The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 117: Preparing for the Imperial War Before the War of Sovereignty

“Hmm...”

It was a sunny afternoon, with a cool breeze blowing in contrast to the southern heat. The pleasant sound of leaves rustling in the wind could be heard occasionally.

Inside the room, a person was breathing steadily, his chest rising and falling in a regular rhythm as he slept.

“...!!”

But that didn’t last long. The person lying on the bed suddenly threw off the blanket and sat up abruptly, shattering the peaceful silence within the room.

“Cough...!! Cough!!”

He coughed painfully, a handful of blood spilling from his mouth. His head was throbbing, and his whole body felt weak. But despite that, Randol tried to muster the strength to get out of bed.

“You should stop. All your muscles are destroyed. It looks like you’ve used a power beyond your limits.”

Randol turned his head in surprise, and as he did so, an excruciating pain surged through him, causing him to collapse onto the floor.

“Hah... It was better when you were asleep.”

The person sitting on the chair besides the bed sighed as they watched Randol struggle and helped him up. As soon as their hand touched him, a warm breeze enveloped Randol, lifting him gently as if the wind was carrying him.

“What... happened to me?”

Randol noticed that the fingers holding his shoulder were slender and extremely pale. It was a woman’s hand.

“Oh, are you asking me that now? You don’t seem to remember anything.”

It was a delicate voice. Initially, Randol hadn’t noticed because of the pain, but her voice had a peculiar resonance, like a unique melody.

...Is she an elf?

Randol doubted his eyes. Everyone knew that elves were extinct. He looked at the woman in front of him in disbelief.

“Everyone else is dead. You’re the only one who survived.”

Her words brought him back to reality.

“...”

Randol rubbed his eyes a few times. Her long ears, which he had thought were those of an elf, were now normal, and her striking white eyes had turned into beautiful blue ones. She was not an elf, just a woman as beautiful as one.

This is crazy... Am I seeing things now? Randol sighed at the thought.

“That’s your sword, right?”

She pointed to the Flamberge leaning against the wall. Seeing the flame locked in its scabbard, memories of that day came rushing back.

Screams echoed in his ears. The vivid images of the people he respected being mercilessly cut down by the enemy surged through his mind.

That guy...

Randol unwittingly gritted his teeth. The enemy had slaughtered his comrades despite being around his age... More than that, his swordsmanship had been overwhelming. The mere thought of him made Randol tremble with goosebumps.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“Well, over a month. Maybe two?”

“What?!”

Randol was shocked by how much time had passed.

“It’s a good thing. If you hadn’t been lying there, you wouldn’t have recovered. You would’ve crossed the river with your comrades.”

Randol gulped, realizing that she wasn’t referring to a literal river.

“Let’s hear it. Judging by your body, you have the skills of a knight. But your injuries were extraordinary.”

She held up two fingers in front of Randol.

“The one who did this to you is at least two levels above you. And they would have gotten even stronger while you were lying there.”

“...”

“Tell me what happened that day.”

“...”

Randol began to speak slowly. He recounted what had happened at the Abyssal Rock, the purple lightning he had seen for the first time, the speed and strength of the enemy, and the overwhelming despair he had felt.

He didn’t know why he was telling this to a woman he had just met.

“You got hurt trying to obtain the Clear Distilled Water. Serves you right. The Clear Distilled Water is a mineral allowed only to those chosen by dragons during the Magical Era. Unless you’re one of the Seven Elders, like Allen Javius, not even a Blader can touch it.”

Her gaze was cold.

“Human greed knows no bounds.” The woman sighed softly.

“A Blader? What’s that?” Randol asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar term.

“You don’t need to know. Those people were phantoms, their presence not recorded by history,” she explained indifferently.

“How did I end up here? Did you... save me?” Randol realized he didn’t even know her name.

“No, someone carried you to me, more dead than alive. They asked me to heal you, leaving expensive magical materials behind.”

She pointed to the nearby table, on which was a bag containing a half-destroyed red elemental stone.

“Do you know what that is? It’s a top-grade Red Stone. I don’t know where they got it, but not even the emperor can easily get his hands on one.”

Despite being broken, it was clear that the Red Stone had eight facets. Randol gazed down at himself, astonished.

“Without it, you would’ve been crippled for life.”

“How...”

Who could have saved Randol and given such an invaluable stone to ensure he could still walk? He couldn’t remember. His last memory was being struck down by the purple sword aura.

“There are many mysteries in the world. Just know that you were very lucky.”

“...”

“The important thing is this.”

She picked up two swords from the table. Both were thin, somewhere between a longsword and a rapier.

“Don’t you want revenge?”

“...What?”

“Don’t you want to get stronger and take revenge on the one who did this to you and your comrades?”

Randol’s eyes flickered at her words.

“Can I... get stronger?”

He didn’t understand why he was telling these things to a stranger. Maybe it was because he had faced such a strong opponent. Or maybe... He instinctively knew the woman in front of him was powerful. He could feel a prickling killing intent emanating from her the moment she picked up the swords.

“You can get stronger.”

Her words sent shivers down Randol’s spine. Unlike the overwhelmingly destructive aura of his enemy, her aura felt like a carefully honed dagger, piercing him. He hadn’t felt this even from Nareel, the deputy commander of the Ryeo Knights.

This was an opportunity, and he felt he had to seize it.

“...Depending on what you do. Those who brush against death become stronger.” She shrugged lightly. “I can help you.”

“Why... me?” Randol asked.

She flashed him a mysterious smile before finally saying, “Milliana.”

