The Subjugation Expedition (3)
"You want us to secretly trail behind the Adamant subjugation force?"
"Are you saying we should herd the monsters toward ourselves first?"
Edwin nodded in response to the knights' bewildered questions.
"Yes. We lure a portion of the monsters the Adamant side is driving toward our direction first."
"Hrmm..."
Finnet, the red-haired knight, scratched his head as if he couldn't wrap his mind around the idea at all.
"Then holding our formation will be nearly impossible. Splitting the 3rd Knight Order into two detachments is basically scattering our numbers. If that happens, we might lose the very monsters we went through the trouble of luring."
Bata, who had been squabbling with him just moments before, nodded in agreement.
"I heard this strategy was personally ordered by the King of Adamant. There is no reason to offend a foreign monarch on his own soil."
Before Edwin could respond, other knights voiced their objections as well.
"What if something goes wrong because we needlessly split our ranks?"
"I agree with Sir Finnet. It could put Your Highness in even greater danger!"
I watched the knights practically turn the strategy session into a full-blown debate society.
I've felt this for a while, but while their bodies are built well enough, they're far too passive.
It wasn't entirely incomprehensible, of course. Unlike noble-born knights who enlisted to bring glory to their family names and prove their swordsmanship, every knight here in the 3rd Order was a commoner. Their ultimate goal was simply to draw their soldier's salary for as long as possible so they could keep their families fed.
An honorable death is a privilege reserved for those who actually have honor to protect.
The men gathered here were pragmatic souls who would choose desperate survival over a glorious death any day.
That, at least, I don't mind.
In fact, their mindset aligned quite well with mine.
The trouble is, surviving on a battlefield is far harder than dying an honorable death.
In a place like this, those who hung back out of a desire for safety were always the first to lose their lives, dying long before the ones who boldly pushed forward. Every single battlefield I had experienced during my assassin days had proven that rule without fail.
"The King of Adamant..."
The moment I quietly opened my mouth, every knight's gaze snapped toward me. Apparently, the sight of me driving a dagger straight into the war table earlier had left quite an impression.
"...merely told us to hold our position. He never said we couldn't follow them."
The knights stared at me, dumbfounded.
"Five men will be more than enough to shadow the Adamant subjugation force. The rest will remain behind to hold the formation, so there's little chance any monsters will slip past."
Five skilled horsemen with quick wits who could adapt on the fly. That was all it took to trail the Adamant forces.
"Wait, five men?" Finnet asked, his brow furrowing deep. "What in the world could a mere five men possibly accomplish?"
"Serve as bait."
I placed five finger-sized glass vials onto the wooden table. A pale yellow liquid sloshed gently inside each one.
"Sprinkle this liquid over your horses and saddles, and you will command the undivided attention of every monster in the area."
Finnet picked up one of the vials, his face brimming with curiosity.
"What is this?"
"Female monster pheromone."
It was an item I had gone through great pains to procure from Somnia.
Normally, this stuff commands whatever price the seller dares to name.
Regardless of species, female monsters were scarce in number and far more ferocious than males, making them exceptionally difficult to capture alive. Furthermore, female pheromones were secreted exclusively during the breeding season. No matter how much coin one possessed, if the timing was wrong or the market was dry, one couldn't lay eyes on even a drop of it.
Without a fabulously wealthy merchant like Somnia, who has deep connections across the continent, obtaining it would have been outright impossible.
Evidently, the men of the 3rd Knight Order recognized its true value as well.
"Good heavens... Pheromone? I never thought I'd see the real thing in my lifetime."
"A quantity like this must cost an absolute fortune..."
The knights began whispering among themselves, shooting wary glances in my direction.
"Where did he even get his hands on something like that?"
"Escort or not, isn't it a bit much for him to barge into an official war council like this...?"
"Think he's from some noble house?"
Just as the war tent threatened to grow rowdy with rising suspicion toward me, Edwin shouted at the top of his lungs.
"That is enough, all of you!"
The knights flinched, visibly stunned to hear such a booming roar come from a prince who was usually so timid and gentle.
"I, the Third Prince, personally vouch for my escort's identity! So I will ask you to refrain from such baseless speculation!"
Edwin gave my wrist a subtle tug as he continued.
"Forgive me for the delayed introduction. This is Kyle Angela, a former mercenary specializing in monster extermination who was assigned as my personal escort through the recommendation of the head maid."
The story we had rehearsed before setting out was finally paying dividends.
To be precise, my specialty lies in exterminating humans rather than monsters, but...
Well, claiming to be an expert in dealing with monsters wasn't an outright lie either. Within the Syndicate, there were plenty of occasions where we deliberately utilized monsters to assassinate high-profile targets. Because of that, knowledge of monster physiology and countermeasures had practically been required general education for our assassins.
