174

Rattling!

The iron ingot that had been placed on the platform broke in half and fell to the floor.

"Wow!"

"He cut it! Gordon really cut the iron ingot!"

The cheers of those who saw the results echoed throughout the demonstration hall.

Due to Gordon's lack of skill, the cross-section of the iron ingot was rough, as if it had been forcibly cut with a saw, but it was certain that he had cut the iron.

Claude was speechless, his mouth wide open.

'You really cut the iron ingot with a sword? You were able to use mana in this short amount of time?'

Just in case there was any foul play using the weight of the weapon, Claude prepared the weapon himself.

The fact that he was able to cut through that thick iron ingot with the common longsword he had prepared was proof that Gordon had really used mana.

A new hope began to surge into his mind.

I opposed the expedition in order to go in a slightly safer direction, but this makes a difference.

'Even if they are at the level of beginner knights, if there are hundreds of them, it is an enormous force!'

The number of knights taught by Jiselle this time is a whopping four hundred.

No other estate, save the Duke of Delphine, had so many knights.

This means that although the quality may be lower than other places, it is by no means inferior in numbers.

'We need to come up with a new strategy. With so many articles! We can do it!'

The moment Claude lifted his face, flushed with excitement, and was about to say something to Giselle.

"Whoa!"

Gordon collapsed, vomiting blood.

Gordon, who was trembling and foaming at the mouth, was quickly carried onto a stretcher by servants.

"… … ."

The atmosphere suddenly became cold. The cheering vassals fell silent, and Claude's heart also grew cold.

Jiselle's voice broke the awkward silence.

"Why? What's the problem? Is this the first time you've seen someone vomit blood and collapse?"

"… … ."

Everyone was at a loss for words and just looked at each other. It was because the whole thing was problematic from beginning to end, but they didn't know how to bring it up.

The vassals looked at Claude. When dealing with sophists, it would be better to leave this to the sophist expert.

Claude quickly gathered his thoughts like a professional and opened his mouth.

"That's not a news article! It would be more appropriate to call it a fraud. No, it's 100% a fraud."

"What is a scam?"

"What kind of war is this in such a state! With one swing of the sword, someone falls!"

"Anyway, you used up your mana, right? You promised to go on an expedition if you used up your mana, right? There were no other conditions."

Claude was left speechless by Giselle's shameless answer.

That's not wrong. The bet condition was 'being able to use mana', not 'not collapsing after using mana'.

Still, the feeling of injustice at having been scammed did not go away.

Claude, who was stamping his feet in frustration, asked Wendy next to him.

"Hey, you tell me. Is that normal? Huh? Is that normal?"

"… … No, if you suddenly say that to me."

Wendy, who was always calm and expressionless, was taken aback by Claude's water ghost operation and took a step back.

I know things are bad, but why are you dragging yourself into it?

But Claude was desperate.

"I said, speak up! Honestly, you can beat all those guys over there by yourself, right? Right? Be honest with me."

"No, how could I say that… … ."

"War is a joke? If this continues, they'll all be dragged into the war and die! Try to save lives and say something! Even those weird guys deserve to live!"

There was nothing wrong with what Claude said. No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like he would be able to fight normally.

Finally, Wendy sighed and spoke softly.

"I think I can win by myself… …."

Her words made the people sigh.

Those lying in the sickroom did not come out to the demonstration hall, but there were still about two hundred knights here.

If Wendy was weak enough to defeat that many on her own, it would be difficult to call her a knight.

The reporters frowned at the remarks that seemed to ignore them.

Even though she is the general's escort, how can a mere maid ignore the knights!

Lucas, who likes to show off, couldn't hold back and stepped forward.

"You! How dare you say such things to us! Come out and duel us right now… … . Cough! Ugh, I'm so angry!"

Lucas stopped talking and fell to one knee, coughing up blood.

My health has been so bad lately that even the slightest excitement causes blood to rush to my head and cause nosebleeds.

The knights next to him supported Lucas and said a few words to him.

"Don't get excited, your blood pressure will rise. Take a deep breath."

"Hey, just put up with it. You can't beat him."

"That's right, he's really strong. If you attack him, you'll just die."

Claude, seeing the knights' pitiful appearance, spoke to Giselle with a sad face.

"Aren't there any other troops besides them?"

"Don't you know best what doesn't exist?"

"Didn't you say during the previous meeting that you would fill the shortage of troops on your own?"

"Oh, there is a time for everything. Don't worry too much, your troops will be replenished when the time comes."

Claude put his hand to his forehead.

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To be honest, it was obvious that the troops that could be obtained from the Fenris territory would be asked by the Marquis of Branford, or by borrowing troops from Ferdium.

But if we want to attack the nobles of the Duke's faction first, there is no way the Marquis of Branford would lend us troops.

There was a limit to the number of troops that Perdium could lend to block the North.

No matter how much I thought about it, the idea of bringing in troops seemed like a lie told to suppress opposition. It was clear that he intended to wage war only with those half-baked, incompetent knights.

"You're going to go to war with guys like that? Is that a news article? What good is an article like that?"

But Giselle didn't seem to be worried at all.

"It's okay. Right now, I'm training too hard to quickly learn the Mana training method. I'll rest for the time being and recover my stamina."

Unlike the knights in the northern fortress, they were constantly pumping out mana as soon as they accumulated it.

