Chapter 65

Chapter 65

#65. Mercenary King Carpe (2)

In the Arcadia Continent, warhorses are divided into two major categories.

One is the regular warhorse used in combat between humans,

and the other is the special-grade horse used in battles against monsters.

Horses that can withstand the fearsome aura emitted by savage monsters aren’t common, so these special-grade horses were treated like fighter jets on Earth.

To even be able to ride one of these special-grade horses, you had to either be a knight with a title from the Empire or, if untitled, the offspring of a wealthy family, and also quite skilled at that.

And this was the Eastern Ruins, teeming with all sorts of monsters, including orcs.

Meaning, anyone riding a horse here signified they were second or third sons from families—whether noble or commoner—that were doing pretty well for themselves within the Empire.

“…….”

“…….”

And yet, those high-and-mighty gentlemen now trudged silently through the Eastern Ruins without their horses.

Their precious special-grade horses were nowhere to be seen.

Ughhh…

Oh no… oh no…

Waaaahhhh…

Looking closer, groans and sobs could be heard.

“It’s definitely black magic! Black magic, I tell you!”

Leading the group, High Knight Allen shuffled along in disheveled attire, muttering something under his breath since earlier.

‘It must be black magic! Carpe, that wicked witch from the North!’

Allen’s trembling hands tightly gripped a symbol of the Imperial Church.

Trembling with madness and fanaticism, Allen still received no sympathy or respect from anyone walking alongside him. They thoroughly ignored him.

‘Is he really a High Knight?’

‘He does seem to be one judging by how he channels mana into his sword…’

‘But his actual combat skills look completely lacking.’

This was because everyone remembered too clearly how he’d been utterly crushed like a dog by Carpe just moments ago.

“What?! The Mercenary King isn’t even close to being a Sword Master-level High Knight?! Who said that?”

“You, idiot.”

“Idiot…? A duel then! A duel!”

“A duel? After we survive first?”

“…”

They were still trembling at the vivid memory of the Mercenary King’s prowess.

“But wait! What about Red Wolf? What are those guys anyway?”

“How could mercenaries be this strong!?”

“We should’ve noticed when they effortlessly took down Mongar Orcs with minimal casualties…”

“And what would noticing that have changed? Even we could easily handle twenty heavily armed Orcs!”

Still, the skills of Red Wolf left a deep impression.

“What kind of disgrace is this…”

“We should’ve observed how Red Wolf fights before making any moves.”

We moved way too casually.

We only ever heard rumors that Red Wolf always completed their missions; we never actually saw how they fought.

But we thought there was no need to see it since we’d always triumphed over Orcs.

That gave us an overly inflated sense of confidence.

-How could they pay so much money for this sort of work? To those mercenaries? And they even grab war spoils!

-So it’s just the Mercenary King and Red Wolf, huh? Maybe it’s time to give them a taste of their own medicine.

-Western weaklings, right? Giving grand titles to nobodies. Let’s show these Eastern men some discipline!

Ultimately, such thoughts dominated their minds.

And thus, they created the desperate situation they were now in.

“Sigh…”

“Oh man…”

Amidst the pitiful march came belated laments.

“So losing to the mercenary unit is understandable, but…”

“How do we explain losing our special-grade horses?”

Being beaten by the mercenary unit was embarrassing, but they could probably let it slide now.

After all, they could later justify losing to the continent’s strongest mercenary force, Red Wolf, and the Mercenary King Carpe.

“I’m done for… my family will surely disown me!”

“Family issues? If we don’t get executed by military law, that’ll already be a blessing!”

“Should we go apologize now? Maybe they’ll give the horses back?”

“Apologize? Do we even know where they went?”

“Follow the hoofprints!”

“If we follow the hoofprints in our current state and run into monsters?”

“We need to head back to the Main Wall first!”

“…We’re truly screwed.”

The only thing on their minds now was the special-grade horses stolen by the mercenary unit.

Walking nonstop in despair and regret, they decided to return to the Main Wall despite their wretched appearance.

Returning like this was terrifying, but staying outside the Main Wall in this condition meant certain death at the hands of monsters and Orcs who would smell their blood.

* * *

Currently guarding the Main Wall, Duke Doom frowned deeply upon hearing an absurd report.

“Mercenary King Carpe and Red Wolf have rebelled?”

With skin pale enough to resemble a vampire, towering nearly two meters tall, and carrying a massive greatsword as tall as himself on his back, Duke Doom’s appearance naturally exuded an intimidating presence. Now, his expression was far from pleasant.

As Allen, the High Knight receiving emergency treatment, reported boldly despite missing teeth:

“Carpe! That woman is a witch! A truly wicked witch who practices dark magic!”

“Why do you think that?”

“E-excuse me?”

“Why do you think Carpe is a witch?”

“Well… she’s from the North, isn’t she?”

“…”

Though Allen spoke of rebellion, Doom didn’t trust a word of it.

“There are three things. Three mistakes you made.”

“Three?”

“First, if they rebelled, why did they spare your lives?”

“…!?”

“Second, you claim they violated military orders to grab Orc spoils? You dare make such shameless excuses in front of me? With that much courage, why not fight Red Wolf better?”

