Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Alaric let out a sigh when he mentioned Zephyr.

Seeing his expression, Giovanni placed his hand on Alaric’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Zephyr. It is a tough lion. I am pretty sure it will recover soon.”

Alaric forced a smile. “I hope so.”

The three princes chatted briefly before they went their separate ways. There were so many things to prepare so they didn’t linger for long.

Alaric headed back to their camp together with his subordinates.

On their way to the camp, his mind was occupied with random thoughts about the adjustments to his mission.

In the last hell mode mission, many warriors were killed. I hope there won’t be too many casualties this time.

“Is there something on your mind, Your Highness?” A concerned voice drifted into his ears.

The one who spoke was the newest member of House Silversword, a Transcendent Knight named Nile.

He was the former commander of Black Wind Fort’s defense force, a warrior with some reputation in the western region.

Nile was a bald old man with a muscular physique.

Hearing his words, Alaric furrowed his eyebrows and responded sternly. “Leighnard’s plan sounds seamless, but one mistake would be disastrous for our army. I’m just worried that something might go wrong.”

“I hope I’m just overthinking things.” He shook his head and let out a heavy breath.

Nile didn’t say anything when he heard his worries. He was afraid that he might say something that would hurt their morale.

A moment later the group arrived at their camp.

Alaric issued a series of commands, informing everyone to make preparations for their departure.

When the warriors heard that they would be marching soon, some of them revealed a look of unrest, while the others just stayed silent to hide their unease.

It seems like everyone is also worried.

Alaric thought to himself.

In the next few hours, all the troops stationed in Aklan Pass began making their preparations.

Each battalion was informed about their respective tasks and some military officers even collaborated with the others to perform joint exercises to foster teamwork. However, they were time-pressed so the warriors didn’t learn much from the collaborative exercises.

A few days later, the beating sound of the drums awakened the resting soldiers.

Alaric opened his eyes and donned his battle armor. He then strapped his red cape to his shoulder guards.

After making sure that everything was in place, Alaric grabbed his swords and tied them to his waist. He also tied a dagger to his leg and placed a concealed weapon in a hidden pocket beneath his armor.

“Your Highness, everyone is waiting for your command.” Galanar’s voice echoed from outside the tent.

Hearing this, Alaric took a deep breath and stepped out of his tent.

Upon stepping out, he saw Galanar and Caecus dressed in their armor waiting for him.

“Let’s go.” He told the two.

Alaric could already see House Silversword’s troops at a distance, standing in neat rows and columns. They radiated intense auras that coalesced into a dense cloud of mana.

The battle hadn’t even started yet, but the warriors were already looking like this.

It seems like I have underestimated my troops’ mental strength.

With a proud look, Alaric jumped onto his mount, a Disaster-grade war horse of a special breed.

The horse snorted and moved forward when Alaric pressed its belly with his legs.

Galanar and Caecus followed him on their horses.

Looking at the stern-faced warriors, Alaric inhaled deeply and opened his mouth. “Warriors of House Silversword, we are marching towards Harune! Move out!”

Alaric pulled the reins to make his horse take a turn. He then lightly squeezed his legs, urging it to move slowly.

The well-trained horse understood his intentions.

It was a scorching hot weather so everyone was covered in sweat, but no one complained as they followed Alaric to gather with the rest of Astania’s troops.

…

Harune was located over a thousand miles from Aklan Pass. Normally, it would be a month of travel on land, but due to the extremely hot weather, the army was forced to make several stops to give the warriors enough time to rest and hydrate themselves.

Just like that, two weeks passed by in the blink of an eye.

Night was approaching and the army was setting up camp in the middle of nowhere.

The temperature was also starting to drop as the sky slowly darkened. The winds were becoming colder so the troops divided themselves into various groups to create bonfires to help them regulate their body temperature.

At this moment, Alaric was sitting in front of a bonfire, looking at the flickering flame with a blank expression.

