Chapter 64

Chapter 64

#64 Mercenary King Carpe (1)

An incident from almost twenty years ago.

Back then, just like now, Valkyrie, the sole Sword Master of the frostbitten north who stood tall like a giant tree, had a brief but impactful connection with Carpe.

Recalling those days, thoughts of his northern hometown naturally came to Carpe’s mind.

“Hell, they want me to go back north all of a sudden? What for? Damn it! Who’s gonna go see that place?”

He could ignore it.

But…

“The creed of northerners… A favor must always be repaid.”

A deep-seated sense of duty and unease ignited within him.

“I thought I’d gotten rid of that damn ‘northern’ smell. Guess you can’t escape your roots, huh?”

The cursed north. Land of love and hate.

Just closing his eyes brings back nightmares of those times. The barren snowy fields were always cold and hungry. Every winter, the corpses of family and neighbors dying from the cold, hunger, and disease still haunt his memory. Even now, amidst slaughter and death, those memories remain vividly strong.

“They say things have changed recently…”

He heard that his hometown had changed quite a bit lately.

Shifting his gaze to his subordinates, he saw the Red Wolves already sitting on the ground, boiling stew.

Looks like they expected another round of yelling from their boss.

“…”

Watching the bubbling stew made his chest feel strangely tight.

Because of his subordinates? Not at all.

It was because of the items used to cook the stew.

The stew was generously seasoned with Arad salt, and surprisingly, served in the trendy northern celadon ware.

“This stew tastes amazing even among the stinky orcs. That Arad salt is legit.”

“It’s one of the reasons we gotta stay alive!”

“Hehehe!”

“And serving it in this celadon really does make it taste better?”

“Our captain may be tough usually, but she’s brilliant when it comes to these details!”

Were they trying to flatter him because they noticed his bad mood?

The Red Wolves were awkwardly throwing out praise and compliments they never normally gave.

“Are you guys the only ones eating?! Shut up and hand some over.”

Amused by their antics, Carpe dismissed his troubled thoughts and spoke up.

“Yeah~ Yeah~”

Though the Red Wolves were a mercenary group directly operated by the Mercenary King himself, they weren’t exactly rolling in money to afford expensive celadon.

The reason they had both Arad salt and celadon was due to Carpe’s personal attachment to her hometown.

“…”

She silently stared at the stew in the celadon bowl.

Made from northern weeds and rock salt, the Arad salt completely removes any fishy or gamey odors from the stew.

‘Do they need my help?’

Once again, she recalled the letter from her hometown.

After decades, her hometown finally needed her, the creator of such remarkable things.

“…”

Carpe silently gazed at her subordinates, the Red Wolves.

While some were northerners, most hailed from the empire or kingdoms.

With mercenary ranks ranging from B to A-class, they were skilled enough to make a name for themselves elsewhere anytime.

She couldn’t just demand they follow her back to the north as if it were natural.

“You guys…”

Carefully, she began addressing them.

“If you don’t mind… let’s head north…”

“What? Captain? Speak up, we couldn’t hear you!”

But her words didn’t reach her subordinates.

“No! I mean… our north…”

Du du du du du du

Their conversation was interrupted by unexpected visitors.

“Damn it! Imperial soldiers!”

“They smell money better than kobolds!”

“Show us how to fight properly, you bastards!”

In the distance, the sound of hoofbeats approached.

The vibrations caused the stew in the bowls to overflow.

Moments later,

A cavalry unit arrived, surrounding the Red Wolves.

Comprised of 40 cavalrymen and 5 knights, one of the knights appeared to be a High Knight of the Empire.

“What are you doing here?”

The leading High Knight questioned Carpe, riding his horse arrogantly.

Since it wasn’t just any mercenary group but the Red Wolves personally led by the Mercenary King Carpe, the High Knight himself had come.

“Forgetting the clause about returning immediately after battle?”

Sitting atop his horse, the High Knight looked down arrogantly.

Even as an imperial High Knight, showing such attitude before the Mercenary King Carpe was rather strange.

“Fighting made us too hungry. We eat first, then move – faster return, right?”

