The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Viktor ground his teeth as he rose to his feet.

His face and body, covered in burns, felt unbearably hot and painful.

His armor had heated up so much that it was now more of a hindrance than protection.

His sword, too, seemed like it might bend with just a little more impact.

He was using mana to suppress the heat but couldn’t hold out for much longer.

He had to deal with this bastard quickly and get out of here.

“I’ll kill you, then I’ll cut the throats of the others too.”

Viktor glared at Ghislain as he reached for his waist.

Ssssk.

Without hesitation, he drew a dagger and began cutting through the joints of his armor, tossing the pieces aside one by one.

Clang. Clang.

Viktor, now lighter after shedding his armor, smirked.

“You waited, huh? At least you’ve got some manners.”

“If I just killed you, you’d make excuses even in the afterlife. You’d claim that you were defeated while taking off your armor because I had no sense of honor, not because of my skill.”

“You arrogant bastard…”

Mana surged into Viktor’s sword as he released his killing intent.

In the crimson-lit space, a refreshing blue light enveloped the blade.

The brilliant light that radiated out was proof of Viktor’s exceptional skill.

“Yeah, you’ll need at least that much.”

Seeing this, a crimson blaze ignited in Ghislain’s eyes as well.

“That way, it’ll be more fun to crush you.”

Rumble!

As Ghislain unleashed the power of his three Cores simultaneously, a heavy pressure spread throughout the area, and his sword was dyed a deep red.

Viktor’s face twisted in disbelief.

“How the hell do you have that kind of power… Just how wrong was the information we got?”

“You can ask your master in hell. Ah, your master will arrive there after you, so you’ll have to wait. It’ll be boring, I bet.”

“I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

Boom!

In an instant, the distance between the two closed.

The shock from their swords clashing distorted the surrounding flames, sending them scattering.

“Is this all you’ve got? Come on, put in some effort, you dog of Harold.”

“Shut up, you filthy bastard!”

Grkkkkkk!

Viktor withstood the mana from Ghislain, who had fully unleashed the power of his three Cores.

To endure this after being burned so severely—his mana reserves were genuinely immense.

Indeed, his skills were worthy of someone aiming for the title of the greatest knight in the North.

While Ghislain was inwardly impressed, Viktor remained confused.

‘If he wasn’t hiding his abilities, then… there must be another way he’s able to wield this kind of power.’

Raising someone to this level while keeping the world’s attention deceived—this wasn’t something that could be done in some backwater territory like Ferdium.

Viktor assumed that Ghislain had temporarily grown stronger through some kind of magic or trickery.

“What did you do?!”

Swish!

Ghislain raised his sword upright, blocking Viktor’s strike.

Clang!

For a moment, his body lifted off the ground and slid sideways. His hands tingled from the shock.

‘As expected, this guy isn’t easy.’

Ghislain had trained and accumulated mana whenever he could, but it couldn’t compare to Viktor’s.

The sheer amount of Viktor’s mana was astonishing.

That he could rival Ghislain, who had amplified his power by fully unleashing all three Cores, was a testament to Harold’s care in nurturing this talent.

Whoosh!

Before Ghislain could regain his stance, Viktor closed the distance again, swinging his sword.

Clang!

Ghislain barely raised his sword in time to block it.

His feet dug into the ground as the pressure drove him back, his body aching from the strain.

But he bared his teeth in a grin.

“I always thought you were pretty decent when it came to brute strength.”

“What?”

“I enjoy fighting with strength, too.”

Ghislain spun his body rapidly and brought his sword down.

Clang!

This time, Viktor found himself blocking from below.

In an instant, their positions in the fight had reversed.

Ghislain didn’t miss that fleeting moment and relentlessly swung his sword again.

Viktor retreated, doing his best to meet each strike with his own sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With each clash of their swords, the two were thrown back in opposite directions.

Neither could fully absorb the impacts.

“You insolent bastard!”

Viktor gritted his teeth and poured every last bit of his remaining mana into his sword.

He abandoned any thoughts of killing the others.

The opponent before him wasn’t someone he could afford to defeat while holding back.

Rooooar!

As Viktor pushed his mana to its absolute limit, the blue light enveloping his sword grew even brighter.

Ssss!

At the same time, Ghislain’s sword aura deepened to a darker red. Red smoke began to rise from his body.

Maintaining the release of all three Cores simultaneously for long wasn’t possible.

He needed to finish this quickly.

Boom!

The sound of their weapons clashing changed.

It no longer sounded like steel meeting steel but mana crashing against mana, the energy from their strikes echoing through the air.

The flames that once surrounded them were pushed back by the sheer force of their mana, unable to get close.

Locked in a complete tangle of mana, the two moved rapidly within the confined space.

Boom!

Each step they took caused the ground to explode beneath them.

Both fighters were now completely focused; their only goal was to claim the other’s life.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Viktor began to be pushed back after what seemed like hundreds of exchanges—so fast they couldn’t be followed by ordinary eyes.

“H-how is this happening…?”

The speed and strength of their clashes were equal, but the gap in skill was vast.

For every wound Ghislain sustained, Viktor suffered two. Then it became three at a time, and then four.

Viktor was finding it harder and harder to keep up with the increasingly strange swordsmanship.

“How is it possible that someone like you—! I can’t accept this!”

“What a joke. Since when did I ask for your acceptance?”

Viktor, enraged, swung his sword at Ghislain with all his might.

