Zombie Apocalypse 1
Zombie Apocalypse 1
The hawks commanded as familiars by the tribal witches boasted a superior carrying capacity compared to carrier pigeons.
It was also possible for the distant Black Hand Mercenary Company to sketch a local landscape and send it back to the Wandering Castle by hawk.
—A groundbreaking idea!
When Eugene first proposed the idea, Chieftain Alessa's ears twitched with excitement.
—I wouldn't call it groundbreaking, exactly. Someone among the tribe would have thought of it sooner or later, even without me.
—But the Castle Lord was the first to conceive it. A single letter arriving a day late has been known to bring entire armies to ruin.
As chieftain, she had always worried about the tribe members operating in far-flung places.
Every one of them was strong, but an unfamiliar environment was itself a dangerous variable. It was common for them to be isolated and fall into crisis while carrying out a contract.
Whenever she heard news of warriors dead or wounded, unable to return to the embrace of their families, her heart ached.
If it was just one or two, that was fortune enough. Sometimes, when an entire unit fell into danger, her heart would sink.
But if they could request aid from Eugene via hawk, a rescue that defied all common sense became possible.
—In any case, I would like you to share this with everyone, Chieftain. Because that way, when you need help, we will be able to find you even if we have to cross the entire continent.
—...I fervently hope that I am not alone in thinking that we have become a family.
To the deeply moved Alessa, Eugene answered by kissing the back of her hand.
—There are still many empty chambers in the castle. We ought to gather the family scattered here and there into one place. Let us all travel together to the next dark elf festival aboard this castle.
—That. Even the thought of it is magnificent.
—And I would like to wear the tribal traditional garb from last time again, as well. Homi quite liked it. She seemed pleased with the way the gold leaf glittered.
—Next time, I shall personally dress you in it, Castle Lord.
Eugene felt a warmth rising in Alessa's hands, which had been so cold before. Her heart was racing, and the climbing body heat had reached her very fingertips.
* * *
As his recollection ended, Eugene focused on the picture in his hands.
The landscape, rendered in extreme realism, granted a perfect image to Eugene, who had never visited the location.
The Core, responding to his mental world, emitted intense mystical power.
It displayed places in the real world matching Eugene's imagination, like phantoms.
His hand, linked to the Core, swiped away irrelevant locations one by one, seeking the true destination.
'This is it.'
The moment Eugene seized the correct answer and his heart swelled with certainty.
Flash!
A single colossal bolt of lightning carried the castle as it ascended into the sky.
Immediately afterward, the place where the castle manifested was beyond the Mediterranean Sea northeast of Samur. It was the Apen Peninsula, clinging to the southernmost edge of the continent.
Because of its distinctive, boot-like shape, adventurers also called it the Boot of the Continent.
Numerous free cities and maritime republics lined its shores, making it a vital hub for sea trade. It was a place filled with the most colorful spectacles in the world.
"The air has no sand in its scent."
"Now this is a place fit for living."
Instead of bleak sand dunes, there were hills covered in grass swaying in the wind. The dark elves smiled at the heartening landscape.
"I heard there are truffle mushrooms everywhere here."
"You've kept the pigs and dogs hungry, right?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Vibrantly healthy women laughed heartily as they braided the hair of their daughters, who would serve as their assistants.
It must have rained not long ago, and the fresh scent of wet trees and flowers filled their noses.
By now, the residents reacted to the scenery that changed in an instant with anticipation rather than surprise. No matter how mystical the miracle, one eventually grows accustomed to it.
"Wait! I told you, you can't go out yet!"
"We have to wait until the scouts finish their reconnaissance. It's the Castle Lord's policy."
Dark elf boys and girls held back and soothed their excited younger siblings.
Such sights brought gratified smiles to the mercenaries, for whom the smell of iron and blood was a daily reality.
It was like a refreshing tonic that daily soothed the humanity that was so easily worn away through the harsh and brutal life of a mercenary.
—A mercenary can't survive being that soft.
—The bastards who give up on being human are the ones who survive to the end.
They were people who had heard such words as recruits and had believed without doubt that this was the path of the mercenary.
But having met Eugene, become family within the Wandering Castle, and traveled the world, everyone was gradually casting such thoughts aside.
A sense of fulfillment born from the coexistence of a humane heart and courage. It drove away the mercenaries' characteristic mindset that living only for the day was enough.
Life lived faithfully day by day, thinking of the future and training oneself. The path to being reborn as a truly mighty warrior lay open before them.
