The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 672

When fighting a dark mage, you face numerous problems.

The biggest issue isn’t fighting on a wide plain—it’s having to search through the mountains and fight someone hiding in difficult terrain.

Even if you win, the damage is immense. With the barony already struggling with insufficient military power, alternative solutions had to be considered.

"I don’t distrust the mage, but... their circle is just too high... maybe we should find a way to block their magic?"

Originally, Andrew had hoped to rely on Ghislain to suppress the dark mage’s magic as much as possible. He thought that with someone of the same 5th circle, that would be feasible.

But even with Ghislain’s impressive skills, if the dark mage was at the 6th circle, there wouldn’t be much of an effect. Magic circles were known to be absolute in their power.

Hearing Andrew’s concern, Ghislain shook his head.

“There’s no need to worry. There’s a friend of mine in our territory named Alfoy, and he’s fought and defeated mages from higher circles.”

“Really? Is that even possible?”

“Of course, it’s entirely possible.”

Alfoy had once fought against a mage from the Crimson Tower, someone of a higher circle, and defeated them.

Although it wasn’t exactly a formal duel, he had won.

Remembering that moment, Ghislain smiled brightly.

“That friend of mine said something amusing back then.”

“What did he say?”

With a confident look, Ghislain raised his fist and said,

“Magic isn’t about circles, it’s about combat. Haha.”

Andrew looked impressed, then tilted his head slightly, asking,

“That... that wasn’t directed at me, right?”

“…It was something he said to the mage he fought.”

“Oh, sorry. I misunderstood. Haha. I thought you were talking to me...”

“Hahaha...”

They both laughed awkwardly. However, since Ghislain spoke so confidently, Andrew couldn’t say much more.

That would have been disrespectful to a mage with such pride.

After a brief awkward silence, Ghislain cleared his throat and changed the topic.

“Anyway, the hunt should proceed as planned. The Julien Mercenaries will take the lead, so if it seems too dangerous, you can retreat.”

“That won’t do! We’ll fight together and capture him! I trust only the Julien Mercenaries!”

Andrew said boldly. He had a simple personality, so his enthusiasm and passion were obvious.

The more one looked at him, the more he resembled Maurice, the former supreme commander of the Ruthania Kingdom’s army.

Ghislain couldn’t help but have a strange thought.

‘Could it be? No, it’s probably nothing.’

Andrew was from the Nodehill Barony, not the Markley House. Sure, names and titles might change after a thousand years, but still, it was a pretty far-fetched idea.

As Andrew regained his confidence through the conversation, he shouted out to the people.

“From now on, the official animal of our territory is the ‘duck’! After the hunt is over, we’ll change our crest, so everyone, hold the duck in high regard!”

“Understood!”

The duck had become the symbol for identifying the dark mage. People genuinely believed this superstition.

So, everyone was now bound to treat the ducks as sacred.

Quack quack, quack!

The ducks seemed to be having fun too, running around and quacking loudly.

“...”

Ghislain remained silent.

Thus, the superstition about ducks began to spread throughout the Nodehill territory.

Before the hunt began, Ghislain spoke to Andrew about additional terms.

“If the hunt is successful, all the dark mage’s possessions will be taken by the Julien Mercenaries.”

“Of course, that’s fine.”

Magic items and books were incredibly valuable, especially if they belonged to a 6th-circle mage.

But Andrew didn’t have the luxury of negotiating over such things right now.

Whether or not the territory survived was the bigger concern.

If he got greedy now, there would be no way to save it. It wasn’t even in his nature.

“We’ll take everything his apprentice has too.”

“Of course. After all, you’re the one who caught him. We won’t make any objections.”

Ghislain found the magic books in Ziko’s quarters—an extensive collection of dark magic books up to the 4th circle.

With the compensation and terms settled, Ghislain smiled contentedly.

“It’s nice when everything is clear. Let’s head out right away.”

“Understood. I’ll order the troops to prepare.”

After capturing Ziko, Andrew treated Ghislain’s group even more lavishly.

The Julien Mercenaries were the core of this hunt, but it also had to do with Andrew’s personality, which was humble and not one to flaunt authority.

After Ziko’s death, several soldiers complained of headaches. They soon realized that these soldiers had fallen under Ziko’s mental control.

Since the caster was dead, the mental control had lifted, but it still made the remaining soldiers uncomfortable, so they couldn’t fully focus on the hunt.

After two failed attempts at the hunt, the number of soldiers had dwindled significantly compared to the territory's size.

However, they managed to gather 600 soldiers, which was a decent number.

Led by 15 knights, they moved out confidently. Despite the previous failures, their confidence was high.

“The mage said we don’t need to worry.”

“He’s the captain. The commander is even stronger. He killed the top knight of the Magvel territory in a single strike.”

“Plus, with the priest with us, the dark mage won’t stand a chance.”

This was the source of their confidence. Thanks to Ghislain’s efforts, even the others in his group were receiving praise.

Unfortunately, there was little mention of Kyle, and this slightly irritated him.

“Ugh, I’m stronger than Julien.”

Dark suddenly spoke up with a serious expression,

“We have someone like you in our territory.”

“Who? Are they strong?”

“In our territory, they’re considered weak. Well, maybe strong, but somehow weak, you could say.”

“Strong is strong, what do you mean?”

“Still, you’re a bit better than that guy.”

