Chapter 445
Chapter 445: I Am the Specialist in Negotiation. (2)
When Ghislaine gets involved, whether it’s good or bad, everyone changes a little bit.
Thanks to Ghislaine, Gillian transformed from a rough mercenary to a loyal knight after his daughter’s illness was cured.
Kaor also went from a wild and free-spirited man to a leashed hunting dog.
Even the timid Vanessa gained confidence, while the arrogant and polished Alfoy and the wizards became indifferent to living like beggars.
Even Arel, who always puts in effort, has changed since coming to Penris.
Other knight-mercenaries, elves, and dwarves who came to Penris alongside Ghislaine also changed little by little.
Among them, Piote’s change could be considered the most dramatic.
‘Did I just curse?!’
Piote was extremely flustered by the curse that slipped out unconsciously. He had thought things like “this guy” or “that jerk” occasionally about Alfoy, but such blatant cursing was a first for him.
‘Goddess, please forgive my sins! Did I just curse?!’
Piote tightly shut his eyes and repented. The devil had taken hold of his heart.
As the soldiers watched him pray with his eyes tightly closed and hands clasped together, they erupted into cheers again.
“The Saint is receiving the Goddess’s power!”
“Looks like it’s a prayer before smashing the enemy!”
“It’s like a ritual for sending them to the afterlife!”
‘That’s not it!’
Because of the nonsensical chatter from those around him, he couldn’t concentrate on his prayer.
With no choice, Piote halted his prayers and shut his mouth.
‘Right, they said everyone changes a little when they come to this territory. I’m just adapting.’
In fact, there was one guy who hadn’t changed.
Claude, the Chief Officer of the Penris Territory, was famous for his unwavering character.
Anyway, due to the new operation proposed by Ghislaine, Piote was set to take the lead in the fight against Equidema.
Kaaaang!
Equidema, feeling the divine power, lunged at Piote first.
Alfoy spoke to Tenant, who was hesitating as usual about fighting.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going, trying to barge into the fight of the gods as just a mere ‘human’? I could understand if it was someone like me.”
“……”
Tenant really did not like Alfoy. But considering himself just a rolling stone, he kept quiet.
Puhak!
Equidema’s attack couldn’t hurt Piote at all. Taking advantage of that, Piote climbed onto Equidema’s leg.
‘Ugh… how did I end up in this situation…?’
Piote gritted his teeth as he climbed.
Since that day, even during march, he had to undergo hand-to-hand combat training after being caught by Ghislaine. With divine power overflowing, his strength and speed were sufficient.
As he went through hellish training, Piote’s gaze sharpened just a little. He had become a combat priest befitting the Penris Territory.
“Uaaaaah!”
Piote climbed up to Equidema’s neck in an instant, shouting and swinging his fists.
Puhak! Puhak! Puhak!
Kraaang!
Chiiiiiik!
Equidema screamed, and Piote’s hair turned silver.
His fist, filled with divine power, thoroughly penetrated Equidema’s skin, burning it like an unholy fire.
“Oooh! Goddess Punch!”
Alfoy exclaimed in admiration. He thought it wouldn’t be good to provoke Piote anymore.
Kraaang!
Equidema tried to rip off the cursed bug stuck to its neck. But it couldn’t drop it due to the immediate shock.
As Piote successfully climbed onto Equidema’s neck, Ghislaine shouted.
“Now, knock the sense out of it!”
The more Equidema attacked Piote, the lesser the time Piote could endure. Therefore, they had to keep provoking and distracting it on the side.
Paah!
Others circled around Equidema, attacking it non-stop. As they did, blue smoke started to spew from Equidema’s wounded body.
Kraaaaaah!
Equidema was going crazy. No matter how much shock it felt, the bug on its neck wouldn’t die or fall away. The beast could not comprehend this phenomenon.
While being attacked by other bugs surrounding it, it felt like it would truly go insane.
Ultimately, Equidema became covered in wounds, unable to dodge properly as it was too focused on Piote.
Kuuurrrrrr!
“Now!”
When Ghislaine shouted, Vanessa lifted the struggling Piote into the air.
Whoosh!
Immediately, Belinda reached out and pulled Piote back.
After that, the hunting ended as absurdly as it had started. Ghislaine leaped up, unleashing all her power, piercing Equidema’s battered neck.
Krrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Kuwung!
Equidema, still glaring at Piote, collapsed without a word.
The people couldn’t utter a single word even after the monster fell. Who would have thought they could capture such a powerful beast so easily?
