The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 270

186. A New Morning for the Duchy (2)

Several days had passed since the funeral.

Caryl stood in the temporary lord’s residence, set up in the knight training grounds slightly away from the White Bunker, which was in the midst of restoration, and called out their names before him.

“Sir Wingel Hart.”

“…….”

“Sir Ganes Abellant.”

“Yes.”

Wingel remained silent when his name was called, and Ganes simply nodded with a brief response.

Their attitude toward Caryl was immediately apparent in their demeanor.

“I know your loyalty to the duchy. And that it is limited to Tuli.”

Caryl said in a low voice, looking at the two of them.

“But she is now dead, and Revol, the symbol of the duchy, has fallen. But my words at her funeral were not false. Wooden Cloud simply sees the duchy as a tool. And Sir Ganes has decided to lend me his strength to protect the duchy.”

“Those words don’t suit a traitor. One who abandoned his lord.”

“Instead, I will be able to protect hundreds of thousands of people in the duchy.”

“Well. No results have been achieved yet. Right now, I’m just paying the price for betrayal.”

“If it were just that drug, I would have already given you the antidote.”

Caryl said, looking at Ganes.

He was truly a steadfast man.

Even without taking the antidote, his magic power would be enough to suppress the poison.

However, he left the poison to slowly gnaw away at his body.

-I made it with the materials I had. It looks the same as Amphe [a type of poison], but its toxicity is ten times greater.

The day the Great Wall of Yoman fell.

Liliana made a pill with herbs from the Janabi tribe.

-I asked for it to be made, but you don’t have to take it. The choice is yours.

Caryl handed it to Ganes.

-Amphe poison also causes hallucinations and mental confusion, but it doesn’t kill you, and this drug is not a deadly poison either. But the poisonous herbs used are different, so if you take it, your whole body will be in pain as if you were being cut by a knife until you take the antidote.

Despite Liliana’s explanation, Ganes took the drug without hesitation.

-Wooden Cloud has already taken over the duchy. You should consider that the Lurein family, to whom you pledged your loyalty, is gone.

-I will see it with my own eyes.

Caryl shrugged at him and replied.

-Just keep in mind that no one will appreciate your loyalty even if you do this. In the end, you are just a traitor in their eyes.

‘Even if they don’t appreciate it, it will be his last loyalty to Tuli. He made her lose with his own hands…….’

He would consider it a punishment for himself.

‘Or maybe it’s just self-satisfaction.’

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

It would be enough if he could ease his guilt even a little, even though the pain of the flesh would torment him.

‘Why would such a man betray even Tuli and side with Wooden Cloud?’

At first, Caryl showed a cold attitude toward Ganes, unlike before.

The reason was, of course, his epithet in his past life, the Stigma. But seeing Ganes’s appearance in this life, he wondered if such a loyal subject who cared for the duchy so much would have betrayed Tuli.

‘Ollieburn…….’

The name that Caryl thought he would never think of in the duchy kept lingering in his head.

‘Could that guy have reached out to Ganes?’

With the suspicion that he might be related to Wooden Cloud, Ollieburn was the only one in Caryl’s mind who could offer a tempting enough offer to betray the duchy.

Just like he had believed in the past.

“…….”

But it’s different now.

If that’s the case, I can’t forgive him.

The only Sword Master Caryl had fought in his past life was the man in front of him, and the reason he cut him down was to assassinate Wooden Cloud, so it was deceiving not only Ganes but even himself.

The continent’s leading swordsmen were played by one man.

‘In this life, neither Ganes nor I will do such foolish things as being played by you.’

In order to unravel the complicated tangle, all that remained was to meet Ollieburn.

And I will see him soon.

Not as a friend who knelt before him and swore allegiance, but to point a sword at his face and reveal the truth.

“I know there is one more Sword Master in the duchy. And that you are the only one who knows the whereabouts of the Spear King.”

Caryl finished thinking and looked at Ganes.

Gaining him was not just about gaining one Sword Master.

Spear King Dustin Philip.

When the name came out of Caryl’s mouth, Ganes shook his head with a troubled expression.

“He is different from me. He has already left the secular world. If he had been involved in the political situation of the duchy, he would have already participated in this civil war.”

Ganes shook his head as if he had read Caryl’s mind.

“I’m not trying to get his power.”

“……Yes?”

“I just want to let him know something that might interest him. And that goes for you too. The absurd thing you experienced in Yoman.”

Ganes’s eyes shook at Caryl’s words.

“……Are you talking about Serica Lauren?”

“That’s right.”

