Chapter 790

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Release schedule: 3 chapters per week

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In the midst of getting pummeled repeatedly in an instant, there was only one thought in Nakturah’s mind.

‘I… I need to create distance.’

He didn’t know the first thing about physical combat. That was because he had devoted his entire life to studying magic.

So even as an 8th-Circle mage, he was critically vulnerable in close quarters. Worse still, those who had latched onto him were Transcendents, it wasn’t easy to repel them even with magic.

This situation was nothing short of a nightmare for Nakturah.

“Urgh…! My legions…!”

He hurriedly summoned the undead, but even that proved meaningless.

Nakturah looked around and couldn’t contain his shock.

‘Using spirits in such a vulgar way!’

The spirits summoned by Ereneth were clinging to the undead, wrapping around their legs to drag them down. Even the flying wraiths were being hugged and headbutted mid-air by the spirits.

Earth spirits kept shaking the ground, making it hard for the undead to move freely.

It was an utterly shameless display of “combat-type survival spirit arts”, throwing all sense of dignity out the window.

Taking advantage of the gaps created by the spirits, Osval crushed the undead with his hammer.

“Aaah! Don’t come any closer! I’m scared!”

Smash! Crash! Boom!

Every time the undead restrained by spirits were struck by Osval’s hammer, their bones shattered and they collapsed.

Meanwhile, Nakturah, still getting beaten by the Transcendents, was having his own bones gradually cracked and splintered.

Crash! Crash! Craaash!

Snap! Crunch!

The constant sound of breaking bones made it impossible for Nakturah to keep his mind clear.

‘W-Who the hell are these bastards? What the hell do they even do? What kind of job involves beating people this professionally?’

Each of them was clearly weaker than him. And yet, he was the one getting completely battered.

He had lived a long life, but this was the first time he’d seen people so systematically proficient at gang-beating someone.

Not even a knight order could coordinate this well. It was an assault so impressive it left him in awe.

Nakturah felt like the world had truly changed while he’d been locked away here.

‘If this keeps up, my bones are really going to turn to dust!’

And that wasn’t a metaphor. Bone dust was actually starting to scatter around him.

With the relentless beatings continuing, Nakturah couldn’t help but grow desperate.

‘What do I do? How do I escape this insane violence?’

He had tried to counterattack several times, but each time he cast magic, strong mana interference disrupted him.

Enduring that while trying to cast powerful spells was nearly impossible when he was being beaten so mercilessly.

Sure, they were weaker than him individually, but they were all Transcendents — they dodged the faster spells or tanked them outright.

‘N-No. If it ends like this, my freedom…’

Once close combat had been allowed against the Transcendents, there were few options left for Nakturah as a mage.

The only reason he was still standing was because he was a lich. Any other mage would have been beaten to death long ago.

At this rate, the mission would fail. Forget about freedom — only endless bondage awaited him.

‘In that case…’

In that moment, hatred and madness simultaneously glimmered in Nakturah’s eyes.

He was a lich. And unlike other mages, he had one final trump card left.

“You insignificant mortals! Do you even know who I am?!”

Kwaaaaaaah!

An immense wave of magical energy erupted from his body.

A radiant light, like a miniature sun, flared up near his heart. A massive storm of mana swirled around him in a violent spiral.

Nakturah was trying to self-detonate — to incinerate everything around him by blowing himself up.

If he were going to vanish anyway, it would be better to take everyone here with him.

Even that alone would count as a successful mission and would let him reclaim his freedom.

“DIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!”

With a frenzied scream, his unleashed mana exceeded its limits.

At the same time, Ghislain also released all his magical power and shouted with force.

“Get back!”

KWAHHHHHHH—!!

A massive shockwave exploded outward from Nakturah’s position.

The group quickly tried to retreat, but the power was so overwhelming that they couldn’t dodge it completely. They were all swept up in the impact and flung far away.

Where Nakturah had stood, a massive crater had been carved into the ground. Had anyone taken the blast directly, even the Transcendents would’ve been torn to shreds.

The group had suffered a serious blow. Bones had broken, organs shaken, and they were coughing up blood.

And that was just from brushing against the edge of the explosion, not taking the full brunt of it.

Sssssss…

From the heart of the blast, fragments of something scattered amidst the rising black smoke.

They were the remains of the Death Knights that Ghislain had summoned.

