The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 733: That’s the One! (2)

Saying they’d create a problem because there wasn’t one—it was a bold and shockingly creative solution to a diplomatic impasse.

Now fully disguised as a rogue, Ghislain muttered to himself,

“If they’d just agreed when I asked nicely, none of this would be necessary. Why do people always push me into doing bad things? I swear, I’m a pacifist at heart.”

“...”

No one said a word.

Their minds had momentarily gone blank.

But they couldn’t just let Ghislain go through with this.

This wasn’t like turning a kingdom upside down—this was on a whole different level.

Even Julien, who normally followed Ghislain without protest, suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“No! You can’t!”

“Can’t what?”

“I don’t care what it is—you just can’t!”

“I haven’t even told you what I’m going to do yet.”

“You’re about to start something crazy! You can’t do that to the elves!”

Wreaking havoc in a kingdom could still be patched up—it was a matter among humans.

But if they provoked the elves, it could escalate into a full-blown race war.

And doing it here, where the High Chief of all elves resided, would only make things worse.

Ghislain shook Julien off and snapped,

“Hey! I told you—I’ve got a plan! At least let me explain before you freak out!”

“Can you at least take off that mask first?”

Even just having his face covered was unnerving. At Julien’s request, Ghislain clicked his tongue and lowered the mask slightly.

“Listen closely. The elves are peaceful right now, right? No problems, no unmet needs. Why would they agree to our request?”

Everyone understood that much.

But making a problem? That was another story.

Julien asked with a trembling voice,

“So... what are you planning to do?”

Ghislain gave him a reassuring smile and continued,

“Let’s go the simple, quick route. I’m not trying to cause a mess—I’ll just hit the target directly.”

“How?”

“What we need is the Sacred Stone, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll sneak into the forest and find where it’s kept.”

“And when you find it...?”

“I’ll bring it back.”

“Y-You’re saying you’re going to steal it?”

“Whoa there! Don’t call it stealing! I’ve never stolen a thing in my life!”

Dark, now lurking beside him, chimed in loudly,

“Exactly! If the boss takes something, it’s through looting, not sneaking! He doesn’t sneak around like a rat!”

“But you just said you’re going to sneak in and take it...”

“I’m just borrowing it... without telling them.”

“...That’s what we call stealing.”

Ghislain frowned in exasperation.

“Listen. If I borrow the Sacred Stone without telling them, they’ll panic. The elven army will probably march into this city.”

Just imagining it was horrifying.

They’d go down in history as the mercenary corps that started a race war.

Ignoring the increasingly pale expressions around him, Ghislain went on,

“That’s when you, Julien, step in and say you’ll recover the Sacred Stone. Capture me, solve the crisis, and be the hero.”

“...”

“And in return, you ask to borrow the Sacred Stone—properly—for a short while.”

“...”

“What do you think? Not bad, right? I think it’s a fantastic plan.”

“...”

It was a fantastic plan—in the sense that it might spark a war.

Or, more likely, Ghislain would get caught and killed before it ever got that far.

Come to think of it, Ghislain’s plans had always been like this—crazy, implausible, and completely unhinged. The problem was, they always worked.

So everyone had grown used to going along with them. But this time... it felt different.

The danger, the scale, the fallout—it was all far beyond anything they’d dealt with before.

They were too stunned to even argue.

“When did this mercenary corps go so wrong...?”

“Maybe getting interrogated by the Inquisition wouldn’t be so bad.”

“I never realized how hard a normal life could be...”

Seeing everyone so dazed, Ghislain tried to console them.

“Either way, we can’t go back empty-handed. We’ve already burned bridges with the Serahna Church, remember?”

Everyone wanted to scream Because of you!

But no one said it aloud.

After all, each of them owed Ghislain their life at least once.

As for Ghislain himself, he wasn’t too concerned about the Church.

He was confident he could deal with them.

But this wasn’t just about that. He had his own reason for needing the Sacred Stone, no matter the cost.

“I need to know if the Sacred Stone is linked to Deneb’s awakening. That’ll determine what I have to do next.”

Even if Julien, Kyle, and Astion became stronger, it would be meaningless if Deneb didn’t awaken. Without the Saintess, they had no hope of winning the war against the Demonic Realm.

Humanity’s survival hinged on the awakening of Deneb and Julien. The Sacred Stone might be the key.

No matter what, Ghislain had to secure it—even if it meant force.

But Julien, unaware of all this, could only sigh.

“Reconciling with the Church only matters if this succeeds. If you’re caught stealing the stone, you won’t even make it out of the forest alive. Did you forget Sylan’s warning?”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at fighting in forests. Nature’s wrath doesn’t scare me.”

“Ghislain, ‘natural death’ doesn’t mean dying in nature.”

“...Wow. I didn’t think you had it in you. You’ve grown.”

“Can’t we think of another plan?”

“No matter how I look at it, this is the only way. It’s risky, but worth trying.”

“Even getting into the forest won’t be easy.”

The mayor had mentioned this too. Some greedy humans had tried sneaking in before, so the elves had reinforced their defenses.

