Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading

Chapter 78. And (5)

The Imperial Army had invaded.

Though sudden, Roden and Chevalier were not flustered.

They immediately turned and ran towards the earthen fortress.

Rumble!

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Meanwhile, the scout quickly rode his horse and entered the earthen fortress, whose gates were beginning to close.

On the other hand, no matter how fast their reaction speed was, Roden and Chevalier could not help but be late in running to the earthen fortress.

Since it was impossible to open the closed gates again, the two of them ran desperately.

Swoosh! Thud!

Kwoong!

Fortunately, the two of them were able to enter the earthen fortress just before the gates closed.

Then they could see the soldiers beginning to climb the walls.

Among them were the soldiers of the Special Task Force Company.

"Company Commander! Over here!"

The fact that Olinto had spotted Roden and was waving his hand was proof of that.

Thus, Roden, along with Chevalier, approached the place where the Special Task Force Company was gathered.

"What's the situation?"

"It seems Latif has brought the Imperial Army and is advancing to take back the earthen fortress today as well. As soon as we heard the news during training, we gathered here and deployed the Infantry and Archery Platoons on the walls. The Light Cavalry Platoon is on standby below the walls."

"You've worked hard. From now on, I will take command."

In fact, this was not the first time the Imperial Army had attacked in this way.

Once a week, the Imperial Army would lead a battalion-sized force and knock on the gates of the earthen fortress.

And that was not all.

As befitting the very front lines, large and small battles had been taking place almost every day for the past few days.

It was no exaggeration to say that a platoon-sized battle would always take place when they went out for reconnaissance or stood guard.

Liviano had also encountered an enemy cavalry unit two days ago while on guard duty and had engaged in battle.

Naturally, it was a great victory for our side, which had its enchanted shields at the forefront.

Not even a single person was seriously injured, let alone killed.

Thus, for the vanguard battalion, battle was a daily routine.

It was to the point where it was difficult to conduct training with a peace of mind like in their transport battalion days because of the constantly repeated battles.

'How long will they hold out and go back today? I suppose they'll hold out until tomorrow for the sake of appearances, right?'

Roden thought as he walked up the wall to take command of the field.

As if having a similar thought, Chevalier spoke to him.

"When do you think the Imperial Army will withdraw this time?"

"If they just play with words, they'll be here for another day. If they play with stones too, they'll be here for two more days."

Meanwhile, Roden had climbed the wall and could see the Imperial Army forming their lines far from the earthen fortress.

"There are catapults mixed in. They'll be here for two more days."

Usually, the Imperial Army would send soldiers with good mouths to insult or provoke the vanguard battalion, and then lead their troops back.

This was because it was common sense that it was impossible for a battalion-sized force to overcome an earthen fortress guarded by a force of the same size without a special plan.

But the fact that they had brought catapults meant that they intended to harass the earthen fortress for at least a few days.

'Well, that doesn't mean they're actually thinking of taking the earthen fortress. Even if they use catapults, it will take at least a few weeks to break down the walls.'

In the end, the difference between using a catapult and not using one was one thing.

The difference between harassing more and harassing less.

This was also the reason why Roden used the expressions "word play" and "stone play."

"Tell everyone that it will be tough, but to endure silently. And let's conduct the training in shifts, just like last time."

In the end, the Light Cavalry Platoon had to continue to wait below the walls until the enemy retreated.

This was because in case of an emergency, they had to carry out operations such as secretly sending out the cavalry to harass the rear or strike the flank.

In other words, it meant that one platoon of the Special Task Force Company would be constantly on standby in a place where the enemy's eyes could not reach.

Therefore, if they used the Light Cavalry Platoon, one platoon could secure some extra time.

Roden planned to use this to conduct training for each platoon in shifts.

'I have to avoid aura loss as much as possible.'

Thus, the boring standoff with the Imperial Army finally came to an end after two days, just as Roden had predicted.

***

The boring standoff with the Imperial Army continued to repeat itself for several months.

Although it was not necessary to go on a supply mission once a month like in the transport battalion, fighting a battle of nerves with the Imperial Army for two or three days every week had its own hardships.

In some respects, this side could be seen as more difficult.

This was because it was impossible to completely relax, as they did not know when a real battle with the Imperial Army would break out.

They always had to maintain a state of tension, and this was what the Imperial Army wanted from the vanguard battalion.

The Imperial Army was deliberately intending for the vanguard battalion to gradually become tired and exhausted. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novelFirｅ.net

Otherwise, there was no reason for them to go to such trouble to continuously harass the vanguard battalion in this way.

However, the vanguard battalion was not unaware of this, so they were dealing with it wisely in their own way.

