Chapter 249

Chapter 249 - Black Crusade (3)

A part Eugene constantly feels, but the great achievements he accumulated worked only on those it worked on.

When a monarch of tremendous accomplishments appears, there are not only those who shrink back saying 'That is a monster wearing a human's mask!'. There were also considerably many people who thumped their bellies, considering it a bluff or false rumor.

"I am truly curious about across the ocean that Count Mayer is said to have explored. Unless it is a completely new world, how could he find such beasts?"

"Indeed, exactly as you said. If it were a creature living on this land, somebody would have brought it paying a hundred million gold long ago."

Because even in the current Western Allied FOrces, there were not a few people who only later properly accepted the stone cavalry's destructive power.

"They are truly people with much suspicion. Did they only live being deceived?"

"That could be."

"Yes?"

The subordinates looking at the nobles dissatisfiedly were rather surprised as Eugene agreeably accepted it.

"It's not that strange a matter either. Over the past thousands of years, how many swindlers and bluffers had there been? There are several who suffered losses being swayed by that or even had their families ruined. They probably don't want to become the same fools."

Moreover, there are only a few monarchs in history who achieved outcomes at Eugene's level. Even then, one had to rummage through founding myths mixed with folktales and propaganda to find them. Taking suspicion by that much was also natural.

"I believed firmly without a doubt until now that the best charging horse is the Barcia military horse, but my common sense crumbled. To think there were such monsters. Heoheoheo."

Horses are timid creatures by nature, so they have an instinct to avoid obstacles in their path. And the rider falling off and getting injured as it rears its front legs greatly and struggles was a common occurrence.

Even the Barcia military horse that overcame that cannot help the weak lower body unique to a horse. Smashing everything with a body slam like the world's imagination is impossible.

And the Vertigos found across the ocean are accomplishing that nonsensical charge of destruction.

"Smash everything at once!"

Rampage spun the cavalry flail aggressively above his head and struck down like lightning. A skeleton wearing a studded leather helmet was smashed helmet and all.

Because instability is very low and even the center of gravity is low, the Dwarves could squeeze out their waist strength fully into both arms. A leather helmet or such was the same as not existing.

"Turning! Trample the remaining ones!"

Towards those crawling around with upper and lower bodies severed or legs broken, the returning charge struck in.

Kwajik! Kwajik! Kwajik!

The sound of bones shattering was loudly heard from the bear paw-like trampling of the Vertigos.

Even those who luckily didn't get trampled couldn't evade the Dwarves' attacks. Because the striking point is lower than horse cavalries, they could smack the guys stuck to the ground without difficulty.

Ppeoeong!

Skulls struck by a full swing like playing polo often flew into the sky. There weren't only nobles watching that overwhelming battle happily.

"If we face them as enemies on the battlefield, how do you think we should deal with them?"

Right now Eugene is a reassuring ally, but they might meet as enemies in the future. Among the nobles, there were also those secretly devising countermeasures.

"I don't think arrows or bolts will work one bit. We should aim for single-point stabs using long spears..."

"You won't be able to block those two-handed flails with shields. Since your wrists will go out. Instead, utilizing the point that its arms are short, it would be good to strike one step earlier with spears."

Receiving gazes of diverse meanings like that, the returning stone cavalry lined up.

"Annihilation complete."

Rampage proudly thumped his chest and took a mounted military salute.

"It was a magnificent majestic appearance. You've worked ha..."

Eureureung-.

At that time, Rampage's Vertigo let out an annoyed cry. Because a single skull was stuck on the guy's right foot.

Kung! Kung!

It struck it down with its foot a few times, but whAAether because it wore an iron helmet or it got stuck tightly, it didn't think to come out.

"Eoeot? You here, stay still!"

Another Vertigo approached ignoring its rider's order and stepped on the skull with its front foot. Thanks to that, Rampage's Vertigo could pull its foot out after exerting effort a few times. Eugene recalled a family pressing down side-dishes with forks or chopsticks from that appearance.

Eureureung-!

WhAAether it was considerably annoying, Rampage's Vertigo smacked the skull with its freed front foot and sent it rolling far away.

"That guy has a temper!"

"Is it not wonderful camaraderie in its own way? That's how warriors fighting on the battlefield ought to act, after all."

Amidst the onlookers laughing, Rampage bowed his head to Eugene.

