CH 55

TL: I posted Total 6 chapters, don’t forget to check them out.

Otto and the Swordsmen escaped from the rebel camp 10 minutes before the completion of the ‘False Face of the Impersonator’ spell.

Immediately after that, they headed towards the suppression camp led by the Crown Prince.

.

.

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A few hours later.

“Commander Cain? What brings you to me at this late hour?”

The Crown Prince, who couldn’t sleep due to anxiety and worry, seemed quite surprised by Otto’s sudden visit.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Otto replied to the Crown Prince’s question.

“We have succeeded in our mission.”

“Mission…?”

“You can advance to the Canyon Ridge immediately.”

“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

The Crown Prince didn’t understand Otto’s words at all.

“You’re telling me to attack the Canyon Ridge in the middle of the night?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“But the enemies are firmly holding their ground at the Canyon Ridge, aren’t they? If we attack them now…”

“Weren’t you planning to attack anyway?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

The Crown Prince became speechless at Otto’s remark.

Just a few days ago, it was the Crown Prince himself who couldn’t bear the frustration and wanted to send troops to Canyon Ridge.

“Trust me and attack now.”

“Listen, Commander Cain.”

The Crown Prince said with a perplexed expression.

“If you suddenly order an advance like that, it’s difficult to move the army hastily. You need to give a convincing explanation…”

At that moment.

“Your Highness.”

A general appeared and reported to the Crown Prince.

“I heard that Otto de Scuderia of the Iota has died.”

“Is, is that true?”

“Yes, Your Highness. According to the report, the death of Otto de Scuderia has been officially announced in Iota, and preparations for the funeral are being made.”

“?.”

The Crown Prince looked back at Otto after receiving the report.

(Ah~ I’ve killed him~)

Otto smiled inwardly at the Crown Prince’s astonished expression.

Seeing the person who asked him to kill someone, not knowing that person was right in front of him, and being so surprised, it was natural for laughter to well up inside.

“Commander Cain… Did Otto de Scuderia really die? Just a few days after I asked you to kill him?”

“You asked me to kill him.”

“Well, that’s true, but… I didn’t expect you to execute it so quickly.”

“Gonzalez, that wicked man, never misses a target once he sets his sights on it. He will chase and kill him until the end of the world.”

While tearing apart Camille for no reason, Otto said to the Crown Prince.

“Commander Cain… Your abilities are truly remarkable.”

“I simply killed Auto de Scuderia as you requested. And I set the stage for you to occupy the Cannian Front as you asked.”

“That’s good.”

The Crown Prince made up his mind.

“I will trust my Commander Cain this time.”

The Crown Prince decided to place absolute trust in Otto.

It was only natural.

Otto saved Prince, who was being pursued by the rebels, and went on to eliminate the leader of a force that would become a threat in the future.

So, without sending absolute trust, there was no other choice.

“We will advance to the Canyon Ridge immediately.”

A smile appeared on Otto’s face beneath the mask.

***

The Crown Prince, who had come to trust Otto, advanced towards Canyon Ridge without further questioning.

“Enemy! The enemies are attacking!”

“They’re coming!”

The rebel forces remaining at Canyon Ridge were greatly taken aback by the sudden advance of the Crown Prince’s troops.

Currently, there were only about 1,000 troops guarding the front. A small number indeed.

Moreover, most of them were non-combat personnel such as cooks, supply troops, and administrators, rather than actual fighting forces.

In essence, it was like an empty house.

On the other hand, the Crown Prince’s suppression army numbered a whopping 15,000.

No matter how strategically important Canyon Ridge was, it wouldn’t be easy to withstand more than ten times the number of troops.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Fire the signal flares! We need to inform the main force!”

Whizz! Boom!

Whizz! Boom! Boom!

The rebel forces at Canyon Ridge urgently fired signal flares to inform headquarters, but it was already too late.

“Charge!”

“Kill them all!”

In the blink of an eye, the 15,000 suppression troops advanced up the front and turned the rebel camp into chaos.

The Crown Prince, who had participated in the battle to boost the morale of his troops, was greatly surprised to see that there were fewer rebel troops remaining at Canyon Ridge than he had expected.

They were supposed to be swarming with rebel forces…

(Commander Cain… What kind of magic did you use?)

The Crown Prince looked at Otto’s back as he indiscriminately slaughtered the rebel forces. His expression filled with fascination.

As the crown prince, he couldn’t even imagine the tactics Otto had employed.

Meanwhile, Otto was happily leveling up while annihilating the rebel forces.

[Notification: You have gained experience points!]

[Notification: You have gained experience points!]

[Notification: You have gained experience points!]

[Notification: You have gained experience points!]

The battlefield was always an excellent source of experience points.

Of course, battles were not the only way to gain experience.

However, it was a well-known fact that battles provided experience points the fastest and in the greatest quantity.

[Notification: Level 86 achieved!]

[Notification: Level 87 achieved!]

[Notification: Level 88 achieved!]

While wiping out the rebel forces, Otto seized as much experience as he could.

As a result…

[Notification: Unlock imminent!]

[Notification: Upon reaching Level 90, the skill ‘Petrification Eye’ will be unlocked!]

Only two levels remained until reaching 90.

Once he gained two more levels, he would be able to use ‘Petrification Eye’, the second skill in the ‘Calypso’s Eye’ system.

