Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104. Espionage (1)
Thanks to Roden's efforts for a while, the Billem Caravan had completely established itself in the Empire.
First, the number of Billem Meatball branches had increased from three to six.
Thanks to this, it became much easier to sell Billem Meatballs all over the Empire and make a stable profit.
It was to the extent that it was possible to comfortably operate the Billem Caravan, which had a total of 180 employees including mercenaries, with just the money from selling Billem Meatballs.
Moreover, there was a considerable amount of profit left over, allowing him to send a fortnight's living expenses for an entire corps to Alexis every month.
Also, the work of receiving food from five domains and delivering it to the Vinchih garrison to obtain profits and information had become natural.
The income secured from this was less compared to the Billem Meatballs, but it was still enough to cover a week's living expenses for one corps.
Above all, the ability to obtain quality information was a positive.
As such, the Billem Caravan had stabilized to the point where it could run well without Roden's special attention.
Therefore, Roden now planned to focus on the espionage activities he had neglected.
After all, he had been so busy running the caravan that he had only been able to gather information and deliver it to Alexis.
‘At that rate, there's no reason for the Special Task Force Company to infiltrate the Empire. So I must begin espionage activities in earnest.’
And now was an opportune time to conduct espionage activities in many ways.
Not only had the Billem Caravan stabilized, but the situation of the 3rd Corps besieging Kroxen Castle was also quite quiet.
In particular, as a considerable amount of time had passed since they infiltrated the Empire, the overall combat power of the Special Task Force Company had risen a lot.
This was thanks to learning various secret techniques to train efficiently even in the midst of a busy schedule.
‘Rapid Deep Sleep and Progressive Overload were especially helpful.’
Thanks to these two secret techniques, the Special Task Force Company was able to maintain their aura absorption efficiency even with less sleep and less training.
The fact that all thirty soldiers of the Infantry Platoon had recently reached the rank of 1-star or higher was proof of that.
For reference, twenty-four members of the Cavalry Platoon and eighteen members of the Archery Platoon had reached the rank of 1-star or higher.
‘I'm happy that all the soldiers of the Infantry Platoon, who have been with me since my days in the supply battalion, have risen to the rank of knight, but I'm also relieved that the performance of the Archery Platoon has improved noticeably.’
While the other platoons produced three or four 1-star knights, the Archery Platoon barely managed to produce one.
But now that the ratio was the same as the other platoons, Roden couldn't help but be pleased.
‘In addition, the two newly acquired Superior Swordsmanship Manuals helped to increase the overall combat power.’
First, one of the two Superior Swordsmanship Manuals was obtained by Chevalier after dealing with Yakub.
It was called the <Lagdar Swordsmanship Manual>, and it contained one secret technique and one secret method.
And the other Superior Swordsmanship Manual was purchased with money.
As he was running a caravan, he had opportunities to purchase various kinds of goods.
So Roden used this situation to issue an order to secure as many Superior Swordsmanship Manuals as possible.
The problem was that almost none of the swordsmanship manuals purchased this way were genuine.
It was only natural, as less than 0.01% of the books sold as Superior Swordsmanship Manuals on the market were genuine.
Superior Swordsmanship Manuals of families that had fallen due to gambling debts, Superior Swordsmanship Manuals of families that had fallen after losing a domain war, Superior Swordsmanship Manuals of families that had fallen because the head of the family drank himself to death, Superior Swordsmanship Manuals of families that had fallen due to cosigning a loan, Superior Swordsmanship Manuals of families that had fallen due to bad investments, etc.
There were countless fakes that were blatantly obvious.
‘I never knew there were so many fallen families in the world.’
But Roden did not give up and continued to purchase these swordsmanship manuals.
The price of such books was so cheap that it was not much of a burden anyway.
In the end, even the seller didn't seem to think it was a real Superior Swordsmanship Manual.
‘Even if it really was a Superior Swordsmanship Manual, the seller would not have the eye to distinguish it.’
It was the same even for a skilled knight.
It was almost impossible to tell if a book was a Superior Swordsmanship Manual just by reading it.
If the source was unclear, the only way was to learn the swordsmanship directly and check.
For that reason, the Superior Swordsmanship Manuals circulating in the marketplace were treated like trash.
It was not for nothing that actual knights didn't even glance at such swordsmanship manuals.
They were things that only naive commoners would buy in the hopes of something, swing a wooden stick a few times, realize its uselessness, and use it as kindling.
On the other hand, Roden could tell whether it was a real swordsmanship manual or not just by opening the book.
It was also possible to distinguish between a Superior Swordsmanship Manual and a standard-issue one in 30 minutes.
So he could continue to collect swordsmanship manuals without any burden, and finally, he achieved a result.
He had gotten his hands on a real one among the countless fakes.
Its name was the <Mauren Swordsmanship Manual>.
‘Of course, it's not an incredibly good Superior Swordsmanship Manual. It only contains one secret technique and one secret method.’
But just by purchasing one real Superior Swordsmanship Manual, the losses he had incurred from buying fakes up until now were instantly recouped.
In fact, the profit was even greater.
Leaving aside the monetary value, it had strengthened the overall combat power of the Special Task Force Company.
