The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 752

Episode 752 I learned it from you. (1)

The center of the forest of demons was still filled with a gloomy and dark aura.
The outskirts were being developed rapidly, but the center was left untouched.
This was because before Giselle collapsed, access to the center had been strictly prohibited.
A group of people were approaching the dangerous center.
An elf wearing a hood pulled down low spoke cautiously.
“Chief, it is dangerous to go any further.”
“…….”
Erenes, who was walking in front, looked at the forest filled with a terrible poison for a moment.
Giselle had led the army and cleared out the monsters here, but the remaining aura of corruption was still terrifying.
It was not easy for even the strongest to enter this place. It was an area where one had to fight the aura of corruption from the moment they entered.
Erenes spoke in a soft voice.
“Wait here for a moment.”
“Chief! It is too dangerous!”
Erenes answered with a sad smile.
“This is a place I miss.”
“Huh?”
“I will be back shortly, so wait.”
Erenes said nothing more and walked inward.
Chiiik… … .
The aura of corruption rushed towards her, but it had no effect.
Erenes did not summon spirits to purify her surroundings. She did not suppress the approaching poison.
She simply moved naturally, as if breathing, and the aura of corruption subsided every time it touched her.
Erenes quickly left the forest filled with the aura of corruption and stepped onto the blackened and wounded earth.
Then she looked at the huge black curtain spread out before her eyes.
Gaaaaah… … .
The curtain was constantly emitting an ominous aura and rippling. It was a strange flow, as if exhaling in pain.
Erenes quietly approached the curtain and stretched out her hand.
‘As expected… … .’
The curtain was tightly shut. No, it was blocking the aura emanating from within.
“……Duke Fenris. How on earth did you get in here?”
Erenes could not believe Giselle’s words. So she stopped by to check before leaving Rutania.
She was still confused. The conversation with the saint that the Duke of Fenris had told her about, the dream, everything.
“Is it really because of that necklace…?”
When the Duke of Fenris first got the saint’s necklace, she pretended not to know.
But she knew very well that he was doubting her.
“It seems my acting is still clumsy.”
Erenes closed her eyes.
Her old colleagues had always told her that she was really bad at acting.
She would get angry every time. Because she thought she was perfect.
But… … .
Yes, those days were really fun.
Just thinking about it made her smile.
The days when we fought together to save the world, laughed together, and protected each other.
Those were the most splendid times ever. It was so beautiful that it made her happy, and because of that, it was a painful memory that she wanted to forget.
Tears flowed from Erenes’ eyes.
“Duke of Fenris, I know that necklace. It was the necklace that the previous chieftain gave to the saint.”
But she didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say it, and I didn’t want to say it.
Because it was a memory that had to be forgotten, a fate that had passed.
Erenes stroked the curtain several times and then quietly turned around.
‘The adversary’s power is growing stronger.’
Her own power was getting closer to its prime. And that also meant that the adversary’s power was also reviving.
After the Duke of Fenris fell, her strength was returning at an accelerated rate.
That strange coincidence… … continued to make her heart ache.
But she soon pulled herself together.
‘Duke of Fenris, it doesn’t matter what happened to you now.’
It was the past that had already passed. Even if the Duke of Fenris found out, nothing would change.
Erenes spat out coldly.
“Find the adversary, kill him, and eliminate all the remnants of the Salvation Church.”
That was the only way to make the sacrifices made by everyone a thousand years ago… … meaningful.
Thud.
Erenes’ body swayed for a moment as she took a step forward.
Thump, thud… … .
Blood was running down her nose.
Erenes couldn’t understand.
“Me…?”
My nose was bleeding and I couldn’t control myself?
I felt my mind turning hazy. It was as if something was tangled in my head.
“Cough!”
Suddenly, Erenes, crushed by the immense pressure, vomited blood.
“This is….”
In an instant, Erenes felt
something huge, something beyond time, interfering with his mind.
And… … .
This world was changing little by little.

