CH 132

“Charge!”

Kyaaaoooo~!!!

The beowulf warriors let loose a long cry while running forward. Their widespread formation was centered around Eugene, who had transformed into the lycanthrope king.

They were around 300 meters away from the enemies. Considering the strength of a lycanthrope, it would take about 30 seconds to reach the enemies. Eugene’s eyes glowed crimson like blood as he fixed his gaze upon the only knight with plate armor on horseback.

A brown orc was patterned on the knight’s chest plate, and those gathered around him were wearing chainmail and plate mail with the same crest.

“Aim! Baron half-orc and the other knights! The other bastards! Hit them and keep going!” Eugene shouted.

Kuwuoooooo!!

The beowulfs erupted their Fear while speeding up. Then, they switched into a triangular formation with Eugene at its vertex. Their formation was very similar to the ‘lance charging’ formation of the heavy cavalry, which was also known as the flower of the battlefield.

Kwaaaa!

The pressure and Fear radiated by a group of thirty lycanthropes were intense. In addition, they were being headed by an Origin Vampire that had transformed into a lycanthrope king. The overwhelming presence they emitted washed over the enemy soldiers like a wave, even though there was still a distance of about 100 meters between the two groups.

Foot soldiers would feel tremendous pressure even when faced with the charge of heavily armed knights, not to mention the charge of a lycanthrope king and beowulf warriors clad in thick armor.

“Uahh…!”

“Gods, spirits…”

“N-no! I don’t want to die!”

In the end, once the distance shortened to dozens of meters, the first line of mercenaries crumbled under pressure and scattered to the sides before fleeing in a hurry.

They were pushed down and trampled. Their formation was immediately turned into a mess even before Eugene and the beowulf warriors could arrive.

Immediately afterward, Eugene and the beowulfs crashed into the scrambled mess like a storm.

Kuwuuuuugh!

Booom!

A series of roars were accompanied by dull thuds. The charge attack was much more destructive than the lance charge of heavy cavalry, and dozens of mercenaries were thrown into the air with their limbs bent in weird positions at the initial collision.

The mercenaries were equipped with poor weapons and armor. Faced with the ferocious charge, they were no different from simple ragdolls. Terrible screams and pained wailings immediately followed suit, and the ranks of Baron Riwad’s army completely collapsed in the blink of an eye.

Eugene and the beowulfs continued to attack without slowing down. Although they were many, they were one. They were a storm of destruction.

Baron Riwad’s troops couldn’t overcome the heavy charge, and a clear path was eventually laid out in front of Eugene. Within ten seconds from the initial contact, Eugene came to face Baron Riwad and his knights.

“…!”

The baron's eyes contained countless emotions.

Shock, regret, anger, fear, killing intent.

Eugene realized that the baron felt conflicted inside.

Kuwuuuuuugh!

Eugene jumped forward while emitting a red glow from his eyes, and the baron’s lips parted almost simultaneously.

“Surrend…”

However, Baron Riwad stopped himself midway and drew his longsword. His conflicting thoughts emerged as a contradiction of his words and actions.

‘Surrender? Bullshit!’

Eugene blocked the strike with his magic shield and struck the Baron’s head with his hand, which was several times bigger compared to a regular lycanthrope’s hand.

Crunch!

Baron Riwad possessed thick, firm muscles and bones thanks to the orc blood in his veins, but his head was ripped off in a single blow.

The headless body of the baron slowly fell from his saddle.

One blow!

A swordmaster had been killed in a single blow.

“…!”

An unspeakable shock and fear filled the knights, and they came to a quick, unanimous decision.

“I s-surrender!”

“We surrender!”

“Surrender!”

“Mercy!”

The knights threw their weapons to the ground and begged for their lives.

“Kuwugh?”

“Dammit!” the beowulfs shouted in fury and stopped themselves from ripping apart the knights. It was a warrior’s honor and a long-standing custom to not kill a surrendered opponent.

