Chapter 138

Chapter 138 - Zombie Apocalypse (4)

Currently, Eugene was stationed in the Appen Mountains traversing the southern Appen Peninsula of the continent.

Because the surroundings are mostly forests and mountainous terrain, there are significant restrictions on cavalry operations. Thus, the reorganized army is centered around infantry.

"Leave the search to us sisters and watch the house well."

The tribal warriors centered around horse archers returned, and as if passing the baton, the female warriors under Cassandra joined.

Their trained bodies revealed even over their clothes, and every single face overflowed with confidence. It was an appearance that did not doubt the forests and mountains were their domain.

Added to that were the Hammer Brotherhood dwarves and some light cavalrymen who would take on the role of scouts.

Eugene pinpointed nearby villages marked on the map and decided the march route.

"The tribe members who lost contact wouldn't have gone far... Because they should know I will come here with the castle."

"Even if they fell into a crisis, they would be hiding somewhere while preserving their combat power... Because they are people capable of protecting at least their own lives even in difficult situations."

Rex believed in the tribal warriors.

Their combat method always placed emphasis on minimizing damage rather than glorious grand victories. If the children of the forest intended to survive in the forest, they could become truly as tenacious as weeds.

"We will make camp here today... We will enter the second village tomorrow, so pay attention to managing your stamina in preparation for battle."

As Eugene's order fell, knocking and hammering sounds began to be heard from everywhere.

A mixed unit of the dwarves, an earth race, and Dark Elf female warriors specialized in guerrilla warfare. Thanks to this peculiar combination, the scenery of setting up the camp was extraordinary from the start.

With the sound of axe strikes from all directions, Eugene felt as if he had come to a country of woodpeckers.

"This is my first time seeing such a busy camp construction."

"It is a bit noisy... However, we guarantee its safety."

Rampage smiled brightly and looked at the watchtower for guard duty whose foundation was already completed.

Since dwarves are short, they cannot fully engage in guard duty standing on bare ground like humans. Because even if the bushes are only slightly tall, half their vision is blocked.

For that reason, even if they camped for a single day, they made something they could step up on.

And the race called dwarves were people whose motto was 'If we're going to make it, let's make it properly!'.

The completed temporary watchtower became a makeshift fortress providing a higher line of sight than ordinary human mercenaries.

However, just as there is always someone flying above someone running, in this camp, there were ladies who would scoff even at the watchtowers the dwarves boasted of.

"You bearded little runts... Why don't you leave the watch of the forest to us instead of overexerting yourselves?"

Laughter could be heard from above the heads of the dwarves entering the final stages of their work.

The Dark Elf female warriors were sitting on trees dangling their legs.

Having discarded horsemanship, they were experts in mountain warfare. Even Rex's cavalry yielded a step to Cassandra's subordinates in the forests and mountains.

"Do you really plan to sleep up in the trees?"

"Of course... Not coming down from the trees during the night is our field doctrine."

Cassandra, holding an axe, smiled radiantly.

While the dwarves were doing construction work on the ground, the tribal female warriors were trimming branches up in the trees. Cutting away all elements interfering with surveillance was their camp preparation.

That was the reason the knocking sounds occurred so loudly from above and below.

"In a forest or mountain, the one dominating the treetops dominates the battlefield... No matter how hard you glare with your eyes on the ground, would it match looking down from up here?"

"I suppose that would be true, but."

"...Tch."

Unlike Eugene, who agreed, Rampage smacked his lips. Even if her words weren't wrong, of all places, wasn't it right next to his employer? It was inevitable for his pride to be hurt.

"Even leaving guard duty aside, resting and sleeping would be more uncomfortable than on the ground."

"You can rest as comfortably as on a bed, so please do not worry... If you cannot manage that, you cannot become a member of ours."

By the time the branch trimming finished and the female warriors settled down to lie one by one, Eugene's interest was also piqued.

"May I try going up too? I am curious about the feeling of surveying the surroundings from above."

"Of course... There is no need to ask permission for each and every thing like that."

Cassandra tried to extend her hand, but Eugene declined and kicked off the ground.

