The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 278

It began the very next day.

“Team 8, head to the Kurdish Kingdom by land. Their border guard hasn’t been fully deployed yet, so it’ll be easier. I assigned fewer people to your team compared to the others—think that’ll cause any problems?”

“Not at all. It shouldn’t be too difficult to pluck out a few talents from a country that’s already on its last legs.”

“Good. Teams 5 through 7, each of you take two Mass Teleport scrolls per person. Use one for one-way travel and use the other carefully so you can return to the estate after completing the mission.”

The team leaders of the Order of the Light Dragon, who rarely gathered in one place, accepted the scrolls Corbin handed over. They quickly checked the number and condition before tucking them away.

Their helmets and masks left not even a single strand of hair exposed, and the ominous gleam of their eyes beneath them made it clear they were no ordinary knights. Despite their tall, imposing builds, they exuded no presence. They would still seem like mirages or ghosts while standing in the center of a busy street at noon.

“Team 4, the Atlantis Maritime Alliance is already allied with the Empire, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. Accept active support from the local factions: Bermuda and the Council of Atlantis. You’re free to hire them in a formal commission as well. Recruit every adventurer team ranked A or higher.”

“Understood.”

Atlantis was considered one of the easier assignments. Thanks to Leonard, friendly ties had already been established, and the Empire’s successful campaign to stabilize the Sixth Sea District had left a strong impression. The three major factions propping up the Maritime Alliance would willingly open their doors, and any resistance would be isolated to a few individuals at most.

Having given instructions up to Team 4, Corbin now turned to the remaining three teams. These were the ones tasked with the most difficult regions.

“Teams 2 and 3, you’ll be handling the southern continent—Team 2 to the east, Team 3 to the west. In the jungle beyond the eastern mountains, the barbarians worship strength, so subjugate entire tribes by force. For the nomads in the western wastelands, prioritize securing elder shamans and great warriors. If they show signs of organized resistance, call for reinforcements immediately.”

“Understood, Commander.”

Finally, Corbin’s gaze settled on the leader of Team 1.

“Team 1 won’t be negotiating or recruiting—you’ll be carrying out assassinations. Kill everyone who’s plotted against Arcadia, opposed us, or tried to collude with higher races. Erase them all. Before Arcadia’s new order, they’re nothing but obstacles.”

“Understood. Glory to Cardenas.”

Though the Order of the Light Dragon specialized in espionage and reconnaissance, that didn’t mean they lacked personnel for lethal operations. They were experts in techniques like presence suppression, sniping, and spatial leaps—fighters who’d honed their unique traits in non-conventional ways. When it came to person-to-person combat, their lethality was unrivaled among the Seven Great Orders. Excluding the Golden Dragon knights, there were few who could stand against them in single combat.

Outside Arcadia, where no force matched the Empire’s level, they could quite literally walk through the front door and decapitate a king without issue. And so, the world’s deadliest assassination unit was unleashed.

“—Go.”

The Cardenas’ blade had been drawn.

* * *

It was clear the Kurdish Kingdom had already entered its death throes. The same Kurdish Kingdom that had previously sent assassins to Galapagos Island, a Cardenas training ground, had been battered beyond repair.

Over a dozen high-ranking nobles had been slain by the merciless judgment of the Order of the Red Dragon, whom the Cardenas family had dispatched in retaliation. The knights and elite soldiers, who each took decades to train, had been decimated. Even the royal guard—supposedly their finest—had been left crippled. There was no chance their border forces had survived intact.

Other nations besides Arcadia could easily have moved in to claim the Kurdish Kingdom, but though the kingdom scrambled to fill its ranks, the quality of its troops was pitifully low.

Which was why—

“...Are you asking me to defect to Arcadia?”

The Light Dragon knights, slipping undetected from the Kurdish Kingdom’s borders all the way to the capital, had begun to quietly approach individuals too valuable to leave behind in a collapsing nation.

Those who had failed to curry favor with the ruling class. Those who had rejected offers to join the Order of the Shadow. Those overlooked and disregarded with low birth or impure bloodlines.

