Chapter 276: Chapter 275: Pressing the Advantage

Actually, Amicus could have completely withdrawn from the battlefield after his breakthrough, but he didn’t.

He wanted to claim the single greatest prize of this war—Ronin’s life.

Unfortunately, he overestimated his own strength and, more importantly, underestimated that of his opponents, especially Ronin.

With his Fighting Qi completely depleted to the point he couldn’t even sustain it, a single Crimson Flame Fire Snake severely hampered his reaction speed.

As Amicus fell in defeat, a line of text appeared in Ronin’s vision:

[“King of Slaughter” achievement unlocked. Attribute Points +1000, Energy Essence +2000]

Panting heavily, Ronin struggled to his feet. He glanced at Amicus lying in a pool of blood. ’He never expected that the man’s mid-battle breakthrough would ultimately help him complete this achievement.’

The last King of Slaughter achievement had required killing a Golden Knight, but this time, it was someone at the Meteor Level.

Ronin had never truly grasped the power of the Meteor Level before. After fighting Amicus today, he had now experienced it firsthand.

It had taken a Golden Knight and several Silver Knights working together to bring down a single Meteor Level expert, and even then, the victory had been incredibly hard-won.

Under normal circumstances, Ronin estimated that he would have needed to at least reach the Golden Level and become a Late-stage Mage to have any hope of completing this achievement.

The 1,000 Attribute Points were enough to raise his Mage Level progression to the halfway mark, greatly shortening the time it would take to become a Magus.

This was a pleasant surprise.

“We won!”

“We won!”

With Amicus’s fall, the bloody streets erupted in victorious cheers.

Despite their injuries, Toru, Ridder, and the others couldn’t help but break into joyous smiles.

In this battle, they had not only eliminated the leader of the Polante Thief Gang but had also accomplished the incredible feat of killing an opponent far above their level—a Meteor Level expert.

This battle would be the most glorious achievement of their lives!

“Sir, are you all right?”

Ridder walked over, asking with concern.

“I’m fine. Just some superficial wounds.”

He glanced at Ridder. The latter had a noticeable injury on his arm, a wound over ten centimeters long that was steadily oozing blood.

It was a good thing he was a Silver Knight. An ordinary person would have likely bled out by now.

“Ronin, you’re really something else!”

Marvin came over and said excitedly, “If it weren’t for you, we never could have accomplished the incredible feat of killing a Meteor Level expert!”

They had a surplus of top-tier fighters for this battle. If Amicus hadn’t had his sudden breakthrough, they should have won with ease.

“It’s all thanks to everyone working together!”

Ronin said with a smile, “I just took advantage of the opening you all created and delivered the final blow.”

“Don’t be so modest!”

Marvin found it hard to believe. ’This young man is so formidable. I’m afraid I wouldn’t even be his match in a head-on fight anymore.’

Marvin couldn’t fathom it. ’How can he be this strong?’

“All right, let’s not just stand around. We can celebrate later.”

Ronin scanned the battlefield and called out, “Those of you who aren’t injured, tend to your wounded comrades! Also, have the logistics team move in!”

Although they had won the battle, the Noble Alliance Army had not emerged unscathed.

Out of more than eighteen hundred combatants, over two hundred had been killed and more than five hundred were seriously wounded.

Notably, the losses among their top-tier fighters were relatively light, with only one Bronze Knight falling in battle.

Of the Silver Knights who had surrounded Amicus, only Tarren and Philip were severely injured. They would likely spend the better part of the next year recuperating.

Although the casualty numbers seemed high, they were primarily concentrated among the Noble Alliance Army, whose members had varying levels of strength. The regular troops, like the Wushan Castle Knight Squad and the Pasture City Knight Squad, suffered few losses.

The fact that Ronin had kept the casualty count this low while leading such a diverse group was already impressive.

Furthermore, if they hadn’t seen through the plot between Coren and the Thief Gang, it was entirely possible that the whole Noble Alliance Army would have been annihilated.

So far, the war could be called a resounding victory for them.

…

Meanwhile, the Wubei Territory Knight Squad, led by Macken, entered Casier Town.

Amicus and his men had been using the town as a staging point, and many of their supplies were stockpiled here.

Although the Polante Thief Gang had mobilized all its forces to support Coren, they had still left small squads behind to guard Chishan Town and Casier Town.

