Chapter 602
Chapter 602: That’s Enough Catching. (1)
Numerous support supplies, weapons, and wizards arrived promptly from each kingdom contacted.
Other issues were manageable, but truly, the biggest problem was securing wizards of the 6th Circle or higher.
Ghislaine received continuous, difficult reports.
“Everyone seems reluctant to send out their wizards.”
“…..”
It was frustrating, but he could understand the others’ perspectives.
With the war over, facing a dragon out of the blue felt almost unreal.
Moreover, even though they were part of the same allied forces, the Kingdom of Turian was still a foreign land. They wouldn’t be keen on exhausting their own forces to intercept a monster wave there.
Even if a dragon really did appear, they would likely think the combined forces gathered were enough to stop it.
Ghislaine frowned and rubbed his temples tiredly.
“Even during the war, we were quite accommodating… and this is how it ends up?”
Wizards above the 6th Circle were major powerhouses. When they joined the allied forces, each kingdom had hoarded their superhumans and mages under the pretext of needing to defend their own territory.
To gather a thousand, they’d need to scrape together even the mages they had been saving. Naturally, that was risky, so they were trying to find ways to negotiate it down.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t comprehend their reasoning, but there was a limit to how lenient one could be.
Seeing the difficulty in gathering wizards, Ghislaine resorted to threats.
“If we don’t gather enough wizards, I’ll abandon the Kingdom of Turian.”
Everyone was momentarily shocked. If a dragon truly appeared, the kingdom’s destruction was a foregone conclusion.
No, with their current strength, they likely couldn’t even properly fend off a monster wave, given the continuous strain on their kingdom’s finances and military might due to the war.
Marquis Gideon shouted in panic.
“What do you mean by that! We’ve all fought together until now, and you’re saying we should give up here!”
To him, it was like a bolt from the blue. He had participated in the long expedition to protect the Kingdom of Turian. To be abandoned like this…
Whether a large-scale monster wave would truly occur or a dragon would manifest was uncertain, but they couldn’t dismiss the slight possibility from the kingdom’s perspective.
Ghislaine replied with a bored expression.
“Isn’t everyone refusing to cooperate properly?”
One noble coughed awkwardly, trying to explain.
“Um, not that, it’s just… we need to coordinate with the Mage Tower… Internal discussions are taking longer than expected…”
In truth, they hadn’t been stalling on purpose. Those in Sardina Kingdom had no choice but to focus more on the interests of their own allied forces.
However, since the nobles within the kingdom weren’t cooperating actively, they too had limited options.
Another noble sighed, adding,
“I’m somewhat skeptical about the dragon’s appearance, to be honest.”
“We’re still just discussing it within our kingdom.”
“It feels like they’re just holding us in check.”
At that remark, everyone nodded in agreement.
They were leading a formidable army as commanders of the allied forces.
Having achieved victory in the war, they had risen to a threatening position within their kingdoms. The local nobles were keeping them in check.
Ghislaine nodded.
“Of course, you all are working hard. But if we don’t gather properly during this preparation period, I might have no choice but to abandon the Kingdom of Turian.”
“Well, monster waves aside… What if a real dragon shows up…?”
“We can’t help it. We’ll just leave it be, whether it perishes or not.”
“Ugh…”
Everyone’s expressions darkened. It was hard to believe they’d abandon the Kingdom of Turian, with which they had fought side by side.
Once the Salvation Society fell and the war ended, everyone started to quietly pull back. They aimed to minimize their losses.
They had already divided up the spoils; now, focusing on internal consolidation seemed more prudent.
The talk of a dragon’s appearance felt almost prophetic and hard to believe.
The dynamics of international relations had long been steeped in tradition, but the commanders participating here felt somewhat embarrassed.
Ghislaine looked around the room and continued speaking.
“Instead, if the Kingdom of Turian perishes and falls to another kingdom, I won’t care.”
“…..”
“No, I’ll personally draw them toward the most uncooperative kingdom.”
“Wha…? What do you mean…?”
“You mean you’ll lure the dragon?”
The high command of the allied forces was thrown into confusion. Even so, to say they would lure a dragon was quite something.
