Chapter 756

Chapter 756

Are You After That Place? (3)

Thud!

The headless body of the black mage collapsed to the ground.

He fell with his eyes wide open, not even knowing how he had died.

"...?"

The remaining black mages froze.

They couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

From within that inferno, inside that explosion where even a Transcendent would fall to their knees and cough up blood—

A man had emerged unscathed.

It wasn’t something they could have predicted, nor had they ever imagined it. It was so unreal that the shock was overwhelming.

Their minds froze, and their bodies failed to react properly.

Swoosh!

Julien’s sword once again sliced through the air.

Another black mage was decapitated before he could even close his eyes.

Crunch!

Then three more figures burst through the pillar of flame.

"Ghislain!"

Ereneth cried out desperately, reaching out her hand.

In an instant, the Water Spirit was summoned and enveloped Ghislain. The clear and cold aura protected him and swiftly began healing his wounds.

Kyle charged forward without hesitation.

"Move!"

Julien instinctively twisted his body upon hearing those words as he was about to strike again.

Clang!

Kyle’s sword swung roughly, cutting the black mage diagonally from shoulder to side.

Thud!

The black mage, sliced down to the bone, fell into two pieces.

Now, only one remained.

Julien and Kyle immediately charged at Burlag.

The two of them knew no hesitation. No matter the situation, they had been trained, drilled, and experienced to act first.

Of course, Lionel was an exception. He still hadn’t rid himself of the habit of trying to assess the situation first.

"W-what... what’s going on? What happened? Why am I still alive?"

And so, all he did was stand beside Ghislain with his shield raised and his face pale.

As Julien and Kyle closed in, Burlag deployed a shield.

Seeing the other black mages die had finally prompted him to react, albeit too late.

Boom!

Under the assault of both men, Burlag’s shield shook violently before shattering.

"Urgh!"

Burlag groaned as he staggered backward.

Though a 5th-circle black mage was certainly strong, he wasn’t capable of handling knights of the highest caliber.

He struggled even against one of them, and now, with his mana depleted, there was no way he could fend off both.

With his shield broken, he wore a look of despair. The two swords were flying toward him.

At that moment, Ghislain quietly spoke.

"Enough."

Slash!

Julien’s sword sliced through Burlag’s shoulder. Kyle’s sword severed one of Burlag’s legs.

"Aaaaaargh!"

Burlag screamed as he collapsed, having lost one arm and one leg.

Thanks to Ereneth, Ghislain, who had swiftly recovered from his urgent wounds, slowly stood up.

His face was pale and visibly exhausted, but a mischievous smile still lingered on his lips.

"Phew, I thought I was going to die from exhaustion."

Dusting off his waist, Ghislain continued speaking.

"I used up all my mana protecting you guys."

Feeling stiff, Ghislain rotated his shoulders several times to loosen his body.

Seeing this, Lionel finally shouted with his pale face.

"If anything had gone slightly wrong, we would all be dead! Why are you always so reckless!"

"But we’re not dead, are we?"

Ghislain answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

"I had everything figured out. I never do anything without a plan."

"Really? You’re saying you expected a trap of this scale and were confident you could stop it?"

"Of course. I always have a plan."

"..."

Lionel had no words to say. After all, they had all survived.

The truth was, Ghislain had taken such severe damage because he poured all his mana into shielding his companions.

Thanks to that, the three of them remained unharmed. Instead, Ghislain had to endure the overwhelming impact himself.

It was true that Ghislain had predicted the presence of a trap. Their enemies didn’t have enough power to stop a Transcendent.

Of course, he hadn’t expected them to prepare something this extreme, but he acted as if he had known all along.

That way, his companions could trust him and move with confidence.

"Now then, shall we ask a few questions?"

Ghislain, looking rather fatigued, approached Burlag.

Already incapacitated, Burlag tried to crawl away on the ground to escape.

Without saying a word, Ghislain tapped on his remaining leg.

Crunch!

"Aaaaaargh!"

Burlag screamed as his remaining leg was broken.

He twisted his whole body and struggled, but there was no way to escape.

Squatting down beside him, Ghislain asked,

"Was it you who released the monsters around here and attacked the people?"

"Y-yes! That’s right! But I was ordered... I was threatened into doing it!"

Burlag spoke, almost in tears.

"It... it was a priest of the Salvation Church who ordered it! I really had no choice!"

"Who is that priest?"

