City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 214: Blade Warrior

[Class Change: Warrior - Battle Fencer - Blade Warrior]
 
Blade Warrior Lv. 16
 
Blade Warrior Lv. 17
 
[Skill Gained: Sharpness]
 
Trainer- Lv. 5
 
Trainer Lv. 6
 
Trainer Lv. 7
 
[Skill Gained: Active Presence]
 
 
I was woken up by a sharp noise by Fang in my arm; only to see a line of texts in front of me.
 
It surprised me, but I moved my focus to Fang.
 
“What happened?” I asked him, who was looking at me. It took a second for me to understand what happened.
 
“You felt the skill?” I asked him, activating the Privacy. I don’t want anyone to know about my skills. 
 
He seemed to understand me, as he nodded.
 
I am also feeling my new skill in the Trainer Class. It is a passive skill and it let me sense the presence of Fang; I have read about this skill. 
 
Though, most people who have this skill are Monster Scouts and Monster Warriors. Trainers rarely have them, but there are many records of them having the skill.
 
I am not surprised; myself getting the skill, after how we had fought the battle.
 
“Don’t worry. It is just a skill,” I said gently and petted him, till he calmed down, before looking back at the texts floating in front of me.
 
My Warrior Class had changed. 
 
It had first seemed to have changed to Battle Fencer, but it was rejected and changed into a Blade Warrior.
 
It is a good thing; it had just rejected the Battle Fencer because I would have done it. Fencer means I would have been limited to the rapiers and I don’t want that.
 
I may like a rapier and use one due to personal liking and sentimentality, but I do not want to be restricted by it. I am nearly as good as with other light swords and sabers as I am with a rapier.
 
I used them a few times a month in my training.
 
This change is an upgrade. I could feel the weight of the class had increased.
 
I had leveled twice and even gained a skill. 
 
None of my skills in the past class had changed or upgraded, but I could feel the change in them. The skills take the flavor of the class and they have taken the flavor of an upgraded class.
 
I wonder what kind of change the new class will bring to skills.
 
I have got a new skill, Sharpness. It is a common skill and might seem useless seeing I use an enchanted weapon, but it is not.
 
It is a very useful skill and the one I have wanted to have.
 
Even when looking at today’s lens, it would have been helpful. Sometimes, even enchantment needs a little boost of sharpness and a non-enchanted weapon even more.
 
The mundane spear I had thrown at the monster leader would have been even more useful.  
 
If I had thrown in it with the power of Sharpness attached to it.
 
It is not just my combat class that had made the advancement, but also my Trainer Class, which had made an even bigger advancement. 
 
I have gained three levels in it in a single day. The class advanced in five levels since I came to the baronies and this time, I had even got the skill.
 
Active Presence.
 
The passive skill let me sense Fang’s presence; the skill is like always an active tracker. 
 
I will have to test its limits, but this is not a time.
 
I pushed the texts away and looked in front of me. The soldiers are working, and healers and doctors are still trying to save the people and put them in the carriages.
 
The only thing that has changed is the sky, which has now completely darkened.
 
I looked at the pocket watch and saw I had only slept for half an hour. I wanted to rest for a few minutes but ended up falling asleep.
 
“You shouldn’t have let me fall asleep,” I said to Zela, who was sitting not far away from me.
 
“You needed it,” she said with a smile.
 
“Any new messages?” I asked. “A couple,” she replied and handed me the cards and I read each one of them before sending replies.
 
I didn’t want to use her to send the messages, seeing how tired she was, but some of these messages were sensitive. I couldn’t trust anyone to send them, not even my sister.
 
Even Valentina wouldn’t do. The receivers wouldn’t like a merchant knowing the content of conversations we were having.
 
“How is Stone?” I asked, and her expression turned a little worried. “He hasn’t woken up yet,” she replied.
 
“Don’t worry. August said, it is a good thing what is happening to him,” I said, and she nodded. 
 
She herself had asked him about that.
 
Giants are the elder race and the one, which had been most intermingled with other races. 
 
It is extremely rare for the elder blood to react, and it only happens in extreme cases. What Stone faced today was extreme, but I think the thing, that triggered the elder blood in him was the curse inside him.
 
Today’s battle had just provided a little extra pressure to tighten the container for it to explode.
 
I was talking with Zela when Major Jarvis came toward me.
 
“Is everything ready, Major Jarvis?” I asked him. “Yes, they are ready to leave,” I said and walked with Zela.
 
Soon, I reached near the horses and saw Valentina, talking to a group of archers, who smiling and shaking her hand gratefully.
 
Well, they should. She had done something incredible; that even Ignatius couldn’t achieve.
 
Seeing me, she walked toward me.
 
She had just reached me when Ignatius arrived with my sister and turned to Valentina.
 
“Mage Valentina. Once again, thank you for not letting any of my men die,” he thanked. 
 