With that, she swung the two swords in the air, the sharp sound cutting through the silence.

“That’s my name.”

Her introduction left Randol in a daze, causing him to forget his earlier question and stare at her in astonishment.

***

This will do.

Karyl walked through the palace corridors, glancing at the distinct handprint on his wrist with a bitter smile. If there had been just a little more force, it might have broken. He looked at the serene palace surroundings, remembering how close he had come to never being able to gaze at this scenery ever again.

“Digon...? You mean Randol is there?” Kuwell asked with a bewildered expression after hearing that unexpecting name.

“Yes.”

“How do you know that?”

“I told you I was in Tatur.”

Kuwell MacGovern unclenched his fists at Karyl’s words.

“Being in the north, you may not know, but there are rumors that the Digon tribe is allied with the empire.”

“Are you saying the empire has allied with barbarians?”

“That’s something that you, a noble, could verify more accurately than I can.”

Kuwell’s face darkened at his words. The Blue Knights were stationed at the northern border of the empire, far from the south. Moreover, the emperor had temporarily suspended the southern subjugation to stabilize internal affairs after the northern expedition.

Some knights were dissatisfied, but Kuwell couldn’t complain to the emperor, as the southern subjugation had been paused because of his northern campaign.

Even if it’s technically feasible, the Blue Knights, having just returned from the north, can’t move. Other knight orders must be mobilized...

The military forces were already divided among the princes; there was a thin balance, and the fact that they were keeping each other in check made any movement difficult.

If I move now, it will weaken Prince Olivurn’s power, already diminished by the loss of the Ryeo Knights...

Kuwell was Olivurn’s main military force. For the Blue Knights, or rather himself, to move freely, Prince Olivurn needed protection from Prince Luon’s threats. Ironically, the protector had to be the emperor.

So the way to do it is to help concentrate power back on the emperor.

Kuwell looked at Karyl with a stern expression. The timing of the emperor’s recovery after the annihilation of the Ryeo Knights seemed too perfect.

And... His sixth son too.

How much are you involved in this, Karyl? Kuwell looked at him with anxious eyes and sighed softly.

“Phew... I’m sorry. When I think about it, you’ve done nothing wrong. You deserve praise. Normally, I would commend you in front of the officials.”

He gazed at Karyl’s mask.

“But the color of your eyes and hair reveal that you’re an outsider.”

Karyl nodded, but despite what Kuwell was saying, his eyes, concealed by the mask, were magically changed to brown.

Actually, I didn’t want you to find out who I am. Unlike Randol, you needed to know this time.

“...Is life there okay?”

Kuwell finally asked about Karyl’s well-being. Behind the mask, Karyl smiled bitterly.

“It’s fine. Many tribes live there. You know that place suits me better than the empire.”

“...”

“During the Magical Era, people weren’t distinguished by their magical abilities. Even now, tribes like Digon in the south wield power equivalent to a nation without magic.”

Karyl rotated his stiff wrist as he passed Kuwell.

“Such a world isn’t bad, is it?”

Although appearing understanding, Kuwell firmly responded, “The Magic Era eventually came to an end.” He wore the face of a knight, not a father’s.

“Are you denying an era of equality, Father?”

“No, I’m just acknowledging the present. The Magic Era had its problems. Otherwise, it would have continued until now.”

He was a man of firm beliefs. Karyl didn’t dislike him for that. Even though he knew Kuwell would choose a different path from his own.

“Karyl, this is the first time you’ve called me father.”

“...”

“Even if the world isn’t equal, at least I am to you.”

Kuwell handed the emblem of the Blue Knights, which he had received from the emperor, back to Karyl.

“You and Randol are both my sons.”

At that moment, Karyl’s shoulder trembled slightly.

“That’s why I will not forgive the one who did this to Randol.”

The anger and killing intent he felt from behind Karyl’s mask were palpable.

Thud—

The heavy sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor.

“...”

Karyl said nothing, only staring coldly at the emblem Kuwell had given him.

Me too.

Then, he walked toward a different exit from the one Kuwell had taken.

“Master, where to next?”

Karyl lifted his head, pulled from his memories by someone’s voice. At the end of the palace corridor, Aidan, dressed neatly and behaving courteously, bowed to greet him.

“What about the Three Kingdoms?” Karyl replied with a slight smile.

“Plan B is nearly complete. Eighty percent of the nobles’ wealth from the three nations is already mortgaged to Tatur. Dushala was delighted to carry out your orders, saying it was what she did best.”

Karyl chuckled softly, thinking of the gold coins piled in Tatur’s warehouse.

“Yes.”

The war for imperial power... will be the first bloody storm to sweep across the continent.

Karyl stepped out.

I won’t let the flames rise.

The empire was bustling with the emperor’s return, the principality was ablaze with the war between Fran and Tuli, and the treasuries of the Three Kingdoms, recklessly competing for elemental stones because to Dushala’s schemes, were unknowingly being emptied by their incompetent nobles.

Just like before, they’re doomed by the mines.

The difference was that, unlike before, Karyl would absorb their power instead of engaging in a deadly war.

If I wanted, I could have taken the Three Kingdoms earlier.

But he waited. Everything was happening as he had planned.

At this opportunity, I would strike the Three Kingdoms, the principality, and the empire.

His strategy was to preserve as many people and power as possible for the greatest war to come.

All-in-one sweep.

“We’re returning to Tatur,” Karyl told Aidan.

Even in this seemingly peaceful time, Karyl was waging war alone. From the Abyssal Rock until now, he had never loosened the reins.