"Kyle will serve not only as my bodyguard, but also as our tactician for this expedition," Edwin declared with remarkable poise, laying down the law. "There is no one here who understands how to deal with monsters better than Kyle. Therefore, you are to treat Kyle's words as if they come directly from my own mouth!"
With that short, impassioned speech, the young prince rested his case.
The knights traded reluctant glances, but soon enough, they bowed their heads in obedience.
"Understood, Your Highness."
"Tsk... Well, if Prince Edwin insists on it so strongly..."
Once the grumbling died down, I rested a hand on Edwin's shoulder—he was still huffing softly from his own burst of adrenaline—and spoke up again.
"I completely understand why you gentlemen might find me difficult to trust. Expecting blind obedience from strangers you've only just met would be absurd."
Earning true loyalty from others always required a great deal of time and effort. Of course, pouring time and effort into people was never a guarantee of gaining genuine trust either.
"However, I'm sure every knight in this tent already knows this expedition is not merely about culling monsters."
Commoners though they were, these men belonged to the Gloria Knights, the imperial order answering directly to the crown. There was no way they were blind to the internal politics of the imperial palace.
"The prince who distinguishes himself the most during this campaign will earn His Majesty the Emperor's favor."
Which meant we had to produce undeniable, eye-catching results.
"I am a simple man who works strictly according to what I am paid. And my assignment is to ensure the Third Prince becomes the greatest contributor of this entire subjugation."
At the mention of working for cold, hard coin rather than lofty, high-minded ideals, the knights' expressions noticeably softened.
A transparently mercenary man is always seen as far more genuine than someone whose motives are impossible to read.
That was precisely why I had chosen the cover of a 'mercenary'—a profession widely perceived as willing to do anything so long as the pay was right.
"So, whether you choose to trust me or not, I will make you this single promise."
I leveled a calm, steady gaze at each knight in turn.
"I will protect Prince Edwin with my very life. And so long as you follow my lead, your lives will remain safe until this campaign is over."
Edwin's introduction painting me as an experienced monster hunter, coupled with an unwavering, self-assured composure whose origins they couldn't begin to fathom—the knights of the 3rd Order seemed to have been swayed without even realizing it.
"Now then, let us continue."
I moved to set the vials of pheromone aside, then paused. I had nearly forgotten to deliver the single most critical warning.
"Ah, I should mention this beforehand: under no circumstances should you allow this liquid to touch your skin or your clothes."
I flashed them a bright, toothy grin.
"Unless, of course, you're eager to form a deeply intimate bond with a male monster."
I meant it as a lighthearted joke, but the atmosphere inside the tent instantly froze solid.
Suddenly, Catherine's past remark flashed through my mind—how she had told me, quite bluntly, that I possessed zero talent for humor.
"Then..."
Bata, the massive knight with a face carved like a boulder, broke the silence in a low rumble. He had been listening more intently than anyone else in the room.
"What are we supposed to do after applying it?"
"It's simple." I tapped a specific location on the parchment map with my finger. "This is the primary area where the monster packs appear. The Adamant subjugation force will drive the horde from here toward the imperial army's lines."
But what if, just before they reach the main force, our vanguard gallops past and overtakes the Adamant troops?
"The herded beasts will react to the pheromone and pursue our vanguard instead of the Adamant force."
"Are you certain that will work?" Bata asked, raising a genuine concern with a grave expression. "Those driven monsters will be in a state of sheer panic and frenzy. When their very lives are hanging by a thread, I find it hard to believe they would care about the scent of a female..."
"When terror reaches its absolute peak, it invariably turns into rage to fight back against the threat."
Monsters and humans were entirely identical in that regard.
"And extreme rage expresses itself through pure aggression."
Just as a cornered rat would eventually turn to bite the cat.
"Furthermore, most animals—monsters included—cannot clearly distinguish between violent aggression and sexual impulse."
Humans were no different. It was far from rare for an intense survival instinct, triggered by the mortal dread of impending death, to mutate into raw sexual desire.
"For beasts driven purely by primal instinct, that tendency is even more pronounced."
"Well, it's not entirely unheard of," Finnet muttered, shrugging his shoulders. "Back when I was a boy in my village, I saw a small beast that was clearly about to be hunted down and killed by our villagers, yet it was still busy, uh... passionately making sweet, desperate love until the bitter end."
He hastily fumbled his words, scrubbing his language clean out of consideration for the young prince standing nearby. Given his flippant demeanor and loose tongue, I hadn't expected much tact from him, but that was surprisingly thoughtful.
"Then I will take it that everyone is in agreement, and we will proceed with the operation."
I cast a slow smirk across the gathered knights.
"I will announce the members of the vanguard at dawn."