The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations
Chapter 699

Marquis Falkenheim commanded several knight orders, one of which was the Wyvern Knights.

Gascot, the leader of the Wyvern Knights and the supreme commander of this operation, inhaled sharply as he watched Ghislain.

‘He really possesses transcendent-level power.’

A mere mercenary reaching such a level—it was hard to believe, even seeing it with his own eyes. But he didn’t feel fear or despair.

Even if the opponent was truly a transcendent warrior, they had more than enough numbers to take him down.

They had accounted for the possibility that Nodehill and Rask’s knights might interfere.

Still, the tension was unavoidable. The sheer pressure radiating from the enemy was enough to make breathing difficult.

‘Even if he’s not a full-fledged transcendent, he’s stronger than the reports suggested. Was he hiding his true power all this time?’

Hiding his strength while waging war against entire armies? Just how powerful was he?

Grit.

Gascot clenched his teeth.

He finally understood why his opponent was so arrogant. Since he had concealed his strength, he must have assumed that only a weak force would be sent against him.

That smug attitude was unbearable.

“Attack him! Now!”

At his command, every knight charged at Ghislain.

Gascot was confident.

Even if Ghislain was truly a transcendent, there was no way he could face a hundred high-ranked knights head-on and walk away unscathed.

Ghislain grinned.

“You two will hold out just fine, right? This will be a good experience.”

Julien and Kyle tensed but nodded.

To break through to the next level, they needed life-or-death encounters.

This was the perfect opportunity to sharpen their resolve.

Ghislain shoved them aside and lunged forward.

BOOM!

His bo staff struck the first knight in the stomach, sending him flying backward.

At the same time, dozens of swords came crashing down toward him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Ghislain spun his bo staff, deflecting every strike.

But his enemies weren’t ordinary knights. They didn’t panic and immediately pulled back, making way for the next formation.

From the second row, fresh knights drew their longswords.

A flawless transition.

The attack pattern was so seamless that not even a transcendent could avoid every strike.

Even if he dodged, some attacks had to land.

At least, that’s what they thought.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Instead of striking flesh, their swords slammed into an invisible barrier with dull thuds.

Only then did the knights realize their mistake.

Their opponent wasn’t just a knight.

He was a black mage.

Ghislain slammed his bo staff into the ground, casting a spell.

“Shockwave.”

WOOOOOM!

A massive shockwave exploded outward, sending the closest knights coughing up blood as they were hurled backward.

And that was only the beginning.

“Maintain formation! Keep up the pressure!”

At Gascot’s command, the knights tightened their encirclement and closed in once again.

Ghislain rested his bo staff on his shoulder and smirked.

“You should have brought some mages if you wanted a real fight.”

SWISH!

Before his words even finished, three knights lunged simultaneously.

Ghislain parried the first knight’s blade, then swung his bo staff in a smooth arc, smashing the second knight’s skull.

Taking advantage of the opening, the third knight aimed a strike at his side.

CLANG!

A blue shield flared into existence, blocking the blade.

Ghislain reached out, touching the knight’s sword.

“Chain Lightning.”

CRACKLE!

Lightning snaked through the knight’s armor, arcing between all those nearby.

The knights closest to him convulsed and collapsed, while the ones further away endured by channeling their mana to resist the current.

As the injured knights retreated, fresh ones took their place.

Gascot shouted across the hall.

“Reform the ranks! Push in a three-line formation!”

The knights snapped into position with terrifying speed.

Even for Ghislain, their maneuvering was hard to counter.

The front row raised shields and advanced.

The second row followed closely behind with drawn longswords.

And the third row took aim with throwing spears.

Completely surrounded, Ghislain clicked his tongue and leapt into the air.

As expected, dozens of spears immediately launched toward him.

TING! TING! TING!

Ghislain twirled his bo staff, deflecting every spear midair.

The knights hesitated, stunned.

“A mage… in midair?”

Any other black mage would have been vulnerable in that position.

