Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent - Chapter 474: Negotiating with General Marlon

Chapter 474: Negotiating with General Marlon

“Our soldiers are not in their peak condition.”

Alaric shook his head.

“How many more of our men will perish if we choose to attack a city full of furious warriors?”

“I have already made up my mind. Besides, I am confident that I can retreat safely if something goes wrong. Please trust me on this.”

Hearing this, Giovanni and Ignatius fell into deep thought.

Like Alaric had said, most of their warriors were injured from the last battle.

“Knowing you, I’m pretty sure you won’t listen to my advice.” Giovanni helplessly shook his head.

“Then I will follow you inside.” Ignatius suddenly spoke.

Alaric shook his head. “No. If you follow me, Giovanni will be left alone to lead the army. He might do something rash if there is no one around to stop him.”

“My lord, please stay here. The army needs you. If you suddenly disappear, our troops might feel uneasy.”

Ignatius stared deeply at him and said. “Then you must bring some people with you.”

Alaric nodded with a faint smile. “I will bring a few of my subordinates. With them by my side, even if there are thousands of enemies before us, I am confident that we can escape.”

“Alright, but remember…your safety is the top priority. If you feel that things are going awry, you must retreat immediately.” Ignatius reminded him.

“Yes, my lord.” Alaric did a fist-palm salute.

After bidding them farewell, Alaric went to gather his subordinates.

For this task, he would only bring the most powerful warriors of House Silversword. Bringing more with him would only make the enemy troops feel wary and it might negatively impact the negotiations.

Thirty minutes later, a small group of men gathered before him.

“I gathered you all here to inform you about our next task.” Alaric paused and scanned their faces one by one.

These men were the top powerhouses of House Silversword.

Galanar, Caecus, Fredrinn, Butch, Azazel, and Warrick.

Six Transcendent Knights who were ranked at the top of the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard.

Taking these six should be enough. I will leave Einar and the others here to lead our troops.

There were still more Transcendent Knights in the household, but if he took them all, House Silversword’s troops would be left leaderless.

Alaric cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“We will enter the city and try to negotiate with their leaders.”

“Once inside, we must refrain from using force unless absolutely necessary.”

“There will be people who will badmouth us, but you must be patient and…”

He gave them a few reminders to make sure that everything would go smoothly.

“Inform your subordinates that you will be leaving and you must be back within fifteen minutes. Now go!”

After sending them off, Alaric made his preparations. He brought a few hidden weapons and some elixirs. He also brought some dried meat for emergencies.

That should be it.

He double-checked his equipment before heading back to the meetup location.

By the time he arrived, everyone was already there, fully geared up.

Looking at their faces, Alaric said in a deep voice. “Let’s go.”

Soon, the group left the camp and headed straight towards the city gates.

As they got closer, they could feel the warriors atop the walls tensing up. They aimed their arrows at them, looking like they were ready to shoot.

Alaric gestured with his hand and instructed Fredrinn. “Give them the signal.”

The guy was responsible for holding a white flag which signified their request for peaceful negotiations. It was also a symbol to inform the enemies not to attack.

Fredrinn raised the flag and waved it back and forth.

The warriors atop Midgard’s walls frowned when they saw the signal. There was a heated discussion between them.

They were far so Alaric’s group couldn’t hear what they were saying, but one thing was certain. Midgard’s troops were divided.

“Your Highness, will they let us in? I think those people will shoot us down if we step into their range.” Warrick asked with a concerned look.

“There should be some smart people up there. If they want to live, they will come down to speak with us.” Alaric calmly replied.

Half an hour later, a group composed of ten cavalrymen stepped out of the main gate.

Alaric used his Appraisal on them and found out that they were Transcendent Knights.

Did they intentionally send these men to tell us that they still have the strength to fight?

Although they were Transcendents, they were still far weaker compared to the six men he brought. However, there was one of them who stood out from the rest.

It was a bald and brown-skinned middle-aged man with a big scar on top of his head.

One could see the stitches on his scalp which had already healed for some time.

Because of his hideous scar, he looked rather intimidating.

That man’s attributes are a bit higher than Sir Warrick’s.

He is dangerous.

While he was assessing them, the other group was also observing their party.

“General Marlon, can we really trust those men? What if they suddenly attack us once we get closer?”

“Is that a demonkin? Why would a demonkin willingly follow them?”

“General, those Astanian bastards killed our warriors! I can’t forgive them! If they make one foolish move, my sword will cut them apart!”

The middle-aged man with the scar on his head raised his hand, signaling to his men to keep quiet.

“They raised the flag. It means that they want to negotiate.”

Marlon spoke with a deep frown.

“With the size of their army, our troops wouldn’t be able to defend the city. We must seize this chance for the sake of our people.”

His words silenced his companions.

As they neared Alaric’s group, their tension intensified. Some of them even grabbed the handle of their weapons, prepared to take action if something went wrong.

When they were only a hundred meters apart, Marlon raised his fist, signaling his men to stop.

He then looked at Alaric’s group and shouted. “I am Marlon Thorn, the commander of Midgard’s city defense troops!”

With his introduction, the tense atmosphere seemed to have eased up.

Alaric lightly squeezed his legs to make his horse move forward by a couple of steps. He then did a fist-palm salute to greet the other party.

“I am Warrick, the leader of this small group.” He didn’t give his real name since he might be targeted if he were to reveal it.

His subordinates had already been briefed about this so they didn’t react when he announced his fake introduction.

“We came here in hopes of speaking with your leaders! As you can see, I only brought six men with me to show our sincerity.”

Hearing this, Marlon and his subordinates furrowed their eyebrows.

“If you want to negotiate, then you can speak your terms with me. I have enough authority to make a decision for the city.” Marlon responded.

“In that case, can we discuss this more comfortably? It’s rather exhausting to shout all the time.” Alaric’s words made Marlon’s subordinates feel nervous.

“No problem.” Unlike his subordinates, Marlon remained calm.

He jumped off his horse and gestured for his men to do the same.

Seeing this, Alaric’s group also jumped off their horses.

In the next moment, the two groups slowly walked towards each other.

There was a slight tension in the air as the members of each group warily glanced at the other.

70 meters…

50 meters…

20 meters…

Soon, both groups stood just a few meters apart. They could clearly see each other’s faces.

These men are formidable warriors!

Marlon could sense it clearly now that they were this close to Alaric’s group.

He could sense the strong fluctuations of mana around them. They weren’t even intentionally releasing their mana. Just their terrifying aura alone was enough to intimidate him!

“General Marlon, I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Alaric and Marlon exchanged simple greetings.

“I won’t beat around the bush. I hope that Midgard will surrender.” Alaric spoke without hesitation.

Marlon’s subordinates were furious when they heard this.

“How arrogant of you!”

“Do you think we are afraid to fight you?!”

The bottled-up emotions were released, but Alaric’s group remained unmoved.

“Enough!” Marlon shouted authoritatively.

They were at a disadvantage so he chose to hold back his fury.

After silencing his men, he stared deeply at Alaric and replied.

“You look younger than me so I will call you by your name…”

“Warrick, why should we surrender to you? We still have tens of thousands of brave warriors prepared to sacrifice their lives.”

Alaric let out a deep breath before he responded. “Is there really a need to fight? General Marlon, there is no need for more bloodshed.”

“Our goal here is only to force Harune’s imperial family to listen to our demands. We have no intentions of killing the innocent people.”

“If you cooperate with us, we will ensure your people’s safety.”