Sword Master of a Fa Chapter 70 : Retribution (3)

Chapter 70: Retribution (3)

Kyle, who had arrived at the Rak Territory and was taking a brief rest, was visited by Viscount Rak.

“Commander-in-Chief.”

“What is it?”

“One of the territories along the Northern Boundary Line has requested support.”

“That is unexpected. I thought they would ask the royal family for support. Which territory is it?”

“It is the territory facing the Rak Territory. I heard that a highly capable lord took office three years ago.”

“Highly capable, you say…….”

Kyle mulled over Viscount Rak’s words and nodded.

In the current central political sphere of the Kingdom of Daon, it was difficult to survive without blood ties or regional connections.

Most of the important posts were occupied by nobles who followed Duke Zaira, so if one fell out of his favor, no matter how outstanding one’s abilities were, it was easy to be pushed to the frontier.

The lord Viscount Rak spoke of must also have fallen out of Duke Zaira’s favor and been cast out to the borderlands.

Kyle let out a dry laugh at how they envied and guarded against capable talent instead of embracing it.

“The state of the country is a ss.”

“Isn’t that the country that has continued like this for two hundred years?”

Kyle nodded at his words.

Stagnant water was bound to rot eventually. If so, before the water beca completely murky, whatever could be salvaged had to be salvaged.

“If his abilities are not bad and he was chased out of the central political sphere, he seems like soone who could be brought over.”

“I am not sure myself. In truth, although it is the territory right in front of us, we have had no exchanges.”

“We will know once we et him.”

Kyle imdiately issued an order to assemble the troops.

To carry out his command, Viscount Rak excused himself for a mont.

Shortly afterward, Viscount Rak returned to Kyle’s side and spoke in a low voice.

“The warhorses you asked to have prepared have been handed over to Captain Akun.”

Kyle nodded at Viscount Rak’s words and walked forward.

The plaza within Rak Lord’s Castle.

It had not even been ten minutes since the assembly order was given, yet not a single soldier was missing as they gathered in the plaza.

The northern troops assembled there stood in formation, revealing sharp gazes.

Kyle climbed onto the tall platform erected at the front of the plaza and opened his mouth in a voice neither loud nor soft.

“From this point on, Ragnar—no, the soldiers of the North—may have to fight those who belong to the sa nation.”

A full twenty thousand were gathered there.

Even though he spoke in an ordinary voice, Kyle’s words flowed clearly into the ears of every soldier standing there.

Buoyed by that, the soldiers’ montum was honed sharp, like a finely whetted blade.

“From our ancestors to you standing here now, we have done our utmost to protect the North and this nation as one. It is the land and the nation that many gave their lives to defend. However, the current royal family rendered those efforts aningless. They oppressed us who staked our lives against monsters, and they attacked Ragnar.”

Kyle took out the orb he held in his hand and infused it with Aura.

The final words left behind by Count Henson spread among the soldiers gathered there.

When Count Henson’s voice no longer flowed out, Kyle put the orb away and continued speaking.

“The royal family broke its promise. Even so, today we will once again beco those who protect the Kingdom of Daon.”

The reason the North guarded the Monster Mountain Range was because they could not bear to watch innocent lives be sacrificed.

However, this would be the last ti the North lived on as the protector of the Kingdom of Daon.

“In the na of Kyle Ragnar, Commander-in-Chief of the Ragnar Family, I proclaim this. No longer will the North foolishly suffer for the sake of a handful of nobles.”

Even if the North held back monsters at great sacrifice, the ones who gained the benefits were not the kingdom’s citizens.

Those who exploited the property of the kingdom’s people living peaceful lives and stood above them, taking every kind of gain for themselves.

There would no longer be lives sacrificed for such nobles.

“Do your utmost to fulfill your final duty.”

Despite Ragnar’s strength, the reason it had been unable to move until now was largely due to the existence of the pact.

Although the pact had been broken, in truth there were still many constraints on moving into the Interior Lands.

The alliance with the Orcs and the Dwarf Clan.

Through that alliance, Kyle shattered the constraints that had been binding Ragnar’s ankles.

Now Ragnar no longer needed to devote its entire regular army of thirty thousand solely to guarding the mountain range.

The Orcs and Dwarf warriors had promised to take their place.

‘Through this battle, the Orc tribe will recover, and the Dwarves will gain ti to fully settle near the mountain range.’

Moreover, if this incident caused the royal family to collapse on its own, it would be icing on the cake.

Kyle descended from the platform and mounted his horse.

The warhorses prepared by Viscount Rak numbered a total of three thousand.

The knights also mounted their horses, following Kyle for the first ti in a long while.

“March out!”

At Kyle’s shout as the signal, the knights began to spur their horses forward at speed.

Watching the troops depart beyond the Rak Territory, Viscount Rak ford a faint smile.

“Prepare to seal off the entire North.”

After this outing ended, the North would be sealed off as Ragnar had requested.

There were a total of three territories bordering the North.

And the lords of those territories were out of favor with the royal family.

Among them were those who had been pushed out due to lack of ability, but excluding two lords, the remaining one had been driven to the borderlands for an absurd reason.

