Chapter 447
Chapter 447: I Am the Expert of Negotiation. (4)
If we can wipe out Duke Delphine’s faction along with the Salvation Society, Ghislaine and the Northern Army will be free to assist other kingdoms.
The envoys understood this argument.
‘So that’s why you called us here.’
‘There’s some truth to it. If the Ruthania Kingdom falls, everyone will be greatly shaken.’
‘We must ensure continued support from this side. To do that, we need to win this civil war.’
Though I desperately wanted to oppose, we’ve already received a lot. If I disagree, the incoming support will surely be cut off too.
The envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell, after making his calculations, spoke with difficulty.
“We will support an army of ten thousand. In return, please resolve the civil war as quickly as possible and assist us.”
Ghislaine wasn’t wrong. We definitely needed to sort out at least one side.
Once he agreed, the envoys from other kingdoms also chimed in.
“We will support ten thousand as well.”
“We’ll start with five thousand. We’ll check back home and see if we can send more.”
“We will support eight thousand.”
The envoys expressed the number of troops they could negotiate within their authority.
Ghislaine smiled contentedly. It would be even better if they could recruit the superhumans, but it was clear they wouldn’t be offered up just yet.
Even in his previous life, superhumans, including the Seven Great Powers of the continent, only gathered when things got seriously dire.
Thus, Ghislaine ended up receiving significant military support as he wanted. Even rough calculations brought the total to about two hundred thousand. The power of the alliance was indeed tremendous. Combining the Northern Army and the Penris Army made it close to three hundred thousand troops.
‘Great, this should be a big help.’
If it were just the duke’s faction, it would be one thing, but the High Priests of the Salvation Society are formidable opponents. To contend with them, we needed overwhelming military strength.
As discussions regarding the support concluded and a contract was about to be drafted, the heavy atmosphere lightened somewhat.
Nobles from the Crown Prince faction, who were preparing for a confrontation with the duke’s faction, were particularly pleased.
Troops being sent from each kingdom! Confidence surged that they could sweep away Duke Delphine in no time.
Feeling elated, Maurice brightly smiled and pointed at Ghislaine.
“He’s my nephew, nephew.”
“Haha, is that really the case? He’s quite a fortune for the House of Marquis.”
“Truly handsome; his looks are extraordinary.”
“I’ve heard he’s a master. Impressive for one so young.”
The envoys poured out sycophantic praises. The Supreme Commander of the Ruthania Kingdom’s army was a powerful figure who couldn’t be dismissed.
Ghislaine merely remained silent.
Anyway, the envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell, believing everything was settled, spoke with a smile.
“By the way, I heard you have the Penris Mercenary Group? Aren’t you taking too many mercenaries, Count? Quite a few have already crossed over to our kingdom.”
“That’s right. Many mercenaries from our kingdom have moved over too.”
“We need some as well, but the mercenaries are running thin. Could you hold back on taking them?”
They all pretended to be in distress, but there was a kernel of truth in their words.
Thanks to the benefits provided by the Penris Mercenary Group, mercenaries continued to flock to the Ruthania Kingdom. It was beyond the point of being a mere joke.
Ghislaine nodded and said, “Hmm, so mercenaries coming over to our side is a problem for you.”
To which one envoy replied with a hint of agreement, “Exactly. Isn’t this when mercenaries are most needed? Yet, it’s troubling with them abandoning their homeland. We might require some reasonable regulations in the name of our alliance…”
Ghislaine, reclining comfortably in his chair, opened his mouth.
“Why complicate things? Just hire our mercenary group.”
“Huh? Hire… them?”
Ghislaine cast meaningful glances around at everyone.
“The way to keep the mercenaries from coming over to your side is simple.”
“What is it?”
“We will establish branches of the Penris Mercenary Group in each kingdom.”
“Branches…?”
“Yes. Have everyone join and operate under the Penris Mercenary Group. Isn’t it simple?”
“……”
To put it plainly, this meant he intended to consume all the mercenaries across the continent.
Everyone thought the same thing.
‘What? Is this guy insane?’
While everyone blinked in confusion, the Crown Prince’s nobles from Ruthania were different.
