Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Alaric exchanged pleasantries with Neo before he took his seat.

“I heard that the Greenwood Kingdom is planning to cooperate with the barbarian tribes. Is your visit here related to that, Sir Neo?” Alaric probed.

Neo nodded. “That’s right.”

“I have already told Lord Lucas about the reason behind this, but I will repeat it for you.” His face suddenly turned serious.

Sensing the tension, Alaric furrowed his eyebrows and listened carefully.

Neo told him about the presence of a new monster colony and the elven kingdom’s fear that the said colony might come to attack them.

Hearing this, Alaric finally understood why the obstinate elves would choose to ally with the barbarian tribes.

“So there is another monster colony…” Alaric muttered as he subconsciously released a burst of killing intent.

Goblins, orcs, and ogres…

Neo and Lucas, with their strong senses, felt the trace of killing intent he briefly exuded.

“Please tell us what we need to do, Sir Neo. As your ally, House Silversword is willing to support you.” Alaric stared deeply at Neo.

Neo smiled at his words. “I know we can trust you.”

“The chieftains of various barbarian tribes will visit our kingdom soon, but His Majesty is worried that the discussions might not go well so he wanted you and Lord Lucas to attend the meeting with the barbarian chieftains.”

“That won’t be a problem. Just give us the date and we will be there ahead of time.” Alaric readily agreed.

“I will thank you in advance.” Neo was moved beyond words.

The trio chatted for a while about other matters before Neo asked to be excused.

“I still have a lot of things to do in the kingdom so I hope that you will forgive me for not being able to stay here for long.”

“You don’t need to worry about us, Sir Neo. Your matters must be prioritized.” Lucas smiled and gestured to him that it was fine.

Neo nodded gratefully. “Once I return, I will send our elven warriors to wait for you at the place where we usually do our trade. They will escort you to our kingdom.”

“You don’t need to trouble yourself. We can go to your kingdom by ourselves. We are already familiar with the route anyway.”

Lucas wanted to reject his offer, but Neo insisted.

“This is something that we must do. How can we let you travel by yourselves?”

“In that case, we will gladly take your offer.” Lucas relented with a helpless smile.

Neo left immediately after delivering the message.

Lucas and Alaric wanted him to stay, but they knew that things were urgent in the elven kingdom so the father and son didn’t insist on making him stay.

After sending him off, Lucas and Alaric went to the main hall to continue their conversation.

“What do you think, son? If the barbarian chieftains and the leadership of the elven kingdom decide to attack the monster colony, should we gather the northern forces to help them?” Lucas asked.

Alaric rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.

According to Neo, the monster colony was still growing and if it was left alone, it might grow exponentially, enough to threaten the destruction of the elven kingdom. This means that they would need as many soldiers as they could to eliminate this threat.

However, there was a problem.

He already had an agreement with Giovanni that he would gather the northern forces and send them to the western region in preparation for their invasion against Harune.

After about half a minute of silence, Alaric opened his mouth.

“The bulk of our troops are currently stationed in Berming Island. As for gathering the northern forces, that will be difficult since we need to send them to the western region.”

Lucas nodded. He was already aware of the agreement between Alaric and Giovanni.

“We still have Mom’s troops and your personal troops, Dad. We can bring them with us if necessary.” Alaric added.

Lucas had nurtured a secret force that even Alaric had never seen before. He would sometimes see one or two giving Lucas reports, but he had no idea how many warriors his father had secretly trained.

Even in his past life, he had never met Lucas’ secret force.

Lucas leaned on his seat and crossed his arms, seemingly in deep thought.

With a soft sigh, Lucas said. “Fine, but don’t expect too much. There are only about a hundred of them. To be precise, ninety-nine Elite Knights and one Transcendent Knight.”

Hearing this, Alaric was stunned. “You have nurtured that many elites?!”

Lucas chuckled upon seeing his shocked face. “Think about it. Why do you think our household was so tight in finances years ago?”

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows.

“It’s not because our family is poor, but because most of our resources are spent on them,” Lucas added.

“What?” Alaric was startled. He finally realized why their past expenses were so weird. It turned out that there was this kind of secret!

“I initially planned to give them to you once you inherit my position, but it seems like I have to reveal them sooner.” Lucas smiled helplessly.

“You were preparing that secret force for me?” Alaric stared at his father, his eyes shaking with intense emotion.

“Of course.”

Lucas nodded.

“You have the blood of the imperial family running through your veins. You will need your own force to survive their political schemes. However…”

“You suddenly decided to establish your own force and you even advanced a few stages in just a short time…”

Alaric could see the proud look in his father’s face.

“You have grown into a capable man without needing my help, son. I am proud of you…” Lucas expressed the words he had been keeping for some time.

Hearing this, Alaric smiled and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have achieved this without your support, Dad.”

“Anyway, about that secret force…”

Lucas sent him an exasperated look. “You are that eager to see them? Fine. Follow me.”

Alaric eagerly followed his father.