The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 16: No Need for Concern

Ardin must have thought of a way out, Karyl mused.

With the situation as it was, his own forces were at risk of taking significant casualties. Although he was a spy for the principality, he had only recently been recruited as a knight by the baronial family. In such circumstances, incurring losses to his troops could jeopardize his standing in the Valsar family as well. He still needed to earn trust.

That's precisely why Ardin's plan won't end here, Karyl concluded. After all, it wasn't about Ardin fleeing alone. It was about him finding a way to harm the MacGoverns and secure a moral high ground in the process.

Karyl's eyes gleamed with determination. The impact of the first part of the plan was significant, but limited to the family. It was unlikely to cause a stir all the way to the imperial capital. With the second part, however, the impact would be different. He had aimed far higher.

I will make sure my name reaches the emperor himself. No longer was he the powerless twelve-year-old.

Make your move. Karyl focused on Ardin.

Ardin hurled his spear with all his might toward the Goblin Chief, then swiftly drew the two spears he carried on his back. As he concentrated his magic, the spear tips crackled with a sharp electrical energy, scattering in all directions.

“Clear the way!” he shouted, as soldiers, startled by the burst of lightning, quickly parted to create a path.

Ardin dismounted and dashed through the opening.

The Goblin Chief managed to deflect the incoming spear with its massive broadsword, but its body staggered from the impact with a loud noise.

Seizing the opening, Ardin leaped from the ground, his spear slicing through the air like a serpent, aimed for the Chief’s waist. His attack pierced through four goblins blocking his path. The foul smell of burnt blood permeated the air as the bodies of the goblins, their breaths cut off, convulsed on the ground like fish.

“Those injured, fall back! Shield bearers, to the front!” Ardin commanded amidst the chaos.

His leadership shone through; he fought harder and killed more goblins than anyone else. Though it was a matter of survival, Karyl viewed his performance differently—it felt almost performative. The spectacle of his lightning-infused spear was as mesmerizing as it was deadly.

“Die!” Ardin's spear shot toward the Goblin Chief. In a flash, they collided. Ardin's elegant spearwork dominated their exchange, pressuring the Goblin Chief to stagger and step back. The rapid advance of Ardin's spear was so intense it was impossible for anyone to intervene.

Ardin exerted more power through his grip, causing the spear to draw an arc and lift the Goblin Chief's broadsword. This disrupted its stance, exposing the Goblin Chief's neck.

Slicing through the wind, Ardin propelled the spear toward the Goblin Chief's neck. Yet, in that critical moment, the lethal strike grazed past the Goblin Chief's neck, embedding itself in the shoulder instead. The chief groaned in pain, staggering under the blow.

With a cry, Ardin raised his other spear, preparing for another assault. The confrontation reached a peak as his spear aimed for the final blow.

However, just before the spear tip could reach the Goblin Chief's neck, the spear embedded in its shoulder loosened, creating an opening. Seizing that moment, the chief twisted its body to dodge Ardin's attack. As a result Ardin missed, his spear embedding deep into the ground.

“Damn it!”

At that moment, something caught Karyl's eye. Just before what seemed like a full-force strike from Ardin, there was a slight deviation. Ardin had intentionally pulled the blow. It was a calculated miss, unnoticed by all but Karyl.

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As the injured Goblin Chief let out a strange cry, the surrounding goblins began to retreat en masse. Seizing the moment, Ardin ordered the troops. “Chase down the fleeing goblins!!! Do not let any of them survive!!”

Spurred on by Ardin's command, the soldiers chased after the goblins. Karyl sensed the underlying strategy. This is it.

This was the moment Ardin had been waiting for—a pretext to disengage from the main battle line.

The ambush isn’t over yet.

The presence of the Goblin Chief implied that at least two thousand goblins still remained.

Karyl's gaze turned toward the other side of the forest, anticipating another ambush from the direction opposite to where the Goblin Chief fled.

It was clear now. Once Ardin's forces thinned out, the real trap would spring. This was the true scheme all along. Karyl awaited a signal, ready to act before it was too late.

“Stay in your position!” Tiren called out to Karyl, “there is no need to exhaust their forces chasing after the monsters! Leave the remnants to Sir Ardin.”

“The opposite,” Karyl responded, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “The one I'm after is him.”

Karyl's decision was clear. He would follow Ardin, but not neglect the Goblin Chief either. There was no dilemma; he could pursue both objectives.

“Giddy up! Giddy up!”

As Ardin raced through the canyon, he glanced back. This should be enough distance, he thought.

“From now on, only I'll chase the Goblin Chief. You all split up and deal with the remaining stragglers,” he instructed the soldiers following him.

“Alone? Are you sure, sir?” one of the subordinates asked, concerned.

“Do you doubt me?” Ardin retorted, slightly amused at the subordinate's concern.

“I'm sorry!! That's not what I meant...”

At his subordinate’s hurried response, Ardin chuckled and said, “Having more people would just be cumbersome. You know what the presence of a Goblin Chief implies, don't you? There must be a Goblin Sorcerer somewhere that hasn’t shown itself yet. We need to deal with them.”

Upon hearing Ardin's words, the subordinate’s face tensed up.

“We'll split our forces in two and retrace the path we took. Clear?”

“Yes, sir!” The subordinate exclaimed with an admiring tone, once again praising Ardin’s bravery, bringing a smile to his lips.

“Giddy up!!” He spurred his horse on.

