The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 620: A Good Proposal. But……. (1)

Arterion finally recalled a question he had never considered before.

For nearly a thousand years, he had believed and waited for the adversary to be resurrected. But throughout that long time, he had never felt the adversary’s presence.

At some point, that thought just popped into his head, and he was merely convinced.

‘So I….’

He had tried with all his might to kill the adversary. He bred monsters, drove them insane, and sent them down without rest.

‘Why……?’

How on earth did he become aware of this?

Why does he still firmly believe the adversary has appeared in the world?

‘Ereness…… didn’t know.’

Ereness, who had also been restricted, was unaware. She was merely speculating based on various situations and circumstances.

No one knew. Only he could confirm the adversary’s resurrection.

Arterion’s mind began to sharpen again.

‘I need to know the reason. What has happened to my body and mind?’

The powerful mindset of a dragon sought to analyze this phenomenon.

In that moment, Arterion’s consciousness was enveloped in black fog.

His questions vanished in an instant. Sleep began to overtake him again.

‘Right, because of the restriction…… it’s natural for the adversary’s power to bind me……. It makes sense that I feel that power….’

He rationalized it like that. But doubt filled his mind again.

‘No…… that alone doesn’t…… make sense….’

Even a dragon, trapped in a cave, wouldn’t be able to sense a human’s power.

The moment he held onto that question, Arterion’s head became hazy again. He simply wanted to indulge in nostalgia and dream of the past.

In the end, even the dragon’s strong mindset could not overcome this bizarre phenomenon.

Within his unconsciousness, a faint voice brushed past.

―…… When the time of promise comes.

―…… Come find me.

With that echo, Arterion fell completely into sleep.

And in his dream, he began to replay the war from a thousand years ago.

Drip, drip….

Before long, one of the black chains that had bound him shattered and scattered into the air.

The fragments floating in the air seemed to gather slowly, as if they had a will of their own.

The massed black energy moved like a serpent, swirling around the sleeping dragon.

Sliiip…….

The black energy slowly seeped into Arterion’s body.

Even as it burrowed into him, Arterion remained unaware. He was just keeping his eyes closed and dreaming.

Goooorrr……

The black energy writhed like a living thing. The massive body of the dragon accepted the energy like a deep, dark sea.

Soon everything became tranquil.

Now…… only one black chain binding him remained.

*

After the strategy meeting was over, Ghislaine called Galbarik aside. There remained much to prepare for the forthcoming battle.

“Why…… did you call for me?”

Galbarik, who had been excitedly preparing the retreat, wore a nervous expression. He had never had a good experience being directly summoned by Ghislaine.

Sure enough, Ghislaine seized Galbarik’s shoulder and said,

“We can’t just leave right now; there’s some work to do. You’ve had enough rest these past few days, haven’t you?”

“…….”

“Oh, it’ll be quick. It’s an easy task. It won’t take long.”

“……What?”

“We’re going to build a fortress.”

“A fortress?”

“Yeah, it’s necessary for fighting the dragon.”

“Ah, no. Do you think a fortress can just pop up out of nowhere? Building it properly would take years, and the dragon won’t wait that long!”

Galbarik raged. He had done plenty of nonsensical things until now, but this was something he truly couldn’t handle.

Seeing this, Ghislaine calmly reassured him,

“It’s not that kind of fortress. Just call it a fortress; it’s more like a small house. We just need to build it sturdy enough.”

“Hm?”

“Listen closely. When fighting the dragon, the mages need to seal their magic. They’ll all be packed into one place. If the dragon rolls in there shouting ‘Vrooom!’ they’ll all get squished and wiped out.”

Galbarik nodded. The reason dragons were terrifying wasn’t just their magic; their physical prowess was formidable too.

“So what should we do?”

“We’ll spread the mages out, within the limits of their power interference.”

“Hm…… then how many?”

“We’ll put about 50 in each fortress, so roughly 30 of them?”

Gathering the mages affiliated with the allied forces, about 1,500 were collected. This was not counting those who would participate in hunting down the remaining enemies.

This number should be enough to suppress the dragon’s 9th-circle magic.

“Ugh…….”

Galbarik made a face as if sickened. It was feasible, but there would be no time to rest. The work just kept piling on.

Ghislaine nonchalantly stated as usual,

“There’s at least a month before the dragon shows up. But we need to complete this before that month is up. The mages must inscribe the locations so the dragon can’t find them.”

Distributing the mages was not only to avoid being caught in one blow but also to obscure the dragon’s line of sight. There was certainly a need for time to perform the magical work if they wanted to hide properly.

Having rested enough over several days, it was now time to resume work in accordance with the new operation.

There were plenty of laborers in this place. They just needed to do the work and retreat.

With a chilly expression, Galbarik nodded.

“Understood. Ugh, it feels like I’ll die before this job ends.”

Muttering, Galbarik stepped out with a face that looked as if he were on the verge of death. They had to start working soon.

Mages were also drafted for the makeshift fortress work, as they needed to set up interference spells to prevent the dragon from finding the magic controllers.

Jerome and Vanessa worked together, carefully selecting their locations. Those two planned to combine their powers to control all magic.

“Is this good enough?”

“I think we’ll need more runestones.”

Simply gathering mana wasn’t enough. An assisting ritual was necessary to control that massive power.

Thus, the mages engraved countless magic circles all around. To amplify that power, they used an unholy amount of runestones.

There were plenty of runestones anyway. They had brought in a lot from the surroundings and had also collected many they intended to use as military funds from their territory.

In addition, all the magical weapons used by the mobile army contained runestones as well.

Though it was a pity to use even those, gathering it all allowed them to create an enormous magical space that had never existed before.

