Chapter 472: If I Say It’ll happen, It Will. (2)
Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!
A barrage of fire, ice, and lightning rained down upon the spot where Ghislain had been. The soldiers of the Delfine Forces, who had been charging at him, were caught directly in the magical onslaught.
“AAARRGGHHH!”
“Spare me!”
“It’s magic! Take cover!”
The soldiers had no idea where the magic had come from. Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, they couldn’t tell whether it was casted by an ally or an enemy.
The spell’s effects were undeniable. The soldiers who had been clinging to Ghislain were torn apart or exploded, meeting instant death. The same fate awaited those still rushing forward.
Even though the spells used were not large-scale, their destructive power was overwhelming.
The impact was so great that even the Fenris Mobile Corps, who had been massacring the Delfine Forces, momentarily faltered.
Fwoosh!
From within the raging flames and thick smoke, a black figure burst forth, shouting—
“Don’t stop!”
“WOOOOAHHHH!”
The Fenris Mobile Corps roared and resumed their assault.
Of course, their lord was fine. Even after such an incredible attack, he stood unscathed. It was almost shameful that they had hesitated, even for a moment.
While the Fenris Mobile Corps cheered, the mages of the Delfine Forces murmured in shock, their faces pale.
“What… what kind of monster is he…?”
The mages had poured all their mana into that spell. Any superhuman hit directly should have been reduced to tatters.
Yet, Ghislain strode forward, shrouded in a flickering black aura, completely unaffected.
In fact, with fewer soldiers surrounding him, he was now advancing even faster.
“B-block him! Kill him at all costs!”
At Count Fograin’s command, the mages desperately gathered what little mana they had left, scraping the bottom of their reserves.
RUMBLE!
Pillars of fire erupted from the ground. The earth crumbled. A storm of lightning rained down from the sky, and shards of ice encased the battlefield.
Ghislain tightened his grip on Black King’s reins.
He dodged what he could. For the unavoidable attacks, he endured, summoning his energy.
Neighhhh!
Black King reared and snorted furiously, bracing against the assault alongside Ghislain.
Though the black aura shielded them, it wasn’t as if they felt nothing. Yet, the warhorse exuded a fierce, untamed spirit, charging ahead with unrelenting ferocity. It truly resembled its master.
Grit.
Ghislain clenched his teeth.
The combined attacks of dozens of mages were undeniably powerful.
Hidden beneath the black aura, blood trickled from the corner of his lips. The amplification from Dark sent crushing pressure through his body, threatening to tear him apart.
And yet, Ghislain smiled as he advanced.
He could have fought with hit-and-run tactics.
But what the enemy needed right now wasn’t just a battle, it was overwhelming fear.
Fwoooosh!
From within the infernal storm of magic, Ghislain and Black King burst forth.
The expressions of those who saw him were consumed by sheer terror.
The swirling black aura seemed almost to grin.
The crimson glow in his eyes flickered like the flames of a demon.
A black demon.
There was no other way to describe him.
“Ki… kill him.”
Count Fograin muttered the same command over and over. But even as he spoke, a question lingered in his mind.
‘How?’
‘How in the world were they supposed to kill him?’
Even a superhuman should be dead after taking such an assault. Even if not dead, he should be gravely wounded, exhausted beyond reason.
Standing tall like that was impossible. It should have been impossible.
Everyone on the battlefield felt the same crushing doubt. That was why, even though the order had been given, no one moved.
They were elite soldiers, hardened by brutal training.
Yet, they could not suppress the primal terror surging from deep within them.
And then Ghislain moved.
BOOM!
“AAAAARGHHH!”
He cut through the soldiers guarding Count Fograin first.
The men standing in his way didn’t even have the chance to thrust their spears. They were shredded instantly.
“Stop him!”
The knights surrounding Count Fograin finally swung their swords.
Despite being paralyzed by fear, they moved with the discipline of knights.
They poured their blue mana into their swords, slashing at the black demon that was now upon them.
But there was no conviction behind their blades.
It was nothing but the desperate thrashing of men drowning in terror.
The years of training they had endured vanished. Their swordsmanship was no different from the wild, clumsy swings of common thugs.
BOOOOM!
“AAARGHHH!”
