Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

The Veronican army, led by the empress herself, marched for two days before arriving at the outskirts of Guseomdong—a second-tier city known for its high grain production.

Over the past two days, the empress had received updates on the city’s situation.

According to the letters, Guseomdong had already fallen into the hands of the heretic cult. The city’s army had been defeated and was forced to retreat with the residents. They later regrouped with Bai Seol-hwa’s troops and were currently hiding next to a river which was a few miles from the city.

At this moment, the Veronican army was marching along the river heading to the hiding spot of the residents.

“Your Majesty, we are close to the location. If the map they provided is correct, then we should be there any time now.” The Grand Commander said after he checked the map which they got from Bai Seol-hwa’s subordinates.

“I see them…” The empress mumbled as she looked into the distance. With her powerful perception, she saw a camp, cleverly hidden in the forested area next to the river.

The Grand Commander raised his eyebrows and followed her gaze. A moment later, he finally saw the camp.

“I will send my subordinates to scout the camp.” He told the empress.

Yskaela nodded her head.

After getting her permission, the Grand Commander summoned five warriors to scout the camp. He also gave them a few more instructions before he sent them out.

…

In the camp, Bai Seol-hwa was receiving treatment from a member of the Crimson Phoenix Knights Order.

Upon closer look, one could see a deep cut across her left shoulder down to her back.

Bai Seol-hwa’s face was covered in sweat as her subordinate applied a medicine paste to her wound. She grimaced, but she didn’t emit a sound.

“Commander, your wound is healing, but it will take a few more days before it closes up completely.”

Hearing this, Bai Seol-hwa nodded and gestured at her subordinate to help her put on her armor.

Crazy Sen… I didn’t expect him to be so strong. We have underestimated him.

All this time, they thought that Sen was just a crazy alchemist. However, during her fight against the old man, she realized that he had hidden himself deeply.

He was no ordinary Venerable.

While she was immersed in her thoughts, another member of the Crimson Phoenix Knights entered the tent and reported. “Commander, our scouts have spotted a large army approaching. Based on the banners, they should be Her Majesty’s army.”

Bai Seol-hwa turned her head and gave her a nod. “Alright. Prepare my horse. I must greet Her Majesty.”

“But Commander, your wound…”

Sensing the worried gazes of her subordinates, Bai Seol-hwa smiled faintly and shook her head. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Seeing that they couldn’t convince her, they could only follow her instructions.

Bai Seol-hwa jumped on her horse, grimacing from the pain in her back.

“Are you alright, Commander?”

Bai Seol-hwa waved her hand. “This is nothing. I just need a few days of rest. Let’s go greet Her Majesty.”

She led the Crimson Phoenix Knights Order to step out of the camp and wait for the empress’s arrival.

After an hour, the empress’s army finally arrived.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Bai Seol-hwa and her subordinates respectfully saluted the empress.

Yskaela looked at her with concern. “I heard that you were seriously injured. You should have stayed inside the camp to recover. You didn’t need to greet me here.”

Bai Seol-hwa shook her head. “My wound is not as serious as what has been reported, Your Majesty. It’s just a small cut. I only need two to three days to fully recover.”

The empress sighed upon seeing how stubborn she was. “You must have waited here for a long time. Bring me inside the camp and inform me about the situation.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The camp wasn’t large enough to accommodate the three hundred thousand warriors so Bai Seol-hwa only brought the empress and a few high-ranking military officers, including Alaric’s group.

Upon entering the camp, they saw the residents of Guseomdong. They could sense the fear in their eyes and some were even visibly shaking, clearly traumatized by what had happened.

The empress’s face became gloomy when she saw the state of her people. Seeing them like this filled her with profound rage.

Yskaela took a deep breath to control her rampaging emotions.

“How many of the city’s soldiers have survived?” She asked.

Bai Seol-hwa furrowed her eyebrows as she responded. “Guseomdong is only a second-tier city so it didn’t have many soldiers. Of the twenty thousand soldiers it had, about fourteen thousand managed to escape. Including the troops that Your Majesty sent, we have a total of twenty thousand soldiers.”

The empress’s face darkened.

“What about the residents? Were you able to evacuate everyone from the city?”

Bai Seol-hwa let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “We only managed to evacuate less than 20% of the residents. The rest were captured by the heretic cult and were taken to their hideout.”

“We tried searching for them, but we couldn’t find anything.” She added.

The empress stared deeply at her and placed her hand on Bai Seol-hwa’s shoulder. “You’ve worked hard. You should get some rest.”

Bai Seol-hwa grimaced. The empress had accidentally touched a part of her wound and it brought her immense pain.

Seeing her contorted expression, the empress frowned. “You said your wound was just a small cut.”

Bai Seol-hwa fell silent.

Yskaela sighed and said. “Get back to your tent and get some rest. I will handle everything from now on.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After she left, Alaric came to the empress’s side and said. “I see some suspicious people in this camp. They might be spies from the heretic cult.”

With his Appraisal trait, he noticed some people who had suspicious traits that were linked to the heretic cult.

Hearing this, the empress turned her head, her face looking incredibly cold. “Bring them to me at once.”

Alaric nodded his head. “I understand.”

She was not in her best mood so he didn’t make her wait. Together with his subordinates, they captured the suspicious people he had discovered.