The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 691

Episode 691 I’ll take care of everything. (3)

At the same time that Baron Nodhill was capturing and imprisoning the messenger, Giselle quickly relayed the news to Rio.

As soon as Rio heard the news, he quickly organized an army and moved to the Nordhill territory.

He’s not stupid. As soon as he heard the context, he could predict what was going to happen.

As soon as Count Swipel is defeated, Count Crest will begin clearing the area.

It was obvious then that the first target would be himself, because he had the gold mine.

Of course, it was certain that the Nordhill Estate, an ally next to Lacus, would not leave it alone.

It’s better to join forces and fight now than to suffer then.

“Hurry up, hurry up!”

Although Leo personally led the army and moved, he had no intention of commanding it. He had no military talent at all.

That’s why I planned to delegate full authority to Giselle as soon as I got there.

“Ugh… … You guys definitely have to win.”

He prayed the whole way. All he could do now was leave everything to Giselle and pray that he would win.

Andrew was overjoyed when Leo arrived with his army.

“Thank you so much! It gives me peace of mind that the Lord himself came!”

“Ah, no, I… … I… … I’ll just leave it to you.”

“Hahahaha! I decided to just leave it all to you.”

The cheerful Andrew and the timid Rio had completely different personalities. However, they both had a deep trust in the Yulien Mercenary Group.

It was agreed that the armies of both sides would be commanded entirely by the Yulien Mercenaries.

The vassals also knew the strength of the Yulien mercenary group, so no one opposed them. They also knew that opposing them would be useless.

Rio asked cautiously.

“Hey… Where is Brother Jisel?”

When working externally, Jisel uses Astion’s name. However, everyone within the mercenary group calls him Jisel, so at first Rio didn’t know which was correct.

So when he asked, he said that his real name was Jiselle and his public name was Astion. I don’t know why he lives such a complicated life, but Rio just accepted it.

Even aside from that part, Jiselle was a very strange older brother.

Andrew chuckled at Leo’s question.

“I went to Count Swipel.”

“Count Swipel?”

“There is a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I went to tell Count Swipel to join the battle immediately.”

“Oh, I see. That certainly makes sense.”

The County of Swipel is also connected to the County of Crest. Even if we take a slight detour, we should be able to arrive in time as long as the cavalry comes.

As Andrew said, by the time Rio arrived at the Nordhill Estate, Giselle was meeting with Count Swipel and negotiating.

“So, you’re preparing to fight Earl Crest? So you’ve locked up the messenger now?”

Count Swipel greeted Giselle with an arrogant attitude. Despite the unfavorable situation, his eyes looked down on Giselle.

In fact, if this situation had not been the case, he would not have even talked to a lowly mercenary. He was such an authoritative nobleman.

Of course, Giselle didn’t care what others thought of her. She was the type of person who prioritized getting what she needed.

“Yes, I intend to decline the Count Crest’s offer again. So I think it would be best for you to join us now.”

“Hmm… … But you want to receive three times the amount that the Iron Lions received?”

“Yes. I think that’s a fair price. Weren’t you going to hire us anyway?”

Count Swipel laughed. The mercenary’s words before his eyes were truly absurd.

“I heard you turned down Count Crest’s offer. That’s why we were trying to hire you. But aren’t things different now?”

“What do you think has changed in the situation?”

“Even if we don’t hire you, you have to fight Earl Crest. Isn’t that why you imprisoned the messenger? Then why should I pay you to hire me?”

“Are you saying you won’t hire me?”

“That’s right. Shouldn’t you be giving me money and asking for my help? Even if Baron Nordhill and Baron Lax join forces, they’re at a disadvantage.”

At those words, Jiselle snickered. She was already considering the benefits as the situation showed signs of changing slightly.

Count Swipel wasn’t as bad as Count Crest, but he wasn’t a good guy either.

He was only slightly better than Earl of Crest, Earl of Swipel was also just one of the greedy nobles living in this era.

Jiselle explained the situation to him in a more friendly manner, as he was unable to grasp the situation.

“If you don’t join forces with us, the situation will be worse for you, Count.”

“That’s why I’m telling you. If we have to fight together anyway, then there’s no need for me to give you money.”

“We might change our minds.”

“What?”

“We’ll be better off if we just side with Earl Crest.”

“This guy… … is threatening me now?”

