Chapter 145: A Monster Among Hungry Wolves (2)
Chapter 145: A Monster Among Hungry Wolves (2)
Pirates preferred to quickly plunder helpless commoners and then withdraw. Moreover, unlike ordinary bandit gangs, they also had to master the specialized skill of seamanship.
These two factors combined meant they were mostly lightly armored. They did not use bows, which required long hours of practice. Even crossbows were avoided as they hindered mobility.
Might, who had broken through to the interior, positioned himself to face the few crossbowmen head-on.
"A, a bicorn?"
"No! I saw one in the eastern colosseum, but it wasn't this big."
Its massive frame. The overwhelming presence of a mere beast that cowed even veteran warriors like themselves. The monstrous strength to smash a gate with a single kick.
It could not possibly be an ordinary warhorse. The pirates each recalled the monster subspecies they had heard of in rumors.
"Is this the time to debate that? Just shoot!"
At the chief's shout, the pirates who had regained their senses pulled their triggers.
But the distance was considerable, so most shots went wide. The few bolts that found their mark bounced harmlessly off shields and horse armor.
"Damn it! These cheap light crossbows can't even pierce..."
Wham!
The crossbowman's scream was cut short by an arrow that flew in from outside the castle. Corpses with arrows piercing the backs of their skulls or their necks toppled over.
The castle gate was broken and enemies were pouring in. They had been so fixated on the presence of Eugene and Might that they made the mad mistake of staring only into the castle interior.
"Sir Knight! We have arrived!"
The heavy cavalry unit arrived first.
It was unavoidable that the dwarves were slow on foot, and the lightly armored tribal warriors focused on providing supporting fire from outside the castle.
"Think of it as a training exercise!"
"Worry not, Captain. We've done nothing but eat and swing these things around!"
[■■■!]
A pirate shouting in an eastern language tried to block them with a curved blade. But the weapon swung by the mercenary captain at the front was longer and far more powerful.
Crunch!
The pirate, struck square in the face by the cavalry flail, was sent flying in a spray of blood. It was a gruesome sight: his nasal bone caved in a single blow, his teeth shattered, blood pouring out in torrents.
The cavalry, all identically armed with cavalry flails, poured in and began smashing everything in sight.
"Aaaagh!"
One pirate, struck horizontally across the eyes, flailed about as burst eyeball fluid scattered everywhere. Then he clung to a comrade he had grabbed and howled.
"My eyes! My eyeeeees!"
"G-get the hell away, you bastard!"
Even amidst this, pirates with shattered skulls and crushed shoulders collapsed on all sides.
"Eek!"
One pirate simply sank to the ground and even wet himself.
"Hey, you bastards! If you finish them all off yourselves, what are we supposed to do!"
When the Hammer Brotherhood, arriving belatedly, charged in with a battle cry, the pirates lost their will to fight.
Half threw down their weapons and fled, while the other half prostrated themselves on the spot, clasping their hands together as if in prayer, and surrendered.
And those who fled had nowhere to run. A small fortress like this had only one sally port for emergency escapes. And that place was already blocked.
"A monster..."
Eugene stood before the sally port, blocking it single-handedly. The dozens of pirates before him dared not even think of charging at him.
Because the brutal flail he held made the heavy cavalry's cavalry flails, which were busy pulverizing their comrades behind them, look like mere toys.
Gulp.
Just looking at the three mace heads, each the size of a man's face, dangling from the chain was enough to make their lips go dry.
"Surrender."
"Will you spare us if we do?"
The pirate chief asked at Eugene's words.
"That is not for me to decide. You will be handed over to the Apostolic Council and put on trial."
"Damn it! If we go there, it's the noose anyway!"
The pirate chief made a swift decision.
"Screw it, charge! If we can't break through, we're dead anyway!"
If this many men attacked simultaneously, even the mightiest knight would inevitably show an opening. The pirates charged, each hoping the god of death would take a comrade instead of him.
It was not a particularly good choice.
Fwoosh!
With a single thrown spear, two pirates charging from the front were skewered together and fell.
In the moment the center was temporarily blocked by two corpses, Eugene swung his flail left and right.
The heavy cavalry holding a meat party inside the castle could strike one enemy at a time, but Eugene was different.
The shaft was far longer, three mace heads were attached, and his monstrous strength was beyond compare. After smashing one skull, the cluster of mace heads lost none of its force and bounced sideways, felling another pirate as well.
Amidst nearly ten corpses rolling about in an instant, one pirate barely managed to close the distance.
"Die! I said die!"
But he could not even properly thrust the estoc he held. Because Might, standing as steadfast as a stone statue, had opened his massive jaws.
"Huh?"
For an instant, the pirate felt his entire forward vision fill with the enormous mouth. It was lined with teeth each the size of a thumb.
Crunch!
Bitten from the temple down to part of the shoulder, the pirate's body danced wildly in the air.
"Khrruuugh! Hruuugh!"
His jaw and cheek were impaled on Might's teeth and held fast, allowing only suppressed groans to leak out.
