Chapter 78
Chapter 78: The Day I Was Waiting For (1)
The mercenaries huddled around Ghislaine parted left and right.
Then several magic circles hidden behind them became visible.
Centered around one magic circle were six more drawn nearby.
Vanessa silently nodded and stepped onto the magic circle inscribed in the center.
Not only Vanessa but Alfoy and the mages were also drawn here.
And on each mage’s arm was a runestone bracelet etched with spells.
“What kind of magic circle is this? When was it inscribed?” Alfoy asked curiously.
Ghislaine replied with a nonchalant expression.
“Alfoy and the others, get up here.”
“No, we need to know what this is before we step up or not!”
At some point, Alfoy had started speaking informally, but Ghislaine didn’t care at all.
What mattered now wasn’t the way people spoke.
Instead of convincing the hesitating mages with words, Ghislaine decided to show them through action.
“Get them up.”
Seeing his gesture, the mercenaries forced Alfoy and the mages to stand on the magic circle, weapons pressed to their necks.
“What the hell are you trying to do?” Alfoy muttered loudly. Ghislaine ignored him and turned to Vanessa.
“Vanessa, you can do this, right?”
She swallowed hard, meeting Ghislaine’s gaze with trembling eyes.
Though she had made a resolution, her confidence was fading now that it was time to execute it.
“C-can I really do it?”
“You can. You have to succeed.”
With his firm answer, Vanessa nodded.
Determined to succeed even if it meant risking her life, she closed her eyes and gathered her mana.
Whuuuumm!
Vanessa’s body began to float upward, and mana started to pour into her.
There was no way she, who couldn’t even properly use first-circle magic, could draw mana like this.
“M-magic transfer!”
Alfoy screamed in shock. Suddenly, mana started to surge wildly out of his body.
Looking around, the other mages were also flailing their hands, bewildered.
Alfoy cried out in despair.
“You crazy bastard! Why did you let her take control?”
Magic transfer is a spell that funnels the mana of others to amplify the power of one individual.
If the central figure cannot control it properly, all participating mages risk having their magic and life force drained away.
It’s a dangerous spell that requires the central figure to have delicate control, immense willpower, and perfect understanding of spells.
“There’s no way someone who can’t even use first-circle magic will succeed!”
“Don’t worry. Trust Vanessa.”
“Trust? What are you even talking about, you lunatic!”
Alfoy and the mages yelled and tried to escape, but it was too late. They were already caught in the storm of mana.
The mages could no longer move a muscle, having all their mana drained into the magic circle.
“Ugh… no… I can’t die like this…”
As much as Alfoy and the mages struggled in pain, Vanessa was also gritting her teeth in agony.
Blood began to trickle from her nose and ears. The veins throughout her body rapidly turned a strange black color.
It was proof that her body couldn’t withstand the surging mana.
Her body trembled madly, conveying just how difficult it was for her to hold on.
“Ugh…”
Finally, a groan escaped her lips. Unable to endure the pressure of the mana, blood tears leaked from her closed eyes.
As time passed, the others began to feel the heavy aura of mana around them.
It wasn’t ferocious, but it was something that piled up and pressed down on the space.
“Ahhh…”
Vanessa could take it no longer. Her consciousness was fading.
‘This is too much. I can’t do this. What was I thinking…’
It had always been a life of failure.
She had only tasted a miracle briefly but had deluded herself into thinking she had power.
Goooouuu!
This was her limit. She couldn’t hold on any longer. It hurt too much and was too painful.
Was this what it felt like to receive all the pain she had endured in life at once?
Even her resolute determination melted away in the pain.
She just wanted to forget everything and give up.
‘…Yeah, I…’
The levitating Vanessa dropped her head.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
She could hear the sound of enemies approaching. The ground shook as a large army advanced in unison.
The Perdium soldiers began to prepare for their last stand.
Some cried, some prayed to their gods, some ignited their spirits, and others thought of their families.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries below the castle wall silently waited for Ghislaine’s orders.
His low voice shattered the silence.
“Vanessa.”
“…I…”
She seemed to not hear Ghislaine’s call, muttering to herself with her eyes still closed.
— Will I… be of help to you, Your Highness?
— Yes, you will be a tremendous help.
“Vanessa.”
— I want to help Your Highness.
Vanessa slowly raised her head with great effort.
“I…”
Every mercenary held their breath while watching her.
“Vanessa.”
— Can you do it?
Ghislaine looked at Vanessa, filled with both concern and encouragement.
