Chapter 82
Chapter 82: I Will Negotiate and Return. (1)
“Creak…”
Viktor let out his last scream.
His eyes, wide with disbelief, lost the light of life, and the body that had been twitching intermittently finally ceased its movement.
Thud.
Ghislaine, who was bracing himself with his sword deep inside Viktor, collapsed to the ground the moment he was sure Viktor was dead.
“Huff—!”
After taking a deep breath for a while, he slowly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.
The flames had receded due to the battle’s aftermath, but the area was still filled with intense heat.
“Ugh, this is tough.”
His body wouldn’t cooperate, forcing him to sit back down again.
He tried to draw up mana, but its flow was erratic and barely there.
“Great, just what I needed.”
Dirus Ent’s inner armor had dried up and torn away, failing to block the heat properly.
Ghislaine tossed aside all his armor and forced the remaining mana to shield himself from the heat as much as possible.
At this state, wearing armor would only make him heavier and hotter.
He got up again, stumbling as he walked.
But no matter how he looked around, the area was engulfed in flames.
“I need to get through that fire.”
Flames flicked like a serpent’s tongue, lunging at him as if they wanted to swallow him whole.
With every step, it felt like his whole body was being sliced by a thousand knives.
Had he lost so much blood that he was getting dizzy?
Thud.
His legs trembled, and he sat down again.
“Ugh, this is maddening.”
His body was completely wrecked.
If he could somehow get past this fire, it would all be over, but he couldn’t think of a sharp solution.
“At this point, someone should have come to rescue me.”
It was most troublesome when moving alone in such situations.
In his previous life, he had subordinates who took care of the aftermath, but now he had no one.
He still had mercenaries with him, but… those guys were struggling just to keep up with him, let alone manage any aftermath.
If anything, if Belinda were here, she might have come rushing, but right now, she was busy looking after the wizards he had entrusted.
“Looks like I have no choice. I’ll have to taste the flames.”
His dwindling mana struggled to keep the heat at bay.
Using mana would allow him to move, but it wouldn’t stop the heat from distorting his skin.
“Geez, I wanted to look somewhat decent in this life.”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue and grumbled.
During his days as the Mercenary King, he had way too many scars on his face.
He was quite pleased to have a clean face after returning to the past… but it wasn’t worth trading his life for.
“Let’s go.”
Ghislaine stood up and directed his mana towards his muscles.
As soon as he did, the intense heat filled with hot magic surged inside him.
He needed to get outside before he burned to death.
Just as he was suppressing his anxiousness and preparing to take a step forward—
“Your Highness!”
Boom!
Gillian appeared, cutting through the flames with a terrifying expression.
“Are you alright!”
‘Ah, I did have someone as capable as my past subordinates.’
Ghislaine smiled warmly at him.
“I’m fine for now. You arrived at a good time.”
“Did you fight that guy?”
Gillian glanced at Viktor’s corpse as he asked.
“He was the enemy leader. I pushed myself a bit too hard to catch him.”
“Let’s get out of here quickly.”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”
Whoosh!
Gillian quickly tucked Ghislaine under his arm and dashed through the flames.
The scorching heat enveloped his body, but Ghislaine used his mana to block it.
The two of them sped out of the fiery hell in an instant. Cool air rushed in and began to soothe the heat.
“Phew!”
As he met the fresh air, Ghislaine finally released a heavy breath. It felt like the scorched chest was being cleansed.
Gillian carefully set him down and supported him.
Ghislaine looked around, taking in his surroundings.
The area was filled with the corpses of enemies.
“Looks like they’ve all been dealt with.”
The waiting mercenaries approached, surprised to see Ghislaine.
“Captain? Why on earth were you going to die alone?”
“We managed to have a good time over here. Hahaha!”
After sharing a laugh with the chuckling mercenaries, Ghislaine turned to Gillian.
“Where’s Count Digald?”
“He ran away early. He was surprisingly quick on the uptake.”
“Right. He must be fleeing for his life.”
“While the soldiers fled, most of them were captured and killed.”
“Good. If we want to spread rumors, letting a few escape wouldn’t be a bad idea. We need to wrap things up before long.”