Claude, standing beside Ghislaine, closed his eyes and nodded.
‘Here comes his temper again. He always feels better once he gets his way.’
Claude clicked his tongue, but for Ghislaine, it was only natural. Having already dealt with significant matters, there was no room for hesitation.
Ghislaine confidently addressed the bewildered nobles.
“Yes, I will continue to lure.”
“…….”
“How long? Until a thousand wizards of the 6th Circle or higher are assembled.”
“…….”
“And the kingdom that is destroyed by the dragon, the remaining allied forces will divide up again. Sounds good? The rewards will be greater than now.”
Everyone swallowed dryly, staring at Ghislaine.
‘Is he insane? Oh, he’s definitely insane.’
‘His methods are too extreme!’
‘This is bad! He could really follow through with that!’
Everyone knew he was extreme, but this time it felt different. It seemed like he would destroy everything if it didn’t go his way.
Ghislaine looked at Claude and commanded.
“Claude, contact the capital immediately and tell them to have all troops on standby. If we don’t gather as much as we want, we’ll keep luring them to another kingdom and ultimately hunt the dragon near the Ruthania Kingdom. We should prepare for a withdrawal as well.”
“Yes!”
Claude cheered and immediately went outside.
Ghislaine turned coldly to the stunned nobles.
“Let’s all die together. But I won’t die. I’ll take this opportunity to seize the continent.”
At Ghislaine’s declaration, everyone snapped back to attention and shouted.
“Wait a second!”
“I’ll do my best to pressure the capital! Even if I have to start a rebellion!”
“Just wait a moment! You know we feel the same way, right?”
The nobles had no choice but to panic. This guy didn’t just talk; he acted on it.
Having worked together, they had seen just how proactive Duke Penris was.
Seeing the flustered nobles, Ghislaine clicked his tongue.
“So, let’s move a bit faster, shall we? Huh? You know I’m a bit impatient.”
“That’s true.”
“We’ve been too complacent.”
“The capital just doesn’t realize how serious this is. This time, we’ll give them a serious warning. Hehehe.”
They all broke into cold sweats, laughing. They genuinely felt like they wanted to abandon the allied forces because it was so pathetic and dirty.
But Duke Penris had always led the charge. Honestly, he was the one who had saved them.
Thus, despite their dissatisfaction, they had no choice but to follow.
Considering the nobility customs, if they kept bickering and being greedy, it was obvious they’d all be doomed.
Ghislaine’s close associates stifled their laughter at the scene.
‘Ah, this feels refreshing.’
‘It was frustrating when we were on the receiving end, but it’s nice to see it like this.’
‘For sure, when it doesn’t work, gotta force it.’
They knew all too well how maddeningly frustrating the nobles could be when handling affairs. That’s why Ghislaine had always broken through and pushed on.
Perhaps now they had grown accustomed to it, but Ghislaine’s method felt more efficient.
His threats had galvanized the high command of the allied forces back into action.
They needed to firmly warn the nobles back in the capital.
Moving to his office, Ghislaine leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Phew, they really don’t understand how serious this matter is.”
It couldn’t be helped. He was the only one who had faced Arterion.
As always, there was no time to persuade or coordinate with the people. They had to prepare as quickly as possible.
Whether his threats worked or not, the kingdoms began to move a bit faster while still cursing him.
Ghislaine had already become notorious across the continent. Everyone knew he wouldn’t play along with the nobles’ customs and would act decisively.
Each kingdom began recruiting wizards from the Mage Tower as an exception. The wails of forcibly recruited wizards echoed across the continent.
Wizards of the 6th Circle could live wherever they pleased in elegance. Those accustomed to such treatment could hardly endure the current forced situation.
Soon enough, new problems arose.
Ghislaine pressed his forehead upon receiving the latest reports.
“The wizards from the Mage Tower are fleeing.”
“They asked for freedom or death.”
“The rumor is that if they get dragged into this fight, they will die.”
Even the nobles they had trusted began to crumble under Ghislaine’s threats, and suddenly, fleeing wizards became prevalent. Wizards feared participating in the battle against dragons.
