Talkative.

Moments ago…

Kirigan silently watched the progression of the battle from Kynburgh's wall.

Though the air defense artilleries took care of the battle aircraft, which in turn descended on the alliance troops, causing damage, Alexander could not help but grasp an inkling of their goals.

'Their main goal is not to breach the wall; if they aimed to claim Kynburgh, they would have cleared a path in the forest to allow successful passage of large troops and war machines…'

Alexander analyzed the situation solemnly, the dark look on his face intensifying.

'Except this attack was supposed to be a farce, but the leading commander decided to change plans at the last minute after discovering Kynburgh's military battle tactics had failed…'

Alexander's conjecture was not entirely wrong. After all, the alliance forces didn't seem to pose much of a threat, even without the horde's assistance.

Still, the alliance forces kept pushing forward like creeping creatures, as if their only goal was to arrive at closer proximity to Kynburgh's wall.

'From my position, no one on the battlefield fits the image of a commander—they are all just puppets in someone else's scheme…'

Alexander grimaced, twisting his footing to face his second in command, Gareth Armstrong.

"Take command of our forces," Alexander ordered, moving in the direction of Gareth, who had a perplexed expression on his rough face.

"No, General…"

Gareth was about to reject the huge mantle that was about to be placed on him but was stopped by Alexander's palm that rested on his broad shoulder.

"We are not playing games, Gareth. You are either in or out. Which do you choose?"

Alexander's stern voice resounded, attracting the attention of the exhausted Elementalists and other personnel on the wall.

'Don't give me that look, I don't want to be responsible for your lives…' Gareth thought in trepidation. 'It's scary…'

"Are you a soldier or child?

We are at war, Armstrong. You can't expect to behave like this." Alexander said with a hint of melancholy.

As a general, he felt down seeing his second-in-command act cowardly. If it were a normal situation, he would have disciplined him. But Kynburgh and the lives of its inhabitants were at stake.

"Alright, H…"

Alexander was about to call on another person to take the job when the quivering Gareth spoke up. "I'll do it sir! I'll make the right choices as the commander!"

Gareth yelled at the top of his now unwavering voice. It was all or nothing… and he was willing to give it his all.

"Nice. I trust you."

After those words, Alexander vanished from the sight of the soldiers without any prior warning, causing them to panic a little before coming to a realization.

'I pray you succeed in your undercover mission, General Alexander; General Stronoff; Dark General…'

They all prayed silently, addressing him with the names that fitted their interest.

Meanwhile, Alexander traveled through the shadows of the battlefield, unnoticed by the alliance forces. It was a hard technique to use, especially in the bright of the day. But the battle aircraft crumbles and alliance troops create enough support to aid his travels.

Slowly, Alexander approached the dense forest with great speed, diving at the moment he got a chance.

Unlike the battlefield, the forest trees created a canopy, providing enough room for shadows.

After a while of navigating through the lush forest, Alexander sighted a youthful male, fidgeting with a dark-red substance. He was relaxed, his green hair dancing in the cool breeze.

'He fits the image of Harald Progoni, commander of the Locuria dynasty military force…' Alexander assumed. 'Anyway, I can confirm my conjecture with his dead body…'

A dark line extending to the horizontal manifested with Kirigan's hand signs, growing denser with every second.

Slash

Alexander released a mass of dark energy toward the carefree youth, producing a whistling sound as it slashed through the air.

At that moment, the youth dived to the right, tumbling on the ground.

'He has great Intuition and reaction speed—worthy of a level 7 Ranker…' Alexander praised the youth for his reaction speed.

Even though the situation called for them to battle against each other, Alexander still appreciated his enemy's skills—that is just the man he was.

"Your reaction speed is not bad for a money monger," Alexander commented, his body materializing from the shadows.

The youth adjusted his footing to get a better view of his attacker.

"You are as the rumors say, dark hair, eyes, clothes… in short, everything about you is dark," the youth winced, recognizing his attacker.

Alexander did not delve into the youth's comment, observing the dark-red, cone-shaped object in his hand. "Is that the reason behind the horde's disappearance?—no, fear?"

The youth gave a deprecating laugh, silently cursing his stupidity. He could have hidden the object—not like he could guess the Dark General would leave the frontlines and journey into enemy lines.

"I thought you would be a brute, but it seems you have brains," the youth chuckled, not confirming or denying Alexander's words.

He knew any attempt to lie would be futile, so it was better to leave his enemy to confirm it for himself.

"Harald… Harald Progoni. No?" Alexander's lips curved slightly upwards.

"You seem to have a relic powerful enough to deter those raged monsters."

'I wonder where they went…' Alexander thought simultaneously.

"Can't say," Harald shrugged, positioning himself for battle.

He was indirectly telling Alexander to confirm whatever he wants through fighting.

"How intriguing. Though younger than me, you seem well-versed in combat," Alexander, who was always reserved, said in amusement.

"What can I say, you are rather talkative," Harald snorted, not letting his guard down.

"Am I now?"

"Give it up, Dark General. I won't willingly or subconsciously give you vital information."

Harald could somehow guess Alexander's goal—to get information through small talks.

"How smart…"

Alexander slightly curved his neck to the right.

"But I'm sure you would regret that."

Alexander's voice underwent a huge change, his eyes becoming pupilless for a second, before reverting to normal.

Suddenly, huge, black tentacles materialized from the ground, launching at Harald with great speed.

Harald, who was at first stunned by the sudden change, came to a realization, diving once again to the left.

The tentacles did not fall behind, following Harald's every move as if they were connected.

'Tsk, they are just like parasites… I have to think of a new plan…'

Harald thought in annoyance, using the wind to predict all incoming attacks, avoiding them at the last second.

'Once I get that price, I will go for a long vacation…'

Harald confidently thought of his plans after the fight.

Was his survival assured? Did he plan to win the fight? Or maybe escape?

Whatever was going through his head was unknown—only time could tell if his dreams would become reality or eventually get swallowed in the concept of regret.

Heh heh…