Her body, which had trembled uncontrollably, suddenly stopped.
The flow of massive mana and the blood that had leaked out ceased as if it had never happened.
Then Ghislaine gritted his teeth so hard his molars threatened to crack and turned his head.
“Open the castle gate. Skoban.”
“Y-Your Highness? What are you thinking right now…?”
“Open it.”
Skoban swallowed hard.
He understood that Ghislaine was plotting something.
If they continued like this, they would inevitably lose. Their only hope was Ghislaine and the charge of the mercenaries.
‘If I’m going to die anyway… it might be better to die fighting than to die pointless on the walls.’
It might be better than dying uselessly while holding the walls.
Of course, the enemies wouldn’t be as easy as before…
But if Ghislaine could disrupt the enemy formation just once, that might allow all troops inside the castle to rush out and find a way.
Having made up his mind, Skoban slowly opened the castle gate with the soldiers.
Creeeek.
As the gate began to open, the people on the wall were horrified.
Especially Zvalter and Randolf quickly sensed Ghislaine’s intent.
Having experienced it once already, how could they not see it?
“Don’t! Ghislaine! What are you doing?”
“Have you lost your mind, Grand Duke? Stop this now!”
They had seen how exceptional Ghislaine’s mercenary troop was during their time together.
But that would only work if the enemy was of a manageable number.
Zvalter shouted again.
“That won’t work twice! How many times do I have to tell you to be cautious?”
There was no way the enemy was unprepared for a similar situation as before.
Looking at the enemy formation, the shield soldiers were firmly packed in front.
It was clear they were trying to minimize the damage by preparing for the mercenaries rushing out.
“Close the castle gate! I said close the castle gate!”
“Run away instead! You should at least escape and survive, you fool!”
Zvalter and Randolf shouted until their voices were hoarse, but Ghislaine ignored them.
Even Skoban feigned ignorance, bowing his head and disregarding the lord’s command.
“You! Are you really willing to throw away your life like this until the end?”
Zvalter trembled in anger, trying to descend the wall. But Randolf grabbed his arm and shook his head.
“It’s too late, brother.”
If the lord vacated his seat in this situation, it would be the end in that instant.
Zvalter glared at Ghislaine from a distance, took a moment to catch his breath before speaking.
“Fine. The gate is open anyway. We’ll rally together and fight.”
Without arrows or supplies for defense, there was no way to contain the incoming enemies from the walls.
If they had to fight directly, it might be better to do it all together.
The charge of Ghislaine and the mercenaries wouldn’t be an easy feat either.
“Everyone! Abandon the walls and gather around the castle gate!”
Following the lord’s orders, the Perdium soldiers began to gather one by one in front of the castle gate.
However, the space was so tight that they could only stand behind the mercenaries.
While Zvalter and Randolf and the knights moved the remaining troops on the walls, Ghislaine spoke to the mercenaries.
“Get ready. We’ll finish it before our allies gather.”
The heated mercenaries prepared to burst forth with their weapons in hand.
They were anxious but not afraid.
Just as always, they believed they could win if they followed their captain’s lead.
Kaor relaxed his mind.
‘If I die fighting, then so be it. If I survive, so be it too. Well, it wouldn’t be that I have nothing to regret… but dying in a war like this isn’t so bad. It’d be a relief.’
Belinda, who usually fussed when Ghislaine stepped forth, was quiet for once.
It didn’t matter whether to open the castle gate or keep it closed; the risk was the same.
“I’m sorry, Lord. I’ll do everything I can to save the Young Master. If possible, the Young Lady too.”
When Ghislaine tired, she planned to somehow knock him out and escape the battlefield. By any means necessary.
Gillian guessed what Belinda was thinking but silently checked his weapon.
He had heard that traps were prepared by the mages. But from the looks of Ghislaine, it seemed problems had arisen.
Though Gillian had known Ghislaine for a short time, he understood that his young lord was someone who would never flee.
He had already decided to devote the rest of his life to him. He intended to die here alongside Ghislaine.
“Rachel, if things go wrong, make sure to run with Elena.”
Meanwhile, Viktor, having confirmed the gate was open, smiled brightly.
“It’s finally time to finish this.”
As expected, the enemies were preparing for one last charge.
It seemed they were gathering all their forces toward the castle gate.
“Fools. If they rush in all at once, it’ll be easier for us.”
As Viktor raised his hand, the cavalry unit positioned themselves to flank the central troops.
They would target the side of the Perdium army.
“The cavalry unit will pursue and annihilate them the moment the enemies flee.”
