Chapter 45

Chapter 45 - Monsters and Pirates (2)

The next morning. Eugene and Homi warmed up in the front yard of the lord's manor. The river, the vast forest, and the wide-open horizon came into view at once.

"The panoramic view is truly nice. Because at Goldhill, we could only see vineyards. A person's heart will become abundant only if they live seeing such things."

Homi also liked this place where the fragrance of nature wafted profusely. She liked being surrounded by trees and grass rather than the smell of stones filling everywhere.

"Line up straight."

"Do not cut in line! Because the amount the Lord sent us as relief supplies is sufficient."

At the poorhouse, priests were handing out food. It was fish porridge boiled with a mix of dried fish, edible wild greens, and flour.

"I thank you!"

"May the blessings of the gods be upon the Lord!"

A woman carrying a child on her back and an old man praised Benjamin as they received porridge in their bowls. Even though he did not have the leeway to manage it directly, he had somehow sent relief supplies.

The troops Eugene led also moved busily welcoming the morning.

"Are you telling me to wash th-this? How about just throwing it away and buying a new one?" A young lady with a distorted face, holding yellowish underwear with her thumb and index finger.

"I told you to leave some water in the pot when you finish eating!" A young lady with her hands on her hips, her eyes glaring at a pot with crust stuck to it.

Along with the sutler, they were the two great pillars following the mercenary unit. They were prostitutes. Even if it was not necessarily sexual work, they also took charge of laundry, dishwashing, cooking, and even repairing armor, reducing the burden on the mercenaries. Replacing the rotted cotton or rags of a gambeson and sewing up torn places. Because replacing broken strings of scale armor and weaving the pieces together was possible even if one was not a blacksmith.

"If you cut out the rotten parts of these apples, I will buy them all at 20% of the price."

"40%! We have to eat and live too!"

"30%! If you don't want to, then let them rot more."

"Aigoo! Understood."

It was full of the sounds of haggling everywhere. As many outside guests visited, money and goods circulated, and vitality rose in the village.

"The logging site! Gnolls have appeared at the logging site! Words say there are still those who have not escaped the forest!"

However, the peaceful morning ended at the report of a messenger who was out of breath. The woodcutters who went to the extremely few outskirts areas with few monsters were attacked.

"Such fools! I told them so many times that it's only a matter of time before it becomes dangerous there too."

"Then do we sit still and starve to death? We have to do something!"

The village elders got angry, but the young men did not back down and opposed them. Because their livelihoods had been hindered all this while, their preparations ahead of winter were too inadequate.

"I was going to depart after just eating breakfast, but they do not even give me the leeway for that." Eugene mobilized the mercenaries and the two knights belonging to the territory and set out to intercept.

"Make way!"

"The subjugation force is passing by!"

At the guards' shouts, the villagers hurriedly cleared the path. Among them, young boys and girls cried loudly, putting their fern-like hands together and praying.

"My Lord! Our father couldn't return."

"My brother is still in the forest! Please save him!"

Perhaps because Eugene, running at the forefront with his black cloak fluttering, was so full of majesty, they mistook him for the lord.

"What are you doing!"

"Stand up quickly!"

Because quite a few adults also knelt on one knee, the guards hastily pulled them up. Showing the etiquette due to a lord to the wrong person could become a felony. If it were the generous Benjamin who liked Eugene, he would have laughed it off, but the guards did not want to gamble with their neighbors' lives.

* * *

The woodcutters of Richwood ran until the soles of their feet were on fire. The facts that they were well-versed in the forest's geography and had good stamina, and that the pursuing Gnolls were also threatened by stronger monsters, dovetailed, saving their lives.

However, the smell of sweat soaked in the woodcutters' fear gradually began to stimulate the wildness of the Gnolls.

Grrr-?

Grrk-!

Their fear of the predator inside the forest thinned, and their eyes gleamed with a thirst for human flesh.

"Huff! Huff! I can't... run anymore..."

A man who came as a refugee from a neighboring village gradually fell behind. Twos only been a week since he became a woodcutter. He was clumsy at running through the forest and weak physically.

"Run with your teeth clenched! Gnolls dig out your entrails and eat them while keeping you alive!"

"Hiiik!"

The fear of a terrible death was great, but it could not create stamina he did not have. The man fell while forcing himself to run.

"Abandon him!" The leader of the woodcutters shouted.

"B-But!"

"It's already too late. You'll die too trying to save that fellow. Think of your younger sister who will starve to death without you. He's an outsider anyway, isn't he?"

