Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading Chapter 45

In the early stages of the supply operation, nothing happened as expected.

It was smooth, as usual.

However, as Havier had notified in advance, he strengthened the alert level from the third day of the operation.

This was a part that showed how cautious Havier's personality was, and at the same time, how highly he viewed the possibility of an Imperial Army attack.

Just like that, Transport Unit 2 carried out its mission in a tense atmosphere.

And as they were passing the place where the main battalion's camp had originally been.

The Imperial Army's attack finally began.

“Kill them!”

“Leave no one behind!”

It just so happened that the 2nd Light Cavalry Platoon was out on reconnaissance.

The Imperial Army cavalry, which had been ambushing behind the hill, charged towards Transport Unit 2 at a terrifying speed.

It was a fearsome momentum, as if they would annihilate Transport Unit 2 in a single blow.

But Havier, who had anticipated this situation in advance, quickly gave the order.

“Do not waver, the archery unit will fire arrows! And the infantry unit will raise their spears!”

At that, Gallant quickly took Havier's words.

“1st Archery Platoon! Prepare to fire!”

At the same time, Roden and Chevalier also gave orders to the 3rd Infantry Platoon.

“Raise spears! Raise your spears!”

“Maintain the square formation! Close the ranks!”

The 3rd Infantry Platoon moved swiftly according to the two's orders.

Not only did they quickly distribute the long spears that were loaded on the supply wagons, but they also formed a square formation at regular intervals and set the spears diagonally on the ground.

For the charging enemy cavalry, it was a rather tricky and pressuring charge-blocking formation.

For that reason, this formation, on the contrary, was bound to look quite reassuring to their allies.

“Fire!”

The 1st Archery Platoon also took their positions within the reassurance of this formation and fired their first volley of arrows.

Pyung! Pyung! Ping!

However, the arrows of the 1st Archery Platoon did not feel like they were flying with power as expected.

Some of the soldiers of the 1st Archery Platoon, shaken by the Imperial Army's attack, had not been able to fire their arrows properly.

Furthermore, the second and third volleys of arrows were also powerless.

It was no exaggeration to say that they had hardly stopped the Imperial Army's cavalry.

Compared to the expectation that the 1st Archery Platoon would take down at least five or six enemy cavalrymen, it was a very shabby result.

At that, Gallant also raised his voice in a flustered state.

“You bastards! Are you all not fighting properly?”

But now, it was no use even if the 1st Archery Platoon came to their senses.

Because the Imperial Army's cavalry had already come within close range, and the opportunity to freely fire arrows had disappeared.

If they pushed it, they might be able to fire one more volley of arrows, but it was impossible for the 1st Archery Platoon in their current state.

There was a risk that only meaningless casualties would occur.

Havier saw through this fact and gave the order without any lingering attachment.

“All archery units, move to the rear of the square formation!”

Just like that, the 1st Archery Platoon, which had received Havier's order, hurriedly hid behind the square formation formed by the 3rd Infantry Platoon.

In the meantime, about 40 enemy cavalrymen, who had received almost no damage, charged towards the 3rd Infantry Platoon's square formation.

Dudududududu!

And finally, they clashed.

Kwang! Pushuk! Pushuk! Hiiing!

Surprisingly, it was the enemy cavalry that received the greater damage from this clash.

The diagonally set long spears had handsomely pierced through the enemy cavalry.

Of course, it was unavoidable that the 3rd Infantry Platoon also took some damage.

Because the charge of the cavalry was originally so fearsome that it was almost impossible to stop.

“Don’t miss this opportunity! Surround the enemy so they can’t escape!”

Havier confirmed that the enemy cavalry's breakthrough power had greatly decreased and hurriedly gave the order.

He didn't just give an order.

He drew his sword himself and charged towards the enemy.

It was an unavoidable course of action, as it would be extremely dangerous if the enemy broke through the square formation, regrouped, and charged once more.

Roden and Chevalier also knew this fact, so they jumped into the fray with Havier.

Just like that, Transport Unit 2 and the Imperial Army's cavalry became complicatedly entangled.

The 3rd Infantry Platoon would knock the enemy off their horses with their long spears, and the 1st Archery Platoon, which had fallen back, would finish them off with their secondary weapon, the shortsword.

But the number of enemies who died at the hands of Roden and Havier was overwhelmingly greater than those who lost their lives in this way.

The power of a 3-star aura was that formidable.

At this rate, they could be annihilated.

The enemy cavalry desperately tried to break through the square formation to survive.

But by the time they broke through the square formation, about half of their soldiers were already in a state of being unable to fight.

“Retreat!”

“Hurry and fall back!”

For that reason, the enemy cavalry commander had no choice but to give this order.

However, retreating was also not easy.

Dudududududu!

Because the 2nd Light Cavalry Platoon, which had been on reconnaissance, had finally appeared on the battlefield.

Just like that, the 2nd Light Cavalry Platoon struck the flank of the fleeing enemy cavalry.

“Kuaaak!”

“No!”

In the end, less than 10 of the Imperial Army cavalry that had attacked Transport Unit 2 escaped alive.

***

It was a great victory.

Not only did they protect the supplies, but they also succeeded in killing or capturing 32 out of the total 40 Imperial Army cavalry that had carried out the attack.

