The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 674

This chaos was the result of Ghislain’s special training regimen. After hearing from Ziko about the undead traps, he saw it as a rare opportunity for an intense battle. Opportunities like these, he believed, should not go to waste.

Despite everyone's objections, Ghislain pushed forward with his plan, leaving Deneb and Kyle to face hundreds of undead on their own.

Grrrrraaah!
The undead, pushed back by the soldiers, turned their aggression toward Deneb and Kyle as they drew near. Now surrounded by undead and their own allies, the pair had no choice but to fight for their lives.

Thwack! Smash! Crack!
The undead fell rapidly, a testament to how much Deneb and Kyle had improved compared to their earlier days.

Nodehill’s knights stood nearby, cutting down any undead that approached the soldiers. Ghislain had allowed this level of assistance, but no more.

While undead were falling left and right, Ghislain and Julien had already broken through the front lines of the undead and approached Basilude.

Watching the two approach, Basilude’s expression twisted in shock.
“W-what is this?!”

He had stationed over a hundred undead between him and the enemy. Yet, these two had cut through them far too quickly.

The strangest part was how carelessly they fought. Rather than properly destroying the undead, they simply shoved them aside and charged forward.

One of them was even a mage.

“You insolent fools!”

Basilude raised his hand, conjuring a massive barrier of twisted branches in front of him. It was an impenetrable wall that even seasoned knights would struggle to cut through. At the same time, his hands began to glow with the aura of dark magic.

“You’ll regret ever challenging me!”

Before he could release his spell, Ghislain gripped his staff with both hands and swung it like a club.

BOOM!
A massive hole tore through the barrier, sending debris flying in all directions.

Basilude froze, his eyes wide with disbelief.
“You… aren’t you a mage?”

The question slipped out, too absurd for him to comprehend.

“Obviously,” Ghislain replied curtly, raising his staff high before slamming it downward.

CRASH!
Basilude hastily summoned a shield and stumbled backward. Extending his hand, he unleashed a surge of dark magic.
“Die!”

Despite his panic, Basilude retaliated with the precision expected of a 6th-circle mage. Black energy erupted from his outstretched hand, surging toward Ghislain.

Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ghislain twirled his staff, deflecting the dark magic in all directions. The sight was so unbelievable that Basilude gaped, his mouth hanging open.

“What the—?!”
It defied all logic. Magic wasn’t supposed to be treated like this, bouncing off like pebbles against a wall.

“This is madness... What kind of mage fights like this?!”

In the world of mages, battles were about precision and control—dissecting the enemy’s spells and overpowering their magic. But this… this wasn’t a mage’s battle.

Basilude, overwhelmed by confusion, stumbled backward, his mind a blank. In his distraction, he failed to notice Julien closing the distance.

Slash!
“Gahhh!”

Basilude screamed as Julien’s blade cut into his shoulder, blood spurting from the wound. Gritting his teeth, Basilude thrust his remaining hand toward Julien. A massive wave of energy surged forth, sending Julien sprawling to the ground.

BOOM!

Before Basilude could press the attack, Ghislain’s staff came crashing down toward his face. Basilude barely raised his shield in time, but his late reaction left it unstable.

CRACK!
“Ugh!”

The impact forced Basilude to cough up blood as he stumbled further back. The relentless attacks left him unable to focus or cast effectively.

Desperately, he sought to create distance. Without even looking, he turned and propelled himself backward with bursts of mana, landing farther away from the fray.

Meanwhile, Ghislain stood over Julien, offering him a hand.
“Tsk, you need more practice.”

“Ugh…” Julien groaned, clutching his side where his ribs had cracked. He grabbed Ghislain’s hand and pulled himself up.

Ghislain extended his other hand, channeling mana.
“Healing.”

Glow.
A soothing green light enveloped Julien, mending his broken bones. Though not as potent as a priest’s divine healing, a 5th-circle mage’s spell was still remarkably effective.

Ghislain grinned as if admiring his own work.
“Wow, magic really is handy. I could get used to this.”

He seemed more amused than anything, his fascination with magic shining through.

Watching this, Basilude seethed with rage.
“You wretched—!”

In the span of a few minutes, he had lost an arm and was being forced to retreat. Meanwhile, his enemies had the audacity to casually heal themselves mid-battle.

A 6th-circle mage, humiliated like this, was beyond comprehension. His pride shattered, Basilude’s anger turned into seething hatred.

“You’ll regret this!”

Desperation drove him to retreat even further, channeling his remaining mana.

The ground began to quake as a massive surge of power radiated from Basilude. Stones and debris levitated, caught in the overwhelming force of his spell.

“I underestimated you,” he growled, his voice laced with venom. “A mage engaging in close combat… You caught me off guard.”

Had the situation unfolded as planned, he would have easily repelled any knights and annihilated the rest with his magic. Losing the undead wasn’t a concern—he could always gather more corpses later.

But these strange fools had ruined everything.

“This ends now. You’ll understand the difference in our power.”

Basilude floated into the air, his body radiating dark energy. Countless tendrils of black mana surged from the ground, forming a vortex of destruction above him.

The spell he was casting would obliterate the entire area, leaving no survivors.

