Chapter 544
You’ll Have to Get to Work. (2)
"Just a meaningless dream."
Ghislain recalled the last words the Holy Maiden had spoken to him.
You must not come. What could she have meant by that?
He had dismissed it as just a dream, but… could it be that she had actually interacted with him?
Was the necklace truly trying to convey something to him, or was it simply a dream? He had no way of knowing.
— “Master…”
Dark spoke to him. Ghislain turned to ask it a question.
"Did you see it?"
— “I saw it… It’s strange…”
"What’s strange?"
— “It just feels weird… I don’t like it…”
"You don’t know why?"
— “I don’t… The more I see it, the worse I feel…”
Dark shared consciousness with Ghislain. It was unclear whether its unease stemmed from his own emotions or something else entirely.
"Hmm…"
It was still difficult to make sense of it. If this wasn’t just a meaningless dream, then the necklace was definitely trying to send him a message.
At least this time, there was something more substantial compared to before. If he had a few more dreams like this, he might be able to grasp the situation.
Though, whether it had any connection to the current crisis was still uncertain.
"Sigh, everything’s just getting more complicated."
He had the type of personality that couldn’t ignore things he was curious about, but there was nothing he could do for now. He would just have to observe and wait.
Right now, his focus had to be on eliminating the Salvation Church. He couldn’t afford to let these dreams distract him.
"Well, at least I handled one major problem."
Helgenik had been a troublesome foe, even in his past life. It had been a tough fight, but getting rid of him was still a major accomplishment.
After a brief period of rest, Ghislain and the Mobile Corps resumed their march toward the Kingdom of Atrode.
"They must be well-prepared by now."
The Salvation Church and the Kingdom of Atrode had long since united their forces. Meanwhile, the Allied Army had only just begun to gather.
Ghislain had no doubts that the Allied Army would win, but it was going to be a grueling battle.
"Since we lost some precious time and also got diverted by dealing with Helgenik, they’ll likely try something now."
The Salvation Church had two major options left.
"Either they strike another kingdom to split our forces… or they attack the assembled Allied Army first."
The fact that he and the main force had moved out to eliminate Helgenik was surely known to them by now.
That was why Ghislain had only instructed the Allied Army to encircle the Kingdom of Atrode. They couldn’t afford to take on both the kingdom and the Salvation Church at the same time.
Although he intended to fight a decisive battle against the Kingdom of Atrode, wars were never resolved in a single confrontation.
With armies of this size, it was inevitable that things would drag on.
Before long, news arrived regarding the choice the Salvation Church had made.
"The Kingdom of Atrode has invaded the Kingdom of Grimwell! The rumored Revolutionary Group is also fighting alongside them!"
"The Revolutionary Group… So their forces have grown stronger."
Upon hearing the report, Ghislain fell into thought.
‘Why there?’
The Kingdom of Grimwell wasn’t exactly close to the Kingdom of Atrode.
Although the kingdoms in between had already been ravaged, making passage easy, the real issue was that the Kingdom of Grimwell was an incredibly strong nation.
They’ve managed to hold off both the Rift and the rebel forces well…
If the Salvation Church had simply wanted to conquer a kingdom, they had plenty of easier targets. There was no logical reason for them to take such a risk at this point.
‘So, it must be that.’
Gartros was obsessed with relics. He had even mentioned obtaining another one elsewhere.
That meant a relic had to be in the Kingdom of Grimwell.
Ghislain turned to the messenger who had delivered the report.
"Did you check how many troops remain in the Kingdom of Atrode?"
"We couldn’t determine the exact number, but it seems more than half of their forces have moved to the Kingdom of Grimwell."
"More than half" was an understatement. The sheer scale of their forces would be overwhelming.
The Salvation Church, the Kingdom of Atrode’s main army, surrounding rebel factions, and even the Revolutionary Group they had all converged there. Even for a powerful nation, facing such a force alone was an impossible task.
Not even the Ritania Kingdom had been attacked with such overwhelming numbers.
‘Well… that’s because I completely wrecked their original plans.’
Had they moved like this from the start, the Ritania Kingdom would have been destroyed in an instant. Of course, back then, they hadn’t had the forces to pull off such an attack.