* * *

On the way, Lionel harassed Deneve countless times.
“Please give me back my divine power!”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You took all my divine power!”
“My divine power is still the same. I really don’t know what’s going on.”
Deneve truly thought the situation at the time was a miracle. Her divine power was still barely a speck left.
Despite that, Iraniel trusted her and handed her the holy stone. She was so embarrassed by that fact that she still felt burdened and didn’t know what to do.
However, Lionel kept asking for her divine power back, which made her feel very awkward.
Lionel had quite a bit of tenacity.
“Give me back my divine power!”
“I never took it, and I don’t know how to give it to you.” As
these arguments continued every day, Giselle stepped forward.
“Look, there’s nothing you can do about it being gone, right? You can’t give your divine power to someone else.”
“I definitely felt it! My divine power being absorbed by that low-level priest!”
“Oh, I must be mistaken. How could that be?”
Jiselle asked Deneve several times. However, Deneve had no idea that something like that had happened.
However, she had one gain.
‘She saw the darkness of the Salvation Church and thought it was nothing.’
She said that a miracle had happened right after that.
So Jiselle was able to roughly infer the situation.
‘This is the first time that Deneve has properly encountered the Salvation Church’s energy.’
It seemed that she had to encounter the Salvation Church’s energy to get closer to awakening. It was understandable.
Divine power and the Salvation Church’s energy were incompatible. In particular, the saint was practically the natural enemy of the Salvation Church. She
hadn’t fully awakened yet, but she had obtained the Holy Stone. In other words, a new condition had been added.
After that, she began to anticipate what would happen if she felt the Salvation Church’s energy again and fought them.
That was all she could guess for now. The reason why Lionel’s divine power had disappeared was still unclear.
Jiselle said casually.
“Since you’ve lost your divine power anyway, why don’t you practice some mana training method? There must be a mana training method that has been passed down in your family.”
“What?”
“Let’s start training properly from the beginning. It seems like you have the basics, so if I teach you, you’ll be able to grow quickly too.”
Giselle had no intention of bullying Lionel. After all, Lionel was also a comrade of the warrior who fought the apostle in his dream. Naturally,
he had a sense of duty to raise him well.
Lionel laughed out loud at Giselle’s words.
“You’re going to teach me? For a warlock? I know you’re pretty strong, but magic and swordsmanship are different. Do you think you’d be my opponent if you fought without magic?”
Lionel sincerely thought so. He had never seen Giselle fight properly.
When he went to support the elves, the Death Knights were fighting. Giselle fought with magic, but later got beaten by a priest of the Salvation Church.
He knew that he had a lot of experience in actual combat and was pretty strong, but he couldn’t help but think that it was all just the application of magic, and that he was weak when it came to actually moving his body.
Giselle snickered at those words and said,
“Want to try it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I won’t use magic or magical power. Let’s just fight with pure physical abilities and skills.”
“Phew!”
Lionel laughed without realizing it. But the laugh was short-lived.
He soon glared at Giselle with angry eyes.
“You think I look funny because I’ve lost my divine powers and I’ve been humiliated here and there.”
“Well, not to that extent.”
“If not, you wouldn’t have despised me this much. Alright. I’ll accept the duel. What will you do if you lose?”
“What do you want?”
“Give me the holy stone right now.”
As soon as Lionel left the forest, he tried to receive the holy stone from Deneve. However, he ended up not receiving it due to Giselle’s opposition.
Deneve was also embarrassed, but in this mercenary group, no one could disobey Giselle.
That’s why Lionel was only building up anger inside.
Giselle nodded.
“Okay, I’ll give you the holy stone right away. Is there anything else you want?”
“The hierarchy of this group is a mess. I will officially take the lead. And from now on, you will unconditionally follow what I say.”
“Oh, of course I will. Then, if I win, you will unconditionally follow what I say. No, just join the mercenary group. You will be the youngest. Understood?”
