Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless flames, ice, and lightning rained down where Ghislain had been. Even the Delphine soldiers charging toward him were struck directly by the magic.
"Aaaagh!"
"Help me!"
"It's magic! Run!"
The soldiers had no idea where the magic was cast from. In the chaos of the sudden ambush, they couldn't distinguish whether it was cast by their allies or the enemy.
The magic's effects were clear. Every soldier clinging to Ghislain was either torn apart or obliterated, and the same fate befell those charging in.
Even though the mages had used the smallest possible area of effect, the destruction was immense.
It was so overwhelming that even the Fenris Mobile Army, in the midst of slaughtering the Delphine Army, hesitated for a moment.
Flash!
Through the roaring flames and smoke, a black shadow leapt out, shouting, "Don't stop!"
"Woaaaahhh!"
The Fenris Mobile Army let out a loud war cry and resumed their assault.
As expected of their lord. Even after such a devastating attack, he was unharmed. They felt guilty for hesitating, even for a moment.
In stark contrast to the Fenris Army's cheers, the Delphine mages murmured pale-faced, "Wh-what kind of monster is this..."
The mages had poured all their mana into the attack. Even a superhuman should have been reduced to rags under such a barrage.
But Ghislain, shrouded in black energy, advanced as if unscathed.
With no soldiers left to surround him, he closed in even faster.
"S-Stop him! Kill him somehow!"
At Count Fogren's order, the mages gathered what little mana they had left, scraping every last bit to the limit.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Pillars of fire erupted from the ground. The earth crumbled. Lightning rained down incessantly from the sky, and ice encased the surroundings.
Ghislain gripped Black King's reins tightly.
He dodged what he could and endured what he couldn't, drawing upon his energy to withstand the attacks.
Neighhh!
Black King, enduring alongside Ghislain, let out a furious neigh, becoming even more frenzied.
Although the black energy protected them, it was impossible not to take any damage. Yet, exuding primal ferocity, they pressed forward. The horse was truly a reflection of its master.
Crack!
Ghislain clenched his teeth. The combined attacks of dozens of mages were indeed formidable.
Hidden behind the black energy, blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. The amplification from Dark pushed his body to the brink of collapse under crushing pressure.
Still, Ghislain grinned and pressed on.
He could fight using hit-and-run tactics, but what the enemy needed right now was overwhelming terror.
Flash!
From the hellish storm of mana, Ghislain and Black King burst forth.
The expressions of those who saw him twisted into sheer terror.
The wildly flickering black energy around him seemed to mock them with laughter.
The red glow emanating from his eyes looked like the flames of a demon.
A black demon.
There was no other way to describe him.
"K-Kill him."
Count Fogren continued to repeat the same words, but a question lingered in his mind.
How?
How could they possibly kill him?
Even a superhuman should have died under such an onslaught. At the very least, he should have been gravely injured and exhausted.
Standing there so boldly was unthinkable. It defied common sense.
Everyone shared Count Fogren's sentiment. Despite the order, no one could move.
Even elite soldiers trained in harsh conditions couldn't suppress the primal fear welling up within them.
And then, Ghislain moved.
Boom!
"Aaaagh!"
He broke through the soldiers guarding Count Fogren first.
The soldiers in his path didn't even have the courage to thrust their spears; they were simply cut down where they stood.
"S-Stop him!"
The knights protecting Count Fogren swung their swords.
Though engulfed in fear, they acted as knights should. They poured their blue mana into their blades and struck at the black demon before them.
But their strikes lacked conviction, more a desperate struggle born of fear than a true counterattack.
The skills honed over years of training vanished, leaving their attacks no better than the wild swings of common thugs.
Boom!
"Argh!"
The knights fell helplessly, unable to demonstrate their full abilities.
Boom! Boom!
Each swing of Ghislain's spear swept away his enemies like leaves in the wind.
Who could call these the kingdom's finest elite soldiers? They stood no better than straw dummies, offering no resistance.
The mages, having exhausted their mana, stood frozen in place. With terror in their eyes, they simply watched Ghislain approach.
Weaker-willed than the knights, the mages had already given up.
This was exactly what Ghislain had intended. The numerous mages were now effectively neutralized by one man.
"K-Kill him... hurry..."
Overwhelmed by the incomprehensible power, Count Fogren couldn't even think of running. He merely stood there, watching his soldiers fall one by one.
Neighhh!
"Out of my way!"
Ghislain's thunderous roar made everyone instinctively retreat. Their fighting spirit had completely collapsed.
Dudududu!
Black King charged through the path carved into the Delphine Army. Count Fogren could only watch in a daze as Ghislain approached.
Slash!
Ghislain's spear swung lightly, passed through Count Fogren.
Thud!
The lifeless body fell from the horse.
No one nearby made a move, silence reigning over the area.
It was a stark contrast to the chaos of the soldiers still screaming and fighting on the outskirts.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Ghislain leisurely turned his horse around and approached, raising Count Fogren's severed head on the tip of his spear.
It was time to declare victory.
Just as he was about to shout, Ghislain hesitated.
"What was this guy's name again?"
In his haste to arrive, he hadn't received proper information. The face looked vaguely familiar, as if he'd seen it briefly in his past life, but the name escaped him.
Ghislain turned to a trembling soldier holding a weapon nearby and asked, "Hey."
"Y-Yes?"
"Who was your commander?"
"Co-Count Fogren, sir."
"Ah, right. Now I remember."
Ghislain grinned and shouted loudly, "Count Fogren is dead!"
His mana-infused voice spread across the battlefield. The Fenris Mobile Army echoed the declaration.
"Count Fogren is dead!"
"Drop your weapons and surrender!"
"Surrender, and you'll be spared!"
