445

Episode 445 I am a negotiation expert. (2)

When you get involved with Giselle, everyone changes a little, for better or worse.

Gillian transformed from a rough mercenary to a loyal knight after his daughter's illness was cured thanks to Giselle.

Kaor also went from being a free-spirited mad dog to a leashed hunting dog.

Even the timid Vanessa gained confidence, and the arrogant and neat Alfoy and the wizards no longer cared about living like beggars.

Areldo, who is always hard-working, changed after coming to Fenris.

Other mercenary knights, elves, and dwarves all changed little by little as they came to Fenris and joined Giselle.

Among them, Piotte's change may be the most dramatic.

'Hey, I'm swearing!'

Fiote was very embarrassed by the curse that came out without his knowledge. He had sometimes thought of Alfoy as this bastard, that bastard, and that bad bastard, but this was the first time in his life that he had cursed so openly.

'Goddess, forgive me for my sins! I have sworn!'

Fiote closed his eyes tightly and repented for a moment. It was the devil, the devil was in his heart.

The soldiers cheered again as they watched him close his eyes tightly and clasp his hands together in prayer.

"The saint is receiving the power of the goddess!"

"I guess this is a prayer before destroying the enemy!"

"It's like a preparatory ritual to send you to the afterlife!"

'That's not it!'

I couldn't concentrate on my prayers because of the people talking nonsense.

Fiote had no choice but to stop praying and close his mouth.

'Yeah, they say that when you come to this territory, everything changes a little bit. I'm just adapting.'

Actually, there was one guy who didn't change.

Claude, the governor of Fenris Territory, is known for his consistent character.

Anyway, due to the new strategy put forward by Giselle, Piote ended up at the forefront(?) of the fight against Equidema.

Kaaaaah!

Equidema, who was fascinated by divine power, was the first to attack Piote.

Alfoy said to Tennant, who was flinching as if he was going to fight as usual.

"Oh my, how dare you, a mere 'human', get involved in a fight between gods? I don't know."

"… … ."

Tennant didn't like this Alpo guy very much. But he was just a stone rolling in, so he just endured it.

Phew!

Equidema's attack did not cause any damage to Piote. Taking advantage of the gap, Piote grabbed Equidema's leg and climbed up as before.

'Euuuuu… … How did I… … .'

Fiote ground his teeth as he climbed.

From that day on, he was caught by Jiselle while on a march and had to receive martial arts training. Since he was overflowing with divine power, his strength and speed were sufficient.

As he received such hellish training, Fiote's gaze became a little sharper. In any case, he became a warrior priest fit for the Fenris Territory.

"Eww!"

Piote, who had quickly climbed up to Equidema's neck, shouted loudly and swung his fist.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Kwaaaaang!

Cheeeeek!

Equidema's scream rang out and Fiote's hair turned silver.

His fists, filled with divine power, struck indiscriminately, burning Equidema's flesh.

"Ooh! Goddess Punch!"

Alpoy let out a sigh of admiration. Now he felt he couldn't bother to do anything.

Kwaaaaang!

Equidema tried to tear off the cursed insect attached to her neck, but she couldn't shake it off because she couldn't shock it right away.

Giselle shouted as Piote successfully climbed onto Equidema's neck.

"Now, just clear your mind!"

The more Equidema attacks Fiote, the less time Fiote can hold out. That's why you have to distract him by provoking and keeping him at bay.

Paaaaah!

Others circled around Equidema and attacked her without stopping. As they did so, parts of Equidema's body split apart and blue smoke poured out.

Kwaaaaah!

Equidema was going crazy. The bug stuck to his neck wouldn't fall off, let alone die, no matter how much he shocked it. The beast couldn't understand this phenomenon.

Even in the midst of all this, other bugs kept attacking me from all around me, so I thought I was going crazy.

In the end, Equidema was so focused on Fiote that he couldn't dodge properly and ended up covered in wounds.

Keu ...

"now!"

As Giselle shouted, Vanessa lifted the grumbling Fiote into the air.

Whirlirik!

Immediately Belinda stretched out the rope and pulled Fiote towards her.

After that, the hunt was over with absurd ease, as Jiselle jumped up and unleashed all her strength, piercing Equidema's tattered neck.

Krrrrrr… … .

