Ghislain carefully examined Ernheart's face. Even including his past life, this was his first time seeing him in person.
Of course, he had seen countless portraits—depictions of a middle-aged man with a benevolent smile.
Which was why he found the man's claim difficult to believe.
"You're… Duke Delphine?"
He looked far too young. At most, he appeared to be in his early thirties.
It was a well-known fact that Duke Delphine and Marquis Branford were of the same age, even attending the same academy in their youth.
But this man's youthful appearance defied that.
Duke Delphine was known to have practiced neither mana cultivation techniques nor magic. Even if he had, maintaining such a youthful appearance would have required extraordinary skill.
Ernheart nodded calmly, his soft smile unwavering.
"I am indeed Duke Delphine. It seems my appearance has surprised you."
"…."
Ghislain curled his lips into a sneer. The composed demeanor of his opponent, even in the face of danger, grated on his nerves.
'An imposter? But he's far too…'
Too composed, too elegant—every small movement exuded a natural grace. These weren't the clumsy gestures of an imposter.
The youthful appearance also contributed to this impression. Ernheart Delphine had been renowned as the kingdom's most handsome man in his younger days.
Even Ricardo, the most celebrated beauty in Perdium, would have to concede before him.
Such striking looks were rare. Finally, Ghislain let out a deep breath and asked.
"Fine, let's say you're Duke Delphine. Why are you still here? You had plenty of time to escape."
Ernheart nodded without hesitation.
"I was planning to leave, but I wanted to see you first."
"See me?"
"To see what kind of man could disrupt our plans to such an extent. I wanted to confirm it for myself."
Ghislain let out a sharp laugh.
"Were you curious enough to risk your life?"
Ernheart merely smiled and sat down. Gracefully, he picked up a wine glass from a small table beside him.
Amusingly, someone who appeared to be a butler brought over a small table and chair for Ghislain, setting it before him.
Shortly after, the table was adorned with light refreshments and alcohol.
"…."
Ghislain scoffed but took a seat. He figured he might as well listen to whatever nonsense his opponent had to say.
Knights surrounded him, filling the Hall of Glory and extending down the hallways. It seemed unlikely the duke would be able to escape. Ghislain decided to wait and see what his opponent was planning.
After taking a sip of wine, Ernheart began to speak slowly.
"After I understood my 'calling,' I began to have the same dream every day. It was vivid, as if it were real. That dream continued daily."
"…."
"Or perhaps it wasn't just a dream—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a prophecy. Everything unfolded exactly as in the dream, as if God themselves had granted me divine revelation. Knowing the future allowed me to calmly wait for the outcome."
Ghislain folded his arms. Suddenly talking about dreams made it hard for him to follow.
Nonetheless, Ernheart continued as if talking to himself.
"In the end, I seized the kingdom just as the 'revelation' foretold. Even after that, I continued to move toward my goal. Until the 'demon' appeared."
"…."
"That demon was immensely powerful, enough to make me tremble. No army in this kingdom could stop it. The demon was like a shapeless cloud of death."
"…."
"But in the end, we stopped it—through the sacrifices of countless heroes. Afterward, I was able to continue toward my goal. Just a little more, just a little further… though it was only in my dream."
"Did you really wait just to tell me about some absurd dream?"
"Wouldn't you like to hear a little more? It's not entirely unrelated to you."
Ernheart smiled faintly, while Ghislain chuckled and shrugged.
"One day, the dream changed. Everything had been going according to that dream, but suddenly, it began to shift."
"The dream turned into chaos. It became impossible to tell where it started or ended. The revelation I had received became jumbled, with time and space colliding irregularly."
Ernheart's expression grew slightly flushed, as if he found the situation fascinating.
"…."
"Even the 'demon' reappeared. It was when you first appeared on the southern front. The demon once again began to engulf everything I had."
"…."
"So I retraced the past. When exactly did the dream, the revelation, begin to spiral into chaos?"
Ghislain said nothing, but his eyes narrowed as he glared at Ernheart.
For some reason, Ernheart's story was deeply unsettling.
Ernheart, still smiling, continued.
"It was when you defended against Count Digald's attack and seized Fenris. From that point on, the dream began to show me the past again."
"…."
"When you defeated Count Cabaldi, when you killed Count Desmond, when you eliminated Marquis Rodrick… each time, the chaos deepened."
Leaning slightly forward, Ernheart seemed almost eager to get closer to Ghislain.
Moments later, he let out a euphoric laugh and spoke.
"That's when I was sure. Ghislain Perdium, you are the demon. You are my nemesis. You are the one who blocks my path."
Ghislain didn't respond, only continuing to glare at Ernheart. The duke didn't seem to expect an answer and immediately continued.
"From the moment I realized that, the dreams stopped. The revelations ceased, and the future became unknowable. It was your existence that ruined everything."
Ernheart stood, laughing. He had come to confirm whether his suspicions were correct, and now he seemed certain.
Ghislain also rose, drawing his sword.
"An interesting story. I enjoyed it."
To others, it might sound like the ramblings of a madman. But Ghislain, being a regressor, couldn't dismiss the story outright.
It seemed clear that some mysterious force, much like his own, had been at play in Ernheart's life.
Ernheart might not realize it… but much of what he had described bore an uncanny resemblance to Ghislain's past life.
Pointing his sword at Ernheart, Ghislain spoke.
"You'll die today anyway, so you don't need to think about the future anymore."
Ernheart stared at Ghislain in silence before speaking. His eyes gleamed with madness.
"You know something, don't you? That's not how an ordinary person would react."
"…."
"Yes, it's clear now. Knowing that you are my nemesis puts my mind at ease. Everything is crystal clear."
