The burning borderlands, adults dying one by one.

The shattered remnants of the EU’s KOG.

A mass of unstoppable power trampled everything, allowing no resistance whatsoever.

There was no strategy to speak of—overwhelming numbers, superior technology, and raw might conquered the position in a flash.

They didn’t even have time to evacuate. The enemy appeared on the horizon, and mere hours later, the base had fallen.

“This is it, then…”

In the command room of the now-surrounded base, those words slipped from Daniel’s lips.

A heavy silence hung in the air. Even Road fell quiet.

Until now, Road had treated this place like a playground.

He was still too young to truly grasp what it meant to fight.

But today, he finally understood what was happening right before his eyes. Little by little, the reality of war sank in.

“Uncle…”

“Sorry, Road. You did great.”

Was there no way to save everyone?

But no matter how much he racked his brain, this wasn’t a gap that strategy or tactics could bridge.

If they’d had even half the enemy’s forces, there might have been options.

This was the remote border fringe, though. The disparity was over ten-to-one.

“Already surrounded… This level of breakthrough power. So these are the rumored Holy Knights… How the hell do you even stop something like this?”

The supreme commander opened his heavy mouth at last, issuing his final order.

“…My final command. Stay by the side of those you love. Fighting alongside you all… it’s been an honor.”

At that last order, everyone snapped to a salute, tears streaming down their faces.

Soldiers filed out of the command room one after another.

Many of them had lived here with their loved ones.

Wives and children, spending these final moments together.

And Daniel as well.

“Scarlet… It’s time to use the last resort.”

“…Understood.”

“Mom, what’s the last resort?”

Scarlet knelt to meet Road’s eyes and clutched the ring hanging at her chest.

“Road, listen calmly. You’re half Earthguard blood. The emperor’s blood, no less.”

“What do you mean!?”

“I’m sorry for keeping it from you. Your father is… Orgord Earthguard. The current emperor.”

She revealed the truth to her child.

Scarlet had once caught the emperor’s eye and borne his child.

Back when relations between the EU and the Empire were friendly, and travel between them was commonplace.

But Scarlet wasn’t Earthguard, so she made many enemies.

The emperor offered no protection to the weak.

Sensing the danger to Road’s life, Scarlet fled the Earthguard Empire.

Her brother Daniel had helped her escape.

Then international tensions worsened. The decisive rift between the EU and Earthguard sparked a cold war, severing all ties.

And now, it had erupted into true war.

The emperor himself might have forgotten all about Scarlet and Road by now.

But still.

“That’s why we’re handing you over to the Earthguard Empire. You might be killed, but staying here means certain death.”

Reveal his royal lineage and surrender Road.

Honestly, the EU was headed for a tragic end either way—that knowledge made this the true last resort.

Besides, Road possessed extraordinary talent.

He’d surely survive. That was Scarlet’s conviction.

“…So we’re going to the Earthguard Empire now?”

“Yes…”

“What about the enemy envoy?”

“His Majesty’s orders are to slaughter them all. We have no choice but to obey. Still, hear him out. Call it our final mercy.”

The emperor’s word was absolute.

Zeke felt hesitation at killing the people of the EU—among them, former friends.

But he steeled his heart and immersed himself in duty.

That was the way of the professional soldier.

Yet Zeke’s innate decency shone through.

He decided to hear out the man who knew death awaited but still had something to say.

The KOG units encircling the base came to a temporary halt.

With no signs of resistance, Zeke could order the assault at any moment.

The captured envoy, brought before Zeke, was named Daniel.

“We have no will to fight! I know I’ll die for this. But please, at least read this letter.”

Zeke, moved despite himself by the soldier’s resolve to fulfill his mission at the cost of his life, agreed to read it.

He read the contents alone—and couldn’t hide his shock.

“No way… Is this real?”

“Yes, they’re inside. The ring’s proof. Please, just those two…”

“…Very well. Out of respect for your resolve, I, Zeke Silfield, swear to deliver them safely to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“…Thank you.”

A gun barrel pressed to Daniel’s forehead.

Zeke turned his back.

“Don’t take it personally. We’re soldiers.”

“I understand.”

Scarlet and Road were placed under Zeke’s protection and loaded into a transport vehicle.

The rest of the base’s residents were taken captive.

