Chapter 338
338th Episode: I’ll Take Care of It. (2)
Ghislaine knew a lot about the Drake Mercenary Group and Martin because he was a mercenary back in the day.
The Drake Mercenary Group fought incredibly well. Their leader, Dominic, was a much stronger individual than he was now.
He must have had talent, but even considering that, his skills were remarkable. I could roughly guess why he had gotten so strong.
‘He probably wanted to save his family, no matter what.’
During the civil war, the Duke Faction easily secured victory. The Marquis Roderick’s house had become stronger, so they had temporarily escaped the crisis of the mercenary group being destroyed.
Still, like the marionettes of the Marquis Roderick, they were in a similar situation. Dominic must have tried to break free from that shackle by quitting drinking and focusing on training.
Perhaps he wanted to forget about reality in any way he could.
‘And then he met me.’
The army of the Mercenary King that swept through the kingdom was nothing like the Crown Prince Faction during the civil war.
This was an army led by one of the strongest seven people on the continent. Within a week of the war starting, they took over the capital, destroying everything in their path.
When the Mercenary King’s army invaded the west, Marquis Roderick naturally placed the Drake Mercenary Group at the forefront.
Dominic had to somehow survive and return to save the hostages. The others in the Drake Mercenary Group felt the same way.
So, they fought with all their might against the Mercenary King’s army.
After capturing and killing Marquis Roderick and Martin, Ghislaine learned of the situation with the Drake Mercenary Group.
— What a pity.
It was a mercenary group so strong it caught the eye of the Mercenary King. If they hadn’t had hostages, they would have followed him.
As a fellow mercenary, that fact saddened me greatly. That feeling made the Drake Mercenary Group linger in my memory more than others.
The information I’d remembered back then was now shining brightly.
‘In this life, all they have to do is follow me.’
I couldn’t do that in my previous life, but now I would let them live like true mercenaries.
Ghislaine knew from the information obtained in his previous life that the hostages had continued to stay here.
From Martin’s perspective, the Drake Mercenary Group was an important asset. Therefore, the hostages had to be hidden in the safest place possible.
Somewhere he could always keep an eye on and where no one could recklessly take them away.
“Anyway, I’ll aim to infiltrate this building, so keep that in mind. You just need to prepare well for what I say.”
That place was the only building within the estate connected to the mansion and the underground passage. It was also connected to other buildings with secret routes to escape from the outside.
As a coward, Martin had made several escape routes by modifying the mansion.
Since it was a top-secret plan, very few close associates knew about the secret passages. Martin had used this to thoroughly hide the hostages.
Dominic found it hard to trust Ghislaine since he hadn’t given any detailed information, but then again, the “Chronicles of Count Penris” mentioned a lone individual claiming to know everything and eventually succeeding, so I had no choice but to believe.
In fact, at this point, there was a bit of a “Oh well, whatever” mindset too.
“So how are you planning to infiltrate?”
“I’ll need the help of specialists in infiltration, right?”
“Huh?”
“The Drake Mercenary Group can avoid city inspections, right?”
“Yes.”
Since they were essentially Martin’s subordinates, they wouldn’t be subjected to inspections. They could enjoy that convenience, especially since they had no choice but to avoid other activities while hostages were taken.
“Prepare a wagon. I have people to bring. Don’t use the members; disguise my subordinates instead.”
Ghislaine issued orders without hesitation, as if he had already planned everything.
Dominic obediently followed Ghislaine’s words. He was curious about what he would do, and Ghislaine was moving busily, leaving him no time to question.
The knights following Ghislaine acquired Drake Mercenary Group’s identity and received wagons with official seals.
It was only at night that the wagons Dominic sent outside arrived. And from several wagons, dozens of people emerged.
Dominic was taken aback seeing people who were unusually short but stocky.
“Dwarves?”
The people Ghislaine had secretly brought in were dwarves. And he had brought as many as 50!
The dwarf at the front extended his hand toward Dominic and said,
“Nice to meet you. I’m Galbarik.”
“Gah! The legendary Blacksmith?”
“Huh? You know me?”
“I saw you in the Chronicles of Count Penris.”
“What? There was such a thing? Why wasn’t I informed? If the lord created something like that, you should let me know. I wasn’t aware I had come out. I’m curious about how it was written.”
“…I didn’t know either.”
It was only natural that nobody knew because it had been secretly produced and sold.
The dwarves were officially slaves, but Dominic treated them politely and respectfully.
