Chapter 535
Shall We Go Save Them? (1)
On the day he met Julien, when the necklace began to glow—
Ghislain had a dream for the first time in a long while.
"……You understand, right?"
A voice whispered in his ear, tickling his senses.
The world inside the dream was hazy and unstable. All Ghislain could perceive was the presence of several figures before him.
People were moving busily, each engaged in their own tasks. Ghislain merely watched, like an observer.
Yet, everything was so indistinct that he couldn't discern who they were or what they were doing.
In this gray-tinted world, all he could perceive was the faint blur of things passing by.
Among them, only one person had a hint of color.
Ghislain immediately recognized who it was.
'Ereneth?'
Ereneth was smiling. It was a sight unfamiliar to him she, who was always expressionless and devoid of mirth, looked lively and cheerful.
‘Could she even smile like that?’
Moreover, she looked younger than she did now. Given that elves had long lifespans, he couldn't be certain, but her aura lacked the mature presence she usually carried.
However, as dreams often go, Ghislain did not realize that he was dreaming.
He simply accepted this moment as reality.
Ghislain gazed at the brightly smiling Ereneth and the surrounding gray figures for a long time.
A sense of joy welled up within him.
He didn't know why, but it felt as if they were all his friends.
“...Master.”
One of the gray figures turned to look at him.
Though its form was indistinct, he had the impression that it was smiling at him.
Ghislain smiled back.
The moment he became aware of them, the surroundings began to sharpen, gaining clarity.
Just a little longer, and he would be able to make out their faces.
— “Master!!! Wake up!!!”
Flash!
Ghislain's eyes snapped open.
As he awoke, Dark was frantically shouting.
— “Master! Are you awake? Are you up?!”
"...Yeah. What’s going on?"
— “Damn it, I don’t know! Something was trying to invade your mind! It was trying to overwrite your memories! And I couldn't even see what it was!”
"……"
Ghislain remained silent.
Something was trying to enter his mind?
A perfected being who had reached the realm of transcendence could not have their consciousness easily breached.
Moreover, no one had cast a spell on him with deliberate intent.
That left only one possibility.
Dark shouted again.
— “Throw that weird necklace away! It’s that thing! That’s the culprit! Even I feel strange because of it!”
"You too?"
— “Yeah! Something about it just... I don't know, but it feels really bad!”
Ghislain pressed his fingertips against his temple, deep in thought.
Ever since he had reached a certain level, he no longer dreamt.
In fact, he barely even slept.
The rare moments when he did, his body focused solely on recovery.
For him, closing his eyes for just a brief moment was enough to feel fully rested.
But then, he had a dream. A dream of unknown origins.
It wasn’t due to any abnormality in his body. It was an external force interfering.
“It’s this necklace, after all…”
There had been no such incidents while wearing the necklace before. It all started after it reacted to Julien.
Dark urged him again from the side.
— “Ah, just throw it away! Get rid of it! Why are you still carrying around that creepy thing?!”
Ghislain briefly considered it.
Having dreams and having his sleep disturbed was one thing he could tolerate, but something forcibly invading his mind was an entirely different matter.
However, Ernhardt’s words lingered in his mind.
— “After I realized my ‘mission,’ I started having the same dream every day. A dream so vivid, so real. And each day, it continued from where it left off.”
‘If this dream is something like that…’
If it was some kind of revelation, a dream meant to tell him something—
It clearly wasn’t an ordinary dream, so it was worth observing for a little longer.
Perhaps through this necklace and these dreams, he could find a clue about the Salvation Church’s true objective.
“I’m not throwing it away. I’ll keep watching for now. If something like today happens again, don’t wake me up just observe.”
— “What? Just observe? That thing is digging into your memories, and you want me to just sit and watch?! If this keeps up, even I won’t be able to stop it later!”
Dark had the ability to nullify mental attacks. Most likely, he had been the one preventing whatever force was trying to invade Ghislain’s mind.
That was probably why the dream hadn’t fully taken shape.
Ghislain spoke nonchalantly.
“It’s fine. As long as it’s not an outright attack, leave it alone. Even if something dangerous gets in, I can handle it.”
