Chapter 047: Conviction
The head of the Wendigo leader fell first, followed by its massive body crashing to the ground, sending a thunderous roar echoing through the entire canyon.
It was akin to the impact of a giant boulder plummeting.
Kuu—Boom!
“It’s not over yet! Wipe out every last one of them!”
I shouted.
Lowly riffraff like trolls? Once their leader is gone, they can’t even escape the demonic corruption zone and end up starving themselves to death, so they’re hardly worth worrying about.
But mid-to-high-tier creatures are different.
These are the culprits that suddenly appear in villages causing trouble or sneak into nearby forests or hills, wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem.
They need to be eradicated completely.
“As expected of the Imperial Magic Sword! Seeing you up close like this, it’s nothing short of an honor. Heh heh!”
A strange voice startled me.
A middle-aged man dressed like a beggar had somehow appeared by my side.
Whether I failed to notice him because I was too busy slaughtering the Wendigo remnants, or because he deliberately concealed his presence as he approached, I couldn’t tell right away.
Either way, it wasn’t welcome.
“…Who are you?”
“Let’s finish off these beasts first, then I’ll introduce myself properly!”
Grinning, he darted ahead and naturally joined Jayden’s group in the fight.
Soon after, a swarm of similarly dressed beggars appeared, following his lead.
Sword Master Eugene and the mysterious beggar mob joined forces.
The extermination of the remnants didn’t take long.
“The first victory for the subjugation team, my lord!”
It was the beggar who had called me the Imperial Magic Sword earlier.
He stood atop a mountain of Wendigo corpses, shouting, and now I noticed his teeth were sparse.
Clearing his throat once, he declared to the cheering beggar mob below.
“You lot, you saw it clearly, didn’t you! Imperial Magic Sword Bihen Benkou! And Easton’s Guard Captain Jayden Stein! Never forget their feats! Got it, you blockheads!”
“Yeees—! Boss!”
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As soon as the situation calmed down, I slumped to the ground.
It had been a while since I fought in such a large-scale battle.
My breathing was quite labored.
Swish swish.
I tied my long hair back tightly, then wiped the blood off my face.
While taking a brief rest, the swordsmanship Eugene displayed earlier kept flashing through my mind.
‘The ultimate swift sword.’
The Wendigo’s shattered limbs scattered in all directions, a spectacle to behold.
It was like watching vibrant red petals fluttering in the wind.
I had to admit it.
It was the pinnacle of elegance.
There was no other way to describe it.
“Seeing you like this, I’m glad. Good to know you’re safe, Bihen Benkou.”
The man himself approached, speaking.
I retorted like a contrarian.
“Yeats called you the Blood Lion. What’s that about?”
Instead of answering, he tilted his head.
His expression said, What’s this all of a sudden?
Even I thought it was an out-of-place question for the moment, but I couldn’t help myself.
“The name of Lord Eugene’s cherished weapon became his moniker.”
It was the beggar called Boss earlier.
He interjected with a sly demeanor.
Scratching his protruding belly, he continued.
“Blood Lion. One of the few divine weapons in the entire Kingdom. Forged by an Iron Clan artisan said to have roots in the northern demonic corruption zone. Combined with the Kingdom’s finest Destreza, the blood sprayed by its victims resembles a lion’s mane, hence its infamous name…”
“Ramba. Your tongue’s too long.”
“Sorry, my lord. Hehe.”
My gaze drifted to Eugene’s waist.
The thin blade, seamlessly connected to the hilt without a crossguard, suddenly felt lethally captivating.
Pretending not to notice, I asked.
“Destreza?”
“One of the Kingdom’s swordsmanship styles. Let’s save this talk for later.”
“Fine, whatever.”
…It’s driving me crazy with curiosity.
‘Last time, Bruce said the stance Joel took was Destreza.’
Trying to act nonchalant, I turned my gaze away, and as if it was his turn, the beggar spoke up.
“By the way, does it suit your taste? Imperial Magic Sword, I mean. Hahaha!”
