The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 322: Chapter 321: Truly Dangerous Creatures (2)

Chapter 322: Chapter 321: Truly Dangerous Creatures (2)

?

Everyone looked at Ghislain with bewildered expressions.

They were still securing the area, building wooden palisades, and constructing defensive walls. But suddenly, he was talking about building a fortress?

No one builds fortresses in the forest. At best, one might build them to defend against occasional monsters, but certainly not here.

They hadn't even reached their intended destination yet. This wasn't a strategic point or a key route for advancement-building a fortress here seemed excessive.

Gillian, seeking confirmation, asked again.

"From what I understand, we still have some distance to our destination. Are you really talking about a fortress, not just a defensive wall?"

"Yes, it has to be a fortress, even if it's temporary. Everyone must participate without exception."

"Building a fortress will take some time."

"Do it quickly. With this many people, it should be enough."

"... Understood."

Everyone moved according to Ghislain's orders. They had learned through experience that in this forest, it was best to follow the lord's commands.

Besides, they knew arguing would be pointless-Ghislain was not someone who could be reasoned with.

As thousands of troops and workers moved, the fortress quickly began to take shape. Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of trees being felled echoed constantly. Expanding their territory as they moved, the surroundings soon turned into open space.

There was no shortage of wood. They had already felled a massive amount of trees on their way here and were still cutting more.

The trees of the Forest of Demonic Beasts were far larger and sturdier than those found elsewhere. When stacked in multiple layers, even a wooden wall could rival the durability of a stone one.

Watching the outer sections of the slowly forming fortress, Ghislain summoned the dwarves.

"Build watchtowers to enable arrow attacks."

Galbarik nodded. Using wood to build the fortress allowed for defensive walls but didn't provide a way to fight from atop them.

The plan was to create platforms similar to castle walls, though they would be less effective. To compensate, they needed watchtowers to effectively counter external attacks.

"Of course, a fortress should have those. We'll set up watchtowers on all four sides-"

"No, not like that. Build them so densely that they're practically touching each other. Judging by the size of the walls... about a hundred should do."

"A hundred...?"

Galbarik's face turned pale at those words.

The lord, who possessed mysterious knowledge, wouldn't suggest such a thing without

reason.

Ghislain typically preferred to destroy things personally. For him to be so focused on building a fortress and reinforcing its defenses-just what kind of enemy were they preparing to fight?

Galbarik was already getting a bad feeling.

But Ghislain wasn't finished.

"Also, build catapults. Dozens of them. They don't need to be precise or have long range. As long as they can attack this area, that's enough. They can be disposable for all I care. Got it?"

"Ah, got it."

As Galbarik was about to leave, he hesitated, nervously asking,

"My lord... are the enemies this time very dangerous? I've never seen you prepare this much before."

Others weren't overly concerned, even with such preparations. Ghislain had solved everything so far, no matter what.

But Galbarik had worked closely with him on countless occasions. He knew this level of preparation wasn't ordinary.

"In this forest, there's no such thing as a safe enemy."

Ghislain didn't elaborate. There was no need to stir up anxiety among the people prematurely.

After all, with their objective ahead, clashes with obstacles were inevitable.

If the workers found out now, they might hesitate or try to escape. It would be better to explain after the fortress was complete.

"I'll tell you when the preparations are done. Until then, don't let the people become uneasy."

"... Understood."

Galbarik nodded at Ghislain's heavy words and turned to leave.

Before he left, Ghislain called him back.

"Galbarik."

"...?"

"Make it very sturdy. You understand, right?"

At that, Galbarik grinned.

"I'm a dwarf, my lord. There's no one better than me at building. Even the elves can't match

me."

Pleased with Galbarik's confident words, Ghislain also smiled. It seemed the dwarves' pride had been bruised by the elves' recent achievements.

True to their boasts, the dwarves built a fortress so sturdy it was hard to believe it was made of wood.

The mages, too, were highly skilled craftsmen, unmatched across the continent. They took charge of refining materials and engraving magic circles, tasks that took time and precision. With everyone working together, the pace of construction was incredibly fast.

The only thing that took more time than expected was the catapult construction. The dwarves brainstormed to create makeshift catapults.

"Gather all the tendons from the monsters we've hunted so far."

"The ogres we caught recently should do nicely."

"Precision isn't important. Quantity is the goal."

Building catapults couldn't be left to ordinary workers. The task required engineering

knowledge, so it mostly fell to the dwarves.

Workers and soldiers could only assist with minor tasks.

Gathering monster tendons and wood, the dwarves managed to produce dozens of makeshift

catapults.

Looking at the finished catapults, Galbarik scratched his chin.

"Hmm... is this really good enough?"

Frankly, they were too crude for proper warfare. Their range and accuracy were far below that

of standard catapults.

Catapults were primarily siege weapons meant to attack castle walls. They needed much

longer range, greater accuracy, and more destructive power.

These makeshift ones, made hastily from available materials, barely reached half the performance of standard catapults.

Still, only dwarves could have managed even this much. But Galbarik wasn't satisfied.

"Shouldn't we request proper catapults from the head butler? Maybe even contact Perdium

for supplies?"

"There's no need. We don't have that many anyway. What's important right now is the

number."

"But their performance is a bit lacking..."

Testing one of the makeshift catapults, Ghislain found its destructive power acceptable

despite its limitations.

