The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 764: I Told You Back Then (2)

The sword dug in with an eerily silent and terrifying speed.

Tagmah twisted his body purely on instinct.

There wasn’t even enough time to properly draw up his energy and defend.

Slaaaash!

He didn’t manage to avoid it completely. In his vision, he could clearly see the blood erupting from his own body.

Rahamod also twisted his body just before the sword could reach him in an attempt to avoid a fatal wound.

He felt it distinctly. The sword had been aimed precisely at his throat.

Even as he evaded, Rahamod stretched out his right hand. It was to launch a counterattack immediately.

At that moment—

—the sword’s trajectory twisted in a bizarre way.

It bent, in a way too flexible to understand, as if it were alive and moving of its own will.

Rahamod felt a cold murderous intent brush past his left arm.

Tap.

BOOOOOOOM!

Ghislain, who had attempted the ambush, was flung back by the surge of energy Rahamod released.

Having successfully countered, Rahamod slowly lowered his head.

His left arm—everything below the wrist—was gone. His severed hand was rolling on the ground.

Fsssssshh!

From the cross-section of his severed wrist, black smoke poured out. His skin wriggled, and the wound began to heal.

“You... you bastard...”

Sparks erupted in Rahamod’s eyes.

The fact that his body—which normally wouldn’t get a scratch from most attacks—had suffered such a wound from a single ambush... There was no greater humiliation.

Tagmah, at least, had fared better.

His chest had been slashed open in a long line, but the wound wasn’t very deep. That was because the attacker had concentrated more on Rahamod.

Hissssss!

Black smoke also began to rise from Tagmah’s wound, and it soon began to heal.

Rahamod once again drew up his energy.

Because he had been concentrating all of his strength on killing Grondal, he hadn’t properly protected his own body. If he had properly channeled his energy, he wouldn’t have been cut so easily.

He ground his teeth.

“You bastard... back then you danced around with those filthy little tricks too... and now you’ve finally managed to wound me...”

Back then, that technique had irritated him so much.

He was starting to think he should’ve given up on Iralniel and killed that man back then.

The choice to ignore and let him go had ended up affecting this moment.

“Ghh...”

Ghislain slowly stood up, holding his side.

Even though he had braced himself before taking the hit, the pain was tremendous. His mana was also significantly drained.

But it had been worth the price.

Ghislain extended his sword toward Rahamod and grinned.

“How’s that? A little different from last time, right?”

“......”

Back when they’d encountered each other in the Elven Forest, Ghislain had exhausted nearly all his mana.

But not this time. Expecting a fight with a prophet, he had conserved his power.

Ghislain flicked his sword and continued speaking.

“I told you back then.”

“......”

“Everyone who comes at me... ends up dead. And for you... today just happens to be that day.”

“You damned...”

‘Man, this sword is incredible. It’s even better than I expected.’

To be honest, when facing someone as powerful as Rahamod, there wasn’t much difference between using a staff or a sword.

Before either side’s energy was fully depleted, the weapon’s specs didn’t mean all that much.

But this sword—Gramdir—was a different story.

It was powerful enough to inflict meaningful damage even on someone of Rahamod’s level.

Of course, that was only possible thanks to Ghislain’s refined mana control and technique. In someone else’s hands, the weapon’s full potential wouldn’t have been drawn out.

Ghislain readied his stance. Responding to his will, the sword began to resonate.

Rahamod contorted his face and stepped forward.

“You can’t even handle me on your own. And now there’s another prophet like me here. You knew that, and you still dared to show yourself before us?”

Tagmah also released a dreadful aura. He was clearly intent on ripping Ghislain to pieces in an instant.

Ghislain let out a small laugh and said:

“Who said I was alone?”

“Not alone? Even if your companions come, they won’t be able to deal with us.”

“If it’s with the dwarf king by my side... I think we can manage, don’t you?”

“That one is—”

Rahamod stopped mid-sentence and slowly turned his head. Tagmah did the same.

“Oh, Goddess...”

Deneb, her voice trembling, was releasing divine power toward the collapsed Grondal.

Her divine power was weak. Normally, she could barely heal minor wounds.

But if it was the Salvation Order’s energy that had invaded his body—

—there was no one more suited to drive it out completely.

FSSSSSSHHH!

A dazzling light engulfed Grondal’s body. It was far beyond the amount of holy power she should have been capable of releasing.

She herself didn’t know where that divine power had come from.

Even if she’d used Lionel’s divine power before, there was no one else nearby now.

And yet, the light was real, and the healing was real.

It was a mysterious situation, but she didn’t let it concern her. The only thing that mattered right now was healing the dwarf king.

“Ghh...”

