Chapter 459 – Elimination (2)
Mercenary.
This word, commonly used in the world, is generally understood to mean those who take on private requests.
There are countless mercenaries in the world.
It is not limited merely to those registered in mercenary guilds.
Even an adventurer who undertakes official requests, the moment he accepts a private commission for the subjugation of abnormal species or demi-humans, he is classified as a mercenary.
If a young man from a rural village is paid to kill someone, he is both an assassin and, in the broader sense, treated as a mercenary.
Because anyone can become one, and anyone can quit, mercenaries are considered a profession with far vaguer boundaries compared to others.
Thus, while there may be captains who lead a mercenary corps, there exists no supreme figure ruling over the profession itself.
Just as a king of a nation is not truly the king of all humanity...
However, in the Ownerless Land, there is a man who is called the Mercenary King.
Of course, it was no more than a nickname, so mercenaries did not offer him loyalty as they would to an actual king, but they gladly gave him such a title with sufficient respect.
And for those who knew the life story of the Mercenary King, all the more so.
A boy who leapt into battle with nothing more than a leather armor stripped from a corpse and a steel sword, survived for over twenty years across countless war zones.
Without suffering any fatal setbacks.
And then, having become the right hand of the Sovereign, he spent another dozen years, still active even now on the battlefield of the Ownerless Land… then as now, he was worthy of being called the king among mercenaries.
Lester Rodhart, commander of the great mercenary corps Valiant Fugitives, respected the Mercenary King just as much as the others did.
The Mercenary King walked alone.
When he drew close to the walls and lifted his head, Lester spoke.
"It has been a long time, Mercenary King. Nearly twenty years since I last saw you with my own eyes. Yet to see you still whole and unscathed, it is truly astonishing."
"Thank you for the greeting. But Lester Rodhart… though I have long heard the name Valiant Fugitives, have we ever spoken before? To my memory, we have never shared a battlefield."
"You would not know. It was from a distance, I saw you unilaterally. Back then I was but a mercenary who had lost his home."
The Mercenary King laughed.
"A fleeting connection, then. Yet, to meet again like this after all these years, perhaps it is a kind of fate."
"Do you believe in fate?"
"No. Some say it exists, but I refuse to believe. For if it were true, my life would become pitiful. To say I survived not because I strove to live, but because I was destined not to die… lowering one's own worth is no virtue for a mercenary."
Lester nodded.
"I agree."
"Mm, glad to meet a comrade of like mind. Now that the greetings are done, let me ask, the representative of the North is here in this fortress, correct?"
After the East was eliminated, the Mercenary King divided the forces of the West precisely into three, sending them to each of the three fortresses occupied by the North.
To scatter the North's few elite powerhouses. A bold yet strategic choice.
Furthermore, the Mercenary King concealed himself thoroughly, tightening all defenses so that no information could leak.
No matter how advanced the Society's communication devices and memory golems were, without being able to infiltrate even with Invisibility, there was no way to pinpoint the Mercenary King's whereabouts.
Sshh—
Lester stepped aside.
Then Liam Arein, dressed befitting a representative, appeared.
"How did you know I was here?"
"There are many reasons, but call it a sense, intuition. Live long enough in battlefields where blind arrows and spells rain every day, and you learn to rely on it. Of course, it fails at times, but as you see..."
"..."
"More than that, you look more mature than when we met at the Medilon conference. Youth does grow quickly."
The Mercenary King continued.
"Liam Arein, to us, the Eastern lands seized by the North are of no use. So I say this as representative of the West, surrender, and we will take neither hostages nor fortresses."
"I shall make an offer as well. Lay down your sword now, and we shall treat you as a guest of honor."
"Oh, not a prisoner but a guest, is it? A state-level combatant being offered a meal, that does pique my interest… but surrendering would render my journey here meaningless."
As if expecting Liam's refusal, the Mercenary King drew his sword.
Kuunng, shrrk—
Siege engines already in position gave off menacing sounds. The clamor of metal rang out from the armies of the West, composed of numerous mercenary corps.
