The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth C.135: Advancement

“The monsters that appeared around the dungeon have all been cleared,” Azif reported.

Luon realized they could no longer afford to delay.

“One thing that bothers me is that they set camp outside instead of stationing their troops at the Twin Armor. Something’s not right, but we can’t just stand by and watch.”

“Indeed.” Azif nodded. Although Luon’s army was far bigger, the opposing army of one thousand soldiers was still concerning. There was something strange, perhaps even unnerving, about those troops standing at the forefront despite being greatly outnumbered.

“In that case...?”

“We have no choice but to advance.”

“Perhaps we could attempt a truce once more?” Azif cautiously suggested. “Although the damage isn’t severe, they have also suffered losses due to the dungeon.”

“There’s no need for that. The empire already sent them a formal notice before our deployment. The fact that they responded this way means one of two things.”

Luon looked at the Twin Armor.

“Either those two men are defying the kingdom’s orders by not opening the gates or the kingdom itself has rejected us.”

“...”

When moving a large number of troops through another kingdom, it was customary to send a formal notice. And obviously, the kingdom had the right to refuse.

They had been too complacent. Luon had been sure that the gates would open to him, considering that he had mobilized an army of seventy thousand. He had leaned too heavily on the power of the empire.

“If it’s the former, they can’t complain about our invasion because of their disobedience. If it’s the latter, it’s a war we have to fight anyway. It doesn’t matter if it starts a little earlier.”

Azif frowned at his words and let out a low sigh.

How unfortunate. I absolutely should’ve brought Bran on this expedition... If he were here, he would’ve surely come up with a brilliant plan.

Ever since being stranded at the Twin Armor after the emergence of the dungeon, Azif couldn’t help but think of one person, and that was Bran Gamunt.

He was a distant relative of Azif’s. Following his family’s downfall, Bran had relied on Azif from a young age. With Azif’s recommendation, he had become a scribe at the Imperial Library a few years back.

Though he hadn’t been able to enter the Academy due to his lack of noble status, Azif had always recognized Bran’s exceptional talents, which was why he had recommended him for a position at the library.

When Luon first proposed the mission, Bran was the first person Azif thought of.

Bran, you used the excuse of injury to stay in Brerado, so I could only send letters without being able to see you in person... Why didn’t you come?

Azif bit his lip. He was initially disappointed with Bran’s curt reply that his frail health prevented him from responding to the summons, but he quickly got over it. Now, however, Azir couldn’t shake the feeling that Bran had been deliberately avoiding him.

“If we retreat now, the empire will bear the unforgivable stigma of using border citizens to open the gates of the Three Kingdoms.”

Azif looked at Luon with a slight frown.

You mean you, Luon, will be stigmatized. Besides, you did use those people as hostages, didn’t you?

As the deputy commander of the Golden Knights and a member of a traditional noble family of the empire, Azif believed it was his duty as a noble to support Luon, the legitimate heir and the First Prince. That was why he had joined this expedition, staying in his estate under the pretense of injury despite the captain’s objections.

Sigh...

Azif could not have known that in a past life, Bran Gamunt had been one of the empire’s seven great warriors who had helped Olivurn restore the empire.

Perhaps he was already... walking a different path from Azif.

“We march,” Luon declared in a low voice.

The die had been cast. With no way to turn back, they had no choice but to move forward, no matter the cost.

“At your command, Prince.”

Azif flipped his sword and bowed his head in response.

***

“Phew...”

Marze let out a tense sigh as he watched the busy movements of the imperial army.

Even combining the forces of both castles, we only have thirty thousand troops.

Not only were they outnumbered, but their sorcery units were woefully insufficient to deal with the imperial army, leaving them with almost no rear support.

Fighting them head-on instead of defending against a siege would be suicidal.

So stalling for time ends here...

The Twin Armor had successfully managed to hinder the movements of the imperial army by following Karyl’s plan of concentrating their forces around the moat. However, Luon’s suspicion hadn’t lasted long.

We were foolish. There's no way an S-rank dungeon could be conquered in just a day or two.

We have no choice but to withdraw our troops now...

