Chapter 334 – I’ve Always Wanted to Try This (3)
This was something I had to try at least once.
It was possible Jake was just playing hard to get. If that were the case, it could be forgiven.
Claude, unable to hide his frustration, spoke bluntly.
“Why? Even if you joined under our mercenary corps, we wouldn’t interfere, we’d funnel plenty of work your way, and the benefits would be substantial. It’s all gains and no losses. People should aim for bigger opportunities.”
Jake knew Claude wasn’t wrong. He had participated in several projects under Fenris before.
The pay was higher than elsewhere, and it was always paid on time. Even so, there was a reason Jake refused.
‘The Count of Fenris is a war fanatic. That much is clear. Besides, when I only heard the rumors, he already seemed like an unhinged man.’
The County of Digald, the County of Cabaldi, the County of Desmond this was someone who had waged three major wars in just a few years. Simply put, he could be described as a conqueror.
On top of that, most of his endeavors were the kind of things only a lunatic would dream of.
If Jake joined under such a man, he’d never know when his life might be in danger.
‘He’s not on good terms with the ducal families either, is he? Even if the royal faction has his back, we’d inevitably be dragged into a civil war if one broke out.’
While war was the greatest money making opportunity for mercenaries, fewer mercenaries than one might think voluntarily got involved in dangerous wars.
When they did, they’d attach themselves to a side with a clear chance of victory or at least one that seemed likely to win. However, joining under the Count of Fenris would leave no room for such calculations.
Jake, cautious for a mercenary, wanted no part of that.
“We have no intention of doing so. Conversations like this make us uncomfortable, Chief Overseer.”
“Really? You’re absolutely sure you’re not interested?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…Fine. I’ll back off for now. We’ll talk again later.”
When Claude retreated without much fuss, Jake smirked with his usual insolent grin.
“Well, my apologies. I’ll take on some work for you at a cheaper rate next time, so let’s avoid conversations like this in the future.”
“You’ll see me again soon.”
The next day, Claude returned with hundreds of soldiers in tow.
“What… is the meaning of this?”
Jake glared at Claude, visibly displeased.
He wasn’t particularly intimidated. If Claude tried to threaten him with force, it would surely tarnish the Count of Fenris’s reputation. Doing so would make it difficult to win over other mercenary groups in the future.
Jake, experienced enough, was well aware of this. Thus, he maintained his insolent demeanor.
Claude ordered the soldiers to stand down and spoke.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t bring soldiers to threaten you.”
“Then what business do you have this time?”
After clearing his throat a few times, Claude raised his voice.
“I, Claude, hereby challenge Jake, leader of the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps, to… Moriana’s Recognition!”
The duel invoking the name of the Goddess of War, Moriana. It was the same tactic Ghislain had used to subdue Kaor through brute force and persuasion.
Now, Claude was declaring that he would face the leader of a mercenary corps in combat with his own feeble body.
The first to gape in disbelief was Wendy, followed by the soldiers who had accompanied Claude. Their faces were painted with shock and incredulity.
If the ranks of the territory’s weakest individuals were tallied, Claude would undoubtedly place near the top. He was so frail that, when he was busy or too exhausted, Wendy would sometimes carry him on her back. He was practically at infant-level strength.
And yet, here he was, challenging a battle-hardened mercenary? Not just any mercenary, but the leader of a mercenary corps.
No matter how small a mercenary group might be, its leader wasn’t just anyone. At a minimum, the position required considerable skill and experience.
While everyone was dumbfounded, Claude stepped forward, shouting again.
“What are you waiting for?! Accept the duel already! Isn’t this something you mercenaries never back down from?!”
Even Jake was flustered, involuntarily stepping back.
“Wha… What are you talking about? That’s a tradition for mercenaries. It’s not something the Chief Overseer should be doing.”
“I am the Chief Overseer of the Fenris Mercenary Corps. If I’m part of the mercenary corps, I’m a mercenary too.”
It was an absurd claim, but it wasn’t entirely baseless. The Fenris Mercenary Corps had been officially registered with the relevant guilds in multiple regions, making it a legitimate organization.
“Uh… um…”
Jake was at a loss. Someone as scrawny as Claude could be turned into a bloodied pulp in a single blow.
But… was it really okay to do that?
