SSS SKILL: DUPLICATE

Chapter 26: Operation Trojan Horse

A few days after Edgar's fight with Marco, Roy finally departed from the kingdom to start Operation Trojan Horse.

The two entry points of the operation are Duke Reich of Ru and Duke Wesly of Fran. Duke Reich's territory borders the Maginev Empire. His territory is rich in minerals. If the Maginev empire invaded, he would lose his wealth and might even lose his life. The empire threatened his wealth and life but gave him a carrot: trade and investment in his territory. His territory is one of the richest in Ru kingdom.

Duke Wesly monopolizes the sea trade of the Fran kingdom with the help of the Maginev empire. He claims that it is dangerous for others to engage in sea trade because there are many pirates. He presented facts showing that many merchants suffered heavy losses from pirates. The royal court was convinced by Duke Wesly. Some officials retorted, but the Duke is powerful. The queen is his daughter, and she has a son who competes for the throne.

After traveling for a few days, Roy and his entourage, riding tundras, reach the border.

A guard from the border stopped their track.

"Halt!" a guard said in gray armor.

"Officer, here is our permit." Roy went down from the tundra and showed a document to the guard. The guard took the document, and he was shocked.

"Sasha company! The prince's business!" the guard blurted, then he laughed.

"Hahaha! Thank the prince for me later. We are given free cooking oil that we can give to our family. My children like fried chicken very much! Hahaha! Go! But be careful, there are many bandits in the Ru kingdom!" The guard ordered his subordinates to open the way.

"Thank you, officer," said Roy, and then they continue their travel. He is accompanied by a mercenary. Behind them are workers riding on a brown horse with a small horn on its head. The horse pulls a carriage, which carries supplies and many big pots of cooking oil.

After a few hours, they arrived at the entrance of a lush forest near a mountain. The trees are tall and thick. Some magic birds are flying. Small magic beasts peek at them above the trees.

Aside from the magic beast, there is another pair of eyes peeking at the incoming caravan. A man with missing teeth and coarse clothes stopped looking at the caravan, then ran to his boss.

"Boss! Boss! There is big meat coming! There is big meat coming!" The man with missing teeth is panting, but his face is full of excitement. His boss has an eye patch on his left eye. His hair is mohawk and red in color.

"Are you sure?" the bandit boss asked with excitement.

"I am sure, boss! They have many carriages! Their carriages are full of pots!" The bandit continues to describe what he saw to convince the boss.

"Hahaha! Call the boys! Let's hunt fat meat and have a feast tonight. Hahaha!" said the bandit boss, and then he took his club weapon and went to his steed.

When the caravan nearly reaches the middle of the lush forest, the leader of the mercenaries notices the danger ahead.

Vyron, the mercenary leader, raised his left hand and said, "Stop! Spread!"

The caravan stopped and became alert. Vyron's eyes look sharp, and his face looks more intimidating with a wound scar across the bridge of his nose.The mercenary members and accompanying guards came down from their steed, drew their weapon, and positioned themselves to guard against any attack. Vyron drew his halberd from his back and went forward. He told Roy to stay in the middle and be surrounded by his guards.

Hush-hush-hush sounds of movement appear in the surroundings.

Shooo! Something big came out of the forest. Boom! A big yellow lizard, twice as big as a tall tundra, came out of the forest and blocked the front of the caravan. The bandit boss is standing at the back of the yellow lizard.

ROOAAR! The big lizard roared. The loud roar causes fear among workers and guards, but the mercenary members look calm.

"Nyahahahaha! Drop your weapons and kneel! Surrender or die!" the bandit leader proclaimed while laughing. Bandits started appearing in the surroundings, along with some bandit archers.

Vyron has already measured the situation. He looks at the arrogant bandit leader, then sneers.

"Attack!" Vyron ordered. All aura masters in the team clad their whole bodies with aura.

The archer on the team is a young woman with short, curly yellow hair, wearing a green cap with an attached feather. Her cheeks have a diagonal red mark. She is drawing her bow with five arrows aim at bandit archers.

ART OF ARCHERY: HOMING ARROWS

Five arrows with an aura flew straight for a while, then suddenly changed direction.

"Ahh!" "Ahh! The screams of bandit archers keep echoing in the surroundings. All arrows found their target in different directions.

Homing arrows keep flying in the air. The team's archers keep taking shots at the remaining bandit archers.

"I hate bandits!" said the young magician of the team. She has short, white hair. She is looking at the bandits without hiding her killing intent.

"Aira, don't charge to the bandit like last time," the archer reminded Aira, who seems eager to tear the bandits into pieces.

