Chapter 576
576fury
70. This side(9)
Ellen, a group of subordinates were waiting for me in the room on the 4th floor of the secret base that I entered along with the group..
“lord?”
The guy with his eyebrows furrowed suspiciously was Cole, the 'Giant Hunter', one of my few knights. Behind him was the 'tenacious' Rusk..
The bodyguard group that had moved separately from Froshafen to the royal capital, or the ‘first detachment’, had finally arrived..
“Uh, it's me. I arrived without any problems?”
“……oh my god.”
“Wow, that's really cool..”
The two who saw me disguised as Ludo for the first time opened their mouths in admiration only after hearing my voice..
After briefly chatting with the two who belatedly paid their respects, I looked back at Mira and Epoz standing next to me..
“Looks like I found it without getting lost.?”
“Yes, there were few dry goods stores to begin with, so there was nothing to do but wander around. Egon gave a good explanation..”
Egon is strongly presumed to be a descendant of the legendary black fairy, but he is first of all a country boy from a small pioneer village named 'Sobanhaltz'..
Although he was quite tall, he had a slim physique and a simple face, so he had the impression of not being cautious..
The downside is that his Milanese is not very good, but even a short conversation made him sound like he was using a strong western dialect, so it was enough to run simple errands..
Thanks to this, he was now acting as my squire and assistant, while at the same time acting as a liaison between the disguised bases established by his subordinates - the so-called 'rabbit hole'. It's a bonus to receive training from Mira from time to time..
“So, you said you found a base? What kind of place is it??”
“Well, it's just a commercial building that can be seen everywhere..”
“The location is?”
“Outside the neutral city, over there, in the southern corner of the new town. The only people living around are day laborers, old prostitutes, and outdated mercenaries..”
“You chose the right one.”
“Shea said she was lucky. Oh, and I was thinking about digging an oyster here in the old town, but I can't find anything suitable..”
“Why am I short of money??”
“No, I literally have no place to use it..”
The first rabbit hole had the mercenary sign posted as planned. Since the new city was a neighborhood on the outskirts of the royal capital, no one would find it awkward even if a mercenary office was located in a corner..
“On the other hand, it was very difficult to put up a mercenary sign in the old town. The only ones that are safe are inns and bars, but if outsiders approach them for selling water, it's obvious that they will attract attention.…….”
“okay? As I came, I saw that there were quite a few empty stores on the back street, which was probably the west plaza.?”
“In the back street of the west square…….”
As Mira narrowed her brows, Uroan, the dark-clad wizard who had been quietly listening to the story behind her, opened his mouth..
“It's a gambling alley, sir. It is a place where there is a lot of noise, so it is not a place to use as a base..”
“Oh, really? Then what… … . Take your time, it's not that urgent. If you pick an awkward place and there are even the slightest problems, it's worse than not digging at all, so be careful..”
Currently, I had to pretend to be a teacher at the Royal College, so I was not in a position to look after my subordinates..
In fact, even when I was in Eisbovald, the direct management of the territory and the army was left to Hayla and Conwyr, and I did not run around and take care of things..
As long as I received reports from those two people and other retainers and commanders every day and every week, controlling the prince and the combat brigade was a piece of cake..
Since I can't afford to do that now, I had to check the situation of my subordinates every time I left the castle and give orders if necessary..
“All 19 of the guards, including us, arrived at the royal capital. We completed the contact through the rabbit hole and started business yesterday..”
I tilted my head at Cole’s explanation..
“uh? It's already started?”
“Wouldn't it look suspicious if nearly 20 mercenaries were sitting in a building for several days? I was looking for requests even before putting up the sign, and since I had a suitable long-term mission, I sent seven people..”
It was a simple request to search the mouth of the Temel River, a river west of the royal capital..
Among the monsters that appear in estuaries, the giant lizard, the dragon, is probably the most dangerous..
The main thing you'll encounter is blown up zombies. The most elite bodyguards under my command will not have any trouble..
The Temel River is a little more than half a day away from the royal capital, so you can call it at any time if necessary..
But there was something else I was worried about..
“……I guess they sent Fritz too.?”
“Yes, my lord..”
“Is it right to let that bastard wander around? I'm anxious.”
“This is not a guy who will just sit quietly in the office. I guess they just go around arguing here and there for no reason. It's better to send them out of the capital altogether..”
“Well, it makes sense..”
“Also, as you know, my lord, Fritz is surprisingly prone to fewer accidents when he is surrounded by lower-ranking members..”
“That's right. Who sent it to me??”
