Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Lubeck (1)
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“Phew. I feel like I’m going to die. What a mess to wake up to.”
After his long speech in the hall, Peri Batoni returned to his quarters and collapsed into a chair.
It felt like he’d been having a long dream while he was unconscious. A truly terrible dream. And the moment he woke from it, he was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. And the cold air.
Then there were Seamus and Reinhardt, looking both relieved and incredibly frantic.
After getting a rough explanation from the two of them, he had dragged his creaking body to the hall.
The only silver lining was that most of the mercenaries in the hall had sided with the White Mercenary Corps, agreeing to face the future together.
“Are you feeling alright, sir?”
“My whole body still feels like it’s creaking.”
“You’ll need to rest for a while. We’ve removed all the demonic energy, but we can’t be too careful.”
Peri Batoni nodded at Kratos. First in Granok, and now here.
“You’ve helped me again. A great deal of help.”
The decision to make Kratos the commander was undoubtedly the right one. How many mercenaries had he helped and saved?
“It was only natural.”
“Glen did well, too. I thought he’d just be panicking. If neither the Captain nor I are here, someone has to lead the corps. You handled it well.”
Glen scratched his head, looking embarrassed by the praise, and glanced at Kratos.
“It was all thanks to Kratos. I was just panicking. How could I keep my wits about me when the mercenary corps was crumbling before my very eyes?”
“Hah…?”
Peri Batoni let out a sigh of relief after hearing the full story from Glen.
It was a true relief. If he had woken up to find the mercenary corps shattered beyond recognition, that would have been a nightmare in its own right.
“But the Demonic Realm?”
Like the other mercenaries, Peri Batoni couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the mention of the Demonic Realm.
He had only instructed them to go there because he thought Rzhev was the most trustworthy option at the moment, given their close ties to the corps.
And Kratos had taken it a step further, turning the Demonic Realm itself into the mercenary corps’ headquarters. The Demonic Realm, of all places.
“There’s still a mountain of work to be done. For starters, making it a habitable place. And we haven’t killed all the remnants of the Empire in the Demonic Realm either.”
“I suppose so. It’s a place that hasn’t allowed human passage for hundreds of years.”
“I’d like you to take on this role, Vice-Captain.”
“Me? Shouldn’t you be the one to do it? This is your achievement, no matter who says otherwise.”
Kratos was obviously the right man for the job. Rzhev and the Holy Kingdom trusted Kratos.
If he were to step away from this mission of rebuilding the mercenary corps, what would they do?
“I have to go rescue the Captain.”
“Ah…”
Although the Captain was a top-tier Sword Master, being out of contact for this long was clearly not a normal situation.
Of course, they had to send reinforcements.
“And going to rescue the Captain carries great political significance.”
Everyone listened intently to Kratos’s words.
“It shows that even in a situation like this, the White Mercenary Corps functions. That we operate according to our manual. And that we never abandon our comrades. No matter who they are. It shows that a crisis of this magnitude won’t bring down the corps.”
It was also a way to demonstrate that the White Mercenary Corps was still going strong.
“Hmm… you’re right. Yes, that’s something I hadn’t considered.”
“Besides, the Captain is the face of the mercenary corps, is he not?”
Kratos was right. The news that they were sending reinforcements to the Shadow Mountains, even in this chaotic situation, would undoubtedly create significant ripples.
“The name ‘White Mercenary Corps’ isn’t what’s important. The people are.”
“If that’s the reason, then I’ll handle it without fail.”
Kratos had willingly entrusted this task to Peri Batoni because he could trust his administrative skills.
You can’t do everything by yourself. You have to assign the right job to the right person with the right skills.
And Peri Batoni was the right man for this job.
Especially since his body wasn’t yet in any condition for him to be moving around himself.
“The Holy Kingdom should know the detailed location of the base. They’ve also promised to provide a great deal of help. They don’t want to miss the opportunity to reclaim the Demonic Realm either.”
First, they had to build a base and stabilize it to show that the mercenary corps was still standing strong. They needed to provide solid support for Rzhev and secure a stable source of income and work.
Only then could they send a clear message to the Empire and that bastard Iscario.
Besides, it was too early for Rzhev to draw its sword against the Empire. The Holy Kingdom also needed a period of stabilization to establish itself on this continent.
Especially after what happened to the Ashar Desert, Rzhev was all they had left.
