NOVPUBClang!
The iron ingot that had been placed on the stage was cleaved in half and fell to the floor.
“Waaah!”
“He really did it! Gordon actually cut through the iron ingot!”
The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices filling the demonstration grounds.
While the cut surface was rough, almost as if he had hacked through it with a saw, the fact remained—Gordon had cut through the iron.
Claude stood with his mouth agape, utterly dumbfounded.
"Did he really just cut that iron ingot with a sword? And in such a short time, he’s already able to use mana?"
Claude had personally prepared the weapon to ensure there would be no cheating by using the weight of the sword.
The fact that Gordon had used a regular longsword to cut through such a thick iron ingot was undeniable proof that he had indeed harnessed mana.
A surge of new hope began to well up inside Claude.
Initially, he had opposed the expedition, seeking a safer course, but now everything had changed.
"Even if they are only at the level of novice knights, having hundreds of them would make an immense fighting force!"
Ghislain had trained a total of 400 knights this time.
Other than the Delphine Duchy, no estate had such a large number of knights.
Though they might not have the same quality as knights from other regions, their sheer numbers made up for it.
"I need to come up with a new strategy. With so many knights, this could work!"
Claude, his face flushed with excitement, turned to say something to Ghislain.
But just then—
“Uuurgh!”
Gordon coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot.
As he foamed at the mouth and convulsed, the attendants quickly rushed over and carried him away on a stretcher.
“...”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The previously excited retainers fell silent, and Claude’s rising hopes were swiftly dashed.
Ghislain’s voice cut through the uncomfortable silence.
"What? What’s the problem? Haven’t you seen someone cough up blood and collapse before?"
“...”
No one could find the right words to respond. The entire situation was a problem, but no one knew how to address it.
The retainers looked to Claude. When dealing with a skilled manipulator like Ghislain, it was best to counter him with an expert of their own.
Claude quickly gathered his thoughts and opened his mouth to speak.
"That’s not a knight! That’s a scam! No, it’s 100% a scam!"
“What’s the scam?”
“How do you expect them to go to war like this? They swing a sword once and then collapse!”
“But he used mana, didn’t he? The deal was that they had to use mana, not that they had to stay on their feet afterward, right?”
Ghislain’s brazen response left Claude at a loss for words.
Technically, he wasn’t wrong. The wager had been that the knights needed to use mana, not that they had to keep standing after doing so.
But that didn’t erase the frustration of feeling like they had been deceived.
Claude, unable to contain his irritation, turned to Wendy, who was standing nearby.
“Hey, you say something. Is this normal? Huh? Is this normal?”
“...Well, if you put it like that...”
Wendy, normally calm and expressionless, was caught off guard by Claude's desperate plea and took a step back.
She understood that the situation was bad, but why was she being dragged into this?
But Claude was relentless.
"Just say something! Be honest. You could take all of those knights down by yourself, couldn’t you? Right? Just admit it."
“I mean, I... I wouldn’t say that...”
“Do you think war is a joke? They’re going to die if they go to war like this! Even if they’re oddballs, they still have the right to live!”
Claude’s words were not wrong. By any measure, these knights did not seem fit for battle.
Wendy let out a sigh before finally admitting quietly, “I think... I could probably defeat them all on my own...”
The retainers groaned in despair.
Even though the knights lying in the infirmary weren’t present, there were still around two hundred knights here.
If Wendy could defeat them all on her own, they couldn’t really be called knights.
Hearing her words, the knights frowned in displeasure.
Even if Wendy was the steward's bodyguard, she was still just a maid, and they couldn’t tolerate her looking down on them like this.
Lucas, who was always one for bravado, couldn’t stand it and stepped forward.
“You! How dare you speak to us like that! I challenge you to a duel right this instant—cough! Damn it!”
Lucas coughed up blood mid-sentence and dropped to one knee.
His health had deteriorated so much that even a slight rise in blood pressure caused his nose to bleed.
The other knights nearby helped Lucas to his feet and offered words of caution.
“Don’t get worked up. You’ll raise your blood pressure. Take deep breaths.”
“Just let it go. You won’t win against her anyway.”
“Yeah, she’s insanely strong. If you fight her, you’ll just die.”
Claude, disheartened by the pitiful sight of the knights, turned to Ghislain and asked, “Is there no other force we can use?”
“You know better than anyone that there isn’t.”
“But you said in the meeting that you’d make up for the lack of troops!”
“Ah, everything has its time. When the time comes, the forces will be ready. So, don’t worry too much about it.”
Claude held his forehead in his hand.
The truth was that the resources in Fenris were limited. They could either request help from Marquis Branford or borrow troops from Ferdium.
However, since they were planning to attack a noble from the Ducal faction, there was no way Marquis Branford would lend them troops.
As for Ferdium, which had to defend the north, there was only so much manpower they could spare.
It seemed increasingly likely that Ghislain’s promise of more troops was a lie to silence the opposition. He fully intended to go to war with this ragtag group of half-baked knights.
“You’re seriously planning to wage war with these people? Can you even call them knights? What are you going to do with them?”
Despite Claude’s frustration, Ghislain remained completely unfazed.
“Don’t worry. They’re in bad shape now because they’ve been overtraining to learn the mana cultivation technique quickly. They’ll recover after resting for a while.”
Unlike the knights in the northern fortress, these knights hadn’t had a moment’s rest, pushing themselves to the limit to become accustomed to the feel of mana.