These garrisons consisted mostly of trained soldiers, but there was no shortage of Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Knights among them.

While the outcome of the battles was never in doubt, these enemies undeniably gave the Wubei Territory Knight Squad an opportunity to drill its soldiers.

In less than two hours, Macken and his men had taken control of the town’s granary and iron ore warehouse, sealing off its entrances and exits.

Once Amicus had led the entire Thief Gang into Giant Stone City, Ronin sent two signals to Carlos, and soon a second fiery cloud appeared in the sky.

Seeing that the time was right, Macken left some of his men to guard Casier Town while he led the rest through the canyon pass’s defenses and into Chishan Town.

According to Ronin’s plan, if any members of the Polante Thief Gang retreated to Chishan Town, the Noble Alliance Army could then team up with Macken’s Knight Squad to execute a pincer attack.

Unfortunately for them, that scenario never played out. The entire Polante Thief Gang had entered and been trapped within Giant Stone City.

“Ronin, what’s your plan now?”

Inside the fortress of Giant Stone Castle, everyone who could still move was present, aside from Tarren and Philip, who were recuperating.

Take Baron German, for example. Even with his right hand now wrapped in bandages, he had insisted on coming to the fortress for the meeting to ensure Lake Town would not miss out on the next phase of the operation.

Everyone knew the Polante Thief Gang was finished. Now was the time to press their advantage, earn more merit, and claim the spoils of victory.

To be absent now would mean a great loss.

In response to Toru’s question, Ronin answered decisively, “Naturally, we’re going to take back all the towns the Polante Thief Gang has occupied over the years in one fell swoop.”

He spread a map out and said, “To sow discord among Amicus and his men, I already had the Wubei Territory’s Knight Squad raid Casier Town and Chishan Town. By now, Macken and his forces should have both towns under control.”

“Next, we will continue south to retake Quicksand Town and Sari Town.”

His finger tapped on the last city in the southwest of Wushan Territory. “And Shore City!”

These places had all been strongholds for the Polante Thief Gang over the years. Now that the Thief Gang was gone, retaking them would be incredibly easy.

As they listened to Ronin lay out this blueprint for victory, everyone’s eyes lit up.

This was a great victory.

It had been a long time since Wushan Territory had seen such a resounding victory.

And the reason everything had gone so smoothly was entirely thanks to the young commander before them.

This campaign against the Polante Thief Gang had given them a new appreciation for the eldest grandson of Wushan Castle.

It was safe to say that Ronin’s performance, in terms of both his wisdom and strength, had earned their complete trust and admiration. If the opportunity arose one day, they would undoubtedly consider following him.

“Ronin, listening to you, I get the sense that you have everything under control,”

Marvin said with a laugh. “If Marquis Lurans could see you now, he would be very pleased.”

This piqued everyone’s interest. They, too, wanted to know what the Marquis was thinking.

Would the succession of the third-generation heir be changed again?

Besides Lurans himself, Ronin, who was close to the Marquis, was likely the only one who knew the answer.

“Haha, perhaps Grandfather would be pleased,”

Ronin said with a smile, changing the subject. “In war, speed is paramount. To minimize unnecessary losses, Toru, Ridder, I want you to gather the uninjured men as quickly as possible and make for Shore City. Secure it immediately.”

At the mention of official business, everyone reined in their curiosity.

“Commander, I have a suggestion.”

Ronin looked over. The speaker was the bandaged Baron German. “Please, go on.”

“Although some of my men are injured, they are still fit to fight and would certainly be willing to throw themselves into the next battle. I ask that you include them when you assemble the force.”

His words immediately drew a chorus of agreement. No one wanted to miss out on the spoils because of a few minor injuries.

Shore City was a large city with a population of tens of thousands.

Not to mention, the wealth accumulated by the Polante Thief Gang over the years was immense. ’Coren may have sent his fortune away, but surely Amicus and his men didn’t send theirs away as well, right?’

Ronin, of course, knew what they were all thinking. He smiled. “Since everyone is so enthusiastic, we’ll include anyone who, despite being injured, can still handle a long march.”

And just like that, the next phase of the battle plan was essentially finalized.

With the Polante Thief Gang eliminated, taking over these towns would pose little difficulty for the Noble Alliance Army.

Any resistance they encountered would merely be the futile struggles of the gang’s remnants.

Reclaiming the lost territories in the southwest of Wushan Territory was now only a matter of time.

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