"God damn it! I'm sorry!"

A world where ostracizing and territoriality toward outsiders is basic. It is strange to have the loyalty to risk one's life to save them.

Thanks to the fallen man, everyone would become safe. Because when chased by a monster, there is no need to necessarily be faster than the monster. It was sufficient to be faster than just one person.

"N-No! Please let's go together!" The man pleaded while struggling to get up, but the woodcutters did not even look back.

Pooooh!

Right before the man was pounced upon, the sound of a charging horn echoed through the forest. The moment the Gnoll momentarily paused, the knight of Richwood appeared jumping over a tree trunk.

Swish!

The sword swung from horseback split the Gnoll's neck.

Grrrk-!

The following Gnolls attacked in anger at the death of their kin, but they encountered Eugene's cavalry.

"Damn it! Are they Gnolls?!"

"Still, I don't see many hyenas."

Gnolls disallow comparison with Goblins or Kobolds, which even rookie mercenaries can kill alone. It's difficult even for experienced mercenaries to win without a scratch, and their ability to handle hyenas is also threatening.

"Since they've come down this far, if we let them live they will come looking again. Since the village could be endangered, sweep them all away!"

However, as Eugene charged from the front, everyone shouted and followed. Simply by being present on the battlefield, Eugene blew away his subordinates' hesitation.

"Watch out for the hyenas!"

"Absolutely do not go near the bushes! A fellow popping out unexpectedly will bite your neck!"

Those with much monster experience warned, but during a chaotic fight, scanning the surroundings perfectly was difficult.

Eventually, one mercenary allowed a surprise attack. He was bitten on the arm by a hyena that jumped over a rock.

Crunch.

Luckily, it bit his wrist guard, so he wasn't injured, but he fell off his horse entangled with the hyena.

"Die!"

Even in a situation where he lost the mount position, the mercenary took out his dagger and stabbed the hyena's abdomen wildly.

Yelp-!

Properly hit in a vital spot, the hyena's bite force weakened, and it snapped its neck.

Grrk-!

However, behind it, a Gnoll holding a club was approaching.

"Ugh!" The mercenary tried to get up but perhaps he sprained his ankle, he sat down due to intense pain. The hideously laughing Gnoll tried to bring its club down on his head.

"N-No!"

At that moment, Eugene, who popped out from the side, fed a lance charge to the Gnoll.

Baaangg!!!

At the tremendous impact force, it wasn't a thwack! or a boom!, but a loud noise like flesh exploding. The spear pierced straight through from the Gnoll's sturdy right arm, armpit, chest, to its left arm.

"Are you alright?"

The Gnoll, forced into a posture of attention, convulsed.

Thump!

Thump.

Thu...

Th......

Using his palm holding the spear shaft, Eugene felt the heartbeat of the pierced heart dying down.

"You seem alright. We are in the middle of a battle, so quickly gather your wits." Eugene smiled broadly at the mercenary whose face looked as if his soul had fled.

Thud.

As the spear turning the Gnoll into a skewer fell to the ground, the mercenary crawled back on all fours. Meanwhile, Eugene charged forward and finished off three more Gnolls.

Bang!

A hyena jumped up from the grassy forest aiming for Eugene's flank, but hit his shield and flew away.

Splat!

After crashing into a thick tree pillar, it slid down spewing blood.

"What are you doing? Hurry and support the side of the Sir Knight!"

At the mercenary captain's command, his subordinates ran to protect the employer who had cut ahead.

"For honor!"

"I will show you the sword of Richwood!"

The knights also charged toward the clustered Gnolls. However, as Eugene, who arrived first, started hacking while wielding a sword and a flail in both hands, everyone had no choice but to step back.

"M-Make way from Sir Eugene!"

"We'll get swept up!"

The knights and mercenaries retreated in fright. A silver flash flashed close to Eugene, and a black whirlwind raged farther away. The Gnolls caught up in it were cut, crushed, and swept away.

"Captain! We might also die trying to protect the side of the Sir Knight?"

"...Even so, are you just going to watch, you bastards! Keep a moderate distance and stick to him!"

Gruuuuoh-! As if erasing the mercenary captain's embarrassment, a cry filled with terror echoed. As Eugene smashed the battle formation and the knights and mercenaries dug into the cracks and slaughtered them, the Gnolls began to flee.

"Do not miss a single one!"

Not a single Gnoll succeeded in escaping. They all fell, hit by spears or bolts in their backs.

