Chapter 620
My Villains Episode 620
72. punitive force(3)
The royal capital is one of the wealthiest cities in Middle-earth and is also the cradle of magical engineering. The expression, “the standard-bearer of human civilization,” may be a bit grandiose, but I thought it was not completely groundless..
The student punitive force that had left the dazzling center of humanity was now in the embrace of pure wildness..
Yes, wild. The place where the regular punitive force led by the two barons set up their camp was literally in the middle of the wilderness..
To think that such a deserted forest is just a three-day drive from the royal capital or a day's drive from the small town of Ritster. It was difficult to understand with modern common sense..
However, considering the times and the characteristics of Middle-earth, it was not that surprising. Aren’t all kinds of monsters real, including dragons, giants, undead, demons, and slimes? No matter how prosperous human civilization is, lush forests, high mountains, deep caves, and distant seas are still the domain of monsters..
In Marva alone, the largest county south of Milan, more than half of the total area was uncharted land untouched by mankind. No, without even going all the way to Marva, Prince Depelken did the same. Because about 40% of the territory was covered in a fucking green hell called Zelntree, it was extremely difficult to manage the settlement..
Regardless, the regular punitive force's garrison was located in quite exquisite terrain. Overall, it was a shallow ridge that gently flowed down and then spread out. Would you say it is a small tabletop area surrounded by valleys on all sides except for the direction leading to the ridge?.
The slope was close to flat, and the ground was quite high, so it seemed advantageous for security and protection. Moreover, it is said that there is a small stream if you walk down the valley to the west for about 10 minutes, so I think I would have set up a camp here even if I were a Baron..
However, regardless of the appropriate location selection, the garrison that welcomed us had an overtly gloomy atmosphere..
There were more than 40 large and small military huts, and even though they were all new or properly maintained, they felt somewhat shabby. When I looked closely, it seemed like about ⅓ was empty..
At least a dozen soldiers crawled out as if they had heard the pretense of popularity. Although he seemed to welcome the arrival of reinforcements, it seems that it was difficult to hide the deep fatigue on his face..
“……What is this??”
“Just like the defeated soldiers.”
“Is this all there is to the illusion? It was quite difficult to get here..”
As soon as the proud young knights entered the garrison, they immediately began to murmur. Looking around and blurting out a word or two was a dignified thing to do..
“Hey there. Let me ask you something.”
“I heard the damage is pretty big? what happened?”
“Did you catch any orcs? I guess the sweep isn't over yet.?”
Some immature or impatient guys caught the snooping soldiers and peppered them with questions..
Most of the young knights were equipped with luxurious equipment and even wore decorations that revealed their family, affiliation, or faith. Through this, the soldiers, who realized their true identity even though it was too late, dispersed with a look of displeasure or hid themselves in the military camp on the road..
“What mission did you perform in this subjugation? Where do you belong??”
“Look at the attire, it's the Game and Game Department. The position is…….”
“It won't be a hunting officer or a counselor. Is it an instruction? Or Tamma (探馬))?”
Some of the soldiers who were unluckily captured were surrounded by a group of young knights and had to suffer for a while, and were able to escape only after Garwin and Fraga came forward..
“…….”
While the small commotion continued, the face of the person guiding us suddenly distorted..
Their true identity was that they were officers who rushed out to the front of the station as soon as they received word that the student punitive force had arrived. From the looks of it, they had already figured out that we were a ragtag group that couldn't be saved..
“Are there any priests? What about the priest??”
A soldier with a dirty white band on his upper arm rushed over and shouted. When the two priests who followed in the support vehicle suddenly stepped forward, the young man who appeared to be a medic smiled happily..
“Blessed be the Lord of Light! Please help, there are comrades in arms who need treatment.!”
“What about the military servants?-”
“Everyone fainted. Right away. You must go immediately. It's urgent!”
As the medic began to pull them away, the priests looked at Os and Shaenna in embarrassment..
“Go quickly, don't pay attention..”
Before Shaenna could open her mouth, Osga gave an order as the subjugation leader. Then, not only the two priests and deacons, but also the cathedral knights and church soldiers who always move in pairs followed the medics..
I don't know how many people were injured, but that number would have been of great help. Excluding the auxiliary soldiers who cannot use divine power, there are eight priests. They are not ordinary clergy, but people of ability who serve at Paralan Cathedral, which is the headquarters of the church. They have the power to make about 30 seriously injured people who are on the verge of dying get out of bed within 10 minutes..
