T/N: Sorry about split, this chapter is extremely long. Some chapters later on will show like this too.
The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 9 – Part 1
The bastard’s sword strike aimed to cleave my body in two. This was the timing I’d been waiting for.
Thud! I pulled out the sword I had previously thrown to stick into the ground with my left hand and clanged, blocking the attack. Then I slid around to the bastard’s right side.
Simultaneously, I gripped my right hand’s spear in a shortened grip and thrust it toward my left side.
‘Ilya Style Secret Technique: Trailing Inhalation!’
A technique that draws in the opponent to take their life, the signature move of my master Ilya.
“Hah…!”
The struck bastard seemed to sense the spear coming from behind through instinct and tried to quickly dodge by leaping, but plop! The spear pierced right through his back.
“Ugh!?”
“A failure…!”
I managed to inflict severe injury, but the technique didn’t fully succeed.
I should have thrust the spear higher to take his heart, but the bastard evaded with animalistic senses, causing me to miss his heart.
I immediately tried to pull out the spear, but thud! The bastard urgently grabbed the shaft protruding from his abdomen and refused to let go.
He knew if the spear was removed, the excessive bleeding would cause him to lose combat ability.
‘It got grabbed instead!?’
Gripping my spear, the bastard wildly swung his sword at me.
“Kraaaah!”
“Tch!”
Thud! I let go of the spear to escape.
I retreated straight back to where Erina was.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
The bastard panted with bloodied breaths, gripping the spear shaft with his left hand and the rear portion with his right. Without pulling it out, he snapped the shaft off, leaving the spear lodged in his body but allowing easier movement.
The loathsome bastard said, “You’re from Chester School! I didn’t expect to see those clowns in a place like this…!”
Clown was a derogatory term for Chester practitioners.
Using both a sword and spear simultaneously gave the style a circus-like flair, which was both flashy and unpredictable.
“I couldn’t even follow half of my master’s moves, but I didn’t think you’d be able to avoid that.”
“Avoid it, you little brat? Can’t you see the spear sticking out of my gut?”
“I intended to kill you, I only failed because you dodged.”
“Heh. You’ve got a mouth on you.”
Despite the gutting, the bastard’s eyes remained sharp.
“Still itching for more?”
“If you think poking a hole in my gut means you’ve won, you’re sorely mistaken, seedling. We live in different worlds.”
Step, step. The approaching bastard crushed Erina’s spirit with his ghastly vigor.
I’d lost my spear, and my sword had broken blocking his earlier attack.
There was no way I could beat him barehanded.
Worried I might flee, he scouted my exit and slowly closed off my breathing room.
“Ah, Ars. What do we do now…!”
“Don’t worry. No matter what, I won’t let anything that can get you killed happen.”
“…!”
Seeing no point in panicking, I reassured Erina, causing her to freeze wide-eyed.
There was one way.
In case something like this happened, I had prepared an escape route – a bear trap set on the side.
Until now the bastard had been too wary to use it, but with his focus shaken from the gut wound, he could easily stumble into it now.
“You know the Chester style has martial arts techniques too, right?”
“Spare me the bluster.”
Just as I was about to play that final card, rustling came from the mountain, above and below – reinforcements approaching from both sides.
From below, Duke Saleon’s panicked guards rushed over after hearing the commotion. From above, likely the bandits.
“Ha, hahah! You’ve lost, seedling.”
The bastard laughed wearily.
“Those idiot guards won’t find this place right away. But my men will – they’ll faithfully follow the markers I left.”
“Markers…?”
That seemed odd. For reinforcements to take this long…
As if someone had grabbed their ankles somewhere.
‘Could it be… That was what happened?’
The realization sapped my strength, and I sighed, dropping the broken sword.
“…What are you doing?”
“Realizing I’ve been putting on a solo act feels a bit anticlimactic.”
“I don’t know what nonsense you’re spouting, but if you accept death quietly, I’d appreciate it.”
“No, that’s a different matter. This one’s been settled. Yes, you were right, duke Saleon’s guards arrived too late. But…”
Tear! The bastard’s right arm suddenly fell off.
“Aaaaaah–!!”
“My maid is a few steps ahead of the others.”
Appearing like a shadow in a fitted brown outfit, Yumir glared at the bastard with ferocious fighting spirit.
