Chapter 184 : Waiting in Ambush
Chapter 184: Waiting in Ambush
After arriving near Haken, I sent Irene and the Crimson Comet into Haken Castle.
“I'll keep reporting the situation.”
“Alright, Sir Irene. Contact me as soon as the destination is decided.”
“Yes. I'll also take a look at the atmosphere inside Haken Castle.”
From my perspective, it was only half someone else's family affair.
But not for Irene.
If anyone was taking this matter more seriously than I was, it was probably Irene.
She had a rather unusual personality that bordered on an obsession with mounts, but when it mattered, she got the job done.
She was smart enough to assess the situation and contact me immediately.
And if betrayal and rebellion really became reality...
Her War Hammer would burn brilliantly.
“This place will do.”
“We'll set up camp.”
“I'll scout the surroundings.”
After sending Irene away, we established camp near Haken.
Once the gathering point for the Great Lords' subjugation force was decided, Leisha and I would head there immediately.
The Dog Tribe warriors, however, would remain here.
If anything happened in Haken, we'd have to deploy the Dog Tribe immediately.
The biggest issue was concealing a force of seven hundred Dog Tribe warriors.
Elline volunteered to handle that part.
“With Concealment Shamanism, our camp won't be discovered.”
“Good. I'll trust you. But can this Shamanism continue without you being here?”
“Of course. It'll last for several days.”
“That'll be enough.”
Thanks to that, we were able to remain hidden not far from Haken and intervene much more quickly if necessary.
Back during the war against the Imperial Army, the reason Hawrun's forces and the Dog Tribe had been able to wait safely near the former Hawrun Territory had also been because of this very Shamanism.
There was no reason to doubt its effectiveness.
-Lord Iron. The gathering point has been decided. It's Mount Rot. They say Jupiterio has already entered Mount Rot.
“Good. Understood.”
Irene, who had already entered Haken Castle, informed me of the assembly point for the operation.
The subjugation of Jupiterio would take place at Mount Rot, located southwest of Haken Castle on the border between Haken and New Level.
The moment I received the news, we immediately headed for Mount Rot.
“This is working better than I expected.”
“Not as good as a fox's abilities, but it's not bad.”
Since we had to remain hidden in the operational area, we couldn't bring the Mountain Goats.
The Crimson Comet had officially joined Haken's force.
We hadn't.
I'd expected the journey to take quite some time, but Elline's Shamanism compensated for that significantly.
Her Vitality Shamanism proved extremely helpful during forced marches like this.
“And everyone here is an accomplished warrior.”
“Well, that's true too.”
There were twenty-five of us heading toward Mount Rot.
Besides Leisha and me, there were twelve Black Lion warrior women from her personal guard.
Ten Priest-Warriors.
And finally, Elline, the Guide and Priestess of the Dog Tribe.
Leisha, her royal guards, and the Priest-Warriors were among the elite of Johnson Territory.
With Shamanism supporting them, there was no way they couldn't handle a march like this.
Meanwhile, the weakest member of the group, Elline...
Was riding on my back while playing her Grass Flute.
She had to continue playing the instrument to maintain the Shamanism, and even while being carried, she stubbornly kept blowing into it without letting the melody stop.
That was a talent in itself.
“We'll hide immediately.”
“I'll activate the Concealment Shamanism.”
As we approached Mount Rot, signs of people could be sensed everywhere.
They were probably the Great Lords' forces monitoring Jupiterio.
The overwhelming presence emanating from the mountain peak confirmed that Jupiterio was indeed here.
Avoiding everyone's attention, we settled into a secluded location, activated the Concealment Shamanism, and immediately began digging.
‘An Out-of-Rank Monster hunt won't end in a single day. We'd better make sure this hideout is well built.’
Not every Calamity-Class Monster was the same.
The Gnoll Lord, a commander-type monster that led a horde...
And Jupiterio of Thunder, a solitary individual...
They were fundamentally different beings.
Of course, with six Masters participating in the hunt, it would eventually be defeated.
But there was no way the battle would end overnight.
With so many powerful people involved, there were also too many captains steering the ship.
There was a much greater chance everyone would simply spend their time watching each other.
Honestly...
I thought the military strength of Johnson Territory alone was stronger than six Masters gathered from three Great Territories.
Allies who couldn't cooperate were worse than having no allies at all.
“…This is absolutely insane.”
-You're only realizing that now?
“No, I already knew. I did, but...”
The moment we decided to build a hideout, the Priest-Warriors immediately began digging into the ground.
The Black Lion warrior women worked alongside them.
As expected of a group filled with knight-class fighters, the construction progressed incredibly quickly.
The most astonishing part, however, was the Rabbit Tribe's construction ability.
Not only did they issue rapid, precise instructions while directing the warrior women like seasoned workers...
They also instantly identified weak structural points and naturally applied construction adhesive wherever it was needed.
At this point, it was genuinely difficult to tell whether they were Priests or Builders.
No...
Why were Priest-Warriors carrying construction adhesive in the first place?
Wasn't that something only Builders carried?
-Isn't it because Master keeps making them do things like this?
‘Come on. They look like they're enjoying it just as much.’
To begin with...
The Rabbit Tribe even built their homes underground.
Blaming that on me felt rather unfair.
“…Done.”
Before long, the underground hideout was completed.
I'd only ever heard stories about Rabbit Tribe tunnels.
This was my first time actually entering one.
It was much deeper and much safer than I'd expected.
It really gave off the feeling that professionals made all the difference.
It wasn't even comparable to the Mana Stone Mine in our territory.
‘And it's incredibly elaborate. Nobody's ever going to find this.’
At this point, it almost felt like Elline's Concealment Shamanism wasn't even necessary.