“How do you plan to counter this?” Basilude sneered. “Your meager power is no match for my magic!”

Basilude's face twisted into a confident grin.
Even if the 5th-circle mage could weaken the spell’s power, dismantling it entirely was impossible. After all, the gap in circles wasn’t just about skill—it was about raw mana capacity.

And even if the spell’s full potency was reduced, it would still be enough to obliterate everything in the vicinity. Confident in his imminent victory, Basilude began casting his devastating magic.

But then—

Thwack!
A Fireball shot straight toward his face.

“You insolent—!” Basilude snarled, hastily raising a shield.

The interruption momentarily disrupted his casting, but he wasn’t overly concerned. Mana that had been allocated for the spell would linger briefly, allowing him to resume before it dissipated completely.

The Fireball collided with the shield and fizzled out. Basilude dismissed the attack as inconsequential.
“If I just finish this spell…”

Boom! Thwack! Thwack!
“What? What is this speed?!”

Basilude’s focus shattered as more Fireballs rained down on him with unrelenting speed. He couldn’t concentrate on his spell. Every time he raised his shield, his casting was disrupted again.

Wide-eyed, he realized the strategy. His opponent wasn’t trying to counter his spell with mana—this was a relentless barrage meant to prevent the casting altogether.

“C-can this be… multi-casting?”

Boom! Boom! Thwack! Boom!
Before he could process the situation, dozens more Fireballs and mana projectiles bombarded him. Ghislain’s mana lances, a signature spell of his, joined the fray, adding to the chaos.

Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom!
“This… this is impossible!” Basilude gasped, frantically summoning shields to block the attacks.

His previously arranged mana began to unravel as time ticked away, rendering the powerful spell incomplete.

Fast casting required immense mental computation, a skill in which Basilude, unfortunately, lacked. And now, another problem arose—

“My… my mana…”

The mana he was using to levitate and maintain his shields was depleting rapidly. Having already expended considerable energy preparing his earlier spell, the continued assault drained him even faster.

“No, this can’t be!”

Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The relentless storm of magic continued. Basilude had never seen anyone cast at this speed—not even himself, a 6th-circle mage. What kind of lunatic uses magic like this?!

In truth, Ghislain had no intention of engaging in a mana duel or trying to dismantle Basilude’s spell.

The logic was simple: Basilude had more mana as a 6th-circle mage, and dismantling his spell would require laborious calculations to counter his mana arrays.

“That’s just exhausting,” Ghislain muttered. Instead, his plan was far simpler—overwhelm the enemy with sheer volume.

Efficiency was Ghislain’s strong suit. His superior mana control allowed him to cast continuously without depleting his reserves.

Boom-boom-boom!
Basilude’s shield trembled under the repeated impacts.

“This… this is absurd! A 5th-circle mage?!”

By all logic, Basilude should have had the upper hand. He had more mana, greater magical insight, and the advantage of a higher circle. Yet, he was on the defensive, unable to retaliate.

Every collision between his shield and Ghislain’s spells drained his mana further. Eventually, Basilude was forced to descend to the ground, unable to sustain both levitation and shielding.

But Ghislain and Julien were already cutting through the bone-littered ground, rapidly closing the distance.

“Damn it! What are you?!” Basilude’s voice cracked as he backed away. “How can you use magic like this?!”

Ghislain stepped forward, his smile predatory.
“Magic isn’t about circles. It’s about the battlefield.”

CRASH!
Ghislain’s staff, brimming with mana, slammed into Basilude’s shield. Though the shield held, a significant chunk of Basilude’s remaining mana was drained.

Slash! Slash!
Julien’s blade, infused with mana, struck the shield repeatedly, forcing Basilude to expend even more energy.

Crash! Crash! Crash!
The relentless attacks left Basilude pale and trembling.

“No… this can’t be…”

His mana reserves were less than half. He had never fought like this before and had no idea how to respond. Pivoting between spells to adapt to the situation would have been ideal, but Basilude lacked both the experience and the skill for such flexibility.

Moreover, his physical abilities were abysmal, making it impossible to dodge effectively. Like many mages, he had neglected his body, focusing entirely on magic.

Crash! Crash! Crash!
Basilude’s body trembled uncontrollably.

If he wanted to attack, he’d have to drop his shield. But without the shield, he risked losing another limb—or worse, his head.

Terror gripped him. For the first time, the thought of death felt imminent.

“W-wait… wait!” Basilude stammered, his voice quaking. His trembling hands barely maintained the shield as his mana reserves neared depletion.

But Ghislain and Julien didn’t stop. Sensing their opponent’s morale crumbling, they intensified their assault, smashing the shield harder.

“Wait! Please, wait!” Basilude’s desperate pleas rang out. He couldn’t think of any spells. His mind was blank, his will broken.

The once-proud 6th-circle mage had been utterly overwhelmed by the unconventional tactics of a 5th-circle mage.

When Basilude finally ran out of mana, his scream echoed through the battlefield.

“Enough! I surrender!”

CRASH!
The shield shattered. Basilude froze, paralyzed by fear.

Without hesitation, Ghislain swung his staff at Basilude’s legs.

CRACK!