Chapter 430
Chapter 430: I’ll Save You Guys. (4)
“Glug! Glug!”
Kaor forcefully shoved a middle-aged man’s face into the water bucket.
“Ah, hurry up and talk?”
“Gah! What the hell are you doing!”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I came to collect the medicine and herbs.”
“You! You think you can do this and still keep your life… Glug glug!”
The poor soul being waterboarded was none other than the lord who wasn’t cooperating. Kaor wasted no time in diving into his interrogation tactics.
Kaor, who already had a nasty temperament, now had the backing of the Northern Army and Ghislaine. Honestly, he felt little fear towards most nobles now.
Moreover, he had a legitimate(?) reason and justification.
The retainers of the territory were turning pale, shouting in desperation.
“Stop it this instant!”
“How can a knight do something like this!”
“I’ll formally complain to the commander of the Northern Army!”
Kaor, sitting in a chair with a disinterested expression, replied.
“Go ahead. Complain all you want. Do you know who’s backing us? Didn’t you hear that Marquis Branford gave the order?”
Kaor had learned well how to use the name of Marquis Branford just like Claude would.
In reality, just mentioning Ghislaine’s name would suffice. With mastery in martial power and a reputation as a cruel warlord, using Ghislaine’s name carried a significant weight.
However, the nagging of Belinda was the trouble.
— When doing rough work, don’t use young master’s name, use Marquis Branford’s name instead. Got it?
— Got it…
Thus, Kaor actively used the name of Marquis Branford.
This resulted in the retainers of this territory not daring to overpower Kaor by force.
No, truth be told, the Northern Army was even scarier than Marquis Branford. It was obvious that if they turned their blades towards this place, everything would be trampled down in an instant.
So the knights and soldiers all surrounded the area, unsure of what to do.
“Glug! Kill them at once! Kill them! I said kill them!”
Even as the lord shouted this, everyone was too frightened to make a move.
Yet, there was one man of high spirit. The commander of the lord’s knights shouted loudly and swung his sword at Kaor.
“Let go of the lord this instant!”
Slash!
Kaor didn’t even budge. One knight from Penris who had followed the charge unsheathed his sword and effortlessly beheaded the commander of the knights.
He was a knight who used to belong to the Mad Hounds mercenary group.
“Gag…”
In one move, the commander of the knights of a territory fell with his head severed.
People gasped in shock. They had heard that Penris knights were strong, but not to this extent.
On the surface, they didn’t even seem that impressive, looking rather shabby for knights.
“Humph.”
The Penris knight who decapitated the commander had a light smile as he sheathed his sword.
The lord’s retainers and soldiers swallowed hard.
‘The Penris guys really are strong. Better not mess with them.’
‘How could a mere knight take out our commander in one move…’
‘But why does the guy over there look like he’s in pain too? Why is he suddenly bleeding?’
Blood was gushing from the mouth of the Penris knight who hadn’t even taken a hit. It was because he exerted himself too much for the sake of showing off.
If it hadn’t been for that, he wouldn’t have been able to sever the commander’s neck in one hit.
The other charging knights surrounded him and whispered.
“Hey, are you crazy?”
“If you had fallen, they would have all swarmed us!”
“Dial it back a little.”
Part of the jealousy was because he wanted to show off, but it was true that it was dangerous.
The numbers were vastly in their favor. No matter how strong the Penris knights were, they couldn’t deal with all those soldiers.
After all, they weren’t Ghislaine.
Still, since they had taken the lord as a hostage, things were going smoothly.
“Aha, I understand! I’ll let it all go! S-stop this! Glug glug!”
Having received the medicine and herbs, Kaor tied up the lord with rope and said.
“Well, you did commit a crime, so let’s just go together. I can’t strip you of your title just yet, you know.”
Of course, part of it was holding him as a hostage to escape safely.
Thus, Kaor wandered around collecting medicines and herbs while taking the lords captive.
Alfoy entered negotiations a tad more gentlemanly than Kaor. After all, he had pride as a mage.
“Ahem, you know the Northern Army’s forces, right? One wave of my hand and they’ll all rush here. And I’m a 5th Circle mage, you see.”
‘What the hell is this? Who does he think he is, acting like he’s the commander of the Northern Army? And why’s he talking so childish like an envoy?’
The listening lord fell into doubt but couldn’t criticize. After all, he was someone who had officially shown up with the Northern Army’s insignia and flag.
These days, the rumors about the Northern Army weren’t good. They said they were forcibly taking medicine and herbs and stripping titles.
He was unhappy about it, but for now, he couldn’t do anything. So he was secretly communicating with other lords.
They were saying to cut off support to the Northern Army when times got tough.
But even now, he couldn’t afford to anger them. He had already heard how Count Grafton was dealt with.
