Chapter 181

Chapter 181 - Conqueror (4)

The western lords were also aware of the news that the occupation force left by the Kruger family was being attacked by a large group of Orcs. Naturally, their reaction was cynical.

"These guys received heavenly punishment!"

"It is gratifying, but rooting for monsters is a bit..."

"I never rooted for them. I'm saying let's just feel the mood of watching pirate ships sink in bad weather."

The western lords spectated with a sense of distance of a few steps back.

"Uh? Why is an army coming out of that forest?"

"It's Earl Meyer's flag!"

However, this time the spectacle was spectacular. A third faction swept over the two groups that had been fighting fiercely and cleaned them up.

The eyes of the nobles, who were in the posture of spectators, gathered on the administrator of the west, the temporary head of the Edward family.

"Lord Philip! You must go out to meet him quickly."

"Do you know for what purpose Earl Meyer came up? Do you not know how terrifying the army he leads is?"

In individual martial prowess, it is easy to attach exaggeration. Because ordinary people like to bloat rumors and make heroes and legends as a rule.

However, military exploits are difficult to attach exaggerations to. Because there are many witnesses, and one cannot claim to have won a lost battle.

Considering how little time has passed since he entered Britannia, it's to the point of being a mystery how he slaughters decently sized armies every time.

"If by any chance the Earl came harboring bad intentions, we will be captured as we are."

"But if he came bearing good intentions, we will lose the best ally. If he chased away evil enemies and didn't even receive a single thanks, towards whom would his anger be directed?"

It wasn't a wrong statement. Even if Eugene himself tried to let it slide, his subordinate vassals would run wild. Because it's a very excellent justification.

In the history of nobles, there are often precedents of swallowing up territories using such ingratitude as an excuse.

Philip sighed.

"In this situation, there's nothing more foolish than expecting good intentions."

"Even if you don't go out to meet him, it's the same that we have no future anyway. Because without King's Field, there is no future. Are we going to live our whole lives with our leashes given to the outside?"

Unlike the south, center, and east, which can trade with the continent, beyond the west is only the vast open sea.

Therefore, the granary protruding towards the center was an object of love and hate. To the extent that it's said half the westerners who have died on battlefields so far were directly or indirectly related to King's Field.

"If it's the end either way, let's at least keep our honor as nobles."

"In this civil war, it seems no one cares about noble honor, you see."

Kruger, who proclaimed himself king and schemes sneaky tricks; the western lords who completely fell for it and betrayed them; even Viscount Winchester who brought in two foreign armies.

However, the sad Philip had no method.

Like a person facing a crisis, he decided to try believing what he wanted to believe. The honor Eugene had built up drew him in as sweetly as a devil's temptation.

As a result, that was a correct judgment.

"Are you really returning King's Field?"

Philip was flustered at Eugene's attitude of willingly offering it to take.

"Stealing a noble's land as one pleases is abnormal, isn't it?"

"T-That is true, but."

Even something called custom becomes nominal if there's an overwhelming difference in power. Especially when everyone else is breaking it, it's natural to not want to keep it while only suffering a loss oneself.

"Britannia is a blessed land. I raised an army to drive out barbarism and protect precious traditions here. Reviving the Emerald Garden was for the same reason."

A stubborn insistence on old things is a virtue shared by all nobles and the source of the authority they possess. Raised and grown as a noble, Philip couldn't help but be persuaded by this claim accompanied by actions.

"Thank you... really."

Philip grabbed Eugene's two hands and only then did he shed tears.

That was not an equal appearance of the representative of the west and the representative of the south. It was closer to the appearance of a follower obeying a new order.

* * *

A short while later, having calmed down, Philip asked what he was really curious about.

"But through which road on earth did you come? We received absolutely no news."

In order for an army of this size to come up from the south, the roads that can be used are limited. Eugene's army has many cavalrymen, so procuring drinking water and horse feed is also tricky.

"We came passing through the White Rock Forest."

"That is too rugged a forest for an army to pass through, though."

"There is no rugged forest on the path ahead of my army."

When Eugene looked back, Valda riding an ivory-colored horse approached.

An Elf lady looking as if God sculpted her with only pure white and pure gold.

"The Sage of the Emerald Forest! Lady Philiamor!"

"There is no forest we cannot pass through if this person is together with us. The roots absorb moisture and harden the muddy ground, thorny vines lay down their thorns on their own, and the trees step aside to open a path, you see."

