166

The trainee knights suffered from the pain of forcibly breaking through the mana road, and became haggard day after day.

They realized keenly why the lord had not been concerned about leaks.

'How do I teach this to other people?'

'I've never heard of anyone being able to teach in this way.'

'Even if you know how to do it, if you're not careful, the other person might end up dying.'

The mana road was created by force, so I couldn't figure out how.

Literally, I learned it through experience without knowing the theory.

As the trainees became more and more exhausted, Jiselle's complexion also became sallow. He was also having a hard time.

'As expected, it's not easy to finish it all at once.'

Even though it seemed like he was roughly piercing through, Jiselle was carefully controlling her mana to keep the trainee knights from dying.

Compared to my previous life, the amount of mana was significantly less, so I had to be careful not to waste any mana in order to manage that many people.

If I kept doing that every day until my mana ran out, there was no way my body would be okay.

'Should I extend the schedule further? If I keep doing this, I'll die first.'

It was so bad that even Jiselle considered giving up halfway through.

But every time that happened, Jiselle would remember her past life and come to her senses.

'There's no benefit to wasting time. You have to think of each day as a debt to your life.'

I can't repeat the same regrets from my previous life. Jisel gritted her teeth and focused on piercing the mana rods of the apprentice knights.

This determination of Jiselle's came out naturally in the atmosphere without her having to say anything.

The trainee knights gritted their teeth and endured the ominous atmosphere of the lord.

As a week passed, their eyes became sharp like sharpened blades. Some people began to feel mana, even if it was just a little bit.

The most basic preparations were complete.

Jiselle said with a relieved expression that the suffering was over.

"You've held out well so far. Now the pain of feeling like you're going to die is over. From now on, I'll teach you how to use the mana concentration to accumulate mana and move."

"Yaaaah!"

The trainee knights cheered from the start.

No matter how many times I repeated it, I never got used to the pain that tore through my body.

I held on and endured, but honestly, every day was like hell.

Now that the suffering was over, I couldn't help but be happy.

The trainee knights began to train in earnest using the mana concentration circle.

"Hey, I finally got to enter the Mana Concentration Camp."

"Wow, mana feels really amazing?"

Even if a mana road is created, it is difficult for someone who is new to mana to absorb it.

However, thanks to the tremendous power of the Mana Focus, the apprentice knights were able to receive mana just by breathing.

'It's true, my body is really accepting mana!'

'The hardships are over! Now happiness begins!'

Everyone was sitting in the Mana gathering and laughing hysterically. They couldn't hold back their laughter even if they tried.

'Ah, I became a knight who deals with mana, so how can I endure this?'

The apprentice knights also gradually learned from Jiselle how to control and emit mana.

Although it is still difficult to handle mana, I tried moving little by little along the mana rod that Jiselle had engraved on my body.

Even though it was a little tedious, it was heaven compared to the pain I had suffered the day before.

'I told you, my lord, you had it all planned out.'

'Oh, my faith was lacking.'

Everyone was busy praising Jiselle in their hearts, as if they had never once cursed the lord.

That's how memories are. No matter how painful it was, if the pain passes and the reward is good, it all becomes a memory.

Everyone had no doubt that this happiness would continue in the future.

After a week like that, the trainee knights finally got to the process of actually using mana.

"Now, this is where it gets real. Even if you feel and accumulate mana, it's meaningless if you don't know how to use it. Gordon! Come forward and use mana as you've learned so far."

Gordon stepped forward confidently at Giselle's words.

And based on what I have learned and practiced so far, I started to raise my mana.

'Ah! So this is what it felt like!'

Gordon fell into a trance as mana spread throughout his body.

The amount of mana is only the size of a rat's droppings, but you can definitely feel your body becoming as hard as steel.

I felt like I could break anything and stop anything.

A new world I never knew existed!

'This is Manaji! I'm invincible now! I think I can even beat that bastard Kaor!'

While he was at it, Gordon raised all his mana.

I wanted to feel this strength more clearly.

Paaaaak!

"Ohhh! Gordon is showing off that kind of energy!"

As Gordon's momentum grew, the other trainees also started to wiggle their butts, eager to get in on the action.

It was just then.

"Whoa! Keeeeek!"

Gordon, who had used up all of his mana, which was as small as rat droppings, collapsed, vomiting a lot of blood.

"… … ?"

Everyone was so embarrassed that they just opened their eyes wide and couldn't say anything.

But Giselle liked it so much that she even clapped her hands.

