Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Those uniforms and armor…

Alaric let out a smile when he saw the approaching army’s attire. How could he forget about it when he wore the same thing in his past life?

The standard black steel armor with a red cape. They are definitely part of His Highness’ private troops, the Black Lion Corps.

Alaric thought to himself after confirming their identity.

From his knowledge, the crown prince had secretly nurtured over thirty thousand soldiers who were only loyal to him. Alaric had also become an honorary member of the Black Lion Corps for his contributions to the crown prince’s faction.

Thinking about this, he immediately informed everyone not to worry.

“Relax, everyone! They are His Highness’ troops!” He shouted, his words making the tension disappear.

He then looked at the approaching army and made a rough estimate of their numbers.

There are about two thousand soldiers.

Based on the current timeline, His Highness should have around ten thousand warriors in his Black Lion Corps. This means that this is a fifth of his private troops.

While he was quietly observing the Black Lion Corps, four cavalrymen stepped forward and cupped their fists to Lucas.

“Greetings, Lord Lucas!”

One of the four, a muscular warrior who had a gigantic axe strapped on his back introduced himself with an indifferent tone.

“I am Rendon, the commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Black Lion Corps! These three are my deputies.”

Alaric was stunned to see this person.

He actually sent Rendon!

In his past life, Rendon was the second-strongest warrior in the crown prince’s faction!

He quickly used his Appraisal to check the man’s attributes.

Rendon [Transcendent Knight] EXP: 4275/5000

Potential: A

Traits: Pain Tolerance (S), Overwhelming Strength (S), Axe Mastery (S), Close Combat (S), Horseback Riding (S), Hunting (S), Tracking (A), Archery (B), Danger Perception (C), Intuition (C)

Strength: 429

Stamina: 286

Agility: 255

Vitality: 371

Endurance: 401

Mana: 199

“Oh my! To think that His Highness would actually send the current ranked 14th in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard for this mission. I am honored!” Lucas laughed heartily as he shook hands with Rendon who had jumped off his horse.

Alaric wasn’t surprised to hear this. In his past life, Rendon had replaced the inactive Amari Anton and took his spot to become the top 6 in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard!

After a few rounds of pleasantries, Lucas brought the commanders of the Black Lion Corps to his tent for a discussion.

Everyone gave a short introduction of themselves to familiarize themselves with each other. It was important to know their allies’ abilities so this was a necessary step before they went into the details of the mission.

After almost an hour of introductions, Lucas finally inserted the main topic.

“I have received His Highness’s directives. Listen carefully as I explain his plans.” Lucas told them about the crown prince’s plan which he received through a letter.

Everyone was a commander so they were quick to understand the general idea.

“If there are any points that you did not understand, you can ask me now,” Lucas said while observing everyone one by one.

No one spoke so he decided to end the meeting. “That is all that you need to know. For now, we should let our warriors familiarize themselves with each other to prevent them from accidentally attacking their allies once the battle begins.”

“Yes, sir!” Everyone agreed with his instructions.

After a few more reminders, Lucas dismissed the commanders.

He then slumped into his seat and turned his head to Alaric.

“What do you think, son? Can we defeat the Grand Duke without me needing to get involved?” He asked with his arms crossed.

Hearing this, Alaric thought for a moment.

He had two missions from the system which were related to the crown prince’s orders. One was hard-rated, while the other was extreme-rated. Assuming based on his recent experience, he could say that the task to destroy the Grand Duke was highly dangerous.

“It is hard to say. We have eight Transcendents on our side, but we do not know for sure how many experts our enemy has. The information we have gathered about the Grand Duke might not be accurate. Moreover, the second prince might send reinforcements to the Grand Duke once he gets wind of this.” Alaric responded with a grave look.

Lucas’ expression became solemn upon hearing his words.

“So I still have to show my hand…” He muttered with a sigh.

Alaric stared deeply at his father and said. “Dad, we must save as many warriors as we can. We cannot let them die when we have the strength to protect them! Your strength will be exposed anyway. It is just a matter of time.”

Taken aback, Lucas took a deep breath and nodded his head. “Alright.”

Later that day, Alaric wasn’t able to bring his exercise equipment so he could only polish his sword skills to kill time.

Alaric Silversword [Elite Knight] EXP: 405 —> 435/1000

Potential: A

Traits: Horseback Riding (C), Swordsmanship (SSS), Close Combat (C), Archery (E), Hunting (E), Tracking (D), Sixth Sense (D), Monster Affinity (D), Mana Gathering (C), Appraisal (B)

Strength: 200

Stamina: 200

Agility: 200

Vitality: 195

Endurance: 198

Mana: 250

Battle Points: 6500 —> 6700

Stat Points: 70

(Requirements for the next advancement: 1000 EXP, 250 in all attributes, and 10000 Battle Points)

He managed to upgrade his Sixth Sense to D-grade after using the Random Trait Upgrade Card he got from the last mission. This trait was very useful and it helped him save his life during crucial moments. Now that it has been upgraded, Alaric felt more confident about his survivability.

Now that I think about it, this should be the perfect time to use my stat points.

Alaric thought to himself.

In a large-scale battle, stamina is important, so I should max this out first.

Stamina: 200 —> 250

After using 50 stat points on his Stamina, he was now left with 20 stat points.

Alaric thought for a moment before making a decision.

Let’s go with this.