The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 475: By This Point, Shouldn’t You Have Figured It Out? (3)

Maurice asked with an exasperated expression.

“So they’ve taken the territories and claim them as their own?”

“Yes, the Delphine Army has currently seized three abandoned territories as they advance north.”

“No way, how did they manage to take three territories in such a short time? They need troops stationed there! How many are in the Raybold Army!”

It’s not as if just saying “this is my land” would magically make it accepted. Even if the land is empty, one would expect an army to be stationed to truly claim it.

The messenger, still looking dubious, replied, “W-well… I know they’ve only deployed about a hundred soldiers and one or two administrators to the Lord’s castle, citing the need to maintain public order…”

“……”

So they sent just the bare minimum of personnel needed to establish a flimsy justification. If this were to be referred to as military forces, it would be tantamount to declaring war.

This is no different from banditry.

No, at least bandits only rob wealth and then leave; they wouldn’t arrogantly consume an entire territory without any sense of ethics.

Maurice looked at Ghislaine with a bewildered expression.

“W-what the heck is going on here?”

Amelia had clearly stated that she would handle any territories claimed by the cracks or those held by the Duke faction.

The Crown Prince faction nobles had dismissed those terms, thinking that such a scenario would be impossible.

Even if it did happen, they never believed Amelia could recover any lost territory on her own.

But now, if she is devouring so much territory, things are getting really tricky.

Maurice pressed his temples as he said, “The idea was to take back the land that they occupied, right? Not to fill the void with vacant land! Isn’t something just a bit off about this?”

The places currently held by Amelia were areas swept through by the Delphine Army. Technically, they were territories that the Crown Prince faction had failed to manage, now under the influence of the enemy.

However, the Delphine Army wasn’t formally stationed there. It was literally empty.

Their main objective was the capital, so they advanced while leaving other territories behind.

Given that, it was understandable why Maurice’s head was in a tizzy.

“Ugh, this… man, what am I supposed to do about this?”

Stuck in a mental loop, Maurice kept repeating the same phrases.

The lords whose territories had been taken would surely stir up chaos. They would be filled only with thoughts of driving the Delphine Army out and reclaiming what they had lost.

Yet, it would be awkward to tell Amelia, the one who had seized the territories, to step back.

Maurice questioned Ghislaine, who was merely smiling.

“Don’t just laugh. What should we do about this?”

“It has to be acknowledged.”

“Huh? Acknowledge this?”

“Didn’t you negotiate that? With the condition of Raybold’s intervention, no less.”

“No, that was permission to fight; it wasn’t permission to stick a flag on vacant land!”

“And yet, they did fight, didn’t they?”

“Sigh… this is driving me mad.”

What she said wasn’t wrong, but the feeling was entirely different. They didn’t properly fight; they ambushed and fled, seizing empty land instead.

As Maurice scratched his head in frustration, Ghislaine continued to chuckle as she spoke.

“I think it’d be best for you to just acknowledge it. They’re currently the only force that has inflicted damage on the Delphine Army in the eastern region.”

“Ugh… the lords aren’t going to take this lying down…”

“It can’t be helped. Ultimately, they’ve lost their territories, and it is true that Count Raybold has taken them back.”

“Still! Should we really recognize this as a theft…”

“Do as you please. For now, it must be left as is.”

Ghislaine said, her eyes gleaming, with firm conviction.

Amelia had agreed to support this action as a trade-off for halting the invasion from the barbarians. She was keeping her promise.

But it was not only because of the promise. Right now, her strategic judgment and capabilities were essential.

Ghislaine pointed to the eastern region on the map.

“Count Raybold’s territory is in the rear of the Delphine Army.”

Naturally. According to the treaty, the only places left to claim were those previously traversed by the Delphine Army. However, that location…

As Maurice looked at Ghislaine’s finger, his eyes lit up. While he might seem foolish normally, he was no fool when it came to war.

“In the rear… that means their supply line is at risk, right?”

“Yes, the Delphine Army is going to be extremely troubled now. There’s another defensive line they have to fight through in front, while the supply line behind can be cut off by Count Raybold at any moment.”

“They might have to regroup again.”

“Precisely. If Count Raybold can fight back, that is.”

Amelia wouldn’t be foolish enough to try and confront an entire army. She would abandon what she had seized and run away.

There were plenty of places to plant flags in the empty eastern area.

Ghislaine smiled as she drew several lines across the map.

“For the Delphine Army, Count Raybold is going to be like a thorn in their shoe, constantly being a nuisance. They can’t push forward because of the risk to supplies, and should they fall back, they would only waste more time.”

“That’s true.”

