The Return of the Limited-Time Sword Master

Chapter 128: The Beginning of Turmoil (3)

A little over a month had passed since the Second Prince, Theodore Altaria, had declared his support for the Klaus family’s independence.

In the meantime, the First Prince, Richard Altaria, had rallied his forces.

He then began his advance toward Fort Spät, which was situated at the border between the West and the South.

However, there were no knights or soldiers from the Ferdinand family among his forces.

Only Jurgen Ferdinand, who had been assigned as his advisor by Karl von Ferdinand, accompanied him.

“There’s no need to display support from the Ferdinand family in our very first battle, is there, Uncle?”

“I agree. Besides, Your Highness has reached the level of 8 circles, correct? I’ll be watching from the rear, so today, show your full strength.”

“I’d like to do that… though I’m not sure if the enemy will give us the chance.”

Richard replied with a bitter smile at Jurgen’s words.

He kept his gaze fixed on Fort Spät ahead.

Built on a high, rugged mountain, the fortress was as formidable as any ironclad stronghold.

Soldiers on the walls aimed their magic rifles and cannons down at Richard’s forces, while knights stood ready to fend off anyone attempting to breach the walls.

In the rear, the enemy mages gathered mana, waiting for the command to unleash large-scale spells the moment the order was given.

Ideally, one would avoid attacking an enemy so well-prepared, but that wasn’t an option now.

The first battle—this initial skirmish—would set the tone for the war to come.

To inspire confidence in his allies and supporters, he needed to take the fortress through an honorable fight.

“Forward, all forces!”

With resolve, Richard raised his voice.

In response, the lords commanding each unit shouted in powerful voices.

“Advance!”

“Glory to the Altaria Empire!”

“Long live His Majesty, the Emperor!”

As the order rang out, the trumpeters sounded their horns.

Using this as a signal, Richard charged forward, his footsteps pounding against the earth.

The lords and knights followed closely, and the infantry, clutching their magic rifles, sprinted with all their might.

Boom! Boom!

In the rear, artillery operators fired, launching beams of blue light from the cannon barrels.

The mages accompanying them cast their prepared spells.

Naturally, the enemy didn’t stand idle.

Boom! Boom!

The magic cannons from the fortress thundered, unleashing fierce torrents of blue light.

If those blasts hit their mark, heavy casualties were inevitable.

“Not on my watch.”

Richard extended his left hand.

A black sphere the size of a fist shot forward at high speed.

Kwoooom!

The sphere rapidly expanded, absorbing all incoming attacks from the fortress.

Some of his own side’s attacks were also absorbed, but Richard paid it no mind.

Minimizing his own forces’ casualties was enough for now.

“His Highness is shielding you from enemy fire! Do not fear—charge forward!”

“It’s time to crush the traitors and prove that justice is on our side!”

“Hurrah!”

Invigorated by Richard’s prowess, the soldiers climbed the mountain with loud cheers.

At the forefront, Richard pressed on.

Then, suddenly—

Kuuung!

A loud rumbling echoed as the fortress gates swung open.

Dozens of soldiers rushed out.

Richard felt a surge of confusion at the sight.

‘What is this?’

In a siege, the defending side always held the advantage.

With the high and fortified defenses, it was only natural.

Why abandon that advantage and come out to fight? Even though they were few in number, this defied all common sense.

“Die, Richard Altaria!”

“For the South’s cause, we bring you death!”

Every single soldier had their eyes set on Richard alone.

They radiated a reckless determination, as if they didn’t care if they perished so long as they took him with them.

But as Richard looked at them, his mind grew clouded with suspicion.

‘Are they really sacrificing trained soldiers like this?’

All the soldiers in front of him had reached the level of 2 circles, essentially the equivalent of junior knights.

In any army, these soldiers would serve as leaders of ten or even a hundred, and raising them to this level required vast resources and time.

However, no matter what these soldiers did, they wouldn’t be able to bring down Richard, who had attained the level of 8 circles.

Charging at him like this was nothing short of suicide, and they surely knew it.

So why make such a reckless choice?

As it turned out, the answer was obvious.

It was simply the worst possible outcome.

Flash!

The bodies of two soldiers charging at Richard glowed bright red.

Their entire forms swelled and then exploded.

Flesh, bone fragments, and every piece of their bodies turned into lethal shards hurtling toward Richard.

Startled, he quickly deployed Gravitational Domination, deflecting the blast and all incoming debris.

“Ugh!”

A pained groan escaped his lips.

Despite his rapid response, he had been just a fraction too slow.

As a result, he was caught in the blast, sustaining injuries, with his right arm now covered in blood.

Though this wound didn’t prevent him from continuing the fight, the real problem was that he’d lost the upper hand.

“Die, Richard Altaria!”

“If I have to, I’ll take you with me!”

The soldiers continued to throw themselves at Richard.

This time, he swiftly countered and knocked them back.

But he couldn’t rest easy yet.

While Richard’s attention was momentarily diverted, the remaining enemy soldiers targeted the others in his forces.

“Get lost, dogs of the West!”

“How long will you keep thinking you’re the best?!”

“Come join us in hell!”

The fortress soldiers charged at the lords, knights, and other commanders.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Aaaargh!”

“Screaagh!”

Though many had managed to respond properly, a significant number had not.

Those who couldn’t react fell with horrifying screams, their bodies left in a gruesome state.

The grisly deaths of the commanders dealt a severe blow to Richard’s army’s morale.

“Attack! Don’t leave a single one of those Western scum alive!”

“For the eternal glory of the Klaus family and the South!”

A relentless barrage followed: mages cast large-scale spells, cannons fired, and soldiers unleashed rapid shots from their magic rifles.

Even Richard couldn’t cover the entire battlefield, and as a result, casualties mounted exponentially.

‘If I press on, I can break through…’

If he charged forward with full force, even joined by Jurgen Ferdinand, victory wouldn’t be impossible.

But this approach would come with catastrophic losses.

In a drawn-out campaign with no clear end in sight, could he afford to lose his main forces here?

It was a scenario he couldn’t allow.

Richard made his decision quickly and shouted with a booming voice.

“All troops, fall back! Retreat!”

He strained his voice, deflecting attacks directed at his soldiers as best as he could.

With Richard holding the rear, he successfully led his forces in a safe retreat.

But there was no satisfaction in this outcome.

The reality was that they had retreated from the opening battle, and news of this would spread across the Empire.

As a result, the morale of everyone aligned with the Klaus family and the South surged.

—

Richard wasn’t the only one who had tasted defeat.

Claudia, along with the faction supporting the First Princess, had clashed with Theodore’s faction, the supporters of the Second Prince, in the Free City of Akela.

The result was devastating.

The First Princess’s forces suffered tremendous casualties and retreated, leaving Akela to fall back under the control of the Marquis Royce faction.

“I’m sorry, acting head. It’s my fault that we lost Akela…”

Claudia bowed her head, looking visibly downcast.

However, Martin interrupted her.

“Taking responsibility can wait. Right now, it’s more important to analyze the reasons for our defeat. I heard reports of people exploding in the midst of battle. I’d like you to elaborate. That phenomenon seems to have been a decisive factor in both Your Highness’s defeat and Prince Richard’s.”

“You’re right, acting head. During the battle, some of them would suddenly explode of their own accord. The power… it was truly terrifying. And it wasn’t just the firepower; every fragment of their bodies turned into deadly projectiles that struck our soldiers.”

“If just the explosions were enough to shock us, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to deal with a follow-up attack. Only an exceptionally skilled fighter could manage.”

“The detonation was so fast. Only knights at least at the 5-circle level could barely react in time.”

“Did you notice anything else unusual?”

“Hmm. All of those soldiers were in 2 circles, but, you know, skilled soldiers like that usually have different armor or weapons than ordinary ones.”

“Indeed.”

Martin nodded at Claudia’s observation.

In the Cracian Continent, individual skill was paramount.

Thus, those who could reach the 6-circle level and exhibit unique abilities were highly valued.

The same applied to soldiers; even reaching the 2-circle level meant a substantial distinction from ordinary 1-circle foot soldiers.

“But the ones who self-destructed had the same standard armor as the ordinary soldiers. I thought it was strange that they were 2-circle soldiers. It was as if…”

“You’re saying it felt like their circle levels had been forcibly raised for this operation?”

“Exactly, acting head. But that doesn’t make sense, does it? There’s no known way to artificially increase someone’s circle level.”

Claudia gave a bitter laugh as she spoke.

Martin sighed internally.

Richard and Claudia might not know, but he was well aware of a method to artificially boost circle levels.

Doom.

A newly developed drug by the Dark King, an ex-assassin, in secret.

It forcibly opened the mana core near a non-ability user’s brain, granting them unique abilities or pushing them up by a full circle level.

Yet, there was still something that didn’t add up.

‘Back then, it didn’t have a self-destruct function.’

Judging from the situation, it was clear that further research had added this new feature.

At least, now he had narrowed down the suspects behind the development of this mysterious drug.

It was either Nicholas von Royce or Werner von Klaus.

Considering the circumstances, the latter seemed the more likely.

“As much as I hate to make excuses, there was another reason for our defeat. Most of the underworld factions in Akela have aligned with the younger prince. It seems they hold quite a bit of resentment against me and you, acting head.”

“More accurately, their grudge would be against me.”

Martin had taken down the Dark King and shut down the slave trade, one of the most horrific parts of the black market.

While he had left other aspects alone, those sectors were now under the joint control of the Imperial Family and the Adalbert family.

It was only natural that underworld factions would resent Martin and Claudia for this.

‘I told them to take control of the underworld to prevent this very thing, but it seems they failed.’

Martin thought of the Dark King.

He had been planning to reach out to him regarding Doom anyway.

But now, with the underworld factions involved, he reconsidered.

‘I’ll need to meet him in person.’

It had become essential to see the Dark King himself.

He needed to uncover the truth behind these hidden developments.

As for Akela City falling under the Marquis Royce faction, that didn’t concern him.

If he intended to infiltrate it, no one could stop him.

With that, Martin decided on his next course of action.