[Condition Fulfilled.]
[Title Activated: Crazy Commander]
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[Crazy Commander](Passive)
Activation Requirement:
Only when both the ally and the enemy believe the Commander has lost his mind does this title activate.
Effect:
- The battlefield slightly favors the Commander.
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"...Eh?"
CLANG!
Captain Iron lunged between the Goblin Lord and Logan, his battered shield colliding head-on with the monstrous battleaxe. The impact shook the entire courtyard as the veteran was driven backwards.
"Commander!" Iron roared, every muscle in his body trembling beneath the overwhelming force. "Move!"
Logan stumbled back, finally tearing his eyes away from the notification.
"That’s it?" Even while retreating, he couldn’t stop himself from reading the description again.
"The battlefield slightly favors the Commander."
"What kind of effect is that?"
The Goblin Lord let out a furious roar before driving a heavy kick into Iron’s shield, wrenching the battleaxe free. The towering monster pressed the attack without hesitation, each swing forcing Captain Iron another step backwards.
Logan’s gaze swept across the battlefield.
Did Iron get stronger?
Every clash still sent the veteran skidding backwards.
Did Giles or Kiran awaken some hidden power?
They were still desperately holding back the surrounding goblins.
Did the Goblin Lord get weaker?
The monster’s swings looked just as heavy, if not even more violent than before.
Logan narrowed his eyes, desperately searching for the slightest hint of what his [Title] had actually changed.
Nothing.
Captain Iron was still being overwhelmed, forced back one step at a time beneath the Goblin Lord’s relentless assault. The fortress remained on the verge of collapse, and the wounded continued pouring toward the rear as the goblin horde crashed against the defensive line.
If the battlefield is favoring me... it’s doing a terrible job of showing it.
Logan resisted the urge to swear.
Seriously?
Of all the rewards the system could have given him...
It had to be a title with the most ambiguous description imaginable.
Titles weren’t some cosmetic achievement.
They were among the most influential mechanics in The Last Bastion, often defining a hero’s strengths and weaknesses. A single [Title] could transform an ordinary soldier into an unbreakable shield or an unstoppable berserker.
For ’Commanders,’ however, their importance was on an entirely different level.
Unlike heroes, whose power came from their own abilities, a commander’s greatest weapon was the army under their command. Their [Title] often became the cornerstone of their entire strategy, shaping not only how they fought but also how they developed their forces.
Some commanders built their entire strategy around powerful defensive towers, turning their bastions into impregnable fortresses.
Others forged elite armies composed of only a handful of exceptional heroes, trusting quality over quantity.
Some overwhelmed their enemies through relentless aggression, while others excelled in drawn-out wars of attrition.
Every renowned commander had a signature style, and more often than not, it all traced back to their [Title].
Logan had expected something that would define his own path as well. Something that could perhaps change the twisted fate he had been dealt.
Instead...
The battlefield slightly favors the Commander.
"ARGH!! This damn system!"
CLANG!
Captain Iron slid several meters across the stonetiles, barely holding back the Goblin Lord’s barrage of attacks.
Giles took a step forward, his hands still shaking from the impact against the Goblin Lord’s skin. Kiran emerged from the smoke beside him, dagger already drawn.
"Captain! We’re coming!"
"Stop! "Iron’s command rang across the battlefield.
Both of them froze.
Another crushing impact forced Iron back another step, his battered shield groaning beneath the strain.
"Giles, Kiran." His voice remained calm despite the monster standing before him.
"Escort the Commander and Lady Althea to the rear. Regroup with the others."
"The goblins that slipped through the walls are your responsibility."
As if on cue, desperate screams echoed from deeper within the fortress.
Several goblins had already broken past the defensive line, charging after the wounded soldiers and fleeing civilians.
"But, Captain—" Giles frowned.
"You have your orders!"
Iron answered before Giles could finish.
. . .
Giles looked past Iron’s shoulder at the towering Goblin Lord.
His fists clenched.
"...Understood, Captain."
Kiran lowered his dagger and gave a firm nod.
Logan remained rooted to the spot.
His eyes never left Iron.
If we leave... he’ll die.
There was no doubt about it.
Captain Iron was strong, but nowhere near strong enough to defeat a B-Class monster alone.
Staying behind, however... would change nothing.
"Damn it." Logan slowly closed his eyes.
Iron was right
The civilians still needed protection.
The wounded still needed time to escape.
If Evergarden was going to survive...
The Commander couldn’t die here.
Logan took a slow breath before meeting Iron’s eyes.
"Iron." Logan’s voice caught in his throat.
"Come back alive."
Iron gave a faint smile but didn’t reply.
Without another word, Logan turned away.
Giles carefully lifted the unconscious Althea onto his back while Kiran moved ahead, clearing a path through the goblins.
Together, the three disappeared deeper into the fortress, leaving Captain Iron alone before the Goblin Lord.
His armor was little more than dented scraps of steel. Blood seeped through countless cracks in his breastplate.
The battered shield on his left arm was riddled with fractures, its surface chipped and splintered from enduring blow after blow that no ordinary man should have survived.
Xludur rested the head of his battleaxe against the ground, his crimson eyes lingering on the trail Logan and the others had disappeared into.
"You sent your Commander away?"
Iron tightened his grip around his shield.
"I did."
The Goblin Lord let out a low chuckle.
"He is weak; he acts like a fool, and when death came."
Xludur slammed his battleaxe into Iron’s shield; bits of metal flew off, scattering across the bloodied floor.
"...he ran."
Iron met the Goblin Lord’s gaze without flinching.
"No."
"He respected my wish."
"Why would you throw your life away for that incompetent, foolish leader?" Xludur frowned.
Iron was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
A small, weary smile.
"Because he is the one who gave this fortress hope."
"He reminded us that even those the world had given up on still had a reason to fight."
The Goblin Lord studied him in silence before slowly raising its battleaxe.
"...Hope."
Xludur fell silent for a moment before letting out a low laugh.
"You are a strange man, Captain Iron."
"For someone so weak...you possess admirable resolve."
The Goblin Lord slowly raised its battleaxe.
"I’ll honor that resolve."
[Skill Activated: Berserker]
Xludur’s muscles swelled beneath his armor, his veins pulsing a fiery red hue spreading across his green skin. The savage grin on his face widened as he tightened his grip around the battleaxe.
In an instant, Xludur closed the distance.
Iron barely managed to raise his shattered shield before the battleaxe came crashing down.
CRACK!
The shield split cleanly in half.
The axe continued through, carving deep across Iron’s chest. Blood burst from the wound as the veteran staggered backwards, his grip on the broken shield finally loosened.
A heavy kick slammed into Iron’s abdomen, launching him across the courtyard. His battered body tore through a crumbling stone wall before disappearing beneath a cloud of dust and shattered debris.
Without another glance, the Goblin Lord rested the battleaxe upon his shoulder and continued deeper into Evergarden.