The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 325

215. The Imperial War (1)

“My Lord!”

As Karil emerged from the lair, he turned his head at Aedan’s voice welcoming him.

“You’ve returned safely. Was it fruitful?”

“So-so.”

Karil looked at him, covered head to toe in what he couldn’t tell if it was monster slime or blood, and said,

“Looks like you had quite the commotion too.”

“Haha…”

Aedan laughed awkwardly.

“Any casualties?”

“None.”

But his answer was full of confidence.

Though it was a short time, the Snakels seemed to have become quite skilled at catching monsters.

“Not bad.”

“At first, we were all over the place, but thanks to Altemann, we were able to establish a system.”

At Aedan’s words, Altemann simply shrugged.

Even the renowned assassins were a mess, but Altemann was neat and tidy without a speck of dust.

That alone was enough to clearly feel the difference between them and him.

“Alright, how was it inside the lair?”

“There was nothing.”

“Hmm? I thought you said it was fruitful?”

“It was fruitful, but there was nothing.”

Altemann looked at Karil with a look that seemed to ask what he was talking about.

“The Platinum Dragon had already taken the items inside the lair. I just found traces of him.”

“You don’t seem to want to tell me what that was.”

“You know me well.”

Altemann gave a wry smile at Karil’s answer.

“Don’t take it personally. You told me the secret of the Millennium Ice Cave, but I still can’t completely trust you. You’re also someone related to the Platinum Dragon, so it’s always good to be careful.”

“Can’t be helped. Well, I understand enough.”

“Good. I should go back now. Unfortunately, I don’t have any spoils to take with me, but it was an opportunity to reaffirm the reason to fight.”

“I’ll prepare it.”

“No. You guys stay here.”

“……Yes?”

“I’ll give you a week. Conquer this entire island and come back. Don’t forget. Don’t be late for the war. We don’t have any spoils to take with us right now, but we need to leave some to reap later.”

Karil pointed at Aedan and said.

“Improve your skills and come back. The guys you just fought were only about halfway through the island. Aren’t you excited?”

At his words, not only Duke Dihold but also the Snakels were in shock. As Miliana reached out her hand, the blue scales spread their wings as if they had been waiting and approached.

“That sounds fun. Let’s hope we meet again alive.”

Leaving them behind, Miliana chuckled. Then, she lightly waved her hand and climbed onto the head of the Wyvern.

“…….”

After the two had left, the remaining people stared blankly at Altemann.

“Haa… I’ve been had.”

Altemann chuckled as he looked at the two who had run away without even having a conversation.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves. It’s going to be a tough week.”

At his words, the Snakels looked at him with tense expressions.

“I’ll make sure that even a Sword Master won’t be able to defeat you when you return.”

At his words, the Snakels grabbed their respective weapons without complaint.

* * *

Karil turned his mount from the Promised Land and headed straight for Tatur.

After switching to the Sand Serpent waiting in the south, he ordered Miliana to move north with Viola’s forces and flew non-stop for days and nights.

Miliana was tongue-tied at his tireless stamina, but he thought that he had to finish the Imperial War as quickly as possible before the upcoming War of the Divine Mandate, considering that the power of the Platinum Dragon, which was the greatest force in his previous life, could become an enemy in this war against Corruption.

Whoosh―!!

As Karil’s Sand Serpent appeared in Tatur, the Drakes in the skies above Tatur circled around him warily.

Despite the appearance of a giant monster, the people of Tatur were not surprised but rather welcomed their master.

“My Lord!”

Dushala, having already been informed that he was coming, ran out to the plaza. She still covered her face with a black veil, but the fragrant scent emanating from her felt even more attractive than before.

“Has anything happened while I was away?”

“Many things have happened. You wouldn’t believe it.”

“Why?”

“The Empire has declared war and is gathering troops from each territory. The number is already over a million.”

Karil shrugged at Dushala’s words.

