Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Two days later in Atarkan, the city has already fallen into the hands of Astanian troops.

Hundreds of thousands of warriors fell in battle and many city officials as well as aristocrats were killed.

As for the civilians, they were held captive and were forced to stay in the inner ring of the city where a strict lockdown was imposed. To prevent them from gathering in large groups, multiple teams of warriors would roam around the streets to observe their every move.

At this moment, the military officers of the Astanian troops were gathered in Atarkan’s city hall.

Alaric stood on the second floor, observing the crowd beneath him.

Suddenly, Aldrin whose arm had been bandaged approached him and whispered.

“Your Highness, everyone has been accounted for.”

Hearing this, Alaric nodded his head.

“Let’s begin.” He spoke to Giovanni, who was standing next to him.

“Alright,” Giovanni responded.

Alaric took a deep breath and used mana to make his voice travel to the entirety of the building. “Attention!”

The crowd quieted down and looked up, waiting for him to speak.

After getting their attention, Alaric cleared his throat and began his speech. “We have completed the first step of our plan and this is all thanks to you…”

This wasn’t his first time giving an impromptu speech, so Alaric managed to remain composed in front of the crowd. He congratulated everyone on the victory and expressed his sorrow for the soldiers who had been killed in the battle.

Everyone felt mixed emotions as they listened to his speech.

“…By now, the crown prince’s troops should be heading to Halona. That city is just as powerful as Atarkan, but I am confident that they will be victorious.”

When he said this statement, no one disagreed.

“Now, we will divide our forces into two.” Alaric took a short pause upon mentioning this.

“One will stay here to defend the city and the other group will follow me to our next target, Midgard.”

Midgard has a smaller land size compared to Atarkan, but the population of the city was almost double that of the latter. This was because Midgard was a mining city that housed more than two million miners which was about 70% of the entire city’s population.

Midgard also held significant importance to Harune so it was protected by an army of more than two hundred thousand warriors. The city’s army was also more united since half of them were controlled by one man, a Transcendent Knight named Loras Marchan.

(Author’s Note: Loras was the Transcendent Knight who had fought with Marco Herald during the battle in Aklan Pass. See Chapter 381 for reference.)

Loras was a former decorated General and a high-ranking noble, but due to a conflict with the imperial family, he was reduced to a commoner and was forced to guard Midgard.

“Your Highness, how many warriors will be heading to Midgard?” Someone from the crowd asked.

Alaric stared deeply at the man and replied. “Midgard’s military is a lot stronger than Atarkan and they are also more united so I will bring three hundred thousand warriors with me. The rest will stay here and defend Atarkan.”

Hearing this, there was a commotion among the military officers.

Some of them thought that three hundred thousand warriors wouldn’t be enough to besiege Midgard. Others expressed their concern about leaving Atarkan with just a hundred thousand warriors.

“Silence!” Alaric shouted with authority.

Everyone immediately shut their mouths.

“I understand your concerns, but you can rest assured. I have full confidence in our victory!” His confident voice resounded across the building.

Alaric wasn’t just saying this to make them feel relieved. There was a reason why he could speak with such confidence.

This was because one of the Venerables would be following them to Midgard.

“Lord Ignatius will be taking command of the army,” Alaric announced with a faint smile.

As soon as he said this, the military officers gasped in surprise.

They all thought that the Venerables wouldn’t intervene in the battle and would only act when Harune’s Venerables came.

Alaric took a step back and looked at Ignatius who was hidden in the background.

The 4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmaster revealed himself and calmly walked towards the stage.

“Your Highnesses.”

He gave the two princes a respectful nod before he looked at the gathered crowd.

“Warriors of Astania, are you ready to march with me to Midgard?!”

There was no speech or any fancy words, but with his presence alone, everyone’s morale skyrocketed.

“We are ready!!”

“We will follow you, my lord!”

Hearing their loud cheers, Ignatius smiled faintly. “I will announce the troops that will be following us to Midgard. To those that will be mentioned, prepare immediately for we will be departing tomorrow before sunrise…”

A series of names was announced.

Those who were called were excited and those who weren’t felt a bit disappointed.

“Begin your preparations!” Ignatius turned around after giving this instruction.

The military officers left the city hall to deliver the news to their troops.

Soon, only Alaric and a few others were left in the city hall.

“Your Highnesses, are you two following me to Midgard?” Ignatius sent the two princes a deep look.

“Of course! How could I miss this chance? Besides, I heard that among the troops stationed in Midgard, there are survivors from the recent battle in Aklan Pass!” Giovanni snorted.

Alaric narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

“Pardon my insolence, Your Highnesses, but is that guy really there?” Marco walked towards them with a cold expression.

During the battle in Aklan Pass, he fought tooth and nail with Loras Marchan.

He had almost died at that time and he was only lucky enough to survive after being saved by Alaric.

He hoped to face Loras once more and defeat him.

“Lord Marco, are you thinking of fighting that man again?” Alaric frowned.

“Your Highness, please give me this opportunity. I feel that I would advance significantly if I win against him.” Marco bowed his head.

Facing his request, Alaric fell into a dilemma.