"I have heard endless rumors of the Shinseong's hidden elites. The one beside you must be that Cain, correct? Since this is ground war without airships, our roles shall be large indeed."
The Mercenary King's fleet had been struck repeatedly by Melconi's raids, leaving two of the three mid-sized airships damaged.
Of the seven smaller airships, two had sunk, and one's magic circle was broken, rendering it unusable.
If they recklessly deployed those costly airships only to have them sunk by a sixth-tier Magus of the North, the losses would be disastrous, far beyond the competition itself.
'…Such is the state of the West.'
Cain measured the power balance, considering the damage the Mercenary King had suffered at the East's hands.
Before him stood one-third of the West's forces and war machines, with no airship fleet present.
Yet still, they held superiority over the North gathered at Duresque Fortress.
For the Estiria Kingdom's sponsored airships were spread wide, watching the eliminated East's movements.
'…Nothing can be assumed.'
After all, had not the East's hired great warrior killed hostage Count Cheolp without hesitation?
Who knew what schemes were at work—if the East, pretending madness, launched a sudden assault, the consequences would be irreparable.
For laws and rules are not absolute, they can always be broken.
No matter what vile tricks the enemy forces might employ, they had to seize an unassailable victory. That was the North's policy.
Unia, still recovering from burns suffered from Melconi, was guarding Duresque Fortress.
Adrian and Isabella were each guarding other fortresses or aboard airships watching the East.
Thus, the task of ending this competition fell to Cain, facing the Mercenary King.
As it had been decided from the start.
"Then, see you shortly."
The Mercenary King returned to his place.
Cain, watching his retreating back, spoke to Lester.
"As planned, I will subdue the Mercenary King. In the meantime, I leave the defense of Duresque Fortress to you."
"Enduring, that I can do. But… though it is the best course, can you truly handle him alone?"
The Mercenary King was a difficult foe.
Not simply for his martial strength, but because he knew how to survive, making him troublesome. In a duel it might be different, but on a chaotic battlefield, that was his domain.
Even so, Cain declared with certainty.
"I can."
Though Cain's name was spreading, compared to Unia, who had single-handedly captured an elder of the magic tower, he was nothing.
He needed a fitting achievement.
As one of the Society's new generation, personally trained by the Three Sages.
The Mercenary King's prestige was more than enough to mark a true debut.
Cain was calmer in nature compared to Unia, but in the end, they were family.
"…It is regrettable that I cannot aid in the war myself. Yet, shameless though it is, I must ask this of you. Sir Cain, Commander Lester."
Liam stepped back and raised his hand.
At his signal, Mages hurried to activate the fortress's strategic magic item, Defensia, installed in its center.
A protective barrier rose in the shape of a massive dome, blocking incoming spells while allowing internal ones to go out, enveloping the entire fortress.
And then, the Mercenary King leveled his blade.
──Kwooooooong!
The siege between North and West began.
***
The siege weapons dragged from the West pounded against Defensia's barrier, and arrows fired from both sides poured down like a shower.
Members of the Society stationed along the walls conjured whirlwinds to block them, yet it was impossible to completely stop the mercenaries' fierce advance.
"Don't get greedy, just endure, endure as long as you can! Don't stick your head out of cover, just stab the ones climbing up with your spear!"
Lester batted away arrows rushing for his head and chest simultaneously.
Dashing busily along the wall, he kicked hard at the ladders getting in the way, knocking them down.
"Aaaaargh!"
Crunch.
A mercenary who had just grabbed the wall fell from the top, his head crushed and killed.
With their defense firmly set, they managed to form some coordination, but before they could catch their breath, siege towers rolled forward under the protection of barriers, replacing the unstable ladders.
Cain, who had been searching for the hidden Mercenary King, sharpened his gaze, then grasped his demon sword with both hands and unfolded his own ritual.
Blue fire, formed purely of mana, rose and enveloped his body.
