Chapter 124

Chapter 124 - Struggle for Survival (4)

The Mongoose mercenary group accepted the proposal. It was because there was no other way.

It was an insane army possessing even a knight and a mage, while they were outmatched in every aspect including the number of troops, skill, equipment, ranged weapons, and powerful cavalry.

The numbers were less than 200, but it was a terrifying elite corps that would easily crush them even if several times more mercenary groups came.

"Then we will take the monster corpses, at least."

Denver spoke with a gloomy face.

They could not return empty-handed from here. Unlike Eugene's army, which received a fixed wage thanks to their reputation and credibility, the Mongoose mercenary group didn't get a single penny if they played around.

If they brought parts of the Smallfolk's bodies, Tripol City would provide them with a little combat allowance at least.

"Hurry up. We need to leave this place before night falls."

"Should we do it by noses or ears?"

"Ears obviously, you retard. These bastards aren't Goblins."

They mainly cut off noses or ears as proof. Because they are small, lack hard bones, and have weak skin, making it easy to string many together.

"You idiot! Are you not paying attention? Cut the right ear, not the left!"

A veteran soldier who surrendered the gold necklaces, rings, and silver coins he painstakingly gathered vented his temper on the new recruits. Those who got caught trying to secretly squirrel things away and got beaten up were especially spiteful.

"What wind blew today for a person who is normally generous to his subordinates?"

Although all the subordinates looked surprised, Eugene felt puzzled himself.

"Those people are not my men. Is there a need to even guarantee the wealth they luckily picked up?"

"Though it was a situation where you should have received the price for saving their lives on top of that."

"If they were a merchant caravan or pilgrims, I would have taken care of them in my own way. Since it is good to maintain friendly relations with those rooted in a specific region making a living through productive work. However, I feel no need to do so for mercenaries."

Everyone empathized with the last part. There was no need to treat mercenaries well in any region.

"Still, there is no one but you, Sir, who pays attention to every single thing the soldiers eat and drink, and even supports consumables."

Hind, who was gradually beginning to perceive Eugene as his Lord, defended him. That was something all the subordinates agreed upon.

Because a warrior of this era had to resolve everything from head to toe with their own funds. He even treated those injured during combat for free.

Such mercy could not be found even in large temples. If they told other mercenaries, they would probably be treated as braggarts.

"That is an issue because I feel frustrated watching it."

Having served as a standing army, Eugene absolutely could not stomach the ramshackle military running here.

Although he understood the limitations of the era, he tried to recreate the image of the military he knew as much as possible regarding feeding and supplying.

A nonsensical situation of hesitating whether to shoot or not because the cost of javelins or bolts was a waste when they had seized victory. He did not want to see such things.

"It would be best to camp near the trade route. There is still time left until night, but we won't be able to reach the next campsite in time."

Accepting the adventurer's advice, Eugene set up camp. The Mongoose mercenary group settled down a little distance away.

And once again, both armies starkly realized how severe the difference in their working environments was.

It was because while the Mongoose mercenary group chewed on terribly hard dry rations, Eugene's army was eating soft jerky and dried fruits with nuts.

"Damn, we really can't live like this from sorrow."

"Is this why they say you should do mercenary work under a large family?"

The sight of the opposing camp eating and drinking while smiling, having secured even the loot plundered by the Smallfolk one by one.

A Mongoose mercenary standing guard duty sighed as if the ground would collapse. He was someone who normally let things slide even when seeing nobles, but he couldn't help being this envious just for today.

"My Lord sent this."

"...!"

Still, when a servant brought medical supplies for the wounded and some alcohol, that resentment melted away like snow.

* * *

A commander's tent set up spaciously in a nomadic style at the center of the formation.

Eugene enjoyed the sensation of Valda wiping his body with a wet towel. The towel she personally made using the elven method was soft yet absorbed plenty of water.

'She truly makes it in a fascinating way.'

An elven loom was different from the ones humans used. It felt closer to conducting rather than crafting.

When ten fingers moved gracefully from above as if playing an instrument, ten toes frolicked below like spiders walking gracefully on a web.

The sight of organically handling a total of twenty appendages to weave. That was not just marvelous but even beautiful. He supposed the Arachne from myths must have felt like this.

"Even if the Smallfolk are physically weak, they are extremely dangerous beings within their territory. Achieving such a clean victory is not easy. It is impressive."

"It's because we heavily prepared for the poison darts and traps, and those bastards were distracted by the Mongoose mercenary group."

