The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations - Chapter 708

The commander of the 2nd Legion of the Kingdom’s Army, Viscount Jacqueline, was waiting for Ghislain inside a massive command tent near the capital.

After reviewing the document Ghislain handed him, his expression twisted in disbelief.

“What? I’ve been dismissed?”

Ghislain nodded casually.

“That’s right. As of today, you’re fired.”

“…….”

The words were delivered so plainly that it almost sounded like a joke.

But the document bore the royal seal and the insignia of the Supreme Commander.

No matter how he looked at it, it was genuine.

Jacqueline couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Something isn’t right. What the hell happened?”

He was part of Marquis Falkenheim’s faction, and he had been in close coordination with the now-deceased Supreme Commander.

There was no reason for him to be dismissed so suddenly, without any prior indication.

And the way this man spoke, his entire demeanor—it was all wrong.

There was no respect, no formality. He acted as if court etiquette didn’t even exist.

Then there was the way he had arrived—marching into the camp with a mix of royal knights, palace guards, and mercenaries, waving around some suspicious decree.

Everything about this screamed ‘something is off’.

“And who the hell are you? I was told the Royal Knights were coming to see me, but I don’t recognize your face.”

“My name is Astion.”

“An ill-mannered brat, I see. And yet you come here waving official documents?”

“I only return the courtesy I’m given. Consider it an equal exchange.”

“…….”

Jacqueline narrowed his eyes.

Yes, he had spoken dismissively first—but he was in a position to do so.

At least, that was how things were supposed to be in this part of the kingdom.

Everyone knew who deserved respect around here.

And yet, this arrogant mercenary—who clearly had no understanding of the chain of command—was acting as if he were the superior.

Jacqueline turned his gaze toward the vice commander of the Royal Knights, standing at Ghislain’s side.

“And this one? Who is he?”

“He is the vice commander of the Julien Mercenary Corps.”

“What? A mercenary?”

“He currently serves as His Majesty’s official advisor and representative, as well as the Interim Chancellor and Acting Supreme Commander of the Kingdom’s Army.”

“…….”

Jacqueline’s expression froze in sheer disbelief.

If that was true, then this mercenary now outranked him.

That was impossible.

No mere sellsword could ever ascend to such a position.

Jacqueline narrowed his eyes further, his mind racing.

“Something has happened in the capital.”

The Supreme Commander had been taken down. There was no doubt about it.

They had probably even stolen his insignia to make this official decree.

And yet, there had been no prior warning.

For them to arrive here before any word of the capital’s situation had spread…

It meant they had moved extremely fast.

If Jacqueline was wrong about this, then resisting would be treason—but he was certain he wasn’t mistaken.

Staring across the table at Ghislain, Jacqueline finally asked:

“Where is the former Supreme Commander?”

“Executed for treason.”

Jacqueline’s hand instinctively went to his sword.

His personal knights, standing beside him, also tensed, resting their hands on their hilts.

Ghislain’s hand moved subtly to his waist, ready for a fight.

This was an important moment.

The 2nd Legion, stationed near the capital, consisted of 8,000 soldiers.

If they turned against him now, it would lead to massive casualties on both sides.

Ghislain would win eventually, but the loss of manpower would be significant.

Locking eyes with Jacqueline, Ghislain spoke in a calm but firm voice.

“If you hand over command peacefully, I will let you live. I always keep my promises.”

“…….”

Jacqueline frowned, deep in thought.

It was impossible to assess the full scope of the situation.

If he mobilized his troops now, it would become outright rebellion.

But Falkenheim hadn’t ordered him to act yet.

If the Supreme Commander or the Marquis had given a direct order, he would have already moved.

But now, he had to decide on his own—and he wasn’t sure if it was worth the risk.

“Whatever happened, the capital must have already fallen into their hands.”

“So what is Falkenheim thinking? Is he just letting this happen? Or is there another agreement at play?”

No—there was no secret deal.

Even Marquis Falkenheim himself didn’t know what had happened yet.

But Jacqueline couldn’t fathom that possibility.

He simply couldn’t imagine that Ghislain had moved faster than Falkenheim could react.

And so, he was left paralyzed, caught in his own hesitation.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“I can’t… immediately accept my dismissal. I need to confirm what’s happening first.”

“If you obey royal orders, there is nothing to ‘confirm’,” Ghislain replied.

“If I make the wrong move now, I could be accused of treason.”

“If you step down peacefully, you have nothing to worry about. I guarantee it.”

“What about Marquis Falkenheim?”