Furthermore, they had even captured over 10 of the Holsteiners, the warhorses that the Imperial Army prided themselves on.

The results of the battle were truly tremendous.

However, in this battle, our allies also suffered considerable damage.

In particular, the damage to the 3rd Infantry Platoon, which had directly clashed with the enemy cavalry, was the greatest.

Three had died and eight were injured.

For that reason, Roden and Chevalier could not be entirely happy with the outcome of this battle.

It was only natural, as they had effectively lost a third of their fighting strength.

In addition, the 2nd Light Cavalry Platoon had 1 dead and 3 wounded, and the 1st Archery Platoon had 2 dead and 5 wounded.

Therefore, as soon as Havier had regrouped, he recovered the bodies of the dead.

Then, in front of the graves, they had a short time to honor the souls of their fallen comrades.

But it was only up to here.

For the sake of the army's morale, they could not continue to be sad forever.

Rather, to forget their sorrow, they had to talk and drink even more boisterously.

Just like that, Havier released meat and alcohol to the soldiers.

Naturally, various stories were exchanged in front of the bonfire, and among them, the one that was by far the most talked about was the prowess of Roden and the 3rd Infantry Platoon.

“I didn't know the 3rd Infantry Platoon was this strong.”

“I know, right? I got total goosebumps when they stopped the enemy's charge with their solid square formation.”

“What on earth happened to the 3rd Infantry Platoon during that time?”

“Could it be… that training that looked so ridiculous. Do you think it was effective?”

“Eh. No way.”

He really thought it was ridiculous.

But at the same time, he had this thought.

‘Then how did they get so strong?’

Each platoon conducted regular training, but the content was almost the same.

It wasn't just the training content.

The daily routine of the soldiers was pretty much the same in the first place.

But for only the 3rd Infantry Platoon to become stronger like this.

For the soldiers of the other platoons, this was bound to feel strange.

For that reason, the thought that the 3rd Infantry Platoon's training method, which was rumored to be strange, might have had a positive effect kept coming to mind.

‘No, it can’t be.’

The soldiers who were talking tried to deny their own thoughts.

It was difficult to readily admit that the training method they had been teasing as strange until just a little while ago was effective.

Just like that, the topic of the soldiers' conversation shifted to being about Roden.

This was a more interesting topic of conversation.

“But everyone saw it, right? The 3rd Infantry Platoon Leader reaching the level of a 3-star?”

“Ah. That. So I didn't see it wrong.”

“Really? Did that moron really become a 3-star knight?”

“Shh! Watch your mouth. Who calls the 3rd Infantry Platoon Leader a moron these days?”

“I know, right? A 3-star is a level where you can become a company commander, so you shouldn't ignore him recklessly.”

“The 3rd Infantry Platoon Leader is really a 3-star knight. I saw it with my own two eyes during the battle earlier.”

“Huh. When did he get so strong?”

“Maybe he was originally a 3-star and was hiding his power. It was only a little while ago that he reached 2-star.”

“That’s true. From 1-star to 2-star is one thing. But suddenly reaching 3-star in such a short time doesn't make sense.”

Everyone was astonished by the fact that Roden was a 3-star knight.

They had thought he was a 1-star knight, but finding out he was a 2-star knight was something they could accept.

Because the minimum requirement to become a platoon leader was a 2-star.

But a 3-star was a different story.

It meant he was a skilled person who could rise to the position of company commander at any time.

Furthermore, it wasn't just the soldiers of the other platoons who were shocked by this fact.

First, there was Gallant, the 1st Archery Platoon Leader who had ignored Roden.

‘Really… a 3-star knight?’

In fact, Gallant was in the middle of being discouraged by the fact that the performance of the 1st Archery Platoon was not just poor, but the worst.

On the other hand, Roden and the 3rd Infantry Platoon, whom he had ignored, had achieved the greatest merit in this battle with their tremendous performance, so the shock was bound to be greater.

Furthermore, in Gallant's case, he had been summoned separately by Havier after the battle and had received a strong reprimand.

“I warned you so, but you failed to come to your senses until the end, 1st Archery Platoon Leader. As soon as we return to the unit, I will report this matter in detail. Be prepared.”

“……”

Because the performance of the 1st Archery Platoon was so poor, Gallant had nothing to say.

For that reason, Gallant was in a situation where he had to worry about being relieved of his position after being held responsible for this matter.

In conclusion, he should have been supervising the 1st Archery Platoon instead of ignoring Roden and the 3rd Infantry Platoon.

The next ones to be surprised were Chevalier and the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon.

“Our platoon leader is a 3-star knight?”

“Awesome. I knew it.”

“So we’re being trained under a 3-star knight!”

The soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon were simply proud and happy about the fact that Roden was a 3-star knight.

But Chevalier could not be.

“……”

Because he was certain that Roden was not originally a 3-star, but a 2-star who had recently reached the level of a 3-star.

Furthermore, he had already confirmed this fact by asking Roden directly after the battle.

‘But a 3-star already…. Is this the power of the Aurasong that the Platoon Leader taught me?’

Chevalier was struck anew by how tremendous the effect of the Aurasong was.

At the same time, he felt a great sense of respect for Roden, who had readily taught him such an amazing secret technique.

Finally, the person who was surprised by the fact that Roden was a 3-star knight was Havier.