The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 328: Chapter 327 - What do you think? Am I right? (1)

Chapter 328: Chapter 327 - What do you think? Am I right? (1)

?

As Vanessa channeled her mana, the bracelet on her arm began to glow.

The gathered mana in the magic circle started flowing into her.

A tremendous amount of mana layered itself around her, spreading a powerful sense of pressure.

The magic circle had already been infused with mana by many mages for a considerable time. This was several times the mana gathered during the Perdium siege. It was impossible to endure easily.

"Urgh!"

Black veins surfaced on Vanessa's body, just as before, and blood trickled from her nose. But with her understanding of the 6th Circle, she somehow endured the pain and kept her focus.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The air trembled under the pressure of the mana.

"Skreeeeeeeek!"

The Greggs, driven back by the fortress's fierce counterattack, gathered once again in a blood-red swarm.

Without the blessing of Piote, the soldiers fell into an even deeper state of exhaustion.

Vanessa gritted her teeth and extended one arm forward.

"...Chain Lightning."

To prepare for this operation, Fenris Army had brought every rune stone remaining in the territory.

All of them had been inscribed with magic formations and densely buried in the open field in front of the fortress.

Crackle!

In the distance, where one of the rune stones had been buried, a flash of lightning erupted. The streak of lightning extended to connect with another rune stone a short distance away. Soon, hundreds of rune stones linked together, creating a sea of blue light. Moments later.

Krrrack!

Lightning bolts surged from the ground, forcing their way through the crimson tide. "Skreek?"

The Greggs paused, momentarily stunned by the lightning sensation.

6th Circle magic, Chain Lightning.

A spell capable of attacking multiple enemies at once, chaining them together.

However, even a 6th Circle mage couldn't attack this many foes simultaneously. The

lightning would dissipate if there wasn't enough mana.

Thus, Fenris staked everything on this magic, mobilizing all the remaining rune stones. "Kaaaagh!"

The rushing Greggs froze in their tracks, convulsing as if electrocuted.

The intense blue light began to engulf all the Greggs.

Boom, boom, boom!

Thunderous explosions echoed in all directions, with flashes of light splitting through the air. It was like thunder crashing through red clouds.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Skreeeeek!"

The Greggs screamed as they burst apart. The continuous blue streaks of lightning darted through their bodies, leaping from one to another.

The lightning didn't stop at the Greggs already gathered in front of the fortress; it spread to those emerging from the forest.

Boom! Thud! Crash!

The overwhelming force of the lightning relentlessly attacked and annihilated the Greggs.

Cheers erupted from those witnessing the scene.

"Wow! Amazing!"

"She really got them all!"

"Truly incredible!"

The endless bolts of lightning fried the Greggs relentlessly. Even the new waves of Greggs that arrived were caught in the blue net and died on the spot.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air, but no one cared. The sight was too cathartic.

Ghislain also looked on with a satisfied expression.

'I'm so glad Vanessa is here.'

There's a saying that the big battles are decided by mages.

Indeed, Vanessa, who had reached the 6th Circle, consistently delivered the best results when

a powerful strike was needed.

While she could have used a large-scale fire attack like during the Perdium siege, such spells risked causing significant collateral damage.

Thus, Ghislain had instructed Vanessa to prepare lightning magic. They had already seen its effectiveness against large swarms of enemies.

"That guy was always good at things like this.'

In the past life, he had a bickering mage friend who used this method often when dealing with hordes of monsters.

As long as there was enough mana, the lightning could chain endlessly through the enemies. It was an extremely effective method against a densely packed force.

Recalling the memory from the previous life, Ghislain had Vanessa prepare a similar spell, and it had succeeded splendidly.

Without Vanessa's exceptional sense and control, the mages' mana, or the rune stones, this

would have been impossible.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

They had gathered the mana of nearly thirty mages and amplified it further with the rune stones, far surpassing the scale of the Perdium siege.

Thanks to this massive mana, the lightning spread endlessly, killing the Greggs in its path.

Ghislain smiled as he watched.

"This is good. We've already reduced their numbers by a lot. Monsters are far easier to deal with than humans; they fall for traps so easily."

Count Desmond had become cautious and meticulous after falling for traps once during the Perdium siege.

