The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 603: That’s Enough Catching. (2)

Nobles usually try not to get on the bad side of wizards. They may be selfish and individualistic, but when faced with oppression, they unite with fierce resolve.

Naturally, it was to protect their own rights. And this method has splendidly safeguarded the rights of wizards until now.

What the kingdom could do was nothing more than preventing the Mage Tower from intervening in political battles or colluding with the lords.

But this time, the situation is different. If a dragon truly appears, countless people will die. Custom or not, the Mage Tower must be subdued, even if it means killing wizards.

In such times, it’s the nobles who think fast. Regardless of everything else, wizards can’t compete with them in political prowess.

‘Hmm, we have the justification on our side…’

‘Who would dare oppose the Duke of Penris’s command?’

‘This is the opportunity to completely crush the Mage Tower’s influence.’

Despite the strong military power and justification the nobles held, the very existence of the Mage Tower was inherently bothersome to them. Wizards are just that powerful.

In territorial wars or conflicts between kingdoms, magic suppression must be the top priority. It’s not for nothing that wizards are protected as key forces in each kingdom.

However, if all kingdoms unite, the narrative changes. The arrogance of wizards stems from their belief that they can go wherever they please.

‘From now on, the great wizard suppression era begins. This time, we must crush them so they can’t fool around anymore.’

The nobles secretly smiled.

In truth, they weren’t incapable of resolving the wizard issue until now; it was simply beyond their ability.

But with the Duke of Penris taking the lead, things change.

No kingdom would dare oppose decisions made by the supreme commander of the allied forces, especially one rumored to be a mad war hero.

Until now, wizards were treated fairly out of fear that they might defect to other kingdoms.

But with nowhere to go, fleeing wizards would only have the choice to either live in hiding or cling to remnants of the Salvation Society.

A certain noble suddenly stood up and shouted.

“The commander’s words are correct! We shouldn’t act selfishly in matters concerning humanity!”

“Isn’t this happening because we take other people’s sacrifices for granted? This only shows that our rights and benefits are more important!”

“This time, we’ll definitely correct their rotten thoughts!”

Watching the nobles boast boldly, Ghislaine clicked her tongue. It was clear that while they were putting on a strong front, they were revealing their true intentions.

Yet, this mindset was necessary at the moment.

“Let’s prepare immediately. Time is short.”

According to Ereness, there’s still a little time left before Arterion’s embargo is lifted.

But one can’t afford to be overly relaxed. They also had to prepare to fend off the Monster Wave.

If they kept getting sidetracked by trivial matters, nothing would get done. Even if it meant being aggressive, they had to move forward.

“Each commander shall relocate their troops and weapons to Turian Fortress. The pursuit squad will consist of superhumans, a few wizards, and some knights to escort them.”

They couldn’t assemble a large pursuit squad. To move quickly, smaller units had to be formed.

The remaining troops should start moving to the Turian Kingdom to prepare for battle from now on.

A pursuit squad was urgently assembled under Ghislaine’s commands. Superhumans took charge of each pursuit group, while strong knights and wizards were assigned to units without a superhuman.

Messengers were sent to each kingdom. The message contained a threat to capture wizards by any means necessary.

As preparations finished quickly and they prepared to search the nearby kingdoms, Alfoy stepped forward.

“Make me the leader for my side! I can do it! I’m capable!”

“…”

Ghislaine looked at Alfoy for a moment.

His appearance was quite the sight. Dressed in a white robe befitting a noble steed and wielding a stylish staff he somehow acquired.

If one judged by appearances alone, there was no greater mage than this.

Ghislaine narrowed her eyes and asked Alfoy.

“Didn’t you say you would receive the robe later?”

Belinda, standing next to Ghislaine, shook her head and replied.

“He kept nagging about wanting it quickly, so we got one made in the Sardina Kingdom.”

Anyway, Alfoy was now a well-known figure with his own reputation. There were even rumors about him being Penris’s hidden secret weapon.

They commissioned the robe for someone of such notoriety, and the Sardina Kingdom used the finest materials to craft it.

Alfoy puffed his chest out, his noble steed mirroring his pose.

“That’s not important right now! Just let me take charge of a pursuit squad. I’ll capture the wizards!”

“…Vanessa was meant to handle that.”

“Come on, don’t you know? Catching runaways is my specialty! Vanessa just needs to help me if I’m in danger!”

“Hmm…”

Ghislaine crossed her arms and pondered.

It was indeed true that Alfoy had been remarkable at capturing runaway slaves in his territory.

Vanessa chimed in.

“I think it’ll be fine. He did a great job last time too, didn’t he?”

Though she understood intellectually, she couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt regarding his abilities. After all, people’s usual image matters.

After deliberating for a while, Ghislaine eventually nodded.

