Chapter 3: This kind of disrespect feels familiar. (3)
At Ghislaine’s sudden remark, Skoban wore a look of utter disbelief.
Now this useless guy was asking him to relinquish command, on top of being a nuisance just by following him around.
‘Is he out of his mind?’
He wanted to smack him right on the face, but he restrained himself with superhuman patience.
After all, he couldn’t just hit the heir of the territory, no matter what.
“I don’t know why you’re saying that all of a sudden, but it’s not possible. I’m the commander of the expedition team.”
He added a little bit of arrogance to his words, as was his custom.
If he reacted like he was offended, it was easy to just pacify him and send him on his way.
“It’s too much for a Grand Duke like you to command the soldiers.”
He was preparing himself to yell when Ghislaine’s reaction was unexpectedly different.
“Oh? Still, I’ll just do it for now.”
Seeing Ghislaine say that nonchalantly, Skoban narrowed his eyes.
‘What’s going on? The vibe is different today. Why isn’t he sulking?’
The Grand Duke had always been filled with visible inferiority complex.
With slightly hunched shoulders and back, a strangely cautious expression, and a habit of turning red and shouting when things didn’t go his way.
But now, none of that was visible.
He stood tall, shoulders back, chin held up arrogantly, and his eyes betrayed no emotion whatsoever.
In terms of atmosphere and momentum, he could easily rival a true Swordmaster.
‘What… did he eat something weird? What was for lunch today?’
It felt strange seeing someone who usually erupted like a volcano suddenly look like this.
But Skoban didn’t care. Even if he pretended to be someone else on the outside, his empty core remained the same.
“It’s not happening. Just step back and rest. I’ll finish the extermination quickly and return to the castle.”
“I’ll do it.”
“…I already told you it’s not possible.”
“I said I’m doing it.”
“Grand Duke!”
“I’m doing it.”
“…”
Skoban suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. It was like he had eaten way too many sweet potatoes and couldn’t breathe.
In the past, he could have just muttered insults at the pathetic brat and calmed him down, but now it felt like talking to a wall.
“Ha… The person who received command from the Lord is me. Even if you’re a Grand Duke, I cannot recklessly pass on the authority given to me by the Lord.”
“It’s fine. Right now, my orders on-site take precedence. You have to trust the frontline commander’s judgment. That’s just common sense on the battlefield, isn’t it?”
‘The frontline commander isn’t you; it’s me, you creatively insane idiot! What do you know about the battlefield?!’
As he kept spouting ridiculous nonsense, it was infuriating. But he was of a higher status, and they just weren’t connecting at all.
This dumbass seemed to think they were just playing soldier.
‘Fine then, what can I expect from him? Just let him play commander as a formality… I’ll handle the orcs myself.’
If things really got dangerous, he would have restrained the Grand Duke to stop him.
“If it seemed dangerous, I would have bound the Grand Duke to stop it.”
“Honestly, I just want to stuff a gag in that babbling mouth and throw him in prison.”
“But I’m a knight, and Ghislaine is the Grand Duke of the territory. Skoban suppressed his anger.”
‘Disgusting, I’m really quitting this time.’
Even if I went to another territory, I could be treated better and live with normal people.
Skoban, determined to leave Perdium after this mission, spoke to Ghislaine.
“Do you really have to do this?”
“Of course!”
“…Understood. Then I will hand over command to you, but you’ll have to take responsibility as well.”
“Oh, good. Smart thinking. Let’s prepare right away.”
“Huh? Prepare for what?”
“Combat preparation.”
“But we haven’t even found the orcs yet, what combat preparation…?”
“I can’t be bothered to explain. You wouldn’t believe me anyway. Just leave it to the front-line commander’s judgment.”
Without waiting for Skoban’s astonishment to wear off, Ghislaine immediately summoned all the soldiers.
Since there were only about thirty, they gathered in no time.
The soldiers looked at Ghislaine with tired eyes.
The Grand Duke was always causing accidents, and they had to clean up the mess, so just seeing him made them feel fed up.
Seeing such soldiers, Ghislaine smiled.
‘People can be so fickle.’
In the past, he hated the disdainful looks directed at him and caused even more trouble to prove himself.
As time passed, people’s gazes grew colder, and his inferiority complex deepened.
