Shaman. It won’t be easy. Honestly, we might not be able to find them.”
A spy working for Kal was hidden inside Blyer, feeding him real-ti information.
Communication artifacts like ssaging orbs were rare, aning there was probably only one spy.
‘I need to delay Kal’s knowledge of the situation for as long as possible.’
If I could eliminate the spy, it would buy us precious ti.
I called for Lily.
When Elton returned with the stolen ssaging orb, I placed it in front of Keros.
“Can you track the scent of artifacts?”
“Scent?”
“Yes. When an artifact is infused with power, it leaves behind residual traces.”
Lily sniffed the orb uncertainly, but Keros’ reaction was imdiate—his nose twitched sharply.
“There’s soone inside the castle carrying sothing identical to this.”
“You can find them?”
“Like hide-and-seek, right?”
“Find them, and I’ll make you sandwiches for a day.”
“That’s it?”
“…Two days?”
“Not even close.”
“…Fine. Three days.”
“Let’s go, Keros!”
“Woof!”
As Lily and Keros set off, she suddenly turned back.
“By the way, Keros is asking—can he eat the spy if he catches them?”
I swallowed hard.
Then, slowly, I nodded.
I didn’t know who the spy was, but…
‘May the gods have rcy on your soul.’
With Lily gone, only Karl, Elton, and five others remained with .
The fires from the burning hill still raged bright and fierce.
Karl studied the flas for a mont before turning to , his expression puzzled.
I was scribbling sothing in the dirt.
Curious, he crouched down to take a look.
“‘Wave 1, Wave 2, Wave 3’? What are you writing?”
“The enemies we’ll have to stop.”
“…Three waves?”
“At minimum.”
“And we have to stop the first two waves here, at Wailing Hill?”
“Yes.”
“Why here?”
“Because they’ll co straight here first.”
Wailing Hill was a symbol of Blyer.
Anyone loyal to Kal would rush here imdiately upon seeing it burning.
And the first group had already been dispatched to Wailing Hill.
“Fine, we’ll stop them. Who’s in Wave 1?”
“Blyer’s 3,000 elite cavalry.”
Karl’s face went pale.
“You insane bastard! How the hell are we supposed to stop 3,000 cavalry?!”
“We can.”
“…Who gave you this intel?”
“The Shamans from the hidden base.”
“SHIT! SHIT!!! SO IT’S REAL?! WE CAN’T WIN! LET’S RUN TO THE CASTLE!”
I smirked.
“Who said we’d fight them head-on?”
Karl hadn’t even heard about Wave 2 and 3 yet.
I pulled out a crimson robe and tossed it to Elton.
Wave 1 would be dealt with using deception.
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