Just then, a cluster of soldiers on horseback appeared in the distance.
“Your Young Master!”
“Ghislaine!”
“Grand Duke!”
Belinda, Zvalter, and Randolf were hurrying toward him, leading the soldiers.
They had been pacing anxiously, knowing Ghislaine had jumped into the flames, and had come around to the castle to meet him.
“Here you are at last.”
Ghislaine welcomed the approaching figures warmly.
Though he scolded them for being late, there was no sincerity in it.
After all, without protective gear, they wouldn’t have been able to endure the fire, so ordinary soldiers could only go around at a distance.
If they had arrived sooner, it might have turned into a hassle.
If the enemy had seen the soldiers emerging from the castle, they undoubtedly would have fled immediately.
Belinda jumped off her horse and approached Ghislaine, carefully inspecting him.
“Your Young Master! Are you okay? Just look at your burnt face! Why would you go in there! I’m going mad, I swear!”
Faced with her rapid-fire scolding, Ghislaine raised his hands in urgency.
“No, I’m fine. Really, I’m just a little overheated.”
Belinda pouted and supported him.
“Ghislaine, are you alright?”
“Grand Duke!”
Zvalter and Randolf hastily ran over.
“I’m fine. Thank you all for your hard work.”
As Ghislaine smiled, Zvalter let out a sigh of relief.
He had been wondering why Ghislaine jumped into the flames…
Looking at the armor worn by the mercenaries nearby, something seemed to be stuck all over it.
Though he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, it appeared to have blocked the fire to some extent.
‘So, they were already prepared.’
He was curious how they had set up such powerful traps, but that could wait until after dealing with the aftermath of the war.
Right now, it was a moment to rejoice in their victory.
Zvalter mumbled with an emotional expression.
“We really did win.”
Despite facing a desperate situation with no support requests being accepted and supplies being absent,
Perdium ultimately emerged victorious.
Zvalter looked at his son.
“You’ve done it.”
Suddenly, Ghislaine appeared in a new light.
Cutting the enemy’s supply lines, breaking down the siege towers, thwarting ambushes, and ultimately using traps to completely annihilate the enemy.
People who treated human lives as expendable, employing any means necessary for their objectives.
Those who did not fear war and surrendered to the cruel madness of it lived on.
Ghislaine radiated a similar aura to them.
Actions that were hard to comprehend, and a progression that transcended common sense.
He was so different from the son Zvalter had known up until now. It felt uncomfortable and unsettling.
Yet it was precisely Ghislaine who had protected Perdium.
‘What a scoundrel he was…’
No, in fact, he was still a scoundrel, running amok even now.
He didn’t seem to demonstrate a grain of nobility.
But this scoundrel was bold and capable.
Who would dare label Ghislaine as garbage now?
His son was a savior and a hero of this place.
Hiding his trembling hands, Zvalter slowly embraced Ghislaine.
“Good work. Really great work. It’s all thanks to you.”
“Father…”
Ghislaine smiled at his typically reserved father, showing such intense emotion.
Unable to hold back the rising exhilaration from deep within, Randolf raised his sword high, shouting with a booming voice.
“We won! Victory for Perdium!”
“Whoaahhh!”
“It’s victory! We did it!”
The soldiers following them raised their weapons high, exclaiming with joyous expressions.
The mercenaries too raised their voices in unison.
“We did it! We killed them all!”
Ghislaine bit his lip and looked around at everyone.
They were all happy they had survived and were cheering for their victory.
Indeed, he had fought to protect them.
It had been arduous and exhausting. He hadn’t even had time to rest, only dedicating it to training.
There had been many times when he just wanted to take a break.
But if enduring all that meant these people could smile now, he felt like he could endure all the hardships in the world.
Flames gradually began to weaken. The glow of the flames was visibly dying down.
Watching the dwindling flames, Zvalter smiled happily.
“Let’s hurry back to the castle. As soon as everything is sorted out, we will hold a victory feast.”
Everyone was still cheering joyously for their victory.
Zvalter couldn’t hide his smiles either.
Except for Ghislaine, who shook his head and coldly retorted.
