Chapter 799

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Release schedule: 3 chapters per week

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The Target is the Capital of the Empire. (1)

Ghislain looked Viscount Horento in the eyes and asked,

“From now on, you’re going to have to actively cooperate with us.”

“W-What kind of cooperation…?”

Crunch!

“Arghhh!”

Ghislain’s hand axe suddenly struck Viscount Horento’s shoulder.

Viscount Horento let out a shrill scream and shouted,

“W-What are you doing! A surrendered noble deserves proper trea—”

Crunch!

“Ughhh!”

With the other shoulder now struck as well, Viscount Horento collapsed to the ground like a crumpled sheet.

The knights, mages, and priests around them flinched as they watched.

Normally, they would have rushed in to save Viscount Horento. But they had already surrendered.

No—more accurately, they didn’t have the courage to move.

Ghislain glanced coldly around at them, then spoke to Viscount Horento.

“A commander like you really has no sense… Don’t you understand what it means to empathize with my feelings?”

“Urgh… ahh…”

Viscount Horento couldn’t even clutch his wounds; he just let out ragged breaths.

These people were not normal. It was one thing that they had fought against the Empire’s army with such few numbers but they had even won.

Still, he hadn’t expected this so-called Transcendent to be so relentless!

Terrified, Viscount Horento nodded.

“A-Alright. I’ll cooperate as much as I can…”

Crunch!

“Uwaaaaah! Whatever it is, just say it! I’ll do anything you say!”

Only then did Ghislain click his tongue and speak.

“People never get it unless you give them a good pat. Not once has anyone understood with just words. Well, it’s not like empathy is a common trait.”

If he had to name someone who was exceptional at it, there had once been that guy named Talim, whom the Revolutionary Group had captured.

That guy had incredible empathy. He could predict and say things before being asked. His empathy was almost grotesque.

If only everyone in the world was like that, maybe things would be peaceful.

Ghislain placed his axe against Viscount Horento’s neck and said,

“From now on, you’ll be going with us all the way to the Pope. So lying won’t do you any good.”

“A-Alright.”

“Tell me the entire deployment of troops the Empire has prepared to stop us.”

“T-That is…”

Crunch!

Ghislain’s hand axe struck Viscount Horento’s thigh.

“Aaaaaargh! I’ll tell you!”

Viscount Horento hastily pulled out several maps from inside his coat.

They were maps of the Empire’s territory and strategic points of each kingdom.

Unusual markings were scattered all across the maps—over a hundred of them.

“T-These marked places are where the troops are stationed.”

“Why are there so many? Don’t tell me they were all prepared to stop us?”

“N-No, they weren’t prepared for that reason.”

“Then?”

“They were set up in case someone ran off with the Sacred Stone. We knew there was more than one Transcendent.”

“I see.”

Ghislain understood well enough.

If a Transcendent was determined to run, they were incredibly hard to catch.

It was true that with enough manpower and a wide enough net, they could eventually be caught but the Julien Mercenary Corps had more than one Transcendent.

And no one could even be sure who had the Sacred Stone. They might have split it up and scattered.

If even one of them managed to escape and vanish?

Then securing the rest of the Sacred Stones would be meaningless.

From the Empire’s perspective, preventing any escapes had to be their top priority.

Ghislain quietly examined the map.

Troops were densely stationed at every possible route out of Tulan, even in areas far removed from the region.

No matter how mighty the Empire’s prestige might be, managing such a large force directly was impossible.

“Are these troops from the various kingdoms?”

“Y-Yes. Each kingdom has mobilized their armies and deployed them across the region.”

“Shouldn’t those troops be heading toward the Demonic Abyss?”

“W-Well, the kingdoms near the Abyss and the dragons are holding the line for now…”

Viscount Horento trailed off.

In truth, every kingdom was now in a full state of war.

Internal conflicts had ceased, and the powers had united. They had even begun mobilizing all the resources they’d stored up until now.

This was humanity’s baseline posture when facing the Demonic Abyss.

If they lost this war, human life would be finished.

But even so, they couldn’t disobey the Pope’s orders.

The Pope’s rationale—that only by using the Sacred Stones could they completely destroy the Abyss—was sound enough.

And since it was still the early stage of the war, everyone was choosing to believe and follow him.

“Hmm… If we just vanished right now…”

If the Julien Mercenary Corps disappeared with the Sacred Stones, the Pope would undoubtedly go mad.

The more desperately he searched for them, the more his standing would collapse. The United Human Army might even fracture.

While entertaining this amusing thought, Ghislain soon shook his head.

‘I’d like to do that, but I can’t.’

If their only goal were to bring down the Pope, that would be the best tactic.

But doing so would only serve the Salvation Church’s interests.

Once the Pope fell, humanity would be forced into a far more grueling battle.

This was likely the worst-case scenario Arterion had feared.

