Chapter 182 – Meeting My Older Sister Again (02)

In fact, in the Celestial Academy game, when troops are gathered, the person sponsoring the protagonist (Sailian or Duke) sends troops to reduce the opponent’s power, so I did not know that I would be gathering troops from this force directly. I didn’t know.

“To be precise, I’m coming to become ‘your’ subordinate.”

The [Shadow Family] Was strictly based on blood relatives, especially those who could use [Shadow Ninjutsu], And was made up of clans that did not know how to use the traits or family members who continued to serve them.

However, whether it was because my reputation was growing or because other royalists were acting strangely, the number of royalist soldiers who wanted to come here and join was increasing.

At first, I thought it would be okay to accept Gasol from the Shadow family, but Gasol’s village is essentially a village, so it is neither the ability nor the situation to accommodate outsiders, and the limit is to treat him as a guest.〈 Br〉

Moreover, from their point of view, if you suddenly tell them to kill everyone and serve the [Shadow Clan], They will rebel.

“It seems like William and Richard persuaded him to stay in an abandoned village nearby…”

The total number of troops is 50.

This is a significant number compared to around 10 people so far, but the problem is that we are not actively accepting soldiers.

“What are you armed with?”

“It was damaged during a fierce battle or everyone abandoned it and retreated.”

Once the Alphyrio caravan arrived, rearmament would be easy, but the problem was the absence of a commander who could lead these soldiers.

Richard should have been upgraded to a commander rather than a general, but since he was made into a general to be used as an escort, there was no character capable of commanding on a large scale, perhaps in a small-scale command.

Can’t I just do it?

‘Because this is not a strategy game’

Well, if I could control the soldiers with a mouse and keyboard, I would be confident that I would be able to do my best, but in a situation where I have to command the soldiers through a ‘system’, my ‘voice’ based on likeability or affection does not work for the general majority of soldiers. No.

First of all, we need elite commanders to lead the soldiers gathered, but most of those commanders have been absorbed into the Davin duchy, and all that’s left is…

“Shall we send everyone to Duke Davin?”

I shook my head at Inori’s question.

Now, we are in a situation where we need troops, and if we start sending troops like we do now, if Duke Davin later tells us to ‘hand over the troops to us like you sent us last time,’ it is not right for us to refuse.

“Aren’t swordsmen from famous families also active as commanders?”

“Yes, sir. In fact, some of the field commanders come from famous sword families.”

I know that he is capable of commanding small troops even if he is not at the level of a general.

In reality, it is a setup to insert a somewhat strong character among the novices.

“Then, first of all, I have to ask for help from a famous sword family.”

Currently, the only force with suitable field commanders or intermediate commanders is the Master of the Sword.

Moreover, in order to prevent the leadership from being completely transferred to the Davin family until the Sailians arrive, [Sword Masters], [Shadow Family], And [Alphyrio Caravan] Needed to join forces.

“I went to a famous sword house.”

Anyway, the sword masters are on the same side, but if there are no Cylians, there is no expectation that they will immediately become one side and keep Duke Davin in check.

There was no hostile reaction the last time we met in the capital, so wouldn’t it be okay to say hello lightly and send soldiers to replenish our strength?

Moreover, when Inori said that she was going to the famous sword family, she gave me some of the most important information, and among them was the news that Marian would soon return.

“Marian’s guerrilla force has returned…”

The famous swordsmen who were moving with Marian are retreating from the Duke faction’s territory. And in the process, three prisoners of war camps were destroyed and many royalists were rescued.

And among those people, there were still a few members of Class F, including Seri and Olivier.

‘This is good news after a long time’

Hollio decided to join hands with us in earnest and was moving his base under the pretext of setting up a branch of the upper division near here.

As originally planned, Duke Davin, who was supposed to check the advance of Alphyrio’s upper class, had withdrawn his troops with the intention of using them as bait from Duke Pao’s front line, so they were moving without any major conflict and had returned to Marian .

The full force of Class F members is gathered in this area.

‘Is it finally time to strike back?’

I just have one worry.

‘I think as soon as Marianne sees me, her affection begins to fall.’

