WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 31: Thugs and Shepherds (2)
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Ribal and the other merchant company heads had hired Jake, captain of the mercenary band that kidnapped Kane. Jake had set up in an abandoned village in the mountains, waiting for the clients to contact them.
“Captain, how long are we keeping those people locked up? Can’t we just kill them all?”
“The clients said they have something else to do first, so not yet.”
“Something else?”
“Yeah. Looks like they plan to seize the Camellun Trading Company’s wealth and interests before killing Kane. They said they’d send someone by tomorrow, so let’s wait for now.”
One subordinate spoke uneasily.
“If this goes wrong, aren’t we all screwed?”
“You’ve taken on jobs before, haven’t you? If you want to make money, you have to accept that much risk.”
Jake mainly took jobs from powerful people, the sort of dirty work mercenaries often handled.
The reason was nothing special.
It paid better.
Jake’s philosophy was that nothing mattered more than money when living as a mercenary.
Still, even Jake felt uneasy about this job.
‘From what I heard, those merchant bastards are trying to challenge the new lord of Camilla Fortress...’
The longer they stayed involved in something like this, the more they stood to lose.
‘I need to get paid and get out of here as soon as possible...’
Just as Jake grumbled inwardly and decided to find the clients personally if no word came by tomorrow,
Bang!!
One of the mercenaries burst through the door, looking frantic.
“What? What happened?!”
“C-Captain, outside...”
“What’s outside?”
“The Imperial Army is here.”
“W-What?!”
The Imperial Army was here?
Alarm bells rang in Jake’s head.
‘This is insane...’
Jake knew this job involved the Imperial Army, but...
‘Those damned merchant company heads! They said there was no way the Imperial Army would move!!’
Jake ground their teeth, recalling the clients who had confidently assured them of that.
But it was too late for regrets.
Now was the time to find a way to survive.
“We’ll break through the encirclement and escape. Follow me.”
If they put the hostages in front, even the Imperial Army would have no choice but to back down.
Jake steeled themself, gathered their weapons, and went outside.
Just as the subordinate said, Imperial soldiers filled the surrounding area.
‘...There are a damn lot of them.’
Jake intended to secure the hostages first while the subordinates held back the Imperial Army, and headed for the place where they were imprisoned.
Whoosh!!
A heavy halberd came flying in with a vicious whistle.
“Urgh!!”
Jake hastily raised their mace and blocked it, but the impact made their arm tremble violently.
‘What kind of strength is that...?’
Jake looked up in alarm and saw a man with an appearance more vicious than any bandit sneering at them.
The moment Jake faced him, they knew instinctively.
‘T-This bastard is a beast.’
Jake felt like a sheep standing before a wolf.
Suppressing the cold sweat running down their forehead, Jake shouted at the subordinates.
“S-Stop him! Stop that bastard!!”
Jake threw the subordinates at the beast and ran wildly for their life.
But unfortunately, there was more than one predator here.
Stab!
“Urk!”
A spear pierced Jake’s abdomen.
Jake turned around with difficulty through the blinding pain, only to find another beast looking down at them.
“Running away after using your subordinates as bait. You are a filthy bastard who knows nothing of honor.”
“C-Cough... spare...”
Marcus’s sword traced a semicircle in the moonlight.
That was Jake’s last memory.
＊＊＊＊＊
Once Marcus dealt with the one who appeared to be the captain, the mercenaries’ morale plummeted.
‘It’s over.’
Then again, who could stop those two when they were together?
I watched Marcus and Peiron cut through the enemies, a proud smile forming on my face.
‘Even the soldiers have grown enough to be unrecognizable.’
Even amid the chaos of battle, the soldiers calmly maintained formation as they dealt with the enemy. They were no less capable than any elite troops.
As I admired my subordinates’ growth, the mercenaries cornered into desperation charged at me with murderous eyes.
“That one! That bastard is the commander!”
“If we capture the commander, we can live!!”
A final struggle for survival?
Even a desperate struggle requires choosing the right opponent.
