Capítulo 118: Book 4: Chapter 30 – The Unbeaten General Arrives
Formed up a mile ahead of Redwin Town was the reinforced O'Brien Army, and unlike the last few days, it appeared to be back to full capacity. Not only had the soldiers of Redwin bolstered the numbers, but the reinforcements from the capital had seamlessly filled the gaps.
And although the morale couldn't be said to be high, it was stable, and the main cause wasn't the size of the army, but the four men stood at the front, more specifically, the brown-haired young man standing calmly in the centre.
Marching towards them in the distance was the Rohault Army led by General Murciel, and by his side was Ace and his team.
Whether it was Murciel, Ebeze, or even Leonel and Killian who knew him best, none understood the reason, but they all noticed a subtle change in demeanour from Ace.
It was as though his back had grown by a couple of inches overnight, and the confidence he subconsciously emitted was almost tangible.
Only Amira, who was smiling sweetly under her hood, understood that this was a brand-new Ace they were looking at.
As for the rest of the Rohault Army, the morale on their side was even higher today than it had been the day before, and that was because as long as they won their battle today, they would have conquered the first official territory of their long-standing enemy.
"Hmm," Ace voiced as his [Observation] suddenly locked onto several new presences. "Interesting,"
"What is it?" Amira asked. "Did you sense something?"
"It looks like their reinforcements arrived in time after all," Ace explained calmly, not too phased by the sudden development. "Looks like we'll have to go all out after all."
"So it seems," General Murciel added, seeming to understand what Ace was referring to.
With the reinforcements of the O'Brien Army, General Murciel's side was back to being at a distinct disadvantage, especially with the addition of the top-level powerhouses, and when the weaker soldiers saw exactly what they were going up against, they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread threaten to overwhelm them.
After many decades of battle, both sides were fully aware of the powerhouses of the other side, and for warriors of this level, a distance of only a few hundred meters was no different to a few tens of meters to an ordinairy mortal.
"That woman at the front… Isn't that General Metria?" One of the Rohault soldiers said upon seeing a beautiful yet cold-faced woman holding a straight sword in one hand and circular shield in the other standing at the front of the O'Brien Army.
"And beside her, isn't that General Fuscor?" Another soldier said upon seeing the towering man holding a man-sized halberd across his shoulder, staring at them with visible excitement.
"The ma… man in the middle. Isn't that Gen… General Akerlund?!" Another soldier stuttered in fright as he looked at the brown-haired young man standing indifferently with his eyes closed.
Everyone on the side of the O'Brien Army, including the other generals, was dressed in the standard issue crimson armour, ready for war, which was why General Akerlund stuck out like a sore thumb. Unlike his fellow compatriots, Olivier was dressed in his usual plain white robes.
Despite being overwhelmingly underdressed for the occasion, it was the same man that put the fear of God in all of the ordinairy Rohault soldiers.
It was public knowledge that at 38, Olivier Akerlund, the prodigy sword saint, was the strongest mortal in the O'Brien Empire and was only half a step from the saint rank. Even amongst the various generals of both nations, he was a tier higher.
"So that's Olivier, huh?" Ace asked casually as he looked at the young man whose mere presence was able to cause such panic.
"That's him, Olivier Akerlund," Murciel said gravely. "He's not even a third of my age, yet if I were to face him alone, it'd be difficult for me to even escape with my life."
"Ooh?" Ace voiced with a hint of surprise.
After these last few weeks, Ace had a pretty good understanding of General Murciel's strength. Even though the man was far from the most powerful mortal he'd ever seen, that was only because he knew mortals like his master and the other instructors back at the pavilion. Aside from them, Murciel was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most powerful mortal he'd met to date.
"According to Kong, he was the only person of his generation able to fight him to a standstill. I wonder if he could still do it now?" Ace wondered half-jokingly.
"Definitely not!" Killian replied matter-of-factly.
"Kil's right," Amira added. "That was over ten years ago, and back then, Olivier had already broken through to the ninth rank, whilst senior brother Kong was only at the eighth.
Senior Brother's now at the ninth rank, and his comprehension of the profound mysteries has only deepened. Although that Olivier's now at the peak of the ninth rank, it's clear he hasn't gained any insights into any of the profound mysteries."
"How do you know that?" Ebeze asked curiously.
Although his father was also at the peak of the ninth rank and a step away from the saint rank himself, he still didn't understand much about the saint rank.
"Because as long as you're a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank, the moment your comprehension steps into the profound level, you will automatically become a saint," Amira explained patiently before looking back at Olivier. "If he and Kong were to fight now, he'd be lucky to last one strike."
Her words caused no small amount of shock for those senior warriors standing close enough to hear the conversation between the mysterious group of robed experts.
If it were anyone else who was speaking so highly about a 'senior brother,' they would have taken it as nothing but shameless boasts, but with the performance of each of the robed experts, it was clear that they understood the truth about those at the peak of the mortal realms. Hell, from the sound of it, they had a better understanding than most of them.
Still, hearing there was an expert out there at the ninth rank like them who was capable of defeating Olivier Akerlund in one strike was a lot to process.
Listening to their conversation, Murciel couldn't help but shake his head inwardly as he thought about the difference between these children and his fully grown adult subordinates. Whilst the soldiers under his command were slowly allowing fear to take hold of them, these teens, some of whom had only recently stepped onto a battlefield for the first time, were talking and gossiping amongst themselves without a care in the world.
The only robed figure that wasn't involving themselves in the conversation was Chukaya. Ever since Ace had revealed his overwhelming ability, Chukaya had become more and more reserved.
The older teen's feelings for the princess had never been much of a secret. Due to them both being amongst the top talents in the empire, many had subconsciously believed that the two would one day end up together, but after meeting Ace and seeing his relationship with Amira, General Murciel knew Chukaya stood no chance.
But that was the last thing on his mind at that moment. He was about to head into the most important battle of his career and couldn't allow his people to stay in their current headspace.
"I know after seeing our opponents today, many of you are starting to feel doubtful as to whether or not we can succeed, but I've never led us on a suicide mission, and I don't intend to start today," Murciel announced, skilfully infusing his battle-qi into his voice so that not only his troops, but even those on the opposing side could hear clearly.
As he said that, a small smile appeared on Ace's face as he looked up at the sky. "Just in time!"
Hearing Ace's words, those closest to him all followed his line of sight, only to see two figures rapidly descending from the clouds above.
As the duo crashed into the ground, they created a giant cloud of dust that prevented others from getting a clear picture of who they were, but with his [Observation], Ace was able to see both of them clearly.
On the left was a dark-skinned Amazonian woman with long braids tied in a ponytail behind her, holding a giant spear even taller than her.
Ace had no idea how she'd be able to wield such a large polearm effectively, but looking at the excited grin on her face, he doubted he'd have to wait much longer to find out.
And on the right was a familiar figure that Ace had met personally once or twice already.
"Huh," Ebeze voiced as he looked at the familiar figure of the larger of the two. "Is that…"
It was then that General Murciel finished his speech, instantly putting the minds of all his subordinates at ease. "They may have Olivier Akerlund, but we have Kaymin Banux – The Unbeaten General!"
-----------------------------------------
P.S. Support me on the Patreon listed below to read ahead - Release rate is at least 2x as many chapters every week! XD
Currently 78 chapters ahead
P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon
Book 6: Chapter 20 – Start of a New Legend
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
DreamTales
DreamTales Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder