Chapter 19: TBSL

Chapter 19

‘What is that guy suddenly doing?’
‘Why is the young lord acting like that?’
‘W-why is he suddenly like that?!’
‘Lord Sion…?’
‘Hm?’

These were the inner thoughts of the Margrave of Lichten, the knight commander Lion, Lilith, Lucia, and Kim Yuhyeon respectively.

In a situation where flowery speeches to boost morale should have been the norm, he was instead saying things that drained their spirits.

“Mar, Margrave. Shouldn’t we stop the young lord?”

Surprisingly, the first to speak was Lilith.

She looked anxious, worried that the soldiers might respond with hostility or something worse.

The knight commander Lion remained silent, but kept glancing between Sion and the Margrave with concern.

The Margrave bit his lip, thinking he might have to intervene.

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

Contrary to expectations, Lucia spoke calmly.

She looked around the crowd with composed eyes.

“The Sion I know is not someone who speaks without thinking. So everyone, please trust and wait. If you truly believe in him.”

“……”

“Yuhyeon, what do you think? Is he someone we should be worried about?”

At Lucia’s question, Kim Yuhyeon, who had remained silent until now, looked at Sion on the platform and spoke.

“He is strong.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about. Everyone, just watch. Let’s see how he ignites their hearts.”

With Lucia’s words, even the Margrave chose to trust him and fell silent.

With the final authority deciding, the knight commander also stopped objecting.

And so they waited for Sion’s next words.

“……”

Sion paused deliberately.

He gave them time to become confused, to accept reality.

‘False hope is torture. Impossible promises destroy trust.’

This was war.

Who could guarantee victory?
Who could guarantee divine protection?
Who could guarantee survival?

If someone told Sion such things, he would beat them half to death and then finish them off just to be sure.

“…But.”

However, there was one thing he could say with certainty.

This was not about guessing victory, nor praying for miracles.

“Only this I can promise you. When we advance in victory, I will always be at your front. And when we are forced to retreat in defeat, I will always be at your back.”

His voice rang clearly over the soldiers.

“And above all.”

“I will not leave a single one of you in that damned battlefield.”

“……”

“Not all of us will return unharmed… but whether alive or dead, we will all return together—to our homeland, to the homes where our families wait.”

“……”

“This is the only promise I can make you.”

With those words, Sion stepped down from the platform without hesitation.

No cheers followed.

No applause.

No noise at all.

Only the sound of breathing soldiers filled the silence.

“Sion.”

“Lord!”

As he returned, the first to greet him were the Margrave and the knight commander Lion.

Both smiled as if acknowledging his effort.

Sion nodded and returned to his place.

Then Lucia quietly approached and took his hand.

Lilith, disguised as Sir Nos, nearly rushed at her in shock, but Sion stopped her just in time.

“…Lucia?”

“You are truly amazing, Lord Sion.”

“It was just something anyone could say.”

“Yes… but not something anyone can do.”

“……”

“You already seem like you have no intention of breaking that promise.”

Lucia was right.

That speech was not just for the soldiers.

It was also a foundation Sion had set for himself.

‘Lilith needs a place to act. A battlefield of chaos.’

He could not keep her disguised forever.

And he could not keep the world believing demons were only evil.

One year was both long and short.

The true enemies were already moving, and soon the continent would be engulfed in flames.

‘This will be the stage for Lilith’s official introduction.’

For that, Sion needed to be near the battlefield.

If he stayed in the rear, Lilith—officially his escort knight—would not be able to fight properly.

So he deliberately made that promise.

Now neither the knight commander nor the Margrave could force him to step back without making him a liar.

‘Still… this really worked out. Thank you, Gibson.’

Sion silently thanked “Gibson,” remembering a line from a film that inspired this plan.

“If I’m being honest, I’m a little worried… but also relieved.”

“What are you talking about?”

“About what I thought of you, Lord Sion… and…”

She trailed off with a faint blush.

Her gentle beauty and soft smile made Sion momentarily dizzy.

Fortunately, Lilith’s irritated cough snapped him back to reality.

While Sion endured Lilith’s relentless elbowing and complaints about other women, Kim Yuhyeon suddenly spoke.

