The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Not Yet the Time (1)



Amelia smiled coldly. She now had the chance to deal a proper blow to that annoying man.

She had created a situation where Ghislain did all the hard work, and she would reap the rewards.

"Now, I'll strike the final blow, Ghislain."

She could easily create any justification she needed. After all, her alliance with Desmond had always been nominal.

The faction supporting the royal family wouldn't want to fight her directly, so if she negotiated well, she could take half of Desmond's territory without much resistance.

Of course, she wasn't planning on giving even an inch of it, but that was another matter. "The Duchy will have no choice but to help me.'

The plan in her mind was already set.

The Duchy, having lost Harold, would have no choice but to choose her as a bridgehead for advancing into the North. If territorial disputes arose, they would step in to mediate.

"Just to be safe, move out at full speed. We must capture the key castles and fortresses before anyone else does."

She had already dealt with those who might challenge her. Ghislain and Harold had just finished their fight.

There was nothing left to hinder her march, so Amelia quickly increased her speed.

Both the Fenris army and Rayfold's forces were tired from battle. No matter how elite they were, accumulated fatigue couldn't be ignored.

As night deepened, Bernaph cautiously spoke.

"It seems we should rest for a bit. It's difficult to move at night. The soldiers are also quite exhausted."

"Tch."

Amelia clicked her tongue and nodded in resignation.

With nearly 5,000 troops moving together, there were inevitably limitations to their speed. "This is the last rest. No more breaks until we've captured Desmond. As soon as dawn breaks, send the cavalry and knights ahead. The infantry will follow."

"Understood."

Torches were quickly set up, and camp preparations were completed in no time. Since they were not in a wartime situation and there were no enemies to target, the soldiers maintained an alertness akin to peacetime.

Even as everyone hurriedly fell asleep, preparing for the march ahead, Amelia remained awake.

Inside the largest and most luxurious tent, she spread out maps, busy reassessing her next

moves.

"Bernaph, with our current forces, we won't be able to quickly capture all of Desmond's territories. So for now, let's block the main routes..."

Amelia stopped mid-sentence, noticing the eerie silence.

Bernaph was slumped in a chair, dozing off. She had placed him next to her as both an escort knight and an adviser, but he had fallen asleep quicker than anyone else.

Amelia glared at him with annoyance but chose not to wake him. After all, Bernaph had

suffered greatly during the rebellion and civil war.

Bastet, too, had curled up on her lap, sound asleep.

"Hah..."

Amelia sighed and turned her attention back to the map. She had a lot on her mind-how to take more from the Duchy and secure the North.

"Ghislain is becoming a problem. But if the Duchy starts a war soon..."

As she focused on the map, a strange movement occurred behind her.

Tsssss.

Darkness began to gather stealthily behind her, warping the air, as if forming into a shape. But Amelia, absorbed in her thoughts, didn't notice.

Suddenly, Bastet's ears perked up.

Bernaph remained slumped, still fast asleep. But his left thumb twitched, nudging the guard of the sword at his waist.

Click.

The sound of the sword being drawn echoed as-

Meow!

Bastet let out a sharp cry.

In that instant, Bernaph's right hand shot out like lightning, drawing the sword and blocking an assassination attempt from behind Amelia.

Ka-aang!

The sound of metal clashing rang loudly. Only then did Amelia turn to see an assassin standing behind her.

Bernaph wiped the drool from his mouth with his left hand and fixed a sharp gaze on the

assassin.

"Tch, who are you?"

The assassin was dressed in a black robe and mask, armed with a dagger. After the dagger strike was blocked, the assassin took several steps back and muttered.

"Hmm, maybe I was pushing it."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Amelia frowned. The voice sounded strangely familiar-it was a woman's voice she thought she had heard before.

In that moment, the assassin's robe fluttered, and dozens of daggers spilled out from inside.

Clank clank clank ka-ching!

Bernaph's sword moved like lightning, deflecting all the daggers. Immediately after, he advanced and swung his sword downward.

shhk!

