Chapter 90 : The Mercenary Bureau's First Request (4)
Chapter 90: The Mercenary Bureau's First Request (4)
At the same time.
Contrary to Miles's concerns, Shatien was proceeding very easily without any significant resistance.
-Flash!
-Slice!
He used a mimicry of a knight's mental infusion, which had now become quite natural, to cross the wall. The weakest part of the fortress gate was sliced through by the guidance of the sword inherited from his master like a knife through soft tofu.
The result was exactly this.
-Creeeeak Thud!
The gate of the fortress, which looked like a mere plank made just for appearance, was cut into pieces and fell to the ground.
Of course, this was only the case from Shatien's perspective.
“W-What!! What is that monster.”
“It's a monster!!!”
“No, that's a mage. An evil mage has come!”
“How can a sword split a fortress gate like that!!!”
The bandits fell into great confusion at the nonsensical sight.
They had never seen, nor even imagined, a gate being breached in such a manner.
Wasn't this the kind of thing one would only see in ancient, worn-out hero tales passed down through generations?
Regardless of their reaction.
The mercenaries under Shatien didn't even give the bandits time to snap out of it.
-Waaaaaaaah!
-Long live Centurion Shatien!
-Kill the bandits!!!
The morale of the mercenaries in the rear surged, and they charged all at once.
The bandits fell into chaos and began to scatter in all directions.
-Gah!
-Clang Clang Clang!
“You idiots. If you scatter, you'll all die! Hey! Gather up!”
“We have to drive them back to the entrance.”
“Where are the archers! Where are the archers!”
The bandit officers, who realized the situation late, shouted at the top of their lungs, but it was too late.
The mercenaries had already entered the fortress and established a solid formation.
Furthermore.
-Flash!
-Urgh!
-Slice. Slice.
Shatien, who decided not to spare his strength today, led the way and slaughtered all those who resisted.
If they blocked with a shield, they were split along with the shield, and if they tried to exchange blows with a weapon, they were split along with the weapon.
He was truly an existence outside the standard.
Of course, there were always brave ones among them.
“You! How dare you come here!”
At a glance, he seemed to be a former knight's squire.
The posture he took while holding a longsword was quite solid, as if he had learned a knight's swordsmanship. But that was all.
“Where did you throw away a knight's honor to become a bandit?”
“S-Shut up! You're using magic too, aren't you. You evil apostle.”
“Heh. Magic?”
Shatien chuckled and raised his sword.
“Well, I suppose it could be seen that way. But if you're going to attack, you should at least know what you're up against. This is….”
-Gleam!
-Clang!
“Not magic.”
-Flash!
-Clatter!
With every word he spoke, Shatien's sword flashed as if to teach a lesson. The squire-turned-bandit was startled. Swordsmanship of a level that was impossible to gauge kept unfolding before his eyes.
And soon.
-Claaaang!
The sword, which cut through the air as fast and flexibly as a current of water, struck.
And it didn't stop, heading toward a single point continuously.
Successive strikes like waves.
Yes, it was the swordsmanship resembling waves that he had learned from the knight in the past.
-Clang
-Clang
-Clang, Clang!
“K-Kghhh!”
The squire-turned-bandit, whose posture was gradually getting lower.
-Cling!
-Splaaat!
“Gaaaah!”
He couldn't control his sword any longer and it was parried away, and then his body was sliced in two.
“It's swordsmanship. In the future, make sure you know what you're fighting before you attack. Though, of course, there won't be a next time.”
-Thud.
Shatien said those words while looking down at the bandit fallen on the ground.
He didn't know why a former squire had fallen so low, but it was simply a pity.
“Hieeeeek!”
“Modric is dead!”
“H-He's a real monster. A monster! How did such a knight appear under a lord!!!”
The bandits who watched that clearly with their own eyes were terrified and began to flee while screaming.
As the mercenaries dug into that gap, even the remaining bandits all twisted their bodies and fled in a hurry.
‘This should be enough.’
