Chapter 128

Chapter 128 - Omen (2)

What Eugene brought to Tripol City was not just a combat force.

Thanks to accepting the Blackhand family as residents and retainers, he could receive support from various talents.

Merchants who would generate profit through trading loot and trade goods.

Quartermasters who would replenish military supplies, medical supplies, and daily necessities.

Informants who would roam the light and dark sides of the city to gather useful information.

Having them stay in the city and provide internal support while Eugene went on external expeditions was incredibly reassuring. This applied to the operation of his territory in addition to the military aspect.

'Harvest yields and public order are normal... Cargo volume has slightly increased... There was a patient at the port, but it was diagnosed as a cold... No omens of the Northern Empire's army regrouping.'

Reading the first of the two letters sent by his loyal butler in Northpork, Eugene nodded.

"Will you give me the next one?"

"Here you go."

A tribal witch with pale skin retrieved a letter from the peregrine falcon's leg and handed it over.

While the first letter was a regular report, the second contained matters requiring his approval. They were issues relating to the Lord's authority, not particularly complex incidents.

As he quickly reviewed and handed the signed letter back, the witch carefully folded it and placed it in a waterproof pouch.

Peck peck.

Meanwhile, the peregrine falcon that finished its delivery ate the sliced chicken meat placed on a plate. Gulping it down without even chewing properly, it seemed to have been exceedingly hungry.

"You went through a lot of trouble flying all the way here from Northpork."

Since ancient times, falcons were known as demonic animals that fascinated people in power. Eugene also felt a desperate urge to stroke its majestic figure, but he held it in. Because you shouldn't even touch a dog while it's eating.

"There was a reason the family trained witches so fervently. It would be difficult to coordinate members scattered all over the continent without familiars like this... It is truly excellent."

"We are pleased that you evaluate us highly, but we are not proper mages... This child is also a familiar completed by combining several shortcuts, so delivering letters is its limit."

Perhaps worried about receiving unreasonable demands, the witch spoke humbly.

It is common for nobles to demand things beyond a mage's capabilities. Let alone witches, who had restrictions on the mysteries they could contain compared to mages, they felt an even greater burden.

Naturally, Eugene had no such intentions. He simply admired them purely.

A faint, although weak, beastly mystery could be felt from the witch. Fostering individuals artificially who could accept and wield mysteries in their bodies was an astonishing underlying strength.

"It is different from the eagle owl Lady Valda employed as a friend... Should I call this moderation and self-restraint? It shows an obedience unbefitting a bird of prey."

"It is because we raised it from a young age with much of its instincts removed through potions and spells... Unlike its appearance, its personality is similar to a small mountain bird... It is timid and does not even know how to hunt live prey... To the point where it gets scared even by a wriggling loach."

"That would make it easier to use as a delivery bird... Thanks to that, my mind is put at ease... Traveling around through the Moving Castle is nice, but I always worried about the territory I left behind."

"If I may dare say so, your sentiments alone are plenty enough, my Lord... The majority of nobles who possess several villages as their territory leave them neglected with proxy managers."

It was exactly as the witch said. There were overflowing nobles who feigned ignorance regarding their territory's operation, claiming it was enough as long as the designated taxes were paid on time.

To the point where a place was evaluated as good to live in as long as the territory's residents were not squeezed dry with high taxes and corvée labor.

"They are them, and I am me... Thanks to you people, I can at least act the part of a Lord to a minimal degree even in a foreign land."

Having eaten everything, the peregrine falcon tilted its head back and forth while looking at Eugene. Befitting a creature harboring magic, it seemed to have developed an interest in Eugene, who exuded a powerful mystery.

When he extended his finger, the bird bit it lightly between its beak. A long, thin tongue wrapped around it this way and that. It felt dry rather than moist, and ticklish.

"Peregrine falcons are vastly superior to pigeons in every aspect."

The witch stroked the falcon's head with pride.

Because pigeons relied on a homing instinct, they were strictly for one-way deliveries, restricted to a single location. That was different from this. It could seek out the witch no matter where the Moving Castle disappeared to.