"Good! Good job! That's exactly how you write it! How is it? Can you feel the power?"

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Gordon looked up at Giselle with a bewildered expression and asked.

"Excuse me? My lord? I'm sick right now? I vomited blood? I'm exhausted?"

"Oh, that's how it was originally."

"… … Is that how it was originally?"

"It's a kind of side effect. Instead of generating more power than you have, it puts a lot of strain on your body. It's a way to explode your mana."

"Side effects… ? Surely, every time I use mana, I keep vomiting blood and collapsing?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. You have to use up everything to see that phenomenon, but if you train hard and become stronger, it'll be okay."

"Ah, it'll get better later… … ."

Gordon nodded in relief at Giselle's seemingly casual remark. However, he felt something was off, so he asked again.

"But what happens if you don't train hard and don't become stronger?"

Jiselle turned her gaze as if looking at a distant mountain and recited.

"The mana already accumulated in your body will keep exploding, so even if you stay still, it will be consumed on its own. If this continues, eventually all of your life force will be sucked out and you will die."

"… … You're dying?"

"Yeah. So you have to get strong enough to control it quickly, right? The stronger you get, the longer you can use your mana. That means your lifespan will also increase."

"Wh, what kind of strange mana cultivation method is this?! Wasn't this the mana cultivation method of the Ferdium family?"

"I modified it based on the Ferdium training method. I reduced the side effects a bit so that you guys can learn it easily. The mana explosion doesn't happen that badly."

"Ah… … I see. So the weak ones dying at least reduces the side effects. Hehehehe!"

Gordon laughed with tears in his eyes. The trainee knights watching also had tears in their eyes.

Gordon, who had been laughing in vain, finally shouted out loud when he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Oh, you didn't say anything like that at first! Isn't this a fraudulent contract? Back off immediately!"

Jiselle looked at him with wide eyes.

"Wow, you used to get scammed a lot, but now you've learned how to read and write and you've changed a lot. You're asking me to cancel the contract. You've changed a lot."

"Eww! What are you talking about! Just cancel it so I can pretend I didn't learn it!"

"Ah, no matter how much I do, I can't cancel it. The only way is to practice hard and quickly raise your level. If you want to live, you all have to become stronger than you are now."

Gordon and the other trainees were unable to continue speaking and cursed inwardly.

'Why on earth did you come up with such a crazy mana training method?'

'Well, he wasn't a normal person to begin with. It's our fault for forgetting that, our fault.'

Until now, only the lord and his entourage had been busy, but now the trainee knights also had to move around busily.

The Knights of Fenris literally became an order where only the strong survived.

If you want to die in exile, you have no choice but to train hard and become stronger.

It was the beginning of a new suffering.

* * *

Harold, Earl of Desmond, was deep in thought in his office.

He was busy rebuilding the forces he had lost in the war with Jiselle, so a tired look was evident on his face.

The reason I was worrying like this even though I was so busy that I suffered from insomnia was none other than this.

This is because the content of the letter from the Duke's family particularly touched his feelings.

"That bastard joined the royalist faction, with the Marquis of Branford as his guardian? He even decided to receive support in place of Brivant… … ."

The last report he had received about Giselle was that she was turning the estate upside down.

After that, all the spies were ferreted out and the Fenris territory was sealed off, so no news was heard from there for a while.

But then one day, Jiselle suddenly appears in the capital, starts selling cosmetics, and becomes a famous person in an instant.

But I ignored him, thinking that he couldn't possibly do anything like that, but who would have thought he would join the prince's faction?

Harold clicked his tongue and glared at the letter, then asked the adjutant next to him.

"The Duke has ordered that Giselle be treated as the equal of Jurgen, the Knight Commander of Leipold. What do you think of this information?"

"… … I can't believe it myself, but I don't think the Duke would have said something like that without any basis."

"I don't understand."

Harold grabbed my head with both hands.

Jurgen was one of the strongest men in the entire kingdom. It is not for nothing that he is called the greatest knight in the North and holds the position of knight commander of the great territory of Leipold.

If the Duke's assessment was correct, then it was understandable what happened to Victor at the hands of Giselle.

"Giselle, Giselle! Because of this f*cking kid!"

The Duke didn't just warn Giselle.

He sent a warning that this was his last chance, along with a reprimand for not properly investigating this person.

It was the first humiliation in Harold's life, which had been going from strength to strength without any failures.

Everything went wrong because of one Jiselle.

Although he would have liked to invade Fenris territory at any moment, Harold was currently being pressured by more pressing matters.