His mind had already been tempered through death and regression, stronger than anything. He had confidence in that.
Dark clicked his tongue.
— “Why go this far? Why throw yourself into danger?”
“Because I’m curious. If I don’t get answers, I’ll have to face it head-on.”
Since the beginning, Ghislain had always trained as if his life depended on it.
And something like this, something that poked at his curiosity he couldn’t just ignore it. He had to scratch the itch until it was satisfied.
Knowing his nature, Dark said nothing more. He simply steeled himself, preparing for the worst.
To be honest, he was also a little curious about the strange feeling surrounding all of this.
After all the commotion, Ghislain went back to sleep.
But this time, he didn’t dream.
It seemed that the phenomenon wasn’t something that would happen every time.
So all he could do was wait until the dream returned.
* * *
Ritania and Turian had chosen the Kingdom of Sardina as the center of their allied forces.
The Kingdom of Sardina had no say in the matter. Ritania and Turian had assisted in quelling its civil war and stabilizing the rifts. They were simply too powerful to oppose.
Thanks to Ghislain and Julien, several kingdoms had been able to end their civil wars quickly.
The fact that parts of the Salvation Church’s forces and the rebels had fled made things even easier.
With their civil wars concluded, the kingdoms were now able to contribute some of their forces to the allied army.
The allied forces that had gathered numbered approximately 200,000. If the forces fighting in other regions were included, the total exceeded 300,000.
The leaders of the allied army, assembled from various kingdoms, could finally breathe a little easier.
“Haha, with this many troops, even the Salvation Church won’t be able to do anything.”
“I hear the rebels are retreating from various fronts?”
“This is all thanks to the Ritania Kingdom and Duke Fenris, isn’t it? Hahaha.”
They all subtly glanced at Ghislain while offering their praises. After all, it was because of Ghislain that the Salvation Church's power was gradually diminishing.
At this rate, the Salvation Church would eventually be eradicated, and the allied forces would emerge victorious. As hope became more tangible, the atmosphere continued to improve.
“But… how exactly do we get rid of the Rifts?”
“Hmm, won’t we find a way once we destroy the Salvation Church?”
The Rifts, which had been prevented from expanding, were no longer growing. A magic circle had been deployed to block them from absorbing the surrounding energy.
However, the mere existence of the Rifts remained an unsettling issue. Nothing could be built nearby, and constant surveillance was required.
Even though they wanted to deal with it, no one knew how, so they had simply left it as it was.
Ghislain remained silent on the matter. He himself had yet to find a safe way to close it.
‘If we eliminate the Salvation Church, we’ll find a way.’
For now, it was enough to ensure that the massive beasts, the so-called masters of the Rift, did not emerge from within. Once the war was over, the mages would undoubtedly discover a method to seal it.
He recalled that significant research had been conducted on it in his past life.
To achieve that, the Salvation Church needed to be destroyed as quickly as possible. Although tracking down Ernhardt was also important, the most urgent objective was to eliminate the church.
As the strategic meeting commenced, Marquis Gideon unfolded a large map. He was currently serving as one of the allied army’s strategists alongside Claude.
“As Duke Fenris pointed out, the Salvation Church is clearly converging in the Kingdom of Atrode.”
“What is the current status of the civil war there?”
“Duke Leinster has emerged victorious. The rebel forces from the surrounding kingdoms are gathering in the Kingdom of Atrode.”
“Hm…”
“It seems likely that they are regrouping to consolidate their forces before launching a counteroffensive.”
Ghislain, who had been silently listening, finally spoke.
“What is the General Staff’s opinion?”
“There’s no benefit for us in expanding the frontlines. It would only lead to a repeated cycle of gaining and losing territory. It would be best to crush them in one decisive strike while we have the opportunity.”
Ghislain nodded. The reason the war had dragged on for so long was that the Salvation Church had spread its influence everywhere, inciting rebellions.
If the enemy managed to reorganize their forces and spread out once more, the allied army would be forced to divide its troops and hunt them down.
It was far more efficient to eliminate them in one fell swoop while they were still gathered.
