The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 734: You Have to Trust Me (1)

For someone like Ghislain, entering the forest wasn’t difficult. He had mastered countless techniques and, above all, possessed the willpower to attune himself to the world itself.

Shaaaaaa...

First, Ghislain cast magic to suppress his presence and lighten his body. He added invisibility magic on top of that.

But even that wasn’t enough to fool the spirits completely. Spirits didn’t look at appearances — they perceived essence.

So, he had to assimilate his entire existence into the world around him.

And Ghislain possessed the skill to do exactly that.

Paak!

In an instant, his body turned into black darkness and vanished. It was a technique from the Shadow Knights.

Learned from Belinda and passed down through his mother’s records, this technique was second to none when it came to infiltration.

Paak! Paak! Paak!

Each time the space twisted, an aura-less darkness spread outward. Eventually, even the spatial distortions disappeared.

The spirits wandering throughout the forest didn’t even notice Ghislain passing by. A few sensed something odd /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and glanced around, but found nothing.

The spirits standing guard were mostly low-ranking ones. Mid-tier or higher spirits consumed too much energy to be kept summoned for long.

In the elves’ view, low-tier spirits were more than enough for surveillance. The sheer saturation of nature’s energy throughout this forest would reveal intruders — even superhumans.

It was precisely because of this elven arrogance that Ghislain managed to slip through the outer perimeter with ease.

Phew...

Having reached a place he deemed safe, Ghislain exhaled heavily. His face, normally calm, was flushed.

Even for someone like him, the vigilance surrounding this place had been intense.

“Impressive. One small mistake and I would’ve been caught.”

The spirits’ energy was spread so widely that even breathing had to be suppressed.

Had he not used the Shadow Knights' technique, even with his full strength, sneaking in would’ve been nearly impossible.

Ghislain slowly looked around. The dense forest was filled with towering trees, their branches letting through barely any sunlight.

The ground was covered in damp moss and fallen leaves. Unnamed birds let out low, melancholic chirps.

At a glance, it seemed like any ordinary forest. Yet Ghislain couldn’t shake off a persistent sense of unease.

“There’s no unusual energy nearby, but...”

It felt as if invisible eyes were constantly observing him.

“No way...”

He had already passed the elven outposts and the spirits' surveillance zones. There were no elves or spirits hiding nearby — he was sure of it.

And yet...

Tatadadak!

From a distance, he heard the sound of someone running. More than one person.

Their footsteps were light, as if riding the wind. Only elves could move like that in the forest.

More than that — the flow of spirit energy surged toward him faster than they did.

Fwoosh!

Ghislain’s body once again turned to darkness and dispersed. Just after, several elves appeared where he had been.

“Hmm... strange. Something feels off here.”

The elf in the lead suddenly waved his hand. The ground rippled slightly, and a small clump of earth rose up.

Looking at the clump, the elf asked,

“Gnome, tell me what happened here. Who was here?”

“There was nothing. No one.”

“...”

The elf frowned and pondered in silence.

Gnomes, low-tier earth spirits, could recall what had occurred nearby.

Spirits not contracted to a summoner usually didn’t retain memories for long, but even so, this felt odd — it hadn’t been long since they sensed the disturbance and came here.

In the end, the elf shook his head and said,

“Something’s wrong. It may be connected to the issue in the northern forest. We’ll continue the search.”

After a brief scan of the area, the elves moved on.

Ghislain, still hiding and watching, narrowed his eyes.

...How did they know?

He hadn’t been caught by anyone. He knew how spirits worked — he hadn’t left a single trace.

Ghislain could briefly bend the laws of the world through sheer force of will. Using that power, he had continually warped perception around him to stay hidden.

And yet, the elves had still sensed that something was wrong.

That could only mean...

Could it be that something is perceiving me even now?

There was no other explanation. There was something in this forest that he didn’t yet understand.

But it doesn’t seem to have fully identified me.

He didn’t know how the elves detected the anomaly, but their reactions suggested they weren’t certain.

Still, with the increased risk of detection, he had to move faster. No matter how strong his willpower, he could only hide his existence for mere moments at a time.

And in Astion’s body, that limitation was even more pronounced.

Even so, the elves’ appearance had revealed something valuable.

They said there was no problem... but there clearly is, isn’t there?

Something had definitely gone wrong in the northern forest. The elves hadn’t looked well.

He didn’t know what the issue was, but for Ghislain and his companions, it could be an opportunity. He decided to investigate that area first.

Paak!

His body again dissolved into darkness. He moved even more cautiously now.

Mana was being consumed faster, but he had no choice — he still couldn’t figure out how the elves were tracking him.

Fwoooosh...

He invoked willpower intermittently, erasing all traces of his presence. But with each use, his face grew paler.

Even brief usage of his will put an immense burden on the body. But given the circumstances, he couldn’t afford not to use it.

Hmm... should I retreat and come back later?

Moving so cautiously had drastically slowed his pace. At this rate, covering this vast forest would be impossible.

After some deliberation, Ghislain decided to confirm just one thing before retreating.

Something’s going on in the northern forest — I’ll check that and then withdraw.

The Sacred Stone could be retrieved another time. If there really was a problem in the forest, it could be used as leverage in negotiations.

Paak!

His previously erratic movement now had direction. He advanced quickly.

Along the way, he saw several elven settlements. Curious as he was about their lives, he maintained distance and avoided them entirely.

He took brief, hidden breaks to rest. Whenever he moved again, he used willpower to erase his presence.

