The battle day came quickly.

  The battlefield was in Essendale for a five-on-five fight. It was one of five routes where both Sungjin and Kapitle could attack each other. According to the rules of this world, they couldn’t just attack anywhere on the enemy’s territory; they could only attack the front line near the border. That was why Sungjin had built a strong defensive line on the territory, because if Kapitle won the territory, the territory behind the defensive line had a weak defensive line, which would make it difficult for Sungjin to defend his kingdom, and Sungjin had no choice but to stop Kapitle.

  Five members he selected stood in front of him. “You all remember the plan, right?”


  “Yes.”


  “Of course.”


  They all answered, and Sungjin nodded in satisfaction.

  “As we all know, we don’t know much about the ultimate skill of Kapitle, but at least we have a clue how strong his ultimate power could be.” It would be a skill as strong as God Hand of the Holy Pope. “We can deal with it. Stick to the plan.”


  “Yes.”


  “Yes, Master.”


  While everyone was answering Sungjin, Zakiya asked Sungjin with an ambiguous smile, “What if I betray you? Are you sure you want me to be here for such an important fight?” Her question sounded both like a curious question and a threat, but Sungjin laughed as if it was nothing to worry about.

  “Doesn’t matter. Betray me, if you would like to. You will be the one who will regret it if you do so.” With or without you, I will win.

  Zakiya bowed down to Sungjin’s confidence. “Hehe, sure. Win this war. If you do so, I will follow you.” Her words were sweet but didn’t sound sincere enough for him to trust them, but that really didn’t matter to Sungjin. Her thoughts didn’t matter to him—that was the nature of a business relationship. Even if they didn’t share the same vision and goal, if they had a common interest, they could be partners as long as the interest lasted. If he couldn’t handle such a partner, he surely couldn’t conquer the continent.

  This would be a test to prove himself by winning the battle with an unknown force in his team.