Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading

Chapter 74. And (1)

When he first heard the news that the Allied vanguard battalion was advancing with a large force. Google seaʀᴄh noveⅼfire.net

Latif could not help but be very tense.

Depending on what preparations the Allied vanguard battalion made, the earthen fortress could be captured, or not.

But soon, he received news from a scout that the Allied vanguard battalion had barely prepared any siege equipment, and a smile appeared on Latif's lips.

'Hehe. You foolish bastards. To miss such a golden opportunity.'

He was confident that if the siege equipment was inadequate, the earthen fortress would never fall.

Of course, he was confident even if they had brought catapults and siege towers.

He believed he could hold out just until the pursuit unit had dealt with the Special Task Force Company and returned.

But the difference between 'just barely' and 'with ease' was like heaven and earth, so Latif could not help but feel much more at ease.

Sure enough, in the siege that began in earnest, the Imperial vanguard battalion had no difficulty defending against the opponent's attacks.

As the battle continued, they showed clear signs of growing fatigue, but it seemed they could buy enough time until the pursuit unit returned.

However, strangely, no victory report came from the pursuit unit.

For that reason, Latif and the rest of the Imperial vanguard battalion began to waver little by little.

"I clearly told them to contact me as soon as they completed the pursuit. Why is there no news?"

"It seems to be taking longer than expected to complete the mission."

"What?"

"Thinking about it now, I think it might have been better to form more cavalry units, which are not very helpful for defense. Then it would have been much easier to interfere with their escape."

Thaddeus answered Latif's question and calmly stated his additional opinion.

But this only made Latif more uncomfortable.

Thud!

The fact that Latif could not contain his anger and slammed his fist on the desk was proof of that.

"It's not about repelling them, it's just about interfering with their escape. What do you mean it's not enough! Is a single platoon of cavalry incapable of doing even that much!"

"…I misspoke. I apologize."

"Enough. I don't want to see you, so all of you get out and prepare for the defense."

In fact, Latif had a right to be angry.

He was suffering from a food shortage as the supply unit had been raided three times in a row, and the pursuit unit he had trusted was not finishing the operation quickly.

'It's a good thing the Allied forces' siege equipment is inadequate; otherwise, it would have been very dangerous.'

Still, Latif did not think that the front line would be pushed back.

He could see that the Allied vanguard battalion was frustrated by the earthen fortress that did not fall even after being repeatedly struck.

'After a few more attacks, they'll naturally retreat. They'll also be conscious of the pursuit unit's return.'

And as Latif had expected, the final attack of the Allied vanguard battalion began.

"Tobias is at the forefront, spreading an aura barrier!"

If this wasn't the final attack, Tobias would not have stepped forward so decisively.

"Don't make a fuss. There's a 6-star knight on this side too."

Thus, Latif personally went up to the wall and once again broke the momentum of the Allied vanguard battalion.

And until then, he had not thought that he would lose this battle.

***

Meanwhile.

Bomel was also optimistic about the situation as he pursued the Special Task Force Company.

'The situation will get a little difficult with the Allied vanguard battalion's sortie, but the Battalion Commander will hold out well with the earthen fortress.'

In any case, it was a situation where it was impossible to quickly catch up to the Special Task-Force Company because the Holsteiners kept getting scared and running away.

So, he decided to focus on succeeding in the pursuit and completely destroying the Special Task-Force Company, even if it took time.

Fortunately, he was able to succeed in slowing down the Special Task-Force Company's movement speed somehow.

At this rate, it seemed that he could deal with the Special Task-Force Company before they returned to their unit.

He had certainly thought so.

It was when he had pursued the Special Task-Force Company for another three days that he realized the situation was not going as planned.

'Huh?'

Bomel, feeling that the terrain was somehow familiar, asked the pursuit unit commander.

"Are we in Allied territory now?"

"That's probably right. We've been chasing them for three days."

"…Check properly. I have a bad feeling about this."

It was not easy to get one's bearings on the Aequor Plains.

This was because a similar landscape stretched out over a vast area.

For that reason, they would normally have deployed a large number of scouts to check their position from time to-time, but the pursuit unit did not bother to do so.

All they had to do was to chase the Special Task-Force Company without losing them.

So they had moved without much thought, but for some reason, he had a bad feeling.

A certain intuition kept making the veteran commander Bomel uneasy.

However, the pursuit unit commander, not feeling this, tilted his head and moved to follow Bomel's order.

And half a day later.

"Th-this is bad! It's not Allied territory! The pursuit unit is about to arrive at our own camp!"

"What did you say?"

I've been had.

Bomel had this thought as soon as he heard the pursuit unit commander's report.

It was obvious why the Special Task-Force Company had moved towards the Imperial camp.

'They must have judged that they wouldn't be able to shake off the pursuit by returning to their unit, so they cleverly changed their route and moved towards our camp!'

Then it was really a big problem.

This could end up being more than just a failed mission.

Bomel hurriedly asked the pursuit unit commander.

"How close are the pursuit unit and the Special Task-Force Company now?"

