It was past dusk. The sun hides in the mountain ridge and disappeared. The sky was dyed red and eerie blue and back invaded.

  It was the uncertain time where day is being replaced by night.

  An armor wearing man is looking up at the sad sky and sighs.

  The man narrowed his eyes in order to see further but shook his head and dropped his glance. He turned his face sideways.

  On the direction where the man looked are houses with cracked roofs and walls.

  It is the townscape of Periastol. It is a town that was invaded by the Rembrandt Kingdom.

  It is the westernmost town of the Immenstadt Empire. It is about 10 kilometers away from the fort at the border of Immenstadt Empire and Rembrandt kingdom.

  At the time of the former king of the Rembrandt Kingdom, they were able to occupy six towns which are Periastol and five others.

  That war of invasion was severe. Soldiers of Rembrandt Kingdom and a lot of mercenaries committed all kinds of tyranny.

  Therefore, it can be said that this town is a huge tomb of people who were robbed of both life and dignity.

  Looking at the desolate town which is deprived of life, various emotions were felt by the man distorting his expression.

  The man turned to the west, the direction where the Rembrandt Kingdom is, and took a deep breath. After that, he turns around and looked at the road that leads to the center of the town.

  A town where no one lives.

  Those people waking in this town are imperial soldiers who were tasked to set up camps on the border.

  However, dignified troops appeared and marched into the town.

  Black helmet, black armor, black shield.

  Looking at them, an imperial soldier wrinkled his forehead deeply and set up the shield full of scratches in his hand.

  Though the group in black armors came from the direction of the Immenstadt Empire, only vigilance can be seen on the man’s face.

  「Stop right there!」


  The man put his other hand on the handle of his sword and shouted with all his might.

  However, the group in black armors didn’t reply and did not loosen their phase.

  The man pulled out his sword and lowered his back. He was already in battle mode and raised his voice.

  「Enemy! Unknown enemy…!」


  At the same time the man cried out, one of the black armored troops made his move.

  The black armored guy pulled out his dull, dark silver shining sword and targeted the man.

  「Don’t take me lightly」


  The man made a ferocious smile and took a stance.

  The black armored guy didn’t even flinch. He set up his sword and came closer to the man.

  In a casual way, the black armored guy moved his sword to his side for side mowing.

  He swayed his sword without warning. The man calmly received the sword and thrust ahead. He took that chance to behead the black armored guy.

  The black helmet dances in the sky and the black armor has lost its head.

  There’s no blood and the dark red cross section of a neck was exposed.

  The man was puzzled to what he has seen. When he paid attention to the black helmet who stopped rolling on the ground, the black armor without a head started moving by itself.

  Then, a sword swings down at the dumbfounded man from above.

  He was able to react but it was already too late. He received the sword from his shoulder until his body was cut in two.

  「Im-impossible…」


  The man, who just said his last words, falls on the ground and stops moving.

  The headless black armor walks towards its head. It sloppily took his own head and put it in its original position.

  He made his way back to his fellow black armored troops and marched.

  Thus, the town of Periastol became an uninhabited town in a true meaning.

  After some time, all the towns that the Rembrandt Kingdom formerly occupied and should have been returned was devastated by the black armor troops.

  「The one hundred soldiers who were stationed at Periastol were all slaughtered!」


  One of the forts at the border of Rembrandt Kingdom.

  The fort became noisy because of the soldier’s report.

  At the rooftop of the fort, the soldiers gathered as they looked around the surroundings of the fort even if it’s raining.

  There was a man in the center wearing a decorated blue armor and mantle.

  「Three other towns including Grecia are in the same state as Periastol. The soldiers of the Rembrandt Kingdom are surely the one who caused it…」


  One of the soldiers said so. The man who wore mantle narrowed his eyes at the rainy scenery as he stared at a distance.

  The place he’s looking at is not in the direction of the Rembrandt Kingdom but the direction of the Immenstadt Empire.

  「…the soldiers that were sent on those inhabited towns, even if there are only a few of them, they will not fall immediately.」


  When the man said so, a soldier standing next to the man nodded.

  「Right. Since it is a reconnaissance duty, only skilled soldiers were sent and they would have no trouble even if they fight against others on the same number. But, if we talked about the mercenaries of the previous war who became bandits, that would be a different story. 」


  In response to the words of the soldier, the man shook his head with a steep face.

  「Troops that experience that fierce battle will definitely become strong army. However, according to the report, they can’t even find any lead about the enemy. If someone else died aside from our troops, it should have been included in the report. However, the report’s content only has the annihilation of our troops in those towns.」


  When the man said so, the surrounding soldiers became perplexed and looked at each other.

  The soldier, who’s standing next to the man, groaned to the man’s words and opened his mouth.

  「In other words, an army with overwhelming military power was the one responsible for this? The Rembrandt Kingdom has been hiding something like that? 」


  When the soldier inquired, the man sighed and put his hand on his chin.

  「…Thinking about the Rembrandt Kingdom’s elite, mercenary groups, bandits…. No, if they are the one who did it, our soldiers will have a hard time but they won’t be annihilated.」


  「…Then?」


  The man looked at the soldiers who are looking at him and vomited a deep sigh.

  「There is only someone who can take them on by surprise. Those are the town survivors… 」


  「That’s impossible! 」


  To the man’s guess, someone from the soldiers raised his voice.

  Originally, this conduct should be criticized. However, no one reacted and just waited for the man’s words.

  The man looks around again and sighs.

  「For example, let’s assume that you’re the one who got the job to patrol the town, are you going to be defeated without doing anything? Also, it will be a terrible blunder if no one survives to expose what happened. However, if it’s a surprise attack, it will be understandable. 」


  When the man said so, they groaned.

  「…Then, are you saying that our soldiers were attacked by allies? 」


  When one of the soldiers said that, no one answered.

  While raining, one of the soldiers who’s watching the surroundings raised his voice.

  「Army! An unknown army appeared! 」


  The voice came from the direction of the Immenstadt Empire.

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