The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 697

Episode 697 is going to be really fun. (1)

Margrave Falkenheim appears to be a very ordinary middle-aged man at first glance. However, those who know his cruel and ruthless nature do not judge him by his appearance alone.

He smiled bitterly after receiving Count Swipel’s gift and message.

“What an interesting guy. Are you trying to borrow my strength because you can’t do it on your own?”

One of the servants spoke cautiously.

“Should I just push it all away?”

“No. I really like the skills of this Yulien mercenary group. I should take them under my command.”

“What kind of compensation would you like to give?”

“If you want a title, give me the County of Swiefel along with the title. In order to retaliate against Earl Crest, we can eliminate Earl Swiefel, Baron Nordhill, and Baron Lax.”

“What if they refuse?”

“Rejection? You’re rejecting my request?”

Margrave Falkenheim looked dumbfounded. How could the most powerful man in the kingdom refuse his will?

However, the report did say that the Earl of Crest had refused the invitation. Just in case, an order had to be issued to prepare for such a situation.

“If you refuse… … support the knights and kill them according to the will of Count Swypel. After taking over the Swypel County, I will distribute it to other vassals who have made merits.”

“All right.”

Count Swiefel tried to use his brain, but Margrave Falkenheim had no intention of forgiving him anyway.

If a vassal was harmed, he had to retaliate. It was natural for him to preserve his authority and continue to control his vast power.

It is true that the Yulien Mercenaries killed Count Crest, but fundamentally they are just mercenaries who fight for money. Even if you accept them, you have a reason to avoid blame.

But the nobles are different. Baron Nordhill, Baron Lax, and Count Swiefel had to be killed.

Of course, if you follow Count Swypel’s suggestion, Count Swypel will have a reason to spare your life. However, Margrave Falkenheim had no reason to do so.

“You are worthy of death for making such an impudent suggestion to me.”

If he really wanted to live, he should have come to him in person, given everything he had, and begged for his life. That was what the Marquis of Falkenheim thought.

And a few days later, an envoy under the command of Margrave Falkenheim secretly moved to meet the Yulien mercenary group.

* * *

As Giselle was resting alone, Astion suddenly spoke to her.

– Jiselle, do you think the future can change?

“hmm?”

Giselle hesitated for a moment at Astion’s unexpected question before speaking.

“The future can of course change.”

Many scholars have put forward various hypotheses on this matter, but Giselle had no choice but to believe it.

Isn’t Giselle the one who changed the future she had already experienced after returning?

“But why all of a sudden?”

― Let’s call it wizardly curiosity. If what you say is true, then you are currently operating in the past, right?

“huh.”

― Then you also understand that your actions now can affect the past and change the future, right?

“Um, to what extent?”

There were several customs that Giselle spread during this era. Perhaps more will emerge in the future.

But strictly speaking, it wasn’t Giselle who created it. Giselle also merely learned a custom that had been passed down from the past.

But now that the past and the future are connected, it is no longer possible to know which came first.

This was a mystery of the world that no scholar could clearly explain. It was something that even Giselle, who had reached the level of a superhuman, could not understand.

Astion reiterated that fact.

― If you influence this era too much, I don’t know how the future you originally were in will change. Is that okay?

“Yeah, I know that much. So I plan to move around moderately as well.”

Although Jiselle’s actions may seem extreme, in reality, not much has changed.

Yulien and Deneb are actually the center of the world and lead the human union. It is impossible to stop this great flow without some major intervention.

‘The only difference is whether Astion leads the two people or I lead them.’

Jiselle accepted it and did her best to act as an advisor.

Of course, there must be a reason why Deneb called her back to the past. It could be because she wanted to save Yulien and Deneb, or because she wanted to tell him the hidden truth about her adversary.

‘It could be both.’

So when her warrior friends grew up more, Jiselle planned to tell them about the future she knew.

Because maybe the outcome will be better than the future you know.