The Death Knights had layered themselves around Nakturah and absorbed the explosion head-on with their bodies.

Ghislain had also poured all his mana into reinforcing shields around the Death Knights and the group.

Even so, the Death Knights had been utterly shattered, and the party had still suffered injuries just from the residual shockwave.

Amidst the drifting fragments, the leader of the Death Knights, Gasco, muttered bitterly.

“Urrgh… That damn bastard… again with this crap…”

He’d been blown to pieces like this before.

Come to think of it, he’d only ever had one proper fight. Despite being a Death Knight who was supposed to rule the battlefield with fear, he always ended up playing the role of a shield like this.

“You… damn…”

Gasco tried to say something more, but his body vanished completely before he could finish. It would take quite a long time for him to reconstitute himself.

In any case, thanks to the Death Knights, the group barely managed to block the explosion.

Lionel clutched his aching chest and asked,

“I-I-Is it over? Is it really over?”

Ghislain lay on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Yeah, nothing to it, right?”

“…I-I’m not so sure?”

The enemy had been undeniably terrifying, yet they’d taken him down surprisingly easily. But calling it “nothing” felt wrong — the aftermath of that final explosion had been utterly horrifying.

If they’d failed to block the blast, not even a trace of them would’ve remained.

One thing was certain — Nakturah had been completely obliterated here. The surrounding undead were turning to dust and scattering in the wind.

“Ghislain! Are you alright?!”

Ereneth rushed over to the fallen Ghislain.

Having stood at the front and exhausted all his mana to shield the team, Ghislain had sustained the worst injuries.

Thankfully, Ereneth, who had been in the rear and less affected, immediately summoned spirits to envelop Ghislain’s body.

Though not quite on the level of Divine Power, spirits also had healing effects.

Only then was Ghislain able to catch his breath.

Seeing this, Kyle groaned.

“Do us next… I’m dying here…”

Julien and Kyle had been just as close to the blast as Ghislain. They’d taken serious damage from the explosion’s shockwave.

“Just a bit longer!”

Ereneth answered urgently as she channeled a surge of spirit energy into Ghislain.

Kyle, clutching his broken ribs, muttered to himself.

“This really sucks… Times like this make me miss Deneb.”

Deneb, who was in charge of healing, wasn’t with them right now.

So, the party had to rely solely on Ghislain’s magic and Ereneth’s spirits for recovery.

While both had reached high levels of mastery and the recovery effects weren’t bad, they still couldn’t compare to Divine Power.

Ereneth moved busily, breathing spirit energy into each of the fallen companions.

They weren’t going to be fully healed right away, but given time, they would recover.

The battle was over, but none of them could rise easily.

It wasn’t just because of their injuries. They were utterly exhausted from the long and brutal journey.

As they lay there gathering themselves, a voice rang out from beyond the snowstorm — Arterion’s voice.

“…Impressive. I believe you’re the first ones to have endured this far here.”

His voice was filled with genuine satisfaction.

Soon, a wave of magical energy pulsed outward, and the fierce blizzard began to part. Through the opening, warm sunlight poured in.

“Ah…”

A comforting warmth that melted their frozen bodies.

Sighs of relief escaped from everyone’s lips.

Ghislain stood, leaning on his staff. Smiling as he looked back, he said,

“Let’s go. Looks like the trial’s over.”

The party summoned their last bit of strength and stood. Then, they slowly began to walk through the split in the snowy path.

There were no more monster attacks. It was almost eerie — as if all those countless foes had simply vanished.

A short while later, they finally arrived at their destination.

“Whoa…”

Without anyone prompting, everyone let out a collective gasp of awe.

The sight before them was overwhelming enough to leave them speechless.

Rising from the endless snowy plains and frozen earth stood a colossal crystalline tower.

The tower, so massive it resembled a mountain, was covered in clear, azure mana crystals.

Within those crystals, ancient runes and dragon emblems glowed and floated gracefully.

A strange silence blanketed the tower’s surroundings. The blizzard had stopped, and even the wind seemed to be holding its breath.

Yet within that stillness lingered a sense of crushing pressure.

The reason no living creature dared approach this place was clear.

This was the lair of the Dragon Lord, Arterion.

Even Ghislain, who was not easily impressed, let out a breath of admiration at the sight of the crystal tower.

“Amazing. It’s not a cave. How in the world did they build this?”

