NOVPUBIn the blink of an eye, Martin was grabbed by Ghislain, and he screamed in fury.
"You, you bastard! Do you even know who I am, to dare—!" 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
Ghislain didn’t care about Martin’s rampage and dragged him along.
"Move aside. Before this foolish young master finds a sword in his neck."
It was like a bandit capturing a noble. At Ghislain’s threat, the knights and soldiers had no choice but to step back.
"You bastard! Let me go! Do you think my father will just stand by? I will make sure to kill all of you!"
Martin kept struggling, but it was useless. Ghislain grabbed him by the collar and walked forward without hesitation.
He wasn’t even prepared for an ambush. It was impossible for the knights here to do anything about it anyway.
Perhaps they knew that, as they slunk behind Ghislain, following him slowly.
"If you don’t want to see this bastard die here, move aside."
The soldiers waiting outside were the same. As soon as Ghislain appeared with Martin by the neck, the troops split apart as if the sea had parted.
No one dared to try and rescue Martin. If they even got injured, they would die no matter what, even if they managed to save him.
Martin had lost the loyalty of these people. They followed only out of fear of the consequences, pretending to try and help.
Gordon whispered to Ghislain from the side.
"Hey... if we escape safely, you’ll let him go, right? Killing him will cause a huge mess."
Ghislain raised one corner of his mouth and sneered.
"Who cares? We have to fight these guys anyway, so why bother worrying about it? Well, I won’t kill him, though."
"Then who will kill him?"
"That will be up to the Drake Mercenary Corps. He’s their enemy."
Martin had already killed a few of the Drake Mercenary Corps’ members’ families as an example. That grudge would not be easily forgiven.
Ghislain might kill him, but revenge should be done by the ones who were wronged. Ghislain, more than anyone, understood that. He was planning to hand Martin over to them.
Gordon and Lucas exchanged uneasy glances after hearing that.
"Ugh, this is just going to escalate."
"Yeah, there’s never been a quiet ending to anything."
Martin was the second son of the Duke, who was known as the most powerful lord in the west. If they killed him, Lord Rodrick would undoubtedly be furious.
And now, those enemies are moving toward Fenris Territory? Lord Rodrick would surely try to kill Fenris as well.
Of course, Ghislain had already set his sights on Lord Rodrick as his next target. But there was a huge difference between becoming enemies for political reasons and for personal reasons.
With political enemies, it was possible to reconcile depending on the circumstances.
However, when it came to family enemies, one of them had to die for the sake of honor.
"Ugh, is it really necessary to create another enemy like this?"
"Who knows how things will turn out... Sometimes, I think our lord is too extreme."
For Gordon and Lucas, who didn’t know that Ghislain had deep grudges from his past life, it was a troubling thought.
Despite their quiet murmuring, Martin, who was right next to them, definitely heard it.
He saw the uneasy expressions on Gordon and Lucas’s faces and realized that Ghislain truly intended to kill him. Martin, as though struck with a fit, started thrashing and screaming.
"What—what are you doing? Save me! Get me out of here, now! These bastards are trying to hand me over to Dominic!"
What use was a thousand soldiers following him? No one dared to rescue Martin. There was no one skilled enough or loyal enough to challenge Ghislain.
And so, Ghislain led Martin safely into the tunnel.
Martin’s soldiers followed, but they couldn’t advance any further.
"Ah, my lord! You made it safely! I knew it!"
Galbarik chuckled as he opened the door.
Ghislain let Gordon and Lucas, along with the hostages, go inside first, then entered last. Once inside, he closed the door behind him, leaving the soldiers unable to follow.
"Now, let’s head outside the city. They’ll likely catch up and come this way soon."
"Understood. Then we should destroy this place."
The hostages and prisoners followed the knights’ guidance, and Galbarik destroyed the door blocking the tunnel.
Boom!
A tremendous noise erupted as dust filled the air. The door, made by the dwarves, had completely blocked off the tunnel.
"What... what do we do?"
"We have to go save the lord..."
"We might all die if Lord Rodrick finds out."
The soldiers following behind were unsure what to do, shuffling nervously. The escort knights were the same.
