Chapter 432: We'll Have to Use Threats Like Last Time. (2)

Ricardo trembled as he looked at Skovan.

"Captain... Is this really because of you...?"

"S-shut up! It's not because of me!"

Skovan shook his head furiously.

This was absurd self-consciousness. How could he possibly be the one attracting all the disasters to Perdium?

It was a coincidence. It had to be.

Clenching his teeth, Skovan said, "Let's get a little closer and check it out."

"You want to get closer?"

Ricardo asked in horror. Skovan nodded.

"We can't know for sure if that's really a rift. It could be some other strange phenomenon."

"Doesn't that look like a rift to you?"

"Damn it! We still have to confirm it! We need to assess the expansion rate too! Something's clearly wrong here!"

The blue mist was spreading at a visibly rapid pace. While they had been briefed many times about rifts, no one had ever described expansion this fast.

It had to be confirmed and reported properly. Skovan was a responsible knight.

"We'll just get close enough to check it out. I don't intend to go inside."

The patrol cautiously approached the rift's boundary. Though it was far away, they were on horseback and closed the distance quickly.

Staring at the dense blue mist ahead, Skovan muttered,

"So this is... the rift zone..."

He turned his head but couldn't see where the mist ended. For a rift to expand to this extent, how much time must have already passed?

Ricardo scanned the area as well before shouting,

"Ugh! It's really coming closer!"

The blue mist crept toward them, slowly but steadily. The fact that it was expanding in real-time was the problem.

At this rate, it would consume the Northern Fortress in just a few days.

Skovan dismounted and walked cautiously forward.

Swish.

He stretched out his hand, letting it enter the mist. The fog wasn't particularly thick; it didn't obstruct vision. It only looked dense because it covered such a vast area.

His hand crossed the boundary line and remained visible. Beyond it lay a desolate and ominous landscape devoid of any signs of life.

Kaaah!

A shrill scream echoed in the distance.

Though it was the first time seeing one, the patrol knew exactly what lived in that mist.

Skovan had no intention of stepping any further in to confirm.

"L-let's head back."

As he withdrew his hand and began turning around,

Kaaaargh!

"Aaaagh! Captain!"

Ricardo screamed as something lunged toward them. Skovan immediately drew his sword.

Slash!

Skovan's blade, glowing with faint blue mana, cut through the attacker.

It was a riftborn, its grotesque face twisted in fury. Half of its body fell to the ground.

Fssss...

The severed body quickly shriveled and turned to dust, disappearing entirely.

The unholy nature of the creature was clear for all to see.

"Ugh..."

Seeing the twisted figure of the rift creature for the first time, Ricardo and the patrol's faces turned pale.

Kaaah!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

From the distance came the sound of countless footsteps charging toward them.

Skovan's face went white as he mounted his horse.

"B-back to the fortress! Now!"

They turned their horses and bolted back toward the Northern Fortress.

When Ghislain had first led the Northern Army to deal with the rifts, each one had been teeming with as many as 100,000 riftborn. And that was despite lords establishing defensive lines to fight back.

In the north, however, no one even knew a rift existed. There were no defensive lines.

With Ghislain and the Northern Army gone for some time now, how many riftborn had gathered while the rift silently expanded?

The thought alone was horrifying.

Skovan rode hard, mentally screaming,

'It's not because of me!'

A small part of him worried he might get kicked out of Perdium.

Ricardo would surely run his mouth about this.

***

Thanks to Ghislain and the Northern Army's efforts, the plague was quickly brought under control.

Although small pockets of infection remained, those who had taken the cure were immune, and life was returning to normal.

Of course, Ghislain hadn't solved the plague across the kingdom. He still had to deal with the rifts.

The capital and the eastern region were handled by Meriel and Rozalin, who had trusted Ghislain's words and prepared thoroughly.

One of the key figures in resolving the plague, Rozalin, had now come to the Northern Army camp after receiving Ghislain's message.

"So now we're supposed to send medicine and food to other countries?"

