Chapter 108: Feel Free to Challenge Anytime. (1)
The mercenaries wore puzzled expressions.
When they thought of the Forest of Monsters, they usually imagined mining for Runestones, but the number of wagons was just too much for that.
It was also odd that they were packing shovels instead of pickaxes.
“Let’s go if we’re all set!”
But when had Ghislaine ever explained anything in detail?
As always, the mercenaries could only follow Ghislaine, who dashed ahead of them.
Like the wind, they arrived at Perdium after two days.
Skoban, guarding the Forest of Monsters, tilted his head as he watched Ghislaine and his group run from afar.
They had sometimes come to mine Runestones, but never had they brought this many wagons.
“Are they planning to sweep everything away this time?”
However, his assumption was immediately off the mark.
Ghislaine and the mercenaries turned their heads in the wrong direction, away from the area with the Runestones.
Skoban cried out in shock.
“Grand Duke! No, Baron! Where are you going? That’s not the way!”
The path Ghislaine had originally created had been repaved with a new road and had wooden fences on both sides.
But there were still monsters lurking in the uncharted areas.
Skoban, startled, ran after them, but Ghislaine and the mercenaries had already disappeared into the forest.
“Wow, this is crazy. Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?”
He scratched the back of his head in despair, and Ricardo next to him chimed in.
“Exactly. Why are they going in there? Did they find something else?”
“I don’t know. How would we know what he’s thinking? Ignoring it is definitely the easiest option.”
Shaking his head, Skoban clicked his tongue.
Whether he knew they were cursing him or not, Ghislaine charged ahead like a whirlwind deep into the Forest of Monsters.
As they went further in, the dense trees began to obstruct their path.
Ghislaine had no intention of slowing down as he shouted to the mercenaries behind him.
“Cut the wagons!”
At Ghislaine’s command, those riding horses quickly cut loose the wagons.
The horses, now moving a little more freely, followed behind Ghislaine.
As they ventured deeper, they spotted the giant trees, Dirus Ents, surrounding the outskirts of the forest.
They were monsters that everyone had already encountered.
Ghislaine rushed toward them, pretending to be invisible.
“Charge through!”
“Whoa! What the heck is this all of a sudden!”
The mercenaries cursed as they lifted their spears.
Thanks to their experience fighting in the Forest of Monsters and their continuous training, they were able to respond immediately to Ghislaine’s command.
Ghislaine’s party deftly maneuvered around the obstacles nestled between the woods and charged forward.
Boom!
Roar!
The Dirus Ents let out screams that mingled pain with horror.
Dirus Ents were monsters that attacked by ambushing their prey as it approached slowly.
However, as Ghislaine’s party rushed in and thrust their spears, they found themselves unable to respond.
The spear, enhanced with acceleration, pierced through their strong exterior and buried itself deep.
Looking back at how the mercenaries couldn’t even aim properly when they first entered the Forest of Monsters, one could see how much they had changed.
Eeeeek!
But it wasn’t just the Dirus Ents that suffered damage.
The mercenaries couldn’t completely shrug off the shock of their spears piercing through.
Along with the screams of the horses, some mercenaries fell off their mounts.
Even among those who managed to stay on, quite a few dropped their weapons.
Ghislaine shouted loudly as he shattered the body of a Dirus Ent blocking their path.
“If a horse dies, that’s 500 laps around the training ground! Three of you handle one!”
“No, captain! At least give us a heads up!”
One mercenary grumbled indignantly, and Ghislaine burst into laughter.
“Does the enemy give you a heads up before they attack? You have to stay on your toes!”
Boom!
Even while talking, Ghislaine smashed down Dirus Ents one by one.
Back then, Ghislaine had wiped out most of the Dirus Ents by himself.
With his mana doubled since that time, there was no way a Dirus Ent could contend with Ghislaine.
On top of that, he was itching for a fight after gaining new strength.
Ghislaine threw his spear aside and jumped off his horse.
As he activated the core up to the second stage, Ghislaine’s eyes glowed red.
Boom! Bang!
Roar!
In just two punches, the Dirus Ent was ripped into three pieces.
Ghislaine roamed around, slaughtering the monsters that the mercenaries had managed to pin down in their defensive formation.
Roar……
Before long, the last remaining Dirus Ent also fell.
In truth, the mercenaries didn’t take down many; most were dispatched by Ghislaine and Gillian, but…
The training through real combat had achieved its goal, and Ghislaine could always teach the Mana Circulation Method later.
After scanning the surroundings, Ghislaine asked, “Any dead?”
No one answered. It seemed there were no casualties.
“Then those whose horses are dead, step aside.”
About twenty mercenaries stepped out of the line, sulking.
Honestly, it was ridiculous to be told to protect their horses while fighting in such a chaotic battle.
However, since there were plenty of people whose horses were still okay, it was hard for them to voice any complaints.
“When we return to the territory, it’s 500 laps around the training ground and then special training. For now, borrow horses from Perdium. Also, bring back the wagons we left on the way. The rest can take a break in the meantime.”
A little later, the horse-less mercenaries returned with horses and wagons in tow.
Ghislaine assigned each mercenary a wagon and grabbed a shovel for himself.
“From now on, collect dirt from this area and fill the wagons until they’re full.”
The mercenaries had openly puzzled expressions.
After coming all the way to the Forest of Monsters for battle, the spoils were just dirt?
Like always, the command was incomprehensible, but their accustomed bodies moved instinctively.
Gillian, watching the mercenaries fill the wagon with dirt, carefully asked Giselle, “My Lord, why are we taking the dirt?”