“Look at these bastards! They don’t even have an ounce of honor!”

“Hey, you despicable cowards! Don’t you dare call yourselves men! Cut off your balls, right now!” Wolgan and the other beowulfs jeered.

The miserable faces of the knights flushed red. Of course, they were ashamed. However, the overwhelming presence and destruction that they had witnessed were sufficient for them to forget their honor and loyalty for a moment.

It was hard to guarantee a victory against beowulfs even if they were on horseback. Moreover, they didn’t even have their steeds, while the beowulfs were fully armed with thick armor and helmets.

In other words, it would have been a futile struggle if they fought.

“Hmph! Trash!” Wolfgan spat on the ground before approaching Eugene.

“By the way, Dark Lord. What was the orc baron trying to say?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe he was trying to leave a will…” Eugene responded.

“Hmm. I was sure he was trying to surrender…”

Fwoosh!

Eugene jerked his head around.

“N-never mind. I must have misheard. Kuhaha.” Wolfgan slipped away with an awkward laugh.

‘The lord was trying to surrender!’

‘He did it intentionally. That monster killed the lord knowing that he was trying to surrender.’

‘He is unlike those chivalry-crazed knights from the continent!’

Baron Riwad’s knights stole glances at Eugene while breaking into cold sweat.

***

The battle came to a prompt conclusion once the army’s commander was killed and his knights surrendered. The mercenaries were also freed from their obligations when their employer was killed, so they gave up trying to flee and calmly laid down their weapons. Now, they had no choice but to kneel in hopes that the victor would be lenient to them.

Crawlmarine’s forces and mercenaries were greatly shocked at the outcome. As soon as Eugene and the beowulfs broke the enemy’s ranks, they had started their charge as well, but the enemy surrendered not long after.

However, a victory was a victory regardless. It wasn’t a simple victory either, but a great victory with no casualties. The soldiers and mercenaries of the Crawlmarine County excitedly picked up the weapons and equipment of the enemy knights and mercenaries.

“Kekeke! Sir, sir. The weapons and armors alone will bring us a hefty profit. Kiek? Some of those knights are wearing plate mail.” As Mirian said, some of Baron Riwad’s knights were armed with plate mail; they must be the spoils of war from the continental knights during the crusade.

Baron Riwad’s armor was also made by re-assembling the armors of high-ranking noble knights from the continent.

“Master. What shall we do now?” Luke asked. He appeared flustered after having achieved a flawless victory.

Eugene had already planned for the aftermath of the battle. He looked around the knights and mercenaries on the ground before speaking, “We will absorb the mercenaries and drag the knights back to the Riwad territory. We need to get their ransom.”

The baron was dead, but his children were still alive. Eugene planned to receive ransoms for the knights, as well as other various things.

“Do you mean to invade the Riwad territory?” Luke asked.

“They were the first to draw their blades, so we must have them pay,” Eugene responded.

“As expected! You must be planning on unifying Brantia, Master!” Luke shouted excitedly as if Eugene was already the king of Brantia.

Eugene stared at Luke for a moment before shrugging. “Well, I don’t know about being king, but that’s what I intend to do.”

“Yes! I will follow you until the end, Master!” Luke shouted without consideration of his status, then excitedly guided his horse to the nobles and soldiers of Crawlmarine.

“Pythamoras. Please direct me to the Riwad territory,” Eugene spoke.

“Sure. But are you really planning on taking in all the mercenaries? You might disappoint the ones you have taken in earlier,” Pythamoras responded.

The druid’s question was intended to test Eugene. Eugene turned his head and calmly spoke, “I don’t think that there will be any problem.”

“Hmm?” Pythamoras turned his gaze as well.

The two mercenary captains, who had already sworn allegiance to Eugene, were busily talking to the other mercenary captain employed by Baron Riwad. “The dead are dead. If you want to live, swear loyalty to Sir Eugene! He will give you a seat by his side.”

