Chapter 217

Chapter 217 - Tollgate Mountains (3)

The attire and armament of the Dwarves preparing for monster subjugation were diverse. Because, fitting the characteristic of living scattered across the mountains, they act as a tribal alliance even more independent than human kingdoms.

Of course, that doesn't mean their solidarity is weak. In situations of struggle against external enemies, they united more tightly than any kingdom.

"Hmm? Aren't those knights?"

Eugene discovered humans forming a separate group among the Dwarves. Knights, squires, servants, and mercenaries. All are riding horses.

"They are hired by the tribes. Because they have to roam the mountains and subjugate. They are also useful when catching fast-footed bastards or sending urgent messengers."

Rampage, riding a Vertigo, answered.

Communicating in a mounted state side-by-side with Eugene ahead of a battle. This is a part he was truly envious of every time he saw the Blackhand Tribe horse archers.

The voice of Rampage, whose wish came true, naturally rose in excitement. If there was just one regretful thing, is it that they don't look good together because the height difference is too big?

The sight of Eugene exchanging a fist bump with Rex or Hind before deploying is on Rampage's bucket list. However, it seems difficult to achieve.

"Is there a need to even call knights? With the money spent on one knight, they could hire 10 mercenary cavalrymen. If they organize mainly with scouts, it would increase even more."

Those gathered here are not conscripts or riffraff mercenaries. Since they are elite Dwarf warriors selected and sent by the tribes, it was fully possible to face off even if mid-sized monsters appeared.

"While carrying out an operation, aren't there times you have to put mercenaries to work while nagging or threatening them?"

"There are many. A unit could be completely annihilated just because one messenger failed to arrive on time. Aha! I see why."

"Even if a Dwarf runs making the soles of his feet sweat and shouts, if the guys on horses ignore him, there's no way. If caught later they'd be punished miserably, but that wouldn't bring back dead compatriots."

Cavalry must be controlled by cavalry.

However, men-at-arms capable of equipping horses are naturally veterans. If they are fellow mercenaries, even if it's the most senior commander, control is not easy.

"If a knight glares at them, they would obediently follow control in passable matters."

"Hehehe. Knights value honor and don't treat mercenaries as fellow humans. They tighten them up very well."

The Dwarf ancestors experienced a harsh taste after organizing a cavalry only with mercenaries to save money.

Originally, Rampage's tribe would have hired cavalrymen too, but there is no need to do that anymore.

"It's a relief there seem to be no knights from Roman."

The shape of swords or shields, armor, the design tendency of crests seen on surcoats or flags, the breed of warhorses, the attitude or subtle differences in the appearance of attendants.

Even without necessarily conversing, it's obvious which region the knights came from. Especially Eugene, having thoroughly roamed all corners of the continent given his age, caught those differences well.

"Eugene. Is there perhaps a troublesome part?"

"Because it would be awkward if there are those from the Emperor's faction or the Nobles' faction among them."

"No, are you still concerning yourself with such things? Given the level your authority and forces are at right now."

Valda was dumbfounded.

Incurring the Emperor's grudge due to snatching the Vagrant Castle he put his heart and soul into finding.

The Nobles' faction trying to scout him based on his reputation and honor as a knight, and the aspect of being the Emperor's enemy.

In a situation where he was receiving attention from both sides, Eugene, who didn't want to get involved, had kept his distance. However, the situation has changed too much now.

"The Emperor of Roman may wield tremendous power, but he cannot restrict you. Pursuing the Vagrant Castle or sending an army to Sicily or Britannia would also be difficult."

At least Nospok, located within Roman, belongs to the north where the Emperor's influence is the weakest.

- 400 members of the Thick Leg Tribe have expressed their intention to join. We have provided a temporary nest in Nospok, so please drop by soon.

Nospok is currently functioning as a base for Tribal Chief Allesa to win over Dark Elf tribes. With its location deep within the territory of the Nobles' faction and many warriors staying there, there are no concerns about safety.

