Chapter 193

Chapter 193 – Go Ahead and Wait (1)

Everyone fell silent.

The Fenris soldiers crossing the fortress wall, the knights already exhausted from the battle, and even the enemies who had been charging forward with shouts—all of them froze in place.

No one could properly witness what Ghislain had done due to the dazzling burst of light that erupted in an instant.

Rumble.

When they closed their eyes for just a moment and reopened them, the fortress gate had already collapsed.

The knights standing beside Ghislain, watching the scene in a daze, finally muttered in disbelief.

“The-the gate...”

“How could someone do that with a sword...?”

“Our lord possesses such power...?”

Even the knights of Fenris, who had fought alongside Ghislain until now, could only stare blankly at the ruined gate.

But it wasn’t just the allies who were dumbfounded. Count Cabaldi’s soldiers, too, stood there with confused expressions, staring at the destruction of their fortress gate.

“Our gate... It’s destroyed.”

“Did one person really do this?”

“Who on earth is that man...?”

It was said that Count Balzac, the Kingdom’s greatest sword, could shatter a fortress gate single-handedly.

But that was merely a rumor—something that felt like a tale from another world, far removed from their reality.

Yet now, someone who had achieved such an incredible feat stood before them.

And as an enemy, no less.

“This... We can’t win.”

“We’re all going to die.”

Despair gradually etched itself onto the faces of Cabaldi’s soldiers. Already weakened by hunger and surrounded on all sides, their morale had plummeted to rock bottom.

In such dire straits, they had pinned their last hopes on the Fenris army digging underground tunnels. They believed that if they could just hold out through the night, they could claim victory.

But that hope had now been utterly crushed.

It was no wonder their fighting spirit collapsed.

The battlefield, once filled with urgency, grew eerily quiet. The event was so shocking that everyone momentarily forgot they were in the midst of a war, leaving no one able to speak.

Ghislain, the one who had wrought this miracle, stood gazing at the wreckage of the ruined gate for a moment.

“Phew...”

He let out a deep breath and sank to the ground where he stood.

“Ugh, using that after so long... It’s killing me.”

It was clear that, unlike in his past life, he still couldn’t wield his power freely.

The mana consumption was extreme, requiring a long preparation just to manage a single use.

If he had regained the mastery of his past life, there wouldn’t have been any dramatic light display, nor would he have collapsed after just one use.

“My lord!”

“Are you all right?”

The knights nearby rushed over to him. Ghislain waved his hand dismissively as he looked at them.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry about me. What are you all doing, zoning out during battle? The enemy is right in front of you—right in front! Tsk, tsk. You’re all severely lacking in training.”

The Fenris knights snapped back to their senses at those words and immediately resumed their battle stances.

But the enemies weren’t idle either. Count Cabaldi, ever quick-witted, pointed at Ghislain and shouted loudly.

“No matter how strong he is, he’s already spent! Look at him—he can’t even move now! He’s clearly out of strength! Attack him now! Block the gate with your bodies if you must!”

The Count’s declaration gripped his knights and soldiers with renewed determination. This was their last chance to defeat the enemy.

With frenzied shouts, they charged forward.

“Uwaaaahhh!”

The soldiers of Cabaldi were driven by a singular emotion—fear.

The man sitting in front of the gate was vulnerable now. It was the only opportunity to kill him.

It was also their only chance to block the gate before the enemy reinforcements flooded in.

If they failed—

They would all be slaughtered.

That fear fueled their desperate last stand.

“Lord! You must retreat!”

“We will hold them off!”

“Everyone, rally here at once!”

Despite their exhaustion, the knights of Fenris gritted their teeth and gathered protectively around Ghislain.

Gillian and Kaor, having crossed the wall with Fenris soldiers, began forming defensive lines.

Watching them all, Ghislain chuckled lightly, a relaxed smile on his face.

“Enough. Stop blocking the way and step aside.”

“Pardon?”

The knights responded in confused tones, uncertain of what Ghislain meant.

Suddenly—

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground trembled as a loud voice boomed from outside the fortress.

“Clear the waaaaay!”

Startled, the knights quickly parted.

As they stepped aside, a man burst into the fortress atop a horse.

Flash!

“My Lord! I’ve arrived! Are you unharmed?”

The man was none other than Lucas, ever eager to make a grand entrance. He dismounted with exaggerated concern for Ghislain.

Ghislain smiled as he replied, “I’m fine. Now, take care of them immediately.”

“Understood!”

Count Cabaldi’s voice shattered the silence, echoing across the battlefield.

Only Leslie, the knight commander, and about a dozen escort knights remained by his side. But Count Cabaldi still refused to acknowledge his defeat.

His pride, his stubbornness, and his sheer tenacity would not allow him to accept that he had been bested by a mere boy like Ghislain.