“Alright, but don’t slack off—make sure to capture them. Got it?”

“Don’t worry! I’ll bring them back, even if I have to fold them in half!”

Alfoy shouted in excitement. He was the type of guy who needed to be the leader, no matter what.

As soon as the assembly was complete, the pursuit teams scattered in all directions.

Simultaneously, the troops led by the coalition commanders all moved towards the Turian Kingdom. The army of twenty thousand led by Claude also shifted towards the Norvagen Kingdom.

The Ruthania Army, excluding the pursuit squad, moved towards Turian’s fortress under the command of Parniel and Tenant.

Thud thud thud thud!

Ghislaine took only a few knights and crossed immediately into the adjacent kingdom.

The number of wizards that had fled this kingdom was around a dozen.

With few wizards above the 5th Circle, the number that had fled wasn’t that significant.

However, the smaller the number, the harder it becomes to find them across this wide continent. From now on, it was a struggle of information and patience.

Ghislaine began searching around the nearest Mage Tower.

“Let’s establish a direction. Search thoroughly and gather information.”

At Ghislaine’s command, the knights sprang into action.

Not just the knights; soldiers from this city also received cooperation papers and moved together.

After waiting a little while, several pieces of information began to come in.

“They’ve moved south. This Mage Tower reports that three were seen moving together.”

“I heard they took a few disciples with them.”

“It seems they packed quite a bit. They haven’t been gone long.”

At those words, Ghislaine smirked.

Just as expected, typical wizards. Even when fleeing, they dislike hardship—a sentiment that was all too clear. Smart wizards are surprisingly foolish in this regard.

It hadn’t been long since the turmoil ended, and with so many outsiders in the cities, they probably thought they’d be hard to find.

“They sure are ignorant of worldly affairs.”

If they were going to flee, they should do it properly, not while wearing those fine, luxurious robes.

So, no matter how much they moved under the cover of night, they’d easily catch others’ eyes.

Moreover, they weren’t alone and were dragging a few disciples along. That made finding them even easier.

The knights and soldiers joining the pursuit squad were seasoned in such matters from their experiences in the war. Chasing down wizards who just randomly fled wouldn’t pose much difficulty.

“Dark, go ahead first.”

Dark soared high into the sky. Each pursuit squad received a shadow of Dark, so they’d have significant help in information exchange until the shadows’ energy was fully drained.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

The pursuit team led by Ghislaine moved rapidly. As dusk approached, Dark’s voice echoed in her mind.

— Master, I found them. They’re camping in the mountains.

With the direction set, Ghislaine and her knights ascended the mountain.

They must have used plenty of magic while escaping, as an aura of magic could be felt lingering. Just following the traces of magic made it easy to locate the wizards.

The wizards were huddled around a campfire, looking so cozy one might suspect they were fleeing at all.

Upon spotting Ghislaine and her knights, the wizards jumped up.

“W-who are you?!”

There were three wizards above the 5th Circle. Even just those three could topple a small territory, so there was no way they would be afraid of bandits.

However, their voices trembled. They knew that every kingdom was forcing wizards into conscription.

Ghislaine nodded her head slowly.

“I’m the Duke of Penris, the supreme commander of the allied forces. You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

At those words, the wizards’ faces turned pale. They understood the gravity of the situation, but it was another matter altogether for the supreme commander of the allied forces to come personally to catch them!

Moreover, they were caught far too quickly. Procrastinating had led to their delay in resolution, something they now regretted immensely.

The one who appeared to be the representative among them spoke nervously.

“We won’t participate in this war.”

“…”

“The wizards have the right to determine their own fate freely. This is guaranteed by law.”

“…”

“We have no intention of interfering with the allied forces. We will live our own lives, so please leave us alone.”

“…”

Ghislaine stared at the wizards without saying a word. The wizards were fidgeting nervously.

After a brief silence, Ghislaine finally spoke.

“Are you done saying what you wanted? Then let’s go.”

“No, we said we’re not going! What kind of law allows you to force us to work? We are not slaves!”

“Then you can be slaves.”

“What?!”

“The reason we treated the wizards well until now was to utilize your strength in times of danger. If you’ve enjoyed your elegant treatment under the guise of rights, you should fulfill your duties as well. If you dislike that, I’ll just turn you into slaves.”

“Stop it! We’ve done enough already!”

With a grimace, the wizard summoned his magical power.

They knew that the Duke of Penris was strong. They also understood they couldn’t win if it turned into a fight.

Even so, they were attempting to resist in an effort to assert their will. They thought that if they were needed, they wouldn’t be treated carelessly.

“If you oppress us, do you think the other wizards will stay silent? We absolutely will not cooperate with the Duke!”

