Episode 43, just as I thought.
“That’s right! This is money paper.”
“Each of these is like a gold ingot.”
“Is the captain becoming the richest in the North now?”
The mercenaries were excitedly chatting as they started mining.
Mining essentially meant smashing stones until they were small enough to load onto a wagon, so just having a few blunt tools was enough.
The detailed processing would be done in the territory, so the mercenaries didn’t need to worry about that.
A few mercenaries began to huddle together, whispering.
“Hey, let’s grab some of this.”
“Yeah, even the tiny bits are super expensive.”
“They won’t notice if we just collect some scraps.”
Stealing a little here and there without the employer knowing was an unspoken rule among mercenaries.
Triple pay was great and being well taken care of was appreciated, but swiping goods was a whole different matter… it was just a natural habit and tradition for them.
At that moment, Gordon loudly declared for all to hear.
“I’m not taking any! Triple pay is enough for me!”
“Is this guy serious?”
“Shh! Quiet! It’d be great for you to take some too!”
As other mercenaries panicked and shouted, Gordon confidently shouted again.
“I have no interest in money at all!”
The mercenaries looked at Gordon, who was yelling too much, as if he were crazy, and moved away.
Ghislaine, watching this scene with admiration, whispered to Gillian.
“We should be careful of guys like him. Mercenaries who say they don’t care about money are often the craziest. If they really didn’t care, they wouldn’t be mercenaries in the first place.”
Gillian nodded and warned the mercenaries.
“If even a single scrap is taken, I’ll behead you. Breaking the contract means you won’t have any excuses left if your life is on the line. Don’t be greedy.”
As Gillian growled, the mercenaries couldn’t hide their disappointment.
They were considering secretly taking a small piece or two of the Runestone while working, but with such a firm warning, they had no choice but to give up.
Suddenly, Gordon stuck his hand into his pants, fumbled around a few times, and then threw several pieces of Runestone onto the ground.
“What the hell?”
“When did you grab those?”
“Hey, you crazy idiot!”
As the mercenaries cursed in disbelief, Gordon wiped his nose a few times and dashed away.
Gillian was left blinking in disbelief as Ghislaine whispered again.
“Am I right? Hehe.”
“…It seems so.”
Gillian sighed and emphasized to the mercenaries once more.
“If you value your life, don’t sneak away even a single scrap and load everything.”
With his firm tone, the mercenaries could only lick their lips.
The mercenaries under Zoe were constantly licking their lips.
Having seen Gillian’s skills, they didn’t dare to recklessly attack or rebel.
Still, the mercenaries continued their work with cheerful hearts.
Surviving was already a miracle, and they were set to receive a hefty reward, so additional income wasn’t that desperate.
“Come on, let’s fill it up quickly.”
“Break off any stones that are stuck as much as possible. We need to gather a lot.”
While the mercenaries chatted, they worked diligently, and soon the wagon was filled to the brim with runestones.
Ghislaine watched as the wagon filled and instructed the mercenaries to leave some space empty.
“Why’s that?”
“The more we take, the better, right?”
When the mercenaries asked, Ghislaine shook his head and replied.
“We’re taking the corpse of the Python.”
The unexpected statement left the mercenaries bewildered.
“Why would we take that? Are you planning to eat it?”
“How do you intend to carry that huge thing?”
They couldn’t understand Ghislaine’s intentions to forgo the money they could earn from the runestones in favor of the corpse.
Given that several wagons were already filled with the inner bark of the Dirus Ent, it was clear that not much room would be left for the corpse of the Blood Python.
“With the corpse of the Blood Python, monsters won’t approach. When we start making roads, I’ll sprinkle its blood and meat around. That way, we’ll be safe for months after clearing the path.”
As the mercenaries blinked in confusion, Ghislaine further explained.
“It means that since monsters won’t approach, we’ll be safe on our way back. We can make armor from the leather and hide, and we can coat weapons with the poison. The corpse has many uses.”
Now understanding, the mercenaries nodded.
“Aha…”
“That makes sense.”