"Seeing it like this, I realize the rumors I heard were rather inadequate."

The moment Philip saw Valda's beautiful form, he realized the autumns he had seen every year were merely husks. In front of him was the true autumn descended in the form of a woman.

The time was already entering late afternoon, so they prepared to camp.

Residential tents were raised in the comfortable nomadic way, drainage ditches and guard posts were constructed in the Dwarven way, and traps for alarms were set up by the female task force under Cassandra.

A solidity provided by things that cannot mix mixing together. The western lords felt tranquility rather than pressure.

'Well, it seems like nothing will change even if we resist.'

'Then I should comfortably enjoy it.'

They simply threw away unnecessary worries. Giving up makes things comfortable as a rule.

"To the honorable ones who brightened this occasion today!"

"To the harmony of the west and the south!"

Thanks to that, they could sincerely enjoy the banquet prepared with various liquors and foods.

"Is this Airag? This is truly a liquor that perfectly suits warriors. Vitality circulates inside the body and strength forcefully surges!"

Using tales of martial prowess as a side dish, the knights exchanged glasses a few times and became close at once.

"Sprinkle a lot of pepper please. Sparing it like that, would there even be a scent?"

"B-But, how could I the precious..."

"Ah, geez. Give it here."

Shake shake shake!

"Heu-eok! What are you doing?"

A poor noble seeing pepper for the first time in his life was astounded by Baron Foster's merciless peppering.

"You have to sprinkle at least this much for it to be a real soup. It's spicy and amazing."

"Ooh!"

However, the taste was amazing reflecting the expensive price.

Around the time the banquet's atmosphere sufficiently matured, Eugene and Philip talked about the main issue.

"So you formed an alliance with Earl Harvester?"

"It would be more accurate to see it as a transactional relationship rather than an alliance. My promise is finished, so now it's his turn to keep his promise."

"The east is a place that holds pride in that even the poorest eat bread every day. They never break promises related to food."

"A unique stubbornness. Good for me, though."

The eastern black soil region embracing abundant nutrients provided stable harvest yields. It's not always bumper years, but there are no instances of famine due to bad years either.

"Originally, I intended to take the food obtained by occupying this place, but that would also be awkward."

Eugene remembered the western soldiers who lined up in front of the food distribution stand. At a glance, the signs of starvation are evident. To the point they looked more destitute than Eugene's prisoners when stripped of their armor.

"I will leave the captured food behind too."

"Excellency! That is too..."

Philip, who had reached the point where receiving it flatteringly was embarrassing, tried to decline but closed his mouth. Because under the table, a vassal stepped on Philip's foot.

"...This is a thankful thing."

"If it's awkward to just receive, how about granting a request from this side? Actually, I have about 2 things I hope for."

"Please speak by all means. I am merely a single regent, but if it is a matter under my authority, I will comply as much as possible."

While rejoicing, Philip drew a line so as not to become a blemish to the family. He is only substituting for his captured father, not the family head.

"One is the privilege for the ports in the western coastal region. I want you to provide tax exemption rights for entry and transportation."

"You mean the ports in the west?"

The eastern sea of Britannia connects with 3 empires, 6 small kingdoms, and 8 free cities. However, there was nothing to the western sea. Just the endlessly unfolding sea.

"There seems to be some mistake. The western coast has no value as a port. There's just docks used by fishermen."

"Then can I consider it accepted? Since there's nothing to regret at all. Whether it's a large warehouse or port facilities, if needed, I will build them from my side for free."

"..."

Philip could not guess the reason why Eugene made such a demand.

'Smuggling? No, what does the Great Lord of the south lack? He could just use his own ports.'

Smuggling is to avoid taxes or distribute banned items. However, Eugene was in a position to collect taxes or set banned items.

He casually glanced at his vassal, but even the experienced man had a face showing he didn't know the reason.

'Could it be to save our family's face?'

Eugene's true intent was unknown, but Philip accepted it.

A debt between nobles holds great meaning. If he could cover the great favor of King's Field's recovery with this, he welcomed it.

"The second one might be a bit difficult."

Gulp.

Perhaps thinking this was the real one, Philip swallowed his saliva.

"I intend to revive a common law that had been abolished for a long time. I want to grant knights a toll exemption right. I'd like the west to join in too."

At another unexpected proposal, not only Philip but everyone around him was flustered.

