Chapter 17: Battle of Arthenburg Part 3
"VETUS!"
Grand Duke Vetus stumbled backward across the muddy roof of his carriage. His fine velvet cloak tore as it caught on broken wood. He was a Rank 6 Sword Lord, a warrior strong enough to crush ordinary men without effort.
Vetus had planned everything.
For decades, he had dreamed of ruling the Leo Principality. Officially, he was only the Chancellor—but once Grand Prince Aegar and Crown Prince Alexius were gone, he would rule in truth. For the sake of legitimacy, he would control the court first… and then crown himself sovereign.
Thirty years ago, he had secretly met the Duchess of the South of the Kalian Empire. Tempting with a Baron rank and control of border trade, Together, they planned to expand the Empire eastward. From that moment on, Vetus began his betrayal.
With poison provided by the Duchess—poison that could not be detected by magic, medicine, or divine arts—he killed the previous sovereign. No one ever suspected him.
Next, he arranged the deaths of Crown Prince Aegar's elder brother and his family, during a royal tour before crown, he caused their carriage to fall from a mountain road. After that, Aegar became Grand Prince.
Aegar then married Lily, the daughter of Marquess Custodian of the South. She was clever, cautious, and powerful became Vetus's greatest obstacle. His spies could not even get close to her.
Once again, the Duchess helped him somehow.
Slowly, day by day, Lily was poisoned. She resisted for a long time, long enough to give birth to a son—Alexius, the last royal heir. In the end, Lily also died. Soon after, Aegar fell into a deep coma, by the result of that poison again and unable to rule.
Vetus waited patiently for thirty years.
Alexius was the only enemy left. At first, Vetus believed the boy would be easy to control—a puppet who signed documents without question. Still, he could not take risks.
During a royal hunt, Vetus ordered one of his spies to tamper with Alexius's horse. The accident nearly killed him. Alexius fell into a coma for months.
But fate mocked him.
Alexius woke up.
Worse, he began to take responsibility as a ruler.
Vetus dismissed it. He is still a puppet, he told himself. No one in the capital was capable of teaching him otherwise. Even Sword Master Captain Fidus was nothing more than loyal muscle.
Then came the final temptation.
The Duchess of the South offered Vetus a deal: if he seized the throne quickly, he would be named a Count of the Empire and granted lands twice the size of the Leo Principality. Greed consumed him.
He started the rebellion.
He expected an easy victory. No resistance. No real fight.
But now, everything was ruined.
Because of him.
Alexius Demetrios Leo stood among the burning remains of the rear guard. His black armor was stained with smoke and blood, yet the purple aura around him shone brightly. Lightning ran along his twin swords, leaping to the metal frame of the carriage and scorching the wood beneath Vetus's feet.
Vetus drew his own weapon—a heavy saber covered in jewels, forged from rare mithril. A pale green aura rose around him as he forced his fear down.
There was no escape.
The Imperial Sword Master was too far away. His own commander is too far away.
His forces are at disadvantage in number and strength.
If Vetus wanted to live, there was only one choice left.
He had to fight.
Yet,
"You are a cripple!" Vetus screamed, trying to convince himself as much as his enemy. "You spent your life in bed! You can't defeat me!"
Vetus charged forward.
His strike was fast—faster than most eyes could follow—driven by the full force of a Sword Lord's aura. The air shrieked as his blade sliced toward Alexius's neck. Against any normal opponent, it would have been instant death.
Alexius didn't even blink instead he stepped forward.
[Skill: Flash Step]
In a single breath, Alexius vanished from where he stood. The world seemed to twist, and before Vetus could understand what had happened, Alexius was already past him.
Too close.
Far too close.
Vetus felt a sharp pain bloom across his side—then warmth.
Only then did he realize something was wrong.
Blood spilled down his armor.
Alexius continue, With his sword wrapped in violet lightning, Alexius struck.
Clang.
Vetus yanked a dagger from his belt with his free hand and raised it in a desperate block. It didn't matter. The lightning-covered blade sliced straight through the dagger, shattered the mana shield, and tore into the Duke's shoulder armor.
"Argh!" Vetus screamed as he staggered back.
Lightning rushed through his body. His muscles froze, refusing to move. His aura flickered and broke apart, his control slipping as pain and shock tore through him.
Alexius spun his blade once.
[Spell: Gravity Wall]
An invisible force slammed down onto the Vetus Body. The pressure was overwhelming. Vetus was crushed to his knees as the ground beneath him split and cracked.
He groaned, trying to lift his sword. His arms shook. Veins bulged along his neck and hands as the crushing weight pressed him down harder and harder.
Alexius walked toward him and stopped in front of the incapacitated Duke.
Duk
What stood before him was a monster—one of the rarest beings in existence.
How could I have missed it?
This was a being with the perfect body of a Sword Lord and the terrifying power of a Magister, fused together into something that should not exist.
And it was in front of him.
"Wait! I yield!" Vetus gasped, spitting blood. "I can give you the names! The Empire's contacts! The spy network! I am worth more alive!"
Alexius raised his sword.
"Your worth is zero, trash."
He brought the blade down in a crossing strike.
Imperial Sword Art: X-Strike
The wind blade and the lightning blade met at Vetus's neck.
There was no resistance.