The intensity of her killing aura was on another level entirely, making our earlier battle seem like child’s play.
“Young master, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, no injuries.”
Yumir had been staying in Grancel for the past few days, after her butler training ended, to find an affordable place near the academy for commuting.
I had asked her to stand by at the mountain’s base today, just in case, my minimal insurance policy.
“I’m sorry I was late. If I’d known this would happen, I would have come up the mountain with you…”
“No, today’s mistake was mine.”
“Your mistake, Young Master?”
“It’s fine, let’s just handle this.”
Now that my hidden card Yumir had appeared, the bastard had no chance left.
In game stats, Yumir’s official combat rating is 93, placing her in the top three support characters.
This bastard’s combat rating maxes out around 72 at best. An unbridgeable gap existed between them.
“Well, what is it you…!”
The man instantly lost consciousness. He had already sustained serious injuries and realized he could not escape Yumir’s grasp.
With his life in peril, he started struggling disgracefully.
“Sa, save me! I was just…! Some, somebody come over here quickly! Hurry!”
As if his wish was granted, a rustling sound was heard, and a man appeared.
It was the man named Makias who had spoken to me before starting the bear hunt.
With a fierce expression, he looked this way and frowned arrogantly.
“Tch, there were two more!”
Saying that, he suddenly attacked us.
In response, Yumir threw her dagger at the head of the man who had lost his arm and was struggling, eliminating any further threat, before confronting him.
The two fiercely exchanged blows imbued with aura, but soon Makias began to be overwhelmed.
Makias’ skill was better than the man I had faced, but he was still no match for Yumir.
“Im, impossible… How can there be such a skilled person in a mere bandit group…!”
Makias was astounded. My thoughts were indeed correct.
“Enough, Yumir. He’s an ally.”
Instantly, without asking why, Yumir immediately stopped attacking and retreated to guard by my side.
Makias looked bewildered for a moment, but soon seemed to realize the truth as he deeply bowed his head.
“What are you? You weren’t a bandit after all.”
“It was understandable to think so. I get it.”
From Makias’ perspective, when I suddenly appeared carrying Erina as if fleeing while the bandits emerged, he had no choice but to think we were in league.
“So you must be the undercover escort assigned by the duke as insurance.”
“It’s a bit different, but… well, something like that. There were some circumstances.”
In the end, I had put on a solo show. Keeping quiet was the right answer there.
“My apologies. I caused confusion with my reckless behavior.”
“No, it was our fault for hiding things.”
Shortly after, the duke’s security guards rushed in.
Among them was Ariana Saleon, the wife of duke Saleon.
“Erina!”
Ariana Saleon hurried over and embraced Erina, then spoke to Makias.
“Thank you so much for saving my daughter, Prince Eldric. I don’t know how to repay this favor…”
“No, Madam Saleon. I did nothing. This young friend here did it all.”
Even if Makias was an alias, Madam Saleon’s attitude seemed too deferential for an ordinary escort.
‘Wait, Prince Eldric?’
Eldric Schwarzer. The third prince of the southern powerhouse, the Bulang Allied Kingdom, known as the Wandering Prince.[1]
In the game’s story, he is the protagonist’s greatest ally and appears as a playable character masterful in civil and martial arts affairs.
Though not a summonable character in the gacha, if he were to be added, he would undoubtedly be the highest UR rarity.
‘Why is such a big shot here?’
The appearance of such an unexpected VIP was surprising indeed.
***
The situation was quickly wrapped up.
An interrogation was conducted to find the ringleader, and to explain the whole story, I was summoned along with Prince Eldric to Duke Altior.
Prince Eldric, having shed his identity as Makias, grinned with his distinctive blue hair shining.
“That’s how it is, Duke. So the reward for rescuing Lady Erina should go not to me, but to this young hero.”
“I see. The son of baron Elaine’s family…. Hmm!”
Next to him, Erina was sitting fidgeting, seeming uneasy about something.
The reason became clear soon.
“More importantly, Duke, about this marriage proposal with Lady Erina.”
Erina flinched. Soon she looked at me with eyes that seemed to clarify that she didn’t know about this either.
“It seems best that this marriage proposal never happened.”
“Is that so? What a pity. I thought it would be a good opportunity to promote friendship between Bulang and Calliper.”
Nice?