A noble who had been listening to the discussion cleared his throat and asked,
“Ahem, a swift, decisive battle would indeed be the fastest and most effective solution… but wouldn’t that also come with significant risks?”
Why was the Salvation Church so terrifying? Because superhumans were popping out like they were being mass-produced.
Even if they were incomplete, a superhuman was still a superhuman. While a kingdom would be lucky to have even one or two, the church was deploying them at double or even triple that number.
That was why most kingdoms had been overwhelmed by the rebels.
Right now, a massive army was gathered in the Kingdom of Atrode, and there were surely many superhumans among them. If they fought and lost, it would truly be the end.
Marquis Gideon straightened his chest and said,
"We just have to win."
"……."
He turned his head slightly and looked at Ghislain with a smile.
"Don't you agree?"
His gaze then shifted toward Julien. As long as they were with that man, it didn’t seem possible to lose.
Ghislain let out a hearty laugh and replied,
"Well, I don’t think we’ll lose."
Right here were three of the Seven Strongest on the Continent from his past life. If Ereneth were to return, that number would grow to four.
Each kingdom also had its own exceptional superhumans and knights.
'And there's one more guy who'll be joining soon.'
Ghislain thought of an old comrade from his past life. It was about time for that friend to make his mark and spread his name.
If he heard about the allied forces, he would undoubtedly join them. After all, he had done the same in their past lives.
Thinking about losing with such a force was absurd.
In fact, their current situation was even better than in his past life. Back then, they had been too preoccupied fighting the Rift Beasts to even concern themselves with the Salvation Church.
Still smiling, Ghislain turned to Julien and asked,
"What do you think? Should we push out Duke Leinster of the Kingdom of Atrode right away?"
"Not a bad idea."
There were still kingdoms suffering from both the Rift and the rebels. However, if they could destroy the Salvation Church's stronghold, they could quickly rescue the others as well.
There was no reason to refuse a way to end the war quickly.
Besides, Julien didn't even feel fear in the first place, so he wasn’t concerned about the enemy’s strength.
Watching him, Ghislain smirked.
'There's no one more reliable in war than him.'
Julien only grew stronger the more he fought. He was already incredible, but he still had a long way to go before reaching his past life's peak.
But Ghislain was different from his past self as well. He had reached new heights much faster and was continuing to grow stronger.
'Once this war is over, let's have a proper fight.'
This time, he had no intention of giving up the title of the Continent’s Strongest Swordsman. Not that he had ever willingly given it up in his past life, either.
With that, the strategy meeting came to an end. Not that anyone else really had a say. Whatever Ghislain and Julien decided was what would be done.
The allied forces' preparations for war proceeded swiftly. Some additional kingdoms joined along the way, but the original 200,000 troops remained the main force.
The rest were assigned to either support struggling kingdoms or prepare for potential ambushes.
With deployment, supply routes, and marching paths all finalized, they were ready to set out.
Just then, a messenger, covered in dust, came rushing in and shouted,
"Th-The Kingdom of Parsali has been invaded! The Parsali army is being pushed back on all fronts!"
"What?"
Ghislain furrowed his brows. The Kingdom of Parsali had been pushing back the rebels, so he hadn’t been too concerned. They had even recently sent word that they would be dispatching reinforcements to the alliance.
"What happened? Explain."
"A force of 200,000 launched a sudden invasion! The army gathered in the Kingdom of Atrode moved at an alarming speed!"
With an army of 200,000, it would be difficult for the Kingdom of Parsali to hold out. The Salvation Church had come up with a clever move.
But something felt off. The Parsali army had been handling the Rift and the rebels well. It seemed too easy for them to be overwhelmed so quickly.
A large army should take considerable time to march and set up supply lines.
It had only been a few days since Parsali had sent word that they would join the alliance.
Before Ghislain could ask for more details, the messenger, his face filled with fear, stammered,
"A-A massive legion of the dead is advancing! No matter how many we kill, their numbers keep growing!"
Ghislain paused for a moment, then smirked crookedly.
"That bastard has joined the Salvation Church."
He had a good idea of who was behind this.