The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 287: Chapter 286: I Didn't Come Alone (4)



Harold appeared quite haggard, his nerves having been on edge due to Gillian.

However, his eyes burned more fiercely than ever before.

"Ghislain... Ghislain... That insolent brat finally stands before me."

Harold's feelings were no different from Ghislain's. The two had longed to meet each other-

To cut each other's throats.

Clatter. Clatter.

A single knight of Fenris, bearing a white flag, approached the Desmond camp.

He threw something swiftly before retreating immediately.

When the Desmond soldiers saw the 'something' that had rolled to the ground, they panicked and brought it straight to Harold.

Harold's brows furrowed as he looked at the item the soldier had brought.

"Baron Hutton...."

What the Fenris knight had thrown was none other than the severed head of Baron Hutton, who had been beheaded by Ghislain. Even at the moment of his death, his face was filled with pure confusion as if unable to grasp the situation.

Harold had already received reports of Baron Hutton's death from the knights and soldiers who had fled the pursuit.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, facing the reality of his death stirred his rage

anew.

"Ugh... Ghislain! You insolent wretch!"

That pest who always interfered with Harold's plans had appeared once again, killing one of his strongest allies.

Although Harold commanded many skilled knights, Baron Hutton had been exceptional among them. His death would make the pro-royalist faction's battles far more difficult.

It was a mistake to have sent him into the pursuit squad while injured. He should have fought under the protection of the main forces.

Gripping his head in frustration, Harold spoke with bloodshot, crimson-stained eyes.

"Form ranks properly so that bastard cannot escape under any circumstances."

He needed to remain calm. After all, the enemy he had longed to kill was now right in front of him.

This was a far better situation than laying siege. Victory in this battle was all that mattered. Step! Step! Step!

As Desmond's army surrounded the Fenris forces and slowly closed the gap, Gillian spoke urgently.

"My lord! You must retreat! Hurry and flee!"

"That'll be hard now. If we flee and get caught, the damage will only be worse."

"I will hold them off again! Please return and prepare for the defense! Hey, you lot! A hundred of you, follow me!"

Gillian turned to the knights, but they all looked indifferent.

"What are you doing! Escort the lord at once...."

"Enough, Gillian. Are you asking me to run while others sacrifice themselves? You think we'll lose? With me here?"

"My lord!"

Gillian shouted in frustration. Fenris was strong. The three hundred knights led by Ghislain, equipped with Galbanium armor, would unleash tremendous destructive power.

But their clear weakness was sustainability. The more the knights drew upon their armor's power, the faster their mana would deplete.

"I know how strong we are. I've fought that army myself. But after taking out half of them, we'll be utterly exhausted. You know better than anyone the greatest strength of a large army!"

"I can fight longer. Until every one of them is dead."

"What's the point if you fight alone? Even if we win, we'll suffer near-total annihilation!"

"Hmm, you make a fair point."

"Then please retreat and prepare the defense! I'll hold them off again!"

Gillian suddenly understood why Belinda constantly nagged at Ghislain. He knew his lord was fearless, but this was recklessly absurd.

Yet Ghislain, with his usual calm demeanor, replied,

"What's the point of that?"

"...What?"

"I'm asking what the point is of sacrificing you and others for my survival."

"You must survive, my lord! You are not alone in this!"

"Hey, don't say things that might cause misunderstandings. I'm still single, you know."

"My lord! That's not what I meant! You are responsible for many others...!"

Ghislain cut Gillian off mid-sentence.

"I don't want to lose you, Gillian. Or anyone else for that matter."

Hearing this, Gillian's eyes reddened, and he bit his lip hard.

It was truly a touching statement, the highest praise one could hear from a lord they served with loyalty.

But this wasn't right. Why had they been willing to sacrifice themselves? It was to buy time to save more lives.

A leader of many must remain cold. Take what is necessary, and abandon what must be abandoned. Such was the virtue of a ruler.