Doing a triangle kick off the tree trunk just like that, he could grab a tree branch in his hand. As he bounced his body up with his wrist and arm strength, he instantly mounted the branch and leveled his gaze with the female warriors.

The nearby female warriors, who only knew his monstrous strength and combat techniques were incredible but didn't expect him to possess such agile bodily movements, widened their eyes roundly.

"Everything is visible, isn't it?"

Eugene marveled on his own at the wide open view. He could see far incomparable to standing guard on the ground.

"I really should consider entrusting the entire guard duty to you all?"

"Fufu... Right?"

Cassandra, who had hopped over a few branches, stood beside Eugene.

"When climbing trees, it is better to take off your shoes if possible... Because otherwise, you might slip and fall."

"I will keep that in mind."

The female warriors including Cassandra were moving around on the trees barefoot.

Looking closely, they were consciously gripping the tree branches with the soles of their feet as if wrapping around them. Though it seemed like nothing much, it was likely a footwork perfected through considerable training.

"Then shall we take full charge of the guard duty?"

"No... As expected, that won't do."

Seeing Rampage looking up with mournful eyes unfitting for his appearance, he couldn't bring himself to issue such an order.

"There must be types of dangers only detectable on the ground too... Like minute vibrations... Or smells."

"I think you evaluate them too highly?"

Cassandra, standing on one foot, extended her other leg and pointed at the dwarves in the middle of earnest construction. Her pedicure, dyed purple like her eyes, sparkled receiving the sunset.

"...Cassandra... Withdraw that foot... We will be sharing our joys and sorrows throughout the operation, so show some more respect."

"I shall follow your command."

Perhaps because she had poured out everything she wanted to do sufficiently? Cassandra bowed with a refreshed face.

"Besides, you can't ignore the dwarves' beards, can you?"

"That is true."

Even the great Cassandra acknowledged the dwarves' sensory hair. That granted premonitions equivalent to a mage's to warriors ignorant of magic.

"Why don't you sleep up here today?"

"I appreciate the invitation, but if I slept in a tree, I would end up plummeting while tossing and turning."

"Ahaha... Naturally, we don't demand our standards from you, Lord."

Above the tree Cassandra pointed to, a hammock was installed.

"When did you install something like that?"

"When recommending something to a superior, isn't it proper etiquette to bring it up only after finishing all the setups? Regardless of whether they accept or decline, that is."

"Next time... It is a search operation for lost comrades in name, so I want to ensure absolute perfection."

"That is a shame."

Perhaps because she didn't have high expectations from the start, Cassandra also backed down obediently.

"Captain... I have brought what you ordered."

A middle-aged female warrior who hopped over from the opposite tree held out freshly gathered, crisp herbs.

Cassandra skillfully braided them akin to an intertwining straw rope, then placed them in a small censer and handed it to Eugene.

"Grasses that chase away bugs and grasses that help with deep sleep?"

"As expected, you know them well."

"They are grasses not easy to find, so thank you... I will use them well."

Unlike when going up, he willingly received help going down.

Grip.

Cassandra's appearance holding the heavy Eugene with one arm and lowering him to an appropriate position to jump down. That was definitely a completed warrior capable of pulling their own weight.

* * *

The second village they arrived at was also in a state of having suffered a tragedy. Rambling monsters were leaking bizarre shrieks all over the village.

"Even in a situation like that, the energy of death still cannot be felt."

In Eugene's gaze, who hid his body in the tall grass, a monster staring blankly at the sky came into view.

A state where a significant portion of the flesh on its face had disappeared, half-turned into a skeleton. Mycelium grown even more bumpy and rugged covered it between the tattered clothes.

Rather than rotting, it felt like giving up flesh and using it as nourishment to grow fungi.

The problem was that, unlike Wights, they didn't become slower or weaker just because their flesh disappeared. The unidentified mycelium was acting as armor or muscles instead.

Even if they couldn't bite like Wights, they could swing axes or clubs, so their offensive power wasn't a problem. In fact, in this aspect, they were superior to Wights.

"Do you see that? Its weapon and hand are assimilated."