“Our captain seems young, but sometimes he feels like someone who’s been through everything.”
“Yeah, I never thought of that.”
Monsters are sensitive to the smell of other beings.
If the scent of a powerful monster like the Blood Python is in the air, they’ll tend to stay away.
Even if all the wagons were used, they wouldn’t be able to carry all the runestones.
To safely bring back the remaining runestones, handling the corpse of the Blood Python was the better choice.
The mercenaries filled a few wagons with runestones and headed towards the location of the Blood Python’s corpse.
“Gillian and Kaor, create some space for the blades to get in.”
Ghislaine wasn’t in the best shape either, so he couldn’t use his mana properly.
Reluctantly, Gillian and Kaor used their mana, struggling to remove the snake’s scales.
Once there was enough room, the mercenaries rushed in and worked hard to chop up the carcass.
However, due to its enormous size and toughness, it took hours just to cut it.
They had only mined runestones and cut the Blood Python’s corpse, yet evening was already approaching.
“When we finish, we’ll rest here and head back tomorrow.”
Following Ghislaine’s words, the mercenaries moved busily.
After chopping up the Blood Python’s body, they loaded it onto the wagon and secured it tightly with ropes.
Given its massive size, they couldn’t possibly take it all. The amount loaded onto the wagon was barely half the corpse.
However, Ghislaine didn’t seem too disappointed as he watched the work unfold.
After all, he planned to return soon to collect the rest of the corpse.
A little while later, when the wagons were full, the mercenaries raised their hands and cheered.
“Woohoo, we did it!”
“We can’t load anymore.”
“We’re finally going back!”
With all the work done, the mercenaries could finally sleep comfortably for the first time in a while.
After the work was done, the mercenaries could finally sleep comfortably for the first time in a while.
Just in case, they remained on guard, but for some reason, no monsters showed up this time, possibly due to the corpse of the Blood Python.
As the day broke, the mercenaries continued to clear the path, pulling the wagon with considerable effort.
Without horses, the humans had to push and pull with their own hands, making their speed painfully slow.
They had loaded the runestone along with the stone, and the size and weight of the Blood Python’s corpse were no small matter, leaving them with no choice.
The cargo was stacked so high that even with a cloth covering it, the bottom was wide open for anyone to see.
“Ugh, pulling a wagon instead of riding a horse is a new experience for me.”
“I think moving this stuff is harder than fighting.”
“Well, we’ve cleared a path to some extent, so the laborers should be able to come soon.”
Though the ride back was enjoyable, toiling all day pulling a heavy wagon led to some grumbling among them.
Still, the way back was much easier than when they came in. They’d cleared a path along the way, and no monsters attacked them because of the Blood Python’s corpse.
Moving slowly took them an entire day.
The party felt they were getting close to the edge of the forest as they recognized familiar signs they’d left behind.
“Hey, we’re almost there.”
“Tonight, we can really rest comfortably.”
“Let’s muster just a bit more strength.”
While everyone was squeezing out their last bit of energy, a group approached them from the outskirts of the forest.
As they got a little closer, Ghislaine recognized who they were.
“Looks like the territory’s soldiers.”
The knight and soldiers from Perdium Territory approached with serious expressions.
Ghislaine nodded and asked the knight at the front.
“Doesn’t seem like they came out to greet us.”
The knight nodded and replied.
“We were looking for you, Your Grace. We were on our way to find you. You’ve cleared the path quite well.”
Ghislaine shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, anyway, since I’m back safely, no need to look for me. Sorry for worrying you.”
The knight stepped forward, still not losing his serious expression.
“We’re here to arrest you, Your Grace.”
At the knight’s words, the mercenaries were taken aback.
They had no idea that Ghislaine had entered the Forest of Monsters against the lord’s orders.
However, Ghislaine and Gillian were calmer than expected, as they had foreseen this situation.
The knight spoke with a more resolute tone.
“It’s the lord’s command. If you come along quietly, you won’t get hurt.”
With a hint of threat in his words, Ghislaine asked with a playful expression.