“Don’t tell me….”

“The half-orc baron tried to surrender, but Sir Eugene just pulled out his head, didn’t he?”

“How frustrating. Look, it’s obvious that he needed to kill your employer to get you to surrender peacefully. What would have happened if he took the baron as a prisoner? Who would be in charge? Do you really think that the baron would have taken care of you?”

“No…”

“He would have gotten himself released for ransom and left us dead.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to swear allegiance to Sir Eugene! He said that we would only need to fight for a year without pay to repay our ransom. But he said that he would share the spoils of battles with us.”

“What?!”

“I-is that really true?”

“Of course it’s true! Why else would those expensive, tricky beowulfs follow Sir Eugene? Moreover, vampires and beowulfs are infamous for not getting along well with each other. And did you know? Master Pythamoras also joined Sir Eugene!”

“…!!!”

The captured mercenary captains stole glances at Eugene and Pythamoras with their jaws agape. Fear and awe filled their eyes, but a glimmer of desire began to take form as well.

“Are they selling me out?” Pythamoras muttered.

“That’s why I decided to keep you by my side. You had no idea? Anyway, bring me my armor,” Eugene responded.

“…”

Pythamoras had no choice but to hand over Eugene’s armor and weapons with a look of regret.

***

After killing Baron Riwad and crushing his army, Eugene immediately set course for the Riwad territory. On the other hand, the vassals of the Crawlmarine County and their troops returned to their respective territories. They weren’t particularly strong or useful anyway, and they also had to protect the county while Luke was away.

Of the mercenaries employed by Baron Riwad, about 200 members joined Eugene, excluding those who died or had been injured. The rest of the mercenaries were taken to the city where Odd, a fairly skilled merchant, had initially contracted with the baron. They were sold as slaves along with the weapons that were collected from the battlefield.

Baron Riwad had been a renowned knight and lord, and as such, the news of his death and his army’s defeat was enough to shock the people of Brantia.

In the end, the city chased Odd and his group out before locking the gate shut.

“How could they possibly treat us like this? We’ve traded with them quite a few times in the past, so how could they do this to us? What an unscrupulous bunch!” Odd shouted in fury.

“What about the money and supplies?” Eugene asked.

Odd responded with a big smile as if he had never been angry. “Sir, with all due respect, who do you think I am? The first thing I did after selling the slaves was to get food. This is the remaining money.”

Odd gestured, and the workers of his company carefully lowered boxes filled with coins. There had been quite a few troops in Baron Riwad’s army, so the profits from disposing of the spoils were quite hefty. In addition, Baron Riwad’s armor and the armor of his knights had been obtained from the continental knights during the crusade, so they still fetched a good price even though they were urgently disposed of.

“Anyway, is Brighton hostile toward me?” Eugene asked.

“I don’t think that’s the case. If that were true, they would have incapacitated me and confiscated my wealth. I think they are simply afraid of you, sir,” Odd answered.

It was certainly possible.

He was a high-ranking vampire noble with more than 200 mercenaries and beowulfs under his command. Moreover, he had killed a swordmaster. They would certainly feel afraid of him.

“Ehem. Sir, will you take Brighton?” Pythamoras asked.

Eugene shook his head. “I heard that Riwad is not far from here. Let’s take care of that first.”

“Brighton always had a harmonious relationship with Baron Riwad. There is a possibility that they will value their loyalty to Baron Riwad and attack us from behind. And the Riwad territory’s castle had never been conquered before. It will take quite some time to lay siege. Wouldn’t it place us at a disadvantage if we were faced with enemies from both sides?” A druid was fit to be called a sage. His eyes were sharp and his advice was appropriate. In normal circumstances, Eugene would have happily accepted his advice.

However…

“I don’t think there’s going to be a siege,” Eugene said.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Pythamoras asked.

Eugene grinned and revealed his long fangs. “As far as I know, some knights should already be there, and they could only be weaker than me.”