Chapter 1296

<Chapter 1296> 1296. The Plum Swordmaster Reincarnated Into the Viscount Family

For the past three days, the enemies have been building fortresses at every pass, annoying us to no end. We’ve been encountering a fortress almost every three hours. And yet, we can’t just ignore them and move on. If we detour around the fortresses, it wastes too much time, and the morale of our soldiers drops since avoiding a fortress is essentially avoiding battle.

Arc Mage Sharneil was also using large-scale magic every three hours, so she quickly grew exhausted. Attacking the fortresses without her magic would tie us down for hours at least. Even after capturing the fortresses, there’s hardly any real gain.

“At this rate, it’ll take far too long to reach the Cobalt Kingdom. We need a plan.”

“There’s not much we can do unless we kill the demon contractor who’s building these fortresses… but that contractor is likely at least two days’ distance from us,” Scarlett said. Honestly, a full-frontal clash with those bastards might be easier at this point.

“We need to negotiate. The Sun of Solphmede. I must send a letter to Duke Leona Deckard. Didn’t we capture five knights yesterday? Bring them here.”

Scarlett had the soldiers bring two of the captured knights forward.

“…Weren’t there five?”

“One was executed as an example. Two resisted fiercely and were killed.”

“…Well, delivering a letter isn’t exactly a difficult task, so it doesn’t matter.”

I handed the captured knights a horse and the letter. No food was given.

“I’ll give you exactly one week. Bring me Duke Deckard’s reply within that time. If there’s no response, we’ll head straight for the Deckard Dukedom.”

“…Viscount Prukas! You will pay for your sins!”

One knight spat at me before leaving. His arrogant attitude made my blood boil. I summoned the Huaryeonbidu sword. A blue aura blade coated the crimson blade of Huaryeonbidu. In one swift motion, I cut through both the knight and his horse.

“Do you have anything else to say to me?”

I stared at the shocked knight. Clenching his teeth, he turned his body away.

“…I will deliver the letter to Duke Deckard.”

The knight quickly mounted his horse and fled, trying to hide his fear.

I shook my sword in the air, clearing it of blood.

“Scarlett.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“We’re changing course. We’re heading to Baron Cassiod’s city. There’s no way we’re letting them toy with us like this and just walk away.”

“Shouldn’t we prioritize reaching the Cobalt Kingdom as soon as possible?”

I grinned slightly and beckoned Scarlett closer. She approached, and I whispered into her ear.

“To you alone I’ll admit… time isn’t actually that important. We have a secret weapon on our side anyway.”

Yuria.

With Yuria alone, we’re guaranteed to win this war. If necessary, we won’t hesitate to use weapons from another world.

“Understood. Then, let’s follow your plan and bleed the Cassiod family dry.”


“Let’s have my mace crush him.”

The army changes direction, heading toward the viscount’s city. Roughly two days’ march away. If we ran, we could arrive in less than half a day, but I have to move with an army of 120,000.

“By the way, my lord, what did the letter to Duke Deckard say? Did you propose a deal?”

“I wrote that if he doesn’t want to die, he should quietly go to hell.”

“…Did you really write it exactly like that?”

“Is there any need to sugarcoat it?”

“…We must prepare for war against Duke Deckard.”

I boarded the carriage with Scarlett. Originally, I had planned to take Sharanel’s virginity… but after talking with Scarlett, she seemed more appealing.

As soon as we entered the carriage, I stripped Scarlett of her clothes. She was tall and slender, with C-cup breasts that fit perfectly in my hands.

“Mmm…”

She felt my touch without resistance. Not long after, calm moans escaped her lips.

“Aaaah…”

Two days later.

We arrived at Viscount Cassiod’s city. The gates were tightly shut, and soldiers on the city wall aimed their bows at us.

“Sharanel, can you handle this?”

“It’s tough to cause damage with just magic. See those mages up there? There are at least fifty of them. If I use Hellfire, they’ll counter immediately.”

“So, you need to neutralize those mages first before you can fight properly.”

Arch mages have existed since ancient times, and so have basic countermeasures against them. The most representative method is gathering a large number of mages to focus on defense. Even if one arch mage might outmatch them in firepower, defense is another story.

I looked up at the sky. The sun was setting behind the mountain, and our troops, who had just arrived, were exhausted.

“We’ll rest today and start the siege tomorrow morning. Prepare the siege weapons before bedtime. Sharanel, take care of your condition.”

“Hmph. Just leave me alone.”

“…I wanted to see your vulgar chest dance again today… Oh well.”

“You’re truly… Ha…”

Sharanel shook her head and entered the carriage.

