The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Episode 8: You’ve Messed with the Wrong Person.

In an instant, one man was dead.

“T-That guy!”

Another man frantically raised his sword to strike Ghislaine.

Ghislaine easily dodged, flicking the side of the sword upwards with the back of his hand.

Clang!

With a cheerful sound, the arm gripping the sword was thrown upwards. The man’s upper body was left wide open.

Grab!

Ghislaine seized his face and slammed it into the ground.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, the back of the man’s head was half-buried in the earth.

His skull cracked, and blood began to ooze out.

But Ghislaine didn’t stop; he gripped the man’s head and drove it into the ground repeatedly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom!

After several repetitions, the back of the man’s head was completely smashed.

Squish!

The remaining front was thoroughly pulverized under Ghislaine’s fist.

Ghislaine slowly stood up.

When their eyes met, Frank’s face turned rigid. The suddenness of it all left him in shock, unable to react.

‘What kind of gaze is that…’

Ghislaine looked at him with an expressionless face.

Frank was covered in goosebumps.

He looked like a beast starved for blood. Although he had killed countless people, he had never seen someone exude such momentum.

If things went according to plan, there wouldn’t be any problem. He had thought that once Jamal and Philip were dead, no one would stand in his way.

‘Tsk, the information was completely wrong.’

In that instant, Ghislaine definitely used mana. There was no way he could wield such strength and speed otherwise.

‘To be able to use mana at that age.’

There was a vast difference in power between those who could handle mana and those who couldn’t.

A sword enveloped in mana was sharp and sturdy enough to slice through even decent steel with ease.

‘Even so, those two fell too quickly. Were they caught off guard?’

Frank squinted, comparing the information he had with what he had just witnessed.

‘He killed without a hint of hesitation. That’s rare at his age. They said he was a reckless one, but was he originally cruel?’

They were told that Grand Duke Perdium had never killed anyone and had only lived in his territory, yet here he was, acting decisively as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

If this really was his first murder, then Ghislaine Perdium was likely a born killer.

‘Once I get back, I’ll have to deal with those information department fools.’

The notoriously incompetent Ghislaine had just swiftly taken care of two knights using mana.
Two knights were handled in the blink of an eye.

It was a ridiculous situation, but for now, I could only think that the information was completely wrong.

Elena felt just as stunned.

She shuddered at the brutal sight before her, but more surprisingly, it was her brother’s unexpected skills that shocked her more.

“How did he get so strong after just a few days of training? That’s unbelievable!”

Elena was taken aback but soon felt relieved.

“Well, at least he’s okay. We’re alive for now.”

No matter how he had gained his strength, survival was what mattered most right now.

Frank swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth.

“Grand Duke Ghislaine of Perdium. This is quite different from the information we had. Were you hiding your skills?”

At that moment, Ghislaine straightened up and drew his sword.

“It doesn’t matter if others hide their skills. Let me ask you again: who ordered this job?”

At Ghislaine’s question, Frank shook his head.

“No need to know. You’ve got some impressive skills, but you’ll die here.”

He was surprised, but the situation had to be dealt with.

It was unexpected that Ghislaine had this level of power, but he didn’t see him as a worthy opponent.

Ghislaine nodded.

“Right, I didn’t expect you to talk willingly. Usually, villains tend to chat.”

“Don’t get cocky just because you defeated my subordinates. I’ll admit you’re skilled for your age, but you can’t win against me with that level of experience.”

Ghislaine scoffed. Who was talking about experience here?

“I’ve lived longer than you have.”

“You’re quite something, aren’t you?”

Frank took up his sword and got into position. There was no point in lingering here, so he planned to finish the job quickly.

Ghislaine also raised his sword, curling one lip up in a smirk.

“Then let’s begin.”

Bang!

It was Ghislaine who struck first.

Frank quickly blocked his attack and tried to counter immediately.

Crash!

The two swords clashed intricately.

Elena clasped her hands together with a worried heart.

If Ghislaine fell, she would be done for too, but with no way to help, she could only pace nervously.

“Sh-should I run?”

Maybe calling for help would have been the wise thing to do.

But leaving her brother behind didn’t sit right with her. Besides, she had no idea how many of them were out there.

“I might just make things worse by moving alone.”

Elena found herself in a dilemma, retreating slowly while watching the unfolding battle.

She planned to wait a bit longer and if things got out of hand, she would find a way back to the castle to seek help.

Caw! Caw!

While Elena pondered, the battle between the two escalated fiercely.

“As expected, Jamal and Philip were easy opponents in comparison.”

To Ghislaine, Frank was a phenomenal knight.

The sheer amount of mana he emitted and his techniques were a cut above those of the average knights.

Well, with his confidence in his skills, it was no wonder he ventured all the way to Perdium Territory.

“The longer this drags on, the worse it is for me.”

With just the mana he had accumulated over a week, Ghislaine couldn’t easily handle Frank.

His physical abilities and mana were insufficient; the only thing keeping him in the fight was his superb swordsmanship.

Frank was having similar thoughts.

“What kind of swordsmanship is this?”

The bizarrely practical sword skills of Ghislaine were beyond chilling; they were astonishing.
Ghislaine’s swordsmanship was beyond chilling; it was truly astonishing.

His sword was neither a typical knight’s sword nor the Perdium family’s sword.

It was brutal, saturated with murderous intent, and utterly unpredictable in its trajectory. Just when it seemed he had been blocked, the blade would slip and find its way to vital points from unexpected angles.