Even at half the performance of a regular catapult, it was still lethal against humans.

Satisfied, Ghislain patted Galbarik's shoulder with a grin.

"This is good enough."

"You're sure it's okay?"

"Yes, what matters is sheer volume. We need to overwhelm them."

With the client satisfied, Galbarik and the other dwarves could only nod, albeit with puzzled

expressions.

Everyone gave their all to their assigned tasks, and within days, most of the preparations were

complete.

Looking at the grand fortress they had built, people couldn't hide their amazement.

"Wow... seeing it now, it's incredible."

"This could hold off ogres for sure."

"It's almost too good to leave in the forest."

Though the fortress lacked proper internal facilities, it was overbuilt for repelling enemies.

Its height was exactly as Ghislain had wanted, and the walls were thick with multiple layers of

wood, sturdier than most stone walls.

With countless watchtowers and catapults in place, it felt capable of holding off tens of

thousands of troops.

Of course, fire arrows could destroy it easily, but if fire-wielding monsters were the threat,

Ghislain wouldn't have built such a structure in the first place.

After inspecting the fortress several times, Ghislain gave a new order.

"Clear the area in front of the fortress. Make sure we have an unobstructed view."

While constructing the fortress, most nearby trees had already been cut down. But the forest

grew thick again just a bit further out.

This density would hinder their attacks on monsters, as the trees would block arrows and

catapult shots.

Gillian, understanding this, asked,

"How far should we clear?"

"Far enough that even if we use fire, it won't spread to the rest of the forest."

"Understood."

Clearing that much space would require a massive effort.

Once again, soldiers and workers ventured out to cut down trees.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The massive trees fell and were dragged back into the fortress. Clearing such a large area

indiscriminately, they inevitably encountered monsters.

"Graaaah!"

Some were monsters they had encountered before, while others were new. But the soldiers,

bolstered by their overwhelming numbers, easily killed them.

As the area around the fortress became bare, the soldiers pushed further out.

That's when they encountered them again.

"Screeeeech!"

It was the grotesque creatures known as Greggs. There weren't many of them, but they

quickly charged at the soldiers.

With claws raised high, their spider-like legs scurried forward. Seeing them, the soldiers'

expressions twisted in disgust.

"Ugh, they're even creepier alive."

"But they're not that strong, right?"

"Let's just kill them quickly and get back to work."

Whoosh!

The Greggs didn't even get close. Waiting behind the soldiers, the elves shot them down with

precision arrows.

"Wow, these guys are really weak."

"They're just like humans, really."

"Still, their claws are sharp enough to dig through the ground. Let's not get careless."

The soldiers had learned not to underestimate even weak enemies. They continued their work

with caution, slowly advancing as they cut down trees.

"Screeeeech!"

The eerie screams of Greggs rang out again as more appeared. Their numbers were steadily

increasing.

Once again, the soldiers easily dealt with the monsters and found something new where the

Greggs had been.

"What's this?"

"Holes in the ground?"

"Did they dig these?"

The soldiers were curious, as it was their first time encountering such holes in the forest.

"Stay back!"

As the soldiers approached the holes, Lumina and the elves rushed forward.

The elves immediately fired arrows into the holes.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"Screeeeech!"

A chilling scream echoed from the ground. Somehow, Greggs were hiding inside the holes.

When attacked, they crawled out, only to be struck down by the elves' arrows.

"It's done. Fill the holes and retreat," Lumina ordered.

The soldiers, wearing grim expressions, quickly filled the holes and moved back.

When Ghislain received the report, he gave a new command to Gillian.

"Advance no further. Seal the fortress gates." "The gates, my lord?"

"Doors are weak points. Seal them completely, leaving only the rear gate for supplies."

"Does that mean we won't be advancing anymore?"

"Everyone will remain inside the fortress. If anyone needs to go out, they'll use ropes to climb

over the walls."

Effectively isolating themselves within the forest-what kind of enemy were they expecting to take such a defensive stance?

Kaor, who had recently faced many monsters in the Shadow Mountains, asked, "You're preparing as if for a monster wave. Does such a thing happen in the Forest of Demonic

Beasts?"

"Something similar. We've built this fortress to face a large number of monsters." "Hmm, so when will it start?"

"That's for us to decide now. We're ready."

"We can decide? How do we trigger something like a monster wave?" Kaor looked at him incredulously. How could they possibly provoke monsters?

[During our investigation of the Greggs, we learned something new. A Mage, miraculously surviving an annihilated scout unit, discovered the location of the Greggs' leader. The leader was deep within their territory, in the safest spot. We called it the 'Queen.' The Queen fed on

the food brought by the Greggs, laying eggs that were hidden deep underground.]

Ghislain nodded as if it were obvious. "Yes, we can decide. We'll force it to happen."

"What do you mean, force it? Monsters don't listen to us."

[The Queen remained peaceful, simply eating. Though guarded by Greggs, they were weak

creatures. How it survived in such a dangerous forest was a mystery. We hypothesized the Queen might have a special ability.]

Looking around at everyone, Ghislain spoke.

"If they won't listen, we'll make them."

"How?"

"There's a way."

[To test this, we devised a plan. Mages and skilled knights abducted the Queen and brought it

to our camp.]

With a cold smile, Ghislain continued.

"We'll kidnap the Queen of Greggs."

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