Their flight speed was also much faster, and their higher weight class allowed them to carry larger loads. They were secure from predators' attacks. Because they wouldn't be attacked unless by top-tier birds of prey like black eagles.

Before flight, they were fed a highly concentrated nutritional potion, the secret legacy of witches. It was the final puzzle piece helping them endure long-distance flights without needing to eat.

"Is that something humans can eat too?"

"That is true, but the manufacturing cost is too expensive."

Seeing the potential for combat rations, Eugene asked, causing the witch to answer with a troubled expression.

"The cost is fine. If we use it, we will only supply it restrictedly in a few special situations anyway."

"Ah, u-um, well... It wasn't formulated with human consumption in mind, so the ingredients also include frogs and caterpillars..."

"Oh! It must be high in protein... Please continue."

"???"

No noble would show such bizarre interest and reaction. Once he heard the ingredients, he should have stepped back with a disgusted expression.

Though it mattered little to Eugene, who had attached earthworms to fishhooks with his bare hands and even chewed and swallowed centipedes during hell week training in the military.

"While serving him, you might face all sorts of difficult questions... However, do not panic and answer calmly... Since he is absolutely not someone to punish you just because the answer is unsatisfactory."

Just as she was warned by the sub-chief beforehand, he was an incredibly unique knight.

* * *

Tripol City was currently enjoying a kind of war boom.

Because the city was bustling with people seeking refuge and those stranded as the desert trade routes became dangerous, and the money they spent was enormous.

Furthermore, commerce also flourished as the loot brought in by mercenaries and knights who went through battles circulated in the city.

However, this was merely a temporary situation. If they didn't secure the safety of the trade routes quickly, everything would rapidly deteriorate.

As expected, the city sent a person to summon Eugene.

Upon arriving at the magistrate's office, there were three other mercenary captains present alongside the city executive.

"Welcome. Lord."

As the executive offered a greeting on behalf of everyone, the mercenary captains also stood up in awkward postures.

They were also the leaders of sizable mercenary groups, and some led armies larger in number than Eugene's. So even if not completely equal, they held a somewhat comparable standing.

However, given his skill and fame as a knight were incredibly grand, and he even held the unprecedented title of Moving Castle Lord.

Even the executive, who would treat nobles possessing a village or two with condescension, was speaking to him politely. The mercenary captains couldn't dare act audaciously.

"I imagine you have already heard why we gathered like this."

"I know it is because of the Lamia that harmed the Jackdaw mercenary group."

It was a monster with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a beautiful woman.

"It is not an ordinary Lamia! We're saying it's a champion!"

"It's a bastard inhabiting the Samur desert anyway, so it's even more venomous at its core!"

The mercenary captains made a fuss. They were people who frequently took on dangerous missions where clients deliberately hid certain facts.

Understating the number of enemies, failing to disclose the exact identity during monster subjugations, or deceiving them by claiming it was a subspecies a few grades lower.

Since dying due to differently worded explanations was a daily occurrence, they reacted sensitively to these aspects.

"We ask for the Lord's understanding... Because there are many who suffered direct or indirect damages because of that damn Lamia during subjugation."

"I understand."

Just as dogs, pigs, and cows are divided into numerous subspecies, monsters also undergo major or minor evolution depending on their habitat, dividing into subspecies.

If an ordinary Lamia wore natural colors and gave off a somewhat slippery feeling, the Desert Lamia possessed a pale brown color with a rough texture.

Furthermore, an organ emitting sounds hung on its tail, and its venom was strong, making it incredibly similar to a rattlesnake.

"Is this a gathering to discuss the subjugation of that champion? Though it seems there are not enough people called for that."

The mercenary groups mobilized by the city numbered more than this. Above all, not a single knight who came individually pursuing fame was visible.

"We did not have the luxury to wait until everyone was summoned... Besides, it is not yet clear whether it is a champion."

A champion referred to an individual who gained immense power upon receiving the blessing of the god the monsters served. It became a region's disaster by demonstrating capabilities that overwhelmingly overpowered their existing kin in all aspects.

A representative example was the Hobgoblin. Goblins harbored a primitive totem faith and offered various tributes, and the mystery accumulated from that often birthed a Hobgoblin.