Marze turned his head, sensing that Aben shared his thoughts. The latter nodded.

“The imperial army is preparing to advance. Defending is clearly the right call. What will you do?” Aben asked the vice captain of the Free Army.

“We will remain here. Our master ordered us to hold our ground.”

“Haha...”

Marze let out a low gasp at the unwavering response.

Are they brave or just reckless...? Do they really intend to face seventy thousand troops by themselves if we retreat?

The vice captain of the Free Army raised his hand.

Clang! Clang!

In response, the soldiers raised their spears and shields, forming a formation. Seeing their resolve, the two men’s gazes wavered.

“How shameful... We were about to abandon those who helped us just to save ourselves.”

“Yeah, I feel the same,” Marze replied as he adjusted his grip on his shield. “We've lived long enough. It’s not our lives we should be worried about.”

Aben also gripped his sword.

“It’s not a matter we can overlook, even if it’s just this once. If the gates of Twin Armor fall, the Three Kingdoms will never escape the empire’s subjugation.”

“HAAAAAA!!”

“WHAAAAA!!”

The roar of the imperial army echoed across the field.

“Soldiers of the Twin Armor!” Marze shouted in response to the enemy troops. “Get ready!”

Just as the critical moment approached, the ground reverberated with a deep rumble.

That was when it happened.

Oong...!

“...!!!”

All eyes turned in one direction.

“Wha... What is this...?!”

“No way...!?”

The empire’s advancing army halted their charge, and the soldiers of the Twin Armor stared in disbelief.

Just before the battle erupted, the massive dungeon vanished from the battlefield like a mirage.

***

With no hesitation, Karyl swung his sword at Minos’ neck. The cold blade severed the head cleanly, causing it to roll to the ground without a drop of blood.

The others were left in a daze by the scene.

At that moment, Karyl plunged Agnel into the fallen head once more. The blade, imbued with the flames of the Blazing King, released a fierce burst of steam as it pierced Minos’ severed head.

Unable to withstand the heat, the head exploded into fragments.

Karyl swept aside the monster's remains with his foot and looked up with an emotionless expression. Fierce flames and frost swirled around him as he scanned his surroundings.

With the disappearance of the labyrinth’s boss, the labyrinth itself had vanished like a mirage, replaced by the pungent smell of the battlefield.

The two armies, poised for battle, stared in shock at the remnants of the giant monster.

“Phew...”

Karyl exhaled softly in the middle of the battlefield, where tens of thousands of soldiers were gathered.

“Just in time”

“What... What’s going on?!?” Luon shouted frantically at Karyl’s sudden appearance.

Marze and Aben were equally astonished, but their shock was different from Luon’s outburst.

He really... succeeded.

They had the same thought as they stared at Karyl, both of them in sheer awe.

From the beginning, they had anticipated something extraordinary. Despite his youth, Karyl showed no signs of inexperience. Yet, the impact of seeing their expectations become reality was something they could only truly appreciate by witnessing it firsthand.

No, it’s more than that.

If there was a ranking of the strongest warriors, the pinnacle would undoubtedly be the five Sword Masters of the continent.

Is there anyone among them who reached this level at his age?

They felt that Karyl, despite his youth, exuded a more perfect dominance than anyone he had ever seen.

Marze felt his heart sink into his boots, a sensation he couldn’t quite comprehend. Despite knowing nothing of Karyl’s origins or background, he was overcome by an inexplicable emotion that even brought tears to his eyes.

I must have gone crazy...

The old knight, who had sworn lifelong loyalty to his kingdom, tried to deny the emotions he felt toward a man who wasn’t his king.

But seeing Karyl, bathed in the glow of the setting sun like a halo, Marze couldn’t help but clench his fist even harder.

Karyl walked slowly, followed by Beikan, Kinu Mukari, Viola, and Grace.

Without needing a command, the Free Army of a thousand troops matched his pace, moving away from the Twin Armor toward the much bigger imperial army

“Not yet, Luon,” Karyl said in a low voice, looking at the imperial army in front of him. “It’s too soon to be shocked.”

At that moment, the waters of the Fonein River behind the imperial army erupted like an explosion. The soldiers, startled by the sudden deluge, turned around in confusion.