Kuung!

Equidema, who was still staring at Piote, fell down.

People were speechless even after the monster was defeated. Who would have thought that such a powerful beast could be defeated so easily?

Of course, it was thanks to the fact that they were using Equidema's weaknesses. They had also gained a lot of experience, and the best forces were all gathered here.

But even taking all that into account, I couldn't help but be surprised at how much easier it was than before.

"Wow!"

"We won again this time!"

"These kids are nothing special!"

The knights and soldiers fighting the Crackers cheered.

The Northern Army's casualties were decreasing day by day. Moreover, it was now easy to defeat Equidema.

The once scary cracks were no longer a source of fear, so morale could only rise.

Jiselle smiled bitterly as she looked at the cheering people.

'If it was only this much, I wouldn't have suffered so much in my past life.'

There are still stronger monsters left. The priests of the Salvation Church and the nobles who are in league with them are also a problem.

To fight them, everyone needs to become stronger than they are now. We need not only soldiers, but also stronger superhumans.

But Giselle did not reveal her true feelings. It was also important for the soldiers to maintain high morale.

"Now, let's move. We need to deal with the rift within the kingdom as quickly as possible."

The Northern Army, whose morale was rising, quickly dealt with the remaining cracks in the west.

Since Equidema can be easily caught, the processing speed has also increased. Before we knew it, all the cracks in the western and central regions were cleared.

The Northern Army had not only dealt with the Equidema and the Cracks. The Cracks had not yet completely disappeared. There was more to come.

In an attempt to slow it down, Giselle used her wizards to create a mana-blocking field around the area.

"Install it carefully. That way we can buy more time."

At Giselle's command, the wizards spared no expense in using their runestones and magical power.

The crack grows in size by sucking in the surrounding energy. However, when measures were taken to block mana, the rate at which the crack grew was noticeably reduced.

"Now let's move east. There are far fewer cracks there, so it should be easier than before."

At those words, the Northern Army moved more vigorously. They had nothing to fear now.

Jiselle had some idea why there were so few cracks in the East.

It may be because they are under the influence of the Marquis of Branford, but they may have made it small on purpose as the dukedom had set its top priority for its advance to the east.

'This time, they will probably advance from the east again.'

It may be a strategy that the Duke has set up to target the capital, but Jiselle cannot block all regions.

'I guess we can leave that part to Amelia.'

She, too, will have to stop the Duke first to further her own ambitions.

Amelia would have guessed the Duke's plan anyway. Still, she thought it would be better to expand her power in the East. In the current situation, it would be impossible for her to expand her power in the North.

As the Northern Army arrived in the East, the soldiers of the territory that had been holding back the rift cheered.

"Wow! The Northern Army is here!"

"The Earl of Fenris has arrived!"

"It's done! It's done!"

They are the ones who waited for the Northern Army more than anyone else while fighting the cracks. Naturally, they cannot help but welcome them happily.

Of course, Jiselle didn't just leave them alone. She had been helping them in her own way.

"Your Majesty! You have come!"

Dominic, the vice-captain of the Fenris Mercenaries, welcomed Giselle warmly.

Currently, the Fenris Mercenary Corps has grown to a whopping 30,000 members. At this point, it could be said that almost all mercenaries have joined the Fenris Mercenary Corps.

It was the result of consistent promotion and gathering mercenaries from all over the place.

"Dominic, you've worked hard. You've held up well."

"No. It was worth it to just reduce the number of Crackers. Didn't 10,000 mercenaries come here?"

Dominic said confidently, chuckling.

After taking revenge on Marquis Rodrik, he felt more relieved than anyone else. That was why he was able to take on the mission Giselle gave him with enthusiasm.

Currently, only 10,000 of the Fenris Mercenaries were helping to stop the rift under Dominic's command.

The rest were helping out with various tasks, including the recovery of the damage. Fenris' influence was truly spreading throughout the kingdom.

Dominic saw Giselle for the first time in a long time and gave her a report that had been pending.

"We are continuing to recruit mercenaries. Mercenaries from other countries are also joining our mercenary group."

"Good. As expected."

There was also this intention behind gathering mercenaries by offering them endless benefits and spreading rumors.

The war with the Rift is dangerous. It will force other kingdoms to hire large numbers of mercenaries.

