Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Alaric calmly watched the burning mega fortress above the mountain.

“To think that a fortress of this size couldn’t even defend itself against three people. Mythical Knights and 4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmasters are just different.”

“They are no longer humans.”

Someone from the back commented.

The people who heard his words nodded in agreement. They were also shaken by the overwhelming power of the three Venerables.

“Keep your eyes peeled! There might be enemies who will try to escape the encirclement!” Alaric shouted to his troops.

Although the possibility was low, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Yes, Your Highness!” The warriors responded in unison.

In just slightly over an hour, the mega fortress above Mount Tirad faced destruction.

The stationed troops that numbered more than a hundred thousand were all killed. Not even a single one of them was spared.

A signal arrow was fired, informing the troops below that the battle had ended.

Seeing this, Alaric and the military officers immediately instructed their troops to comb the entire area to see if there were still any survivors in hiding.

Alaric’s mount was a Disaster-grade beast so it didn’t have any trouble in ascending the steep slopes of the mountain.

The higher he climbed, the more corpses he encountered.

If this had happened on the first day of his regression, he would have felt some compassion, but he knew that killing these people was necessary.

His eyes indifferently roamed through the scattered corpses, checking for signs of survivors.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped on one of the bodies. He could sense slight fluctuations of mana which indicated that this person was still alive.

Alaric sneered upon sensing this.

If it were someone else, you might be able to fool them…

Several months ago, he found out that his Appraisal trait wouldn’t work on dead people. It would only work on living humans and other creatures.

[Do you want to use Appraisal on the selected target?]

[Yes] [No]

Alaric chose [Yes] and the person’s attributes were revealed in front of him.

“Hold on.” He raised his hand, motioning for his troops to halt.

The warriors who had followed him immediately stopped at his signal.

Alaric lightly squeezed his legs, urging his horse to move slowly towards the person who was pretending to be dead.

His subordinates watched him in confusion, wondering what he was trying to do.

Just then, they saw him stabbing one of the corpses.

“Ahh! Don’t kill me!”

Everyone was stunned when they realized that the guy was alive.

Alaric didn’t stab a vital part so the man still managed to scream.

“Please have mercy, my lord! I have a family waiting for me!” The man pleaded.

Alaric stared deeply at the man seemingly contemplating his choices.

While he was hesitating, a fierce look suddenly flashed in the man’s eyes. He took out a concealed dagger and lunged at Alaric.

“Die, you Astanian dog!”

Alaric snorted and casually grabbed the dagger with his bare hand.

“How?!” The man stared at him in disbelief and terror.

He was an Elite Knight, but he couldn’t even overpower the other party even though he was using his full strength.

Alaric added more force to break the man’s dagger into tiny fragments. He then grabbed the man by the neck and stared deeply into his soul.

Crack.

The sound of his neck being crushed echoed into everyone’s ears.

After killing the man, Alaric apathetically threw his corpse.

Thud.

The warriors gulped down hard at his ruthlessness, but no one felt pity for the dead warrior.

“Check every corpse and stab their heads once!” Alaric commanded while wiping off the bloodstains on his hand.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The warriors immediately inspected the corpses around them, while Alaric headed to the top.

When he arrived at the top of the mountain, he saw the ruined mega fortress engulfed in flames.

The three Venerables were also there standing side by side as they watched the burning fortress.

Sensing his presence, they turned their heads.

“Your Highness.” Dominic and Ignatius nodded to him.

Lucas also gave him a nod.

“Greetings, Venerables. Our men are currently inspecting the corpses to make sure that there are no survivors.” Alaric reported.

“Is that so? Good job.” Dominic smiled faintly.

Alaric urged his horse to approach them and asked. “Is it necessary to burn the fortress?”

He felt that it would be much better to keep the fortress.

“We thought so too, but His Highness Leighnard told us that there might be hidden mana bombs within the fortress which would kill our troops if accidentally triggered. His Highness said that rebuilding the fortress would be better than keeping a fortress filled with hidden mana bombs.” Ignatius responded with a shrug.

Alaric nodded upon hearing this. “I see. That makes sense.”

Suddenly, a series of explosions erupted which caused the entire mountain to vibrate.

“It seems like His Highness was right.” Lucas chuckled.

Soon, the whole fortress collapsed.

Looking at the ruins of the fortress, Dominic muttered with a stern look. “We have a lot of work to do.”

After the battle, the army stayed on the mountain to handle the aftermath.

A team composed of ten thousand people was tasked to deal with the corpses. Another team was also sent to clear the rubble and to gather usable materials from the ruins.

Meanwhile, the auxiliary unit which was responsible for bringing the supplies and construction materials, began the reconstruction of the fortress.

At this moment, Alaric was helping with the reconstruction when Caecus suddenly appeared behind him.

“Your Highness.”

Alaric stopped what he was doing and wiped off the sweat on his face. “Are there any casualties on our side?”

“Of the ten thousand cavalry riders sent with the Venerables, 857 were killed. 2388 are severely injured and they are currently receiving treatment. As for our people, everyone is unharmed.” Caecus calmly replied.

Alaric nodded upon hearing this.

The casualties were negligible compared to the number of enemies they had killed.

“What about the task I gave you?” He asked.