A cold sweat slicked Hyuntae's skin. He had been certain it was the animation for a return item, but something else entirely had been triggered.

"W-what just happened, Kinjo?!" he shrieked.

"I-I do not know, Master!"

"Damn it! We just wasted our nullification item! We have to kill that Guardian, now!"

With his best counter spent, his only option was to overwhelm the enemy. Hyuntae frantically activated all of his remaining buff items.

"Master Hyuntae, no! If you use all our buffs here, what will we do later?" Kinjo wailed.

"Shut up! If we kill that Guardian, we win! Now just watch and…"

At that exact moment, another wave of magic erupted from Balak's soldiers.

[Dungeon Master exclusive item 'Soldier Return' has been activated.]

[Designated soldiers of Balak are being recalled.]

"N-no!" Hyuntae screamed.

It was the real return item.

---

As the blue light of the return portal enveloped him, Grai looked up. High above, Mederia hovered on white wings, her bow lowered. She stared blankly at the portal, her eyes utterly devoid of focus.

'It is as if she has no soul,' Grai thought.

She was a B-rank Named Guardian, just as Taehyun had said, but fighting her had been unsettling. She moved like a puppet, her actions devoid of any emotion or intent.

'I will report this.'

He had already felt the power of her magic bullets. The relentless barrage from the sky was a serious threat. If he could not close the distance, a prolonged battle would surely end in his defeat. As his vision faded, he was pulled back to Balak.

---

[Orc Swordsman Grai has returned to Balak.]

[The ambush squad led by Grai has returned to Balak.]

The recall was a success. His gamble—using a second, worthless disguise item to bait out his opponent's nullification—had paid off beautifully.

'And with that, I have stripped him of his buff and nullification items.'

Dungeon Master items were one-and-done. Hyuntae had burned through two of his most critical assets. Taehyun, on the other hand, had only used two cheap disguise items and a single return scroll. Even if Hyuntae had his own return item, Taehyun now had a nullification ready to counter it.

'He's supposed to be one of the strongest C-rank Masters, but spamming his buffs like that tells me everything I need to know.'

Either Hyuntae had a brilliant supporter carrying him, or he had gotten incredibly lucky. No competent Master would burn through his resources so recklessly.

'The fool doesn't understand the first thing about psychological warfare.'

The ambush had cut Hyuntae's ranged forces in half. He could summon more, but he would not have time to train them. If Taehyun kept up the pressure, victory was inevitable.

'But I will not be hasty. I will tighten the noose slowly.'

He had seen Mederia's power firsthand. Even with Grai blocking her attacks and Riel healing, his forces had taken significant losses. She was a formidable opponent.

'Unless Grai can close the distance, fighting her directly will be difficult.'

Mederia was a flying Guardian. A swordsman who could not fly would never reach her.

For now, he listened to Grai's report.

"She was a worthy opponent, as you predicted," the orc stated. "But as a ranged Guardian, she will not give me an opening."

"I saw as much on the screen," Taehyun said. "Anything else?"

"Hmm. This may be irrelevant, but the Guardian… she seemed to be without a soul. Throughout the battle, I felt as if I were fighting a doll."

Grai's description was precise. It might not be tactically relevant, but it was a valuable piece of intel. Taehyun nodded, concluding the debriefing.

"That was quite impressive, by the way," Grai added, a note of grudging respect in his voice. "I have only ever known the sword, so I know little of strategy. But your command, from beginning to end, was flawless."

Bypassing the radar with a disguise, baiting the nullification, crippling the enemy's ranged units, and executing a clean withdrawal—Grai was satisfied.

"I have to perform at this level if I want you to acknowledge me as your lord, do I not?" Taehyun replied with a slight smile.

"Indeed," Grai grunted. "When this battle is over, my form of address for you may change… Master."

"I will do my best to continue to meet your expectations."

After the report, Taehyun had Riel tend to the wounded. The survivors would need time to rest and recover. On the world map, he saw that Lasten's forces had vanished.

'They have returned to their dungeon. I will keep them under surveillance.'

With his goblin scouts pulled back, he sent his wyverns to circle near Lasten, keeping a close watch on the enemy's movements.

---

Back in Lasten, Hyuntae raged as his battered forces limped home.

"Balak lost a handful of soldiers, but I lost over thirty! Thirty!" he bellowed.

They were all ranged fairies, units he had spent a fortune raising and equipping. This battle had been a humiliating, crushing defeat.

"C-calm yourself, Master Hyuntae," Kinjo stammered.

"How can I be calm?! I wasted my buff items, my nullification item, and for what? What about my soldiers?!"

"The losses are great, but the war is not over! We still have Mederia!"

It was true. After the initial shock of the ambush, Mederia had successfully pinned down Balak's Guardian. A melee fighter stood no chance against her relentless aerial assault. The thought slowly cooled Hyuntae's fury.

"Y-yes, you're right. I still have Mederia. With her, I can still win."

"Of course, Master!" Kinjo agreed enthusiastically.

A smile returned to Hyuntae's face. He turned to Mederia, who had just returned, and caressed her cheek.

"You are the reason I can go on, Mederia," he whispered tenderly. "Now, let us go to my bed."

