[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]

Chapter 303: Are You That Good at Fighting?

“The Devas Fortress has fallen?”

[That is correct. The information is certain.]

I spoke while looking at Venion’s calm expression on the other side of the crystal ball.

“Then what happened to my brother?”

[He has retreated to a nearby mountain fortress and is currently surrounded.]

Hmm?

I felt that something was strange.

“What about the casualties? Did he not suffer great losses?”

[According to the report, that is the case.]

I crossed my arms and muttered.

“I feel like there’s a reason for this.”

Verdzig was not such an incompetent man.

“There must be an intention.”

Venion asked, as if to confirm his student’s opinion.

[What kind of intention do you believe it is?]

“Well, perhaps…”

I stated the most likely possibility.

“He might have realized that its structure was not suitable for defense. So he changed his strategy.”

Jeffrey, who was listening from the side, chimed in.

“That makes sense. It was a place that fell to the Second Young Master in an instant, so it might not have been easy to defend either.”

When I looked at Venion, demanding an answer, he grinned and said.

[Precisely.]

“The problem is how the enemy reacted to this strategy.”

I asked.

“What about Duke Montera?”

[After splitting off forces to lay siege, he is immediately heading south. It seems he will arrive at roughly the same time as you, Young Master.]

“…Ah.”

Venion and I laughed at the same time.

“We got played.”

[Indeed, you did.]

In terms of military power and influence, he might be lacking, but in strategic thinking, Verdzig was a cut above.

* * *

The Devas Fortress had a critical flaw from the beginning that made it unsuitable for a prolonged defense.

“Without water, there is no army.”

Verdzig said, looking at the army of Duke Montera besieging the mountain fortress.

“The wells were all dry, and the fortress relied on a small waterway. Defending it would have been the same as walking into a death trap.”

“That is right.”

Harald said.

“If the siege had lasted long, the enemy would have undoubtedly figured out the terrain and blocked the waterway.”

“If that had happened, we would have been dying of thirst, then forced to charge out of the fortress, only to be swallowed by the enemy’s encirclement and annihilated.”

Verdzig had realized this fact on the first day he entered the fortress.

“We are changing the strategy. Harald, Skella. You will scout for a new position to encamp before Duke Montera’s army arrives.”

The Eighth Prince pulling out an old map of the kingdom at that moment was incredibly timely.

“…If that is the case, there is an abandoned mountain fortress nearby.”

Under the new plan, Verdzig held out against the enemy’s offensive for three days.

Then, feigning being outnumbered, he quietly retreated under the cover of night.

“Hahaha! The greenhorn from Grunewald is retreating!”

“To think he would leave his house empty while we slept. The boy has a cute side to him.”

Duke Montera’s confidence was too immense for him to suspect that the retreat had another purpose.

This also meant that the grand strategy Verdzig had initially revealed had a sharp edge that even Duke Montera’s side could not easily ignore.

“You cannot foresee and predict everything from a desk.”

Verdzig recalled the grand strategy he had discussed with Allenvert.

“The wells may have gushed with water in the past, but now they are almost dry.”

“Yes. It is a fortress over 100 years old, and since the Montera clan had been guarding the north, there was no real need to maintain it.”

It was not so strange for waterways to change or for the terrain to shift during that time.

“Thus, real combat is always a series of variables. What is important is how one responds.”

“I, Harald, am once again in awe of the Young Master’s ability to improvise.”

Verdzig had retreated with his forces largely preserved.

And Duke Montera had left behind forces to besiege them and headed south.

This was because speed was of the utmost importance in reaching the royal capital.

“That impatience is a weakness that can be exploited.”

Rather than stubbornly defending an unfavorable fortress, Verdzig chose a strategy of letting the enemy pass and then seizing their rear to cut off their supplies.

“Tonight, we will break through the encirclement and attack the Devas Fortress.”

Verdzig said.

“The army will be divided in two.

The First Army will capture the fortress, and the Second Army will, in turn, encircle and annihilate those who come to relieve it.”

The military strategy was already complete in Verdzig’s mind.

“After that, we will leave most of the army behind and head south, pursuing Duke Montera from behind.”

If so, Duke Montera would be the one getting surrounded from the front and back.

“If Allenvert enters and defends the royal capital, and I strike from the outside, they will be annihilated on their own.”

“A truly great strategy.”

To Harald’s words, Verdzig shook his head.

“It cannot be called perfect. With the Third Prince and the Black Society lurking inside the castle, there is a possibility that Allen’s entry will not be easy.”

Of course…

“In that case, I will have to devise a different strategy.”

He was not a reckless gambler who bet everything on a single, ideal possibility.

* * *

“…Well, it would be a strategy something like this, wouldn’t it?”

Lady Siena was amazed after hearing my explanation.

“That is incredible.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Both the Second Young Master for preparing such a strategy immediately, and you, Young Master Allenvert, for seeing through it so clearly from afar.”

“That is, hmm.”

Does it come across that way again?

“If this is the case, we too must pay attention to our speed.”

Ulbhild said.

“You are right, sister.”

“The best thing would be to enter the capital before Duke Montera.”

Rudgarda responded to Knut’s mutter.

“If we fail, we might have to engage in a pitched battle with Duke Montera.”

“Correct. And then the Third Prince’s forces will attack us.”

“That is…”

Jeffrey clicked his tongue.

“It is complicated in many ways. It is difficult to see even one step ahead.”

“That is why we must first focus on what we have to do.”

I said.

“An interception could come as early as today. To stop or delay our landing.”

“Ah!”

It was the shadow agent, Regeron, who reassured the surprised Jeffrey.