Both he and those watching him were piling up anger in their hearts. It was a vicious cycle.
Then he died and came back, and he realized that those people were actually the ones he had to protect.
‘It’s kinda cute when they growl like that.’
After staring at the soldiers for a while, Ghislaine quietly said.
“The orcs will attack soon. Everyone form a defense formation and get ready.”
The soldiers resigned themselves to the crazy antics of the Grand Duke as they lined up.
‘What on earth is he doing?’
Sigh, I’m really tired.
The soldiers stood quietly, muttering curses under their breath.
Just as Skoban was about to say something to Ghislaine, he heard a distant sound.
Dududududu!
Something was galloping toward them in a herd.
The soldiers turned toward the sound, startled, and shouted.
“Oh, it’s orcs! They’re really here!”
“What? Why are there so many!”
Dozens of orcs were charging at them.
Skoban, the ‘real’ commander of the expedition, panicked and drew his sword.
“Th-this is bad! Everyone, stay calm and prepare for combat… Huh?”
Skoban’s eyes widened as he looked back at the soldiers.
They were already raising their shields and lowering their spears.
Since they had formed a defense formation in advance, they could swiftly enter combat mode.
If Ghislaine hadn’t prepared them ahead of time, they would have been scrambling in confusion from the sudden ambush.
“W-what is…”
Skoban stared at Ghislaine with wide eyes.
Normally, Ghislaine would be boasting about his foresight, but he was too busy checking the soldiers’ status.
No matter how well they were positioned, there were simply too many orcs.
The soldiers trembled in fear, their expressions full of dread.
Ghislaine nudged one anxious soldier’s shoulder and said.
“Hey, why are you so scared? You’re afraid of those?”
“Y-yes?”
“Tsk tsk, being this frightened, do you know what’s most important in a fight?”
“W-what is that?”
Ghislaine replied leisurely to the bewildered soldier.
“Momentum, momentum is what matters. Just like those orcs.”
“The momentum is important. Just like those orcs over there.”
The soldier swallowed hard and turned his head away again.
The orcs were charging forward with ferocious momentum, ready to kill the enemy in an instant.
But seeing the Grand Duke leisurely acting in such a dire situation felt utterly unreal.
Looking at the soldier, Ghislaine continued speaking.
“Don’t be scared. If you’re scared, you won’t be able to show your true skills and you’ll die. It would be really unfair to die like that, right?”
Ghislaine smiled softly. It reminded him of the time he taught new mercenaries in his past life.
However, the soldier listening to Ghislaine was earnestly contemplating.
‘Why is this idiot suddenly trying to act cool?’
Only a person with credibility can genuinely resonate with such advice.
Hearing this kind of talk from someone as infamous as the Grand Duke felt laughable, to be honest.
Observing the soldier, Ghislaine suddenly frowned. His thoughts were clearly visible on his face.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You just cursed me in your head, didn’t you?”
“N-no!”
A brief silence passed, and soon Ghislaine clicked his tongue and turned his head.
“Sigh. I’m used to being ignored, but it still doesn’t get easier to adapt.”
To think he, the king of mercenaries and one of the seven great powers of the continent, would be treated like this. If his followers from before his reincarnation found out, it would be a lifetime of mockery.
“Well, I can slowly change my reputation.”
Ghislaine grinned and stepped forward.
As he casually twirled his sword while approaching the orcs, Skoban shouted.
“Your Grace! What are you doing? Get back!”
“That’s enough. You just watch from over there.”
“What?”
“I’m going now.”
Ghislaine casually tossed those words and bounded forward.
“Damn it! Stupid bastard! If you’re gonna die, die alone!”
Skoban gritted his teeth and gestured to the soldiers. He intended to pull the soldiers back first and then try to grab Ghislaine.
But the next sight left Skoban frozen like a statue.
“Graah!”
The leading orc swung its rusty axe toward Ghislaine, aiming to split a human in half with one powerful strike.
However, Ghislaine simply stepped aside with a smile on his lips.
CRASH!
The miss swung down onto the empty ground.
As the orc, with a furious expression, lifted its axe again, suddenly—
SWISH!
With the sound of cutting through the air, Ghislaine’s sword grazed the orc’s throat like lightning.
“Glurgh…”
THUD!
The orc fell with a cough that sounded like it was choking.