"Yes. The plague in the Lutania Kingdom is nearly contained. We need to stop the plague in other nations too so they can focus on the rifts."

Rozalin spoke with a trembling voice.

"You... You're not that kind of person."

"..."

"You saved people this time too. Why are you suddenly doing all these 'good' deeds...?"

"..."

Ghislain scratched his head with a grim expression.

Rozalin wasn't wrong. He didn't go out of his way to do good deeds.

Everything he had done was for one purpose: to crush the Duchy and the rifts. Every action he took was calculated toward achieving that goal—he just happened to use extreme methods.

So it wasn't unreasonable for Rozalin to misunderstand. To her, Ghislain seemed obsessed with profits.

Suddenly, Rozalin clapped her hands and shouted, "I've got it! You're trying to gain public favor and consolidate even greater power! Just how greedy are you?"

She clicked her tongue in disbelief.

History was full of rulers who won the hearts of the people and used their loyalty to solidify power.

And while such rulers often brought positive results, Rozalin believed Ghislain was doing the same—strategically gaining the people's favor.

Ghislain sighed and shook his head.

'What on earth does she think I am?'

Listening to her, it sounded as if he were the one plotting to take over the kingdom, not Duke Delphine.

Such schemes were Amelia's specialty, not his. He didn't even bother thinking about things like that.

"I have no desire for power," he stated flatly.

"..."

This time, Rozalin and Ghislain's aides wore skeptical expressions.

'Who else has been capturing lords and seizing their lands under the pretense of royal authority?'

To outsiders, Ghislain appeared to be wielding power like a blunt weapon.

Annoyed, Ghislain waved a hand dismissively.

"We need to get through this period quickly. Even if the kingdom stabilizes, it won't matter if other nations fall to the rifts or the Salvation Church."

"Hmm, that's true," Rozalin agreed, nodding. The entire continent had been thrown into turmoil.

The Lutania Kingdom might be safe for now, but if neighboring nations fell, the rifts and enemy forces would inevitably invade.

Regardless of Ghislain's intentions, stopping the chaos sooner would benefit everyone.

"Fine. I'll coordinate with Countess Ailesbur to prepare the necessary supplies. Which areas should we prioritize?"

"Start with the nations bordering Lutania, then move on to the Turian Kingdom."

"The Turian Kingdom?"

"Yes. Please prioritize helping that kingdom first. Fenris will also prepare medicine and food supplies."

"Is there a specific reason for prioritizing the Turian Kingdom?"

"Well... They're already struggling with the monsters of the Shadow Mountains, aren't they? It must be harder for them than other places."

Ghislain offered a vague explanation. The real reason, however, was far from that.

'I need that side to stabilize faster.'

A monstrous figure was there. Once that man appeared, the Turian Kingdom would quickly regain stability.

At least one region needed to recover quickly to make future battles easier. And for that, sufficient medicine and food supplies were necessary.

Ghislain was simply prioritizing the areas where fighting would be most efficient.

"There are a few more regions as well."

Ghislain listed his priorities to Rozalin.

Fenris alone couldn't help every kingdom. He was already too busy fighting the rifts within Lutania.

Having the influential Branford Marquis lend support to other countries would make a significant difference. Rozalin and Meriel would handle the practical matters anyway; Ghislain was just delegating directly.

Rozalin nodded. In the long run, Ghislain's logic made sense.

"Still... providing all this aid for free seems a bit much..."

"You can't approach this as a trade. Think of it as charity—because we have the resources to spare."

"Hmm..."

"We'll receive our returns later. Right now, we can't afford to waste time haggling over this."

The Lutania Kingdom had far more resources than other nations, thanks to Ghislain's foresight. Rozalin couldn't entirely reject his stance.

"Fine. But you've changed a lot, Count."

The man who once only cared about money was now freely offering resources to others.

Not knowing Ghislain's true intentions, she couldn't help but misinterpret the situation.

She tentatively brought up another matter.

"By the way... the cosmetics business has seen a drop in sales recently..."