Astion, who heard Giselle’s answer, asked in a pretended cautious voice.

– Okay. Anyway, even you, who know the future, are positive that the future can change?

“Yes. I believe that the future can be changed by human will. That’s why I’m living my life carefully.”

He could only say that because he had already experienced it.

But Astion continued speaking in a voice that seemed very satisfied.

– Then that means my future can change too.

“……what?”

― I won’t live as a reclusive loner and date. I won’t live in hiding and I’ll enjoy a life of wealth and honor.

“… … Is that what you wanted to say?”

– It’s important to me!

“… … Okay. I’ll cheer you on.”

– Why are you saying it in such a tone that it doesn’t seem like it’ll work!

“That’s not it… … .”

In fact, I don’t know for sure whether Astion was really living in hiding. I can only assume so based on the circumstances.

Even if Astion had lived a normal life, it could have changed over the generations.

But that was the information that Jiselle knew. From what was known so far, the Tower of Radiance was very closed off. Didn’t Jerome live like that too?

In fact, the reason Jerome lived in hiding was because he liked to read books and laze around in his room alone, but there was no need to explain such trivial details.

Astion shouted firmly, as if denying his own future.

– When I get my body back! The first thing I’ll do is fall in love!

“Okay.”

– Don’t answer so roughly!

Astion was running wild, but Giselle really wasn’t interested at all. With so much to do, how could she possibly be interested in Astion’s love life?

But Astion grumbled for a long time in anger before finally entering.

Jisel quickly forgot about Astion’s complaints and returned to his hellish training. He sacrificed himself for everyone, even while being cursed at.

However, after about two months of training, Jiselle began to gradually reduce the intensity of her training. This was because everyone needed to recover their condition in order to properly prepare for the next task.

However, Jiselle was also worried about when exactly she would start her next work.

‘It’s taking too long.’

Count Swipel sat on the Crest Countship and still had not responded.

It’s obvious what he’s thinking. He’s probably still thinking about how to hold onto himself. But since the method isn’t working, he still hasn’t made a decision.

‘Should we wait a little longer?’

Although she could have moved ahead of the Count and pressured him, Giselle did not do so. It was advantageous for Count Swipel to touch her first in many ways.

Jiselle had the patience to wait as long as it took to get a bigger reward.

‘I guess I’ll just wait one more month before making a move.’

As they gradually lowered the intensity of their training and prepared for the next war, a messenger from Margrave Falkenheim arrived at the Yulien Mercenary Company.

Jiselle smiled as she looked at the messenger.

‘Did you choose this way?’

This was also one of the scenarios that Jiselle had anticipated. She had seen this kind of trickery many times.

The messenger delivered the Marquis’ proposal with a friendly smile. After hearing the entire message, Giselle asked.

“Hmm… … . I will forgive you for fighting the Earl of Crest, so come under the Marquis?”

“Yes. I have heard that you are very skilled. If you wish, I will give you a title and a fief.”

At those words, the executives of the Yulien Mercenary Corps gulped.

It is a title and fief granted by the most powerful person in the kingdom. If you accept it, you will enjoy a life of wealth and honor that no one would envy.

But Giselle knew that peace would not last long.

‘When the hunt is over, the hunting dogs are eaten.’

What will Margrave Falkenheim do after taking over the kingdom? He will probably start by getting rid of those with ‘no basis’ of power like himself.

The lives of other vassals are also in danger. Margrave Falkenheim is a man whose only concern is his own ambitions. Anyone who threatens the royal authority will surely be purged.

Of course, we will have to wait and see what happens. But there were issues that needed to be taken care of right now.

“Then what will become of Baron Nordhill and Baron Rask?”

“The Yulien Mercenary Group can easily get away with it since they participated in the war as mercenaries. However, those two will have to pay for what they did.”

In short, it means that he will kill them. Since Count Crest had officially fought against Nordhill and lost, Margrave Falkenheim could not forgive them.

