"Guh…"
The searing pain in his chest snapped Count Falgau back to his senses.
But what good if he came to his senses? The battle was as good as over.
His forces were being slaughtered at an alarming rate. It was hard to believe this had been an army of 50,000.
To think they had been defeated by an enemy with only half their numbers.
The unknown presence of the Spirit Summoner had been a major factor. Their mages had been immobilized for far too long.
Even so, their forces had been comparable. This one-sided defeat was the result of being completely blindsided by an ambush.
"Count Fenris… the Northern Army…"
The duchy and the Salvation Church had underestimated a truly fearsome enemy.
This was not an opponent they could fight in a scattered manner. Their forces should have been united from the start.
"Even though I am defeated here, this is not the end…"
Count Fenris did not know. They were merely…
Thud!
Before Count Falgau could finish his thoughts, Ghislain darted in like lightning and decapitated him.
Thump!
"Hah… that was close."
Ghislain exhaled deeply. If he had delayed even slightly to bring Maurice along, the fortress might have been in peril.
Through Dark, he had confirmed that Gillian was alive, finally allowing himself a sigh of relief.
The enemy wasn't foolish. They had scrambled to adopt the best strategies for the situation.
Ghislain turned to the knights nearby and said.
"It's over. Clear the battlefield."
With Count Falgau's head severed, the battle was effectively finished. The Delphine soldiers were too busy fleeing, with none left to resist.
"Surrender!"
"Drop your weapons and lie down!"
"Surrender, and you will be spared!"
As the Fenris soldiers shouted across the battlefield, more soldiers chose to surrender rather than flee.
Erenes, seeing the success of the cavalry charge, had already dismissed her spirits.
With the attack abating, the Delphine Army's surrender proceeded even faster.
The assault had been so fierce that fewer than 10,000 survived.
These survivors would be absorbed into the royal army, bolstering their forces.
Leaving the battlefield cleanup to his subordinates, Ghislain headed straight to the fortress.
"Gillian."
"My lord…"
Covered in blood, Gillian approached, leaning on Arel for support. Although Erenes had healed some of his wounds with a water spirit and poured potions over him, his body was far from normal.
His mana was depleted, and the lingering black energy was hindering his recovery.
Still, he was alive. A few days of rest would be enough for him to recover.
Ghislain smiled as he looked at Gillian.
"You've finally crossed the wall. I knew you would if given the chance."
"It's all thanks to you… and Lady Erenes."
Gillian owed his current skills to Ghislain. But it was Erenes who had created the opportunity this time.
She had recognized Gillian's potential and given him the chance—a dangerous one, to be sure—to risk his life.
Ghislain turned to Erenes with curiosity.
"Really? Did you give him some good advice?"
"No, I simply thought he'd manage if he risked his life one more time. So I told him to fight a superhuman."
"Seriously, if he hadn't awakened, he would've died. Gillian's a valuable asset."
Ghislain's lighthearted remark made Gillian laugh. That was just the kind of demeanor that always put him at ease.
Erenes nodded.
"Yes, he could have died. That's why I kept an eye on him, ready to intervene if necessary."
Her words were simple, but even the slightest mistake in that fleeting moment could have cost Gillian his life. As incomplete as Caspar was, a superhuman was still a superhuman.
Despite encouraging such a dangerous act, Erenes remained perfectly calm. Perhaps her long life had made her unshakable in the face of most things.
It made Claude and Alpoi's ability to sway her all the more impressive.
Dark perched on Ghislain's shoulder and spoke.
"Gillian, you know I saved you, right? You know you'd be dead without me, right?"
"…Yes."
Gillian chuckled faintly. It was thanks to Dark's brave charge that he had avoided a fatal blow.
If his heart had been pierced in that critical moment of awakening, it would have been truly perilous.
"Hurrah!"
A sudden cheer erupted, drawing Ghislain's attention to the battlefield from the fortress walls.
The cavalry was celebrating their victory. Though the rapid pace of their movement had been grueling, the satisfaction of defeating the Delphine Army outweighed the hardship.
Meanwhile, the Fenris troops in the fortress had heard the news and joined the cheers.
It was the news that Gillian had ascended to the rank of superhuman.
Superhumans were game-changers in war. And their numbers in the Northern Army continued to grow.
At this rate, there would soon be no single force capable of challenging the Northern Army. Even the duchy would have to consolidate their superhumans into a single force.
Ghislain smiled as he watched Gillian, now unconscious, being carried away.
"Excellent, for Gillian to cross the wall so soon."
The enemy still had many powerful individuals remaining.
The kingdom's finest sword, Count Kaien Balzac, the 7th-circle mage Ilois, and even Idun, once one of the continent's seven strongest, not to mention the high-ranking priests of the Salvation Church.
