WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 41: What It Means to Become a Commander (4)
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To gain one thing, another had to be cast aside. Having chosen House Morad's side, House Duran was now the enemy.
The mercenaries had no noble house to pay their ransom anyway. Eugene cut down without discrimination even those who threw away their weapons and surrendered.
“You bastards! I said I surrender...”
A mercenary who tried to pick up their weapon again in a fit of rage was hacked to death.
“Loot can wait. Send scouts ahead and behind us, then treat House Morad's people first.”
“Yes! Gamdin and O'Connell, head south! Kevin and Smoke, head north!”
At the mercenary captain's order, the subordinates dispersed in disciplined coordination.
Wheeeet!
At the clear whistle, riderless horses that had scattered and donkeys huddling together farther away for shelter began returning to the battlefield one by one.
Prrr!
Some of the more skittish horses stopped halfway, frightened by the overpowering scent of blood.
Wheeeet!
Still, when Homi urged them on, they soon gave up resisting and came closer.
“How does that even work?”
Eugene dismounted, impressed by his Squire's remarkable talent.
“Y-you are Sir Eugene, correct?”
As he approached the survivors, an elderly clerk among them recognized him.
“How did you know?”
“Lord Benjamin told us all about you. Not only your martial prowess, but also your cleverness in lulling those Duran bastards into lowering their guard before dealing with them. His praise wasn't exaggerated at all.”
The Morad survivors looked moved by their unexpected rescue. Their wrists had been pulled behind their backs and locked in iron manacles.
“Sir knight, we should find the keys.”
A mercenary who had rushed over to inspect them looked at the corpses scattered around.
“How long would it take to search through all those? Step aside.”
“Yes?”
Eugene knelt on one knee and gripped the iron manacles.
Crack!
Riiip!
Everyone stared in shock as the manacles tore apart like rotten branches.
“So it was true that you defeated Volx through sheer strength.”
“This is beyond comparing you to any human being.”
The envoys muttered in disbelief.
After administering first aid and cleaning up, Eugene set off in a hurry. He had no way of knowing how many ambush forces House Duran had mobilized.
His subordinates collected the enemy mercenaries' equipment, while the knights' and Squires' weapons, armor, and horses became Eugene's share.
‘This loot is on a completely different level from when I cleaned up village raiders. Should I be targeting nobles after all?’
When he calculated his share in coin, the time he could keep the mercenaries employed increased sharply.
“To think they would launch such a cowardly attack without even declaring war. They're beasts.”
The old clerk spoke with a grim expression.
“I'm sorry. If I'd arrived a little earlier, perhaps everyone would have survived.”
“Who could have predicted such villainy? You arrived quickly enough, Sir Eugene. I was more concerned that the chaos along the way might have inconvenienced you.”
“There was a small incident. A village under House Morad was being plundered by mercenaries, so I dealt with them on the way here.”
“Before we could even receive you properly, we've already incurred two debts. I am ashamed.”
Rather than welcoming the knight who had come from afar, the clerk could only lower his head further after receiving his help.
* * *
House Duran's ambushes took place in many locations. Not all of them succeeded.
Some charged in, trusting their numerical advantage and the element of surprise, only to be driven back instead.
“Arrrgh!”
The knight leading the attackers screamed.
The knight had been tied beside a flower-decorated carriage and was being tortured. Morad soldiers surrounding the prisoner glared fiercely.
“Sir Knight, could you stop barking already?”
“You're not dead yet, are you? Think how jealous your lackeys must be, dying one by one behind you in real time.”
Behind the knight, captured enemy mercenaries were being beheaded.
“You suffered greatly, my lady.”
A middle-aged head maid wiped the sweat from a woman's face with a handkerchief.
Her name was Roxanne, the second child of House Morad. She had been returning from diplomatic business in a neighboring fief, undertaken to prepare for war.
The fine dress Roxanne wore had been torn all over and soaked with blood from Duran's ambush.
“You don't need to look me over like you're trying to lick me clean. I avoided all the vital spots. I'd rather trade swords with people trying to kill me than smile sweetly and play twenty questions in front of that slippery lord.”
