The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 365

“Advance!!!”

Kwell McGovern led the Blue Knights and charged up the hill.

“Stop them!!”

Randall shouted towards him.

Clang!! Clang clang clang…!!

The sound of clashing weapons erupted everywhere. However, the Free Army, led by Randall alone, couldn’t stop the Blue Knights led by Kwell.

“Support Randall!!”

Ganes, who was in the rear, shouted as he leaped forward with his halberd.

Whoosh…!!

A mana blade filled with electric magic drew an arc in the sky and descended towards Kwell.

Clang-!!

However, Kwell didn’t stop his charge, meeting Ganes’ attack head-on.

“……!!!”

Ganes looked surprised at Kwell’s unwavering advance, but only for a moment. Kwell lowered Yulston [his sword], pressing down on Ganes’ halberd instead.

“Keuk?!”

Ganes, who had initiated the attack, staggered backward.

He mustered all his magic and tried to ensnare Kwell’s neck with the halberd’s shaft, maneuvering behind Kwell.

Thwack!!

Kwell, still mounted and moving, slammed his elbow into Ganes’ side with all his might. A cracking sound echoed as Ganes’ armor fractured.

“Get out of the way, Ganes.”

Kwell said in a low voice. It was a warning.

“As a knight, you know better than anyone that it’s impossible.”

“That’s right. Then you must know that Zatheron [the city they are fighting for] is not enough either.”

That was the end of the exchange.

Kwell raised Ganes’ halberd, which was attempting to strangle his neck, with his palm.

Bang-!!

With a sharp metallic sound, Ganes’ arms bounced upwards as if he were surrendering.

Simultaneously, Kwell twisted his body, turned around, and slashed Yulston horizontally.

“Tch!!”

Ganes tried to block Kwell’s sword with all his might, but Yulston cut through his waist faster than he could bring the halberd to bear.

Thwack!!

The blade pierced through the cracked armor and into Ganes’ waist.

“……Keuk!!!”

He was protecting himself with magic, but Kwell’s overwhelming strength easily pierced through his defenses as if they didn’t exist.

At the same time, Kwell struck Ganes’ head with the scabbard he held in his other hand.

Clang!!!

With a dull sound, the helmet shattered, and Ganes fell from his horse.

Thud thud thud…!!!

Ganes, rolling on the ground, managed to slow his descent by planting his halberd into the earth.

Clank!!

Ganes flicked the blade upwards, turning the halberd into a makeshift spear.

He wiped the blood dripping from his mouth with the back of his hand and assumed a fighting stance.

“Haaah!!!”

He threw the spear at Kwell, who was still charging forward.

Swoosh—!!

The sharply launched spear pierced through the backs of the Blue Knights with a whistling sound that cut through the wind.

“Keuak!!”

“Aaaagh…!!”

Despite the screams, the spear’s momentum didn’t diminish, piercing through five or six more soldiers before heading towards Kwell.

“Stop…!!!”

Randall ran along the canyon wall, trying to intercept Kwell.

But as he shouted, Kwell deflected Ganes’ halberd, which was flying towards his back, with his sword, and then grabbed the shaft of the spear.

“…….”

Without hesitation, Kwell spun the halberd over his head and hurled it forward without slowing down.

“……Keuk!!!”

The massive blade spun like a boomerang and struck Randall’s waist.

Randall couldn’t withstand the halberd’s weight and was flung tens of meters into the wall, stopping only when the halberd embedded itself in the rock.

“Kuaaaagh!!!”

He collapsed, screaming in pain, impaled by the halberd that had pierced halfway through his waist.

When he raised his left hand, blood gushed like a fountain from the cleanly severed surface.

Kwell’s magic-infused halberd had cleanly cut off his left arm just before piercing his waist.

“I can’t believe it…”

Thomson, leading the magic corps, muttered in disbelief at Kwell’s might, who had instantly neutralized Sword Master Ganes and Randall, who was comparable to him.

“Find the severed arm!! All mages who can use freezing magic, follow me!!!”

He was mesmerized by the overwhelming sight, but Thomson, regaining his senses, hurriedly descended from the canyon and shouted while casting recovery magic on Randall’s waist.