"Because the sensation of being marked by a great nation's King isn't something to just ignore. They could also send assassins."

"That would be difficult in its own way, no? Are you not living in an endlessly continuing family gathering, exactly as you always say? Living surrounded by Dwarves and Dark Elves, whatever assassins try to do, they'll be exposed immediately."

It's a good point about commanding subjects composed mainly of Beastkin. To assassinate, they must approach first, but they would instantly stand out like a caterpillar on top of whipped cream.

"Just as you try to protect your subordinates, your subordinates also try to protect you. Make up your mind a bit more comfortably."

"Vanas... understood. I get it."

Eugene smiled at the sensation of his wife's palm stroking his back. The subordinates on standby also look warmly at that harmonious appearance.

"Then shall we do a hunt worthy of being called a hunt after a long time?"

"We've been waiting for those words!"

Besides the Dwarf Stone Cavalry, the Dark Elf horse archers also cheered. Because the period of being forced into infantry combat from the Snow Country to the jungle of the new continent was too long.

Fitting for a nomadic tribe, they were thirsty for a hunt shooting arrows while galloping across the earth.

'If we lay a debt here, it will be convenient in many ways.'

With the silver mines supporting the kingdom dried up, the Dwarves are also in an urgent situation in many ways. Those who help during hard times are bound to remain in memory.

Eugene's army boasts an unrivaled strength even compared to any group on the continent in such monster subjugations.

While waiting, additional reinforcements came in. Whether the Dwarves prepared solidly or not, it seems they gathered all the knights they could ask for cooperation from.

Among those newly entering were knights impressive with their pale skin, long fangs, and splendid armor.

"Why did the Barcia fellas come here?"

Eugene couldn't have imagined that even knights living in their own conceit from the northwest of the continent would have come.

* * *

Cacho is a veteran in his 10th year of mercenary life. Wandering through the villages and cities near the Tollgate Mountains, he has experienced all sorts of hardships.

"Remember the sound of our horn clearly. If you make us blow it twice, we will punish you."

"A-Understood!"

However, right now, he shrank before the pale knight put in charge of their command.

- B-Barcia knights? Captain! Are you crazy?!

- I only found out after accepting the request too! Who would have thought they would come all this way from that far place?

- If they don't like something, won't our blood be sucked on the spot?

- N-No way...

It is common for knights to punish mercenaries under their command. Naturally, it was rather better to be beaten by a normal knight than having vampire fangs embedded in one's body.

If the Barcia knights knew, they would have been beyond dumbfounded and enraged.

There is a difference like heaven and earth between eating a steak washed and cooked after slaughter, and chewing a pig rolling in a dirty pen. The highly proud Nobles of the Night do not embed their fangs into just anyone.

Given the era, it's inevitable that distorted perceptions about vampires arise in regions with rare interactions, though.

"You guys. Unknit your brows. Anyway, the request itself is fine."

The compensation is good, and if the scale of the subjugation army grows to this extent, it's practically no different from a drive hunt.

The pouring arrows and bolts alone will be in units of dozens basically. If mid-sized monsters appear, the knights will charge saying they will establish merits over each other.

"We just have to take care of the knights' aftermath and snatch up the crumbs. Isn't that right?"

"Of course, hehe! Just trust my nose."

The Dog Beast-man adventurer Cacho hired wagged his tail vigorously and bowed.

Among intelligent races, they are divided into the most diverse and uniquely characterized races. The terrier-lineage adventurer was particularly outstanding at tracking smells under the ground.

"It's an uncharted territory human feet haven't reached. It's a treasure trove of rare medicinal herbs and alchemy ingredients. Finders keepers."

"Every time you find something, I'll give you a 5% bonus too."

"Oh my, thank you!"

Given that they are money ghost mercenaries, this is quite a generous incentive.

Knights did not hire adventurers. Because their face and pride dictate that they earn money only with swords and spears.

"But isn't the force a bit excessive for this subjugation?"

One mercenary questioned while scanning the assembly area. Because, excluding Eugene's army which joined outside of the schedule, a considerable force was gathered.

