Chapter 137: A Perfect Victory

Chapter 137: A Perfect Victory

“Waaaah!!

“Hooray!!

Karyl smiled at the cheers that filled the Twin Armor. The oppressive atmosphere had been replaced by boisterous celebration.

“This is something else... We don’t even have enough prison space for all the captives.”

“For now, we’ve split the soldiers and sent them to villages near the border.”

Marze and Aben, intoxicated by the rare sensation of victory, spoke with pleased expressions.

“All the officers have been isolated, right? It’s a long way to the empire’s border. Regular soldiers wouldn’t think of escaping even if there were few guards, but officers are different.”

Even the veterans were overjoyed, but Karyl, the key figure in this S-rank dungeon hunt, was already handling the aftermath as if nothing special had happened.

Karyl borrowed Marze’s office in the Lord Tower, sitting at the desk as if it were his own.

“Yes, don’t worry. The Golden Knights have been imprisoned separately in the Lord’s Tower, and the regular army officers have been gathered separately too.”

He quickly skimmed through the report that had come up.

After organizing the captives, Karyl distributed the empire’s supplies to the villagers near the border.

“Because of this battle, the fields and farms near the border are almost unusable. You two should go to the damaged areas yourselves and handle the specifics, but this distribution of supplies should get them through the winter.”

Calculating the types and units of supplies, as well as the amounts needed to get through a long winter, was something only someone with military experience could do.

Amazing... Even those who have been on the battlefield for years have trouble with handling supplies.

Aben couldn’t help being impressed by Karyl’s perfect follow-up instructions, not just his combat tactics.

“Alright, this settles the supply issue... Be especially careful with the sorcery units among the captives. The mana restraints in the Turtle Castle might not be enough, so please keep an eye on them until reinforcements from Tatur arrive.”

Aben nodded.

“Of course. We reported it to the kingdom, but they seem to be at a loss, since we’ve never captured so many before.”

“Hmph... Incompetent people. The palace had no response even when the empire crossed the border, but now that we’ve captured them, they’re suddenly in contact,” Marze muttered with a frown.

Of course, he wasn’t aware that Baron Beryl, allied with Karyl, was behind the palace’s inaction regarding the Twin Armor’s situation. But even without Karyl’s influence, those in power would have placed the nation’s fate onto Marze’s shoulders.

If the current king let the Twin Armor fall, he’d blame it on someone else to save his skin.

Marze wasn’t the only one who thought this way. Leaders who didn’t take responsibility for their country—how can they be trusted to achieve anything?

But Karyl addressed the current issues without any unnecessary commentary.

“It’s fine. Tatur is closer to the Twin Armor than the palace. And since we’re using some of the empire’s supplies, we’re not at a loss.”

“Thank you for your continued support, Sir Karyl.”

Karyl waved his hand as Marze bowed.

“Sir? Please, I’m just a merchant from Tatur.”

Aben and Marze chuckled at that. Karyl himself found it amusing, especially when he saw Viola’s expression.

He talks a good game, when he’s claiming to be the lord of the south...

Seeing her pout at him, Karyl smiled lightly.

“You deserve every bit of respect, Sir Karyl. You’re our savior.”

Despite Karyl’s humility, Marze bowed again.

“Indeed. We’re more grateful to the Free Army than to the palace that abandoned us.”

Karyl looked at them with a troubled expression, but a satisfied smile soon tugged at his lips.

Moreover, it was the empire that had invaded first, making it difficult for them to conduct a thorough investigation.

There’s no reason for things to escalate this much.

Karyl thought about how Olivurn would react to the annihilation of his Ryeo Knights.

If he had a contract with Digon, this sudden incident would be a clear breach of it. He would at least seek compensation.

But the unexpected factor for Olivurn was the emperor’s return, leading to a sudden decision to head south. This was the result of the different stances of the three princes and the emperor’s schemes intertwining.

Attacking the Gray Training Ground has changed everything.

Because of Karyl, Olivurn had sent the Ryeo Knights to the south after learning about the Clear Distilled Water.

This didn’t happen in my past life.

Karyl compared each key event, ticking them off mentally.

Regardless of the changes I made, one important thing still remains.

The precondition of this incident was the Ryeo Knights reaching the Abyssal Rock in the south without any restrictions.

When did Olivurn ally with the Digon tribe? Without this incident, I wouldn’t have known their connection.

This was a stroke of luck for Karyl.

“Don’t worry.” Karyl smiled gently at Marze, who looked anxious. “We already know which prince will reach the south.”

***

“Phew... That was close.”

“I’m never riding on a boat with you ever again.”

“Why? We wouldn’t have arrived on time if it weren’t for me.”

At Suan’s response, Dushala shook her head, looking as though she had gone through a terrible ordeal.

When the Water King awakened, the waters of the Fonein River suddenly became turbulent as if anticipating the monster’s awakening.

Suan navigated the raging river effortlessly. Unlike Aidan, who seemed fine, Dushala had a tough time with the rough waves. Even after being on land for a while, she still looked pale and felt queasy.

“If you don’t like how I navigate, you can ride on that guy’s back on the way back. At least you won’t get seasick.”

“...That’s even worse.”

“Ha!” Suan and Aidan chuckled at Dushala’s shudder.

“That guy... I was wondering why no one saw him in Tatur, but when the hell did he manage to get here? When did Master prepare all this?” Suan spoke with genuine admiration.

They were in the last canyon leading to the south, surrounded by cliffs so high they seemed like endless walls. They were observing a group from a vantage point. The people below appeared to be in trouble, halted in their tracks.

“It’s just as Master had predicted,” Aidan smirked.

Dushala nodded in agreement.

“This means only one person can head south.”

At her words, Suan looked down with a peculiar expression, recalling the events at Piasta.

"I'd love to see the look on the esteemed Second Prince's face."

“Groaaarr...!!”

The roar of a monster echoed through the canyon.

“...”

There, coiled up, a massive Sand Serpent blocked the only passage between the cliffs.