“Well, it’s the same on this side. I received a report that official letters were sent to each base.”

Dushala replied with a knowing look at Karil’s nonchalant attitude despite hearing about the million-strong army.

“The Golem Corps and Wyvern Corps are in the final stages of preparation, and Princess Viola’s troops are also preparing to move north. Digon and some of the barbarians from the south have already joined the foreigners, so we are currently besieging the Empire from three locations.”

Karil nodded at her words.

“But if we think carelessly, it will become a battle that uses the entire continent. Variables can happen at any time.”

“That’s right. It may have already happened.”

“Hmm? Did something happen?”

“As if they were waiting for the Empire to declare war, the Empress caused a rebellion, and it’s been chaos.”

“Rebellion? Ah…”

At Dushala’s report, Karil nodded again, not very surprised this time either.

‘The timing is a bit different, but such a thing certainly happened after Oliban ascended to the throne.’

The Emperor’s death in Heim is different from the previous life, but the death of the 1st Prince, Ruon, in the Sun Hall was the same as in the previous life.

The Empress, who lost both the Emperor and Ruon at the same time, starts a rebellion in her territory as a last resort.

She knows it’s a futile act, but perhaps she thought that living would be a more terrible future.

“The Empress is hastening her demise.”

“The Empire will have no choice but to withdraw some troops. It seems they intend to deal with it after a military clash. Even if she’s a thorn in their side, they can’t kill the Empress right away. She’s the only remaining member of the Imperial family, so they’ll have to find a justification, even if it’s forced, before they can do it.”

“That’s right.”

“Thanks to that, it’s become easier for us to find a gap to strike the Empire.”

She said it was chaos, but in Dushala’s eyes, the Empress’s rebellion was just a boon [a helpful or beneficial thing].

And just like her, Karil also thought so.

“And there’s someone else waiting for you, my Lord. I’ve given him an empty room for now, but he says he can’t talk about the reason unless he meets you in person.”

“Who is this impudent fellow?”

“Who else could it be? It’s me.”

It was then.

Whoosh―――!!

In the middle of the road leading to the hall, black smoke suddenly soared and began to envelop Karil.

“…….”

Magic power so thick that it was suffocating.

“How noisy.”

But Karil just brushed off the smoke with his hand with a nonchalant expression and said.

“Nine Darhon.”

“Hehe… Long time no see. You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”

A handsome man with skin as white as if he had never seen sunlight and unusually red lips appeared from behind the black smoke, and the smoke disappeared as if it had never been there.

“Hmm. You seem taller too.”

Nine Darhon playfully compared his height with Karil’s with a welcoming face.

“Your magic power has advanced again. Have you broken through the wall of the 7th class now?”

‘What?! 7th class……?!’

Dushala looked at Karil in surprise at his words. If the difference was somewhat similar, she might have noticed the change, but there was no way Dushala’s skills could have recognized Karil, who had reached the realm of the 7th class, which could be called the ranks of the Archmage [a master of magic].

She looked at Karil with respectful eyes, but the person in question said as if it was nothing.

“As expected… Archmages are different. I even deceived Kaie Essir’s companion.”

“Kaie Essir’s companion? Are you kidding me? There’s no way a person from 250 years ago is still alive.”

“He’s a monster who was alive even a thousand years ago. You’ll see him soon.”

Nine Darhon frowned slightly at Karil’s words.

“I don’t know if he deceived him or was deceived. Anyway, it’s the emergence of a new Archmage, but the continent is too quiet.”

“Considering that the Empire will soon disappear, my reaching the 7th class is nothing.”

“Hmph… A Sword Master and an Archmage. To think that someone who has achieved two things that he could not achieve in his entire life is saying such a thing at the same time.”

“What about you? You seem to have achieved much more than before. Have you reached the 8th class?”

[What 8th class? He’s still far from it.]

It was then.

The only being who could scold Nine Darhon, a strongman recognized by the world.

