Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent - Chapter 318

Chapter 318: Thomas
In the Grand Duke’s mansion, Lloyd Astania received the news about the soldiers’ decision to surrender.

“What did you say?!” He flew into rage and he almost killed the messenger on impulse.

The messenger didn’t dare raise his head. He cowered under Lloyd’s terrifying aura as he replied in a shaking voice. “M-My lord, Lucas’ army is approaching the estate as we speak…”

Lloyd felt a sense of unease.

“What about the preparations on Thomas’ side?” He asked while concealing his agitation.

The messenger quickly responded. “Sir Thomas is awaiting the arrival of Lucas’ troops. The soldiers under him are also prepared to fight.”

Hearing this, Lloyd was a bit relieved.

Thomas was a Transcendent Knight who had sworn allegiance to him a long time ago. He was also the current 25th in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard!

Thomas should be able to buy me enough time until reinforcements from His Highness’ side will arrive.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes as he stared at the horizon. The sky was bright, but he felt that there was a gloomy cloud casting over him.

I do not like this one bit. Should I escape?

The thought crossed his mind, but he quickly quashed the idea. He didn’t want to be remembered as the man who had abandoned his territory to save his own skin!

Suddenly, another messenger arrived bearing urgent news. “My lord, there is word from His Highness!” He exclaimed.

Lloyd was pleasantly surprised to hear this. “What did he say?”

“I didn’t dare read the letter, my lord. Here is the message he sent.” The man presented the letter sent by the second prince. It still bore the seal which signified that it hadn’t been tampered with.

Lloyd immediately removed the seal and opened the letter.

Upon reading the contents, his face took an abrupt change.

No way! Is that bastard planning to abandon me after getting all those benefits?!

“Giovanni, you ungrateful bastard!” The Grand Duke tore the letter and burned it with his mana.

His sudden outburst of fury scared the two messengers. They didn’t even dare utter a word, afraid that they would be on the receiving end of his wrath.

***

“Lord Venerable, according to our scouts, Thomas, is guarding the outer walls of the Grand Duke’s estate,” Rendon reported with a stern look.

Thomas might be ranked lower than him in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard, but he had never fought with the man before so he didn’t know what kind of hidden trump cards he had.

Lucas didn’t give much of a reaction and just asked with a calm tone. “How many soldiers does he have?”

“According to our scouts, there are about a thousand of them atop the outer walls of the Grand Duke’s estate. They also have ballistas, mana cannons, and catapults. There will be heavy casualties if we attack them head-on.” Rendon wasn’t worried about himself, but his subordinates would be vulnerable to the enemy’s artillery.

Lucas squinted his eyes as he used his spiritual perception to confirm Rendon’s report.

Oh? They even prepared some traps around their estate. They are quite meticulous.

He immediately spotted the hidden traps with powerful vision. Ordinary scouts wouldn’t have noticed them, but they could never escape his eyes.

“The Transcendents and the Elite Knights will follow me to attack! The rest will surround the estate and take care of those who will slip through our hands!” He instructed with a cold look.

“Yes, Lord Venerable!” Rendon saluted before he left to disseminate his command to the troops.

A moment later, a small unit was formed. They were the strongest warriors in his troops and their task was to support him in destroying the Grand Duke’s defense forces!

“Everyone, prepare to charge at my signal!” Lucas shouted as he unsheathed his broadsword. He didn’t even bother to take out his shield. To him, defense was unnecessary against these weaklings!

Everyone tightly gripped their weapons while quietly waiting for his signal.

They were eager to show their might to Lucas!

Meanwhile, the rest of the troops spread out to surround the enemy’s escape routes.

At this moment, Alaric was staring intently at his father, waiting for him to give the signal.

Suddenly, Lucas raised his hand and issued an earth-shaking roar.

“CHARGE!!!”

A small unit of about fifty warriors charged toward the towering walls of the Grand Duke’s estate!

Their surprising move didn’t escape the eyes of Thomas, the commander of the Grand Duke’s army.

“Fire! Don’t let them get close to the walls!” He bellowed.

In the next moment, the small unit led by Lucas faced heavy artillery bombardment!

Boom! Boom!

Bang! Bang!

However, no attacks caused any damage to the attacking force. This was because everyone was protected by an invisible wall casted by Samiya.

So this is her Solid Protection ability. It is only B-grade, but it can actually defend against heavy artillery attacks.

Alaric thought to himself, shocked by Samiya’s integrated monster trait. Although she didn’t have any attack-related integrated traits, her supporting skills could amplify the strength of an army!

The large arrows from the ballistas, the mana beam from the mana cannon, and the large boulders from the catapults merely bounced off, leaving them unscathed!

“What?!” Thomas was filled with disbelief when he saw that the small unit wasn’t even affected by their barrage of attacks.

Just then, a colossal pressure fell upon him which almost forced him to kneel.

His face turned pale with fright.

What terrifying aura!

He thought that he could exchange a few moves with Lucas, but he realized how stupid that thought was.

In the face of this absolute power, the strength he was so proud of was meaningless.

My lord, it seems like you have provoked the wrong people…

Whoosh!

“It has been a while, Thomas.” An indifferent voice drifted into his ears, making him feel a wave of terror.

He quickly turned his head and saw a silver-haired middle-aged man with a gaunt face, staring at him with a nonchalant expression.

“Lucas!”