The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 126

105. Southern Disaster (1)

Swish…!! Swish!!!

Suan, steering the boat along the Fournine River, kept twitching his lips, trying to suppress a laugh.

“Haha!! I should have seen the Prince’s face. This is the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done. No, wait, it’s the second!”

“What? If it’s the first, it’s the first. What’s with the second? That’s such a vague statement.”

Dushalla, leaning against the wall of the wheelhouse, chuckled at Suan Hazar’s words.

“Of course. Even so, the first time was definitely when I met Master.”

“Hmm…?”

Suan Hazar recalled the events in Piasta and spoke with pleasure.

“There’s that. Excluding the noble riffraff in the continent, I’m probably the only one who has met both the First and Second Princes of the Empire.”

“Really? It’s surprising that you have a connection with the Second Prince too… What are your impressions of meeting them both?”

At Dushalla’s words, Suan laughed even more gleefully than he had about the incident at Fournine.

“If I’m the only one among those who aren’t nobles to have had a private audience with the Princes, then Master is the only one who has screwed them both over.”

“Huh?”

She asked back, looking puzzled by Suan’s words.

“This is crazy. The First Prince, I can understand, but even the Second Prince? What on earth has our Master been doing outside?”

“Hehe.”

Even though she said that, Dushalla couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

They had created a free city where those oppressed on the continent could live, but Tatur’s reputation wasn’t very good.

Perhaps it was the only city on the continent that opposed the kings and nobles. However, it was more strongly regarded as lawless than free, and even those who had fled there felt more fear than goodwill.

But all of this had completely changed since Khalil came.

‘Maybe…’

The thought that they might really be able to look down on those pathetic nobles.

It felt like the gears were finally turning.

Confidence that they could openly mock those who had been creating rules and dividing people by class, in the name of freedom rather than lawlessness.

Suan turned the wheel with all his might and said,

“Impressions of seeing the Princes? What need is there for that? We serve someone greater than them.”

At his words, Dushalla nodded in agreement.

“True…”

She took out a potion from her pocket and applied it to the wound on her neck.

“To think he would give such an absurd order to lure a 70,000-strong army with just us. I thought I was going to die getting out of there.”

“Hehe, that’s because you said those things to Prince Ruon’s face. Well, it was satisfying, though.”

Aidan, who had come with Dushalla as her escort, had parked the boat near the Fournine River and was waiting.

After confirming that the camp was in an uproar, he steered the boat to rescue Dushalla.

“Right. You’re really something. To say such things right in front of the Prince. You know you almost lost your head, right?”

Suan also agreed with Aidan’s words.

Suan, who had seen the whole scene from beside her, grabbed her and escaped from Prince Ruon’s army as soon as she uttered those words.

“Well… I just felt like if I didn’t do it then, when else would I get the chance? He was so arrogant while coming down the main road. And his eyes were so filthy, you wouldn’t believe it. Anyway, Aidan, you should have seen that guy’s expression at that moment.”

Dushalla shook her head, recalling the gaze of Prince Ruon looking at her.

“But thanks to you, Ruon believed it easily, so that’s a relief. I see why Master chose you as the right person.”

Aidan smirked.

“Maybe he assigned us because he thought we were the kind of people who could do such a thing and still survive. Our Master.”

Aidan pointed to Suan and Dushalla and said,

“There are two managers of Tatur.”

“You too. If you hadn’t taken care of the sentries near the river beforehand, we wouldn’t have escaped so easily.”

Suan said to Aidan, pointing to the fallen soldiers.

Those who had been standing guard along the river were lying there as if they were asleep, without a single wound.

It meant that they hadn’t even realized they had been killed.

After returning from the Order.

While Khalil was carrying out Plan B, which he had ordered Dushalla to do, he further strengthened his skills, including Inbo (Stealth Step) [a technique for moving silently and undetected].

Even though he had abandoned the Eastern Kingdom, he knew well that the only way he could become stronger, having felt the difference in magical talent from Mikhail, was through this.

‘Even when he’s right next to me, I sometimes forget. It was like that when he came from the South, but he’s grown even more since then.’

Suan stroked his neck, thinking.

If he were to deliberately erase his presence, would he even be able to notice?

“That’s nothing.”

But unlike his worries, he shrugged lightly and said,

“I’ll speed things up a bit. We might not have enough time to reach the strait.”

As if trying to shake off unnecessary thoughts, Suan tightened his grip on the wheel.

Now, carrying out the last message Khalil left behind was the priority.

“But what’s that?”

On the boat cutting through the river, Dushalla pointed to the rope wrapped around Suan’s wrist.

“This? Master entrusted it to me. He told me to use it in case of an emergency. The timing to use it… I’ll know it automatically, he said.”

