The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 350

226. Fall of the Marquisate

“A letter… sent from the enemy lines.”

In the silent castle, all eyes were drawn to the scroll raised by the knight.

“What does it say?”

Aziph looked at Bran Gaunt with worried eyes. As he feared, Bran’s face darkened as he began to read the letter.

“Hoo…”

He sighed involuntarily.

He felt the wound on his neck, inflicted by Lakna, throbbing. Aziph felt bitter, knowing that if Karil had used a little more force, his head would have been on the floor instead of just a wound.

“It’s a recommendation to surrender. It says it’s a way to minimize damage to both sides. If we meet their demands, they will ensure the lives of the soldiers in the castle.”

“A surrender recommendation…?”

Aziph bit his lip at Bran’s words.

As a glorious knight of the Empire, surrendering on his own accord was unacceptable.

However, with the Red Dragon’s screams echoing throughout the night, the soldiers’ morale had plummeted.

“What are you thinking? You’re not really considering surrendering, are you? The Empire still has 500,000 troops, and Jarvant has 300,000 in the south. If we can join forces with them, those guys…”

“When will that be?”

“…What?”

“The Digon clan, who clashed with Jarvant, are the rulers of the south. Their leader, Miliana, is also a Sword Master [a master of swordsmanship], and her tactical skills are no less than those of the Imperial Knights. With the difference in troop size, there is a good chance of winning, but it won’t be a quick victory.”

Bran handed the scroll to Aziph and continued.

“With Lord Cam Gray’s death, the position of commander of the main force is currently vacant. There are expected candidates, but… given the opponent, His Majesty will surely hesitate to appoint him to that position.”

The Empire had no easy choice for the next commander.

‘Quel McGovern.’

The only knight order that had not participated in the Imperial War was the Blue Knights.

However, the Blue Knights, who were in charge of defending the northern border, were practically the most combat-experienced in the Empire.

‘The problem is that there is no choice. Although they are not blood-related, the two are father and son. The key is how to handle the opposition from the ministers within the Empire.’

Bran pondered, looking at the unfolded military map.

“Then… is there no way?”

“It’s not that there isn’t one at all.”

“What is it?”

“Dragon.”

Aziph couldn’t hide his disappointed expression at his answer.

In fact, the presence of a dragon should have been more imposing than 500,000 troops, but ironically, it seemed that the imperial soldiers here were not at all impressed.

That’s because the Red Dragon, which they had believed would bring victory, was now being tortured outside the castle.

“It might be an opportunity. If those remaining in the Imperial City learn about the Red Dragon’s situation… they will all come here. No matter what, it’s impossible to face all the dragons.”

“Are you saying that a crisis can be an opportunity for a turnaround?”

Aziph said in a trembling voice.

“What we need to do is prevent the castle from being taken before the dragons join this front. Fortunately, this castle was built to be easily defended against southern invasions.”

“We’ll have to huddle up for a while…”

He clenched the letter.

The sentence at the end of the letter caught his eye.

“[Life for life. Remember that wound. There will be no second chance.]”

“…”

A warning.

Unconsciously, Aziph touched the sword wound on his neck with his hand.

Knock, knock.

At that moment.

The door opened after a knock.

“…!!”

“…!!”

The two were surprised by the appearance of the person who had come to find them.

* * *

“As expected.”

“I guess so.”

“Judging from the withdrawal of all the strongholds we built in the front yard, they seem to be trying to buy time.”

Anthem watched the Imperial soldiers moving busily inside the castle.

“They won’t give up easily with soldiers still remaining. They already withdrew their troops the moment Python was defeated. Thanks to minimizing the damage, the remaining military power is practically equal. Now that the suddenly intervening dragon has been dealt with.”

Karil raised his glass and took a sip, as if the Marquisate’s response was not surprising.

“In the end, we have to attack the castle. The enemy’s command is more outstanding than I thought. If they only focus on defense… it will be difficult to capture.”

Karil looked at Anthem Howard and raised the corner of his mouth.

“That’s what I wanted. To be honest, it would have been troublesome if they had come out of the castle to save the dragon. With that big guy taking up space, it’s honestly a hindrance to us.”

He pointed to Python.

Fighting in a situation where the battlefield was narrowed due to the huge size of the dragon was definitely a disadvantageous condition.

