Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

On the 2nd day of May, they arrived at Turtle Fort.

The group had already decided to get some rest, but then they saw the fort's commander, Rommel, rushing toward them on his horseback. He looked anxious as he approached them.

"Sir Rommel, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.

The old man didn't even bother to wipe off the sweat on his face. He cupped his fists and reported. "My lord, something happened in your estate while you were away!"

"Hm?!" Both Lucas and Alaric were stunned when they heard this.

The fort commander took a deep breath and said in a serious voice, "Lady Hershey was attacked by a group of assassins!"

"What did you say!?" Killing intent flashed in Alaric's eyes. He was trembling with fury and he could barely hold back his overflowing anger.

Someone actually touched his woman?! Unforgivable!

Rommel felt a chill upon seeing his cold expression. He didn't expect a young warrior to release such overwhelming killing intent.

"The young lady is unharmed!" Rommel quickly explained. "I heard that Sir Henry and the others were able to capture the assassins."

Alaric and Lucas were relieved to hear this.

It was a good decision to let them stay in the estate.

Alaric thought to himself.

This hadn't happened in his past life so it was outside his expectations.

"Father, we must return as soon as possible!" Said Alaric as he glanced at Lucas.

Lucas nodded in agreement. He then cupped his fists to Rommel to express his gratitude for relaying the information. "Thank you, Sir Rommel. I will catch up with you next time."

Rommel nodded with a wave of his hand. "Please don't worry about that, my lord. Your matters are more important."

"We will take our leave first." Lucas bid him farewell and brought the group out of the fort.

"My lord, we would like to follow you to North Pine Town! How dare those people attack Lord Alaric's fiancée!" Baron Smith Heinrich was furious. As someone who had pledged allegiance to House Silversword, he wanted to show his support.

"We will also follow you, my lord! Hershey is my beloved niece! I want to know which bastard dares to assassinate her!" Jared muttered through gritted teeth.

Hearing this, Lucas nodded. "Alright. Let us go!"

The group didn't take a moment of rest. They rushed to North Pine Town.

If their mounts were ordinary horses, they wouldn't have survived the trip. Luckily, they were monsters attuned to mana so they were more resilient. Traveling long distances was just a simple matter for these creatures.

The trip that would have normally taken them seven days only took them two days!

By the time they arrived at North Pine Town, the horses were already exhausted so the group had to travel on foot for the rest of the journey.

There were more guards stationed at the main gate and they were carefully doing a search on every visitor that wished to enter the town.

Suddenly, the arrival of Lucas and the others caused a commotion.

"What's going on out there?!" A gatekeeper furiously shouted, but when he quickly recognized Lucas and Alaric's faces from the crowd.

"My lords!"

The rest of the guards immediately stopped what they were doing when they heard the gatekeeper's exclamation.

"Lord Lucas and Lord Alaric have returned!" Someone shouted.

Lucas beckoned to the commander of the guards and asked. "What is the situation?"

"My lord, Lady Hershey was attacked a week after your departure. Luckily, Sir Henry was with her at the time of the attack so she was unharmed. The assailants have been caught and they are now locked up in prison, awaiting your judgment." The commander of the guards replied.

Lucas tapped his shoulder. "Alright. You guys continue with your tasks and send someone to get our mounts."

"Yes, my lord!"

Lucas and the others rushed to the estate on foot.

They encountered more patrolling guards along the way. Some were even warriors from House Paxley. They were probably worried about Hershey's safety so they sent more warriors to increase the town's defenses.

The main gate of the estate also had twenty warriors and an Elite Knight from House Paxley was even there to supervise them.

Upon seeing Lucas' group, the guards were pleasantly surprised. "My lords!"

"We will talk later." Lucas waved his hand impatiently.

Seeing that they were in a hurry, the guards didn't dare waste their time. They quickly went to open the gates for them.

By the time they arrived at the main mansion, they saw Maria waiting for them. Standing behind her was Arthur and a few more Knights.

"My lord." Maria felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders the moment she saw them. Due to the recent assassination attempt, she was in a constant state of anxiety. She couldn't eat or sleep well, making her lose a lot of weight.

When Lucas saw her emaciated face, his face fell. He felt like his heart was torn to see her in such a terrible condition.

Lucas gently embraced her fragile body and whispered, his voice trembling with anger and guilt. "My wife, you lost so much weight… I am sorry for not being here to protect you guys."

"You do not need to blame yourself, my lord. Besides, Sir Arthur and the other warriors are here to protect us. Nothing happened to us because of their protection." Maria smiled at him.

Lucas sent Arthur a grateful look.

"Mom, where is Hershey?" Alaric looked around, but he couldn't see Hershey anywhere.

"She is resting in her room with Elena," Maria responded.

Hearing this, Alaric rushed inside the mansion and headed straight to Hershey's bedroom which wasn't far from his room.

Galanar and Theo followed closely behind him. The latter no longer bothered about etiquette.

"I apologize on behalf of my lord. He must be worried about his sister." Jared bowed to Lucas.

Lucas waved his hand. "It is alright."