Even after the Blood Python had died, the mercenaries, gripped by fear, continued to attack the corpse.

“Stop! Stop! It’s already dead!” Gillian shouted several times before the mercenaries finally lowered their weapons and stepped back.

By now, the sun had begun to set, casting a reddish glow over the surroundings. The enormous carcass of the serpent, pierced by hundreds of weapons, appeared even darker and bloodier under the fading light.

In the face of such a magnificent sight, everyone fell silent, as if they had all agreed not to speak.

For a while, the Blood Python lay still, and only then did the mercenaries accept that the battle was truly over.

“Hah, haha… We won… We actually won!” one of the mercenaries exclaimed.

That single cry opened the floodgates, and the mercenaries began shouting in joy.

“We did it! We killed that monster!”

“Hahaha! It’s really dead!”

They had killed a creature that had seemed impossible to defeat.

Or rather, their employer had done it mostly by himself.

“But what about the boss? Is he okay?”

“Let’s check on him!”

The mercenaries rushed over to where Ghislain lay.

Ghislain, still lying on the ground, managed to raise a hand weakly and muttered, “You all… did well…”

The mercenaries erupted in cheers at his words.

“He’s alive! The boss is alive!”

“Wooohooo!”

The joy of surviving an unwinnable battle swept over the group, their cheers endless.

Ghislain’s incredible performance only fueled their excitement.

“Haha, long live Ghislain’s mercenaries!”

“Yeah, let’s just call it Ghislain’s Mercenaries from now on!”

Caught up in the atmosphere, the mercenaries started chanting Ghislain’s name with fervor.

Watching them laugh and shout, Ghislain gave a faint smile.

“Simple fools…” he muttered.

And then, he passed out.

Ghislain slowly opened his eyes, as if waking from a deep sleep.

Beside him, Gillian, who had been watching over him, spoke up in surprise.

“My lord, you’re awake! Are you alright?”

Still lying down, Ghislain nodded slightly and asked in a hoarse voice, “Belinda?”

“She’s not in danger. She’s resting after taking some medicinal herbs to stabilize her condition. You don’t need to worry.”

“And the casualties?”

“More than half of the mercenaries died… But if it weren’t for you, we all would’ve been wiped out.”

“...I see.”

“But my lord, please don’t ever do that again. What’s the point of all this if you die?” Gillian scolded, his voice filled with frustration.

It made no sense for a leader to risk his life like that. Even if the mercenaries had all died, they should have taken their time to defeat the monster. What kind of employer would risk his own life so recklessly?

“…Understood. You’re starting to sound more and more like Belinda,” Ghislain replied with a teasing tone.

Gillian forced a tight-lipped smile, trying to hide his frustration.

Kaor approached with a grin and said, “I’ve seen plenty of crazy people in my life, but I’ve never met anyone as insane as you, my lord. I never would have imagined you’d take down that monster like that.”

“Hearing that I’m crazy isn’t exactly a compliment,” Ghislain muttered as he tried to sit up, only to be overwhelmed by pain.

“Ugh!”

“Careful! You shouldn’t move yet. Your injuries are serious,” Gillian said, rushing to support him.

Ghislain slowly inspected his body. Every inch of him was wrapped in bandages.

His entire body still ached, and he could feel that the venom hadn’t fully left his system.

While he could use mana to purge the remaining toxins, his broken bones and damaged muscles would take time to heal.

It was the first time in this life that he had used so much mana.

He had pushed his body far beyond its limits, using techniques that were difficult to sustain for even a short period, right up until the point of collapse.

It was no surprise that his body was in such a terrible state.

‘Time…’ Ghislain thought as he stared blankly at the sky. The sunlight was so bright that it almost hurt his eyes.

The Blood Python had been slain just before sunset, but now the sun was high in the sky.

It seemed he had been unconscious for longer than he had thought.

Just then, the mercenaries, noticing that Ghislain had woken up, crowded around him.

“The boss is awake!”

“Boss, are you alright?”

“Oh, I knew you’d make it!”

The mercenaries chattered excitedly, unable to hide their joy as they surrounded Ghislain.

He looked at each of them in turn.

Unlike when he first met them, their faces were now filled with confidence and ease.

There was also a deep sense of trust in their eyes.

Through the many battles they had fought, risking their lives alongside Ghislain, their bond had grown incredibly strong.

What had started as a contract had now evolved into a relationship where they were willing to stake their lives for one another.

‘This reminds me of the past,’ Ghislain thought with a small, nostalgic smile.

“We’ll rest for another day. Take the time to recover and treat your injuries. The monsters won’t show up again,” Ghislain told them.

The mercenaries hesitated at first but soon nodded, trusting Ghislain’s words as they settled in to rest.

To their surprise, no monsters appeared during the night.

Thanks to that, they were able to regain their strength and resume their journey in good condition.

After traveling for some time, Ghislain surveyed the surroundings and spoke to the mercenaries.

“We’re almost there. It’s just up ahead.”

The mercenaries couldn’t hide their excitement as they murmured among themselves.

“Do you think there’s really something valuable?”

“It could be gold or silver.”

“Well, we’ve finally made it.”

With anticipation filling their hearts, they hurried toward their final destination.

And soon, what they saw left them speechless.

“This… is real?”

“Is this for real?”

“It’s incredible!”

The mercenaries, wide-eyed in shock, couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Gillian, his voice shaking, turned to Ghislain.

“My lord… there really is something valuable here… This… this is…”

Ghislain looked at Gillian and smiled.

“Yes, it’s quite valuable.”