"They say it's not even autumn yet, and already the Emperor Faction and the Noble Faction are hammering at each other in southern Roman. I thought you'd seize this chance to join the fray and claim a share."
Rex found it unexpected that they had descended far further south than he had anticipated.
"It's still too early. I'd rather keep farther away from the emperor for now. From what I hear, he flies into a rage at every imperial council whenever my name comes up."
"That is because you snatched away the very thing he had been desperately searching for, even resorting to reckless measures. A man's stomach would churn if a hawk snatched the rabbit he'd been chasing, so imagine losing a prize this large..."
Rex pointed at the interior of the castle with both hands and shrugged.
"As you say, the emperor and I have become mortal enemies. But I have no desire to face him openly and deliberately."
"Then do you intend to keep avoiding the emperor from now on? With this castle at your side, I think you could afford to be a bit bolder."
A direct confrontation on the open field was, of course, impossible, but a defensive siege was a different story.
Attacking the Wandering Castle with siege engines was madness, and starving it out through a siege was impossible as well.
"Someday I'll confront him squarely, but for the time being, I want to prepare more. At least until I've moved all of your family's people into the castle."
The world was vast, and there was still much to prepare. A mere knight-lord had little to gain by openly opposing the emperor.
As long as the northern Emperor Faction was annihilated and Duke Ismar remained secure, the likelihood of North Fork being threatened was very low.
"Let the emperor just hear plenty of rumors about me. If he makes political blunders in his agitation, so much the better."
Rex let out a quiet laugh, perhaps imagining the emperor's face turning red and blue in the capital.
"It must be maddening for him. News of the Wandering Castle appearing here and there and its master performing great deeds will reach his ears, yet he can't even give chase."
"Well, as for the emperor's personal feelings, I'll ask him about those if we ever meet face to face."
Eugene gazed down at the new scenery beyond the walls.
"Looks like there was a fire."
Smoke was rising from a forest in the distance. The world was damp from recent rain, so it apparently hadn't spread into a wildfire.
Eugene pulled the letter from inside his clothes and checked it again. It was an invitation from the Black Hand Mercenary Company operating on the Apen Peninsula.
It wasn't that they had encountered a crisis and were asking for help. The gist of it was that since the weather was fine and pirate hunting was enjoyable, they should come visit as if on a sightseeing tour.
"The ones dispatched here are individuals whose views align with mine. They will join the Wandering Castle directly."
"The letter said they were tracking pirates under a commission from the Apostolic Council. Do you work with the religious orders as well?"
In this world that acknowledged and coexisted with multiple faiths, there was no concept of a pope or a papal curia.
Instead, there was a religious body formed by representatives sent by each order. Because it was an organization where the apostles of God gathered, it was called the Apostolic Council.
As befitted a body uniting powerful religious orders, its authority and influence were so great that even the king of a major nation could not treat it lightly.
"Money has no smell, after all. And, typical of those who shun impurity, there's no risk of them stiffing us on our pay."
"I was just surprised that the Apostolic Council would hire a mercenary company, especially one made up of former assassins."
"The higher-ups of the Apostolic Council don't particularly like our past or our character either. But they do like our skill and the way we handle work."
As the hub of Mediterranean trade and a center connecting East and West, the Apen Peninsula was a hotbed of countless conflicts.
First, there were pirates who engaged in wholesale plunder at every port they reached.
Unlike the ones operating in the inland sea at the continent's heart, these were pirates active on the true open ocean.
Since they operated large galleons under sea wind, they were on an entirely different scale, and nobles from nations hostile to the Apen Peninsula had even joined them.
They were called pirates, but in practice they were dangerous enemies that amounted to a navy.
On top of that, foreign armies seeking outright conquest beyond mere plunder were also watching for their chance with keen, covetous eyes.
To protect their interests from those grasping claws, the demand for mercenaries never ceased.
"But this is the end of the continent, isn't it? It's so far from Roman, where you all mainly operate. How did you first open up trade here?"
These were people who barely even operated in Gord, which was at least relatively close to Roman. Let alone the Apen Peninsula, which was even farther and obstructed by vast mountain ranges.
"There's a reason for all that. In the past, we received a fair number of commissions for our traditional line of work."
"Good heavens. Priests commissioning assassinations..."
"Shh! Shh! You know the saying—the birds hear you by day, and the mice by night."
Rex covered Eugene's mouth, pretending to scan their surroundings. But it was purely a playful gesture; he wasn't truly rebuking him.
"There are no birds or mice here, so relax."
As he peeled Rex's hand away, Eugene was genuinely surprised. To think that a sacred institution comparable to the Vatican in his memories would commission assassinations.
