The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 365: Reinforcements

“Charge...!!”

Kuwell MacGovern led the Blue Knights up the hill.

“Stop them!” Randol shouted in response.

Bang!! Crash...!!

The clash of steel echoed all around. It quickly became apparent that the Free Army, led by Randol, was no match for the Blue Knights, with Kuwell at the forefront.

“Support Randol!!”

Ganeth, who was at the rear, leapt forward with his halberd in hand.

Whirrr...!!

The Mana Blade, charged with the power of lightning, cut through the air as it descended toward Kuwell.

Bang–!!

However, Kuwell took Ganeth’s attack head-on, not slowing down one bit.

“...!!!”

Ganeth looked on in disbelief as Kuwell stood completely motionless—but that was only for a moment, as he swiftly twisted his Yulestern against Ganeth’s halberd, driving it down with even greater force.

“Urgh?!”

Ganeth staggered against the counter. He tried to muster all his strength, circling behind Kuwell to choke him with the shaft of his halberd.

Thud—!! Crack!

Riding his galloping horse, Kuwell rammed his elbow into Ganeth’s side, leaving a visible crack in his armor.

“Step aside, Ganeth,” Kuwell muttered in a low voice.

It was a warning.

“As a knight, you should know that’s not going to happen.”

“And you should know you’re no match for me.”

That was the extent of their exchange. Kuwell struck Ganeth’s halberd with his palm.

Clang! freёnovelkiss.com

With a sharp metallic sound, Ganeth’s arms were flung upward as if in surrender. At the same time, Kuwell twisted on his horse and swung Yulstern horizontally.

“Tch!”

Ganeth tried to parry, but Yulstern reached his waist before he could pull his halberd back.

Screech!

The sword pierced through the crack in the armor, cutting into Ganeth’s waist.

“...Ugh!!”

Although Ganeth was using protective magic, Kuwell’s strength made it feel as though he hadn’t cast any spells at all.

As Ganeth staggered, Kuwell swung the scabbard in his other hand, smashing it into his head.

Thud—!

With a dull sound, the strike shattered his helmet, sending him off his horse.

Rumble...!!!

Ganeth rolled over, but he managed to steady himself by plunging his halberd into the ground.

Thud!!

He flicked the blade of the halberd, shifting it upright to turn the weapon into a spear. Wiping the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, he readied himself.

“Hraaa...!”

Ganeth swung his spear in a wide arc, meeting Kuwell’s charge head-on.

Swoooosh...!

The spear sliced through the air, its sharp tip cutting through the backs of the Blue Knights.

“Agh!!”

“Nooo...!!”

The spear cut through their screams, felling five or six more soldiers before reaching for Kuwell.

“Stop it...!!”

Randol dashed along the canyon wall, aiming to cut off Kuwell's path. But the moment he shouted, Kuwell spun around, deflecting the blade aimed at his back with his sword. In the same motion, he snatched the spear’s shaft.

“...”

Without hesitation, Kuwell swung the halberd over his head and, without losing speed, hurled it straight ahead.

“...Ugh!!!”

The massive blade spun like a boomerang and struck Randol’s waist. Unable to withstand the halberd’s weight, Randol was sent flying into the wall, only stopping when the halberd embedded itself there.

“Ghaaaahh...!!” A scream of agony tore from him as he collapsed, impaled. The halberd had nearly split him in two. As he lifted his left arm, blood sprayed from the stump like a fountain. Just before the halberd had struck his waist, it had severed his left hand, the blade’s edge infused with Kuwell’s mana.

“I can’t believe this...” Thompson, the leader of the sorcery unit, muttered in disbelief. Kuwell had quickly incapacitated both Ganeth, a Sword Master, and Randol, a warrior of comparable skill.

“Hey, find his severed hand! All sorcerers capable of freezing magic, follow me!!”

Though briefly stunned by Kuwell’s overwhelming display of power, Thompson quickly came to his senses. He scrambled down from the top of the canyon, casting a healing spell on Randol’s waist.

“Cough... Cough...”

“...”

But not even Thompson could muster the courage to pull the halberd out of Randol. He could only stomp his feet in frustration.

“Call for the medics! We need to move him at once! You, take care of Sir Ganeth!!”