"I don’t know. He’s been supporting us with funds and supplies for some time, but... I only recently learned that he belonged to the Salvation Church. Before that, I only had suspicions."

Ghislain nodded.

It was the same answer Basilude, the black mage of Nodehill, had given him before.

So, without pressing further, he moved on to the next question.

"Why did that guy order you to stop us?"

"I don’t know that either. But... he said that if we waited here, there was a high chance that Julien’s mercenary corps would pass by... so we were told to wait."

"So, it wasn’t certain, only a prediction."

Ghislain’s expression hardened.

It was fortunate that the enemy didn’t know their exact movements, but it also meant they had predicted the general direction, so he couldn’t feel entirely at ease.

‘As expected, do they think we’re heading to meet the dwarves?’

His gaze reached into the distance. This path was the fastest and most efficient route to their destination.

How was the priest of the Salvation Church able to predict his next destination? And why were they trying to stop them?

Ghislain fell into thought for a moment.

‘The news that we captured Ismogen and handed him over to the Holy Empire must have spread by now.’

Right after that, Julien’s mercenary corps headed to the Elven Forest. And there, Ghislain had fought the high priests of the Salvation Church.

‘Munaref knew my identity.’

Given the circumstances, they might have guessed that Julien’s mercenary corps was moving on the Pope’s request to retrieve the Sacred Stones.

If so, it was only natural for them to predict that their next destination would be the dwarves’ sacred land.

‘If they’re also targeting the dwarves right now… then of course they’d want to delay my arrival.’

Both Rahmod and Munaref had witnessed his strength.

Even as a Transcendent, his power was formidable, not to mention the hundred Death Knights that possessed power beyond that.

For the Salvation Church, which had the cooperation of the black mages, this was an extremely troublesome force.

Naturally, they would want to stop Julien’s mercenary corps.

Ghislain closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

He finally felt like all the pieces were falling into place.

He lowered his head again and asked,

"Did they tell you to hold us up for a month?"

"Yes. They said all we needed to do was stall for time. Even if we couldn’t kill you, we were to do whatever it took to slow you down..."

At Burlag’s words, Ghislain nodded. His assumption had been correct.

‘They’re preparing to invade the dwarves.’

By releasing monsters and letting black mages run rampant everywhere, the kingdoms would have no choice but to focus on subjugating the immediate threats around them.

In the meantime, their entire force would be thrown at the dwarves.

‘The road ahead won’t be easy.’

In any case, they probably didn’t expect the black mages to stop them completely.

Judging by how they were told to simply keep delaying them by any means necessary, they must have known that.

So, there was no telling how many more enemies might be lying in wait ahead.

For the Salvation Church, it was a move that did both, stirring up chaos in the surrounding kingdoms and blocking the troublesome Julien mercenary corps.

Clicking his tongue, Ghislain asked Burlag again.

"Is there anything else you know?"

"There really isn’t. We rarely met anyway. We only received support or contacted each other when necessary."

"Hmm..."

"Please spare me. I’ll abandon black magic and live quietly in hiding. I was truly forced into this."

Burlag wept as if he was genuinely aggrieved.

Though he had massacred countless people for his own amusement and gathered monsters, he now acted like a victim.

Ghislain stared at him intently, intrigued, and asked,

"Why did you side with them? Even if the Salvation Church wins, they’ll eliminate you too."

"We’re... beings who don’t belong anywhere. The kingdoms are always trying to capture and kill us."

"So, you chose their side?"

"...All the black mages probably sided with the Salvation Church. Better to join the side that needs our power than be beaten from both sides, isn’t it?"

"Not entirely wrong."

"...Even if a Great War breaks out, humanity won’t be defeated easily. It’s been that way so far. And if war does erupt... at that point, we might have some room to negotiate with the kingdoms as part of the United Human Army. We are beings who can only survive in chaos."

In short, they intended to profit by siding with the Salvation Church and triggering a war.

It was a thought truly fitting of a black mage. The fact that half of humanity might die wasn’t even part of their consideration.

Ghislain let out a hollow chuckle, looking dumbfounded.

‘They’re all the same.’

Basilude had said similar things.

It was clear that all black mages shared the same mindset.

Acting for their own benefit was natural in a way.

In truth, both the Salvation Church and humanity were waging war for their own interests as well.

Ghislain had no intention of preaching to him. He was always a man who respected others’ perspectives.

But...

"Alright, I understand. But I’m not merciful enough to let an enemy live."

Ghislain smirked and raised his staff.