"About a day's distance."

"Damn it. A day is enough time to help the Allied vanguard battalion and capture the earthen fortress. This won't do. I'll have to go myself."

"Yes? What is that supposed to mean?"

The pursuit unit commander, who could not keep up with the speed of his thoughts, asked back.

Bomel's gaze turned to the pursuit unit commander, and he spoke as if a good idea had come to him.

"Right. It won't be enough for just me to move. Tell all the military officers currently on horseback, including you, to follow me. We have to interfere with the enemy's arrival at the earthen fortress somehow."

He had originally planned to preserve his strength as much as possible and crush the Special Task-Force Company at once when he caught up to them.

But now there was no time for that.

Bomel was planning to take all the military officers belonging to the pursuit unit and block the Special Task-Force Company's movement.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

And fortunately, just an hour before the Special Task-Force Company arrived at the earthen fortress.

All the military officers, including Bomel, succeeded in catching up to the Special Task-Force Company.

The cavalry commander discovered this late and caught up to Bomel.

"What is it? We were interfering with them just fine."

"There's no time to explain. The cavalry will now follow me."

"Yes?"

"We must hold the Special Task-Force Company in this place at all costs. Even if we have to die here!"

Bomel was suddenly so resolute that the cavalry commander was bewildered.

However, he did not dare to open his mouth any further.

Not only Bomel, but also the officers of the pursuit unit with Bomel had very resolute expressions.

It was only natural, as they had heard about the entire situation on their way here.

"Everyone, unleash your aura! We will crush them at once!"

Bomel boldly rode at the forefront, and the other officers and the cavalry followed him.

Their momentum was tremendous, as they were staking their lives on this.

But even in this situation, only one person from the Special Task-Force Company stepped forward.

It was Roden.

'Is that him? The cause of all this? He may be doing something magical, but it won't be easy this time. Just because they have the same bloodline doesn't mean they're all the same Holsteiner.'

Originally, in the Imperial Army, the higher the rank, the better the horse one received.

For that reason, the Holsteiners that the officers were riding were different.

They were much more courageous and powerful horses.

Of course, the horse that the cavalry commander was riding was also like this, but it couldn't be helped.

In a world of cripples, even a healthy person must act like a cripple.

The cavalry commander's horse must have been frightened along with all the other horses.

He wanted to believe that.

But this belief was shattered in a matter of seconds.

Piiing!

Roden had performed a sword dance and cast Wyvern Fear.

Hee-haw!

Hee-haw!

At the same time, all the horses that had been boldly charging towards Roden suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Because they had increased their speed as if to trample everything at once, there were an unusually large number of people who fell from their horses.

Among them was Bomel.

"Hmph!"

Bomel, befitting a 4-star knight, displayed superhuman abilities and managed to land on the ground without getting hurt.

But,

Stab.

A sword imbued with aura pierced through the chest of the successful Bomel.

"What is this…?"

Bomel, with a look of question as his last words, looked down at his empty chest in vain and collapsed.

In Roden's hands, which were looking at him, the sword he had been holding just a moment ago was gone.

The secret technique of the Sesuran Swordsmanship that he had been able to learn thanks to Nedhab.

That's what had been unleashed.

***

"Waaaah! It's our victory!"

"We've finally captured the earthen fortress!"

Unlike the Allied vanguard battalion, the Special Task-Force Company not only had no decent siege equipment, but no siege equipment at all.

For that reason, they might not have been of any real help in capturing the earthen fortress.

But the bewildered Imperial forces moved their troops excessively towards the Special Task-Force Company, giving the Allied vanguard battalion an opportunity.

Thus, numerous soldiers succeeded in climbing the wall, and later even the gate was broken through.

Therefore, the Imperial forces, which were already short on numbers, had no way to hold out.

In the end, Latif, who had lost the earthen fortress, hurriedly opened the empty gate and fled with his remaining troops.

Tobias was disappointed that he had not been able to capture Latif, but it couldn't be helped.

The Allied vanguard battalion was also exhausted from trying to get over the wall.

Thus, Tobias, who had finally set foot in the Imperial camp, walked busily towards somewhere without even having time to enjoy the joy of victory.

That place was where the Special Task-Force Company was.

Screech! Thud!

The opposite gate, which had not been breached, opened, and the gazes of the Special Task-Force Company standing in front of it naturally turned towards the gate.

In front of the open gate stood Tobias.

Thump, thump.

Tobias looked at Roden for a moment, then slowly approached and opened his mouth.

"...You survived."

"Yes. I survived. Are you surprised?"

At Roden's question, Tobias obediently nodded his head.

"I am surprised. Not only did you survive, but you even saved us."

Tobias, who had said this, suddenly bowed his head.

Naturally, Roden's eyes widened.

It wasn't just Roden.

Everyone who was there was surprised by what had just happened.

It was rare for a superior to bow to a subordinate in the military.

And the person who bowed was none other than the Vanguard Battalion Commander.

But Tobias, even in the midst of everyone's surprise, continued to speak as if it were natural.

"I'm sorry. And... thank you."