Chapter 44: Monsters and Pirates (1)
Chapter 44: Monsters and Pirates (1)
Count Morad was a well-prepared lord. He had summoned a local scribe in advance and sent him along as Eugene's guide.
"Will you tell me about Richwood in detail?"
"It is four thousand acres, and roughly two hundred households. Sixty cattle and around one hundred fifty donkeys. Two knights are guarding it."
The scribe, who spoke without hesitation, looked extremely tense. It was because of the weight the title of the count's plenipotentiary carried.
"That's a far larger fief than I imagined. The count really does love his younger brother immensely."
Four thousand acres was roughly sixteen square kilometers. That was two to three times the size of an average village.
"The effective domain under actual control is a good deal smaller. Since timber is the main source of income, the forest is included in the territory. That is also why there are so many donkeys."
The donkey was a domestic animal that boasted the best cost-effectiveness in the transport trade. Though slightly weaker in strength than a horse, its endurance was superior.
For the price of one packhorse, you could buy three or four donkeys, and for a warhorse, you could buy five to nine donkeys.
"What types of monsters are running rampant?"
"Here is the report. Recently, the most dangerous ones were..."
"I can read it on my own, so just hand it over."
"Ah, yes."
The scribe, who had taken a deep breath, handed over the paper with an embarrassed expression.
What had been discovered was a chaotic mix of monsters like kobolds, orcs, and gnolls, along with predators such as wolves, bears, and even tigers.
"This might as well mean every creature living in the forest has come bursting out."
"That is correct. Fortunately, the damage to the village was lessened because they were also fighting amongst themselves."
Eugene intended to secure the safety of the residents first, clear the area around the village, and then enter the forest.
But at this scale, they would be vastly outnumbered. The only method would be to find the ones causing trouble from within and eliminate them immediately.
"Varda-nim's tracking ability will be desperately needed. I must humbly ask for your aid."
"I was just about to enter the forest to recover my magical power anyway. Roman has too many plains, and I felt myself growing distant from the secrets of the forest."
"I am always in your debt."
There was a reason nobles were so eager to keep a mage by their side. In situations that a sword alone could not resolve, the presence of a mage was reassurance itself.
From Eugene's perspective, he was effectively using a mage—whom even great nobles treated with caution—for free, so he could only be grateful.
"It is also a task for my own sake, so do not be overly burdened. I must give a proper return for the respect the count has shown me."
The near-noble status that mages enjoyed stemmed from the favor of nobles. The end for a mage who only took and never gave was never a good one.
While reading through the report, Eugene discovered an unexpected presence.
"Pirates? Are there pirates roaming the river?"
"They raided a dwelling by the river mouth a month ago. It was roughly fifty men on two boats."
"The scale of damage?"
"Three died and two were abducted."
For an attack of as many as fifty men, the damage was relatively mild. As if reading Eugene's expression, the scribe added a supplementary explanation.
"They had plundered another village further upriver and stopped by this one on their way. Just as a predator sizes up its prey. Everyone is living in fear that they will come again."
"I've heard rumors of pirates coming down from the Inland Sea, but I never thought I'd become entangled with them like this."
At the center of the continent lay an enormous lake. With Roman tucked below it, it touched numerous powers, including Gord and Barsia to the west and the petty kingdoms to the east.
Though called a lake, it possessed many large islands and was a center of trade where massive merchant vessels came and went. Because subspecies of sea serpents and freshwater mermaids lived there as well, people simply called it the sea, the Inland Sea.
Pirates who sailed down the riverways branching from the Inland Sea and committed plunder were a headache for every kingdom.
"If they're the ones roaming the river, they must be longships, I presume?"
"Yes. They are small vessels with a complement of thirty men or fewer. But being both skilled warriors and oarsmen, their combat power and mobility are both exceptional."
Because they were small-scale raiders, they could stir up trouble in an instant and flee just as quickly.
"Sir Benjamin also attempted to subjugate them several times but failed without ever swinging a sword. They are like jackals—they pounce if you seem easy, and bolt if not."