They’d built watchtowers and checkpoints along every entrance. And while their numbers were limited, they had the spirits—faithful allies who roamed the forest and filled in the gaps.

Julien brought this up, but Ghislain remained confident.

“I can slip through that level of security. And even if I don’t find it right away, I’ll just keep trying until I do.”

When Ghislain got this serious, there was no stopping him. At this point, they were better off helping him succeed.

Julien finally gave in.

“What do you need us to do?”

“I’ll leave one of Dark’s clones with you. Stay ready. If something happens, I’ll call you.”

“Got it. Anything else?”

“Let’s get a map. This is an ancient forest—someone must’ve gone in before. Even a rough layout would help.”

Julien nodded. They needed to gather anything that might raise Ghislain’s chances.

Soon, the mercenaries fanned out and returned with everything they could find about the forest. Even the mayor gave them what little he had.

Since humans were banned from entering, there were no proper maps. But there were fragments—records passed down over generations.

There were notes from those who had stumbled in and somehow made it out alive.

There were even sketches made by mages who had secretly spied on the forest with magic.

Though none of the maps could be trusted completely, they were better than nothing.

After all, the goal was to sneak into the heart of the forest undetected.

Once preparations were complete, Julien spoke with a worried expression.

“If you’re discovered by the elves—whatever you do, don’t kill anyone. That’ll make everything worse. Just knock them out, even if it’s difficult.”

“That won’t be a problem. Didn’t you hear what the mayor said? The elves in the forest have no immunity to humans. With someone like me, I can probably talk my way through without a fight.”

Pure-blooded elves were especially vulnerable to human lies and curiosity.

Which was exactly why elves who had experienced humans became so hostile in the first place.

Ghislain chuckled, thinking of the elves he knew in the future.

“Back then, elves were totally jaded. They lied better than most humans and cut corners with ease.”

Of course, even those elves hadn’t been able to handle Claude’s schemes.

Ghislain tightened his mask again and said,

“I’ll call you if I need you. Be ready to move right away.”

“Got it. Don’t worry about us—just focus.”

The die was cast.

All they could do now was hope Ghislain succeeded.

Shing.

Suddenly, Lionel—who had been silently watching—drew his sword and pointed it at Ghislain.

“I can’t let this go on any longer.”

“What now?”

“Do you think His Holiness entrusted you with this mission as a joke?”

“I take everything I do seriously—and I give it my all.”

“I can’t accept this madness. Because of you, war could break out between humans and elves. And His Holiness would bear the consequences.”

“Hm. I think I’ve explained myself enough.”

“You haven’t. I won’t allow you to enter that forest.”

“The Pope said we could use any means necessary. He even said he was willing to sacrifice his honor. And I don’t need anyone’s permission to act.”

“That’s because he didn’t know you were this insane. I’ll say it again—I won’t allow it.”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter. I’m going in.”

“Stop!”

As Ghislain moved, Lionel swung his sword—

Clang!

But Ghislain blocked it with his staff and muttered quietly,

“Kyle.”

Kyle slowly drew his sword.

“Want me to kill him? I’ve never liked him anyway.”

“No, no. You don’t treat friends like that. Just subdue him. Everyone—help Kyle out. No one’s allowed to «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» die.”

Julien sighed and reluctantly drew his sword as well. The other mercenaries followed suit, surrounding Lionel.

They were used to ganging up on powerful enemies.

Even if Lionel was a top-tier knight, he couldn’t take on all of them alone.

Ghislain stepped back with a grin.

“These guys are innocent. Don’t shed any blood. Just tire him out and let him cool off.”

“S-Stop! Stop this!”

Lionel tried to go after Ghislain, but incoming attacks forced him to a halt.

Clang!

His sword clashed with Kyle’s, sparks flying.

Kyle grinned viciously.

“Where you going? Come play with me.”

“You bastard...”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their swords clashed again and again. Kyle remained relaxed, unlike the flustered Lionel.

Lionel could no longer keep his focus on Ghislain. Julien’s sword had now entered the fray as well.

“Damn it! These bastards—!”

Lionel was stunned.

He’d underestimated the mercenaries—and now realized their skills were far greater than he’d thought.

He wasn’t going all out, sure. But neither were they.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The fight was evenly matched.

But with two on one, Lionel was gradually being pushed back.

And the mercenaries surrounding them struck at any opening.

Watching from a safe distance, Ghislain was reassured.

As long as Julien and Kyle didn’t slip up, holding Lionel off wouldn’t be hard.

And Lionel couldn’t bring himself to use lethal force anyway.

“Stop! I said stop!”

Lionel kept shouting, but no one listened.

He had never experienced something like this in his life—

A world where his authority meant nothing.

“I... I told you to stop...”

With Ghislain gone, Lionel finally lowered his blade. There was no point continuing the fight.

He was so furious, he felt like crying.

He was a holy knight of noble rank. People always listened when he spoke. They obeyed.

When he said no, they stopped. When he said yes, they acted. That was normal.

But this... this was the first time he had ever been ignored.

It was unbearable.

Finally, Lionel bowed his head and spat out the fury boiling in his chest.

“You sons of... bitches... goddamn lunatics...”

It was the first time in his life that he had ever cursed.