Gillian turned to Ghislain and asked,
"What should we do?"
Although he was asking, the answer was already obvious. There was no need to play into the enemy’s hands.
Ghislain made his decision without hesitation.
"As planned, we take the Kingdom of Atrode first. We need to crush their base of operations."
No doubt, they would continue to resist in the Kingdom of Grimwell, but without their home ground, they would be at a severe disadvantage.
"We should send word to the Kingdom of Grimwell. Tell them to avoid confrontation as much as possible just flee if they can. If they refuse, then at least have the king take refuge with us."
Even as he spoke, Ghislain knew that was unlikely to happen.
The king and the nobles there are notoriously stubborn.
The Kingdom of Grimwell was a powerful nation with vast territory. Naturally, its sense of pride was immense.
In fact, they had been the first to send allied forces to Ritania while still managing to hold off both the Rift[a][b][c]s and the rebels admirably.
And that was precisely the problem. Brimming with confidence, they would no doubt assume they could also fend off the Salvation Church’s main force.
Even in his past life, the Kingdom of Grimwell had acted so recklessly. Had they not attempted to seize control when the alliance was first formed?
Recalling those memories, Ghislain shook his head.
‘Too many people wield power.’
The reinforcements sent as part of the allied army listened to some degree, but the kingdom’s main force was a different story. They would only obey once their nation was on the brink of destruction.
That was why, in his past life, everything had always progressed so frustratingly slowly.
‘I should just beat them into submission as soon as I meet them.’
He genuinely wanted peaceful cooperation, but with time being short, he had no choice but to discipline every new army that joined.
Ghislain steeled his resolve. He couldn’t allow others to take advantage of his so-called soft heart.
While he was gathering his thoughts, the Mobile Corps encountered a military force.
“Oh! My lord has arrived.”
Galbarik and the dwarves, who had been with the main force, greeted Ghislain. A significant number of mages were present as well.
Behind them stood several massive wagons so large they could almost be mistaken for small houses, each drawn by dozens of horses.
These were the forces that had been stationed along the Mobile Corps’ route, awaiting Ghislain’s orders.
Galbarik approached Ghislain and asked in a hushed voice,
“That mage?”
“He’s here.”
“Heh, I heard he’s an 8th-circle mage. Our lord truly is remarkable. How did you reel in someone like that?”
“I didn’t reel him in he came of his own accord. The heavens must really be on my side.”
Ghislain smirked. Meeting Jerome this quickly was nothing short of divine fortune, given how busy they were.
Galbarik grinned back.
“Then we can deploy him immediately?”
“That’s right. We’re always pressed for time, aren’t we?”
“Indeed. Having a high-level mage join us now is an incredible stroke of luck.”
The two exchanged wicked smiles. The mage Galbarik was referring to was, of course, Jerome.
While the army paused for a brief rest, Jerome sat with the other mages at the rear, engaging in elegant conversation.
Ever since Jerome had joined, this sort of discussion had taken place whenever the march halted for breaks.
“So, because spatial teleportation can be highly unstable, additional magical precautions must be taken… By generating a protective barrier first, followed by advanced coordinate stabilization…”
Jerome patiently answered every question the mages posed, showing no hesitation in sharing his knowledge.
The mages listened intently after all, this was the wisdom of an 8th-circle mage. No one wanted to miss a single word, and they seized every available moment to bombard him with more questions.
The problem?
The only one who actually understood Jerome’s explanations was Vanessa.
“Oh! So you manipulate an enormous amount of mana to warp space-time and create a direct shortcut between two points…”
“Wait, you understood that in one go? Are you a genius?”
“A-Ah, no. Jerome explained it in a way that’s easy to grasp.”
Vanessa answered modestly, though in truth, Jerome was constantly astounded by her comprehension.
No matter what he explained, he never had to repeat himself.
‘I spent countless years training in my Mental Realm to grasp these concepts!’
And yet, his conversation partner had reached the 7th-circle in just a few years without any such training. When he first heard of it, he found it unbelievable.
‘Wait… am I the idiot here? Is this normal? Master always said I was smart… but was that just like how mothers always think their children are the cutest?’
Since Jerome had never spent much time talking to other mages besides his master, he found himself momentarily shaken.