Of course, it had been thanks to utilizing Equidema’s weaknesses. Plus, they had accumulated much experience, and all their strongest forces had gathered here.
However, despite all that consideration, they couldn’t help being surprised by how much easier it was compared to the beginning.
“Waah!”
“We won again!”
“These guys are nothing special!”
The knights and soldiers battling the Cracked Beings cheered.
The losses of the Northern Army were decreasing day by day. Moreover, now defeating Equidema had become an easy task.
The once fearsome Cracked Beings were no longer something to be afraid of. It was only natural for their morale to rise.
Watching the cheering crowd, Ghislaine smiled bitterly.
‘If it was only this easy, I wouldn’t have gone through such hardship in my previous life.’
There were still stronger monsters remaining. The Priests of the Salvation Society and the noblemen colluding with them were also an issue.
To fight against those, everyone needed to grow stronger. Not just the soldiers, but also stronger superhumans were necessary.
However, Ghislaine didn’t voice such thoughts. It was vital for the soldiers to maintain high morale.
“Now, let’s move on. We need to deal with the cracks in the kingdom as quickly as possible.”
With their morale skyrocketing, the Northern Army swiftly dealt with the remaining cracks in the West.
Since they could easily capture Equidema, their processing speed increased. Before they knew it, all the cracks in the West and Central areas had been cleared.
The Northern Army hadn’t just dealt with Equidema and the Cracked Beings. The cracks hadn’t vanished entirely. There were more yet to emerge.
Ghislaine tried to delay that by using wizards to set up barriers blocking mana around.
“Set it up thoroughly. That way, we’ll gain more time.”
Following Ghislaine’s orders, the wizards didn’t hold back in using runestones and magic power.
Cracks expand by sucking up the surrounding energy. However, with the mana-blocking measures in place, the cracks’ growth rate significantly decreased.
“Now let’s head to the East. There are far fewer cracks there, so it should be easier than before.”
With those words, the Northern Army moved forward with even more vigor. They were no longer afraid of anything.
Ghislaine had a rough idea of why there were fewer cracks in the East.
It was partly due to Marquis Branford’s influence, but also because the Duke Faction had intentionally reduced their numbers since their primary advance was aimed at the East.
‘They will likely advance from the East again this time.’
Though the Duke Faction had established strategies targeting the capital, Ghislaine couldn’t block all the regions.
‘I can leave that to Amelia.’
For her ambition, she would have to block the Duke Faction for now.
After all, Amelia would also have guessed at the Duke Faction’s plans. Still, she thought it was better to expand her influence in the East. Given the current situation, growing her power in the North seemed impossible.
When the Northern Army arrived in the East, the soldiers waiting at the territories where the cracks had been held back cheered.
“Waah! The Northern Army has arrived!”
“Count Penris is here!”
“It’s finally happening! It’s done!”
These were the ones who had awaited the Northern Army more than anyone else while fighting the cracks. Naturally, they couldn’t help but joyfully welcome them.
Of course, Ghislaine hadn’t just left them be. She had been giving them help in her own way.
“Lord! You’ve come!”
Dominic, the vice leader of the Penris Mercenary Group, warmly welcomed Ghislaine.
Currently, the Penris Mercenary Group had increased to a whopping 30,000. With that many, it could be said that most ordinary mercenaries had joined the Penris Mercenary Group.
That was the result of steadily promoting and gathering mercenaries from various places.
“Dominic, you’ve worked hard. You’ve managed well.”
“It was nothing. We just needed to reduce the numbers of the Cracked Beings. The mercenaries haven’t weaved through a thousand of them here, right?”
Dominic chuckled confidently.
After completing his revenge against Marquis Roderick, he felt more relieved than anyone. Thus, he could also take on the tasks Ghislaine assigned him with enthusiasm.
Currently, 10,000 of the Penris Mercenary Group were helping under Dominic’s command in dealing with the cracks.
The rest were helping out with recovery efforts and various tasks in different areas. Truly, the influence of Penris was spreading across the entire kingdom.
Seeing Ghislaine after a long time, Dominic reported what had been piling up.
“We’re continuously recruiting mercenaries. Mercenaries from other nations are joining our group as well.”
“Good. Just as expected.”
The immense benefits offered in attracting mercenaries and spreading the word were intentional.
The war against the cracks was dangerous. Other kingdoms had no choice but to hire mercenaries in droves.
Yet, since word spread that the Penris Mercenary Group handled the cracks safely and provided good pay and benefits, mercenaries from other nations would of course flock here.
