The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

Chapter 204

“The real battle has just begun, so as commanders, we need to preserve our strength as much as possible. Fighting like this will lead to exhaustion. You shouldn’t go on the battlefield unless the Wraith Kings emerge,” Uluka advised.

“I’m fine though,” Grace interrupted, her expression nonchalant. “It’s not like we’ve been fighting day and night for the past week. At this pace, I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“Is that so?” Uluka furrowed his brow as if deep in thought. “Hmm, what do the two of you think?”

“There’s not much strain when we’re just up against numbers, but maintaining our condition is important, as you said,” Wade agreed.

“My unique trait isn’t exactly low-maintenance either, so I’ll go along with your suggestion,” Audrey added.

Both of them seemed to be on board with Uluka. Though their withdrawal from the front lines would lead to more casualties, there was an enemy they needed to prepare for, one worth the sacrifice.

The four Wraith Kings, who grew stronger around Yggdrasil, were formidable foes. Still, the true enemy that had to be overthrown was Yggdrasil itself—the World Tree, whose name and divinity had been acknowledged since ancient times.

Even in the long history of the Greed Dragon Order, many ancestors had battled the Wraith Kings, but none had ever reached Yggdrasil itself.

“We have yet to see the true face of Yggdrasil,” Uluka continued.

Naturally, the unknown bred fear, and it was a variable that had to be avoided at all costs in strategy and tactics.

Despite centuries of confrontation, Yggdrasil remained a mystery. If the environment allowed for an advance party, reconnaissance forces would have been constantly deployed to gather even the smallest fragments of information about Yggdrasil.

But in this domain, which was essentially in the palm of Yggdrasil’s hand, even the commanders couldn’t guarantee their own safe return.

“...It’s a shame we can’t rely on Wickeline’s help,” Wade said with a sigh. “This is different from the Corroded Realm. This domain hasn’t completely escaped the laws of the world. If only two Class 9 Grand Magus had joined this expedition, we could’ve eliminated all interference and caught a glimpse of Yggdrasil.”

“There’s no helping it. The Wickelines carry the legacy of the High Elves. Even if Yggdrasil is rotting from Nidhogg’s poison, it’s still the World Tree of ancient times. The World Tree would’ve detected their presence and subdued them instantly,” Audrey added.

“I know. The Wickelines have spent centuries researching ways to block Yggdrasil’s influence, but with little success,” Wade admitted, cutting himself off before he could dwell on it.

Complaining further wouldn’t change anything.

“Seems like inheriting the traits of higher races is not always a good thing. Does our Cardenas family have anything like that? Is there a weapon or ability that’s particularly deadly against dragon bloodlines?” Grace asked, suddenly breaking into their conversation.

True to her reputation of never reading the room, she had introduced a completely unrelated topic.

“There is none,” Wade and Audrey replied in unison.

Uluka was slightly taken aback by their quick response, his eyes widening.

Audrey, sensing the need to explain to the younger members, elaborated, “When the Wickeline family encounters higher beings like the World Tree, which are closer to the laws of nature, they will inevitably falter. And the Jehoia family weakens the farther they get from the surface. I don’t need to go over that again, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware of that!” Grace nodded eagerly.

“Unlike those two families,” Audrey went on, “we Cardenas don’t have a specific weakness against any particular enemy. That’s why the Seven Great Orders have spilled blood on every frontier, and it’s why we’re regarded as the leaders of the Three Noble Houses.”

“What about weapons like the Dragon Slayer’s relic?” Uluka asked.

“Good question,” Audrey replied with a smile. “We would take more damage from that than usual, but not to the extent of serious or fatal injuries. Over the generations, the Dragon Blood has thinned, but it’s mostly thanks to Ancestor Cardenas.”

“Ancestor Cardenas?” Grace cocked her head.

“Yes, the one who bore the burden of slaying dragons in place of the founding emperor, cursed and bound to a human form. That’s why the Dragon Blood we carry is incomplete,” Audrey explained.

