Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Muddy Water
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Dark night.
Forest near West River.
The captain lay sprawled on the ground.
Damp moisture seeped up from the earth.
Contaminated by demonic energy, the soil felt even more repulsive.
'Damn. Damn. Damn.'
He had traveled a long distance and thought he'd spend the day comfortably.
But camping out like this?
'I'll handle this commission properly.'
The next morning.
His whole body ached from the soggy ground.
The other mercenaries felt the same.
"We'll raid the villagers."
There were many ways to stir up trouble.
They decided on the strong-arm approach.
"People, you mean?"
"Monster Island has seen a surge of mercenaries lately. What if some of those mercenaries slaughtered villagers? How do you think they'd react?"
"They'd be terrified."
"They'd shun the mercenaries."
"Exactly. Kill a few villagers and leave the right traces behind. This commission's done."
The Sweeper Mercenary Corps packed up camp and emerged from the forest.
Unlike the day before, they scouted the area where villagers lived, not the mercenaries' zone.
But.
'What the hell kind of village is this?'
What is a village?
A place where people live, plain and simple.
'Not a single kid in sight. No women either. Just men everywhere.'
If that were all, it might be a minor hassle, but doable.
But.
'No one's off on their own.'
The Sweeper Mercenary Corps couldn't just charge the village.
Like a predator hunting prey.
They needed to target stragglers separated from the pack.
'This feels just like... an army.'
As they searched for an opening in the village's defenses,
night fell.
The Sweeper Mercenary Corps had no choice but to retreat to the forest.
The next day.
And the day after.
They kept watching for weaknesses in the village,
but found none.
If anything, the more they observed, the tougher it seemed.
These people lived with iron discipline.
They all rose together to farm.
Even after fieldwork, they picked up weapons for training.
And that wasn't the end.
They had watchtowers manned day and night, scanning the surroundings.
Three nights after they began observing West River Village.
The captain gathered his men.
"Cancel the villager assassinations."
"What? Then how do we...?"
The commission's goal was to disrupt whatever the local heir was planning with his mercenaries.
Killing villagers wasn't the objective.
"We'll hit the mercenaries instead."
Normally, farmers would be easier prey than mercenaries.
But not here.
Ambushing mercenaries in the field seemed the better bet.
"Get some solid rest tonight. Things get busy tomorrow."
West River Mercenary Guild.
"Heh. This is something."
Branch Manager Kaiman pored over the stack of mercenary registrations.
"No one worth their salt here."
Aine, reviewing papers alongside him, spoke up.
"There have been three ambushes already. This isn't random accidents or squabbles—it could be deliberate."
Kaiman set the paper down on the desk.
"So, what's your take?"
"They might not be among these."
If the attacks on mercenaries were the goal from the start, they might have skipped the West River Guild entirely.
"Don't they need a mercenary badge to use local facilities?"
"They're not using any."
If Aine was right, it was a bigger problem.
Some unknown force—mercenaries, a corps, or something else—was preying on field operatives.
"What do we do?"
"We need to inform Heir Elwin."
Kaiman scowled.
This was his first incident since taking over the guild.
Instead of proving himself, he'd have to report to the heir?
"Dad, if this escalates, the guild could shut down. We should accept any help we can get."
Monster Island's reputation was already poor.
If mercenary attacks continued unchecked amid that, her words could ring true.
"Let's go to the heir."
West River. Heir's office.
"So, someone's ambushing mercenaries?"
"That's right."
The moment he heard, one name came to mind.
'Brilda? Is she using mercenaries like I am?'
He closed his eyes and pushed thoughts of Brilda aside.
First, he had to stop this unknown attacker targeting mercenaries.
'How?'
Combining his forces with the mercenaries, crushing the enemy wouldn't be hard.
The problem was they were hiding.
'Like mosquitoes slipped inside the house.'
Infuriating.
And potentially deadly.
After all, more humans died from mosquitoes than one might think.
'How do you catch mosquitoes?'
Fog the whole house?
No. The mercenaries' area was vast territory.
Use a mosquito net to block entry?
No. They were already inside.
'Wait. Mosquito net?'
Mosquito net.
A mesh to shield from mosquitoes and pests.
Instead of hunting hidden mosquitoes, protect the humans they targeted.
'Do I really need to scour the whole expanse? Mosquitoes come to humans, and these attackers will come to the mercenaries.'
The idea clicked.
"This operation's called Mosquito Extermination."
"What the—?"
I explained how we'd catch them.
After hearing it all, Kaiman and Aine returned to the guild.
