Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: 61. Swamp (2)
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Yuri's group left Franchese and arrived at a nearby small city.
Yuri urged the guards to keep quiet since they would stay without causing a fuss, then headed inside.
"Why have you come here?"
"I have business to attend to."
The four of them, faces shrouded in hoods, made their way to the Ireine Merchant Company's branch located in the city.
A familiar face was waiting there for Yuri.
"Your Highness. It's been a while."
It was Guillermo, the vice president of the Ireine Merchant Company.
"What about the instructions I gave you?"
"I've made all the necessary preparations."
"Good. By the way, we've got one more person now."
Yuri pointed at Hose, who tilted his head in confusion.
Guillermo stroked his chin, looking troubled, before replying.
"Judging by his build, it won't be easy. But I'll do my best to procure one as quickly as possible."
"I appreciate it."
"Don't worry. Money can buy anything. Shall I introduce you right away?"
"Sure."
Jared asked Yuri.
"Introduce us to whom?"
"You'll see."
Before leaving the palace, Yuri had contacted Guillermo to hire a disguise expert.
Under Guillermo's guidance, Yuri entered the interior of the branch.
"This is the man. His name is Pabar. He's a master of disguise, renowned for transforming anyone completely with a single touch."
A bald man without a single strand of hair bowed politely toward Yuri.
"I'm Pabar. It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness."
On the table lay his tools of the trade, including a conspicuous lump of flesh-colored dough.
Yuri nodded.
"I look forward to your work."
"Yes, sir."
"Can you start right now?"
"Of course."
"Time is of the essence, so please work quickly. I'll pay generously."
"Leave it to me."
As Yuri conversed with Pabar, Jared, standing nearby, spoke up.
"What exactly is going on here?"
"I told you earlier, didn't I? We need to move while hiding our identities."
"Yes. Don't tell me..."
"That's exactly it. This man will turn us into different people."
Pabar grinned and nodded.
"Leave it to me."
But Jared seemed skeptical of Pabar's disguise skills.
"Hmm, wouldn't it be simpler to just wear masks? A bit of makeup won't change a person. It feels like we'd get caught."
Pabar's expression darkened at that.
"Did you just call it 'mere makeup'?"
Pabar was an ordinary man, while Jared was a knight who wielded a sword.
Yet even so, Jared felt a sudden piercing pressure in his chest and instinctively stepped back.
Faith in himself. Professional pride that tolerated no mistakes. Confidence born of years of experience.
All of it blazed like fire in Pabar's eyes.
"You'll regret those words."
"I-I think I misspoke..."
"No, it wasn't a mistake. It's simply your honest view of me as a knight. A frank assessment."
Pabar placed his hand on the doughy lump on the table and began kneading it roughly.
"I'll shatter that misconception. Have a seat first, Sir Knight."
"I'm sorry, okay?"
"If you're sorry, then sit."
"Ugh..."
Yuri, watching the scene, nodded approvingly.
"Impressive."
To stand unyielding before a sword-bearing knight—his spirit alone qualified him as a true craftsman.
Thrilled, Yuri shoved Jared's back.
"Alright, Pabar. Show him what you've got. Make this arrogant knight bawl his eyes out when he sees himself in the mirror."
"Yes. Just trust in me."
"No, wait, hold on..."
In the end, Jared was seated in a large chair.
"Stay still."
"Hey?"
Restraints were fastened around Jared's hands and feet. His face paled.
"This is just makeup, right?"
"What I do isn't makeup."
"Th-then what is it?"
"Transformation. And I'm not a makeup artist—I'm a special effects prosthetics technician."
"Special effects prosthetics technician?"
Jared had never even heard of such a thing.
"Yes."
Pabar placed his fingertips on Jared's jaw and traced the line, smirking.
"Fine raw material. Take a look over there."
He pointed to a large mirror nearby. Jared saw his own terrified face staring back.
Pabar's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"You're about to become someone else, so bid farewell to that precious face of yours, Sir Knight. Heh heh heh..."
"Ah... no...!"
But he was trapped in the restraints.
In the end, Pabar toyed with Jared's face from forehead to chin.
Hot, sticky substances were applied and peeled away repeatedly.
The onlookers gaped in awe. It was hard to believe even seeing it with their own eyes.
"Wow..."
"Is this the power of a special effects prosthetics technician...?"
"What kind of material is that?"
Pabar chuckled.
"Slime."
"Slime?"
"Processed slime makes an excellent material. Of course, there are other ingredients too, but that's my secret."
Finally, the work was complete.
There was no longer any trace of Jared.
A rugged man with sharply arched eyebrows, bulging eyes, and bristly beard like thorns sat restrained in the chair instead.
"That's Jared?"
"Unbelievable."
It wasn't just a minor alteration to his features. The very bone structure of his face had changed.
Pabar wiped sweat from his brow and grinned.
"You're not amazed yet. This face is fully removable."
"What?"
"See for yourself."
Pabar grabbed Jared's jaw and pulled upward. The skin began to peel away.
It looked like flaying the face itself. Everyone's jaws dropped in horror.
"Hahaha, no need to avert your eyes. Look."
"Uh..."
Yet astonishingly, another face lay beneath.
Jared grimaced and shook his head.
"This is the slime mask I developed. Shape it into any face you want and fix the form—then it becomes a mask you can wear and remove anytime. Want to try it?"
Yuri examined the slime mask Pabar handed him, turning it this way and that.
It felt just like real skin.
"Incredible."
"I used real human hair and beard. Give it a try."
"Is that okay?"
"It might not fit perfectly, but you can get a feel for it."