The half-plantified monster had its hand and axe handle fused together. Some monsters had mycelium hardened like glue between their hands and weapons, fastening them.

"For those pitiful ones, personal happiness is no longer necessary... There is no need to hug family or mend clothes... They merely need to swing their weapons at enemies according to the spirit's command, and that is it."

Valda wore a gloomy expression.

She was someone who wished to love both the beautiful and ugly sides of the forest while facing them directly. However, she could absolutely not get accustomed to the elements of parasite and host.

Although she understood this too was a massive part composing nature, its behavior was far too cruel.

"What could be the reason for the spirit of the forest causing such an act?"

"There is nothing as pointless as trying to understand a spirit... Was it hungry, did it simply hate humans, did it wish to reign as a ruler, or was it swept by the desire to reproduce... There are so many that it's difficult to pick just one."

"In any case, I clearly understand they are targets that must be subjugated."

Eugene gestured to the troops standing by in the rear. It was a hand signal ordering them to prepare for battle.

As if they had been waiting, the Hammer Brotherhood with itching faces gripped their weapons. Half took charge of the front rank lifting shields size of their own bodies, while the other half held two-handed blunt weapons.

Cassandra's female warriors spread out everywhere. There were many who climbed up on tree branches, let alone the ground or rocks.

"Let's go! Grant peace to those pitiful ones!"

As the dwarven warriors released their stealth and advanced toward the village, it felt as though a living fortress was walking.

The monsters wandering or crouching all over the village sharply turned their heads in unison. Letting out chaotic bizarre shrieks towards the intruders, they violently charged in.

Thud!

Thu-thud!

However, they were all blocked by the shield wall erected by the dwarves in the front line.

Compared to the mounted shields of human heavy cavalry, they were greatshields for infantry overwhelming in every aspect. Held, no less, by incomparably sturdy dwarven warriors.

"Offer your heads!"

The shield bearers in the front line were armed with military picks. It was a weapon exhibiting the most powerful destructive force among one-handed blunt weapons.

"You bastards! Where do the likes of you think you're looking down from?"

Whether because of being teased by the tribal female warriors last night, the dwarven warriors were sensitive about height differences.

A dwarven warrior who bounced off a particularly large entity among the monsters via shield bash struck its knee with his military pick.

Crunch!

Instantly, its kneecap shattered and the monster collapsed on the spot, and the pick embedded itself once more into the forehead exposed just like that.

As the pick that pierced through the considerably thick mycelium cover and the skull in one go scrambled even the brain, its movements stopped.

Thud.

He had disposed of a monster of considerable size in just two hits.

With the dwarven warriors holding two-handed blunt weapons stepping forward on top of that, the enemies began to be swept away in an instant.

"I was bothered by them fighting without shields no matter how experienced they are as warriors, but I suppose it was an unnecessary worry."

"Lord... Combat is not fought with height, but with center of gravity."

Rampage looked proudly at his subordinates partaking in a one-sided slaughter.

A difficulty similar to what humans feel when facing a wolf. The monsters were experiencing that against the dwarves.

"Kieeeek-!"

The weapons swung by the monsters frequently sliced the empty air. Because hitting dwarves moving nimbly at half their height was incredibly difficult.

Moreover, since they were all wearing dwarven-made heavy armor, even the attacks that somehow hit barely inflicted any damage.

Clang!

Even a dwarven warrior whose helmet received a direct hit from a club swung by a monster didn't budge.

"Is it thanks to the shoulder armor?"

"You recognize it immediately."

Because shoulders and heads were easy targets to be attacked, the helmets and shoulder armor of dwarves were designed to partially interlock with each other in any situation.

Even if struck on the head by a downward attack from above, the shock traveled down the shoulder armor and dispersed across the upper body. Even the thickness was beyond ordinary anyway.

On the other hand, the blunt weapons the dwarven warriors swung smashed things in one hit wherever they struck.

A two-handed hammer smashed the face of a monster covered in mycelium.

Crunch!

Amidst the shattered mushroom fragments, dozens of broken teeth scattered into the air as the monster fell backward.

"Kieek-!"

A monster pouncing from beside it was hit in the abdomen by the thrust of a centurion holding a pole hammer.