“He is the leader of this rebellion.”

That was the moment Jacqueline made his decision.

The king was making a desperate move.

This meant he had to escape and inform Falkenheim immediately.

“Kill him!” Jacqueline roared, flipping the table over.

CLANG!

At the same moment, his knights sprang into action.

Jacqueline dashed for the exit, sword slicing through the tent’s fabric.

He needed to get outside—if he could reach the rest of the 8,000 soldiers, he could turn this fight around.

But he had no idea how outmatched he was.

BOOM!

A hand axe flew across the tent and smashed into Jacqueline’s back, sending him sprawling forward.

“Guh—!”

Pain exploded in his body as he collapsed to one knee.

Still, he gritted his teeth, determined to escape.

His knights had already engaged in combat.

The soldiers outside must have heard the commotion by now.

This should be enough to mobilize his forces—

But unfortunately for him, it wasn’t.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Ghislain tore through the knights like a storm, sending them flying in all directions.

Before Jacqueline could process what was happening, a powerful hand grabbed the back of his neck.

“Viscount Jacqueline, the Kingdom’s Army belongs to His Majesty,” Ghislain declared coldly.

“You disobeyed a royal order and attempted to move the army for your own agenda. You are under arrest for treason and insubordination. If you have anything to say, say it at your trial.”

“A… a trial?”

Jacqueline gasped, his face twisted in shock.

This man did not seem like someone who held trials.

He desperately tried to order his knights and soldiers to attack—

But Ghislain shoved a gag into his mouth, silencing him completely.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Then, without hesitation, he bound the viscount’s arms and legs with thick ropes.

He moved so quickly that the surrounding knights and soldiers couldn’t even react.

“MMMM! MMPH!!”

Jacqueline thrashed violently, but his muffled screams were unintelligible.

Ghislain raised his voice so that everyone could hear.

“The King’s decree is being enforced! If you don’t want to be charged with treason, stand down!”

“MMMPHH! MM—!”

The soldiers hesitated, looking at one another in uncertainty.

They had no idea what was happening.

But they had heard two words loud and clear:

‘Royal Order’ and ‘Treason’.

And that was enough to paralyze them.

Some of the officers stepped forward with grim expressions.

“What exactly is going on here?” one of them demanded.

“We’ve heard nothing about this.”

“How are we supposed to just accept this without an explanation?”

Handing them the royal decree, Ghislain simply replied:

“Read for yourself.”

“Read it yourself. It’s His Majesty’s order. Do you see any problem with that?”

“Uhm…”

The officers wore conflicted expressions as they inspected the document. It was authentic.

The Kingdom’s Army did not belong to any noble or lord—its true master was the king.

By that logic, replacing the legion commander was entirely within royal authority.

The only reason such orders had been ignored before was because the king had no real power.

Everyone knew the king was a puppet, but since the proper procedures had been followed, they had no excuse to outright refuse.

And yet, they couldn’t just comply either.

Because they also knew who truly ruled this kingdom—Marquis Falkenheim.

The soldiers here were loyal not to the king, but to Falkenheim and their dismissed commander.

One officer finally made his decision. He drew his sword.

“You must release the legion commander. We cannot allow him to be taken by force. We need to properly investigate the situation first.”

“This is a royal order. If you interfere, I’ll have you all charged with treason.”

“You take us for fools? Do you think we’ll simply obey just because you claim it’s a royal command? Until you release the commander, you’re not leaving this place.”

With a mocking smirk, the officer raised his hand, signaling his men.

If they couldn’t attack, they would simply refuse to let Ghislain leave.

At his command, knights and soldiers began to surround them.

Ghislain gripped his staff tightly.

If one officer openly resisted, others would follow.

And if that happened, the entire legion could turn against them.

“There’s always someone who doesn’t understand until you beat it into them.”

BOOM!

Before the soldiers could even fully assemble, Ghislain moved with explosive speed.

CRACK!

The officer who had resisted was instantly struck, his body shattered as he collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Everything froze.

As the stunned soldiers hesitated, Ghislain extended his hand.

From his palm, threads of mana shot forth, rapidly coiling around the remaining officers.

“Kugh!”

The officers groaned in pain as the mana tightened around them, crushing their bodies with an overwhelming force.

Under such immense pressure, they were forced to their knees.

Ghislain spoke, his voice cold and unwavering.

“You don’t have time to waste on this. The commander is already captured, and the king’s order has been given. If you continue to resist, I’ll kill every last one of you.”

He had intended to keep them alive, hoping to bring the Kingdom’s Army under control without excessive bloodshed.