Employers always prefer to hire a little less and then squeeze them dry rather than hiring a sufficient number.

"Since the Royal Family is taking the lead, they must've spent money hotly."

"If we do well in this mission, it might end without swinging our swords even once."

Most were merely rejoicing saying things turned out well, but a small number of older mercenaries couldn't erase a twinge of anxiety.

* * *

"Master. Here is a handkerchief soaked in incense."

"Thanks."

The Barcia knight covered his nose with the handkerchief handed by the slave.

"The peninsula people sweat too much."

"It's a relief it's a mountain at least. Nature takes away those guys' stench too."

The reactions of fellow knights were no different. Rather than comrades to fight together with, their attitude was like treating walking livestock.

"Stop it, they are allies who will fight together in the monsters' territory."

Only one person smiled bitterly and admonished his comrades.

"Damn it. Look at them crawling over again trying to greet us by all means."

When several peninsula knights approached, the Barcia knight who was blocking his nose also removed his handkerchief.

Because, anyway, minimal courtesy must be shown to those coming to request greetings as fellow nobles.

"Don't tell me they're thinking of asking to sell our warhorses again?"

"It's natural their eyes would turn seeing real warhorses while riding the packhorses of the peninsula. Understand them generously."

Barcia-produced warhorses are famous horses every knight dreams of. When doing activities in foreign countries like this, they constantly suffered from sales offers.

However, the peninsula knights passed the vampires and headed to the opposite side of the camp.

"What?"

"They're ignoring us and going to someone else?"

While insulting the smelly ones for approaching, seeing them actually just go by, that was rather displeasing in its own way.

"Where are those guys going?"

"I'll find out right away."

The slave who ran off returned immediately.

"It's Count Mayer! His army also participated in this subjugation!"

"What?!"

"Count Mayer!"

The knights who had a languid expression reacted immediately. Being close to Britannia, the name of Eugene, who newly became a Great Lord, is famous even to them.

As for his reputation as a knight, exaggeration and false rumors could be mixed in. However, smashing the Louis family's army that intervened in the civil war is an unquestionable great achievement.

"How about we go visit him?"

The vampires here have no particular relationship with the Louis family. Even the haughty Barcia nobles showed respect to an eminent knight of Eugene's level.

"Saying the obvious. Hey! Put the saddles on the horses."

"Yes, master!"

The slaves moved busily and presented the warhorses.

Even the proud vampire nobles admitted that they fell short of Eugene in both status and achievements.

"Let's give up about one horse if the Count asks us to sell it."

However, they were confident in overwhelming him with warhorses at least. Wouldn't bringing out at least one thing they're ahead in save their face as Great Nobles of the Night?

* * *

"..."

"M-Monster?"

The Barcia knights who arrived at Eugene's camp lost their words in front of the giant Might.

Prrr.

Hihing!

Their boasted warhorses also drooped their tails and were terrified. Because they smelled a thick scent of cannibalism from the monster in front of their eyes.

When a battle ended, Might tore at the monster or warhorse corpses rolling around the battlefield as a reward. That number is already at a level where counting is meaningless.

Keureureu-.

To horses possessing a hierarchy consciousness more than dogs, Might was a tyrant that brought out both fear and submission.

"He is called World Charger."

"It's a majesty fitting of that name."

The Barcia knights greeted with faces of complete defeat. Since Eugene was in a dismounted state, they also got off their horses.

"It is an honor to meet you. The Count Excellency's reputation is well known even in our country."

"I hope the rumors weren't too inflated."

Despite the great achievements he built, Eugene rarely received treatment fitting for it during first meetings.

An era with many difficulties in transmitting information. Because those who heard about Eugene through rumors didn't fully believe them. In reality, many false rumors were also mixed in.

If he became known all the way to Barcia in his 3rd year of activity, his fame spread incredibly fast.

Of course, a considerable number of those who haven't met Eugene still consider him merely an incredibly lucky mercenary captain. Such tendency worsened the further the distance.