“Oh, come now…”

“If you accept our demands, we will gladly send a few disciples. How would you maintain the Mage Tower if you took all wizards above the 5th Circle?!”

The wizard made this declaration and subtly signaled to the other wizards. The two remaining wizards then summoned their magical powers as well.

Three wizards above the 5th Circle. While they weren’t superhumans, at least they held the power of elders within the Mage Tower.

Drip drip drip…

As they summoned their powers, the atmosphere trembled heavily around them.

Even their disciples stepped back and began to channel their magical energy.

It was a mix of determination to resist, along with a hint of hope that perhaps three of them attacking could allow them a chance of victory.

None of these wizards had seen Ghislaine’s skills with their own eyes.

Sensing their intent, Ghislaine smirked slightly.

“Empathy, conversation, persuasion. I don’t think any of that will be necessary.”

Ghislaine raised her fist. In times like these, simply demonstrating one’s strength was the best option.

In an instant, her figure flickered and disappeared.

Crack!

Before the wizard even realized, Ghislaine appeared behind him and easily twisted his arms and legs.

“Wha? Huh? Aaaaaargh!”

The wizard snapped to his senses too late and screamed in pain.

He didn’t even have time to cast magic. The magical energy he had just raised scattered away in an instant.

“Uaaaaagh!”

With his arms and legs twisted, the wizard crumpled to the ground in agony. As the nearby wizards panicked and attempted to cast spells, Ghislaine’s cold voice echoed.

“If you resist, I’ll kill you immediately.”

Clack.

Under the weight of fear, the wizards canceled their spells.

They had never experienced treatment like this before. The chilling glare from Ghislaine made them all but wilt.

Another wizard stammered.

“If you think you can force us to go, what do you think will happen? If we are taken and still refuse to fight, what then?!”

Ghislaine replied, bewildered yet amused.

“Are you fools? What will you do if you don’t try your hardest against the dragon? Do you think you can escape? The moment you’re taken and meet the dragon, you will have to give it all you’ve got to survive.”

“…”

“If you’re resolute enough to die there, then feel free to do so. But if not, you’ll have to try your best once you get there.”

Completely demoralized, the wizards lowered their heads.

If they were destined to die anyway, they might as well fight right here. If they weren’t, then there was no choice but to try their best.

Totally deflated, the wizards obediently followed Ghislaine.

They simply thought they had been caught due to bad timing after escaping late. They hoped that others wouldn’t get caught. There were even rumors that if they didn’t gather a thousand, they wouldn’t fight.

However, Ghislaine’s movements were like a flash of lightning. She moved with incredible speed, capturing fleeing wizards without breaking a sweat.

“We— we’re guaranteed our freedom…!”

Thud!

“Just kill me here!”

Thud!

“I don’t want to fight the dragon!”

Thud!

Each wizard that was caught was mercilessly beaten and dragged along by Ghislaine.

To begin with, they had no talent for escaping; there was no way they would evade Ghislaine, the master of pursuit.

However, no matter how quickly Ghislaine moved, there were limitations to her wizard hunting. She couldn’t scour the entire continent all by herself.

“Phew, this is tougher than I expected.”

Having traveled through several kingdoms without rest, Ghislaine had only captured a little over a hundred wizards.

That was indeed impressive, but a whole month had already passed. Physical limitations were unavoidable.

Ghislaine generated Dark every few days to send to the other pursuit groups. Simultaneously, she received updates through Dark.

— Gillian’s group has captured 32.

— Kaor’s group has caught 17.

— Belinda… wow, over 50. As expected from an assassin, she’s good at chasing anyone.

— Jerome got 43, and Yulien… whoa, over 70!

Ghislaine nodded. Yulien could feel the flow of the world like herself. Even if his tracking skills weren’t top-notch, following traces of magical power was likely his forte.

— And Gordon and Lucas…

It seemed everyone was racing around energetically, capturing quite a few fleeing wizards.

However, even with these captures, they were still nowhere near the target number. Not all captured wizards were above the 5th Circle. Most were their apprentices.

Other kingdoms were also likely capturing wizards, but since nobles tended to be slow to act, she was honestly skeptical.

With time passing, the disadvantaged position continued to worsen. Even if they couldn’t reach a thousand, they needed to secure a number close to that.

Ghislaine asked with a slightly irritated expression.

“What about Alfoy? He didn’t catch a single one last time either, did he?”

He had been so confident, yet still hadn’t captured even one. She wondered if she’d made a mistake trusting him.

— U-um… Master, don’t be surprised.

“Why? Did he still not catch anything? It’s been a month!”

Dark took a deep breath before speaking.

— He’s caught over 200 now.

“What?”

— Alfoy’s group has captured more than 200.

“…”

Ghislaine blinked in shock at the monumental news.