Episode 82 I’ll negotiate. (1)
“Kreuk… … .”
Victor let out his final scream.
The light of life went out from the two eyes that were wide open as if in resentment, and the body that had been twitching intermittently also stopped trembling.
dump.
Giselle, who had been holding on until the end, deeply thrusting her sword into the ground, immediately collapsed on the floor as soon as she was sure that Victor was dead.
“Phuhu―!”
He took a deep breath for a long time, then slowly got up and looked around.
The flames had been pushed back in the aftermath of the battle, but the surrounding area was still filled with a sweltering heat.
“Ugh, that’s hard.”
My body didn’t have enough strength to move, so I ended up sitting down again.
I tried to raise my mana, but the flow was intermittent.
“Oh, this is annoying.”
The inner skin of the Dirus Ent was also completely dried and torn, and was not able to properly block the heat.
Jiselle took off all of her armor and forced her remaining mana to move to block out the heat as much as possible.
Anyway, in this situation, wearing armor would just be heavy and hot.
He got up again and started walking unsteadily.
But no matter how hard I looked, all directions were filled with fire.
“We have to get through all that fire.”
The flames flickered like a snake’s tongue as they swung at him to devour him.
With every step I take, I feel as if my whole body is being stabbed with a knife.
I felt dizzy because I lost so much blood.
dump.
My legs were shaking so I sat down again.
“Wow, this is driving me crazy.”
My body was completely covered in wounds.
I thought it would end if I could somehow overcome this dissatisfaction, but I couldn’t think of a good solution.
“By now, someone would have come to save me.”
This is when it gets the most difficult when you move alone.
In my previous life, I had a subordinate who would take care of this aftermath, but now there was no one like that.
Even though he still has mercenaries… … they are too busy just following him, let alone leaving the cleanup to him.
If it were Belinda, she would come running to say that Giselle is late, but right now she is busy taking care of the wizards he has entrusted to her.
“I guess I have no choice. I guess I’ll have to taste the fire.”
With only a little mana left, it was difficult to even block the heat.
If you use mana, you can move your body, but your skin will become distorted because you can’t block the heat.
“Hey, I tried to make my face look prettier in this life.”
Jiselle grumbled, clicking her tongue.
There were too many scars left on his face during his time as the Mercenary King.
I was quite pleased with my face being clearer after returning to the past… … but it was not something I could trade for my life.
“Let’s go and see.”
Jiselle stood up and turned her mana towards supporting her muscles.
As soon as I did that, the heat containing hot magic began to penetrate my body in an instant.
I had to get out before I died.
It was when Jiselle suppressed her impatience and was about to take a step forward.
“Confucius!”
grasp!
Gillian appeared through the flames with a menacing expression.
“Are you okay?”
‘Oh, yes. There was one person who was just as good as my old subordinates.’
Jiselle greeted him with a warm smile.
“It’s okay for now. You came at a good time.”
“Did you fight with the author?”
Gillian glanced at Victor’s body and asked.
“He’s the enemy leader. I tried too hard to catch him.”
“I’ll get out of here right away.”
“Okay, please.”
Pfft!
Gillian quickly made her way through the fire with Giselle at her side.
A sizzling heat engulfed her body, but Jiselle used her mana to block it.
The two of them escaped from the inferno in an instant. A gust of cool air rushed in, cooling the heat.
“Phuha!”
As soon as she met the fresh air, Giselle finally let out a ragged breath. It felt like her chest, which had been darkening, was being washed away.
Gillian carefully put him down and supported him.
Jiselle looked around, looking around.
All directions were filled with the corpses of enemies.
“It looks like everything has been taken care of.”
The waiting mercenaries approached and were surprised to see Jiselle.
“Captain? Why are you dying alone?”
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“We had a great time. Hahaha!”
Giselle smiled at the giggling mercenaries and asked Gillian.
“Count Digald?”
“He ran away early. He was quite quick-witted.”
“I see. He must be running away with all his might.”
“The soldiers also ran away with him, but most of them were caught and killed.”
“Yeah, if we’re going to spread rumors, it might be okay to let a few of them run away. We need to wrap things up soon.”