"You won't escape."
At that, Ernheart pulled out a small orb from his robe. It was the Orb of Life, used to create high priests of the Salvation Church.
Seeing it, Ghislain sneered.
"Do you really think that will help you now?"
Though he could barely move, hundreds of elite knights were present. And outside, nearly 80,000 soldiers surrounded the castle.
Even if Ernheart used the orb, there was no guarantee his body could handle it. And even if it succeeded, a half-formed superhuman couldn't hope to fight against such overwhelming numbers.
Yet Ernheart shook his head calmly.
"There's no need to rush, Ghislain. Now that we understand each other's existence, this much is enough for today."
"Kill the duke," Ghislain ordered.
The knights rushed forward, while Ernheart's assassins leapt into action.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
True to their reputation as the duke's last line of defense, the assassins were highly skilled.
But they were hopelessly outnumbered. Within moments, they were overpowered and swept aside.
As the knights approached Ernheart, swords drawn…
Crack.
The Orb of Life in his hand shattered.
Fwoooosh!
Darkness surged and swallowed Ernheart's body. The knights' swords tried to pierce the shadow, but they were repelled by a strange force.
Ghislain frowned as he watched.
'So it was that method after all.'
It looked similar to the high-level magic Warp Portal, but it wasn't magic. It resembled the kind of rift created by consuming the life force of people.
'The life force needed to create a superhuman could easily connect to another space.'
In his past life, Ernheart must have used this method to escape him repeatedly.
Of course, it wasn't something that could be used often. Creating a single orb required the lives of tens of thousands.
'He must have a pre-connected location.'
He wouldn't take the risk of moving randomly. There was likely a predetermined destination.
Perhaps it was where the Salvation Church had been hiding, or one of the kingdoms they controlled.
The knights looked at Ghislain in confusion. Shaking his head, Ghislain spoke.
"Enough. There's no need to push yourselves. Stand down."
The darkness was shrinking. From within it, Ernheart's voice rang out.
"Ghislain… we will meet again soon. I am bound by my duty to fulfill the revelation of God… I will see you at the end of that path."
"Listen closely, Ernheart."
Ghislain spoke toward the dwindling darkness with a fierce grin.
"There will be no place left for you. I'll hunt you down and crush every last one of you like cockroaches. I'll make you so afraid that you won't even dare to breathe."
A soft chuckle came from the darkness, followed by Ernheart's voice.
"… I look forward to it."
With those words, the darkness disappeared. Ghislain turned away without hesitation.
This was over. All that remained was to eliminate the remnants on the southern front, and the Kingdom of Lutania would be united once more.
Ghislain addressed Count Mowbray.
"I leave this area in your care for now."
"Understood."
Someone needed to remain behind. The vassals who had hidden or fled had to be captured, and the city's order needed to be restored.
Entrusting the area to Count Mowbray, Ghislain immediately redirected his forces. It was time to clean up the southern front.
Once that was done, the Kingdom of Lutania could be rebuilt, and he could assist the neighboring kingdoms fighting the Salvation Church.
With a cold expression, Ghislain took hold of the Black King's reins.
'I'll find you and destroy you.'
It was disappointing that Ernheart had escaped, but killing him wouldn't have ended things. The Salvation Church had spread across the continent and needed to be eradicated completely.
But it wouldn't take long. Once the civil war in Lutania was over, the kingdom would once again rise as a military powerhouse.
And the remnants of the Church would have to face the strength led by Ghislain.
***
Having taken command from Kaien, Gartros began withdrawing the army.
"We'll occupy the fortress we previously fought for and wait for Count Balzac to arrive."
The royal and Perdium armies were advancing south. There was no need to engage and risk unnecessary losses.
By retreating to the fortress they had fought over with the northern army, they could easily defend against an attack. From there, they could simply wait for Count Balzac's return.
Though Gartros was the most senior and powerful leader, he lacked expertise in military strategy. Thus, he granted significant autonomy to the unit commanders.
"When battle begins, move freely and do your best in your assigned positions. I trust you. Our goal is to hold out until Count Balzac arrives, so focus on that."
It was a good decision. The ducal house's commanders were all highly capable.
The Delphine army began retreating slowly, unconcerned about pursuit.
After all, they had been the ones eager for a head-on clash. Losing Count Balzac hadn't significantly weakened them.
"Reinforcements will take some time to arrive. We've been fighting continuously, so there's no need to overextend. Consider this an opportunity to rest."
Following Gartros' orders, the Delphine army moved at a more relaxed pace. With their strength, they had plenty of confidence.
Watching the slow-moving Delphine army from atop the fortress walls, Amelia observed their movements closely. Being such a large army, their movements were easy to track.
After a while, Amelia gestured to someone beside her.
"You called for me?"
As Gillian approached, Amelia spoke in a detached tone.
"Prepare for deployment. We're moving the entire army."
"Now…?"
Reinforcements hadn't arrived yet. For someone who had avoided direct confrontation until now, it was a bold decision.
Ignoring Gillian's reaction, Amelia continued.
"Yes. We can't guarantee Ghislain will win against Count Balzac. If Ghislain loses, we'll be at a disadvantage. We need to take them out for certain now. At the very least, we'll cut their numbers in half."
Gillian wanted to argue that Ghislain would win, but he held his tongue. Amelia wasn't trying to start a debate.
Instead, he asked what needed to be asked.
"Do we have a chance of winning?"
Amelia glanced at him and replied.
"If we move now, we will. Get them ready immediately."
With her orders, Amelia turned her gaze back to the distant, moving Delphine army.
At the same time, a cold smile spread across her lips.
[T/L: I am in dire need of support. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]