The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 643

Even as its flesh was torn away piece by piece, Morbus refused to lose its fighting spirit. A monster that knew only destruction could not conceive of retreat.

BOOM!

With a sound like the tearing of the very air, Morbus’s enormous fist slammed down toward Ghislain.

Ghislain was hurled to the ground like a lightning bolt striking earth.

“Guh!”

His skin and muscles began to rot away instantly, exposing bare bone beneath. The toxic miasma seeped into his bones, eating away at him.

But instead of despair, a smile crept across Ghislain’s lips.

Ssshhh…

As if time itself were reversing, his decayed body regenerated in moments, returning to its original state.

With his poison-absorbing ability and immense regenerative power, the miasma could not harm him. At this point, it was hard to tell who the real monster was.

“Hah!”

Every breath he took drew the deadly miasma into his body, inhaling it through his nose and mouth.

The thick, lethal fog that had filled the area rapidly thinned. The others could only watch, their eyes widening in astonishment.

“This… this is fantastic,” Ghislain said, his grin growing wider. His tone was filled with delight, like a gourmet discovering a rare delicacy.

With a sudden gust, Ghislain surged forward at lightning speed, heading straight for Morbus.

BOOM!

Under the relentless assault of the superhumans, Morbus’s body began to crumble.

The decaying flesh and rotting entrails that had made it the terror of the forest were ripped apart, leaving behind only pale, skeletal remains.

ROOOOOOAAAARRR!

Morbus let out a blood-curdling scream, a sound so horrifying it felt as though the gates of hell had been thrown open.

Even as a skeleton, it continued to move freely, animated by its aura of decay—a testament to how abominable the creature truly was.

But its decaying aura had been significantly weakened by the divine energy radiating from Parniel and Piote.

The superhumans’ attacks had always been secondary; their main purpose was to incapacitate Morbus’s physical body. The true goal was to neutralize its aura of decay with divine power.

“Let’s finish this,” Ghislain said with a smirk.

BOOM!

His blade, charged with lightning, smashed through Morbus’s split skull, shattering it as it passed.

At the same time, Julien and Gillian attacked from either side, breaking Morbus’s ribcage and collapsing its upper body.

CRACK! CRUNCH!

Belinda’s daggers danced through the air, slicing bones in half wherever they struck.

Parniel’s mace smashed into Morbus’s lower body, and its skeletal structure crumbled like a sandcastle.

Jerome and Vanessa followed up with gravity magic, crushing the remaining bones under immense pressure.

CRACK! CREAK! CRUNCH!

The completely shattered bones writhed as if trying to reassemble themselves, animated by a tenacious will to survive.

“Time to purify this mess,” Parniel said, tracing a holy symbol in the air and unleashing divine energy onto the bone pile. Piote added his own sacred power, pouring everything he had into the remains.

The two streams of divine light intertwined, glowing brilliantly as they bathed the bones in purifying flames.

After a long effort, the bones’ writhing finally ceased.

“It’s over. Not bad, huh?” Ghislain said as he collapsed onto the ground, a satisfied grin on his face.

The others shrugged, their exhaustion evident.

Morbus had indeed been a formidable monster, perhaps the strongest they’d faced apart from dragons.

But this group was stronger. They had faced countless dangers and triumphed time and time again.

If they couldn’t defeat Morbus, no one could.

Still, the battle had taken its toll. Drained of energy, the group slumped to the ground to rest.

Belinda shot Ghislain a disapproving look.

“You know, I tried so hard to keep you from eating weird stuff when you were younger. Now you’re practically drooling over poison. What are you, a poison monster?”

“Eh, normal poisons don’t even register anymore,” Ghislain replied with a shrug.

For him, ordinary poisons had long since ceased to be effective. Mana cultivation had become more beneficial.

But Morbus’s poison was exceptional—so potent it could harm even superhumans. For Ghislain, it was akin to a rare elixir.

Jerome looked at him incredulously. “You’re telling me you get stronger by eating poison? How does that even work?”

