Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Fleeing Soldiers
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"Thank you, Sir Eugene. You've lifted a great burden off my shoulders."
A nobleman whose head was half-bald grabbed Eugene's hand and grinned from ear to ear.
"No need to mention it. Anyway, from now on, trade the mana stones and byproducts with Mungard."
"Of course! It's good for me too! Hahaha!"
The balding noble burst into hearty laughter. He was Lord Rotner, a lord who owned a small dungeon.
Like the other lords of Brantia, he had been swept up in the war and neglected dungeon subjugation out of necessity, only to suffer headaches from the massive increase in roamers.
But thanks to Eugene's group and the Beowulf warriors annihilating the roamer monster packs together, he could now focus entirely on dungeon subjugation.
As a bonus, Eugene had cleared the dungeon once for him in exchange for splitting mana stones and byproducts 50-50, which eased his territorial management considerably.
"But the road to Mungard should be safe, right?"
"Of course. No roamers. Bandits largely wiped out. Just deploy about ten escort soldiers. You'll get there safely. Hand the mana stones and byproducts to Lord Marcus at the Mungard market. Mention my name."
"I'll do that. Truly grateful!"
Since there was nowhere else around here to sell mana stones and monster byproducts except Mungard, Lord Rotner nodded repeatedly with a beaming face.
As payment for clearing the dungeon—instead of gold—Eugene's group received a hundred salted sheep and pigs each before leaving Lord Rotner's territory.
* * *
"That takes care of two places, Sir Eugene."
"Lucky it went smoother than expected. I was worried the lords might be stubborn, but it resolved surprisingly easily."
It was regrettable they hadn't obtained any red mana stones due to the absence of high-tier monsters, but gaining the support and cooperation of dungeon-owning lords for successful subjugations was a huge win.
"The war caused bandits and roamers to multiply, making farming impossible and dungeon subjugation difficult. They weren't in a position to quibble."
"True enough."
With only 50 to 70 soldiers at best, they could barely protect the castle town below, let alone subjugate bandits or roamers.
They couldn't just hire mercenaries recklessly either—Brantia's mercenaries were outlaws who might turn bandit at any moment.
Thus, the lords could only stomp their feet and watch as things worsened.
But Eugene's group and the Beowulf warriors had resolved the root problems of bandits and roamer monsters in one go, allowing normal production activities moving forward.
To Lord Rotner, Eugene was like an angel descended from the heavens.
"Travel safely! May shining honor and even shinier gold and silver always be by your side!"
"Kiahnit!? A blessing that turns to blood, flesh, and mana? That guy's a real educated lord. Kihehe!"
The spirit of desire laughed in satisfaction.
Eugene fully agreed.
It was far better than the Kailor nobles who invoked gods at every turn. He was growing fonder of Brantia by the day.
"Kekeke. The more I see him, the more amusing he gets."
Ranslo chuckled while glancing at Mirian, then murmured to Eugene.
"Anyway, Sir Eugene earns from dungeon subjugations, then purifies mana stones for more profit. Once merchant ships run between Maren and Mopern, it'll be even more lucrative."
Just as he said, slaying the bandits and roamer monsters didn't just make the local lords happy. Ultimately, Eugene stood to gain the most.
If that hadn't been the goal from the start, they wouldn't have bothered.
"Kuhuhuhu! Don't forget the loot from smashing cheeky lords and nobles. That might end up being the biggest haul."
"Naturally. Proving one's worth through battle is a knight's duty and fate. I follow that path as well."
Galpredic and Ranslo exchanged smiles.
Though their temperaments differed greatly, they oddly synced on this front. Or perhaps that was the essence of knighthood.
And Eugene now considered himself a knight as well.
"Alright. Next, the last territory. Phairon, was it?"
"Yes. I hope its lord is as cooperative as the previous two."
"Any fool can see the bandits and roamer bastards are gone. If they don't know who to thank and get cocky, smash their heads."
"No need for that. Just say you won't purify their mana stones."
"Oh, right. Marquis Romani's head will go bald from that alone. Kuhuhuhu!"
Galpredic let out a gleeful laugh at whatever amused him, when the voices of the Beowulfs—who had lately taken to traveling fully transformed—rang out.
"Dark Lord! We're hungry!"
"Brantia has a saying about a meat-loving nation. Can't we eat before we go?"
"Ah! I want meat!"
"Khm! I don't care much for salted meat, but grilled, it's a delicacy."
Even the most dignified Wolfgan had his nose buried in the hunk of meat strapped to a leading warrior's back, sniffing away.
Eugene sighed inwardly and nodded.
"Fine."
A meat feast unfolded in the midday field. And it wasn't just this once.
* * *
"They eat well."
"Right! Not werewolves—pig-dogs!"
"What do you expect? Their strength and build match lycanthropes exactly."
"Still, this is ridiculous. Their bellies are bigger than their backs."
Eugene's group watched the Beowulfs with somewhat queasy eyes.
The massive Beowulfs crammed five or six per bonfire, devouring barely cooked sheep and pork like madmen possessed.
Galpredic before becoming a vampire had been a big eater, and Partek's crew held their own in drinking and feasting, but the Beowulfs' appetites were on another level.
At least they ate only once a day—which was fortunate—but that one meal equaled three or four times an adult man's daily intake.
And they insisted on meat only.
"Grass? Nah—that stuff saps your strength!"