Since I have never used mana before, I have to get used to the feeling of using mana.

My body was just ruined from overdoing it, but if I just got enough rest, it would recover quickly.

Of course, if you rest for too long, you'll run into problems, but in any case, if you want to extend your lifespan, you have no choice but to work hard.

Claude and his retainers, who did not know the detailed principles of the Infinite Loop training method that Giselle had perfected, continued to oppose, but Giselle was stubborn.

"Enough. As promised, the knights have used their mana, so the plan to set out has been finalized. I will not accept any further objections. If you object, your words will be wrong, so properly finish preparing for the expedition."

As a result of the bet, Claude and Alfoy's slavery period was extended by ten years.

After some struggling, Claude, who had given up both his life and his ability to convince Giselle, asked:

"Are you planning to set out right away?"

"No, I need to make sure that the items I had the dwarves make are properly completed, and the knights need more tactical training. And the time hasn't come yet."

"What time is it?"

"There is such a thing as a good time to fight. If you wait a little longer, it will come."

"...All right."

When it was finally decided to go on an expedition, Claude felt hopeful at the sight of Giselle slightly withdrawing.

They acted as if they were going to invade Cavaldi County the next day, but they might be scared when they actually have to fight.

If you think about it like that and cancel the expedition, there's nothing better than that.

Giselle asked, watching Claude's expression change from moment to moment.

"By the way, are you still purchasing food?"

Claude complained to Giselle with a look of relief on his face.

"Excuse me, my lord. How about we stop buying now? Even after distributing to Ferdium, there is still more than enough. And that monster wheat is about to enter harvest season. This harvest will be enormous again."

They say that having a lot of food is not a bad thing, but there is a limit to that. As food increased beyond consumption, it became difficult to store it.

But Giselle shook her head firmly.

"No. Scrape everything away so that the northerners are starving. Buy as much as you can, even if it means paying a premium. Got it?"

"What on earth are you doing! The amount that's accumulated now will be enough to feed the two territories of Fenris and Ferdium for over ten years. It'll rot away before it's even consumed!"

Giselle was strangely obsessed with storing food.

No matter how many times the people told him to sell it and raise money, he was unwavering.

Even though it was clear that they would make a lot of money if they sold a lot of food, they went to great lengths to secure other sources of income to collect food.

It was difficult for the vassals to guess the reason.

'Is this really a ghost that starved to death?'

Giselle answered Claude in a calm tone, looking frustrated.

"I have everything planned out. You won't believe me no matter what I say anyway."

"That's… … . Right."

"Okay, so just keep buying. Until I tell you to stop. Buy all the stock, no matter what."

"Okay, I understand."

Claude gave up arguing. He just wanted to let things be.

'Do whatever you want.'

In the worst case scenario, you can step forward and command Mercury. Even if you don't know how to siege it, you can probably bring the necessary troops to Mercury from Perdium.

Claude had planned an escape route without any loopholes in case the lord died in the war and Ferdium was destroyed.

When even Claude, the only one they trusted, failed to persuade them, the vassals could only sigh with gloomy faces.

Giselle smiled brightly as she looked at them.

'Okay, everyone's doing very well.'

If a third party were to see this, they might think that he was just giving unreasonable orders to do the impossible.

However, the vassals of the estate, the magicians, the dwarves, the people of the estate, the knights and the soldiers, they all complain and oppose everything, but they actually do what they are told.

Although it looked like a mess on the outside, the inside was surprisingly well-organized.

It was proof that their abilities were outstanding.

The ideas that Giselle could not have accomplished alone were being realized thanks to them.

'That's great. But let's move a little busier.'

There isn't much time left for Giselle to wait.

All preparations must be completed before then.

* * *

The knights went into rest to recover, but others could not.

Everyone was busy developing the territory and gathering war supplies.

While everyone was working tirelessly, additional good news arrived.

"My lord! My lord! I made it! I finally made it!"

Galvarik and the dwarves came to find Giselle, shedding tears.

Looking at them like that, Jiselle was startled and asked.

"who are you?"

"Me! Me! Galvarik! You make me do so much work and you don't even recognize me!"

The one standing in front shouted in anger.

Is it because I had a hard time with the tough schedule?

The faces of Galvarik and the dwarves had changed beyond recognition.

He was very thin, had sunken eyes, and was short, so he looked like a bearded goblin.

Jiselle laughed in embarrassment.

"Ahaha, it was Galvarik. Oh my, I didn't recognize you because you had completely eroded in just a few days. I heard that dwarves have long lifespans, but I guess that was all a lie."

Galvarik gritted his teeth as he glared at the sly Giselle. His beard trembled.

"Damn it! Of course not! We're working without sleep! If we keep doing this, we're all going to die!"

I gritted my teeth and worked every day because I didn't want to join the assault team, but I really wanted to run away.

There were actually dwarves who were caught while trying to escape, but surprisingly, the one who was the most active in the pursuit was Alfoy.

It's because of his annoying nature that he can't stand other slaves running away.

"That Alpo guy in particular is not even a human! He's the worst! He's like the lord's lackey!"

Jiselle asked back, letting the galvanic anger go in one ear and out the other.

"Yeah, by the way, what did you succeed at?"

Then Galvarik smiled brightly as if he had never been angry before and said:

"I finally finished making that hot air balloon!"