Chapter 432
Chapter 432: Just Like Last Time, We Have No Choice But to Threaten. (2)
Ricardo trembled and looked at Skoban.
“Commander of the Guard… Are you really…?”
“Shut up! It’s not my fault!”
Skoban shook his head furiously.
What an overestimation of himself. Who does he think he is, bringing down disasters upon Perdium?
It’s just a coincidence. It must be a coincidence. It has to be.
Skoban gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s get a little closer to confirm.”
“Are we really going closer?”
Ricardo asked, panicking. Skoban nodded.
“We still don’t know if that’s really the phenomenon, do we? It could be another anomaly.”
“It clearly looks like a rift!”
“Damn! We still need to verify it! We need to see how fast it’s expanding! Something seems abnormal!”
Right now, that mist was spreading so rapidly that the changes were immediately noticeable. He had heard descriptions about rifts multiple times, but never had he heard that they expanded this quickly.
So, they had to confirm accurately and report back. He was a responsible knight.
“Let’s just get a bit closer to check. I have no intention of going inside.”
The patrol team cautiously approached the rift area. They were quite far away, but on horseback, they quickly closed the distance.
Skoban muttered as he gazed at the blue mist engulfing his vision.
“So this is… a rift area…”
Looking sideways, he couldn’t see the end. Just how much time had passed for the rift to expand this much?
Ricardo also looked around and shouted, “W-wait! It’s really coming closer!”
The blue mist was creeping up. Slow, but the fact that it was expanding in real-time was concerning.
At this rate, it would swallow the Northern Fortress within a few days.
Skoban dismounted and got even closer.
Swish.
He reached his hand into the mist. It wasn’t dense enough to obstruct his sight; it was just too spread out to see clearly.
He could see his hand crossing the boundary. In the distance, he could only perceive a sinister landscape devoid of any life force.
Kaaah!
A shriek sounded from afar.
It was the first time he had seen it in person, but the patrol team knew all too well what lived inside this mist.
Skoban didn’t have the courage to step inside and confirm it either.
“L-let’s go back.”
Just as Skoban withdrew his hand and turned his body—
Kaaahk!
“Uagh! Commander of the Guard!”
Ricardo screamed. Skoban whipped out his sword from his waist and turned around.
Skratch!
Skoban’s sword, bursting with blue mana, cleaved something in half.
It was a Cracked Being, its body half protruding from the rift. With a grotesque face and bared teeth, the half that was severed dropped to the ground.
Pussssssh…
The Cracked Being that fell to the ground soon withered away, turning to dust.
It was clear that it was a cursed being not permitted in this world.
“Ugh…”
Ricardo and the soldiers of the patrol squad turned pale at the first sight of the Cracked Beings’ grotesque forms.
Kaaahk!
Dududududu!
After the horrific shriek, a distant sound of something rushing toward them was heard.
Skoban’s face turned pale as he mounted his horse.
“W-we need to go back.”
They immediately turned their horses towards the fortress and dashed off.
When Ghislaine led the Northern Army, there were reportedly as many as 100,000 Cracked Beings across various rifts. Even with the lords creating barrier lines and fighting, that was still the case.
In contrast, no one in the North knew about the rifts. No one had created barrier lines.
A considerable amount of time had passed since Ghislaine’s departure. Just how many Cracked Beings had surged in the rift that had swallowed the Northern lands?
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
Skoban galloped hard on horseback, shouting in his mind.
‘It’s not my fault!’
He couldn’t help but think that he might get chased out of Perdium.
Because that Ricardo wouldn’t leave him alone.
*
Thanks to Ghislaine and the Northern Army’s efforts, the plague was quickly contained.
Though there were still a few places with remaining infections, those who had already taken the medicine were immune to the disease, allowing them to return to everyday life swiftly.
Of course, Ghislaine hadn’t solved the plague across the entire kingdom. He had to fight against the rifts too.
The regions near the capital and the East were handled by Meriel and Rosalyn. The two had thoroughly prepared based on Ghislaine’s instructions.
And one of the key figures in resolving the plague, Rosalyn, was currently at the Northern Army Camp, having received a call from Ghislaine.
“Now, we need to deliver medicine and food to foreign countries?”
“Yes. The plague in the Ruthania Kingdom is nearly under control. We need to contain the infections in other countries quickly so everyone can fight against the rifts.”
