Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 376

Burning Earth 3

There was a reason Legion turned off the recording device at the right moment.

The next words were the problem.

“I heard there’s someone in the Royalist faction who looks exactly like Crown Prince Lauzel. Whether he’s real or not doesn’t matter. The Royalists will use him anyway. They might even promote him as the next king. Unless there’s no crown prince. The people want a crown prince more than a duke. If the duke forcefully pushes out the crown prince and becomes king, the people’s backlash will be severe. So, they were trying to eliminate that look-alike no matter what.”

Even at this point, Legion was still doubtful.

He glanced at Lauzel.

Nah, no way.

Could he really be the crown prince?

Legion reserved his judgment.

“Did you hear that?”

“……”

The tent was filled with silence.

They were too shocked to speak.

Especially the nobles who were close to Marquis NoMoney lost their strength and collapsed in their seats.

“Are there more spies?”

Duke Sijinpi asked.

“Small fries.”

“Give me the list.”

“Later.”

“Why later?”

“Isn’t this a bad time? The Duke faction is preparing for an all-out war. If we lose, won’t everyone here get their heads chopped off?”

“……”

Legion’s words were accurate. If it weren’t for Marquis NoMoney, they would have rushed out of the tent immediately to line up the troops.

Although the adjutants of each unit were aligning the troops, there was a big difference between having their lord present and not.

“I’m going to cast illusion magic on Marquis NoMoney. Now he’ll pass false information to the other side. That’s much more advantageous.”

“Are you saying you’ll leak false information to the other spies too?”

“Bingo.”

“Perhaps… your move might have a big impact on this war.”

“Of course.”

Legion smiled at the nobles.

* * *

Legion, Dreiser, and Lauzel returned to the base.

Unlike other units, all their forces remained intact.

In fact, they had even been upgraded. While other units spent days in tension, Dreiser had been pushing his troops hard.

Except for the soldiers on guard duty, he had been driving them to the point of exhaustion.

Except for the regular soldiers and Dreiser’s personal guards, all were contract mercenaries.

But the contract mercenaries had bitterly realized how absurdly strong the regular soldiers were.

The mercenaries, who prided themselves on their strength, couldn’t even beat the lowest-ranked rookie among the regular soldiers.

Even when the rookie had his hands behind his back, it was the same.

The contract mercenaries had definitely realized that there was a sky above the sky [an idiom meaning there’s always someone better].

A mercenary has to become strong to make a living.

Becoming strong wasn’t the only thing that mattered.

Making a living was the biggest problem.

But instead of earning a comfortable living, the probability of dying was also very high. To make a living for a long time, becoming strong was an essential step.

But!

Look at the regular soldiers of Legion’s territory!

A regular soldier uses Mana Blade [a technique to imbue a weapon with magical energy].

It was the first time they saw it.

A regular soldier using Mana Blade so freely.

Moreover, centurion-level soldiers use Aura Blade [a more advanced version of Mana Blade].

It was an amazing sight.

In a regular unit, a centurion is at most a 1- or 2-star warrior.

They can barely feel mana and can use Mana Blade once or so during battle.

But!

Here, there were tons of guys using Aura Blade.

Not a single soldier couldn’t use Mana Blade.

The soldiers grumbled like this.

“Sigh, when will we ever use Aura Blade?”

Are you kidding me!

It was not something a soldier could ever say. They should be grateful for Mana Blade, but Aura Blade?

But in reality, such things were common here.

While marching here, three of them had gained enlightenment and created Aura Blade.

They were so dumbfounded that they couldn’t even speak.

They were like people from a completely different country.

So they asked.

“How on earth can you become so strong?”

Did they ask the wrong question?

Everyone’s expression turned pale. Some even ran to the side and vomited.

It was hard to see them as a terrifyingly powerful group.

Why on earth?

They found out this time.

They had only experienced it for a few days.

They just trained as the instructor told them to…….

They saw hell.

Their deceased grandmother appeared every morning, noon, and evening. The grandmother said.

“Why the hell are you lingering in the afterlife? Get lost!”

The mercenaries asked if it was the real grandmother.

“Can’t you tell? Look! I lived a good life in this world, so I became a level 9 civil servant in the underworld. So you should live a good life too. And hurry down and don’t keep crawling up.”

That’s right.

The intensity of the training was beyond imagination, to the point where they went to the gates of the underworld three or four times a day.

What was even more surprising was that the regular soldier seniors were taking the training without any problems.

“Isn’t it hard?”

“It’s hard.”

“You don’t seem to be having a hard time.”

“Well, the intensity is much weaker than the training we receive in the territory.”

“Whaaaat?”

They thought it was a joke.

Are you saying that the intensity of this training we are receiving is weak?

“Well, there are a lot of brutal instructors in the territory. If you train with Sepia… you can consider yourself dead.”

“Sepia?”

“You don’t know yet. She’s the leader of the Ogre Corps.”

Did they hear wrong?

Ogre Corps?

Ah! Right, they probably don’t mean real ogres. They’re just saying they’re as strong as ogres, so they call them the Ogre Corps.

“Sometimes we train with the Wyvern Corps too. Ah, I really hate it.”

“Wyvern Corps?”

“Yeah.”

No matter how tough the training is, the regular soldiers are exaggerating. Following the Ogre Corps, now the Wyvern Corps?

Why?

Why don’t you just say there’s a Golem Corps too.

“We shouldn’t even associate with the Golem Corps. Our regular soldiers are always anxious because of them.”

I knew it. I was wondering why the Golem Corps wasn’t mentioned.

“Why?”

Someone chimed in.

“Why else? They’re afraid of losing their jobs. They’re called T-1000 mass-produced golems [a reference to the Terminator]. These guys are incredibly strong. Not only are they strong, but they can also operate continuously as long as they’re charged. They don’t have the concept of stamina.”

