Act XIII: Charlotte's Starting Point

"Not going to Qing Village?"

That was not an option. Charlotte knew that the information he could gather there would greatly impact his future plans. Whether it was for food reserves or to test a certain hypothesis, he had to visit the village that might have already been taken over by Madara.

He paused for a moment, then leisurely replied, "If I don't go, do you know how to start? Infiltration and search are not to be taken lightly; they require careful planning and reconnaissance."

In the past, infiltration and search were the strengths of those who had trained extensively in the shadows, such as professions like Nightingale and Hunter. As a warrior, Charlotte didn't know much about them, but having teamed up and completed missions with such people, his memory alone made him far superior to these militia members.

Freya shook her head. She understood, but Charlotte's injuries were too severe. "You can tell us what we should do; leave the rest to us—"

Charlotte wasn't surprised by Freya's refusal. He knew he had to use the persuasion tactics he was good at. For example, the wisdom of a seasoned warrior: "Roman."

"Here!"

"Give me your sword." He extended his hand to the side.

"Certainly, Charlotte." Roman handed over his sword with confidence.

"Thank you."

Charlotte took the sword, inhaled deeply, and adjusted his condition to the best possible state. He was in a weakened state with less than 40 health points, and the zombie toxin prevented him from using another 20 points of strength. This meant he could only muster a force equivalent to 0.6 energy levels.

About the strength of a fourteen-year-old boy.

"Time is short. To prove my capability to join this expedition, let's use an old and traditional method to decide." He drew the sword: "A warrior's way of discourse."

Charlotte looked around and saw that everyone had a look of disbelief, as if they hadn't heard correctly. After all, among the current militia of Buchi, Freya was the undisputed master of swordsmanship, even Esson had been defeated by her.

"Are you really aware of how bad your condition is?" they wondered collectively.

"Charlotte, don't joke about this." Freya said with some anger. She was very confident in her swordsmanship. If Charlotte thought he could defeat her in this state—did he think he was a veteran from the November Wars?

Charlotte remained silent and simply made a 'please' gesture with his sword.

Freya, with her ponytail, was almost blinded with anger. She thought there should be a limit to recklessness, but it seemed reality was otherwise. She gritted her teeth and decided to teach Charlotte a lesson with reality.

Freya raised her sword and, without hesitation, delivered a vertical slash. Her basic skills were superb; the sword was steady, generating a thin blade wind.

Charlotte countered with a parry, and the immense force from the blade almost dislocated his wrist. However, he quickly adjusted the blade and cut along Freya's blade edge; the young man's force was not strong, but it startled Freya—because even before she could reach the attack range, Charlotte's sword was almost touching her guard.

Reluctant as she was, the ponytail captain had to retreat without success.

In fact, it wasn't unfair for her to be at a disadvantage. Charlotte's move was well-known among warriors; it came from Cruz's battle array swordsmanship, known in the game as the "Cato Reversal." It was an advanced fighting sword technique, and although Charlotte could only mimic it based on this body's original swordsmanship, it was more than enough to deal with a half-baked swordsman like Freya.

Charlotte remembered that he had learned this move from a mercenary after considerable effort, paying the price of two barrels of Madara's bone liquor.

It seemed those two barrels were worth it.

Freya stepped back. To counter Charlotte's subsequent attack, she gripped her sword tightly with both hands and pressed Charlotte's sword to the side, reacting quickly but not smartly. Charlotte had already stepped back, and by the time she reacted, his long sword was pointing at her chest.

Freya clenched her teeth and flicked Charlotte's sword tip away with the sword hilt, then followed with an attacking strike. However, to Charlotte, this attack was already off-balance, purely driven by stubbornness. He lightly knocked her, causing her to lose her footing and fall to the ground.

Dust flew up.

"It seems I've persuaded you," Charlotte sheathed the sword and replied淡淡地.

Freya looked up, her face filled with disbelief.

It wasn't just her. Among the nine militia members of Buchi present, besides Roman, who naturally had a knowing look, no one else wasn't showing a dazed expression. Was that swordsmanship even from a militia? It seemed to rival that of veterans from regular legions.

"How could this be?"

"It's not surprising. I'm the top swordsman among the 33rd batch of militia in Braggs," Charlotte answered casually. "And now it's your turn, Little Phineas. Let's solve your issue."

