Chapter 100: An Unexpected Boon
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: An Unexpected Boon
It was a plausible story. No matter how large the small city of Somorah was, the Black Thorn Guild’s own military strength wasn’t that high. It was only natural for Somorah to try and stay on the good side of the major cities and guilds that were larger than them. It was likely a preemptive measure to prevent any problems with their merchandise, and it made sense that the executives would personally oversee the transport as a show of good faith.
“I’m curious if you know the route and the timing.”
As I spoke, I could see the gears turning in the man’s head. He must have been desperate, thinking his life hung on every word.
“I know the general details… but not for certain…”
So he did know something. Just then, one of the other men behind him spoke up.
“I heard there’s a big transaction sometime next week. I heard they’re moving slaves to the eastern metropolis, Hadum!”
The moment the words left his mouth, the man, Lee Wanyong, spun around and began glaring at his party member. I doubted it was a look of admonishment for revealing information. After all, he had been just as eager to talk until now.
This man understood. He had clearly realized that I had no need to keep all three of them alive.
Thanks to this, the last man, who hadn't managed to offer any useful information, was on pins and needles. It was a truly amusing situation.
As a little more time passed, it was as if spilling information to me was some great achievement. They began to speak competitively, pouring out everything they knew. For some reason, however, Lee Wanyong was being very passive. But I had a rough idea of what he was thinking, and I couldn't help but let the corners of my mouth lift into a smirk.
“I… I remember now. I heard it’s definitely happening next week. I’m sure of it.”
“It’s not regular, but there’s a large transaction about once a month.”
“The number of people leaving with the executives is about thirty, and the number of slaves averages around fifty.”
What remarkable men. They were spitting out the exact information I wanted without me even having to ask. So much information was flooding in at once that I needed some time to organize it. I turned to Ragia.
“The Alraune…”
“Yes. I understand.”
My intention was to have Jung Hayeon, the only other one besides me who could speak the human tongue, handle the others. Soon, Ragia left the tent and returned with Jung Hayeon. The men’s gazes immediately fixed on the newcomer. After entering the tent, Jung Hayeon gave me a slight bow before speaking.
“You called for me?”
“I’m giving you two of them.”
I didn’t need to say more. Understanding my meaning, Jung Hayeon smiled and nodded. As I was about to point out which ones would go with her, I noticed they all looked like they wanted to be chosen. Personally, I would have recommended they stay here, but that was none of my business. The ones who went with Jung Hayeon were in for a very painful time.
“If you judge them to be useless, you can kill them.”
“Yes.”
Jung Hayeon beamed at my words. She then took the two men, excluding Lee Wanyong, and left the tent. The two men, unable to understand what we were saying in the monster tongue, seemed delighted to be leaving with the relatively safe-looking plant creature. Lee Wanyong watched them go with an envious look, but in my personal opinion, those two probably wouldn't survive the day.
In any case, I continued my conversation with him, asking about the scale of their forces, the condition and number of the slaves, and the transport route. Unlike the other two, he had suddenly become hesitant to share information, but since Jung Hayeon was likely hard at work herself, it didn't really matter.
Still, the slow pace of the conversation was frustrating. Watching his expression, I began to speak.
“You can speak more freely. Even if we capture an executive… I won’t kill you.”
“W-What?”
A clever man. He had already realized that if a human who knew more than him was captured, he would become useless. While he wasn't exactly high-ranking, this man could be classified as strong in his own right. In most guilds, the strong held high positions, and it was only natural that those in high positions knew more information.
He definitely knew more than the two who had just left. His face began to pale, as if he realized I had seen right through him. Finally, he spoke.
“Will you… will you let me live?”
“Of course.”
Of course, that was a lie.
“Green Skins do not lie. If you prove you are more useful than the two who left… you will be able to keep your life.”
From my perspective, there was no reason to let him live. But it seemed he decided to trust me this one time, as he slowly began to talk. Or perhaps, now that his thoughts had been exposed, he felt he had no other choice.
After a good while, I sent him away and began to organize the information I’d received with my executives.
The date was four days from now. Even the time and place were incredibly detailed and precise. The information Jung Hayeon had extracted was useful, but the quality of what this man knew was on another level.
The paths humans traveled were naturally different from the paths monsters took. Humans knew this, and so did monsters. Because of this, humans thoroughly concealed the routes they used. They protected their paths in various ways, whether by concealing them with magic or by stationing troops to guard them. This was because humans were well aware that monsters considered any place where humans passed or gathered to be a hunting ground.