Looking at the crumbling bandit pack, Shatien was certain he had seized the victory.
Shatien shouted loudly toward the surroundings.
“Commander, come out! If you just hand over the plundered taxes, I'll spare your lives! Or tell me the location of the commander! I'll show special leniency to the one who speaks!”
“…….”
Despite speaking loudly, not a single person among the bandits stepped forward readily.
‘Hmm?’
Something was strange, so Shatien shouted once more.
“I am a knight! An honorable knight who carries the honor of His Excellency Count Bellua. I promise on the honor given to me. The one who tells me the location of the commander! I'll spare you.”
“…….”
But this time, too, only an unanswered echo returned. Had a mere bandit built such trust among his subordinates?
Shatien was impressed.
In that case, it couldn't be helped.
He had no choice but to execute them all.
Wouldn't the commander be caught eventually if he did that?
While he was thinking that, a bandit who looked a bit older spoke with difficulty.
“Um….”
“What is it. Speak quickly.”
“T-The one you just killed is our boss, Sir.”
“……?”
What?
That guy just now was the boss?
Shatien looked at the corpse at his feet in embarrassment.
Come to think of it, it made sense considering he had used excellent skills and fairly high-quality equipment.
“Hmm… what a pity. It was by no means intentional. I intended to capture and interrogate him, but oh dear….”
“…….”
The bandits swallowed hard as they watched Shatien make such a brazen excuse.
No one wanted to seek useless loyalty and join the boss who had been beaten like a dog on a hot summer day.
An embarrassed Shatien continued speaking.
“Is there a second-in-command by any chance?”
“H-He went to rob the caravan just now.”
“Oh-!”
Well, then he probably died fighting Miles. He needed the next candidate.
“And the next officer?”
“H-He was at the main gate and was swept away and died.”
“…….”
“…….”
For a moment, Shatien was lost for words.
A bandit pack that had lost its head.
They were just a gang of vagrants now. Shatien's mind went blank for a moment at the thought of having to drag all of them along.
This, too, must be his karma.
‘Should I just deal with them all? They're just bandits anyway…. Hmm.’
The bandits suddenly threw down their weapons all at once, as if they had noticed Shatien's terrifying thought.
“W-We surrender!”
“Please accept it. We surrender!!”
“We were wrong.”
“Please just spare our lives. We became bandits because we didn't want to starve to death.”
“…….”
At any rate, they were bandits with very quick wits.
* * *
The intense battle ended.
Shatien immediately ordered people to bring the stolen tax safe. The bandits ran off somewhere and quickly came back carrying a safe while groaning.
“Heave. Go slowly!”
“Sir Knight. Here it is. We've brought the item.”
As they placed the safe on the ground, a heavy vibration was felt. There must indeed be quite a lot of silver coins inside.
The tax collector's eyes widened.
“T-That's it! That's the one.”
The tax collector rushed over, opened the safe, and was busy counting coins for a long time like some crazy person.
-Clink. Clink.
‘He's like… a man obsessed with money.’
It felt a bit disgusting, but the tax collector seemed to find it very enjoyable. Happiness was spread all over his face.
They say people's tastes are diverse, but it's truly hard to understand.
“Is that indeed the safe that was stolen from you?”
“Yes, it is. Sir Shatien. Thank you so much. You're truly the savior of my life.”
The tax collector praised Shatien with a great fuss.
It seemed excessive, but it wasn't a bad thing.
‘It's actually good.’
Based on this, he would be able to return to the lord of the region and obtain the necessary information.
‘Hmm?’
Just then, a shout suddenly burst out from below the ridge.
-Waaaaaaaah!
-Kill them!! Don't let a single one get away alive!
-Sweep them all away!
“……?”
Were there still enemies that hadn't been wiped out? It seemed they hadn't grasped everything. It felt like a bandit squad that had been dispatched elsewhere had returned.
“Prepare for battle quickly! The enemy is attack….”
But the tension snapped and vanished at a following shout. It was a very familiar voice.