With a short groan, Grondal shot to his feet.

All of his wounds had been healed, and the dark energy that had been burrowed into his body, eating away at his strength, had vanished.

Though the mana he had already spent didn’t return, the fact that his external wounds were gone and the internal corruption had been purged was enough to let him fight again.

Seeing that, Ghislain shouted inwardly with joy.

‘As expected! Deneb really is the Salvation Order’s natural enemy.’

There had been a bit of a gamble, but Ghislain had believed Deneb would succeed this time too.

That was because Deneb approached the Salvation Order’s energy from a completely different perspective than ordinary priests. It was a kind of spiritual realization.

And as expected, that belief had paid off. Deneb had completely wiped out the Salvation Order’s energy inside Grondal’s body.

Ghislain smiled and said:

“My faith has been rewarded.”

Grondal, now gripping his halberd again, also burst into laughter.

“Puhahahaha! The Goddess has granted me a miracle!”

He had truly thought he was about to die. That’s how strong the two prophets were.

But then, out of nowhere, a priest had appeared and healed him with overwhelming divine power. If that wasn’t the grace of a goddess, what else could it be?

And the man who’d appeared alongside that priest was incredible as well.

Even if it had been an ambush, to wound prophets that powerful!

There was no need for a long explanation to guess who he was.

“Julien Mercenary Corps! Are you Julien?”

Ghislain shook his head.

“I’m part of the Julien Mercenary Corps, yes, but my name is Astion.”

“I see! Either way, you’re amazing! You showed up at just the right time! And your skills are top-tier, and that weapon you’re holding is...”

Grondal paused and rubbed his eyes. The sword looked very familiar.

No matter how he looked at it, that was Vallscrum’s most treasured artifact. And the rightful owner of that weapon... was himself.

“Is that—Gramdir? Why? Why is that in your hands?”

“I received it as fair payment.”

“I never gave it to anyone though?”

Ghislain clicked his tongue lightly.

“Sounds like there’s some complicated history behind it. But I’m not interested.”

“Well, I’d like to know.”

“Now’s not the time for this discussion. Anyway, it’s mine for now, so let’s talk about it later.”

“R-Right. First, let’s slaughter those bastards.”

Grondal rolled his shoulder in wide circles. It would’ve been difficult on his own, but now things were different. With two of them, it was more than worth fighting.

Rahamod and Tagmah fell silent for a moment. An obstacle had appeared just before victory.

However, they were not flustered. As if they had already anticipated something like this.

Tagmah glared at Ghislain and opened his mouth.

“You were right. Is that the ‘mage’ you spoke of?”

“Yes, that bastard interfered before too. He’s a mage, but his combat technique is also highly advanced.”

“I see. Seems like he really is. Strong enough to obstruct our plans.”

Tagmah turned his head again. His gaze was now fixed on Deneb.

“That priest... is she the ‘miracle’ you spoke of?”

“She is.”

“I can’t make any sense of it. Her energy is so weak, I can barely feel it. She’s no different from an insect.”

At those words, Deneb scratched her cheek awkwardly. She knew she was weak, but being compared to a bug still stung a bit.

Tagmah continued in a chilling voice.

“And yet she shows such power. There must be... something more to her.”

Rahamod slowly nodded in agreement.

“As of now, she is perhaps the most dangerous figure. Even in the Elven Forest, it was because of that priest that things went awry.”

The Salvation Order’s energy was closer to a curse that consumed the opponent’s energy and devoured their body from within.

Thus, those struck by it became weaker while struggling to suppress it.

But that priest had been healing it so effortlessly. No priest could replicate that ability.

Deneb was an extremely dangerous existence to the Salvation Order.

Tagmah’s gaze turned even colder.

“That priest must be eliminated. She is something we cannot comprehend.”

“I agree. Though we must eliminate the others interfering first.”

Rahamod’s eyes locked on Ghislain.

Ghislain lifted one corner of his mouth and gave a crooked smile.

“Finished with your strategy meeting?”

“...Arrogant bastard. You won’t be lucky enough to survive like last time.”

BOOOOOM!

Even before the words finished, Rahamod stormed toward Ghislain like a hurricane. At the same time, Tagmah charged at Grondal.

CLAAANG! CRAAACK! BOOOM!

Tagmah and Grondal once again engaged in a brutal slugfest, just like before. Both were confident in their own strength, and their fighting styles were similar.

But Ghislain’s fight was completely different.

Swish!

Ghislain’s body once again scattered in midair and vanished.

Like a shadow, like mist, like wind.

Rahamod grimaced as he saw it.

“That bastard again...”

It was the same as last time.

Ambushes and sneak attacks, movements that aimed for split-second openings—nontraditional tactics.