‘But this guy isn’t Count Penris.’
Then there was a way. He handed Alfoy a small box as a token of appreciation for coming all this way.
“This is a small gift for your efforts. As you know, the situation in the territory isn’t good because of rifts and diseases. I truly have nothing else hidden.”
In other words, it was a bribe to just go away. Upon opening the box, Alfoy shouted loudly.
“Do you see me as some kind of fool to offer this?! You think I’m Claude?”
It was too little.
Claude would eat anything and everything, but he wasn’t like that. He took pride in being a mage.
The lord, taken aback by the meager offering, was confused.
‘Isn’t this strange? I heard mages love wealth, right? This brat looks like he’d love a good coin too!’
Indeed. It was the amount that made Alfoy furious.
Yet, as a noble accustomed to smoothly turning conversations to maintain elegance, he could only think that the other was angry because he didn’t like the bribe.
“Ahem, it seems I’ve insulted the honor of a mage. That was not my intention.”
With an apologetic expression, the lord took the box back. That made Alfoy shout again.
“What are you doing?!”
“Huh? I thought I made a mistake…”
“Ugh! Seriously!”
“Why on earth…?”
“I’m giving you a chance again, you brat!”
Alfoy’s true nature flared up from his excitement. The lord was also quite displeased.
“I treated you with the respect due to a mage, but you’re being exceedingly rude! I am a noble!”
As the lord gestured, knights and soldiers rushed in to surround them.
“Ugh…”
Alfoy calmed his temper.
Frankly, he could defeat everyone present if it came to fighting. Ten 4th Circle mages were with him, and there were even 20 guard knights. Hundreds of soldiers were waiting outside.
But he wanted to maintain the demeanor of an elegant mage in public. The mages and knights accompanying him were already snickering at Alfoy.
Alfoy grabbed his head in distress.
He wanted to solve the task he was given in style and have his moment of glory. Yet, he also found himself greedy.
‘I want that jeweled box too…’
Everyone was avoiding gambling with him lately, so he was low on cash. He wanted resources.
Then, an idea struck Alfoy and he proposed something to the lord.
“Let’s play odds and evens.”
“What?”
“If we play a game and you win, I’ll just let you go. What will you wager?”
The lord turned to consult his retainers.
“What’s this odds and evens game?”
One soldier who knew about games explained it, causing the lord to smile.
“Will we play multiple times, not just once?”
“I’m fine with that.”
The lord began to scheme. If he could win just once, he could send the mage off. Losing a little money was no problem.
“Then I wager this jeweled box.”
“Let’s do it.”
And so, the two began to gamble.
Naturally, with Alfoy using cheating magic, the lord stood no chance.
“Ha ha.”
Alfoy snatched the jeweled box in one go.
The lord, not thinking much of it, ordered more valuables to be brought forth.
“Odd.”
“Even.”
“Odd.”
“Even.”
The lord’s expression turned rigid as they played.
He had already lost an enormous fortune. He had intended to enjoy the return trip, having wagered a considerable amount.
But how could he lose even once? This didn’t make sense.
“Are you… are you possibly cheating me?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Cheating? Do you have proof?”
“This is unbelievable!”
“Oh, why is it unbelievable?”
“Do you think it doesn’t make sense that it’s just a simple odds and evens game and I didn’t get a single one right?”
“Of course it makes sense.”
“What?!”
Seeing the lord’s furious face, Alfoy couldn’t help but grin.
“I’ve beaten gods with this, you know.”
“…”
This guy is insane. It’s crazy to think I’m falling for a scam like this. The lord ordered the territory’s exclusive mage to sit nearby and monitor the magic being cast.
But the territory mage shook his head.
“I… I can’t feel any magic being used.”
The magic Alfoy utilized to cheat was carefully crafted. Moreover, he was a 5th Circle mage. There was no way a mere 4th Circle mage could detect him.
“Ugh, I’ll stop this.”
The lord, who had lost a monumental value, shook his head and raised his hands. It was clear there was cheating involved, but he couldn’t find proof, so he had no hope of winning.
Every game was won by Alfoy, who stood up with a satisfied smile.
“It was a great game. Well then, I’ll be off.”
“Hmm?”
“Take care now.”
Alfoy lightly bowed and turned away. He felt wonderfully happy after winning money in a long time.
It was a tremendous sum. An amount he’d never touched in his life.
‘Ha, I lost half my life. I should have created opportunities like this sooner. Still, today feels fantastic.’
But then his fellow mages and knights blocked Alfoy’s path with grim expressions. Only then did he snap back to reality.
“Oh shoot, I came here for something else.”
Caught up in the excitement, he almost forgot the main task. Now that he had no reason to speak to the lord, he said to everyone.