This was the only trace of civilization standing on this barren, frozen land. It was hard to imagine how such a structure had been constructed here.

Creeeaaak…

The enormous gate opened on its own, as if to welcome guests.

With reverent expressions, the group stepped toward it.

And a moment later—

“Julien!”

Deneb came running out with a joyous expression.

“Deneb!”

Julien, face lighting up with delight, ran to her. The two embraced each other tightly as if they’d never let go.

Kyle, watching the scene, clicked his tongue and frowned like he’d just witnessed something indecent.

“They’re not even trying to hide it anymore.”

Everyone already knew the two liked each other.

It was just that they’d always been careful, trying not to show it too openly.

But after the ordeal in Valskrum, they had become more honest with their feelings.

“Waaah! You all finally made it!”

The other mercenaries who had been waiting rushed out.

They were all wearing expressions of overwhelming relief. If the party hadn’t made it, they all would have been doomed.

Osval, meeting the mercenaries, put on a solemn face and shouted loudly,

“Osval, the man! Has painted the frozen earth red with blood, thundered through the bitter cold, slain the master of death, the lich, and arrived here in triumph! Now we shall slay the evil dragon… Wait, no, that’s not it. Anyway! What a glorious and revolutionary journey this has been!”

“Wooooah! Osval!”

“He’s still alive!”

“Incredible! Absolutely amazing!”

The mercenaries lifted Osval into the air, tossing him in celebration. Just for today, even his tall tales sounded like shining heroic epics.

Soon after, Arterion appeared. He looked around briefly, then smiled gently.

“You’ve done well. Not a single one of you died — that’s truly remarkable. Just this once, I’ll give you my full recognition.”

Only then did the group truly feel that they had arrived. With the tension finally released, they began to collapse one by one, dropping where they stood.

The mercenaries who had been resting here came over and carried them on their backs. Seeing this, Deneb hurriedly ran over and spread Divine Power over everyone.

Paaaah.

A bright light radiated out, wrapping around the group and sinking into their bodies.

Having endured so much hardship, the warmth overwhelmed them and they all drifted off into sleep, almost as if fainting.

Ghislain slapped his own cheeks several times to fight off the drowsiness. Then he turned to Arterion and asked,

“Is the trial over now?”

“Yes. I’d say you’ve met the minimum qualifications I sought.”

“Is this a qualification meant as a precaution?”

“Just think of it as something necessary in various ways.”

The two exchanged cryptic words. But the others had no interest in their conversation.

Getting the sleeping party into the tower came first.

Even Ghislain, who had managed to stay awake until they entered the tower, no longer had the energy to continue the conversation. The group, for the first time in ages, slept deeply and peacefully.

It wasn’t until a full day of rest had passed that they began to recover their senses.

Arterion spoke to the groggy-looking Ghislain.

“Now, tell me what you want. I’ll provide everything you need for training.”

“Straight to the point. I like that. Then I’ll take it all — loud and clear. What I want is…”

Without hesitation, Ghislain laid out everything he had in mind.

Harsh training, yes but when it came to rest and maintenance, Ghislain demanded the very best.

True to that principle, he requested high-end meals for the duration of their training, top-tier equipment, a vast amount of runestones to build a mana concentration array, advanced grimoires from all schools of magic, monster provisions for live combat training, and more.

The cost of these demands could rival the treasury of an entire kingdom. Yet Arterion nodded without a hint of concern.

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you as much support as you need. If we run short, I’ll have every kingdom on the continent pitch in.”

The primary mission of a dragon was to fight the Demonic Abyss and maintain the balance of the world.

It was the very reason dragons were created — a mission bestowed upon them by the goddesses from the beginning of time.

So there was no reason Arterion would refuse to strengthen the Julien Mercenary Corps, who worked alongside the Saintess.

Delighted by Arterion’s easy acceptance, Ghislain smiled broadly.

He could now take care of all the things he’d been putting off due to various issues.

Now that it had come to this, he planned to spend time here and become far stronger than before.

Everything Ghislain requested was for the group’s training but there was one thing he wanted just for himself.

“There’s something I’d like for myself.”

“Speak. If it’s within my power, I’ll grant it.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. It’s something I know you can give me.”

“What is it?”

Ghislain’s eyes sparkled as he replied.

“That lich — give him to me.”

“……”

Arterion fell silent, staring at Ghislain.

His expression seemed to say, “What the hell is wrong with this guy?”