Because the dragon bloodline had been passed down in an incomplete form, the natural enemies of dragons—whether creatures or weapons—lost part of their effectiveness against them. Indeed, a misfortune turned into a blessing.

In fact, many of the Void Deities hunted by the Order of the White Dragon were tied to legends of dragon slaying. If the Cardenas family still bore the weakness of their bloodline, the Order of the White Dragon would certainly have suffered several times more casualties.

“Let’s get back to the main issue,” Wade said, drawing everyone’s attention as he turned to Uluka. “If Audrey, you, and I—three commanders—withdraw from the battlefield, the burden on the upper floor of the Barricade Train will increase significantly. Have you estimated the potential casualties?”

“Of course,” Uluka replied solemnly, closing his eyes briefly before continuing in a low voice, “Of the 1,588 Titans and their operators currently deployed, eighty percent will either die or be severely wounded. The Order of the Green Dragon, with all 283 members deployed, will lose most of our apprentice knights, and nearly half of the official members will either die or be incapacitated. The Order of the Blue Dragon will likely suffer a similar fate.”

“...”

“...”

No one bothered to offer words of comfort or encouragement, as platitudes were meaningless in this situation. Those sacrifices were inevitable.

“An entire knight order wiped out... No, given the next battle, we should be prepared to lose ninety percent of our expedition force,” Wade stated coldly, outlining the harsh reality.

The other commanders also steeled their resolve, adjusting their expressions as they accepted the grim truth. They were no strangers to death, having lost parents, siblings, and countless comrades.

What bothered them wasn’t the prospect of death, but the fact that they had to take into account the annihilation of two entire knight orders in a single operation. Yet if the path was thorny, they had no choice but to walk it.

“Oh! By the way, Uluka, how’s Leonard doing?” Grace broke the heavy silence, trying to lighten the mood.

Uluka, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, responded, “Better than expected. But Grace, you fought alongside him against Cybele, so why are you asking us?”

“I was just curious how you felt about him. You and Corbin were the only commanders who haven’t worked with Leonard.”

“...Corbin rarely has any external missions, and that person is an exception. Am I really the last one?”

Uluka looked around, as if searching for answers, and sighed in resignation. “If that’s the case... Well, no point in expecting any changes. I’ll give up.”

“Wow, you gave in fast,” Grace teased.

“I wouldn’t dare compete with Senior Wade or Senior Audrey over a promising junior. Besides, if this mission succeeds, the Order of the Green Dragon won’t have much to do for a while.”

Grace nodded, finally understanding. “True. We can’t do much about the Outer Gods beyond the Rifts and Corroded Realms, and the Hell Gate is said to be far harder to conquer than the Celestial Gate. I guess we’ll be on defense for a while.”

Audrey, who had patiently waited for a break in their conversation, finally added her own thoughts, “Since the defeat of Cybele, there’s been little news. Leonard is stationed too far for me to go there personally. Do you know anything?”

Uluka quickly recalled an answer, “Other than when they were holding off the Spriggans, I heard he’s been teaching something to the people on the barricade. I didn’t receive any detailed reports on what it was, though. Shall I find out?”

“Hoo...” Audrey’s eyes sparkled with intrigue.

It was only natural. During Leonard’s stay with the Order of the Black Dragon, the martial arts he had passed on had made an enormous impact. From the day the entire regiment of Black Dragon knights learned to imbue their swords with elemental and anti-demonic properties, their battles against the Demoniacs had become so much easier that they could hardly remember how they used to fight before.

In fact, Audrey’s participation in this mission was largely due to the increased stability of the defense at the Hell Gate.

Now, if Leonard were to once again display his genius and solve the problems on this frontier, the predicted casualties—previously estimated by Uluka—could be reduced by half.

Although I shouldn’t place too much expectation on the boy...

Even so, part of her couldn’t help hoping for it. It was a sign of her own immaturity, she thought with a wry smile.

The meeting of the commanders went on for several hours before coming to a close. The decision to increase the speed of the advance remained unchanged.

They had to march forward.

* * *

Meanwhile, atop the Barricade Train, Leonard was struggling to explain the knowledge inside his head.

