jazzfromthe9

The mercenaries looked puzzled.

When you think of the Forest of Demons, the first thing that comes to mind is going to dig up rune stones, but there are too many carts for that.

It was also strange that he brought a shovel instead of a pickaxe.

"If you're ready, let's go!"

But when did Giselle ever explain everything in detail?

All the mercenaries could do was follow Giselle, who ran ahead as always.

Running like the wind, they arrived at Perdium in two days.

Skoban, who was guarding the forest of demons, tilted his head as he saw Giselle and her group running from afar.

I've come here to dig for runestones occasionally, but this was the first time I'd ever brought so many carts.

"Are you trying to sweep everything away this time?"

But his prediction was wrong.

Jisel and the mercenaries turned their horses in a strange direction, away from the area where the runestone was.

Skoban screamed in surprise.

"Your Highness! No, Baron! Where are you going now? That is not the road!"

The road that Jiselle had previously built was replaced with a new road and fences were erected on both sides.

However, monsters still swarm in unexplored areas.

Skoban was surprised and chased after them, but Giselle and the mercenaries had already disappeared into the forest.

"Wow, this is driving me crazy. Why are you suddenly like that?"

He scratched the back of his head and sighed. Ricardo, who was next to him, chimed in.

"That's right. Why did you go in there? Didn't you find something else?"

"I don't know. How can we know what he's thinking? It's easiest to just pretend not to know."

Skoban shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Whether or not he knew that she was being cursed at, Jiselle rode her horse like a gale into the forest of demons.

As we went deeper, dense trees obstructed our path.

Giselle shouted at the mercenaries following her without even thinking about slowing down.

"Stop the cart!"

At Giselle's command, those riding horses immediately cut off the cart.

The cavalry, with their movements slightly freer, followed behind Jiselle.

As we entered a little further, we saw the giant trees surrounding the forest's outskirts, the Dirus Ents.

It's a monster that everyone has already experienced.

Jiselle shot out towards them, pretending to be a tree like a yam.

"Break through!"

"Wow! What is this all of a sudden!"

The mercenaries raised their spears, swearing.

Having been through the war with the Demon Forest and not resting during that time, he was able to respond immediately to Jiselle's commands.

Jiselle and her party charged forward, skillfully avoiding the obstacles between the trees.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Kuoooooooo!

The Dirus Ents screamed in a mixture of pain and horror.

Dirus Ent was a monster that attacked by ambush its slowly approaching prey.

However, when Jiselle and her group quickly ran over and stabbed the spear in, there was no way to respond.

The spear, with added acceleration, penetrated deep into the strong outer shell.

Considering how they couldn't even aim their weapons properly when they first entered the Demon Forest, it was clear how much the mercenaries had changed.

Heeeeeeling!

But it wasn't just the Dirus Ents who suffered.

The mercenaries were unable to completely let go of the shock of the spear being thrust into them.

With the sound of horses neighing, several mercenaries fell from their horses.

Even among those who barely managed to stay on their horses, there were quite a few who lost their weapons.

Jisel shouted loudly as she tore the body of the Dirus Ent blocking her way into pieces.

"If the horse dies, it's time to go around the parade ground 500 times! Three of you fight one!"

"No, Captain! At least tell me in advance!"

When one of the mercenaries grumbled and complained, Giselle laughed loudly.

"Does the enemy tell you in advance and come looking for you? You always have to be on your guard!"

Kwaaaaang!

Even as he spoke, Giselle destroyed the Dirus Ents one by one.

In the past, Giselle had single-handedly wiped out most of the Dirus Ents.

The amount of mana alone had more than doubled since then, and the likes of Dirus Ent were no match for Giselle.

I was already feeling refreshed and my body was starting to feel stronger.

Jiselle threw down her spear and jumped off her horse.

As soon as I activated the core to stage 2, Jiselle's eyes glowed red.

Boom! Boom!

Kuoooooo!

With just two punches, Dirus Ent's body was split into three pieces.

Jiselle roamed around, slaughtering monsters that the mercenaries had set up in a defensive formation and were holding back.

Kuoooo… … .

Soon after, the last remaining Dirus Ents were all defeated.

In fact, the mercenaries didn't kill many, and most of them were taken care of by Giselle and Gillian…

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It's the Mana training method, it's something that can be taught properly later.

The goal of training through practical training has been fully achieved.

Jiselle glanced around and then said.

"dead?"

No one answered. It seemed like there were no dead people.

"Then, the dead ones are excluded to the side."

About twenty mercenaries broke out of the ranks with tearful faces.

To be honest, it was an absurd order to fight while keeping one's word in such a chaotic battle.

But in reality, there were many people who spoke normally, so it was difficult to protest.

"When you return to the territory, run 500 laps around the parade ground and participate in special training. For now, borrow a horse from Perdium. Bring back all the wagons you left behind on the way back. The rest of you can rest in the meantime."

After a while, the horseless mercenaries returned with their horses and carts.

Jiselle gave each of her mercenaries a wagon and took a shovel herself.

"From now on, we will scoop up the dirt from around here and put it in the cart. Until the cart is full."

The mercenaries looked openly puzzled.

I came all the way to the Demon Forest and fought, but all I got as spoils was dirt?

As always, it was an incomprehensible command, but my body, which had become accustomed to it, moved reflexively.

Gillian, who was watching the mercenaries loading dirt onto the cart, asked Giselle cautiously.

"My lord, why are you taking the dirt?"

Jiselle hesitated for a moment about how to explain, then answered.