“Moreover, they didn’t bring any siege equipment. If they aim to besiege the capital, then they must be planning on bringing it in with the reinforcements. They need to secure their rear no matter what.”

“That’s all good, but what if Count Raybold gets captured and killed?”

“Can’t you see what’s happening now? Do you really think they’ll try to engage when they know they’re at a disadvantage? The Delphine Army will have to come up with a plan to capture Count Raybold.”

Depending on the strategy devised, the situation could change. However, Ghislaine didn’t think Amelia would be easily caught.

‘If she were that type of person, she would have been dead at my hands in her previous life.’

So, for the time being, the eastern front could be left to Amelia.

In any case, Ghislaine was indifferent to who occupied the lands in the east. If necessary, they could reclaim that territory later.

His sole focus was on the Delphine Duke faction and the Salvation Society.

Ghislaine’s words made Maurice nod his head.

“Alright then. If Count Raybold could just buy some time…”

“The Northern Army will deal with the remaining Delphine Army and then move right away.”

“Yeah, that works.”

Maurice wore a confident expression. With Ghislaine and Parniel around, the remaining Delphine Army had no chance of making it through.

Frankly, he was confident that without superhumans on their side, they wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place.

Thanks to the allied forces, they had more troops, but still, none of them had superhumans.

Ghislaine spoke to Maurice.

“However, you need to give a command to Count Raybold under the authority of the Supreme Commander.”

“What for?”

“Ensure that he threatens the supply lines of the Delphine Army. Only then will they acknowledge him. If the eastern side gets completely breached and the capital is besieged, you’ll need to threaten that you’ll have to fight against the Crown Prince faction as well.”

“Huh? Why? Wouldn’t he also want to avoid dying?”

“Because he’s unpredictable.”

Amelia desired chaos. She didn’t want one side to achieve an overwhelming victory.

That’s why, for the time being, while the southern front was being thoroughly crushed, she was helping the Crown Prince faction, but depending on how things shifted, she could change her stance.

Thus, for now, they needed to apply pressure so as to avoid any incidents.

While it would be tiring to manage, it was essential to utilize her abilities. That was Amelia’s current position.

Maurice understood Ghislaine’s instructions.

“Got it. I’ll make sure to convey that. And what about the prisoners…”

Maurice glanced at Parniel. Frankly, it seemed awkward to kill off so many, but taking them could also be troublesome.

Parniel, knowing roughly what was going on, nodded.

“I have no problem with it. Just do it on the condition that they all convert.”

At those words, Maurice’s expression brightened.

To be honest, he was most concerned about the nobles and priests’ backlash. But if he could say it was what the Saint wanted, he could slip away from the situation.

Parniel had the power and qualifications to disregard the priests of Ruthania.

‘Well, what can they do? The Saint said so.’

With his mind eased, Maurice nodded solemnly.

“Then let’s convert all the prisoners into the Moriana Sect and reorganize them.”

Ghislaine chuckled softly. He was indeed an open book. Whether that was a strength or a weakness was up for debate.

With the help of Parniel and the priests, the conversion of the prisoners began.

Since there were so many, they could only group them into a few batches haphazardly.

The prisoners themselves showed no strong opposition. After all, most of them were originally adherents of the four major sects.

It felt a little awkward being forced into the Moriana Sect, but they went along with it.

Just as the conversions of the prisoners were nearing completion, the ‘muscle-maniac’ Gordon stepped forward in front of Parniel.

The Penris knights were taken aback, and Ghislaine looked on in silence, wondering what he was doing.

“Hoo…”

Gordon let out a deep breath and suddenly began to strip off his armor, tearing off his top to display his muscles.

“W-what is that crazy guy doing?!”

Maurice shouted, pointing fingers. How dare he expose himself in such a disgraceful manner in front of the Saint!

“Grab him! Get that punk out of here! Y-you moron!”

“Bwahahaha!”

As Maurice yelled in anger, Ghislaine and the Penris knights burst into laughter.

The commanders and staff of the kingdom’s army grimaced at the sight. It’s said that the Penris Army is a mess aside from their fighting prowess, but it was becoming hard to distinguish whether they were mercenaries or part of an actual army.

Ignoring the laughter around him, Gordon flexed, striking poses to showcase his pecs, biceps, and triceps.

“Oooo…”

Parniel observed him with an intriguing expression. She even halted the soldiers who were coming to restrain Gordon as she watched.

Moriana was the goddess of war. Therefore, physical training was naturally a virtue. It didn’t strictly mean one had to build muscle, however.

Nevertheless, Parniel smiled slyly at Gordon’s provocation as she rolled up her sleeves up to her shoulders.

She flexed her arm once.