I sent a messenger to Hans with orders.
Catch mosquitoes, so move to the designated spot.
Back at the mercenary guild, Kaiman posted a new commission.
On the wide request board,
a third commission appeared.
"What's this? What's going on?"
"A new request?"
Mercenaries in the guild crowded around.
"Patrol the fields with soldiers?"
"Someone's attacking mercenaries?"
Watching the chattering mercenaries by the board, Kaiman pondered.
'Heir Elwin... might be even more impressive than I thought.'
He recalled their conversation in the heir's office.
"Heir, you're saying you'll monitor every mercenary in the field? Do you know how many that is?"
"Around five hundred registered, right? Minus those in town, about four hundred. They don't go solo, so roughly a hundred parties, give or take."
"Exactly. How do you monitor that many? Can you even find all the field parties?"
"It's possible."
In the exchange, the heir called in one man.
His uncle, Miller.
When he explained to Miller, the reaction was priceless.
"A hundred parties? That's not hard."
I couldn't help but interject in disbelief.
"Heh, across that huge area? A hundred parties?"
"More than doable. I'm the head of the largest hunter guild on the island, after all."
On the mainland, hunters fell under mercenaries, but here they were a distinct class.
Hunters.
Unlike mercenaries, they specialized in pathfinding, traps—non-combat skills.
"How many do you have?"
"Five hundred. Over six hundred including trainees."
Kaiman snapped out of the memory and headed upstairs to his office.
A few days later,
Mercenary guild branch manager's office.
"Two more incidents, making five total?"
"Yes. Our dispatched hunters found them."
"How many joined the Mosquito Extermination request?"
"About thirty. Not many left in town."
"Fewer than expected."
I looked at Kaiman seated across from me.
"Join us, Branch Manager. As a mercenary."
Kaiman glanced at his sword in the corner.
"Got it. I want to see those bastards' faces myself."
I left the guild with Kaiman.
Monster Island.
Orc territory.
Simon and his crew set up camp.
"I'll take first watch."
"Sounds good. Wake me when it's time."
Everyone slept.
Simon scanned the surroundings alone.
In case orcs approached, they'd have to fight.
Time passed, and drowsiness crept in.
He stood up.
To stay awake.
Then,
Swish.
Swish.
Something rustled through the bushes.
Not the wind.
The sound of animals or monsters moving through underbrush.
Simon's hackles rose.
He quietly woke his comrades.
Swish-swish-swish.
Swish-swish-swish.
They'd noticed the movement.
The rustling grew more frantic.
"Hurry! Grab your weapons!"
As his comrades rose and armed themselves,
they were surrounded by a dozen mercenaries cloaked in robes.
"Simon, what the hell?"
"No idea. They came out of nowhere."
Simon stepped forward, speaking to his comrade.
"We don't know what's going on, but we're on a monster extermination request."
His explanation fell on deaf ears.
The mysterious mercenaries said nothing, tightening the encirclement with drawn blades.
"Fall back. These guys mean business."
"What now?"
Simon eyed the surroundings while talking.
Their stances.
Their weapons.
Even their eyes.
Sharp as honed blades.
'They're no amateurs. And outnumbered...'
He needed to avoid a fight somehow.
"You after money? Take everything we've got. Just let us go."
Money didn't sway them.
They closed in steadily, silently.
Then, at striking distance,
Clang!
He barely parried a thrust.
'Missed it for a split second...'
He'd focused entirely on the foe ahead.
Still, it was instinct that blocked it—not sight.
Clang. Clang.
Two more attacks deflected.
Trouble brewed elsewhere.
"Argh!"
A familiar voice. He turned.
A longtime comrade clutched his chest, collapsing. Blood seeped between his fingers.
"Why are you doing this?!"
Enraged, Simon counterattacked.
The result was tragic.
His strike whiffed, and he took a gash on his arm instead.
"Guh..."
Time worsened everything.
Injuries mounted.
The defensive circle shrank.
'Damn... Is this really the end?'
Five years as a mercenary.
He'd built this party from scratch.
Even the newest member had been around over three years.
They preferred monster hunts to avoid human conflicts.
'And now this...'
No strength left to hold.
If even he, the strongest, was struggling...
The others didn't stand a chance.
"Damn it!!! If I'm going down, I'm taking one with me!!"
He focused on the enemy ahead.
This strike would pierce the heart, even if it cost him.
But...
Bang! Bang!
Explosions rang out, and the sky lit up.
Voices shouted from the surroundings.
"Mosquito spotted!"
"Mosquito spotted!"