"The Forest of Demons has been untouched by human hands for a very long time. So its intelligence must still be alive."

"Is that so?"

Jiselle picked up a handful of dirt from the ground. The dirt was dark in color, almost black.

"Look at this. It's a different color from our territory's soil."

"Isn't it just because the locations are different?"

"No. Since the forest is old, things like fallen leaves will have piled up… … The corpses of monsters will also rot and become nutrients, so it will definitely be more fertile than land that has been continuously farmed."

"Ugh… … ."

Gillian exclaimed quietly.

What Giselle says itself is not all that new.

But the fact that those words came out of Giselle's mouth was surprising in itself.

I thought you were only good at fighting, but how on earth do you know this?

"This forest is incredibly alive. You can get a feel for it just by looking at the grass, the trees, and the size of the monsters. If you dig up the dirt here and mix it with the dirt from the cleared land, you can make up for the lack of soil. Later, when you have time, you can make farmland here."

While the two were talking, the mercenaries came over, filling the wagon with dirt. Since they were all strong, the work was finished quickly.

Jisel and the mercenaries tied the cart to the horses again and left the forest of demons.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Skoban and Ricardo just blinked as they watched the back of the truck disappear like the wind, carrying a load of dirt.

"It's not expensive, so why do they just dig up so much dirt?"

"I told you not to think about it."

"… … Then."

* * *

As soon as he arrived at the estate, Giselle gathered the laborers.

"Now, mix this evenly into the newly made reclaimed land! The ratio of old soil to new soil should be one to two."

The laborers looked puzzled.

Where on earth did you suddenly get that soil and tell me to mix it into the reed field?

An old man asked cautiously.

"Can you tell what kind of soil this is?"

"It's very old soil. So… … it's like compost."

At the word compost, the old man furrowed his brows in concern.

"Hmm, my lord. I've already spread fertilizer several times."

The soil here was so coarse and dry that no crops could grow there.

I tried spreading manure several times to solve it, but that didn't have much effect.

The amount could not be increased because if too much was sprinkled, it would not be absorbed into the ground and would just rot.

"And then… …you mix in twice as much compost as soil. That's too much."

"No, that's just right."

"I heard that they also cast a spell to make the soil warm and moist. If you mix this much compost in that condition, even the crops will rot."

"It's okay. It has to be that strong so that weeds won't grow and bugs won't come, right?"

"No, that's… … ."

The old man who had been trying to persuade Giselle sighed, speechless.

If weeds can't grow, how can crops grow?

The workers were dumbfounded because he kept saying it was okay while making absurd arguments.

Most of the things Jiselle did after coming to the territory were plausible and necessary.

But only in the farming area was he showing strange stubbornness.

But it was something the lord told me to do. He was giving me a lot of money, so I couldn't not do it.

"Then, let's start working right away."

"Yes, mix it well and make sure to sow it well."

"All right."

After Jiselle left, everyone started working with anxious expressions.

"Has the General not surrendered yet? I heard the bet is ending soon."

"Maybe the curse effect was a little lacking?"

The people of Yeongji began the sowing work with skeptical expressions.

It would be good if food increased. I am grateful for the lord's efforts, but…

But what can't be done is what can't be done.

If farming were as easy as it sounds, people wouldn't be running away to the mountains because they were starving.

I felt even more sorry because I was grateful to the lord who had only given me favors.

You're wasting money and time unnecessarily because of your pride.

As the sighs of the people of Yeongji grew deeper everywhere, Belinda also looked anxious and bit her fingernails.

'There's only one week left.'

They were just wasting all the money and labor they had, and even the people they had managed to recruit were running away.

Even if that were the case, the bigger problem would be that Jiselle would be greatly embarrassed.

If a rumor spread that you bet with a vassal and lost and got your money stolen, you would be ashamed to show your face in noble society.

I barely managed to get rid of my image as a loser by fighting in the war.

How much more great achievements will be required to restore the image of a fool?

'Should I just kidnap the general? Oh, this is driving me crazy!'

Time passed again amidst each person's worries, concerns, anger, and sighs.

And finally, when the promised day arrived, one day later.

Claude smiled with a sigh of relief.

'Then that's right. I was worried for nothing.'

Since Giselle was so confident, even Claude was a little nervous.

But as expected, nothing much happened.

In just one day the bet will be over.

All he had to do was take the money and leave.

That day, at the meeting held in Daejeon, Claude submitted his final report.

"… … This is it. It was hard, but it was fun. I will never forget the kindness you bestowed on me, my lord."

Giselle responded to Claude's greeting with a calm expression.

"Isn't it too early to say hello? There's still one day left."

"What can happen in just one day? Well, I still need to pack my bags, so let's check tomorrow and leave."

The people who went watched and said nothing.

Among the people who had their mouths shut with uncomfortable expressions, only Kaor was smiling.

Claude kept smiling and greeting other people.

"Goodbye, everyone! I am leaving this land free from all the shackles and restraints and am going to find my happiness. Be happy, too!"

Daejeon was filled with silence.

Claude spread his arms wide and shouted in excitement.

"Claude is free!"

At that moment, a lower-ranking official who was inspecting the reclamation area came in hurriedly, lost in thought.

He stammered and spat it out.

"Dog, dog in the open field… … Wh, a sprout has sprouted. T, why is this growing already? Is it not a sprout?"

"what?"

Claude looked back at the manager with a look on his face as if to ask what the hell he was talking about.

Jiselle got up from her seat with a mischievous smile.

"Shall we all go together?"

It was time to check the results of the bet.