Step, step.

The sound of approaching footsteps resounded. The Fenris knights and soldiers parted to either side, forming a path as if to pay their respects.

Count Cabaldi stared at the figure who exuded a heavy, commanding presence as he approached.

“You are...?”

It was the man who had shattered the castle gate. The one who had demonstrated awe-inspiring strength.

Even he seemed to have been taxed by the feat. His face was pale, and his slow, deliberate steps betrayed clear exhaustion.

Count Cabaldi quickly deduced the man’s identity from the commanding aura he exuded and the reactions of those around him.

“Could it be... are you Baron Fenris?”

“Yes, I am Baron Fenris,” Ghislain replied calmly.

“How... how could someone like you possess such power...?”

Count Cabaldi’s sentence was left unfinished. Leslie, who stood by his side, suddenly turned his horse to flee.

A knight commander of a territory abandoning his lord to escape!

Everyone present, whether from the Fenris or Cabaldi forces, wore expressions of disbelief. Count Cabaldi’s face burned with humiliation.

The Fenris soldiers encircling them raised their weapons to stop Leslie’s escape.

“Out of my way!”

Leslie, his face a mask of desperation, drew his sword. His intention was clear—he meant to break through the encirclement and flee.

After all, he was still the knight commander of a count’s domain. His skills would not be trivial.

As the soldiers braced themselves for a possible confrontation, an axe suddenly flew from behind Leslie.

Thud!

“Argh!”

Caught off guard in his panic, Leslie failed to dodge, and the axe buried itself in his back. He toppled from his horse.

Cough!

Even as he coughed up blood, Leslie struggled to rise.

Using his sword as a crutch, he barely stood, only to find Gillian already in front of him, standing expressionless.

Leslie stretched out a trembling hand. “W-wait... I surrender...”

Slash!

Before he could finish, Gillian’s sword severed Leslie’s neck.

The knight commander’s headless body swayed briefly before crumpling to the ground.

Gillian casually flicked the blood off his blade and cast a haughty gaze over the remaining Cabaldi knights.

“Kneel before my lord at once.”

At Gillian’s command, the Cabaldi knights scoffed.

They were not like the soldiers. They were men who had lived their lives with pride and honor as knights.

Their knight commander had already disgraced himself by fleeing and dying in such a shameful manner. For them to kneel now would irreparably stain the honor of Cabaldi.

One knight drew his sword and declared firmly,

“We will fight to the end for our lord and our land.”

Taking that as a signal, all the Cabaldi knights charged at Gillian.

At the same time, Kaor and the Fenris knights standing beside Ghislain leapt into the fray.

Clang!

In an instant, dozens of figures became entangled in fierce combat.

Count Cabaldi watched as his knights fell one by one, biting his lip until it bled. The grim realization that this was truly the end sank in. All the prestige and status he had built over the years were crumbling before his eyes.

“My lord... you must flee...”

The knight who had been coughing up blood from a gaping wound in his chest couldn’t finish his sentence.

Kaor’s blade had already severed his neck.

When the last of his knights fell, Count Cabaldi closed his eyes in resignation.

Ghislain’s calm voice followed.

“Pull him down.”

Several knights approached and forcibly dragged Count Cabaldi off his horse, pressing him to his knees.

“Let me go! You insolent wretches! Do you even know who I am?!”

Count Cabaldi thrashed and shouted, but he couldn’t escape the iron grip of the knights.

Eventually, he stopped struggling, his strength drained, and lowered his head. The humiliation burning within him was unbearable.

At some point, Ghislain stepped close, speaking in a cold tone.

“It’s been a long time, Count Cabaldi.”

Without raising his head, Count Cabaldi let out a faint laugh.

“Heh, you whelp. When have you ever seen me that you can say it has been a long time? Do you even know who I am?”

“Oh, I know you. Very well.”

Ghislain’s mind drifted back to his past life. As soon as the Duke’s faction set its sights on Ferdium, Count Cabaldi had cut off the iron ore shipments flowing into Ferdium.

Because of that, Ferdium couldn’t procure new weapons or even maintain their current arsenal properly.

But that wasn’t all. Count Cabaldi had gone further, sending troops to ensure Ferdium’s complete destruction.

How could he not remember such a man? How could he possibly forget?

In his previous life, Ghislain had sought him out personally and split his head open. Even so, the dark flames that burned in his heart did not extinguish.

No matter how much he destroyed, those flames only grew larger, consuming his soul endlessly.

Now, the time had come to extinguish one of those flames.

Ghislain bent down slowly, grabbing Count Cabaldi’s hair and forcing him to lift his head.

“Ugh, you... You dare, you lowly—!”

As he looked into the furious face of Count Cabaldi, Ghislain smirked savagely.

“That’s my line. How dare someone like you.”