The strike seemed as if it would split him in half from head to toe.

Though the attack was formidable, it was far too simple for someone like Ghislain to fall for it.

Thrust!

Ghislain didn’t miss the opening and extended his sword.

The blade, twisting in an unpredictable manner, found its way into Viktor’s chest near his heart.

“Urgh!”

Viktor staggered backward, clutching his chest.

Ghislain’s expression hardened.

‘It didn’t finish him.’

The backlash from having released all three of his Cores was starting to set in.

His rotating mana was becoming too much to handle—his muscles were tearing, and his bones were twisting.

At this rate, he would collapse before he could kill his enemy.

Feeling something flowing, Ghislain wiped under his nose with his finger. It came away smeared with blood.

It seemed his body had reached its limit.

If this continued, blood would soon start pouring from his ears, mouth, and eyes as well.

Viktor quickly noticed the change in Ghislain’s condition. A grin of euphoric joy spread across his face.

“Kuhaha, I knew it. I thought something was off about your strength. So, it was some kind of trick. You must be burning through your life force to the limit. Black magic, perhaps?”

“You catch on quickly. So, what now? Are you going to run and try to drag this out?”

“No, that wouldn’t do. You might hold back and conserve your strength if I did that. No, I think I’d rather push you even harder.”

As a skilled warrior, Viktor instantly grasped Ghislain’s deteriorating state and figured out the best response.

Though the wound on his chest was deep, he could still endure and continue the fight.

“Now it makes sense. You were the anomaly all along. Was it you who took care of Frank? Of course. There’s no way someone like Frank could have handled you.”

Viktor couldn’t stop laughing.

He had finally identified the source of his frustration.

Neither Harold, nor his advisors, nor even his spies had known about this hidden variable.

With an opponent like Ghislain, it was no wonder their plans had kept failing.

“I’ll cut off your head and present it to the Count. Then I’ll be given another chance.”

“Don’t get cocky. Whose head do you think you’ll be taking? Do you really think you’ll be going back?”

Boom!

This time, Ghislain attacked first, launching a strike at Viktor.

“Haha! Go ahead and try to kill me!”

Viktor knew that Ghislain’s skills were a level above his own, but he didn’t care.

Soon, Ghislain’s strength would fade, and then Viktor would overwhelm him with sheer speed and power.

Boom!

Once again, the two swords clashed.

Unlike Ghislain, who focused solely on attacking, Viktor concentrated entirely on defending.

His wounds gradually increased, but he managed to endure, narrowly avoiding any fatal blows.

When he couldn’t dodge, he allowed his non-vital areas to take the hit.

“Hahaha! You idiot! How long do you think you can last like this?”

Despite being covered in blood, Viktor couldn’t stop laughing.

In contrast, the smile had long since disappeared from Ghislain’s face.

Grit!

Ghislain clenched his teeth.

‘Is this the end?’

The tip of his sword began to waver uncontrollably.

Viktor didn’t miss the opportunity.

“You’re finished!”

Boom!

Viktor launched his counterattack.

Ghislain hastily retreated, but his body pushed to its limits and couldn’t properly absorb the shock.

Blood began to trickle from his eyes and ears.

“This is the end, you piece of trash!”

Boom!

Once more, their swords collided, and Ghislain, unable to withstand the force, staggered backward.

He finally slumped halfway to the ground.

“Ugh!”

Blood gushed from his mouth.

“Dieeeeee!”

Swish!

Viktor’s sword came slicing toward Ghislain’s neck.

At that moment, Ghislain extended his left hand, the one not holding a sword, forward.

Thunk!

“Huh?”

Viktor’s attack halted for a moment. An unknown force seemed to bind his body.

“A cheap trick!”

Crack!

Viktor channeled his mana, breaking through the mana threads that had restrained him.

Swish!

His sword once again tore through the air.

It was a perfect strike—no flaw in his form.

But then, Ghislain’s left hand twisted slightly, turning just half a rotation.

Boom!

Viktor’s sword missed and struck the ground instead.

“Huh?”

He had clearly aimed for Ghislain’s head, yet some mysterious force had disturbed his stance.

It was a weak interference, barely enough to alter the angle of his strike.

But that minor disruption kept Viktor’s sword from reaching Ghislain’s body.

“Damn it!”

Panicking, Viktor tried to regain his stance and pull his sword from the ground.

Thrust!

A cold blade pierced his thick neck.

“Grrrk… Krrrk!”

Blood and foam gushed from the wound and around the embedded blade.

Viktor’s eyes were filled with nothing but confusion.

Squelch!

Ghislain pulled the sword free, and Viktor, spewing blood from his neck, collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Ghislain gave Viktor’s twitching body a light kick, flipping him over.

“Krrk… How…?”

Whether it was his stubborn will to live or pure frustration, Viktor continued to cling to his last breaths.

Ghislain staggered to his feet and looked down at Viktor’s face.

“What, did you think you’d win every fight? You didn’t even know who I was. That’s why you lost, you bastard.”

Covered in blood, Ghislain grinned, baring his teeth.

His entire body screamed in agony, his muscles strained to their limits, but the thrill of victory far outweighed the pain.

“I’m going to keep winning. Come at me as many times as you want. I’ll devour every one of you.”

“……”

“You should consider yourself lucky. At least you get to die cleanly.”

With his blood-stained hand, Ghislain gripped his sword once more and brought it down in a swift, final strike.