Rosalyn opened her mouth, her voice trembling.
“You’re… not that kind of person, are you?”
“…”
“This time, saving the people and all… Why are you doing such a ‘good’ deed…?”
“…”
Ghislaine scratched his head with a sullen expression.
Rosalyn’s words weren’t wrong. He didn’t deliberately do good deeds.
He was solely focused on the goal of defeating the Duke Faction and the rifts. Everything he had done so far was necessary for that goal. The methods might have been a little extreme, though.
So, it was no wonder Rosalyn was misunderstanding. From her point of view, Ghislaine was a guy obsessed with ‘gain.’
Suddenly, Rosalyn clapped her hands and exclaimed.
“I see! You’re trying to win over public sentiment to gain even stronger power! Just how greedy can one be!”
Rosalyn stuck out her tongue.
Historically, many rulers had acted like that. Those who, despite having insincere hearts, paid attention to the people and garnered strong popularity.
Of course, the outcomes were mostly good. She thought Ghislaine was doing such a thing now.
Ghislaine sighed and shook his head.
‘How do they see me?’
If one only listened to Rosalyn, they might think the monster trying to swallow the kingdom was none other than him, not Duke Delphine.
Amelia would do that kind of dirty work well. He had no such thoughts at all.
“I have no greed for power.”
“…”
This time, Rosalyn and Ghislaine’s aides showed perplexed expressions.
‘Who is it that’s using the excuse of being granted authority to imprison all the lords?’
On the surface, it seemed like he was wielding power to the extreme, even beating others with a club.
Ghislaine spoke with an annoyed expression.
“Shouldn’t we hurry through this time? Even if we subdue the kingdom’s turmoil, if the other side is being consumed by the rifts and the Salvation Society, it won’t do us any good.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Rosalyn nodded her head. The continent had long since been engulfed in turmoil.
It wouldn’t end simply because only the Ruthania Kingdom was fine. If other countries fell victim to the rifts and the Salvation Society, they would continuously invade this place.
Whatever Ghislaine’s goal was, it was true that preventing them as quickly as possible was the right path for everyone.
“I understand. I’ll consult with Count Ailzbur’s wife and prepare a separate quantity. Is there a place we should prioritize helping first?”
“Of course, the kingdoms adjacent to Ruthania. Then the Kingdom of Turian.”
“The Kingdom of Turian?”
“Yes. Please prioritize helping that country first. We will also prepare medicine and food from Penris.”
“Is there any special reason to assist the Kingdom of Turian?”
“Well… They’re really having a hard time just dealing with the monsters in the Shadow Mountain Range, aren’t they? So it will be tougher than for other places.”
Ghislaine gave a vague explanation. In truth, the real reason wasn’t that.
‘Because they’ll stabilize more quickly that way.’
There’s a monster-like guy there. If that guy shows up, the Kingdom of Turian will regain stability in no time.
It’s essential to manage any one area swiftly to help with future battles. For that, sufficient medicine and food must be secured.
Ghislaine was designating places that could fight most efficiently.
“And there are a few more places.”
Ghislaine spoke to Rosalyn about his priorities.
Penris couldn’t possibly help all the kingdoms by itself. Plus, he was busy fighting the rifts within Ruthania.
If the highly reputable Marquis Branford could lend his strength in foreign countries, it would be a tremendous help. After all, the actual work would mostly be handled by Rosalyn and Meriel, so it was just a matter of passing the message along.
Rosalyn nodded. In the long run, Ghislaine’s judgment was correct.
“Still, just providing this for free feels a little…”
“You shouldn’t approach this from the concept of a transaction. You have to think that we’re able to be generous because we have room.”
“Uhm…”
“You can receive the reward later. Right now, we can’t stall for time with such things.”
Indeed, the Ruthania Kingdom had more resources compared to other kingdoms. Thanks to Ghislaine, they could at least prepare a bit in advance.
Thus, Rosalyn couldn’t firmly refuse Ghislaine’s opinion.
“Got it. By the way, Count, you’ve changed quite a bit.”
The guy who used to be obsessed with money is now offering to help others without holding back.
Not understanding Ghislaine’s true intentions, she couldn’t help but misunderstand.
So she hesitantly brought it up.