‘It really is best to wrap this up quickly.’

Only then could the United Human Army gather its strength and focus entirely on the war against the Abyss.

Ghislain studied the map carefully.

He was searching for a route that would avoid confrontation as much as possible and allow them to move swiftly.

Then, he suddenly noticed something strange.

“What is this? Why are they stationed like this? The positions seem to have been switched.”

Each kingdom only needed to secure its own territory. In fact, many of them were doing just that.

However, the troops of several kingdoms had swapped places with those of other kingdoms.

From a logistical and maintenance standpoint, it wasn’t a good arrangement.

Soon, Ghislain identified the common factor among those kingdoms.

“They’re the kingdoms we helped.”

Viscount Horento nodded.

“Y-Yes. They were stationed that way just in case the Julien Mercenary Corps was let go intentionally.”

“They really went all out trying to catch us, huh.”

The Julien Mercenary Corps had solved various problems for numerous kingdoms, and because of that, they had formed good relationships.

From the perspective of those kingdoms, fighting the Julien Mercenary Corps was a burden.

Not only would it mean breaking promises of support, but also betraying the favor they’d received.

Of course, the biggest reason they acted passively was because they knew the Corps’ strength.

It was obvious they would suffer heavy losses, so no one wanted to confront them unnecessarily.

The Empire was aware of this and had even considered the possibility that some kingdoms might deliberately let the group pass.

So they arranged things such that the group would soon be caught while crossing through another kingdom’s territory.

“They must all think there’s no way we’ll escape the Pope’s grasp anyway, right?”

“Yes. That’s probably what they all think…”

Ghislain nodded. It was a natural assumption.

Even the kingdoms that the Julien Mercenary Corps had helped would likely try to block them.

If they let them pass, the Empire would surely hold them accountable.

Ghislain gave a faint chuckle and tucked the maps into his coat.

“Well, I never expected this to be easy. Then let’s move out immediately. Everyone, get ready.”

The Julien Mercenary Corps began changing into Imperial army uniforms for disguise.

Unusual weapons like Osval’s hammer were stored in Ghislain’s subspace.

They had done this kind of thing many times as mercenaries.

Marika, having once been an assassin, was also well-versed in disguise.

Ghislain could alter appearances using magic, but that would wear off once his mana ran out.

So they prioritized physical disguises for now.

The plan was for the Julien Mercenary Corps to travel swiftly under the guise of Imperial messengers.

“Our target is the Imperial capital. Viscount Horento, you’ll be guiding us. Make sure we avoid any clashes with the other kingdom armies.”

“M-Me? You want me to do it?”

“Yes. The Julien Mercenary Corps has successfully escaped. We’re messengers going to report that to the Empire. Got it? You need to play your part well.”

“A-Alright. I’ll do it.”

“Alright, I’m counting on your acting. Don’t make it awkward. You too—get those wounds treated and change your clothes. You were just watching from the rear, right? You can’t be walking around with torn clothes.”

Ghislain gave a light pat on Viscount Horento’s shoulder with a smile.

Viscount Horento nodded, his face pale, but his mind was filled with horror.

‘These lunatics… They’re not trying to run—they’re heading to the Empire? With me in tow?’

He now knew just how absurdly strong the Julien Mercenary Corps was from the recent battle.

But could they really face off against the entire Empire and all the kingdoms?

Absolutely not. Even if they managed to reach the Empire, they’d surely die there.

And if that happened, he—who acted as their guide—would undoubtedly suffer the same fate.

‘I need to find an opportunity somehow.’

He couldn’t refuse right now. That madman’s power was too terrifying.

But the journey to the Empire was a long one. An opportunity would surely arise.

Until then, he had to stay low and deceive them.

Once preparations were finished, Ghislain turned to the remaining Imperial troops and spoke.

“Everyone, into the sea. Go.”

“…???”

“I won’t kill you. But I also don’t want this news spreading too quickly. Wait until we’re out of sight before you come back out.”

Kwoooaaaaah!

As Nakturah, hovering in the sky, raised his staff, massive fireballs began forming in multiple spots.

Seeing that, the Imperial soldiers sprinted toward the sea.

Those who had gone searching for the Sacred Stone didn’t even come out, having witnessed what looked like a massacre.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The Imperial soldiers plunged into the sea one after another.

Seeing that not a single one had been left behind, Ghislain mounted his horse.

“Let’s go. We need to move as far as we can before the news spreads.”

Osval asked in a panic,

“No rest?”

“We can rest while we move, right?”

“…Right.”

If Ghislain said so, that was that.

Thanks to their drastically improved abilities, they were tired, but still had the stamina to keep moving.

The Julien Mercenary Corps set off immediately with Viscount Horento leading the way.

Ghislain examined the map and picked their route.

“This way.”

Tulan was part of the Kingdom of Snowbrur’s territory.

