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Chapter

166 – Entering into Body Improvement (5)

The apprentice knights endured the pain of forcibly creating mana roads and grew more and more haggard each day.

They desperately realized why their lord wasn’t worried about a leak.

‘How do I teach this to someone else?’

‘I’ve never heard of a method for teaching like this.’

‘Even if I know how to do it, they might die if I’m not careful.’

Since the mana roads were forcibly created, they had no idea how to do it properly.

Literally, they were honing their skills through sheer physical experience without any theoretical knowledge.

As the apprentice knights became haggard, Ghislaine’s complexion also darkened. He was struggling just as much.

‘Indeed, it’s not easy to accomplish it all at once.’

Even though it seemed rough, Ghislaine was carefully manipulating the mana to ensure that the apprentice knights wouldn’t die.

Compared to his past life, the amount of mana was significantly less, so he had to be cautious to avoid wasting mana while managing all those people.

Doing this every day until he ran out of mana left him in no condition to be healthy.

‘Should I extend the schedule? At this rate, I might die first.’

Things were tough enough that Ghislaine even considered giving up midway.

But every time that thought crossed his mind, he recalled his past life and steeled himself.

‘Dragging things out won’t do me any good. I must think of every day as a debt of life.’

He could not repeat the regrets of his past life. Ghislaine grit his teeth and continued to focus on breaking through the mana roads of the apprentice knights.

The resolve of Ghislaine naturally radiated into the atmosphere, even if he didn’t vocalize it.

The apprentice knights resonated with their lord’s unusual atmosphere and gritted their teeth to endure together.

After a week passed, their gazes sharpened like finely honed blades. A few of them began to feel mana faintly.

The most basic preparations had been completed.

Ghislaine had a relieved expression and announced that the agony was over.

“You’ve all held on well so far. The pain that felt like death is now over. Next, I’ll show you how to stack and move mana using the Mana Convergence Circle.”

“Waahhh!”

The apprentice knights cheered.

No matter how many times they repeated it, they never became accustomed to the pain tearing through their bodies.

Though they endured with grit, frankly, every day felt like hell.

Now that such pain was coming to an end, there was nothing but joy.

The apprentice knights began training in earnest using the Mana Convergence Circle.

“Wow, I finally get to be part of the Mana Convergence Circle.”

“Wow, I can really feel the mana!”

Even though they had mana roads, it was still challenging for people handling mana for the first time to absorb it.

But thanks to the immense power of the Mana Convergence Circle, the apprentice knights could absorb mana just by breathing.

‘It’s real, I’m really accepting mana into my body!’

‘The hardships are over! Now happiness begins!’

Everyone sat on the Mana Convergence Circle and grinned from ear to ear. Even trying to hold back laughter was impossible.

‘Ah, I’ve become a knight who can handle mana, how can I not laugh?’

The apprentice knights also gradually learned how to control and emit mana from Ghislaine.

Handling mana was still not easy, but they started moving little by little following the mana roads Ghislaine had engraved on their bodies.

Although it got a bit tedious, it was nothing compared to the agony they had experienced just the day before.

‘I believed in the lord. He must’ve had a plan all along.’

‘Ugh, I had a lack of faith.’

It was as if they had never spoken ill of their lord; everyone busily praised Ghislaine in their minds.

That’s how memories work. No matter how painful they were, if the rewards afterward were great, they become fond memories.

Everyone believed without a doubt that this happiness would continue.

After another week passed, the apprentice knights finally entered the actual process of using mana.

“Now, this is the real deal. Even if you feel and stack mana, it’s meaningless if you can’t use it. Gordon! Step forward and show us what you can do with the mana you’ve learned so far.”

At Ghislaine’s command, Gordon stepped forward confidently.

He began to pull up the mana based on everything he had learned so far.

‘Ah! So this is how it feels!’

As the mana spread throughout his body, Gordon fell into ecstasy.

Though the amount of mana was just a tiny droplet, he could definitely feel his body becoming as hard as steel.

He felt as if he could break through anything and block anything that came his way.

A whole new world he had never known!

‘This is mana! I’m invincible now! I feel like I could even defeat that scumbag Kaor!’

In a fit of excitement, Gordon drew up all his mana.

He wanted to feel this incredible power even more.

Boom!

“Whoa! I can’t believe Gordon is emanating such energy!”

As Gordon’s momentum grew, other apprentice knights started squirming in anticipation to try it out themselves.

And then it happened.

“Ugh! Blahhh!”

Gordon, having exerted all the mana he possessed, collapsed and began to spew blood.

“……?”

Everyone was taken aback, their eyes wide open and unable to speak.