A cruel smile formed on Viktor’s lips.
It was finally time to repay the debt owed.
“Everyone, move slowly in a tight formation!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The enemy formation grew tighter and more solid.
Skoban and the waiting soldiers were visibly shaken by the pressure.
Ricardo, standing beside Skoban, suddenly realized something strange.
“Why isn’t the Grand Duke riding a horse? Nor the mercenaries?”
There were no horses to be seen around Ghislaine and the mercenaries.
‘Are they charging without horses?’
Of course, they could just charge like before, but the situation now was somewhat different from then.
The horses the mercenaries rode were close to the castle gate, so they had ample time to prepare.
Ricardo hesitated about asking Ghislaine if they weren’t getting ready to mount.
There was no way a fool would forget to ride a horse.
Did Ghislaine, who was no fool himself, really forget?
He scrutinized Ghislaine closely again.
His expression seemed more like someone capturing an opportunity they had been waiting for rather than someone desperate to make a final struggle.
In that moment, Ricardo felt goosebumps all over.
Ghislaine always created tremendous outcomes with actions that exceeded common sense.
‘Right, let’s believe. He’s not the type to give up easily.’
For the first time in Perdium, someone began to trust the Grand Duke.
Ricardo’s prediction wasn’t far off.
Ghislaine narrowed his eyes, watching the incoming enemy troops outside the castle gate with a confident expression of victory.
‘You guys have endured a lot, haven’t you?’
Any normal commander would have poured in reinforcements the instant the supply was cut off.
However, Viktor had moved cautiously, meticulously targeting their weaknesses. He was indeed no easy opponent.
‘You weren’t the only one waiting for this moment.’
Holding onto his pounding chest, he too had been waiting for the right moment.
Every day, he had restrained the impulse to charge out and shatter the enemy’s heads.
To ensure every last one of them was captured and killed.
Crack.
Ghislaine was unwittingly grinding his teeth.
‘Not a single one of you will return alive.’
Ghislaine prepared as best as he could.
It wasn’t perfection. Just one mistake could lead to the ruin of their territory and the death of everyone.
Before the massive army had deliberately shown up, who could confidently assert victory?
But…….
‘I will not give up.’
Ghislaine took a deep breath.
He had prevented war upon his return. This was the first battle triggered by Elena.
Though some time had passed, the war had eventually come to be.
Even bigger than back then.
The more he tried to stop it, the bigger the danger had grown.
As if the heavens desperately wanted the fall of Perdium.
‘Perhaps this territory is tied by an inescapable fate.’
Ghislaine pushed aside his pessimistic thoughts, laughing fiercely.
‘Don’t make me laugh. There won’t be a second time.’
Clank!
As Ghislaine lowered his visor, all the mercenaries adjusted their helmets in unison.
Huff, huff, huff.
The tense breaths of the mercenaries echoed around them.
Skoban and the waiting soldiers stepped back from the unusual sense of momentum.
Only Ghislaine and the mercenaries remained, burning with fighting spirit, standing firmly in front of the castle gate.
Ghislaine slowly extended his arm to the side.
“Wait.”
Everyone’s tension peaked.
Their hearts raced as if they might burst, muscles taut, their bodies rigid.
Blood rushed to their heads and they felt dizzy. They were barely conscious of even standing.
“Not yet.”
As the mercenaries lost track of time in their extreme focus, Ghislaine turned his head and shouted.
“Vanessa!”
Vanessa opened her eyes wide as she had kept them closed.
In her eyes was a golden magic circle inscribed.
Her small lips began to murmur something.
Her wish and understanding pierced through the world, touching upon a single principle.
It called forth a power that surpassed limits and leaped over the circle.
Goooouuu!
Massive amounts of mana surged in all directions. The mana began to take shape as script, swirling around Vanessa.
The fiery magic letters quickly turned into red dots, scattering in all directions, and then melted away into the world, vanishing.
Goooouuu!
In an instant, everyone present—both enemies and allies—fell still.
The same sight appeared in their eyes.
A red barrier rising between the castle wall and the enemy, waving like a sunset.
Zvalter dropped his sword in shock. Randolf, forgetting his composure, stood with his mouth agape.
Goooouuu!
The enemy could no longer approach the Fortress of Perdium. Viktor hastily halted his horse.
Amidst the startled crowd, only one person moved.
Like a flickering red flame, his eyes shone red.
Krumble!
The ground began to tremble violently.
“I’ve been waiting for this day.”
His voice was as if lava were boiling up.