It was our combat-maniac, Miles.
“Shatieeeeeeenn!! I'm coming! Dammit. Wait for meeeee!”
Miles was running with his eyes turned inside out, holding axes in both hands. His entire body was covered in blood, and he looked truly like a beast returned from hell.
“I'll cut all you bastards in half!!”
Miles, making a loud threat, raised his axes with all his might.
The axe blades were gleaming with power as if they were about to strike down at any moment.
But.
“…What are you doing right now? Miles.”
“Huhhh? Shatien?”
Shatien asked in bewilderment.
Only then did Miles realize something was strange and stopped in his tracks.
The mercenaries following behind were just as flustered.
“What? Weren't you surrounded?”
“No. I just called the captured bandits because I had a task for them.”
“Huuuuuh? Then what about the other bandits?”
“Well… they're dead, of course. The battle is already over.”
“It's… all over?”
Miles was stunned.
‘How on earth?’
He had run here immediately after his own battle ended, so how could the battle at the most core combat zone be over already.
“A-Ahem. Then what about the bandit officers? Did you capture them? We need to dig for some information.”
“…Well, they're dead.”
“Ah, is that so? That can happen during a battle. Then what about the boss?”
“…He's dead.”
“…….”
For a moment, they had nothing to say to each other.
Miles looked at him as if wondering what kind of guy he was. Well, what could be done if everyone was killed. At least a few commander-level people should be kept alive to control the prisoners.
Shatien hurriedly changed the subject.
“Since you're here, help with the cleanup. I need to move the necessary supplies to the entrance anyway.”
“Uh, yeah… sure. Got it. Ahem. Everyone, start carrying the goods!”
“Uh, yes. Understood.”
Suddenly, the mercenaries who came for battle became porters once again. Still, perhaps because everyone had fresh energy, supplies began to stack up at the entrance one by one.
Then Miles felt something strange.
“But Shatien.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to this gate? Why is it cut into pieces like this? How can something like this even happen?”
“Ah, that… well. I did that.”
“??? What? By what means?”
“I just cut it with a sword?”
“…….”
At that moment, Miles realized.
‘As expected, Shatien is….’
A monster that transcends imagination.
* * *
“Move quickly!!”
The cleanup continued for a while.
In the meantime, Shatien absorbed some of the bandits into the mercenary unit.
Thanks to that, the scale of the mercenary unit increased quite a bit, approaching 300.
‘Even though they're bandits… one shouldn't look at the situation in the north with a normal standard.’
The north is truly a world of the survival of the fittest.
It's a world of animals where there's no morality or faith and you're eaten if you're weak.
Therefore, Shatien didn't look poorly upon them grouping together to survive.
Anyway, in this world, if a person who holds power has legitimacy, they're a noble, otherwise they're a rebel, aren't they.
If he absorbed them and guided them well, they would surely become useful manpower.
Especially since the road to the north was more difficult than he'd thought, he needed to keep storing power and increasing his size right now.
Wouldn't it be a bigger problem if the mercenary unit was cut in half by continuous battles before meeting Sir Ragnarsson.
“But Shatien. What are you going to do if Baron Mordo hears about this later?”
Miles's point was whether he shouldn't get permission first to recruit reinforcements.
Of course, in principle, that would be true, but isn't that just a principle?
The field has its own laws.
If one couldn't exercise that much flexibility, they wouldn't be able to maintain a proper mercenary force.
“I plan to send a letter to Baron Mordo in the form of recruiting first and getting permission later. The situation in the north right now is too bad to head up like this, isn't it.”
“I suppose so. Baron Mordo will understand too. It's a total mess. Recruiting troops is the right thing to do anywhere.”
Only then did Miles nod his head as if he were convinced.
And just as they were talking to each other.
“Sir Knight! Everything is ready. Let's go to the castle immediately. The Lord will be very pleased.”
The tax collector shouted loudly.
Finally, for the first time, he was plunging into social activities among nobles under the name of Shatien.