Yet Ghislain seemed entirely uninterested in such notions as he continued,

"I always give my best to ensure I don't lose my people."

"My lord...."

"There's nothing worth gaining by losing someone, and there's nothing I want to gain by

doing so."

Losing someone precious was Ghislain's greatest trauma. He had experienced it enough in his past life, endured enough pain to last a lifetime.

That was why he swore to never let it happen again, and why he fought against the duchy.

"My thinking of responsibility isn't like that."

It wasn't about sacrificing some to save others.

It was about burning his own life force to save as many as possible.

That was Ghislain's sense of responsibility.

"And I don't intend to be annihilated. As always, we'll win with minimal losses."

With that, Ghislain mounted the Black King and raised his hand, signaling the end of the

discussion.

"All troops, prepare for battle."

Clink! Clink! Clink!

The Fenris knights and mounted soldiers lowered their visors. Even in the face of Desmond's

massive army, they showed no fear.

To fight alongside their lord was almost a guarantee of victory.

Gillian gritted his teeth and declared,

"Then I'll fight again. Bring me my weapon! Axe or spear, I don't care!"

At this, Gordon poked Gillian's chest with a smirk.

"Ugh!" "With a body like that, what are you fighting for? You'd lose to me. Heck, you'd even lose to

that chatty butler."

"Ahahaha!"

The other knights roared with laughter. Seeing the formidable Gillian weakened amused them

greatly.

"You scoundrels! Cough!"

Overexerting himself, Gillian coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body had reached its limit

after fighting too hard for too long.

Gordon fussed over him dramatically.

"Whoa! Our instructor is going to die like this. Hey, take good care of him!"

In the end, Gillian was restrained by the medics, unable to move. Even if he wanted to resist,

he no longer had the strength.

All he could do was watch helplessly as Ghislain, atop the Black King, gave another command.

"Form ranks and stand ready."

Though the rear was open, fleeing would only invite Desmond's entire army to give chase, making any chance of victory impossible.

From the start, Ghislain had no intention of retreating. He planned to end things here and

now.

He calmly waited for the right opportunity to strike.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The advancing Desmond army stopped at an appropriate distance.

In such situations, there was usually only one strategy: attack from range.

As expected, a powerful surge of mana began to gather at the front of Desmond's formation.

Crackle!

The air wavered and distorted as tiny bolts of lightning crackled and flickered.

Desmond's 6th-circle mage, Willow, began casting his spell.

Seeing Ghislain boldly positioned at the forefront, Willow decided to target him directly with

a swift and powerful spell. A wide-area attack could be weakened by the enemy's black-

armored knights, so he opted for a precise, concentrated strike.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Foolish brat. He has no idea what's about to hit him."

Willow smirked confidently, his spell ready to pierce the target.

"Lightning Rod."

When he recited the incantation, light exploded. Countless bolts of lightning intertwined,

shooting toward Ghislain in an instant.

At that moment, a low voice resounded from the rear of the Fenris army.

"Reflect Shield."

Simultaneously, a massive magic circle materialized directly in front of Ghislain.

Boom!

The lightning was reflected right back toward the Desmond army's formation.

Willow, the caster of the spell, gasped in shock and shouted.

"W-what is this!" Reflect Shield was a 6th-circle spell but consumed an enormous amount of mana.

To reflect a spell required far more mana than the spell being reflected, so only those with an abundance of mana would dare use it.

Yet, the spell had been cast from within the Fenris formation.

Willow frantically waved his remaining arm to dispel the magic. He felt a large chunk of his

mana being drained.

'A mage above my rank is here.'

Cold sweat dripped down his back. The fact that his magic had been so easily deflected meant that the opponent had at least reached the level of a 6th-circle master. 'Fenris has such a mage? All 6th-circle mages in the North are accounted for, aren't they?'

To his knowledge, there was no 6th-circle mage in Fenris. While it was widely known that

Alpoi, heir to the Scarlet Flame Magic Tower, was staying in Fenris, he was merely a 4th- circle mage.