Before them were shards of glowing blue crystals scattered all around, embedded in the stone.

Each shard emitted a faint glow, but together, the countless shards illuminated the dark forest, casting a magical light over the landscape.

There was only one kind of crystal in the world that could emit light like this.

It was Rune Stone, a mineral that contained magical power.

Rune Stone was used in the creation of magical tools and barriers, making it highly coveted by any mage.

On top of that, Rune Stone was rare and only found in small quantities, making it incredibly expensive.

Yet here, they were surrounded by it, as if it were as common as gravel.

“Wooooah!”

“This is insane! All of this is Rune Stone!”

“How much is all this worth?!”

The mercenaries, overwhelmed by excitement, couldn’t stop themselves from shouting.

Even Ghislain couldn’t hide his surprise.

‘There’s even more than I expected.’

He had read about this place in the records of his past life, but seeing it with his own eyes was an entirely different experience.

The sight of the vast expanse of Rune Stone made him forget all the hardships they had endured along the way, filling him with joy.

The mercenaries continued to chatter in amazement, until one of them turned to Ghislain.

“You were right! There really was something valuable here! How did you know about this?”

“Looks like what we did wasn’t so crazy after all!”

The mercenaries were still riding high on their excitement, struggling to calm down.

Seeing such a massive quantity of Rune Stone would have anyone reeling in disbelief.

Ghislain looked at the mercenaries and said, “You all did well. We wouldn’t have made it here without you.”

The mercenaries, still buzzing with excitement, quieted down as they bowed their heads.

They had lost many comrades along the way, and those who survived had fought battles that pushed them to their limits.

Now, after enduring all that pain, they had finally reached their destination. The feeling was indescribable.

Ghislain continued, “Since we’ve made it here safely, I’ll be giving you all an additional bonus. You’ll receive three times the original reward. For those who died, their families will also receive the same compensation.”

“Wooooohooo! That’s amazing!”

“The boss is the best!”

“This is incredible! We hit the jackpot!”

The mercenaries cheered wildly, some even tossing their weapons into the air in excitement.

After all the suffering they had endured, after losing so many comrades, they had finally arrived at their goal.

Not only had they survived, but their pay had tripled.

Their leader certainly knew how to spend money when it mattered, and they respected him for it.

Just then, Gillian approached Ghislain and asked quietly, “My lord, you’ve already promised them a substantial reward. Is it really necessary to give them even more? And to pay the families of the dead as well… that’ll cost a fortune.”

After all, there was no rule that required an employer to send compensation to the families of dead mercenaries.

A mercenary’s wages were meant to cover the risk of death. Once they were paid, that was the end of it.

Some employers might give bonuses for a successful mission, but tripling the reward was unheard of.

“It’s fine. If I wasn’t going to spend it, I wouldn’t have made the promise. These men risked their lives, and they deserve to be rewarded,” Ghislain replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Gillian looked at Ghislain, unable to find words.

There wasn’t a trace of reluctance in Ghislain’s expression.

‘Isn’t he worried about the money?’

From what Gillian had seen, Ghislain was relatively frugal for a noble.

Most nobles his age spent extravagantly to satisfy their vanity, but Ghislain had never indulged in such luxuries.

At first, Gillian had assumed it was because the estate was poor and Ghislain had no choice but to be careful with money.

But after witnessing Ghislain’s actions during this campaign in the Forest of Beasts, Gillian realized that wasn’t the case.

When Ghislain deemed it necessary, he spent money without hesitation.

‘He truly is an extraordinary person,’ Gillian thought with a sense of admiration.

As a former mercenary captain, Gillian understood how difficult it was to provide such generous rewards. Yet here was Ghislain, offering them without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Belinda, who had been resting after taking the potent medicinal herbs, finally woke up and learned about the situation.

“So… there really is that much Rune Stone here… You really did it… This is unbelievable…”

Her lips were cracked and her face was pale, but she managed to smile.

Ghislain looked at her and grinned.

“It’s all thanks to you. If you hadn’t saved me back there, we wouldn’t have succeeded. You’re tougher than I thought—you must be training hard.”

Belinda wrinkled her nose, as if to tell him to stop talking nonsense, and replied, “Ugh… Please, don’t ever do something like that again. Why would you jump into that filthy monster’s mouth…”

“Alright, alright. But everything’s resolved now, so you can relax. When we get back, we’ll get you the best treatment. Your mana is probably in chaos from the shock, but at least your organs are intact.”

Despite having rested for a while, Belinda still couldn’t move properly.

She had survived the massive impact, but her body had taken a severe beating as a result.

With her mana flow disrupted, even potions and herbs wouldn’t help much. All she could do was rest until the flow stabilized.

“Hmph… I dodged it just fine. It just caught me off guard. Normally, I wouldn’t have gotten hit…”

Even while bedridden, Belinda remained as prideful as ever, and Ghislain chuckled as he pulled the blanket over her.

If he had left Belinda behind at the estate, clearing the way forward would have been much more difficult.

Looking back, he realized just how fortunate he had been to have her with him.

“Alright, rest well. We’ll be heading back soon, so get some more sleep.”

At Ghislain’s words, Belinda closed her eyes and mumbled softly, “Don’t just eat the dried meat… use the seasoning… make some soup…”

“Got it, got it. Don’t worry about it and sleep,” Ghislain replied with a smirk.

As he teased her, she smiled faintly before drifting off to sleep once more.

After ensuring that Belinda was resting comfortably, Ghislain turned to the mercenaries and said, “Alright, let’s get to work and start collecting our fortune.”