Naval warfare in this era was fundamentally conducted by bringing ships alongside each other and engaging in boarding melee. When pirates acted like that, there was simply no way to deal with them.
For a settled people, ship-handling was a skill even harder to master than horsemanship. In some respects, they were more troublesome than nomadic raiders.
"I understand now why the count didn't mention the pirates."
"Because those bastards are practically a natural disaster. The count must have hoped that you, Sir, would focus on the monster subjugation."
If the count had mentioned the pirates even in passing, Eugene could hardly ignore them. It was probably Morad's way of being considerate.
Richwood, upon arrival, was a fief built in the form of a Motte and Bailey.
A luxurious lord's manor sat on a high hill beside the river, encircled by a wooden palisade along with key facilities such as the smithy, infirmary, and stables.
It was a structure where common dwellings sprawled out around this lord's district as if huddled against it.
In the past, Eugene had believed all castles were built of stone, but the reality was this. Due to the cost, many lords actually lived in wooden castles.
"Even without a magnificent fortress, it is a place that warms the heart of any visitor. I dare boast that the cozy beds and the crisp morning air surpass even Goldhill."
The scribe's face was full of pride. With a sizable population and excellent trade routes both by water and land, it was a village of considerable potential.
However, anyone could see people in shabby appearances wandering and begging.
"Are they refugees from the plundered village?"
"Yes. This place is the safest nearby, and the fief's monastery operates a poorhouse as well."
"I will have to set out for the forest as early as tomorrow. But the pirates still trouble my mind."
Having come all this way, Eugene wished to deal with both of the village's troubles perfectly.
"We have agonized over it at length as well, but there is no answer. If it were the wide sea, we could mobilize several armed vessels and ram them with a refreshing strike. But such a thing is impossible on a river like this."
"...!"
As Eugene listened to the scribe's words, something flashed through his mind.
"A ram. A ram..."
He had a feeling he glimpsed a clue to the solution. It seemed a somewhat absurd method, but he felt it might be possible for him.
As they entered the fief, the troops under his command were guided to nearby houses and inns. It was because the Motte and Bailey structure meant the lord's manor could not accommodate a large number of people.
"Varda-nim, please go in and rest first. I shall stop by the smithy and return."
"Are you going to maintain your gear?"
"No. I have an item to commission."
The sound of hammers from the smithy indicated it was still open for business.
"Sir. Please order everything you need under the name of Morad. We shall cover all the costs."
The scribe, after a polite bow, led Varda inside along with the maidservants.
When Eugene and Homi entered the smithy, a searing wave of heat greeted them despite it being autumn.
"Welcome, Sir Knight."
Three smiths stopped their work and came forward from behind an old man whose frame was sturdy despite his age.
"I have come on the scribe's introduction. I am Eugene Meyer, acting as the count's plenipotentiary to subjugate the monsters of the forest."
"We thank you for your mercy. I am Muto, in charge of this smithy. If you need anything, please say the word."
By the nature of their trade, smiths dealt with warriors often. Apart from the count's reflected glory, they instinctively knew the knight before them was a patron of a different caliber.
"I need a spear-thrower."
"For that, we have several types."
At Muto's instruction, a young smith brought out several spears and spear-throwers.
"That's an item people don't usually stock. Do you find much use for them here, I take it?"
"This is a village where daily life and battle are intermingled. And we cannot simply sell crossbows or bows to just anyone, after all."
The possession of weapons by commoners and serfs was restricted outside of special cases. Bows and crossbows, which posed a threat in a rebellion, were even more strictly controlled.
But Richwood's specialty was timber. When many woodcutters worked, they often stirred up the forest and provoked wild beasts or monsters into rampaging.
If a creature was truly dangerous, they sought help from the lord's manor, but manageable ones had to be dealt with by the woodcutters themselves. The throwing spear was a weapon the lord tacitly permitted—cheap, easy to handle, and powerful.
"These are all fine, but none of them are what I want. It's so uniquely specific that you will have to craft it anew."
Eugene grabbed three of the slender spears standing nearby, clutching them all at once in a single hand.