“Cough… Cough…”

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t dare to pull out the deeply embedded halberd and could only stomp his feet in frustration.

“Contact the recovery unit!! He needs to be moved. You guys take care of Sir Ganes!!”

The magic corps hurriedly tended to the injured.

However, their focus on the wounded meant that Kwell’s Blue Knights were already breaking through their lines and heading towards the hill.

“Raise the flag!!”

Kwell shouted with magic as he seized the central hill, the highest point of the canyon.

Beeeep—!!!!

As the flag fluttered above, a sharp whistle echoed across the battlefield.

“In the end… we’ve been pushed back. It can’t be helped. Chang Family!! Everyone, retreat!! Gather in the rear to stop the Imperial Army!!”

Kayla Chang also confirmed the flag on the hill and hurriedly withdrew her troops, fearing an ambush by Kwell’s forces in the rear.

“The Free Army is retreating towards the hill!!”

“Don’t miss them! The enemy will be concentrated on the Blue Knights. All troops!! Attack!!”

Tiren clenched his fist and shouted, as if he had been waiting for this moment, upon hearing the scout’s report.

As he watched the Free Army in the canyon concentrate on Kwell, Marte realized that Tiren’s plan to use Kwell as bait had succeeded, but it wasn’t something he could accept with pleasure.

“Because I trust my father.”

Tiren said, as if making an excuse. Marte didn’t answer, simply drew his sword, and began to run ahead of the knights.

* * *

“In the end, the hill was breached. He’s an amazing man. To cut off his son’s arm. He’s definitely an Imperial knight.”

“Well, Sir Ganes and Randall… Judging from the fact that they didn’t end their lives, they may not be so cold-hearted.”

Although they lost the hill, Dushalla and Anthem surprisingly didn’t seem overly concerned.

“Perhaps that could be a weakness.”

Anthem Howard said with sharp eyes.

“Proceed with the plan.”

At his words, the subordinates nodded and began to move in an orderly manner.

* * *

“The enemies are retreating!!”

“Victory!!!”

Waaaaaaaah—!!

Waaaaaah—!!

The Imperial soldiers, who had occupied the central hill of the canyon, cheered after confirming the retreat of the Chang Family and the magic corps of the Ulkas Guild.

Although the damage was significant, the army’s morale was boosted by establishing a foothold to advance closer to Tatur.

It was then.

[Kuaaaaaaaa—!!!]

The figure of a platinum dragon, Nar Di Maugh, flying in the distance, flapping its huge wings, was clearly visible as they planted the flag to establish a base on the hilltop.

“It’s the Guardian Dragon!!”

“Now they’re finished!!”

Unlike the noble appearance of a silver-scaled dragon, this one seemed filled with rage.

The soldiers on the front lines, unaware of the battle with Carryl, felt both cheers and fear at the sight of the platinum dragon roaring sharply.

“The pressure is no joke.”

“You have experience fighting a Red Dragon in the Marquisate, right? How does it compare to that one?”

“The comparison itself would be disrespectful to the Platinum Dragon. I’ve heard it from my lord… but I didn’t know it would be this much.”

“Then the strategy would be simple. The fact that the Platinum Dragon is now showing himself means that he is still far from the rear guard. First, the main force of the Imperial Army will take position on the hill and block the waterways of Ponaan, and then the Platinum Dragon will attack.”

“After that, the third unit, the rear guard, will join, and the invasion of the Imperial Army will begin.”

“Estimated time?”

“I think it will be within 3 days.”

The atmosphere among the leaders gathered in the situation room of Tatur sank at Anthem’s words.

“We have inflicted more than 10,000 casualties. Although we have retreated from the front line, this is not a defeat.”

Dushalla said to raise their morale.

Clench-

Ganes Abellant unknowingly clenched his fist as he looked at the figure of Nar Di Maugh, who would soon stir up the front lines.

“Tell the Wyvern unit to prepare for takeoff.”

“Yes!!”

The soldier standing outside the door saluted and hurriedly ran down the hallway.

Whoosh…!!

