The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 754: Is That Their Target? (1)

Ghislain looked at the haggard, pale-faced refugees and thought to himself.

Looks like they’re about to make a serious move.

This kind of sudden chaos was completely different from their usual behavior. But Ghislain could understand why.

Word must’ve finally gotten out that they’re on the move.

The Pope’s envoys had probably reached each kingdom by now and spread the news. The same must have happened with what took place in the elven forest.

Upon hearing it, the kingdoms likely raised their alert level. They might have already begun mobilizing their armies.

Even the bickering noble factions were probably setting aside their differences and beginning to unite.

That was, after all, humanity’s default stance when facing the Demonic Realm.

From the Salvation Order’s perspective, it meant their plans had been exposed before they could even act. They had no choice but to become desperate.

Still, launching random attacks all over the place was a foolish move. If your weapon hasn’t been discovered yet, it’s better to keep it hidden.

If they’re revealing one of their hidden cards just to cause this much chaos...

It meant there was something they had to accomplish—even at the cost of exposing their hand.

What exactly that was, Ghislain couldn’t be sure. But he had a few guesses.

It won’t be the emperors or key figures of the great powers. And a dragon? No chance.

Unless the Salvation Order’s central forces showed themselves, it would be impossible to touch such targets with a few superhuman elites. Any foolish move would only result in them getting crushed and losing their strength.

So what could the Salvation Order be aiming for?

Most likely a faction like the elves—isolated, but vital to the human alliance.

Such factions were rare. And among them, the dwarves stood out.

Ghislain’s party was currently on their way to meet the dwarves. They, too, were a race that possessed a Sacred Stone.

Finding the dwarves’ general dwellings wasn’t hard. They had underground cities and fortresses scattered all across the continent.

But there was only one place where the dwarves who possessed a Sacred Stone resided.

The Eternal Forge.

Like the elves’ World Tree, it was a sacred artifact the dwarves revered. They would have to go there—the location of the dwarven king and their holiest sanctuary.

Is that what they’re targeting?

They had just attacked the elves, so it was certainly plausible.

Now that word had spread, the dwarves—and the nearby human territories—would be on high alert. The Salvation Order would want to strike before defenses could be fortified or armies could gather.

We need to move quickly.

If they were attacking the dwarves, then the so-called "Prophet" would probably be involved. Black mages were a given, and they might even be using monsters.

Of course, the target might be somewhere else entirely. But if it wasn’t the dwarves, it was likely something of less importance to Ghislain.

He had no better leads anyway.

He was already planning to reduce their numbers to increase travel speed. So Ghislain immediately addressed the mercenaries.

“You guys, head to the nearest city and gather all available mercenaries. Spread word to the other kingdoms too. Tell them to assemble. And be careful—monsters are rampaging all over.”

The Julien Mercenary Corps had built a solid reputation over the years, having resolved incidents in multiple kingdoms. They even had branches in most of them.

Ghislain intended to mobilize those branches now to prepare for any contingencies.

Truthfully, even if he summoned mercenaries now, they wouldn’t reach the dwarves in time to help.

If the Salvation Order really was targeting the dwarves, reinforcements wouldn’t arrive quickly enough.

But the call still needed to go out. Who knew how the situation might change from here?

“Osvald the Man! I shall rally our comrades and prepare to battle evil! You can count on me!”

“You’re staying.”

“...Yes, sir.”

“All right, move out—now!”

Following Ghislain’s orders, the mercenaries retraced the path the refugees had taken.

Their plan was to relay the message at the nearest city and begin the mobilization.

Only about twenty mercenaries stayed behind. The group was much smaller now, but that meant they could move faster.

Julien asked with a worried look.

“Ghislain, what about the monsters we’ll run into on the way?”

“We’ll wipe them out as we go.”

There was no time to run around helping other regions. The local lords were probably already taking action anyway.

Still, Ghislain wasn’t the type to leave visible threats alone.

“They’re probably just a distraction anyway. That means they won’t be particularly strong. Let’s crush them quickly.”

The group picked up speed.

Watching the situation unfold, Ereneth turned to a nearby mercenary. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“Hey.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Why do Julien, Deneb, and Kyle all keep calling Astion ‘Ghislain’?”

“Oh, that... It’s because the vice-commander has two names.”

“Two names? Why?”

The mercenary glanced around cautiously, then whispered.

“The vice-commander’s a little... unhinged. There’s a rumor he has a split personality.”

“A split personality?”

“Yes. Otherwise, why would someone go around using two different names? He’s not called a madman for nothing. He does crazy stuff all the time.”

The truth—that Ghislain was a future self possessing Astion’s body—was known only to the three who had been with him from the beginning.

Even if they told anyone else, no one would believe it.

Still, because the three of them casually called him “Ghislain,” the mercenaries had drawn their own conclusions.

Ereneth asked again.

“But he introduced himself as Astion to Lady Iralniel. Is that his real name?”