However, it is easy to fill a small vessel but hard to fill a large one. It is not easy for a god's blessing to descend upon higher races.

Thanks to that, it was much more common to mistake an accidentally born mutant or an individual strengthened through combat experience for a champion.

Especially the mercenaries risking their lives on the front lines, who were bound to make a fuss claiming it was a champion whenever anything seemed strange.

Conversely, clients who had to lower costs and reassure mercenaries so they wouldn't get scared avoided using the title champion carelessly.

"Lord... We must hurry the attack against the Alpha Lamia as quickly as possible."

Instead, they used the term Alpha more often. Considering the era's background, it was quite a progressive expression.

It was a product combining abnormally developed biology due to interspecies love, along with political interests.

"No, Executive... I'm telling you it's a champion!"

"You didn't see it yourself either, did you?"

"But consider how tough those Jackdaw bastards are... The fact they were shattered like that cannot be explained unless it's a champion."

"From what I heard, the surviving survivors were mostly done in by ordinary Lamias and Desert Orcs."

Those who faced the real deal, including the Jackdaw mercenary captain and vice-captain, were all dead. It was merely the rear forces following a little distance away who saw the outline of a massive Lamia from afar as they fled.

"But!"

Seeing this now, there was a reason the highest-ranking official in the city stepped up, leaving the magistrate aside. Because the excited mercenary captains couldn't be controlled unless suppressed by age and status.

"Regardless, if we are to subjugate it, we must hurry."

The executive, who stabilized the atmosphere with appropriate logic and authority, spoke to Eugene.

"Wouldn't it be better to gather more troops before striking?"

"It would have been if it were an ordinary adversary, but the situation is special right now... The Alpha Lamia has not fully subjugated the local pack yet... Furthermore, the Desert Orcs are also fighting without backing down over supremacy."

"It is fortunate we discovered it early."

"However, if we delay too much, it could swell its forces to the thousands like the Gnoll that appeared in the southern part of Gord."

Eugene nodded. The Gnoll chieftain there met a tragic end because of the monsters Eugene unleashed from inside the Moving Castle.

If it weren't for that, a massive bloodshed would have occurred with that force invading southern Gord.

And they could not hope for the same luck here.

"So we are the vanguard?"

"Yes... We will not demand an immediate subjugation. It is sufficient if you go first, observe their state, and maintain a posture to snatch the fisherman's profit at any time... Also gathering information along the way."

"I understand the situation."

The executive sighed in relief at Eugene's calm acceptance.

As expected, he was an existence one could rely on in the face of true crisis. The existence that slaughters monsters is always a knight.

He was different in this aspect from the cowardly mercenaries who, despite leading powerful forces, were solely thorough about self-preservation.

Furthermore, just as the magistrate praised, his serious demeanor lacking the arrogance typical of other knights completely struck his fancy.

'He is still too young, but he has many to assist him.'

The only flaw was perhaps his lack of experience? However, there were two veteran mages accompanying him by his side. He was also someone receiving the devotion of the Blackhand mercenary group, who were unparalleled in monster hunting.

"We will depart right away tomorrow."

Although the mercenary captains felt displeased by the conversation proceeding as if excluding them somehow, they could not dare say anything.

It was awkward to interrupt the nobles' conversation, and as ones who lived by selling their swords, their pride was hurt to tell a warrior stepping up bravely to act prudent.

Starting from the units that finished preparations like that, re-sorties commenced.

Due to various limits including supplies, all of them rushing out simultaneously was impossible. It was standard to split into unit levels, depart, and regroup at several designated points.

The first to depart was Eugene's army. It was an expedition speed possible because, unlike ordinary mercenary groups, they possessed an administrative and supply system to support them from behind.

Following that, mercenary groups that hastily finished preparations began leaving one by one, promised higher compensation.

* * *

"The situation is worse than I thought."

Marching along the trade route, Eugene clicked his tongue at the appearance of the people crossing over from the opposite direction.

People who formed sizable groups, like mercenary groups or merchant caravans, were somewhat better off. Pilgrims or travelers moving in small numbers were in a dreadful state.