“My mana cultivation technique just happens to work well with poison. I only absorb the toxic energy, so to speak,” Ghislain explained.

“How is that even possible?”

“I have no idea. I discovered it by accident. Who knows? Maybe you could learn it too.”

“How?”

“You know that spellbook I gave you? You might figure it out if you study it.”

Jerome frowned, clearly skeptical. Ghislain just laughed.

The spellbook detailed techniques for manipulating energy, and Ghislain had modified it to amplify his mana. The result was the ability to absorb the energy of anything he consumed, including poison.

Aside from a dragon’s heart, poison was one of the most potent sources of energy he’d encountered.

Belinda shook her head and surveyed the area. “We won’t be able to develop this place anytime soon.”

“Yeah, it’ll take a while to purify everything,” Ghislain agreed.

Though Morbus was gone, the land around them was thoroughly tainted. Poison seeped from every crack, requiring extensive purification to make it livable.

Ghislain’s eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him.

“By absorbing that thing’s poison, I was able to increase my mana faster than I ever could through mana cultivation. If I just absorb all the poison left here, won’t it purify this area even faster? I could even train here whenever I get the chance.”

Even now, Ghislain continued converting the absorbed poison into mana within his body.

The others looked at him with slight disgust. None of them had ever seen anyone devour poison with such relish before.

Ghislain noticed their reactions and laughed as he spoke.

“It’s fine to leave this place for later. Just look at the vast territory we’ve already secured.”

Everyone nodded. While the area Morbus had occupied was indeed vast, it was just a fraction of the Forest of Beasts as a whole.

Despite advancing almost directly toward the central region, they had claimed a massive amount of land and resources along the way.

Now, all that remained was to confirm what lay at the center. The remaining regions could be developed at a more leisurely pace afterward.

Once this was done, everything would be complete. The Kingdom of Ruthania would usher in a golden age by claiming the Forest of Beasts.

Jerome asked curiously, “There aren’t any stronger creatures left, right? We’ve only been dealing with revolting monstrosities.”

“I doubt there are. Morbus was holding the central region, after all.”

The records had said as much. Written by the Duke of Delfaine, who had conquered much of the forest, the information was likely accurate.

No major obstacles remained. From here on, it would just be a straightforward march.

Ghislain felt a flutter of excitement in his chest.

‘Finally, we’ve made it this far.’

He had once vowed to properly conquer the Forest of Beasts. In many ways, everything had started because of this forest.

The fall of Peredium, his rapid growth after regressing to the past—it all traced back to this place.

‘I remember when even breaching the forest’s outskirts was a struggle.’

There were countless times he had risked his life. A single mistake would have meant certain death.

But now, they had reached this point with relative ease. It was all thanks to those who had trusted and followed him.

‘I’m one step closer to the truth now.’

Since acquiring the relic and experiencing the visions, Ghislain’s curiosity about the war a thousand years ago had only grown.

After hearing a summary of events from Ereneth, his curiosity had deepened further. While it wasn’t his priority, he had kept the questions in the back of his mind.

If they reached the forest’s center, he was certain they would uncover more. That was his intuition speaking.

What had the Duke of Delfaine discovered at the center of the Forest of Beasts in his previous life? What had they been trying to achieve?

He couldn’t wait to unravel those mysteries.

“Let’s rest a little before we move.”

No reinforcements could join them here. Only those who could withstand the toxic miasma would venture into the central region with him.

Staying here too long wouldn’t do anyone any good. While the poison served as a rare elixir for Ghislain, the others had to continuously expend mana to suppress its effects.

If it weren’t for Parniel and Fiote periodically purifying the area, they would have been forced to retreat long ago.

Ghislain tilted his head toward Julien.

“What do you think? Isn’t this fun? This fits my idea of leisure, don’t you agree?”

“…….”

The others sighed and narrowed their eyes at him. They had no idea how Ghislain defined “leisure.”

