Chapter 803
The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations
Release schedule: 2 chapters per week
Looking for an editor for this novel. If interested please contact fenrirtl. (username)
The Target Is the Imperial Capital (5)
"Lady Ilaniel!"
Ereneth ran over with a bright smile. As expected, it was she who was happiest to see Ilaniel.
Ilaniel also smiled brightly upon seeing Ereneth.
"Ereneth, you've changed a lot."
There was no need for further words.
Her presence was entirely different from when she had been in the forest. The energy surrounding Ereneth now was on par with that of an Elf Elder.
It was proof that she had reached the realm of a Transcendent.
Ilaniel nodded with a pleased expression.
'Joining Julien's Mercenary Corps was truly the right choice. To grow this quickly… But still...'
Her smile also carried a hint of concern.
Ereneth's strength had grown, but her aura had become excessively sharp and rough.
However, this was not the time or place to lecture someone you were meeting again after a long time. In the end, Ilaniel kept her warm smile and simply praised Ereneth's achievements.
Julien's Mercenary Corps also stepped forward in turn to greet Ilaniel. Since she was one of the few people they genuinely respected, everyone bowed their heads with sincerity.
Once the greetings were over, Ghislain spoke with a broad smile.
"Was the journey uncomfortable in any way?"
"It wasn't too troublesome. Now that the war against the Demonic Abyss has begun, who would dare stop us?"
Indeed, when war against the Demonic Abyss breaks out, both the Elves and Dwarves gather in the Holy Holy Empire for a meeting.
It had long been tradition for them to divide responsibilities this way.
That's why Ilaniel had been able to arrive here without much obstruction.
And it wasn't just the Elves who had arrived.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of hooves shaking the earth echoed around them.
From afar, a grand procession approached that resembled a moving mountain range.
Dwarf warriors clad in iron-like armor appeared, riding creatures called 'Barkrocks,' which resembled rhinoceroses.
If the Elven army had seemed like the forest awakening and moving, then the Dwarven army was like a solid mountain in motion.
At their head was the King of the Dwarves, Grondal.
Upon spotting Julien's Mercenary Corps and Ilaniel, he let out a booming laugh.
"Wahahaha! So you were all gathered here!"
Ilaniel offered a subtle smile upon seeing Grondal.
"Race of the earth, it has truly been a long time."
Grondal stroked his beard and snorted.
"You pointy-eared bastard, have you been well?"
"With the forest, I am always at peace. As long as no one tries to destroy it."
"Tch, still spouting that dull nonsense. No wonder your people never develop."
Ilaniel and Grondal exchanged subtle glares as they smiled. A strange tension lingered between them.
As that tension spread, the very air around them grew chilly.
In the end, Ghislain stepped forward and said:
"Uh, um... You two, let's save the catching up for later. We've got more pressing matters right now…"
"Yes, let's do that."
"Ahem! No catching up next time either!"
Everyone knew that Elves and Dwarves didn't get along.
Even those standing at the pinnacle of each race were not free from that deep-seated grudge.
While the Elves and Dwarves reorganized their ranks, Marquis Valesant exclaimed in alarm. It was understandable—after all, both races had suddenly shown up with their armies.
"Oh my, oh my. What's all this? Did you all gather here to fight the Pope?"
"It's not like we're going to fight him immediately… I suppose you could call it a show of force?"
"A show of force? For what purpose?"
"To create an opportunity for dialogue with the Pope."
Ghislain now intended to march with them all the way to the capital and pressure the Pope. Once they reached that point, the Pope wouldn't be able to rashly mobilize his forces against them.
And many more allies were still expected to arrive.
After a few days of waiting, a new army appeared.
Marquis Valesant rubbed his eyes multiple times upon seeing the flags they carried.
"Why is the Marquis of Larks here? A-And even Marquis Nodehill?"
It was none other than Rio and Andrew, who had become the real powerhouses of the Kingdom of Plovitz, leading their armies into the scene.
Marquis Valesant couldn't make sense of it.
They, like him, had been assigned to other regions. There was no way they could have brought such a large force all the way here.
There should have been Imperial Inspectors watching them, and the armies of other kingdoms would have blocked their way—so how in the world had they made it?
While he was still in confusion, Rio and Andrew spotted Julien's Mercenary Corps and ran over with bright smiles.