Crunch!!
Without a moment’s hesitation, I swung Black Axe and split the heads of every bastard charging at me. Then I shouted coldly.
“If you want to live, throw down your weapons and surrender. If you resist to the end...”
Boom!
“I’ll kill you all.”
As I smashed the shabby wooden wall apart in a single blow, the terrified mercenaries began throwing down their weapons and surrendering one by one.
“W-We surrender.”
“Please, spare our lives...”
That ended the battle.
“Marco, tie these bastards up with Marcus.”
“Yes!”
“Jackson, find Kane and Kane’s companions.”
“I have already identified their location.”
Jackson had been nowhere to be seen during the battle. It seemed he had been searching for the prisoners.
“Good. Lead the way.”
“Yes!!”
Jackson led me to a barn on the outskirts of the village.
“It’s here.”
When I opened the door and entered, I saw Kane, the guards, and a young man with a strangely familiar face.
“M-My Lord.”
“You have suffered. We came to rescue you, so rest easy now.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”
Kane grabbed my hand and thanked me repeatedly.
Other than having taken a few hits, Kane seemed unharmed.
“And who is this?”
“Ah, this is the person you told us to find...”
“My name is Dihelm. It is an honor to meet Lord Ubel, whose reputation is so well known.”
Dihelm cut Kane off and bowed to me politely.
“...You know me?”
“One of my hobbies is lying in a field and listening to the sound of the wind.”
That meant Dihelm paid attention to rumors from the surrounding area.
“I was impressed when I heard how, upon taking office at the fortress, you disciplined the commanders and your predecessor for corruption, restoring military discipline. Then I heard through the merchant company head that you were looking for me, so I came here with great expectations.”
“I see.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly at the way Dihelm praised me without overdoing it or falling short.
‘As expected of Dihelm?’
No one would have imagined it.
That this shepherd standing before me would become a strategist known throughout the Empire in a few years.
[Dihelm]
Dihelm was both the Iron-Blooded Lord Jeg’s mastermind and one of the five greatest strategists in the game.
Looking at Dihelm before me, I smacked my lips inwardly.
‘Kane has hooked a big fish.’
Of all people, I never expected Kane to bring me Dihelm.
‘I have to recruit him.’
Dihelm was destined to die young and become known as an ill-fated genius, but that did not matter much.
All I had to do was keep Dihelm from dying young.
Suppressing my rising excitement, I spoke.
“I heard rumors of a shepherd so gifted that he deserved to be called Raphael reborn. It seems those rumors were true.”
For reference, Raphael was a great figure who contributed to the Empire’s founding alongside Cassias. Raphael was also the scholar and strategist most highly regarded by the people of the Empire.
“You praise me too highly. All I did was receive a little instruction from the village elders as a child, so please take back those words.”
Was it my imagination, or did Dihelm look pleased despite calling it excessive praise?
It probably was not.
‘This one has a strong sense of self-love.’
Still, it was not enough to cross the line, so there was no problem.
“Since I have recently taken charge of the fortress’s affairs, there have been many things I struggle to handle alone. Would you fill in where I fall short and work by my side?”
My straightforward proposal brought a surprised look to Dihelm’s face.
“You are asking me to become an outside hire.”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm...”
Dihelm considered it for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind and placed a hand over his chest.
“It would be impolite to refuse when you ask so earnestly, My Lord. Though I am lowly and lacking, I will do my utmost to assist you.”
Dihelm’s acceptance made me feel as if I had gained an army of a thousand.
“Haha, thank you.”
“From now on, I am your subordinate. Please speak more comfortably.”
“Alright, I understand. I look forward to working with you.”
Dihelm, the ill-fated genius.
In this life, I would make sure Dihelm did not die young, but lived long and won great renown.
After freeing Kane and the others who had been kidnapped, I headed outside to return to the fortress.
Then...
“Hm?”
An ominous roar came from the clearing in the distance.
The source was Marcus and Peiron.