“My lady! Mind your language!”
Roxanne smiled as she spun the sword in her hand. The head maid examining her looked distressed.
“Oh, no! Such lovely skin, covered in wounds! Those bastards deserve to be torn apart!”
“Wouldn't the men who died by my sword find that unfair?”
The head maid sighed over the shallow wounds. She was from Gord and, despite having served the family for a long time, still had not adapted to Roman culture, where men and women alike could become knights.
“Lady Roxanne! This one's about to die. You should give him one last strike.”
“What? You already worked him over that much? Go easy on him.”
“Hahaha! Everyone got worked up over the insolence he showed you.”
The soldiers had returned the favor by doting on the knight who had charged in, claiming he would dote on their lady.
“Y-you monster of a bitch!”
The knight shouted at Roxanne in her blood-red dress.
Before the battle, Duran had clearly held the advantage in both strength and circumstances. If mercenaries had been taking bets, everyone except a few long-shot addicts would have bet on them.
They had been defeated because Roxanne had burst out of the carriage and rampaged like a crazy bitch.
Thud!
“Has this knight fucking lost his mind?”
The soldier's smile vanished as their fist struck the knight, making the prisoner groan in pain.
“Hey, hey, you'll really kill him at this rate.”
“The last blow should go to the lady.”
“Lady Roxanne! Hurry!”
Roxanne turned her back on the urging soldiers and waved a hand.
“No need. Handle him yourselves.”
“What? Really?”
The Roxanne they knew never let anyone off who struck first or insulted her. That knight had done both.
“My makeup got completely ruined in that fight!”
“Lady Roxanne, you are beautiful even without makeup!”
“I know. But my eye makeup ran, so I look like a clown.”
“Wahahahaha!”
As her subordinates roared with laughter, the knight coughed up bloody foam and died. By then, night had begun to fall.
“Our schedule will be delayed, but we'll stay in a nearby village. Abandon the carriage. It's too damaged to use.”
Roxanne approached a horse that had been detached from the carriage.
Riiip! Rip!
She ruthlessly tore off the lower part of her dress, exposing her bare thighs above the knee. They were pale but well-trained, befitting a knight.
“My laaady!”
The head maid cried out at the wild sight.
“The carriage is broken. I can't ride a horse in something this long and cumbersome.”
Ignoring the head maid, Roxanne lightly jumped onto the horse. The young soldier holding the reins lowered their reddened face.
“Let's go!”
At Roxanne's shout, the soldiers who had finished administering first aid followed behind her. They had won, but the area was still dangerous. They needed to reach the village before dark.
* * *
“We'll reach the village soon. Travelers and merchant caravans pass through often, so it's quite large. They'll treat us well.”
Eugene's mercenaries were pleased by the clerk's words.
Even after long experience as mercenaries, they could never get used to sleeping outdoors. Resting in a village was far better than lying on hard ground exposed to the dew.
Visiting the village was also necessary to turn the spoils from their victory into money. Loot was both property and baggage. The sooner they disposed of it, the lighter they would be, and the more they could seize later.
“It looks like someone got here before us.”
At Eugene's words, the mercenaries instinctively reached for their weapons. The group ahead was not a merchant caravan, but a well-armed party. The clerk hurriedly stopped them.
“It's all right. They're House Morad's people.”
“Old man, you survived? I was worried your group might have been attacked too.”
A beautiful woman with a fierce expression waved as she greeted them.
“This is Lady Roxanne, the second child of House Morad.”
After introducing her to Eugene, the clerk dismounted and bowed.
“We suffered a dishonorable attack by Duran's men.”
“Same here. But...”
Roxanne narrowed her eyes.
Everyone following behind the clerk was unfamiliar. She had assumed they had driven the attackers back without suffering major losses, as she had, but that did not seem to be the case.
“Most of those who left with us, including Sir Gauss, were killed.”
“Ah. He was a good man.”
Roxanne scratched her head irritably. Her long, heavily curled black hair swayed wildly.
“Sir Eugene here saved what remained of us and punished those scoundrels.”
