The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 838

Episode 838: I’ve Made Up My Mind (1)

The Empire’s forces were noticeably diminished compared to when they first arrived.
This was the damage sustained in crushing the last resistance of the Yulien Mercenaries.
The four superhumans were now reduced to just one,
and the knights to barely a dozen.
The Yulien Mercenaries were that strong, and they had fought with such ferocity that no one dared speak of them lightly.
But the Empire had the upper hand. Nevertheless, they had no choice but to return here before they could properly conclude the battle.
There was a reason for this, and they too had sensed the darkness that had suddenly grown larger.
And they saw it.
The battle between the newly born adversary and the dragons.
Ultimately, the saint sacrificed herself.
Pope Borisco spoke in a trembling voice.
“Look, the seal has been successfully sealed.”
He rushed over, not knowing what had happened.
If there had been a problem with the seal, he had planned to aid the dragon or mobilize the Imperial forces outside the barrier.
But with the newly emerged adversary gone and the sealing successful, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Whew… Now, all that remains is to resolve this matter.”
Everyone was anticipating the sealing of the Demonic Realm.
However, the truth couldn’t be revealed.
If it became known that the hero and the saint had been betrayed and sacrificed, there would be widespread chaos.
So, a suitable scenario had to be devised. He had already prepared an excuse, but seeing the hero’s transformation gave him a better idea.
“The hero was corrupted by the demon’s thoughts and became his adversary, but everyone here joined forces to defeat him. And thanks to the saint’s noble sacrifice, the Demonic Realm could be sealed.”
The cardinals beside him nodded at Borisko’s muttering.
The gruesome truth he had just witnessed made for a more complete story than he had originally prepared.
Moreover, because it was true, his conscience didn’t prickle him. He would have to hide the fact that he had initially threatened the saint by taking his comrades hostage.
But something still bothered him.
“Astion… Lionel… They’re still alive.”
If those two were alive, the truth couldn’t be hidden.
He hadn’t been able to properly finish off the mercenaries because he was rushing back, but he could make sure they were killed on his way back.
After all, the remaining men were severely injured and exhausted.
But those two weren’t easy.
They looked quite exhausted, but they were heroes who had won the war against the Demonic Realm. It was impossible to gauge how much strength they had left.
‘At our current strength… … .’
Because of the mercenaries’ last-ditch effort, only one superhuman remained. A few knights remained, but victory was far from certain.
Borisko, after a moment of hesitation, spoke to the knights with a dark expression.
“I’ll lead the conversation, so launch a surprise attack.”
Persuasion wouldn’t work against those two, possessed by evil. Therefore, a surprise attack was the only option.
The imperial knights nodded gravely. They
had already betrayed and killed their comrades who had fought alongside them.
The only option for those who had abandoned their honor was… …to bring this matter to a close.
Slowly, slowly.
Borisko walked towards Giselle and Lionel, who were approaching him.
His voice trembled slightly.
“Listen to me for a moment.”
“…”
Giselle and Lionel stopped walking.
Even the slightest breath made everyone tense.
Borisko, determined not to miss this opportunity, quickly poured out his words.
“The seal is now complete. I understand your feelings, but wasn’t the saint’s sacrifice absolutely necessary? It’s a shame that the warrior has been consumed by darkness…”
“…”
“You know we didn’t do this out of personal desire, right? This was for the world. So you too, put aside your personal feelings. Those who remain should diligently live out the remainder of those who have passed away.”
“…”
“There’s no need for us to fight among ourselves anymore. You can spend the rest of your lives as heroes of humanity. I will mobilize my entire empire to make that happen.”
“…”
“Let’s calm down for a moment and talk. I will compensate the Yulien Mercenary Corps sufficiently, and I will grant you everything you desire.”
“…”
“How about it? Let’s go outside and have a deeper conversation…”
Kwaaaaang!
Pww!
Giselle, who had approached in an instant, plunged her sword into Borisko’s chest.
The imperial knights flinched, but remained motionless.