"I need a spear-thrower that can cast a spear three times the normal thickness. The entire body must be made of iron so it will not break under any circumstances."
"I was about to enter the forest to recover my magical power anyway. Roman has too many plains; I was starting to feel myself drifting away from the secrets of the forest."
At the request, the likes of which they had never heard before, the smiths' faces twisted into odd expressions.
'A ram doesn't necessarily have to be something you ram with a ship, does it? As long as it punches a hole with similar destructive force, isn't that enough?'
Eugene was well aware of his own monstrous strength. The memory of stopping a battle with a single thrown javelin against the bandits was still vivid.
What if he were to use a spear-thrower and a stronger spear?
What if his monstrous strength was added to a tool that amplified power by two to three times compared to throwing barehanded?
It wasn't a large galley, but he felt reasonably confident he could sink a longship carrying a mere twenty to thirty men.
Shattering a ship with the strength of a human arm. It sounded insane in his head, but his instincts kept whispering to him.
'It'll work, so just go for it.'
"Is it difficult to make? It should be a simpler structure, not a mechanical device like a crossbow."
"The crafting itself is not difficult. One need only make it larger and longer, after all."
"Then please begin at once."
Muto nodded but blinked, clearly puzzled as to why Eugene wanted such a bizarre thing made.
"Well, I suppose efficiency would suffer if you tried to make it without understanding why."
Eugene picked up one of the sample spears and a spear-thrower.
"Follow me."
Eugene fitted a spear into the spear-thrower and stepped outside. From the high ground, he could take in the river and the hills beyond at a glance.
Tremble...
As Eugene took his stance, the muscles in his arm swelled and immense force flowed into the spear-thrower.
CRACK.
When Eugene whipped his arm forward, the thick spear-thrower cracked apart with a sharp report.
FWOOOOSH!
The tremendous sound of displaced air shook the surroundings. In an instant, the spear crossed the village, river, and grassland beyond before burying itself in the hill like an artillery shell.
BOOM!
A huge cloud of dirt erupted, and the dull impact reached them even from here. No ordinary human strength could have produced that result.
CLANG!
The hammer in Muto's hand dropped to the ground.
"Wha, what in the world was that?!"
"Good God."
"Not even the ballista in the capital could match that power."
The smiths stared in shock at a sight they could scarcely believe even after seeing it themselves.
"Would you look here?"
As Eugene opened his hand, the handle of the spear-thrower crumbled and fell away in pieces. The brace that held the rear of the spear was also severely cracked.
"That was made of oak and given a reinforced coating."
"No wonder it held up longer than I expected."
Eugene brushed off his hands in front of the dumbfounded Muto, sending splinters of shattered wood raining to the ground.
"I trust there are no more questions about making what I requested? It has to be at least that strong to fully withstand my strength."
"Far from questions, I'm feeling curiosity. I desperately want to see such a monstrous weapon put to use."
Blue fire seemed to ignite in the weary smiths' eyes. A craftsman took the greatest pride in making something no other craftsman could.
The thought of this absurd knight wielding a weapon they themselves had made—a spear-thrower unlike any other in the world—already had their hands itching to get to work.
"Naturally, I'll need spears worthy of the thrower as well. I wouldn't have commissioned this if I meant to cast ordinary spears."
"I will commission the woodworking shop to prepare them. It seems it would be more devastating to reinforce the impact point with a pointed iron cap instead of a spear blade."
"As a sort of armor-penetrating bullet? A splendid idea."
"Armor-penetrating bullet...? What is that?"
"Let's just say it's a thing."
With a grin, Eugene clapped the smiths on their shoulders.
"I'm counting on you. I intend to use it to harpoon the pirate bastards who dare covet this precious village."
"...!"
Realizing the weapon's intended use, the smiths' spirits grew even more resolute. For they remembered the tears of their neighbors who had lost family to the pirates.
"We will forge it with our utmost effort. We swear we will not disappoint you."
In Muto's heart as he beat his chest dwelled both a vengeance against the pirates and a sense of mission to protect the village.