To face them, more superhumans would be needed. Gillian's awakening was thus a welcome development.
Since their first meeting, Gillian had always been the finest ally, someone Ghislain could entrust his back to.
"Should I take that axe back from Elena…"
Having reached the rank of superhuman, Gillian was well-suited for the axe. While he excelled with all weapons, he particularly favored the axe.
"Then again, it might be awkward to ask for it back now. What if she says she's grown attached to it and doesn't want to give it up?"
Ghislain worried more about Elena's potential disappointment than her happiness.
***
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Clatter, clatter.
A long line of wagons was heading toward the Kingdom of Lutania.
It was a merchant guild traveling between cities to conduct trade.
Though the continent was in turmoil due to war and rifts, people weren't solely focused on fighting.
Some still farmed, and others continued to produce goods.
And there were those who traveled to sell those goods.
Everyone had to make a living.
What had changed was the sheer number of bandits prowling the land due to the chaos.
To address this, the merchant guild leader had hired mercenaries—members of the Fenris Mercenary Corps, which had grown so large it was practically unifying the entire mercenary world.
Hiring them wasn't difficult; nearly every city had a branch of the Fenris Mercenary Corps.
Currently, the merchant guild was being escorted by about 50 mercenaries, led by a veteran captain with substantial experience.
The captain spoke to the merchant guild leader.
"Once we get past this area, the risk of an ambush will decrease."
"Hmm… Then this is the most dangerous stretch."
"Yes, this area is known for frequent bandit attacks."
The mercenaries, hearing the captain's words, scanned their surroundings with tense expressions.
The bandits these days were unlike those of the past. They traveled in large groups, often including many former regular soldiers.
As the war dragged on, times grew harder, and desperation pushed people to become more ruthless. The most desperate became bandits, killing and looting for survival.
Corrupt lords only accelerated this phenomenon.
Layer upon layer of malice and hatred had left the land teeming with bandits.
Seeing the tense mercenaries, the merchant guild leader tried to lighten the mood with a laugh.
"But this time, we have a 'mage' with us, don't we?"
"Ah… the mage."
At those words, everyone's eyes turned toward a wagon at the back of the line.
A young man lay on the straw-strewn wagon bed, staring up at the sky.
Humming a tune and swinging his legs, he looked oddly cheerful.
The mercenary captain clicked his tongue, his gaze doubtful.
"I'm not sure if he's really a mage…"
The young man was dressed in a black robe embroidered with golden patterns.
People tended to avoid wearing black robes these days, as they could be mistaken for the priests of the Salvation Church.
If not for the luxurious golden embroidery, he might have been arrested already.
His demeanor lacked the dignity typically associated with mages.
His youth was one thing, but his cheerful smile and disheveled hair gave him the appearance of a mischievous child.
He was of slight build, leaning toward thin, and gave off the impression of a scholar rather than a mage.
At least his gentle appearance didn't seem malicious.
The mercenary captain shook his head.
"Even if he is a mage, he's probably a low-circle one."
The young man had confidently claimed to be a mage, so there was no reason to test him. If he was telling the truth, provoking him could lead to unnecessary trouble.
So they simply observed him discreetly and let him be.
As they continued onward, the mercenary captain's predictions proved accurate—a group of bandits appeared in a swarm.
"Bandits! Prepare for battle!"
The captain's shout sent everyone into a frenzy, weapons drawn.
In the past, they might have tried to negotiate with the excuse that a lord might send a subjugation force. But now, there was no such pretense.
The lords had no capacity to care if a merchant guild was looted. Bandits preferred to kill and plunder without delay.
"Ha-ha-ha! Plenty to take today! Hand it all over, and we might spare your lives!"
A rough-looking bandit leader shouted loudly, confidence brimming in his voice. He had over a hundred men behind him, and the number of recruits continued to grow.
The mercenaries tensed up even more, realizing that the bandit group was larger than expected.
In the Kingdom of Lutania, the Fenris Mercenary Corps was held in high regard. This was partly due to Ghislain's fame, but also because the corps boasted many skilled mercenaries.
However, things were a little different outside the kingdom. Because so many had been forcibly recruited into the Fenris Mercenary Corps, there were more under qualified members than elite ones.
This group included not a single knight-level individual. They were ordinary mercenaries merely bearing the name of the Fenris Mercenary Corps.
This was the inevitable result of Ghislain's indiscriminate absorption of mercenaries.
"Damn, there are way too many of them."
The mercenary captain bit his lip repeatedly. The enemy outnumbered them almost two-to-one, meaning that even if they won, the casualties would be severe.
On top of that, some of the bandits might be former regular soldiers or knights. It seemed this would be a fight for their lives.
The mercenary captain glanced at the wagon carrying the young man and said.
