Chapter 102: Hero Hunt (1)
Chapter 102: Hero Hunt (1)
The mutant great chieftain had united a four-digit force of gnolls.
Even Count Andar would have been mad to fight them alone, no matter how powerful his forces.
He needed proper preparations—recruiting mercenary companies and sending word to his vassals. Rumors would have spread widely in the process.
"Then everyone must know about the gnoll remnants and their successor."
"Even so, not every knight will go after them. More will settle for smaller hunts, like us."
The great chieftain's heir would surely also be an immensely powerful variant. If such a creature led nearly a hundred gnolls, that was no longer the realm of hunting but of war.
However much knights were like moths drunk on valor and glory, they did not charge recklessly into certain death.
"Count Andar likely does not expect us to finish off the gnolls during the New Year's subjugation either. Since they are already heavily damaged, keeping them in check and gathering intelligence should suffice."
Having divulged all useful information, including the local geography, Evans's party rested comfortably until the rain stopped.
After washing up in the bathhouse with its warm water, they felt thoroughly refreshed.
A young knight accepted the tea Varda poured for him as if deeply honored.
"To be served by the Sage of the Forest is a privilege."
"Drink while it is warm."
His face flushed red before the beautiful forest spirit, he did not dare even meet her eyes.
"Looking down on the world from up here, I don't envy a king."
"So a castle really is the final piece that makes a knight complete."
The knights enjoyed the outside scenery from the soaring balcony that no other castle could match.
Their tongues and noses were pampered as they watched the dangerous mountain range lashed by wind and rain outside, giving them a peculiar thrill.
The knights looked at Eugene with envy. A manor or wooden fortress might be attainable, but a stone castle like this was impossible to acquire through effort alone.
One either had to be born heir to a high noble or rise through the world with a destiny ordained by the gods.
'I ought to repay him somehow.'
Hospitality among nobles might not be something one put a price on, but these were exceptional circumstances.
Even a cup of water was worth hundreds of times more in the middle of a desert.
Receiving the sort of hospitality available only in the heart of a city while in a dangerous region right at the Shield Mountains made the knights want to repay him somehow.
But offering money could easily become an insult.
"Would you consider buying the dire wolf pups?"
"They are beasts among beasts, worthy of a valiant knight like yourself."
So they offered him the best thing they possessed: the chance to buy their spoils, and at considerably below the usual price.
However, having heard the circumstances, Rex advised declining.
"Is it not a waste, a rare opportunity like this? Your tribe's breeders could surely train them."
They were magnificent beasts that ranked among monsters. Letting slip the chance to tame them at a low price did feel regrettable.
"Trained from pups, they can be used somewhat like war dogs, but they are not worth the cost."
"Wouldn't their sense of smell be excellent? They seem useful for tracking."
"They're little different from dogs. But they eat an enormous amount, and their wild instincts flare up without warning."
"There must be frequent accidents, then."
"Even an owner who raised one from a pup has to stay cautious. Imagine the risk to the subordinates and servants around it."
In noble households that kept dire wolves, servants were bitten, maimed, or killed every so often.
From a noble's perspective, elevating their own dignity was what mattered; they cared nothing for those beneath them.
"And their combat strength?"
"Stronger than war dogs, certainly. But if that were the measure, why are lions not used on battlefields?"
No matter how strong they were, they lacked the durability and destructive force of a mid-sized monster, and being difficult to control, they easily became lumps of meat before arrows and spears.
"Dire wolves are not military assets but luxuries. Nobles keep them to show off to their guests."
"Thanks for the advice."
Luxury was a noble's desire, right, and duty all at once. But Eugene judged the animals solely on practicality and gave up on the idea without regret.
He was a peculiar man: seemingly as greedy as any merchant when making money, yet once he had it, largely uninterested in how to spend it.
"You're giving up that easily?"
"Did you hope I would be greedier?"
"If it came to that, I was going to offer to capture one for you ourselves. There can't be only one dire wolf in these mountains."
"Forget it. Once back in the city, I can simply buy several war dogs."
"..."
When Rex had first gotten to know Eugene, he had thought him a warrior out of myth with lava running through his veins.
But the longer he knew him, the more he saw that Eugene was cold-blooded like a snake—in the best possible sense.
"I will never forget this miraculous meeting amid the torrential rain."
"I will spread word far and wide of this castle's magnificence and your honor."
When the rain stopped, Evans and the knights departed with repeated thanks.
Their spoils needed to be brought to the city as soon as possible if they were to get more gold coins for them.
Eugene's subordinates had also completed their preparations to march. Since this was a hunt requiring mobility, the dwarves stayed behind and the force was composed primarily of cavalry.
"Is it truly so satisfying?"
"Of course. It's been a while since we got to do our real work."
Though they had dabbled in assassination and mercenary work, Rex's true nature was that of a hunter.
Tracking down massive beasts or monsters, chasing them, and bringing them down gave him a pleasure no other entertainment could replace.
Hunting men on the battlefield was not bad either and paid better, but it alone was not enough.
"Due to our tribe's circumstances, there were many regions where we could not operate."
