A small, low forest lay a few hundred meters west of Strauss Fortress, and a small force appeared from within it. It was Varos, Serati, Leven, and Lapicel. They had been ordered to lie in wait.

Following Karnak’s orders, they had led a detachment force and hidden throughout the woods.

Rising to his feet, Varos shouted, "Charge!"

The four aura users shot forward like arrows released from a bow, and the soldiers quickly followed behind them. Since they had forsaken horses for the sake of stealth, they could rely on nothing but their own two legs.

The group dashed madly toward the battlefield with heavy shields on their backs, along with ladders and hooked ropes. The thunderous sound of their footsteps rumbled across the earth.

The detachment moved at an impressive speed, given they weren’t on horseback. It was a given, since the soldiers had been assembled from only the swiftest. Of course, even so, they were still slower than the aura users.

Varos’s group reached the base of the fortress walls long before the infantry caught up, and stones and arrows began to rain down from above. Fortunately, the attacks from the ramparts were weaker than before.

Until now, Strauss’s aura users had drawn their aura blades and fought among the undead defenders atop the walls. But those men had all rushed outside the fortress, chasing after Karnak. Varos and his party’s next task was to shield the detachment, so they could reach the walls safely.

"Everyone, climb!" Shouting, Varos unfurled his chain blade. Purple aura ran in threads along the length of the chain.

He hooked the chain blade onto the wall and launched himself upward in a single motion. There was likely no aura skill more suited to scaling heights than this one. Lapicel followed close behind.

She too deployed her blue aura chain with ease. Even before she had become an aura user, she had been skilled at wielding the chain blade, and now, having awakened her aura, she could do so without difficulty.

A little farther away, Leven also hurled his chain blade to climb the wall. He, too, had learned the chain blade technique from Varos. He had only practiced for about two days—not with any particular intensity—but thanks to his overwhelming talent, it had been sufficient.

As the three aura users ascended the wall in an instant, Serati was vigorously flailing her limbs. Tch, they all picked that up so easily, didn’t they?

It wasn’t as though she hadn’t practiced. But no matter how much she tried, replicating the aura chains was beyond her ability. So what else could she do? She had to do what she could.

With a powerful shout, Serati concentrated her aura into all four of her limbs. Using her brute physical strength and her vast reservoir of aura, she began climbing the wall like a lizard.

Though she was the most elegant and refined of the group in appearance, her method was by far the least graceful. But regardless of appearances, it was undeniably effective. She managed to reach the top of the wall without issue, following the others.

Having safely scaled the ramparts, Varos and his party unleashed their aura blades in all directions, immediately seizing control of the space around them. With no aura users left to defend the walls, there was no one to stop them. The zombies and ghouls that rushed at them were cut down at terrifying speed.

As a result, the barrage of attacks directed toward the base of the wall noticeably weakened. Thus, the infantry following behind managed to reach the walls safely.

Varos called out to them in a resounding voice. "Take the walls!"

Long ladders were thrown up, and hooked ropes flew through the air. Immediately after, soldiers began swarming up the walls like ants.

We did it!

Swinging his aura blade, Varos peered beyond the ramparts. He could clearly see the Strauss knights who should have been guarding this very wall. They now resembled dogs chasing chickens at the far side of the fortress.

This’ll throw them into chaos!

Unfortunately, they were not thrown into chaos. In the middle of their chase, the Strauss knights suddenly split left and right, making a wide arc across the battlefield. Then, they charged straight for Varos’s position on the western wall!

"Huh?"

Without sparing a glance for the elemental giants, the golems, or the hundreds of soldiers at their backs, they pressed on, their eyes fixed ahead. Even more startling, Sir Kairon had given no special orders.

It was as if the entire knightly order had instinctively and seamlessly transitioned to their next maneuver. The pivot had been so swift that Karnak’s forces didn’t even have time to pursue.

Although Varos was atop the ramparts and Karnak was on the fortress’s eastern side, separated by a great distance, both wore the same expression.

What the hell?

How are they staying this composed?

***

Even though she was flustered, Serati quickly took stock of the situation. What is this?

At a glance, it was hard to make sense of the scene. If they took control of the ramparts as planned, the Strauss knights on the ground would end up sandwiched between Karnak’s forces at their rear and the detachment atop the wall.

They weren’t panicking, given how calmly they moved. So why were they willingly walking into such a disadvantageous position? But she soon came to a realization. They hadn’t secured the ramparts yet.

With a deafening blast, a swath of purple aura tore across the top of the wall. Varos’s group hastily threw themselves aside to avoid the attack.

Purple-tier?

There’s still someone this strong left?

A young man in his twenties emerged from beyond Serati and Lapicel’s line of sight. He held a purple aura blade in hand. Though it was her first time seeing him, Serati instantly recognized him. He bore a striking resemblance to Leven, who stood beside her.

"Emil-Leven!"

The Leven of the future, who now occupied Emil’s body, took on a strange expression at the unfamiliar name. "Emil-Leven?"