The two were fighting with their weapons in hand, seemingly having the time of their lives.
‘What? What are those two doing??’
To understand the situation, I called over Garban, one of my guards.
“Hey, what happened?”
“Well... Captain Marcus heard that Peiron acted disrespectfully toward you at the fortress earlier today, got angry, and they started arguing, then...”
“Good grief. Look at the fine work they’re doing.”
They were not children. They were actually fighting with blades over something so trivial?
At least neither had revealed any killing intent yet.
‘Well, if this is just sparring for the sake of bonding, I can let it go. Still...’
I never thought I would witness this fight with my own eyes.
Originally, before the two became sworn brothers, a minor misunderstanding led them to fight in earnest. Something very similar was now playing out before me.
‘In the game, Arhan intervened, so I never got to see the outcome. I’ve always wondered, though.’
If Arhan’s two leading fighters fought, who would win?
At their peaks, Peiron would have the advantage.
Marcus’s talents were divided between being a knight and being a commander, while Peiron’s talent was entirely concentrated in fighting other people.
But...
‘That is a story from the distant future.’
Since meeting me, Marcus had grown through countless experiences and training sessions.
Right now, Marcus was clearly one level, no, two levels above Peiron.
As if proving it, the balance of the fight was gradually shifting toward Marcus.
Clang!
Marcus’s spear knocked aside the center of Peiron’s halberd, creating an opening.
“You long-legged bastard... Urgh!”
A sword slash barely grazed Peiron’s hair.
With fluid movements and a combination of spear and sword, Marcus pressured Peiron.
“You damned bastard!!”
“Watch your mouth, you colt.”
As Marcus pressed forward without giving Peiron room to breathe, Peiron’s movements grew more frantic.
Backed into a disadvantage, Peiron had naturally begun forcing things.
As Peiron gave everything, Marcus’s assault grew fiercer in turn.
‘At this rate, I’ll be collecting one of their bodies.’
I did not want either of them hurt, so it seemed the sparring had to end here.
“Die, you long-legged bastard!!”
“A mere bandit dares...!!”
Just as Marcus’s spear and Peiron’s halberd flew at each other with vicious force,
Crash!!
“Enough.”
I stepped between them and knocked both attacks aside.
“If you keep going, someone could get hurt. Both of you stop here.”
“...I apologize.”
Marcus finally realized how worked up he had become and bowed his head in apology.
“Get out of my way!!”
But Peiron, true to his hot-blooded nature, was still causing a scene.
So the rumors were true. Peiron was quick-tempered, easily provoked, and prone to mistakes.
‘Tch. It can’t be helped.’
I decided to beat some sense into Peiron while I had the chance.
What? How was I going to do that?
Simple.
‘Since ancient times, the rod has been the cure for a disobedient dog.’
I raised Black Axe and brought it straight down on Peiron’s halberd.
Perhaps confident in his strength, Peiron tried to block my strike head-on.
That was a foolish decision.
No matter how talented Peiron was, my strike, empowered by both my abnormal strength and mana, was not something that could be easily stopped.
Thud!!
The unimaginable weight forced Peiron’s knees to bend.
Holding the halberd in both hands while kneeling, Peiron looked like a student being punished.
“Grrraaaah!!”
“Now that I look at you, you are as stubborn as Max.”
Pleased by Peiron’s determination, I kicked Peiron in the solar plexus.
“Urk!”
I had put some force into it, so it must have hurt quite a bit.
“Guh... damn it!”
“Have you calmed down now?”
“Ahem, sorry about that. It’s been a while since I met a proper opponent...”
“It’s fine. It happens.”
Crack!
As I cracked my knuckles while saying it was fine, Peiron recoiled in horror.
“W-Wait, what are you doing? I’ve come to my senses. So...”
Coming to your senses was one thing.
“But you still need to be punished, right?”
I carefully gave Peiron a beating, one blow at a time, so Peiron would understand the meaning of manners.
The next day, a rumor spread through the nearby villages that a bear making terrifying cries had appeared.
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