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‘I can’t die here.’

It’s not like I have never run away in my life. Nor did I have a strong aversion to retreating.

Running away to wait for the next opportunity was also a valid strategy if necessary.

If I died, my family and estate would face the same fate as in my previous life: total ruin.

Wasn’t that exactly why I had ventured all the way into the Forest of Beasts, suffering like this, to prevent that dark future from happening?

So, I absolutely couldn’t afford to die here.

I was the only one who knew the future of Ferdium.

‘But…’

There are times when you can’t afford to run away.

If I ran when there was no next chance, everything from then on would only spiral downhill.

Considering the state of the estate, my strengths, external threats, and all the information I knew, the best and only way forward was to reach the destination.

If I missed this chance, my family and estate would face the same disastrous end as before.

Ghislain opened his eyes and looked around at the people.

They were tense, their faces waiting for his orders.

Many more people would die from here on.

He had no arrogant delusions about saving everyone while achieving his goals.

Even in his past life, he had lost countless comrades and subordinates as he pushed forward.

‘But… that doesn’t mean it’s okay for everyone to die here.’

As Ghislain made up his mind, a man suddenly burst out from among the mercenaries, shouting.

“You idiots! It’s over now! Even the employer has no way out! What are you waiting for?!”

The man who jumped out was Manus.

Manus kept stepping backward as he shouted.

“We should run away now! There’s no need for all of us to die! Do you really think we can win this? If we scatter in all directions, at least some of us can survive!”

The faces of the mercenaries began to waver.

Not missing the opportunity, Manus shouted even louder.

If they all scattered and fled, his chances of survival would increase.

“Let’s run now! There’s no need for us to risk our lives for some crazy noble’s game! It was insane to enter this damn forest in the first place!”

At that moment, Kaor spun the sword he held in one hand and spoke up.

“Ah, that pathetic bastard. I guess we’ll have to kill him before we run away.”

As Kaor prepared to throw his weapon at Manus, Ghislain raised his hand to stop him.

“That’s enough. There’s no need for that.”

Then Ghislain turned to Manus and spoke.

“Go. You’ve worked hard until now.”

“What? What did you say? Just… go?”

Manus was taken aback.

In this situation, it was normal for the employer to rage and threaten to kill him for running away.

Not to mention that just a moment ago, the same man had sworn to kill anyone who fled personally.

But now, he was letting him go so easily.

Before Manus could calm his shocked mind, Ghislain said something even more astonishing.

“Anyone who wants to run may do so.”

The mercenaries were all taken aback by his calm words.

“Run away? Then what about the employer?”

Someone cautiously asked the question.

“What will you do, Employer?”

Ghislain spoke in a casual tone as if it were nothing.

“I’ll stay here and catch that bastard.”

“Young Lord!”

“Young Master!”

Belinda and Gillian stood before Ghislain, their faces full of anger.

But without a word, he drew his sword.

The others couldn’t understand it, but he had to succeed.

If not, everything would eventually come to an end.

The one who seemed most excited, however, was Manus.

He couldn’t hide his joy as he gestured toward the mercenaries.

“What are you waiting for? The employer told you to run! Let’s get going now!”

But the mercenaries only looked back and forth between Ghislain and Manus, unable to move easily.

Until now, it had been Ghislain who had fought at the front and saved the mercenaries.

And now, hearing that he would fight alone, it wasn’t easy for them to just run away.

Seeing the hesitant mercenaries, Manus shouted again, frustrated.

“Hurry up! Do you all want to die here? What are you doing?!”

Toran, looking back and forth between the urging Manus and the calm Ghislain, stepped forward and asked,

“If we break through that guy, is this really the end?”

“Yes, the destination is right in front of us.”

With a firm answer, Toran took a deep breath and replied,

“I’ll fight with you.”

“Toran! Are you crazy? Are you trying to die?” Manus shouted.

Gordon, turning to look at him, spoke in a trembling voice.

“I-I… If I run away now, I won’t be able to eat properly or sleep properly. I’ll lose muscle mass because I’ll be too stressed.”

“What?”

“So I’m not going!”

“You idiot! Are you crazy too?”

At that moment, voices from the mercenaries erupted from all around.

“If we leave now, we’ll be too embarrassed to continue as mercenaries.”

“We’ve survived this far, thanks to the employer. If we run now, we’re not even human.”

“You’re the idiot, Manus! If you want to go, go by yourself! You ungrateful bastard! You even received treatment from the employer!”

“With the employer here, we can manage somehow. Let’s fight!”

Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Ghislain widened his eyes and looked around at the mercenaries.

Now, their faces showed only determination—a will to fight alongside him as far as they could go.

Ghislain had seen these expressions before.

It was the same look he had seen when facing an unfavorable battle in his past life.

‘This is just like…’

The faces of his subordinates from his previous life flashed through his mind.

Although the mercenaries’ skills fell far short compared to them, their resolve was no different.

Ghislain couldn’t help but smile as he spoke.

“You lot… You’ve finally become useful.”

Watching this scene unfold, Kaor was baffled as he looked at the mercenaries.

‘Are these really the guys I know?’

Unlike the Cerberus Mercenary Corps, who enjoyed dangerous tasks and wreaked havoc across different regions, the mercenaries staying in the Zimbar Estate always idled about, never taking on risky missions.

But after following Ghislain for just a few days, they had completely changed.

‘This is truly remarkable. He’s got them completely under control.’

Kaor couldn’t help but acknowledge and be impressed by Ghislain’s abilities once again.

Even Gillian, a former mercenary leader himself, couldn’t hide his admiration for the current situation.

However, Belinda had no interest in what she considered this foolishness.