Even though the Empire’s royal family subsidized the cost of these special-grade horses, maintaining them wasn’t cheap.

Knights and cavalrymen were always desperately seeking side income aside from battle.

They weren’t alone. Guarding the Main Wall required many troops, and even the wealthy Empire couldn’t afford to pay all soldiers and knights satisfactory salaries.

Duke Doom understood this well, so he often turned a blind eye to the moderate side activities happening in the Eastern Ruins, despite the risks involved.

“Lastly, third point: Mercenary King Carpe and her Red Wolf unit are on equal footing with us. Haven’t you heard this repeatedly during your assignments here?”

“…!?”

Seeing their dumbfounded faces, Doom felt murderous urges rising.

‘Tch.’

Losing the special-grade horses was ridiculous, and getting thrashed by mercenaries was humiliating, but what angered him most was something else entirely.

“Any reports of Carpe and Red Wolf returning?”

Ignoring the moron in front of him, Doom turned to his adjutant and urged him impatiently.

“That… there’s been no news of Red Wolf spotted at any gate of the Main Wall.”

The adjutant, looking apologetic, delivered the news, which sparked a strong sense of unease in Doom.

Crack!

At that moment, a white carrier pigeon used for imperial communication flew toward Doom.

“…”

Doom unraveled the paper tied to the pigeon’s leg and began reading.

The Dark Duke’s face remained expressionless while reading the letter.

Goooaaoaaoo!

But the aura emanating from him revealed his true feelings.

“Hiieeeek…”

Everyone around—the knights and soldiers alike—shivered in fear at Doom’s imposing presence.

“This letter… do you know what it is? It’s a report sent to me by the magical investigation team sent to the scene. They examined everything you did using magic and wrote it down.”

Having said that, Doom approached the instigator of this entire mess.

“Daring to lie to my face so brazenly?”

Crunch!

“Kyyyyaaaaaak!”

Without even drawing his sword, Doom grabbed Allen by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

Standing nearly two meters tall, Doom made Allen flail helplessly in the air, resembling someone on the gallows.

“You imposter of a High Knight.”

“Kyaaaargh… Please… Spare me… Your Excellency…”

As Doom’s grip tightened, Allen struggled pathetically, casting doubt on whether he deserved the title of High Knight.

“Daring to cause such a tremendous loss to the Empire?”

“Kyaargh… Gulp… I’ll repay the cost of the special-grade horses through my family…”

“Special-grade horses? Hah! You still haven’t come to your senses.”

Gaaaahhh!

“Kyaargh… Kyaargh!”

Even with his neck squeezed so violently, Allen, supposedly a knight, somehow managed to cling to life.

“Do you know how much effort I put into bringing Carpe here?”

Doom addressed the incompetent subordinate in his grasp.

“Carpe and Red Wolf were originally fighting against the kingdom forces in the Western and Southern regions of the Empire. I earnestly begged her to come work for us, enduring the vicious interference and insults from Viscountess Havana.”

Cough, cough…

As Doom continued speaking, Allen’s remaining lifeline grew shorter.

“A hero like Carpe doesn’t move just for money. She needs proper respect and sincerity.”

Silence enveloped the area. Everyone was too terrified to speak.

“Isn’t that enough? She holds immense influence over mercenaries across the entire continent. One heartfelt suggestion from her could disrupt the supply of mercenaries. Especially the northern mercenaries who make up thirty percent of the continent’s mercenaries—you’d have no chance hiring them.”

“!!”

Amidst the oppressive silence, the culprits finally realized the gravity of their actions and shuddered in horror.

“That’s what I was most worried about when I brought her and Red Wolf here to guard the Main Wall. The Western and Southern regions of the Empire knew her well due to her long-standing activities there, but here, her reputation wasn’t as recognized.”

“…”

Doom’s grip tightened until Allen ceased breathing.

“That’s what happens when I warn you explicitly… and yet you still screw it up.”

Not all nobles and knights in the Empire looked down on Carpe because of her origins.

Had they done so, she wouldn’t have reached this position.

Duke Doom was a prominent example of an imperial aristocrat who recognized the value of Carpe and her Red Wolf unit.

That’s why he hired her to guard the Main Wall despite somewhat excessive contract terms.

“This is my fault. My failure to properly educate you is my responsibility, and appointing this fool to a key role based solely on background is also my fault.”

In the somber tone of Doom’s voice, no one dared to speak.

“The main Mongar army is coming soon. This will be different from the Orcs you’ve faced so far—these are the real Mongars.”

Doom tossed Allen’s corpse aside and glared at the other culprits among the cavalrymen and knights.

“I’ll give you horses again. Not special-grade ones, just regular ones.”

Executing them right away would be wasteful.

“Ride those horses to find Mercenary King Carpe and Red Wolf. Then bring them back… respectfully.”

He decided to try salvaging the situation from the mess they caused.

Executions will come later.

“Albert, Ryn.”

“Yes!”

“Perform this mission together. The deadline is fifteen days. Fail within fifteen days, and you’ll all be executed on the spot.”

“Yes sir.”

Is this an opportunity for them? Or just cruel hope?