He looked briefly puzzled at the odd title but soon hardened his expression. It wasn’t something worth bothering over.

future Leven fixed his gaze on Varos’s group and smiled meaningfully. "You came for me, didn’t you? Well, here I am."

The group exchanged bewildered glances.

W-what do we do?

I have no idea...

It was true that taking down this young man would solve everything. But it was hard to make sense of the overall situation.

On the ramparts stood future Leven and his subordinates. Directly below the wall were the subjugation army’s detachment, who had yet to climb up.

From the east side of the fortress, the Strauss knights were charging furiously toward them, while beyond them, Karnak and his forces were hot on their heels. It had become a strangely chaotic four-way battle.

Wait, is this really going according to plan?

Serati turned towards Varos for their next course of action.

"Damn it!" Varos suddenly cursed and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Retreat! Everyone, fall back!"

What would happen if they engaged in battle here? Forces atop the wall, below the wall, and beyond it would all be tangled together. Beyond the enemy lay allies, and beyond those allies lay more enemies. It would devolve into utter chaos.

Both sides would cut each other down, spilling blood in every direction and suffering devastating losses. Sure, if it came down to a battle of attrition, the subjugation army would probably hold an advantage.

For every hundred of theirs that fell, maybe ninety-five of their enemies would fall. By that measure alone, they could claim victory. But a battle of attrition was effectively defeat for Karnak’s forces.

Exhausting each other’s strength? The dead would continue to be replenished, while the living would only dwindle. Varos knew this tactic all too well.

This is the same strategy I used!

future Leven would surely know it as well. He had been on the receiving end as an enemy, and after becoming their subordinate, he had used it himself against humans.

With a shout, Varos swung his chain blade in wild arcs, carving out space around him. He cleared a path and leaped straight down from the wall.

As he cut down the arrows raining over the soldiers’ heads, he shouted again. "Everyone, fall back! Retreat to the forest!"

They had to hurry. If the Strauss knights reached the base of the wall and battle broke out, it would effectively be over. Once the melee began, there would be no way to pull the soldiers out.

Serati, Lapicel, and Leven immediately followed Varos’s lead. They still didn’t fully understand why Varos had changed his mind so suddenly, but they didn’t question it, either.

Looks like something went wrong?

He’ll explain later, I’m sure.

It wasn’t unusual for Karnak and Varos to act first and explain afterward. It would be unwise to obey an order without an explanation in everyday life, but on the battlefield, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to follow orders without hesitation.

When situations changed abruptly, those who demanded an explanation first ended up getting cut down before they ever heard one. On the battlefield, it was a vital habit to follow orders first and ask questions later.

Familiar as they were with this kind of scenario, the others naturally began to follow Varos’s lead. They abandoned the fight with future Leven and leaped straight down from the wall, focusing solely on getting their soldiers out of there safely.

"Everyone, fall back!"

"Drop the ladders! Why are you still carrying those around?!"

The soldiers of the detachment threw away their burdens and took off at a sprint, relying on their swift legs to make their escape. Troops below the wall began pulling back in growing numbers.

***

Karnak could see every movement on the battlefield clearly from his vantage point.

"This is no easy opponent," he muttered.

He wasn’t the only one who had set himself up as bait. Future Leven had done the same. A commander unfamiliar with necromancy would never have given up on the Emil Strauss standing right before their eyes in that moment.

After all, killing the enemy leader would mean ending the war. They likely wouldn’t have thought a chaotic melee to be disadvantageous, either. Unless they were deeply experienced with situations involving necromancy, they couldn’t have predicted what would follow.

Thank heavens Varos was on the battlefield.

Thanks to him, the soldiers of the subjugation army managed to retreat in time. Fortunately, they were much faster now that they had abandoned their gear.

The soldiers withdrew from the western wall before the Strauss knights could arrive. But in the end, it was inevitable that they would be caught. The detachment was on foot, while the knights were mounted. At this rate, they would be forced into battle.

I can’t let us escape one disaster just to suffer a one-sided defeat.

Karnak redirected his forces toward the western forest. Rather than aiming for the rear of the Strauss knights, he shifted his objective to securing his own army’s retreat. With this move, the advantage swung back to the subjugation army.

If the Strauss knights pursued the detachment, Karnak’s forces would be in position to strike at their flank. The tables would turn, and Strauss would be the one to suffer a lopsided defeat.

Of course, Karnak knew things wouldn’t play out that way. There’s no way he’d let that happen.

Sure enough, the knights did not continue their pursuit. Instead, the fortress gates opened once more, and the entire order of knights withdrew back into the fortress.

Future Leven gazed down over the battlefield while standing atop the ramparts. He saw the subjugation army’s detachment withdrawing and Karnak’s forces moving to join them.

All things considered, for all the noise and chaos, the battle had amounted to nothing. There had been plenty of running, shouting, and scrambling, but no actual fighting had taken place.

With a bitter look, he muttered to himself. "They’re quite formidable."