“Young Lord, this is great. Send the mercenaries forward, and you can slip away.”

Ghislain ignored Belinda’s whisper and instead removed the scabbard from his waist, tossing it to the ground.

“Young Master! Please!”

Discarding the scabbard was a clear sign that he was prepared to fight to the death.

Seeing this, Belinda’s face twisted in anger, but Kaor chuckled.

“Fearless, huh? I like that. Reminds me of my younger days.”

Without responding, Ghislain stepped forward.

In his past life, the most frequent type of request Ghislain’s mercenary corps had undertaken was monster hunting.

The monsters ravaging the continent were far more powerful than the Blood Python they now faced.

Even though his physical abilities and the mercenaries’ skills were inferior to back then, his accumulated experience would help make up for those deficiencies.

“Let’s fight.”

As soon as Ghislain spoke, everyone took on a determined expression, gripping their weapons and reforming their battle lines.

“Ah, I’m getting old… It’ll be your fault if I get any more wrinkles, Young Lord.”

Belinda muttered, resigned, as she slumped over.

“You idiots! You’re all going to die!”

Manus, frustrated, spat out his words and disappeared into the forest.

But no one bothered to look in his direction.

The Blood Python was slowly closing in on the group.

Kaaaaaaa!

The Blood Python let out a shriek of delight as it opened its massive jaws, ready to swallow the mercenaries whole.

“Scatter!”

At Ghislain’s command, the mercenaries immediately dispersed.

Boom!

The Blood Python slammed its head into the ground, mouth wide open, momentarily stunned.

Kaaaaaak!

Enraged, the Blood Python immediately lunged at the nearest mercenary with its open jaws.

Just as the mercenary was about to be devoured, Ghislain leaped into the air, slashing at the Blood Python’s head with his sword while shouting,

“Gillian, Kaor, draw its attention with me near the head! Belinda, cover us! Everyone else, attack its body when you find an opening!”

A small wound appeared on the Blood Python’s head.

Ordinary attacks wouldn’t work, but a weapon imbued with mana had inflicted a minor injury.

“Kaaaaaaa!”

Realizing it had been wounded, the Blood Python let out a furious roar.

Its eyes, redder than its scales, locked onto Ghislain.

As if it couldn’t forgive the human who had hurt it, the massive snake rushed toward him with its mouth wide open at incredible speed.

Boom!

Ghislain swiftly rolled to the side, dodging the attack.

The head of the Blood Python was slammed into the ground again, kicking up dust.

In the meantime, Gillian approached, his axe infused with mana, and struck the Blood Python’s head with tremendous force.

Kwaaang!

A deafening boom echoed as the giant head of the Blood Python jerked upward.

Regarding sheer mana, Gillian was the strongest among the group.

With such destructive power, even the Blood Python seemed to have suffered a significant blow.

Kaaaahhh!

The Blood Python screamed again, lifting its head.

This time, a large and clearly visible wound had formed.

However, the wound wasn’t deep; instead, it only further fueled the Blood Python’s rage.

Whoosh!

The massive head lunged toward Gillian.

Taken by surprise, Gillian couldn’t dodge in time. He released a mana surge and blocked with the shield he held in one hand.

Kwaaang!

“Grrk!”

The shield crumpled, and Gillian’s body was flung back.

In the meantime, Kaor approached from behind the Blood Python and stabbed his sword into it, shouting.

“Get close, now!”

Craack!

As Kaor’s sword plunged deep into the snake’s body, the Blood Python twisted violently to attack him.

“Tch!”

Kaor let go of his sword and rolled away to dodge. At that moment, the other mercenaries began to latch onto the Blood Python and launched their attacks.

Kaang! Kaang!

However, no matter how much they swung or stabbed their weapons, the sturdy scales of the Blood Python blocked all their assaults.

Without enough mana infused in their weapons, it was impossible to pierce through the iron-like scales.

As a result, only Ghislain, Gillian, and Kaor inflicted minor wounds on the Blood Python by attacking in turns.

“Belinda! Distract it and aim for the wounds! If you get a chance, go for its eyes!”

“Got it! Ugh, this is frustrating!”

At Ghislain’s command, Belinda launched a flurry of daggers, embedding them into the Blood Python’s existing wounds.

Her precision with the daggers was the most effective at widening the small injuries made by the others.

While widening the wounds, Belinda continuously targeted the Blood Python’s eyes with her attacks.

The coordinated attack seemed to be somewhat effective, as the Blood Python began shaking its head in annoyance.

With its focus now on Ghislain and the others, the attacks aimed at the mercenaries had significantly decreased.

“Now! Attack the wounds!”

The mercenaries took advantage of the opening and thrust their swords into the snake’s injured body. But due to the Blood Python’s tough muscles, the blades didn’t penetrate deeply.

Kaaaahhh!

As if irritated by the pests clinging to it, the Blood Python let out another shriek and violently swung its tail.

Kwaaaang!

“Ugh!”

“Aaagh!”

The mercenaries clinging near the tail were all flung away.

Just as the snake prepared to smash the fallen mercenaries with its tail, Ghislain rushed toward its head, drawing its attention again.

“Everyone, grab blunt weapons! Keep hitting it until its insides soften! We need to make these small wounds larger! Gillian, Kaor! Keep distracting it! Belinda, continue your support!”

Hearing Ghislain’s command, the mercenaries widened their eyes and nodded fervently.

“R-right.”

“Maces! Where are the maces?!”

“Give me one!”

“If there aren’t any, grab one from the cart! Everyone, get back in there!”

Soon, the mercenaries swapped their weapons for blunt instruments and reattached themselves to the snake’s body.

They brought their weapons down onto the Blood Python’s scales with all their strength.