Truly vexing and infuriating fighting style.

But Rahamod was still the stronger of the two. He immediately sensed the surrounding currents and released a surge of energy.

FWWWWWOOOOOSH!

The air rumbled, and the space split apart as if it had exploded. But Ghislain had already slipped away from that spot.

Rahamod swiftly turned his head.

Slaaash!

The sleeve of his robe was cut.

He stretched out his hand and unleashed energy again, but Ghislain had already melted into the space and vanished once more.

Rahamod’s expression twisted.

Something’s different.

He knew that last time Ghislain had been exhausted and couldn’t fight at full strength.

But even accounting for that, the current sensation was completely different from before.

This felt like...

Whish!

Rahamod reflexively jerked his head back. The tip of a blade brushed against his cheek, leaving behind a faint wind.

There was no wound. With his body properly reinforced with energy, it was not easy to injure him.

But Rahamod was shocked by the fact that he had allowed several attacks to get that close in the first place.

Given the difference in power between them, such a thing should have been near impossible.

Is he reading my movements right now?

It was a ridiculous thought.

Techniques aren’t something that can be grasped so easily. They are built and honed over a long period of time.

Even if Ghislain lacked combat experience, he surely knew at least that much.

And yet, the enemy’s sword was flying in as if it predicted his every move.

Rahamod heightened his alertness. He didn’t know what was going on, but he couldn’t afford to think of his opponent as he had before.

BOOOOOM!

Ghislain reappeared, and his sword collided with Rahamod’s hand.

Ghislain bared his teeth in a grin, right in front of Rahamod’s scowling face.

“As expected, not easy.”

“You bastard... how are you...”

“I also usually prefer the overpowering kind of fight, so it’s a bit disappointing. But I don’t think I can match your strength with this body of mine.”

“And you believe there’s a way to defeat me without power?”

Ghislain smirked slyly.

“If strength was everything in battle, there’d be no reason for technique to exist, now would there?”

KRKRKRKRKRRK!

Ghislain’s sword twisted strangely, slashing at multiple points across Rahamod’s body.

The energy Rahamod was releasing was so powerful that it only let out a grating metal sound, like a blade scraping against steel, without causing actual wounds.

But even that had meaningful effect. The more attacks he blocked, the more energy Rahamod burned.

KRKRKRRK!

FWHIP!

Whenever Rahamod tried to counter, Ghislain disappeared again, hiding himself.

It was a fighting style tailor-made to wear someone down.

The more Rahamod fought, the more irritated he became.

He was clearly far stronger. That was undeniable.

And yet, he kept getting caught up in the opponent’s dazzling techniques.

Stay calm.

No matter how skilled he was, overwhelming strength would eventually triumph. That was what Rahamod believed.

He calmed his anger and focused his mind.

In that moment, all his senses came together, and he could see the texture of the world.

And within that, he sensed a faint and discordant anomaly.

Now.

BOOOOOM!

“Guh!”

With just one hit, Ghislain was sent flying and coughed up blood.

But Rahamod wasn’t able to follow up. Before he could strike again, Ghislain had already disappeared.

Rahamod clenched his teeth over and over.

He hadn’t been able to finish him even when he was weakened. At this rate, there was no telling how long the battle would drag on.

And each time he let an attack through, it consumed more energy than he had expected.

Rahamod discreetly channeled energy upward into the sky. It was a kind of signal.

BOOOOM!

Ghislain’s sword appeared again and clashed with Rahamod’s hand.

Rahamod didn’t follow through with another strike but instead spoke.

“I expected you would interfere.”

“So what?”

Ghislain already knew as much. He had heard the conversation between Rahamod and Tagmah.

Rahamod gave a crooked smile.

“It means... we prepared for it in our own way.”

RUMBLEEEEE!

Suddenly, two streams of darkness tore across the ground and surged toward them.

They shot upward and took on human forms.

One of them lunged from behind Ghislain, shouting loudly.

“You rat bastard! I’m finally going to kill you!”

The one who had appeared was the Salvation Order’s Executor—Munareff.

Having failed to kill Ghislain in the Elven Forest, Munareff was now fuming with rage.

With Munareff joining the fray, there was no way Ghislain could endure.

But ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Ghislain smiled at Rahamod.

“Did you forget I’m part of the ‘Julien Mercenary Corps’?”

In that moment—

—a man charged at Munareff and swung his sword.

BOOOOOOM!

The sudden impact made Munareff stop moving.

“You...!”

Munareff widened his eyes in fury. A man he hadn’t even considered was now daring to block his path.

The man—Julien—slowly raised his sword and said:

“I’ll be your opponent.”