Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Honesty and Betrayal (5) A few days after Havier's unit ambushed and annihilated the Imperial Army unit. Kwang! A man slammed his fist on the desk, unable to contain his anger. The man's identity was Taher Malberg, the main battalion commander of the Imperial Army's 3rd Corps. “You foolish bastards! How could you mistake the enemy for an ally!” For Taher, it was too absurd. He had been waiting for news from the Special Task Force under the General Headquarters that could decide the fate of the war, but suddenly all contact was lost, and a friendly unit was annihilated. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand. How they were deceived. Why, like fools, not a single one had survived. Even more absurd was the fact that the unidentified unit that had tricked them by claiming to be the Special Task Force had disappeared at an incredible speed. At this rate, Taher was in a situation where he would inevitably be held responsible. For Taher, it was an unfair situation. For that reason, “Find them, no matter what! Bring them before me, without fail!” Taher issued this order to the main battalion. Without knowing that this order might bring about an even greater crisis. *** ‘Did we survive?’ Roden thought as he finally took in the vast Aikor Plains with his own two eyes. Certainly, climbing the Jalkan Mountains surrounding the Aikor Plains was not easy. Not only were the mountains high, but they were also too rugged. Sometimes, they had to use a narrow path where a single misstep would mean falling to their death. Moreover, the narrow path, having been neglected for too long, was often cut off. In such cases, they had no choice but to turn back the way they came. For that reason, Havier's unit had wandered the mountains for over fifteen days before they could finally face the Aikor Plains again. It was a journey that made him think they had somehow managed to survive. ‘When the food ran out in the middle, I really thought I was going to die just like that.’ Fortunately, the vegetation of the Jalkan Mountains was abundant. If it weren't for that, they would have starved to death without a doubt. ‘Huu.’ Anyway, in conclusion, they had survived, and it wasn't as if they had gained nothing from carrying out this mission. First of all, by going through life and death together, he was able to get much closer to the entire 3rd Infantry Platoon. It wasn't just Chevalier who saw Roden differently now. Chevalier was just the beginning; the other soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon also acknowledged that Roden was no longer the moron he used to be. Because the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon had also watched Roden's performance in battle, where he had personally defeated a 2-star knight. Moreover, even on days when food was not abundant due to failed hunts for over fifteen days, Roden did not complain once. Rather, whenever a problem arose, however small, he would present a solution to handle it wisely and quickly reorganize the platoon. Of course, Roden had only acted this way to prevent a situation where his chances of survival would be lowered due to a small conflict. But in the eyes of the 3rd Infantry Platoon, it was bound to look different. And so, little by little, Roden was being acknowledged as a platoon leader. Although he couldn't tell if this was a good thing. The next thing Roden gained. It was a single book. Surprisingly, a swordsmanship manual. Roden had acquired this swordsmanship manual from the possession of the 2nd Archery Platoon Leader, Dikwan Broom, whom he had dealt with. On the cover of the book, it was written . However, since Roden did not know Dikwan's name, he could only guess that this swordsmanship manual might belong to the family of the 2nd Archery Platoon Leader he had killed. Moreover, he had only checked the cover and had not yet been able to open the swordsmanship manual. ‘If I open it rashly and the strange phenomenon occurs, there would be no way to hide it.’ It was a series of days where he had to sleep on the ground without even being able to build a proper barracks. It was obvious that if a strong light poured out as soon as the strange phenomenon occurred, as it always did, the entire Havier unit would notice. So he couldn't carelessly open the swordsmanship manual and just carried it in his chest, as Dikwan had done. But now, if he returned to the friendly camp soon, he would be able to open this swordsmanship manual. ‘I'm looking forward to it.’ Even if it wasn't for the swordsmanship manual, he was eager to return to the friendly camp as soon as possible. Because there, at least, he wouldn't have to sleep on the hard ground. Also, because he had been cut off in the mountains for fifteen days and had lived like a man of nature, he was curious about how the war situation had changed. In particular, he wanted to know what effect Havier's unit disrupting the enemy's rear had. ‘No, first of all, I want to know if we even succeeded in disrupting the enemy's rear.’ He hadn't been able to properly assess the situation as he had to quickly leave the battlefield and enter the mountains. So, Roden couldn't help but be curious about this fact. ‘And when I get back, I have to start training again. The loss of aura is too great because I haven't been able to train properly for a long time.’ Just before carrying out this mission, Roden had barely reached the stage of a 2-star knight. And at that time, he had been confident. That he would survive on the battlefield more easily than before. But when he faced a 2-star knight directly, it was not so. Rather, he could see it. The reason why he had to become stronger. Because if Dikwan had not been careless and had fought with all his might, he would not be here. A 2-star knight was that much stronger than Roden had thought. So much so that he felt he absolutely had to reach the stage of a 3-star knight and widen the gap. ‘Only then can I survive with a probability close to 100% even if another battle breaks out.’ And so, there were numerous reasons for Roden to return to the unit. And soon, it would be his return. *** Adriel, who had first received the news of Havier's unit's return through a scout, ran out of his barracks, forgetting even his dignity. ‘Really… they really came back alive?’ It wasn't just Adriel. All the soldiers of the transport battalion were gathered at the entrance of the camp to see the return of Havier's unit with their own two eyes. How much time had passed like that? Finally, Havier's unit, in their shabby state, revealed themselves. But no one blamed them for their appearance. Rather, a burst of admiration erupted from the mouths of all the personnel of the transport battalion, including Adriel. “Waaaaah! Our allies have returned!” “The Infantry Company Commander has returned alive!” Moreover, “Welcome back! Welcome back!” Adriel instantly rushed forward and immediately embraced the dust-covered Havier. The fact that such a close junior and a cherished subordinate had returned alive moved Adriel to tears. And Havier was also moved. “Havier's unit… has returned.” The fact that Havier's voice, as he made his report while in Adriel's embrace, was also trembling was proof of that. All the personnel of the transport battalion who were watching the scene also approached Havier's unit. “Welcome back, everyone!” “We are happy that you have returned!” “We are so proud of you!” And so, everyone shared in the joy of their reunion. And a long time later, Adriel, who had come to his senses first, spoke. “This is not the time for this. You have all suffered a lot, so go back and rest. The other units are to actively help with the maintenance so that Havier's unit can rest comfortably.” After giving the order, Adriel also opened his mouth toward Havier. “You should rest too. It won't be too late to hear the hero's tale after you've had a good rest.” “Thank you.” Honestly, there were many things he wanted to say and hear, but Adriel held it in. Because it was more important for Havier's unit, who must have been suffering from the aftereffects of the intense battle, to rest. Havier also had the same thought, which was why he had obediently nodded his head. “Now, move out!” The soldiers, who had received Havier's order, began to move again. Only then did Adriel's eyes see the faces of the survivors again. The number of Havier's unit, which had been close to 100, had decreased significantly. It seemed that only two-thirds of them had survived. But in fact, even this was a miracle. Because until just this morning, Adriel had been convinced that Havier's unit had been annihilated. ‘I had no choice but to think so after receiving the news that the Imperial Army was searching for Havier's unit with their eyes ablaze.’ It wasn't just a few Imperial Army units that were looking for Havier's unit. Almost the entire Imperial Army's main battalion had scoured their own territory to find Havier's unit. So, Adriel had no choice but to think that Havier's unit had been pursued and annihilated. It was only natural, as it was a mission where he had thought that although they could succeed in disrupting the rear, it was almost impossible to return alive. Above all, because Havier's unit had splendidly succeeded in disrupting the rear, the Allied Forces were in a state of having almost seized the Aikor Plains. While the Imperial Army's main battalion was distracted with finding Havier's unit. An internal defector from the Imperial Army had responded to the Allied Forces' vanguard and crushed the enemy's vanguard. Normally, the Imperial Army's main battalion would have moved to cover this, but they couldn't because they were operating a pursuit team. Because of that, the Imperial Army's vanguard had to suffer even greater damage, close to annihilation. Now, all that was left was for the Allied Forces' vanguard and main battalion to rush in at once and completely push the Imperial Army's front line behind the Aikor Plains. So, Adriel had no choice but to think that Havier's unit had perfectly carried out the mission and died a heroic death. The circumstances were such, and the fifteen days' time proved it. ‘But to think they survived…. What in the world happened?’ Then, in Havier's eyes, the sight of the 3rd Infantry Platoon, which was not receiving much celebration from the allies, caught his eye. Among them, the one who stood out the most was Roden, who was walking at the very front of the 3rd Infantry Platoon. ‘Could it be that the military strategy Havier proposed back then worked?’ Adriel also knew because he had heard it from Havier. That the one who had planned the military strategy for this mission was Roden. He had thought it was a pretty ingenious military strategy. But he had not rated the probability of the strategy working very highly. Because it was not easy to completely deceive the Imperial Army, nor to completely kill the Imperial Army that had been so deceived. So he had told Havier. That it would be better to just hit the enemy quickly and get out. But Havier, who was directly commanding this mission, had strongly supported this military strategy. So, Adriel had no choice but to authorize the execution of this military strategy. “If things don't go well and the Imperial Army unit quickly notices our identity, immediately deal with the enemy and return.” “Yes. I will do so.” In fact, if they did this, it wouldn't be much different from hitting the enemy quickly and getting out. The reason Adriel hadn't stopped Havier in the end was also because of this. And so, Adriel was convinced that Havier would not have been able to succeed with this military strategy. He had thought that they had been discovered by the Imperial Army in the middle and had hastily hit the enemy and fled, or that they had ambushed the Imperial Army after deceiving them, but some personnel had survived, and they were being pursued. But seeing as Havier's unit had ultimately returned alive, it was right to assume that the military strategy had worked. Because if it weren't for that, it was a mission where Havier's unit had no way of surviving. ‘Heh. In that case, does this mean that proposing the military strategy for the last transport mission wasn't a coincidence?’ Adriel admired it without realizing. At the same time, Roden, whom he had only known as a moron, began to appear in a new light.