"I never thought I would see you guys at the eastern end of Roman. May I know what brought you all the way here?"

"Well, that's..."

"The reason we came is..."

Seeing the knights hesitating, Eugene intuited that it was not mere knight-errantry. They must be taking on some mission. And one that is awkward to reveal to a foreign noble at that.

"If it is troubling, there is no need to necessarily speak of it."

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't know, but to the Count Excellency, we can sufficiently speak of it. Sir Marcus would be angry if we hide it."

Just then, a certain knight among the vampires spoke. It's the one who admonished his comrades who insulted the peninsula people for being smelly, telling them not to do that.

'Marcus?'

At the familiar name, Eugene unknowingly looked at Might.

- If it's this much, I'll believe the grudge created from the fight just now has disappeared.

- I would forget it even if Sir cut off my arm.

A broad-minded attitude fitting of a leader.

- That horse's name is Might. Then Sir Eugene, until we meet again someday!

Marcus Pierce.

Maria Pierce.

He cannot forget the names of the young Dhampir nobles who gifted him this precious friend.

"It has been a while. I never imagined you would rise up with a single sword and even climb to a Great Lord of a nation."

The knight expressing gladness right before his eyes was the one who followed Marcus. The one who lunged at Eugene and was knocked out in one blow.

"...Sir Aaron. Is that correct?"

"It is an honor that you remember! I am Aaron of the Taite family!"

The vampire knight Aaron, with a pale yet resolute impression, smiled brightly.

"I have continuously thought you were an extraordinary person. It is truly an amazing great achievement."

"I would like you to convey my words of gratitude to Sir Marcus as well. To my success today, his share is not small either."

"I will definitely convey those words. He will be extremely pleased."

Eugene's words are not empty formalities. A horse is a knight's combat means and symbolizes dignity as a noble.

The Barcia warhorse provided by Marcus provided tremendous momentum to Eugene's path to success.

"So what brings you here? Even if Barcia is neutral to Roman's civil war, it wouldn't have been a comfortable journey."

"The Dwarf kingdom is in a patronage relationship with Count Marcus."

In Barcia's noble society, it is a hard task for a mixed-blood Dhampir, not a pureblood vampire, to compete.

To make up for it, the Marcus siblings actively utilized interactions with foreign countries. It is possible thanks to their flexible way of thinking and worldly wisdom.

"The equipment you guys are wearing is the result of that, huh?"

"Because Dwarves always repay as much as they are given."

Marcus received equipment from the Dwarves in exchange for providing what only Barcia could provide, including warhorses. Included in such exchanges is the dispatch of knights hungry for reputation.

Thanks to that, Pierce's army was famous for having the most excellent armament even in wealthy Barcia.

There were many families who envied it, but it's not a business acumen easily imitated by vampires whose pride pierces the sky.

"Count Marcus is also viewing the halt of the Dwarves' mining seriously. Partly to support them and partly because some desired knight-errantry, he sent us here."

To knights, reputation built in battle is currency more valuable than silver coins. It's the reason knights wander the whole continent no less than pilgrims or mercenaries.

Whether catching the eye of powerful nobles and receiving a territory, or craving praise as a knight, things truly valuable cannot be bought with silver coins.

"So Your Excellency also had ties with the Dwarves here."

"They are people with many talents. There's nothing bad about getting along."

With Marcus's close aide showing an "it's fine" attitude, the other knights also began to chatter.

"The majesty of the Barcia knights charging at Gord was tremendous. I am glad to be able to see it again."

Eugene knows how to handle knights. Moderately elevating them, but also praising not only the ones in front of his eyes but also rival knights is always a useful method.

"...It would be troubling if you view us the same as the young masters of the Louis family."

"Our surcoats have been tempered by the blood of monsters and the harsh winds of the wild. We will properly show Your Excellency in this hunt."

When joy, competitive spirit, and jealousy mix, the tongues of knights loosen softly.

"Of course I am looking forward to it. Even if there are many who are jealous of Barcia's knights and slander them, aren't Sir Marcus and his knights an exception? That honor and strength cannot be denied even by the youngest squire of Britannia."

Sprinkle a little salt in advance, and pour honey when the opponent wags their tongue. There was no knight this didn't work on.

"Hahaha! For Your Excellency to say so, it feels like the blood-and-sweat childhood training is being rewarded."

The vampire nobles revealed their white fangs and sincerely liked it. They started spewing out the information Eugene was curious about one by one.

Among them was information that not only the mercenaries but also most of the gathered Dwarf tribes didn't know.

"Please keep it only to yourself, Excellency. This is a confidential matter directly informed by the Dwarf Royal Family."

"I am thankful you trust me, but is it okay to tell me such a thing?"

"We cannot just watch an honorable knight like Your Excellency fight without knowing the truth."

Knights always go their own way. A confidential matter of the Dwarf Royal Family they hadn't even sworn an oath of loyalty to meant nothing.

Of course, it's not that they are just simple and ignorant that they confide in Eugene. Seeing how things were going anyway, it seemed like information Eugene would find out soon. If so, it's not bad to tell him in advance and win Eugene's favor.

"Actually, the Dwarf kingdom's silver mines haven't dried up. That's a false rumor spread by the Royal Family."

"...Why would they do such a thing?"

An underground kingdom built by digging into the inside of the most massive mountain in the Dwarves' mountain range.

The precious metals coming out of there are the strength and authority of the Dwarf Royal Family. Silver is just the most produced, gold or other gem types are also buried abundantly.

The story that it dried up drops the prestige of the Royal Family, so it's a lie they don't necessarily need to make.

"It is not only humans who are bewitched by treasures that will build and maintain a country."

Distant past. Even before the Dwarf kingdom, before the mountain range itself was formed. There was an existence buried together with gems in primeval times.

"A hostile ancient existence was discovered underground. That is the reason the Dwarf Royal Family stopped mining and falsely declared that the silver mines had dried up."

"Is it something like a spirit?"

If it were an already dead existence, they would have happily excavated it, not declared a state of emergency. If it endured that long time underground, it wouldn't be an ordinary existence.

Aaron shook his head.

"It's something more terrible."

- Foreman! Foreman!

- What is it, punk?

- L-Look at this!

- I'm dead tired so it's annoying... oh my god.

When the Dwarf miners first discovered 'that', everyone's eyes widened.

Gold, silver, rubies, sapphires, topaz, opals, etc. Even to them who are familiar with all sorts of precious metals while digging down the mines, it was a type they were seeing for the first time.

If an amber is a gem made by tree sap solidifying, what was before their eyes could be called the solidified tears of a god.

- The sun dwells inside.

At the red radiance swirling inside the brilliant surface, the foreman dropped the pickaxe held in his hand.

- Bring smaller shovels!

- If we offer it to the King, he will bestow a great reward.

- I assure you. This gem will become the symbol of the Royal Family from now on.

The unknown gem was as big as a passable jar. The miners who were carefully digging it out discovered something strange.

- Foreman. It seems like a sound is being heard from inside this...

Loyalty to the Dwarf Royal Family and the honor of excavating the best treasure. The miners whose eyes were blinded by that woke a disaster.

"The court wizard said, what they discovered is a fossil where an ancient demonic beast is sealed."

It's a remnant of the distant past when the spiritual high tide was extremely deep. As the ebb tide returned, the monsters of other worlds that sneaked in at that time were exiled to their hometowns.

However, some stubbornly endured. They hibernated by taking root in the present world in the form of fossils.

Eugene, who was listening intently as if interested, nodded his head.

"This uncharted territory subjugation is a sort of justification and insurance?"

"That is correct."

Calling in knights while keeping it appropriately secret so the Royal Family's prestige doesn't fall.

If the subjugation of the demonic beast fails, they find new mines in the uncharted territory as Plan B.

That was the truth behind the uncharted territory subjugation hosted by the Royal Family.