Giselle paused, trying to figure out how to explain. “The Forest of Monsters has been untouched by humans for a long time. So, the soil must still have plenty of vitality.”
“Is that so?”
Giselle picked up a handful of dirt from the ground. It was dark enough to be almost black.
“Look at this. The color is completely different from the soil in our territory, right?”
“Isn’t it just because the location is different?”
“No, that’s not it. The forest is old, and leaves must have been piling up… When monster corpses decompose, they provide nutrients, so it should definitely be more fertile than the land we’ve been farming.”
“Whoa…”
Gillian quietly marveled.
What Giselle was saying wasn’t new at all.
But the fact that this was coming from Giselle was surprising.
I thought she only knew how to fight, but how does she know all this?
“This forest has immense life force. Just look at the size of the grass, trees, and monsters. If we dig up some of this soil and mix it with the cultivated land, we can replenish the lacking vitality. Later, when we have time, we can create farmland here too.”
While the two were talking, the mercenaries approached, having filled the wagon with dirt. Everyone was strong, so the work was done quickly.
Giselle and the mercenaries tied the wagon to their horses and left the Forest of Monsters.
Thud thud thud!
As they vanished like the wind, Skoban and Ricardo could only blink in confusion.
“Why are they taking so much dirt when it’s not even expensive?”
“Let’s not think about it.”
“…Alright then.”
*
As soon as Giselle arrived at the territory, she summoned the laborers.
“Alright, mix this soil evenly into the newly created farmland! The ratio of existing soil to new soil is one to one.”
The laborers looked puzzled.
Why was she suddenly asking them to mix in dirt from who-knows-where?
An old man cautiously asked, “Do you know what kind of soil this is?”
“It’s very old soil. So… think of it as fertilizer.”
The mention of fertilizer made the old man narrow his eyes with concern.
“Um, My Lord, we’ve already tried various fertilizers several times.”
The soil here was rough and too dry for crops to grow at all.
To solve that, they had tried manure multiple times, but it hadn’t shown much effect.
If you use too much, it just rots without being absorbed by the ground, so you couldn’t increase the amount.
“And… to mix in fertilizer that’s double the soil amount. Isn’t that too much?”
“No, that’s just right.”
“I heard you even cast magic to keep the soil warm and moist. If you mix in that much fertilizer in that state, all the crops will rot too.”
“It’s fine. It has to be that strong so that weeds can’t grow and insects won’t come, right?”
“No, but that…”
The old man, trying to persuade Giselle, found himself at a loss and sighed.
If weeds can’t grow, how can the crops grow either?
The logic was absurd, and the laborers could only feel dumbfounded watching her insist it would be fine.
Everything Giselle had done since arriving at the territory seemed plausible and necessary.
Yet, it was only in farming that she was being stubbornly strange.
Still, it was a command from the lord. Since they were being paid well, they couldn’t refuse.
It’s work that the lord commands. Since they pay a lot of money, I couldn’t say no.
“Th-then I’ll get started right away.”
“Yeah, make sure to mix well and do the seeding properly.”
“Understood.”
After Ghislaine left, everyone started working with anxious expressions.
“Has the Chief Officer not surrendered yet? I heard the bet deadline is approaching.”
“Maybe the curse effect wasn’t strong enough?”
The Territory Residents started the seeding with skeptical looks.
It would be nice if food increased. While I’m grateful for the lord’s efforts…
Still, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.
If farming were as easy as it sounds, people wouldn’t be fleeing to the mountains due to hunger.
Feeling grateful toward a lord who has only given, makes it even more pitiful.
Spending unnecessary money and time because of pride.
As the sighs of the Territory Residents grew heavier, Belinda was also nervously biting her nails.
‘There’s only a week left.’
Money and labor were being exhausted, and the people they hired might just run away.
That aside, what was more concerning was Ghislaine facing great humiliation.
If rumors spread that he lost a bet against retainers and was swindled for money, he wouldn’t be able to show his face in noble society.
He’d just managed to shed his reckless image through achievements in the war.
How much more accomplishment would it take to recover from the image of being a sucker?
‘Should I just kidnap the Chief Officer? Uagh, it’s driving me insane!’
Amidst their worries, concerns, rage, and sighs, time flowed again.
And when the promised day finally approached, just one day away.
Claude sighed in relief and smiled.
‘Well, of course. I was just being paranoid.’
Since Ghislaine was so confident, Claude felt a bit nervous too.
But as expected, nothing special happened.
One more day and the bet would be over.
He just had to collect his money and leave.
On that day, in the great hall meeting, Claude delivered his final report.
“…This is it. It’s been tough but enjoyable. I will never forget the grace Lord and Anna have bestowed upon me.”
Ghislaine responded to Claude’s greeting with an indifferent expression.
“Isn’t your farewell a bit premature? There’s still a day left.”
“What could happen in just one day? Well, I still need to pack, so I’ll check tomorrow and then leave.”
The retainers exchanged glances, unable to say anything.
Among the uncomfortable faces, only Kaor was chuckling.
Claude kept smiling and greeted others as well.
“Goodbye, everyone! I will cast off all the burdens and restraints of this territory to seek my happiness. I wish you all happiness too!”
The great hall fell silent.
Claude, feeling elated, spread his arms wide and shouted.
“Claude is free!”
At that moment, a lower-ranked steward checking the cultivated land rushed in, looking pale.
He stammered out his words.
“Th-there’s… s-sprouts in the cultivated land. Wh-why are they already growing? Could it be something other than sprouts?”
“What?”
Claude looked at the steward with a face that asked what nonsense he was saying.
Ghislaine rose with a smug smile.
“Shall we go take a look together?”
It was time to confirm the outcome of the bet.
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