At that moment, a group of troops were seen riding horses toward them from afar.
“master!”
“Gisselle!”
“Your Highness!”
Belinda, Zwalter, and Randolph were approaching quickly, leading their soldiers.
When they realized that Giselle had jumped into the flames, they stamped their feet and ran out through the east gate, around the castle.
“You guys are finally showing up.”
Jiselle greeted those who approached her warmly.
He said it as if he was scolding me for being late, but he didn’t mean it.
Since it was a fire that could not be endured without protective gear in the first place, they had no choice but to return far away with the regular soldiers.
If I had come earlier, things might have become more troublesome.
If the enemy waiting in the rear had seen the soldiers coming out of the castle, it was obvious that they would have fled immediately.
Belinda jumped down from her horse and clung to Giselle, examining him.
“Master! Are you okay? Your face looks familiar! So why are you going in there! I’m going crazy, really!”
Jiselle raised her hand in a hurry at the rapidly pouring nagging.
“No, it’s okay. It’s really okay. It’s just a little bit of heat.”
Belinda supported Giselle with a tearful face.
“Giselle, are you okay?”
“Your Highness!”
Zwalter and Randolph also came running in a hurry.
“It’s okay. Thank you all for your hard work.”
Zwalter let out a sigh of relief as Giselle spoke with a smile.
I wondered why he jumped into the fire… … .
Looking at the armor of the mercenaries standing around, there seemed to be something stuck to it.
I don’t know exactly what it was, but it seemed to have helped block the fire to some extent.
‘It was already prepared.’
I was also curious as to how they were able to construct such a powerful trap, but that could be asked when we clean up the aftermath of the war.
Now was the time to simply celebrate the victory.
Zwalter muttered with a look of emotion.
“We really won.”
It was a desperate situation, with all requests for support being rejected and the army arriving without supplies.
But in the end, Ferdium won.
Zwalter looked at his son.
“You win.”
Jiselle looked different again.
They cut off the enemy’s supply lines, destroyed siege towers, prevented ambush attacks, and finally used traps to destroy the enemy in one fell swoop.
People who treat human lives like flies and do not care about the means and methods to achieve their goals.
Those who live without fear of war and surrender themselves to its cruel madness.
Jiselle had a similar scent to them.
Incomprehensible behavior, unconventional actions that defy common sense.
It was so different from the son I knew until now. I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed by the sense of alienation.
But it was Giselle who protected Ferdium.
‘I was a loser… … .’
No, in fact, he was still a rascal who disobeyed and did whatever he wanted.
He didn’t seem to have the dignity of a nobleman.
But even though he was a loser, he was bold and capable.
Who would dare point a finger at Jisel and call her trash now?
The son was the savior and hero of this place.
Zwalter slowly hugged Giselle as if to hide his trembling hands.
“You worked hard. You really worked hard. It’s all thanks to you.”
“father…….”
Giselle smiled at the intense emotions displayed by her always blunt father.
Unable to hold back the emotion boiling up from the depths of his heart, Randolph raised his sword high and let out a loud voice.
“We won! It’s Ferdium’s victory!”
“Wow!”
“Victory! We won!”
The soldiers who followed also raised their weapons high and shouted with expressions of emotion.
The mercenaries also shouted loudly, not to be outdone.
“We did it! We killed them all!”
Jiselle looked around at everyone with her mouth shut.
Everyone was glad to have survived and cheered at their victory.
Yes, he fought to protect them.
It was hard and tiring. I didn’t even have time to rest comfortably because I was so focused on training during my spare time.
There have been more than a few times when I just wanted to rest.
But if I think that they can smile now because they endured so much, I could have endured that kind of hardship over and over again.
Hurrrrr.
The fire began to slowly fade. It was noticeable that the flames were dying.
Zwalter smiled happily as he watched the flames die down.
“Let’s hurry back to the castle. We’ll hold a victory banquet as soon as we’re done organizing.”
Everyone was still cheering and celebrating the victory.
Zwalter also couldn’t hide his laughter.
Only Jiselle shook her head and spat out coldly.