"Big brothers! Big sister! You're all safe!"
"Wahaha! We were really holding our breath!"
Ghislain greeted them warmly.
"You still managed to come. It couldn't have been easy to move."
To that, Andrew laughed heartily and replied.
"It's all thanks to the Elves and Dwarves. Once they made a formal request, things somehow worked out."
In truth, both the Larks and Nodehill forces had Elven and Dwarven soldiers mixed in. They weren't from the sanctuaries of those races, but from various other regions.
These were Elves and Dwarves who had gathered separately under the orders of Ilaniel and Grondal and had then joined up with Rio and Andrew, requesting them to escort and guide them to the Holy Empire.
The Imperial Inspectors couldn't reject such a request. After all, now that the war against the Demonic Abyss had begun, non-human races were also expected to gather in the Imperial Capital.
Fortunately, the Nodehill and Larks forces were exceptionally large. So they had agreed to split off half of their troops to serve as escorts.
However, the truth was that half of those troops weren't the official forces of Nodehill or Larks.
"Hey! How've you been?!"
"Yiaaah! Captain and Deputy Captains, it's been so long!"
"You know how hard it was to gather everyone in a rush like this?"
They were none other than the Julien Mercenary Corps members previously overseen by Tyran, along with other mercenaries who had been scattered across the continent.
Now that the Pope had begun his oppression of the Julien Mercenary Corps, the safety of all the mercenaries—not just Ghislain's group—was in jeopardy.
So they had disguised themselves as part of the Larks and Nodehill forces and moved together.
Ghislain looked at them with a satisfied smile.
"Good. With this much force, the Pope won't be able to act rashly."
The Imperial Army and the armies of various kingdoms were scattered across the continent.
With a military force of this scale suddenly converging on the capital, subduing them by force would be difficult.
On top of that, there was still the looming threat of the Demonic Abyss. For the Pope to order a full-scale assault on the Julien Mercenary Corps under such circumstances would be nearly suicidal.
Ghislain had used that situation to create a scenario from which there was no escape.
It was a bold move—one that forced the opposition to play along, even while fully aware of the setup. If it truly came to battle, the Imperial Capital would face unimaginable devastation.
The Inspectors who had accompanied the Larks and Nodehill forces looked stunned.
"W-What is the meaning of this?"
They still didn't fully grasp the situation. But they sensed that something irreversible was happening.
At a simple hand gesture from Andrew and Rio, the Inspectors and their attendants were swiftly subdued.
"Are you insane? This is an outright provocation against the Holy Empire!"
"The Holy Empire will never overlook this!"
The Inspectors screamed at the top of their lungs, but no one paid them any attention. The dye had already been cast.
They had to finish this business before the war with the Demonic Abyss fully erupted.
There were still Inspectors at the garrisons where the main forces of Larks and Nodehill remained. But until this was all over, they wouldn't even know what had happened.
The captured Inspectors and their attendants were thrown into wagons alongside the others who had been watching Marquis Valesant.
The only one left with any freedom of movement was the Inspector who had agreed to cooperate right from the start.
Once the situation settled, Marquis Valesant exclaimed dramatically.
"Oh my, oh my! Since when have you all been planning this together? Why didn't anyone tell me?! I could've been better prepared too!"
His face was full of sulky indignation.
Surely they had not only shared this plan with the Marquises of Larks and Nodehill?
He was, after all, one of the three Marquises propping up the Kingdom of Plovitz.
Ghislain smiled and gently soothed Marquis Valesant.
"Well, to be honest, you're someone who truly cherishes peace, are you not?"
"Y-Yes, that's true."
"So we were being considerate by not dragging you into such a bloody mess."
"H-Hmph. I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd like it if you told me next time. I felt a little left out."
"Understood. Next time, I'll be sure to let you know."
With that, Marquis Valesant's mood slightly improved.
But everyone present knew the truth: if he had been informed of such a dangerous plan, he would've been the first to run away.
"Well then, let's go meet the Pope."
Ghislain took the lead, and the group began to move once more.
With the Elves, Dwarves, Larks, Nodehill, and even Valesant joined together, their army now numbered in the tens of thousands.
They marched forward with bold confidence. No military force attempted to block their path.
Everyone simply assumed they were a coalition gathered to fight the Demonic Abyss.