“Sion Clausen.”

“If it’s not rude, I would like to ask something.”

“What is it?”

“Will you truly keep your promise? About being at the front in the most dangerous position, and at the rear when we retreat.”

Sion smiled faintly.

‘This guy… even more so because of you, I have to keep it.’

He was someone who hated liars, opportunists, and leaders who hid behind others.

And unfortunately, he was also the protagonist of this story.

Sion didn’t want to get close to him—but he was a necessary card to prevent the continent’s destruction.

“I suppose you’ll find out.”

Whether I’m someone who only talks… or someone who keeps his word.

The expedition force left the Clausen Margrave territory and advanced quickly.

By morning, they had crossed the border into the Kingdom of Nudia.

Since Nudia had already formally declared war, there were no diplomatic issues.

Everything proceeded according to plan.

However, the soldiers could not fully shake off their unease—because of Sion, who was leading the vanguard.

The vanguard always had the most critical role: leading the army and eliminating enemy scouts.

Normally, only experienced commanders handled it.

But today, it was assigned to Sion Clausen, a young noble with no battlefield reputation.

They expected enemy attacks at any moment—but none came.

Not a single engagement occurred as they penetrated deep into enemy territory.

Whenever Nudia scouts appeared, Kim Yuhyeon eliminated them instantly, preventing any reports from reaching the enemy.

Even more, Lilith quietly scanned the surroundings and relayed enemy positions and routes to Sion.

As a result, Sion could predict and intercept scouts almost effortlessly.

‘Lord Sion… is this what he was like?!’
‘Unbelievable. All enemy scouts are being wiped out!’

Even veteran soldiers were astonished.

It was as if Sion had been hiding his talent all along and now unleashed it at once.

“Yuhyeon, Lord Sion seems truly remarkable.”

“……”

At Lucia’s slightly flushed remark, Kim Yuhyeon let out a low sigh.

Even without him needing to act, Sion was handling everything smoothly, making him feel his earlier doubts were unnecessary.

‘We will push straight to the Nudia encampment.’

The enemy likely intended to establish camp near the Clausen border before launching a siege.

But instead, they were now being struck deep inside their own territory.

“Uwaaaah!”

“What—what is this?! Why are enemies in our land?!”

“Where are the scouts?! What were they doing?!”

War is complex in preparation, but once it begins, it becomes brutally simple.

The side that breaks formation loses.

And retreating forces suffer more casualties than advancing ones.

“Attack!”

“Keep pressing them! Break their momentum and we can end this war here!”

“Uwaaaah!”

Hundreds of soldiers clashed like massive shields colliding.

Knights fought knights, trying to break through gaps.

War was ultimately a contest of force.

And the side that lost that contest lost everything—morale, victory, and life.

At that moment—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A thunderous sound erupted behind Nudia’s army.

“Reinforcements!”

“The White Leopard Knights are here! We can win!”

Shouts spread across the battlefield.

Sion bit his lip.

‘They’re early… they were supposed to arrive after the frontline collapsed.’

The main flow was correct, but small details were already changing.

“Tch.”

Sion turned to Kim Yuhyeon.

“Yuhyeon! Take care of that knight order first! If they reach our lines, our formation will collapse!”

“…Understood.”

Shiiing—

Finally, Kim Yuhyeon drew his sword.

The protagonist who would later become the strongest on the continent.

But at this moment—

‘Hahaha! You’re all dead now, bastards! Do you even have someone like him?! Our Yuhyeon is insane!’

Sion was extremely confident.

One man against dozens of knights.

It should have been suicide.

But that one man was Kim Yuhyeon.

…However, there was one thing Sion overlooked in his excitement.

Kim Yuhyeon only becomes the continent’s strongest in the later stages.

At this point in the story, there were still several people capable of opposing him.

Sebastian, Raido, and other comparable warriors existed in the Hispania Kingdom.

And naturally, Nudia also had such monsters of its own.

“I cannot promise you that all of you will return safely. But I will be the first to step into battle, and the last to leave. I will leave no one behind.”
— We Were Soldiers (2002)