“No threat. I was just giving you one of the many options we have.”

Count Swipel glared at Giselle as if he was going to kill her.

I was already feeling uneasy because of the Earl of Crest. And now a lowly mercenary is trying to take advantage of the situation and extort a lot of money!

I had definitely been meaning to hire them until recently, but when they actually decided to fight Count Crest first, I didn’t want to give them up.

Of course, even if I had hired him normally, I had no intention of giving him the full amount of money I had promised.

‘I was going to pay the deposit first and then ignore it after the war ended… … .’

Anyway, if you defeat Earl Crest, you will be the strongest in this area. So, even if you frame him and kill him, no one will be able to find fault with him.

‘Idiot. If he had just stayed still, he would have been saved.’

Count Swipel decided to take advantage of the opportunity to eliminate the Yulien mercenary group after this war ended. After all, defeating Count Crest was the priority.

“Okay, you have a point. I’ll sign the contract for that amount. But there’s a condition.”

“What are the conditions?”

“I’ll just give you the deposit first. Don’t you know how the war will go? Our forces are inferior, so we could lose. I’d rather use that money to gather more troops right away.”

At first glance, it sounded right. But Giselle had already figured out what kind of person Count Swipel was.

He was definitely a guy who would wipe his mouth clean once the war was over. No, not only that, he was a guy who would take away what was given to him.

But Jiselle nodded with an indifferent expression.

“Okay, I’ll just take the deposit and proceed. But please make sure to give me the rest of the money once the work is done.”

“Huh, how can you say such things to me? Don’t worry, I’ll give it to you properly.”

The contract was finalized like that. After that, the two entered into a strategy meeting.

Count Swipel spoke, pointing at the map.

“We can’t go through Crest County now. If we do, they’ll turn their troops right towards us. But if we go around, we can’t send all our troops.”

“How many cavalry can you employ?”

“Even if we gather as many words as possible, there is a limit of a thousand. Can we fight with that?”

“It’s possible. Please send those one thousand people first.”

Count Swipel asked with narrowed eyes.

“If you lose, I will send a thousand cavalrymen. Are you really sure about that?”

“That’s enough. Just arrive on time.”

“That’s no problem. Then what should we do with the rest of the troops?”

“You can’t arrive before the fighting starts anyway. Instead, when Earl Crest moves his army, you should occupy the county accordingly.”

“Hmm… … .”

“Even if we lose, Earl Crest will also suffer great damage, so there is no loss for you, Count. If we take over the key strongholds of the Earldom of Crest and cut off their supply lines, the rest of the war will be favorable for you.”

Count Swipel smiled strangely. It was the same room where he had held meetings with his staff.

If what is currently known about the Yulien Mercenaries is true, they could cause considerable damage to Count Crest.

The aides advised that they should use the gap to implement the strategy that was most advantageous to them. But the other party was saying the same thing.

For a mere mercenary, don’t you know quite a bit of strategy?

‘Well, since you’re a wizard, you must be smart.’

Count Swipel asked slyly.

“Why don’t you stop being mercenaries and come to our territory? We will give the Yulien Mercenary Corps the best treatment.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I don’t plan on doing that for the time being.”

“Yeah, that’s too bad.”

Count Swipel looked truly sorry. He had to kill such talented people.

After a more detailed discussion, Giselle went back.

In fact, he was confident that he would win even without the reinforcements of Count Swipel. However, he still suggested that they fight together now because that way, they could at least reduce the casualties on their own side.

Anyway, Count Swipel’s intentions were already obvious, so there was no problem at all.

To be exact, it would be correct to say that such trickery is not even on the table.

* * *

Shortly after releasing the messenger, news arrived that Earl Crest had moved his army.

Everyone had a firm resolve, with an expression that said they were going to come. Preparations for war were already complete.

Jiselle said, pointing to a spot on the map.

“We fight here.”

The Nordhill Estate has many plains that are good for raising livestock. This means that there are many good places to rotate.

The place that Jiselle pointed to was a wide plain. Andrew asked with a worried expression.

“Do you plan on confronting him directly without asking for mercy?”

“Do you think those guys are worth Mercury? I’ll meet them and destroy them.”

Everyone kept their mouths shut at Giselle’s confident words. In this war, they had no choice but to trust and follow Giselle.

