The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations - Chapter 715

The rift within the subjugation army deepened with each passing day.

Soldiers, forcibly gathered from different territories, had no sense of belonging to the army. To make matters worse, with supply lines dwindling, they were on the verge of starvation, which caused morale to plummet rapidly.

However, the biggest blow was the disappearance of their Supreme Commander, Ghislain.

Not only Ghislain, but even the Julien Mercenary Corps had vanished for several days. By now, everyone understood what that meant.

“That bastard’s insane. He stirred up all this chaos, and now where the hell has he gone?”

“Shouldn’t we surrender at this point?”

“If he really ran away… what’s going to happen to us?”

Unease spread among the soldiers, who whispered among themselves every day.

The leadership, instead of calming them, was too busy fighting amongst themselves.

“We need to negotiate!”

“Negotiate?! We already declared that we were marching to subdue the rebels!”

“Then what do you suggest? We’re out of rations!”

“We should send word to the lords and request more supplies—”

“Like they’d hand them over! That lunatic already looted everything! If we ask for more, they’ll just say, ‘Oh, good! Now give us back the troops you took from us!’”

“Then we have no choice but to raid another territory!”

At this point, it was hard to tell if they were an army of subjugation or a band of marauders.

This was how desperate they had become.

As the neutral lords continued to scream at one another, Count Hurvis, who had been leading the subjugation army in Ghislain’s absence, pressed a hand to his forehead.

Day by day, the situation worsened, and it was becoming nearly impossible to manage.

He had no idea how to hold this force together.

Turning to the kingdom’s army commanders, he asked,

“Is there no way to draw more supplies from the royal army? Surely, they must have emergency stockpiles set aside for war.”

“The supplies we had stockpiled have already been brought to the front. The rest are under the Marquis of Falkenheim’s control.”

“Of course…”

Even within the kingdom’s army, the Marquis of Falkenheim held significant influence.

He had ensured that all military supplies remained under his direct control, preventing even the royal army from using them freely.

Now, all those supplies were in the hands of the marquis’s forces.

At this point, even the command staff began discreetly discussing when and how they could withdraw.

After all, nearly half of the subjugation army had originally been under the Marquis of Falkenheim’s command.

Though Ghislain had conscripted their forces, the officers were still bound to their true lord.

Eventually, they approached Count Hurvis.

“We wish to return.”

“We can’t keep this up any longer.”

“The soldiers’ discontent has grown too severe. If this continues, we won’t be able to control them.”

Of course, Count Hurvis had no intention of granting their request.

If their numbers dwindled any further, the remaining lords would do nothing but sit on their hands.

But keeping them in place was just as dangerous.

The resentment of the conscripted troops had reached a boiling point.

They were too numerous to move freely, but if someone were to ignite the flames, they would spread uncontrollably.

“In the end, we’ll have to fight…”

But he had no confidence in victory.

Against the high-morale forces of the marquis, this army would be utterly crushed.

There wasn’t a single transcendent among them.

“Damn it… Julien Mercenary Corps… those lunatics…”

Hurvis clutched his head, cursing the mercenary corps that had caused all this chaos before vanishing.

In his frustration, he turned his ire toward Andrew.

“Still no news? Did they really just run away?”

“Even if you ask me… I don’t know either…”

“Damn it! Then how long are we supposed to wait?!”

“…U-until they return?”

“AAAAAH! Stop yelling already!”

In the end, their only hope lay in the success of the Julien Mercenary Corps.

But waiting wasn’t easy.

“R-report! The marquis’s forces are on the move!”

The sudden report from the scouts threw the subjugation army into disarray.

The enemy was advancing in perfect formation, tightening their encirclement around them.

Upon seeing this, Count Hurvis bit his lip.

“Damn it… they’ve caught on.”

Just as he feared, the marquis’s forces had realized that the subjugation army was collapsing.

They had been observing their camp every day.

The mages had tried to shield them, but with an army this large, it was impossible to conceal everything.