“Ha, good. I don’t know if mercenaries will keep their promises, but I am a knight. I promise on my honor and in the name of the empire.”
Lionel drew his sword and raised his shield. As long as his opponent didn’t use magic, and if he didn’t even use magical power.
He was confident that he would never lose with pure physical ability and technique.
The family’s skills and mana training methods were so excellent that they were considered high-ranking even in the empire.
However, he wasn’t completely free of worries.
‘Even if I win, will that mercenary really keep his promise? I think he’ll just push through with numbers.’
There was a high probability that he wouldn’t keep his promise. Mercenaries were originally lowly people who didn’t know honor.
Nevertheless, he was going to fight.
‘I can’t forgive him. I’ll make sure
he learns his place this time.’ He had always been admired by those around him, but he felt like a fool after joining this mercenary group.
He wanted to vent his anger and take revenge for the humiliation he had suffered so far.
Giselle snickered at the sight of Lionel’s enthusiasm.
“Hey, bring me a club. And a shield.”
Soon, the mercenaries brought Giselle a suitable club and a small shield.
Lionel’s swordsmanship was good at defense using a shield. In other words, it was a swordsmanship that could block enemies in the front line or prolong a fight.
So, Giselle also raised her shield to fight him with the same swordsmanship.
Lionel’s mouth twisted at that sight.
“Arrogant….”
Shield fighting is different from sword fighting. In order to use a shield well, you need to train as much as you would with a sword.
‘I’ve lived my whole life with a shield!’
He said that he picked up a shield during the family’s selection ceremony when he was born and had his first birthday.
Against him, a magician who used a staff was showing off such arrogance. And with such a shabby and small shield.
This too was an unbearable humiliation.
“I’ll show you the topic!”
Paaaak!
Lionel dashed forward powerfully and raised his shield.
It was a strategy to first push hard and break the opponent’s balance. He mounted his shield with a determined look in his eyes.
Kaaaaang!
However, Giselle took Lionel’s attack without wavering an inch.
Then, he immediately tilted his shield slightly and gently deflected Lionel’s charge.
“Huh?”
Just as Lionel was momentarily flustered and lost his balance, Giselle’s club aimed for his head.
Kaang!
Lionel, who barely managed to defend himself with his sword, quickly took a deep breath and retreated. His expression was filled with confusion and tension.
‘Coincidence? Coincidence, right? Yes, it must be a coincidence.’
The shield technique Giselle showed was so precise and excellent. There was no way a wizard could use such high-level shield technique.
Giselle flicked her shield while looking at Lionel, who was flustered.
“I think my skill is still lacking. Did I learn it properly?”
“This guy…”
An enraged Lionel lowered his body again and raised his shield to attack. However, Giselle blocked the attack by clashing their shields once again.
Kaang!
Lionel lost his balance this time. As soon as he lost his balance, Giselle’s club flew in without fail.
Bam!
“Ugh!”
Lionel grimaced in pain after being hit in the arm. Still, like a knight who had trained for a long time, he immediately counterattacked.
Kaang!
Jiselle lightly raised her shield and blocked Lionel’s attack.
Lionel continued to attack without stopping. He realized that it would be dangerous if he stopped.
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
Jiselle blocked Lionel’s attack without wavering. His shield was as solid as a wall and no attack could easily penetrate it.
The more he thought about it, the more anxious Lionel became.
‘Huh, why? How can you use a shield so well!’
It didn’t make sense. He had never heard of such a magician. Where in the world could there be a magician who mastered shield magic!
Even so, he couldn’t help but believe it. The shield magic that Jiselle showed was almost perfect.
Lionel suddenly realized that Jiselle’s shield magic was strangely familiar.
‘What, what is that? Could that shield magic be…?’
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
The movement of the shield and the attack linked to it were similar to the way he moved. No, it was exactly the same as a mirror.
Lionel muttered without realizing it.
“Huh, how? Our family’s technology……”
That black magician was using someone else’s technology as he pleased.