“I’m a bit busy right now. Not feeling well, you know?”
“You still haven’t come to your senses. Then we’ll have to drag you along by force.”
Swish!
The knight slowly drew his sword, shooting a look of contempt.
Having received permission, he was thinking of provoking him into resisting, using that as an excuse to beat him down.
“If you weren’t a Grand Duke, you’d be dead already. Lucky you survived the Forest of Monsters. Please, resist.”
The knight, who had always looked down on Ghislaine, raised his sword slowly to aim at him.
“Why not put up a little resistance like usual? I’d be happy to teach you a lesson. How about I break one of your legs? Or perhaps an arm?”
Such rude comments were unimaginable for a Grand Duke. He was deliberately provoking Ghislaine.
“I’ll turn you into mush so you can’t mess around anymore.”
Just as the knight took a step forward, thinking such thoughts.
Clang! Chaing!
All the mercenaries suddenly drew their weapons and surrounded the knight and soldiers.
Drawing their weapons, they surrounded the knight and the soldiers.
“W-What’s this?!”
The knight looked around in panic, only to see the mercenaries approaching with terrifying glares.
The mercenaries, who had narrowly escaped death several times, exuded a menacing energy that was sharp and fierce.
As an oppressive aura surrounded them, the soldiers stepped back with pale faces.
“Y-You guys! What the hell are you doing?!”
The knight was bewildered.
Normally, mercenaries would back off without a word when ordered by the lord.
So he ignored the mercenaries surrounding Ghislaine, not thinking they’d openly show hostility.
“I’m a knight under the lord’s command! Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”
The knight shouted, pointing his sword in all directions.
But despite his threats, laughter erupted from all around.
“Ha, that only works inside the territory, you know.”
“Well, we may be at the entrance, but this is still the Forest of Monsters.”
“You got any evidence that we killed anyone? I bet the lord’s too scared to even come looking for you.”
“If we dump the bodies here and there in the forest, the monsters will take them away. You won’t even find your own corpses.”
Startled by their menacing words, the knight glanced at Ghislaine.
Even with the ability to use mana, he wasn’t confident against such a number of mercenaries.
Moreover, the fierce energy radiating from each one suggested they were no pushovers.
“Y-Your Grace!”
Ultimately, the knight called out to Ghislaine in a subdued voice.
But Ghislaine merely shrugged, looking confused about what was going on.
Seeing this, the mercenaries had made up their minds.
“Hehe, let’s handle this ourselves.”
“Yeah, if we wipe them out, no one will know.”
“Let’s keep it easy. If we don’t get caught, it’s all good.”
“Been a pain to clear the path, now we want to use it comfortably?”
The mercenaries’ momentum began to fill the air with intent to kill.
These guys were seriously thinking of wiping out all the knights and soldiers present.
Feeling the threat, the knight swallowed hard and stepped back hesitantly.
‘T-They’re insane. These bastards are all out of their minds.’
Normally, no one would try to kill a knight acting under the lord’s command.
Yet these folks seemed crazier than even the Grand Duke.
The knight quickly scanned his surroundings and began to think.
There were only about fifty mercenaries left.
Similar in number to the soldiers he brought, but he didn’t think they could win in a fight at all.
‘I-I’ve got to request support…’
But the mercenaries had already positioned themselves superbly and were closing in on them.
There was no gap for even a single soldier to escape; they were all tightly packed.
‘These aren’t ordinary folks.’
The atmosphere they radiated and their formation indicated they were seasoned fighters.
Feeling it was impossible to escape, the knight turned to Ghislaine, gritting his teeth.
“What is the meaning of this? You must subdue the mercenaries at once! To think of killing a knight under the lord’s command! Have you lost your mind?!”
Just then, Gillian, who had been watching, approached, axe in hand.
“Wow, you really have a way with words, huh.”
Seeing his cold gaze, the knight realized death was creeping closer.
If he died here, they might not even find his body.
The last resort was…
Thud.
“Your Grace, please spare me!”
He had no choice but to drop to his knees and beg.
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