A mage could avoid swords by jumping, but in the air, their movements would be limited.

Yet Ghislain moved as freely as he did on the ground.

Before they could react, he cast another spell.

“Frost Nova.”

CRACK!

The ground beneath the knights froze solid, an icy wave bursting outward.

The sudden chill slowed their movements.

Then, from Ghislain’s body, a barrage of mana blasts erupted.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!

Hundreds of mana projectiles rained down on the knights.

With their movements hindered, they couldn’t dodge in time.

“ARGH!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!

If the Fenris mercenaries had seen this, they would have been horrified.

It was the same magic used by the Salvation Order’s priests.

Ghislain simply shrugged.

“As long as it works, who cares?”

He had no issue using the enemy’s own techniques.

For wiping out large numbers quickly, there was no better spell.

Of course, he controlled the power output.

He didn’t have time to gather more energy, and he also couldn’t risk injuring Julien or Kyle.

Even so, the knights were visibly shaken.

Especially Gascot.

“H-How can he cast such large-scale magic that quickly?”

The reason mages were feared was because of their powerful area-of-effect spells.

Normally, knights rushed them down before they could cast.

That was why they kept their formation tight, pressuring Ghislain.

Yet, he was casting effortlessly, as if none of their tactics mattered.

“T-This is impossible… Just how fast is his calculation speed…?”

Gascot was completely mistaken.

Ghislain wasn’t calculating anything.

He simply felt the mana and cast magic on instinct.

There was no complex formula.

He simply willed it into existence.

To others, it looked as if he was casting magic without even preparing a spell.

“Full assault! Keep pressing forward!”

Many knights had survived the mana barrage.

Gritting their teeth, they charged at Ghislain again.

Ghislain had already landed.

He slammed his bo staff into the ground and cast another spell.

“Gravity Well.”

RUMBLE!

The gravity warped, dragging down the charging knights.

Their armor suddenly felt twice as heavy, making it impossible to move properly.

Ghislain took advantage of the opening.

He spun his bo staff, moving like a dancer amidst his struggling enemies.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With each strike Ghislain landed, a knight fell.

Despite the chaos, he kept an eye on Julien and Kyle.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The two were in a corner, fighting against ten knights at once.

Even against high-level swordsmanship, they were holding their ground remarkably well.

Their skills were excellent, but they also had an unexpected ally.

“I am the Dark of Darkness!”

FLAP FLAP FLAP!

Empowered by Ghislain’s mana, Dark split into multiple copies, scattering across the battlefield.

“What the hell?!”

“Why is a sparrow talking?!”

“It’s a summoned beast! A mage’s familiar!”

Dark’s undying clone technique(?) was proving ridiculously effective.

It blocked the knights' vision and constantly disrupted their concentration.

Julien and Kyle didn’t miss a single opening, striking down knights one by one.

Seeing this, Ghislain grinned in satisfaction.

“Good. They’re already fighting with this level of composure?”

Their two years of training had not been in vain.

They had grown far stronger than anyone in Fenris.

Even the most talented warriors had never progressed this fast.

Their raw talent was extraordinary, but their relentless effort and Ghislain’s brutal training had refined them into warriors.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With no need to hold back, Ghislain let loose.

These knights weren’t ordinary soldiers—they were elite high-ranking warriors, each capable of commanding an entire territory’s knights.

Even in a real battlefield, their strength was enough to slaughter thousands of troops.

Though the confined space limited their full potential, they should have been able to take down a transcendent warrior.

Yet, they were utterly failing to even land a proper hit.

From the backlines, Gascot—the commander—watched in horror, barely able to hide his shaken expression.

“What… what the hell is he?”

As a peak-level knight, he knew.

Ghislain was powerful, but he wasn’t a fully-fledged transcendent.

Physically, Gascot himself was stronger.

Yet, somehow, he couldn’t follow Ghislain’s movements.

And then, there was his magic.

Ghislain cast spells with zero casting time.

To weave such powerful battlefield magic at that insane speed, one had to be a dedicated archmage.

