Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading

Chapter 81. Rather a Chance (3)

"I'm sorry. Everyone is going through a lot because of me."

Roden said to Chevalier, who was moving with him after leaving the vanguard battalion's camp.

Chevalier, who was riding his horse next to him, immediately shook his head.

"No. On the contrary, I am happy to be with you, Company Commander."

It was Roden who had considered taking another platoon or going alone if the Infantry Platoon had wanted to.

But everyone in the Infantry Platoon had readily nodded at Roden's words to leave on the mission together.

It was only natural, as there was not a single soldier in the Infantry Platoon who had not been indebted to Roden.

Similarly, Nedhab, who was also riding his horse, chimed in on their conversation.

"Please do not feel sorry for our lives, which you have saved several times, Company Commander."

"……"

"And I believe. That you, Company Commander, will lead this mission to success as well."

In fact, on the faces of the Infantry Platoon leaving on the mission, there was a sense of slight tension, but no fear at all.

That was how much no one thought that this mission would fail.

Roden, who was not accustomed to such trust and belief, thought of the two Superior Swordsmanship manuals he had received from Olinto and Liviano and replied.

"I will definitely succeed in the mission. At the very least, I will make sure no one dies."

Roden spoke as if making a pledge, and the two men watched him with moved eyes.

And Chevalier, who had come to his senses a step faster, asked Roden.

"By the way, a merchant caravan. It feels different from when we were disguised as the Imperial Army."

"Even if it's awkward, try to adapt well. It will be advantageous in many ways to hide our identities and gather information."

Currently, Roden and the Infantry Platoon were disguised as a merchant caravan.

Merchants were a tribe that would risk their lives for money.

For that reason, there were cases where they fearlessly operated merchant caravans even during a war.

However, no matter how much of a merchant they were, it was rare for them to come to the very front lines as it was too dangerous.

Neither the Imperial Army nor the Allied Forces would have allowed it.

For that reason, Roden and the Infantry Platoon intended to penetrate deep into Imperial territory.

All the way to the commercial city of Vinchih, located in the rear of the Imperial Army.

"We will gather information based there and establish a plan to capture Velia Castle."

"Even though it's an enemy camp, I'm not sure if we can get any useful information in the very rear."

"We'll have to gather as much information as we can. If the information we gather is useless, we'll have to penetrate deeper."

In fact, Roden thought that they would almost certainly have to enter the Imperial interior.

In extreme cases, they might even have to enter Velia Castle itself.

'There's nothing more effective in a siege than to break down the enemy from within.'

However, it was not yet the stage to discuss this.

The first thing to do was to establish a base, avoiding the eyes of the Imperial Army.

Nedhab was also worried about this part.

"I'm worried that our route to the very rear is too radical. Are you sure we can avoid the eyes of the Imperial Army?"

Certainly, the route Roden had planned before departure was so radical that it could be said to be almost a straight line to the destination.

However, it was not as if he had planned this route without any thought.

"Don't worry. After entering Imperial territory, you will understand why I planned the route this way."

Having finished his story, Roden took a wooden block from his pocket and began to carve something.

Chevalier and Nedhab could only tilt their heads as they watched him.

***

A few days later. The rıghtful source is novᴇlfire.net

Finally, Roden and the Infantry Platoon entered Imperial territory.

From now on, they had to be really careful.

If they were discovered by the Imperial Army, the mission would be ruined at the very beginning.

However, as mentioned earlier, Roden had a way to solve this problem.

"Everyone, wait here for a day. I have to go somewhere."

"Where are you going?"

At Nedhab's question, Roden replied.

"You remember how I found and dealt with the scouts like a ghost during the last rear disturbance operation, right? I'm going to use that method in reverse to open a path."

"Ah."

For Roden, who could use location detection magic, it was a simple matter to move secretly, avoiding the eyes of the enemy.

However, he could not directly deal with the scouts as he had during the rear disturbance operation.

The moment he dealt with the scouts, the Imperial Army would detect suspicious movements.

It was absurd for them not to be suspicious when a scout suddenly disappeared from an unexpected place and did not return.

In the end, this time, their movements themselves should not be detected at all.

And to do this, they had to grasp the enemy's position much faster and from a greater distance.

That way, they would have time to erase their tracks and flee.

They would be able to secure this time.

This was also the reason why Roden was trying to open a path by going ahead alone.

"If I sprinkle these wooden blocks at every crossroads, the position of any enemy passing by will be automatically detected. These wooden blocks will do the work that I used to do by moving myself. To detect a wider area more quickly."

"Ah. Then I will also help you, Company Commander, and sprinkle the wooden blocks together."