But Ghislaine was clapping his hands in delight.

“Good! Well done! That’s how you use it! How does it feel? Can you feel the power?!”

Gordon looked up at Ghislaine with a bewildered expression and asked, “Uh, my lord? I feel like I’m in pain now? I just vomited blood? I feel completely drained?”

“Oh, that’s normal.”

“……Normal?”

“It’s a sort of side effect. You exert much greater power than the mana you have, which places quite a strain on your body. It’s a way of exploding mana.”

“Side effect…? So, every time I use mana, I’ll keep spitting blood and collapsing?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. That phenomenon only occurs after you’ve burnt out all your mana. If you train hard and get stronger, it will be fine.”

“Ah, I see, it gets better later….”

Gordon nodded back in relief at Ghislaine’s nonchalant words. But feeling a lingering unease, he asked again.

“But what happens if I don’t train hard and get stronger?”

Ghislaine, looking off at the distant horizon, recited, “If the mana already stored in your body keeps trying to explode, it will consume itself even if you just sit there. If it keeps repeating that, it will eventually drain all your life and lead to death.”

“……I’ll die?”

“Yeah. So you need to get strong enough to control it quickly. The stronger you get, the longer you can use mana. In other words, that means your lifespan will increase as well.”

“W-what kind of bizarre mana circulation method is this?! Isn’t this the Perdium family’s mana circulation method?”

“It’s based on the Perdium method, but I modified it. The side effects have been slightly reduced to make it easier for you guys to learn. It won’t explode quite as harshly.”

“Ah… I see. So that makes the weaker ones die, which reduces the side effects. Hehehe!”

Gordon laughed, his eyes glistening with tears. The other apprentice knights were also teary-eyed watching the spectacle.

Gordon, trying to contain himself, eventually burst out.

“Ah! You didn’t mention this at first! Isn’t this a scam contract? Please retract it immediately!”

Ghislaine looked at him with wide eyes.

“Wow, I heard you used to get scammed a lot, but you’ve really changed. Asking for a retraction? You’ve certainly changed a lot.”

“Ahhh! What are you talking about?! I’ll say I didn’t learn and cancel it!”

“Oh, I can’t retract it even if I wanted to. The only way is to work hard at training and quickly elevate your levels. If you want to live, everyone has to get stronger than they are now.”

The apprentice knights, including Gordon, found themselves at a loss for words and cursed inwardly.

‘What on earth made you think to create such a crazy mana circulation method?’

‘Well, he was never normal to begin with. That’s our fault for forgetting.’

Until now, only the lord and his close associates had been busy, but now the apprentice knights had to move in a flurry as well.

The Knight Order of Penris became a knight order where only the strong survived.

If you wanted to die naturally, you simply had to train hard to become stronger.

A new beginning of suffering awaited.

*

Count Desmond, Harold, was lost in thought in his office.

He was exhausted from busily reorganizing the troops lost in the war with Ghislaine.

The reason for his weary expression, despite the insomnia, was none other than the content of a letter from the Duke Faction.

“What? That bastard took Marquis Branford as a guardian and joined the Crown Prince Faction? They even decided to receive support from Brivant….”

The last report he received about Ghislaine noted that he was flipping his territory upside down.

After that, spies were all rooted out, and the Territory of Penris was sealed off, leaving him in the dark about developments there for a while.

Then, one day, Ghislaine suddenly appeared in the capital, selling cosmetics and instantly becoming a celebrity.

Even so, he thought it was improbable that a reckless fool could stir up trouble, but who knew he would join the Crown Prince Faction?

Harold clicked his tongue, glaring at the letter, and asked his deputy beside him.

“The Duke Faction wants to treat Ghislaine on par with Count Raybold’s Knight Commander Jurgen. What do you think of this information?”

“……I can’t believe it either, but the Duke Faction wouldn’t say that without basis.”

“I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Harold buried his hands in his head in frustration.

Jurgen was one of the strongest knights across the kingdom. He wasn’t called the best knight of the North for nothing, sitting in the position of Knight Commander of the great territory known as Raybold.

If the Duke’s evaluation was accurate, it made sense that Viktor had been bested by Ghislaine.

“Ghislaine, Ghislaine! That damned bastard!”

The Duke had not merely warned about Ghislaine.

Along with reprimanding him for failing to investigate such a person properly, they also sent a warning that this was the last opportunity.

Harold was experiencing humiliation for the first time in his life, having lived without failures sailing smoothly until now.

Every scheme fell apart because of Ghislaine.

He wanted to invade the Territory of Penris right away and squash him, but currently, there was something even more urgent pressing Harold.