“Hmm…”

“First, we need to go to the strait and wait. Actually, I don’t know exactly either. Master said that it would be difficult for anyone other than me, who is familiar with Fournine, to use it.”

She looked at the roughly made rope with interest.

“He said to throw this where the Fournine River meets the strait. He said something fun will happen.”

At his words, Dushalla nodded lightly.

There was no doubt.

Her master never gave meaningless instructions, as always.

Clang….

The Tokens of the Horned King wrapped around Suan’s arm collided with each other, ringing like laughter.

* * *

“What nonsense is that!!!”

Crash—!!!

The handle of the table shattered under the fist slammed down with all his might.

Even as he looked at Prince Ruon’s eyes, which were snarling as if he would devour him, the envoy maintained his composure without showing any signs of fear.

“I apologize, Your Highness. We have not received any significant reports from the royal palace. We are currently investigating, but the General has not yet authorized the opening of the gates.”

The knight, wearing sturdy-looking full plate mail, said in a low voice.

‘So, this is definitely a knight led by the Shield of Istan [a renowned order of knights]. Despite being a weak country, their spirit is quite impressive.’

Azif looked at him and thought that breaking through Twin Armor with force would not be easy.

“As you know, Turtle Castle is next to Lord Tower. It is difficult to open the gates easily when it is close to the castle of another country.”

“The Kingdom of Tvanel has accepted cooperation. They said they would open the gates at any time if Lord Tower agrees.”

“This is the General’s message. The three countries maintain an alliance, but even a few years ago, Twin Armor was the fiercest battleground. Even if there is consent from another country, we can never open the gates until His Majesty’s order is given, he said.”

‘Damn old men… They’re all plotting together to screw me over.’

If both places refused his entry, he could consider attacking Twin Tower, although it might be the worst option.

However, attacking one of the two castles that agreed to his entry would be enough to receive criticism from the remaining kingdoms.

“Then the problem is only you.”

Clang—!!

Ruon drew his sword with all his might.

“…….”

However, the envoy could not say anything, looking at Prince Ruon’s sword aimed at his neck.

“Y-Your Highness.”

Azif called him in a low voice.

It was not a war, and killing an envoy from another country in a position to ask for a favor would only worsen the situation without any excuse.

“Are the magic tools of your kingdom just for decoration? If the king’s permission is needed, you can contact him right away. It’s already been two days. As I said, we need to go to the South.”

“As you know, there is already a road left through the South through the treaty.”

“If we could use that narrow road, we wouldn’t have done this troublesome thing! You also know that this number of people cannot pass through the road!”

“I’m sorry. But if you had passed through the Nort Plain, not Twin Armor, among the roads through the main road, it would have been easier.”

Gritting-.

Prince Ruon could not answer his words and just gritted his teeth.

He knew it well himself.

However, the pride of the Prince of the Empire could not bring himself to say that he had been deceived.

“We chose the road through Twin Armor because it is the fastest way to the South.”

It was an excuse, but he thought he should at least protect his pride.

Ruon’s sword slowly moved along the envoy’s neck.

The tip of the sword pointed outside the camp.

“The border area is divided with Fournine as the boundary, but in fact, that end is the territory of the Empire.”

There were large and small houses gathered there, and there were rice paddies where the harvest had not yet been completed.

“Tell the General. It doesn’t matter if you keep the gates tightly closed. But I’ll see if you can’t open the gates even after that wrong decision takes away all their lives.”

The envoy’s eyes shook for the first time at his words.

Ruon was serious.

It was too late to turn back the troops. He wanted to deal with the guys who made this happen right now, but they had already run away.

He sent a pursuit team, but he didn’t expect much. The identity he had reported to him was fake from the start, and there was no way the guys who had confidently escaped through the army would be easily caught.

‘I want to tear those bastards to pieces, but those guys are a problem for later. First of all, this matter is more urgent.’

It was a clear threat, but he couldn’t delay any longer. However, he could not turn the troops around and go to the Nort Plain as the envoy said.

‘Olivon and Kromen may have already reached the South.’

Ruon was impatient.

He was definitely a smart person, but when he got involved with Olivon, he sometimes became impatient, thinking that he could never lose.

“Y… Your Highness.”

Azif was worried that he might cut off the envoy’s neck because of his impatience.

Sreung-.

However, unlike his worries, the voice full of anger calmed down, and his eyes regained composure.

“I don’t want to start a war with you either. I don’t like seeing unnecessary blood. I’ll give you a day. What I want is to talk directly to the king of the Istan Kingdom through the magic tool [a device for long-distance communication].”

“…….”

Azif finally breathed a sigh of relief at his appearance of withdrawing his sword.