The sorcerers hurriedly tended to Randol, but the fact that they were here now meant that Kuwell’s Blue Knights had broken through and were heading for the hill.

“Raise the flag!!” Kuwell shouted as he secured the central hill at the top of the canyon, channeling his mana.

Fweeeeep—!!!!

The flag fluttered high above, accompanied by a sharp whistle echoing across the battlefield.

“So in the end... they managed to push us back. It can’t be helped. Spear tribe, retreat! Regroup at the rear to hold back the empire’s forces!!”

Kayla Spear, seeing the flag at the top of the hill, quickly ordered her troops to withdraw. Any further delay would increase the risk of being flanked by Kuwell’s forces positioned at the rear.

“The Free Army is retreating toward the hill!!”

“Don’t let them escape! The enemy will converge on the Blue Knights. All units, attack!!” Tiren shouted upon hearing the scout’s report, clenching his fist.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Watching the Free Army converge on Kuwell, Martte realized that Tiren’s plan to use Kuwell as bait had succeeded, though the victory brought him no joy.

“I trust Father, you know...” Tiren murmured, almost as if offering an excuse.

“...”

Martte made no response. He merely drew his sword and charged ahead of the knights.

* * *

“The hill has been breached in the end. He’s quite the man, even cutting off his own son’s hand for the sake of the empire. That’s a knight for you.”

“Hmm, but he didn’t finish off Sir Ganeth and Randol... Perhaps he’s not as cold-hearted as he seems.”

Despite losing the hill, Dushala and Anthem didn’t seem particularly concerned.

“Maybe that’s the weakness we can exploit,” Anthem Howard mused, a sharp glint of anticipation in his eyes. “Proceed with the plan.”

His subordinates nodded and moved swiftly in perfect coordination.

* * *

“The enemy is retreating!!”

“We’ve won!!”

“Waaaahhh...!!”

“That’s right...!!”

After securing the central hill of the canyon and confirming the retreat of the Spear tribe and the sorcerer unit of the Ulkas Guild, the imperial troops erupted in cheers. Though they had suffered heavy losses, having successfully secured a foothold to advance one step closer to Tatur was enough to boost their morale.

Ghraaaaa...!!

As they planted the flag to establish a base at the top of the hill, the silhouette of a massive dragon with platinum wings appeared in the distance, flying toward them.

“It’s the Guardian Dragon!!”

“They’re finished now!!”

Despite the majestic aura of the dragon, flaunting its silvery scales, there was an unmistakable sense of rage in its demeanor. The soldiers on the frontline, unaware of the earlier clash with Karyl, could only react with a mix of awe and terror at the sight of the roaring Platinum Dragon.

“That’s terrifying, alright...”

“You’ve fought a Red Dragon in the marquisate, right? How does this compare?”

“It would be disrespectful to even make the comparison. I’ve heard stories from the lord... but I never imagined that dragon could be this overwhelming.”

“In that case, the strategy is simple. The fact that the Platinum Dragon has shown itself means there’s still distance between him and the rear forces. For now, the main imperial force will position itself on the hill and block the Fonein, and the dragon will attack.”

“Once the third wave of reinforcements joins, the imperial invasion will begin.”

“How long you reckon until then?”

“Within three days, I’d say,” Anthem said.

With that, the atmosphere among the commanders gathered in Tatur’s war room grew heavy.

“We’ve inflicted over ten thousand casualties. Although we’ve pulled back the frontlines, this is not a defeat,” Dushala argued, attempting to raise everyone’s spirits.

“...”

Ganeth Avelant clenched his fists as he gazed at the distant silhouette of Narh Di Maug, who would soon sweep across the battlefield to unleash destruction.

“...Tell the Wyvern Squadron to prepare for takeoff.”

“Yes, sir!” One of the soldiers outside the door saluted and quickly ran down the corridor.

Swoooosh...!!

At his command, the wyverns stationed along Tatur’s walls spread their wings and ascended vertically into the sky.

“I’ll go buy us some time.”

“No, you won’t. The Wyvern Squadron doesn’t stand a chance against the Platinum Dragon.” Anthem Howard stepped in front of Ganeth, preventing him from taking off.

“But no one else can stall him. We need to buy two days... or at least a day until reinforcements from the Immortal Council and the principality arrive.”

