The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 356

228. The Battle for Four-Nine (4)

“Kugh… Keugh…”

Tiren, immobilized, could only grit his teeth and glare at Khalil.

“What good is an army of 100,000? In the end, the victory or defeat of a war hinges on capturing the leader.”

“You… Have you forgotten who the commander of the Imperial Army is? Even if you capture me, my father’s sword will eventually cut your throat.”

“Unfortunately, the commander of the Imperial Army is Kwell McGovern, but his beloved son is in my hands, so I wonder… what decision will he make?”

“Khalil!!!”

Kwell McGovern shouted.

“Behead him.”

Khalil coldly ordered the Black Eye Tribe.

Unlike Brand Garmunt, Tiren represented a significant obstacle to his future plans.

Khalil knew better than anyone how much Tiren despised other races.

After personally beheading Brand Garmunt, Khalil had a change of heart regarding focusing on choices. He now saw a clear distinction between what to give up and what to eliminate.

It was then.

Clang!! Clatter!! Clatter—!!!

The sound of swords clashing echoed loudly around the Black Eye Tribe.

The swords of those aiming at Tiren hurriedly moved to block the attacks rushing towards them.

“Evacuate!”

“Knights, form a defensive formation!!”

The moment Zigra blocked the sword aimed at his back, his body staggered from the sheer force.

“Hmph…!!”

It was a fierce attack that could have knocked him unconscious, but even in that moment, Zigra mustered all his strength to thrust his sword toward Tiren’s neck.

“Stop!!”

A booming shout was heard, and a black shadow engulfed Zigra’s vision.

A mana blade of golden flame descended upon Zigra.

“Kugh?!”

Zigra hastily dodged the sword and counterattacked, but once again, a heavy sword strike blocked him.

“…”

Zigra, considered the best warrior in the Black Eye Tribe after Kaliak, couldn’t help but question the identity of the opponent before him.

He lowered his waist so low it almost touched the ground and glared at the swordsman with the abundant hair, preparing for a counterattack.

The swordsman seemed to instinctively sense this, as he ceased his attacks and maintained his distance.

“I will escort you.”

The moment the Black Eye Tribe’s encirclement was breached, a man with a huge build snatched Tiren from his horse, carried him over his shoulder, and jumped away.

“Now!! Surround the enemy!!”

The man with long hair behind him shouted, raising a sharp spear upwards.

‘They are…’

Khalil frowned slightly at the sudden appearance of the three.

‘It seems the Sword Manor has joined this war as well.’

The faces of those who rescued Tiren and moved the Imperial Army in an orderly fashion were familiar.

Elan of the Holy Silver, Faiman the Spear Demon, and Magto the King of the Islands.

They were Kwell McGovern’s disciples, trained in the training camp called the Sword Manor, and they were beings with such powerful strength that they would later be called the Three Divine Generals of the Empire.

‘Unlike when we met in Heim, the aura they exude has been sharpened.’

Khalil immediately grasped their strength.

Just as Grace had already risen to the rank of Sword Master, unlike in his previous life, the three of them seemed to have reached that realm as well.

Certainly, compared to his previous life, the skills of all the strong had generally increased. The number of Sword Masters, which had been only five until now, had now become a double-digit number in the same era.

The fact that Gordon and Ganes, who had died in his previous life due to illness and war, were alive was also a major change.

However…

‘The problem is that four of the Sword Masters are my enemies.’

“Surround him!!”

“Never let them escape!!”

“The main force is coming soon. We must hold them at all costs!! All troops!! Commence attack!!!”

The appearance of the Three Divine Generals rapidly changed the tide of the battle. They belonged to the second division, the main force, not the first division where Kwell was.

“Lord!!”

At that moment, Ganes, riding a wyvern [a dragon-like creature, typically smaller and less powerful than a dragon], reached out his hand to him.

“Everyone, scatter.”

Seeing this, Zigra shouted in a low voice, and the Black Eye Tribe disappeared into the shadows all at once.

Whoosh—!!!

The wyvern Ganes was riding flapped its wings with all its might and soared into the air.

“Shoot!! Pour down all arrows and magic!!”

Soldiers and mages attacked the two at Tiren’s shout, but their attacks were useless against the Sword Masters.

Boom-!!

As Ganes swung his halberd [a combined spear and battle-axe weapon] at the arrows and magic flying towards them, only a series of explosions and loud noises were heard around the drake as flames erupted one after another.

“Look. The dust cloud is getting closer over there. It must mean the Empire’s main force is approaching.”

At his words, Khalil looked ahead.

Certainly, the flags symbolizing the Empire could be seen moving in the distance.

“Right. The three who rescued Tiren a little while ago must be the ones who rushed ahead from the main force. The fact that the main force is getting closer also means that the first division has been held up for that long.”

“The Water King and Sea King have done a lot of work.”

“Yes.”

Khalil smiled bitterly as he looked at their severed heads tied to the back of the drake flying beside him.

“But still, it’s become a ridiculous sight. To sacrifice two Ghost Kings and run away with the enemy right in front of you, without even striking them.”