“Besides, we can’t properly utilize our troops if we have to worry about him not being released. Bran Gaunt, he made the wrong move again this time. We have a better eye for the game. The castle will be our cage to trap them.”

Karil said.

“It’s because our lord is outstanding.”

Anthem replied to him in a low voice.

Karil said that the military power was equal, but the dragon was not the only one who intervened suddenly.

The dragon was captured and became useless, but Karil, another intervener, was now freely moving in front of his eyes.

It was no exaggeration to say that the tide of the battle had already turned.

“Anthem, as you know, we have already identified the castle’s weak points. And they know it too. They will try to defend the main gate intensively. But conversely, if we break through that place, the capture of the castle is over.”

“I will follow your orders.”

Anthem replied to Karil’s words with a confident voice. From that appearance, it could be seen that he had already prepared a way to capture the Marquisate in his head.

“They will have already sent the news to the Imperial City. It may take time for the main force to come south, but if the remaining dragons move, we don’t have much time. At dawn, we will welcome them above that castle.”

“Yes.”

“I will follow your orders.”

“Leave it to me.”

At Karil’s words, Anthem and his subordinates nodded and burned with fighting spirit.

* * *

“Hoo…”

The soldiers guarding the castle walls looked around with tense faces as the night deepened.

“What time is it? It should be dawn soon… I can’t see anything…”

“Hey, someone check the time.”

“What’s going on all of a sudden? What’s with the fog…?”

The soldiers said, waving their hands in the air at the white stream that even blocked the light.

At that moment.

A pungent smell that stung their noses.

“Fire!!”

A shout was heard from somewhere.

However, the soldiers could only wander around, not knowing where it was.

The man who had just waved his hand in the air realized that what was blocking their vision was not fog.

“S, smoke?”

Peeep-!

A sharp whistle sounded.

“Ugh!!”

“Aaaargh!!!”

At the same time, the soldiers began to be helplessly hit by a hail of arrows.

“Where did it come from all of a sudden?!”

“Find the enemy’s location immediately!!”

“Scatter!!”

“N, no! Stop the enemy from coming up!!”

The defending soldiers were in chaos from the sudden attack and didn’t know what to do.

Peeep-!!

The whistle sounded again.

“Cough!!”

“Cough…! Keuk!”

Then, arrows were accurately lodged in the necks and chests of the soldiers who had shouted a little while ago.

“Amazing. I can’t believe it even when I see it with my own eyes. The archery of the Bi-gung tribe [a tribe known for their archery skills].”

Anthem Howard said with admiration.

In the smoke where you couldn’t see an inch ahead, Kinu Mukari accurately identified the location of the sound he heard and shot an arrow there.

“This is nothing. Compared to fighting dragons, it’s too easy. What’s amazing is our lord’s ability to use magic to cover the entire castle.”

Kinu Mukari drew the bow again.

Shoook-!!

Following the direction of his arrow, the Bi-gung tribe drew their bows without an inch of error.

“Ugh!!”

“Aaaargh!!”

There were screams of soldiers without fail where their arrows flew.

“Or… maybe Anthem, who thought of sending our lord alone to his death, is amazing.”

Anthem smiled faintly at Kinu Mukari’s words.

“Death… I guess everyone thinks the same way? The Imperial army should have retreated as soon as the dragon was captured. Defending inside the castle? That’s the wrong choice.”

Anthem lightly raised the baton he was holding.

“In tactics, the most ideal thing is to trap the enemy in a dead end so that they cannot escape and attack from a safe place.”

“It’s too obvious, but it’s not easy to trap the enemy, so the one who makes it possible is called a strategist, and the act is called tactics.”

Anthem nodded at Kinu Mukari’s words.

As he raised his arm, the Rahu tribe [a tribe known for their sensory skills] identified the enemy’s location in the fog and whistled again.

Peeep-!!

When the whistle sounded again, Kinu Mukari moved the direction of the bow and shot accurately at the place where the sound was heard.

Because they were a small tribe, it was difficult to build power in the Great Plains, but instead, the warriors of the Rahu tribe, who made a living by hunting, always lived in caves, so their movements were better than anyone else in a limited field of vision.

In the smoke created by taking advantage of the darkness, they accurately identified the enemy’s location and sent a signal to the Bi-gung tribe.