Afterward, Hyuntae disappeared with the fairy into the Master's room. Left alone, Kinjo stared at the world map and swallowed thickly. The battle had only just ended, yet wyverns were already circling overhead. Their blatant surveillance, even sharing their line of sight, was clearly a form of psychological pressure.

'I hate to admit it,' he thought, his long fingers tracing the map, 'but Balak's Dungeon Master is exceptionally shrewd. He possesses an instinct for psychological warfare, an innate understanding of how to orchestrate a battle.'

The initial ambush was a perfect example. Taehyun had anticipated their attempt to use return items from the very beginning and countered with a camouflage item. The sheer foresight of the tactic sent a shiver down Kinjo's spine. Compared to Hyuntae, Taehyun was the very model of a perfect Dungeon Master. The thought sparked a pang of envy for Balak's Supporter.

But Kinjo quickly shook his head, banishing the treacherous idea. 'No. Lord Hyuntae trusts and relies on me. I cannot betray that.' For Hyuntae's sake, he had to lead them to victory in the next engagement.

Kinjo took stock of his remaining items. Though his buff and neutralization items were gone, he still had plenty of others. 'First, I need to locate the soldiers who were heading for the territory.' The priority was to secure a line of sight while evading the wyverns. He pulled out a Sight Priority item. 'I'm hesitant to use this now, but I have no other choice. I have to inflict damage while the enemy's assault squad and Guardian are away.'

His troops had to be waiting somewhere; they were his immediate target. Kinjo summoned his scout fairies, applied the Sight Priority to them, and ordered them to search the area around Lasten. Soon, the screen-share activated, and the darkened portion of the world map began to illuminate.

'Where are you? Where are you!' he silently urged. He had already slipped past the wyverns' watch. His eyes darted across the screen as the mountainous terrain was gradually revealed. Just then, he spotted them—soldiers, down in a valley. But his relief was short-lived.

'What the hell? Why are there only a few of them?!' For some reason, he could only see a handful of goblins, and all of them had been stripped of their equipment. Flustered, Kinjo checked the world map again. At that moment, icons for Balak's soldiers began popping up all over the region. 'They're all goblins. Is that bastard trying to create a diversion?!' The icons were moving along various routes, clearly not the main force.

'What should I do… Ah?' In his confusion, an idea struck him. A slow, wicked grin spread across Kinjo's face, and he began to laugh.

"Muahaha. So that's it," he cackled. "He used Sight Priority on his main force and is buying time with the goblins."

The Guardian and the assault squad that had returned to Balak were undoubtedly his primary fighting force. It would take time for them to return. In the meantime, he was shielding his main army with Sight Priority and using the goblins as a distraction.

"The effects of Sight Priority and its battle penalty last a day at most. On the other hand, it takes nearly three days to get here from Balak. Unless they start from the Arid Plains, they can't possibly arrive in time. He's completely abandoned his main force!"

The wyvern threat must have been another time-buying tactic. Taehyun had literally sacrificed his main army for a single, decisive ambush.

"His main troops can't handle our soldiers, so he ambushes us first to gain an advantage. Then he buys time for his main army and assault squad to regroup and secure victory!" Taehyun's strategy was painfully obvious. Kinjo chuckled, already positioning his own soldiers. "Unfortunately for you, our soldiers can wipe out your main force in a single day. This is your limit, Dungeon Master of Balak. Muahaha!"

On the second day, when the Sight Priority wore off, it would all be over. Kinjo was certain of it.

---

On the first day of the Dungeon Master battle against Hyuntae, Lasten's soldiers ignored the wyverns and began slaughtering the nearby goblins. They had yet to find the main army, but the situation was precarious. The moment the Sight Priority expired, Lasten would pinpoint Balak's main force. All the time he'd bought by sacrificing the goblins would be for nothing.

"Isn't this dangerous, Master?" Riel asked, her voice laced with concern.

Taehyun, however, simply gazed at the world map with an air of complete calm. "It's fine. By the way, how are Grai and the assault squad?"

"Their treatment is complete," she reported. "They should all be fully recovered by now."

"Good." Taehyun's eyes shifted to his main force on the screen. Following his orders, they were searching for hilly terrain.

Unable to grasp his plan, Riel voiced her anxiety. "Master, it takes nearly three days to travel from Balak to the territory's vicinity. If we continue like this, our main force will be discovered by Lasten and forced into a fight they can't win."

"I know," he replied evenly.

"Balak's main force, without Grai and the assault squad, versus Lasten's main force with Mederia. Who do you think would win?"

"Lasten, of course."

Sigh. "What on earth are you thinking?" she pressed, her frustration mounting. "No matter how much I trust you, you have to explain your strategy for me to understand. What is it?"

"There is no strategy."

"What?!" If his main army was annihilated, the outcome was certain. Even with Grai and the assault squad, they would be hopelessly outnumbered. His dungeon would inevitably be conquered. Whether he understood this or not, Taehyun remained utterly unfazed.

Just as Riel's patience was wearing thin, Grai arrived. "Is it time to depart?"

"Ah, you're here," Taehyun said. "Hold on. I'm coming with you."

"W-wait a moment, Master!" Riel exclaimed in a panic. "Where are you going?"

Taehyun grinned. "Where else? Yuslan's Ice Palace."

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