The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 13

12. The Day Arrives (2)

Despite having fought in countless battles, five remain most vivid in Carryl’s memory throughout his life.

The first was the day he met Kwell.

Extermination.

He could never forget the day he witnessed his first murder and the day his clan disappeared.

And the second.

‘The battle that will take place in five days,’ Carryl thought as he walked down the hallway.

The forest path narrows past the Malton Forest, where the road appears.

A situation where even the escape route is blocked.

‘It was an ambush that knew about and targeted the McGovern family’s monster subjugation every year.’ Carryl’s eyes flashed. ‘The important thing is that preventing the attack isn’t the issue.’

Unlike his past life, he is now capable enough to prevent the attack.

‘The problem is the mastermind behind it. It’s useless if I can’t uncover them. I couldn’t find them in my past life either.’ Carryl looked at Tyren’s back as he walked ahead.

‘This time for sure.’ Carryl paid attention to him, wondering if he would act as he thought.

“Isn’t it strange?”

“What is?”

Tyren’s expression had been poor since he came out after meeting his mother.

“Why is the Imperial Family sending reinforcements at a time like this?”

“Well, wasn’t it written in the official letter? They’re sending them to replace our private soldiers who were drafted because of the Edict of Heresy Extermination.”

“If that’s the case, they could have used those soldiers from the start. Besides, did you hear, Brother? Which unit the soldiers coming as reinforcements belong to?”

At Elliot’s words, Tyren looked at Mart.

“Yes, they said they were soldiers from the Balsar family.”

Mart nodded.

The Balsar family.

A baronet family that has been building its power in recent years, based at Caron Fortress, one of the border fortresses.

“They’re all rough guys. It would be more appropriate to call them mercenaries than knights. Besides, what’s bothering me is that the Balsar family is part of the First Prince’s faction.”

The current Emperor, Tairan Schtean, had three sons.

The First Prince, Ruon.

The Second Prince, Olyvan.

The Third Prince, Kroman.

For some reason, the Emperor had not yet decided on his successor.

But there can only be one emperor.

Naturally, the court was divided into factions supporting the First Prince and the Second Prince, with the weak-hearted Third Prince largely excluded.

‘Until now, the royalist faction, which claimed the legitimacy of the First Prince, had been dominant.’

‘The problem was the McGovern family.’

This was because the commander of the Azure Knights, who had only carried out imperial orders in the frontier, suddenly supported the Second Prince, Olyvan, for some reason.

‘Now that Father is away…’

Certainly, the support of the Balsar family could be seen as awkward, to say the least.

“Could it be…”

“Who knows? There are many people in the Imperial Palace who hate us.”

“……”

Silence fell.

“Brother, could it be that the Balsar family is trying to do something?”

But Mart shook his head at Tyren’s words.

“That’s too much to think. No matter how much the imperial power struggle there is, there’s no way they would do such a thing by taking away the border defense forces in this situation.”

“There’s no way they would bother supporting us by taking away the border defense forces.”

But Mart’s thoughts remained firm.

“Tyren, what you’re saying isn’t wrong, but the knights led by Father will come back north from the Imperial Palace for the subjugation. Unless they’re crazy, they wouldn’t do such a thing in a situation where they could face the knights.”

“Hmm.”

It was a convincing argument.

“Besides, it’s an imperial edict. I can’t just let it go, even if it’s you, if you say any more blasphemous things.”

“…I’m sorry.”

However, despite Mart’s words, Tyren still couldn’t shake off his uneasy feelings.

‘Yes. Keep suspecting. That suspicion will lead you to become a strategist.’ Carryl thought as he looked at Tyren.

He is an excellent strategist.

He had already shown his talent from the moment he came to the mansion.

‘But it’s not complete yet.’

The weight of the word Imperial Family is beyond imagination.

He was bright, but still young.

No matter how suspicious he was, he couldn’t express it directly.