“But think carefully. I came representing the Empire, so ignoring me is the same as ignoring the Empire. The lives of thousands of people are still at stake in your decision.”

Azif felt goosebumps on his skin without realizing it.

‘This incident is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps this incident could be an opportunity for His Highness to grow.’

Ruon was evaluated as having inherited the Emperor’s blood most strongly.

The impatience he sometimes showed may be because he was still young.

If he could fix that shortcoming, the nobles expected that he could make much more land the Empire’s than Tairan Stefan, who was called the Conqueror King.

“The fact that the lives that disappeared after this incident will cause another spark, too.”

Azif was convinced by his words.

‘This is the person who will become an emperor worthy of the Empire.’

The ‘one who is worthy of the dignity of the Empire,’ called the strongest in the continent, was neither Olivon, who was called ‘the one who will become the king of the people,’ nor the weak Kromen.

Only strong power could penetrate the Empire.

“…I will convey that.”

The envoy slowly bowed to Ruon and stepped back.

* * *

Hiiiing……!!

Khalil pulled on Kargon’s reins on the hill and looked down.

“Hmm… Very good.”

He was satisfied with the thought that Ruon was moving much better than he had expected.

“Unlike what I was worried about, war didn’t break out.”

“That’s right. If he has a brain, he won’t think about consuming troops on Twin Armor head-on. Probably…”

Khalil pointed to the villages on both sides of Ruon’s base and said.

“He’ll take prisoners and threaten them. He’ll know that’s a way to shake Marze’s heart more than attacking directly.”

‘The problem is the target of the threat. It’s important whether he’ll meet Marze directly with those prisoners or have a private meeting with the king of Istan.’

Khalil didn’t have many memories of Ruon in his previous life. By the time he received the call of the oracle and came to the imperial palace, Olivon had already ascended the throne.

‘I just saw him dying miserably.’

At that moment when he disappeared into the dew of the guillotine.

The anger remaining in his eyes was like seeing that of a beast, and even he, a foreigner, did not think of him as a prince.

‘Like Tairan Stefan, he also has a monster in his heart. How much he has grown will be the key to this battle.’

Khalil looked at Ruon’s camp below the hill and thought.

“Still, I was worried that Twin Armor might open before that… As expected, the Shield of Istan is different from the rumors. It’s solid even with the Imperial Army in front of it.”

Khalil smiled faintly at Beykan’s words.

“That’s right. But I actually had something to believe in. I was sure that the gates would not open before our arrival.”

“Yes?”

The reason was simple.

Because Baron Beril was in the Istan Kingdom.

Now that his position has clearly increased due to the Magic Mine incident, he would have confirmed that the Imperial Army was advancing towards Twin Armor regarding the Empire’s southward advance and told the king.

-Your Majesty, the Magic Mine incident must not be known. Coincidentally, the Imperial Army is heading to Twin Armor. If it’s Lord Marze, he won’t easily attack even if it’s the Imperial Army.

-Then… What should I do?

-Lord Marze’s personality is famous on the continent. Please refuse his request for a while. As time passes, the Empire will naturally propose coordination. It’s not too late to think about it then.

Although it was a past event, he was a strategist who had led all the battles he had participated in to victory from the Battle of Melbrun to the defense of the Duchy in his youth, so his words carried more weight than the Magic Mine incident.

Moreover, the ministers of the kingdom, who were frightened, eventually listened to Baron Beril’s words.

‘Well… For me, it’s enough if they just buy time.’

It was important for Khalil to have time to subjugate the Demon Nest before Ruon passed through the three countries.

Precisely, for this moment.

‘Now, the Demon Nest will open here soon.’

On one side, there were Ruon’s troops, and on the other side, there were Marze and Aven’s troops facing each other.

Thousands of villagers were stuck in between, and he was looking down on them.

When else would there be a moment when these three forces could gather in one place?

It was a perfect result created by Prince Ruon’s personality, Marze’s thoughts, and the incompetent king of the weak country and the nobles who had been bribed by him.

Khalil smiled as he looked at this ideal picture he had completed.

Kugugugugu…….

At that moment.

The sky began to darken as if rain would pour down.

‘It has begun.’

When Khalil looked at Beykan and Kinu standing on both sides, they nodded as if they already knew what this anomaly meant.

“What are you going to do? Our troops are only a thousand at best. But one side is 70,000 and the other side is 50,000.”

Viola knew well enough now that Khalil’s Free Army was an elite force, but even so, the numerical difference was too great.

She was curious about his plan.

Indeed, what could he do with less than one-tenth of the troops in this situation?

Khalil smiled faintly at her words.

He looked at the Fournine River flowing behind Ruon’s base.