The soldiers gaped in astonishment at the sight of the orc writhing on the ground.
Orcs are famous for their thick skin. It’s hard to inflict serious wounds without using mana.
Yet, Ghislaine, who clearly couldn’t use mana, had just beheaded the orc in an instant.
“W-what was that?”
Skoban stood frozen with his mouth agape in shock.
Even he, who could use mana, couldn’t feel any mana fluctuations at all.
That meant… Ghislaine had incapacitated the orc in a single strike without using mana.
“This is ridiculous!”
Mana is a supernatural force that helps humans surpass their limits.
To kill an orc in a single blow without using it requires either immense strength or extreme technique.
There was no way Ghislaine, who had never trained and had a feeble body, possessed such power.
Thus, the only reason he could kill the orc was one thing.
He had an unimaginable swordsmanship skill that could strike at the weakest spot at the precise moment.
“Grrr!”
“Graah!”
As the charging orcs halted upon seeing their leader suddenly collapse, they began to surround Ghislaine.
Ghislaine lifted the corners of his mouth in a grin.
He smirked.
“Oh, this is great. Are you targeting me first? This makes things easier.”
In order to reduce damage, he had gathered the soldiers in advance and formed a defensive line.
He could kill as many orcs as there were, but preventing the soldiers from getting hurt was not something he could manage with his current skill level.
Yet, these stupid guys all charged toward him. He felt like he should bow down and thank them.
“It’s been a while since I fought without mana.”
Ghislaine lifted his sword with an arrogant smile.
Even though he was aware of the family’s Mana Circulation Method at this time, he had never properly trained it.
In his past life, he only began training after leaving home and wandering as a mercenary. It was for survival.
At that time, he had no mana and had to fight with his life on the line.
However, now things were different yet similar. The swordsmanship he had amassed over many years was now ingrained in his mind.
“Come on!”
“Graaaah!”
Boom!
The orcs wildly swung their axes but couldn’t land a hit on Ghislaine, who moved strangely and evaded all their attacks.
He dodged with minimal movement, using the strength of the charging orcs against them to strike the weakest part of their necks.
Slash!
“Grrrk!”
With each swing of his sword, an orc fell to the ground, spewing blood.
“Ugh, my body isn’t listening properly.”
Ghislaine grumbled while wielding his sword.
The body of this era was truly weak to a pitiful degree.
Just a little movement and he was sweating excessively, his muscles ached as if they would tear.
His joints creaked under the strain of unreasonable movements.
Yet, a smile never left his face.
He had survived for decades in the battlefield and slaughter. If he hadn’t enjoyed combat, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
This feeling of pushing his body to the brink was evidence that he was still alive.
Whoosh.
Boom!
Ghislaine dodged the orc’s attack by a hair’s breadth and took them down one by one.
Skoban, watching such movements, gulped. Even he, who could use mana, couldn’t move like that.
‘W-How is the Grand Duke moving like this?’
It was clear that he was struggling. Yet, in the moments of evading attacks and counterattacking, there was no disruption in his movements.
Skoban had never even seen such swordsmanship in his life.
‘Amazing.’
Perfect movements so impressive that he wished to learn them as a swordsman. It was like a Swordmaster who couldn’t use mana.
‘No, maybe even more…’
If someone heard this, they would think he was crazy, but it was almost close to the truth.
The seven strongest on the continent were all superhumans beyond the realm of ordinary humans. The techniques they possessed were not mere skills, but insights that pierced through combat.
So, even without mana and with a frail body, Ghislaine’s accumulated experience and technique allowed him to surpass his limits.
Crack!
As Ghislaine swung his sword, yet another orc fell, spewing blood.
“Grrrk!”
The orcs began to stagger backward.
From more than twenty orcs, only five remained. Most had been decapitated or stabbed by Ghislaine’s sword in that brief moment.
“Hey, is it over already? I haven’t even warmed up yet. To show such weakness, are you really a combat race?”
Ghislaine sneered at the orcs, pointing his sword at them.
Of course, his true thoughts were quite different.
‘Sigh, I might die again at this rate. I just want to lie down. Was I this weak back then?’
To wield power that surpasses one’s limits, a price must be paid.
Ghislaine’s feeble body was starting to show signs of rebellion.
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