“I was just about to ask. What’s with that ridiculous nickname?”
“That’s harsh… I wracked my brain to come up with that name.”
“You did? How do you even know me?”
The beggar suddenly sidled up close.
His stench made me subtly tilt my head back.
“My lord. There’s a saying in the Kingdom: daytime words are heard by dogs, nighttime words by rats. That proverb comes from none other than us, ‘Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats.’”
“Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats?”
“You’ll come to understand if you stick around here. Heehee.”
Just then, Jayden’s group and the beggar mob gathered around.
Seeing them, Eugene spoke.
“Let’s get moving. We’ll talk on the way.”
* * *
From what I heard, the situation on the Archduchess’s side was worse than ours.
A whopping fifty to sixty people had gathered at the rendezvous point, only to be ambushed by a large horde of demonic beasts.
I could picture it vividly without seeing it.
Since they weren’t even from the same unit and had different affiliations, the chaos must have been amplified.
Fighting while maintaining formation to minimize casualties and deserters, they had no choice but to retreat deeper into the canyon.
“Especially the mercenaries—they were always acting recklessly, blinded by the prospect of glory.”
Ramba glanced at Eugene walking ahead, then leaned toward me, whispering quickly.
“Some mercenaries seem to have made separate deals with the Archduchess as a condition for joining the subjugation. Like getting extra rewards based on the number of beast heads they collect.”
I’d heard before.
Except for the eldest heir, the other siblings couldn’t even command a single soldier.
It was a long-standing tradition to pass all power to the firstborn.
‘It must’ve been tough in many ways, Adeline.’
Eugene and Roland, without official titles, serve Adeline purely by the will of their lord, the Duke of Conwell.
Of course, their skill is beyond question.
But expecting the same loyalty and honor from mere mercenaries as those two? Not even a speck of it, in my opinion.
‘It’s a fight too tough to handle from the start.’
A battle against a demonic beast horde is this intense.
What about a war between humans?
Eugene and Roland? Their one-against-a-hundred prowess would fall to a hundred-and-one, and even the greatest strategist can’t control every variable perfectly.
In the end, no matter what…
It’s an undeniable fact that the people participating in this subjugation are Adeline’s ‘elite.’
The fact that the Gunbel Trading Company is involved is a bit pitiful, though.
Well, considering there are beggars here too.
“Haa…”
I let out a sigh without realizing it.
Seems I’ve developed some kind of sympathy—or something—for that woman in the meantime.
“Why the sigh, my lord?”
Ramba, oblivious as ever, started talking, then suddenly yelped.
Bonnie, following behind, was yanking his ear.
“You. Why do you keep clinging to my man’s side, fawning over him?”
“B-Bonnie, ma’am. My ear’s gonna come off. I’ve got nothing as it is, but if I lose this too…”
“Hmph! Stop being a nuisance.”
Bonnie shoved him away.
Her size wasn’t just for show.
Pushed back, Ramba groaned and muttered.
“Ow ow. The Imperial Magic Sword and the Thunder Empress’s bond, huh? This is a combination I never could’ve imagined!”
Bonnie, swiftly taking Ramba’s place, whispered in my ear.
“Babe, you gotta watch your mouth around those Sewer Rats. They’re not your average beggars. They collect rumors and trade them as information.”
She added that their influence even affects how mercenaries’ bounties are set and that wasn’t all.
Seizing the moment, she launched into a scathing critique.
They’re sinister types who despise the sweat of honest labor, willingly choosing to live lower than serfs.
“Beggars scattered across the domain acting as an information network.”
A chuckle slipped out.
People who just want to live comfortably from cradle to grave have devised their own way of survival.
The fact that their history is long-standing, and they operate without some massive backing, making them free from external interference or pressure, was incredibly intriguing.
“The more I think about it, the scarier it gets.”
“Huh? Scary?”
“If they latched onto power. Their utility would be limitless.”
Now it makes sense.