Originally, he had been a noble active in the central political sphere, but for the single reason that he opposed the opinion of King Clover, he had no choice but to be pushed out to the frontier.

To be precise, it was the nobles who had envied his outstanding talent who took issue with his words and actions toward the king.

He stood atop the castle wall with a bitter expression on his face.

Just then, a knight who approached the man bowed his head.

“Lord, defensive preparations are complete.”

They had to deal with a massive horde of monsters that had suddenly surged out of the North.

The territorial army here numbered barely around a thousand.

Despite facing northern monsters that were qualitatively different from those of the Interior Lands, the troop numbers were woefully insufficient.

Still, the fortunate part was that the knights’ individual combat power was excellent.

“……The other territories probably requested support from the royal family.”

“It seems so.”

“It will take quite so ti for the royal forces to reach this place. There is no way the Rak Territory would allow the royal army to move through.”

“It will take at least a week before the royal army arrives.”

“Has there been no reply from the Rak Territory?”

While the other two territories had requested support from the royal family, the lord here had first requested aid from the Rak Territory.

The only place from which support could arrive by the fastest route, and the only place that knew the northern monsters well enough to deal with them, was the Rak Territory.

“There has been no reply yet.”

“……That foolish king has finally ruined everything.”

“Lord…….”

“He should never have made an enemy of Ragnar.”

He had thought that a situation like this would co soday.

The conduct of pressuring Ragnar to break its pride had been an obviously wrong choice.

If Ragnar did not block the northern monsters, it was self-evident that the damage would fall squarely upon the Kingdom of Daon.

“Lord, however, there are strange rumors spreading lately.”

“What is it?”

“There are rumors that the royal family sent ten thousand troops into the North, disguising them as reinforcents, in order to stab Ragnar in the back while it was under monster invasion. No matter how much the king dislikes Ragnar, such an absurd act…….”

“If it is the current king, it is possible. Find out where the rumor originated.”

“Yes, Lord.”

After receiving the order, the knight bowed his head and descended from the castle wall.

Still standing atop the wall without moving, the man saw a cloud of dust surging closer in his field of vision.

“……Has it already been breached.”

A day earlier, he had received a request for help from a territory in the central region.

News had arrived that the number of monsters was close to three thousand, but he had not mobilized his territorial forces.

Even combining the forces of all three territories, the total barely exceeded three thousand.

He judged it to be a hopeless fight and earnestly prayed that the monsters would spread into the Interior Lands of the Kingdom of Daon.

If the monsters concentrated in one place were to spread out widely, he believed there would be a chance of victory.

However, it seed his desperate wish would not co true.

“Monsters, my lord.”

With a despairing expression, he bowed his head, then clenched his fist tightly.

Soon after, he quietly called to the knight who remained near him.

“There is sothing I must ask of you.”

“……Please give the order, my lord.”

The knight bowed his head toward the lord.

The na of the lord of this territory was Duren, and the title officially bestowed upon him by the kingdom was Baron.

However, that title of baron seed likely to beco useless before long.

In a hoarse voice, Duren issued his command to the knight.

“First, proceed with evacuating the territory residents.”

“Understood.”

“……I am sorry. A knight who should shine brighter than anyone has lost that light because of .”

Having t an incompetent lord, a talent who should have shone brightly had lost that light.

That alone ant Duren had committed an unforgivable sin against this knight.

But the knight shook his head at his words.

“I have never regretted my choice even once. I am glad that I can fight together for you until the very end.”

“……You should leave as well.”

“You need not say what you do not an. How could I ever leave your side?”

With a faint smile, the knight looked down at the helt in his hand.

He wanted to protect the weak and preserve their lives.

That was why he beca a knight, and why he t a lord to whom he could dedicate his sword.

“The knights will fight until the very end. So please do not give up.”

At the knight’s words, Duren bit his lip, then set his expression resolutely and looked at the approaching monsters.

As the dust cloud drew closer and closer, a massive cloud of dust suddenly rose from the opposite side as well.

At the sight of the fierce wind sweeping up, Duren raised his arm to shield his eyes.

At that mont.

“Wipe them out!”

One who had departed from the Rak Territory and raced all the way here.

Kyle Ragnar drew his sword while atop his galloping horse.

A brilliantly shining Blade settled upon Kyle’s sword, and those charging behind him drew their swords at the sa ti.

Three thousand cavalryn, exuding ferocious montum, charged toward the monsters.

Watching that scene from atop the castle wall, Duren blinked repeatedly, as if he could not believe his eyes.

‘……The Ragnar Family’s banner?’

Cloth fluttering from the shafts held in the cavalryn’s hands.

Against a red background, the image of a white snowflake was clearly visible.

The place that had been requested for support was the Rak Territory, yet at the sudden appearance of the Ragnar Family’s emblem, the man could not hide his confusion.

Then, at that mont.

“……My lord, I believe you should look closely at the sword of the one charging at the very front.”

The knight guarding Duren’s side pointed at Kyle with his finger.

And when Duren saw the clearly manifested light on his sword, his mouth fell open.

“Blade…….”

The sword imbued with a vivid Blade was cleaving through the monsters.