Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Ch. 58 .｡.:✧ Chapter 58 ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Die, die, die!”
However, I continued to hold on, barely escaping his grasp and buying time.
“I’ll help!”
Meanwhile, Athena came to support me this time, and the moment Abinas’s gaze shifted towards her, I pierced through his chest with the one blow he had been so wary of.
However, during that time, the other mercenaries succeeded in completely breaking down the gate.
In the distance, I could see about thirty cavalry rushing into the castle.
“Sir Jimnis!”
Far away, Mutre came running towards me with a cart full of something.
‘That’s…’
“Athena!”
I immediately ran towards Mutre, took over his cart, and pushed it towards the gate all at once.
Clatter!
“…Halt! Stop! Circle around!”
“Circle around!”
Realizing what I had scattered, the cavalry instantly changed direction.
‘Caltrops. He prepared this much?’
I couldn’t tell if it was Mutre’s own decision or the lord’s order.
No, since Mutre, a non-human slave, couldn’t have made this of his own will, it must have been the lord’s order.
In the first place, it was also the lord who had collected this.
Amusingly, the material of the caltrops was the exoskeleton of the Giant Ants I had caught.
They had refined this and made a large number of caltrops, and by scattering them on the ground, the cavalry couldn’t charge in.
‘I thought it would be used as armor material…’
Caltrops were a deadly weapon to horses.
‘I heard it worked on elephants too.’
I had used it well against orcs.
It was also extremely effective against horses.
Just seeing the cavalry immediately changing direction upon noticing this made it clear.
It seemed they had prepared in advance, seeing the cavalry in the battle against the enemies.
However, it was thanks to Mutre that they were able to make this much at this speed.
“…Damn it!”
The other mercenary leader, who had been encouraging the mercenaries from behind earlier, looked at us with an annoyed face.
Their main trio had fallen at our hands.
The mercenaries stood in front of the three of us blocking the entrance, unable to gather the courage to attack.
I had to engage in a staring contest with the mercenary leader for a long time, and in the end, it was he who backed down.
“…Don’t think this is the end!”
There was no way they would give up with just this.
As they retreated, the residents of the castle cheered like crazy.
‘What kind of preparation will they bring next time…?’
Whatever they do… it’s already too late.
“…I owe you, Teacher.”
“Don’t call me that. You’re no longer my disciple.”
It was Baldur.
Thanks to Kayla saving him, he was able to survive and seemed to express his gratitude for that.
“Hahaha! I knew it, I knew it! I knew you’d make them retreat in the end!”
And I could see the lord rushing over barefoot.
However, I had no intention of welcoming him warmly.
“There were mana users.”
“Why didn’t you inform us?”
“That’s…”
The lord couldn’t answer.
“Phew… I want to rest.”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
It was the moment when our relationship was almost reversed.
While they retreated, the lord had Mutre repair the gate.
However, they absolutely couldn’t give up.
And as I expected, they prepared a new hand.
It was just that the speed was faster than I thought… and more cruel.
Two days later.
“Aaaargh!”
“Please spare us, please spare us!”
“Those crazy bastards!”
The mercenaries who had retreated had looted another village belonging to Owalan.
“Please save us!”
“Aaaaah!”
“If you don’t want us to kill them all, surrender, Baron!”
“…Even doing such things…!”
Athena spoke as if she was quite displeased.
As Thea’s guardian, she seemed to dislike the sight of them taking hostages and threatening us.
“Nailin! No!”
“Porden…? Why is Porden here…! Lord, Lord! That child is my son! Please save him!”
Inside the castle, there were young men who had survived the previous attack and returned.
They were conscripted from each village, and among them… there were also some from the village that the enemies had looted.
‘They timed it properly.’
It wasn’t just the people from that village who were shaken by this.
‘The fact that they can loot there means… they can do the same to other villages.’
Therefore, the young men from the villages had no choice but to waver.
Moreover, since they were from the same territory, there could be people inside the castle who had friendships or blood relations with the people from the villages.
As a result, the unrest had no choice but to spread further…
The lord just stared outside without saying a word.
“Open the gate and surrender! If you don’t…!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“No, no!”
One of the hostages’ life was cut short.
“I will kill them all. Don’t think this is the end. There are still three villages left!”
“L-Lord! Lord! Please, please!”
The people of the territory approached the lord, risking their lives to beg him.
However, the lord remained silent.
“If we open the gate… we’ll all die.”