"The world is wide, and the hunting grounds and prey are so varied."
"Whenever we heard stories from adventurers who'd come from other regions, you wouldn't believe how envious we were."
The tribal warriors, each adding a remark, turned their gazes toward the plaque hanging in the hall by the entrance.
'None can foresee us.'
From now on, they could go anywhere.
Places without pasture or water sources, beyond vast deserts or mountain ranges that blocked the way, isolated islands in the middle of the sea, even the Demon Forest if need be.
Wherever prey existed, they could go and hunt anything.
"High morale is good, but there is something you should know."
Eugene told them the reason the gnoll army had been shattered and scattered. It was because the castle he had teleported into the Demon Forest had spilled out the monsters it held within.
"Should we not tell Count Andar about this and collect a reward?"
The tribal warriors laughed at this unprecedented case of using the enemy against the enemy.
"No. Keep this secret. If it ever causes trouble later, people could start talking."
If Gord were to suffer damage from unidentified monsters in the future, Eugene might be needlessly suspected and made to take the blame.
"Will the monsters released then cause trouble for the world?"
"No. That won't happen."
Eugene answered Rex firmly.
The Demon Forest was called that for a reason. Even a specimen like the giant boar Eugene had slain had fled to the outskirts because raising its young there was too dangerous.
Besides, demonic beings were not creatures of this world. They were akin to homunculi — entities from another dimension granted temporary bodies that conformed to the rules of this plane.
They could not reproduce, so they would only diminish over time. Eugene was not so irresponsible as to release otherworldly monsters into the forest thinking only of his own gain.
As the weather cleared, groups led by various knights from the city and villages began to gather.
The sight of a castle boasting a colossal presence in a place that should have held nothing drew reactions of varying kinds.
"Good heavens!"
"So the rumors were not false after all."
They were divided between those who gaped in pure shock and those who, though surprised, accepted it as if within their expectations.
Naturally, the latter were knights from families with higher standing.
But even they could not help being thrown into confusion when the castle gates opened and cavalry — dark elf mounted archers, no less — emerged.
"The pointy-eared bastards came too?"
"They ignored Count Andar's invitation every year, so why..."
The power of elite horse archers was formidable even in ordinary battle, but they demonstrated their true value especially in monster hunts.
Because Gord's horsemanship was weak, Count Andar had tried hard every year to invite them to the New Year Subjugation, but had failed each time.
"The champion of the tournament!"
"So it was that knight who brought them."
Their questions were answered the moment they saw the tall knight riding his horse with his black cloak billowing.
There was the prestige Eugene had built through the near-divine prowess he displayed at the tournament, and the mysterious castle that was hard to believe even when seen.
Taken together, they explained why even those dark elves who hated to budge had come all the way to the southwestern tip of the continent.
"We meet again. I wish you luck as well, sirs."
"Thank you. We too pray for your fortune in battle."
When Eugene waved first at the knights he had fought alongside in the tournament, they smiled and returned the greeting.
For there were few bonds as powerful as that between knights who had fought shoulder to shoulder.
"As expected, there are plenty of Clear Current Faction knights in the vanguard."
"They are skilled in horsemanship. One cannot dash about this vast borderland and these mountains on foot, after all."
Rex and the other tribal warriors also thought fairly well of the Clear Current Faction knights.
No matter how strong someone was, dark elves did not regard them as a true warrior if they lacked horsemanship.
Moreover, galloping across flat ground and riding through rough terrain were entirely different matters.
A Gord-style tournament might be different, but in a subjugation like this it was always the Clear Current Faction knights who distinguished themselves.
That was why the native nobles, pushed from the mainstream in wealth, tournament performance, and overall family strength, could still maintain a measure of influence.
"What is that? He's practically brought an army."
"It looks like he's hired a hundred-man unit."
The new nobles descended from sea raiders and joined with merchant families were wealthy.
Naturally, there were those who had come leading large numbers of mercenaries, intent on exterminating the gnoll remnants.
"His name was probably Salvatore... I believe. I saw him at the banquet."
Rex looked at Eugene, who was searching his memory, with a startled expression.
"Do you remember every single noble you saw at the banquet?"
"That fellow is a bit special. I offered him a handshake once and was refused."
"...!"
"He was an opponent on the other side in the tournament, and I heard he came from an influential family. His pride must have been wounded, I suppose."
Eugene patted Rex's shoulder to calm him as his expression abruptly hardened.
'I'll make him pay for the humiliation of the tournament.'
The knight Salvatore glared at Eugene, grinding his teeth.
Ordinarily, they should have been the ones monopolizing the glory from the tournament through the New Year Subjugation—the descendants of true, hardy men of the sea.
-I heard the counts had to make quite a few appeals to arrange this event. We must live up to their expectations!
-I cannot fathom why Count Andar favors those weakling scholars so.
Their plan to take the native noble knights down a peg at this opportunity had been ruined from the outset.
Some knight had crawled in from Roman and conquered the tournament with absurd martial prowess.
Falling behind even in the New Year Subjugation would be humiliating.