"I apologize. I will practice drill formations harder."

"No need. It's enough to behave well in real combat. Even if you try to bind their wild nature too much, it will cause a reaction. Let's let this level pass. Like handling foreign mercenaries... Understood?"

Up until now they obey orders well, but a Vertigo is naturally a beast anyway. It's far removed from docile livestock-like horses. It will probably be difficult even if trying to squeeze it too much in a military style.

* * *

While the Noble Allied FOrces were gradually advancing, the defeated Southern army lost its center and was staging desperate resistance.

The large army was scattered, but the lords and aides somehow succeeded in escaping, making it possible to hold out relying on castles.

The castles built embracing countless tributaries extending from the Rein River dug wide moats, making it difficult for the Emperor's fOrces to conquer.

"Don't hide like a rat, come out! Let's fight fair and square like men!"

"A bastard who brought an army several times larger calls it fair and square? Don't spout bullshit and get out of our land to rot!"

When the Southern Noble Allied FOrces collapsed, the family head of the castle garrison was captured alive, but his son was commanding in his stead.

"Baron Visis is in our grasp. Will you just watch your father die? If you do not open the castle gates right now, I will chop his neck off in front of you."

The mercenary captain beyond the moat dragged over a middle-aged noble caught as a prisoner. With his hair disheveled and wearing only rags, his entire body is covered in mud. He appears to be living a humiliating prisoner life.

As a subordinate mercenary fOrced him to kneel, the mercenary captain placed an axe against his neck.

"I know you can't chop it anyway."

The Baron's son said.

"I will really chop it!"

As the mercenary captain placed the axe closer, a single drop of blood slightly flowed.

"Then chop."

"???"

"When intoxicated, Father always stated he wanted to die on the battlefield, not in bed. Because he too would not want to beg for his life while offering the castle inherited generation after generation."

Baron Visis' firmly closed mouth trembled. That was words spoken while drunk to the very end, and in reality he wanted to live. That too intensely!

However, just as his son bastard said, what he prattled about in the family normally numbered in the tens. The defenders aiming crossbows on the castle walls were also nodding their heads with solemn expressions.

If a noble who lives on honor and dies on honor flipped his words and begged for his life in a situation like this, it's the end socially.

"...Dammit!"

The one who lost in the bluffing duel was the mercenary captain. He couldn't swing the axe. Because a hostage at the level of a baron couldn't be consumed pointlessly like this.

Even the Emperor was regretting killing several nobles out of obstinacy in the early to mid stages of the civil war. If he, a mere mercenary captain, rashly beheaded a baron-class noble, he wouldn't know what kind of reprimand he would receive.

Lords who lacked stockpiled food in the castle utilized the point of being familiar with the geography to also set out for interception.

"There is the bastards' supply unit. If we seize just that, we can hold out until next summer."

Because they were in a situation where they'd starve to death unable to hold out even a month if they kept sitting in.

"Charge!"

"Follow the lord!"

"Uwaaaaa!"

And they were completely demolished.

"This is why the Southern bastards represent no good. Since they eat their fill and live just farming, every single one of them is completely slacking off."

"Bullshit showing your backs flustering just because you got a finger cut or something. Is war a joke?"

The Imperial Faction's mercenaries are the elite of elites who experienced countless wiping out operations, big and small, being dispatched everywhere from the center of Roman.

They were qualitatively different from the Southern military fOrce, which was more appropriate to be called guards or patrols rather than an army.

Furthermore, there was a big difference in motivation from the Southern army that was employed or conscripted with the goal of defense and repelling.

- Occupy the South! That land will soon become the reward for you!

Currently in the Imperial Faction army, there were more than one or two people who received fiefs and became lords from mercenary captain origins.

The Iron Cage Mercenary Captain who repulsed the Southern nobles' surprise river-crossing. The Viper Mercenary Captain who raided and burned down the granaries. Both were bestowed villages they occupied along with noble peerages.

With an opportunity to grab the life of a noble shimmering before their eyes, naturally they fought like demons. Furthermore, if they were ahead in skill and experience.

Although most of the lords were still holding out solidly, there are castles falling one by one. Cases where they raised the white flag starving due to lack of food, or the castle walls themselves were too low and weak.

