Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

The three barbarian warriors exchanged knowing glances upon seeing Franklin throw his weapon.

Not good! These guys…

Franklin immediately sensed their intentions when he saw the strange expression on their faces.

The next moment, the barbarian warriors charged at him and aggressively brandished their weapons.

“Stupid Astanian warrior!” One of the barbarians shouted.

Franklin quickly grabbed his secondary weapon, a dagger tied to his right leg.

Clang!

He blocked the barbarian wielding the machete and kicked another to send him flying backwards. Before the last one could slash his head off, Franklin ducked and released a sweeping kick.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Two barbarians were swiftly defeated in just a few moves!

The remaining one was stunned. He didn’t expect the three of them to be overpowered by one warrior in an instant.

He wanted to escape, but Franklin grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground!

Thud!

Franklin could have killed them, but killing these barbarians could be problematic so he chose to spare their lives.

After disarming them, he asked his subordinates to tie them up.

“Astanian warrior, you will pay for this!” One of the barbarians shouted while trying to break free from chains that restrained him.

Franklin almost failed to contain his anger. “I told you I don’t mean you any harm. It was you guys who made the first move, so don’t blame me for doing this.”

“Sir, why don’t we kill these guys? I don’t think they have good intentions for sneaking into our borders.” Muttered Aliya as she made a throat-slitting gesture. She spoke in Astanian language so the barbarians didn’t know what she said, but her gestures made them understand her intentions.

Franklin stared at the young lady with a speechless look.

Before he could respond, Rasmus said. “No, we must not harm them!”

Aliya turned her head and looked at him with an eyebrow raised upwards. “Give me a good reason why.”

Rasmus took a deep breath and replied with a serious voice. “Calm down, Aliya. Lord Alaric commanded us to investigate the barbarian movements. He didn’t instruct us to engage them in battle. Killing them here could be troublesome and it might affect the relationship between the northern houses and the barbarian tribes. If there would be an investigation, House Silversword could be implicated.”

Aliya frowned and realized her mistake. She had almost acted out of anger.

Thinking about this, she no longer said anything.

Franklin sent Rasmus a look of approval before he moved his gaze back to the barbarians.

“Let’s not make it hard for everyone. If you tell us what you guys are doing here, then we will set you free.” He said in common language.

Two of the barbarians subconsciously glanced at the person who seemed to be their leader.

It was only an instinctive response, but Franklin was quick to notice this.

This barbarian should be their leader.

He thought as he looked at the red-haired barbarian with tattoos on his shoulders.

“Why should we believe the words of bastards like you?!” The red-haired barbarian snorted, unwilling to give in.

Franklin stared deeply at him.

Should I kill him? No one will know if I hide their corpses and I can also make it look like it was done by beasts.

When this thought crossed his mind, his eyes flashed with killing intent.

The barbarians who were exposed to cruel environments immediately sensed this. It was only for a moment, but it didn’t escape their trained senses.

“Wait! Don’t listen to him! We will tell you the truth, but you must let this man go. You can take us instead!”

“Yes! We will tell you, but you must spare him!”

The red-haired barbarian was stunned. He looked at his companions with a look of disbelief. “You two…”

Franklin narrowed his eyes.

It seems like this guy’s identity is a little bit special.

“Alright. You may speak. If you tell me the truth, I will let him go.” He nodded.

Before the two barbarians could say anything, the red-haired barbarian suddenly shouted. “What are you two doing?! Are you both idiots?! This is obviously a lie! Don’t liste-“

Franklin smacked the man’s head using the handle of his sword, making him fall unconscious.

“Oheneba!” The two barbarians shouted in alarm.

“Don’t worry. I only knocked him out.” Franklin reassured them.

Hearing his words, the two barbarians immediately inspected their leader’s pulse and they were relieved to know that nothing happened to him.

“Now tell why you guys are here…” Franklin’s voice drifted into their ears.

The two barbarians hesitated for a moment.

“Can you guarantee his life?” One of them said while pointing at the unconscious barbarian.

Franklin nodded. “As long as you tell me the truth, I promise that I will spare his life.”

Hearing this, the two finally revealed the truth.

“One of our chief’s sons was captured by your people so we came here to investigate his whereabouts, but we can’t get close to your territory because there are a lot of strong warriors preventing us from entering…”

According to them, the second son of their tribe’s chieftain was captured so they sent their warriors to track the kidnappers, but they were a bit too late. The kidnappers managed to enter Turtle Fort before they could rescue the chieftain’s son. They tried to bypass the security, but they were easily spotted by the experts of Turtle Fort so they could only linger outside the fortress city.

Franklin frowned. This matter was more troublesome than he had thought.

Someone actually dared to capture a barbarian tribe leader’s son! I must report this to my lord!

Franklin knew that this could cause a major battle between the northern houses and the barbarian tribes if things weren’t handled well.

However, this matter hasn’t been verified yet. These guys might be lying to him to save themselves so he didn’t believe everything they told him.

“I see.” Franklin thought deeply, but he didn’t know what to do.

“Sir, how about we bring them to the estate and ask Lord Alaric’s opinion?” Rasmus suddenly interjected.

Hearing this, Franklin rubbed his chin. It wasn’t a bad idea, but the problem was how to bring the barbarians without being discovered.

“That would be troublesome. The warriors in Turtle Fort might discover them and we might be treated as smugglers. If this is reported to the imperial family, House Silversword will be punished!” Renante who had been silent the entire time voiced out his opinion.

Franklin nodded in agreement. This was what he was worried about too.

“Then why don’t we just send people to report the situation to Lord Alaric while the rest of us wait here?” Aliya suggested.

“It’s your call, Sir Franklin.”

Everyone stared at Franklin, waiting for his decision.

Franklin took a deep breath and contemplated his choices carefully.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally made his decision. “We will release them and return to North Pine Town to report the situation to Lord Alaric.”

He knew the feeling of being deprived of freedom and he felt that it was wrong to forcefully take these men with them. Although their words hadn’t been investigated yet, he was willing to take the blame.

The three young warriors seemed to have expected this. They smiled and gave him a respectful salute. “Yes, sir!”

Franklin looked at the barbarians and said. “We will investigate the situation first. If it turns out to be true, I will help you guys search for your chief’s son.”

The barbarians didn’t expect to hear this. They were already prepared to be executed so they didn’t know how to respond.

Without waiting for their answer, Franklin signaled his subordinates to release them.

Rasmus and the others followed his instructions to remove the barbarians’ restraints.

“Why are you helping us?” One of the barbarians spoke.

Franklin stared at him and calmly replied. “Because that is the right thing to do.”

The barbarians were stunned. They believed that Astanian warriors were arrogant and merciless men, but this man overturned their beliefs.

“I will give you guys one last piece of advice before we go our separate ways.”

Franklin paused for a moment before he continued.

“You must leave. Not all northern warriors are reasonable men. You will only be in danger if you stay here.”

After saying these words, Franklin turned around and signaled his subordinates to retreat.

Just as they were about to leave, a voice drifted into their ears.

“Wait!”

Franklin and his subordinates stopped in their tracks. They looked at the red-haired barbarian who had ‘regained’ consciousness.

“Tell me your name.” The red-haired barbarian looked at Franklin.

“Franklin, a warrior from House Silversword.” The former gladiator replied.

“My name is Pula. I will remember you, Franklin.” The red-haired barbarian stood up. He then said something to the two barbarians and left without looking back.

Pula… what a weird name…

Franklin watched them leave for a few seconds before he instructed. “Let’s get going. We can’t delay this matter any longer.”

“Yes, sir!”