“We humble people can’t do that.”

“Well… I don’t know if this can be called a strategy. The fact that we were able to create smoke near the castle is because the Imperial army hid inside the castle after the dragon was defeated. Because of that…”

Anthem smiled bitterly.

“Originally, a castle clearly exists to prevent invasion. It’s the safest place on the battlefield. But our lord has made that castle the most dangerous place.”

Kinu Mukari smiled faintly as if he knew what Anthem was trying to say.

“What made it possible was the fear that came from the overwhelming power that defeated the dragon.”

“This castle, where 4 of the 5 gates are fake and only the main gate can be used, means that other places besides the main gate cannot be used as escape routes. The Imperial army is literally trapped.”

Anthem raised his hand again.

“The door will open soon.”

Then the cavalry of the Free Army began to advance all at once.

“Because our lord, who is stirring up the castle, will be more terrifying than facing the Free Army attacking the main gate.”

“To advance the army to open the castle gate, but to make the enemy open the castle gate themselves… It’s a cruel situation.”

“It’s a strategy that only our lord can do.”

Anthem nodded.

“How can humans stop our lord who couldn’t even beat the dragon? But…”

He frowned.

“It seems that the enemy’s strategist is not someone to be taken lightly either.”

“Yes?”

Kwaaaang—!!

The main gate of the castle shattered with a crack.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

There was no one who could stop Karil, who was walking proudly into the castle. To the Imperial soldiers who had already lost their will to fight, his appearance in the smoke felt like the Grim Reaper.

“Bran Gaunt. We meet again.”

Karil said in a low voice to him, who was standing in the center of the castle in the flames.

“Hey, stop!!”

The guards shouted, but they couldn’t hide the fact that the tips of their swords were trembling with fear. Karil briefly glanced at them and then looked away.

“It seems that strategy and tactics are meaningless in the face of absolute power. The main gate was breached in one go.”

Karil shrugged.

“It wouldn’t have been so easily destroyed if you had defended with all your might. You might have been able to buy time for the dragons to come as planned.”

“But 100,000 Imperial soldiers would have been annihilated while buying that time.”

At Bran’s words, Karil scanned his surroundings.

“So you left only the minimum number of troops and let the rest escape.”

He smiled faintly at Karil’s words.

“You got me. Pretending to defend the castle and retreating the troops. It will be difficult to chase them because of the smoke that was spread to instill fear in the Imperial soldiers.”

It was truly something he couldn’t help but admire. Did he predict that he would use smoke? In that short moment, he used deception and even reversed his plan.

“It seems there was another escape route we didn’t know about.”

“There is one person who knows a secret passage that we humble people don’t know.”

Karil was taken aback by his words.

“Empress…”

A hollow laugh burst out.

“It’s a card that everyone had forgotten… I didn’t know she would be used like this. If it’s the Empress, she would definitely know the secret passage. Because it’s her brother’s territory.”

Bran nodded.

“The Empress’s life is also tenacious. It seems she’s going to beg Oliven for her life in exchange for saving 100,000 troops. Why did you stay? In my eyes, your talent is more precious than the Empress’s life.”

But he didn’t answer.

“To deceive me. To make it look like there are troops in this castle.”

Karil already knew the answer he couldn’t give.

“My offer is still valid… How about it.”

Bran’s eyes trembled.

But soon the answer that came out of his mouth was one.

“I’m sorry. I am an Imperial. The picture I want to draw is not everyone’s peace, but the glory of the Empire.”

“…I see.”

Karil smiled bitterly.

No matter how much he regressed and knew talented people, he couldn’t capture everyone’s hearts.

If everyone only saw the same future he wanted, the future of his previous life wouldn’t have gone so wrong.

But Karil couldn’t hide his regret.

Because he remembered that he had left countless achievements in the upcoming war against corruption.

‘Can’t two geniuses live under the same sky…’

Anthem Howard, who died young in his previous life, survived in this life, and Bran Gaunt, who achieved great things in his previous life, will die to him in this life.

“Bran. You saved 100,000 lives.”

Karil slowly pointed his sword at Bran’s neck.

“This is truly something to be praised.”

He murmured in a low voice. Then he slowly drew his sword.

“I won’t forget, and I will leave your name in the history I will create.”

Bran closed his eyes with a faint smile.