“We must formally surrender to Count Digald immediately.”
“Yeah, maybe tomorrow Randolph… … .”
“Then it’s too late. I will go with the mercenaries right now.”
“Is there a need to move so hastily? The war is already over.”
“No. The more time you give them, the more they will think about it. You have to rush in and get compensation on favorable terms. If they happen to rely on another lord, the follow-up measures will be even more of a headache.”
“You even think about that!”
Zwalter cried out in slight surprise.
There was nothing wrong with what my son said.
If Count Digald can overcome the aftermath of the war on his own or receive support from somewhere, he may be reluctant to pay compensation.
If that happens, negotiations will become stagnant, so it should be blocked in advance.
If you avoid the body, occupying the territory will be in vain.
In any case, the justification lies with Count Digald, so if he were to flee to another territory, it would only be a headache.
‘You have the judgment of a general who has experienced everything.’
Zwalter himself was so happy about the miraculous victory that he didn’t even think about it, but Giselle was already planning what to do next.
Zwalter calmed down his excitement, impressed by his son’s cool and quick judgment.
“Yes, you are right. Then Randolph and I will right now… … .”
“No, you two need to appease the people of the territory and quickly reorganize. We won, but we conscripted too many soldiers and supplies. The territory’s economy will be in shambles.”
“Yeah, that’s right. It must be hard for everyone.”
“Please promise them compensation and comfort them. I will provide them with runestones so that they will not be short of money.”
“Oh, really? You’re going to hand over the rune stone?”
Jiselle spoke in a calm voice as if she had prepared in advance.
Zwalter’s eyes lit up as he was entranced by one of those words.
My son, who used to act like a jerk, is the first to hand me the rune stone!
My heart was pounding so hard that I couldn’t hear anything else.
He didn’t know yet that a runestone equivalent to several decades’ worth of Ferdium’s budget had exploded and disappeared.
Jiselle continued speaking firmly.
“Then I will immediately receive the terms of surrender and compensation. Father will coordinate them later.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do that.”
Feeling an inexplicable force from his son, Zwalter simply nodded.
After the war, the top priority was to appease the people and reorganize the territory.
Since the original justification for fighting the Yeongji War was to avenge the successor, it was obvious that it would take time to coordinate the compensation issue.
There’s a lot of work to be done right away, so you can leave the first part of the compensation process to Jiselle.
All we need to do is receive a declaration of surrender and basic compensation terms.
Zwalter gathered his thoughts and asked again.
“You don’t look well. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“There is no problem in moving.”
That’s a lie. I wanted to collapse and go to sleep right now.
But Giselle had no intention of missing this opportunity.
“Your Majesty! Just leave it to the Knight Commander!”
“Yes, I will go and catch him.”
Belinda and Gillian tried to stop her, but Giselle shook her head.
“No, I will go.”
It seems that the subtle resilience has kicked in, and even after a short rest, I can now move around a bit.
“Everyone, get on your horses!”
Jisel and the mercenaries received the horses that Ferdium’s army was riding and mounted them.
“The Forest Guard of the Demonic Forest, follow me.”
“yes?”
As Skoban and Ricardo opened their eyes wide, Giselle spoke to Zwalter.
“I will leave a guard to keep Count Digald from doing anything else while the negotiations are going on.”
“Hmm, do that. I’ll send a follow-up unit as soon as the territory is organized.”
The guards who had been hesitating all mounted their horses after the lord gave them permission.
Before Giselle departed, Zwalter cautiously opened his mouth.
“Although we fought the war due to a misunderstanding, Count Digald is also a noble who swore loyalty to the crown and has been our long-time ally. Since he has already left the battlefield, treat him with courtesy.”
Zwalter was a man who respected law, custom, and honor.
Even as he sent his son off, who was like a scoundrel, he couldn’t hide his worry that his son might be rude.
“Okay, don’t worry.”
Jiselle smiled slightly, bowed her head once, and raised her hand.
“Okay, let’s run straight to Digald County!”
Doo doo doo doo doo!
Jiselle rode powerfully on horseback, leading the mercenaries and guards.
Now it was time to end this war ‘properly’.