Now that Martin was captured, they had to follow, but with the tunnel blocked, they couldn’t chase him. They had no clue where the tunnel had started.
Fortunately, the captain of the city defense corps, after some thought, turned to one of the knights.
"Didn’t you say Dominic was gathering forces?"
"Yes. We received intelligence that they were planning to attack today, so we’ve been preparing."
"In that case, they must be stationed outside the city. There’s no way they could have gathered that many forces from inside. Let’s go outside and check."
At least the defense corps commander seemed capable of some strategic thinking. After reorganizing their forces, they set off outside the city.
Meanwhile, Ghislain and the others had successfully exited the tunnel and arrived at the designated location.
There, a group of armed men were waiting, exuding a menacing atmosphere.
The hostages, upon seeing them, shrank back at first, but then, recognition dawned on them, and their faces lit up. These were the mercenaries of the Drake Mercenary Corps— their family.
"Darling!"
"Father!"
"Oh! My son!"
As the hostages ran forward crying, members of the Drake Mercenary Corps rushed out to meet them.
The hostages and mercenaries embraced each other, crying tears of relief.
Seeing this heart-wrenching reunion, even the tough mercenaries couldn’t hold back their emotions. The mercenaries who had been with Dominic for a long time knew how much this meant.
Dominic, who had endured the heavy responsibility as the leader, showed more emotion than anyone else.
"Father!"
His son rushed toward him, and his wife ran beside him.
Dominic embraced them both and let out the tears he had been holding back.
"Ah..."
He couldn’t say a word. He didn’t know whether this was a dream or reality.
After the dwarves had been captured and Ghislain was nearly captured as well, he had almost given up on rescuing the hostages. In fact, he had only hardened his resolve to kill Martin, even if he died today.
But to actually rescue all the hostages!
After a long moment of sobbing, Dominic snapped back to reality and bowed his head to Ghislain.
"Thank you so much! I’ll never forget this kindness, even until the day I die!"
"I have one more gift."
With a nonchalant tone, Ghislain tossed Martin aside.
"Ugh! This crazy bastard!"
"Martin!"
As soon as Dominic saw Martin, he drew his sword. The mercenaries around him also unsheathed their weapons upon seeing Martin.
How they had longed to kill him! It was because of this bastard that their families were taken hostage and killed. They would tear him apart if they could.
"What, what is this? You’re trying to kill me? Do you think this is all over just because you saved the hostages? Do you think my father will just stand by if you touch me?"
Martin stood up and glared at the mercenaries, yelling as if he hadn’t yet come to his senses.
"I’ll search this entire kingdom to find you and kill you! Do you know who my father is? He’s a great noble of the Duke’s faction! The Duke won’t stay silent about this!"
He was the son of the powerful Lord Rodrick, born with privilege, and he had never faced hardship in his life. He couldn’t even fathom that mere mercenaries could do anything to him.
He knew that if he was touched, the Duke wouldn’t just stand by.
Even as Dominic drew his sword, he trembled, unsure of what to do.
This was the monster who had killed his wife and father. He wanted to rip him apart, but if he killed Martin here, the Drake Mercenary Corps would be hunted for the rest of their lives.
Though they had already established a deep grudge, killing Martin would change the Duke’s stance. He would thoroughly try to destroy them.
‘This bastard... I have to kill him...’
Dominic was the leader of the mercenary corps, and he had to think of his men’s lives as well. That was the responsibility of a leader.
Just as Dominic was frozen, Ghislain spoke calmly.
"Revenge should be taken when you can."
"...Lord."
"Don’t worry about the consequences. You’re going to Fenris now."
"But... if we do that, Lord Rodrick will definitely try to destroy Fenris. And the Duke is a powerful noble in the Duke's faction."
Ghislain smirked and said, “I can handle you all. No need to worry.”
Dominic unconsciously swallowed hard.
Lord Rodrick was a powerful, long-established noble from the west, not from the poor northern lands, and he was known as the ruler of the western region. Lord Rodrick was the very embodiment of the west.
No matter how strong Fenris was as the ruler of the northern lands, they were still no match for Lord Rodrick.