"I say that, yet you didn't share a single piece of loot, isn't that right?"

"Is there anything more expensive than the price of a life? Rescuing them from the fate of entering the Smallfolk's stomachs is plenty enough. I have many people to feed, you see."

Eugene swept Valda's blonde hair, which had gotten messed up from wiping him, behind her shoulders.

"Ugh."

He also gently tickled her long ears as a bonus, causing her shoulders to flinch. She must have realized she herself was included among those targets to feed.

"Furthermore, there was also a reason I needed to gather all the victims' items completely."

On the table slightly to the side sat silver-plated religious symbols, ceremonial tools, and pendants containing the symbols of specific merchant companies.

He had set aside things that could be classified as keepsakes apart from ordinary wealth like silver coins and trade goods.

Given the current circumstances, there were many belonging to specific organizations to brave the danger and travel.

"Do you intend to return them?"

"Yes. Once we finish the subjugation and return to the city, I will hand them over to the relevant religious orders or merchant companies."

"It is a good idea. Since you are granting favors that cannot be bought with silver coins. I wondered why you ruthlessly collected all the loot, so this was the real reason?"

"Because we have to gather them all together to find them properly. It is not a loss if we can build good relations all over the city at the cost of being disliked by a single mercenary group."

"You are right."

Valda nodded. Gentle and generous she was, she was cold to mercenaries. Though there were practically very few people in this era who harbored friendly feelings toward mercenaries anyway.

Because they were beings who could have any unholy modifier attached to them, such as preliminary robbers, preliminary murderers, preliminary slave traders, and preliminary swindlers.

"Whether that mercenary group will even remain a few years later is also unknown."

A mercenary group was something formed and disbanded daily, with its members constantly replaced. Whether good or bad feelings, they often disappeared like grains of sand.

"Besides that, aren't you tired? Thanks to Lady Valda, we ended the battle easily during the day."

"It was nothing much of a magic."

"To say that, the Smallfolk's will to fight shattered completely in that single strike."

Fundamentally, the Smallfolk's approach utilized the darkness or bushes to hit and run.

Simultaneously hiding and throwing the enemies into confusion at the appropriate timing while observing the flow of battle was their most crucial strategy.

Even a Troll would fall victim while going 'Huh?' if caught in this. No matter how powerful a regeneration ability it possessed, there was no answer if it got hit with poison darts until it became a hedgehog.

Clubbing that could instantly kill a knight would only strike empty weeds. And the more they exerted strength, the faster the poison spread.

Because that certain-victory strategy was swept away in a single moment, the little demons had no choice but to be collectively dumbfounded.

"It is a much simpler magic compared to clearing a path through the forest. It was merely asking the grass to lie down for a moment."

This was the reason nobles tried somehow to invite mages and have them accompany their armies. Because sometimes a single simple spell made the battle profoundly easier.

"The bastards' expressions the moment the bushes completely cleared away were truly a sight to behold. That's a reaction an army of thousands couldn't elicit even by pressing down on them. It was all possible because Lady Valda was by my side."

"Stop it, it's embarrassing. Nothing will come out even if you flatter me fervently."

Contrary to her words, Valda's touches wiping his body began to enter even deeper.

"Rather than that, I am curious about how the hypnosis magic was."

"Seeing is believing. Why didn't you just observe together?"

"I cannot do that. It is a secret magic of the Blackhand clan. An outsider like me, and an elf at that, cannot peek at it."

It was a world where knowledge and skills were passed down behind closed doors. Magic was the most secretively continued knowledge among them.

Furthermore, Ophelia's magic was akin to a treasure the Blackhand clan had sculpted through large and small sacrifices over a long time. The act of showing it to Eugene itself was an extremely exceptional occurrence.

"It was truly incredible. It felt as if she was placing a hypnosis not on a specific target, but on the entire space Ophelia was in. Because even I, who possess fairly strong resistance to magic, got swept up in it. It's a type that mobilizes sight, hearing, and smell..."

Watching Valda listen attentively with her ears perked up, Eugene suddenly grew curious.

What kind of illusion would Valda have seen if she had been in that place?

Would she have been able to enjoy the warm smiles and embraces of her beloved nanny, Grace, once again? Or would she have dreamt a different dream?

* * *

The next morning. When the Mongoose mercenary group trudged toward the city, Eugene's army resumed its advance with high morale.

Eugene selected a place he had prioritized from the start among the several colonies.

"We strike the Rakshasa's shelter first."

"It is a good judgment."