Knights didn’t use such a ruthless weapon.

‘This is definitely not the swordsmanship of the Perdium family. How on earth did he master such skills at this age?’

In Frank’s eyes, Ghislaine’s swordsmanship was several steps ahead—no, light-years beyond his own. Without his superior mana-enhanced body, he would have been torn apart and dead by now.

‘But I will win.’

Frank gathered more mana to quickly finish the fight.

As time went on, Ghislaine’s body accumulated wounds.

Kahng!

Struggling to block the incoming blade, Ghislaine stared intensely into Frank’s eyes.

He was trying to gauge if the family’s enemies were related to this incident.

“Want to guess who sent you? Duke Delphine? No, it’s probably Count Desmond.”

Count Desmond was the one managing the northern territories under Duke Delphine’s command.

No matter how influential the Duke was, it was hard to directly intervene in every territory.

Attacking smaller territories was something other families following the Duke would take care of.

While Duke Delphine might have sent a lackey directly, he probably wouldn’t be paying that much attention to Perdium.

Regardless of who sent them, they were both in the same scheme.

Frank’s eyes widened in shock at the certainty of the question. But he quickly regained his composure like nothing had happened.

“You’re a dangerous one.”

He didn’t say anything else and swung his sword again.

But Ghislaine was already certain just from that reaction.

“Hehe, just as I thought. Looks like you hit the mark.”

“Shut it.”

Indeed, the family’s downfall was the result of their schemes.

The speculation that all the conspiracies had begun with Elena’s death proved correct.

With confirmation in hand, it was time to prevent them from making the first move.

Creeeak!

As the two swords tangled, an unpleasant metallic ring spread through the air.

Ghislaine grinned through gritted teeth.

“Nothing more to confirm, so let’s finish this.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Your swordsmanship is decent, but with that amount of mana, you can’t beat me. I don’t know what you think you know, but if you die, it won’t matter.”

Frank replied confidently.

Ghislaine was already heavily wounded. If things continued like this, he would take his last breath soon.

Thud thud thud!

The two glared at each other while channeling mana into their swords.

Slowly, Ghislaine’s sword was being pushed back. Frank was sure of his victory.

And then it happened.

“The fight must go to the end, shouldn’t it?”

A momentary crimson light flickered in Ghislaine’s eyes.

Feeling a chilling premonition, Frank gathered all his strength to push Ghislaine back.

In that instant.

Wuuuuuum!

Inside Ghislaine, a second core began to spin, releasing mana.

The vivid red light enveloping Ghislaine’s sword was unmatched compared to Frank’s mana.

“Ugh!”

As Ghislaine’s strength surged, a groan escaped Frank’s lips.

“What the… what is this!”

Frank shouted in surprise.

Ghislaine slowly pushed away the opponent’s sword, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
Ghislaine slowly pushed away his opponent’s sword, wearing a cruel smile.

“Little did you know, you spent your whole life regretting something else. If I had known, I would have done anything to find and kill them.”

“What?”

“You were one of my greatest regrets.”

Frank wouldn’t understand what he was saying right now. But it didn’t matter.

No matter how many years passed, he could never forget this moment.

Every time he thought of Elena’s death, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol and stayed awake at night.

Always filled with regret, but a past that could never be undone.

“This time is different.”

Now that he had returned to the past, all that pain and rage had turned into ecstasy.

He could hardly contain the joy of being able to sever the source of all nightmares and take revenge.

Ghislaine laughed and detonated the third core.

Boom!

He unleashed a power several times greater than the mana he possessed, driving Frank back.

“Cough!”

Unable to withstand that overwhelming force, Frank fell backward.

“What the…?”

Springing back up quickly, Frank staggered and began to retreat.

No matter how much mana he summoned, he could never amplify his strength in such a way. He could only become slightly stronger than he originally was.

Yet the force Ghislaine displayed was beyond that level.

‘Did he hide his strength from the start? But if so, why did he endure injuries?’

Frank fell into a confusion that he couldn’t comprehend.

Ghislaine did not miss that brief opening.

“Give it your all.”

Crash!

In an instant, Ghislaine closed the distance and swung his sword at incredible speed.

Clang!

Frank barely managed to block it, but before he could regain his focus, another attack came.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ghislaine’s sword continued to rain down without pause.

With crazy red gleams emanating from him as he swung his sword wildly, Frank had no choice but to be pushed back.

‘This is insane! Such sudden power!’

Frank was now falling behind in speed, strength, and technique against Ghislaine.

Boom!

Ghislaine relentlessly pressed forward like a storm.

His time to unleash such immense power was limited to just a few minutes. He needed to settle this within that time.

Clang!

Ghislaine’s sword struck down strongly against Frank’s blade.

Frank blocked it again, but Ghislaine did not relent.

Swoosh!

Mana burst out of Ghislaine’s body like a raging torrent, manifesting tangible energy.

His body, stained with blood from the wound he took, emanated red mist.

He looked just like a red envoy of death.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The swords of both warriors clashed repeatedly.

Sizzle.

At some point, Frank realized something was wrong with his sword.

But if he didn’t counter Ghislaine’s attack, his head would roll. There was no way out.

Clang!

As the swords clashed once more.

Crash!

Frank’s sword could no longer withstand Ghislaine’s assault and shattered.

Amidst the flying shards of his sword, Frank muttered in dazed disbelief.

“How is this even possible…?”

Ghislaine locked eyes with him and said, “Don’t think it’ll be easy for you to die.”

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