As the saying goes, one must secure their own domain before governing the world. They had to stabilize this region first, then fight the Empire.
“So, when are you planning to leave?”
“As soon as possible. The Empire won’t be sitting idly by, either.”
***
“Granok, the Demonic Realm, and now the Holy Kingdom. Kratos. It was him. From the very beginning.”
Having finally received a proper report, Ludwig Brandt gritted his teeth as if all the pieces of the puzzle had finally fallen into place.
“Did you catch the mole?”
“My apologies. We searched his house, but…”
He swallowed the rest of his sentence: the man had already sensed the net closing in and fled far away.
“What a mess.”
The mole was revealed to be a mid-level manager in the intelligence bureau. One who had been working there since the days of Prometheus. Moreover, he was someone Hattie Shaw had personally brought in.
He had likely infiltrated during the chaos of ten years ago. Why they hadn't discovered it sooner was a mystery.
Ultimately, this was a colossal failure on his part.
Information related to that damnable figure, Kratos, had been manipulated and erased, and the loss of the Demonic Realm had turned it into a fatal blow.
But it was a relief to have found out now, at least.
“Thoroughly investigate this Kratos from the White Mercenary Corps and report back. I want to know everything. Where he came from, what he did. Everything he’s done from the moment he was born until now.”
If they wanted to erase the name Kratos so badly, there was definitely something about him.
“What about the Demonic Realm?”
“We can’t establish contact. It seems to have fallen into their hands.”
There wasn’t a single piece of good news in this godforsaken organization. And losing the Demonic Realm was exceptionally bad news. Many of the Empire’s assets were still there.
“Find a way, somehow. And the Shadow Mountains?”
“It’s in progress, but… resistance is fierce. It appears it will take quite some time.”
“Kill him for good this time. If we kill him, they’ll lose their minds.”
They had struck a blow by inciting a rebellion in the mercenary corps, but in return, they had taken a massive hit in the Demonic Realm.
He felt he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had torn off at least one of their arms.
“Restructure the organization properly this time. If you can’t manage it, expose them all to demonic energy. Keep them from trying any funny business. I want them on a tight leash.”
“Understood. I will ensure it’s taken care of this time.”
Ludwig Brandt’s snake-like tongue flickered.
“Still, it’s a relief to have gotten rid of those military buffoons.”
Ivan Pons took the full blame for the Demonic Realm fiasco.
And Ludwig had temporarily taken his place. Of course, while it was temporary, no one had set an end date, and most people in the Empire knew it would last for a very long time.
Ludwig Brandt was steadily solidifying his position. The position of the Empire’s second-in-command, a position no one could dare to challenge.
***
“I’m going to head out first.”
“First? You’re going straight to the Shadow Mountains? Wouldn’t it be better if we went together?”
“There’s a place I need to stop by first.”
Kratos nodded as he packed his things.
He had already told the other members to meet him in the town just before the Southern Mountains.
There was a place he had to go alone.
—Sorry, but the information scrambling is over. The Empire has caught on.
Hattie Shaw had warned him a while ago that the information scrambling she’d been conducting within the intelligence bureau was finished, and that the Empire had likely discovered his identity.
She told him to be careful.
Truthfully, he had suspected that Hattie had been scrambling information about him, but to think she was doing it from inside the Central Intelligence Bureau… that was Hattie for you. She always handled things perfectly on her own.
She always delivered results that far exceeded the money he poured in.
“I was wondering why it was so quiet.”
The fact that those bastards, who should have been interfering long ago, hadn’t done anything was so baffling it had left him stunned.
That’s why this wasn’t the time to travel together. The Empire now knew of his existence.
They had surely identified the members who traveled with him as well.
“Will you be okay on your own?”
“It’s better to get it over with quickly.”
Perhaps due to public perception, the Empire still kept its portals and trains open to everyone.
To be precise, he’d have to hide his identity and use them as an ordinary mercenary.
But for him, changing his face was simple enough. And creating a suitable identity was just as easy.
“Alright then, see you at the Southern Mountains.”
“Be careful, sir. We’ll see you at the Southern Mountains.”
“Who’s worried about whom? We should be worried about ourselves.”
Leaving behind the members with their disappointed expressions, he departed from Rzhev.