‘I mean, the pretext is there, so no one would blame me, but…’
If you challenge someone to a duel and end up dying, the one who dies simply becomes a laughingstock. No one would blame him for what happens next.
Even so, Jake couldn’t bring himself to do it. Waving his hand dismissively, he spoke.
“I refuse.”
‘It’s not like my reputation will take a hit just because I said no.’
Dodging the duel wouldn’t be particularly shameful. Who in their right mind would stake their mercenary corps in a wager against someone like this?
But Claude was more persistent than expected.
“If you refuse, I’ll make sure this story spreads far and wide. Sure, your subordinates might understand, but do you think others will? They’ll constantly pester and mock you about it. And if you move to another region, I’ll chase you there and spread the rumors.”
“Damn it…”
Jake ground his teeth. Claude’s words carried some weight. Mercenaries weren’t known for their empathy or restraint; they wouldn’t hesitate to poke fun at him or provoke him using the story.
‘If they’ve got something to mock, they’ll use it without fail. And if they want to pick a fight, this’ll make the perfect excuse.’
Worse still, those who didn’t know Claude might genuinely believe Jake had backed down out of fear.
If that happened, his reputation would suffer, and job offers would surely decline.
That’s how rumors worked easy to spread, but correcting them required exponentially more effort.
In other words, Jake would have to waste time and energy on pointless trouble.
‘Is this guy completely insane? Should I just kill him?’
As murderous intent flickered in Jake’s eyes, Wendy grabbed Claude’s sleeve and intervened.
“What are you doing? You can’t even fight what’s this nonsense about a duel?!”
“Oh… are you worried about me? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this worked up.”
“Is this a joke? Call it off right now!”
“A man doesn’t back out of a duel. And I’m no gambler who bets on a losing fight.”
The 278-year-old slave, Claude, made a grandiose statement, yanking his sleeve free before striding forward.
Faced with this absurd behavior, Wendy was momentarily dumbfounded and could only stare blankly at him.
In the midst of everyone’s bewilderment, Claude extended his hand and shouted.
“What are you waiting for?! Go ahead and tie us up!”
The mercenaries approached, tying the hands of the hesitant Jake and Claude together.
Even they wore expressions that said, This doesn’t seem quite right, but the atmosphere had taken on a peculiar momentum.
The two men stood face-to-face, each holding a dagger.
The difference in size was stark. Jake was nearly twice Claude’s bulk, and his head was a full one and a half taller.
‘Why does it always end up like this?!’
Wendy reluctantly drew her dagger. If things turned dangerous, she was prepared to forcibly pull Claude out of harm’s way.
Like him or not, he was the Chief Overseer of the territory and an essential figure. Without him, the estate wouldn’t function properly.
Jake fiddled with his dagger, glaring at Claude.
‘What should I do? Maybe I should hurt him just enough to make him surrender.’
Since calling off the duel wasn’t an option, Jake figured he could put a few holes in the man without doing too much damage.
Although he found Claude strangely infuriating enough to make him want to kill him he wasn’t prepared to go through with it.
Killing the Chief Overseer of a major estate would guarantee a headache, no matter how victorious he was.
‘Damn it, I’ve really been caught by a lunatic this time…’
If Jake was going to injure Claude, it would have to be precise. As he steeled himself and began calculating where to strike, Claude suddenly whispered in a low voice.
“Jake, 38 years old. Leader of the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps.”
“…?”
Why was this guy suddenly reciting his name? As Jake tilted his head in confusion, Claude continued.
“You pretend to be a boisterous man, but it’s all an act. Deep down, you’re incredibly cautious and reserved.”
“…?”
“At around 15, you worked as a leather craftsman in the east and fell deeply in love with the art of leatherwork.”
“S-Stop…”
Jake’s face turned pale. Claude was now revealing his secrets.
“After that, you loved leather so much that you only wore leather underwear for a while. At one point, you made a leather whip and asked a woman you were seeing to whip you with it. She dumped you immediately.”
“W-Wait a second!”
“When the rumors spread, you fled to the north and became a mercenary. Since then, you’ve been secretly sneaking out at night to pay people to whip you with leather. You became a mercenary because it felt good to get hit. You even handcrafted a leather whip named Lilith. As for where you’ve hidden it… recently, about two weeks ago… Oh, and this guy calling himself a ‘man among men’? Always watching people’s reactions and trying to save his own skin…”
Claude unhesitatingly spilled Jake’s embarrassing secrets.