"If the Dark Lord told us to suck goblin blood, would we? Grass is like that to us."
Eugene had nothing to say.
He'd occasionally drunk goblin blood in the past, but now he had zero desire to.
"Huh! Already over half gone? Are those even human?"
At Galpredic's exclamation, Eugene narrowed his eyes without thinking.
'Had I known they ate this much, I'd have set their price at double—no, triple.'
Eugene regretted his complacency, but it was far too late now.
Noticing Eugene's look, Luke cautiously spoke up.
"Um, Master."
"Yeah?"
"This time we covered it with what Lord Rotner gave us, but food costs are skyrocketing."
"True. The deeper inland we go, the scarcer large-scale livestock farms. And we can't hunt freely like in the Perseos Mountains where they lived."
Just as Ranslo said.
The end of the Perseos Mountains and surrounding forests were lands granted to the Beowulfs by the previous Crawlmarine lord. They could do as they pleased there.
But inland, hunting required care.
Thirty Beowulfs needed about ten deer or boars per meal. Hunting that in someone else's woods would inevitably cause friction with the owner.
"Sir Eugene, shouldn't we hire a supply merchant?"
"Hm."
Eugene nodded at Ranslo's suggestion.
Even thirty to forty mercenaries needed to resupply in villages every four or five days at minimum.
With headcount at thirty but appetites matching a hundred mercenaries, it was better to hire merchants to handle all provisions.
"The biggest village or city around here..."
As Eugene studied the map intently, Ranslo pointed to one spot.
"Why not head straight to Crawlmarine? As an earldom, the castle town below should be sizable. There'll be merchants trading with the earl's family too."
"What about Phairon territory?"
At Galpredic's question, Eugene thought briefly before replying.
"Even if that lord subjugates his dungeon, he'll have to take mana stones and byproducts to Mungard anyway. And we can always clear it ourselves later, so like Ranslo said, straight to Crawlmarine makes sense now."
Decision made, Eugene addressed the Beowulfs—who had stripped half the meat from Lord Rotner's gift down to the bones, the pig-dogs, no, Beowulfs.
"Done eating? Clean up. We're leaving now."
* * *
Like wolves that stalked prey for days once spotted, the Beowulf warriors were incredibly swift and sturdy.
Thus, Eugene's mounted group and the Beowulf warriors covered over fifty kilometers in a single day, bringing Lake Crawlmarine's domain into view.
'Looking at this, they do earn their keep.'
Pedestrian mercenaries wouldn't have made half the distance, leaving Eugene's feelings mixed.
He also understood why not just anyone could hire Beowulf warriors. They offered knight-level efficiency—at knight-level cost.
"That's Crawlmarine land across the river, Master."
Perhaps because his long-lost homeland lay before him, Luke's face was more excited than usual.
"Good. Can you guide from here?"
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
The terrain wouldn't have changed much in one or two years, so Luke took point with Eugene.
After crossing the shallow river and an hour more, upon reaching a low hill, Eugene's group spotted about twenty soldiers passing on the rural road below.
Mostly regular infantry, with three knights in chain mail and surcoats on horseback. One carried a lance with a red banner slung behind the saddle.
"Ah! Master! Crawlmarine territory's crest!"
Recognizing the banner of the earl's family he once served, Luke shouted gladly.
Just then, the Crawlmarine soldiers looked up to the hilltop, stared at the group, and began murmuring among themselves.
The Beowulfs, arriving slightly later and clustering beside Eugene, naturally drew the soldiers' gazes.
"Cr-creatures of destruction!?"
"Evil wolf spawn have come!"
Uwaaaaaah...!
The Crawlmarine soldiers took one look at the Beowulf warriors and fled in a frenzy, knights and infantry alike.
"Huh? What kind of morons are those?"
Eugene was as dumbfounded as the incredulous Galpredic.
No matter what, Crawlmarine forces fleeing at the sight of armed intruders on their own land?
"Did they do that when you were around too?"
At Eugene's exasperated question, Luke replied a bit sheepishly.
"Yes. There were always plenty of cowards."
Wolfgan and several warriors stepped forward, unable to hide their excitement.
"Not just cowards—they're trash who know nothing of a warrior's honor or pride!"
"Dark Lord, we told you. We fought so hard, and they settled it with twenty cows—the cheap bastards."
"So you trashed the place?"
"We did. Should've stomped them harder. If not for the previous Crawlmarine earl's grace as warriors, we'd have crushed them all."
"My father always regretted not bankrupting them completely back then."
From the Beowulf warriors' words, Eugene got a hunch.
Ranslo, sighing and shaking his head beside him, seemed to have the same thought.
"Looks like it wasn't just simple mischief."
"I think so too. Hey, Wolfgan."
Eugene questioned Wolfgan, who ambled over.
"That rampage the Perseos Beowulfs pulled. Spill the details."
Shrugging his broad shoulders as if it were nothing, Wolfgan answered.
"We half-demolished Crawlmarine earl's castle, beat down about fifty knights and soldiers there? Oh, and slaughtered all the cows and sheep in the castle town below, but only took twenty cows. We're not cowardly or cheap like those guys."
The Beowulf warriors puffed out their chests proudly.
It was certainly a far cry from cowardly or cheap—bold, even.
"......"
Eugene instantly understood why Crawlmarine's soldiers had fled pale as if seeing demons.