A unique spell created through his special trait of Expanded Mana Circuits and the art of sorcery
With this, his enhanced resistance rivaled seventh-tier enchantments, allowing him to withstand even sixth-tier spells of Verden head-on.
Whooong.
Cain kicked off the wall.
Taking spells and arrows with his body, he charged at a siege tower.
With his reckless strike, the upper section flew apart and the tower ground to a halt.
Cain immediately disabled the tower beside it as well, then dove straight down at a man in a helmet, swinging his blade.
Kwaaaang!
The ground dented deeply.
The Mercenary King, retreating swiftly, flung aside his helmet and grinned.
"Sharp eyes, I see. But how long has it been since the siege began, and already you're rushing for my head? Charging into the enemy like that is the attacker's job, isn't it? I know what you're thinking, but they say the more urgent the matter, the longer the way around."
Chaaaang!
The demon sword, Cretima, and a dark blade clashed, sparks scattering.
A collision of two different sword auras.
Feeling unexpected weight in the exchange, the Mercenary King leapt back at once, deflecting the force as he landed.
"Maneuvering mana like a tangible force… a sorcery I've never seen before. And that sword too seems to be an artifact, perhaps a kind of demon sword?"
"Do I have to answer?"
"Of course, only if you wish."
The two crossed the battlefield.
In an instant, they exchanged more than a dozen strikes, leading into a contest of strength.
Seonbyeon 善變
Skill unfolded, carrying change within.
The Mercenary King, pushed a step back, pivoted on the ball of his rear foot, and slammed his clenched fist into Cain's abdomen…
Thud.
"Hm?"
Yet the blow bounced away.
The artifact [Immaculate Robe], once owned by Rayshen, had been gifted to Cain under Verden's name.
Unless its barrier was broken, he could not be harmed in the least.
Kkagagak.
Seizing the opening, Cain instantly hooked and pulled the Mercenary King's blade aside.
At the same time, with
Thwack! The Mercenary King, blocking barely with his shoulder, groaned.
'Damn, if I fight him head-on, my body won't hold up.'
That constant barrier, and the blue flames wrapping him.
The latter was likely an enchantment derived from sorcery, used to bolster resistance.
Even if the barrier was broken, instinct screamed that bare hands would hardly inflict any damage.
'And his skill, his movements, are on a level far above even the geniuses one occasionally meets. Talent built upon effort. Are there really at least five more monsters like him in the North?'
First, the Shinseong of the Eastern Continent, and the nameless swordsman who wore a metal mask.
Those two had slain the Bone Dragon itself.
Then Unia and Cain.
One had captured an elder of the magic tower without trickery, the other was a sorcerer, yet crossed blades with the Mercenary King himself.
'And lastly, the one who assassinated Cheolp.'
Someone who broke through the guard of a great warrior, eliminated the East… perhaps that beautiful female bodyguard who had seized Cheolp's neck in the conference hall.
She had displayed impossible, overwhelming physical strength as if to flaunt it.
'If I assume all of them are state-level combatants… ha, I feel chills without realizing it.'
This was a power even a great nation could hardly gather.
He could state it firmly.
Though the West might hold advantage collectively, in an all-out war without outside help, they would inevitably lose.
Besides, were not most of the North magi?
If unleashed, there would be no answer. Even if contained, even the Sovereign himself could only hold at most two at once.
What, then, was the true purpose of Shinseong settling in the Ownerless Land?
'In any case, it was wise not to make them enemies right away, and to test them first.'
The Sovereign's command had been to draw out as much of the North's hidden power as possible through this competition, and verify it.
That was the original goal.
In that sense, the Mercenary King had already pieced together a fair amount from rumor and experience, but still…
'Too wasteful to give up here. My years are waning, life is fading.'
Shundong 瞬動
In an instant he charged, grazing Cain's barrier with his blade tip, then with a spin and a reverse spin slashed for his arms and legs.
"…!"
With only three passes, the barrier shattered.
"My body's warmed up at last. From here on, be on your guard."
For the first time in a long while, the Mercenary King revealed his full strength.
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