“Our scouts and those of the Webern clan are watching closely, so a surprise attack will not be easy, for the most part.”

It was at that very moment.

“Is that so? It was not that difficult.”

“!!!!!”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards the top of the mast.

An old swordsman was looking down at us with arrogant eyes.

“No, since when?”

“Is it an enemy attack?”

It was truly astonishing that none of us had noticed the man’s presence.

“Who the fuck is this bastard?”

Ghir, who had been sleeping as if he could not care less what we were talking about, was the first to get up.

“And who are you?”

I already knew the answer to that question.

‘…Ivan.’

Why is that bastard showing up here again?

“It is Ivan! A top executive of the Black Society!”

Regeron shouted.

“That man is an 8th tier swordsman. Everyone, be caref…”

But those words only served to fuel a psycho like Ghir.

“Haha! Is that right? Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Ghir shot out first, and Knut followed right behind him.

“…Step back.”

As Ivan simply uttered those words, a single sword danced.

Ghir could not even enter Ivan’s range.

Swoosh!

The price for barely blocking the slash with his dagger was being sent flying, breaking the ship’s railing, while Knut’s sturdy body-protecting art was pierced through, and blood spurted out.

Splurt!

“No!”

They were both martial artists at the late 6th tier or higher.

The top masters of Eisenach and Svaltalfar, and geniuses of fist techniques and assassination arts respectively.

“To be defeated so easily.”

It was no wonder that those watching were horrified.

“You fiend!”

This time, Ulbhild’s ice prison and Rudgarda’s slash descended upon Ivan from the front and back.

“Hmm.”

The moment of the draw was not even visible, but a slash that shot out from Ivan’s body cut both of their attacks cleanly in half.

“How annoying.”

Ivan’s slash, as he landed lightly on the deck, aimed for Ulbhild.

Zing!

“Be careful!”

Siena, who had hastily intervened, deployed a defensive technique.

“Black Dragon Scale Lock Armor!”

As far as I knew, it was the strongest defensive technique, but it could not withstand even a single light slash from Ivan and was pierced.

Kaaaaang!

Only after Siena and Ulbhild drew their swords and blocked it simultaneously were they able to dissipate the slash.

“No, this is…”

The dumbfounded Siena muttered.

“The difference in class is too great.”

Even for Siena, who had already faced Gelberich’s Blood Forest Abyss Art, Ivan’s martial prowess was in a completely different world.

“Everyone, back off! That bastard is just a monster!”

Zamuel, crossing the deck with a strange footwork, pressed Ivan with the Karzan-style swordplay.

“Is that you, Zamuel? Why are you here?”

“That is my question for you!”

“True enough.”

Ivan, glancing lightly in my direction as if it was no big deal, easily dismantled the Karzan-style swordplay that Zamuel had developed.

“For seventeen years, just how many mock battles do you think I have fought against this sword style?”

Clang!

Zamuel’s sword broke, and he was struck on the collarbone with the spine of the blade.

Zamuel collapsed on the spot.

“Keuk.”

“Karzan’s sword was still incomplete. And you do not have the sword talent to complete it.”

Ivan said coldly, but in truth, the sword that Zamuel wielded had already far surpassed the level I had reached back then.

‘Crazy bastard.’

It was just that that bastard was ridiculously strong.

I had felt it when I crossed a blow with Venion before, but an 8th-tier powerhouse had a vast gap in power compared to the 6th and 7th tier opponents I had been squabbling with.

“Damn it, do not be arrogant!”

The recovered Ghir and Knut, Ulbhild and Rudgarda, and even Siena attacked Ivan simultaneously.

The scene that unfolded from then on was truly horrifying.

‘…It’s just hopeless.’

The so-called masters and geniuses were all knocked down without being able to put up much of a fight.

‘This is the 8th tier.’

The difference in skill between the two sides was so stark that it made the gap between the 7th and 6th tiers look like child’s play.

Watching the scene, I thought of my father, and Leszek. Especially the Sword Aura and Sword Orb, the Sword Control and Mind Sword levels that Leszek displayed.

‘How close has Ivan come to that level?’

The Sword Aura was a certainty.

I would have to amplify my power with the Dark Star and compress it as much as possible with the Ink Soul Sacred Shadow Technique just to be able to compare with the strength of that Sword Aura.

“…He’s fucking strong.”

I slowly stepped forward before Ivan could completely break their joint attack.

“Ivan. What business does the absolute master who looks like a pimple growing on the Dark King’s right arm have here?”

Ivan, whose stern expression almost crumbled at my sudden profanity, held back a hollow laugh and said.

“Allenvert Grunewald.”

“Your business is with me, right?”

“It is.”

Ivan pointed his sword at me.

“If you do not want this entire ship to be destroyed, follow me.”

“What?”

“That’s absurd…”

I raised my hand to stop the people who were protesting.

“That would be for the best. This ship is too weak for us to fight with our full power.”

“Young Master!”

“Allen, but…”

“This man is a powerhouse capable of bypassing all our security and infiltrating. In a word, he is on a different level.”

In other words.

“The fact that our ship and forces are still intact means that this man has shown us great favor.”

“The Young Master is right about that.”

Zamuel, who knew of my relationship with Ivan, spoke up.

“If he intended to assassinate, there would have been no need to show up like this. I do not know what it is, but it might be right to give them a place to speak alone.”

‘Well done, Zamuel.’

As expected of someone who had served as my right-hand man for a long time, his ability to chime in at the right time was no small feat.

“My thoughts are the same as Zamuel’s, so do not worry too much.”

I turned my head.

“Ivan.”

I said with a solemn air.

“Are you that good at fighting? Follow me to the riverbank.”

[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]