Carpe responded casually to the arrogant knight.

“A mercenary talking back?”

“Mercenaries? Don’t insult our ears. And are we ordinary mercenaries?”

“Still, mercenaries are all the same.”

“…”

A cold tension filled the air.

“Aren’t you afraid of punishment for disobeying orders?”

“Really? You noble knights have no flexibility at all? Why impose your army’s rules on us mercenaries?”

“Correction. It’s not order disobedience but contract violation.”

“…”

“Remember this. We hired you. The side paying the money, that’s us.”

“Did you make that contract? It was with His Grace overseeing the Great Wall!”

“The contract includes assisting with the defense of the Great Wall, doesn’t it?”

“We helped already!”

Carpe gestured toward the scattered orc corpses around them.

“Really clueless? Monsters are already starting to react to the smell spreading in all directions?”

The smell of corpses attracts monsters. Returning to the wall while covering that scent means bringing those monsters along too.

The High Knight was pointing this out.

“Do you think we don’t know that, Mr. High Knight? How many battles have we fought?”

But Carpe and the Red Wolves, veterans of countless battles, knew exactly what they were doing.

Using various mercenary tricks, they’d already minimized the scent as much as possible.

They could return without leaving much trace, far better than most regular troops.

“So you know this and still act this way? Looks like we’ll have to add contract violation and treason charges.”

And the High Knight standing before them would definitely not be unaware of this fact. Right?

“Hah! Treason? Following your logic, at least half the imperial army at the wall would be rebels.”

Carpe glared at the knight and cavalry unit before her.

‘These bastards, why picking fights today?’

Something felt off. They were unusually confrontational today.

‘Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen these faces before.’

No matter how populous the empire might be, High Knights aren’t exactly common.

Having been stationed at the Great Wall for so long, she was familiar with most high-ranking officers.

“Hey, Lieutenant! Is there a new High Knight around?”

Carpe asked a familiar-looking regular knight beside the High Knight.

“It’s Sir Allen, third son of the newly assigned Felis Viscount.”

The lieutenant nodded.

‘Shit…’

Understanding the situation, Carpe spat and prepared to leave, deeming them not worth dealing with.

“Let’s go, everyone!”

Through their brief conversation, Carpe had instinctively realized something about the new High Knight.

This guy… probably has little real combat experience. A complete parachutist.

‘Talking to him is pointless. Ignoring is the answer. Engaging will just lead to unnecessary swordplay.’

Occasionally, there are such types. Those who jumped straight to High Knight through connections. Their real combat experience limited to eliminating bandits or goblin groups near their fiefdoms.

Pretty boys grown only through elixirs and training sessions.

‘I should’ve stayed in the west.’

Ignorant of worldly matters, full of arrogance and self-importance, seeing nothing but disdain.

Especially looking down on Carpe as a northerner, woman, and mercenary.

He doesn’t even recognize her title as Mercenary King.

“Fuck! Lost my appetite.”

“Let’s go!”

“Disgusting and despicable.”

Grumbling, the Red Wolf mercenaries rose, making sure to collect their spoils of war before leaving.

“Hey, mercenaries! Who said you could go?”

But the High Knight wasn’t willing to let Carpe and the Red Wolves leave easily.

“Leave those behind.”

The imperial High Knight’s gaze fixed on the spoils of war the Red Wolves had set aside.

“Hahaha…”

“Kukuku…”

The greedy looks from the knights and cavalry accompanying the newly assigned High Knight were evident.

“Shitheads… So this was your plan from the start?”

Looking closer, it seemed they were using their new superior as a shield to serve their own interests.

That’s why they seemed unusually uninformed.

Unable to face the Mercenary King and Red Wolves alone, they brought out the viscount’s son, a High Knight, as a shield.

“Loot is payment for our lives.”

“Isn’t that cheap considering we’re waiving contract violation and treason charges?”

“Such greed from a vulgar northern girl.”

Grrr… At the mocking laughter from behind the High Knight, Carpe quietly gritted her teeth.