The knights perished, unable to showcase their true abilities.
BOOM! BOOOM!
Each swing of Ghislain’s spear swept away the enemy like fallen leaves in a storm.
Who would dare call these men as the kingdom’s strongest elite soldiers now?
They were nothing more than scarecrows, standing there, waiting to be cut down.
The mages, having exhausted most of their mana, stood frozen in place, unable to do anything. They could only stare at Ghislain in terror as he approached.
They were weaker-willed than the knights, and many had already given up entirely.
This was exactly what Ghislain intended. All these mages, and yet they had been completely bound by a single man.
“Ki… kill him… Hurry…”
Count Fograin, overwhelmed by the sheer power that defied common sense, couldn’t even think of running away. He merely stood there, dazed, watching as his men collapsed before him.
Neighhh!
“Move!”
Ghislain’s thunderous shout rang out. Instinctively, the soldiers stepped back. Their fighting spirit had been completely crushed.
Thududududu!
Black King charged down the path between the ranks of the Delfine Forces. Count Fograin could only stare blankly as Ghislain approached.
Swish!
With a casual flick of his spear, Ghislain sliced past Count Fograin.
Thud!
His lifeless body, now just an empty husk, tumbled off his horse.
No one around them moved.
The eerie silence sharply contrasted with the chaotic battlefield, where soldiers still screamed and fought on the outskirts.
Clop, clop.
Ghislain leisurely turned his horse around and rode back. He raised Count Fograin’s severed head on the tip of his spear.
It was time to declare victory.
Just as he was about to shout, he hesitated.
“…What was this guy’s name again?”
He had arrived in such a rush that he hadn’t received the proper intel. His face seemed somewhat familiar perhaps he had seen him in his past life but the name just wouldn’t come to mind.
Ghislain turned to a trembling soldier nearby, still clutching his weapon.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?! Yes?!”
“Who was your commander?”
“C-Count… Count Fograin, sir!”
“Oh. Now I remember.”
Grinning, Ghislain shouted at the top of his lungs—
“Count Fograin is dead!”
His voice, laced with mana, echoed across the battlefield. The Fenris Mobile Corps immediately joined in.
“Count Fograin is dead!”
“Drop your weapons and surrender!”
“Surrender, and you will be spared!”
The soldiers of the Delfine Forces, who had been pushed back relentlessly, instinctively lifted their heads. Their commander was dead? They needed to confirm it for themselves.
Their gazes turned toward the command center.
What they saw was staggering countless soldiers already lying face down, having thrown away their weapons.
With just the right trigger, a battlefield’s momentum could shift in an instant.
The Delfine soldiers had already been demoralized by the slaughter. And now, with their leader dead, surrender spread through their ranks like wildfire. One by one, they dropped their weapons.
Even the mages, being the most self-serving individuals on the battlefield, immediately threw themselves to the ground.
Only a handful of knights resisted to the bitter end, but all of them were cut down by the Fenris Mobile Corps.
One knight, who had stood by Count Fograin’s side, cautiously asked—
“…What will you do if we surrender?”
Ghislain gave him a look as if the answer were obvious.
“You’ll all be reinstated into the kingdom’s army. You’ll fight against the Ducal Family again, but isn’t that better than dying here?”
“That… That’s ridiculous.”
The Ducal Family was no longer just an enemy of the Ritania Kingdom; they had become the enemy of the entire continent.
Because the Salvation Church was involved, the Four Major Temples had also joined the war.
Everyone affiliated with the Ducal Family had been branded as heretics. The churches would seek to exterminate them to assert their authority.
The knights and soldiers of the Delfine Forces had fought with the resolve to die. They had assumed that no one would grant them mercy.
But Ghislain dismissed the issue as if it were nothing.
“If I say it’ll happen, it will.”
“……”
“Cutting down the Ducal Family’s forces while bolstering our own, it’s a win-win. Just kill off the higher-ups, and we’re done.”
“……”
It was an audacious statement. He was openly disregarding any resistance from other nobles or the church.
He was someone who would do absolutely anything to win.
At some point, Ghislain had dispelled the black aura surrounding him. He smirked and said—
“What are you waiting for? If you’re going to fight, do it now. If you’re going to surrender, do it properly.”
The knight looked around, his eyes weary.
Those who had resisted were already dead. Most of the remaining soldiers had discarded their weapons and lay face down.
It was a complete and utter defeat.
Never had he imagined such a battle could unfold.
The knight turned back to Ghislain and said—
“…Impressive. To reach this place so quickly and ambush us like this.”
“My specialties are pursuit, ambush, and annihilation.”
There was no room for argument. Ghislain’s reputation had been well-earned.
The knight slowly lowered his sword and knelt.
Had the Ducal Family not entangled itself with the Salvation Church, he would have fought for them until the very end.
But they had already lost all justification. They had sided with heretics and massacred countless innocent people.
When the knights learned that the Salvation Church was responsible for the Rift Incident, doubt consumed them. Having lost the object of their loyalty, they easily crumbled under Ghislain’s offer to surrender.
With his enemies completely subdued, Ghislain surveyed the battlefield.
“So many survived. Excellent.”
Nearly twenty thousand prisoners had been taken.
Perhaps because of how swift and decisive the attack had been, more soldiers had survived than expected.
Now, these men would join the Kingdom’s Army and bolster their forces against the Ducal Family.
Ghislain smiled in satisfaction.
Truthfully, he had pushed himself too hard. He had lost count of how many times he had swallowed back the blood rising in his throat.
But he had to endure. He had to show that this was nothing to him.
Because only then would they continue to fear him.
Ghislain raised his spear high and declared—
“We have won again!”
“WOOOOAAAHHHH!”
The Fenris Mobile Corps roared, lifting their weapons in triumph.
Despite their exhaustion from the relentless march, this victory cry washed away their fatigue.
They had followed Ghislain from the very inception of the Mobile Corps. Their pride was no longer mere morale it was something far greater.
Under the banner of Fenris, defeat did not exist.
That was why they possessed an unbreakable will, why they feared nothing.
Because they were an undefeated army.
* * *
Elsewhere…
The fortress where Marquis Maurice McQuarrie and his Kingdom Army had been defeated and forced to retreat was now a desolate ruin.
Caw! Caw!
Near the half-collapsed stronghold, crows picked at the countless corpses littering the battlefield.
Even though Count Fograin had successfully captured the fortress, he had rested only briefly before continuing his advance.
The area was completely devoid of life until someone appeared, tapping a cane against the ground.
“Heh heh heh…”
A frail old crone, hunched over yet smiling kindly.
She was none other than the soothsayer whom Maurice had cherished and kept by his side.
Glancing around, the old woman muttered to herself—
“Maurice, you fool… You should stop putting your faith in superstition… Not that I’m entirely blameless, but… Thanks to your unwavering devotion, I did live quite comfortably.”
Chuckling as if amused, she murmured again—
“You lucky bastard. That child arrived just in time to save you. I suppose that was fate, too…”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As she hobbled toward the fortress’s exit, she suddenly halted, gazing toward the northern sky.
She stood there for a moment, unmoving.
“Ghislain Ferdium… Truly remarkable. Absolutely astounding. You’ve turned this Kingdom of Ritania into the very heart of war, bending the battle to your will.”
Though no one was there to hear her, she continued talking to herself.
“To shape destiny like this… Not in a thousand years has there been anyone like you. Even we, failed to foresee you.”
Ghislain was like a storm.
The Salvation Church, which had spent centuries amassing power, was now being annihilated by him without resistance.
The heir of a poor Margrave, once a weakling among weaklings, had now become an existence no one could defy.
“That is due to your own effort and ability. Your unyielding determination and unyielding sense of responsibility are truly admirable.”
Lost in thought for a moment, the crone suddenly smiled again.
“So, even Ereneth has come to meet you first… That only means you are drawing closer to the heart of this war. And the one who just arrived… They will meet you, too.”
As she spoke, her body began to dissolve into light.
Within the scattering particles of radiance, a hazy figure briefly appeared, a woman with massive wings.
Though her form was blurred, she exuded a presence so overwhelming it seemed to weigh upon the entire world.
From within the fading light, a faint voice whispered—
“Ghislain… I hope that child will be of help to you… We can no longer…”
Her final words scattered into the wind.
And just like that, the radiant figure vanished, as if she had never existed at all.