“Um… The cosmetics sales have dipped a bit…”
With the turmoil, it was natural for sales to decline. Thus, Rosalyn was considering slightly scaling back her business and postponing payments.
But Ghislaine replied with an indifferent expression.
“Oh, you should do it according to the contract. You need to settle the accounts properly.”
‘Why is this guy treating only me like this?’
Swoosh.
In that moment, Rosalyn took out her fan to cover below her eyes. He freely gives to others but won’t budge a penny for her.
Every time they meet, he only talks about money!
Frustration boiled over in her anger.
Suddenly sensing the atmosphere, Ghislaine leaned back.
‘What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?’
He was not the type to give up his rights without reason. Of course, if he were to learn about her situation in detail, he’d probably have the capacity to disregard it.
However, misunderstanding, Rosalyn lost her temper instead of explaining her situation.
Just as she was about to shout again, a messenger rushed over. By his outfit, he was a messenger from Perdium.
Ghislaine thought it was a fortunate development and rose from his seat.
“Oh, did my father send you? What’s the matter?”
“Your Grace! The r-rift…”
“Hmm?”
“The rift has expanded to near the Northern Fortress!”
At those words, Ghislaine and everyone else’s faces hardened.
There was no rift in the North. Everyone assumed that the Salvation Society had infiltrated there and hadn’t prepared anything.
But now there was a rift opening in the northern lands!
This was not ordinary. No matter how strong Perdium had become, they wouldn’t be able to cope upon entering a rift’s domain.
“Your Grace!”
The pale Belinda called out to Ghislaine.
To her, Perdium was like a home in her heart. She couldn’t allow the rift’s domain to swallow the Northern Fortress.
Ghislaine’s ambition to make him a Grand Duke of the North only mattered while Zvalter was alive; she had no intention of boosting Ghislaine at the expense of his life.
“We need to move the Northern Army immediately!”
Hearing Belinda’s words, Ghislaine slowly nodded.
It was only natural. Why had he been struggling so hard until now? It was all to protect his territory.
If Perdium fell, everything he had done until now would be meaningless.
Ghislaine’s expression grew cold.
‘Those bastards have caused a mess.’
In his past life, there had been no rift in the North. The barbarians lived by excluding others, and the vast northern land made it impossible to hide anything.
For the Salvation Society, creating a rift in such an area would be a terrible investment. They would have better spent their efforts in other kingdoms. That’s what they did in reality.
But now, a rift had appeared in the northern regions. There was only one answer.
‘Woroka…’
Woroka must have teamed up with the Salvation Society. And he surely sacrificed something directly.
‘You’ve chosen the worst option.’
At that time, he had spared him to minimize damage. Because of that, he had gained a horse, and the mobility of Penris had become the strongest.
However, due to Woroka’s betrayal, their unstable agreement had come to an end.
Ghislaine raised his head and glanced toward the North.
‘Time…’
If the rift’s domain reached the area near the Northern Fortress, it would be impossible to pull all the Northern Army there. They wouldn’t arrive in time.
Ultimately, he would have to move with only the Penris Mobile Army. The Cracked Beings must have swelled enormously, so he needed to take the 10,000 remaining Penris forces instead of the Northern Army.
But while he was busy fighting the rifts, Woroka would surely bypass the fortress and attack Perdium.
‘And then he’ll wreak havoc in the North.’
Right now, there was no military force to halt the barbarians in the North. Everyone had been called up to the Northern Army.
If the Penris forces also went to the Northern Fortress, the barbarians would thoroughly trample and massacre the empty North. Then they would undoubtedly declare those territories as their own.
That would make things incredibly tiring. A military force was needed to block the invading barbarians while he dealt with the rifts.
‘In the end, I guess I have to use it now.’
It wasn’t that there was no alternative. Weren’t there troops left behind when forming the Northern Army?
The owner of that force was extremely capable. Even the former king of mercenaries had struggled against him. So enough to intercept the barbarian forces.
“Bring me a pen and paper.”
Ghislaine concluded his brief contemplation and began writing a letter. As he swiftly moved the pen, he couldn’t help but mutter.
“Either way, they won’t listen if I’m nice. I have no choice but to threaten them like last time.”
That time had been incredibly helpful. One could say he had made it this far thanks to that help.
So…
This time, it would surely be a great help too.