As his legs kicked and flailed wildly in the air, the pirates' dazed eyes followed them back and forth.
Crack.
At last, the neck bones, unable to bear the concentrated weight, snapped, and the legs fell still.
Might spat out the corpse and glared at the pirates with blazing eyes.
A bizarre cry leaked from between his blood-soaked teeth. It was like a siren sounding through the vocal cords of a dead whale.
It was an echo that might rise to the surface after a scream from 'something' in the deepest part of a cave leading to an unknown subterranean realm where man should not venture, bouncing off the walls thousands of times.
Clang.
Clatter.
Weapons dropped one by one from the pirates' hands.
"Hrrrk."
Their legs trembled like aspen leaves and their yellow teeth chattered violently. Their jaundiced eyes, not daring even to look upon the warhorse before them, were cast down.
The womb of the Wandering Castle was flesh and blood grown in hell. The cry of Might, reborn there, carried the power to lead the souls of the living into the underworld. It was not a terror that mere pirates could withstand.
"...I shall accept that as your surrender."
Eugene lowered the hand holding his flail and stroked Might's neck with his other hand.
"It's a good thing I can see the Mystery."
If Eugene had been an ordinary knight... he might have felt fear instead at the sight Might had just shown to protect his master.
The form utterly changed from the Barsia warhorse of the past. The monstrous cry. The ferocity.
But Eugene could look directly upon the pure soul curled up within this monstrous body.
It was still the same horse he loved, and who loved him in return.
Horses were clever. Had Might sensed that his master's touch and voice were no different than usual?
Whicker.
Might, who had always growled since his rebirth, let out a sound from the old days for the first time in a long while. As if to say, though the flesh had changed, they were still together, so there was no need to worry.
* * *
"Can't we be like the Castle Lord?"
"You should wish for things that are within reason."
The heavy cavalrymen, cavalry flails slung across their backs, muttered among themselves as they surveyed the battlefield.
'Not bad for their first real battle.'
Eugene nodded with satisfaction.
He who valued bonds had no intention of discarding the mercenaries who had been with him from the start. But war could not be won by loyalty alone.
-At this rate, the human cavalry will fall behind. How can I strengthen them more effectively? I cannot very well train them like knights.
The combat power of a knight was a privilege reserved only for those blessed with innate sense and who had walked the correct path of swordsmanship from the very beginning.
They did not possess the mountain-like solidity of the Hammer Brotherhood, nor could they function as mounted archers like the tribal warriors.
The answer Eugene arrived at after much deliberation was to adopt the cavalry flail as standard-issue equipment and train with it. Better that, at this point, than to put them through brutal drills with sword and spear.
"How did it feel to use it in real combat for the first time?"
"I should have switched to this sooner. I'll keep following the Castle Lord and make sure I earn my keep."
"He's been swinging nothing but that thing all day long."
The heavy cavalrymen who approached Eugene had palms thick with calluses from flail training.
They all grinned, chain hafts slung over their shoulders in imitation of their liege. Clad in heavy armor and carrying the same weapon, they felt a certain pride.
"Hey! How does it feel on the hand?"
"A hammer beats a sword or a spear after all, eh?"
The Hammer Brotherhood dwarves laughed heartily and waved.
On the battlefields of this era, where swords, spears, and axes predominated, the hammer was a weapon considered more niche than one might think. As such, a natural affinity was bound to form among fellow blunt-weapon users.
"Rampage. Did you find the former lord and his household?"
"Yes. But the lord and his son were murdered by them. We found only his wife and two daughters."
"Their condition?"
They were reckless enough to kill even the lord and his son. There was a real possibility the women had been subjected to terrible treatment as well.
"They are unharmed. The pirates treated them quite well, probably intending to sell them into an eastern harem or a high-end slave market in the South."
Though travel-stained and dirty, three women in unblemished attire were walking out.
Their faces were gaunt and gripped by terror, but as befitting members of a noble house, their grasp of the situation came swiftly.
From the corpses littered everywhere, the bound pirates, and the sight of the imposing warriors, they seemed to have realized they were rescued.
But the lord and his son were dead, and every servant, soldier, and accumulated provision had been lost. The villages they governed had been plundered into complete ruin, leaving their future truly bleak.
"Frankly, I'd say this amounts to the extinction of the line."
"It is a pity, but there is nothing more we can do for them."
Eugene dismounted and stood before the eldest of the three women.
"I am Eugene of House Meyer."
The former lord's wife and her two daughters bowed their heads respectfully.
"Acting Lady, we are on our way to New Canaan. If you wish, I will protect you while you accompany us there."
The pirates in the area had been swept clean. But refugees whose livelihoods had been destroyed could turn brigand at any moment. It was better to receive the protection of the order's priests until the situation stabilized.
"Righteous knight. May God's blessing be upon your chivalry."
The woman, now the acting lady, gathered her skirts and gave her thanks.
Eugene withdrew with the surrendered pirate prisoners and the plunder they had stashed away.
As was only natural, the mercenaries outside, left feeling like the dog that chased the hen only to end up staring at the roof, glared with open discontent.