Following priests, wizards and general troops were also drafted..
First, in the case of wizards, hands were needed to maintain detection and reorganize alerts..
In addition to the court wizards, including Alvin Hawks, whom I had paid close attention to during my previous journey, I was dragged helplessly by one of the two advisors in the occult science department who was a wizard..
However, the game warden who had asked for help seemed not to be satisfied with that, and even tried to take students who were planning to obtain degrees with the spells 'wide area protection' and 'far-sighted vision' respectively. Even Aines, who possesses the ‘clairvoyance earring’, seemed to want to volunteer..
However, Osu seemed to have no intention of handing over young knights, even if they were assistants or advisors. Of course, it was basically a choice considering safety, but it seemed like they judged that it would be difficult to control them if they started to divide them carelessly since they were already running wild like colts..
Subsequently, ordinary soldiers helped prepare the garrison for rainy weather. Colmaros's soldiers were each forced to pick up shovels and pickaxes with Shaenna's reluctant permission..
After resolving the flurry of requests, Os and others were able to hear the location of the command barracks..
Oss entrusted command of the punitive force to trusted faction members, including Garwin, and then headed straight into the garrison. Among the young knights, Aeneas, Arthur, and Pasitea accompanied us, and advisors including Shaenna and I also followed behind. Cal Ain, who was acting as the leader of the mercenaries under the pretext of his relationship with the mounted patrol, was also there..
“May the light be with you. It is an honor to meet you, Your Excellency the Count..”
Greeting us at the command barracks was Acraden Teryx, the king's fifth rider and chief of the game, and his entourage..
Baron Acraden was a man famous for his youthful appearance. On the outside, he looked like a feisty young man in his late 20s, but in reality, he was around 40..
As can be inferred just by looking at his physique and eyes, he was a knight with exceptional skills, and thanks to his history of devoting half of his 20s to hunting monsters, he was the leader of all hunters after Zacharis ascended the throne..
Os, who had been moderately accepting his greeting, suddenly looked around with a puzzled look on his face..
“……I can't see Baron Daeon. What happened??”
Even though he held the title of earl, Oth had a personality that did not like being stiff, and Acraden was not an ordinary baron but the king's standard-bearer. Although it was possible to show some courtesy, Os did not seem to have much intention of showing respect to the other person..
The object placed lightly on the table as Os sat down in the prepared chair explained his attitude..
A silver scepter about two spans long..
It was an object symbolizing that she had been entrusted with full authority by Eadina, the one and only princess and leader of the Young Knights..
To me, it looked like a stick of shit that I didn't even want to touch, but the effect of swinging it was excellent. Well, it contains an authority that a king's standard-bearer would not dare to disobey..
Acraden once again adjusted his posture and gave a polite answer..
“Baron Daeon is currently leading his troops to search the mountain..”
“search? Alone?”
“No, sir. He is accompanied by elite and proven mercenaries selected from the mounted patrol.-”
“No, no. I am asking about you, Baron Acraden. Why are the two commanders of the regular punitive force moving separately?.”
“that.”
He pursed his lips for a moment. Then he spoke with a mixture of bitterness and a little shame..
“While the subjugation was in progress, there were some differences of opinion..”
“……I'd like to hear a detailed explanation..”
“There is no need for a detailed explanation. It's a very simple story. While Baron Daeon is trying to reverse the current situation through a single battle, I plan to proceed with the subjugation with patience. While waiting for proper support to arrive..”
……Is it because of my mood? There are a lot of parts that are annoying..
Os' face sank a little, wondering if he had the same thoughts as me..
“It doesn't seem like a simple story to me. First of all, I need to know what happened so far..”
“Ah, that's it.”
“and Baron Acraden..”
“……Please speak, sir..”
Ossu spoke in a calm tone to Acraden, who had a puzzled expression on his face..
“I'm not good at twenty questions. I don't really like asking questions..”
“yes? Ah, I-”
“Let me tell you this. I don't know anything about what the regular punitive forces experienced here. So I'd appreciate it if you could tell me everything from start to finish..”
“……All right.”
As if satisfied with the Baron's hard face, Os smiled and leaned back..
“ruler. Start now, Baron. You keep going until I tell you to stop..”
I closed my mouth for a moment. Akraden swallowed a sigh and began to tell about what happened here..
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