All command of the Nordhill and Rax armies was under the control of the Yulien Mercenary Corps. Even the Swipel Army.

The Yulien mercenary group led the army to the designated location. The news was also delivered to Count Crest by the scouts.

He was so dumbfounded that he ended up laughing.

“Those guys who are not even capable of fighting Mercury are coming out to fight? With just that number of troops?”

I’ve heard the news that the cavalry of the Lax and Swipel armies have joined the Nordhill army. However, even including them, the opposing force will not exceed 4,000.

In fact, the numbers reported by the reconnaissance team were not much different from expectations.

In comparison, the Crest Army had 12,000 men. They were all brought in to reduce the damage.

“Count Swipel will attack from the rear. It doesn’t matter. We can quickly sweep them away and turn our troops around.”

It was obvious what the other party was thinking. But if they pushed forward with overwhelming numbers, such trivial tricks would not work.

“Leave the siege weapons behind. Let the supply team in the rear take care of them. Let’s move quickly.”

If you were going to make a turn, there was no need to bring siege weapons. It was better to go quickly and finish the job.

Soon the two armies met on a wide plain.

The Earl of Crest spoke to the wizard.

“There’s a rumor that the magician in the Yulien Mercenary Corps is a 5th circle. 5th circle magic is dangerous, so be sure to block the magic.”

“All right.”

The exclusive wizard of the Crest Army was also a 5th circle wizard. In addition, there are several 4th circle wizards and several 3rd circle wizards.

Even though the Yulian Mercenary Corps has a 5th circle magician, there can’t be many magicians in the allied forces. With this much, the few opposing magicians can be completely blocked.

It was a very good situation because there was no need for a siege. The size difference was so great that the Crest Army could trample all the opposing forces just by charging forward.

Count Crest raised his hand and stretched it forward.

“Advance the entire army. Show overwhelming power.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Crest Army began to move slowly. Seeing this, the Nordhill Army, the Lax Army, the Swipel Army, and the mercenaries all became tense and gripped their weapons tightly.

And Giselle stood alone, far ahead of them, looking at them.

“Looking at it this way, there really are a lot.”

It didn’t mean that there were an absolute number of them. It just meant that there were more of them compared to this side. To him, who had fought against armies of hundreds of thousands of people, a force of just over ten thousand would not seem like a lot.

However, it was also true that their numbers were much smaller. If we confronted them head-on, we would inevitably suffer considerable damage.

After all, the army that was brought just now was not an elite force like Fenris.

It was Jiselle who stepped forward alone to reduce the damage.

There were dozens of huge wooden boxes around him.

Jiselle was the first to lift the pole and use magic.

Fish food… … .

The magical power was rearranged and then scattered in vain. It meant that the opponent was definitely attempting to block the magic.

“Hmm. Magic really isn’t the best at times like this.”

There’s no way around it. Area-of-effect magic has tremendous power on the battlefield. That’s why the opponent does their best to block it.

Jiselle quickly gave up on using magic. She could win a magic duel, but she never felt the need to do so.

Because he had another way of attacking things.

Gooooooo… … .

The magical power that Jiselle released began to spread out in all directions. It was a technique he often used on the battlefield.

This was not a spell. It was a pure manifestation of power, like those used by knights.

So the wizards couldn’t dispel it.

Rattling! Rattling! Rattling!

Dozens of wooden boxes surrounding Jiselle began to open on their own.

Inside were a huge number of weapons. They were weapons that Andrew had collected from all over the territory.

They had collected so many knives that they even had kitchen knives that were used in ordinary homes.

The number is as many as several thousand.

Jiselle smiled and released more magical threads.

“You probably thought they were going to hit us with overwhelming force?”

The opponent was mistaken. He could create an army of thousands by himself.

The weapons that had been filling the wooden box rose into the air one by one. They were lined up in a long line, like an army lined up in formation.

The advancing Crest Army stopped for a moment at the sight of such an enormous sight.

Jiselle spread her arms and released a blast of magical power at full strength.

“I’ll show you what true overwhelming power is.”

Ddddddddd… … .

Thousands of weapons infused with magical power began to tremble, as if they were struggling to leap forward at any moment.

Soon, Jiselle stretched out her hand and smiled coolly.

“I am the ‘one-man army’.”

With that declaration.

Paaaaaaaang!

All weapons fired forward simultaneously.