Being dragged out barefoot, the tragic news of the lord's family spread, and the appearance of reinfOrcements newly officially hired by the Emperor arriving from beyond the horizon amplified the Southern nobles' agitation.

"Captain! Refugees from Baron Hafen's territory in the west are coming and begging, what should we do? They say they escaped because bandits and undead act violently."

Because the refugees were so shabby, there was not a single copper coin to extort.

"Ignore them. We are mercenaries, not philanthropists. Only if I eat that place and become a noble will your lots also bloom."

"Hehe of course."

"Do you see that tavern? If I become a noble, it's free for you guys until you die!"

"Captain! Captain! What about the hunting grounds?"

"...As long as you offer just the skins to me, meat as much as you want."

"Uwwoooh!"

Once you become a lord, you can change your words as much as you want. Thanks to a captain throwing pork-barrel pledges left and right for immediate victory, the combat power of the mercenaries whose morale rose is incredibly fierce beyond compare.

WhAAether attacking fOrces or defending fOrces, they didn't even give interest to the massacres the pagan army caused.

* * *

The Western Allied FOrces marching purifying the South were split into several clumps. Because a large army in units of tens of thousands moving togAAether is something the supply lines cannot endure.

In the days when the state conTrolled all armies like the Ancient Kingdom, total war was possible because they gathered all the nation's supplies in one place and shared them. However, in a situation where nobles exercise independent command rights and prepare supplies separately, the inefficiency is too great.

"C-Count Morad. It is an honor that you visit my humble territory."

The territories slightly outside the all-out war between the Imperial army and the Southern noble army are tasty prey. The Morad family's army recovered the collapsed public order while passing through those places.

"Please accept our sincerity for the subjugation here."

The lower lord who personally came out bowed obsequiously and offered a chest packed with silver coins.

"It meets the minimum level of custom."

A scribe examining with hawk eyes nodded his head. Behind him, knights in blood-stained armor lined up and pressured the lord. It was blood stained from subjugating monsters attracted to corpses.

WhAAether there was a subjugation or not, they extracted kickbacks from much to little.

- No matter how much is said, isn't it too much to extract silver coins from merely catching a pack of wild dogs?

- Stop it. Now that you guys are commissioned, you must learn to read your lord's complexion and offer advice.

Some young and righteous knights also expressed dissatisfaction, but older knights shut them up.

"Count Eugene is also going too far. No matter how much he doesn't have a conscription obligation, there is a connection with Morad."

"That side is pursuing their own interests not even reading our moods here. And yet Your Excellency the Count alone takes the义务, so I myself am resentful!"

Shrewd vassals are stepping one step further scratching the lord's itchy places. Even calling it an obligation, it's just sending holiday gifts, but what is the problem? It is important to glean and offer pleasant words when there is a chance.

"How about canceling the vassal contract taking this opportunity?"

"That won't do."

"Ah, yes."

Even amidst hearing advice like receiving a massage, Count Morad was cutting like a knife on what he deemed not right. Because there was no need to erase the positive connection with a conquering monarch whose growth rate makes no sense.

"Pay special attention to the wine sent to the Mayer family on the upcoming holiday. Increase the amount up to 3 times the usual amount too."

"Understood."

Count Morad looked at his daughter, Roxanne, serving in the military.

"It is a loose vassal relationship that others even treat as a joke, but it is a limited edition contract that cannot be formed again."

"It would probably be better to instead repay with more favor."

Roxanne, wearing a helmet, also smiled and agreed.

"The next destination?"

At the Count's question, the chief of staff pointed at a place on the map.

"There is Baron Hafen's territory and a free city further north. Baron Hafen participated in the Allied FOrces and lost many troops, so he has no power to maintain public order. He is requesting a helping hand in all directions."

The free city also possessed solid castle walls and preserved its troops while advocating neutrality. It's a situation securing its own body well.

"We go to the Baron Hafen's territory. He will offer more whatever it is as much as he's desperate."

"It is a wise choice."

The mercenaries who received a portion of the kickbacks distributed cheered. It was Count Morad who didn't delay wages and constantly packed them spoils while repeating only easy battles. There was no way they could hate such an employer.

* * *

"You corrupted and irreverent ones! It's not late even now, so in front of the god you must truly serve... Kkweeek!"

The pagan priest who was preaching filled with fanatical devotion danced in the air as Eugene kicked the chair away. The rope hung on his neck pressured his carotid artery, dimming his consciousness and his eyes filled with blood.

