The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 680

Episode 680: Should we move again now? (1)

Before the luggage arrived, Jiselle was reminiscing about the past two years.

“Quite a lot has happened.”

The biggest change is that Jiselle has reached the rank of 6th Circle Master.

I haven’t gotten the 7th Circle Magic Book yet. Astion’s Enlightenment is also a bit lacking, so even if I get the Magic Book, I won’t be able to master it right away.

However, it is just the stage before superhuman. At Jiselle’s level, she could display superhuman-level skills with just magic.

At first, Astion felt very wronged.

― What is this! I’m the one studying, so why are you eating it all! How did you learn magic like that!

No matter how many times I watched it, I couldn’t believe it. I had to study so hard that my head hurt just to learn one spell.

However, Giselle saw herself casting magic and immediately followed suit. No matter how difficult the magic was, there were no exceptions.

– How on earth is that possible!

Jiselle muttered indifferently whenever Astion got angry.

“Magic… … It’s not difficult. Just watch and follow along… … .”

― Aaaah! Why is the world so unfair!

Astion doesn’t know how far Giselle has come. He doesn’t know the details of how Giselle learns magic.

So I couldn’t help but always envy and be jealous of Jiselle’s talent(?). It was understandable that she felt wronged since she studied hard and gave it to others.

In fact, it was something that Jiselle would not have been able to do if she had not taken possession of Astion’s body, but Astion did not think to consider each and every one of those things.

But soon Astion changed his mind.

Jiselle said that when Astion finished his studies, he would always do some simple exercises(?).

“I wouldn’t have had a body like this even if I had been given one. It’s really not taken care of at all. You could say it’s a truly low-quality body.”

― … … Could you please stop belittling me like that after stealing someone else’s body?

“That’s because I try to solve everything with magic. Look at me now. My nose gets stuffy and runs like a snot all the time. I get out of breath even after walking a little. My shoulders, my knees, there’s no place that doesn’t hurt.”

― … … That’s just how wizards are. They always sit and study… … .

“Still, you need to move your body whenever you have time to stay healthy.”

― If you have magical powers, you can use them to be healthier than ordinary people… … .

“Tsk tsk tsk, that’s the problem. If your body is healthy, your magical power can move more actively.”

Jiselle continued to exercise without stopping, even though she was beaten like that.

At first, I started out doing light gymnastics. But as time went on, the intensity of the exercise gradually increased.

Eventually, it got to a level that humans couldn’t understand. They started wearing strange lumps of iron on their bodies and pushing themselves to their limits.

Astion shouted in horror.

― Hey, stop! Treat my body with care! Don’t treat me carelessly!

“Don’t say things that others might misunderstand. And now that it’s my body, don’t worry. Anyway, I’m a master of cultivation.”

Even though Astion was terrified and tried to stop her, Jiselle did not stop training. The more she did this, the more her body became overworked, and Astion started to go crazy.

― Aaaah! Stop it! My body is going to break!

– Please stop! You’re hurt again!

– Bone! The bone is broken!

– If you keep doing this, you’ll die! No, I’ll die!

– You! Really… … . Oh?

– Oh, oh, oh… … .

―Wow, wow… … . This is… … my body?

Astion, who used to be noisy every day, started to only express admiration at some point.

In just one year, Astion’s body had changed drastically. Anyone who saw it would see that he had transformed into a body as beautiful as a sculpture.

Astion quickly felt the change in his body’s condition.

– My nose, my nose isn’t runny! My nose isn’t blocked either!

― Even if I study all night, my body doesn’t feel that tired!

― My shoulders and neck don’t hurt anymore! My head feels clearer too!

With a body as strong as steel, I felt strong even without using magic. As my body got better, I was able to focus more on my studies.

Jiselle smiled proudly and pressed Astion even harder.

“Study harder now.”

― … … .

Thanks to her tireless physical and magical training, Jiselle has reached the level of a true human weapon.

By dividing up the roles, he became physically and mentally fit. In theory, he became a man who was almost invincible.

It’s not just Jiselle who’s gotten stronger over the past two years. Yulien and Kyle have also made great strides.

The rapid growth of the two people’s skills was thanks to Jiselle’s harsh teachings and training, but it would not have been possible without the best environment.

