Chapter 107
Chapter 107: I’ll Consider it a Tie. (2)
Belinda set aside her work and stayed by Ghislaine’s side.
After all, she couldn’t just leave someone who couldn’t even walk properly on their own.
“It’s okay. I’ll get better soon… cough! Ugh!”
As expected, Ghislaine was spewing nonsense along with coughing up blood.
Belinda let out deep sighs as she wiped the blood away.
“Better? With such a powerful poison circulating through you? You’re dying right now!”
Despite the constant nagging, Ghislaine just smiled.
To him, even if he seemed like a sick person to others, he could distinctly feel the overflowing energy within him.
As predicted, in just two days, his broken body completely recovered.
Belinda, who had been waiting outside Ghislaine’s door since dawn, was taken aback to see him walk out just fine.
“Oh? You really are okay now? What happened?”
Ghislaine merely shrugged his shoulders.
His body still looked skeletal, but with the glint in his eyes and ease in his movements, she couldn’t help but believe him.
“I knew my predictions were right.”
He had more mana now than before consuming the poison, and his recovery ability had astonishingly improved.
Having witnessed the effects, he couldn’t give up on drinking the poison.
After that, the poison he had stored in the warehouse continuously diminished.
It was evident Ghislaine was sneaking sips from it.
Several times he had been found collapsed alone in the training ground after drinking poison.
Rumors began to circulate that the Lord was angry because Claude wouldn’t surrender properly.
“Why is the Chief Officer being so stubborn! Why pressure our Lord over a bet!”
“A man who liked to develop the territory wouldn’t suddenly be wanting to die. It’s all the Chief Officer’s fault!”
“We can’t lose our Lord! Absolutely not!”
Territory residents brought out portraits of Claude and Alfoy and began stabbing them with sharp objects.
For whatever reason—whether it was due to their curses or Ghislaine passing the blame, Claude’s under-eye bags became even darker.
He came to Ghislaine every day, urging him to stop.
“Ah, my Lord, just give it up! I’ll consider it a tie! Do you realize what state you’re in? You look like a skeleton!”
“Hey, are you scared? Is that why you think you’ll lose? Cough!”
“Wow, this is maddening! You’re the one who’s freaking out! Isn’t this just you being terrified?”
“Who’s scared? Ah, whatever. Cough! By the way, take a look at this before we proceed. Ugh…”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue and handed over some documents. Claude’s face twisted in horror.
“Ah, crap… Why did I even come? Just leniency, alright, I’m leaving soon anyway.”
After repeating scenarios where coming here only meant getting piled with more work, Claude stopped visiting Ghislaine.
Delighted that the incessant nagging had decreased, Ghislaine also passed work to others like Claude.
As his followers became too busy to worry, the number of times Ghislaine collapsed noticeably decreased.
“I can’t believe I used it all up like this.”
Ghislaine chuckled while holding the last remaining vial of poison.
The Blood Python poison ran out in just a few days.
It was originally prepared to be diluted and used for military purposes, but instead, all went into Ghislaine’s belly.
“Since it’s hard to use anyway, might as well use it like this. This is all investment, investment.”
Ghislaine poured the entire vial into his mouth.
He was completely different from when he initially tipped in just a few drops cautiously.
Now, even if he downed an entire vial, it only tingled his tongue slightly without any issues.
Ordinary poison would no longer have any effect on him.
However, that also meant he could no longer use the cheat of increasing mana with poison like before.
“This trick ends today.”
Ghislaine sat down and slowly began to move his mana.
The poison that entered his body quickly mixed with his mana, merging and spreading throughout him.
After losing track of time in a state of ecstasy while cultivating mana, Ghislaine opened his eyes hours later.
A fleeting crimson light flashed through his pupils.
“Ugh, I find the poison tiresome, but… it’s a bit of a shame.”
With all the poison absorbed, his mana total had increased tremendously.
If judged by quantity alone, it seemed to be more than double what it was before.
“Really, what luck I’ve had.”
Despite Ghislaine’s skill with mana, accumulating a large amount usually required a lot of time.
Yet, the strong aura of the poison combined well with Ghislaine’s mana, shortening the time significantly.
‘It’s rare to find a potion that yields such effects.’
Ghislaine slowly stood up and lightly cut his palm with a dagger.
The long cut on his palm rapidly healed without a trace.
Only a few drops of blood indicated that there had ever been a wound there.
“I like this.”
Ghislaine clenched his hand a few times, smiling in satisfaction.
*
After finishing his training with the poison, Ghislaine’s body rapidly began to gain weight.
His skin improved, and vitality radiated from his eyes.
Even someone completely unfamiliar with physical activity would feel the difference instantly.
“Young Master, you look so healthy! Is it just a quick flare-up before you die?”
“Why do you keep trying to kill a perfectly fine person? It’s just that I’m eating well.”
“Eating well? After drinking poison, how can you say that?”
But seeing the real improvement visibly, there was no way to counter that.
“Are you really doing well? Should I try some too?”
Belinda shot Ghislaine a meaningful glance, inspecting him up and down.
Ghislaine shifted his gaze and muttered shyly.
“I won’t drink the poison anymore, so don’t worry.”
Claude, beside them, shook his head in disbelief.
“You’re not saying you won’t drink it anymore, but that you can’t. There’s nothing left in the warehouse.”
What did it mean now to claim he wouldn’t drink it after he had cleaned it all out?
Even so, knowing he wouldn’t pull such stunts again, Claude felt somewhat relieved.
It would be burdensome for even him, who was quite bold, to be glared at by every single person in the territory.
“Have you checked the warehouse? You must have seen the state of the grain too.”
“Yeah, I saw. They looked like they could sprout monsters if planted.”
Claude was stunned upon seeing the grains Ghislaine had infused with mana.
They had grown to the size of a thumb and emitted a faint blue glow from each kernel.
For mere grains!
It definitely looked highly suspicious and extraordinary.
“They’re doing well. Then it’s time to prepare for the next step.”
“Really? Are you going to plant those strange things? There’s only half a month left; what’s the use of planting them now? Please stop being stubborn.”
Claude scrutinized Ghislaine skeptically.
“Or, do you not have confidence in winning, so you plan on growing some monsters for revenge?”
Ghislaine snorted and got up.
“We’ll begin the second cultivation operation. Call in the workers.”
‘Ugh, he’ll truly have to face some serious embarrassment for his attitude to change. What kind of nerve is it to drink poison just to avoid losing? Just do as you please; if it fails, it’s the Lord’s responsibility!’
Claude slightly regained his composure.
While he rallied workers, Ghislaine summoned a hundred mercenaries, led by Gillian.
The mercenaries, fully armed and mounted, couldn’t hide their excitement at having a fight after such a long time.
As the workers approached, they hitched large wagons to each of the mercenaries’ horses.
On each wagon was a spade made of iron tied securely.
Feeling a sense of unease, one mercenary asked, “Why are we bringing the wagons and spades?”
Ghislaine replied with an expression that seemed to ask why such obvious questions were being asked.
“Of course, we’re going to do some digging, right?”
“Where… are we going exactly?”
Ghislaine, at the front, grinned and said, “We’re heading to the Forest of Monsters.”