If we leave him alive, the other vassals of the Margrave of Falkenheim will be dissatisfied.

You could try to suppress your vassals by force, but that would mean losing their trust. Margrave Falkenheim would not want that to happen.

Because Nordhill and Lax weren’t places worth the Marquis to risk such losses.

Jiselle shook her head.

“We decline. We will go with Nordhill and Lax.”

“Please think again. I will treat you really well.”

The messenger stayed for several days to persuade Giselle. He promised not only money, but also all kinds of treasures and even land, but Giselle was unwavering.

There was no way to let Nordhill and Lax be destroyed. Besides, Giselle had no intention of going under anyone in the first place.

‘Julian should be the main character of this world, but who should be under whom?’

Rather, it would have been a much better option to raise Andrew and Leo and make them the real powers of the kingdom.

If Margrave Falkenheim were a good guy, I would join hands with him, but he was also a villain among villains.

So, there was no way I could ever be with him again.

The messenger who had tried to persuade had now made his final move.

“You’ll regret it, won’t you?”

The messenger withdrew his friendly smile. His expression had turned cold.

Jiselle asked back with a smirk.

“What do you regret?”

“You will regret siding with Baron Nordhill, you will regret fighting Earl Crest, you will regret rejecting our offer… … You will regret every choice that led to this situation.”

Jiselle tilted her head. She had heard these threats so many times that it was becoming tiresome.

The only advantage was that if the opponent behaved like this, it was okay for me to throw away the manners I had been maintaining.

“If you fight me, you’ll regret it.”

“I don’t think I’ll regret fighting a mere mercenary group.”

“Well then, I’ll just make you regret being born.”

“……haha.”

The messenger laughed in disbelief at Giselle’s outrageous words. He looked at Giselle for a moment and then said.

“I don’t think we’ll have any regrets.”

The messenger let out a bitter laugh.

No matter how skilled you are, you are still a mercenary. How can a mercenary say anything about regretting something to the most powerful person in the kingdom?

‘Well… … He’s said to be incredibly strong, so if we fight him, I’m sure he’ll take a lot of damage. But that would only be possible if we fight him directly.’

If the mercenary group refuses, it has been decided to support Count Swipel first. Before Margrave Falkenheim’s forces can even move forward, all of the leaders of the Yulien mercenary group will die.

The messenger prepared to turn back at Jiselle’s firm stance. It seemed that persuading her any further would be useless.

The messenger quickly returned and reported to Margrave Falkenheim everything that had happened up to that point, without leaving anything out.

Margrave Falkenheim burst into laughter after hearing the report.

“You really are an arrogant guy. Does that mean you are confident in your skills?”

With that level of skill, you can become a knight commander in any territory. So, you can just mess around without knowing how high the sky is.

But you have to look at your opponent and tease him. Margrave Falkenheim decided to give up his foolish thoughts.

After all, it wouldn’t have been difficult to take over the kingdom even without them.

“Help Count Swipel and deal with those guys first. After that, send troops to Count Swipel and receive the official fief.”

“All right.”

“Tsk, something annoying came up before a big undertaking.”

In order to catch someone with that level of skill, we had to be prepared to take some damage. However, there was a way to reduce the damage.

“Contact the vassals and ask for their knights’ support. They should be at least of the highest rank.”

That way, we can save the power of the successor. We just need to support a few more people.

Although his opponent’s skills were excellent, he was not a superhuman. This was because there was information that he had coughed up blood and escaped during the fight.

The Marquis’ staff viewed Astion as a 6th Circle Master and a wizard with some level of close combat ability.

They concluded that the reason the Crest Army was so defeated was because they were unfamiliar with an opponent who fought in two different ways.

Even if he wasn’t a superhuman, he was still quite strong as a 6th Circle Master. You’ll have to send a lot of knights to reduce the damage.

A few days later, a quickly assembled elite force of knights moved to attack the Yulien mercenary group.