Therefore, any known ‘road’ was naturally a disputed territory. By the same token, places with rivers, magical beasts, or fruit-bearing trees were also disputed territories.
The eastern Green Skins knew of only one road leading from the small city of Somorah to the metropolis of Hadum. Naturally, this road had completely lost its function as a proper route. It had become a place the Storm Shadow Clan and other eastern Green Skins would visit as if going for a stroll.
But the route Lee Wanyong gave me was, of course, still unknown. It was a bit of a detour, but it definitely connected Somorah and Hadum, and it was a place kept very safe by magical means.
“At this level, it’s possible even the Storm Shadow Clan doesn’t know about it,” Hakajin said as he studied the route intently. I replied to his voice.
“They’ve likely hidden it for a long time, so they wouldn’t have used an ordinary path.”
If the Storm Shadow Clan or other nearby tribes had found out they were enslaving Green Skins, they would not have stood idly by. I was certain the slave transport was conducted in absolute secrecy.
Just as Hakajin said, it was so well hidden that even the Storm Shadow Clan might not know of it. It was a path that cut through a massive rock formation—a tunnel, so to speak. Moreover, this tunnel was located far from the swamp and as far as possible from the Storm Shadow Clan’s ‘territory.’ It was also heavily fortified with illusion magic and various other traps.
Since security was paramount, the force guarding this route was small. It occurred to me that if it weren't for Lee Wanyong, we might never have found this path, even after Somorah had fallen.
It was only natural that I felt a sense of gratitude toward him.
And so, we slowly began to formulate a plan. First, entering the tunnel was out of the question. Dealing with Somorah’s forces was one thing, but facing guild members from Hadum would be a burden. Most importantly, we had no magician or shaman capable of dispelling the magic cast on the tunnel.
Of course, we had the incredibly high-level magician Jung Hayeon, but her abilities and talents were purely focused on plants due to her racial traits. Unless we smashed through it with brute force, she wouldn't be able to dispel illusion magic. The same went for the shaman Hakajin. He had already changed his path to that of a healer, so it would be too much for him to dispel high-level magic that had been cast in advance.
Therefore, the best option was to strike them before they entered the tunnel.
The fact that it was a tunnel meant there were plenty of places to set up an ambush, which didn't seem bad either.
“Indeed… this doesn’t look bad. Aside from the difference between a tunnel and a cave, it’s very similar to the place I used in the past.”
“Yeah. It looks good.”
Mev nodded and spoke in agreement with Hakajin. Besides the differences in scale and whether it went all the way through, it was certainly similar to the cave Hakajin had once used.
“It’s a battle,” I announced to them, and they smiled. Gark and Hark looked the most pleased. The meeting concluded faster than I expected.
The job seemed like it would be incredibly easy. The moving force was only thirty men. Unlike in the past, our own military strength was by no means lacking. It wasn't a battle that required Black Spear's participation, and since the Black Spear Clan was currently busy thanks to Little Finger, I decided not to bother them.
Whenever the executives entered my tent to put their heads together, the members of the Blood Dagger Clan would pretend to be uninterested while always loitering around my tent. Able to deliver the news they’d been waiting for after a long time, I was the first to exit the tent and spoke.
“Battle.”
“Kireek! Kireek!”
“Krrrrrk!”
In an instant, the settlement erupted in a clamor. The interesting thing was that the young Green Skins, born and raised here, were shouting along with them.
I wasn't sure if they were just shouting because the adult goblins were, or if they truly knew a fight was coming, but the young Green Skins certainly looked happy. They couldn't hide their instincts.
“For Blood Dagger!”
Though only a year had passed, the little ones who had just started to toddle around suddenly came into view, and I smiled softly. It felt good to see how well they had grown. Young goblins grow enough to join battles after three years and are recognized as adults after seven. Of course, I had no intention of sending them to the front lines immediately after three years. Just then, Nicole came into my sight, so I walked over and patted her on the head.
“Fow Bwood Daggew!”
Her cute voice rang in my ears.
I gave Nicole a smile, then began to gather my gear and cut through the crowd.
The quick-witted ones had already gone into their tents to pack their weapons and bags. The goblins and orcs managed by Hakajin began to pack the necessary supplies for the upcoming battle. Food and water were basic, but they were also packing items to respond to any unforeseen variables. Just like that, the Blood Dagger Clan was able to depart from the Storm Shadow Clan’s settlement immediately.