"A knight is completed through travel, but not all knights are wealthy. Isn't it a sad thing to agonize and hesitate over the path ahead because of a few pennies of tolls? It's probably a tragedy for the weak who might be saved by a knight's sword too."

All the knights in the banquet hall nodded.

Knights are treated as quasi-nobles, but there are many whose pockets are not affluent. Armor and sword are their everything, but because of face, they had to choose and pick their means of earning money too.

If they travel around looking for places to sell their military prowess, the expenses going into tolls were at a level that couldn't be ignored.

"As expected, a person who rose as a free knight is different."

The knights in the banquet hall were sincerely moved.

If this law is executed, Eugene, the Great Lord, will suffer the greatest loss. To think an appearance of stepping forward to guarantee the rights and interests of knights despite having succeeded.

"That seems difficult with just my authority."

"I understand. Because it's a tax issue. You'll have to have long discussions with the other vassals too. Honestly, passing it won't be easy."

Philip was grateful to Eugene who readily understood.

"So I plan to execute it starting from my territory. The areas under the direct jurisdiction of the Meyer family, including Haven, aim to abolish individual tolls for knights starting the 1st of next month."

"Are you serious?"

"Since I brought up the story, I should show an example, right? Now, let's toast in commemoration of this."

Philip didn't know what expression he should wear right now seeing Eugene raising his glass with a smile.

One thing certain is that with this declaration, he gained the respect of all knights, regardless of whether south or west.

Because throughout the banquet, there was no end to knights seeking to share a glass with Eugene.

- Would it be enough with just that much? Under the current situation, you could demand greater things.

- Valda. I already have sufficiently enough wealth. What I want is the possibility of the future and the power of symbols. Because the symbol is taken all by the one who preempts it.

Tariffs generated from trade or distribution taxes attached to special products like salt were the core of revenue. Knights' tolls were merely pocket change.

Giving that up and gaining the honor of being a person who speaks for knights. That was an intangible power, but not something to be ignored.

If other lords insisted on something like this, only they themselves would suffer losses and be forgotten, but for Eugene, the ripple effect was on a different dimension.

* * *

Because it was a wartime situation, the banquet ended early. Valda, who exited in advance, was being attended to by her maids.

"You ask how the sensation of riding Might is?"

Valda, who normally adheres to classical speech, spoke comfortably only when together with her maids.

Talks between women. This alone was a refreshing drink even her beloved Eugene could not resolve.

"Yes. Madam. You must've ridden it at least once, right? Regardless of whether man or woman, everyone chatters that their wish is to ride it just once."

"Since it's the strongest and fastest horse in the world."

The Dark Elves, fitting for a nomadic tribe, had an incredible longing for an outstanding war steed.

"A certain nomadic tribe in the northeastern part of the continent has several men and women having an interconnected marriage. They say they live mixed up to the point of not even knowing whose seed the baby is. However, it's said that even they do not share their horses at least."

"Oh my! That makes no sense!"

Even among the fairy race with strong chastity concepts, Valda, who is at the final boss level, covered her face in astoundment. At that cute appearance, the maids laughed merrily.

Trickle.

One maid poured mare's milk into the basin where Valda's feet were soaked.

Another maid braided and decorated Valda's hair, and that splendidness was in the realm of art.

"How did you learn such a thing?"

"From my aunts."

The Blackhand Tribe, constituting extended families, receives various teachings from various adults. Across from battles to overall life.

"To us, a warrior clan, love is something to be won. Therefore, before the coming-of-age ceremony, we also learn how to captivate a partner's heart. If there's an aunt who cooks well, there's also a grandmother who mends armor well. Because the more weapons, the better it is."

"I envy that. I was always curious what feeling an extended family gives."

Valda had lived only with Grace in the Emerald Forest. Thus, starting life in the Moving Castle, she envied the living conditions of the Blackhand Tribe.

The sceneries where various laughter sounds mix in the residential areas, artificial gardens, or public terraces with night views when evening comes. Her heart used to warm up just by looking.

"If you're envious, make one."

"M-Make one?"

"Oh my? Aren't you a married couple? On top of that, honeymooners who should be burning fiercely."

The maid spoke closely to whispering in a subtle voice.

"Among the special moves passed down from household adults, there is also a method to make your future husband feel good, you know."

"..."

Valda, with her face flushed red, turned her head away. But her ears are pricked up straight.

