A border guard patrol team from the Haltai Duchy was rigorously patrolling along their designated border line, which they firmly believed belonged to them.

Their footsteps were heavy, and the bronze scale armor shimmered with a ghostly blue hue under the cold moonlight.

Unknowingly, they stepped into the disputed area where both sides adamantly claimed sovereign rights.

As expected, it was no surprise.

Almost as soon as they entered this sensitive zone, on the other side of the river valley, a patrol team from the Abel Duchy, also on patrol duty, emerged like ghosts from the shadows of the pine forest.

Their upper bodies were covered in heavy black iron-forged breastplates, which seemed to absorb all the light under the moonlight, appearing particularly somber and murderous.

In the cold moonlight, the rushing surface of the Alva River was sliced into countless flickering silver scales.

The soldiers from both patrols emerged cautiously almost simultaneously from the edges of the dense pine forests on either side of the valley. Across the not-so-wide water surface, their eyes collided like swords.

The Guard Captain of the Haltai Duchy was particularly burly, his iconic thick red beard quivering slightly in the cold wind.

He firmly placed one hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, raising the other hand to signal the team to stop advancing.

"Retreat! Abel people!"

Captain Todd’s thick red beard shook violently with his shout: "This is the sacred land of Haltai, personally designated by the Lotheren Kingdom and indisputable! Leave immediately! Or face the consequences!"

Opposite side.

The leader of the Abel Duchy patrol was a rough-featured, sharp-eyed, one-eyed officer.

A hideous scar, like a centipede, crawled from his brow all the way down to his neck, appearing particularly terrifying under the moonlight.

Faced with Todd’s warning, the one-eyed officer named Barton not only didn’t retreat but instead opened his mouth to curse.

"Old Todd, you’re full of crap!"

Barton retorted in a gruff voice, sounding like a broken gong: "Take your Haltai brats and get back to your southern mountain cove! This river valley, every inch of land, every stone, has always belonged to the Abel Duchy! This is our indivisible territory!"

Having said this, Barton unhesitatingly unfastened the sword belt at his waist, letting the heavy steel sword, along with its scabbard, crash to the gravel with a "clang".

Then, he removed his heavy arm guard, the steel gauntlet clashing against the chain armor with a sharp, ear-piercing metallic collision sound.

He loosened his thick neck with a crackling sound, then bit by bit, he walked towards the opposite shore, towards the Haltai team.

The Abel soldiers behind him, without needing verbal orders, moved in unison, all laying their weapons—swords, shields, short axes—heavily on the ground.

Hardened fists full of calluses clenched tightly, joints cracking with hair-raising "crackling" sounds.

On the other side, the Haltai warriors were equally unyielding.

"Disarm!"

Following Todd’s low and powerful order, bronze scale armor, swords, short spears—all metal weapons were removed and thrown aside.

The Golem Guard, which quietly followed them, also instantly shut down its engines, entering standby mode.

The Haltai soldiers also clenched their fists, carrying the dignity and resilience of warriors, ready to meet the approaching Abel men.

Soon.

The oppressive atmosphere reached its peak. Accompanied by a low roar from someone unknown, it ignited the fuse—battle erupted instantly!

The soldiers from different duchies, each bearing their own loyalties, under the leadership of their respective officers, clashed and merged like two surging tides, engaged in a chaotic battle by the cold Alva River Valley.

The soles of their heavy military boots crushed the thin ice at the riverbank edge, producing sharp, ear-piercing cracking sounds.

Fists filled with anger and power struck opponents’ faces, chests, and ribs with dull thuds, one after another.

The heavy chain armor on soldiers’ bodies rubbed and clashed intensely in the fierce fight, producing incessant, teeth-gritting metal scraping and collision noises!

All these sounds, mixed with heavy breathing, angry roars, and painful groans, echoed repeatedly in the eerie Alva River Valley.

Todd tackled Barton into the frigid stream, red beard crusted with ice: "Admit defeat and I’ll let you... uh!"

Barton’s knee suddenly struck between the Haltai man’s legs, causing him to curl up in pain like a shrimp, but he didn’t forget to raise his fist and smash it into the nose of the Abel man.

As time passed, the chaotic battle gradually became clear.

Although the soldiers of the Abel Duchy were brave, they seemed slightly at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and individual physique.

Finally, when the last few Abel guards were collectively knocked down by the Haltai soldiers, groaning in pain and unable to get up... Captain Barton, who had been hit by Todd and was bleeding profusely from his nose, managed to barely stand, and finally raised his right hand, which was covered in mud and blood, trembling slightly.

This is a traditional gesture of acknowledgment of defeat and indication to stop in a border conflict.

Seeing this gesture, Red Beard Todd, enduring the waves of sharp pain and dizziness from his vital points, released his left arm that had instinctively been restraining Barton’s neck, trying to straighten up.

"Hmph!"

Todd panted heavily, with a disdainful and mocking expression of a victor on his face, spat a bloody spittle at Barton: "Get back to your Abel territory! Don’t let me see you in this valley again!"

He thought that tonight’s conflict would end like countless times before.

However.

This time, contrary to everyone’s expectations.

Barton, who had just struggled to get up from the ground, did not silently lead his men in retreat as before after hearing Todd’s mockery,

His rugged face, stained with blood and filth, showed a complex expression mixed with helplessness, fierceness, and a trace of guilt.

In the moment when Todd was completely off guard, even a bit relaxed.

Barton’s right hand, which had just made the concession gesture, suddenly darted towards his back like a venomous snake!

Swoosh! An alchemy dagger, treated with matte and not reflecting any light under the moonlight, was pulled out with lightning speed!

Without the slightest hesitation! Thud—!!!

The incredibly sharp blade, accompanied by a tearing sound like ripping leather, precisely and mercilessly stabbed into Todd’s unprotected throat.

Immediately, the blade viciously sliced across.

A massive, appalling wound was instantly opened! Blood gushed forth from Todd’s neck like a fountain.

Barton looked at Todd’s eyes, which widened in shock and disbelief, rapidly losing their luster, his lips moved as if trying to say something, but it finally turned into a barely audible whisper: "...Sorry, Red Beard..."

"Tonight... the orders from above... wanted some... more intense conflict... I had... no choice..."

The warm, life-infused blood, like the thickest dye, instantly stained the cold stream beneath Todd in a glaring crimson under the moonlight.

Both the Haltai soldiers and the Abel soldiers were stunned by this sudden and brutal killing.

After a brief deathly silence.

"Captain Todd—!!!"

"Barton! You bastard!!!"

In two languages, filled with extreme anger, sorrow, and incredulous frenzied roars, erupted from the mouths of soldiers from both sides like ignited powder kegs.

At the same time! Buzz—Rumble!!!

The alchemy golems, which had been standing quietly with engines shut down earlier, suddenly had their eyes light up with a blinding red glow, and the great gears and axles emitted a deafening roar as their heavy steel bodies were instantly activated.

They stepped heavily into the battlefield with a booming sound.

Clang! Clang!

The knives and swords that had been taken off and thrown to the ground were instantly picked up again by countless angry hands.

The cold metal glinted with lethal brilliance under the moonlight, and the border conflict, which had been strictly restrained to hand-to-hand combat, spiraled out of control instantly amid the destructive roar of the alchemy golem engines, the deafening clashing symphony of countless blades, and the soldiers’ blood-soaked and hate-fueled roars and shouts.

Escalating into a completely irrational, bloody, brutal, death-defying... ferocious and bloody battle.