The Ruthless Magic Swordsman

Eastern Border, Nightfall — One Week Later

The fortress finally breathed after endless raids, skirmishes, and whispers.

But calm was always a lie.

The System flickered warnings across Achilles' vision:

>>> Internal Threat Detected

>>> Saboteur Units: Confirmed — Estimated 12 Operatives

>>> Risk Assessment: Catastrophic if Unchecked

Captain Kael's report confirmed it:

> "Explosives found under the grain stores."

"Mana circuits sabotaged—teleport runes rendered inert."

"Someone's inside… not just soldiers—cult operatives, from Ascendria's black cells."

His voice darkened:

> "If they succeed, food, supplies, reinforcement routes—gone."

Achilles' gaze sharpened:

> "They exploit the system's weakest threads."

"We cut them out—surgically."

---

⚔ Unmasking the Traitors

Achilles rewrote the fortress' protocols:

Randomized patrol routes.

Hidden surveillance points, feeding data directly to his System.

Cross-referencing soldier behaviors, mana residue, timing inconsistencies.

Infiltrators began to expose themselves:

Nervous glances at reinforced walls.

Hands lingering near mana relay nodes.

Disguised cult symbols beneath armor.

Kael's knights, with precision and silence, arrested them one by one—until only the core saboteurs remained.

---

💀 The Final Confrontation

The last cell struck at midnight—explosives primed beneath the western gate.

Achilles stood waiting, System data painting the shadows in red:

>>> Saboteurs: 3 Active

>>> Explosives: Armed

>>> Engagement Opportunity: Optimal

As the saboteurs lit the fuses—

Achilles moved like code executing flawlessly.

The leader's hand severed mid-motion by Kael's sword.

The second operative stunned by destabilized mana fields.

The third collapsing under an energy pulse Achilles rewrote mid-air.

The fuses snuffed. The gate held.

The traitors, trembling, spat venom:

> "Ascendria devours kingdoms like yours…"

"You can't rewrite inevitability—"

Achilles' voice was colder than steel:

> "Inevitable outcomes only exist in broken systems."

"I don't operate within them."

---

🌑 Aftermath: Fortress Secured

The saboteurs exposed. The explosives dismantled. The Legion intact.

The System confirmed:

>>> Saboteur Network: Neutralized

>>> Internal Threat: Dormant (Temporary)

>>> Legion Morale: Strengthening

>>> Enemy Escalation: Anticipated

Kael approached:

> "They keep escalating…"

"But you keep rewriting the odds."

Achilles' eyes never wavered:

> "They'll escalate again."

"But so will we."

---

⚔ Across the Plains

In Ascendria's war tent, Marshal Kaedros' smile faded:

> "The boy denies every conventional strategy…"

"Then it's time for unconventional war."

"Prepare the mages. The summoned beasts. The corrupted spells."

"We flood the border with anomalies."

The battlefield was no longer about swords and siege engines—

It was about breaking reality itself.

But Achilles?

Reality was just another system to rewrite.