392

Episode 392 Things turned out easy. (2)

While Marquis Branford gathered the royal army and prepared to go to war, Giselle spread out the map and began checking the locations of the rifts.

"We can't afford to miss this opportunity. We have to move as quickly as possible."

In times of tribulation, all of humanity must join forces to fight. Everyone must prepare together. But so far, there has been no situation in which such persuasion could be made.

If I had said something like that, I would have been labeled a complete lunatic.

So, Jiselle planned to prepare herself and lead the kingdom by force.

"Thanks to Raviere, things went smoothly."

It is not easy to force the prince's faction to join the fight against the Duke's family. I was prepared for it to be extremely tiring.

But the information he had gained in his previous life, what he had prepared for so far, and the mistakes of his enemies all came together at an incredibly perfect timing. It could truly be said that this time, heaven was helping him.

"First, we must put the Kingdom of Rutania in order."

Since it was a fight for all of humanity, the rifts in other places were important, but the Kingdom of Rutania was the foundation of Giselle, so it was much more important.

It was necessary to eliminate as many rifts within the kingdom as possible, as it would take time to convince the other kingdoms.

That way, Jiselle could fight longer.

"It's definitely here… … It was here too… … It was here?"

When he invaded Rutania, he naturally figured out the locations of the cracks. He didn't remember all the cracks that had formed and disappeared when he was a rookie.

I don't know what they were thinking, but they opened up quite a few cracks in the south where the dukedom is.

"By eliminating it, the public sentiment towards the Salvation Church and the Gongjak family rose considerably, but they also suffered a lot of damage. You have to think of them as people who don't care about such things in the first place."

They are the ones who set goals that others cannot understand and plot. It is foolish to judge others by common sense.

Still, the Duke managed to defend quite a few of the fortresses and castles in the south. Looking back now, it seems like the rest were all sacrifices.

"A picture is drawn, a picture."

Combining information from my past life with the conspiracy I learned in reality, I felt like many of my questions were answered.

Jiselle marked not only the Kingdom of Rutania but also various places on the continent as she remembered.

Although I couldn't completely map the entire rift, I remembered most of the places that were famous during the Time of Trouble and those that remained until the One Year War.

Giselle went to see the Marquis of Branford and immediately handed him the map she had drawn up.

"Hmm… … Are you saying there are this many in the kingdom?"

"Yes, it's almost certain."

"If I can't find it even after going to this location, the information about the place I discovered this time will lose credibility."

"You can trust me, there's a high probability that it will happen. Well, if not, there's nothing we can do. Since the four major religious groups have already intervened, the situation can't get any worse."

"Yeah, that may be true, but… … ."

Marquis Branford tilted his head as he looked at the map further.

"Is it true that there is no place in the North?"

"No, there isn't."

"why?"

"Because I am here."

"… … ."

The Marquis let out a deep sigh. Things were going so well these days that it was even more unfortunate that he had nothing to say in return.

Although Giselle knew full well what the Marquis was thinking, she pretended not to know.

In fact, it is more likely because of the Forest of Demons rather than because of Giselle herself, but in any case, it is not wrong to say that that place is also Giselle's.

There was still a lot he didn't know about the Forest of Demons, so there was no need to reveal it. It wasn't even clear why he was targeting that place.

The Marquis of Branford nodded, though his expression seemed slightly uneasy.

"Okay, let's go to the nearest place first."

"This is also a small rural town. It's not even on the map."

"I guess we can just take a moderate amount of troops."

Giselle looked a little tired as she saw the army waiting at the Marquis' command.

10,000 Royal Army soldiers, 100 knights of the Marquis, and 200 knights belonging to the Royal Army were lined up.

For a force investigating and attacking a small village, it was a bit… … a lot.

Jiselle spoke openly, revealing her bewildered feelings.

"If anyone saw me, they would think I was going to a land battle."

"When a lion moves, its momentum should cover the world."

The Marquis of Branford had an expression of astonishment. This was truly the appearance of the most powerful man in the kingdom.

The West and the South were not open to exploration. So the Marquis of Branford and the royal army headed to the town closest to the capital.

On the surface, it was a peaceful village. However, when the royal army surrounded it, the villagers immediately revealed their true identities.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk!

The scene where the human skin is torn and a monster appears is a sight that would be terrifying to anyone who sees it.

"What, what is it!"

"There are some really weird things!"

"They're even more disgusting than the last monster!"

Even the Marquis of Branford and his knights, who are not usually surprised, were all surprised.

Jiselle shouted loudly at them in surprise.