Having obtained these two Superior Swordsmanship Manuals, Roden immediately began his research on them.
Even though he was busy stabilizing the caravan, this reality could not stop Roden's passion for research.
And so, Roden succeeded in researching the secret methods and secret techniques and disseminating them to the Special Task Force Company.
‘First, the secret methods of the <Lagdar Swordsmanship Manual> and the <Mauren Swordsmanship Manual> are Body Temperature Peak and Pulse Point Stimulation, respectively.’
First, ‘Body Temperature Peak’ was a secret method to maintain one's body temperature between 37.9 and 38.2 degrees.
This was because muscles reached their peak elasticity, circulation, and oxygen delivery capacity at this temperature.
As a result, the amount of aura absorbed through this secret method naturally had to increase, and as a result, it was possible to increase the aura absorption rate by 6%.
Next, ‘Pulse Point Stimulation’ was a secret method to exponentially increase the recovery speed by stimulating the aura reaction points that govern recovery.
And as the aura recovered quickly, the amount of aura lost without being absorbed in the process was drastically reduced.
The fact that the aura absorption rate increased by another 6% due to Pulse Point Stimulation was proof of that.
Thanks to these two secret methods, the overall aura absorption rate of the Special Task Force Company increased significantly.
Roden's aura absorption rate was also able to go from 58% to 70%.
‘But the Superior Swordsmanship I got this time, the secret techniques are more impressive than the secret methods.’
Roden named the two secret techniques ‘Electric Shock’ and ‘Armor Break’, respectively.
It was the first time he had removed the word ‘Sword’, which he had used as a recurring character when naming the secret techniques, but he couldn't help it.
It was because he couldn't express the full meaning with that format.
First, the Electric Shock of the Lagdar Swordsmanship was a technique that sent an electric current at the same time as clashing swords.
Since a rather stinging level of electricity stimulated the palm of the hand, it could not only draw out the opponent's surprise but also make them drop their sword altogether.
Since it was a secret technique that could create a very large opening, it was very useful depending on how it was used.
The amount of aura used was also not as large as expected, so it was possible to use it consecutively.
In other words, it meant that the opponent would have to feel a burden every time they clashed swords with Roden.
Next, Armor Break was a secret technique that attacked weak spots like the joints of armor with a sword.
In fact, just looking at this description, it couldn't be called a particularly useful secret technique.
This was because all knights naturally aimed for the opponent's weak spots when attacking.
But the advantage of Armor Break was the fact that even if the sword path was slightly off, the sword would automatically move minutely to strike the weak spot.
For example, it meant that even if the opponent blocked the sword that was intended to attack the joint of the armor with their sword, it would attack the weakest part of that sword.
For that reason, the more one exchanged sword blows with Roden, the weaker the opponent's sword or armor would become.
Especially when using aura, the speed became very fast, and as a result of Roden's experiment, even an undamaged sword's blade would be greatly damaged after clashing with Roden for over 50 times, the blade would bend after clashing for over 100 times, and the blade would completely break after clashing for over 200 times.
Of course, this value was obtained from sparring with Olinto, a 3-star knight, so the situation could vary greatly depending on who the opponent was.
In any case, both Electric Shock and Armor Break were very useful secret techniques in battle, and for that reason, he passed them on to the Special Task Force Company.
And thus, the number of secret techniques, which had been nine, was able to increase to eleven.
‘Having a double-digit number of secret techniques feels somewhat reassuring. Though it's still a long way to go.’
Still, what had become stronger had become stronger, and to summarize, the current strength of the Special Task Force Company was as follows.
<Special Task Force Company>
Regular Soldiers: 20
1-star Knights: 64
2-star Knights: 8
3-star Knights: 3
4-star Knight: 1
Six of the squad leaders from each platoon had risen to the rank of 2-star.
And two of the deputy platoon leaders from each platoon had become 2-star knights, and one had become a 3-star knight.
‘Nedhab.’
The one who had reached the rank of 3-star the fastest among the deputy platoon leaders was, as expected, Nedhab.
Nedhab's talent was certainly excellent.
Next, two of the remaining 3-star knights were Olinto and Liviano.
The two, who were originally 2-star knights, had succeeded in raising their level to 3-star after meeting Roden.
It was a moment that showed why the two had pledged their loyalty to Roden.
Finally, the one 4-star knight was Chevalier.
It was not for nothing that Chevalier was regarded as the second-in-command within the Special Task Force Company.
From skill and talent to his qualities as a leader leading a unit.
Chevalier's abilities were second only to Roden's in the Special Task Force Company.
‘Everyone has worked hard. So there won't be any problem even if we start espionage activities now.’
Roden, who had been sitting in the underground training ground lost in thought for a moment, got up from his seat and drew his sword from its sheath with a clang.
At the same time, an aura formed a circle and protected Roden's body.
That was right.
Just as everyone in the Special Task Force Company had grown, Roden had also achieved amazing growth.
The aura barrier spread with aura was proof that Roden had become a 6-star knight.
***
As expected from the beginning when he first returned to Vinchih, the person who provided Roden with the crucial information after half a year was Abtal.
“Our army will be victorious soon. The truth is, there's a spy from our army mixed in with the Allied Forces besieging Kroxen Castle.”
“!”