I stood proudly, gazing at the city wall. I will lead this battle personally so that tales of my heroics spread and the army’s morale rises.

While I was striking a pose, Floyd called me.

“My lord! The city gates are opening, and a knight is riding this way. He seems to be Count Cassiod’s envoy.”

“I wonder what nonsense he’s going to spout.”

I welcomed Cassiod’s envoy alongside the soldiers, sitting arrogantly on my chair.

“Lord Prucrus. It’s an honor to meet you. I am Palest, representing Lord Cassiod.”

“So, Sir Palest, what message does the insolent Cassiod wish to convey?”

“…”

Palest was about to flare up but quickly calmed his breathing and pulled out a letter from his robes. Floyd took it and handed it to me.

After reading the letter:

Skipping the pleasantries, summarized…

[There’s nothing here that you seek. Take your army and leave. Don’t you have something more important to do?]

I smirked.

“Very arrogant. I like it. Floyd, kill Sir Palest. His head will serve as my reply.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Ssssshhhh. Floyd drew his sword from its sheath.

Palest panicked and stepped back.

“Lord Prucrus! Treat me as a legitimate envoy! If you kill me, everyone will condemn Lord Prucrus!”


“First, it was Cassiod who insulted me! That bastard should’ve shown more respect! Furthermore, I don’t fear the accusations of that filthy pig at all!”

Palest drew his sword from his waist as if he couldn’t die like this.

All the knights surrounding him immediately unsheathed their swords and charged at Palest. Dozens of blades pierced Palest’s body.

“Floy. Deliver that bastard’s head to Cassiod yourself.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Cassiod, upon seeing Palest’s severed head, furiously ordered Floy to shoot arrows. A rain of arrows descended upon Floy.

With leisure, Floy swung her sword, effortlessly batting away every single arrow that fell. An Aura Master—and one with extensive war experience at that—for her, this was child’s play. Even if she made a mistake, the dwarven armor she wore would protect her from the arrows.

Floy returned to the army without a scratch.

“KRAAAAAAAH!”

A scream echoed in the dead of night. Not just one person—it was unmistakable that something had happened. While I was enjoying some quality time with Yuria inside the carriage, I furrowed my brows deeply. Trying to ignore the situation outside… but the screams continued for over five minutes.

“Yuria, I’ll be right back.”

I pulled my dick out of Yuria’s soaking pussy. My cum-slicked member twitched with reluctance.

“Yes, master. I’ll keep stimulating my pussy so it doesn’t get cold while you’re gone.”

“That’s not necessary. I’ll return before your pussy gets cold.”

I kissed Yuria on the lips, got off the bed, and dressed myself, suppressing my rising irritation as I stepped out of the carriage.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!”

“KRAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“S-S-STOP!!”

The screams were coming from the barracks.

Soldiers were moving frantically. Knights held their swords, patrolling the area in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.

I went to find Scarlett.

“Scarlett, what’s going on? Did an epidemic break out?”

“No, my lord. Soldiers sleeping have suddenly screamed and died instantly. The cause of death is heart failure, but it’s absurd for so many to suddenly drop dead while asleep. We suspect the work of a Nightmare.”

“A Nightmare….”

Our enemy was the Demon Sect Pantaeum. It wouldn’t be surprising if demons were directly involved.

“What’s the damage report?”

“181 soldiers have perished. Soldiers who scream don’t last more than three minutes before dying.”

“Why don’t we wake them up?”

“We’ve tried slapping them and dousing them with cold water, but they won’t wake. The mages are helpless.”

“Is there no other way?”

“We’re pressuring the mages, but they seem to know little about demons.”

Should I ask Yuria?

There are over 500 mages in the army, yet they’re this incompetent.

“However, it’s speculated that killing the Nightmare will solve the problem.”

“Wow, what a groundbreaking speculation. If the Nightmare caused this mess, then killing it would fix things, huh? The real question is where the Nightmare is hiding.”

“The mages’ opinions are divided into two theories: either the Nightmare is hiding in someone’s dream or somewhere in the barracks, manipulating the soldiers’ dreams.”

“…”

Something came to mind.

Heavenly Eye (天眼).

The Heavenly Eye has various effects; one of them allows you to see mana. If I can see mana, I might be able to pinpoint the Nightmare’s location.

I stepped outside and immediately activated the Heavenly Eye.

I spotted dark, ominous energies seeping out from various parts of the barracks. It wasn’t mana. Those energies were rising into the sky, converging at one spot.

“Heheheh.”

There, a three-foot-tall demon was clutching its stomach and laughing.