Little Phineas looked bewildered and shook his head quickly. "I—I'm not going. You all go."

This kid. Charlotte couldn't help but shake his head.

...

After agreeing on a rendezvous time and location with the others, Charlotte, Freya, and Esson quickly set out. Time was pressing, forcing them to act swiftly.

Qing Village was approximately to the east of Lake Che, not too far away. Especially as the three of them ventured deeper, they could see through the dense canopy the sky to the east darkening with several gray smoke columns—the sky was gradually darkening, and it didn't look like a good sign.

Based on Charlotte's memory and suggestions, they approached the area potentially occupied by Madara from the north of the village. His guess proved correct; the undead army had just swept through, leaving only scorched earth.

Looking at the village below, with flames rising from the embers and thick smoke billowing, Freya's last hope was dashed. It seemed Madara's army had indeed reached them before they did. This made reaching Ridenburg a mere fantasy. She couldn't help but glance at Charlotte, wondering what the young man was thinking.

But Charlotte, hidden in a thicket, watched as rows of skeleton soldiers passed outside the forest and counted the trees in the nearby thicket. He counted up to the twelfth tree and noted its appearance—

Qing Village, the twelfth beech tree to the south in the thicket. He remembered clearly that there should be a key buried there. In the game, it was part of a side quest that led to a crypt in the village.

He recalled who might have unearthed that quest—was it a priest? Though it no longer mattered, as he knew it was a knight's tomb, and if the game's scenario held, there should be some valuable items inside. But his goal was the sword in the crypt—the "Sting of Light."

It was a sword imbued with the power of light, and using it at his current level would be akin to a minor undead slayer. Of course, for the legendary artifact, he could only imagine its power.

Having confirmed this, Charlotte turned back and pointed at the area outside the forest, saying to the others, "Do you see that?"

"What should we see?" Esson and Freya were puzzled.

"The number of patrolling skeletons—twice, four times. It looks like there are two Madara squads in the village." Our protagonist answered skillfully, "Twenty-two to twenty-four skeleton soldiers, and two necromancers."

"So many!" Esson was startled.

"Fortunately, that's not the main issue. The key point is that they control the cemetery and the plaza. The necromancers left behind will certainly use summoning spells there, meaning they'll get continuous reinforcements. That's what we need to be cautious about," Charlotte continued.

"This is desecrating the dead!" Freya clenched her fists in anger.

"Indeed, but they have the right to do so." He sighed and pointed to a nearby grove, "See that? The ranch over there? You can use the shadows of the fences and shrubs to sneak in. There should be a cellar under the barn that is not hard to find and probably hasn't collapsed from the fire. You can hide there and wait until it gets dark before we act."

The girl nodded instinctively but suddenly realized something was wrong. "How do you know?"

"I spent some time here," Charlotte answered casually, not lying, just not in this world.

"And then what do we do?" Esson asked.

"Wait for me there. I'll come for you in the evening. Those monsters should be focused on summoning skeletons and won't bother you for now. If they do notice you, be mindful of your breathing and heartbeat—undead can sense your life force," Charlotte instructed meticulously.

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Freya caught this detail sharply.

"I have my own matters."

"You—" She was about to speak but saw the young man pat his sword, indicating—don't forget you've been persuaded. But how could that count for much? Freya was about to argue, but Esson pulled her aside, signaling her to be cautious of the patrolling skeletons.

"Do you trust me?" Charlotte asked softly.

Freya shook her head but hesitated and then nodded.

"That's good. Now, go quickly. Don't worry, I'll come back safely." He answered seriously.

Freya looked at him, wanting to say something but ultimately was unwillingly pulled away by Esson. Charlotte watched them disappear into the colorful woods and hide in the nearby shrubs, then sneak across a long meadow and successfully enter the ranch.

He then sighed in relief.

Charlotte turned back and looked at the thicket below. A sense of tension enveloped him; this would be his first solo adventure in this world. It might seem no different from before, but here there was no room for failure, only death.

He would have preferred to act with Freya and the others, but how could he explain the key? It wasn't plausible to say he had buried it himself; such a clumsy lie wouldn't deceive even Esson, let alone the meticulous Freya.

After weighing the options, he decided to act alone.

"There's no difference, old buddy. Just think of it as a refresher course." He rubbed his forehead and encouraged himself silently.