Seeing this, Burlag screamed in terror.

"W-wait! I’ve told you everything! Please spare me! I heard you’ve learned black magic too! We’re the same!"

"If you were willing to kill others, you should’ve been prepared to die too. And don’t lump me in with the likes of you."

Ghislain continued coldly.

"The fact that people like you are even breathing is a luxury."

"You bastard..."

Thud!

With a heavy sound, Burlag’s head was crushed.

Ghislain shook off his staff and stood up.

"You all heard that, right? It seems we’ve become targets. Reaching our destination won’t be easy."

At those words, Ereneth’s eyes sparkled.

"This kind of adventure is exactly what I was hoping for. That was amazing just now. It was so tense and thrilling."

"......"

Everyone wore a blank expression at Ereneth’s remark.

The more they saw her, the less she seemed like an elf.

Knowing the future, Ghislain chuckled quietly to himself before speaking again.

"Yeah, there will be plenty more amazing things. So, let’s get moving quickly."

Lionel asked with a slightly dumbfounded look.

"Wait, after fighting so hard, we’re moving again without any rest? You were even coughing up blood earlier. Aren’t you going to get treatment?"

"You’re worried about me? That’s surprisingly considerate. I didn’t think you were that type."

"What the hell are you talking about, you lunatic! I’m tired!"

"We can rest and heal on the move."

"Is... is that even possible?"

"It is. Right now, our priority is to force-march and reach the destination quickly. We’ll rest only when absolutely necessary based on the situation. You’re a knight, you know how important operational objectives are, right?"

"......"

Unable to argue, Lionel looked at Julien and Kyle.

The two of them simply nodded without a word.

With that reaction, Lionel had nothing more to say. He only lowered his head and muttered to himself.

"Lunatics, seriously... We’re not even an army, talking about operational objectives and forced marches. Why are we moving like a military unit... Where the hell did he learn this stuff?"

Lionel found Ghislain’s behavior truly annoying.

Though Ghislain usually acted rough and carefree like a typical mercenary, at times he led people like a military commander.

He couldn’t even imagine that Ghislain had fought countless wars to the point of being called a war fanatic and the God of War.

Of course, Ghislain valued rest too.

But when to rest, only he knew that.

The fact that he was pressing on without rest meant he was still capable of moving.

"Let’s move the people over here too. There might still be wandering monsters nearby."

Though time was urgent, Ghislain decided to take the people along.

It would be dangerous to leave them to move on their own.

Fortunately, with Ghislain’s magic and Ereneth’s spirits, they could speed up the people's movement for a short while.

Thus, the group started moving quickly again.

* * *

Deep in the mountains, shrouded in thick mist.

Amidst grotesquely twisted old trees, a long-abandoned cave opened its mouth, untouched by human hands.

Inside the cave, damp moss and crumbling bone fragments covered the ground.

Deeper inside, figures in black robes were gathered.

The rock walls were messily engraved with blood-red symbols, and black blood pooled over the large magic circle drawn on the floor.

The black-robed figures silently stared down at the magic circle.

Soon, a sinister voice echoed from deeper within.

"...Are the preparations complete?"

One of the black mages bowed his head nervously.

"Ah, it’s still a bit lacking."

"......"

A suffocating tension filled the air for a moment before the voice spoke again.

"...It’s taking too long."

"The... the dwarves' fortress is strong. We need more preparation."

"......"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, black energy filled the entire cave.

The energy slowly but surely seeped into the black mages' bodies.

"Ugh!"

"Keugh!"

"Please spare us!"

The black mages screamed in agony.

Even though they had reached the level of 5th-circle mages, they couldn’t properly resist the black energy. That was how overwhelming its power was.

The black mages trembled and howled as if their brains were being pierced and their hearts squeezed.

Plop.

The agony suddenly ceased.

The black energy withdrew from them and, as if sensing something, stretched cautiously toward the cave entrance.

The owner of the voice spoke again.

"...Who is it?"

Step, step, step.

Footsteps approached confidently, without a hint of hesitation.

Soon, the intruder revealed himself.

Upon seeing him, the owner of the voice faintly gasped.

In a tone of surprise and confusion, the voice asked quietly,

"...Apostle Rahmod. Why have you come here? Shouldn’t you be in charge of the Elven Forest?"

Rahmod answered with a grave expression.

"I failed."

"...You?"

"Yes, because of Julien’s mercenary corps."

The owner of the voice was left speechless for a long moment.

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