The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations (light Novel)

"Ah, yes, yes."

The knight half-heartedly nodded and let Jerome through.
‘Mages always have such terrible personalities.’
Even with the nonsense spouted, the knight didn’t bother arguing. Picking a fight with a mage could lead to serious trouble.

Mages were that kind of eccentric bunch. Far too many of them seemed to enjoy making life difficult for others.
Still, discipline would be handled by other mages. Anything remotely suspicious would get heads rolling.
Jerome shrugged at the knight's lukewarm response.

‘Figures he wouldn’t believe me.’
It made sense, judging by appearances alone. His physical body barely looked to be in his twenties.
But Jerome had poured far more time into magic training than his body’s age suggested, thanks to the unique secret arts handed down through the Dawn Tower.

Because of its peculiar nature—requiring one to live in a disjointed mental plane where time flowed differently—the tower’s legacy had to be passed down through a single successor.
While this had granted him immense power, it also came with the inconvenience of being occasionally dismissed due to his youthful appearance. It was a price he begrudgingly accepted.
***

Jerome, now safely reunited with the magical battalion, resumed his idle routine.
In the Parsali Kingdom, the rebel forces were at a disadvantage. The kingdom’s army was steadily reclaiming territory.
There was little for Jerome to do here.

“Hm, maybe I picked the wrong spot.”
Helping regions where the rebels were equally matched or had the upper hand would be more impactful. Using his strength in a nation already on the winning side felt unnecessary.
“Ah well, I’ll hang around a bit longer before moving on.”

Jerome lay back down. Too much time spent in the disjointed mental plane had made him naturally lazy. Or perhaps he was always a little lazy by nature.
As Jerome idled, news of victories came from all directions. Rumors spread that the rebel forces and the Salvation Order were losing ground.
The morale of the Parsali Kingdom’s army soared.
Not only were they successfully repelling the rifts, but many believed the kingdom would soon end the civil war and join the allied forces.

“Fine, I’ll just leave.”
After days of lounging, Jerome decided it was time to move on.
Lingering around doing nothing left him feeling uneasy. It seemed better to seek a more challenging battlefield.

Just as he resolved to leave, couriers arrived with urgent news.
“The rebel forces have received reinforcements!”
“Our interception unit has been annihilated!”

“The rebels are advancing in this direction!”
Though there was a moment of unease among the soldiers in the fortress, they quickly regained composure. This fortress had withstood countless attacks before.
But that confidence wavered with the next report.

“The rebel army’s numbers have swelled to 200,000!”
The fortress commander stammered as he asked for confirmation.
“Wh-what? 200,000? Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir! Rebels from other kingdoms have joined them!”
The commander’s head spun. Rebels uniting across kingdoms? It was an unthinkable situation. What were the other nations doing to let this happen? Were the rumors about the Salvation Order manipulating them true?
Gatros had gathered scattered forces from across the continent. A portion of that army had launched a surprise attack on the Parsali Kingdom.

“Hm... there’s no way we can hold back such numbers.”
The commander fell into deep contemplation.
The fortress was defended by 10,000 troops—substantial for a frontline base but negligible against 200,000. With such disparity, even the strongest fortress would fall within a day.

Retreat wasn’t an option either. If this fortress fell, the enemy would have a direct path to the capital.
As the commander wrestled with his options, a courier from the kingdom’s general arrived with new orders.
“All kingdom forces are gathering near the capital to form a new defensive line.”

“What are we to do?”
“You are to delay the enemy as much as possible.”
It was a death sentence.

“I see.”
The commander nodded calmly, having anticipated such an outcome.
“If it’s for the kingdom, we’ll comply.”

Thus, the 10,000 soldiers in the fortress braced themselves for a fight to the death.
The sight of the 200,000-strong rebel army was overwhelming. The plains were filled with enemy soldiers, causing the fortress defenders to stiffen in fear.
The commander moved among the troops, rallying them.

“Don’t be afraid! We can hold out! Haven’t we done so countless times before?”
But their faces remained grim.
Previous victories had been against evenly matched forces. None had faced an army of this magnitude.

‘This is the end.’
‘I’m going to die here.’
‘How long can we last?’

All they could do was pray to survive another day.
In stark contrast, the rebel army brimmed with confidence. Despite being from different kingdoms, they were united under one banner. Their overwhelming numbers naturally boosted their morale.
Their commander, however, was unique—a necromancer sent by the Salvation Order, Helgenique.

One of his aides cautiously asked, “How should we proceed?”
Helgenique’s response was direct. “Charge.”
The aide hesitated. “Even with our numbers, that will result in heavy losses. We could first surround the fortress and exhaust their supplies…”

“Charge.”
“…”
The aide glanced at Helgenique. The deep hood of his robe obscured his face, shadows flickering like living darkness. Yet, there was an unmistakable impression of a smirk.

Reluctantly, the aide conveyed the order to the division commanders.
“WAAAAAHHHH!”
Without siege weapons or proper preparation, the rebels charged with nothing but ladders. Yet the sheer size of the 200,000-strong army rushing the fortress was terrifying.