The Delphine soldiers, reeling from the relentless assault, instinctively raised their heads. Hearing that their commander was dead, they sought confirmation.
All eyes turned to where the command post had been.
Soldiers had already dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves.
On the battlefield, a single catalyst was enough to shift the tide. Already demoralized by the massacre, the Delphine soldiers followed suit, throwing down their weapons.
Even the mages dropped to the ground. Being pragmatic individuals, they had no qualms about surrendering.
A few knights fought valiantly to the end, but they all perished at the hands of the Fenris Mobile Army.
A knight who had been guarding Count Fogren asked hesitantly, "If we... surrender, what will you do with us?"
Ghislain replied with a matter-of-fact expression, "You'll all be reintegrated into the kingdom's forces. You'll fight the Duchy again, but isn't that better than dying here?"
"Th-That's absurd!"
The Duchy wasn't just the enemy of the Lutania Kingdom but a sworn foe of the entire continent. Because of their ties to the Salvation Church, even the four major religious orders had joined the war.
Anyone associated with the Duchy was branded as a heretic. To preserve their authority, the churches would seek to kill every last one of them.
Thus, the knights and soldiers of the Delphine Army had no choice but to fight to the death, believing they would never be forgiven.
But Ghislain answered nonchalantly, "If I say it's going to happen, it will."
"..."
"Reducing the Duchy's forces while increasing ours—it's a win. We just need to kill the higher-ups."
"..."
It was a truly audacious statement. It implied he intended to ignore any opposition from other nobles and the church.
Ghislain, who had dispersed the black energy, chuckled softly and spoke.
"What are you waiting for? If you're going to resist, do it quickly. If you're going to surrender, then do it properly."
The knight, with weary eyes, glanced around.
Those who had resisted fiercely were already dead. Most of the soldiers had discarded their weapons and were lying flat on the ground.
It was a complete defeat. He couldn't have imagined such a battle being possible.
The knight looked at Ghislain and said, "Remarkable. To think you'd arrive here so quickly and ambush us."
"My specialty is pursuit, ambush, and annihilation."
There was no arguing with that. His reputation matched his abilities perfectly.
The knight lowered his sword and knelt.
If the Duchy hadn't been entangled with the Salvation Church, he would have fought to the end for them.
But the Duchy had already lost its legitimacy, having joined forces with the heretics and slaughtered countless innocents.
After learning that the Salvation Church was the main culprit behind the Rift incident, the knights had already been overwhelmed with doubt. Lacking a cause to be loyal to, they quickly crumbled under Ghislain's offer of surrender.
Having completely subdued his opponents, Ghislain looked around.
"Quite a few survived. That's excellent."
Nearly 20,000 prisoners had been taken.
The lightning-quick assault had resulted in far more survivors than expected.
These prisoners would now join the kingdom's army and fight against the Duchy.
Ghislain smiled in satisfaction.
In truth, his body wasn't in good condition due to overexertion. He couldn't even count how many times he had swallowed the blood rising in his throat.
But he had to endure. He had to show that this much was nothing.
Only then would everyone fear him.
Ghislain raised his spear high and shouted.
"Once again, we are victorious!"
"Woaaaaahhh!"
The Fenris Mobile Army raised their weapons and cheered.
Though they were utterly exhausted from their forced march, this declaration washed away all their fatigue.
These soldiers had followed Ghislain since the mobile army was first formed. Their pride was no longer just a matter of morale.
The word "defeat" simply didn't exist under the flag of Fenris.
Thus, they possessed an iron will, unshaken by anything.
They believed they were an invincible army.
***
The fortress that Maurice's kingdom forces had been defeated and retreated from was now filled with an eerie atmosphere.
Caw! Caw!
Near the half-collapsed fortress, corpses and crows were everywhere.
Count Fogren, having succeeded in capturing the fortress, had rested briefly before leaving it behind and continuing his advance.
In the desolate area devoid of human presence, a figure appeared, leaning on a staff.
"Heh heh heh..."
An elderly woman with a bent back and a warm smile.
It was none other than the fortune-teller that Maurice cherished and always kept by his side.
The old woman glanced around and muttered to herself.
"Maurice, you fool... Stop relying on superstition... Though I bear some responsibility... Still, thanks to your respect for me, I've lived quite comfortably."
Chuckling as if she found something amusing, she muttered again.
"A lucky one, too. That child's timely arrival saved you. That must also be your destiny..."
Tap, tap, tap.
Leaning on her staff, the old woman headed out of the fortress, her gaze turning northward.
She stopped in her tracks.
"Ghislain Perdium. Truly extraordinary. Truly remarkable. To turn the Lutania Kingdom into the center of conflict and lead this war wherever you desire."
She continued muttering to herself, even though there was no one to listen.
"To think you could carve out your destiny to such an extent. In a thousand years, no one has equaled you. Even 'we' didn't foresee this."
Indeed, Ghislain was like a storm. The Salvation Church, which had long prepared and amassed its power, was now being swept away helplessly.
A once-insignificant heir of a poor margrave family had now become a figure no one could challenge.
"This, too, must be thanks to your efforts and capabilities. Your relentless drive and unyielding sense of responsibility are truly admirable."
Lost in thought again, the old woman smiled brightly.
"To think Erenes would meet you first. It means you're getting closer to the heart of this war. The newcomer will also meet you soon."
Her body began to transform into light, scattering into particles.
Amidst the spreading particles of light, a faint silhouette emerged. It was the figure of a woman with enormous wings.
Composed entirely of light, her appearance was indistinct, but the majestic energy emanating from her seemed to crush the world.
A faint voice echoed from within the light.
"Ghislain, I hope that child can aid you... 'We' can no longer..."
The woman's final words scattered into the air.
Her luminous form dissolved into the surrounding, disappearing like a fleeting vision.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]