Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

"This isn't the right place to talk. Follow me to my mansion." Lucas invited.

Alaric nodded. "Alright."

Before leaving, Alaric said a few words to Zephyr.

"You should rest, buddy. We have so much to do in a few days."

The Draconic Lion emitted a soft sound.

The group followed Lucas to his mansion. They rode a carriage that took them to the center of the city.

After half an hour, they arrived in front of an old mansion.

It was surprisingly modest for a Venerable, but Lucas didn't mind. He was only here temporarily so he didn't bother to find a bigger and more luxurious place.

Lucas took them to the study room and gestured for them to take their seats.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked.

"That would be perfect." Alaric nodded.

Lucas sent a knowing look to the servants who immediately understood his intentions.

While the servants were brewing the tea, Lucas chatted with his son.

"Will Midgard be alright without you around?"

Alaric smiled faintly. "It should be fine. I left Yvanna to handle the administrative matters. Galanar is also there to protect her. Even if something happens, I'm sure they can take care of it."

Lucas nodded. "I see. Yvanna is the princess of the Greenwood Kingdom. Handling a city should be easy for her. With Galanar protecting her, unless a Venerable shows up, she will be alright."

Alaric chuckled at his father's words.

If only you knew how worried she was to take the job.

A few minutes later, the servants served the newly brewed tea.

"My lord, I believe you already received the letter I sent." Alaric changed the topic.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and gestured at the servants to leave the room.

After they left, he responded. "Indeed. The troops in Atarkan also sent me a letter so I was able to make preparations early."

Alaric took a sip of tea before he spoke. "Five hundred thousand soldiers will be difficult even with all the preparations, but there is a way to quickly defeat an army of that size."

Hearing this, Lucas raised an eyebrow.

Looking at his father's curious expression, Alaric continued. "We just need to eliminate the commanders of their troops."

They used this method to defeat Remondin's army.

An army without its commanders would be like a headless fly.

Lucas rubbed his chin. "Your plan is feasible. Killing their commanders should be easy since we have Zephyr. I don't mind doing the killing too."

As long as they could win, he didn't care what kind of methods they used.

"The only problem is if a Venerable is leading them," Alaric stated in a grim voice.

Lucas frowned. "There are only two Venerables left in their country. One has gone to Veronica to seek assistance and the other… Hold on, do you mean their emperor is leading that army?"

He was shocked. He didn't consider this possibility. After all, the emperor is the most important person in a country. If something were to happen to him, the entire country would collapse.

Usually, the emperors would never take action unless their empire was facing annihilation.

Alaric nodded solemnly. "Who else could command an army of that size? Moreover, the imperial guards of Harune are moving with that army."

He had discussed this with Mathilda. The latter strongly believed that the emperor was leading the Harunian army.

Lucas let out a heavy breath. "If Arcientus is really commanding that army, eliminating him will be difficult. That guy is more than a century old and he has been a Mythical Knight for a long time. I think he might be stronger than Remondin."

"Do you think you can hold him down, my lord?" Alaric asked.

Lucas shook his head. "Individually, he is stronger than I. I'm not confident enough to fight with someone like him, but if I join hands with Zephyr… maybe we can kill him."

Alaric let out a smile. "My lord, your son will join this fight."

With the significant increase in his attributes, he felt that he could fight with a Venerable. Although he hadn't tried it yet, he felt that it was possible as long as the enemy's attributes weren't that much higher than his own."

Lucas didn't like this idea. "Absolutely not. Do you think defeating a Venerable is easy?"

He shook his head, his voice cold.

"You might have grown powerful, but your strength is still lacking against a Venerable. Just stay out of this fight. I will handle Arcientus with Zephyr."

"How about you test out my strength? You might change your mind once you feel it yourself." Alaric challenged with a confident smile.

Lucas was taken aback. He didn't expect his son to suddenly challenge him. "You want to have a spar with me?"

Alaric nodded. "Trust me, my lord. I'm not as weak as you think."

Looking at his son's serious face, Lucas scrunched his eyebrows.

"Alright. I want to see what makes you so confident."

He stood up and said. "Follow me. There is a training ground behind the mansion."

Hearing this, Alaric nodded. "You guys don't need to follow and don't let anyone near the training ground during our spar."

He didn't want his spar with his father to go public. There might be spies lurking so they had to keep this information from leaking.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Soon, Lucas brought him to the training ground.

The Venerable wore simple armor and grabbed an old steel sword.

He stared deeply at his son and said. "You better not disappoint me after boasting like that."

Alaric equipped his newly forged shield and unsheathed his short sword. "I will show you my progress, Dad."

Seeing his choice of equipment, Lucas raised an eyebrow.

From what he remembered, Alaric was a dual sword wielder. He rarely used a shield.

"Do you think a shield can help you win against me?" Lucas smiled faintly.

Alaric didn't fall for his taunts.

"The usual rules. No using mana."

"Fine by me."

"Then let's begin!"