WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈

Chapter 35: First Subjugation Campaign (6)

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The subjugation force came face-to-face with the bandits' main force. Even the lieutenants were caught off guard by having to fight a full-scale battle so soon.

"I can't believe they're coming to fight us first."

"They know we came to finish this. If they can't avoid us, they'd rather have one big fight than be picked off one by one."

Their numbers were similar, but there was a vast difference in quality. If they fought, the subjugation force would win without much trouble.

The only concern was that the invited knights, along with Eugene, their strongest fighter, had left the main force. The decisive factor that would secure victory was nowhere nearby.

Men draped in animal hides emerged one after another from the bandits' camp.

"Today's your funeral! Your blood and guts will fertilize this forest! I'll clean out your skulls and use them as drinking cups!"

A man standing a head taller than the rest wore a bear hide and carried an axe. Dozens of burly men appeared behind him, shouting.

"Those are the Gord Mountain Tribes!"

"Those bastards got involved too?"

"This is why jobs around here are such a pain. Every kind of bastard shows up as an enemy."

Tense murmurs spread among the veteran mercenaries. Even among the large Gord people, the mountain tribes were famous for their natural strength.

They were nightmares who raided roads along the mountains, then fled into the mountains and forced subjugation forces into guerrilla warfare.

"They don't have enough numbers to decide the battle! We still have the advantage, so keep your heads on straight and fight! The knights will return soon!"

The captain of the guard's words calmed the subjugation force. Knight! Nothing gave soldiers greater courage than hearing a knight was coming to help on the battlefield.

"Advance!"

Both sides raised shields in dense formations, but neither side's shields looked sturdy. Many carried shields too small to cover their chests, while others had little more than wooden boards.

"Argh!"

Men fell one after another, clutching the places where bolts and arrows had struck them.

"If you're hit in the arm, endure it! Only those hit in the legs or stomach fall back!"

"Fuck! I can't hold my shield!"

"Shut up! If you retreat, I'll gut you!"

Unlike the subjugation force, which replaced wounded men immediately, the bandits had no such system. As long as they could stand, they were expected to serve as meat shields.

"Urgh!"

A bandit trying to withdraw while clutching a bolt-pierced arm was struck in the chest with an axe as an example.

"Just hold your positions! Victory will be ours!"

The bandit raised a bloody axe and roared, though no one knew what the bandits were relying on.

Still, the battle gradually tilted toward the subjugation force. Even though both sides had poor shields, more bandits were falling.

Smash!

"Aaagh!"

A stone crushed a bandit's nose, sending the bandit sprawling with a horrible scream. The Caved-In Mercenary Company, stationed on higher ground, was hurling vicious volleys of stones.

Crack!

Crude shields that looked more like pot stands split apart in a single hit. The force behind those throws was terrifying.

"This is it! Having those guys on our side really is reassuring!"

"If you don't want to become an idiot, get the hell out of here!"

The emboldened subjugation force shouted.

Crack!

Crunch!

Unlike arrows and bolts, thick stones sent splinters flying viciously even when they struck shields.

Thunk!

"Argh!"

A stone that bounced off a shield struck the bandit beside it in the cheek.

Not every mercenary could afford a sturdy helmet. Many poor mercenaries wore padded caps closer to winter hats, making them easy prey for the slingers.

The bandits under concentrated bolt and stone fire slowed their advance, throwing their formation into disarray.

"Right-wing unit! Attack!"

The captain of the guard didn't miss the opportunity. The right wing, made up of elite troops, partially encircled and attacked the protruding enemy left wing.

* * *

Eugene looked at Galia's men.

"I'll take temporary command. Will you follow my orders?"

"Please lead us! Under your command, we'll subjugate the bandits and avenge Galia!"

"First, give those with serious injuries emergency treatment and hide them somewhere secluded. We don't have time to take them back to the main force right now."

"Understood."

As expected of people with extensive combat experience serving a knight, they moved with perfect coordination.

They stopped their badly wounded comrades' bleeding, splinted broken bones, then hid them in a secluded place. Branches covered in leaves were laid over them to camouflage the spot thoroughly.

"I'll definitely return, so stay quiet."

"Don't worry. Even if we wanted to make trouble, we don't have the strength. We'll lie here like corpses. Even if the bandits find us, they won't be able to tell us apart from the dead."

"See you this evening."

After exchanging a brief joke and clasping hands, they parted ways.

"Sir Knight, we've joined you."

The twenty dark elf skirmishers joined them as well. They looked in turn at the beheaded Galia, the bandit knight with the crushed head, and Eugene's long-handled flail, then nodded as if they understood.

"From now on, we'll follow the route the knights took. We don't know what enemy may be waiting, so keep the way back open."

"Understood!"

Unlike Galia's Squire, the servants were frightened of heading toward the place where those unidentified screams had come from.

Still, they couldn't refuse after the Squire had handed over command. Besides, with this knight beside them, it felt as though they could overcome any enemy.

"Let's go!"

Eugene spurred his horse onward, and the unit followed behind.

"Be careful. Inscribing tattoo magic onto others and making it work is extremely difficult. The mage must be highly accomplished."

"I'm not planning to rush in like a moth to a flame and fight to the death. If things go wrong, I'll be the first to shout, 'Fall back!' So don't worry."

Varda was relieved by how quickly Eugene understood. He was clearly different from other knights, who got drunk on glory and charged in recklessly.

The servants who followed Eugene to the large camp were dumbstruck.

"Everyone... they're dead."

Every servant and slave who had laughed and shared leftover food from the banquet was dead. There were more bandit and mercenary corpses, but those didn't catch their attention.

"Ugh..."

Then, a groan came from somewhere nearby.

"Robert!"

Galia's Squire ran over and supported the wounded man.