‘He has no choice but to lack the courage to overcome that weight.’ Carryl clicked his tongue.

‘It was inevitable because he was young, but you regretted today’s events for the rest of your life, saying that you didn’t have the courage to take that one step further as time passed.’

But Tyren will do the best he can to prepare now.

And that was what Carryl was waiting for.

“I will go on this subjugation too.”

“What? You?”

“Yes. There are reinforcements, and I don’t think there’s any need for you to do this yourself, Brother. Please assign Randol to me. I’ll go in your place.”

Everyone was surprised by Tyren’s words.

Even Carryl.

This was because the eldest, Mart, or the third, Elliot, had mainly been in charge of goblin subjugation.

“Hmm, even if it’s Randol, are you really okay? Goblins are said to be easy, but they’re still monsters. Don’t take them lightly.”

“Then I’ll go too,” Elliot said. But Tyren shook his head and replied.

“No. If you insist, I’ll take Carryl with me. Please assign him as my escort.”

“……!!”

“……!!”

An even more unexpected statement than suggesting Randol.

Everyone looked at Carryl at his words.

‘Not bad.’

It might seem like a strange combination, but Carryl lightly raised the corners of his lips at Tyren’s words.

Tyren had picked the best members he could think of for his purposes.

Still a suspicious situation.

In such a situation, he can’t send Mart, who is a direct line.

Sending someone who can be abandoned in case something goes wrong.

Tyren picked Randol and Carryl out of the six brothers as that card.

Randol, whom he trusts in skill, and himself, whose life is the least valuable among the six in case of emergency.

Originally, Elliot would have gone with Randol, the fourth brother, instead of himself.

‘Back then, I was full of hostility towards the Imperials. I was just locked in my room until the oracle was given.’

Clench-

Carryl clenched his fist without realizing it.

The fourth of the McGovern family, Randol.

A man of few words, he spent most of his time training in swordsmanship alone.

‘Superficially, Mart, the eldest, is known to be the most outstanding in the family, but if you think about it now, he is overwhelmingly talented.’

Of course.

He didn’t know in his past life. It was only because he was the current him, who had been holding a sword for a long time, that he could feel it.

To be exact, there was no moment to notice.

Unfortunately, his life ended before he could properly bloom his talent.

‘Right now.’

His death is why this incident became the second battle that Carryl could not forget.

One week after going on the subjugation.

The people of the mansion hear the tragic news that Randol has died in battle.

The first death among the six brothers.

It was such an unexpected event that it remained vividly in young Carryl’s memory.

‘Several incidents broke out due to his death.’

Carryl knew well that it shook the McGovern family.

He is going to prevent that.

However.

‘If anything is unexpected, it’s that Tyren volunteered to participate in the subjugation himself.’

“……”

Carryl’s gaze was fixed on him.

Not only is he participating in the war, but even Tyren.

The future has changed.

At that moment.

Carryl could understand Tyren’s thoughts.

‘Yes. It’s to watch over me.’

Carryl still spends most of his time in Einherjar after finishing his morning training.

He must have been curious.

A skilled person enough to beat Mart.

What he did in the library, how he changed.

The best place to check that was the battlefield, no matter what anyone said.

Combining all those actions made Tyren step forward himself.

The will to check with his own two eyes.

‘Excellent.’

Rather, Carryl praised such Tyren.

Thanks to his suspicion, he was able to participate in the expedition.

‘But there’s one thing wrong.’

No, even Tyren wouldn’t have expected it.

The ambush that will befall them after the goblin subjugation. It’s not something that the Balsar baronet family did.

‘Even though they are a faction supporting the First Prince, they are not crazy enough to target the family at a time like this.’

Not a problem within the Empire.

The enemy outside the Empire.

Carryl’s eyes gleamed.

‘Five days from now.’

Clench-

Carryl gripped the hilt of Agnel, which he was wearing on his waist, and thought.

‘I will prepare for my first battle in this life.’