Because I have a [Southeast Love] Tendency, seeing myself grow up will make me disappointed and my affection will not be restored… Right? No way.

*

“Is it okay if I don’t take you with me?”

“It’s okay. And…”

I saw the queen with red eyes, only her head her disintegrated, held in the hands of Golem No. 2.

“If you need to use your power, Golem No. 2 has to help you, right?”

“Yes, but…”

Although Melissa healed, she was physically weak, and since she needed to repair Golem No. 2 and the queen’s body, she decided to remain in Gasol’s village.

I was thinking of taking Richard as my escort, but his squad had just been converted to elite soldiers, so they still had to train, and the only person who could teach them was Richard.

Once their training is over, I first comfort the soldiers, hand out weapons, and tell them not to lose their senses, so I tell them to stay in their positions for now.

“I don’t need an escort. It’s a day’s journey anyway.”

Besides, where am I going?

Now that the royal family has collapsed, the safest place for the royalists was the Dnevarine family, guarded by sword master Sir Andre and numerous swordsmen of the famous family led by him.

‘If you feel like you’re going to die there, you’re going to die no matter what.’

Inori seemed a little dissatisfied, but as the head of Soga, once he had left his position his, now was the time to keep his position his.

As they were gathered to see me off, I heard from William how he had been doing. He said that the royalist soldiers had achieved elite soldier-level abilities through training, but they were not trained well, so they just watched.

These two bandits caused some trouble with Gasol, but fortunately, Rito, who understood the situation, provided protection, and William bowed his head and apologized, so it did not become a major problem.

“What accident happened?”

“…”

At those words, Yeosanjeok comes closer to me and takes out about a kunai from his bag.

“…Did you steal it?”

“I thought the owner would like it…”

No, I like weapons, but it would be a problem if they were stolen from allies.

Probably because the kunai is used as a farming tool, he didn’t ‘install’ it, but rather left it at home like a farming tool, and these guys took it and picked it up.

‘It’s not a bug… Is it just because the artificial intelligence is stupid?’

Basically, they were treated like bandits, and when I gave orders to William, they were ruled by me through William.

In other words, these are bandits who have absolutely nothing to do with the [Shadow Family] Or the [Royal Faction].

‘Ah, then with their low intelligence… They will be treated as people who can steal.’

If I hadn’t been holding on to Inori tightly, and if I had been treated as a member of the [Shadow Clan] And my lover, Inori, hadn’t been the head of Soga, I would have been kicked out of our group and been hostile to the [Shadow Clan], But it would have been an accident at a level where I had nothing to say.

“From now on, I will only steal from those I am hostile to. Understand?”

“Yes…”

“No, that’s also unsettling. Just steal the enemy’s weapons that I disarmed in real time.”

‘It’ll be okay, right?’

Well… We’re a ragtag bunch. But it’s amazing that we’re somehow able to do it.

In reality, it seems like I’m the one doing everything, whether it’s force or grand strategy.

‘It’s true that I have to take care of everything if there’s no one around, but…’

Inori said that she would follow along this time to protect her, but since there was a lot of work piled up while she was away, this time she was blocking her father and mother from leaving the shadows.

Although he looked very dissatisfied, Inori took a step back this time because he had a duty and position as the head of Soga, and because I strongly insisted that I would go alone.

“I’ll be back.”

“Be careful, Aren.”

“I will guard the house in the meantime, my lord.”

We set off on our way, being seen off by Melissa and Inori.

While passing by the Academy in a detour, there was no trace of the operative faction, so I deliberately waited until late in the day and moved only when I could use [Shadow Ninjutsu].

‘I feel more comfortable now than during the day, perhaps because I received 100% [Shadow Ninjutsu].’

Wow-

To avoid putting too much strain on the muscles or body, the limbs were moved with [Shadow Granting Technique], And the body was wrapped around the body like athletes use taping to prevent muscle injuries.

After walking all night, when the sun rose, to ensure safety and rest, he dug out a tree root with a wooden sword, hid himself inside, and surrounded himself with shadow.

‘Sleep… Doesn’t come right away’

I can’t sleep right away because it’s wet, humid, and uncomfortable.