"I know! I know!" Aira dismisses the reminder of the archer with a perfunctory remark. She raised her hand and cast magic.

ICE PICK

Ice picks are joined by arrows in the air, and more bandits are being killed.

"Bastaaaard! Kill them!" the bandit boss ordered. His face looks distorted. How dare they fight back? He wants to tear them into pieces. He will turn them into feed for his pet. His pet has already killed aura users and magicians.

Woosh! Woosh! Aira keeps firing ice picks at bandits. The archer killed all bandit archers. Now she is firing two to three normal arrows in a single shot. The swordsman of the team rushes to the crowd of bandits. A man with a big bronze hammer moves in the opposite direction, where another crowd of bandits gathers. They are both clad in aura.

"My darling Ryna, tear them into pieces!" the bandit boss ordered his pet.

ROOOAAAR! The yellow lizard roared. It opened its mouth, then earth started to gather and form a big spike aim at Vyron.

EARTH SPIKE

A big earth spike flew toward Vyron. Vyron is already in a slashing halberd stance. More aura is already gathered at his halberd. He swings his halberd toward the earth spike and the monster behind it.

MONSTER HUNT

A big aura blade flew toward the earth spike. Crunch! The earth spike was cut, and it continues to fly toward the monster. The yellow lizard did not have time to dodge. There was a sound of cutting flesh. The lizard's head slowly separated from its body.

"Fuck! I kicked the iron plate!" the bandit leader thought. He is not an aura user or magician. He does not know the levels of aura users. He just got lucky to save an injured newborn earth lizard and tamed it. His pet killed low-level aura users and magicians, but his pet is an ant for high-level magicians or aura users. The headless yellow lizard crashes to the ground, and the bandit leader falls from the dead lizard.

The bandits are shocked that the scary pet of their boss was instantly killed.

"RUUUN!" shouted the bandits, but it was too late. The swordsman arrived in front of them, and he is like a wolf in a flock of sheep. Many bandits are quickly cut.

"Ahh!"

"Nooo!"

"Ahh!" The bandits scream. The man with the hammer also arrived in front of the bandits and started swinging his hammer.

HAMMER OF JUSTICE

The hammer is hitting bandits and sending them into the air.

"Aaahh! Monsters!" All the bandits are running away. Their prey is not fat meat, like the bandit with missing teeth claims. Their prey is a scary monster.

Vyron is beside the bandit leader. He raises his halberd to cut the bandit's head.

"Wait! Let him lead us to their stockade. They might have captives that needed to be rescued, and we need a place to stay. The sun will set soon. Let us stay in their stockade." said Roy. He heard the miserable experiences of captives, especially the women.

The bandit with missing teeth was scared witless when Roy entered the stockade. He pleaded that he was just forced by the bandit leader, but some captives exposed him. Captives howled and took revenge. Most bandits are on the edge of death because of the captive's revenge. Only some bandits are innocent. They are just hungry, so they join bandits but still retain their humanity.

In the morning, they continue traveling. Their team increased because of the rescued captives. Along the way, captives returned to their homes.

When Roy reached the city, he contacted a big shop under Duke Reich and stated his purpose. The manager ordered someone to inform the Duke. Roy was called to the capital by the Duke. Roy and Duke Reich reached an agreement. The Duke will be the sole agent of Sasha Company in the kingdom of Ru. Roy requested to buy land for warehousing. The Duke agreed and made the arrangement. Roy made others stay to work in the warehouse. Many of the people who will work in the warehouse are real, but some are spies planted by Roy. The warehouse will be the headquarters of Baynard's spy in the kingdom of Ru.

Roy left Ru, then proceeded to Fran Kingdom with the mercenary team. A batch of oil is already waiting in a city. The team that escorted it departed at the same time from Baynard Kingdom. He made the same operation as he did in the Ru kingdom, but Duke Wesly is more cautious than Duke Reich. After many days of waiting, the Duke eventually agreed to meet him.

Just like when Roy was talking with Duke Reich, he was hinting to the Duke that he is a descendant of Duke George, trusted by the regent king of Baynard, and he needs help to control the royal court. Duke Wesly is also shrewd. He is ignoring the secret hint of Roy. Just like Duke Reich, he is acting as if he doesn't know what Roy is talking about. The Duke focused the topic on business, and he became the sole agent of the company in the Fran kingdom.

Both the Dukes do not trust Roy, but they are blinded by greed. They know the huge profit from cooking oil. For them, the deal is harmless. It is a pie that falls into their mouth. They will investigate Roy to see if what he is telling them is real, but the cooperation will still continue. Roy will build another warehouse in Fran and plant spies. Operation Trojan Horse is successful!