Ch.137Sword Master

# Sword Master.

Master of the Sword.

Despite that simplistically straightforward naming, there was no one who didn’t understand what presence those words carried among swordsmen.

The highest and final realm that a swordsman could reach.

That was precisely what a Sword Master was.

And now, the first Sword Master had been born in Amurtat.

A knight who wielded sword energy wrapped in white aura.

The Knight Commander of Amurtat, and the first to be officially appointed.

Ignatz von Jäger.

“Congratulations, Sir Ignatz. To think you would achieve enlightenment in the twilight of your life.”

“Thank you. I appreciate you making time despite your busy schedule.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll be busy soon enough, so I had to make time to congratulate you.”

The first to rush to him was none other than Vladek, the Archmage of Amurtat’s Magic Tower.

Considering they were perfect counters to each other, it might seem like an awkward scene, but as long as they both served the same sovereign, there was no reason for them to fight.

“Now I should practice defensive magic.”

“Haha. And I’m thinking of training in sword techniques that can cut through meteors.”

They exchanged pleasantries briefly, and then Vladek noticed Tiberius’s retainers approaching behind Ignatz.

“Well, I seem to be holding up a busy man. I’ll take my leave then.”

Whoosh!

With that, Vladek disappeared using teleportation magic, and from a distance came the sound of retainers calling for Ignatz.

*

“I congratulate you on reaching the realm of Sword Master, Sir Ignatz.”

“I am deeply honored by your grace.”

Tiberius draped a purple cloth around Ignatz.

Purple was the color of rulers, naturally traded at extremely high prices, and for a sovereign to bestow it upon a subject was tangible proof of unlimited trust in that subject.

Soon, a complex and religious ceremony began. Deacons (assistants to the priests) came forward to wash Ignatz’s face clean before applying holy oil.

Then the priests began reciting complex sacred phrases from the holy text, the pronunciation of which was nearly impossible to discern, while censers swung in rhythm, sinking sulfurous fragrance into the palace floor.

Young knights full of vigor might have trembled at such a complicated ceremony, but the aged knight Ignatz was actually half enjoying it.

‘My knees don’t hurt… My spine doesn’t tingle… Is this what a young body feels like? To be able to maintain youth eternally, what a blessing this is!’

Indeed.

Having undergone complete physical transformation, his body was now immortal, and except for being unable to wield the power of the Core, he had become a far superior being than even the sovereign.

Barring injuries from external forces or poisons that infiltrated his body, he would never grow weak. With his already mature mind, Ignatz had truly reached the pinnacle of knighthood.

Thump! Thump!

The ceremony showed no signs of ending, but Ignatz’s heart was pounding as if it might burst.

‘This pounding… I’ve definitely experienced it before… Ah, yes. When I graduated from being a squire and was officially appointed as a knight.’

Back then too, the one standing before him was Tiberius.

Except at that time, both Ignatz and Tiberius were much younger.

“…By this, your name shall be eternally engraved under this heaven.”

Finally, the ceremony concluded, and Ignatz rose with the purple cloth draped over his shoulders.

*

“Please tell me this is a joke.”

“……”

“Please…!”

“…I regret to inform you, Your Majesty…”

The news of a Sword Master appearing in Amurtat was value-neutral in itself, but depending on the receiving faction, that neutrality was rapidly compromised.

For example, in Fahrenheit, where decades ago the only Master’s head had been severed by Amurtat, upon hearing the news, Grand Sovereign Marcus collapsed ungracefully, requiring his chamberlain to quickly catch him.

“If Amurtat has a Sword Master… we are now completely defeated…”

Amurtat’s population was around 4.2 million.

Fahrenheit’s population had also recovered significantly, maintaining about 10.3 million, meaning the population difference between the two nations was a staggering 6 million.

The existence of a Sword Master was what could bridge that gap of 6 million.

The white reaper who could collapse battle formations with a single sword strike.

The only being who could slice through a great mage’s fireballs as if they were meatballs.

One who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

All these epithets were evidence of a Sword Master’s strength.

And because of this, Grand Sovereign Marcus had no choice but to admit that Fahrenheit had been militarily defeated.

At least as long as Ignatz lived, and as long as Fahrenheit had no Master to face him, Fahrenheit’s army would not be able to withstand Amurtat’s forces.

“What should we do now?”

The Grand Sovereign, barely seated on his throne, asked his advisor with trembling hands.

“…We must wait… and cultivate. There are many young and talented knights in Fahrenheit. If we train them rigorously, someday we will again welcome a Master.”

The advisor offered a fundamental answer.

While the realm of Master required enlightenment beyond training, that enlightenment was ultimately the result of training.

“If we need rigorous training now, does that mean we’ve been training comfortably until now?”

However, faced with the Grand Sovereign’s fundamental rebuttal, the advisor could only close his mouth again.

Of course, to enter the realm of Master, one needed the stepping stone of Expert-superior rank, and there was no doubt that consistent training formed that stepping stone.

But it was common knowledge that not everyone could reach the realm of Master even with that stepping stone. The advisor’s words might help increase the number of knights, but cultivating “strong knights” would be no different from what they had been doing all along.

Moreover, having already spent considerable money and troops fighting the Greenskins, Fahrenheit lacked the strength to defend itself if Amurtat were to invade right now.

*

“I want to invade Fahrenheit.”

“Please restrain yourself, Your Highness.”

Unfortunately(?), the title of Grand Sovereign could not be obtained through conquest alone.

It was counted only by the number of native citizens reaching 10 million, so even if Fahrenheit were split into Fahren/heit and 6 million people were brought over, one would still not be called Grand Sovereign.

And above all, Amurtat still lacked too many things.

Aside from population, there was still no paved road connecting Woodbury-Amurtat-Pale Harbor, and although income was high, expenses were also high, making it impossible to increase the number of civil servants too much, leaving administration always in an overloaded state.

And despite this, the adoption of gunpowder weapons as standard issue had inflated military expenditure to the point where it was like a tumor in budget planning, causing financial officers to tremble in fear whenever the army conducted large-scale training.

If population growth hadn’t continuously supported the growth of the domestic economy, Amurtat would have lost its growth engine and rapidly declined.

Just like small nations that went bankrupt unable to afford military expenses.

So, what should be done now?

The answer was simple.

Find a new growth engine and use it as fertilizer to foster new industries.

And that growth engine was not far away—it was the southern swamplands.

Although all exploration of the swamplands had been completed a few years ago, that was merely exploration of the “terrain,” not of the flora living in that terrain.

Even now, various pharmaceutical companies were trying to establish themselves by driving logs into the ground, and for the “ants” (referred to as low-level adventurers in guild terminology) who couldn’t be accommodated by pharmaceutical companies, there was active purchasing of by-products such as wild animal hides or slime fluids.

And in step with this, the major expansion of Pale Harbor, which had been sharpening its knives for several years, was gradually taking shape. There was still much to exploit in Amurtat.

“And now I should unlock the remaining two regions.”

Of the seven regions my Core could accept, I currently had five under my control.

I could still incorporate two more regions, which would expand the territory and allow for more people to be accepted.

“How do you plan to secure the funds for the two fragments?”

“I’ll dip into my personal funds again. If that’s not enough, we can wait a bit longer.”

“Hmm… understood.”

Since Fahrenheit had kindly suggested expanding to the northwest, I planned to do exactly that.

With vast plains and tidal flats awaiting me, I was beginning to feel that the time to surpass Fahrenheit was not far off.