'How cute she is.'

Although their culture and skin colors were different, the maids, who are the same fairy race, could read Valda's mind through her ears.

The maid who was decorating her hair raised her fingers and gently stimulated Valda's scalp.

"Ahut!"

Pain, ticklishness, pleasure. As the three created a bizarre intersection, Valda's shoulders flinched.

Splash!

"Kyak!"

Valda's foot, receiving the foot bath, stood up like a tiptoe and splashed the mare's milk.

"Sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Okay. Rather, how was it? The feeling just now? Thrilling, right?"

Valda honestly nodded.

"Miriel's scalp massage is the best in the tribe. A man who wore a helmet and fought an intense battle goes ga-ga with one shot of this. I made my current husband fall with this too."

"...Could you perhaps teach that to me too?"

To Valda who tilted her head back and looked back, Miriel who was braiding her hair answered with a bright smile.

"Of course! For what did we lay down this groundwork?"

"What other things are there? A secret technique learned from family. There's a lot I'm curious about."

To Valda who sparkled her eyes with curiosity, the two maids spoke at the same time as if they had waited.

"Are you curious about erotic techniques too?"

"How about a method to conquer a man with a few fingers or one foot?"

"..."

A brief silence.

Valda quietly nodded her head.

"Fufufut. Finding the time to learn will take a bit. How much your husband responds is also important."

"Both are no problem. We have plenty of given time, and he is sufficiently... exploratory."

Valda had to agonize for a moment to use vocabulary that protected Eugene's honor.

* * *

"He didn't speak of his captured father in the end."

That night, Eugene massaged Valda's shoulders laid down on the same bed.

Both were only wearing thin pajamas. The fabric woven by witches allowed them to feel each other's skin texture and body heat across the cloth.

"Perhaps because he already received a great favor from you, he couldn't petition to save his father too."

This is not a matter of shame but also a practical problem. If he makes further requests here, according to custom, he truly must give Eugene something large.

"It is indeed an excessive demand. In order to save Earl Edward, one would have to fight an all-out war with the Kruger family and conquer the main castle."

King Kruger had kicked out all the envoys of the Edward family saying they would pay the ransom.

- There are no other conditions except surrender.

It would be different if it were other nobles, but he's the administrator of the west. In the civil war situation now, his value as a hostage was far greater than money.

"Is there no possibility of Lord Philip accepting surrender?"

"None at all. It's said Earl Edward even wrote his will before the battle in King's Field. Telling them never to surrender no matter what."

Eugene buried his face in Valda's hair and breathed deeply. As the scent of his wife came deep into his lungs, a sense of happiness welled up.

On the other hand, Valda was caught in erotic feelings. Goosebumps formed on her white neck and her shoulders shrunk.

- Since you are a beginner first, let's start from an easy one. When you come to lie down on one bed with the castle lord, like this...

The plan to execute what the maids taught her didn't even come to mind.

"If they knew you, renowned as a noble knight, were this lewd, everyone would be surprised."

"No, isn't it too harsh to say that just because I smelled my wife's scent?"

To Eugene, it was unfair. Because the truly lewd acts were still only in his conception!

"Besides, there is no chance others will know. Because men don't talk about what they do with their wives to others."

"O-Oh I see."

Valda, who received several feedbacks from the married maid regarding the events of the first night, felt a prick in her conscience.

"And within the warrior class, surprisingly, I suspect husbands like me are not common."

"Why?"

"As you know, the battlefield is foul. Blood and sweat, mud, rotten flesh, rusted iron, feces coming out from split or relaxed intestines. It's full of terrible smells. Especially for those fighting on the frontlines like me."

Eugene once again deeply inhaled the golden hair.

"Because smelling my wife's scent like this, I feel my lungs purifying."

Valda embraced her husband's head in her bosom.

"If it's something like this, as much as you want."

One hand caressed Eugene's neck, and the other gently patted his robust back. Her feet also pressed and stimulated his knight-like thighs as if massaging them.

"I feel sorry towards my subordinates that only I enjoy luxury like this."

A coziness like being embraced in a mother's bosom overwhelmed Eugene.

- Men who finish a battle become rough like beasts. Even if Madam merely stimulates a little, he will pounce like a wild beast.

Contrary to the maid's words, Eugene soon fell asleep.

A coziness bringing a mother's bosom to mind. Because both body and mind relaxed to the nostalgic sensation he had forgotten for a long while.