“You’re saying... I could become a knight of Cardenas? And have access to training resources?”

“Can I bring my family along as well? Really? You’d even grant me a title?”

“There are a few others I know, good people. Could they come too?”

Patriotism and loyalty had long since vanished. After suffering the Cardenas family’s punishment, the Kurdish Kingdom’s ruling class had only tightened their grip, squeezing the common people even harder in an attempt to recover their losses.

Those with the potential to spark a revolution, to rebuild the kingdom, were drained away by the Order of the Light Dragon—funneled into Arcadia. There was no hope left for the Kurdish Kingdom.

* * *

Across the minor kingdoms scattered throughout the central continent, a certain group of individuals wandered, using nothing but their own strength to earn money and fame.

Mercenaries—they were a rare breed in the Empire and the southern continent. After all, they were a group that inherently made nations uneasy. All the more so if they belonged to large-scale mercenary bands filled with skilled fighters. How could nations tolerate such unrestrained power strong enough to wipe out a large domain on a whim? It posed a serious threat to the rigid order of nobility and authority.

But the fragmented kingdoms of the central continent lacked the strength to stand against these mercenary bands, which in many cases had grown powerful enough to rival knightly orders. It wasn’t unusual to see knights of questionable background or low birth abandoning their titles to become mercenaries themselves. Mercenaries were men who, regardless of lineage, could achieve wealth and glory and, at times, receive treatment better than nobles.

At the pinnacle of these mercenaries stood one man: Bastard, the Mercenary King.

...What the hell are these monsters?

Covered in scars, the man stood as the undisputed ruler of the central continent’s mercenary world. Sweat trickled down his furrowed brow, despite the intense aura radiating from him.

He couldn’t help it. He had faced and fought Transcendence Tier opponents before—not frequently, but not never either. Every kingdom had one or two. For the sake of his reputation and the honor of his mercenary band, he had crossed blades with them more than once.

They weren’t easy, but they weren’t exactly threatening either. Against some of the weaker ones, I’d even bet on winning a two-on-one fight. But these monsters... they’re different!

The Order of the Light Dragon.

Among the Cardenas family’s Seven Great Orders, they were the most secretive—an unknown force shrouded in rumor. Their focus on espionage and reconnaissance often led others to underestimate their combat power, but that was merely because their missions and achievements rarely saw public recognition.

They lacked the Order of the Red Dragon’s expertise in dealing with Rifts and foreign species. They were less adept at facing Demoniacs and the Nine Hells compared to the Order of the Black Dragon. They couldn’t match the Order of the Blue Dragon in aerial combat or fighting Celestials. They were less specialized in defensive battles and dealing with the Spriggans than the Order of the Green Dragon. They couldn’t rival the Order of the White Dragon when it came to Divine Territories and Void Deities.

However—

If I make the first move... I’ll die, without a doubt!

It was precisely because he was Bastard, a man so skilled in one-on-one combat that he earned the title Mercenary King and reached the peak of the Transcendence Tier, that he understood. The person standing before him was an even greater expert in the art of killing humans.

“You’ve got a good sense. If you’d charged in recklessly, I was planning to cut off your limbs once and reattach them afterward.”

A dry, emotionless voice sent shivers down his spine. It wasn’t a threat. It wasn’t a warning.

In a way, it could even be called a compliment—a statement from an overwhelming predator. It sparked a sense of crisis and survival instinct Bastard hadn’t felt since the early days of his mercenary career.

“...I am Bastard, a mercenary. What brings you here?”

“Not bad. Since you’re being polite, I’ll give you at least a little information.”

The Light Dragon knight gave a short nod of approval at Bastard’s respectful demeanor.

“I’m from the Cardenas.”

“Ca-Cardenas?! Don’t tell me...!”

Just because he was a mercenary didn’t mean he was ignorant of the world’s affairs. If anything, mercenaries who didn’t know how to read the tides of power drowned early. Only those who keenly understood noble infighting and the larger geopolitical landscape survived long enough to lead a top-tier mercenary band.