“Yeah. His official name is Astion. That’s what most of us call him. Only Commander Julien, Vice-Commander Kyle, Sister Deneb, and a few others use the name Ghislain.”

“Hmph... I see.”

Resting her chin on her hand, Ereneth quietly watched Ghislain’s back.

A little strange and fearless... but he doesn’t seem crazy.

She didn’t care much about the refugees’ claims of black mages or monsters. She was confident in her ability to defeat whatever came her way.

Nor did she particularly care that humans were being harmed. They weren’t that important to her.

What interested her more was that Ghislain had two names.

After watching him for a while, she suddenly smiled.

So that’s what this is?

People close to Astion seemed to call him Ghislain. It felt almost like a nickname—something personal.

I’ll call him that too.

Having decided, Ereneth rode her horse right up beside him.

“Ghislain.”

“...Hm?”

Ghislain turned, visibly surprised. Until now, Ereneth had always called him Astion.

Smiling softly, she said,

“I’ll call you Ghislain from now on too. It just feels more natural. We’re friends, right?”

“...Sure. Call me whatever you like.”

At Ghislain’s response, Ereneth smiled again. For some reason, it made her feel like they were a little closer now—and she liked that.

Watching her, Ghislain felt a sudden curiosity.

In the future, we were complete strangers.

When they first met, Ereneth hadn’t recognized the name “Ghislain” at all. That wasn’t an act—she had truly never heard it.

She had only come after seeing the state of the continent and wanting to offer her help.

But now, because of him, the past was starting to shift.

Ereneth had learned a name she was never supposed to know.

She was the only person who lived a thousand years in the future. She would definitely remember this moment.

Which made him wonder—

When I go back to my original time... what kind of reaction will she have?

The thought gnawed at him. He was tempted to return right now just to find out.

No. Be patient. Hold it in.

If he returned, there was a high chance he’d never be able to come back to the past.

So he had to put that curiosity aside—for now. He would know soon enough when he got back.

Right now, his priority was to train Julien, Deneb, and Kyle.

That was the only way to summon the future he needed—without sacrificing his friends.

— Only you... can save us all.

Ghislain never forgot what Deneb had said to him.

There was no way she had called him here for no ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) reason.

There had to be a way to save his friends.

With that, Ghislain pushed aside his curiosity and focused entirely on clearing the monsters swarming around them.

Screeeeeech!

Just like the refugees had said, the area that used to be a village was now crawling with monsters. Their appearance was grotesque.

“Ugh, what is that?”

“Osvald the Man! I am absolutely not... scared...”

“What the hell are those black mages doing?”

The monsters came in all shapes and horrors. Some had the body of a wolf with a massive viper attached. Others had the body of a bull with three goat heads.

These grotesque, deformed chimeras were wandering aimlessly.

There wasn’t a single intact corpse in sight—they had likely devoured every last one.

“Click.”

Ghislain clicked his tongue in disgust. Such monsters had become rare in the future, thanks to constant purging and the dwindling number of black mages.

But in this era, black mages were still common. So these abominations showed up far too frequently.

“Let’s wipe them out. Quickly.”

BOOM!

Screeeeeech!

Ghislain waved his hand, and a storm of mana surged forth, sweeping away the chimeras.

There was no need for the others to do much. Ghislain stood at the front, raining down magic without restraint.

Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!

Screeeeech!

The chimeras were swept away without even putting up resistance. Terrifying monsters to ordinary humans, but to the Julien Mercenary Corps, they were nothing more than ugly pests.

In some places, undead wandered aimlessly. They too had no clear purpose—just drifting without direction.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ghislain advanced rapidly, clearing monsters in his path. At the very least, he intended to eliminate everything they encountered along the way.

Then, suddenly, something struck him as odd.

Hmm?

The number of monsters was visibly decreasing.

At first, he thought they had simply dispersed, but that wasn’t it.

They’re converging in one direction.

The traces left behind all pointed the same way. That piqued Ghislain’s curiosity.

He immediately spread out a map to check. Coincidentally—or perhaps not—the direction the monsters were heading was the very same path his group needed to take.

Monsters without intelligence shouldn’t be converging like this. That meant someone was guiding them.

Don’t tell me... it’s there.

A large canyon lay ahead. A deep river flowed beneath it, and a massive suspension bridge stretched between its cliffs.

Ghislain first summoned Dark and sent him toward the bridge.

After some time, Dark spoke to him through their shared consciousness.

— Master. Just as you thought—they’ve gathered. But...

Dark began describing what he saw in detail. Ghislain nodded.

“Yeah. Got it.”

He soon gathered everyone and explained the current situation and the strategy he had devised based on what Dark saw.

When he finished speaking, everyone nodded, tense expressions on their faces.

They were confident in breaking through most enemies with brute force. But what Dark saw wasn’t a situation they could solve by force alone.

When the group arrived at the canyon, they saw it exactly as described. Monsters were gathered on the far side of the bridge.

But they weren’t alone.

“P-Please save us!”

“Just take the children! Please!”

“Please... please don’t...”