It was flawless — as perfect as it could possibly be. Ghislain was certain of it.

ShaaAAAAAAAA!

Until a massive spirit of wind blocked his path.

“...Damn.”

Ghislain bit his lip and wrapped his body in mana. At the same time, an intense storm burst forth around the wind spirit.

KWAHHHH-BOOM!

The storm swept away everything nearby. The dense trees surrounding them were shredded and flung into the air.

It was an unusually violent attack for a spirit. Ghislain instantly understood why.

They still haven’t pinpointed my location.

Even so, the elves were confident enough to launch such a bold attack — it meant they were sure Ghislain was nearby.

In the end, Ghislain had no choice but to reveal himself.

Tatadadadak!

In an instant, dozens of elves rushed in and surrounded Ghislain. They raised their bows and aimed them directly at him.

Around them, a variety of spirits hovered in the air, swirling with palpable tension.

Then a cold-eyed male elf appeared — the very one who had been tracking Ghislain’s trail from the beginning.

“So you were here.”

At the elf’s words, Ghislain slowly raised both hands and spoke calmly.

“I assure you, I’m not a suspicious person. You have to trust me.”

“...How about you take off that mask before saying things like that?”

“I have my reasons. Also, I’m... rather shy.”

“Who are you? And why did you sneak into the forest?”

“I was just out for a stroll... and got lost.”

“...”

The elf’s lip twitched. Who in the world would believe something like that?

It was clear this human didn’t grasp the severity of the situation.

“We warned humans not to intrude upon this forest. That right was promised to us by the leaders of humankind since the beginning of time.”

“Well, I think there may have been a slight misunderstanding—”

“In the past, we might’ve let you go with just a warning. That is, if we had caught you on the border.”

Murderous intent began to flicker in the elf’s eyes. It was becoming clear that the reputation of elves as a peace-loving race might have been exaggerated.

The elf extended his hand and spoke in a chilling voice.

“Whatever your intentions, you’ve come at a bad time. Sorry, but your life ends here.”

Fwaaash!

The moment his words ended, arrows were unleashed toward Ghislain. The spirits surged with violent force and launched themselves at him.

“...Well, this is a bit embarrassing.”

He hadn’t expected to get caught. If the others outside found out, they’d probably throw a fit.

Still — what could he do? He’d been found. Now the only option was to escape.

Pang!

Ghislain’s body vanished in an instant, and the arrows struck only the earth where he’d stood.

Dodging the arrows wasn’t the end of it. The spirits, having now fully sensed his presence, began their true assault.

KWAHHHH!

A razor-sharp wind slammed into his back — a spirit of wind. The air sliced like blades, and Ghislain narrowly dodged by ducking low.

Rumble!

The ground trembled violently, cracking open beneath him. Jagged spikes of rock shot up from the earth, aiming for his feet, but Ghislain slipped away like flowing water.

Shaaak!

Droplets formed in midair, hardening into a barrage of icy spears that rained down. Ghislain’s body blurred momentarily and slipped between them.

BOOM!

A burst of red flame exploded right in front of his eyes. The intense heat brushed his cheek, but Ghislain had already vanished into the shadows of the forest.

Just as the spirits and elves prepared to chase him, the lead elf suddenly shouted,

“Stop! Do not pursue!”

His voice trembled with anger. Their sacred forest had just been violated by an unknown intruder.

But despite the fury, cold sweat ran down his back.

That man... he’s at least on par with a transcendent.

Even someone of transcendent level, once inside the forest, could be killed. The problem was the price — the casualties the elves would suffer.

Especially the naive and untrained among them — they would die without even realizing they were fighting.

So he halted the pursuit. To minimize losses, he needed to report this to the elders.

Thanks to that, Ghislain managed to escape more easily than expected. Still, as he ran, he couldn’t hide his frustration.

“Seriously... how the hell did they know? This is absurd.”

It didn’t seem like they’d pinpointed his exact location. More like they simply knew someone had entered the forest.

But even that was an incredible feat. They had known for sure that there was an intruder.

He would need more information on that. Without it, moving around undetected would be impossible.

“Tch. I really do have to withdraw and find another approach.”

Ghislain clicked his tongue and kept moving. Even while fleeing, he deliberately took a different route to familiarize himself with the terrain.

Fwaaash!

As he transformed into shadow and made his way through the forest, he continued to observe his surroundings.

All around, armed elves were moving busily — undoubtedly searching for him.

In contrast, some elves remained still, showing no sign of action. They were likely not involved in combat.

After scanning for a bit longer, Ghislain picked up his pace. Or rather, he intended to.

Until he spotted an elf alone in a quiet part of the forest.

Hmm?

He had seen lone elves many times while moving through the woods.

Singing, gathering berries, conversing with small animals, or meditating quietly beside clear streams.

So, seeing an elf alone wasn’t inherently strange.

And yet, Ghislain couldn’t take his eyes off the figure’s back.

What is this?

Something felt... off. And Ghislain never ignored his instincts.

So he stayed hidden and watched the elf from a distance.

The elf seemed to be training, surrounded by spirits, constantly in motion.

Every time the spirits moved, waves of powerful energy radiated outward — so intense that even Ghislain, who didn’t know much about spirit magic, could tell it was extraordinary.

After some time, the elf suddenly stopped.

At some point, all the spirits had disappeared.

Slowly, the elf turned around. Finally, Ghislain saw her face.

He couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

“...Ereneth.”

She was here.