Looking at his expression, Caryl nodded, thinking, as expected.

In Yoman, he clashed with Serica Lauren.

Even though she was the one who destroyed the Great Wall, he couldn’t kill her right away.

And Caryl, who watched the scene, knew that in that instant, he looked at her swordsmanship as if he were fascinated.

“That child has never learned swordsmanship properly. She created that level on her own by looking at the books that are the basis of the Spear King’s Black Charm Seven Style. Even if he has left the secular world, wouldn’t the Spear King regret that his martial arts are disappearing?”

Ganes had a blank expression as if he had been hit hard.

“I don’t want anything else. Just that you show her to the Spear King. That’s all.”

“…….”

Caryl looked at him in silence and asked in a low voice.

“Or are you reluctant to show her to the Spear King because you want to teach her yourself?”

“That’s impossible……. There is no one who can follow him in swordsmanship. I know very well that his swordsmanship is more suitable for her than the halberd I use.”

Looking at him confidently, Ganes chuckled as if he couldn’t beat him.

“You are good at handling people. Well, that’s why Anthem is standing behind you now.”

Ganes said, looking at Anthem standing next to Caryl. Anthem nodded lightly as if answering his words.

“Okay. The Spear King will also be fascinated by her talent.”

“You better be careful. Serica might surpass you in half a year.”

“I am also looking forward to the battle with her.”

Bang―!!

It was then.

“Who decided that?! I was supposed to go back after the civil war, right? I have no intention of receiving anyone’s teachings.”

Serica Lauren, who opened the door of the lord’s residence and came in fuming, shouted at Caryl.

“Miss Serica. I don’t know about your relationship, but from now on, please be polite.”

“I don’t know about that. Who decided that without my consent?”

“I did.”

“……What?”

Caryl said calmly despite Serica’s nervous words.

“I told you before, didn’t I? I told you to assert your value, not to roll around on the snow and be defeated.”

“Th, that’s…….”

“Anthem is right. You should be polite in front of me now. And I don’t give much leniency to losers. You are the only loser among those around me.”

“…….”

Serica was upset by his teasing words, but she couldn’t argue.

“Instead, I’ll give you one condition. I’ll give you the half a year you boasted about. After receiving the Spear King’s lessons, I will send you to the Ivory Tower [a prestigious magic academy] when the results I can acknowledge come out.”

Serica’s eyes shook slightly.

“And you must be worried too, right? About whether Mikhail is doing well.”

“Wh, what…….”

“If you work hard, it might end sooner than half a year. I’m giving you a chance. If you want to see him, take him back to Tatur. You are the only one here who has the magic power to enter the Ivory Tower of the Dawn Society.”

Caryl said, looking at her.

“The answer?”

“……Okay.”

“Again.”

Serica Lauren glanced around for a moment, then parted her lips slightly and said.

“……I understand.”

“Good.”

It was true that Caryl had been treating Serica comfortably until now.

That’s because in his past life, she was one of the Ten of the Oracle and a comrade of Caryl.

But Caryl himself was the only one who remembered that past life. The situation was clearly different from then, and it was not a meeting due to the oracle, but the position of lord and vassal.

Caryl thought it was necessary to re-establish his relationship with her now.

‘There is less than half a year left until the oracle is given. Many people die from the corruption pouring out of Farrell while the Ten of the Oracle are selected and complete the three oracles they must perform.’

In his past life, when the Ten were selected, everyone was different, so it took time just to integrate them before performing the oracle.

Milliana, Israel of the Awl, Serica Lauren…….

But now, Caryl was trying to quickly perform the oracle and enter into a full-scale war with corruption by having them one by one under his command immediately after the oracle was given.

‘They must become stronger than in the past, no, than in their past lives.’

Awakening Milliana’s Dragon Magic Power, teaching Israel the magic of the ancients, and allowing Serica Lauren to encounter the Spear King’s swordsmanship along with the highest level magic, the magic of the Immortal Society.

From the standpoint of preparing for the Great War, their becoming stronger was always insufficient, never excessive.

“Then, Sir Ganes. I’ll leave her to you. The halberd is a pity, but I’ll find you another weapon that suits you.”

Ganes nodded.

“It is natural for the loser of the war to follow the winner’s demands. I have no complaints about taking the halberd instead of my life in Yoman.”

Serica Lauren’s face turned even redder at the word loser.

But Ganes knew very well that the attributes of his halberd were more suitable for Serica than for himself.

That’s why he was able to give up the spear without hesitation when Caryl made the offer.

“Then…….”