“Mass-produced golems?”

“Yeah, haven’t you seen them?”

“I haven’t.”

“Take a look when you get back. They say they’re mass-producing them. Maybe after this civil war, your contract work will end.”

“Ah, well, it’s a contract job.”

Still, they felt a little sad that they had worked so hard together for a few days.

In fact, except for the mercenaries who slacked off, they felt that they had become quite strong.

They were secretly curious about how strong they could become if they were converted to regular positions.

When they asked, they found out that regular employees receive at least twice the salary of contract employees.

It’s not just the salary.

The welfare benefits are also considerable.

The medical benefits they receive from the temple were also amazing.

Surprisingly, if they start a family, they will be given a mansion for free for 20 years.

Many of the mercenaries’ parents were tenant farmers. They had to pay more than 80% of their income as taxes to the lord in exchange for renting a house and fields.

But they give a mansion for free?

To the mercenaries, regular soldiers were nothing short of a dream job.

“Everyone, line up!”

Bacon shouted at the troops. They could immediately tell how great his profound magic power was.

His voice echoed loudly as if it was being transmitted directly to everyone’s brains.

As Bacon was about to make all the troops stand up, Legion stopped him.

“It’s okay. They’re going to die a lot this time, so let them rest a bit.”

“W-What are you saying……”

Bacon was embarrassed. He didn’t expect him to say that so openly.

“I can’t lie. You know that.”

“……”

This time, all the other commanders were embarrassed. Are they supposed to believe those words? He’s like the embodiment of lies? Yeah, it’s a joke. A joke.

“Okay, pay attention.”

Legion said to the troops.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Legion.

“Okay, listen carefully. Unfortunately, we’re the vanguard.”

At the word vanguard, the soldiers’ faces stiffened. On average, more than 60 percent of the vanguard forces are consumed [killed or incapacitated].

It means death.

The warriors may find meaning as a vanguard, but not the soldiers.

It was best to fall back or remain as support troops.

“The opponent we’re facing head-on is Marquis Ebola. Anyone know him?”

At the mention of Marquis Ebola, the mercenaries’ faces turned pale.

One of the people mentioned as the most cruel warrior in the kingdom was Marquis Ebola.

He is also famous for not leaving a single blade of grass in the occupied territories [an idiom for total destruction].

Along with Marquis AIDS, he was a figure to be avoided thoroughly among the five great warriors of the Duke faction.

Seeing the mercenaries’ faces turn white, Legion smirked.

“You little shits, you’re so weak. Do you want to fight before the battle? Or do you want to be put into battle with your strength drained?”

“No!”

The soldiers answered with all their might without realizing it.

The mercenaries had heard a lot of rumors about Count Legion.

A cold-blooded man with no blood or tears.

His often-used phrase was, ‘Evil ones, ride the chariot to hell!’ And it is said that none of the people who heard those words survived.

And never be fooled by his appearance.

The devil doesn’t come from hell. He comes from his appearance, didn’t the seniors say?

The seniors’ words were spot on.

Count Legion’s appearance…….

Even the same man would be mesmerized by how pretty he was. He would look pretty even if he was wearing a dress.

But don’t be fooled.

Because he is said to be a lord with the heart of a devil.

“I’ll explain the operation. We’ll break through Marquis Ebola head-on and then flank. After flanking, we’ll hit Marquis AIDS from behind.”

At this point, the mercenaries fell into a state of panic.

Is that even possible?

Marquis Ebola and Marquis AIDS have more than 50,000 soldiers.

But you’re saying we’re going to face two units with just over 5,000 troops?

“Don’t be afraid. Who said we’re going to face two units at once? We’re the vanguard, but our role is to shake them up.”

“Who on earth came up with that plan?”

A man with guts among the mercenaries asked.

“It’s written in this book. Trust me and follow me.”

Legion took out a book from his chest that was so tattered from how much he had read it and shook it.

The cover of the book read ‘Kingdom’.

Fortunately, the mercenaries didn’t see the title of the book. If they had seen it, there would have been a surge of desertions.

“It’s a pretty dangerous operation, right?”

“It’s not just dangerous. Can we survive?”

“You’re stating the obvious. Isn’t that why I’m pushing you so hard to increase your survival rate?”

“It’s too dangerous of an operation for that.”

“So! I’ll give you guys a carrot [an incentive].”

“A carrot?”

“When this civil war ends…….”

“When it ends?”

“I’ll convert those who want to be regular employees.”

“Regular employees?”

“Yeah, if you die, I’ll definitely compensate you. I’ll send money that you can live on for at least 10 years to your parents or family. Even those who don’t want to be regular employees will get twice the money in the contract.”

In that moment!

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

The morale of the contract mercenaries increased tremendously. The light in their eyes, which had been overshadowed by death, was revived.

That man named Legion has given us the value of dying.

“What about us?”

Beef asked slyly.

“The regular soldiers and team leaders aren’t short on money, right?”

“Well, you give us enough salary.”

“All of you! I’m giving you a Las Vegas tour.”

“L-Las Vegas?”

“Yeah, that Las Vegas you know. No one’s been there, right? It’s really good there.”

“Hooray, the city of pleasure, Las Vegas!”

“Bachelors go to Las Vegas. Married men will be sent to the maritime city of Siem with their families. Everyone gets a month’s vacation!”

“Waaaaaaaaah! Daebak [Korean slang for “awesome” or “jackpot”]!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s sweep away AIDS and Ebola!”

The soldiers’ morale soared beyond imagination.

The soldiers of the other units felt strange as they watched the Legion army exuding a crazy heat.

Did they all go crazy after becoming the vanguard?