“M, Master.”

Nine Darhon hurriedly bowed his head at the appearance of Aln.

[Hmph, but it seems you’ve been steadily circulating your magic power as I told you to. The purity of your magic power seems to have become more refined than before.]

“It’s all thanks to Master’s teachings.”

[But you still have a long way to go. If it were the Age of Magic, you would only be at the level where you could barely make a living.]

Aln said that he could only make a living, but Karil thought that Aln only recognized Nine Darhon among the wizards he had seen so far.

There were those with talent in magic, such as Serika, Israfil, and Mikhail, but in Aln’s eyes, they were just kids.

“So you were the one who came to find me. Where did you leave the Immortal Guild, and why is the leader moving himself?”

“What else could it be? You said you’re starting a war. What could be more interesting than this?”

He gestured to Dushala.

Then, the quick-witted woman said to Karil.

“I should give you a report first. Thomson has reached the ranks of the 6th class. In addition, all 150 members of the Ulkas Guild, which is organized into the Free Army, are intermediate mages who have reached the ranks of the 5th class. And there are 180 4th class users.”

“All the rookies of Ulkas were trained in the Immortal Guild’s way. Thanks to that, such rapid growth was possible.”

Nine shrugged his shoulders as if he was proud.

“I think it was a good thing that I moved the wizards that Baron Beril was in charge of to the Immortal Guild in advance.”

“That human is greedy. I knew it would happen.”

Dushala continued to speak.

“The number of academy wizards in the Empire is 350, but less than half of them have reached the ranks of the 5th class. In that sense, our army is qualitatively much higher. We have enough magical firepower to deal with them.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate them. They have the Dawn Society of the Ivory Tower. There are over 400 wizards in the Dawn Society.”

“If you put it that way, we have the Immortal Guild.”

Dushala looked at Nine with eyes waiting for an answer.

“That’s right, that’s why I came myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Nine Darhon said with an expectant voice.

“You remember that I’ve been researching the Dust of the Void in the past, right?”

“Of course, thanks to that, I provided you with nearly 90% of the coamite [a rare mineral] from the Magic Mine.”

“Don’t act too proud with the mining debris that has no use anyway.”

“Don’t be so ungrateful. If you make magic absorption weapons with coamite and cyanite [another rare mineral], it’s useful when fighting knights. Do you know what it means that I supported you with that?”

Nine Darhon said with his lips twitching at Karil’s nagging.

“At best, you’ll just make arrows to shoot down a few knights. You should be happy that you invested coamite in me.”

“Did you have any results?”

Karil immediately noticed the meaning of what he was trying to say.

“That’s right.”

At his words, Nine Darhon nodded.

“I’ve created a new way to handle the Dust of the Void that I’ve been researching so far. I’ve made some interesting guys using the high-purity coamite you sent me as their hearts.”

Karil raised the corners of his mouth at his words.

‘As expected…’

The Dust of the Void that Nine Darhon is talking about was a type of Corruption. Now that the Council of Seven Elders has disappeared, he would be the only one on the continent who could handle it.

But in his previous life, the Immortal Guild did not participate in the continental war, so Karil had no way of knowing how much they had achieved, so he couldn’t help but be excited.

“I heard that brat is in the Dawn Society.”

“Mikhail? That’s right. He’s there now to challenge the Dawn Society’s test.”

“Challenge my foot… If it’s that old man Bertch Blano, he’ll use any means to keep him there while turning his words around and dragging out the time.”

“What about that impudent kid?”

“Serika? She’s in the Principality now. Well, the Ivory Tower is north of the Principality, so they’re not far from each other.”

“That’s good. I’ll have to borrow them. I’ll end that ridiculous test. Instead, tell the Dawn Society about me.”

“What?”

“Hehe…”

Nine Darhon smiled and spread and closed his fingers like sharp teeth.

“The Undying Legion is going to bite the Dawn’s neck.”