They nodded in agreement, thinking, ‘This guy is starting again.’
He clearly wasn’t one to let opportunities slip away.
The envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell, flustered, spoke up again.
“I-I must not understand well. Are you saying you want to gather all mercenaries from every kingdom?”
“You need the mercenaries, but they keep coming to our side, which is the problem, right?”
‘So you’re telling me to not take them all away!’
Feeling it was a matter of miscommunication, I slowly explained again.
“We also need to hire mercenaries. Not just for combat, but we need significant personnel for transport and disaster relief as well.”
“So, use our mercenaries then.”
‘Why can’t this guy understand?’
“Didn’t we finish our agreement on military support? Now you want me to hire mercenaries separately?”
“Did you ever see a mercenary fight without getting paid?”
“……”
The envoys gritted their teeth inwardly. Who didn’t know that? But that wasn’t the situation at hand. This guy seemed to think the state and his private mercenary group were separate matters.
It was frustrating, yet it was also hard to object. Breaking the agreement here would be problematic. The one in greater need right now was certainly themselves.
The envoys who first encountered Ghislaine gritted their teeth.
‘Ugh… This guy sure knows how to leverage the situation.’
‘What’s happening now?’
‘Do we have to go along with this?’
When asked to stop mercenaries from crossing over, he was now proposing to make all kingdom mercenaries his own.
I had never encountered someone whose greed was this vast.
The envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell wiped his sweat and laughed.
“Hahaha… Are you thinking of becoming the king of mercenaries or something?”
Ghislaine’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s actually a great idea.”
‘This guy does not seem right… Is it okay to sign an agreement with someone like him?’
Marquis Branford, feeling a bit embarrassed, cleared his throat and said, “Ahem, we will need military support as soon as the civil war ends. Do we have to go this far?”
“Mercenaries don’t move unless they’re paid. We can’t just let them flock to the Ruthania Kingdom like this, can we?”
“That’s true, but…”
“So it’s better to establish branches and manage them properly. Since we are forming an alliance, it’s best for someone to manage the mercenaries. Under the current circumstances… it would be most beneficial to incorporate them all into the Penris Mercenary Group. Legally restricting mercenary activities to only the Penris Mercenary Group during war would also be good.”
As Ghislaine grinned, the envoys from each kingdom were left speechless.
It was nonsensical yet made a certain type of sense. To overcome the current predicament, consolidating military power was indeed the right approach.
But what would happen if all the continent’s mercenaries came under the control of one person?
The envoys shuddered at the thought. If that were to happen, he would essentially be like a king.
‘Is this allowed?’
‘This guy is dangerous. A crazy person is risking us, huh?’
Mercenaries do far more than one might think. While most see them as merely fighters, they are often more involved in escorting, transporting, and construction-type tasks related to daily life.
Without mercenaries, the economic base of the kingdom would be shattered. Nobles couldn’t take on such menial tasks after all.
If these mercenaries belonged to a vast organization? The words of their leader could profoundly influence the kingdom.
As everyone struggled to find their words, Ghislaine laughed as if it were no big deal.
“Why are you so worried? You all know mercenaries are a bit of trouble, don’t you? Do you really think such a huge organization could maintain itself after the war?”
“Umm….”
“It’s simply that we have a clear enemy right now. Once the war is over, everyone will be scrambling to fulfill their own desires and withdrawing from various places. Isn’t it enough to just stick together until then?”
There was some logic in that. Such a large organization wouldn’t survive easily after the war ended.
Especially concerning costs. Right now, many mercenaries had to be hired by each kingdom, so it was manageable, but post-war, handling ongoing expenses solely on regular requests would be challenging.
“Then… let’s do it this way for now.”
The envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell, a strong-willed one, spoke up, and everyone nodded in agreement.
For now, they had received quite a bit of food and medicine from the Ruthania Kingdom, and they needed to stop the exodus of mercenaries.
By integrating them all into Penris, they wouldn’t need to uproot themselves. They would continue to operate in the same areas they were familiar with.
If they wanted to leave, Penris would coordinate that.