The Grand Duke's head separated cleanly from his shoulders, his eyes still wide with desperate hope. It hit the ground and rolled across the dirt. His body collapsed a moment later.
Alexius stood over the corpse. Then he bent down and lifted Vetus's severed head by its gray hair.
"THE TRAITOR IS DEAD!"
The sound tore across the battlefield like a shockwave.
At the Western Gate, the fighting froze. Mercenaries, conscripts, and household knights all turned toward the rear. Alexius channeled his voice with wind magic, carrying it across the entire Plains of Ash.
They saw it.
The silhouette of the Prince, standing amid fire and ruin, holding the head of their master.
A single, collective gasp ran through the enemy ranks. Promises of gold, land, and victory vanished in that instant.
Far across the field, near the shattered gatehouse, the duel of titans came to a halt.
Der Gnadenlose, the Rank 8 Sword Master, pulled hard on the reins of his black charger. His breathing was heavy, his red aura still flaring violently. Slowly, he slid his massive black sword back into its sheath.
"You yield?" Captain Fidus asked coldly.
"I am a weapon of the Empire," Der Gnadenlose replied. "My orders were to destabilize the Principality. The North and the West are already under our control. The capital has been bled dry. The objective is complete."
He turned his horse toward the west.
"Retreat."
"Wait!" a mercenary captain shouted, running after him. "What about us? You can't just leave us!"
But the answer never came.
The remaining enemy forces of Vetus's knight order and the surviving mercenaries—looked around in horror. Their leader lay dead. Their strongest ally had withdrawn.
They were surrounded.
Trenches packed with furious pikemen. Musketeers watching from the towers. And at the center of it all stood a Prince who commanded lightning.
One by one, weapons fell into the mud.
"Mercy!"
"We surrender!"
The cries spread like a disease. Thousands dropped to their knees, hands raised, begging for the lives they had tried to take only hours earlier.
The Battle of Arthenburg was over.
The Imperial cavalry did not stop.
They rode straight through the mercenary ranks. Iron hooves crushed hired swords into the ground. Screams were swallowed by thunder and steel.
The Empire had no need for loose ends.
From afar, Der Gnadenlose cast one final glance toward Alexius. Red eyes met violet eyes across the battlefield.
This is not over.
We will meet again.
Ding!
[BATTLE STATISTICS] [Enemy Forces (Vetus/Empire)]
Initial Strength: 15,000KIA (Killed in Action): 8,240WIA (Wounded): 1,100POW (Prisoners): 2,660 Deserted/Retreated: 3,000
[Allied Forces (Leo Principality)]
Initial Strength: ~9000 (Including Militia)KIA: 1,012WIA: 520Critical Injuries: Commander Centurion.
Alexius sighed watching the post battle status.
One thousand and twelve.
That was the number.
More than a thousand people had died today because Alexius had not been strong enough to stop the war before it began. They were not warriors by nature. They were fathers, sons, and brothers. They had answered his call, taken his order and died face-down in the mud for him. HE also sympathised for the death of the enemy soldiers. What a waste of lives. Coming from peaceful modern era with rarely real war it weighed down him.
A hand rested on his shoulder.
Alexius turned.
It was Elias. The butler's coat was torn, and a blood-stained bandage was wrapped around his head.
"Your Highness, Look." gesturing to the crowd.
Alexius raised his eyes.
On the city walls and in the trenches the survivors were standing. They were covered in blood and filth, exhausted beyond words.
Yet they were cheering.
"LONG LIVE THE PRINCE!"
"VICTORY!"
"THE TRAITOR IS DEAD!"
They lifted cracked spears and bent swords into the air. Some laughed. Some cried. Some embraced one another. They pointed at Alexius— with awe.
To them, he was a saviour.
He was the god of war who had descended to save them from destruction. He had fought at the front. He had slain the traitor Duke and tyrant with his own hands. He had saved their families from the burning of the city.
Alexius swallowed the tight knot in his throat.
He straightened his back.
"Secure the prisoners!" Alexius ordered, his voice carried across the field by magic. "Bring the wounded ours and prisoners to the Faith District and treat them. Gather the dead."
He paused.
"Every citizen who fell today will be buried with Royal Honors in the Faith District."
Then he pointed to Vetus's severed head, now held by a soldier.
"And put that on a pike above the gate," he said coldly. "Let the Rebels see what happens when they defy the Crown."
The army roared.
The cheers of victory thundered spread through the city.
The war was not over.
But Leo still stood.
[QUEST COMPLETE: Quell the Rebellion]
[Rating: S]
[Rewards Unlocked]
• Level Up: 43 → 45
• New Title Acquired:The Usurper Slayer
• System Feature Unlocked: Skill Categories
[Skill Categories Explained]
From this point onward, all skills are classified into four categories:
Innate Skills – Ultimate abilities tied directly to the user's existence
(e.g., Imperial Sword Art, Omni-Elemental Mastery)Special Skills – Rare powers granted by titles, bloodlines, or authority
(e.g., Sovereign Aura)Unique Skills – Sub-skills derived from Innate SkillsCommon Skills – Standard abilities used by most combatants
(e.g., Fireball, Thunder Strike, basic sword techniques)
[System Notification]
Skill management interface updated.
(Continue.....)