Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 82
>Chapter Title: What Bullshit?
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"......Is this the base camp?"
The feeling that hit me the first time I laid eyes on the 4th Base Camp was...... what should I call it?
Pure awe.
It was astonishment.
Towering giant trees stretching endlessly toward the sky, and between them, a wall.
No, at that point, it wasn't even a wall anymore.
It was closer to a sky-high castle wall.
Over ten meters tall, with a deep moat surrounding its outer edge.
And that gate?
'......Steel.'
I'd once asked Fischer about it.
- Base camps are usually pretty shabby. Is there a reason?
- A reason...... yeah, there is. We can't source the materials. You saw the monsters on the way here, right?
The environment just wasn't suited for building a fortress.
I stared at the overwhelming sight before shifting my gaze to Fischer, who stood beside me.
"The 4th Base Camp is special......"
I'd meant to ask, '......or something?'
But one look at Fischer's face told me otherwise.
"......Hah. Ha. Haaaa......"
Even this seasoned mercenary was floored by the sight of the 4th Base Camp's walls.
The others reacted the same way.
"What the hell is......"
"It wasn't like this last time I was here?"
Even the Aviot mercenaries, who'd spent years in the Hamern Great Forest, seemed stunned by the scene before them.
So I turned to those who'd been at the 4th Base Camp more recently.
Obern and Railey.
But......
"Uh, um...... this is definitely the 4th Base Camp, right? It has to be...... but what the hell happened here?"
Railey was just as baffled, rambling incoherently.
Obern was the calmest of the bunch.
No, he was just as flustered.
"......Ah. Probably...... my master. I heard he built a whole castle by himself back in the day...... Did he do it by hand? Hm...... Uh, what the hell happened here?"
Even he had no clue.
As everyone stood awestruck by the majesty of the 4th Base Camp, Shine tilted his head in confusion.
[Civilization must be backward here? So primitive.]
That's when the bullshit started.
[Listen up. That's a castle wall. Made of stone, far stronger than those wooden fences you primitives built......]
"Quiet."
[Mmph, mmph.]
I sealed the mouth of the babbling Shine and nudged Fischer in the ribs.
"Hey, old-timer mercenary. You just gonna stand there gawking? We going in or what?"
"......Right, yeah. Let's go in."
"Tell the others to get their shit together. We here to sightsee?"
Fischer nodded solemnly at my words.
"We're not here to play."
He turned to the group behind him.
"You lot! Snap out of it!"
His voice boomed through the mercenaries, infused with ether.
"Remember what we left behind! Recall the name we carry! Why are we here?!"
His grave tone sparked fire in the Aviot mercenaries' eyes, one by one.
But it didn't last.
"Hey, Chief. You losing it already?"
"Why else? Tch, came for you green idiots."
"Came to die, obviously. What other reason?"
Silly quips popped up among the mercenaries.
Not the look of men ready for death, but like back-alley thugs.
Still.
[Their eyes have spirit. Like mine.]
With his silence lifted, Shine offered his own admiration.
I eyed him coldly.
"Shine, you......"
[Yeah?]
"Never mind."
A dead guy without eyes talking about spirit.
"Anyway, let's move."
"Got it. Let's head in."
With that, Fischer took charge of the mercenaries.
That's when a voice called from the 4th Base Camp.
"Whoa! Look who it is!"
A face peeked over the wall.
Looked about Fischer's age, but he suddenly leaped down from the ten-meter-plus height.
"Fischer! Why'd you take so damn long? I nearly died waiting!"
—That was mid-freefall.
Then he landed.
Twist.
"......Gah!"
The old mercenary sprained his ankle and sprawled on the ground.
I watched impassively before glancing at Fischer.
"Friend?"
"......Nah."
Fischer averted his eyes.
Flen provided the details from the side.
"That's Karion, chief of the 3rd Base Camp. Leads the Plima mercenary band. Oh, and......"
He glanced at Fischer.
"He's thick as thieves with Chief Fischer."
[Hmm......]
Shine alternated stares between Fischer and Karion, then nodded.
[Old sayings are always right.]
"Old saying?"
[Birds of a feather flock together.]
"......Yeah."
The Death Knight who spat out whatever came to mind.
* * *
Karion, chief of the 3rd Base Camp, personally guided us.
Despite the fall from over ten meters, he just limped a bit—tough as nails.
"But who's the big lug next to you......?"
Karion eyed Shine slyly.
"Uh, well......"
Had he sensed Shine's nature?
Fischer fumbled for words, unsure how to explain.
A 'Death Knight' wasn't easy to accept.
'Especially...... on the front lines fighting undead.'
I gave Shine a subtle nod.
Hide your presence.
Over the past few days of travel, Shine had adapted somewhat to his body and even learned to conceal his aura.
But.
- Signal me.
A message via the bracelet's function.
- ......?
- Slice the neck in one go.
Shine's hand slipped under his robe to the sword hilt. He even cracked his neck like he meant it!
Luckily, Karion's head stayed on.
"Big fella, huh."
[......]
"Reminds me of my younger days."
Karion compared our builds, then limped ahead.
- I like him.
I didn't reply.