***

Ardin’s horse stopped abruptly, rearing up. Before Ardin stood a wounded Goblin Chief, gasping heavily, its gaze fixed on him. Amidst rustling bushes, dozens of goblins appeared behind the chief. Among them, two hunched goblins wielding staves stood prominently at the forefront.

“You have arrived,” a voice speaking the human language emerged from the group.

“The young brats of the MacGovern family fought quite valiantly. I had to put in quite an effort pretending. So, can you deal with that brat who was glaring at me?”

“Haha...” The man, wrapped in bandages and wearing a robe, laughed in a sinister tone, reminiscent of scraping metal. He casually patted the Goblin Chief's head as if handling a pet.

What was going on? Under his touch, the leader of the thousands of goblins began to grin pleasingly, drooling with a bizarre expression far from normal.

“They are still on the forest path,” Ardin remarked, looking at the scene with a grimace.

The bandaged man, smiling just like the Goblin Chief, replied, “I will prepare.”

That's when it happened. “Was this the meeting place?”

Ardin quickly turned toward the voice behind him, pointing his spear. His eyes widened as he saw the person emerging from the depths of the forest.

“You must be...”

“You've gone through unnecessary trouble. Getting to the root of the issue, huh? You should've conveyed the accurate information at least,” Karyl muttered in a low voice, casually brushing off leaves from his clothes despite Ardin's guard.

“Wooden Cloud.”

Ardin was taken aback by the word. “What? Are you an ally?” Despite still being on alert, Ardin asked Karyl, puzzled by the unexpected familiarity.

I haven't heard anything about this though...

As if reading his thoughts, Karyl spoke to Ardin, “You don't need to make that face. I haven't received any reports either, so I came here to check what's going on. It was quite troublesome to get out of there. Otherwise, I wouldn't have followed you here.”

Pausing for a moment to let the words sink in, Karyl continued with a slight emphasis, “If you can't trust me, that's fine. I also have business with the MacGovern family, Ardin Chandler.”

At that moment, the suspicion in his gaze seemed to soften slightly. He knows my real name. Is he really a person from the Cloud?

Wooden Cloud. A secret organization within the Lurein Principality. It is composed of the roots that command the organization, the stems that transmit their orders, and the branches that carry out those commands. They do not know of each other's existence and communicate only through special notes to relay commands.

But then again... When I think about it, there are several oddities. From a child adopted by the count's family wearing a mask to hide his face to the unchildlike atmosphere around him...

During the recent attack, Ardin saw Karyl in combat. He displayed the calmness of a veteran. It was something that couldn't be achieved without training.

“I've heard there's a sorcerer who can control goblins, but it's astonishing to see it with my own eyes. To control not just any goblin, but the chief. It seems the root has spent quite a bit of money.” After a brief pause, Karyl turned back to Ardin with a speculative edge in his voice. “Then there must be other sorcerers around here too. An ambush?”

Like Ardin, the Goblin Sorcerer looked visibly tense under Karyl's sharp gaze.

“I guess I asked too much. It's a rule among us Clouds to keep each other's secrets, you know. Please understand. It's a special circumstance.” Karyl shrugged nonchalantly. “I have my own mission, you see. Well, us branches just have to do as we're told. The stem will take care of sending the report down to the root, right?”

He really is one of us... Ardin thought as he looked at Karyl. He mentioned not only the name of the secret organization, Cloud, but also the root, which could not be known by anyone outside the organization.

Really. It's all thanks to you, Karyl mused.

“So, what's the plan?” Ardin casually asked, tilting his head and pointing toward the Goblin Sorcerer.

“There's a goblin ambush on the other side.” Upon his words, the sorcerer took out something resembling a small flute from his bosom.

“It emits a special sound that only monsters can hear. As soon as I blow it, the goblins will attack the location where the MacGovern family's soldiers are.”

“Is that so? The sorcerer also sends the signal, huh? I thought there was someone else. Ah, this is really fortunate.”

“...What do you mean by fortunate?”

“It means that I don't have to do the troublesome work twice.”

Karyl casually drew his sword, his expression unchanging.

“...!”

No one could react in time.

Thud—

Moments later, the sorcerer who had been holding the small flute found himself with both arms severed, the limbs falling to the ground and rolling away.

Blood gushed from his severed wrists, soaking the ground.

“Ah... Ah... Aaahhh!!!” Belatedly realizing the extent of his injury, the sorcerer screamed in agony. He began to shiver uncontrollably, overwhelmed by pain.

“What have you done?!”

“I bought us some time,” Karyl nonchalantly responded, despite Ardin's outcry.

The Goblin Chief growled threateningly, wielding his weapon as if to guard against Karyl.

Karyl, with a calm voice, surveyed them and said, “Now, shall we take care of them one by one?”

***

“You... lunatic!!!” Ardin stood in front of the sorcerer, pointing his spear at Karyl. “Where are you from?”

Despite Ardin's shout, Karyl slowly drew his sword.

He is a perfect opponent.

Although he had practiced against opponents with mana blades in the mansion, thanks to Martte, he still had to hide the fact that he had acquired magical power. As a result, he could never fully unleash his aura blade.

Furthermore, despite his swordsmanship reaching perfection, he had needed to adjust his style to suit his 12-year-old physique.

Now, facing Ardin, Karyl encountered an opponent against whom he could finally reveal his full magical prowess. A subtle hint of satisfaction curled his lips.