Dominic, unable to burden the benefactor any longer, released his trembling hands and lowered his sword.
"I’ve saved the remaining family... I’ll be satisfied with this much. It was already an impossible task in the first place."
If Martin was kept alive, Lord Rodrick wouldn’t waste resources fighting Fenris. If the opportunity arose, he would probably only deal with the Drake Mercenary Corps.
But if Martin was killed, that would change everything. Not only would the Drake Mercenary Corps be affected, but Fenris, who had taken them in, would also become an enemy of Lord Rodrick.
Ghislain looked at Dominic and spoke.
"Are you sure you won’t regret it?"
"...I’ll bury it in my heart."
Ghislain shook his head.
"There’s no such thing as revenge buried in the heart. It’s either forgiveness or revenge, nothing else."
"Lord..."
"I’ll say it again. Don’t worry about the consequences. You’ll come to Fenris. But if you still feel burdened..."
Dominic looked at Ghislain with hesitant eyes. Ghislain, staring back with cold eyes, spoke firmly.
"Whether you kill Martin or not, I’ll destroy Lord Rodrick’s house. And the Duke’s house too. That fact won’t change. No one can stop me."
"...!"
"Then, you don’t need to worry about the problem between Fenris and Lord Rodrick. But if you still have a burden on your heart..."
Dominic looked at Ghislain with trembling eyes. Ghislain, looking at Dominic, said coldly.
"Stand at the forefront of my army when we fight the Duke’s house. That will be enough."
Dominic stared into Ghislain’s eyes for a long while. Everyone around them held their breath, watching the two of them.
Thud!
Dominic swiftly approached Martin and grabbed his neck roughly with one hand.
"Cough, guh! You bastard! Who do you think you’re grabbing?! Let go! Let me go!"
Ignoring Martin’s screams, Dominic spoke in a low voice.
"I’ll take my payment first."
With a sinister smile, he continued.
"I will definitely stand at the forefront of Fenris’s army."
Stab!
"Ugh!"
Dominic’s sword pierced through Martin’s abdomen. But Martin only staggered, not yet dead.
Dominic, looking around at the officials who had been holding the hostages, spoke.
"Your turn."
The officers of the Drake Mercenary Corps and the leaders of the subordinate mercenary groups, with cold eyes, stepped forward to Martin.
They, too, had lost families. Their grudge was just as deep.
As the mercenaries approached, Martin clutched his stomach and shouted.
"Don’t, don’t come! No, stop! You lowly scum, how dare you...! My father will never forgive you...!"
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
"Ugh, ugh..."
Martin’s words were cut short. The mercenaries stabbed him relentlessly, ignoring his screams.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
"Ugh...!"
Martin felt an unbearable pain, as though he were about to lose his mind. He should have been dead by now with all the stabs, but the experienced mercenaries didn’t end his life easily. They chose to target areas that wouldn’t cause instant death, making sure he felt the pain for as long as possible before he died.
Thud.
Falling to the ground, Martin gasped for air, his vision spinning from blood loss. The pain throughout his body was unbearable. He had never felt such agony in his life.
"Ugh... ahh... please... save me..."
Dominic and the mercenaries watched him with cold eyes.
He had killed their families and made them suffer. Not a shred of sympathy remained.
Martin, forcing his blurry eyes open, desperately blinked. Then, in his dimming vision, the one who had rescued the hostages came into view.
Ghislain, approaching the dying Martin, spoke calmly.
"Go on ahead and wait. I’ll send your father to you soon."
Martin struggled to focus his fading mind, recalling the conversation between Ghislain and Dominic. Fenris, it was definitely Fenris.
"You... You’re not a mercenary... Fenris... You... what are you..."
Ghislain smiled widely and continued.
"Yes, I am Count Fenris. And I am..."
His voice, filled with certainty, reached everyone’s ears.
"I will be the king of mercenaries."
That declaration struck a chord with everyone present. They had the sense that Ghislain’s words were destined to come true.
Ghislain never doubted himself. He always trusted in himself and moved forward.
And so, someday...
The flag of the King of Mercenaries would once again spread across the kingdom and cover the continent.