The art of Qimen Dunjia[1]. It was a formation art that manipulated the natural flow of qi, evoking mysterious effects—its foundational philosophy was difficult to grasp for those unfamiliar with it, even more so when it was knowledge from another world. Even within the Central Plains murim, only the Zhuge Clan and the Mount Mao Sect had true expertise in formations; most of the others were either oblivious or simply passed down techniques that had been memorized through repetition.

Someone like Yeon Mu-Hyuk, who studied books on formations out of sheer curiosity and intellectual drive, was an exception. Let alone the Four Books and Three Classics, for most martial artists, if they could recite the Thousand Character Classic without errors, they would be considered relatively well-educated.

“If you rearrange the flow of power within the magic formation like this, does that activate the effect?” asked one of the mages, having paid close attention to Leonard’s explanation about formations. @@novelbin@@

“Yes, that’s right,” Leonard replied.

“I understand up to the point about creating four pillars to circulate the power and implementing the concept of natural order,” the mage continued.

It seemed the other mages were confused about the same thing, as they looked at Leonard with questioning expressions, even if they didn’t speak out.

“But why does it work that way? What’s the fundamental reason behind it?”

It was a perfectly valid question, but Leonard didn’t know how to explain everything. Even if he poured out all the knowledge in his head, only a few might comprehend it. However, not even a genius in formations could instantly grasp knowledge that had been accumulated over centuries.

The sheer volume of study and practice required was overwhelming.

To understand the Four Sword Mirage Origin Return Formation, they’d need to start with learning about the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, then move on to the concepts of Taiji, the compatibility and incompatibility of elements, as well as how the Four Symbols interact and influence qi...

Even descendants of Zhuge Kong Ming[2], renowned for his expertise in formations, wouldn’t reach this level of mastery until they were past their prime years.

Genius prodigies who started studying the Classic of Changes at the age of three wouldn’t reach this point until they had spent nearly thirty years learning. Leonard, who had instinctively come to understand it thanks to his martial prowess, certainly couldn’t teach it all in a day.

In the end, the mages had no choice but to memorize the formation without fully understanding the principles or order behind it.

“We’ve learned something new, but it feels like nothing has really stuck... Man, how frustrating!”

“I’ll have to study this more when we return from the mission!”

“Don’t jinx it,” one of the mages grumbled.

As the mages scattered, carrying diagrams of the simplified magic formation that had been adapted from the Four Sword Mirage Origin Return Formation, Leonard finally let out a sigh of relief.

Even adapting formations from his past life into a magic formation was beyond what he should have been able to achieve. Without the Dragon Heart, it would have taken him thousands of trial-and-error attempts to succeed.

Having finally managed to impart his knowledge, Leonard turned his gaze toward the horizon, looking ahead from the front of the train.

...The Barricade Train is picking up speed. Just as Commander Grace mentioned, they’re ramping up the advance.

The defensive line on top of the train hadn’t sustained any major damage yet. The Wraith Kings hadn’t reappeared after their surprise attack, so the Barricade Train was steadily pushing deeper.

But with the tense atmosphere aboard, it wasn’t clear whether this smooth sailing was something to be truly relieved about or merely the quiet before the storm.

Leonard, looking down at the barricade below, still smeared with gore, muttered, “No matter how many Spriggans we kill, their numbers don’t seem to dwindle. They can’t have an infinite number of corpses to use as vessels, even if their souls are undying...”

Just then—

“Oh! I know why!” Heather, who was riding her wolf as usual, answered from behind Leonard.

1. Qimen Dunjia is an ancient form of divination from China. Originally devised to help form military strategy and tactics, Qimen Dunjia was in use as long ago as the period of Chinese history known as the Warring States. Qimen Dunjia is based on astronomical observations, and consists of various aspects of Chinese metaphysics, including the doctrines of yin and yang, five elements, the eight trigrams, the ten Heavenly Stems and the twelve Earthly Branches, as well as the twenty-four solar terms. ☜

2. Another name for Zhuge Liang. ☜