Yuri donned the slime mask.
"A bit loose."
"Everyone's face is different. It has to be custom-made for perfection."
Yuri looked at himself in the mirror. A completely different person stood there.
The edges sagged slightly, but at a glance, no one would suspect it was a mask—it was that natural.
"To think such technology exists. Did you invent it yourself?"
"Yes, I did."
"Amazing. To create something like this alone."
"It's the same in any field. A great pioneer blazes the trail, and others follow in their footsteps to build the path."
"That great pioneer wouldn't be..."
"Me. Pabar."
Yuri tossed off the slime mask and extended his hand.
"A handshake, Pabar."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"You and I seem to be cut from the same cloth."
"Same cloth?"
"The kind who'll leave their mark on history. Heh heh heh..."
"Heh heh heh..."
The two clasped hands and shared a laugh known only to kindred spirits.
"Excellent. Great special effects prosthetics technician Pabar, craft slime masks for us."
"Yes, Your Highness. What kind of appearances would you like?"
"Use your judgment."
"Understood. I'm a technician, but also an artist. I'll bring out the other faces you all carry within."
And so, the four received new faces from Pabar.
"Guillermo, what about the decoys?"
"They're ready. Shall I send them off now?"
"Do it."
Yuri didn't stop at just changing faces for the disguise.
He prepared decoys of similar builds to ride their horses back to the capital.
To outward appearances, it would look like Yuri's group had briefly visited Franchese and returned.
But in reality, they were heading to Joachim.
"No one will know we've left."
"Such thorough preparation."
"You have to plan carefully before acting."
"Even so, arranging everything this perfectly isn't easy..."
"Money makes it possible."
Pabar, the decoys—everything came down to money.
Yuri grinned.
"From now on, we're different people. We'll play the part of furious Joachim locals rising up upon hearing rumors of the kingdom's peril."
"Will that work?"
"Why wouldn't it? If things go south, we can fake our deaths."
Mounting the new horses procured by Guillermo, the four secretly departed the city.
The 5th Knight Division, having entered the forest, found itself stalled in a deadlock, unable to advance further.
Then came the unbelievable news that the knight division commander had been captured.
The vice commander took over and led the division in retreat out of the forest.
"What the hell happened?"
A knight who had barely escaped shouted in rage.
"They don't even clash swords—just hide and shoot arrows, dig traps, those cowardly bastards..."
"Yeah."
"Are those even knights?!"
"Sure seems that way."
The vice commander nodded half-heartedly as he sat on a rock. He let the subordinate knight's complaints go in one ear and out the other.
"Don't those rat bastards feel any shame? We should just..."
"Enough."
"Vice commander?"
"Stop yapping and rest."
The vice commander sighed. This attitude was why they'd been bested by Joachim.
Since when was war divided into cowardly and honorable?
Almost no nation could face the Empire's knight divisions head-on. Joachim was simply fighting brilliantly with strategies suited to their situation.
"Who would've thought Joachim would fight like this..."
From what he knew, Joachim wasn't particularly clever.
Just a backwoods country that didn't know tactics like silent arrows or traps to harass enemies.
So he hadn't felt much pressure when the order to attack Joachim came.
But with most of the division dead, the commander captured, and retreat demanded as ransom for his life, the story changed.
The division's future hung on his next moves.
"Vice commander, let's go back in, kill them all, and rescue the commander."
"Quiet."
Even charging the forest again offered no clear path.
Whoever knew how prepared they were—it was riddled with traps. One misstep, and it was a snake pit devouring you alive.
After much deliberation, the vice commander made his decision.
"We wait."
"Pardon?"
"We wait for the main force."
"But..."
This would tarnish the 5th Knight Division's reputation severely.
But with the commander captured, there was no honor left to lose anyway.
They had to preserve their lives at least.
"If you're unhappy, go in alone and fight."
"Well..."
"Don't have the guts?"
The knight faltered.
The vice commander patted his shoulder, stood from the rock, and stared at the dense forest ahead with a wry smile.
"What a swamp..."
To break through that forest required overwhelming force or troops several times the enemy's.
The Empire's barbarian Yalta or the war-savvy Grakham could manage it.
"It'll fall in time anyway. No need to push."
"We're just going to wait?"
"Won't take long. When it does, those fools will pay dearly for defying the Empire."
The vice commander grinned as he spoke.
But back at the main force, an event unfolded that he could never have anticipated.
"What?"
Grakham felt dismay at the soldier's report.
"You're saying you got beaten up?"
"Yes."
"And they took our money too?"
"Yes..."
"How?"
"Well, a gang of thugs who hate the Imperial Army showed up..."
A massive bruise marred the soldier's face.
Grakham pressed his forehead.
"What the...?"
An army waging war needed all sorts of supplies.
There were limits to procurement through logistics, so whenever passing Joachim cities, Grakham had sent soldiers to buy necessities at fair prices.
The lords, fearing reprisals, had all complied.
But this time, the soldiers limped back injured.
They looked in no shape to fight for a while.
"We didn't even meet the lord. Got jumped by those thugs before reaching the city..."
"..."
He could understand Joachim folk hating the Imperial Army. But trained soldiers getting beaten? It didn't add up.
Grakham's instincts told him a troublesome foe had appeared.
"Who the hell were those thugs?"
"That's the thing. I was so indignant I asked a passing local..."
Grakham was left speechless at the soldier's ensuing explanation.
"Some mat seller, outraged by the Empire's invasion, swore brotherhood with two others in a sweet potato field. The youngest one—the ugliest, bandit-looking hothead among them—beat us up."