'A high-ranking mage we didn't know about has appeared.' Willow immediately reported this to Harold. Harold, who had been preparing a large-scale magic attack, twitched his eyebrows.

If what Willow said was true, the mages needed to hold back and conserve their strength to

counter the enemy's attacks.

They had no idea that Vanessa had reached the 6th-circle. Nor did they realize that the mage next to her had collapsed, foaming at the mouth after having their mana drained. Vanessa had deliberately displayed powerful magic to sow confusion among the enemy. As a result, the Desmond army's mages were now constrained in their actions.

Without knowing the exact capabilities of the opposing mages, they were forced to conserve mana.

Grinding his teeth, Harold gave an order.

"Cease magic attacks for now. Close in slowly and tighten the encirclement. Make sure they

tire out under the pressure."

The Desmond army began moving again, slowly but surely. They looked like a pack of

cautious hunters driving a beast into a trap.

This was one of the advantages of having a large army. A numerically inferior opponent

wouldn't know which direction to defend against.

The prolonged tension alone would wear them out physically, even without a direct fight.

This was a tactic hunters used to exhaust wild beasts before taking them down. Harold was an excellent commander. Despite commanding such a large force, he was intent on killing Ghislain carefully and deliberately.

"Archers, close in. Mages, prepare to attack again."

The archers behind the spearmen moved closer to the Fenris formation. The mages, waiting

in the main formation, began gathering mana again as they follo the soldiers

Once given the order, they would relentlessly bombard the Fenris army with arrows and spells

to exhaust them. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The Desmond army, slowly advancing, and the Fenris troops, waiting for orders, glared at

each other, increasing the tension.

Despite having faced Gillian's ferocious attacks, the Desmond soldiers knew Fenris was extraordinarily powerful and remained on edge despite their numbers.

The Fenris soldiers trusted their lord but were being crushed under the pressure of facing such

a massive force for the first time.

Suddenly, Ghislain, as if remembering something, spoke up.

"Ah, there's one thing I forgot to tell Gillian."

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The sound of galloping horses echoed from afar.

The Desmond soldiers looked around in confusion at the sudden noise.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The sound grew louder and louder. The Desmond soldiers finally spotted a cavalry force

charging toward them from their right flank.

Buuuuuu!

A loud trumpet blast drew everyone's attention. Seeing it, Harold muttered unconsciously.

"The Royal Army?"

At the forefront flew the royal flag. It was the 3rd Corps, led by Viscount Clifton. Trailing behind them were forces bearing the brilliant flags of nobles-the allied army led by

Viscount Idorian, or more accurately, the Association of Investment Victims. Before Harold could issue any commands, a loud cheer erupted from another direction.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

Turning toward the noise, Harold saw another army charging from the left flank.

"That's... Perdium?"

Flying above them was the white wolf flag. The Perdium forces had arrived in perfect coordination with the Royal Army.

Seeing the two armies suddenly appear, Ghislain smirked.

"I didn't come alone."

In the rear, Gillian's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the newly arrived

forces.

He had forgotten. Ghislain was no longer alone like he once had been.

Now, there were people supporting him.

Gillian, who had been with Ghislain since the days when he had nothing and was scorned,

suddenly felt his heart swell with pride and his eyes grow misty.

While the Desmond soldiers were thrown into confusion, the two newly arrived forces

positioned themselves to surround them.

Ghislain, seeing this, let his spear hang low and spoke.

"Let's go."

Clatter, clatter.

The Black King arrogantly raised its head and began walking forward slowly. Ahead of them

stood Desmond's massive army in grand formation.

Ghislain looked at them and smirked.

"After today..."

No, perhaps even before the day ends.

"We will be called the strongest in the North."

It was a short statement, but nothing more needed to be said.

Neigh!

With a long, piercing cry, the Black King charged toward the enemy.

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