The adventurer nodded enthusiastically. Because the group inflicting the most damage upon Tripol City, where he lived, was the Rakshasas.

Although the Smallfolk were wicked, they did not venture out of the deep jungle, their stronghold, very often. Even if they did, repelling them was not difficult as long as one prepared well against ambushes.

On the other hand, Rakshasas with good physical capabilities operating spearmen and javelin throwers on a large scale were opponents even an army would struggle to beat easily.

"The loot will also be larger than other Sain-folk or monsters. Since the bastards aggressively collect shiny things because they like them."

"Come to think of it, they did have a lot of things draped around their bodies during the last battle, too."

That was the reason Eugene's subordinates frequently bent over at the waist and grinned widely while double-tapping. Though there were some among them who frowned while disposing of cubs instead of accessories.

"It's because they are such a strong matriarchal society. The bastards' males have weak bodies and are small in number, receiving precious care. Thus, the females compete aggressively in courtship."

"Are you saying they adorn themselves to seduce males?"

"That is correct. The Rakshasas do make this and that, but they are crude. At best, accessories made from beast bones or teeth are everything. They cannot compare to the exquisite crafts of city artisans."

How many humans they ambush and how well they plunder loot! That was one of the crucial elements determining a female's charm in a Rakshasa society.

"To think the reason wasn't a desire for meat, but pride and a craving for the opposite sex. They must be far more troublesome than other monsters."

It was an element clearly distinguishing them from monsters that moved solely based on starvation. There was a reason they were separately classified as Sain-folk.

Thanks to Ophelia's hypnotic interrogation, Eugene's army could head toward the Rakshasa tribe using the shortest route.

"Kiiiiq-."

"Kiit-."

Two Smallfolk attached with muzzles and leashes guided the path at the head of the army with cloudy eyes.

Ophelia also knew the path having read the bastards' mental imagery. Because she was still an outsider who hadn't walked it a single time, however, the bastards' guidance would be more accurate.

"It seems we are going the right way."

The adventurer functioning as a guide pointed at a carriage abandoned and getting buried in the sand. Its wheel axles were broken.

"This is not a path humans travel. If a carriage broke down and was abandoned after being dragged out here, it is definitely the work of Rakshasas."

"Did they just haul this and that into the carriage after looting a caravan, and it broke down here? And they couldn't repair it, so they just abandoned it?"

"Exactly."

The carriage was empty, and human bone fragments were scattered around it.

"Damn it."

The mercenaries softly cursed.

Because the bones were full of lacerations as if scraped by teeth everywhere. It could be guessed what kind of miserable fate the victims met. It didn't seem like they were mercifully killed before being eaten.

Seeing people victimized by wild beasts or monsters was not uncommon in Roman or Gord either. Since everyone had been mercenaries for a long time, they weren't unfamiliar with seeing such traces.

However, seeing scenes of collectively hunting, cooking, and devouring humans like in Samur was rare.

"Keep your wits sharply together."

"They are opponents with no way out if you lose."

In battles against humans, if lucky, one might be released after getting their equipment confiscated, or at least expect the mercy of being sold as a slave.

However, there was no option to surrender when defeat loomed heavily in this fight. The bastards would fiercely chase down and catch them to the last person.

This was the reason hired warriors, including the Mongoose mercenary group, usually did not invade into strongholds. Because there was no turning back if they lost even once.

"So this is why eradicating them was difficult."

"Usually, appropriately dealing with the stray forces descending near the trade routes is all they do. Then the bastards retreat and attack again later after swelling their forces..."

"Then it would be an endless repetition. Though it would be good for missionaries because it's safe and provides work."

The adventurer smiled bitterly at Eugene's words.

To properly eradicate them, one had to gather a large army under the command of a high noble and push in to the end. That was impossible in a free city, however.

This was also the reason Eugene's army received exceptionally precious treatment.

The experience of marching beyond the Shield Mountains of Gord and thoroughly crushing the Gnolls. The city nobles pinned their hopes on that.

"I see the bastards over there."

Hoping they would barge right into the Rakshasa's stronghold exactly like right now.

At a glance, it was a landscape looking similar to a mobile settlement set up by human or Dark Elf nomadic tribes.

Numerous tents resembling yurts were pitched, and smoke billowed up from cooking everywhere as if it was mealtime.

However, at the entrance of the settlement fluttered flags made from completely flayed human skins in the wind.

"... Gods!"

"Uaaah!"

Furthermore, screams full of pain and terror mixed with the wind could be faintly heard.