“What the...?!”

“Why is this happening...?”

“Is it an enemy attack?!”

The vice captains hurriedly shouted orders amidst the chaos.

“Check the river immediately!”

“Rear troops, be ready to respond to an attack!”

Despite the brief confusion, the well-trained imperial army was quickly reorganizing itself, although they didn’t know it was futile.

Khraaa!!!

At that moment, a massive monster with sharp fangs slowly emerged from the depths of the river, glaring down at the soldiers.

“The Water King?!”

People gaped in disbelief at the sudden appearance of a sea serpent.

“Wasn’t the ruler of the Fonein River supposed to be dead? Damn it! You idiots! You didn’t even check properly!”

Luon ground his teeth in frustration. He had been relieved that they had crossed the ferocious Fonein River with ease, but now their escape route was blocked. However, it was too late for regrets.

“So what? It’s one monster! Even if the Water King is formidable, the seventy thousand troops of the imperial army can slay it. Azif, split the troops!”

“What?”

“The Twin Armor defenders won’t strike first. They’d rather we detour. We’ll slay the Water King and secure our rear.”

Luon’s voice brimmed with malice.

“Behead the Water King and secure the rear.”

Just then, as if mocking Luon’s resolve, enormous tentacles, unlike anything seen in the Fonein, erupted from the water and crashed onto the troops stationed along the river.

“Argh!”

“Ahhh!!”

The massive tentacles swept across the soldiers like a broom, trapping dozens in their suction cups and pulling them into the water.

“Ugh...!!”

“Ugh...!!!”

Only a few faint bubbles surfaced as the tentacles coiled and plunged the soldiers in the depths of the Fonein.

The other soldiers who were on ground were completely stunned by this sudden turn of events, and they could only stare blankly as their comrades drowned.

“What... what is that?”

The soldiers gazed at the river with terrified expressions. Among the floating corpses, the tentacles that had killed them moments ago emerged once more.

“Groaaar...!!”

The worst part was that there were many of them. One by one, massive tentacles, nearly the size of the sea serpent, emerged from the water. Swirling like whips, they ravaged through the soldiers still close to the sea serpent.

Something massive was causing the river to bubble violently. A gigantic eye, observing them from underwater, moved from side to side.

“No way...”

At that moment, the realization dawned on them. Those ten tendrils that had emerged from the river and pulled their comrades underwater were not actually tentacles, but the legs of a giant monster with that enormous eye.

“It can’t be... How...?”

As if they were witnessing something that wasn’t supposed to exist, the soldiers ran away while shouting, fear taking complete hold of them.

This couldn’t be real...

“How could the Sea King be in the Fonein River?”

“Is it here to capture us?”

“No way!!”

That low murmur spread like a plague, quickly filling the army of seventy thousand with terror.

Not one, but two monsters, considered the horrors of the continent, never allowing other powerful beings into their territory, were now here together to hunt them down.

“It’s still too early to be surprised, Luon. This is just the beginning,” Karyl sneered with satisfaction.

“Ah... Aaah!!”

“Save us!!”

The soldiers dropped their weapons one by one and scattered.

“Everyone, get a grip! Maintain formation!” Azif shouted. Despite having enhanced his voice with mana, it fell on deaf ears, as everyone was utterly horrified.

“Graaar...”

“Skreeee!!”

The soldiers fleeing from the riverbank froze in place, as if the roars of the sea serpent and the kraken had sapped them of strength, rendering them unable to move.

Crash! Boom—!

Crack...!

The Sea King opened its massive jaws, and the Kraken’s legs crashed onto the petrified soldiers.

“Unbelievable...”

“Monsters are fighting for us?”

It felt like a dream. Even seeing it with their own eyes, Marze and Aben couldn’t believe what was happening.

Then, in the midst of everyone’s shock, Karyl seized the moment.

“All forces..”

As he raised his Freezing Talon high above his head, not only the Free Army but also the soldiers of Twin Armor focused on him.

Karyl spoke in a low voice, but his words resonated more clearly with the soldiers than Azif’s previous shout.

“...Advance!”