But if they kept resisting, he would simply slaughter them before they could mobilize.

The knights guarding the officers stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

Their commander was a hostage. Their officers were bound by some terrifying magic.

They couldn’t fight.

They couldn’t run.

Then, the Vice Commander of the Royal Knights, realizing the situation, quickly shouted:

“This man is a transcendent! We can’t win against him! Drop your weapons and surrender!”

At his words, the knights and soldiers staggered back, their faces pale.

They had already felt his power firsthand—even with their numbers, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

Finally, the officers reluctantly gave up.

“V-Very well… We will obey His Majesty’s order.”

They bowed their heads, though it was clear they were only doing so to survive.

They could always switch sides later—but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the soldiers had heard their officers surrender.

The common troops didn’t care who ruled the kingdom—whether it was the king or Falkenheim, they simply followed orders.

That was enough for Ghislain.

He let out a small chuckle before turning to the Vice Commander.

“You’re pretty sharp. I like that. What’s your name?”

“Miles, Supreme Commander.”

Clever.

The way Miles answered so smoothly, reaffirming Ghislain’s new title, was deliberate.

It was a way to reinforce the power shift in front of everyone.

Ghislain laughed.

“Good. From now on, you’re the new Captain of the Royal Knights. Serve the kingdom well.”

“I will give my life for the crown!” Miles responded with a fierce salute.

But deep down, he was sighing in relief.

“Damn… I survived.”

His father had always told him: ‘Survival is about knowing who to follow.’

And right now, Ghislain was the one winning.

Watching all of this unfold, Viscount Jacqueline let out a low, seething growl.

“Kh…!”

“I made a mistake. I should have met him outside the camp.”

He had assumed that since Ghislain had arrived with the Royal Knights and an official decree, there would be no need for caution.

If he had confronted him outside, he could have ordered the entire legion to attack at the first sign of trouble.

But now, it was too late.

With the officers submitting, the battle was already over.

Ghislain wasted no time mobilizing the Kingdom’s Army, securing Nodehill and Raks’s forces as well.

With their troops freed up, they could finally march in full force.

The Nodehill-Raks alliance brought 10,000 troops.

Now, combined with the Kingdom’s forces, their numbers rose to 15,000.

Of course, the Crest, Swipel, and Kingdom regiments weren’t fully integrated yet.

It wasn’t a true army—yet.

But Ghislain didn’t care.

For now, numbers were all that mattered.

With his forces assembled, Ghislain returned to the capital and stood before Alex.

“Your Majesty! I, Astion, am ready! Let us march and destroy the traitors!”

“…….”

Alex broke into a cold sweat at Ghislain’s shameless declaration.

“Th-This… This isn’t what I wanted…!”

Sure, crushing their enemies and rounding up traitors felt satisfying.

But something about all of this felt completely wrong.

“Since when do wars start… just like that? Without any real planning? Without proper preparation?”

“I—I just wanted to keep Falkenheim in check!”

He had never even considered actually defeating Falkenheim.

His only goal had been to protect his own life and stall for time, hoping that the Empire would refuse to approve a regime change.

That way, he could stay hidden and survive.

But now, hiding wasn’t an option anymore.

He was being dragged straight into war.

“This is terrifying…!”

Alex had never felt this kind of fear before—the fear of someone so unpredictable, so uncontrollable, that he couldn’t even begin to understand his next move.

Andrew and Leo were just as pale-faced.

They had always known Ghislain was bold, but they had never expected him to be this insane.

Andrew panicked.

“J-Just wait a moment! The army isn’t even trained yet! It’s a complete mess!”

“It’s fine.”

“……What do you mean it’s fine?! Nothing is fine!”

“I have a plan. No need to worry about that part.”

“…….”

They all knew that once Ghislain decided on something, no one could stop him.

Then Leo brought up another pressing issue.

“Wh-What about supplies? We haven’t even prepared for war! How do we last in a real campaign?”

Alex and Andrew frantically nodded in agreement.

They just wanted Ghislain to slow down—even just a little.

The way things were going, one loss could end everything.

Seeing their worried expressions, Ghislain smirked.

Did they really think the ‘God of War’ didn’t consider these things?

Placing a hand over his chest, he grinned.

“If we lack supplies… we’ll just take them along the way.”

“…….”

They stared in stunned silence.

Because to Ghislain, looting an entire kingdom wasn’t even a challenge.

We appreciate you reading! If you loved this chapter, don't forget to bookmark us or share with your friends!