It had been a while since he had traveled alone. Other than his trips to Lubeck and the capital, he hadn’t had much time to wander around by himself.
One incident had just seemed to follow another.
Of course, there was a crucial reason why he had to go alone.
He was about to rob the Lubeck Central Bank.
The underground vault of the Lubeck Central Bank, where all sorts of things belonging to the Imperial nobles lay dormant.
The timing was perfect. Although they hadn’t officially declared war on each other, everyone in the world knew.
War was on the verge of breaking out, and both sides were just catching their breath.
That’s why it had to be now. He had to rob the bank while, at least on the surface, war hadn’t yet begun. While security wasn’t at its tightest.
He wasn’t going there to steal from ordinary citizens. He was targeting the underground vault of the Lubeck Central Bank, the very deepest part.
He was there to steal the secret somethings of the Imperial nobles.
Especially those of the central nobles.
Weren’t they all listed, one by one, in the ledger he had obtained when he robbed the bank manager’s safe?
Where everything was, in which vault.
That foolish bank manager had probably organized it that way to either blackmail them or use the information for his own gain.
And the most important fact:
Nothing in this world is free. Building the mercenary corps’ base in the Demonic Realm, running Hattie Shaw’s intelligence organization, and making Rzhev even more prosperous…
It all costs money.
And that vault was sure to be filled with the nobles’ money.
Things like that ought to be shared.
—A list of nobles?
“Yes. I need some general information on who they are.”
—That’s not difficult, but why? Are you planning to kill them or something? I doubt it would be very useful.
On his way to Lubeck, Hattie Shaw tilted her head at Kratos’s question, but since it wasn’t a difficult request, she said she would send the list.
“Killing them… well, I can kill them later. If I lay a hand on a noble now and give them a pretext for an all-out war, that would be a disaster.”
—That’s what I’m saying.
“But robbing them is another matter.”
—Robbing… don’t tell me?
“Shh. The fewer people who know, the better.”
—Pfft! You really are… I’ll organize the information myself and send it to you.
A hint of amusement tinged Hattie Shaw’s voice. After all, every single one of those nobles was crooked.
“Among them, please single out the ones who are closest to the Emperor.”
—Of course. If that’s the case, I’ll cooperate fully.
There were those who had remained silent when Prometheus died, and those who had actively sided with the Emperor, acting as his mouthpieces.
Hattie Shaw felt betrayed by them. While not all of them, many were individuals Prometheus had recommended and helped raise to their current positions.
Perhaps she felt that way even more strongly because she had resisted that reality.
—How’s the mercenary corps? The capital is in an uproar over that issue right now.
“It’s being handled well. I think we’ll be able to hunt down the backstabbers soon enough, too.”
—Good. Ungrateful bastards shouldn’t be left alone. Especially that Iscario. A coward who wouldn’t have dared to make a peep if old man Hoare was still around.
“That issue will be resolved soon as well. As soon as things are settled here, I’ll be heading to the Southern Mountains.”
—The Southern Mountains… I’ll send you intel on that area as well. The Empire has been concentrating quite a lot of troops toward the Southern Mountains recently.
“The Empire?”
Concentrating their remaining forces in the south, even with their limited manpower?
There had to be an important reason for that. Perhaps it was to capture Mike Hoare.
Or it could be a ruin. Or for the same reason as the Demonic Realm. In any case, what mattered was that he had more than enough reason to interfere.
Especially since he had to enter the Southern Mountains soon.
“That’s important information. I’ve almost reached my destination. You can send the information by tomorrow.”
—I’ll have it delivered by tomorrow morning. Go on and run wild. I’ll be expecting good news.
“You could also send some people to Lubeck in advance. We’ll need to monitor the aftermath of that event, won’t we?”
—That goes without saying.
That was Hattie for you.
He changed his face and took out a newly made mercenary tag.
According to Hattie’s report, the movement of mercenaries had increased significantly. It was undoubtedly because of Iscario’s actions.
He may have taken over the mercenary corps, but the number of mercenaries who followed him was less than a hundred. While expanding the corps, he would surely want to flaunt his power, especially since he had seized control through shady means.
That’s why there was no better cover than being a mercenary. Among the countless mercenaries moving toward Ashar, how could anyone tell the real from the fake?
“I’ll contact you again. I’ve arrived.”
The full view of Lubeck, soon to be thrown into chaos, came into sight.