All-Out

Meanwhile, in Fort Shadowsong, a fierce battle between all the Swordmasters ensued.

Two hidden Swordmasters from the Samara-Kairuku Coalition Army joined the fray and suddenly, Blanc, Helena, and Alexander found themselves in a seven-versus-three Swordmaster battle.

Helena handled three Swordmasters while Blanc and Alexander handled two Swordmasters each.

"Tch! Alex!"

Helena called out worriedly after seeing Alexander fall into a disadvantageous position. 

He didn't have Helena's overwhelming strength nor did he have Blanc's sovereign sword intent so he was having a hard time keeping up against two Swordmasters.

As for Blanc and Helena, they were faring better than Alexander but they're having a hard time getting into an advantageous position.

Finally, after around six hours of fighting, all ten Swordmasters were exhausted. However, the eyes of the three Swordmasters from Rougenfort Kingdom were as fierce as ever as if saying "You want to lay your filthy hands on our kingdom? You have to do it over our dead bodies!".

Due to this, the Swordmasters from the Samara-Kairuku Coalition Army started to get a bit intimidated.

"Tch! Retreat! Our hidden strike force should have successfully taken over Blasridge City as of now, there's no need for us to rush!"

The general of the Samara-Kairuku Coalition Army, which is also one of the Swordmasters, finally called a retreat.

Today was already the 14th day of the battle and the walls of Fort Shadowsong were battered. However, the fort itself stands strong due to the unwavering efforts of both the soldiers and the military leaders of the Rougenfort Kingdom.

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*BANG*

Inside the great hall of Fort Shadowsong, Blanc slammed his fist on the table. 

He was starting to get anxious because there had been no news from Blasridge City and he was starting to think that the city had already fallen to the hands of the enemy.

This was also the reason why the enemy general started to tone down their attacks on Fort Shadowsong.

In their minds, Fort Shadowsong was already as good as theirs because once their hidden strike force arrived at Fort Shadowsong, the Rougenfortians would have no choice but to call a retreat.

"Tch! This damn coalition army general is such a wuss! They've got seven Swordmasters but they're still running away?! Do they have no pride as warriors?!"

Helena complained with an enraged voice.

She was also getting anxious about whether Blasridge City was able to survive the attack or not so she wanted to finish the fight here as soon as possible and immediately help Sabre defend the city.

However, the general of the coalition army kept on prolonging the battle so there was no chance for them to help.

They could do nothing but hope that Sabre would be able to defend the city without help from them.

As usual, the three of them sat down in the great hall for a strategy meeting but this time, all three of them had grim looks on their faces.

Even Blanc's calm heart started feeling pressure because he felt that time was running out for them.

"Let's start the meeting…We have to end the battle here as soon as possible and help Blasridge City. I believe that although it's a bit risky, we have to let Eden participate in the battles. As a tier 3 Ranger, he's on par with us, and his arrow intent would not only make trouble for the enemies, it might even take their lives."

"However, we would have to stop fighting individually and start fighting as a group of four so we could cover Eden when we need to."

After hearing Blanc's suggestion, Helena and Alexander thought that this plan was feasible. 

Instead of simply assigning Eden to protect an area, they have to utilize all the resources that they have and finish the battle in Fort Shadowsong as fast as possible.

Helena also had a suggestion but she believed that it was too early for them to use their other trump card because the enemies might develop counter strategies if she revealed it too early.

In the end, she decided to agree to let Eden join the fray and try to turn the tides of the battle in their favor.

If the current plan fails, then she would reveal their other trump card to end the fight.

"Alexander, inform Eden about the plan"

"Okay, leave it to me."

The three of them dispersed but just as Blanc was about to leave the great hall, a soldier suddenly entered the great hall bearing a good news that resolved all of his worries.

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The sun rose up in the sky as the fifteenth day of the battle began.

Three Swordmasters and one Ranger stood in front of an army while waiting for the enemies to attack.

After fifteen days of battle, the gap between the number of soldiers became almost non-existent. 

The Rougenfort Kingdom had eleven thousand soldiers remaining while the Samara-Kairuku Coalition Army's numbers were whittled down to a mere fifteen thousand and due to this, Blanc, Helena, Alexander, and Eden decided to fight a head-on battle against the enemy.

They couldn't afford to fight a battle of attrition any longer and since the number of their armies was almost equal anyway, they could act a little bolder and station their army outside the walls of Fort Shadowsong.

If they manage to defeat the enemy's Swordmasters with the help of Eden, the tides of the battle would surely turn in their favor and once they've succeeded in defending the Fort, they could help Blasridge City.