However, Julien was different. His cold eyes briefly reflected a hint of contemplation.

He genuinely pondered which aspects of this could be considered fun or leisurely.

Noticing Julien’s confusion, Ghislain’s eyes sparkled mischievously, like a child about to play a prank.

“It’s like a big adventure, isn’t it? Camping together, encountering strange monsters, sparring to stretch our muscles. And most importantly…”

Ghislain’s voice brimmed with joy.

“We’re finally about to see the heart of the labyrinth Ereneth mentioned. You’ve all been curious about it, haven’t you?”

Everyone nodded at his words. They were now one step closer to uncovering secrets hidden for a millennium.

Of course, unlike Ghislain, they were pragmatic about it. None of them expected to find incredible artifacts or shocking revelations.

If such things existed, Ereneth would have been the first to come here.

Yet, Ereneth hadn’t participated in the Forest of Beasts campaign. Nor had he objected to it.

Instead, he had remained silent in his quarters.

Thus, the others assumed they would find little more than remnants of ancient myths and traces of old wars. It felt more like sightseeing at historical ruins.

Only Ghislain, guided by the visions in his dreams, believed there was something extraordinary waiting for them.

“Hmm.”

Julien found Ghislain’s words to have some merit.

He had spent so much time isolated from the world, turning his back on everything. Though he was unmatched in strength, in some ways, he was no different from a child unaware of how the world worked.

Now, however, things were different. After meeting Ghislain and the others, his life had begun to change.

‘So much has happened.’

They had won wars together and saved the continent. Fighting alongside mighty opponents like Helgenic and Arterion, they had trusted one another with their lives.

In the forest, he had encountered fascinating creatures. Fighting them hadn’t been particularly challenging.

He had explored ancient ruins and engaged in conversations—albeit limited—with his companions.

All of this was new to Julien. During his time in the tower, he had never experienced these emotions, which were now building layer upon layer.

It wasn’t until arriving at Fenris’s domain that those emotions finally took form.

If he had to name the unfamiliar feeling he was experiencing now…

‘I see.’

Julien allowed a faint smile to grace his lips. He couldn’t deny it any longer.

The feeling he was experiencing was joy.

“Wait, wait! Did you see that? He smiled, didn’t he? I was right, wasn’t I?” Ghislain exclaimed, looking around at everyone.

The others widened their eyes in disbelief, staring at Julien.

His smile, so warm and gentle, resembled the first rays of sunlight after a long winter.

As everyone’s gaze focused on him, Julien’s brief smile faded, and his usual stoic expression returned.

But the others now knew.

They had seen the true Julien—the one hidden beneath his cold exterior.

And they knew his heart, slowly but surely, was beginning to thaw.

***

Squish, squish, squish…

After taking a short rest, the group began their march toward the central region. Since it was an area where no living being could survive, no monsters dared to attack them anymore.

Still, the stench of decay and the sticky, pervasive unpleasantness made the journey nearly unbearable.

“Ugh, it’s so sticky. Is this stuff still alive or what?” Jerome grimaced as his boots sank into the ground, coated in a thick layer of black slime.

This place was beyond filthy. He briefly considered flying above the muck on his own but felt guilty leaving the group, a decision he was now regretting.

Thankfully for Jerome, it wasn’t long before the group’s eyes widened at an incredible sight ahead.

“Oh…”

Even Jerome, the most expressive of the party, couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

They had arrived at a vast clearing. The ground, blackened and charred, resembled a portion of hell itself. Deep cracks ran across the terrain like colossal scars, and from these fissures, thick, black steam writhed and coiled upward. It sounded as if something far beneath the surface was groaning in anguish.

The corrupt ichor and foul miasma that had plagued them until now seemed to halt abruptly, as though an invisible wall kept it from advancing onto this blighted land.

And in the middle of this deathly plain…

A massive black curtain, so immense it defied human comprehension, hung over the expanse. Its sheer size and ominous presence were indescribable in any mortal language.