But mindless creatures like Greggs couldn't understand such tactics. It was only natural for them to fall helplessly into pre-laid traps.

The soldiers cheered as they continued to attack the remaining Greggs.

"They're almost all gone!"

"Just a little more effort!"

"Yeahhh!"

The Greggs numbers had dropped to less than half in an instant.

Though the lightning had weakened, it still crawled through the Greggs, killing them.

Even in its diminished state, 6th Circle magic was far beyond what the Greggs could endure.

The area in front of the fortress had effectively become a single magic circle, killing any Greggs that approached.

At this point, retreating was an option, but Vanessa pushed herself further.

Bzzzzzt!

A dozen magic circles appeared in front of her. However, some began fading and disappearing

due to insufficient mana.

"My mana is running out!"

At Vanessa's shout, the mages who had been on standby as reserves reluctantly stepped

forward, tears streaming down their faces.

Feigning participation, Alpoi quietly slinked back to hide himself.

Bzzzzzt!

As mana was replenished, the magic circles regained their form. Vanessa, trembling,

extended both hands forward.

Boom!

Massive lightning beams erupted from the magic circles.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

Massive holes were punched into the crimson tide, and the remaining Greggs exploded.

The lightning beams spared nothing, obliterating everything in their path, including corpses.

The soldiers once again erupted in cheers.

"Whoa! That's amazing!"

"The best! Truly the best!"

"Vanessa is incredible!"

Morale among the soldiers soared to its peak. They swung their weapons with laughter and

vigor.

However, Vanessa, who had caused such a miracle, was not unscathed.

She had cast a powerful spell using only the mages' mana, without relying on rune stones. The

backlash was immense.

Exhausted of mana and unable to withstand the recoil, Vanessa collapsed.

Ghislain caught her as she fell and said, "Belinda, take care of Vanessa and the mages."

"Understood. What about you, young master?"

"I'll deal with the rest."

Ghislain grinned as he turned his head.

Though the Greggs were dying in the lightning onslaught, they still kept coming.

As the magic began to subside, the remaining ones had to be dealt with directly.

Still, their numbers had significantly dwindled compared to the beginning.

"Let's see. About ten thousand left, I'd say."

Though it was still a large number, the soldiers could handle it.

While the Greggs continued to cling to the fortress, the crisis was over.

Without strategy, tactics, or intelligence, the Greggs were nothing more than a mindless tide.

Looking at the knights scattered around the battlefield, Ghislain shouted, "Let's go down and

finish them off quickly!"

"Yes, sir!"

Thanks to Vanessa and the mages' efforts, the knights, now emboldened, gripped their

weapons.

The knights, wielding specially crafted greatswords made by dwarves, gathered around Ghislain with smiles on their faces.

Against most monsters, brute force was the best option.

With the Greggs' numbers greatly reduced, there was no longer any reason to fear them.

Victory was all but assured.

With eager hearts, they leapt down from the fortress.

"Skreeeeek!"

Boom!

The remaining Greggs lunged at Ghislain and the knights, but they were no match now.

Arrows rained down from the countless towers, and catapults targeted the Greggs at the rear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Skreeeek!"

The Greggs' only advantage had been their overwhelming numbers.

With only about ten thousand left, they were no match for the combined firepower of the

fortress and the knights.

"Hah..."

At some point, Ghislain stopped swinging his sword and looked up at the sky.

Just like when he had defeated the Blood Python, the sky was painted a deep crimson.

The ground was littered with the red bodies of the Greggs, leaving no space to step.

Even the blood-soaked knights seemed redder in the crimson sunset.

The red sky, red corpses, red people.

It was as if the whole world had been dyed red.

'Ah... It feels just like back then.'

His final battle in the past life.

The entire world had been bathed in red just like this.

In that space, the only thing out of place had been the shining white armor of Idun, who had

severed his neck, and the knights who followed him.

Recalling that memory, Ghislain bared his teeth in a grin.

"I'll see you again someday."

Yes, this time, he would have no choice but to show himself sooner than in his past life.

The thought sent a thrilling sensation through his body.

He couldn't wait to meet him again.

Just as that emotion started to settle, cheers erupted from the fortress.