Eventually, having arrived near the capital, Ghislain confidently requested an audience with the Pope.
It was only then that the Holy Empire grasped the situation and hastily assembled nearby forces to intercept them.
A commander of the Imperial Army, his face flushed red with agitation, shouted at them.
"The battle against the Demonic Abyss is right around the corner, and you would wage war among ourselves? Withdraw your forces and hand over the Julien Mercenary Corps at once!"
At that, Ilaniel and Grondal stepped forward.
"We've heard the Pope intends to kill the Saintess. We Elves will never allow a situation where the Saintess is threatened."
"We Dwarves feel the same! The Julien Mercenary Corps are benefactors to our people! If you touch them, be prepared for a war with us!"
The resolute stance of both racial leaders left the Imperial commanders flustered.
If this were a human army from another kingdom, they might have crushed them with force. But they couldn't do the same to a non-human army.
One wrong move could lead to a racial war.
And that wasn't the only headache.
"All mercenaries of the continent stand with the Julien Mercenary Corps!"
"Touch our Captain or the Saintess, and we all die together!"
"Captain Julien is the King of Mercenaries!"
"We're not afraid of the Holy Empire!"
"Astion, you son of a—!"
"Waaaaaaaah! We are one!"
Shouts of excited mercenaries rang out from all directions.
In truth, most of the mercenaries—aside from those who had been with Julien from the beginning—weren't especially loyal. Many were simply swept up in the moment.
However, the influence of the Julien Mercenary Corps across the continent was vast. With branches established in various kingdoms and its steadily growing power, those who joined felt an increasing sense of belonging.
Now that the war against the Demonic Abyss had begun, the mercenaries needed to unite under a single name. That was the only way they wouldn't be treated as expendables.
For these reasons, the continent's mercenaries stood behind the Julien Mercenary Corps.
Soon, Ghislain stepped forward to speak.
"We do not seek a fight. I intend to settle this directly with the Pope. So go and tell him I request an audience."
"What? A lowly wretch like you dares suggest a direct negotiation with His Holiness the Pope?"
"That's right. Whether it's a conversation or a battle—we'll settle it one way or another."
Ghislain extended his spear forward with a grin.
The Imperial commander, seeing that, flushed red with anger and couldn't form a proper response.
"Y-You pathetic scum… how did you even make it this far…?"
What in the world had all those kingdom armies been doing?
This should have been resolved long before such a massive force gathered. Julien's Mercenary Corps should've been killed and disposed of. But no one had succeeded in doing that.
Instead, the ten thousand Imperial troops sent to capture them had been routed, and even several Transcendents had died.
'What am I supposed to do now?'
Julien's Mercenary Corps had revealed themselves so openly, so technically they could still be killed. More Imperial reinforcements continued to arrive by the minute.
But with the other races now involved, this was no longer something a frontline commander could decide.
In the end, they were left doing nothing but relaying the situation and awaiting further orders.
So, for several days, a tense standoff continued. But no new commands came from the Pope.
"Urgh… His Holiness must be deeply troubled right now."
Everyone present understood.
The Pope was surely seething with fury. Yet there was no real way to resolve the situation.
The original wielders of the Sacred Stones had come to support the Saintess, so forcefully taking her was now impossible.
But Ghislain knew.
Eventually, the Pope would have no choice but to respond with dialogue.
And sure enough, several days later, the Imperial commander shouted triumphantly.
"His Holiness has granted an audience with the Julien Mercenary Corps! You are to proceed to the Grand Temple! There, this crisis shall be resolved through conversation!"
Ghislain rejected it without hesitation.
"You think we're crazy enough to go in there?"
"…"
"Use your head a little. That place will be crawling with people trying to kill us. Would you walk in if you were me?"
"…"
"We'll speak here. In front of everyone. Tell him that."
"…"
The Imperial commander bristled with frustration. This man was truly fearless—arrogant beyond belief.
But Ghislain was certain the Pope wouldn't refuse.
And just as he predicted...
"His Holiness has personally arrived! All present, show proper respect!"
"He is the emissary of the goddesses! All who stand here, bow before this holy manifestation!"
"Bow your heads before the master of light and power! The sacred providence descends upon this place!"
With the thunderous shouts of the Imperial Army, a heavy tension began to blanket the surroundings.