The defenders gripped their weapons tightly, dread etched across their faces.
At that moment, Jerome stepped forward.
“What are you doing?!” shouted the mages.

“Get back to your position!”
“Form ranks immediately and deploy the mana barrier to block their magic!”
During wartime, mages were required to follow the commander’s orders to ensure efficient use of their magic. The priority was to block enemy spells.

But Jerome shook his head. “I’ll take care of the vanguard.”
“Stop this foolishness and retreat!” the battalion leader barked, his patience wearing thin. He had only reluctantly allowed Jerome to join the unit, and now this?
The battalion leader had never sensed significant mana from Jerome outside of tests, pegging him as a mere 2nd-circle mage at best. His apparent arrogance and the mounting tension made the commander’s anger boil over.

Knights approached to pull Jerome back.
“Wait, what?”
Something strange happened. No matter how far they walked, they couldn’t get close to Jerome. It was as if an invisible barrier stopped them.

The onlookers were shocked, especially the mages.
“Spatial distortion?”
“W-what is this…?”

“Could he really…?”
Meanwhile, the rebels were closing in. The fortress commander decided it was better to leave Jerome alone than waste time on him.
“Everyone, prepare to engage!” he shouted.

The soldiers tightened their formation, shields raised and siege defenses ready.
“WAAAAAHHHH!”
The rebels’ deafening roar filled the air as they charged.

Jerome muttered to himself, “Last time, throwing rocks worked pretty well.”
Of course, the rocks he was about to use were far from ordinary.
The ground before the fortress trembled as massive clumps of earth rose into the air, forming colossal boulders.

“What? What’s that?!”
The advancing rebels faltered at the sight of dozens of enormous boulders floating in the sky.
Jerome stretched out his hand. “Go.”

With a deafening roar, the boulders hurtled toward the enemy.
BOOOOOM!
The boulders smashed through the rebel lines, leaving devastation in their wake. Where they landed, nothing but mangled bodies remained.

“Aaaaagh!”
“A mage! It’s a mage!”
“Why aren’t our magic seals working?!”

The rebel army included many mages, far outnumbering those in the fortress. Naturally, they had deployed mana suppression fields.
Yet Jerome’s spells tore through their seals like they weren’t even there.
“What are you doing?! Stop him! Block it!”

The rebel mages frantically poured more mana into their barriers, trying to disrupt his spells.
Jerome narrowed his eyes. “Looks like they’ve got a lot of mages.”
The suppression fields weakened his spells, but Jerome, an 8th-circle mage, overcame them with ease.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
His magic erupted continuously, obliterating the enemy ranks. In his past life, Jerome had earned the title of a one-man army for good reason.
The fortress defenders watched in awe, their jaws agape.

“Is he really an 8th-circle mage?”
Only a mage of that caliber could perform such miracles. The fortress mages trembled with a mix of fear and reverence.
A wide grin spread across the commander’s face. Whoever this powerful ally was, they were a blessing.

“All mages, focus on blocking enemy magic! Knights, protect that mage at all costs! Move!”
Knights rushed to surround Jerome, who chuckled awkwardly.
“This is overkill, but sure.”

If he were ever in real danger, these knights wouldn’t stand a chance. Still, he appreciated the gesture, even if it felt unnecessary.
Thanks to Jerome, the fortress troops’ morale skyrocketed, while the rebel commanders were thrown into chaos.
“There’s a monster among the enemy ranks.”

“If we keep pushing, our losses will be catastrophic.”
“We need a new strategy.”
Helgenique, seated and observing, began to laugh.

“So, there was a monster here. Why did it take so long to show itself? The Salvation Order’s intelligence really is terrible.”
His aide hesitated. “Perhaps we should withdraw and reassess…”
“Why would we?”

“The losses are too severe…”
“Keep pushing. This is far too entertaining to stop.”
“…”

“With our numbers, we’ll eventually overrun the fortress. Don’t stop.”
His reasoning wasn’t entirely wrong. No matter how powerful the enemy mage was, they had 200,000 troops. The fortress would eventually fall, even if half the rebels died in the process.
Already, many rebels were swarming the fortress walls like ants.

But at this rate, they’d lose over 100,000 soldiers to defeat an army of 10,000. Could this even be called a victory? They’d be wiped out after two more battles like this.
The aides swallowed hard. They couldn’t tell if this was a war or a massacre.
Helgenique looked around, noticing the tense atmosphere.

“Not enjoying yourselves?”
“N-not at all, sir.”
Knowing their commander was a necromancer, they quickly bowed. None of them wanted to risk becoming part of his undead army.

Helgenique clicked his tongue. “Well then, let’s make things more exciting. You two, step forward.”
He pointed to two high priests. Though visibly displeased, they complied. Their expressions betrayed their disdain for the reckless orders and Helgenique’s arrogance.
Still, they had orders from Gatros. For the sake of the Salvation Order, they had no choice.

“Understood.”
“We’ll deal with the enemy mage.”
As the two priests headed toward the fortress, Helgenique grinned.

It was obvious, even at a glance. The enemy mage was a monster among monsters. Those two priests were walking to their deaths.
And that was exactly what Helgenique wanted.