Chapter 53

It had been some time since the Innate Nation’s army took up station at the Blockade. There were now residential neighborhoods surrounding the military bases, with streets, plant life, and all.

Among the many homes, there was one occupied by Major General Frod.

Inside the secluded courtyard, Keith stood across from the old Guardian, a shortsword in one hand and a buckler in the other. Frod’s bald head reflected the sunlight above as he casually held a sword of his own, wearing flip-flops, shorts, a pink tank top, and sunglasses.

Suddenly, Keith took swift steps to close the distance – making sure his speed didn’t surpass 1,000 agility – and tried to break through Frod’s guard.

A swipe, cleave, thrust.

Keith tried everything he knew.

From time to time, Frod tapped Keith with the flat side of his weapon, shouting, “Wrong. Use your wrist, ya hear.”

As they sparred, Keith used Mind Division and Mind Enhancement to analyze his fighting style. He absorbed Frod’s advice like a sponge soaking up water, improving quickly.

Congratulations! Your Sword Mastery skill has leveled up to 334!

Two days ago, Keith decided to work on his close combat skills, acquiring the Sword Mastery skill for the first time. On the first day, Keith soared to level 212 under Frod’s mentorship, then level 302 on the second day.

Due to having to defend the Blockade, and including the resting period, Keith could only train with Frod for two hours a day. Even then, his progress was blazingly fast, so much so that Frod had to intentionally hold back from overpraising Keith.

Of course, Frod was a huge factor as to why Keith was growing so quickly.

Frod, being one of the four Guardians, and surpassing five hundred years in age, had a well-developed arsenal of skills. He was the best person to have as a tutor.

Soon enough, two hours went by, and Keith reluctantly put away his weapon.

He sighed, “It was a little difficult to level Sword Manipulation today.”

Frod nearly choked on his saliva. “Lil’ bro, you reached level 300 in two days, yo. Temper your expectations, ya?”

Keith no longer cringed upon hearing Frod’s peculiar speech.

Rubbing his neck, Keith replied, “I know, I know.”

“Hear me out, yo.” Frod began explaining, “Above level 300, you need to take everything you learned about the sword and make it instinctual. It’ll take time, straight up.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t constant fighting quicken the process?”

“Yep,” Frod grinned. “Just don’t go testing your sword skills against some divine grade monster, Lil’ bro.”

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“I won’t,” Keith promised.

At that moment, a beep came from Frod’s magic tablet lying on a nearby bench. Frod walked over and picked it up. Upon reading the message, his expression shifted.

“What’s wrong?” Keith probed, noticing that Frod’s happy mood had vanished.

Frod glanced at Keith, and after thinking for a moment, informed him about recent events regarding the Elemental Nation, as well as Rammy’s request for help.

Keith couldn’t help but become somewhat disillusioned. “So we’re going to war with the Sin Dimension?”

While killing monsters at the Blockade was morally acceptable, hunting down demons didn’t feel right. Unlike monsters, demons possessed free will, just like humans, orcs, elves, and dwarves. They had hopes and dreams. Families.

Keith didn’t like the direction the Innate Nation was taking with this decision.

“I don’t like it either, yo,” Frod sighed heavily, his age apparent. “Unfortunately, that’s just how the world is, Lil’ bro.”

Keith tried to understand his father’s intentions.

Markus wanted to unite the Grandsky Realm.

Yet by setting out on this mission, Markus positioned himself against Torg and Wrath, resulting in more conflict. It was contradictory. Wouldn’t it be better to lay down his ambition and let Torg become the Grandsky Realm’s sole ruler? Wouldn’t that avoid countless deaths?

Maybe Keith was just being naïve.

After a few moments of silence, Keith recalled his encounter with the demon Isuni and shared his thoughts with Frod, “The demons aren’t pushovers. Considering they have superior items and levels, in addition to the fact we still need to defend the Blockade, who can we spare to send over?”

“Half of the top hundred on the Blockade event’s leaderboard plus all of our reserve troops are mobilizing for this mission,” Frod revealed with a heavy tone.

“What?!” Keith was shocked and angered.

As Keith ranked 54th yesterday, he knew how much firepower he brought to the battlefield. Missing half of the top hundred would result in significantly more casualties.

And that wasn’t counting the reserve forces.

For people who were too exhausted to fight, they were usually replaced by someone from the reserve until they recovered. Without reserve forces, nobody would have time to rest.

“What are my father and grandmother thinking?!” Keith grew agitated, on the verge of shouting.

“Calm your horses, Lil’ Bro, it isn’t as bad as you think,” Frod shook his head, explaining, “A large reason why the top hundred are in the top hundred is because they’re powered up by War Arrays. The people who replace them will receive the same benefit.”

Keith calmed down a little. “Even then, they aren’t perfect replacements.”

“Maybe, maybe not. You’re also neglecting something, yo.” Frod continued, “If your concern is causalities at the Blockade, then by accepting Rammy’s request, this mission might help more than hurt.”

“How so?” Keith was befuddled, unsure of Frod’s reasoning.

Frod wore a sad smile, “Killing a celestial grade monster doesn’t guarantee loot. But what about these demons? They’ve lived for far longer than us and surely possess great wealth. It’s way more lucrative to kill them and snatch their equipment for ourselves. Who knows? One might even have a full set of celestial grade equipment.”

Keith was stunned silly.

After a moment, he said, “Well, I can’t argue against that. It just feels…”

“Repulsive?” Frod finished.

Keith nodded.

Frod looked at the ground with a gaze reminiscent of a tired soldier. “Before Lady Yara came to the Innate Dimension, there was no civilized society. Instead, there were tribes of various sizes, each vying with each other for supremacy. I was around your age when I started fighting for my tribe, killing for glory and honor. It seemed like there was no end to it.”

Keith listened silently as Frod went on, “And then Lady Yara arrived with supreme strength. She united the tribes and brought peace. The population exploded, and technology advanced. The world as we knew it became safe.”

“First the Innate Dimension, and now the Grandsky Realm? When will it end?” Keith chuckled bittlerly.

Frod looked at Keith, answering, “One step at a time, Lil’ bro.”

Shifting topics, Keith said, “Well, even though I’m in the top hundred, I don’t want to go killing demons. I’ll remain at the Blockade.”

“No problem,” Frod nodded. “You aren’t in the military, yo, there’s no expectation for you to participate.”

Although Frod was directly subordinate to Markus, his loyalty lay with Yara. He knew she didn’t want Keith actively involved in the military’s affairs. He was relieved by Keith’s intention to stay at the Blockade, where it was considerably safer and more predictable.

After a moment of silence, Keith asked, “Are you going?”

“Yes,” Frod revealed.

“Even though you don’t support it?” Keith questioned.

Frod chuckled, stating firmly, “I do what’s necessary.”

Keith didn’t know what to say to that.