Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Giovanni wasn’t in a great mood. He was sent to Iron Sand Fort to defend the western borders against more than twenty thousand enemies. He could have chosen to escape with his men, but doing so would only earn him the disdain of the whole empire. He still wanted to be crowned as the next emperor so he didn’t want to damage his reputation.

“Your Highness!” Marco jumped down from the wall to greet him.

Giovanni glanced at him and asked. “What is the situation?”

Marco couldn’t afford to waste any time so he quickly updated him on the situation.

Hearing his report, the second prince was surprisingly cooperative. “I give you full command of my men, but we must defend this place until Andre arrives!”

Marco was taken aback, not expecting him to relinquish control over his own troops.

He was in urgent need of elite warriors so he immediately agreed with a nod. “You have my word, Your Highness! This fortress will not fall!”

“Good! You may go. I can take care of my own.” Giovanni waved his hand, indicating for him to leave.

Protecting him were four Transcendent Knights. One of them was a former member of the Dragon Guards, a warrior who was about to reach the peak of Transcendent!

With these experts around him, Marco didn’t have to worry about his safety. He didn’t linger for long and left after assigning tasks to the second prince’s troops.

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t be here. Marco can defend this wall by himself.” Urged one of the four Transcendents to the second prince.

Giovanni sent the man a cold look and replied with a gloomy tone. “Are you telling me to escape?”

Sensing the prince’s displeasure, the man shook his head. “No, Your Highness. I just don’t want you to face unnecessary risks.”

Giovanni snorted. “Say no more. I will stay here and help them defend the walls!”

He disliked being here and he didn’t want to do something so annoyingly dangerous. However, he didn’t want another nation to claim a part of their lands!

This is my land! No one can take it from me!

With a cold look, he jumped on top of the wall with a ‘whoosh’. The four Transcendents immediately followed him.

When he saw the situation beyond the wall, he realized that Marco was just being optimistic.

Can we really defend this place?

Giovanni furrowed his eyebrows.

Bang!

At this moment, a fire spell suddenly struck the area behind them. When he turned his head, he saw that a large portion of the walls had been blasted leaving charred bodies and debris scattered around.

“Be careful, Your Highness! There is a unit of beast soul warriors bombarding the walls with their spells!” Warned one of the Transcendent guards.

Giovanni wasn’t new to seeing dead bodies, but the death of the empire’s soldiers pissed him off.

“How dare those bastards kill my people?!” He muttered with rage.

“Where is Marco?! We must kill those beast soul warriors immediately!” He shouted while glaring at the enemies in the distance.

“Your Highness, I think Lord Marco is planning to attack the enemy infantry with your troops.”

Hearing this, Giovanni frowned. From above, he could see the enemy infantry approaching the walls with their siege weapons. Even an idiot like him knew that it would be their end once the enemies managed to climb over the walls.

How can he stop the enemy infantry with only two thousand warriors?

With one look, he could roughly guess that there were over five thousand enemy infantry. Furthermore, their beast soul warriors were also providing cover fire for them, allowing them to charge almost unhindered.

“Follow me! We can’t just sit idly by.” Giovanni muttered as he went to join Marco and the cavalry unit.

The four Transcendents persuaded the second prince not to be reckless, but he stubbornly rejected their pleas. In the end, they could only stick with him.

Marco didn’t sense that they had joined the formation since he was focused on observing the enemy’s position.

In the next moment, he shouted a series of commands. “Lift the gate!”

“Cavalry, prepare to charge with me!” He unsheathed his sword and waited for the gate to be lifted with an ice-cold gaze.

As soon as the gate was lifted, he squeezed his legs, urging his horse to charge. “CHARGE!!!”

The cavalrymen followed him, their loud battle cries echoing in all directions.

Looking at the awe-inspiring Marco, Giovanni felt a trace of admiration.

No wonder he is called the Western Sword Marquis.

The enemy infantry didn’t expect them to send a cavalry unit which caught them by surprise.

With Marco leading the charge, they carved out a path and penetrated the enemy’s infantry unit!

They were like a sharp sword that stabbed deeply into the enemy formation!

Harune’s infantry commander immediately reacted. He commanded his men to change their formation to stop Marco’s cavalry unit from causing more damage to his troops.

A fearsome battle followed. Hundreds of corpses soon littered the ground, slowly piling up to form a mound.

Marco displayed his tyrranical power, slicing down dozens of enemies with each strike of his sword!

He was an unstoppable force. With his valiant leadership, the cavalry unit’s morale soared.

In the next half an hour, more than half of the five thousand enemy infantry fell, causing the collapse of their formation.

The beast soul warriors tried to help them, but for fear of friendly fire, the help they could offer was limited.

Left with no choice, the enemy commander sent their cavalry to support their infantry unit. It was a force consisting of ten thousand riders!

Seeing their movements, Marco decisively ordered a retreat.

“Fall back! Return to the fortress!” He shouted.

Upon hearing his command, the cavalry unit quickly turned around and rushed back to the fortress, leaving the enemy infantry in a sorry state.

Marco took a glance at his dead comrades, his expression becoming grim.

Your sacrifice will not be forgotten… I pray that Aru will accept your souls into His divine kingdom…