Giselle had deftly stabbed Borisko without killing him.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Borisko gushed out divine power even as he coughed up blood. However, because Giselle’s sword was still lodged in his wound, it hadn’t fully healed. ”
Thump.”
Giselle placed her bloodied hand on Boriselle’s head.
“Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”
“Now, wait a minute… Cough!”
“You’re probably planning to manipulate everything that happened here and place the blame on the Yulien Mercenaries. You must have seen how Yulien changed.”
“Oh, no… We…”
“No matter what you say, it’s useless. I’ve already made up my mind.”
Giselle smiled eerily before Boriselle’s eyes.
“The empire will be destroyed. And you will be the ones who betray us at the last moment, possessed by the demon’s evil thoughts.”
“What are you talking about…”
“The previous Pope did the same, so that makes perfect sense. Now, all the high priests of the empire will be suspected of being possessed by the demon’s evil thoughts.”
Borisko’s face paled at those words. The other cardinals felt the same.
The empire’s authority had already been significantly weakened by the previous pope’s rise to power. They suspected others might be corrupted as well.
Fighting together in the Great War had largely dispelled those suspicions, but if the same suspicions arose again, the empire would truly fall into chaos.
More importantly… … they, as clergy, would suffer terrible humiliation even after death.
“You bastard! Where did you get your nonsense…”
“You were the ones who started it. Just watch the empire’s destruction in hell.”
Boom!
Borisko’s head was shattered in an instant, completely eliminating any chance of survival with divine power.
Immediately, the imperial knights charged. However, Giselle rolled on the ground, dodging the attacks, and then rushed towards the stunned cardinals.
Crack!
One cardinal’s head was completely severed.
The other cardinals immediately blocked his path, emitting divine power.
Kagagagagagagak!
Giselle gritted her teeth and sliced ​​through the shield of divine power. Blood oozed ceaselessly from his mouth.
If she were still healthy, she could have killed him in one fell swoop. But exhausted beyond measure and with her magic drained, it wasn’t easy.
“You bastard! Stop!”
The imperial knights, having already turned, swung their swords at Giselle. But Lionel blocked their path.
Kaang! Kaang! Kaaang!
Lionel protected Giselle, parrying the knights’ attacks with his sword and shield.
He couldn’t completely block them, and his body bore wounds here and there. Still, Lionel had some strength left.
He clung to Giselle’s side, never letting go. He withstood most attacks, enduring them.
Meanwhile, Giselle, with a devilish expression, decapitated the cardinals.
One by one, slowly but surely.
“Crash, croak…”
“This devil!”
“How could we…”
The cardinals, who always issued orders from behind, fell, unable to respond properly.
Even their illustrious divine powers were recklessly unleashed, barely enough to restore Giselle and Lionel a little.
However, even with a small recovery, Giselle lacked the strength to defend herself.
She simply trusted Lionel and focused all her strength on the attack.
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
By the time Lionel’s body was riddled with wounds, Giselle had finally managed to kill all the cardinals.
The imperial knights were already exhausted. As more cardinals died, their hands and feet tangled in confusion.
A knight plunged his sword into Lionel’s shoulder. Just as he was about to sever his neck with a little more force, he felt a chilling gaze that took his breath away. His
eyes
met Giselle’s, who had been hiding behind Lionel.
He was the one who, with the eyes of a predator, was stalking his prey.
Whew!
A sharp ray of light pierced the knight’s neck.
Giselle immediately grabbed Lionel by the back of his neck and twisted his body.
“Snap!
” Lionel’s chest was shallowly slashed. Giselle didn’t miss the opening, stabbing the knight in the face with her sword again. ”
Snap!”
With a dull crack of metal and bone, the knight’s face was shattered.
At that moment, Lionel endured the pain and extended his shield backward. ”
Kaang! ”
The knight’s attack from behind was blocked. Giselle immediately turned and decapitated the knight.
“Keuk…”
As the knight’s body fell limply, Giselle moved Lionel’s body again.
Lionel also extended his shield and sword in another direction.
Although his body was already torn to pieces, he defended Giselle’s opening until the very end. ”
Kagagagagang!” ”
Phew!”