"What?"
"Look down unless you want your eyes gouged out."
But when Eugene's men glowered, the mercenaries gritted their teeth and turned their heads away.
'Bastards.'
'What the hell kind of equipment are all these people wearing...?'
Eugene's army had continuously looted equipment from its enemies through repeated victories. Looking at armor alone, not a single one of them was outmatched when compared to any decent knight.
"Why do all those mercenary bastards have warhorses and barding?"
A mercenary captain astride a hunting horse muttered, mixing jealousy and grumbling.
His own horse, barely procured with his hard-earned savings, was markedly different in gait and build from the start.
Even the barding was extraordinary. It was made from the leather acquired in bulk during the lamia subjugation campaign.
Menacing brown and black rattlesnake patterns were embossed into it. Draping that over their warhorses as they formed ranks made for an indescribably magnificent sight.
The heavy cavalrymen knew that better than anyone. They too had been unable to suppress their admiration when they first saw the completed lamia leather barding in the Wandering Castle stables a few days ago.
-How much would this cost?
Faced with barding that looked expensive at a glance, the heavy cavalrymen asked hesitantly.
If they meant to keep following the Castle Lord, they could not afford to stop training and improving their equipment.
It was a far cry from the mercenaries for whom sloth and living for the day were the default, but under Eugene, this was the standard.
-Money is no object. It's standard-issue gear, so you use it free of charge while serving under me, and return it when you leave. You needn't worry about being billed if it's damaged.
-We're not leaving! We'll serve until death!
-Good spirits.
Clutching the barding Eugene personally handed them, the mercenaries had beamed at the light and sturdy feel of it.
* * *
The headquarters of the Apostolic Council in New Canaan flew a multitude of banners and religious symbols. In a sense, it could almost be seen as a United Nations ahead of its time.
It was a benevolent-leaning collective dedicated to the protection of humanity, and in that political machinations and the logic of power held sway there too, it was much the same.
There was, however, one great difference.
If the United Nations in Eugene's memory sought peace through dialogue and compromise, the Apostolic Council sought peace through strength.
Eugene was invited to a secret location where other mercenary captains, free knights, and noble lords could not set foot.
"So this was the source of the calamity."
The high priests who led the Apostolic Council nodded as they regarded the corpse of the Forest Spirit Nínloth.
"You have done a great deed, brother."
"As a knight, I merely could not stand idly by in the face of evil that threatened the world."
The priests directed warm looks at Eugene, who spoke impassively.
"Just as when you put down the vile heretics and demonic beasts of the Bonyard."
"Nor can we omit the sealing of the dungeon at Lasta Monastery. Do you know how lengthy a letter the abbot sent us?"
It was a given that knights sought battle for wealth and honor. And the majority of knights preferred battlefields where humans fought other humans.
First, they needed to catch the eye of noble lords to advance in station, and powerful lords were found more often on human battlefields than in the remote backwaters where monsters dwelt. Capturing a noble prisoner could also promise a fortune in one stroke.
For priests who preached harmony among men, it was deplorable.
That the world overflowed with wicked monsters and brigand bands, and yet men wasted that precious strength on spilling each other's blood rather than using it to safeguard humanity itself.
Amidst all that, Eugene, who had appeared like a comet, could not help but be entirely to the priests' liking.
'Looking back, I've spent far more time hunting down monsters than fighting on human battlefields.'
He had busily hunted brigand bands, pirate rabble, all manner of monsters, heretical sorcerers, and even champions of evil gods.
"When I first received the report that a Forest Spirit had appeared, it felt as if the sky itself was falling..."
"We have realized once more that God always has a plan. Countless pirates have fled, and the spirit calamity that would have come someday has also been put down. I shall pray for you henceforth, Sir."
The priests made the sign of the cross and gave their thanks to Eugene.
"I gratefully accept the sentiment alone. It is my hope that your precious prayers, Fathers, be wholly directed toward the people who lost their lives in this calamity."
Eugene likewise made the sign of the cross and paid his respects. Thanks to his time living at an Orthodox Church monastery, the gesture was flawless even compared with the priests' own.
The young knight became more pleasing to the eye the longer they watched him. The high priests in the room nodded with satisfaction.
"Sir Eugene, concerning this spirit incident..."
"I shall naturally remain silent. What does it matter whether it was a Forest Spirit or an undead incident wrought by vile heretics? I merely hope it will be made known to the world in a manner beneficial, as the gods will."
"Ohh!"
Eugene could easily surmise what the Apostolic Council wanted.
The more ironclad the casus belli, the better. Would it not make a good story that Count Sicily, who colluded with pirates, had also dabbled in heretical worship?
At Eugene's uncommon, un-knightly quickness of comprehension, the priests' estimation of him reached a level that could rise no higher.
For men of the cloth, it was a rather vicious false accusation to lay. Yet a religious order that prioritized altruistic ends sometimes had to be thoroughly vicious.
'It's all just a transaction.'
Eugene fully intended to take exactly what he was due in return.
End
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