Dozens of people were kneeling in the middle of the bridge, bound hand and foot.

They trembled and sobbed. The bridge swayed ominously in the wind.

It was said to be sturdy enough to hold heavy wagons, but there were far too many people crammed on it.

In front of the bridge stood a group of rough-looking bandits, weapons drawn. More captives knelt before them.

“Hmph...”

Ghislain looked at the bandits with a calm expression. It was obvious they’d been coerced into this by a priest or black mage of the Salvation Order.

Staring at them, he spoke.

“Is there anyone here who can answer a few questions?”

One of the bandits hesitantly stepped forward, sword to a child’s neck.

“S-Stay back!”

The bandit’s voice trembled. They were clearly terrified of something.

Ghislain smirked as he looked him in the eyes.

“Why are you holding these people hostage?”

“You... you’re the Julien Mercenary Corps, aren’t you? The mage with the staff... you’re the ‘madman’ Astion, right?”

“That’s me. Though I’m not a madman.”

“We... we were told to stop you.”

“Why?”

“I-I don’t know. We don’t know anything. We just... got orders to stop you, that’s it.”

“From who?”

“T-The black mage back there...”

“Hmph.”

Ghislain stroked his chin. He couldn’t see clearly because of all the monsters, but there was more than one black mage. He could feel multiple powerful presences.

Ghislain asked again.

“How did you know we’d come this way? We could’ve taken another path. It’s not the only route.”

“No idea. We were just told to wait here.”

“Figures. Scum like you wouldn’t know anything. You just follow the orders of bigger scum.”

“Ugh...”

The bandit trembled but couldn’t argue. He was just another criminal who’d lived by preying on the weak until someone stronger came along and took control.

Ghislain smirked and lifted his staff.

“So? You think you can stop me? You know who I am, don’t you?”

“D-Don’t move. We know how strong you are. We know you’re a superhuman. But if you move, we’ll kill the kid and destroy the bridge.”

The bandit pressed the blade tighter against the child’s neck. The child didn’t even scream—just sobbed silently in terror.

Ghislain asked curiously.

“What do you want?”

“Just... just stay here for a few days. Then no one gets hurt. I promise.”

Ghislain’s eyes narrowed. A blatant ploy to restrict his movement.

Unable to stop him with force, they were resorting to hostages.

Still trembling, the bandit continued.

“Please... just stay. If you do, we’ll all come out of this fine.”

“So you’re afraid of the guy behind you, but not me? After what you’re doing right now?”

“I... I heard your nicknames. Not just ‘madman’—there’s ‘bandit-smasher,’ too, right? Someone like you wouldn’t let us live.”

“...Been a while since I heard that one. So you’ve chosen death—siding with black mages to the bitter end?”

“We... we’ve already been poisoned. Cursed by the black mage. If we disobey, we die. We had no choice.”

“Hmph...”

“Just a month! One month and we’ll all walk away. That’s what we were told!”

“You trust their word?”

“W-What else can we do?! If we don’t, we die anyway! Damn it! I won’t die alone!”

“You’d kill innocent people just because you don’t want to die?”

“Yes! So just stay put! After a month, we’ll release the hostages and run! We’ll even supply you with food! Everyone lives—what’s wrong with that?!”

“They’re not my people.”

“You call yourselves a righteous mercenary corps! You’ve helped the kingdom with so many problems! You’re the only lunatic!”

“......”

The bandit wasn’t wrong.

The name “Righteous Mercenary Corps” had been used many times to bolster Julien’s reputation. They always sided with the just cause in the kingdom’s affairs. Ghislain had made sure Julien’s image was spotless.

Because of that effort, Julien’s name had grown considerably. And the Julien Mercenary Corps had become more and more famous.

Unfortunately, Astion’s notoriety had risen alongside it.

“Just a month! Or we’ll kill everyone here! You think I won’t?!”

The bandit, shrieking now, pressed the blade so close to the child’s neck that blood began to trickle.

Seeing it, Ghislain gently raised his hand.

“Alright, alright. If the kid dies, so do you. Maybe be a little more careful? One slip and things could get messy.”

“Y-Yeah. Move back. One more step and I’ll really do it!”

Ghislain stepped back, calmly scanning the bandits. None of them had mana—not even at a low knight’s level.

Seeing Ghislain retreat, the bandit loosened the blade from the child’s throat just slightly.

And at that moment—

BOOM!

Ghislain was suddenly right in front of him, staff already in motion.

The bandit couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Ghislain’s speed surpassed his ability to think.

CRACK!

The bandit’s head shattered instantly.

At the same time, dozens of fine mana threads shot out from Ghislain’s body.

SHP! SHP! SHP! SHP! SHP!

Each one pierced the skull of a different bandit holding a hostage. None of them even realized what was happening—let alone reacted.

Bandits without mana could never hope to follow a superhuman’s time.

“I don’t negotiate with trash.”

Ghislain murmured calmly—

And then—

RUMBLE...

With a massive roar, the bridge began to collapse.