"Woooooah!"

Knights, soldiers, elves, dwarves, priests, and laborers alike.

Everyone raised their voices in unison.

"We've won!"

***

Not a single Greggs remained.

From the moment the Queen of Greggs had been captured, they had no choice but to keep

coming.

All that remained now was the Queen of Greggs.

"Skreeeeeeeeek!"

At first, the Queen of Greggs thrashed about and shrieked incessantly.

But at some point, realizing there were no more Greggs left, it ceased struggling and simply

panted heavily.

In the Forest of Demonic Beasts, even monsters preyed on each other.

And for the defeated, there was no mercy.

Unlike the mindless Greggs, the Queen of Greggs, with its rudimentary intelligence, seemed

to understand it had lost.

Swoosh!

The moment the last Greggs was killed, Ghislain approached the Queen of Greggs and

beheaded it in one swift motion.

Until its head fell, the Queen of Greggs stared only at one person with its multiple eyes.

Receiving its fiery gaze, Alpoi smirked arrogantly and said, "It was I who lured them here." Clap, clap, clap.

The applause from the people was half-hearted.

While Alpoi had done something significant, his contribution paled compared to the

extraordinary feats of the others.

"Hah..."

Ghislain looked at the Queen of Greggs's corpse with a weary expression.

They had defeated the most dangerous monster in their path.

The journey to their ultimate goal was now much safer.

The Queen of Greggs's territory was vast, meaning the remaining stretch would be relatively

easy.

"I'm glad we dealt with it now."

If they had tried to avoid the Queen of Greggs's territory and gone the long way around, they

could have reached the rune stones.

But that would have been unwise. The monsters in the forest attacked intruders

indiscriminately.

Even if they avoided the Queen of Greggs's territory to reach the rune stones, they would

eventually be attacked by her army.

It was better to eliminate her first and expand their territory.

Moreover, there was more to gain than just the rune stones. Ghislain praised the soldiers for their efforts and immediately began organizing the

battlefield.

"We'll halt our advance temporarily to clean up the area. Summon as many laborers as possible from Perdium. Tell them we'll pay double wages."

The area around the fortress was littered with Greggs corpses. They needed to be buried to prevent any chance of disease or other misfortunes.

With more people, the work would be faster. Digging the ground wasn't a problem. The

mages and dwarves, experts in construction, were there to assist.

"Dig."

Every time a mage cast the spell, a large section of ground collapsed, burying groups of

Greggs corpses at once.

They were buried very deep to prevent any unforeseen issues. Laborers followed, compacting and leveling the ground.

With everyone working together, it took three days to bury the countless Greggs corpses.

Of course, burying the corpses wasn't the end of it. They also had to clean off the Greggs flesh

and blood from the fortress walls and inspect their weapons and equipment. Such tasks could be left to the laborers. Ghislain immediately took half of the army and the

knights and set off again.

"There's not much left."

Despite the intense battle with the Greggs, the soldiers showed no signs of exhaustion.

They followed Ghislain with laughter and cheer.

The initial tension they had felt upon entering the forest had given way to confidence and

pride.

Since the Queen of Greggs's territory was vast, there were no other monsters in sight. Ghislain quickly led the group to their desired destination.

When they arrived, the sight stunned everyone to the point of screaming.

"Wow! What, what is this?" "Could it be...?"

"It's the Blessing of the Fairies! This must be the Blessing of the Fairies!"

On one side of the Queen of Greggs's territory, a vast field of flowers stretched out.

The Blessing of the Fairies.

Flowers as valuable as gold, sometimes even more so, depending on the situation.

They were a key ingredient in high-grade potions and had been used to cure Rachel, the

daughter of Gillian.

Here, these precious flowers grew like weeds. Belinda swallowed nervously and asked,

"We, we came here to collect rune stones, didn't we?"

Ghislain smirked and replied,

"This is a bonus. From now on, we'll cultivate the Blessing of the Fairies here. Let's build

defensive walls right away." "What about the rune stones?"

"Oh, those? They're just a little further ahead. We'll take those too, of course. There's far

more here than what we took before."

The soldiers felt dizzy at those words.

[T/L: Please support me and read 385 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans]