Chapter 213

Chapter 213 - Armored Cavalry Training

The Vertigo capture operation had to be led directly by Eugene and Homi.

If it were just killing them, it would be one thing, but the moment they try to capture them alive, the difficulty jumps significantly, as they even have to make them submit mentally.

Currently, the ones who can perfectly accomplish this are the Eugene & Might duo, and Homi.

The subordinates' mission is up to driving the Vertigos or luring them into traps and locking them up. Even just this reduced the work greatly.

"Will you be able to resist the smell of roasted sweet potatoes? Hehehe."

From a distance, the Dwarves peeked at a giant pangolin stealthily approaching a trap. The bastard approached while continuously sniffing its nose.

Inside the iron cage, there are dozens of roasted and mashed sweet potatoes emitting a vibrant sweet scent. Even a scent formulated by tribal witches to seduce beasts is rising.

When irrelevant bastards approached, the Caracal female warriors ambushing in the trees shot arrows and drove them away.

"It seems to be a bastard quite crazy for sweetness, right?"

"It turned out well. If it liked expensive things, it would be one thing, but if we can settle it with sweet potatoes, it's a relief."

The Vertigo, which even in the wild wandered looking for cassava, couldn't resist the temptation of its ultimate form, the roasted sweet potato.

Clank!

The moment it entered the trap, a bulkhead made of iron came down and it was trapped. Startled, the Vertigo thrashed about and rammed its body here and there.

The strength was so strong that the cage made of iron rattled around hither and thither. When the solidly hardened scales scratched the cage, small sparks also flew.

Such fierceness and solidness fascinated the Dwarves even more.

"Might. Over there."

Horses could only exert half their mobility in the jungle, but the World Charger isn't restricted by any terrain.

Running at a tremendous speed and catching up to the Vertigo at once, followed by a staring contest.

"Keureureung-!"

"Kkiiing..."

If the opponent held out for about 2 seconds and ran away, it caught up making a roaring sound and started a staring contest again.

"Keureureureu-!"

"..."

At the momentum saying it will destroy it if it runs away again this time, the giant pangolin lowered its tail.

Smiling with satisfaction, Might approached, stuck out its snake-like tongue, and licked the Vertigo's cheek. Then the fella laid face down on that spot and trembled quiveringly.

Having done it once, did it get the hang of it, Might put on an even bigger performance.

Bang!

Crack!

It didn't just chase, but deliberately blocked the path by ramming and breaking a passable tree as if to show off.

Even though they hadn't received professional training, the Eugene and Might duo were subduing beasts effectively. However, they couldn't catch up to the original.

"Miss Homi. It's base number 12."

A scout reported to Homi who was leaning against a tree wrapped in a single cloak covering her entire body.

She waited at the center of the operation and ran over when support requests flew in.

"I'll go now."

Homi's answering voice was already thickly mixed with growls.

Flap!

Throwing off the cloak, there is a Were-Leopard sparkling with a brilliant silver light.

While maintaining the elegant curves unique to a female body, her limbs transformed to be longer and sturdier.

The narrowed pupils burned with the desire for hunting but soon calmed down. Currently, her mission is not to kill and tear, but to make them submit.

Since her clothes and shoes get ruined every time she transforms into a Beast Warrior, she is waiting completely naked wearing only a cloak.

Kicking off from tree to tree and instantly traversing even slushy or pathless places, Homi arrived at the destination in an instant.

Ppiik-!

Stopping the Vertigo throwing a tantrum in the trap with a single whistle and making it submit with a single gaze, everyone admired the sight.

Particularly, dragging out a Vertigo hiding inside a burrow without injuring it was something only Homi could do.

"It's fine, so come out."

Her voice was definitely the language of humans, yet it harbored the power to subdue the spirits of beasts.

At the sight of 3 babies following behind the mother Vertigo crawling out of the burrow, the Dwarves cheered.

Finding and capturing them alive was the difficult part, but once reaching that point, it was easy afterwards.

Because the Vertigos were instinctively drawn to the Dwarves who exuded the smell of the same earth.

Once their hostility is dispersed, that's the end of it. Since the Vertigos didn't dislike the hands of the Dwarves caressing them.

"The sweet potatoes are completely exhausted. Even puppies aren't at this level."

"Isn't it a good thing? In taming beasts, there is no method more convenient than giving rewards and punishments with food. If their tastes are firm, it is convenient."

Eugene nodded his head at Rampage's words.

"I should create an apiary complex in the territory of Britannia. They become this docile even with sweet potatoes, so if we have honey too, it would be just perfect."

"Honey? That's something even people can't eat because there isn't any, those fellas are truly living in luxury."

"Since they will easily do the share of 10 people on the battlefield, we should give them that much. There are actually cases where military dogs that fought better than people were paid silver coins worth the share of dozens of people."

"Oh my god."

It's the story of the Conquistadors' South American expedition Eugene read. To native warriors armed mainly with clubs without wearing armor, military dogs demonstrated tremendous combat power.

Among the commanders at the time, there was also one who awarded real money instead of high-quality meat as reward money. It was an expedition where military dogs played such an outstanding active role.

"Hey you. There's no more. You ate it all."

Much less the sweet potato ghost right before their eyes, one could expect a combat power far beyond comparison with military dogs.

* * *

Now it is truly time to leave.

The warriors who participated in the operation tilted their glasses making their experiences in the jungle their side dishes. They mainly talked about the difficult and disliked points, but having passed, even as memories, everyone's expressions are bright.

"I truly like this feeling."

"What feeling?"

"Successfully finishing an expedition in an unfamiliar land and right before moving on to the next land. I mean the sensation when waiting like this. Should I say it's unburdening yet also makes the heart pound?"

"Ah! I also know that feeling!"

The women breathed in the sea breeze looking at the brilliant sea from open balconies or rooftops.

"That hot spring was really good. It's a shame it ends with just one time. Right?"

"The Lord said he will also develop the gold mines, so the day to go again will come someday, right? I also drew a picture of that place... Huh?"

"Oh my!"

The residents spending time leisurely sensed Eugene's will echoing throughout the entire castle.

That sensation is like a wind piercing through the soul, so it can never be missed. Those who have lost their sight or hearing, even those who are dreaming can perceive that sensation in their dreams.

[Commence roll call for all personnel.]

Eugene's will contained that single sentence. It didn't mean he actually spoke those words, but it felt like the will to commence roll call seeping into people's minds.

"To your positions!"

Those working at the guard posts, stables, hospital, blacksmith shop, cafeteria, warehouses, etc., assembled under the control of each superior.

Households were no exception.

"Where's Max?"

"Bathroom."

"I'm hereeee!"

The whole family gathered in one place and checked the personnel.

After the roll call commences, going outside the house is forbidden until the transfer takes place. Just in case there's a household with a missing person, it's easier to find them when the inside of the castle is completely empty.

It becomes a headache if a straggler occurs, so they meticulously check the personnel.

"Sector 24! All assemble!"

As a middle-aged woman wearing an armband indicating 24 shouted, the representative of each household stood in front of the front door of each household.

Whether the husband came out or the wife came out, since all are from military backgrounds or have received military training, their movements are brisk.

If they say nothing, there is no abnormality, and a household with a missing person must raise their hand and report.

When these are done simultaneously throughout the entire castle, the middle managers compile and finally report to Eugene.

This point is also the reason Eugene prefers the Blackhand Tribe and Hammer Brotherhood as residents.

Due to the nature of Vagrant Castle life, military-like unison is demanded in both daily life and operations.

"Knight. There are no missing personnel."

"Good work. You also return to your position."

As Rex, who reported as a representative in the audience room, withdrew, Eugene entered the Core Room.

'This place has also changed a lot.'

As time passes, newly born babies fill the residential areas, and spoils obtained from expeditions fill the warehouses. Likewise, landscape paintings bought or drawn locally were hung in various places in the Core Room.

They react simultaneously when Eugene intends to transfer the castle to a different location. Because stimulating the vision with clear images rather than memories is more intense.

Eugene pushed away the illusions of the jungle and hot springs seemingly tempting him to stay a bit longer with his hand, and gathered his will toward his destination.

"Let's go. To Britannia."

Before going to the Dwarf kingdom, he needed to replenish supplies and also show off the master's wellness to the territory.

Buuuung.

After the surface of the giant castle was dyed pure white, it soared as a single streak of lightning.

As if representing the diversity of the jungle, the information newly contained in the castle was also gorgeous, and among them was Sasha's tribe.

* * *

Even if Eugene gave his word, the grudge of losing hometown, family, and friends to the Rakshas couldn't possibly disappear.

Since Sasha's herbivorous Rakshas lacked the ability to protect themselves, Eugene decided to take them along for the time being.

"What is this? It has a very refreshing smell."

"Is it your first time seeing green grapes?"

Eugene took Sasha and introduced the cultivation room attached to the audience room.

"Uwat! Why is the strawberry so big?"

"What you've seen are wild strawberries. This is a true strawberry."

As Eugene picked one and put it in Sasha's mouth, her expression melted.

Sasha, who survived by gathering in the jungle, used to be thankful for that luck on days she found wild strawberries.

To her who had lived such a simple life, the sensation of strawberry juice bursting full in her mouth was something she couldn't even dare to imagine.

Besides the cultivation room belonging to the audience room, he also introduced the artificial gardens inside the castle and the fields attached to Valda's laboratory.

The sight of the herbivorous Rakshas smelling the crops and soil while showing wonder and joy fully on their faces.

"The numbers are small, but they are all diligent and have the aptitude for farmers."

Valda looked at Sasha's kin with a warm face.

"They certainly have a lot of advantages surpassing human farmers."

Pandas, which were strictly carnivores but underwent a herbivorous mutation, are a case where the mutation occurred in a disadvantageous direction for survival.

Because their hardware, including the digestive organs, is completely tuned for carnivory, but since they only eat bamboo which doesn't suit their bodies, their nutritional efficiency was shattered.

However, in the case of the Rakshas, the story was different.

Sasha's tribe members examining the crops moved around maintaining a very low posture. Because the herbivorous Rakshas are the closest to beasts even among the Beast-men tribes.

"As you know, the part that suffers the most when farming is the waist. It's not for nothing that farmers always have the expression 'my waist feels like it's breaking' on their lips."

"The Rakshas won't suffer from back pain."

Normally they walk bipedally with a peculiar feel, but if necessary, they can walk quadrupedally all day long.

That figure is extremely natural. No matter how much they roam the fields, they might have muscle pain in their limbs, but their waists would seem perfectly fine.

Sniff sniff!

Furthermore, fitting for canines, their sense of smell is extremely outstanding. The cute noses continuously sniffing could grasp the condition of the crops much more meticulously.

While proficiently handling small farming tools, they use their nails perfectly for tasks requiring meticulousness where roots are tangled.

"Bodies are bodies, but that heart treating vegetables like treasures is the most precious thing."

A Raksha looking at a tomato held in both hands with a face dripping honey. At that sight, Valda smiled warmly.

Naturally harboring kind sympathy, she was weak to pure people uncontaminated by the world.

Thus, professional farmers who will tend to the artificial gardens and cultivation rooms of the Vagrant Castle joined.

Eugene plans to someday permanently gift a vast and fertile farmland to Sasha's kin. However...

"Heheheht!"

Seeing Sasha hugging a well-ripened pumpkin in her arms and rubbing her cheek against it, it seems the current life is also sufficient for now.

* * *

The advantage provided by the elusiveness of the Vagrant Castle is that it is hard for the bureaucrats under him to slack off even when Eugene vacates his seat.

"The Count Excellency has arrived!"

The people of Haven City witnessed a giant bolt of lightning suddenly falling from a clear sky.

Thanks to that, even before the messenger announced Eugene's return, the city guards and administrative bureaucrats went into preparation to receive their master.

Naturally, the ones who 'embezzled' while Eugene vacated his seat were busy hastily entering evidence destruction.

The problem is, no matter how quickly they try to sort it out, disposing of it in merely a few days is a hard task. Especially since Eugene's loyalists were biding their time and tattled on them.

"Mercy! Please show me mercy!"

"I was blinded by silver coins for a moment..."

Since Eugene intended to make an example of them from the start, he governed with a zero-tolerance principle.

It is difficult for Great Lords to manage their possessed territories one by one, and they also have to attend banquets or expeditions here and there.

A structure where inevitably the fox plays king where the tiger is absent and corruption occurs.

However, a Count who appeared in an instant with a flash! carrying out cruel and condemnatory purges, the shock was tremendous.

- When I woke up, the Lord's army that had gone on an expedition was searching the city like catching lice.

This was something overturning the common sense of people in this era.

Because a noble's procession or the dispatch of inspectors is bound to be known in advance through movement from village to village no matter how tightly they try to hide it.

"Excellency! Excellency! Although my heart wavered for a moment, this is too much! I am from the deep-historied Bluehorn family's..."

"Aren't you an illegitimate child?"

"The Head of our family values bloodlines! He cherishes me greatly as a member of the family too!"

"Is that all the words you have to leave? Should I write those words on your tombstone... Oh wait. I lack land for farming, so what burial."

"Please spare my life!"

Although Eugene has always governed his territories tolerantly, regarding the corruption that occurred during the new continent expedition, he punished them cruelly and strongly.

At the sight of a family that strongly protested having suffered massive losses due to being implicated in this getting uprooted with the family pillar itself, the southern nobles held their breath.

- Was Lord Mayer someone this terrifying?

- Then were you not afraid? Ah! I suppose you could be since you were in charge of rear supply. Seems you haven't seen him grinding Kruger's soldiers with an axe.

It hasn't been long since the civil war that swept through Britannia ended.

The nobles remember the figure of the Supreme Ruler riding Might, trampling the defense lines, and swinging his giant axe like a storm.

"The blood flowing now shall become herbicide and fertilizer that makes my territories healthy."

Eugene doing this is naturally not because he is intoxicated with power, nor because he likes blood and violence. Because this incident is one symbolic event.

It was Eugene's warning, 'Don't even think about doing stupid things just because I've vacated my seat in the future too.'

"It is quite an ignorant purge, but honestly I like it."

Valda, who subtly has a tough side, also liked it while massaging Eugene's shoulders.

"The majesty you showed in the Britannia civil war is vivid in people's memories. If it's now, there won't be backlash even if you press down strongly."

Among the noble families smashed like that, there were also those tied by blood relations with families in other regions.

However, no one could help. Apart from being afraid of the Mayer family, it's because currently a large-scale rebellion has erupted in Britannia.

"That's why they should have squeezed moderately. Tsk tsk."

Marbas clicked his tongue.

Unlike the south which came under Eugene's control from the beginning and stabilized, the west, center, and east became a wasteland due to frequent engagements and pillaging.

In that situation, as they plundered even more saying they would restore the family power weakened by the civil war, a rebellion was bound to occur.

"Rather than protesting your purge, it's a situation where they have to reach out their hands asking for help with suppression."

"Good timing, right?"

"Could it be you intended all this too?"

Instead of answering, Eugene merely smiled. At the unspoken affirmation, Marbas is nothing but amazed.

An age full of vigor and prone to short-sighted thinking. Besides, having been educated as a knight, it would be easy to follow simple ways of thinking, but seeing how he governs, he was downright sly.

In the meantime, the nobles of Britannia gathered in Haven City.

Due to the nature of an island nation, even if the regions are different, they are complexly intertwined by blood relations or interests. It was also troublesome to treat the rebellion like a fire across the river.

* * *

"A suppression must be done but, hmm..."

"The price of wheat isn't ordinary right now due to the war. Horse feed is also lacking."

Naturally, there are no southern nobles willing to step forward for free. Because when actually coming to Haven, their leader Eugene was showing an unenthusiastic reaction right from the get-go.

It seems difficult to make a good impression on him or receive logistical support even if they step forward for the subjugation.

"We came to greet Lord Mayer, so our preparation is lacking."

"Our master said he will provide the food! So please..."

"Uh, it's not only that we don't have food, but everyone came lightly. Could you perhaps support us with horses too?"

"..."

The southern nobles who came up to Haven started giving various excuses to the desperate envoys.

The envoys, having made vain trips here and there, visited Eugene as their last hope. To hold onto his high reputation as a knight.

However, Eugene had prepared a far more novel excuse than his vassals.

Dududududu!

Dudadada!

The broad plains in front of the Shadow Garden are noisy with the sound created by giant pangolins running.

"W-What on earth are these creatures?"

The envoys were so astonished they even forgot they came to ask for help.

"It's the best treasure obtained in this expedition. It's a beast called Vertigo, isn't it really cool?"

On top of those creatures, Dwarves were mounting.

"Lately I've been extremely busy without a moment to rest training these fellas. So what is your business?"

Eugene asked deliberately even while knowing everything. Furthermore, in front of the Great Lord massaging his stiff neck seemingly extremely tired, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything.