Sword Master of a Fa Chapter 64 : Even If You’re Late to the Party, There’s a Lim

Chapter 64: Even If You’re Late to the Party, There’s a Limit (4)

The royal army led by Count Henson arrived in front of the Lord’s Castle of Ragnar.

Count Henson, who had been gazing up at the magnificent castle walls, soon shifted his gaze to the knights and nodded.

At his gesture, one knight walked toward the castle gate.

Then, a sharp voice flew down from atop the wall.

"This is the Lord’s Castle of Ragnar! State your affiliation!"

"I am a knight under Count Henson of the royal army! Upon hearing that Ragnar was under monster invasion, His Benevolent Majesty the King has sent reinforcents!"

The soldier standing on the wall pressed his helt down further and let his eyes gleam.

"Does it make any sense for the royal family, who are not on good terms with Ragnar, to send an army?"

"I have brought His Majesty the King’s letter. Open the gate and confirm it directly."

"I don’t trust that. Throw the letter first."

"How dare a re soldier attempt to handle carelessly a letter personally bestowed by His Majesty the King!"

"What does that matter? The royal family has already beco irreconcilable with Ragnar."

At the soldier’s words, the knight holding the letter trembled as his hand shook.

Although it was said that Ragnar and the royal family had beco irreconcilable, the North still belonged to the Daon Kingdom.

And yet, to show such an attitude—unable to endure it any longer, the knight spoke in a cold voice.

"You’ll regret that remark you just made."

"Are you saying you’ll break through by force? Troops sent as support from the royal family?"

"Since you say you won’t believe us, we’ll have to use more forceful thods."

"……I’ll ask one more ti! Are you truly troops dispatched to support Ragnar?"

"We are."

At the knight’s resolute shout, the soldier acted as if conflicted.

Watching that scene quietly, Count Henson clenched his fist tightly.

‘Good. Push just a little more and they’ll open the gate.’

Count Henson signaled the knights so they could be deployed the mont the gate opened.

In the anti, the soldier atop the wall, seemingly having resolved his inner conflict, opened his tightly shut mouth.

"Proper verification is required. If the commander promises us, then we will open the gate."

"Are you threatening us now?"

"If not, we cannot open it. First, please take this."

The soldier pulled out a small orb from his clothes and tossed it toward the knight.

The knight who caught it twitched his eyebrows.

He knew well what the small orb was used for.

It was a magic tool that recorded voices when aura was infused into it.

Moreover, although a recorded voice could not be altered, it was enchanted to allow duplication.

"……What exactly do you want us to verify?"

"That the objective of the royal army lies in annihilating the monsters. We would like you to state your intent that you will never take any action that harms Ragnar. And please add that all of this is His Majesty the King’s will."

At the soldier’s detailed demands, the knight frowned.

Then Count Henson, who had been observing the situation from behind, called the knight over.

"Just do it. What’s there to worry about?"

"……It could be giving Ragnar a justification."

"After occupying Ragnar, we can reclaim it again. In any case, Ragnar will be devoting all its strength to stopping the large-scale monster invasion, so it’ll be easy."

"But……."

"Hand it over."

As Count Henson cut him off and held out his hand, the knight passed over the orb with a look of resignation.

The mont he took the orb, Count Henson imdiately infused aura into it.

"I am Iro Henson, head of the Henson Family. At present, we have been dispatched in the na of the royal family to support Ragnar’s crisis, and we promise that we will exert no pressure whatsoever on Ragnar."

Count Henson paused briefly and glanced up at the castle wall.

In any case, this orb would soon return to his hands.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

"Our sole objective is to protect the kingdom from the clutches of monsters. This is the will of His Benevolent Majesty the King, and the intent of the Henson Family. We will never violate Ragnar’s safety."

After withdrawing his aura, Count Henson handed the orb back to the knight.

The knight ran to the gate and, though clearly displeased, handed the orb over to the soldier in accordance with Count Henson’s orders.

"Please wait five minutes. I will obtain the Head of the Family’s permission and return."

At the soldier’s words, the knight raised the corner of his mouth and nodded.

It was the mont when it was confird that Pramo, the Head of the Ragnar Family, was staying in the Lord’s Castle.

Not long after, the castle gate swung wide open.

"First, we must secure the gate."

"Yes, Count."

"Secure Pramo without fail. Make sure he cannot escape. Only then can we put a shackle on that butcher Kyle Ragnar."

Count Henson and the army of ten thousand marched boldly toward the entrance of the Lord’s Castle.

Like a hunter stealthily lowering his body while aiming for prey, they moved while seeking an opportunity.

When they reached the front of the gate, a knight who sensed sothing strange stepped in front of Count Henson.

"Sothing feels off."

"What feels off?"

"There should be hundreds of thousands of territory inhabitants staying in the Lord’s Castle of Ragnar. Considering that, isn’t it far too quiet?"

At the knight’s warning, Count Henson let out a scoff.

Ragnar must surely have deployed all its forces at the mountain range entrance to stop the monsters.

The two Masters that Ragnar boasted of would also be at the front lines.

There was no need for suspicion—now that the gate had opened, Ragnar would vanish into history today.

"Move aside."

Count Henson shoved the knight blocking his way and walked forward.

Despite the warning, Count Henson did not heed it, and as he entered the castle, the troops following him began to pour in one after another.

Soon, a man with white hair and red eyes appeared before Count Henson.

"I am Pramo Ragnar, Head of the Ragnar Family."

"I am Count Henson, head of the Henson Family."

"Your words are curt."

"There’s no need to show respect to a family that will beco traitors."

"……Hand over the letter."

At Pramo’s demand, Count Henson glanced back.

He needed to buy ti until all troops had entered the Lord’s Castle.

At that sight, Pramo’s gaze shone intensely.

"Hand it over at once."

Count Henson did not yield to the pressure and only after confirming that all troops had entered the castle did he hand over the letter.

When Pramo unfolded the letter, it contained a royal order completely different from what Count Henson had said.

[Hear this, Pramo Ragnar, Head of the Ragnar Family. If you do not escort the criminal Kyle Ragnar, who dared to freeze the kingdom’s Great Hall, to the Royal Capital, I will consider the Ragnar Family to be plotting treason. This is the final notice.]

After finishing his confirmation, Pramo raised the corner of his mouth.

“So in the end, you chose to trample Ragnar rather than protect the kingdom’s stability. A foolish king, indeed.”

Suddenly, his tone changed.

Not only that, but a massive aura burst forth from Pramo’s entire body.

After checking the letter, Pramo tossed it straight onto the ground.

No, Kyle—who was standing here pretending to be Pramo—grinned broadly.

“Since the lord is foolish, the vassals who follow him must be idiots as well.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you’re an idiot.”

The careless assumption that he was Pramo simply based on hair and eye color was nothing but sloppiness itself.

Not even realizing what kind of trick the opponent was using, and even recording his own voice into the orb—such behavior was foolish.

“You wretch! Do you dare insult the Henson Family?!”

“In front of the Ragnar Family, how dare a re Henson Family even put forth its na?”

“Grr……!”

“Not only you, who tried to deceive us with such a letter, but the royal family itself is also the problem.”

Shrring—

When Kyle drew his sword, Count Henson—still mistakenly believing him to be Pramo—curled the corner of his mouth upward.

“You cripple who can’t even gather aura—what do you think you’re doing by drawing a sword? The idiot isn’t , it’s you!”

At Count Henson’s words, Kyle frowned.

At the sa ti, a Blade manifested from Kyle’s sword.

“To dare use such vulgar words toward my younger brother.”

Slash!

As Kyle swung his sword at a speed that Count Henson could not even think of pursuing, the head of the knight standing beside him fell to the ground.

“Huh—! B, Blade?”

“An idiot who’s late on information and can’t even judge the situation dares to…….”

The vivid Blade revealed on Kyle’s sword proved that he was not Pramo.

Count Henson’s face turned ashen as he staggered backward and sharply turned his head.

“This is impossible…….”

“Gaaah!”

The royal knights who had been standing at a distance to secure the gate were struck down by a man who leapt down from the castle wall.

After that, several more people landed beside him.

“Close the gate, Acacia.”

Seros, Ragnar’s other Master, issued orders to the Special Operations Unit mbers.

Soon, when a black-hued Blade manifested on his sword as well, Count Henson stared blankly, unable to believe reality.

“B, but surely Kyle Ragnar and that man Seros should be at the front lines…….”

“Because we finished dealing with the invading monsters.”

Kyle answered Count Henson’s muttering.

Then, the one who had been standing on the wall dressed as a soldier removed his helt.

“This orb will be put to good use.”

Pramo smiled as his white hair, which had been hidden beneath the helt, fluttered free.

Count Henson, unable to contain his anger, flushed red and drew his sword.

“……Prepare for battle! We number ten thousand! Do not fear!”

At Count Henson’s command, the soldiers did not panic and assud battle stances.

Ten thousand—indeed, it was a massive force.

However, within the Lord’s Castle now waited nearly all of the troops that had been deployed to the front lines.

“We don’t need prisoners.”

Kyle’s icy voice signaled the start of battle.

The troops who had been crouched and waiting atop the walls all rose at once and nocked arrows to their bowstrings.

“Fire.”

Piiing—!

At Kyle’s command, arrows released from the bowstrings traced parabolic arcs as they flew toward Count Henson’s army.

Pababak!

The soldiers, helpless before the arrows, were flung backward or died on the spot.

Only the knights managed to raise their swords and try to knock the arrows aside.

But that was only a very small fraction.

“Kraagh!”

Most could not deflect the suddenly incoming arrows and had to give up their necks or hearts instead.

That was only natural, as among those firing the arrows were mbers of the Ragnar Knight Order.

Following orders, they prioritized eliminating Count Henson’s knights.

Watching the great army collapse one after another in vain, Count Henson soon turned his head and glared fiercely at Kyle.

“How dare you attack the royal army……!”

“It was the Henson Family and the royal family who broke their promise first.”

“Kyle Ragnar!”

“Shouting won’t change anything.”

As the arrow attacks continued from the walls, the knights did their utmost to protect Count Henson.

“We must protect the Count! Break a path so he can escape the castle!”

The royal army, whose numbers had already been greatly reduced, spread out in all directions.

With the determination to sohow evacuate Count Henson even amid the pouring arrows, the knights charged toward the gate.

But troops hidden throughout the Lord’s Castle revealed themselves.

“Don’t let a single one live!”

Starting with the shout of the Castellan of Casio, soldiers poured out from all sides.

The knights, too, drew their swords and charged forward fiercely.

Kyle sheathed his sword and watched the scene of the royal army being overwheld.

‘They’ve always fought monsters, so they don’t know how strong they really are. But this battle will give confidence to the soldiers of the North.’