I was wondering why beggars were in the subjugation team out of nowhere.
They needed a way to spread word of their exploits and Jayden’s achievements as a bonus.
What powerholder would think to reach out to beggars? It hits me again—Adeline is a cunning woman.
“My lord, that’s absurd!”
Apparently, he’d overheard my conversation with Bonnie.
Ramba, wiping the grin off his face, spoke seriously.
“We never compromise with power. Our principles are fundamentally different. Just as integrity and corruption can’t coexist, that’s not what our Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats’ pursuit of ultimate poverty and joy is about!”
He glared, as if I’d touched a nerve, ignoring all disdain until now.
Well, whatever. I shrugged, and Bonnie snorted beside me.
“What a clown. Ignore him, babe.”
She linked arms with me, quickening her pace.
Dragged along by Bonnie’s unexpectedly formidable strength, I still caught Ramba’s whisper to his subordinate with my enhanced hearing.
‘Barrow Mercenary Band’s Thunder Empress Bonnie. Extremely bad-tempered, foul-mouthed. Oh, and ridiculously strong. Make sure to note it down.’
* * *
We walked for a while from the barren wasteland where the Wendigo horde had been.
Another shaded forest, like the one before, appeared.
This was the heart of Talrug Canyon.
Between the cliffs rising here and there, instead of rivers, a maze of intertwined forests and wide plains stretched out.
“It’s so vast and the paths are so complex that purification is no easy task.”
Eugene explained.
From atop the cliffs, the sprawling black forest looks like a pitch-black river.
“You managed to find us in a place like this.”
“Joining up with you was the top priority, above all else. The lady herself entrusted me with scouting the rendezvous direction.”
Soon, faintly glowing torches began to appear like red dots in the distance.
The sound of commotion followed.
In the dark jungle, a fairly decent barracks had been set up.
“Bihen!”
Adeline rushed out of a tent, greeting us.
Her eyes seemed moist, as if she were seeing someone she thought was dead brought back to life.
Anyway.
Since she called my name specifically out of everyone, I had no choice but to greet her on behalf of the group.
“It’s been a while, my lady.”
“I believed you’d be safe, but I was still so worried. I’m truly relieved.”
Roland and Joel, standing at Adeline’s sides, gave me a nod of greeting.
Adeline and I briefly checked on each other’s well-being, then our gazes shifted past each other’s shoulders.
While Adeline reunited with the rest of the group, I approached Jewel.
True to the Gunbel Trading Company, they were camped apart from the other mercenaries, keeping to themselves.
“You’re alive, Jewel.”
Ignoring the hesitant salutes from the armed company members, I spotted Maserin and grabbed her chin, inspecting her neck.
“W-What? What’s this about?”
“Hm, you’re fine.”
“…?”
Jewel, sitting with her legs crossed, let out a small laugh.
“We finally meet again in a place like this, and you can’t even greet me warmly?”
“You’re sitting there all high and mighty, expecting warmth from me?”
“I was the first to stand and wave earlier. But I guess all you could see was Lady Adeline.”
A quick-witted company member swiftly brought a wooden crate for me to sit on.
Patting his cheek, I sat down, and just then, an unfamiliar voice rang out from one side.
“So you’re Bihen Benkou? I had high hopes for the Empire’s skilled swordsman, but you look so scrawny, I’m not impressed.”
A man with long hair tied back like a horse’s tail approached, flanked by several subordinates.
As I was about to retort, my face suddenly stung.
Looking around, I realized the mercenaries scattered about had all turned their attention to us.
Not just glancing, but eagerly waiting with eyes and mouths twitching, expecting something exciting to unfold.
‘It’s been a while. This kind of atmosphere.’
It’s like a welcoming ritual for a soldier transferred from another unit or a rookie.
If that’s the case, I can’t back down.
“And who are you? Some nobody who’ll disappear soon after making a grand entrance.”
In a sword duel within a camp, Hermann Brian is the best in the world, and I’m right behind him.