At his command, the Wyvern units waiting on the walls of Tatur spread their wings and soared into the sky.

“I will go and buy time.”

“It is impossible to stop the Platinum Dragon with the Drake unit.”

Anthem Howard stopped Ganes, who was about to fly up.

“But if it’s not us, there is no one who can tie up his feet. At least two days… at least we have to buy time until the Immortal Guild’s reinforcements and the Duchy’s soldiers arrive.”

Was it a sense of guilt for failing to stop Kwell, despite being a Sword Master himself? He seemed to be pushing himself out of a sense of duty.

“Reinforcements are coming. Soon. They’ve already left.”

Dushalla gently pressed his shoulder. Ganes looked at her in surprise, feeling an unexpected strength from her, whom he had only considered a frail woman.

She, still covering her face with a veil, smiled at him, lightly shaking a small note.

“……Yes?”

It was a report from the north across the strait.

* * *

Thud thud thud…

An alien engine sound echoed from deep underground.

“To think there was a place like this. The Gnomes are really doing things beyond imagination. I like it very much. It was lucky for us that we came through the north.”

A thick voice echoed in the underground chamber.

“Are you alright? You almost died.”

“So-so. I might have really died if I had been left in that snowfield.”

“I was actually a little worried about that.”

“Heh heh… Crazy bastard.”

Hearing the hearty laughter, Jegan Luke, who was in front of him, felt a little more at ease, ironically.

“Is this the kid’s plan? Or is it the Captain’s plan? I really thought you were dead when you fell from the airship. But… now that I think about it, did you fall on purpose? What did you talk about down there?”

Jegan asked with a sullen expression.

This man in front of him would have no idea what he was thinking at that moment when he was maneuvering the airship out of the canyon.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s luck or a plan, but whatever it is, it’s certain that something amazing will happen.”

Gordon Fabian looked at him and smiled.

“I will report. The starting stone engine has been ignited.”

“Output?”

“As a result of the simulation operation, it has increased by about 230% so far. If more attribute stones are added later, it is expected to reach up to 250%.”

“Heh heh…”

“That’s amazing.”

Jegan Luke unknowingly twitched his lips at his subordinate’s report.

“To be exact, it’s three times. Your subordinates’ skills are not very good. If I had time to disassemble the airship, I could have increased the output even more.”

“This is enough. I’ll ask you properly later, Gnome grandpa [referring to Calipsone]. To process the colorless attribute stone to this extent and eventually make it into the starting stone of the airship.”

“The prototype has already been delivered to Carryl. Maybe he knew that he could make the starting stone of the airship and deliberately left you behind.”

“Whether it’s the former or the latter, you’ve created something really monstrous.”

Calipsone said to his words as if this was nothing.

“No. I’m not talking about the starting stone.”

“Hmm…?”

“The reason why the kid gave me the starting stone is probably because of that. Knowing that the airship would go around the strait and head to Tatur, he deliberately had you guys prepare. That means to transport that to the front lines.”

“If you know, I’ll definitely ask you as much as you received.”

Gordon broke the cast that was covering his broken arm and pointed forward.

“Didn’t you think I would betray you after receiving the starting stone?”

“Well, that would be a separate matter. If Carryl thought so, we would just follow.”

Gordon eventually smiled at Calipsone’s words.

“I heard that it was impossible to make the core of the golem even if there was a blueprint, but you reproduced it well.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t make the core of the golem.”

Calipsone gave a bitter smile at his words.

“Hmm? Then?”

“You’ll find out soon. As soon as they finished improving the attribute stone of the core, they moved to the front lines where Carryl is.”

He shrugged carefully as if he couldn’t say any more.

“Hmm, well, that’s fine. That’s not the job I was given. The contract was too late, but the kid’s covenant is a little faster than the Emperor’s, so I have to keep the order. I’ll transport it properly. To be honest, I’m curious to see if it lives up to its name.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the direction he was pointing.

“Dragon Slayer.”

Gordon Fabian quietly said his title as he looked at the golem, which was overwhelming just by standing there.

The ultimate combat golem that has remained unfinished for 1,000 years since the Magic Age.

That is,

Ascalon.