Their bodies had broken down from the strain, but with proper rest, they would recover soon enough.
Of course, if they rested for too long, they might face other issues. However, since they were all eager to extend their lifespans, they would continue to push themselves.
Though Claude and the retainers remained opposed, Ghislain was resolute.
“That’s enough. The knights used mana as per our agreement, so the expedition is confirmed. I will not entertain any further objections. Any argument you make will be invalid, so focus on preparing for the campaign.”
As a result of losing the wager, Claude and Alfoi’s servitude was extended by another ten years.
After several more rounds of fruitless bickering, Claude, having given up on both persuading Ghislain and saving his own skin, asked in resignation, “Are you planning to march out right away?”
“No, we still need to check if the items I commissioned from the dwarves have been completed properly, and the knights require more tactical training. Besides, the right moment hasn't come yet.”
“What moment are you waiting for?”
“The right time for a battle. There’s always an ideal moment. It’ll come soon if we wait.”
“...Understood.”
Despite Ghislain’s earlier urgency, Claude found some hope in the fact that the campaign wasn’t going to happen immediately.
Although Ghislain had rushed everything as if they would attack Count Kavaldi’s territory at any moment, it seemed that when the prospect of actual combat loomed, he became hesitant.
If Ghislain continued to hesitate and eventually called off the expedition, it would be a blessing in disguise.
As Claude’s expression shifted with every passing thought, Ghislain asked, “By the way, are we still buying up food?”
Claude, seeing this as a chance to raise a valid concern, answered quickly.
“My lord, perhaps it's time we stop. Even after distributing food to Ferdium, we still have more than enough stored. And with the monster wheat harvest coming up, the yield is expected to be enormous.”
While having a surplus of food wasn’t inherently a bad thing, it had its limits. The stockpile had grown so large that they were running out of places to store it.
But Ghislain shook his head firmly.
“No. Keep buying up everything. Even if we have to pay a premium, buy as much as we can. Understood?”
“But why? With what we have now, the Fenris and Ferdium estates could survive for more than ten years. We’ll have to throw it away before we can even eat it all!”
Ghislain seemed almost obsessive about stockpiling food.
No matter how many times the retainers suggested selling off the excess for a profit, he refused to budge.
Even though selling it would bring in a fortune, Ghislain continued to gather food, even finding new sources of funds to do so.
The retainers were at a loss as to why.
“Is he haunted by the ghost of someone who starved to death?”
Seeing Claude’s frustration, Ghislain casually replied, “I have a plan. But whatever I say, you’re not going to believe me anyway, right?”
“That’s... true.”
“Exactly, so just keep buying. You’ll stop when I say so. Full purchase, no exceptions.”
“Fine, as you wish.”
Claude sighed, giving up the argument. At this point, he had resigned himself to the whims of his lord.
“Do whatever you want.”
In the worst-case scenario, Claude had already made plans to take charge of the estate’s defense. Even if Ghislain died and Ferdium collapsed, he had mapped out escape routes in advance.
With even Claude failing to persuade Ghislain, the retainers were left in a state of quiet despair, sighing heavily.
Watching them, Ghislain smiled to himself.
“Good. Everyone’s doing exactly what they need to be doing.”
To an outsider, it might seem as though he was giving unreasonable commands, expecting them to accomplish the impossible.
But from the retainers to the mages, dwarves, common folk, knights, and soldiers, despite all their complaints and objections, everyone was doing their jobs exceptionally well.
Though the outward appearance might seem chaotic, the internal foundation was surprisingly solid.
It was a testament to their remarkable abilities.
Thanks to them, Ghislain’s plans—things he couldn’t have achieved on his own—were gradually coming to fruition.
“I’m truly grateful. But let’s work even harder.”
The moment Ghislain had been waiting for was fast approaching.
Everything needed to be ready by then.
While the knights took time to rest and recover, everyone else was hard at work.
The estate was being developed, and war supplies were being gathered, keeping everyone busy.
Amidst the relentless activity, good news arrived.
“My lord! My lord! We’ve done it! We’ve finally succeeded!”
Galbarik and the dwarves came running to Ghislain, tears streaming down their faces.
Ghislain, startled, asked, “Who are you?”
“It’s me! Galbarik! After all the work you’ve made us do, and you don’t even recognize me?”
The dwarf at the front shouted, his temper flaring.
Had the grueling schedule taken its toll?
Galbarik and the other dwarves looked so worn out that it was difficult to recognize them.
Their faces were gaunt, their eyes sunken, and their small frames made them look like bearded goblins.
Ghislain chuckled awkwardly, “Haha, it’s you, Galbarik. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you—you’ve aged so much in just a few days. I thought dwarves were supposed to have long lifespans. Was that just a lie?”
Galbarik glared at him, his beard trembling with rage.
“Damn it! We haven’t slept at all because of all the work! We’re going to die at this rate!”
Though he had gritted his teeth and worked every day to avoid being forced into the assault team, he was genuinely on the verge of collapse.
Some of the dwarves had even tried to escape, but Alfoi, of all people, had been the most proactive in hunting them down.
He just couldn’t stand to see others trying to flee.
“And that Alfoi bastard is the worst of them all! That guy is a real scumbag! Acting like he’s the lord’s lapdog!”
Ghislain let Galbarik’s rant wash over him and calmly asked, “So, what did you succeed in doing?”
In an instant, Galbarik’s face brightened as he grinned.
“We’ve finally completed the hot air balloon!”