“You have been really quiet since we left Aklan Pass.” Yvanna’s voice drifted into his ears.

Turning his head, he saw Yvanna walking towards him with a big piece of skewered uncooked meat in her hand.

“I can’t shake off the feeling that we might encounter something terrible.” Alaric didn’t hide his thoughts from her.

Yvanna squatted down and handed him the skewered meat.

“Cook it yourself. Having something to do might relax your mind.”

Alaric smiled wryly as he took the skewered meat. He then stood up and approached the fire.

He placed the skewered meat just inches away from the fire and mumbled.

“My father hasn’t arrived yet and it’s making the troops worried.”

The flame made a ’ka-cha’ sound as if it were reacting with the meat.

“Although we have Lord Dominic and Lord Ignatius leading the army, we don’t know what kind of enemies we will be facing in battle.”

Yvanna stared at his side profile and replied. “It’s not like you to be this worried. As long as we follow Leignard’s plan, we should be able to take control of Atarkan without many casualties.”

Alaric’s eyes were fixated on the flame as he responded. “That is if things go according to plan…”

Yvanna frowned at his words.

Alaric was usually confident, but he had been acting strangely in the past few days.

Is it because of what happened during our battle with the monster colony?

Yvanna felt that the battle with the monster colony might have left a scar in Alaric’s mind.

Suddenly, they heard the galloping sound of a horse.

They turned their heads and saw a warrior from a different army rushing towards them with an urgent look on his face.

“A message from His Highness Leighnard!” The warrior shouted.

Hearing this, Alaric rose to his feet, his eyebrows knitted, and formed a frown.

“What happened?” He asked.

The warrior jumped off his horse and bowed to him. “Your Highness, we have received word that our advance party has been attacked. Only one survivor managed to return, but he died shortly before he could tell us what happened out there.”

The faces of Alaric and Yvanna fell upon hearing this.

“How did that happen? Didn’t our scouts say that there are no enemy troops in the area?”

This was what Alaric was worried about, an unforeseen situation that would compromise their plans.

The warrior shook his head. “The enemies seemed to have anticipated our route. His Highness Leighnard also mentioned that there might be a spy among our highest-ranking military officers.”

Alaric narrowed his eyes.

If that was true, their entire plan would be ruined, and the identity of their inside man, Fibrio, might already be compromised.

“Where is Leighnard? Bring me to see him.” Alaric told the warrior.

“Yes, Your Highness!” The warrior nodded and hurried to his horse.

Alaric turned his head and looked at Yvanna. “Don’t mention this to anyone. If someone will come to find me, just give them a random excuse.”

Yvanna nodded with a serious face. “Alright. You take care.”

“You too.”

After giving her this instruction, Alaric rushed to his horse and left with the warrior.

…

Leighnard was marching with the imperial guards which were positioned at the foremost point together with the western region’s military forces.

At this moment, Leighnard was in a heated discussion with Giovanni about the recent ambush on their advance party.

“What is going on?!” Shouted Giovanni, looking incredibly pissed.

Surprisingly, Leighnard was calm as if the death of their advance party didn’t bother him. “Calm down. Once Alaric is here, I will tell you what is happening.”

Giovanni clenched his fists and stared deeply at his older brother. “If you can’t explain this properly to me, I might fail to hold myself back from punching your face.”

Leighnard chuckled nonchalantly at his threat.

A moment later, they finally saw Alaric approaching them on his horse.

The latter spotted them and pulled the reins. He then jumped off his horse and walked towards them with brisk footsteps.

“I heard about the situation. Tell me what’s going on.” Alaric stared at Leighnard.

He believed that this guy would know more than Giovanni.

“You heard him. Now speak and tell us what happened!” Giovanni urged.

Leighnard beckoned to them, gesturing for them to come closer.

“The plan I mentioned during the meeting is half false. Now, I will tell you the real plan…”