"Their fighting power is not that strong! Instead, their blood is poisonous, so fight while keeping a good distance! Knights must protect themselves with mana!"

Thanks to the information provided by Jiselle, the knights and soldiers easily dealt with the mutants. They were not very numerous in the first place, as they were hiding in a small village.

There were a few crusaders who seemed to be in charge, but they were no match for this large army.

Marquis Branford gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger at the sight of the corpses of monsters and mutants.

"I never thought such a monster would appear. Does that mean that there are thousands of corpses of the kingdom's citizens somewhere in this town?"

He immediately raised his hand and spoke to Toleo, the commander of the knights.

"Turn over all the land here immediately."

"I will obey your orders."

There were a whopping 10,000 soldiers and 300 knights. Several royal magicians also followed them.

They didn't just use the common(?) method of destroying houses and digging up the ground. They literally plowed up all the land in the area in an instant. It was a scene that showed the fear of numbers.

"Found it!"

Since I pushed it away in one go, I was able to quickly find the secret space.

After the knights descended first and secured a safe space, the Marquis of Branford entered with his escorts.

"Hoo!"

As soon as the Marquis of Branford went down to the basement, he let out a deep sigh.

An extremely disgusting smell tickled my nose. My heart sank at the sight of the bizarre magic circle and the pitiful sight of thousands of corpses piled up like garbage.

The knights who had come in earlier and those who had followed the Marquis could not hide their expressions of shock.

And what was more surprising than them were the priests of the four major denominations who followed as witnesses.

"Oh, this can't be happening!"

"They are devils! No, they are definitely devils!"

"Those pagans who deny the goddess are running wild like this!"

The priests were more noisy and made more noise than anyone else.

They were deeply terrified, for there were similar passages of the end times written in the scriptures of the four major religious sects.

[Behold, beasts which have never been before ascend out of the bottomless pit, and they will destroy the earth. These strange beasts will be redeemed with the blood of men, and they will repay according to their work. They will open and no one will shut, and they will shut and no one will open… … .]

"This is clearly what is written in the scriptures! If we don't stop this, the end of the world will truly come!"

"But it didn't come up, did it? Couldn't this magic circle just cause mutations?"

"Can you say that even when you feel the evil energy burrowing into your body right now? No, in any case, we must catch and kill all those heretics!"

The passages in the scriptures are actually interpreted based on the results. So everyone started looking for similar passages in the scriptures of their own religion and having theological discussions.

Others ignored such priests and just devoted themselves to the task of destroying the magic circle and clearing away the corpses.

The Marquis of Branford was seething with anger. He was so focused on the dukedom that he didn't even know that something like this was happening in the kingdom. No, no one knew.

He looked at Giselle with eyes that were too young to live and asked.

"Giselle."

"Yes, Marquis."

"Just looking at the number of corpses, it's not like they've been doing this for a year or two. And there are countless places like this on the continent, including the kingdom. No matter how strong the hidden cult is, they can't do something like this and avoid everyone's attention for so long."

"That's right. It's possible because there are people who help them."

"In the Kingdom of Rutania, it must be the Duke of Delphine."

"Yes."

"There will be nobles in other kingdoms who will support them."

"Your Majesty, your thoughts are probably correct."

I don't know what it was, but it was clear that the Salvation Church and the Duke had joined forces for some purpose. So the Duke must have also actively helped the Salvation Church with its work.

The Marquis of Branford nodded.

"It must have been when the Duke of Delphine was rumored to be in hiding and going mad."

The Duke of Delphine had not been seen for a long time. And the power of the Duke's family could have been sufficient to help the Salvation Church during that time.

Because the Duke's family openly revealed their ambitions for the throne, others were completely blinded.

Everyone was so focused on when the civil war would break out that they had no time to properly look after the safety of the people of the kingdom.

"But it's really frustrating. How is it that no one noticed that so many people were disappearing?"

"Most of them probably came from the South and the West. And they kidnapped just enough to avoid being caught in the surrounding area."

The poor, the homeless, the travelers, the adventurers, the vagabonds, even the mercenaries, the bandits, the thieves, etc. If you look for them, you will find that there are surprisingly many people who will kidnap you without you knowing.

And the South is completely under the control of the Duke. There is no problem at all in providing a steady supply of humans.

Marquis Rodrik of the West also treats human life carelessly. He has more than enough money to send prisoners and slaves whenever the duke requests it.

"Whew, then I'll just do it on my territory, around the capital and other areas… … ."