Salvatore had prepared thoroughly, hiring a multitude of mercenaries with his family's wealth and even summoning fellow knights.
"Damn it."
"...He really is something."
The knights following Salvatore bit their lips as they looked at Eugene.
If they encountered him outside, they had planned to avoid a duel—they would lose anyway—but pressure him as a group and throw their weight around.
But seeing him lead elite mounted archers with a magical castle once dismissed as mere legend behind him made those thoughts vanish.
"Are those bastards glaring at us? Or are they just envious?"
The tribal warriors, who had been getting worked up about gouging out the eyes of anyone who looked at Eugene so disrespectfully, chuckled and settled down.
For they could see that the ones who intended to threaten had instead been cowed in turn.
To the tribal warriors who had lived a wandering existence, the sensation of having a solid stronghold at their backs was unfamiliar yet deeply satisfying.
"Move out. Staking Gord's honor, we must be the ones to deal with the gnoll remnants."
Salvatore urged his mercenaries onward and passed the castle. Some knights even wielded their whips at mercenaries whose steps had slowed, gazing blankly up at the castle.
They had heard of the suspected areas from the hunters, but the land was so vast that they had to hurry if they were to find them before the others.
"Shouldn't we also make haste?"
Meanwhile, once they learned Eugene had suffered the insult of having his handshake refused, the tribal warriors became incensed as well.
"Let's take it slow."
"Sir Knight! At this rate, we may lose them."
"I do covet the trophy, but I'm a little worried about having incurred the grudge of someone who leads that size of a force."
Rex, who had momentarily failed to grasp Eugene's intent, soon wore a horrified expression.
"Are you concerned that those bastards might attack us?"
"The world is full of lunatics. And a hunt is a rather convenient event for quietly burying a noble you don't like."
Eugene's caution spread to the tribal warriors as well.
If knights and mercenaries struck them from behind while they were locked in battle with the gnoll remnants, even the Black Hand Mercenary Company could be put in danger.
The worry of 'Surely they wouldn't go that far?' evolved into the thought of 'But what if?'
"Hah! Let them try, if they dare."
"A tournament might be one thing, but if they come at us on open ground, we can drop every last one of them with a single arrow apiece."
Of course, there were far more who, without batting an eye, burned with a competitive spirit instead.
Thus, the subjugation began in earnest.
Here and there along the vast border of southern Gord, human shouts, hunters' whistles, and the agonized shrieks of monsters were sporadically carried on the wind. It was a scene that always unfolded once the new year subjugation began.
But at some point, human screams began to ring out.
Casualties during the new year subjugation were common, but for multiple people to scream their death cries one after another, as was happening now, was rare.
It meant a party of knights and mercenaries was being wiped out somewhere. Only one culprit was capable of that.
"It's the gnoll remnants."
"Which direction?!"
Eugene, Salvatore, and a handful of other knights from influential families who had brought sizable forces in pursuit of great honor reacted at once.
Using the information gathered beforehand, they picked out the most likely locations and galloped toward them.
"God is watching over us!"
The first to arrive were the knights and the hundred-man unit led by Salvatore.
They discovered a monster encampment in the forest beyond a narrow trail that cut between the mountain ranges.
"For the glory of Gord!"
"Spirits of the men of the sea! Watch over us!"
As Salvatore and his knights drew their weapons and shouted their battle cries, the mercenaries followed, ready for battle.
No gnolls were in sight; only dozens of orcs and goblins with slave shackles around their necks wandered the camp, mingling together.
"Bring down divine punishment upon those wicked monsters!"
A certain knight was enraged at the sight of an orc stripping armor and clothing from a dead human. For it was not for looting.
Perhaps because it was mealtime, there were several bubbling cauldrons in the encampment, and within them, naked corpses were being boiled.
Human backs, split open like dressed fish, bobbed to the surface, revealing rib bones and flesh cooked to grey.
The organs that would have been inside were being roasted over other campfires.
Amid the rising bubbles, a human foot protruded from the cauldron upside down, swaying back and forth.
"Those accursed monsters!"
"Kill them all!"
Even the mercenaries, who had followed only for the money, felt a surging bloodlust at the gruesome spectacle.
Orcs struck by swords and bolts toppled, and goblins shrieked.
Then, from all corners of the forest and the camp, gnolls wielding various weapons poured out.
"Sharkuz! Krimful!"
The gnolls roared in delight at the sight of the new intruders.
They stood a full head taller than ordinary gnolls, and their equipment was so fine it hardly looked monster-made.
Far above the other gnolls, two eyes appeared, burning like fire.
"Huh?"
They had to tilt their heads higher and higher to meet those red eyes, until the other gnolls below were reduced to little more than the tops of their heads.
As their gazes rose, the weapons the mercenaries had raised sank lower and lower.
"ROOOOOAR—!"
The roar that shook the world a moment later could not possibly have come from an ordinary gnoll.
Their eardrums ached, and every hair on their bodies stood on end.
The goblin and orc slaves immediately clutched their heads and threw themselves to the ground, some pissing themselves in terror.
The knights and mercenaries sensed at once that things had gone terribly wrong.