"No. It's okay. You don't have to. After all, the secret technique of these wooden blocks is only activated when I sprinkle them. Everyone, rest well here. But don't light a fire. It will be difficult to erase the traces."

Thus, Roden moved first and sprinkled the wooden blocks here and there.

These wooden blocks, which were enchanted with location detection magic, would have their effect begin for two days.

The duration was a bit tight, but this was only possible because Roden had reached the 4-star realm.

'I wish I could reach the 5-star realm soon. I think I'm starting to get a feel for it.'

The 5-star realm was a level where one could not only envelop the entire blade with aura but also increase the length of the aura.

One had to be able to increase the length by at least 1 meter to be recognized as having reached the 5-star realm.

Currently, Roden was in a situation where he could increase the length of his aura by about 90 cm.

In other words, it meant that if he could increase it by another 10 cm, he would reach the 5-star realm.

'Maybe I can reach the 5-star realm during the mission.'

Roden thought as he diligently sprinkled the wooden blocks everywhere.

As the magic was cast at the same time as he sprinkled them, the distance that Roden could detect gradually increased.

However, that distance did not reach the average daily marching distance of the Infantry Platoon, which was 30 km.

Even though he had ridden his horse and diligently sprinkled the wooden blocks, the best he could do was to secure a safe area of 20 km at most, and 15 km at least.

For that reason, Roden and the Infantry Platoon crossed the Imperial territory very slowly.

It was a good thing that he had set the route as the shortest distance; otherwise, it might have taken several months to reach the very rear.

Thus, a month passed.

Roden and the Infantry Platoon arrived at Vinchih.

***

Meanwhile.

Tobias had led the vanguard battalion and had established a siege formation surrounding Velia Castle.

Since the main battalion had also joined, the scale was certainly large.

'Even so, it will be impossible to capture Velia Castle.'

After thinking for a moment, Tobias turned his gaze towards the Special Task Force Company.

There, the Special Task Force Company was in a siege formation and was training some of its personnel.

'They're the most diligent today as well. By the way, I wonder if the Special Task Force Company Commander arrived safely at Vinchih.'

Tobias thought as he recalled the day Roden had left on the mission.

That day, an exclamation of "Ah," had unknowingly escaped from Tobias's lips.

It was only natural, as even though they were being sent on a dangerous mission, all the soldiers of the Special Task Force Company had wanted to go with Roden.

And that wasn't the end of it.

Tobias had even witnessed the scene where Olinto and Liviano handed the Superior Swordsmanship manuals to Roden.

To willingly give away a Superior Swordsmanship manual that was as good as a family heirloom.

It was a moment that showed how much the Special Task Force Company trusted and respected Roden.

Moreover, for Tobias, who prided himself on taking better care of his own people than anyone else, this was a scene he had never seen before in his life.

For that reason, Tobias could not help but have this thought.

'Perhaps the Special Task Force Company Commander is a much greater person than I thought.'

Tobias had only thought of Roden as a person with a higher aura level than expected and who was good at devising ingenious military strategies.

But he was wrong.

Roden was a person who could completely capture the hearts of others.

This was different from the ability to control a platoon, a company, or a battalion with charisma.

The stickiness that could make a platoon face a company, a company face a battalion, and a battalion face a corps.

It was the ability to create this stickiness.

Thus, Tobias could finally understand why Roden had been able to succeed in the rear disturbance operation.

'I hope the Special Task Force Company Commander returns safely.'

He was no longer just worried about Roden as a savior who had saved him from a crisis.

Roden was a talent that the Allied Forces desperately needed.

Tobias also realized this fact.

Just as Havier and Adriel had.

It was as Tobias was thinking about Roden.

"Battalion Commander. A letter has arrived."

Someone spoke to him, and when he turned his head, Bent was standing there with a letter in his hand.

"A letter?"

"Yes. It's from the command."

"Give it to me."

Tobias tore open the letter with the command's seal on it right there and checked the contents.

At the same time, Tobias's expression, which had not been bad until a moment ago, contorted.

[Please provide a detailed reason why the Special Task Force Company did not carry out the operation as proposed by the command.]

This was written in the letter.

"Damn it! Is this really a time for such nonsense when we're in the middle of a war!"

Tobias could not contain his anger, which was boiling to the top of his head, and threw the letter on the floor.

***

A few days later.

Michael received Tobias's reply.

[It was judged that the probability of success of the operation was too low to accept the proposal. I request that you first provide a detailed explanation of the reason for the operational proposal next time.]

If there is a fault in something, it lies first with the person who made the request, not the person who refused it.

Michael immediately grasped the gist of this answer in Tobias's reply.

However, just because he had grasped it did not mean that he was not angry.

"How dare you…"

Michael's hands trembled in anger.