"I think they were trying to do something by joining forces with groups that were going to cause unrest during the civil war."

Even if I told you about the crack here, you wouldn't believe me, and even if you did, it would be a problem. If you were unlucky, you could have different opinions at a crucial moment.

So, Jiselle was just talking around a bit. Right now, the important thing was to eliminate the potential crack locations as quickly as possible.

The Marquis of Branford spoke with a still suppressed expression.

"First, I will eliminate the areas within my influence as quickly as possible. And I will immediately send messengers to the other kingdoms to inform them of the current situation and location. What do you plan to do?"

The Marquis of Branford was a man who did not ask for the opinions of others when making decisions. But now Giselle was an exception.

If it weren't for Jiselle, the royalist faction would not have had this opportunity to counterattack.

"I will return to the estate immediately. Marquis Rodrik does not have much time left to make his move."

"Are you really planning to fight alone?"

"Anyway, Marquis Rodrik has left the Duke's faction. I can fight without any burden. Marquis, quickly get rid of the magic circles and prepare for the fight with the Duke's family. They will have no other way now."

"Understood. We will do so. However, if you lose the fight with Marquis Rodrik, we will intervene."

Giselle chuckled at the words of the sturdy Marquis of Branford.

"Thank you for your kind words, but that will never happen."

The Marquis of Branford smiled faintly at the confident words of Giselle. In the past, he would have scolded her first, telling her not to talk nonsense.

But now I don't think like that. I'm worried, but on the other hand, I'm also excited.

Somehow I can't quite imagine that guy losing.

He suddenly realized why his thoughts had changed.

The Marquis of Branford looked at Giselle. His eyes held much more warmth than when he first met her.

'I know a little about you now.'

I couldn't understand what he was thinking. He always seemed to be living on edge. That's why I couldn't trust him completely.

But it was his own mistake. Giselle had her own plan. And the driving force behind it was not some ugly lust for power or ambition.

Now I finally felt like I knew what Giselle truly wanted.

He was smiling, but suddenly nodded his head slightly and said.

"I wish you victory, Earl of Fenris."

Jiselle opened her eyes wide in surprise, but then smiled back and answered.

"I also hope for your victory, Marquis."

After greeting the Marquis of Branford, Giselle immediately led the knights and left the village. Fenris must now wage war against Marquis Rodrik.

If the pro-Prince faction has the power of the four major religious groups, it will be able to easily eliminate any potential sites of rift within its own territory.

Marquis Branford, who was watching the back of Giselle leaving, spoke in a low voice.

"Toleo, once this war is over, I don't think Earl Fenris will need to come to me to ask for anything anymore."

"What do you mean? If the Earl of Fenris needs anything else, he will come to you as soon as possible. Don't they ask for it openly these days?"

"Why would you do that? If you need it, just take it."

"S, surely… … Your Majesty, right now… … ."

The Marquis of Branford smiled pleasantly as Toleo stammered.

"Yes, I will make Earl Fenris my true successor."

"Your Majesty! Isn't there a Grand Duke in your territory?"

"My son? How can someone who has been stuck in the East run the kingdom? He is worse than Rosaline. The others are the same. It would be fortunate if the Marquis inherits safely."

"The Earl of Fenris is not a man loyal to the crown. If the war ends in victory, he will be more dangerous than the Duke."

"I know. But I can't find anyone as good as him. And now I think I know why he works so hard."

"What, what is that?"

"Responsibility."

Tolleo looked puzzled by the unexpected answer.

Earl Fenris is known for always doing whatever he wants and causing trouble.

Although he has been treating the pro-Prince faction a bit better lately, he is still a scoundrel and his military past is not going anywhere.

But for such a person to act with a sense of responsibility. Even if they didn't match, they couldn't have been so incompatible.

If he had simply said that he was an outlaw, I would have accepted it immediately. But the Marquis of Branford continued with a gentle smile.

"I could tell because I also live with that kind of mindset. That guy is a guy who would do anything to protect his territory. He carries his family, friends, and countless subordinates and people on his back."

"… … ."

"So far, I've seen that guy not wanting to give up even one of the many things he carries on his back. He's really greedy, persistent, and vicious."

"Well, then… … The Marquis's will… … ."

The Marquis of Branford suddenly chuckled and said:

"Yes, so if we entrust the kingdom to that guy, he'll become the guardian of the kingdom. That's fine. He's not the kind of guy who would step forward and take the royal family's life."

The Marquis of Branford looked somewhat relieved.

Because of the existence of Giselle Ferdium.

He can finally dream of retirement.