"They're people too. You cannot survive by staying perfectly clean."
"That's not wrong."
The Apostolic Council owned numerous breadbasket regions and valuable ports on the Apen Peninsula.
No matter how much they invoked God's name, if power and political skill did not back it, holding onto them for long ages was impossible.
"Our ancestors' clean handling of affairs must have left an impression. They've entrusted us with various commissions ever since—the kind of work that takes restraint, tact, and competence beyond ordinary mercenaries."
"Do they still occasionally entrust you with the old-style work?"
At Eugene's veiled inquiry about assassination contracts, Rex grinned.
"The ways of the world can't be neatly divided into A and B, can they? Sometimes, there are many tasks where the boundaries are ambiguous. At times, a tracking mission can turn into an elimination mission."
Rex, too, answered by deftly talking around the subject.
"You absolutely have to keep this secret, understood? Our reputation is our lifeblood."
"That goes without saying."
Eugene chuckled and then took in the beautiful scenery of the peninsula.
"We just wait here, then?"
"Yes. Within a few days, they should all make their way here."
After experiencing transmission to hell in the distant past, the Wandering Castle, traumatized by that event, did not descend upon any place where a human soul resided.
Once bitten, twice shy, the castle now refused to set foot in any space-time where a human soul was present.
Therefore, it was impossible to drop right where the tribe members were and pick them up directly.
'A being that gained life from hell fears hell itself.'
It was somewhat ironic, but since it was not Eugene who set the rules, there was nothing to be done about it.
The problem was that far from a few days, even after a full week of waiting, there was no sign of them joining up.
* * *
"It is clear that some kind of trouble has occurred!"
Behind Rex, who spoke with conviction, stood the tribal knights with grave expressions.
The warriors dispatched here were elite skirmishers as well.
Falling prey to mere pirates was out of the question. Occasionally, pirates numbering in the thousands made landfall, but in such cases, one simply retreated without fighting.
The fact that they had sent Eugene an invitation beforehand and yet left him waiting this long meant that something had gone badly wrong.
"We'll begin the search at once. Issue the sortie order to the troops under your command."
"Thank you!"
Though fiercely exclusive toward outsiders, the Black Hand Tribe shared a bond among its members as close as blood siblings.
Rex was deeply relieved to have the Wandering Castle with them.
He did not know what had happened to the brothers and sisters here, but without this castle, they could never have mobilized to help this swiftly.
And so, the gates of the great stables within the castle opened, and the heavily armed cavalry sallied forth.
"Might. It looks like your first real deployment after recovering will be a search mission."
*Grrrrr-.*
In response to Eugene's whisper, the beast's fearsome maw gaped open, and a confident cry leaked out.
Immediately after its mutation was complete, it had cried like a horse for a while, but no longer.
For it now recognized that it, too, was a predator, just like the lord it carried upon its back.
After they had ridden toward the nearest dwelling for some time, following the map enclosed with the letter, Homi's clear whistle came from the vanguard.
"Prepare your weapons. A battle is unfolding up ahead."
Everyone was already readying themselves to fight, even without Eugene's command.
They had been together so long that Homi's whistles were well-learned by all.
"The enemy numbers roughly one hundred to two hundred... is that correct?"
They could even interpret the detailed nuances contained in the changes of rhythm and tone.
"Sir Haind. I award you a Level 2 qualification in the Homi language."
"I am honored."
Everyone laughed lightly at the joke on the verge of battle.
By the time the sounds of fighting grew close, Homi and the scouts who had gone ahead returned.
"They're armed priests. They're fighting pirates."
"Good work. I needed local intelligence, so this works out well."
When mercenaries or nobles were fighting each other, it was awkward to intervene rashly, but if armed priests were fighting, there was no need to deliberate.
The ones they aimed their weapons at were the chief enemies of humanity: bandit gangs, pirates, and monsters.
This was a chance to earn the gratitude of the Apostolic Council, a major power on the peninsula, build his reputation, and gain information all at once.
As they passed through the last brush, they saw the armed priests surrounded by pirates, locked in a desperate struggle.
Judging by the different monastic robes and insignia each wore, they appeared to be a joint patrol from several orders.
"Aid the priests!"
"Charge forward!"
The cavalry, bursting forth abruptly, bit into the flank of the pirates.
*Krrrr-!*
Crash!
When Might at the vanguard rammed a pirate with its head, the corpse spewed bloody foam and flew through the air like a pinwheel.
At that sight, both sides momentarily stopped fighting, their faces going blank with shock.