"......Hmph."
We entered the 4th Base Camp.
Unlike the camps we'd passed, it bustled with crowds inside the walls.
The most eye-catching were......
"......Mages too?"
The mages.
Flen chimed in from beside me.
"Call it...... studying abroad? Mages from the forest who gathered hoping for even a scrap of wisdom from Obern's master. Word is he teaches freely."
"They came to die."
"Haha...... in the end, yeah."
Now that I thought about it, something had seemed off.
'Even for a mercenary band......'
No proper mages, but every group has a few who can cast basic spells.
'No wonder I hadn't seen any. That's why.'
As we walked,
"Hey, client."
Fischer stopped at one spot.
"Spit it out, old-timer."
He turned his back to Karion, eyes dead serious.
One look into the old mercenary's gaze, and I knew our long journey was over.
Two weeks or so, but intense—felt much longer.
Anyway.
"Quest complete. Right?"
"Yeah, made it to the 4th Base Camp safe."
"Good. We part ways here. It's been......"
Some camaraderie had built; he chose his words carefully.
I clapped his shoulder and wrapped it up.
"See you alive."
"......Yeah."
"No particular order to dying, but you should outlast me by two years at least."
"Ha! Right, yeah. Damn straight."
No handshake.
We'd cross paths plenty in the battles against Destrow anyway.
"I'll...... head out too then."
Flen followed after Fischer.
Left behind: just four of us.
Me, Obern, Railey, and Shine.
"That group over there....... Ah, the disciples his mage-ness mentioned? Kinda match the description......"
Karion squinted at Obern, scanning him head to toe. Obern nodded calmly under the pressure.
"Yes. Where's my master......?"
"He's around there somewhere. Hey! Fungus!"
At Karion's shout, a guy chatting with other mercenaries came running.
"Yes, Chief! You called?"
"These are the mage's disciples. Show 'em around."
Karion handed us off to the mercenary and bid farewell.
"Alright, gotta go. We'll see each other plenty, so skip the hellos. Ah! If you're still breathing, that is. Heh."
He joined Fischer's group.
"This way."
We followed the guy dubbed "Fungus."
Walking gave a full view of the 4th Base Camp's vibe—hectic.
"Arrows! Damn it! Hey! Need more arrows!"
"Anyone got spare hides? Armor’s all torn up."
Mercenaries checked gear.
"So, if the magic circle goes like this here......"
"Urgh, need mana stones. Any left from what Plima brought last time?"
Mages huddled over diagrams, debating busily.
That's when Shine's voice came.
- Atmosphere's weird.
- Yeah.
Full wartime frenzy, but......
Different vibe from what I'd imagined.
'......No undead in sight either.'
The undead horde had shaken the Hamern Great Forest's ecosystem.
Yet near the 4th Base Camp, not an undead or eerie wail.
- Something's off.
- Off?
- Yeah. Well...... his stiff master's trustworthy enough. But more than that......
Shine glanced skyward.
- Sky like the one on the day I became emperor.
- What bullshit?
- Means big trouble's brewing. Better stockpile power, just in case.
With that, Shine vanished.
He dissolved into black smoke and entered the "Subjugation Bracelet."
An extradimensional space inside for storing subjugated undead.
- Let me draw from the core's mana. Won't cost upkeep here, so no big drain.
- ......Sure.
I readily allowed access to a portion of the core's mana.
Sss—
It drained fast once permitted.
But thanks to the Hamern Great Forest's rich mana, natural regen kept up—no issue.
Still, not enough?
- Half. Give me half. Your mana’s efficient, but...... that'll do.
His presence winked out with a 'pop.'
'......Tch.'
Felt like raising a leech.
But I granted half willingly.
"Urk."
Shine sucked it up instantly, like he'd been waiting.
Dizziness hit, but fatigue faded quick.
He even siphoned regen mana on the fly, keeping the core steady at half.
'Gonna need to focus on breathing techniques for a while.'
Even then, he'd take exactly half.
The more power he stockpiled, the more useful he'd be.
Anyway.
"We're here."
The mercenary pointed and backed off.
"This it?"
A stone building.
Single story.
Plain exterior, no frills. Only oddity: no windows.
But.
"......Hah, damn."
I stared blankly at it.
No mana flow detectable from afar.
Up close, a massive, pulsing mana surge hit me.
Like......
Tingling.
Skin prickling.
Like standing before a legendary dragon heart?
Mana condensed solid, over and over.
"Senior? What's wrong?"
"You don't feel it?"
"......?"
Obern looked puzzled.
"Forget it. Let's go in."
"......Okay."
Obern opened the door and entered.
"Master, it's me."
At Obern's call, an old mage slowly opened his eyes.
Locking eyes with him, an unprecedented pressure choked me.
"......You've arrived. And you are......"
The old mage regarded me.
"Hmm, did that Schwartz finally find a disciple to inherit the Sakwol emblem?"
I barely registered his words.
Just one question filled my mind.
'Why?'
I'd scoured my past life's memories—no such old mage.
No doubt.
If Decullan's patriarch Pahren von Decullan was the strongest ever, this old man was......
'Strongest in the era.'
At the absolute peak.