"Bandits are upon us. We'll need your help, mage."
The young man scratched his head and sighed deeply before replying.
"Ah, I don't usually use magic on civilians."
"…What does that mean?"
"Well, I don't like killing people."
The mercenary captain's face twitched repeatedly before he spoke again. It seemed there was no need to show this so-called mage any more courtesy.
"…They're not civilians; they're bandits. You must do something to help, or the damage will be significant. You got a free ride because you claimed to be a mage."
The young man, looking slightly sheepish, scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, well, I appreciate that… but what spell should I use? There are so many of them that I'm not sure what would work best."
"…Just use something helpful."
"If I just use anything, it might be too strong."
What kind of lunatic is this?
Before the mercenary captain could respond, the bandit leader roared.
"They don't seem interested in negotiating! Kill them all!"
"Waaaaah!"
The bandits let out a battle cry and charged. Both sides knew negotiations were a mere formality to rattle the other.
The mercenary captain gripped his sword tightly and shouted.
"Hold the line! Fight close to your comrades!"
The merchant guild leader and workers huddled inside the formation the mercenaries had set up, trembling with fear. The young man ended up inside the protective formation as well.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The mercenaries and bandits clashed. Although the mercenaries held their ground thanks to superior skill, their numbers were insufficient to sustain the fight for long.
The merchant guild leader clung to the young man and wailed.
"Oh, mage, please help us! At this rate, the mercenaries will all die, and so will we!"
"Oh. Oh? Right, yeah! I should help!"
The young man, flustered, seemed overwhelmed by the many thoughts racing through his head.
In his confusion, he picked up a rock from the ground and threw it.
Thwack!
"Guh!"
A bandit fighting a mercenary collapsed as the rock smashed into his forehead.
"Oh."
The young man decided this method wasn't so bad.
What followed was a miraculous spectacle.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Rocks began flying toward the bandits at incredible speed. The young man, seemingly enjoying himself, eagerly picked up and hurled rocks.
With the mercenaries keeping the bandits occupied, he had no fear of being attacked himself.
"W-What is this?!"
The bandit leader was shocked as his men fell one after another to the relentless rock-throwing. Bandits with cracked skulls were easily finished off by the mercenaries.
With bandits dropping left and right, their morale crumbled.
"Y-You'll regret this! I'll bring reinforcements! Wait here!"
Eventually, the bandit leader, now alone, turned and fled.
"He's running!"
"Don't let him escape!"
"We can't let him get away!"
If the bandit leader brought reinforcements—or worse, gathered nearby bandit groups—it would be disastrous.
But the leader had started with a head start and was running with all his might, making pursuit difficult.
The mercenary captain turned to the young man and shouted.
"Magic! Use your magic to stop him! He's getting away!"
"Oh, right? I should stop him, huh?"
The young man nodded and grabbed another rock, hurling it with speed and precision.
Whoosh!
Boom!
"Guhhh!"
The rock flew at an incredible speed and struck the leader square in the back of the head. He collapsed instantly, his skull shattered.
Mercenaries caught up to the unconscious leader and dragged him back. Capturing him alive meant they could collect a bounty.
As the battle ended, everyone stared at the young man with dazed expressions.
The rock-throwing had been a feat of incredible skill. While they had protected him, it was still no ordinary feat.
The mercenary captain stammered.
"Th-That… was magic? Are you really a mage?"
The young man, glancing at the onlookers, ran a hand through his hair and answered with a smug grin.
"Ah, you don't know? That was a spell called Magic Missile."
"…."
Magic Missile was a 1-circle spell that fired condensed mana. It was not a spell where one simply threw rocks instead.
Most people knew this, but no one dared to challenge him.
The young man's skill with the rocks had been anything but ordinary.
The mercenary captain hesitated for a moment before speaking with a determined expression.
"I'll believe you. You must be a mage."
It didn't seem true, but he had no interest in arguing with such a peculiar individual.
"Of course, I'm a real mage."
The young man smiled brightly, as if he were glad the misunderstanding had been cleared.
He was genuinely confident in his magic. Magic made his daily life so much more convenient. For him, using magic was as natural as breathing.
He simply disliked using flashy magic in front of people.
After all, the world was rife with prejudice and preconceived notions about mages.
The mercenary captain quickly organized the group and shouted loudly.
"Alright, let's move out!"
Clatter, clatter.
The wagons began moving again, and the young man lay back down, humming a tune.
"Count Fenris, huh… I'd like to meet him someday."
These days, Ghislain's fame in fighting the Salvation Church was spreading across the continent. The stories of his success made him a figure of great renown.
"That sounds fun."
Somehow, the young man felt he'd get along with Ghislain. It was just a hunch, but it was a strong one.
A quiet smile spread across the young man's face, filled with growing anticipation.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]