“What’s the movement from Count Raybold?”

“……It’s confirmed they are preparing for war.”

“Of course, they’re aiming for this. Can you guess what justification they’ll use?”

“It appears they will claim they are retaliating as allies of Perdium for the attack on Perdium. They will argue that we secretly attacked without proper procedures, which would be problematic since we have no legitimate justification.”

“You crazy bastard.”

He hated how they were trying to claim to be allies after pretending not to know about Perdium when the war broke out.

Harold also had never thought he could hide that he had helped Digald.

No matter how much he divided his forces and sent them in secret, such a large army’s movement wouldn’t go unnoticed in detail.

At that time, Harold thought it didn’t matter. Justice belonged to the victor. If Viktor had won, the suspicions would have ended as mere doubts.

But they lost the war, and Count Raybold revealed his teeth as if he had been waiting for the moment.

Harold clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Why can they only move at such a time?”

His deputy cautiously spoke.

“We need to expedite Amelia’s uprising before the war starts.”

“Ugh….”

Harold unconsciously groaned.

The deputy was right. They had already supported Amelia with plenty of funds and dozens of knights in preparation for the uprising.

If Count Raybold were to declare war on Desmond before the uprising, it would lead to a complete scattering of those massive resources.

But Harold couldn’t bring himself to make a decision.

“There’s no one who can deal with Jurgen. If only Viktor were still around…”

Nicknamed the strongest knight of the North, Jurgen had been the intended counter against him, but Viktor was killed in the last war.

With no one to directly face Jurgen, Harold lacked the confidence that the uprising would succeed even if they instigated one.

If this uprising with Amelia failed again, it would be Harold’s head that would fly, not Raybold’s.

He was normally cautious by nature, but with his own life at stake, he couldn’t move easily.

Understanding why Harold hesitated, the deputy continued to report in the most objective tone possible.

“Predictions suggest that in two to three months, preparations for war on Raybold’s side will be completed.”

“I know time is running short. But if we fail, it will only be more dangerous. Tell Amelia to prepare thoroughly.”

“She has reportedly completed all preparations. All subordinate groups scattered in the North have been summoned, and they said they can move as soon as they receive permission.”

At those words, Harold raised an eyebrow.

He knew Amelia was clever, but he didn’t expect her to read the entire situation and move like this.

“Hmph, she’s still quick-witted.”

“By the way, there was a message from Amelia.”

“What is it?”

“If you’re worried about Jurgen, she said she would handle it on her own… So she asks that you don’t worry and just set a date quickly.”

Hearing the deputy’s words, Harold’s face twisted in annoyance. To suggest not to worry about the most important matter?

He didn’t like the audacity of Amelia to attempt to guess at his concerns.

“Tsk… After saying she does well, she’s gotten a bit too bold, huh? Has she grown a spine just because she has some strength? Arrogant girl.”

“It seems Amelia is also in a hurry. If Count Raybold starts a war, he’ll lead a tremendous army.”

After a war breaks out, it would be useless for Amelia to seize an empty castle.

As soon as Count Raybold returns with his mighty troops, they could be swept away like autumn leaves.

Harold understood why Amelia was anxious, but such reasoning did not allow him to make rash bets.

He could care less if Amelia died, but if she failed, his neck would be on the line too.

“Tell her not to get ahead of herself and to wait. I will not permit any action without my consent.”

“……Understood.”

“And mix spies among the next batch of immigrants entering the Territory of Penris. They can’t sit by idly either. Have them disrupt whatever happens in the territory whenever possible.”

“Understood.”

Due to sealing off the Territory of Penris, it was not easy for outsiders to enter.

However, it was impossible to root out all the spies among thousands of immigrants.

As the deputy bowed and retreated, Harold narrowed his eyes and pressed down on his temples.

His headaches were growing worse by the day.

“Ghislaine… Ghislaine Perdium.”

That bastard had completely entangled all his plans.

He wanted nothing more than to invade right away and stomp over him, but that wasn’t possible.

Harold and Amelia’s hands were tied by Count Raybold, and even attempting to mobilize other lords was tricky due to the Crown Prince Faction.

In short, luck had favored Ghislaine.

“Lucky bastard. Enjoy your leisure while you can. Once Raybold is dealt with, then it’ll be your turn.”

He had just bought time. No matter how much he struggled, his fate remained unchanged.

He thought so rationally, yet he couldn’t calm the turmoil inside him.

“Wait for me. I will make you regret all this arrogance.”

With his gaze lowered, the murderous intent to kill Ghislaine was radiating from Harold’s eyes.

 

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