When Bastard realized that Arcadia—until now always content to keep its strength within its borders—had finally drawn its sword beyond them, his eyes widened in shock.

The Light Dragon knight could tell from Bastard’s expression that he was already halfway convinced.

“I can’t tell you more than this. But I’ll make you a promise. If you come with us, you’ll realize that everything you’ve known about the world was nothing but a shadow. I’ll give you the chance to stand at the forefront of a new world, a new order.”

“C-Can I bring my men with me?”

“They need to at least be at the Transcendence Tier. I didn’t spot anyone of that caliber in your group.”

“I have a son. His talent and skill are quite decent, though...”

“If it’s family, you can bring them all.”

“Oh! Thank you!”

The man once said to stand tall even before kings now bowed so low it seemed laughable, taking Arcadia’s offered hand without hesitation. And this wasn’t an isolated incident.

Every notable figure across the central continent—the famed, the infamous—all received a visit from the Light Dragon knights, the Cardenas’ emissaries. Some tried to resist fiercely, and some talked in circles to buy time, but the result was almost always the same.

“You don’t get to choose. If we judge you unfit for the mission, we’ll release you on the spot—permanently. So come quietly.”

“W-What nonsense is this?! On whose permission? You think just because you’re from the Empire, you can do whatever—urk.”

“We can. Because we’ve always saved the world that way.”

Those who had lived wildly off their natural talent, those who instinctively sensed danger and tried to flee—all were dragged in. If their crimes or nature were too egregious, they were dealt with on the spot. But anyone judged to have at least minimal skill and character was whisked away to Arcadia, not a single one left behind.

Even for a covert and efficient unit like the Order of the Light Dragon, the scale of the operation could not be fully concealed. However, the assassinations carried out by Team 1 were so thorough that even the disappearance of prominent figures was buried beneath the chaos.

The order’s targets were rulers and elites, powerful men and women. The blood of politicians oblivious to their station—human traitors who, consumed by greed, tried to ally with Demoniacs or Celestials—stained the blades of the Light Dragon knights.

A king who sought immortality, a duke who conspired with demon worshippers to usurp the throne, the owner of a colossal trading company who acted as the bridge between Celestials and corrupt nobles...

Every last one was dead within two weeks.

* * *

Tower of Origin was the original model from which all Mage Towers scattered across the continent were derived. It was the place that had established the tradition of mages residing in towers. Only Tower Masters were permitted entry. Like the Arcane Society’s library, it had accumulated hidden knowledge for nearly a thousand years.

It was the domain of the Arch-Tower Master, who was known to be a Class 9 Grand Magus.

“Hoho, looks like the Cardenas family’s boys are getting a little rough.”

Simon Magus, head of the Mystic Society, chuckled as he watched the world stir from the towering spire’s highest room. The Cardenas family’s aggressive moves mirrored how the long-restrained Empire was finally flexing its muscles after centuries of restraint.

The Tower of Origin was built atop a summit reaching past the clouds, and its peak was like the tip of a skyscraper touching the heavens. As Simon overlooked the world below, a figure approached from behind, cloaked from head to toe in a robe.

“...Integrating the Mage Towers with the Arcane Society? What nonsense.”

The Arch-Tower Master—an infamous figure known for being untraceable with a true identity shrouded in mystery—slowly removed their robe.

Eyes reflecting light like glass orbs, and skin gleaming with a metallic sheen. Turquoise magic light flickering beneath the surface of their skin.

“From the beginning, the Mage Towers and the Arcane Society were one. Can I finally consider my mission complete, Master?”

“There’s no longer any need for you to function as the Arch-Tower Master. Yes, your mission is complete.”

Simon Magus, who had maintained his knowledge and memories over generations to preserve continuity, smiled softly as he turned.

This was his “masterpiece,” the result of a long-forgotten attempt to manifest Adam Kadmon into material form and the byproduct of the realization that perfection could not be achieved in the material realm. An artificial lifeform, this creation was the founder of all the Mage Towers from ages past.

“My great failure—Ein-Sof.”

The Arch-Tower Master’s true identity had been revealed.