He had considered himself quite exceptional, but after meeting Vanessa, he was starting to doubt himself.
However, one glance at the other mages reassured him.
They all just looked utterly dumbfounded. Alfoi, in particular, was even drooling.
And yet, judging by his mana, Alfoi had clearly undergone advanced training. Curious, Jerome asked him,
“Alfoi, do you understand anything I just said?”
“……”
Alfoi didn’t want to say he didn’t know. It was too humiliating to admit that to a newcomer(?).
He was a man who lived by his pride and self-respect. He was the first in human history to have the honor of defeating a god.
He didn’t want to be treated like an idiot by some mere human mage(?).
So, he simply bit his tongue.
“Kyaaaah! I knoow eeeverything! B-but I’m hurt r-right now, so I c-can’t s-speak properly! Thhhp! Blood! Aaaah! Oww! Ow ow! Uwaaah!”
“……”
Jerome simply concluded that Vanessa was particularly smart.
Either way, a talent like Vanessa would be immensely helpful in times like these. Jerome shared all the magic knowledge he knew without holding back.
Vanessa, in turn, was deeply impressed by Jerome and grew to respect him.
‘To think there would be a mage like this.’
Jerome was completely different from any other mage she had ever met.
Mages were usually reluctant to share their knowledge. Even when they did, they would only toss a scrap of information after exploiting someone to their heart’s content.
But Jerome wasn’t like that. He freely shared his knowledge, as if he sincerely wished for more mages to grow stronger.
Anyone could see the reason behind it.
‘It must be because he genuinely wants to help people.’
Vanessa was well aware of Jerome’s past achievements. Someone with such a noble heart would have no reason to demand compensation for sharing his knowledge.
She couldn’t help but respect him not just as a mage, but as a person.
Thus, their conversation became a mutual exchange of admiration.
The other mages, however, weren’t concerned.
‘Lady Vanessa will explain it to us later anyway.’
‘She’s the best at teaching.’
‘There’s a reason she’s the Head of the Magic Research Institute.’
‘How dare you humiliate me, you damn rookie! Just you wait!’
Aside from one individual who had taken offense, the mages’ elegant discussion continued without issue.
Jerome’s heart swelled as he watched the mages listening attentively to his words.
‘Everyone must be exhausted from the war, and yet they’re so eager to learn. How admirable. But… Why do they all have such dark circles under their eyes? Have they been struggling that much?’
The war was undeniably tough, but for mages, they looked unusually fatigued. It was odd.
At that moment, Ghislain approached with Galbarik on his side.
“Jerome, this is Galbarik. He’s in charge of ‘production’ for Fenris. You’ll be seeing him ‘frequently,’ so get along with him.”
“Oh? I see! I look forward to working with you!”
Jerome greeted Galbarik warmly, and Galbarik responded with a bright smile.
“Ahem, a pleasure to meet you. It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but I’m known as the ‘Great Blacksmith,’ Galbarik. By the way, I heard you’re an 8th-Circle mage….”
“Yes!”
“Wow, that’s truly impressive. This means… we can ‘work’ even faster no, no, I mean, truly remarkable.”
Galbarik rechecked Jerome’s circle level and grinned slyly. Jerome simply thought it was a sign of friendliness.
But suddenly, Ghislain grabbed Jerome’s shoulder and spoke.
“We’ll have to part ways for a bit.”
“Huh? Why? Weren’t we heading to the battlefield?”
“We are. But you can take your time getting there. You don’t have to come with us right away.”
Jerome tilted his head in confusion.
Though he had just joined, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest individuals in the Allied Forces. Especially on the battlefield, where a mage like him could unleash devastating power.
Yet they were telling him to stay behind? It made no sense to Jerome.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Ghislain gave him a gentle smile and said,
“You have some work to do. There’s something only you can handle with the dwarves and the mages here.”
Jerome still looked clueless.
Vanessa averted her gaze elsewhere.
And the other mages nodded with gloomy expressions.
[a]i just now noticed that "Rift" is always capitalized and while I did add and extra s i forgot to change the caps... i am confused as to why the text keeps saying Rift when it is obviously referring to multiple rifts
[b]Translation issues, up for us to check.
[c]Noted