And the marquis’s mages were far superior.

From a distance, the enemy’s supreme commander, the Marquis of Godif, watched as the subjugation army scrambled into formation and laughed.

“Those fools are panicking before the battle’s even begun.”

Their rations were running low.

Their formations were a mess.

Seeing their disarray, the marquis decided to press further.

There was no need for an immediate battle.

All he had to do was maintain pressure, and they would crumble on their own.

The subjugation army’s hastily assembled battle lines were a joke.

Watching them, Count Godif scoffed.

“War isn’t something you fight alone. That lunatic did well to gather an army, I’ll give him that.

But managing an army is an entirely different skill.

A mere mercenary wouldn’t understand military science.”

The subjugation army was already falling apart.

Within days, they would completely collapse.

At this point, they had only one option left—to gamble everything on a final battle before their forces disintegrated.

“Prepare the defenses. They might lose their minds and charge at any moment.”

Count Godif had no intention of giving them that chance.

All he had to do was wait and maintain pressure.

The moment the subjugation army broke, he would slaughter them.

“After that, the marquis shall rule this kingdom.”

An unchallenged, absolute authority.

Just as Count Godif had predicted, the subjugation army deteriorated even faster.

Rations were down to one meal a day—a bowl of watery soup and a small piece of bread.

The leadership’s infighting grew even worse.

Every day, they screamed at each other, but no consensus was reached.

“If we’re going to fight, we need to fight now!”

“It’s already too late to fight!”

“Then what, we just sit here and wait to die?!”

Even the noble lords who had joined the campaign were growing desperate.

For the forcibly conscripted officers, things were far worse.

“Listen up. The moment the battle starts, we’re fleeing.”

“If a fight breaks out, we surrender and switch sides immediately.”

“We need to plan our escape.”

Most of the commanders had already made up their minds.

Since they had never truly been loyal to this cause in the first place, they felt no guilt about betraying it.

Everything was falling apart.

Count Hurvis, unable to flee or surrender, had no choice but to prepare for a final stand.

He did his best to maintain order and inspect their formations.

The marquis’s forces, sensing this, began moving as well.

The tension between both sides reached its peak.

The moment a signal was given, battle would erupt.

Then—

A scout rushed in with urgent news.

“A force is approaching from the rear! Around a thousand men! All cavalry!”

“What army?”

“Their uniforms and banners… it’s Count Valesant’s forces! They were riding at full speed but have now slowed!”

At those words, Count Godif narrowed his eyes.

“After all this silence… they finally show up now?”

The arrival of Count Valesant’s forces was unexpected.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There had been other armies that had delayed their march, but even when all the others had arrived, there had been no word from Valesant’s forces.

Godif had planned to punish them after the war for their tardiness, yet here they were, appearing at the most inconvenient moment.

What annoyed him even more was how smoothly they had adjusted their speed to the ongoing standoff.

They acted as if they were suddenly important—when, in truth, they were nothing.

From Godif’s perspective, their arrival was of no help at all.

But to the subjugation army, it was an entirely different matter.

Count Hurvis kept his expression neutral.

“Reinforcements… at a time like this…?”

Even with small numbers, the mere fact that another army had arrived from across the kingdom was a problem.

The enemy’s morale would rise, while his own troops would fall into deeper despair.

But then, something strange happened.

Count Valesant’s forces did not join the marquis’s army.

Instead, they moved straight between the two opposing forces.

They carried themselves with a bizarre sense of self-importance, like protagonists of some grand performance.

The march came to a halt right at the center of the battlefield.

Among the subjugation forces, some sharp-eyed soldiers noticed familiar faces among Valesant’s ranks.

“Wait… isn’t that the interim supreme commander? He’s right there!”

“The Julien Mercenary Corps is with them too!”

“But… why are they wearing Valesant’s colors?”

“D-did those bastards betray us?!”

Panic swept through the subjugation forces.

The people they had assumed to be missing had returned—alongside the enemy.

Even Count Godif narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“What the hell is this?”