Giselle didn’t miss a moment when the enemy’s attacks were blocked. Though he himself suffered occasional wounds, he gritted his teeth and slaughtered the knights.
In the midst of a fierce battle, entangled in blood and the stench of metal, the two men sacrificed themselves for survival.
One by one,
the imperial knights fell in vain.
Finally, only one superhuman and two knights remained on the imperial side.
“T-How is this…”
Their eyes shook with shock.
The two men were exhausted beyond belief. The fact that they couldn’t even dodge the knights’ swords was proof of this.
Clearly, their side had the upper hand. Yet, far from killing them, they were on the verge of annihilation.
“What are we doing? We have to finish them all off?”
Giselle stumbled and laughed. Lionel had abandoned his sword, holding only his shield.
The two men were covered in blood and barely able to control their bodies. Even so, the imperial knights didn’t dare attack.
If they did, they would surely die.
Fear was already suffocating them.
The Empire’s superhuman spoke in a trembling voice.
“T-let’s stop. I’ll settle this matter outside.”
At those words, Giselle and Lionel simultaneously snickered.
Enough?
After killing their comrades and forcing Yulien and Deneb to sacrifice themselves.
Enough now?
How could they possibly say such things?
Giselle staggered forward.
With blood-soaked steps, he muttered softly,
“There’s no such thing as an easy ending, is there?”
Understood!
Giselle quickly closed the distance and swung her sword.
The knight quickly countered. His sword sliced ​​Giselle’s side. But Giselle swallowed the pain and split the knight’s head.
Crack!
As the knight’s head split, another knight’s sword aimed for Giselle.
Kaaaang!
Lionel’s shield split helplessly. But that was enough.
Pfft!
As the knight hesitated, splitting the shield, Giselle’s sword pierced his neck again.
And the imperial superman, seizing that brief moment, lunged forward.
“Die! You monsters!”
Paaaaaaak!
The aura blade blasted out clearly from his sword.
The imperial superman, too, poured out his last remaining strength.
He, too, was exhausted and depleted of mana. So, with this single strike, he intended to decapitate both men simultaneously.
Now that both men were unable to properly channel their mana, he was certain he would succeed.
But… … .
Kaaang!
Giselle’s sword, drained of all its energy, blocked the superman’s sword.
For a moment, the imperial superman’s expression was stunned.
“How…?”
If he had even channeled mana to block, he would have understood. But the opponent’s sword was truly empty.
Swish.
Giselle’s sword sliced ​​through the aura blade. And so did the opponent’s sword.
As if it were natural, his sword moved as if following the natural flow of the world.
Crack.
Just like that, Giselle’s sword grazed the superman’s neck.
The empire’s superman, even up to the moment his head was cut off, wore a look of incomprehension.
Cough!
As the superman’s neck fell, Giselle’s knees buckled.
“Cough!”
Blood flowed ceaselessly from his mouth.
He had used the willpower he had been saving to face the superman, but his body could no longer hold out.
Fortunately, Astion’s heightened level had allowed him to endure this fight. However, it seemed he would need a considerable amount of convalescence.
“Are you okay?”
“Not okay…”
“You have your moments of groaning.”
Lionel supported Giselle with a sorrowful smile.
He too was on the verge of collapse, but his condition was better than Giselle’s for the time being.
Cough!
The sky, engulfed by darkness from all sides, sank into a deeper, darker hue.
It was a sign that the time allotted to this land was slowly but surely drawing to a close.
The two men, relying on the faint light that still remained, headed toward the mercenaries.
They needed to check if any survivors had survived.
When they finally arrived, Giselle and Lionel opened their eyes wide in surprise.
More mercenaries had survived than they’d expected. Their survival was nothing short of miraculous.
Some sat exhausted, nursing their wounds, while others collapsed, gasping for breath, seemingly unable to rise.
It was certainly welcome news. But Giselle and Lionel couldn’t smile.
Instead, they strained, forcing themselves to maintain their composure.
Giselle glared ahead and said,
“You didn’t run away.”
Surrounding the mercenaries…
Iraniel and the elven elders stood with stern expressions.