“Goleman, Geliamon, Engliu, Cabas, Walsh, and Morcon..”
If you had sent guys with temperaments like Steedman, Gidon, or Carl Ain to join Fritz, there would have been five or six fights a day..
However, the ones Cole chose were definitely lower-ranking than him, but they were trustworthy. Contrary to his appearance, Fritz was a secretly responsible man, so he could harass them, but he would also put them in danger..
“Yeah, whatever. You don't have to worry too much..”
I nodded slowly and Cole continued his report..
“Initially, 97 people from 5 detachments completed the move. We have invited everyone to the castle town, and as soon as additional rabbit holes are prepared, we will bring them into the royal capital..”
“……hmm.”
The detachment, which consists of a total of 24 units, is made up of elite soldiers drawn from the combat brigade and Grania's mercenary corps..
These are basically insurance forces prepared in case everything goes wrong and military force has to be mobilized..
Of course, no matter how it is packaged, it does not change the fact that it is a military force brought in to be used as a shield if necessary..
My heart aches when I think that with just one word of mine, the lives of up to 100 people could be put to death..
But after hesitating for a moment, I nodded heavily..
“……okay. Do it slowly too. Because we don't need those troops right now..”
“Yes, my lord. We will proceed with extreme caution..”
As Cole's report seemed to be coming to an end, Ellen, who had already run out of patience, suddenly intervened..
“Can we just get to the point now? A patient with Hain's disease was secured.?”
“hmm. Yes, Ellen..”
It was four days ago that Darren, the son of a carriage mechanic who suffered from servant's disease, died..
If it weren't for us, we would have been able to survive for some time even though we were still corpses. I went in and out to investigate for no reason and ended up sacrificing the boy..
Although it was not our intention, Ellen and I felt deeply responsible for the death of an innocent boy..
In particular, Ellen seemed quite shocked when she saw the pile of ashes neatly piled up in the shape of a lying boy. On the day of the incident, I tried to comfort him, but in the end he refused to touch me and couldn't even go to sleep..
Anyway, while I returned to the Royal College and conducted a level assessment, Ellen mobilized her students and investigated the servants' condition in earnest..
My subordinates who landed in the rabbit hole and the newly disciplined Pasageomju secret society also contributed to this investigation..
And today, on the third day, they reported that they had already achieved results. Another patient suffering from Haine's disease was found..
And surprisingly, the people who secured the patients were not the informants of Ellen and Moongchi, who had already established themselves in the royal capital in the form of a dry goods store and a bank, respectively, but my subordinates who had established an undercover base only a few days ago..
“Yeah, I was just curious too. What happened? How did you guys save the servant patient??”
“Well, my lord. that is.”
Uncharacteristically, Cole twitched his lips with a slightly reluctant expression. Mira, who was quietly watching this, clicked her tongue as if she was frustrated and then opened her mouth..
“Mittelman found it..”
“Mittelman?”
“yes. In the cathedral outside the castle..”
“What do you mean? Suddenly a cathedral-”
As I was speaking, I realized something and touched my forehead. Ellen also seemed to have noticed and frowned..
“……No way, supply of arrows?”
“yes. That crazy bastard, he secretly went there even though I warned him like that..”
‘The weapon used by Mittelman, called 'Yukson' or 'Bone Collector', is a heavy crossbow named 'Dead Man's Crossbow'..
Although it is a very powerful magic tool, as its name suggests, it is a very perverted item that can only show its true power by cutting and shooting the bone rather than the usual crossbow meat..
Additionally, Mittelman discovered that 'fresh' human bones were the most effective..
“He said he would endure with beef bones for a while.?”
“I couldn't bear it anymore. If you aren't properly prepared for battle, you won't be able to sleep..”
To prepare for that damn battle and supply arrows, Mittelman took the lead in eradicating bandits even when he was in Eisbowald. When that didn't happen, I snooped around the dungeon..
It's a PTSD-like symptom that began to appear after his best friend 'Burtan' Donnell was killed by the 'Incarnation of the Underworld'..
However, it seems that the symptoms did not subside even though they were normal..
“……I'm going to turn away.”
Who should I blame? I was the one who gave him the crossbow of the dead..
“so? It is said that while wandering around the cathedral outside the castle, he met a servant patient.?”
“No, it was buried..”
“what?”
“He is a patient with Hain's disease. I was surprised to see that the coffin contained not a corpse, but a live corpse..”
“……so?”
“So then. I brought it back as is..”
“…….”
The story was heartbreaking in a slightly different way, so I just sighed..
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