Since it was probably hiding in the shadows in a dark place anyway, I tried to pull out the [Shadow Thorn] Used by Saori’s mother and Inori.

The goal is the boulder in front of you.

When I see something covered in a shadow cast from a tree branch, I extend my shadow and try [Shadow Thorn].

You can place a stone on the floor and spread out the shadow to cover it, or you can make the shadow sharp so that it is reflected on it.

However, [Shadow Thorn], Where the shadow stabs and pierces the substance, could not be created properly.

‘Just as Rito and I can use [Shadow Granting Art] Differently, does it mean that I can’t use [Shadow Thorn]?’

At first, I thought it was the same as her Inori, so I thought that if I filled her hand to 100%, I could use it the same way as her, but even if I actually put 100% in her hand, it was impossible to use it at the same level as her Inori.

So what are the characteristics of the shadow ninjutsu that I can use?

The [Shadow Ninjutsu] That I can currently use are [Shadow Mask] And [Shadow Granting Art].

[Shadow Mask] Did not have the [Star Wizard] Trait, so it had little meaning. It may be necessary when you need to cover your face in a hurry.

[Shadow Grant] Wasn’t bad, but it could only be used clumsily.

Smurmur.

At least I can move the shadow as I want, but I can cover my body as it is. If I do this, I can block [Shadow Thorns] And other [Shadow Ninjutsu], But it is a meaningless ability because the [Shadow Family] Clans are on my side anyway. .

The capacity of [Shadow Pouch] Still does not increase much from a single wooden sword.

Smurmur.

The shadow is released and this time it creates the appearance of Inori, but the only significance is that it creates a shadow that is visible to others as it is a lower-order version of the Inori summoned in ‘Imaginary Masturbation’.

“If the form can be freely changed, it will be able to play a good supporting role when using Inori and Shadow together.”

It is Yujiro’s father’s ability to immediately spread a shadow across the entire family, and it is Saori’s mother’s ability to slaughter intruders with shadow thorns, so it may be that Inori and I are similarly intertwined.

After getting some sleep, we make our way through the foot of the mountain and arrive near the famous sword house.

I was relieved to see no enemy in sight, but along with the deep smell of blood, I saw huge heads lying on the plain near the famous sword house.

The gigantic devil’s face, which appears to be 1m tall alone, steals the eye.

There was a table nearby, and on it there were several badly decomposed demon heads, and several of the famous swordsmen were retching among them.

‘I haven’t heard any news that demons have been deployed around here yet?’

Then those devil heads weren’t brought from around here.

I think that someone who returned from an expedition brought it back as a major, so I was able to guess that Marian had arrived at the famous sword family.

Doo doo doo doo doo-!

From the Dnevarin family, a group of people were riding fast on horseback, and I moved out of the way as I saw the red [Sword Master] Character running with a fierce look and radiating murderous spirit.

‘Are they the famous Marian guerrillas? It’s called the enemy’s blade?’

It certainly seemed like only the strongest of the famous swordsmen I had seen before were gathered together.

By now, Marian will be greeting Sir Andre, so let me visit and reveal my identity to Sir Andre and Marian and ask for their help.

If only the elites of Marian and the Dnevarine families were gathered, and if I gathered soldiers with my reputation that had begun to rise, I could increase my strength to the point where a full-fledged battle with the dukedom could be established.

“We must hurry, matriarch!”

“…Umm…”

Sir Andre, who was hesitating at the entrance of the Dnevarin family, looked so haggard that he could not remember his former self, and the two old knights he had seen in the palace were arguing.

“If we don’t stop the great lady right now, it will lead to a civil war between the royal factions! Not only are the Dukes of Davin hostile, but if other forces become aware of this situation…”

“B-But… How can I harm my precious daughter with my own hands!”

Sir Andre and the old knight, who were confused in front of the family, stopped talking when they saw me, who was about to visit the family.

“Fake? No… I definitely can’t feel the [Sword Master’s] Distinctive movements and presence that I felt back then. But… Isn’t it too elaborate? If I had simply found a double, a younger boy …”

“What is happening now, Sir Andre?”

Sir Andre looked like he had been hit by my question.

“Are you really Aren?”