It was natural for sales to decline during wartime. Rozalin planned to scale back the business and delay some payments.

But Ghislain responded with his usual indifferent tone.

"Ah, you still need to follow the contract. You'll have to settle the accounts properly."

'Why is this guy only like this with me?'

Swish.

Rozalin quickly unfolded her fan to hide her eyes.

He was giving endlessly to everyone else, but refused to show her any leniency.

Every time they met, all he ever talked about was money!

Her frustration and anger boiled over.

Sensing the hostility, Ghislain instinctively leaned back.

'What? Why's she looking at me like that again? Did I say something wrong?'

Ghislain wasn't the type to forfeit his rights without reason. Of course, if she explained her circumstances, he would show some understanding.

But Rozalin, deeply misunderstanding him, was too incensed to explain.

Just as she was about to shout again, a messenger arrived, panting heavily. His uniform indicated he had come from Perdium.

Ghislain, seizing the opportunity to escape, stood up.

"Oh, did my father send you? What's the matter?"

"Young lord! The r-rift...!"

"Hm?"

"The rift has expanded to the vicinity of the Northern Fortress!"

The messenger's words froze Ghislain and everyone else in the room.

There had been no rifts in the north. Everyone had assumed the Salvation Church hadn't had the time to infiltrate and prepare there.

But a rift had opened beyond the vast northern lands?

This was no small matter. No matter how strong Perdium had grown, they couldn't survive within a rift's territory.

"Young master!"

A pale-faced Belinda called to Ghislain.

To her, Perdium was like a home. She couldn't let the rift consume the Northern Fortress.

Her ambitions to elevate Ghislain to a Northern Archduke meant nothing if Perdium was lost.

"We have to mobilize the Northern Army immediately!"

Ghislain nodded slowly.

It was obvious. After all, this entire struggle had started to protect his territory.

If Perdium fell, everything he had worked for would be meaningless.

Ghislain's expression turned icy.

'Those fools caused this.'

In his previous life, there had been no rifts in the northern regions. The barbarian tribes lived in isolation, fiercely repelling outsiders. The vast northern plains were impossible to hide anything in.

For the Salvation Church, trying to open a rift there wasn't worth the effort. It was more effective to target other kingdoms. And that's exactly what they had done.

But now, a rift has appeared in the north. There was only one explanation.

'Waroka...'

Waroka must have allied with the Salvation Church and offered them sacrifices.

'You've chosen the worst possible path.'

Back then, Ghislain had spared Waroka to minimize losses. In exchange, he had gained horses that made Fenris' cavalry unmatched.

But Waroka's betrayal had put an end to their fragile truce.

Ghislain looked toward the north.

'Time...'

If the rift had already reached the fortress's outskirts, there was no time to mobilize the entire Northern Army. They wouldn't arrive in time.

Instead, Ghislain would have to take the Fenris cavalry. With the rift's creatures multiplying, he would need the 10,000 Fenris troops still stationed in the north.

But while Ghislain fought the rift, Waroka would undoubtedly bypass the fortress and attack Perdium.

'And they'll cause chaos across the north.'

The north had no army to defend against the barbarians. All its forces had been conscripted into the Northern Army.

If even the Fenris forces left for the Northern Fortress, the barbarians would ravage the defenseless north, slaughtering and claiming the lands as their own.

That would create endless trouble. Ghislain needed an army to intercept the barbarians while he dealt with the rift.

'Looks like it's time to use them.'

There was still a solution. When forming the Northern Army, he had deliberately left one force intact.

Their leader was highly capable—so much so that even the legendary Mercenary King of his past life had struggled against them. That force alone could hold off the barbarian horde.

"Bring me a pen and paper."

Ghislain, having finished his brief deliberation, began writing a letter. His pen glided across the paper without hesitation as he muttered to himself,

"They won't listen if I ask nicely. I'll have to threaten them again, like last time."

Back then, it had been a tremendous help. He might not have come this far without that support.

So this time...

It would be just as invaluable.

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