Being a fan of Count Penris, he treasured all the figures from the chronicles. This was a feeling that truly only followers could experience.
Avoiding Dominic’s burdened gaze, Galbarik turned to Ghislaine and asked,
“Well, where do we need to dig the tunnel?”
Dominic was taken aback by that question.
“A tunnel? Are you saying we’ll dig a tunnel to get in?”
Ghislaine nodded.
“Yes. Since we can’t access from the outside, we have to secretly dig in from inside.”
“That’s not possible. Digging a tunnel inside the city? We’ve considered that possibility, but I’m sure there will be noise, and we’ll get caught.”
“Don’t worry. Dwarves are ‘absolutely’ undetectable.”
Galbarik said with a confident expression.
“Digging a tunnel of this distance is easier than eating cold soup for us. By creating supports through precise surveying, we can avoid noise…”
Galbarik started explaining lengthily like Vanessa.
In his eyes, Vanessa seemed very intelligent. From what he had observed while working with her, she probably explained well.
So, Galbarik didn’t miss any opportunity to follow her example.
Had Ghislaine not stopped him immediately, he would have continued explaining all day.
“Let’s save explanations for later and get ready to work right away. Under the pretext of internal work, bring all the necessary materials here.”
Dominic asked back with a worried expression.
“Is this really going to be okay?”
Then Galbarik picked up a blueprint and studied it attentively before pointing to a section.
“Just make a hole here. According to the building layout, there shouldn’t be any guards in this area.”
The spot Galbarik pointed out was a gap between the target building and the adjacent structure. Indeed, it wouldn’t be a place where additional personnel could be stationed except for those occasionally on patrol.
Inside the estate, the security was naturally looser than on the outskirts. Given its vast size, moving in without being caught seemed feasible.
“Still, to rescue the hostages, we’ll eventually have to enter the building. Combat will be inevitable.”
Ghislaine nodded as if it were obvious.
“After we rescue the hostages, it’s a race against time. We need to take out the internal personnel as quickly as possible and move. We’ll return here through the tunnel.”
“Then….”
“Yes, prepare wagons here so we can exit the city immediately. And….”
Ghislaine looked at Dominic with a cold gaze.
“Gather all troops outside the city. So that those pursuing us can give up and turn back. Understood?”
“…….”
Dominic swallowed hard. He had heard he was hasty, but he never expected things would move this urgently.
He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was amiss. It was at the level of ‘Trust me, it’ll work,’ without any solid evidence.
Reading from a book was entirely different from witnessing it firsthand.
But what could be done? It had already begun.
“……I understand.”
If he failed, the lives of the hostages he’d tried so hard to protect would end.
Martin didn’t manage to pull Dominic from the leadership position because the mercenary group itself was something Dominic had built.
Without him, the mercenary group would collapse, which was why he had maintained the leadership position until now. However, considering Martin’s personality, he wouldn’t tolerate Dominic showing his teeth.
Instead, some things happened as Ghislaine said.
‘The garrison’s troops have come out more to the outside.’
It seemed Martin was suspicious about something. The city’s guards, who should have been inside, were now patrolling more frequently.
Especially around the warehouse under construction, there were definitely more people loitering than before.
‘They are suspicious. They are suspicious.’
It was only because of the authority of being the Drake Mercenary Group’s commander that they were still just suspicious; there was no telling when they might forcibly break in here.
So, Dominic had no choice but to tremble with anxiety every day.
Meanwhile, oblivious to Dominic’s worries, the dwarves were cheerfully focusing on their work.
“Wow, following the lord, we get to do such thrilling things.”
The dwarves were now complacent since they were with Ghislaine. For them, working with Ghislaine was always a successful endeavor.
While the tension had dropped a little, there were no problems. Working on construction was something they were used to, so they just had to handle it as usual.
“Alright, at this point, I think we’re almost there.”
The dwarves’ surveying skills were top-notch. They checked the map and blueprints several times to estimate the distance.
Now, they only needed to dig upwards. Although they would complete it fully after the lord arrived, they needed to confirm if they had dug in the right spot.
After waiting until nightfall, Galbarik maintained a relaxed expression as he made a very small hole. It was just big enough for him to peek his head out.
Slowly, as Galbarik stuck out his head, his eyes widened in surprise.
“……What the…?”
Galbarik couldn’t believe his eyes. He had checked the location several times and was confident it was an area where no soldiers would be standing guard.
But the scene before him was completely different from his expectations.
Countless soldiers were pointing their weapons at him with fierce expressions.