Dragons truly stood as the pinnacle of magic.
“Tsk… I didn’t expect this problem would arise.”
Ghislaine chuckled after receiving the report. This was a completely different situation than his previous life.
In his past life, no matter where they ran, destruction was imminent. Therefore, if they didn’t want to die, they had to band together.
But now, it was different.
Ghislaine had dealt with the plague, resolved the rift, brought down the Salvation Society, and ended the war across the continent.
So now, wizards were escaping with thoughts like ‘I’m just one person.’
Being forced to fight within their kingdom was one thing; being dragged off to fight in a foreign land was an entirely different matter.
Indeed, it was typical behavior for the self-centered wizards.
This time, even the high command of the allied forces looked chagrined.
“We’re keeping an eye on them as closely as we can, but quite a few have already escaped.”
“I honestly didn’t see this coming. This is exceedingly shameful.”
“Those fools didn’t participate in this war either…”
Most of the wizards dragged into the allied forces were either royal or territorial. They didn’t have to worry since they had already joined.
The problem lay with the wizards from the Mage Tower.
To gather a thousand wizards of the 6th Circle or above, the wizards from the Mage Tower had to lead. If the Mage Tower didn’t involve itself in the war like Ruthania, they would have no choice but to request cooperation.
With the main wizards from that Mage Tower fleeing continuously, it was impossible to gather a thousand.
The nobles expressed great displeasure at this situation.
“What were those guys doing during the war? They only sent a few disciples and then stayed back!”
“Honestly, they owe their survival to us, right? And yet they’re still pretending to be dignified.”
“Exactly! We saved them, and they turn out to be so ungrateful!”
Wizards had been granted authority and freedom because the Mage Tower was an essential force for the kingdom.
But to express such selfishness under circumstances like this, having their dissatisfaction explode, was expected.
Yet even while feeling this discontent, they couldn’t take any proper action. What would happen if they oppressed them, and the Mage Tower left for another kingdom?
‘Then it would be only our loss… We’d receive endless complaints.’
‘The wizards might never come back to our kingdom again.’
‘If another kingdom stealthily backs out, all the wizards will flock there.’
Wizards weren’t only needed for war. To sustain a civilized life, wizards were indispensable.
As a matter of fact, cities with Mage Towers were far more developed than others. They paid astonishing amounts in taxes.
Thus, the lord of the land with the Mage Tower had no choice but to tread carefully around them.
Wizards were always aware of their necessity, which is why they could afford to be so haughty.
The nobles looked at Ghislaine. They didn’t want to shoulder responsibility for this incident.
One noble bravely asked him.
“What should we do?”
“…..”
Ghislaine closed his eyes and lifted his head. The complex web of interests and customs made everyone hesitant to act boldly.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t understand. After all, everyone in Ruthania Kingdom had felt that way.
Then, they had no choice but to delegate the decision to him.
Bang!
Ghislaine slammed his sword onto the conference table. Looking around at the nobles, he calmly stated.
“We must capture them.”
“What?”
“We need to catch every last one of them and drag them in. Is that difficult?”
“Uh… um… but they’re wizards? Most of them are from the Mage Tower, where freedoms and rights are protected.”
“What does that matter? No matter how crucial they are to the state’s strength, if you can’t use them on time, are they really a strength? The rights of wizards emerged from their duty to defend the kingdom, didn’t they?”
“That… that’s true.”
“Does it make sense to abandon those who have enjoyed comfort and wealth to run away just to save themselves in a crisis?”
“……”
Ghislaine spoke with a cold and resolute expression.
“I hear in some kingdom, wizards said similar things when fleeing. They demanded freedom or death, right? That’s quite a statement.”
“Cough… cough…”
“Well then, I suppose we should grant their wish to die.”
“……”
“From this point on, convey this to all kingdoms.”
“What… what do you mean?”
“Capture the fleeing wizards. Those who resist should be brought back as corpses.”
“……”
“The allied forces will immediately dispatch pursuit teams to begin capturing wizards from nearby kingdoms.”
Under Ghislaine’s threat, the nobles could only break out in cold sweats, unable to speak a single word.