'This isn't bad either.'

Valda kissed Eugene's forehead. She received a mother's love for a long time from Grace, but her husband did not.

Presenting the coziness of childhood to such a him was Valda's joy and also her wish.

* * *

"I will join after punishing the renegade vassals and integrating the army."

Philip made a decision. He couldn't do anything about his captured father with his strength, but he couldn't leave alone the nobles who provided the cause either.

"Will it be possible independently?"

"Of course. As the problem with army food has been solved, it's already a won battle."

Currently, the bribed nobles reading the room in their respective territories have empty storehouses.

They are desperately procuring food through hunting, fishing, and gathering, but it's merely maintaining the status quo.

If the vassal army led by Philip invades, they have no choice but to hole up and hold a sit-in. Naturally, from that moment on, food supplies will be cut off and they will starve.

"Then I'll finish exterminating the monsters in the meantime."

Occupying King's Field, Eugene was certain that the guys subjugated at the wooden castle weren't all of them.

"How should I repay Your Excellency's favor."

"When monsters run wild, killing fellow humans to covet only power. The tradition I correct is not such a lowbrow kind of thing."

Eugene's army, having parted with the western army, resumed their march. The guides were local hunters personally arranged by Philip.

"There's an abandoned monastery in a secluded place. It's quite a large-scale place, but the Mountain Clan settled there not long ago."

"Mountain Clan?"

"They are an indigenous tribe who originally lived in King's Field. Though they were defeated by the current noble lords and chased into the mountains."

Hearing the hunter's succeeding explanation, they were called a clan in name but were just an entire tribe acting as a bandit group.

Robbing passing merchant groups, kidnapping travelers, and when the west was chaotic, boldly descending even to civilian houses to plunder.

Following the principle of survival of the fittest without hereditary politics, the strongest became the leader.

"The civil war this time must have truly been a blessing for the Mountain Clan, wasn't it?"

"Right. According to rumors, there are also stories that they entered into some sort of contract with the Kruger family."

The content was obvious without even looking. It would be giving them territories or whatnot if they swear loyalty to him and disrupt the western nobles.

"The Mountain Clan gathered at the monastery intending to seize an opportunity exploiting the chaos of the world like that. Since it's a good bridgehead to attack the west."

And they became surrounded by the monsters coming with the exact same thought.

"Excellency. I am a humble hunter, but I have things I experienced living my whole life in the wild. The ones attacking the monastery are not an ordinary group of monsters."

Even now, when night deepened and he closed his eyes, the hunter clearly remembered it.

The countless screams heard from the monastery. They were not the kind a person in this world could make.

The pained wailing made by the Mountain Clan. Included in that were the sticky laughter sounds of the monsters.

It was like mustard sauce coated on human sausages. Like the devil's play mocking the Mountain Clan heading towards death.

"Anything else you observed? Anything will be helpful."

"I recall the light leaking out from the monastery's windows. It felt as if a giant red tongue was flitting in and out. As a hunter, a light in the middle of the night is always welcome, but I backed away for the first time."

"It's certainly not an ordinary monster group."

Eugene remembered the bones rolling in front of the burned wooden castle.

He thought it was about the level of Orcs and Bugbears acting separated from the herd, but it seems there are more dangerous guys.

"We will absolutely guarantee your safety, so guide us with ease of mind."

At Eugene's promise, the hunters nodded.

Although their participation in the campaign was also for high pay, it was largely because of the belief that under Eugene's protection, no threat would reach them.

Rather, when this powerful army is present is the opportunity. If not now, it seemed impossible to drive out the evil lurking in the monastery. Because that danger will aim for the entire west someday.

Similarly, Eugene also had a reason to step out for the subjugation. Because he heard a suspicious story while interrogating the Orcs captured in the wooden castle battle.

- The priest! Has changed! And gone crazy! Red light flows down from its eyes! Trying to offer even pregnant kin!

Most Orc soldiers knew nothing and merely spat curses and insults. However, what a certain executive said in fear caught his interest.

- Your numbers were more, but you say you fled?

- The resisting bosses all died! Had to go down from the mountain!

The Orcs who fought at the wooden castle were invaders and fugitives at the same time.

Whatever it is, something powerful enough to annihilate the Mountain Clan, and vicious enough that even Orcs avoid it seems to have nested in the monastery.