"Phew! Is it all over now?"

"Somebody save me!"

"..."

"As soon as one mercenary spoke while catching his breath, a scream was heard from elsewhere in the forest.

"It's not my fault!" Under the glares of his comrades staring from all sides, the mercenary shed thick drops of sweat.

'Even if we release more relief supplies, I should issue an order banning entry into the forest until the subjugation is over.' Eugene organized his management policy while controlling his troops.

"Keep moving! There are still enemies to fight and those to rescue left!"

Moving to where the scream was heard, there was an herb gatherer right before being pounced on by a grizzly bear.

"It's my first time seeing a place where monsters and beasts of prey run wild in such a hodgepodge." The mercenaries fired cavalry crossbows at the bear. However, the bear's skin was thick, so the bolts with weak tension couldn't inflict fatal wounds.

The enraged bear let go of the woodcutter and rushed at the knight closest to it.

"Even though you are a beast, consider it an honor to die by my spear!" It was the knight who, even when fighting the Gnolls, rushed ahead out of greed for martial feats.

Neeigh-! However, startled by the bear's momentum, the horse reared its front legs and struggled. Naturally, the knight trying to stab with his spear also lost his balance.

"Getafe! You foolish horse!"

As his beloved horse fell, the knight also tumbled to the ground ungracefully. The bear rushed over as if to pounce on him.

Thwack!

The moment the bear tried to tear the person apart, its front paw, which was like a cauldron lid, hit the flail and became a bloody mess. Letting out a bizarre shriek full of pain, the bear glared at Eugene. However, there was already an iron club striking up from below its snout. As he continued to use the flail, he got the hang of it, and his skill in cleverly attacking from the blind spot of vision had improved.

Craaack!

The bear, which raised its head like a howling wolf, froze as it was.

Sway, sway.

The giant gray body that had been tilting little by little for about two seconds fell backward with a thump! In the end, the bear's sole lifted high looked somewhat funny.

"Th-Thank you for saving my life! Sir Eugene."

"I am glad you don't look injured."

The fallen knight looked up at Eugene with completely changed eyes.

- For a green-as-grass young external knight to receive full authority over the subjugation. Even I have my pride as a vassal.

- We were the ones who served him all along, but why did the Lord give it to someone who hasn't even sworn an oath of fealty...

It was true that he did not look kindly upon a rolling stone commanding as the proxy of full authority over the subjugation.

However, fighting together, this was nothing but a monster wearing a human mask. He was not an opponent to act petty with a shallow pride.

'I've rescued everyone.'

Eugene sent the survivor, who continuously expressed his gratitude, back to the village.

"Those country bumpkins should have just stayed quietly stuck in the village, how bothersome."

"You are truly merciful, Sir Knight."

The mercenaries who had caught their breath showed annoyance towards the fleeing survivor and respect towards Eugene.

However, there was a slight misunderstanding. Because the reason Eugene ran about diligently did not stem from mercy or the spirit of chivalry.

Because he himself still considered himself a soldier. His country, his ethnicity, the world, everything had changed, but the identity of a soldier was unchangingly carved into Eugene's soul.

Eugene's heart, which had been calm even when fighting three outstanding knights in the Palace War and when executing the Wendigo.

It broke its silence and began to beat when the civilians under his responsibility begged to be saved.

* * *

After rescuing the people, Eugene summoned the village elites and issued several instructions.

"As you said, Sir Knight, we banned entry to the forest. But it will be hard to hold out for long. Because their livelihoods have taken too big a hit. Above all, winter comes in a few months."

The village chief spoke with a face full of worry. Since Benjamin, the lord, is often absent, he is a talent who helps majorly in running the village along with the clerk.

"There won't be anyone starving to death this winter. The main house has considered the circumstances and decided to send additional food."

"Oh! That is truly a relief!"

At the clerk's words, the village chief swept down his chest. On the other hand, the knights belonging to the territory were excited.

"We cannot rely solely on the support of the main house."

"Staking the honor of knights, we must subjugate the monsters disturbing the forest."

Continuously receiving external support is no different from advertising that they lack the ability to protect the territory. That is a disgrace like death to a knight.

Since there is a knight of Eugene's caliber and even a magician, there would be no better opportunity for subjugation than now.

"Please lead us, Sir! Whatever is lurking in the forest, it will fall before our spears and blades!" The knights thumped their chests with their gauntleted fists. The subtle dissatisfaction or a sense of rivalry cleanly disappeared, and there was only the gaze looking at a commander.