(I just need to defeat one more person.)

Otto relentlessly attacked rebel forces, vacuuming up experience points.

[Well done, lad.]

Kairos seemed quite pleased with Otto’s appearance.

[You were nothing but trash when I first saw you. Now you’re at least a low-level mercenary.]

No matter how strong Otto had become, he was still a fledgling.

In Kairos’ eyes, who had reached the position of an absolute ruler of the continent in the past, he still appeared quite amateurish.

(Were you born strong from the beginning?)

[What?]

(Did you raise an empire with a single mace? You must have been weak when you first grabbed the weapon too.)

[Nonsence] Kairos objected.

[I was strong from birth! My first weapon was a stone! At the age of three, I hunted wolves! At five, I hunted tigers…]

(You’re just making things up.)

Otto didn’t believe Kairos’ words.

Even though it’s a different world, it’s not like he’s a Goku, able to use the super Saiyan from Dragon Ball.

How can someone hunt a wolf at the age of three and a tiger at five?

(Are you telling me you can make grenades out of pinecones and bullets out of sand? Can you perform magic? You?)

Recalling a former dictator from a northern kingdom, Otto grumbled at Kairos.

[Huh? Grenades? What’s that?]

Of course, it goes without saying that Kairos had no knowledge of modern throwing weapons like grenades.

(Enough, don’t talk to me now. I’m busy.)

Ignoring Kairos’ nonsense, Otto continued to sweep through rebel forces and gain experience.

But…

“Huh?”

Looking around, he realized there were no enemies.

Just corpses everywhere.

Around Otto, there were only the lifeless bodies of slain rebels, and there wasn’t a single living enemy left.

“They’re gone…?”

At that moment…

“””We won!”””

“”We’ve occupied the Cannian Front!”””

“””They’re running away!”””

Cheers of victory erupted from the soldiers of the Crown Prince’s suppression army.

While Otto was gleefully swinging his sword and gaining experience, they had successfully occupied Canyon Ridge without him noticing.

***

After the battle was over,

“Commander Cain!”

The Crown Prince rushed to Otto.

“What in the world happened? How did you do it? The Canyon Ridge is completely empty! What tactics did you use? Please, tell me. I’m begging you.”

The Crown Prince was incredibly curious about what kind of magic Otto had used.

“It’s nothing special. I simply assassinated all the high-ranking officers, including the commander.”

“A-All of them?”

“Yes.”

“And then what did you do? What’s next?”

“I disguised myself as the commander and issued false orders. I ordered the troops to move to the rear of the suppression army and launch a surprise attack.”

“Oh my.”

Even after hearing Otto’s explanation, the Crown Prince couldn’t fathom it.

“Is that… really possible? With a force of fewer than ten people?”

“It was a feasible operation against a weak small country like this.”

Otto stated flatly.

And it was true.

“It wouldn’t be possible if it were a major power.”

The larger the country, the more robust its military command structure and clear division of roles among officers.

The individual abilities of the officers would also be incomparable.

Moreover, with advanced communication magic, reports could be delivered swiftly.

On the other hand, armies of small countries like the Kingdom of Roshan were full of vulnerabilities, making it possible to conquer them easily if one had the capability.

“A small country… a small country, huh…”

The Crown Prince murmured Otto’s words.

(His pride must have been wounded.)

Otto inwardly chuckled, knowing the Crown Prince’s personality all too well.

If his homeland and the future country he would possess were evaluated as ‘Such a weak small country,’ it would be even more humiliating if he didn’t feel wounded.

However, the Crown Prince had ambitions to conquer the western frontier and expand into the continent.

Instead of getting angry, he asked Otto.

“Do you know about the major powers in that continent?”

“Of course.”

“What are they like?”

Otto responded.

“The continent… is a place where the economic power of a single city surpasses that of the Kingdom of Roshan by more than tenfold.”

“That much…?”

“If you’re an extremely powerful knight… you can even single-handedly destroy the Kingdom of Roshan.”

“T-That’s absurd!”

The Crown Prince couldn’t easily believe Otto’s words.

“How is that possible? I’ve heard that the knights on the major countries are strong, but…”

“Even my Black Order is not that powerful compared to them.”

Otto’s words were true.

The combat capabilities of the hero units active on the continent were truly extraordinary.

For example, the Koutachi Family alone could bring about the downfall of the Kingdom of Roshan in just three days.

Of course, the Koutachi Family was currently being restrained by various factions and couldn’t act recklessly.

Nevertheless, the disparity in the level between the area where Otto was currently operating and the continent was immense.

“Can… can our Kingdom of Roshan… expand into the continent?”

“It won’t be too late to consider that after you ascend to the throne.”

“I see.”

The Crown Prince nodded as if he had realized something from Otto’s wise answer.

“I misspoke. I understood Commander Cain’s words. I was thinking about something that’s still far away. After annihilating these rebel troops and ascending to the throne, I will consider the expansion into the continent and the conquest of Iota. It shouldn’t be too difficult since Otto de Scuderia is already defeated.”

“Will that be possible?”

Otto smirked wickedly behind his mask, provoking the Crown Prince.

“While I congratulate you on your victory, now is not the time for that.”

“Hmm?”

“You should pursue the rebels and press your advantage.”

Otto did not intend on simply letting the remaining 9,000 rebel troops who had retreated from Canyon Ridge go.