Jake felt his head spinning. If this rumor spread, he would never be able to show his face around here again.
I have to kill him!
Before Jake, whose face had turned pale, could make a move, Claude quickly spoke up.
“I’ve got all this written down. I’ve also told my little brother about it. If I die, the rumors will spread before the day’s over.”
The “little brother” he referred to was Lowell. Left with no choice, Jake whispered fiercely, his eyes darting around nervously.
“Chief Overseer! Couldn’t you have brought this up quietly in private instead?”
Claude smiled brightly in response.
“I’ve always wanted to do this in front of everyone. That’s why I brought so many soldiers to watch.”
‘Is this guy really insane?’
‘Hundreds of soldiers, just for something like this? For self-aggrandizement?’
Jake grounded his teeth. His breathing grew erratic, and cold sweat poured down his body. It seemed like he had run into one of the craziest lunatics imaginable.
“What, should I share more? There’s plenty more fun stuff about you. Honestly, you’re… quite something.”
“Heh…”
Jake laughed awkwardly and shook his head. If these stories got out, he would be socially annihilated.
The onlookers couldn’t understand why the two weren’t already fighting and were just standing there talking.
A mercenary standing a short distance away raised his hand and shouted.
“Begin!”
Normally, this would be the moment when their daggers moved immediately. But Jake’s hand, clutching his dagger, was trembling violently, unable to move.
Claude, wearing an unnecessarily dramatic expression, spoke up.
“Not coming? Then I’ll make the first move. Hiya!”
As he thrust his dagger, his movements were embarrassingly slow and clumsy.
Yet, Jake couldn’t dodge the attack. The blade plunged into his chest.
Thunk!
It was shallow. So weak, in fact, that the dagger didn’t even pierce his chest muscles properly. A single drop of blood trickled out.
If Jake were to swing his dagger now, Claude’s neck would be severed instantly.
Everyone watched the scene with bated breath. Wendy dashed forward, but before she could intervene, Jake, whose lips had been trembling, suddenly screamed.
“Ugh! Aaaaaah!”
With a dramatically awkward cry, Jake collapsed on the ground. Then, he added.
“I… I’ve lost! Stop! You’re too strong! I think I’m going to die! Ah! Are you a Sword Master?”
The spectators all gaped, dumbfounded. How could someone surrender so easily after such a feeble attack?
But Claude, wearing a smug expression, said confidently.
“Hmph. Felt so dull I wanted to die.”
Then he began furiously sawing at the ropes binding his hands with the dagger. However, no matter how hard he tried, the ropes wouldn’t cut.
Wendy quickly rushed over, cut the ropes herself, and asked.
“What on earth did you do? What’s going on?”
“I’ve done this more than a hundred times.”
“…”
This line, which Ghislain had famously said during his fight with Kaor, was relatively well-known. Claude had merely imitated it. He’d always wanted to try saying it himself.
Once the ropes tangled around his arms were undone, Claude crouched down in front of the collapsed Jake and spoke.
“So, we’re on the same team now, right? I won’t take over your mercenary corps. All you have to do is come under the Fenris Mercenary Corps. I’ll make sure you get plenty of work, but you better pay your dues on time and share any intel you come across.”
“O-Of course. Since I’ve lost, I must comply.”
The onlookers stared at Claude in amazement. No one could have imagined that someone so weak could defeat the leader of a mercenary corps.
Even the mercenaries from the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps thought the same. They assumed their leader had intentionally thrown the fight.
After all, Fenris was already swallowing up the North. Resisting wouldn’t achieve anything, so it was better to create a pretext for surrender.
The truth, however, was known only to three people: Claude, Jake, and the intelligence officer Lowell, who had gathered a treasure trove of secrets.
Through tactics like these, Claude continued absorbing mercenary corps operating in the North.
“Phew, this is almost too easy. I wonder how our lord is faring.”
Claude smiled leisurely.
Most of the mercenary groups in the region were small, and a combination of persuasion and intimidation worked wonders.
And if they didn’t comply, he’d simply whisper their deepest, most humiliating secrets. That was Claude’s specialty.
While things were progressing smoothly in the North, Ghislain entered a city in the West with his closest aides.