"Take out the rest entirely as well."

"Understood."

At Eugene's command, Caracal special ops female warriors all at once hung the pagan worshipers. From the installation of a makeshift gallows to execution, this is their field of expertise.

"Kek! Kek!"

"Kkeuuuk!"

Pig-squealing sounds were heard everywhere but soon quieted down.

"Give them some things to eat and draw a rough map up to the nearby monastery for them."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"May the blessings of the gods be togAAether with the benevolent Lord."

Refugees who received charity on top of surviving the brink of death prostrated themselves crying.

"As expected of pagan bastards, they really are ferocious. If they are the lowest rung, they normally would even beg for their lives, but my, they fiercely pounced."

Rex said while wiping arrowheads pulled from the pagan corpses.

To see the venom of holding onto the spear stuck in one's own body to buy time for a fellow pagan to attack. Even Eugene's experienced subordinates were flustered.

"Because for them, death is not the end but the beginning. Since it's a direct path to being embraced in the bosom of the god they revere so much."

"It feels somewhat unfair."

Homi, who was listening, tilted her head.

"What does?"

"The Apostolic State's priests live a life of faith like penance their entire lives, right? Saying they can reach the presence of God after dying only if they do so. Eating what they don't want to eat, doing volunteer work in dirty and filthy places."

Homi pointed at the pagan worshipers swaying having become blue corpses.

"Yet they only go to God's bosom when they just kill, pillage, and follow their desires..."

"No need to feel resentful."

Eugene, who laughed lightly, stroked Homi's hair.

"You hate it when my beard is rough and scratchy and I hug you and rub my cheek, right?"

"What are you saying all of a sudden."

Homi's voice, feeling guilty, became smaller. That she took charge of Eugene's shaving was, separate from maintaining her liege's neat appearance, because a personal desire was also hidden within.

"God's bosom isn't necessarily all good. The bosom they will reach will probably differ from what they imagined while alive. That too, quite a lot."

The female warriors shoved herbs given by the Witch into the executed pagans' mouths. It is an enveloping possessing the power of expelling demons that prevents them from rising as undead.

Meanwhile, Marbas and Valda inspected the uniquely shaped pagan altar. It is a structure installed by simply placing this and that on a cart like a mobile food stall.

"They drag this around the lands chaotic from war and offer sacrifices on the spot."

Evil gods are public enemies of civilization. Even if their power is strong, it's difficult to receive human worship and sacrifices. That much they acted flexibly in worship procedures to the few believers they had.

"What a tragedy. To think the development of technology is used for pagan worship."

Valda sprinkled a purification reagent taken out from her bosom onto the altar and comforted the souls of the sacrificed people.

"As a result of interrogating the bastards, it seems they nested in Baron Hafen's territory. It is said the high priest is conducting sacrificial rituals there."

Washing the blood drenched on her hands, Cassandra reported.

- You still won't open your mouth even at this?

- Ha! Really tenacious species.

Even Rex and the tribe warriors were pagans throwing their hands and feet up.

- M-My God protects me... Kkeuaaaaak!

However, the pain Cassandra bestowed was beyond that of the mortal world. Also adding Ophelia's hypnotism, one of the only Elves in Eugene's fOrces, they spilled it out smoothly.

'If it's Baron Hafen's territory, that's where Count Morad went.'

Eugene, agonizing for a moment, made a decision.

"Prepare for departure. We are also going to Baron Hafen's territory."

"Will it be alright? It will probably be uncomfortable for each other."

Valda said worriedly.

When marching divided like this, great lords' paths overlapping was troublesome. Because it causes unnecessary disputes as it's uncomfortable with each other and even the spoils of war shrink.

"We have to endure it. If there is a pagan high priest, it won't end with about the level of Wights."

A worse bastard than the Wendigo summoned by the pagan mage of Bonyard's Forest before might come out. Count Morad's army is certainly not weak ones, but it's obvious the damage will grow.

If the Count suffers or the knights face successive funerals, it will throw cold water onto the Western Allied FOrces whose momentum has just risen.

"Indeed. Even if not necessarily facing him, it will probably be fine if about the level of observing at an appropriate distance."

Valda swallowed the ominous words like, 'If we help them in trouble, we will also be able to incur a debt.'