“Then are you going to abandon them all! They belong to the Owalan territory!”
“Then will you die in their place?”
“I, I will die. I’ll die, so please just spare my family!”
“Do you think they will listen to that?”
“Please!”
“Pleading won’t work.”
The lord showed no sign of opening the gate.
“There will be no compromise with bandits.”
“Then are you telling us to slowly starve to death while watching our families die inside!”
“I called for reinforcements. Reinforcements will come. Endure until then.”
“Then what about them! What about them! They’re about to die right now!”
“I’m not a god!”
Finally, the lord exploded.
“How dare you! I am your lord! Just because the bandits disrespect me, you’re acting like this too!”
‘This is ridiculous.’
Why is the lord a lord and holds power and reverence?
It’s because the lord ensures the safety of the people from external enemies.
Yet he was demanding compensation without fulfilling that duty.
Moreover, the safety of the wooden fence was also largely being protected by them.
In fact, from the lord’s perspective, it was an ultimatum.
The enemies probably didn’t want to go this far either.
They seemed to be targeting this pioneer territory as well.
Moreover, they had confidence in their own abilities.
That is, until the previous ones fell at our hands.
‘This was really their last resort.’
However, it’s not a situation where they absolutely can’t use it.
Instead of achieving multiple purposes at once, they seemed to focus on achieving their initial, basic purpose.
‘Internal division…’
It was an ultimatum.
This wasn’t a situation where I could do anything.
The conflict between the lord and the people intensified, and soon, as if to protect the lord, Baldur and a few mercenaries who barely survived blocked the people.
The voices gradually grew louder, and in the end, a few people were dragged away after being hit by Kuman’s slaves.
And that day, over a hundred people from the territory were brutally killed in front of the castle, and their heads were thrown inside the castle.
When the day dawned, half of the mercenaries from the merchant union had disappeared.
They shouted that the remaining half had gone to attack other villages, and if we surrendered now, they would spare them.
“Just hand over the lord’s head! Then the rest can live! We never just bluff with words!”
The people of the castle trembled at their shouts.
“Please, please, at least spare Evergreen Forest Village…”
The man praying next to me seemed to be from Evergreen Forest Village.
I remembered the village chief’s words about hoping for their safe return, but at the point when the lord’s expedition was defeated, the village chief’s wish was shattered.
Now, conversely, the young man from Evergreen Forest Village was praying for his village’s safety.
Another two days passed, and the enemies brought people from another village, but the lord refused to surrender until the end.
In the end, a second massacre followed, and the morale of the people completely shattered.
There were signs of an organized rebellion.
The lord also noticed the situation and tried to find the ringleaders, but the deepened rift with the people isolated and cornered him.
People started to distance themselves from me as well, probably because I often received requests from the lord, so they didn’t feel they could trust me.
Of course, I had no intention of getting involved, so it didn’t matter.
‘If the next massacre is left unchecked, he will be directly dragged out by the hands of the people.’
Perhaps they might try to escape soon.
The mercenaries on the merchant union’s side also seemed to have noticed the internal atmosphere of the castle, as they were showing despicable smiles.
“Master. I think it’s about time we should escape.”
“I agree with Teacher. There’s no more hope.”
I nodded at their words and said,
“I’m already waiting for it. It seems they’re also trying to escape soon.”
“Shouldn’t we run away first?”
“We can’t escape empty-handed.”
“…You’re aiming for when the lord and Kuman try to escape.”
I intended to loot what they had.
“…Well, if it’s them… I don’t mind.”
It was no different from theft, but considering how much they had been exploited, neither of them seemed to object.
‘Well, they must have been used a lot.’
Moreover, Athena had a grudge against Kuman because of Thea, and Kayla was sold to me due to Kuman’s greed.
In the first place, Kuman was an illegal slave trader, and the lord was someone trying to abandon his people and run away.
It didn’t seem like these two would feel bad about me taking something from them.
“Thea has packed all the luggage, right?”
“Yes. I already put everything in the basement you made, and she’s always hiding there when a fight breaks out.”
“Good job.”
The two didn’t feel anything strange about my preparations either.
I was a warlock, and in a frontier territory, it wasn’t particularly unusual to prepare for unexpected situations.
‘For now, we’ll loot the lord and Kuman… and hold out in the basement until the monster wave hits. It won’t be difficult to persuade them using the merchant union as an excuse.’
It wouldn’t be difficult to take care of Mutre either.
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