Ganes acted immediately as if there was no need to wait any longer.

After the two left, Caryl looked at Wingel, who was standing still, and said.

“Now only you are left, Wingel Hart.”

“…….”

When his name was called, Wingel looked at Caryl with a slightly stiff face.

“Your control of Revol is excellent. The small golems of the Meister unit have power beyond that of knights, and Revol has power that surpasses Sword Masters.”

“But I lost.”

“That’s not because your control skills are lacking. It’s because you lack boldness in battle. No, should I say boldness in killing.”

“…….”

“Strong power comes with a price. In the process of operating Revol, you couldn’t fight properly because you were worried about the allies who were sacrificed by the aftermath of the power.”

Wingel recalled his mistake of hesitating to avoid the soldiers buried in the collapsed wall.

“But that’s natural. You are not a knight, but an engineer. Engineers should walk the path of engineers. The path of stepping on blood is for those who hold swords.”

Caryl said as if he understood.

“Revol is a good golem. But there are many things that need to be supplemented. Since it is large, you can increase the balance and destructive power by repairing the core.”

“It’s easy to say, but it’s not a simple task.”

“That’s right. But you can do it. If it’s you.”

“…….”

Wingel had a bewildered expression on his face as Caryl looked at him with an unwavering belief.

“And I will give you a task. I think a mage engineer would want to take on the challenge at least once.”

When Caryl gestured, Anthem handed him a small box.

“This book is a blueprint for a golem that was not completed even in the Magic Age. It is in two volumes, but the second volume contains information on how to make the golem’s starting stone.”

As soon as Wingel saw the ancient language written on the cover of the book, he knew that it was the blueprint for Ascalon [a legendary golem].

“Even the genius engineer of the Magic Age could not make the starting stone. But if you can do this, you can prove that the present has surpassed the past.”

Dugun―

Wingel unknowingly put strength into the hand holding the blueprint.

“Don’t you want to create a new golem? If this works out well, you can fix Revol. No, you can strengthen it even more.”

Wingel showed interest for the first time at Caryl’s words.

“According to my aides, the survivors of the Gnome Kingdom, which was known to have been destroyed, are alive. No one can follow them in precise craftsmanship, and I also have a magic mine that will provide attribute stones until you succeed. How about it? Is it tempting?”

“Have you not considered the possibility that I might complete the golem and rebel?”

“I think I’ve heard a similar question.”

When Caryl looked at Anthem, he smiled bitterly.

“My answer is the same. I trust you, an engineer before a nobleman. At least until you restore the golem of the Magic Age, you won’t do anything useless, right?”

He said confidently.

“I don’t care if you take revenge on Tuli after that……. I won’t avoid it. If you have the confidence, you can attack me. Riding a new golem.”

“It sounds like you are confident that you can win no matter what.”

Wingel Hart shook his head.

His confidence did not just seem like recklessness.

“Whether you take revenge or fight for me……. I want to see you recreate Ascalon, even if I put aside such issues.”

Looking at him hesitating, Caryl drove in a wedge.

“This is not an order, but a suggestion. I will spare no support for everything you want. Create the masterpiece of a lifetime. An achievement that even those in the Magic Age could not achieve.”

“…….”

Wingel Hart stared at Ascalon’s blueprint at Caryl’s words.

“……It may take a long time.”

Caryl just nodded at the word he managed to utter with difficulty.

“Maybe he’s been waiting for a thousand years to meet you. It’ll be okay even if it takes a little longer.”

At his words, Wingel just closed his mouth and slowly nodded.

“Anthem.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After Wingel Hart left the room, Caryl stretched out as if he had finished his homework in the duchy and said.

“I’ll leave the duchy to you for the time being. I’m going to finish the last thing and cross the strait and return to Tatur. There will be a lot to do. You have to stabilize the public sentiment and reorganize the military.”

Anthem nodded.

In the process of gathering the soldiers who were divided into each duchy and changing them back to a one-man system, he made various suggestions to Caryl.

“Try what you have planned. Time is still on our side.”

“I understand.”

“There are still guys to fight across the sea. The Empire and Wooden Cloud. The process of annihilating them will not be easy, so we must be fully prepared.”

“But if we get rid of them, stability will finally come to the continent.”

Caryl raised the corners of his mouth at Anthem’s words.

‘It’s not the end, it’s the beginning.’

The fight against humans is just an easy task compared to the Great War that will come.

He looked out the window.

“Anthem, gather the tribes.”

As the northern snow that was falling slowly came to an end, Caryl decided on his next destination.

“I will prepare to leave.”