“Get digging quickly! We need to find the medicine. We have other places to go, and we’ve wasted too much time here.”
Honestly, he wanted to play more; however, if he continued, it would turn into an all-nighter. The pot was shrinking by the moment.
Having taken care of what he needed, Alfoy tossed aside all notions of dignity and rummaged wildly through the castle. When that didn’t work, he even started burning parts of the castle in chaos.
Ultimately, everything burned down, and with the herbs and medicine seized, the lord glared at Alfoy, saying.
“You all are going too far. You will surely regret this act.”
Alfoy wasn’t even slightly afraid.
“Regret? I’ve lived hundreds, thousands of times regretting things. Is there anyone who regrets more than me?”
He had come to Penris and been made a slave. After regretting every night, he had now reached the point of giving up on life. Thus, he felt no fear whatsoever.
Moreover, he was surrounded by beings far scarier than a mere noble, and he was fighting against those even more terrifying.
“Hey, let’s go! Hurry up and tie this brat down! This criminal! This bad guy!”
Thanks to Marquis Branford, Alfoy had obtained the authority to arrest the lords. That way, Alfoy carried out his missions diligently while winning money and acquiring medicine.
Thanks to their efforts, the epidemic began to quickly subside. It had primarily spread among territories of lords who had been greedy and uncooperative.
Meanwhile, the regions where the lords had diligently produced medicine and adhered to the quarantine orders, including near the capital, were quickly stabilizing their epidemics.
Ghislaine looked at the map, erasing the marked areas impacted by the epidemic while commenting.
“We’re almost there.”
Belinda nodded beside her.
“There aren’t many left. I think we won’t have to worry about the East or the Kingdom Army.”
“True, Count Ailzbur’s wife and Marquis Branford’s young lady prepared so well.”
Meriel and Rosalyn were those who had trusted and acted on Ghislaine before during the drought. Thanks to those two, the damage that could have been much worse this time was limited once again.
From Ghislaine’s perspective, they were excellent helpers.
Of course, the support from Marquis Branford and the Crown Prince Faction was also a big advantage. Without that, it would have been difficult to move forward so boldly.
“How’s the situation in other countries?”
“Confusion everywhere. They haven’t been able to handle the rifts properly. Diseases are worse.”
“Hm… That’s unavoidable.”
Ghislaine and Marquis Branford’s influence couldn’t reach other nations. While there were some who had believed Ghislaine’s warnings and were prepared, others had been foolish enough to behave recklessly to experiment.
There were even kingdoms where the Salvation Society had gained power.
Still, things were much better than in her previous life. Some territories had managed to handle the rifts to a degree, and there were medicines available to combat the epidemic.
Other kingdoms must have been ramping up efforts too, likely reinforcing their armies to manage the rifts and increase medicine production.
“It’s better to lend a hand when we can.”
“How can we help when we’re already busy dealing with the rifts in our kingdom?”
“Just sending medicine and food would suffice.”
“If we can’t handle the rifts, it’s useless, isn’t it? It’s likely to take a long time, right?”
“That’s true. We acted quickly because we prepared in advance.”
Because Ghislaine had prepared in many ways, they could handle the rifts quickly. Other kingdoms hadn’t been able to prepare to the same degree.
But Ghislaine spoke as if unconcerned.
“There are monsters in other kingdoms as well. They will deal with the rifts one by one. It’ll be slower than us, but the important thing is that they can handle it.”
“Monsters?”
“Yeah. Monsters not too different from me.”
Ghislaine smiled. People looked at her in disbelief.
Of course, there must be powerhouses who had risen to the top in other kingdoms. Even so, there was something about Ghislaine that made them feel it wouldn’t be the case.
Ghislaine had even defeated Delmood, who had reached the 7th Circle, along with his master, Tenet.
Ghislaine waved her hand a few times dismissively and continued speaking.
“Anyhow, our battle with the Salvation Society is not something we can handle alone. We need as many people to combine forces as possible.”
“So, it means we just need to send medicine and food for now?”
“Right, just supporting with medicine and food will be a big help. Others will move into action to deal with the rifts.”
People displayed curious expressions. How could Ghislaine, who only stayed within this kingdom, know about the situations in other nations?
Ghislaine had no intention of clarifying others’ curiosities, simply reminiscing with a satisfied smile on her face.
‘I’ll be able to see that guy soon.’
While it was nice to return to the past, it was a bit disappointing that the good connections from her previous life had vanished.
There was definitely a friend she wanted to meet again in this life. A friend who had never shown up in the world until the rifts appeared.
Of course, aside from that friend, there were others who due to their circumstances would not show their faces as well. Being able to see them again would be another joy.
And…….
There were others she had been at odds with or had fought against.
The other members of the continent’s 7 strong would begin to reveal themselves one by one.