Along every exit point from Snowbrur, kingdom troops were on standby.

The path Ghislain chose was the one that allowed them to exit the fastest.

Viscount Horento swallowed nervously when he saw the chosen direction.

‘This guy just went straight for the most dangerous route.’

And because it was such an important passage, a key figure had been stationed there.

None other than Count Braxian of the Kingdom of Snowbrur—a Transcendent and Swordmaster.

‘But… can Count Braxian actually defeat these guys?’

Count Braxian also commanded a force nearly ten thousand strong.

After this operation, he was meant to join the Imperial Army and head straight to the Demonic Abyss.

However, the Julien Mercenary Corps had just overwhelmed and forced the surrender of a ten-thousand-strong Imperial unit.

Even Count Braxian might not be able to stop them.

Still, there was one hope he could cling to…

‘The Julien Mercenary Corps is exhausted right now.’

No matter how strong they were, it was only natural to be worn out after fighting such large-scale forces with such small numbers.

And the reason the Imperial Army had faltered early on was because they panicked, thinking the Sacred Stone had fallen into the sea.

Add to that the defeat of Marquis Ferington, which had left them no choice but to surrender.

‘If Count Braxian realizes who they are and attacks them properly from the start…’

Then maybe, just maybe, they could kill the weary Julien Mercenary Corps.

The problem was how to inform him.

‘There’s no way to do it… no way to alert him…’

Right now, Ghislain was following closely behind Viscount Horento.

If Horento made even the slightest suspicious move, he’d be decapitated on the spot.

Both Viscount Horento and Ghislain knew that.

From behind, Ghislain spoke.

“You understand, right? If anything seems off, you’ll be the first one I kill before we even start fighting. Keep your expression in check. Don’t look suspicious.”

Viscount Horento nodded, tears brimming in his eyes.

A Transcendent was keeping him under close watch. With his own abilities, escape was impossible.

And even if the others caught on, it would be a problem.

The Julien Mercenary Corps might think he betrayed them and kill him, or the Kingdom of Snowbrur’s troops might suspect him of being a traitor and do the same.

Viscount Horento realized there was no way out of this situation.

‘Do I really have to go all the way to the Empire with them?’

A journey that leads only to death, no matter what you do, was far from welcome.

And so, with his nerves fraying, Viscount Horento continued on with the Julien Mercenary Corps.

As expected, they soon encountered the Kingdom of Snowbrur’s forces led by Count Braxian.

The Snowbrur troops parted to the left and right.

Viscount Horento and the Julien Mercenary Corps rode forward slowly through the gap.

Hearing the news, Count Braxian also approached on horseback, slowly coming closer.

He looked at Viscount Horento and spoke.

“We meet again not long after our last meeting. So, I hear the Julien Mercenary Corps has escaped?”

“Y-Yes. They broke through the Imperial encirclement and scattered in all directions. They’ve succeeded in fleeing. I’m heading to the Empire to report this, on orders from Marquis Ferington.”

“I didn’t expect the strategic advisor himself to be doing a messenger’s job.”

“It’s because the matter is extremely serious. It also involves an important order from His Excellency the Marquis.”

“And may I ask what that order is?”

“It’s an Imperial command—I cannot disclose it.”

Viscount Horento answered as steadily as he could.

But inwardly, he was trembling.

Part of him desperately hoped the other man would catch on, but another part wished he would just let them pass.

If a battle broke out, his head would be the first to go.

Count Braxian nodded at Horento’s words.

He couldn’t force out a classified Imperial order, nor could he hold up an urgent Imperial messenger for too long.

“Go ahead. If any suspicious persons appear, I’ll capture them with all my strength.”

“Understood. Their strength is formidable—don’t let your guard down.”

Viscount Horento gave a faint smile and gripped the reins tightly.

He and Ghislain’s group were now riding right through the middle of the parted army formation.

The sheer pressure radiating from the regular troops made even simply passing through a tense ordeal.

Perhaps because of his own guilt, it felt like spears might shoot out from either side at any moment.

The Julien Mercenary Corps was just as tense.

They were effectively surrounded.

“Let’s go. Quickly!”

Viscount Horento said, his voice faintly shaking.

If they could just ride forward now, they might escape.

Just as they were about to spur their horses—

“Wait.”

Count Braxian raised a hand to stop them.

“W-What is it?”

Viscount Horento asked, clearly on edge.

He tried not to show it, but it was impossible to stay calm in such a heavy atmosphere.

Count Braxian stared at him for a long moment, then asked,

“Why is a noble of the Empire looking so tense? Who’s chasing you?”

“W-What are you saying?”

“Exactly what I said. You’re far too tense right now, Count.”

Count Braxian continued, eyes narrowing with sharp intent.

“We’re on the same side, aren’t we?”

His gaze was like that of a beast, watching for the tiniest opening.