Although Bernaph's sword didn't land on the assassin, the intense aura carried by his blade

sliced through the assassin's mask.

Half of the mask fell off, revealing a face with a seductive smile.

The assassin looked at Bernaph and spoke.

"Oh... you're a lot more intact than I thought." Bernaph's anger flared, but Amelia spoke first.

"You are!"

"Miss, it's been a while."

The assassin, smiling widely and waving her hand, revealed herself to be Belinda.

Amelia recognized Belinda instantly. It was simple-she had a personal grudge against her. Amelia still hadn't forgotten when Belinda had arrogantly held a dagger to her throat in the

past.

But now that she knew who the assassin was, she couldn't understand the situation at all. Why was Ghislain's closest ally here?

"Why... are you here?"

"Well, of course, I came to kill you. I've been waiting here."

"Came to assassinate me? While Ghislain is fighting Harold, you leave that to him and come

after me?"

"The young master told me to keep you occupied. I wanted to join the war too, but he insisted

I come here. What could I do? Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?"

Belinda spoke in a tone laced with mock disappointment.

She had been sent by Ghislain to hinder Amelia's advance. Naturally, Belinda had opposed the idea at first. Facing Desmond's 30,000-strong army wasn't an easy task, and she had argued that it made more sense to stay by Ghislain's side and

assist him, even just a little.

However, Ghislain had sent her here, reasoning that Belinda's assassination skills were not suited to large-scale battles and couldn't be effectively utilized in that context.

Instead, it was more efficient to deploy her to a place where her abilities could be put to better

use. It was also a crucial task.

The logic was sound, so Belinda couldn't bring herself to argue further and followed

Ghislain's orders.

Since then, she had been left in the dark about how the battle had progressed. Her worries were immense, but the sight of Amelia brought her some relief.

The fact that the Rayfold army was on the move meant that Ghislain had emerged victorious.

Amelia ground her teeth and glared at Belinda. Hearing something so unexpected left her

feeling dizzy.

"Ghislain... that bastard... predicted I would make a move? Even with the war against Harold

imminent, he sent you ahead of time?"

"Exactly. Isn't it amazing? How could he know something like this?"

Belinda's confident reply sent shockwaves through Amelia. It didn't make sense.

Before Ghislain had even faced Harold, Amelia had been fighting Baron Valois and the

northern alliance.

He had predicted not only that she would defeat them all but also that she would act immediately upon hearing news of his victory?

Such foresight was impossible unless he had a perfect understanding of her character-or

even the ability to read her mind.

Amelia's thoughts raced as she recalled everything Ghislain had accomplished so far.

Securing the Rune Stone, predicting droughts, developing new technologies, anticipating her

rebellion, and even whisking Daven away in advance.

It was as if...

"That man can foresee the future.'

Looking back on Ghislain's actions, Amelia couldn't help but think of the rare prophets who

occasionally appeared on the continent.

But even that didn't fully explain it. No matter how brilliant a prophet, their predictions were

always vague and abstract; no one could achieve this level of precision.

'How is this possible...!'

A shiver ran down Amelia's spine. Whether he had prophetic abilities or not, one thing was clear-Ghislain was far beyond the realm of ordinary genius.

That man knew something. It was as if he were standing on a high vantage point, watching

the movements of others as clearly as though he held them in the palm of his hand.

It felt as though her every move was being watched.

'He must die!'

Amelia instinctively felt the urgency. Ghislain had to be killed. Otherwise, she would forever

be a pawn in the game he orchestrated.

But before that, there was someone else she needed to deal with-someone standing right in

front of her.

"I had told them to bring me his head before. Those idiots failed. I should have killed Ghislain

back then."

"Ah, back then. That must've been frustrating for you, miss."

"Yes, it was quite frustrating. But to think you'd come to me on your own. Did you come to

avenge that failure? Did you think you could assassinate me?"

Belinda shrugged and smirked.

"Well, yes. The young master said it was impossible, but it seems that's because you have such a fine escort knight. I thought you were a fool based on the rumors." Bernaph looked ready to explode with anger, but once again, Amelia spoke first.