“Aah…”

Gordon immediately deflated.

He couldn’t win. Just looking at those massive shoulders and arms made it clear. There was no need to look further.

Was that what innate talent looked like? That perfect and enormous physique sculpted like a masterpiece was what Gordon had dreamed of his entire life.

Ordinary folk wouldn’t understand. Only someone like him, who lived solely for muscle growth, could truly grasp it.

No matter how well one ate or exercised, reaching that level was impossible. It was truly worthy of being called a Saint.

“……”

Everyone else fell silent as well.

Gordon was the largest among the Penris knights. His natural size was great, but he had trained himself to build even more muscle.

Even Gordon looked like an ordinary person in front of the Saint. They were simply in a different league.

Thud.

Eventually, Gordon knelt down and said, “I concede.”

“You too have done well. You’ve trained diligently.”

“Compared to your muscles, mine are just a lump of fat.”

“No. There are very few on this continent who have trained as hard as you.”

Parniel smiled with satisfaction.

It had been ages since she’d seen someone with bubble muscles like that. It indicated that he had undergone rigorous training and had a good diet consistently.

Regardless of whether those were bubble muscles, it was still a mark of faithfully executing the goddess’s intent.

So Parniel asked, “Which deity do you worship?”

“I… am currently a follower of the Juana Sect.”

In reality, Gordon had initially been a disciple of the Moriana Sect. Coming from a mercenary background, it was merely a matter of tradition.

Then, after Piote had displayed his powerful divine power a few times, Gordon switched allegiances. He had never donated a single penny, so he could have just been called a nominal follower.

After nodding a few times, Parniel said, “Would you like to convert? If you do so, I will bestow a blessing upon you right here.”

“I will!”

“Good, for this too is the guidance of the goddess.”

Parniel immediately placed her hand on Gordon’s head and began to recite a prayer.

Bright light burst forth and was absorbed by Gordon’s body. Now, even the most malevolent of energies would struggle to penetrate him.

And even more importantly, now that he was a believer with a blessing from the Saint, no one could dare harm him carelessly.

Parniel said with a radiant smile, “You are now a Paladin of the Moriana Sect.”

“I don’t know what that means, but thank you! I feel more strength in my muscles!”

“……”

Parniel simply shut her mouth.

Gordon being granted the status of Paladin shocked the priests who had come with Parniel the most.

“How could… the Saint’s blessing…”

“He just looks like a muscle-brain to me…”

“C-can someone like that really be a Paladin?”

Others were no exception, with their jaws dropped. The Saint personally granted a blessing!

It’s not something you could easily achieve, even if a king begged the Saint. Thus, it meant that throughout one’s life, it’s rare to meet someone blessed by the Saint.

Furthermore, anyone blessed by the Saint could immediately gain Paladin status without undergoing any assessment. In contrast, those with strong divine power usually had to pass through the Sect’s rigorous examination to achieve Paladin rank, making it a large privilege.

In light of that rare blessing, such an oddball received it simply by showing off his muscles.

“……”

Even Ghislaine and the Penris knights, who had been rolling on the floor with laughter, were at a loss for words. Bestowing a blessing upon someone like him? This world was certainly coming to an end.

Ghislaine shook his head in disbelief.

“Is that guy’s luck not out of this world?”

Does that fool even understand what kind of blessing he just received? If I had to guess, he probably has no clue.

After all, he’d gotten carried away and converted due to being enchanted by the Saint’s muscles.

Gordon, who couldn’t even read, was known to get swindled often.

But from the Forest of Monsters till now, he had survived, learned to read, and even written stories, managing to come across all the good things, including pieces of Dragon Heart.

All thanks to meeting Ghislaine, one could say Gordon flourished in life.

There was a bit of a ruckus, but amid it all, the reorganization continued. With the addition of prisoners, a staggering 25,000 troops had been assembled.

“Whew… thanks to our nephew, we’ve regained our fighting strength!”

Maurice smiled contentedly.

During times of defeat and being on the run, how despairing it was! Now, with the Penris Army and the Saint joining in, Maurice felt they could finally contend against the remaining Delphine Army.

Ghislaine spoke to the delighted Maurice, “We cannot afford to be complacent. Let’s rest just today and move out tomorrow.”

“Sure, it will be tough, but that’s the way it has to be.”

Dark, who they had left with the Northern Army, had now vanished, having exhausted his magic. Therefore, immediate news was unavailable.

In terms of power, the Northern Army outmatched the Delphine Army in the central region. However, their speed was bound to be slower, so whether the Northern Army could properly establish a defensive line would be crucial.

The next day, as they were preparing to leave, joyous news arrived just in time.