Kyle was actually as strong as Julien. He had determination and an excellent sense of reality.

He was just compared to someone he had been competing with back in the Pellis territory, so it was a bit unfair.

But, in any case, Dark's comparison was due to how similar they were.

Unlike Kyle, who was muttering to himself, Julien and Deneb were both a little tense and expectant.

“A 6th-circle dark mage... this is going to be tough without a solution...”

“With my divine power, it’s going to be hard to land a hit.”

A 6th-circle mage was powerful enough to turn the tide of a war.

It was understandable why they were nervous.

Originally, they had planned to gradually increase their strength, but ever since meeting Ghislain, the enemies they were fighting had become much stronger.

Julien had just realized something.

“Wait! Does ‘not dying later’ mean you’re going to make us die sooner?”

It seemed like a valid hypothesis. The tension surrounding them had suddenly escalated.

While Julien was deep in thought, Deneb tried to relax by asking Ghislain a few questions.

“Ghislain... are you really going to teach dark magic?”

“Yeah. What's the harm in learning it?”

He left out the part where Astion would be the one studying it. After all, Astion, being a mage, could benefit from learning many types of magic. Plus, it would be a bonus if he generously shared it with Ghislain.

However, Deneb appeared even more worried at his response. Dark magic had a bad reputation. If used carelessly, it could make someone look like an evil criminal.

To Deneb’s concern, Ghislain casually responded,

“Oh, it’s fine as long as we don’t use it for evil purposes.”

In reality, dark magic wasn’t as people imagined, like making contracts with demon lords or similar things. It was simply a branch of magic that used negative mana.

The bad reputation was more about people using dark magic for madness and evil deeds.

“Isn’t there a theory that dark magic was originally passed down by the priests of Serah, the goddess who governs the souls of the dead?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

The priests of Serah used that power for very different purposes.

They helped the living communicate with the souls of the dead, helped uncover the truth from unjustly murdered spirits, and delivered punishment to those who had committed unforgivable sins.

Over time, the core of the practice was abandoned, and the remaining aspects were misused, leading to its bad reputation. But in fact, most high-ranking figures knew the truth.

In fact, they had even encouraged a more positive image of dark magic for their own purposes.

They had used it to frame political opponents and suppress them.

Deneb wasn’t entirely unaware of these details, but the general public, who had formed a preconceived notion, didn’t care for the backstory. That’s why she was more worried about it.

But Ghislain remained unfazed.

“As long as we use it when necessary, it’s all good. The more knowledge, the better, right?”

He didn’t mention that if anyone attacked him using dark magic as an excuse, he would just crush them. Ghislain was a non-violent pacifist, after all.

While they were having this conversation, a bit of small talk led Ghislain to speak to Dark.

“Look it up. You know the location, right?”

“Got it.”

Flap!

Five sparrows scattered in all directions. They were going to find the dark mage’s location based on the information they got from Ziko.

A short time later, Dark 1 reported back.

— Found it. He’s already noticed us and is out waiting. Looks like he’s expecting us.

“Is he alone?”

— Yeah. His clothes are filthy and torn, like a beggar. I bet he smells bad. When our mages were doing work in our territory, they used to complain about the filth, but it turns out they were just poorly treated. Vanessa used to take care of them.

“...Right.”

It was a misconception that mages lived nobly in nature. If anything, living in nature made everyday life harder.

That’s why mages always tried to find ways to live comfortably in towers or under the protection of territories.

In any case, they had found the dark mage. Ghislain relayed the news to Andrew, who responded with a worried look.

“What should we do? Should we just attack him directly? We can make sure he doesn’t get a chance to respond.”

“No. As I said, move slowly and encircle him. There’s no need to be afraid.”

Ghislain had already heard about the dark mage’s power from Ziko and devised a suitable strategy, which he had shared with everyone.

Now, Ghislain had become the one giving the orders, and everyone was following his lead.

As Julien’s mercenaries led the way and started to move slowly, a loud explosion rang out from afar, followed by a flash of light.

Everyone froze in place and stared in that direction. The soldiers tensed and looked toward the source.

In the mountains, such an occurrence could not happen by itself. It was clear that the dark mage was behind it.

Seeing the light, Ghislain smirked.

“Ha, look at this guy. He’s practically signaling his position.”

They had already pinpointed the dark mage’s location. They were moving toward it slowly.

However, the dark mage didn’t realize they were closing in.

That’s why he sent the signal, essentially telling them to come straight for him.

Ghislain stretched out his hand and spoke.

“Don’t hesitate. Let’s stick to the plan. There’s no need to be scared.”

By now, Ghislain’s tone had changed. His commanding voice sounded natural, and no one questioned it.

Even Andrew, the lord, was following Ghislain’s lead without hesitation.

The soldiers began to move slowly again. Ghislain, along with Julien, led them forward, quietly smiling.

‘This guy seems pretty confident. Does he think he can win this time?’

It seemed the dark mage was rather proud of his skills.

It made sense. A 6th-circle mage was a rare powerhouse, even by kingdom standards.

The Scarlet Tower, for example, was led by Hubert, who didn’t care much for the north, but he still commanded the strongest tower in the northern region.

The dark mage must be a formidable opponent, so it made sense that he was acting with such confidence.

Ghislain cracked his neck and stretched.

“Taking down guys like that? That’s my specialty.”

The dark mage had picked the wrong opponent today.