If they had arrived, they should have immediately joined the marquis’s forces.

Why were they deliberately drawing everyone’s attention instead?

As bewilderment spread, Count Valesant dismounted from his horse.

Glancing at Ghislain beside him, he hesitated.

“A-am I really going first?”

“Of course. Take this chance to make a name for yourself.”

Ghislain was someone who always repaid his debts.

Since Valesant had played a role in this operation, it was only fair to let him have the spotlight.

A mage approached and cast an amplification spell.

After taking a few deep breaths, Count Valesant suddenly turned to his aide and clutched his sleeve.

“Hey, what do I do? I’m so nervous. Everyone’s staring at me!”

“…My lord, the amplification spell is already active.”

“Oh dear, oh dear, look at me! Ah, how embarrassing! Now they’ve all heard me!”

“…”

Both armies watched in absolute silence as the absurd scene unfolded before them.

Then, with a shaky voice, Count Valesant finally addressed the battlefield.

“Ahem… everyone, listen well!

For too long, the Marquis of Falkenheim has oppressed the royal family… He has trampled on the rights of his vassals… and committed countless atrocities in his greed for power…”

Valesant launched into an overly detailed speech about how corrupt the marquis was.

The reaction from both armies was the same—disinterest.

Everyone already knew that.

But then, his next words sent a shockwave through the battlefield.

“Thus! This humble count has raised his forces against the Marquis of Falkenheim!

Alongside the Julien Mercenary Corps, we launched a daring raid on the marquis’s stronghold… and we have successfully taken the marquis captive!”

“…”

A heavy silence fell over the battlefield.

Both armies—enemy and ally alike—stood frozen in disbelief.

Count Godif’s face turned red with rage.

“What nonsense is this?!

Do you think such pathetic lies will break our morale?!”

Why was Count Valesant suddenly spewing such insane claims?

The only certainty was that he had betrayed them.

“Kill him immediately! No, wipe them all out!”

At his command, the marquis’s forces began advancing.

But then, Ghislain dragged someone off the back of his horse.

A man with disheveled hair, bound and gagged, clearly a prisoner.

Ghislain propped him up and shouted loudly.

“I am Astion, interim supreme commander of the royal army!

Together with Count Valesant, we have captured the Marquis of Falkenheim! Confirm it for yourselves!”

Count Godif’s eyes trembled.

Even from this distance, as a transcendent, he could see the prisoner’s face clearly.

Before he could stop himself, he shouted—

“F-Falkenheim?! My lord?!”

His panicked cry froze the entire marquis’s army.

The officers rushed forward to see for themselves.

“That… that really is the marquis!”

“The Marquis of Falkenheim has been captured…?”

“What… what the hell happened?!”

Chaos erupted within the marquis’s command structure.

No one had expected this.

Meanwhile, a deafening roar of triumph erupted from the subjugation army.

“UWAAAAAHHHH!”

“The Marquis of Falkenheim has been captured!”

“The supreme commander caught him!”

Count Hurvis felt chills run down his spine.

That insane plan… had actually worked.

Though he had no idea why Count Valesant was involved, that hardly mattered now.

Andrew grabbed Count Hurvis, practically screaming in his ear.

“Hahahaha! You see this?! Do you see it?!

It worked! Holy shit! I was ready to curse them for running off, but damn! Hahahaha!”

The battle hadn’t even begun, yet the subjugation army was already celebrating.

Count Godif clenched his jaw so hard that the veins in his face bulged.

Furious, he raised his hand and prepared to issue an order.

“A-all forces—”

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Because the Marquis of Falkenheim was being held hostage.

Count Godif’s mind went blank.

He had no idea what to do.

Ghislain, moving leisurely, walked toward the marquis’s forces.

With a slow, deliberate smirk, he spoke.

“From this moment on… if anyone so much as takes a single step forward…”

His grin sharpened.

“The marquis’s neck will snap like a twig.”

“…”

Count Godif’s raised hand slowly lowered.

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