"What about Count Leipold's movements?"

"… … It is clear that they are preparing for war."

"They're probably targeting this side. Can you guess what excuse they'll come up with?"

"It seems that they will claim that they will punish us as allies of Ferdium for attacking Ferdium. They will likely claim that the problem is that we attacked them without following proper procedures and without any legitimate justification."

"You crazy kid."

When the war actually broke out, it was disgusting how they pretended not to know about Ferdium and then belatedly brought up the idea of an alliance.

From the beginning, Harold didn't think he could hide the fact that he had helped Digald forever.

Even if they had divided their forces and infiltrated them, such a large force had moved. If they had investigated in detail, it would eventually be revealed.

At the time, I thought it didn't matter. Justice belongs to the winner. If Viktor had won, the suspicions would have remained just suspicions.

But they lost the war, and Count Leipold showed his teeth as if he had been waiting for it.

Harold clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Why did you start moving at a time like this?"

The adjutant spoke cautiously.

"We must hasten Amelia's rebellion before war breaks out."

"Ugh… … ."

Harold groaned without realizing it.

There was nothing wrong with the adjutant's words. Amelia had already been provided with a lot of money and dozens of knights to support her in starting a rebellion.

If Count Leipold had declared war on Desmond before the rebellion, all of those enormous resources would have been lost.

But Harold couldn't bring himself to make a decision.

"Jurgen, there is no one who can stand up to Jurgen. If only Viktor had been there… … ."

Jurgen, the commander of the knights of Leipold, known as the First Sword of the North. Victor, who was raised to deal with him, died in the last war.

Since there was no one to confront Jurgen head-on, he was not sure if a rebellion would be successful.

If Amelia's rebellion fails this time, Harold's head will be taken by the dukedom, not Leipold.

He was already a cautious person, but since his life was at stake, he couldn't move easily.

The adjutant also knew why he was hesitating, so he continued his report in as objective a tone as possible.

"I predict that Leipold's side will be ready for war in two or three months."

"I know time is running out, but if we fail, it will be more dangerous. Tell Amelia to prepare thoroughly."

"They said that everything is already ready. They have called together all the subordinate groups scattered throughout the North, so they can move as soon as they receive permission."

At those words, Harold raised an eyebrow.

I knew Amelia was smart, but I didn't expect her to read and predict every situation so well.

"Huh, you're still a sharp-witted woman."

"There was already a message from Amelia."

"What?"

"If you're worried about Jurgen, they'll take care of it… … So don't worry about it and just set a date quickly."

Harold's face grimaced at the adjutant's words. Don't worry about the most important thing?

He also didn't like the fact that someone like Amelia had the courage to pass on his worries.

"Tsk… … . I said you were good, you were good, but now you're acting all rude and oblivious. Are you upset because you gained some strength? You're an insolent bitch."

"It seems that Amelia is also in a hurry. If Count Leipold starts a war, he will have an enormous army."

After the war broke out, it would be of no use for Amelia to occupy the empty castle.

If Count Leipold returns with a large army, we'll be swept away like fallen leaves.

Harold understood why Amelia was nervous, but he couldn't gamble on that alone.

It doesn't matter whether Amelia dies or not, but if she fails, his head will be cut off.

"Tell him to wait and not to mess with me. I will never tolerate him moving without my permission."

"...All right."

"And plant spies among the next group of settlers who enter Fenris. You can't just sit back and do nothing. Tell them to disrupt the work in the territory whenever they get the chance."

"All right."

Because the Fenris Estate was sealed off, it was not easy for outsiders to enter.

But it would be impossible to weed out all the spies mixed in with the thousands of immigrants.

As the adjutant bowed and stepped back, Harold frowned and pressed his temples together.

My headache has been getting worse lately.

"Giselle… … . Giselle Ferdium."

All my plans went awry because of that guy.

I wanted to rush in and trample them down right away, but I couldn't.

Harold and Amelia's feet were tied to Leipold, and even if they wanted to move the other lords, they could not make a hasty attempt because of the royalist faction.

In a word, he was a born lucky guy.

"You're lucky. Enjoy your free time while you can. Once you sort out Leipold, it's your turn."

He only managed to buy himself a little time. No matter how hard he struggled, the fact remained that he was destined to die.

Even though I thought that in my head, my insides were boiling and I couldn't calm down.

"Just wait. I'm going to make you regret everything you've done."

Harold looked down and his eyes were filled with a murderous intent to kill Giselle.