After asking Rio for a considerable amount of rune stones, Giselle immediately created a mana concentration circle.

This is the method he used in Fenris. He used most of his profits to buy runestones.

When Julian and Kyle saw that, they were terrified.

“Hey, this isn’t something that anyone can use? It’s something only high-ranking knights can use!”

“Why don’t you just use this money to go somewhere far away and live happily?”

It was becoming difficult to live because I had to buy rune stones. They were so expensive that no matter how much money I spent, it was hard to get a lot of them.

It was so bad that even Rio’s finances, which helped purchase the rune stone, were shaken.

Still, Jiselle pushed forward stubbornly.

“If you steal money from someone else… … No, you can get it again. For now, just focus on getting stronger.”

Julian and Kyle were moved by those words. Even though it was necessary for training, they were spending such a large sum of money on themselves!

I couldn’t understand why they did this. They always said, “If you don’t want to die, do it,” but I couldn’t figure out what they meant.

From this point on, Julian and Kyle’s mindset changed a little more.

‘We can’t let you down after doing all this for us.’

‘I can’t just waste this much money. I’m going to get stronger and live a luxurious life.’

Thanks to their burning passion, Yulien and Kyle have finally reached the level of advanced knights. If they work a little harder, they will soon reach the highest level.

If he could just get over the wall, he would be a superhuman. Since he already knew the future, Giselle wasn’t too worried.

There was only one thing that bothered Giselle.

“Deneve… is not easy at all.”

Even Jisel didn’t know how to accumulate divine power. Deneb, who had not learned the method of mana cultivation, was increasingly leaving the other two behind.

It must have been so bad that even Jiselle was forced to do good deeds. But even so, the increase in divine power was minimal.

But Deneve herself didn’t care at all that her divine power didn’t increase. Becoming stronger wasn’t important to her.

Deneb did her best in what she could, including doing good deeds and gathering children from the realm to teach them.

But as time passed, a strange situation occurred.

“Thank you very much, Deneb.”

“I heard good words today too.”

“I pray that the goddess’ blessings will always be with you.”

Deneb’s fame grew far beyond that of others.

There are many strong people in the world. There are many rich people and many people with power.

But there were few who gave as sincerely to the people as Deneb, even among priests.

While Yulien and Kyle devoted themselves to their training, Deneb helped more people.

Although Jiselle gave her permission, she also felt more comfortable and better helping people than practicing.

In the end, Deneb became the most prestigious person in the territory. Giselle couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that.

“Well… I’m sure I’ll wake up someday.”

If she were to awaken, she would become the most important person in the world. There was nothing I could do about it now, but I thought it would be okay if I protected her well until then.

Jiselle didn’t just train. She also continued her mercenary activities without stopping.

“There is no training as good as practice.”

Under such beliefs, Jiselle accepted all dangerous requests that came her way. There were even times when she moved without receiving any money when there was a bandit suppression operation in the area.

As a result, the reputation of the Yulien Mercenary Group gradually grew. All the bandits near Nodhill and Lax Territory were annihilated by them.

Jiselle killed all those who pressed on to the end, but dragged those who surrendered and locked them up in prison.

Later, the lord Andrew even asked Giselle for advice.

“There aren’t enough prison cells! There’s too much food to feed them!”

It was only natural that all sorts of criminals had been brought in. Jiselle offered a simple solution.

“Mobilize everyone for forced labor.”

“Yes? Those guys? Can you control them?”

“Yes, because I am here.”

Jiselle pointed at herself, raising her chin arrogantly.

Giselle had already become a terror in the neighborhood. The captured criminals did not even dare to attack him.

At Giselle’s insistence, the criminals were recruited for dangerous work on the estate. It was no bad thing for the lord, Andrew.

Among them, Andrew took in those who were fairly skilled or occasionally had a knight background.

In order to have Jisel do chores(?), he selected some people and forcibly recruited them as subordinates to the mercenary group.

“Wow… … It was really good that I joined the Yulien Mercenary Corps.”

Andrew exclaimed in admiration every day. Amazingly, the territory was developing as time went by.

Because public security was stabilized, the residents were able to focus on their livelihoods.

That wasn’t all that Jiselle did for the Nordhill Estate.