However, since the news spread that the Fenris Mercenary Corps was safe in dealing with cracks and had good pay and benefits, it was only natural that mercenaries from other countries would flock here.

Thanks to this, the Fenris Mercenary Corps was still growing at a rapid pace.

"Don't stop recruiting mercenaries. Now is the time when numbers are important, so accept all who come. The more the better. Ask Claude for anything you need."

"yes."

"And select the people to be dispatched to other kingdoms. I have something in mind. You will hear from me soon."

"All right!"

"Okay, then let's get moving."

The goal of all armies currently dealing with the rift is not, strictly speaking, the rift's demise, but rather the defeat of Equidema. Since the rift cannot be closed immediately, the goal is to prevent its expansion.

Among them, the Northern Army could now be called Equidema's natural enemy and merciless hunter.

Ugh! Ugh!

The Equidemas in the East also began to fall one by one. The lords' armies were relieved and their morale rose.

The soldiers from the East who had only heard of Fenris' fame were moved to see Jiselle's performance in person.

"This is the strongest in the North… … ."

"They call you a master, you really are amazing."

"It's amazing that the crack we were barely able to plug is being dealt with so quickly."

Everyone praised Jisel and the Northern Army. It was natural, since they felt the gap in level. However, the reactions of the lords and nobles were a little different.

"It's dangerous. The public's hearts are all focused on Fenris."

"If the author changes his mind, the kingdom will be in danger."

"Should I join Fenris right now?"

They all had mixed feelings. Aesong, who had been ignored just a few years ago, now had a reputation that could not be ignored.

Besides, what about military power? Based on the record, it seemed like it would be difficult for the remaining royal forces to win even if they charged in.

The only advantage the Northern Army has is the number of soldiers, but they also kill more Crackers.

― The Northern Army is an army made up of monsters.

The intimidation emanating from the name Northern Army was so great that such rumors spread to everyone.

There are even rumors going around that the Earl of Fenris might become a duke. The lords are all bitter because the little brat they once ignored has become a big shot who can't be controlled.

Of course, Jiselle didn't care about such rumors. He was busy dealing with the rift in the East and planning his future strategy.

"It's time to get moving, but I'm not moving. Is something wrong?"

I heard that the Duke's House was also dealing with the cracks, but I couldn't know the exact progress. The south was almost blockaded. Even the neutral Earl of Mowbray was having a hard time moving.

"Still, I guess I can see things I didn't know about in my past life."

Since they were dealing with the cracks in the south directly, it seemed like they either couldn't control the cracks in the first place... or there was some problem controlling them.

After I learned that the Salvation Church had intervened, I began to doubt the purpose of the conspiracy. I couldn't figure it out even after trying to input information from my previous life.

"The Duke, Rebellion against the Kingdom, The Forest of Demons, The Church of Salvation, Crack… ."

There's no way completely unrelated things could be linked like that. There must be something that runs through all the information that Jiselle knows. But all the connections were vague.

While Giselle was so troubled, someone came to see him. It was a knight from the royal family.

As soon as he finished his salute, he opened his mouth.

"The Marquis of Branford, the Minister of the Household, has asked me to bring in the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army."

"What's going on?"

"Emissaries from each kingdom came to visit us."

Giselle nodded. The preparations she had made Claude do a while ago were finished faster than expected.

In just a couple of months, he summoned envoys from several kingdoms.

Jiselle asked to confirm.

"Do you know why I came here?"

"They say they're going to form a coalition. It seems like they need to coordinate the details."

"That's certain."

In fact, the Allied Forces had been formed in a previous life as well. Although it was in a different kingdom than this one.

He took the initiative and brought it forward first.

"Okay, let's leave right away."

Even if Giselle had not taken the lead, the Marquis of Branford would have had no choice but to call him.

Jiselle is a specialist in crack handling and the owner of the strongest army in the kingdom.

Thanks to Giselle knowing more than anyone else and preparing more than anyone else, the Fenris Territory and the Kingdom of Rutania were able to reduce the damage to a degree that cannot be compared to other kingdoms.

So, the only person who could become the backbone of the Allied Forces was Giselle.

And most importantly.

"I am a negotiation expert."

Jiselle herself had no intention of falling into such a position.