When everyone agreed, Ghislaine smiled and said, “We will deploy the Penris Mercenary Group to various places. Spread the word and encourage them to join the Penris branch. With legal regulations, it will settle quickly.”
“Understood.”
Things that were never part of the original plan began to pile up. The envoys were now bound by the leash of support and, feeling unaccustomed to this urge, could only roll with the punches.
“Now, since the alliance has formed, we should select a representative, right?”
At this, the envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell spoke up in a panic.
“Uh, as we suggested… If it doesn’t sit well, we can discuss it more…”
“With time of the essence, when would we have to negotiate that?”
“As important as it is, there are procedures to follow…”
“If we waste time over such details, our response will be delayed. For now, let’s make Marquis Branford the temporary leader.”
‘What the hell! Can’t you compromise just a bit?’
The envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell’s face turned red, but he had no choice but to swallow his anger.
“Umm….”
Other envoys fell into contemplation again. Marquis Branford only watched in amusement at Ghislaine’s antics.
“Wouldn’t it be better to quickly extinguish this urgent fire and later decide by vote?”
Ghislaine pressed firmly. In his last life, he found this aspect more exhausting than combat. Everyone tried to reach a political consensus, causing all actions to slow down.
This time, it couldn’t go that way. He needed to take everything he could get.
Under Ghislaine’s pressure, the envoys finally raised their hands in surrender.
Especially the envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell, who bided his time.
“Understood. Given that the alliance organization has not been properly set yet, let’s have Marquis Branford temporarily take charge. Once things settle down, we’ll vote again.”
“Let’s do that.”
As countless matters fizzled out like quickfire, the Ruthania nobles were left dumbfounded.
Noble discussions don’t usually progress this way. They typically go around things a bit more elegantly and find conditions everyone desires.
But Ghislaine was straightforward. He showed determination that he would overturn everything if not acquiesced.
However, these nobles were no fools. They understood well what immense benefits this brought to them, so they kept their mouths shut as if pretending not to notice.
‘Ah, my nephew indeed. I should prepare a fine roast duck for him.’
‘If we utilize this opportunity wisely, we might be able to stand as the rulers of the continent.’
‘I really did well listening to my wife and pushing harder.’
As everyone rejoiced, Marquis Branford looked at Ghislaine and asked.
“Don’t you have any thoughts on it?”
Everyone gasped in surprise. How could they consider leaving the significant position of alliance leader to Ghislaine?
Especially the expressions of the envoys reflected this sentiment.
‘That guy seems utterly crazy; he’s not fit for this!’
Fortunately, Ghislaine expressed his refusal.
“Not yet; we still need the Marquis’s renown and power.”
Marquis Branford chuckled. He was very open about the fact that Ghislaine would exploit him.
If Ghislaine were to take on the chair, there would certainly be much chatter from other kingdoms. No matter how renown he gained, he wouldn’t stand with as much authority as Branford.
“Fine, I understand. Just let me know when you need me.”
“Thank you.”
After an unsettling conversation passed between them, the envoys began to exchange glances. They felt increasingly like things were slipping out of their control.
However, it was hard to contest anything due to the substantial amounts of food and medicine they had received. It was clear they were being maneuvered into a corner.
‘Damn, is this the reason they fed us first? I really feel like I’ve been leashed.’
‘I’m going to get scolded back home.’
‘For now, there’s no method to challenge this. We need to keep receiving food and medicine. We also have to secure troops to block the rift.’
The envoy from the Kingdom of Grimwell, feeling uneasy, said, “Then we can draft the specifics through a meeting with the working-level staff…”
“Ah, but that will take time. When would the staff gather to make the content, and then when would it be reported for approval? That alone would take days.”
“Huh? But we need to create a system.”
“Of course, we do. Which is why I have something to show you. Hey, let them in.”
As Ghislaine spoke to the knight beside him, the door soon opened, and several individuals entered.
The one at the front greeted them with a bright smile.
“Hello. I am Chief Officer Claude of the Territory of Penris. Next to me are the administrators of Penris. We have prepared everything to build a truly ‘familial’ alliance.”
“Mm?”
As the prattling figure entered, the envoys showed puzzled expressions.