"You failed at assassination, so you won't be able to hold me back. What could a mere maid

like you accomplish on your own?"

"Oh my, you're so confident. But you didn't even know I was coming, did you?"

"And yet, did you succeed in assassinating me?"

"It's not over yet, you know?" The two women stared at each other with smiles, but their faces radiated murderous intent.

The intense pressure between them made Bernaph hesitate, momentarily forgetting to attack Belinda. He was visibly uncomfortable in such a charged atmosphere.

"Kill her, Bernaph."

Meow!

The moment Amelia and Bastet gave the command, Bernaph swung his sword toward

Belinda.

Kaang!

Belinda parried with her dagger.

Bernaph swung again, his sword flashing dozens of times as it cut through the air in every

direction.

But not a single strike landed. All he managed to cut was the hem of her robe a few times.

The more he swung, the more Bernaph's expression grew grim.

'What kind of movements are these...?'

It was as though he was fighting a ghost. Every time Belinda moved, the space around her

seemed to distort, making it difficult to sense her presence.

That wasn't the only challenge.

Papapapat!

Each time the distorted space shifted and her robe fluttered, dozens of daggers shot out.

'Damn it!'

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

Bernaph quickly stepped back, deflecting the daggers. The daggers, seemingly connected to

Belinda, moved like living creatures, relentlessly targeting Amelia.

Fighting to protect someone while dealing with an elite assassin was no easy task. Bernaph

glanced at the tent's entrance.

Given the commotion, the soldiers outside should have entered by now, yet there was no sign

of them.

"They're already dead.'

Normally, knights would form a tight protective ring around Amelia, but now they had been replaced with regular soldiers.

For someone of Belinda's skill, killing a few soldiers without a sound was entirely possible. It

was bad luck that an assassin struck when the knights had been given a rare moment of rest.

Though the schedule had been grueling, necessitating a break, the fact that Amelia was now

in danger was an undeniable failure on Bernaph's part as head of escort knights.

'I just need to hold out for a moment.'

Bernaph focused entirely on protecting Amelia, his expression uncharacteristically serious.

The knights' tent wasn't far-surely, they would sense the disturbance and arrive soon.

Kaang!

Belinda also realized that killing Amelia wouldn't be easy.

"Who would've thought this idiot had such skill? I thought it'd be easy if I caught him off guard

outdoors.'

Bernaph was rumored to be nothing more than a fool who trailed after Amelia like a puppy.

She hadn't imagined he'd possess this level of ability.

Even while focusing on defending Amelia, he found opportunities to counterattack, swinging

his sword with precision. More than once, Belinda had narrowly avoided danger.

What impressed her even more was Amelia's reaction.

Even when daggers came inches from her face, she didn't flinch. She only glared at Belinda

with an intent to kill.

Belinda couldn't help but be impressed.

'Wow, she's really something else.'

Amelia didn't know how to use mana or wield a sword, yet her composure and determination

were remarkable.

She was terrifying in a completely different way from Ghislain.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

The clash between Belinda and Bernaph became a blur, their movements too fast to follow.

Dozens of daggers danced in the air, while sparks flew from Bernaph's blade as he parried

them.

Countless exchanges occurred in what felt like an instant.

Shhhaaaak!

Suddenly, the tent was slashed apart, and a dozen knights stormed in.

"My lady!"

"Are you unharmed?"

"Kill the assassin!"

The knights drew their swords and charged at Belinda.

"Tch."

Fixating on an unkillable target was not the hallmark of a good assassin. Belinda sighed and

retreated, smirking.

"It seems I've failed. But... I didn't come alone."

Fwoosh!

Before she even finished speaking, fires erupted throughout the camp.

At the same time, shouts of alarm echoed from all directions.

"Enemies!"

"Assassins have infiltrated!"

"Wake up, now!"

It was the secret force Ghislain had nurtured alongside Belinda.

Perdium's assassination squad was attacking Rayfold's camp.

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