“Eugene? Eugene Mayer? The Victor Knight of Bonyard City?”
“That is correct. He is not only a Victor Knight, but also the man who slew a magical beast.”
“You look younger than I am, but that is quite an impressive record.”
“You are the same age. Sir Eugene came of age this year as well.”
Roxanne watched him with curious eyes, and Eugene stepped forward, taking the hint.
“I came at House Morad's invitation. I am Eugene Mayer. You have my condolences for the honorable retainers who met such unjust deaths.”
“Thank you for avenging them. But Morad blood and Duran blood do not carry the same price. This cannot end here.”
The emotion on Roxanne's face was not sorrow, but fighting spirit.
“I'm glad, but also disappointed. If you had arrived a little later, the Duran bastards might have come here by now. I can't kill men who are already dead twice.”
Roxanne said this while gripping the hilt of the sword at her waist.
This was the only village nearby where they could stay. Unless they meant to sleep outdoors, they would inevitably have come here.
“Lady Roxanne, we killed all the mercenaries, but captured the knights alive.”
“What? Really?!”
Roxanne's face lit up with delight.
“I thought they would make a good gift for House Morad, so I captured them.”
“Ahahahaha! This is the best gift I've ever received. I like it ten thousand times more than some embroidery kit that gives me chills just looking at it.”
At Eugene's gesture, the mercenaries dragged forward the two captured knights.
Godrick's nose had been crushed and several of his front teeth knocked out after being punched in the face, but his life was not in danger. The other knight had only suffered a broken wrist.
“They're in better shape than I expected. They don't even look like they've been cut anywhere.”
“They let their guards down so completely that there was no need to swing a sword. Truly pathetic men.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“Mmmph!”
The knights glared at Eugene with bloodshot eyes as he spoke calmly, but gags filled their mouths.
“Let's see the faces of these bastards. Duran's trash, the ones who killed Sir Gauss and his son.”
Roxanne stared at the knights with blazing eyes. Her sharp eyes resembled those of a feline predator, and the beauty marks beneath both eyes made her look even more imposing.
She seemed capable of slitting a man's throat with her nails alone.
“Sir Eugene, will you hand them over to me? I'll pay twice the customary ransom. I want to avenge Sir Gauss and his son. Their family served House Morad for generations.”
There was no need to sell prisoners directly to the family they belonged to. Reselling through middlemen was common even in this world. Naturally, that also drove up the price.
‘Finally!’
Eugene's heart pounded with excitement. A noble's ransom was the surest way to get his hands on money, and his first experience came with a double-payment bonus.
“If I hand them over, what will you do with them?”
He had only just met Roxanne, but her appearance and manner of speaking alone told him she had a cruel disposition. He could roughly imagine the prisoners' future.
“Mmph!”
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
The Duran knights, who had been glaring at Eugene until moments ago, now wore desperate expressions. Their eyes pleaded, ‘Please don't hand us over!’
“Hehehe. Curious?”
Roxanne approached with her hands clasped behind her back, taking quick little steps, then rose onto her toes. Her red lips whispered near Eugene's ear. Perhaps her body temperature ran high, because even her breath against his ear was exceedingly warm.
Eugene's calm expression as he looked at the prisoners gradually became strange, though he did not end up feeling sorry for them. They deserved it anyway.
“Very well. From this moment on, they belong to Lady Roxanne.”
“Mmph!”
“Mmmph!”
The two knights screamed desperately, but Homi took the hint and stuffed thicker cloth into their mouths.
Roxanne smiled and gestured to Eugene's mercenaries.
“You handsome men over there. You must have grown attached to the prisoners, even if only for a little while. Say goodbye. You will never see them again.”
“Thank you!”
The mercenaries answered loudly.
“You've got nicely shaped heads.”
Smack!
“Farewell, sir!”
Crack!
Grinning, the mercenaries each struck the kneeling knights on the head as they passed. When else would they get the chance to smack a noble across the head?
Working under Eugene had many advantages. The food was good, it was safe, the loot was plentiful, and they got special experiences like this.
Footnotes:
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