Rex, who had wandered various battlefields, brushed it off, perhaps accustomed to such sights.

"News travels slowly due to the characteristics of the Samur region... There must be many who are on the move not knowing that monsters and Sain-folk are all running rampant."

"Or they misjudged the level of danger."

There would be more than one or two who met a tragic fate that way.

Just like the woman walking over with a dazed face from the other side of the trade route right now. Her clothes were covered in blood and dust, and she held a newborn baby in her arms.

"She wouldn't have set off alone with a baby... It seems her entire family died, and she luckily survived alone... Since she is close to the city, entering will not be a problem."

The adventurer attached as a guide spoke.

"Homi."

Eugene received a package the size of two fists from a nearby heavy cavalryman and tossed it.

It was a combat ration consisting of jerky, salted hardtack, and dried fruits. It was a packaged supply developed so that his subordinates could easily eat anytime.

Receiving the combat ration, Homi directed her horse and handed it to the woman.

"Th-thank you!"

Shedding thick tears at the unexpected help, the woman continuously bowed her head.

"If you need work, ask the city guard and head to the Golden Sand Mansion... Tell them you came with Eugene's recommendation, and they will let you work as a maid."

"...!"

Because he didn't slow the march, the woman, who opened her eyes wide, quickly disappeared behind them.

"Will you take her in?"

Unlike the apathetic tribal warriors, Hind asked with a joyful face.

The Golden Sand Mansion was where Eugene stayed. Educated at the house of a Border Knight, Hind felt pride in this kind of charity more than other knights.

"Because only a miserable future awaits her if she enters the city like this."

"She could preserve her life, but it would be far from a healthy life... Moreover, the baby would struggle to survive, even if the woman manages."

"This must be fate as well... Plus, there are plenty of empty rooms in my castle anyway, and we need a lot of hands."

As the march continued, they could tell the situation was more serious than expected. Wounded individuals and corpses littered everywhere in villages that functioned as supply bases on the trade routes.

"Ughh."

"I c-can't breathe..."

It wasn't that the village was attacked. A mercenary group heavily defeated in battle had barely managed to flee and simply collapsed in the village.

While offering food and providing medical care, the residents looked at each other with anxious faces. They showed signs of debating whether to abandon the village and flee.

"W-welcome! Welcome!"

In the midst of that, when Eugene's elite-looking army arrived, the village leaders, including the chief, welcomed them with open arms.

Because as people with much to lose, they hated abandoning the village and leaving. The stationing of a powerful army in times like this was like God's grace.

"Jefferson! Catch a pig right now!"

"We will depart immediately, so there's no need for hospitality."

Waving off the fussing village chief, Eugene dismounted and examined a dying mercenary.

Because it wasn't an ordinary wound, but an aura of malicious mystery that emanated from it.

"Did you feel it too?"

Eugene nodded at Marbas, who had approached at some point.

"It is a curse."

A black aura shaped roughly like a snake was coiling around the mercenary's body. A bizarre fishy smell wafted from it. It was a stench that those without magical aptitude could not smell.

"It seems the bastard we are facing this time knows how to wield magic."

Though he expected a mutant with larger and more powerful physical capabilities, the opponent was an enemy far more dangerous than that.

"A c-curse you say?"

"To think it is a curse..."

Despite speaking quietly, the tribal warriors with keen ears became completely tense. No matter how robust warriors were, they wavered in the face of superstitious threats.

If an existence that could not be pierced by arrows or slashed by swords came to scratch them, even hundred-battle veterans had no choice but to lose their courage.

However, they were lucky this time. Because their leader was someone who slashed what could not be slashed and grasped what could not be grasped.

Clench!

Eugene's large hand grabbed the collar of the dying mercenary.

"What are you doing right now?!"

"Even if you are a knight, such atrocities cannot be forgiven!"

The moment nearby comrades were about to lunge at him with half panic and half anger. Eugene pulled his hand strongly, exactly as if pulling out weeds.

Kyaaaaaaak-!

Everyone present felt the scream left behind as the evil curse ripped away pierce through their souls.