“Wow, with this, even a dragon would have a tough time!”

Jerome exclaimed in admiration. They had finally secured complete control over the mana in this area.

With a slightly worried expression, Vanessa asked,

“But…… will it really appear here?”

“Hm, I’m not sure.”

Their location was the nearest route to the capital of the Kingdom of Turian.

Ghislaine had pushed for this as the battlefield. If the dragon showed up somewhere else, it would be disastrous.

That meant they’d have to go out and fight with nothing but their bare hands.

“Well, we have to prepare at least in one place. Since it aims to destroy the kingdom, it’s most likely to come this way.”

“That’s true. The Lord’s words have always been correct, so they should be this time too.”

Vanessa steadied her wavering heart. Ghislaine’s methods always seemed strange, but the results were correct.

So they just had to trust him as always. There was no other way.

Several days passed, and the makeshift fortresses were completed. They were positioned at intervals from one another.

Even if a few were hit by the dragon’s attacks, they could still continue gathering mana.

“Should we check it a bit more?”

At Jerome’s words, the mages entered the makeshift fortress. The floors of the fortresses were engraved with countless magic circles.

The mages only needed to focus on pouring their mana into that space.

However, the location Jerome and Vanessa occupied was slightly different from the others. Two waiting poles were planted in the ground alongside the magic circles.

Those were the auxiliary magical tools to help control mana.

Jerome and Vanessa, standing side by side, each grabbed one.

The poles were set close together so that if anything happened to one, the other could simultaneously grab it.

Vwoooom!

As the mages poured their mana, a massive force of mana pooled in the area. While Vanessa controlled the mana she gathered, Jerome used it to cast a spell.

Whooosh!

A fireball rose into the air. The size alone could remind one of a small hill.

This was not even all of their mana. It was just a light magic use to check something.

“Whoa…….”

“For a fireball, that’s…….”

“At that size, it could really take on a dragon, right?”

Those watching gasped in admiration.

Those who dealt with mana could feel the tremendous pressure exerted in this space on their skin.

The mages’ normal magic seals were different from this. This was a method of funneling all their mana into a controller.

Thus, the mages did not need to worry about releasing spells. That was the controller’s job.

They only needed to continue providing their mana.

“So, in order to contend with the dragon, one could say we created a dragon.”

Jerome grinned. With this, they could use 9th-circle magic, something only known in theory.

They could use this last resort, but unfortunately, the effectiveness would be low.

Setting aside the fact that it required their lives, it couldn’t turn into a chaotic brawl. Well before the magic ever succeeded, the dragon’s attack would reach them first.

That was why it was imperative to suppress the dragon from using its magic first.

All preparations were complete. Only personnel for the dragon hunt remained, and everyone else began retreating.

Those who were not superhuman, like Elena and Arel, planned to lead the Ruthania Army in retreat.

Elena spoke with a worried expression towards Ghislaine.

“Brother, your mouth is the problem. Please, don’t say something scary.”

“……What did I say?”

“Anyway, don’t say anything weird. I don’t want to hear any more strange things next time.”

“……Okay.”

Ghislaine understood what Elena was saying.

Among the people, rumors were spreading that the Duke of Penris had called forth the dragon.

‘There were even tales that the rumors originated from Ricardo…….’

Skoban had been chased out from there on rumors and was up to something again in Perdium.

Ghislaine let out a sigh inwardly. Knowing the future sure was a subtle burden. To be honest, no one would believe it, and they would just be scorned.

The remaining group waited in a tense state for the dragon. All preparations were complete, and now all that remained was waiting.

‘Is it really going to appear here?’

‘I hope communication goes well.’

‘With my twin blades, I’ll slice the dragon’s wings right off…….’

Each person spent their time lost in thought. After several days passed, everyone gradually began to ease their tension.

‘Hmm, could it really be appearing somewhere else?’

‘Though it is nice to take a break…….’

‘Is it all just a hoax about the dragon?’

If Ereness hadn’t said anything, they wouldn’t have made these preparations at all. It was only because Ghislaine had trusted and pushed forward that it had come true.

Kaor and Alfoy spent their time every day gambling. Other people trained or relaxed while biding their time.

One month passed like that.

Suddenly, a mage standing guard opened his eyes wide.

“T-there’s really something. A real dragon has appeared.”

In the distance, something white emerged from the mountain range.

Even though it was quite far away, it was visible enough to discern its enormous size.

He shouted loudly and launched a burst of magical flames into the sky.

“Dragon has appeared!”

Everyone’s gazes turned skyward in unison. The massive white figure radiated overwhelming presence.

Under the dazzling sunlight, the shimmering scales of the dragon became clearly visible. It looked like a living snow-capped peak.

Roarrr!

As the approaching dragon spread its enormous wings, a shadow loomed over the ground, seemingly obscuring the sky. Everything on the ground looked minuscule.

“Prepare yourselves!”

Ghislaine shouted, prompting the mages to snap back to reality and start gathering their mana. They were not activating the magic circles yet, but they were ready to unleash the mana field at any moment.

Around Ghislaine, everyone, except Yulien, had gathered. They too gazed up at the approaching dragon with tense expressions.

Grrr……

Arterion, flying toward the royal castle of Turian, spotted them gathered below.

The blue eyes of the dragon sparkled as it looked down at them. Within those eyes lay ancient wisdom and power.

As it elegantly arched its long neck and slowly turned its head, even the air around trembled.

“There are bugs here.”

Arterion had no particular thoughts. He simply thought humans were gathered in his path.

He could just pass by. However, these were the first humans he would meet upon entering the world. Such a monumental encounter couldn’t be overlooked.

So, he slowly opened his mouth.

Kuuooo……

In that moment, the world fell into a brief silence.