“Thanks to the wizard, we were able to form an alliance with the Lacus Territory. Hmm, I guess I’ll have to try forming a blood relationship with Baron Lacus soon.”

The two territories developed quickly, complementing each other’s shortcomings. With Jiselle holding the line in the middle, there was no need to worry about getting stabbed in the back of the head.

Everything is done with the trust in Jiselle. As a result, Jiselle naturally becomes the real power in the two territories.

In this way, Jiselle and her group had a truly fulfilling two years. However, it wasn’t all good things.

“There are more and more people targeting us.”

As the fame of the Yulien Mercenary Group grew, other mercenary groups in the area began to have less and less work to do.

Even if that were the case for the Nordhill Estate, the Yulian Mercenaries swept away all the work in the neighboring estates.

Jisel personally takes on dangerous tasks. He leaves all other chores to his subordinates who are of bandit origin.

Because of their high reputation, everyone from the surrounding nobles to the merchants sought out the Yulien Mercenary Group first. Even simple tasks were handled by their subordinates.

“It’s not hard to make money.”

Jiselle was very happy. It was just a small amount to him, but even small amounts can add up to a lot of money. It was easy because his subordinates earned the money on their own.

Naturally, the mercenary groups that had already established themselves were not happy with the situation. This was because if the number of requests decreased, the money they earned would decrease.

These are rough times. Mercenaries who can’t make money are no better than bandits. They are starting to suppress the Yulien Mercenaries with increasing brutality.

“You got attacked again this time?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The subordinates who were performing chores were attacked one after another, injured and killed.

Anyway, I didn’t feel too bad about the bandits since they were working to pay for their crimes.

However, the situation in which there were many people who started to trouble the mercenary group in this way was not very good.

“Well, I guess it’s time to move on to the next thing.”

I had no intention of staying in one place and just practicing.

Jiselle had a plan.

“We need to make Yulien and Deneb the center of the world. To do that, we need a powerful force.”

There aren’t many ways for a non-noble Julian to quickly rise to power.

One of the few ways is to establish a mercenary band. The leader of a powerful mercenary band will not be treated lightly even by nobles.

Because you never know when that mercenary group will side with your enemies and attack you.

So, Jiselle first planned to raise the Yulien Mercenary Group into the best and strongest mercenary group.

“The second is political power.”

Jiselle was also able to grow quickly thanks to the support of the Marquis of Branford. We also need to raise nobles who will become the backbone of the Yulien Mercenary Company.

I have already decided who I will raise. Andrew and Leo. These two will now rise to become the most powerful nobles in this kingdom.

“I will make it happen. At the very least, you should be promoted to the position of Marquis.”

And Jiselle will become the mastermind and move them as she wishes.

The two people, however, still do not know about Giselle’s plan. Like ordinary country nobles, they are content with their current life, mining gold and raising ducks.

It would take a considerable amount of time for them to gain significant power. In the meantime, acquiring real military power was Giselle’s short-term goal.

In the meantime, I sent Dark to my friends in reality to let them know.

I’m sure you were less worried after hearing the news, but Giselle was also able to ease her friends’ worries by delivering this news.

“I guess I’ll just come here to practice magic and then go back… … .”

I thought it would be nice if other people could think comfortably like me without worrying too much.

Jiselle, who was organizing her thoughts like that, was only shaken from her thoughts when one of her subordinates came in.

“Okay, shall we try moving again now?”

As we went outside, there stood Yulien, Kyle, Deneb, and about ten of their bandit subordinates, all heavily armed.

Jiselle smiled at Yulienne.

“Are you ready?”

Julian nodded.

Julian and Kyle’s faces were completely different from two years ago. Their eyes and expressions had a heavy air about them, as if they had never looked so young.

Just as a rough stone is polished into a jewel, their training and experience over the years have polished them to make them shine even brighter.

The bandits immediately bowed their heads when they saw Jisel. Having been treated so badly by Jisel, they did not dare to even look him in the eye.

‘The Bandit Crusher of Nodehill’. That was Giselle’s new nickname.

Jiselle smiled and said to everyone.

“Okay, let’s go. Let’s clean up those troublemakers.”

Now it was time to get our hands on all the mercenaries in the area.