Divine Sword Art System

Chapter 7. Rational Battle

Giselle was the one who led Tobias to the frontier north of Atrea, where the black smoke continued to rise. The two rode on their own mounts through the country dirt roads to reach the location; Tobias hoped the smoke was not caused by the Valcke forces' attack.

"What are the chances of Valcke's forces attacking Atrea?" asked Tobias, speaking to Giselle.

"There's a chance they might attack, considering Equestria doesn't have a treaty of truce with them," Giselle replied.

Hearing Giselle's explanation made Tobias sceptical. He was already grateful that the smoke was caused by the fire, but even so, Tobias was prepared for the worst.

From a distance, Giselle had clearly seen the border between Equestria and Valcke. What she suspected was true, chaos was occurring on the northern border. Dozens of houses were burned down by fire magic attacks from Valcke territory, and not a few villagers were injured by the attacks.

Tobias was shocked while still riding his horse. His right hand spontaneously pulled a sword from its sheath, preparing to fight against the invading Valcke army.

"I'll go to the vanguard. You help evacuate the villagers to a safer place," Giselle pleaded. Tobias agreed without arguing.

They stopped at different places; Tobias tied the horse's saddle rope on one of the trees near the villagers' houses, while Giselle stopped right in front of Atrea's northern border post. At first glance, Valcke's troops outnumbered the border troops. Giselle's arrival would not increase the defense strength of the northern post.

With his wealth of battlefield experience, Tobias realized that this territory would fall to Valcke if Equestria did not act by sending reinforcements. His task this time was simply to help the residents evacuate to the center of Stratham City.

The young man did not do it alone. Ten people at least worked with him to help the villagers close to the border post. One of the border troops helping with the evacuation said there were two villages affected by the battle, the one Tobias went to and another one to the west.

"We can't go there because of the fighting happening," the man replied, looking exhausted, helping the villagers in his iron armour suit.

"Then I'll go there," Tobias replied.

Among the sword-wielding people in that place, Tobias was the only one not wearing armour, just long-sleeved clothes and long pants. For Tobias, he was more comfortable wearing such clothes as it helped his mobility in an attack.

He quickly ran towards his horse, but his steps halted when he saw a soldier willing to help Tobias. Eventually, they left together on the Archibald family's black horse.

The soldier who went with Tobias was the one who guided the way to the village, considering Tobias didn't really know the places in this world. Not far from the first village to the next, from behind a high hill, the two can see the almost completely destroyed village.

The village was in ruins, and the villagers were scattering out in panic. Children were crying, men were killed for fighting back, and women were running around with their children and loved ones.

Tobias couldn't stay idle as he saw the atrocities committed by Valcke's troops. He told the man behind him to be ready because the young man was about to attack them with his sword technique.

"Are you going to fight them alone?" the soldier asked, surprised.

"If reinforcements don't come, I'll hold off Valcke's army by myself," said Tobias.

He gripped the sword with his right hand so firmly that it would not easily slip out of Tobias' grip. The horse carrying the two began to ride fast down the hill to reach the village.

The young man tried to stand up from the horse, his strange behaviour confusing the soldiers with him. Just as they reached the village, Tobias jumped to a height exceeding the height of the houses in that place.

[Myurajin Moon's third technique: Full Moon Swirl]

Tobias landed with such force that a strong gust of wind was created. He arrived in the middle of Valcke's troops fighting with the remaining border troops and men in the village. Tobias' appearance was certainly a surprise to them, especially the border troops, who never knew who he was.

"Who are you?" asked one of the soldiers.

"I'm Tobias Archibald. I will help the villagers evacuate from this place," said Tobias.

Since Myurajin Moon's third technique was already active, the young man immediately ran to the middle of Valcke's troops and spun his body quickly. The whirling of his body was accompanied by a white light, making deep wounds on the bodies of the Valcke troops that were hit by Tobias' sword.

Seven people fell because of Tobias' attack, and seeing his amazing ability made Valcke's troops begin to take a step back. Not only the border troops who had never seen Tobias' power but the enemy as well.

Tobias targeted the exposed areas of their armour, as it was impossible for him to attack their armour directly with his sword.

"If you're still strong, guide the women and children down the hill and evacuate to Stratham town center," Tobias ordered.

They did so obediently, realizing that Tobias was a member of the Archibald Nobility. The male villagers began to guard the evacuating people, unlike Tobias and the border troops, who continued to try to hold back Valcke's attack.

Tobias held his sword with both hands. He chose to use the Moon Myurajin technique to defeat them because he realized that the holy sword's skills would not work against physical defences.

[Myurajin Moon Fifth Technique: Illusion of Lunar Eclipse]

Tobias's sword suddenly turned giant, and the strength in his legs increased, allowing the young man to move quickly. A single slash of the fifth technique could split a person's body, but Tobias had to be clever to find the blind area of the armour worn by Valcke's troops.

His speed increased even more after he made the slash, instantly flooding the place with the blood of the slain Valcke troops. The end of Tobias' fifth technique was when the user intended to end the battle.

"Terrible power," said one of the border troops, both amazed and frightened.

Tobias' second attack left many of Valcke's troops dead. Tobias counted fifteen dead as a result of the attack. Although the fifth technique had great power, it was comparable to the impact received by Tobias, exhausted.

Tobias jumped back to join the line with the border troops. His breathing was ragged, unlike his old condition when he was still a Taichi. Tobias realized something right when he finished using the fifth technique of Myurajin Moon, which was Tobias' body had not been able to adapt to his own sword skills.

A man arrived near Tobias, saying the villagers had been evacuated to the city centre. The young man was relieved to hear that, he no longer had any obstacles to worry about.

"We should continue to hold them off until reinforcements arrive," said the border troops.

Upon hearing that, suddenly from the north, more Valcke troops arrived. They arrived with more than a hundred troops and would increase as long as this border region was not captured by them.

"What's the situation in the next village?" asked Tobias, curious about Giselle's condition.

"The border troops over there are also being pushed back by Valcke's increasing numbers," said the male villager.

Tobias was silent, with his eyes firmly fixed on the Valcke troops. He could guess that Valcke's troops arrived in large numbers, around 1000-5000 men, while the border troops were only around 500-1000 men.

The young man could also only kill around 50-100 people; there was no way that this war would be won by the border troops. Realizing the worst potential, Tobias asked the border troops to retreat.

"We won't win against them," Tobias said.

"Are you going to surrender?" asked one of the border troops.

"It's better than dying for nothing and being unable to guard Stratham town centre," Tobias explained, sheathing his sword to signify that the battle was over here.

"We have to let Valcke's troops take over these two villages. We must hold the town centre while we wait for reinforcements to arrive."

Tobias returned on his horse, unaccompanied by the man who had gone with him earlier. Seeing that the strongest man in the place had begun to show an attitude of surrender, they inevitably had to do the same as Tobias.

"All troops retreat!" said one of the border soldiers.

The young man left first on a black horse. While on his way, a blue panel unexpectedly appeared in front of his face, the same panel where he got the information about the divine system.

[A wise choice!]

"What does this mean?" asked Tobias, wondering.

[Cultivation activated]

[You have obtained: Basic Physical Technique]

[Entering the first stage of Basic Physical Technique: Mortal Descent]

[Mastery: Level 1]

[Description: Increase speed +3. Only active when using Myurajin Moon technique]

"Cultivation?" asked Tobias, occasionally glancing at the path he took back to the city.

[Greeting, Lord Tobias]

[I'm your partner in this system. You can call me Amu]