Chapter 431 - 431: You Always Have a Choice

The group of armed men was getting ready to make a move on the nearby village when a young man appeared before them.

Alexander stepped onto the path alone and stopped several dozen paces away. His broadsword remained strapped across his back, while his hands rested calmly at his sides.

The bandit-like group stopped what they were doing and looked at Alexander curiously.

One of the men near the front laughed. "Are you lost, boy?"

Alexander ignored the remark and looked past him toward the commander. "I came here to speak with your leader."

The surrounding laughter gradually faded. Although Alexander had yet to touch the broadsword on his back, there was something about his calm expression that made several of the soldiers uneasy.

The commander then walked to the front and spoke. "What is it you want, boy?"

"I want you and your men to leave your weapons behind and return across the eastern border. If you surrender peacefully, no one here needs to die," Alexander answered.

The commander frowned at the word return across the eastern border. He would have allowed the child to leave after robbing him to keep up the act, but this child knew more than he should.

The commander quickly concealed his reaction and gave Alexander a confused look. "What eastern border? We are bandits, boy. We have no borders."

"There is no need to continue pretending," Alexander responded as he looked the commander in the eyes. "Your equipment might come from different places, but you move like trained soldiers. You have scouts ahead of your main force and smaller groups protecting your flanks."

Several of the men glanced at one another. The commander sighed at hearing what was said.

'There's no use lying to this child.' The commander sighed.

"I wanted to have minimum casualties if possible, but you needed to stick your nose where it doesn't belong. I didn't want to kill you, child, but you left me no choice."

"You always have a choice. You and your men can just leave, and no one would need to get hurt or die."

The commander stared at Alexander for several seconds before shaking his head.

"You speak of choice because you know nothing about war. Do you truly believe a few words from a naïve child will make more than a hundred soldiers abandon their orders?"

The commander no longer tried to hide the fact that they were indeed soldiers, as there was no point.

"I see... Then I too have no choice. You follow your orders, and I will protect what I need to protect." Alexander grabbed hold of his sword and got into a fighting stance.

Seeing the resolve in Alexander's eyes, the commander was momentarily stunned. He himself was a father of a child of a similar age to Alexander.

'It doesn't matter... This is for the good of the kingdom; it must be done.'

The commander hardened his expression and raised one hand. "Surround him."

The second that command was given, the sound of thunder could be heard from a distance, and several men knelt on the ground, their legs injured.

Being in Norvaegard, it was obvious to them what kind of weapon would make such a noise and deal damage from a distance.

"He's not alone! Defensive formation!"

The soldiers reacted with practiced discipline. Shield bearers rushed toward the direction of the gunfire and formed a wall, while the aura users moved behind them.

Several mages began creating defensive barriers as the remaining soldiers dragged their wounded companions into the center of the formation.

They had already learned from past experience and were no longer as surprised by gunfire. Their formation might have worked somehow if their opponent was anyone else but Lucen himself.

Hidden among the trees upon a nearby slope, Lucen, alongside Cael, watched the soldiers complete their formation.

Lucen created a rifle and imbued the bullets with the element of fire; he then proceeded to use Aerial Arsenal and summoned several rifles in the air.

The rifle in Lucen's hands and those created by Aerial Arsenal served different purposes.

The fire-imbued bullets in the physical rifle possessed greater destructive power, while the mana rifles allowed him to maintain constant pressure without needing to reload.

Lucen placed the stock of the rifle against his shoulder and aimed at the center of the magical barrier.

Lucen took a breath before he pulled the trigger. The fire-imbued bullet struck the barrier and exploded.

Flames spread across its surface, followed by a shock wave that caused the shield bearers behind it to stagger. The barrier bent inward, but the combined mana of several mages prevented it from shattering.

"Hold it!" one of the mages shouted.

The rifles floating around Lucen adjusted their aim. Instead of firing simultaneously, the mana weapons discharged one after another. Every round struck the exact point weakened by the explosion.

Cracks spread from the center of the barrier. Lucen pulled the bolt of the rifle and chambered another fire-imbued round. At the same time, the floating weapons continued firing independently.

Before gaining Parallel Focus, performing both actions while tracking several targets would have reduced his accuracy and would have started giving him headaches, but now it was completely different.

Lucen fired several more shots in quick succession, breaking through the mana created barriers.

Lucen was able to incapacitate several of the shield bearers and mages. Seeing this scene before him, the commander gritted his teeth. He did not know how many enemies there were, as the only one visible was the young man standing before him.

"Find the attackers!" the commander ordered. "Second and third squads, sweep the slope! Everyone else, deal with the boy!"

The volume of gunfire made him believe that several attackers were hidden among the trees. Nearly thirty soldiers broke away from the formation and rushed toward the slope.

At the same time, the aura users surrounding Alexander charged. Alexander tightened both hands around his broadsword and met their attack.

The first aura user reached Alexander from the left, swinging his sword toward his shoulder. Two others followed from different directions, hoping to prevent him from avoiding the first attack.

Golden-white aura spread across Alexander's body and broadsword. Alexander finally made a move.

His movement appeared strangely gentle, like a cloud drifting through the sky. The first sword passed behind him, while Alexander turned his broadsword and caught the other two attacks against its flat.

Before the soldiers could pull their weapons back, Alexander twisted his body and forced both swords toward the ground. He struck one soldier in the chest with the guard of his broadsword, then swept the other man's legs from beneath him.

The first aura user recovered and attacked Alexander from behind. Alexander moved aside and struck the man's wrist with the flat of his blade. The soldier lost his grip on his sword. A second strike to his stomach sent him tumbling across the ground.

More soldiers surrounded Alexander, but none immediately stepped forward. They had expected him to be strong.

They had not expected someone wielding a broadsword to control such a large weapon with enough precision to incapacitate his opponents without cutting them apart.

"He's deliberately avoiding fatal wounds," the commander realized.

The commander's expression darkened. Mercy was admirable during peaceful times, but on a battlefield, it could become a weakness.

He thought the child was admirable, and he felt sad and guilty for what he had to do. "Move together and exhaust him!"

The soldiers advanced in three separate waves. The first group attacked Alexander from the front, while the second circled around him. The third remained behind them, waiting to strike the moment he showed an opening.

Alexander did not falter as he adjusted his breathing and stance. While that was happening in the distance, Lucen continued to shoot down a few more mages and shield bearers.

Despite his continued stoic look, Cael, who was standing beside him, was already itching to join the battle and see the results of his training.

Lucen, who had known Cael better than anyone else, could see right through that mask of stoicism and sighed. "The soldiers that get close are all yours."

Hearing his older brother's words, Cael nodded his head as he unsheathed his longsword.

"Remember, we're not killing them," Lucen said as he fired another shot.

"Affirmative."

After saying those words, Cael dashed down the slope and intercepted the approaching soldiers before they could reach Lucen.

"There is another one!" One of the soldiers shouted.

A pale aura immediately covered Cael and his longsword. He entered their formation without slowing.

His blade tore the first soldier's shield from his hands. Cael followed with a blow from the hilt that knocked the man unconscious. A single swing severed two spears coming from his right.

Before the soldiers could recover, Cael was already among them. The commander watched Alexander hold back the main force while Cael stopped the squads sent toward the slope. Hidden gunfire continued without pause.

Only then did he understand. They were not the ones in control; they were being treated like children to be scolded.