“You shouldn’t thank me, My Lord. It is your men, that were good; the only thing I did was a helped a little,” she replied, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes hearing that.
 
I had seen the hill and bodies of monsters, that littered across it. The majority of them have been killed by her and most of those killed had been killed by a single spell.
 
Earth Spikes.
 
She was using a heavily manipulated version of it, which condensed the earth spike to the level of stone and its tip made of metals.
 
Since Earth Spike is a manipulation spell. It uses existing earth instead of summoning the element. She was able to use the spell in great quality, killing many monsters.
 
The special spell isn’t enough for what she did or all earth spellcasters who had a spell like that would be terrifying. 
 
The spell is as important as the person who cast it. 
 
The way it is used determines half of its lethality and she had used that spell, with the precision of a surgeon. She had even impressed Baron Harrods and August, both said she had a lethality of battlemage.
 
“Have a safe journey, Adviser,” he said, turning to me. “Thank you, Lord Blackwell, and please try to return to Fort Renin. If possible,” I said, to which he smiled.
 
Like Major Jarvis, he is going to stay here.
 
It might look like the danger has passed, but it is not. It could come back, and we will need to be prepared for it.
 
The horses begin to move and, with us carriages holding the last of the badge of the injured. The most injured had been shifted out before the dark, as it gets quite cold at night.
 
 
“I had nearly forgotten how battle feels like,” said Valentina suddenly, with a smile and sadness on her face.
 
I don’t know much about her past, other than she used to be a mercenary. She suddenly gave up and joined Neilson, where she rapidly rose through the ranks before reaching her current position.
 
I didn’t say anything.
 
Personally, I don’t like to fight. I had done it because I needed to and would do it again if the need arose, but I would be more than glad if I didn’t need to raise the blade again.
 
The journey had been slow and passed in silence, with each one of us busy with our own thoughts. 
 
Soon, we saw the lights, and before I knew it, we were at the gates of town. The gates opened, and we rode in with people watching from both sides in silence.
 
I could feel the eyes of people and the gazes of children and women felt especially piercing. Some of these women and children were families of soldiers; I felt guilty looking into their eyes.
 
Still, I looked at the eyes and each and every one of them faced their questions in silence.
 
It is the least I could do.
 
We didn’t move to the castle but toward the warehouses, which had been converted into temporary hospitals at incredible speed.
 
I am feeling very sleepy and tired, but I can’t sleep; there are too many things to do.
 
The horses stopped, and I got off. 
 
There are Carlos and Leblanc were waiting for me, along with Lola, who was looking at me guiltily and that guilt increased when she saw Fang in my arms.
 
“What is the progress?” I asked directly as I entered the warehouse.
 
The nurses had started shifting the patients to the warehouses, where doctors, healing mages, and a few clerics I had borrowed from the Blackwell were working on the patients.
 
“We have done everything you instructed Adviser; we have…” he began to list the things while I toured the warehouse.
 
I didn’t disturb the healers aside from asking if they need anything and they need a lot of things, and we are providing them as much as we can, but they clearly need more.
 
“What about the aid from the baronies?” I asked. 
 
“Majority of baronies had sent the aid in expected amount and some about them, but there are few who had sent only a token amount,” informed Pedro.
 
“Give me the list of them,” I said and walked to the other warehouse before stepping into the hospital. It is a place where the most critical had been placed and there are a lot of people in the critical state fighting for their lives.
 
The mage healers, clerics, and doctors are working on saving every patient, which is no simple task.
 
It is said that it is easier to save a man fallen from a cliff than a soldier in a soldier in critical condition.
 
The reason is simple.
 
Unlike the man who fell off the cliff, they could use potions with healing spells and surgery, but here using a healing potion is useful in fewer cases.
 
As soldiers would have already drunk it and suffered from the burn. Using a potion on such people is like expediting their deaths.
 
“Please be patient. The healers are working and are giving their all to save our brave men and women,” I said to the crowd gathered.
 
I talked to them and tried to abate their fears and worries. It is the only thing I could do for these worried souls.
 
It took a while when I entered the castle and went to the infirmary, which was housing the officers. I talked to healers and a few officers, who were in better condition, before walking toward my office.
 
“You should go sleep,” I said to Valentina, who hadn’t left my side.
 
“You need it more than me,” she said back, giving a look. “I will sleep after I deal with a few things,” I replied.
 
It seemed like she wanted to say something, but didn’t and instead just shook her head.
 
“Don’t push yourself too hard,” she said and walked away, while I walked into my office.
 
“I am sorry; I shouldn’t have let him go,” said Lola after everyone left. “It wasn’t your fault; even I won’t be able to catch him if he wants to run away,” I said, and the guilt in her eyes seemed to lessen a little.
 
“Go sleep, we will have a lot of things to do tomorrow,” I added as I got up and walked out of my office.
 
It is three and a half in the night, and I am not finished with work, but I know, I have to sleep, to handle the things tomorrow and Count, who is coming.

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