Road didn’t know what happened to everyone else.

But the echoing gunshots gave him a grim idea.

Even an eight-year-old boy could feel his heart tear at the finality of death.

And so Road was taken away.

Before him stood the 99th Emperor, Orgord Earthguard.

“Scarlet… It’s been a while. Nearly five years now, hasn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“I know why you ran. Hiding out in the EU… explains why we never found you. But enough—my interest in you has faded. Guards, take her to the dungeons.”

“Mom!”

“Hold.”

Scarlet was led to a separate chamber.

Road lunged for her hand but was restrained by Zeke.

Left behind were Zeke, Road, and Orgord.

The emperor gazed at the young boy.

A boy who bore a striking resemblance to himself, somewhere in his features.

“Road… The name I gave you. Infused with the meaning: become a ruler.”

“Damn it! You’re my real father? Then let Mom go!”

“Indeed. But first, I want confirmation. Did you truly defend that border?”

“I only proposed the plan. Everyone else turned it into a real strategy. It wasn’t my power alone—but yes, I devised it.”

Zeke, watching from the side, felt awe and astonishment.

An eight-year-old child devising strategies with purpose, forcing the Holy Knight legions into action and troubling the mighty Earthguard Empire.

He’d doubted such a fairy tale could be true.

And now, with his mother being dragged away before his eyes, the boy showed only a flicker of agitation.

(What a brilliant child… Truly. And that mental fortitude.)

To meet His Majesty’s gaze head-on while speaking—that wasn’t something even an average soldier could manage.

Especially not as a prisoner.

A normal child would be sobbing incoherently.

Yet here he stood, unflinching, fully aware of his position.

And even touting his own value.

The emperor laughed.

He admired strength above all—and all the more so when it coursed through his own blood.

“Hah. Zeke, assign the Empire’s top active strategists as his tutors. Road, prove your worth. Succeed, and I won’t kill you. You, or your mother.”

“That means… you’re acknowledging this child!?”

“Yes. One year. Make him battlefield-ready in one year. Then keep winning. If you deliver the results I expect, I won’t execute your mother. I’ll release her.”

Road’s teary eyes ignited with fierce resolve.

“…Promise me. No matter what. I’ll save Mom.”

(What a child. Can an eight-year-old really have eyes like that? He’s the same age as my daughter…)

“Hahaha! Fine eyes indeed. I keep my promises. Let’s say… a hundred. Win a hundred battles on the field.”

The emperor laid out two conditions.

Acquire the knowledge to fight on the battlefield within one year.

And rack up continuous victories, producing results worthy of his approval.

Under those terms, her life would be spared—but no visits until then.

That was Orgord’s ultimatum to Road.

From that day forward, Road’s battle truly began.

“M-Magnificent.”

“To think he’s only eight… As expected of royalty.”

“Very well, Lord Road. Shall we begin with this board?”

In mock battles, he toppled every strategist assembled before him.

He absorbed every lesson, pored over ancient texts on his own, and elevated them to new heights.

Grown men from across the Empire rotated as his teachers, but none lasted even half a month.

He trained his mind with chess as well.

By year’s end, he’d mastered it to the point of claiming the Earthguard Empire championship.

Talent is a gift from the gods.

It mocks the efforts of the ordinary, granting the insight of a hundred through the toil of one.

Yet he out-efforted them all.

No one could rival him.

After all, no ordinary soul can triumph over a genius who strives.

But such a diligently driven genius is a miracle rarer than any other.

The ordinary learn to strive because of their limits.

The genius forsake striving because of their gifts.

Yet rarely, an era births a monster.

A genius compelled to effort by the sheer force of destiny’s tides.

Road Earthguard was undoubtedly one such being.

But deep in that genius’s heart lingered only the gentle image of his kind mother.

If his efforts could save her, that single-minded drive fueled him.

He pushed himself to the brink of vomiting blood, sparing not a moment of sleep—in the truest sense.

Day after day, he devoured knowledge in a frenzy that bordered on madness.

And at last, the time arrived.

The promised year had passed. Road Earthguard, the era’s wunderkind, embarked on his first campaign.

“Mother. I’m off.”

The Devil’s Brain that would plunge the EU into abject terror.

The boy who once defended a nation was now set to destroy it—for his mother’s sake.

His battle had begun.