Robert was Cain's Squire. During the banquet, Robert had vividly recounted the fierce battle Cain fought with a hobgoblin, earning much praise.

"A monster... There was a monster. My liege... The other knights too, that thing..."

The gravely wounded Squire spoke with difficulty.

"Robert! Can you tell me what kind of monster it was?"

"Cough... B-black... Watch out for the horns..."

Robert trembled as he spoke, then, perhaps because the wounds had worsened, vomited a bowlful of blood and died.

"Damn it!"

Galia's Squire looked stricken, feeling as though Robert had died because they had forced Robert to speak.

"You didn't kill Robert. The wounds were fatal anyway, so don't blame yourself."

"Thank you, Sir."

The Squire bowed at Eugene's reassurance.

"We found the knights' bodies!"

A servant searching nearby waved an arm. Two corpses lay there. One knight's face had been crushed, and another's chest had been mangled.

"Cain is here!"

Another servant cried out.

A knight lay dead, clutching the stomach. Something had pierced the chain mail in an instant, leaving several large holes in the upper body.

"What could have done this..."

Galia's Squire closed Cain's wide-open eyes.

"It's sacrificial magic."

Varda, who had been looking around the camp, pointed to one spot. Cattle, horses, and deer carcasses were piled around a place that resembled an altar.

"What is that?"

"As the name suggests, it's magic that offers living beings as sacrifices in exchange for something from the Otherworld. This seems to be the work of whoever inscribed tattoo magic on the heretical knight."

"Oh, God."

The servants made the sign of the cross and prayed. They had thought they were attacking a simple bandit hideout, but far more wicked people lurked here.

"A magical beast created through a sacrificial ritual develops a magic stone imbued with mystery."

While everyone was still shocked, Varda approached and whispered into Eugene's ear.

"So it's like a pearl."

"Similar, but its value is beyond comparison. The important thing is that even failed specimens sometimes develop inferior magic stones."

She gestured with her eyes toward the animal carcasses before the altar, making sure only Eugene noticed.

"If you search through all of those, you should find something worthwhile."

"I'll speak with the captain of the guard later and claim them as my spoils."

Varda stepped away after sharing the secret. The girl who had freely shown compassion was gone, replaced by a mage capable of cold, rational judgment.

"They offered far more than one or two sacrifices. What do you think the mage gained from it?"

"The most common result is the creation of a magical beast. It's a foul creature, different from monsters that exist within the natural order."

"Then it must be the one that killed the knights and made those screams."

Varda nodded.

"A properly made magical beast is a monster that can crush an ordinary knight like a conscript."

"We need to return to the main force immediately."

"I'll make a shortcut with my magic."

"Please do."

With Varda and Eugene at the front, everyone quickly left the camp.

The magical beast had killed three knights. If it attacked the main force, made up entirely of mercenaries, it could cause a disaster.

* * *

The captain of the guard watched the bandit formation slowly collapse and smiled with satisfaction.

"Good. At this rate, we win."

The bandits held their positions despite being pushed back, trusting in something, but a battle couldn't be won through stubbornness alone.

"They're here! The mage has come!"

"We've won!"

Cheers erupted from the enemy camp, and the bandits' morale suddenly soared.

"A mage?"

"Bandits like these hired a mage?"

The mercenary captains were rattled by the unexpected presence. At that moment, a huge shadow fell over an elite mercenary fighting on the right wing.

Crunch!

A mercenary from the subjugation force watched the comrade fighting beside them suddenly slam into the ground.

A monster stood atop the blood-frothing corpse and looked down at the mercenary. It had a horned beast's head, and limbs as thick as a full-grown man's torso.

Hiss!

Hot breath from its nostrils washed over the mercenary's face. It was revolting, less like a living creature's breath and more like steam from hell.

Grrrrr!

Scarlet eyes stared straight at the mercenary. Fifteen years of mercenary experience vanished in an instant, and strength drained from the mercenary's legs.

"Hic."

As the mercenary collapsed, a massive hoof flew toward the face.

Bang!

Another corpse flew across the battlefield. Only then did the subjugation force realize what had happened.

A stag-headed monster, one and a half times as large as a human, had appeared. Black fur covered it from head to toe, and its thick antlers were as long as short spears.

"W-what is that? What the hell is that?!"

"Wasn't this supposed to be a bandit subjugation?"

The subjugation force's mercenaries fell into chaos.

"M-monster..."

"Don't be scared, you idiots! It won't hurt us! It's a monster, but it's our monster!"

The bandits were just as terrified, but desperately forced down their fear.

"You have arrived."

The chief leading the bandits bowed respectfully before a mage in black robes.

"It took time because I had to deal with the knights. Even as they died, they clung on stubbornly."

"As expected, you're incredible. There were quite a few knights too."

The heretical mage and the monster from hell. The bandits' secret weapon had joined the battlefield.

"Wendigo. These are the impious ones who obstruct our faith. Tear apart and trample the enemies before you. Decorate your antlers with their entrails."

At the mage's command, the Wendigo roared.

Kuaaaaa!

The subjugation force felt goosebumps rise over their entire bodies. The howl pierced through experience, training, and armor, tearing at their mammalian instincts.

Neighhh!

One lieutenant was even thrown from a horse when it panicked and reared.

Eugene and his subordinates, who had also drawn close to the main force, heard the Wendigo's roar.

"Sir Knight! That's what we heard!"

Despite the servant's near-scream, Eugene remained calm. Even the dark elves looked tense, but his instincts did not recognize the current situation as a crisis.

'Whatever kind of monster it is, I can fight it.'

Just as predators judged their rivals' strength by the scent of one another's urine, Eugene could sense something in the monster's roar.

The instinct of a born warrior and an intuition still forming as battle experience accumulated. Both whispered that there was no need to retreat.

Footnotes:

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