# Chapter 61
After leaving Levi, Ion staggered down the castle wall stairs and leaned against the wall. Startled, Owen quickly supported him and expressed his concern.
“Are you alright?”
Ion merely bowed his head without answering, swallowing his ragged breath. His tightly bitten lips had developed a small wound with blood spreading from it, but the pain in his chest was so much greater that he didn’t even notice.
It was truly remarkable how he had managed to converse so calmly, thinking about it now.
Just replaying their brief conversation made his chest hurt and feel so tight that he was dizzy, yet somehow he’d managed to stand there composedly.
‘Levi…’
He was right in front of him, yet Ion couldn’t touch or embrace him. All he could do was pretend to be a stranger and attempt a brief conversation with him.
If Hest’s advice to stay calm hadn’t been so deeply ingrained, almost like brainwashing, he would have tried to drag Levi away immediately, without a second thought about making him a prisoner.
‘If I had, I would have had to fight that man before the soldiers could even gather.’
Recalling the man who had appeared silently from the darkness, Ion deduced from his speech pattern, attire, and undeniable skill that he must be ‘Count Lance’ who belonged to Levi’s unit.
Count Lance was one of the three shadows of the Caron Emperor, his closest knight. If the Emperor had given Levi a noble position and intended to use him as a pawn in war, it made sense that he would assign a shadow to watch over him.
Ion knew Count Lance’s prowess well from rumors. Among the many tales praising his martial abilities, the most famous was from when the current Caron Emperor seized the throne in a coup. The story of how he had slaughtered the captain of the royal guards—known as the strongest sword of the former Emperor—not by ambush, but head-on in an instant, and then personally displayed his head on the city gate, had impressed even Ion and Tis.
Such a Count Lance was by Levi’s side. In enemy territory, and considering Levi as well, Ion and Owen alone had no chance of victory.
Ion’s expression turned as bitter as if he had swallowed a mouthful of acrid herbs.
‘From the beginning… I couldn’t take the current Levi with me.’
Only after meeting him in person did it become clear.
Apart from the question of whether he could obtain the right to decide Levi’s fate if he took him by means other than combat, Ion simply could not attack him. He had considered striking him in the solar plexus or hitting the back of his neck to knock him out briefly for abduction, but the idea of causing him pain with his own hands was unacceptable.
It would be better if he could use a drug to temporarily subdue him, but even that wouldn’t work on someone like Levi, leaving Ion with no options.
But that was only in the current state of stealthy infiltration. Once battle began, he would find Levi first and bind him as a prisoner, regardless of the commotion it might cause.
‘For that, I need to win.’
His trembling eyes gradually grew as calm as his heart while thinking of Levi.
This was an opportunity.
He would bring down this Iron Fortress, secure victory, and take Levi into his hands.
For that, he needed to move quickly during this infiltration.
❖ ❖ ❖
Booooom—!
At the heavy horn sound resonating from the ramparts of the Iron Fortress, every soldier moved in perfect unison. It didn’t take long for tens of thousands of troops to gather in formation in front of the south gate.
Baron Husdinen, looking into the distance from atop the ramparts above the south gate, frowned. Though neither he nor the other soldiers could see the enemy yet, the urgent signals brought by two swift falcons simultaneously released from the two southern hills were, as always, reliable.
Baron Husdinen turned around to look inside the fortress. Tens of thousands of soldiers awaited his orders, standing in perfect formation without the slightest disorder.
About to speak, Baron Husdinen glanced to the side.
Count Aden was still gazing southward from the ramparts just as he had the night before, and Count Lance showed no intention of leaving his side, like a personal guard knight. Though both had said they would not interfere with the military command of the Iron Fortress, giving orders without their involvement still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, this was a very good thing for Baron Husdinen.
In wartime, victory in battle becomes the achievement of the one who holds command over the troops. Just as this fortress had withstood multiple attacks from the Delos Empire decades ago, he had no doubt it would do so again.
‘Especially since the opponent is none other than Grand Duke Verdit.’
With the thought that this was an opportunity, he began to feel excited.
He already knew that Grand Duke Ion Verdit and his undying soldiers were marching with the Delos Empire army toward this place. The border garrison troops who had been badly defeated in battle against the Delos Empire forces were now in this fortress, so it was impossible not to know.
‘Even against an immortal army, as long as they don’t physically break through the walls with their bodies, there’s no problem in defending.’
Victory for fortress garrison troops means successfully defending the castle.
In other words, Baron Husdinen could accumulate great merit simply by blocking the way at this fortress to prevent the enemy from burning Antarbo.
If he succeeded in defending the fortress and repelling the enemies this time, a count title would be virtually guaranteed for him.
In high spirits, Baron Husdinen gave a very brief speech to boost morale among the waiting soldiers, followed by assigning tasks to each unit.
The main assignments were to send units of 10,000 each toward the east, west, and south secret passages. Using hidden secret passages to simultaneously surround and attack the enemy from each direction was the specialty of the Iron Fortress garrison troops.
With this method, they had crushed the enemy in every defensive battle so far. Even with an immortal army mixed in, they would surely gain the upper hand this time as well. At best, they might even capture Grand Duke Verdit, one of the key figures of the Delos Empire, as a prisoner.
Indulging in various sweet dreams, Baron Husdinen tried to hide his excitement as he busily issued commands with a dignified face.
Count Lance, watching the troops move without hesitation as if they had practiced many times before, followed Levi’s gaze into the distance. Though nothing was visible yet, according to Baron Husdinen, Grand Duke Verdit’s army would reach the fortress in about an hour.
“Will you be able to do it?”
At Count Lance’s question, Levi replied immediately without turning his head.
“Yes. I can do it.”
“His Majesty wishes for you not to overexert yourself, Count.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Count Lance observed Levi as he heard his determined voice. By now, a clear killing intent toward someone had settled in Levi’s black eyes.
“It’s something only I can do, right?”
Levi raised his black hand with its white ring. The long glove covering his sharp nails and black skin was made of leather so thin and soft it seemed it would tear immediately if even a small blade were applied to it. Levi seemed to be looking down at the red pattern sleeping within.
“If I don’t do it, Raziel could die.”
“If the immortal army led by Grand Duke Verdit continues to devour our territory, eventually… that would be the case.”
Though he believed there was no way the Emperor he served would let that happen, he showed a cooperative attitude to motivate Levi.
As expected, Levi’s gaze sank even deeper.
“I’ll do it.”
Levi clenched his black hand as if he had made a decision.
This was clearly different from what he had been doing so far. This wasn’t like the indiscriminate slaughter when he went berserk in a state of starvation in the capital of the Delos Empire, seeking food to fill his stomach. As long as the bracelet remained on his wrist, the lives he took would be no different from turning to dust.
‘This is to protect Raziel.’
Murder not for himself, but solely for the one he wanted to protect… no, this was ‘war.’
Just as they had moved their army to kill Raziel, he too would move ‘to kill those who were trying to kill Raziel.’ That was the solid tie supporting him now, and the only clear meaning of life before his eyes.
Time passed, and eventually countless enemy troops appeared in the distance. Levi glared with murderous eyes at the figure advancing in the center of the front row. Even from afar, his long red-tasseled helmet and dazzling white armor made him stand out.
As expected, the enemy vanguard commander was Grand Duke Ion Verdit.
Recognizing him, Levi descended from the ramparts with Count Lance and stopped at the rear of the allied forces positioned outside the Iron Fortress. Soon, as if foretelling the fierce battle about to begin, the heavy sound of the gates firmly closing was heard.