Even the Viet Cong, who had driven America to despair, probably hadn't dug tunnels this well.
“So... what do we do now?”
“Hmm... Good question.”
Until something happened, we simply had to wait here.
Judging by the atmosphere, nothing would happen until the subjugation was over.
That meant we'd probably remain like this for at least a day or two.
The only thing left to do was gather information sent by Irene and Yuria.
Since we had to remain hidden, leaving our hideout wasn't an option.
So we simply had to stay put.
When Leisha asked, "So... what do we do now?"
I found myself completely at a loss for an answer.
‘Seriously... what are we supposed to do?’
The situation was honestly rather ridiculous.
The twelve Black Lion warrior women who served as Leisha's personal guard.
Long ago, they had worked alongside Leisha as mercenaries in Hawrun.
It had been their way of helping the Lion Tribe overcome its meat shortage.
Once during the Rabbit Tribe's Great Escape.
Then again after the Imperial Army conquered Levelium.
The mercenary business throughout Levelium had completely collapsed these days.
But back then, it had been surprisingly profitable.
Leisha and her royal guards had apparently acquired quite a lot of meat through those jobs.
These courageous warrior women, whom I'd first met during the Rabbit Tribe's Great Escape, had continued working alongside me from time to time.
We'd naturally become quite close.
Unless Leisha was on a solo mission, her royal guards always accompanied her.
And I frequently participated in operations alongside Leisha as well.
There was no way we wouldn't become familiar with each other.
They were all straightforward, easygoing women.
I liked them as well.
“So, anyway...”
“As expected, men are...”
“Knights are nice, but the real treasures are definitely blacksmiths...”
“Exactly, exactly. Aura and muscles are two completely different things.”
One thing I'd noticed from the very beginning...
These girls talked.
A lot.
They'd been like this the first time we'd met.
Now that we were close, they were even worse.
Perhaps because we were all packed together inside the hideout waiting around...
The amount of unnecessary information flying around had reached a new level.
A lively group of young warrior women naturally meant conversations embarrassing enough to make anyone blush.
‘Well, romance is usually the first topic that comes up whenever people are bored.’
Honestly...
I wasn't particularly interested in learning that blacksmiths accustomed to swinging hammers were supposedly superior to knights accustomed to wielding Aura.
Still...
Since there wasn't much else to do, I quietly listened to their conversation.
At least their nonstop chatter kept boredom away.
“Ah, the owner of the Alchemy Workshop? Isn't that male way too skinny?”
“Come on. I heard he's surprisingly good. You know, like dry firewood.”
“So he burns really well~”
“Well, either way, it's already over. Tia and Tiera already swept him away~”
“True... The owner of the Alchemy Workshop is definitely a capable male.”
Occasionally, interesting information slipped into the conversation.
This time, it happened to involve my close friend Peter, the owner of the Alchemy Workshop.
Remember those two Black Lion warrior women who had practically acted as Peter's bodyguards when we visited the Lion Tribe?
Apparently...
The two of them had carried Peter off.
And according to everyone involved...
It had been an extremely satisfying experience.
Even I hadn't known this little gem of information.
If that had already happened...
It probably wouldn't be long before wedding candles were lit for that couple.
To think a man from Johnson Territory had actually been carried off.
This would be wonderful ammunition for teasing Peter later.
-The Black Lion females truly are remarkable. As expected of a tribe where only strong females claim worthy males.
Because of the Empire's biological experiments, the Black Lions had become a tribe with an overwhelming female majority.
As a result, carrying off desirable males had become part of their culture.
Apparently, this had even caused conflicts within the Lion Tribe itself.
It was also why Camilla, Rudelrof's wife, had always been wary of Leisha.
Now that the Black Lions had spent two years living in our territory, similar incidents had occurred there from time to time as well.
Surprisingly, though...
There had been almost no complaints.
The Black Lion women were courageous and aggressive.
Yet they were also deeply devoted to the males they chose.
Apparently, marital satisfaction among them was extremely high.
Peter was probably no exception.
The two warrior women who had guarded him back then were both quite beautiful.
“As expected, carrying them off is the answer.”
“Carrying them off is always the answer.”
“Carry them off. Carry them off.”
“They talk about fox females becoming the Lord's wife and all that, but there's no substance to it anyway.”
“Definitely carry them off!”
I was quietly smiling to myself while listening to Peter's story...
When the atmosphere suddenly became strange.
Those crazy girls had started chanting "Carry him off."
While staring directly at me.
“Hehehe~ No matter how great a Great Warrior is, once Great Warrior Leisha catches him~”
“Hehehe~ There's no escaping that. If you're weak, that's just how it is.”
“You can't use Aura in bed, can you? Then Commander would win.”
“I see. As expected of a human from the Bear Tribe.”
“Even better~”
To make matters worse, they started adding bizarre comments that left me completely flustered.
What exactly were they trying to do?
Even the Priest-Warriors were quietly moving away from me.
It looked like they had absolutely no intention of interfering no matter what happened.
-I see. So that's how it is. Congratulations, Master. The Black Lion female is nodding.
‘...And why exactly is that something to celebrate?’
-I believe Master's arrogance has finally come to an end.
The rabbit was hopping around excitedly.
Meanwhile...
A chill ran straight down my spine.
I didn't care what happened.
I just wanted to escape this awkward situation somehow.
-You! This thing still works, right?
“…Yes, Yuria.”
At that very moment...
Like a miracle, Yuria contacted me.
Judging by the fact that she'd used the Mana Communicator instead of a Shamanic Message, she clearly had a lot to say.
For me...
It couldn't have been more welcome.
As I heard Leisha quietly clicking her tongue while approaching me...
I waited for Yuria to speak.
A single drop of cold sweat rolled down my forehead.