“Even if they are Ghost Kings, they are just monsters. It is impossible to stop the 100,000 troops led by Father.”

Randall, riding behind the drake, spoke, and Khalil replied.

“And you’re the one who stopped that father. Now you’ve become a definite enemy of the Imperial Army. How do you feel?”

At his question, Randall simply shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“With all due respect, even if the Wyvern Corps joins us, it will be difficult to defeat the first division before the main force joins us, especially with Kwell and the remaining three Sword Masters present.”
Ganes said, carefully observing the atmosphere between the two.

“I suppose so.”

“At best, we’ll only be able to hold them back. But that’s meaningless. If we’re not careful, this place might become a battlefield. If that happens, we’ll be at a disadvantage. It’s more important to retreat temporarily and reorganize the front lines. The next battle is the real battle.”

“Right.”

Khalil sensed it.

“The next battle is important.”

Nardie Maugh would reveal himself amidst the clash with the Imperial Army, which had joined forces with the main force.

* * *

“You’ve arrived!”

“Lord!”

As soon as the Wyvern Corps arrived, Dushalla rushed over to check on Khalil’s condition. Anthem Howard was beside her.

Ganes nodded lightly with a welcoming face. He knew that Khalil had dropped him off in Tatur before going to Four-Nine.

“I heard you’ve been through a lot. Thank you for your hard work in gathering the troops in Tatur.”

“N, no problem…”

She bowed, seemingly not knowing what to do with Khalil’s praise.

“What about the other two dragons?”

“Currently, the Gold Dragon is confronting Viola at the Four-Nine defense fortress, and the Green Dragon is clashing with Miliana.”

“Hmm… Any support requests?”

“There are none from either side. There are reports that the Northern Barbarians and Aidan’s Dark Shadow are providing support to each of them, respectively.”

“I did give instructions to the barbarians… Actually, I was a little worried about Digon, but it’s a relief. I did tell Altemann to help Digon if he got out of the island, but I didn’t expect the timing to be so perfect.”

Khalil nodded.

‘If Aidan came, that means Altemann is with him too. If it’s him, who has skills surpassing a Sword Master, he’s strong enough to face the Green Dragon.’

In addition, the Four-Nine defense fortress, where Hwarin, who has the will of a Lycanthrope [a werewolf or shapeshifter] and the power of the Wind Spirit King, Samad the Mad Wind, is sealed, also had the potential to face the Gold Dragon.

With the two dragons, who could have been major obstacles, now forming a tense power structure between the two sides, Khalil could now focus on the battle with the Imperial Army of 500,000, which could be called the main force.

“Dushalla. Report the situation. How many free troops are currently in Tatur?”

“Yes. This way.”

She reported everything that had happened so far to Khalil in the situation room. Khalil could see how much she had prepared to be ready for various situations from the maps scattered here and there.

“Currently, our forces consist of approximately 160,000 troops, including 100,000 free troops stationed in Tatur, 50,000 troops from the Lanion Alliance, 10,000 magic troops from the Ulkas Guild and the Immortal Society, and finally, 1,000 units from Sir Ganes’ Wyvern Corps.”

“160,000 versus 600,000… Numerically, we are definitely at a disadvantage, but the mages of the Immortal Society and Ganes’ Wyvern Corps cannot be judged solely by numbers.”

“Yes. So we have set our current strength at approximately 200,000 and devised a strategy.”

Anthem Howard said, as if he had been waiting for Khalil’s words.

“It was a good thing I dropped you off first.”

“No. It was because Lady Dushalla’s basic strategy was excellent that I was able to modify it quickly.”

Dushalla, forgetting that she was covering her face, lowered her head as if she was embarrassed at his answer.

“Why is she like that?”

Kamma, who was in the situation room, scoffed at her reaction, and Kamma made a sullen expression at her sharply glaring eyes behind the veil, unlike a little while ago.

“Although it is a disadvantageous fight, it is worth trying.”

Dushalla glared at Kamma and said to Khalil.

“We have geographical advantages that the Imperial Army cannot use. They won’t know that Four-Nine is not only threatened by the strong currents of the river.”

Khalil smiled faintly, as if he understood what she meant.

“Right. Four-Nine became famous because of the monsters and the river, but in fact, what is really scary in war is not the river, but the forest.”

“As expected…”

Dushalla exclaimed in a low voice at Khalil’s words.

“I know Tiren’s personality well. He will start by creating the stage for a perfect battlefield.”

“A stage…”

“If that happens, he will soon know the secret of this forest. I’m curious about his flustered face. Anthem, if you’ve heard the secret of the forest from her, the plan has already been set up.”

The corners of her lips went up.

“Of course.”

“Good. There’s no need to be impatient. Numerical superiority is not important in this war. Time is on our side.”

“Yes!!”

“Understood.”

At Khalil’s command, the subordinates answered spiritedly.

However, unlike them, who were burning with fighting spirit, only Dushalla hesitated as if she was nervous and opened her mouth.

“And… there is one more thing to report.”

“What is it?”

She looked at Khalil’s expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s…”