“We need to formally receive Count Digald’s surrender immediately.”
“Right, tomorrow, Randolf and I…”
“That would be too late. I will immediately go with the mercenaries.”
“Is there a need to rush? The war is over already.”
“No, the more time we give, the more they will think. We must strike quickly and extract reparations under favorable conditions. If by chance, he seeks refuge with another lord, the follow-up processing will become even more troublesome.”
“Did you think of all that!”
Zvalter exclaimed in surprise.
There was nothing wrong with his son’s words.
If Count Digald were to recover from the war’s aftermath on his own or receive support from somewhere, he might be reluctant to agree to reparations.
In that case, the negotiations would drag on, and they must cut him off beforehand.
If he intended to evade, capturing that territory would be a waste of effort.
Ultimately, the justification lay with Count Digald, so if he escaped to another territory, it would only complicate matters.
‘What a judgment akin to a seasoned general who has experienced everything.’
Zvalter himself was too thrilled by the miraculous victory to think that far ahead, but Ghislaine was already planning their next move.
Admiring his son’s cold and swift judgment, Zvalter calmed his excitement.
“Right, you’re correct. In that case, Randolf and I will…”
“Not at all. You both need to calm the territory residents and focus on quick recovery. Though we won, we conscripted too many soldiers and resources. The territory’s economy must be in shambles.”
“Y-You’re right. They must all be suffering.”
“Give them a definite promise of compensation and reassure them. I will provide runestones to ensure we don’t run short on cash.”
“Oh, really? You’ll hand over runestones?”
Ghislaine spoke fluently as if he had been prepared all along.
Zvalter’s eyes lit up, captivated by one single word.
His son, who typically acted like a miser, would generously offer runestones!
He had no idea that the amount of runestones he was talking about matched Perdium’s entire budget for decades’ worth.
Ghislaine spoke firmly.
“Then I will bring back the terms of surrender and reparations right away. You can coordinate the details afterward, Father.”
“Y-Yes. I will do so.”
Feeling an inexplicable vigor from his son, Zvalter nodded in agreement.
After the war, calming the territory residents and recovering the territory was the top priority.
The very reason they had initiated the territorial conflict was an excuse to avenge the heir, so it would inevitably take time to negotiate reparations.
With so many things to attend to, Ghislaine could be entrusted with the first stage of handling the reparations.
They only needed to secure the declaration of surrender and the basic terms of reparations.
Zvalter organized his thoughts and asked again.
“You seem unwell, are you really alright?”
“I can still manage to move.”
That was a lie. He wanted to collapse and sleep right away.
But Ghislaine had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
“Your Young Master! Just leave it to the Knight Commander!”
“Indeed, I will go and catch him.”
Belinda and Gillian protested, but Ghislaine shook his head.
“No, I’m going.”
Perhaps that peculiar recovery ability had kicked in; after a brief rest, he felt able to move just a bit more.
“Everyone, get on the horses!”
Ghislaine and the mercenaries mounted the horses provided by the Perdium army.
“The Forest of Monsters’ guards should follow as well.”
“What?”
Skoban and Ricardo’s eyes widened as Ghislaine spoke to Zvalter.
“I’ll leave monitoring troops behind to ensure Count Digald doesn’t try anything funny during negotiations.”
“Hmm, do that. I will send follow-up troops as soon as the territory is settled.”
The hesitant guards all mounted their horses now that the lord had permitted it.
Before Ghislaine set out, Zvalter cautiously spoke.
“Though we fought due to misunderstandings, Count Digald is also a noble who pledged loyalty to the royal family and has been our long-time ally. Treat him with courtesy now that he has left the battlefield.”
Zvalter was a man who respected law, customs, and honor.
Though he was sending his scoundrel son away, he couldn’t help but worry he might commit rudeness.
“Understood. Don’t you worry.”
Ghislaine smiled slightly, bowed his head, and raised his hand.
“Now, let’s gallop to Count Digald’s domain!”
Thud thud thud thud!
Ghislaine led the mercenaries and the guards, galloping forward with vigor.
Now it was time to ‘properly’ conclude this war.
