"Lord Marquis, the third prince has given us his instructions. We are to hold this border until his main force and the northwestern army can pincer the first prince from behind." said Marquis Mansk's adjutant.

"Have the vanguard Ice Army retreat back to our position. We'll hold the border with everything we've got. Gather all free 5th tier warriors. We need them to curb the threat of Floyd Star."

"Yes, my Lord!"

....

"We're retreating! I need the scout battalion to form the rearguard troop. Send a report at once if you feel the enemy has noticed our retreat. We can't have them suddenly attacking our rear." said Lt. Gen. Kristoff. He is an adjutant assigned by Count Symond to assist Jason.

"Yes, Sir! I will handle it for the missing Lt. Col. Bolonik." said Lt. Col. Burks. He was assigned as the temporary leader of the scouting battalion.

....

"Captain, I think the enemy has noticed our movement but they probably feel it's a trap. If this goes on, we can fully retreat without much hassle." said Seth.

As the squad leaders were discussing their mission, a scout reported that they have lost contact with a unit for three hours now. Hearing a unit suddenly disappeared, Adam feared they've been captured and interogated. He sent word to Lt. Col. Burks at once. Adam then had the band gather before giving them instructions to disperse once again. The entire retreat will be completed in an hour, so they only needed to maintain their perimeter for an hour.

An hour later, Adam was given the signal to retreat. He then gathered his band so they could retreat together. When the band gathered, another two tents were missing. Adam, being experienced in covert operations, knows that they have been compromised and had his scouts hide in various parts of the empty fortified camp. Another hour later, a battalion of men rushed past the empty camp into the direction of the retreating troops.

"We'll cut off that battalion's retreat. Let's hope that Lt. Col. Burks was convinced with our report and set up an ambush. Let's go!"

As Adam's band was traversing the forest, the sound of fighting was heard from up ahead. It seems the battalion was able to mount a successful ambush. But what Adam saw when they approached the battlefield was their allies being cut down by enemy soldiers.

The enemy, having realized of the arrival of a band from their rear, focused their attack on Adam's men. At first, the enemy band was able to fight on even grounds with Adam's band. As a few minutes of fighting passed by, however, they gradually were whittled down into a few men before gradually surrendering.

Adam then had his men help in the clean-up and perimeter before reporting to the injured Lt. Col. Burks. "Lt. Col. Burks, how should we deal with the prisoners?"

"We'll send them to the main unit. We've already been told to retreat anyways."

"Yes, sir!"

....

The scout battalion was able to regroup with the main army. Adam's band with the prisoners were last to enter the camp. When they entered the camp, there was a sudden commotion before they were surrounded by the soldiers whose blades were drawn.

"What is the meaning of this?" Adam was shocked beyond belief. 'Am I being turned into a traitor??'

Before anyone could reply, a prisoner, who was supposed to be tied, tapped Adam's shoulder with a smirk on his face. Adam immediately noticed the oddity of the prisoner's aura. He didn't realize it in the middle of their engagement, but this guy was strong.

The prisoner unsheathed a soldier's sword before pointing it at the soldiers surrounding them, "I want an audience with the Marquis." he said plainly.

"What is the meaning of this? You bastard! Like hell, we'll let you near the Marquis."

After hearing the words of the soldiers, Adam drew his sword and retreated three meters away from the prisoners. He also signaled his men who reacted a moment slower than him. The middle-aged prisoner just smiled at Adam. "Youngster, though it's undeniable that you are elite. You're still ways away from being able to challenge me. It's just your luck that I needed to enter this place without much commotion. It's too bad I have such a handsome face that these jealous people recognized me."

Before anyone could retort, Marquis Mansk had already rushed to the entrance of the camp. From behind his guards, he shouted "That's far enough, Floyd Star! I respected your decision to enter the service of the first prince, but all the first prince did was oppressed the nobles over the years of his regency. We are no longer colleagues of the kingdom, we have already decided to make remake this kingdom in a new light. As a sign of gratitude for not starting a massacre, I will hear you out in this place. I apologize but I'm not brave enough to have a talk with you one-on-one."

"Hehe, your words honor me. I've come to negotiate a deal for my surrender. The first prince has started to become deranged, it's too much of a difference from his charisma as the regent which I took a liking to. I'm tired of killing former my former colleagues. Most of all, the first prince's power is diminishing, much to my disappointment. I want to surrender and be banished from the kingdom. Though I wanted to live a stable life as the apex warrior here, with the way things stand, I doubt any of you will let me be. How about it?"

Floyd's words shocked everyone. Adam finally understood who this man was. No wonder he was able to hide his aura from Adam. If Raj or Roz were here, they'd probably be able to notice the odd energy.

After staying silent for a while, Marquis Mansk finally replied "I will strongly advocate this to the third prince. It's much better than having you massacre entire villages. I trust you'll have no complaints about temporarily being detained, not like it'll do much, but it will put us at ease. Your banishment can only be done after this war ends. I hope you have the patience to bear with the responsibility your words carried."