This was also the reason why the Special Task Force Company was able to conduct training in shifts during the standoff with the Imperial Army.

Tobias was managing the unit so that they would not let their guard down, but also not get tired quickly.

'Of course, we can't just keep enduring like this forever. We'll have to take the next step soon.'

By capturing the earthen fortress this time, the Aequor Plains were now as good as occupied by the Allied Forces.

However, just because they had occupied the Aequor Plains did not mean that this war was over.

In order to gain a favorable position in the peace negotiations, they had to continue to slowly occupy the Imperial territory.

Therefore, the vanguard battalion also had a definite need to take the next step.

'However, how to achieve this is a problem that Tobias has to worry about.'

Roden's goal was the same as before.

To survive this war no matter what.

For that reason, even during the boring standoff, Roden was engrossed in becoming stronger.

'Now I've finished researching all the secret methods of the swordsmanship manuals I had.'

In fact, there was nothing to do but train.

On top of that, thanks to the rapid deep sleep, he had a lot of free time.

'I can't waste this time. Let's try enchanting other equipment after the Juzerje plate armor.'

Thus, the first thing Roden worked on was his leather boots.

Since the sabatons protected the entire foot except for the sole, there was no need to enchant the leather boots with additional defense magic.

For that reason, Roden carved speed increase magic on his leather boots.

However, it should not be misunderstood that the speed increase magic simply increased one's running and walking speed.

It was to increase the overall speed of the body by 1.5 times for 5 minutes.

Therefore, it was also possible to swing the sword faster and to dodge faster.

In the end, the reason why Roden had carved the speed increase magic on his boots was simply for a symbolic reason.

The conceptual symbol that speed naturally comes to mind when one thinks of boots.

'Probably because of this speed, it will be almost impossible for me to be defeated by a knight of the same level.'

Having finished enchanting the leather boots, Roden next worked on his linen gloves.

Just like the sabatons, the gauntlets protected all parts of the hand except for the palm, so enchanting them with defense magic was unnecessary.

For that reason, Roden enchanted the linen gloves with stamina assistance magic.

When using the speed increase magic, one's stamina was naturally consumed greatly as they used 1.5 times the strength, but by using the stamina assistance magic, it was possible to cover this.

It wasn't that it wasn't tiring, but at least it wasn't 1.5 times as tiring.

As a result of the experiment, it was at a similar level to swinging a sword normally.

'And I can use the stamina assistance magic even when I'm not in combat.'

It would also be very helpful to use this magic when there were other physically demanding tasks.

Having carved the stamina assistance magic, Roden thirdly enchanted the arming doublet and linen trousers that he wore under his plate armor.

What he enchanted on the arming doublet and linen trousers was temperature control magic.

No matter how much lighter and more comfortable to move in plate armor was compared to most chain mail, and so one could do everything from wrestling to swimming.

It could not be helped that it had a weakness in ventilation.

Roden also had a lot of trouble with this after he received the Juzerje plate armor from Tobias and began to wear it in earnest.

This was because there was a clear difference in the temperature he felt compared to when he had worn an armor with only some parts, such as the helmet and breastplate, made of plate over a gambeson.

So he enchanted it with temperature control magic, and thanks to that, Roden was able to solve the ventilation problem.

'I'm still only at the 4th circle, so the maximum duration of the magic is only 1 hour, but the effect is sufficient even if I only turn on the magic for 10 minutes whenever I need it.'

Having finished enchanting all the equipment related to his armor, Roden finally took out the mithril alloy sword he had received from Adriel.

In fact, he had a lot of trouble deciding which magic to enchant on the mithril alloy sword.

The first thing that came to mind was a magic that sharpened the sword, but it was not very necessary for an aura user.

This was because when aura was overlaid, the sword already became surprisingly sharp.

Therefore, it was better to enchant it with another magic, and what came to mind was status maintenance magic.

Certainly, if he cast status maintenance magic, he could avoid the hassle of having to maintain his sword after training every day.

However, Roden did not maintain his sword himself.

Since his platoon leader days, the soldiers had been taking turns maintaining his sword for him.

In the end, even if he enchanted it with status maintenance magic, it would only make things a little more convenient for the soldiers, and it would be of little use.

'I need to carve a more practical magic. What could it be?'

As Roden was pondering, a thought came to his mind.

'Right. I can carve that.'

***

While Roden was busy inspecting his equipment.

Tobias let out a groan in front of a letter that had arrived from the command.

"Hmm…"

The contents of the letter were as follows.

[You must capture Velia Castle. And actively put the Special Task Force Company at the forefront.]