Thanks to that, the Penris Mercenary Group was still rapidly increasing in size.
“Don’t rest on acquiring mercenaries. Numbers are important right now, so let everyone who comes in be accepted. The more, the better. Request what you need from Claude.”
“Yes.”
“And pick personnel to send to other kingdoms too. I have something in mind. You’ll soon get the news.”
“Understood!”
“Now, let’s get moving.”
The main objective of all armies battling the cracks wasn’t precisely the annihilation of the cracks but rather defeating Equidema. They couldn’t close the cracks yet, so they were only preventing their expansion.
Among them, the Northern Army could now be called Equidema’s nemesis and a merciless hunter.
Grrrrrraaaah!
Equidema in the East began to fall one by one. The lords’ armies could finally breathe easy as their morale rose.
The soldiers from the East, who had merely heard about Penris’s reputation, were now captivated by the sight of Ghislaine’s performance.
“This is the Northern might…”
“They said he was a master, and he truly is remarkable.”
“To solve the cracks we were barely holding off so quickly like this.”
Everyone praised Ghislaine and the Northern Army. It was only natural, as they felt the gap in capabilities. But the lords’ and nobles’ reactions were slightly different.
“It’s dangerous. Public sentiment is all focused on Penris.”
“If he harbors other thoughts, the kingdom will be in danger.”
“Should we attach ourselves to Penris even now?”
They all felt a complex mix of emotions. Just years ago, they had dismissed this rookie, and now he had risen to an unimpeachable reputation.
Moreover, what about his strength? When considering achievements, it seemed hard for the remaining kingdom’s armies to prevail even if they all attacked.
What they had in their favor was merely superior numbers of soldiers, but the Northern Army was still the one slaying more Cracked Beings.
– The Northern Army is a force composed of monsters.
Such rumors had spread, and the intimidation factor of the name “Northern Army” was tremendous.
What’s more, there were rumors that Count Penris might become a duke. As the rookie they had previously disregarded transformed into an unmanageable powerhouse, the lords all felt bitter.
Of course, Ghislaine didn’t care about such rumors. He was far too occupied processing the cracks in the East and devising strategies for the future.
“It’s about time for a move, yet they’re not moving. Is something wrong?”
They had heard news that the Duke Faction was dealing with the cracks, but they had no idea about the precise progress. The South was nearly sealed off. Even Count Mobray, who had maintained neutrality, was struggling to act.
“Still, I’m seeing things I didn’t notice in my previous life.”
It seemed that seeing the Duke Faction directly handle the cracks meant they either couldn’t initially control the cracks… or there was an issue with their control.
After realizing that the Salvation Society had intervened, doubt regarding the Duke Faction’s objectives had begun to creep in. Even when trying to interconnect knowledge from past lives, it remained unsolvable.
“Duke Faction, rebellion against the kingdom, Forest of Monsters, Salvation Society, cracks…”
It’s impossible for completely unrelated matters to be intertwined like that. There must be something that pierces through all the information Ghislaine knows. However, all the connecting threads remained ambiguous.
While Ghislaine was deep in thought, someone approached him. It was a knight from the royal family.
As soon as he completed his formalities, he opened his mouth.
“Minister of the Interior, Marquis Branford, has summoned the commander of the Northern Army.”
“What’s going on?”
“Delegates from each kingdom have arrived.”
Ghislaine nodded. The preparations he had entrusted to Claude were completed surprisingly quickly.
In just over two months, they had summoned delegates from various kingdoms.
Ghislaine asked for confirmation.
“Do you know why they came?”
“They seem to be here to form an allied forces. It appears detailed discussions regarding arrangements are necessary.”
“Sure enough.”
In fact, allied forces had been formed in his previous life as well. Although it wasn’t in this kingdom.
Now, it was Ghislaine who had led and initiated it.
“Alright, let’s set off immediately.”
Even if Ghislaine hadn’t taken the lead, Marquis Branford would still have no choice but to summon him.
Ghislaine was a specialist in dealing with the cracks and had command over the strongest army in the kingdom.
Furthermore, because Ghislaine knew more than anyone and had prepared far more than others, the Penris Territory and the Ruthania Kingdom had mitigated damage to an incomparable degree compared to other kingdoms.
Thus, Ghislaine was the only one who could become the keystone of the allied forces.
And more importantly,
“I am the specialist in negotiation.”
Ghislaine had no intention of missing out on such an important gathering.