Perhaps it was guilt that spurred Ganeth to take such a drastic measure—despite being a Sword Master himself, he hadn’t even managed to slow Kuwell down, let alone stop him. He seemed willing to put everything on the line, out of a sense of duty.

“Reinforcements are coming soon. They’ve already set out,” Dushala intervened, gently placing her hand on his shoulder.

Ganeth looked at her in astonishment; he hadn’t expected such a dainty-looking woman to have such a strong grip.

Dushala flashed a smile through her veil and lightly waved a small piece of paper.

“...What?”

It was a report from the northern lands across the strait.

* * *

Rumble...

The unfamiliar sound of an engine echoed from deep underground.

“Who would've thought a place like this existed? Those gnomes really are unbelievable. Excellent! Good thing we came through the north, eh?”

A deep voice reverberated through the underground cavern.

“Are you feeling alright? You were basically half-dead.”

“I’m managing. If you’d left me there in that snowfield, I would’ve kicked the bucket for sure.”

“I did consider leaving you there for a moment.”

“Haha... You asshole.”

Hearing Gordon Fabian’s coarse laughter, Jaygun Luke felt oddly at ease.

“So was this the kid’s plan, or yours, Captain? When you fell off the airship, I really thought you were done for. But now, looking back... Did you actually jump off the ship on purpose? What did you talk about down there?” Jaygun asked with a hint of indifference.

Gordon was piloting the airship out of the canyon. He couldn’t possibly guess what was going through Jaygun’s mind.

“Who knows. Whether it was luck or a plan, one thing is certain—something spectacular is about to happen.” Gordon turned and smiled at him.

“Reporting in. The power core engine has been activated.”

“What’s the output?”

“Based on the test runs, output has increased by approximately 230 percent. With further addition of elemental stones, we estimate it could reach up to 250 percent.”

“Haha...”

“That’s incredible.”

Hearing the report, Jaygun Luke’s lips twitched.

“Technically, it’s three times more. Your subordinates leave much to be desired,” Calypson complained. “If I had more time to dismantle the airship, I could increase the output even further.”

“This will do. I’ll ask properly later. You old gnome, I can’t believe you’ve processed a neutral elemental stone to this level and turned it into a power core for the airship... I admit, you’re the real deal.”

“I’ve already delivered the prototype to Karyl. He must’ve deemed it feasible to make a power core for the airship, which is why he left the rest to you.”

“Whether it was planned from the start or not... either way, what you’ve created is a monster of a thing.”

“It wasn’t me but Karyl who did it. He’s been developing the mana mine for years just to synthesize elemental stones. If the Three Kingdoms of Istria had been left alone, they’d still be chipping away at the rocks in that mine,” Calypson said nonchalantly.

“No, I’m not talking about the power core.”

“Hmm...?”

“The kid must have given me the power core for that reason. He knew the airship would head to Tatur via the strait, so he made sure you were prepared. It’s a message to transport that thing to the front lines.”

“If you understand, then make sure you deliver.”

Gordon broke the cast wrapped around his arm and pointed forward.

“Didn’t you think I might just take the power core and betray you?”

“Well, that would be its own matter. If Karyl thought so, then we’d simply follow his orders.”

Calypson’s response prompted a chuckle from Gordon.

“By the way, I heard that crafting the core for that golem is impossible, even with the blueprints. Yet you’ve managed to replicate it.”

“As much as I’d love to take credit for that, I’m not the one who made it,” Calypson corrected with a bitter smile.

“Hmm? Then who was it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. As soon as they finished refining the core’s elemental stones, they moved straight to the front lines where Karyl is.”

The gnome shrugged slightly, as if he could say no more.

“Well, fine. That’s not my concern. The contract was delayed, but the kid will deliver on his promise faster than the emperor, so I’ll keep the order. I’ll make sure it’s delivered. Honestly, I’m curious if it lives up to its name.”

Everyone’s eyes turned in the direction he pointed.

“Dragon Slayer...” Gordon Fabian murmured as he stared at the golem looming before them. The thing exuded an unbelievable sense of power.

It was the ultimate battle golem, finally completed a thousand years after its conception in the Magical Era.

Ascalon.