Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

News about Galanar spread like wildfire in the North. No one expected the quiet House Silversword to suddenly reveal this hidden expert.

The noble houses who had ignored Lucas’s letter were now regretting their actions and some even hurried over to Redonia to make amends.

In the next few days since Alaric’s arrival to the town, seven more noble houses arrived. Two of them were houses that hadn’t sent a response to Lucas’s message.

No one could ignore House Silversword anymore, especially now that they had two Transcendent Knights.

On the 10th of March, exactly a week after Alaric’s arrival in Redonia, a large army had gathered outside the town. They were the warriors of the sixteen noble houses who had volunteered to join the orc subjugation. Their numbers totaling more than one thousand two hundred men.

At this moment, Alaric stood before this thousand-man army, his gaze looking sharp like that of a hawk as he scanned the flags of those present.

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Mission complete!

Rewards: 500 Battle Points, 30 EXP, 30 Stat Points, Random Trait Upgrade Card x1

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His eyes gleamed when he saw the notification. He then closed the cyan screen and took a deep breath before he opened his mouth.

“To everyone here, I commend your courage! You are the true warriors of the North!”

His dignified voice echoed, subconsciously making the warriors stand straight like unbending swords.

“We are gathered here for one purpose and that is to destroy the orc settlement that has threatened the safety of the North!”

Alaric took a short pause and narrowed his eyes.

“We can’t allow those beasts to come closer to our home so they have to be eradicated!”

Everyone felt a chill when they sensed an overwhelming killing intent oozing out from his eyes. It was then that everyone realized Alaric’s current power.

“Elite Knight!”

“Lord Alaric is an Elite Knight!”

“No way!”

Some warriors exclaimed in disbelief.

It was only recently that they heard about Alaric’s advancement to the Knight realm. However, in just half a year, he had stepped into a higher realm, a realm that only the truly powerful warriors could hope to reach, the realm of Elite Knights!

Meanwhile, the lords were similarly stunned. The speed of his advancement made them terrified. Some of them even felt that they were witnessing the rise of a dragon that the continent had never seen!

Those who held a trace of dissatisfaction after being ‘forced’ to participate in this mission were now happy about their decision.

Alaric jumped onto his horse and shouted. “Prepare to depart!”

“YES, LORD ALARIC!!!”

The warriors responded in unison.

Soon, under the leadership of Alaric Silversword, the army of over one thousand two hundred men departed Redonia.

The battle hadn’t even begun, but their morale was sky-high!

***

Two days later, a few kilometers away from Alverton, the army had temporarily set up camp.

In the middle of the camp, a large tent could be seen. A pole was erected beside the tent with the flag of House Silversword hanging on top, fluttering amidst the strong winds.

At this moment, inside the tent, the lords had gathered for a meeting when a scout came to give his report.

“My lord, as you had suspected, Alverton is now occupied by the orcs!” The scout reported to Alaric in a grim voice.

Hearing this, Alaric wasn’t surprised. He had already anticipated this.

“What about the residents who had remained in the town?” He asked in a low voice.

When the majority of the residents had relocated to North Pine Town, some people still chose to stay in Alverton.

The scout’s face darkened as replied. “They are being slaughtered by those beasts as we speak!”

His words weren’t loud, but those who were present heard him clearly.

“How dare those filthy creatures kill the citizens of Astania!? My lord, please give me two hundred men! I promise that I will destroy those beasts!” One of the lords uttered with rage.

Some of the lords frowned upon hearing his righteous words. They knew that he was only trying to get some brownie points from Alaric.

Alaric raised his hand, indicating to the lord to keep quiet. He then beckoned to the scout and asked. “How many orc warriors are inside the town?”

“We haven’t done a detailed check, but based on our estimates, there should be around five hundred orc warriors in the town and they are led by four orc generals.” The scout replied.

Alaric nodded and turned his gaze at the lord who had volunteered earlier. “Lord Ermac, you heard him. There are five hundred orc warriors in the town. If I give you two hundred soldiers, do you have the confidence to kill every last one of them?”

Everyone stared at Lord Ermac with cold smirks on their faces.

Lord Ermac was tongue-tied, but when faced with everyone’s mocking gazes, he had no choice. “Yes, my lord! Just leave it to me!”

He puffed his chest to appear as confident as he could, but everyone could see through his bluff.

Alaric stared deeply at him and muttered. “Then you have my approval. Including your household, House Reno and House Elvin will follow you in this mission!”

Both the houses he mentioned were the ones who had ignored Lucas’s letter. It was obvious that he was targeting them, but no one said a word.

The lords of House Reno and House Elvin had bitter smiles on their faces.

“Don’t worry, I will send a team of my warriors to follow you.” Alaric didn’t plan to send them to their deaths. He only wanted to give them a small punishment for their actions.

A team? What can a team do against five hundred orc warriors?

The three lords complained in their hearts.

Seeing that they weren’t responding, Alaric frowned.

“What are you waiting for?!”

Terrified, the three lords immediately rose to their feet. “Yes, my lord! We will prepare immediately!”

The three quickly left the tent and went to gather their soldiers.

Alaric didn’t linger either. He adjourned the meeting and left to watch the performance of the three lords.

If they did well, he would no longer make things difficult for them.