His unparalleled combat technique and absurdly fast magic casting made it impossible for the knights to counter him.

‘This… this isn’t just raw skill.’

It was unnatural.

Ghislain predicted every attack, moving as if he could see the future.

Only someone who had fought countless battles could move like that.

He looked too young to have that level of experience.

Gascot felt a strange mix of rage, jealousy, and admiration.

“RAAAAAGH!”

Ghislain swung his bo staff with a mighty arc, sending another row of knights crashing to the ground.

Gascot couldn’t delay any longer.

If things continued like this, their formation would collapse completely.

He had to act now.

“You bastard! Die!”

BOOM!

Gascot unleashed his mana and charged forward.

With his own men falling around him, he seized the perfect opening to cut Ghislain down.

But before he even reached his target—

Ghislain was already there.

A chilling sensation ran down Gascot’s spine.

His teeth clenched.

“Finally deciding to step in?”

Ghislain’s smirk widened as he reached out.

Seeing that cursed hand extending toward him, Gascot instinctively recoiled.

“Black magic?!”

But there was no report of Ghislain being a black mage…

CRACKLE!

A dark energy flashed past his face.

It was unmistakably black magic.

Panic shot through Gascot, and he staggered backward.

His mind spun in confusion.

From a safe distance, he pointed at Ghislain and shouted.

“You! You’re a black mage!”

Every knight froze.

Black magic was feared even among knights.

If they weren’t careful, their souls could be bound by a black mage.

Black mages were hunted on sight.

The knights glanced at each other, hesitation and doubt flickering in their eyes.

“A black mage? But… he’s been using elemental magic this whole time.”

“The flow of his mana doesn’t feel like a black mage’s…”

Black mages could use elemental magic, but their dark mana was always distinct.

If Ghislain was truly a black mage, his mana signature would have been obvious.

But nothing about his aura suggested black magic.

They had fought him directly—there was no trace of it.

Yet, Gascot—who had barely fought until now—kept screaming.

“You cursed fiend! How dare you hide your identity?!”

Silence.

All eyes locked onto Gascot.

Their expressions hardened.

Gascot realized something was wrong.

“…No, I swear! I just saw him use black magic—!”

He was a peak-level knight.

There was no way he had misread the mana flow.

“W-What? No, I… I definitely saw—”

The knights’ faces darkened.

They were already struggling in this fight.

Now their commander was spewing nonsense.

Their morale plummeted.

For a moment, the battle stalled.

Ghislain shrugged.

“Did they send an idiot to lead you? Does Falkenheim not have better men?”

“Y-You…!”

“Why are you slandering an honest man?”

Ghislain gestured theatrically.

“Do black mages not use elemental magic?”

“Then tell me—when I cast other spells, did you sense black mana?”

“Do you really think a person can switch between different mana types at will?”

“I—I…”

“If you don’t believe me, how about testing it?”

Gascot’s fists clenched.

He had heard of the new method used to verify black mages.

Ghislain was mocking him.

He gritted his teeth.

“…Shut up! Whether you’re a black mage or not doesn’t matter. You die here!”

BOOM!

Gascot unleashed his full mana and charged again.

Ghislain blocked his blade with a swift swing of his bo staff.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Dozens of rapid strikes followed in an instant.

Gascot fought fiercely, his attacks quick and powerful—worthy of a top-ranking knight.

But the other knights didn’t move.

The atmosphere was off.

After Gascot’s outburst, they were hesitant to follow him.

Just as Gascot was about to order them forward, Ghislain extended his hand again.

CLANG!

Gascot jumped back, roaring.

“SEE?! He just used black magic!”

The knights remained still.

There was no black magic.

Or even if there was, what did it matter?

They were here to kill him anyway.

Gascot realized the room no longer took him seriously.

Among the gathered noble knights, his credibility was ruined.

Overcome with frustration, he screamed:

“He is a black mage, damn it!!”

But by then, he had already lost the battle.