Being a northerner, woman, and mercenary – these labels stuck no matter what.

Even though she deliberately tanned her skin to hide her northern origins, they still clung to her.

“Man… Just when things were quiet, this situation arises again?”

“I should’ve stayed in the west. There, we were there for a long time and didn’t encounter such bastards…”

“In the east, these incidents keep happening whenever we forget.”

Ironically, such contempt was resolved not through accent or skin color but through skill.

When Carpe reached near-Sword Master level and earned the title of Mercenary King in the western empire, such treatment largely disappeared.

However, that wasn’t the case in the eastern front where the Lagoite Great Wall was located. Many imperial citizens hadn’t personally witnessed Carpe’s abilities.

They refused to acknowledge a northerner having the title of Mercenary King.

“Captain, what do we do?”

“It’s about time those who’ve lost fear appear. Didn’t happen much in the west.”

The Red Wolves started loosening up, ready to showcase their skills at any moment.

“How can they lack learning ability even in the east where the captain isn’t very active?”

“It’s because of being a northerner, woman, and mercenary. Dein, you were like that too until the captain nearly killed you, right?”

“Hey, Hamel! That’s ancient history!”

No weapons were drawn yet. Fistfights were the line in the Great Wall area.

“…Alright. Let’s give them and go.”

Surprisingly, Carpe’s response went beyond everyone’s expectations.

“Is she serious about dying now?”

“My head feels dizzy…”

The Red Wolf mercenaries showed reactions of disbelief.

“What’s going on?”

“Something’s off…”

“There’s definitely something she’s hiding.”

The troublemaking imperial soldiers also wore suspicious expressions.

‘Perfect, I’ll use this as an excuse.’

Of course, Carpe wasn’t doing this because she was a pushover.

Having already decided to head north halfway, this was a calculated decision.

This moment felt like destiny. Destiny to gather justification and excuses.

“Let’s go!”

Like a tragic heroine, she declared.

“Eh… Okay?”

“Umm… Shall we go?”

The Red Wolves packed up their gear, fearing some hidden scheme from their leader.

“Everyone, get on the wagons!”

Incidentally, the Red Wolves, being the most skilled mercenary group in the empire, possessed special-grade horses capable of operating in monster-infested areas.

Of course, it was difficult even for the Red Wolves to have one horse per mercenary.

So they typically used them for supply and injured transport.

“Stop.”

Yet again, High Knight Allen wouldn’t let Carpe and the Red Wolves leave easily.

The cavalry encirclement remained intact.

“…”

At this point, Carpe’s eyes grew increasingly dangerous.

“Earlier, I noticed you mercenaries using celadon. Surely stolen goods, right?”

“…”

As Allen continued speaking, dread spread among the mercenaries.

That fearful gaze wasn’t directed at High Knight Allen but at their own captain.

“Also, how did mere mercenaries acquire special-grade horses? Having wagons like these means you’re likely engaging in dangerous plundering of spoils.”

“…”

By this point, even the knights and cavalry who had encouraged Allen earlier started looking uneasy, thinking “Hmm, this might be getting dangerous…”

“The horses and celadon are confiscated too. Walk back as punishment. This is quite lenient…”

WHAM!!

Allen’s speech was abruptly cut off.

“Guuh!”

“Neigh!”

Thrown off his horse after being struck in the face by a flying rock.

So fast and unexpected that even as a High Knight, he couldn’t react or defend in time.

Tatatata BOOM!

After throwing the rock, Carpe immediately drew her battle axe from her back.

“Anyway! Needs! To! Snap! Out!”

She charged at the fallen Allen, swinging her axe mercilessly at his face.

WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK!

Instead of cutting or stabbing sounds, the noise was of flat surfaces colliding.

Apparently, she maintained enough rationality to swing the flat side of the axe, not the blade.

“You crazy northern bitch!”

Seeing this, the knights and cavalry charged at Carpe on horseback.

“Of course! Our captain! I was wondering why she seemed willing to let it slide, this was her plan!”

“Right, need to beat them up properly to establish justification!”

The Red Wolves cheered and charged at the cavalry.

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