Since he thrust with a blunt hammer head, it couldn't pierce, but it delivered a massive shock. The monster's breath hitched and its waist folded 90 degrees.

Above that appetizingly exposed back of the head, the pole hammer fell.

Crack!

There was practically no mycelium protection on the back of the head. Its skull shattered like an egg just like that as the corpse plummeted to the ground.

As the doors of the village storeroom burst open and five or six monsters rushed in simultaneously, the dwarves also aligned their shoulders without losing.

"Charge!"

When the dwarven warriors rushed in together and executed a body tackle in unison, the monsters fell like bowling pins.

Although they were monsters that steadfastly held their ground against humans possessing similar heights and centers of gravity, fighting dwarves was far too disadvantageous.

Enemies heavier and harder than themselves crashing into their knees and thighs utilizing a low center of gravity; there was no trick to withstand it.

"Hey. You were so high and mighty yesterday, what are you doing? At this rate, we're going to exterminate all of them."

"I'll gladly yield them to you."

At the triumphant Rampage, Cassandra shrugged her shoulders.

It was unexpected for Eugene. Because normally when venturing out on such operations, his subordinates would fight recklessly to establish exploits.

"Because I looked at the map... A bigger battlefield is waiting, so there is no need to unnecessarily deplete our strength here."

Up to the second stronghold were villages, but the third stronghold was the manor where the local lord resided. A small stronghold composed of a large mansion and an agglomeration of serfs' houses, but the residence of a lord anyway.

If even that place became a monster den, the problem became severe. It effectively meant the nearby villages without military force were annihilated.

"You don't have certainty that place was also hit, do you?"

"I understand your worry, merciful Lord, but I do not think it will be particularly safe."

"How can you know?"

"It is a woman's intuition, a mountain keeper's intuition, and concurrently a witch's intuition."

They were all merely intuitions, but each was an element not easy to ignore individually.

"I didn't know you would have also received witch lessons."

The Cassandra Eugene saw was a lady thoroughly trained as a warrior.

"Because I harbor grand ambitions."

"That I know... Because I heard even your reason for leaving King's Castle was to become the Blackhand Tribe's Chieftain."

"I needed to possess at least one thing more special than others... And warriors inherently desire a leader who divines the future and clads herself in mystery more than a leader who simply wields a sword well."

"So you're saying you even underwent witch lessons for that?"

"Mage is a field that thoroughly requires talent, but witch is not... If one works tenaciously, anyone can achieve accomplishments."

As Cassandra lifted her abdomen covering, her beautiful, sculpturally defined abs were revealed.

"Just like physical training or swordsmanship... And I like such things... Making an effort and enjoying the rewards."

Her index finger traced along those fissures. Her fingernail, dyed purple just like her toenails, passed over clear skin.

"That is a correct statement... An appearance of making an effort is always beautiful."

Eugene also knew that Cassandra was a lady overflowing with ambition.

While it was true that sometimes that obsession felt disturbing, he honestly thought her current appearance speaking of effort so genuinely was cool.

"I wish to become a sovereign... I have always desired that from the point my memories began when I was young."

By that time, the battle was over. As if a storm whirling with boulders had passed by, the monsters were thoroughly smashed to pieces.

"Is there anything you desperately desire too, Lord? Ever since I met you, I have always been curious about that."

Cassandra's expression was endlessly serious. Beyond simple curiosity, it was also an exploration into the target she would place her life's biggest bet on.

"Something I desperately desire..."

It was a harsh world simply preserving one's own life.

Receiving his mother's keepsake back from the Chief God Religion monastery where residence was restricted until adulthood.

Protecting his precious Homi who followed only looking at him and gifting her a stable life.

Standing firm as a knight so as not to tarnish his Master's honor.

Attaining those small goals one by one and sprinting forward was his life thus far.

"If it is not impolite, I would dare to know your true desire, Lord."

However, the beautiful lady before his eyes wanted more than that.

Was it because no one had asked him until now? Or was it because of Cassandra's attitude being so serious about dreams and efforts?

Eugene did not dislike such bold curiosity.