Chapter 386: Silver Mercenary (3)

Eugene had largely left supplies to his direct unit since establishing his monarchical base. But for this expedition, he employed campaign merchants extensively for the first time in a while.

With no established base and entirely different culture and language, handling supplies independently was extremely difficult.

Moreover, Eugene’s goal was to rapidly advance into the Eastern Empire. The more witnesses there were to the mercenary company’s exploits, the better.

“Someone come here.”

“Coming right away!”

During the march, a campaign merchant rushed over like lightning at Eugene’s call.

Eugene pointed at a shepherd about 300 meters away on a hill. Around seventy sheep grazed peacefully.

“Negotiate with that shepherd and ask him to sell all the sheep.”

“Your Majesty. Looking at them, many seem not fully grown yet. The cost would be similar to adults, but the meat yield would be less.”

“That means the meat quality will be tender. Getting fresh meat locally is what matters—cost efficiency isn’t a concern.”

“Yes! I’ll proceed immediately!”

Though it was unpaid volunteer work with not a single commission, the merchant moved with a happy face.

Campaign merchants held positions guaranteeing stable high income, making competition fierce. Moreover, accompanying the king meant they were handling large sums daily.

‘The king declared he would raise the mercenary company to Gold grade or higher. This isn’t going to end with just one or two requests.’

To keep receiving calls in the future, he needed to continue serving the king face-to-face like this.

“The East is truly nice. You can get rice anywhere.”

At mealtime, Eugene smiled contentedly at the steaming rice.

On top of the rice were slices of grilled salted pork. A preservation food from the peninsula made by grinding and mixing fat and lean meat into rectangular blocks.

Something similar existed in the West, but it was closer to a spread for bread. The Eastern version was optimized as a side dish for rice.

The closest setting to the Spam and rice combination in Eugene’s memory.

“This combination always works, doesn’t it?”

Cassandra was eating the same thing beside Eugene.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

She was about to put a spoonful of rice in her mouth and smiled.

“You eat so heartily.”

“Yes, I have a big mouth.”

“I didn’t mean it negatively.”

“I know.”

“It somehow feels healing.”

“I don’t understand that feeling.”

Cassandra wore a puzzled expression.

Gulp.

The mound of rice grains on the spoon disappeared into her large, pretty mouth. That ordinary sight warmed Eugene’s heart.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve seen this.’

Rice was indeed nothing special.

Pheasant dishes, fruit shipped across two oceans, special soups simmered for a month, marzipan made from sugar and almonds.

-Wow, what is this? It’s really delicious.

-Glad you like it.

Many of the foods Eugene had prepared were more expensive than their weight in silver.

But the sight of a woman swallowing a spoonful of rice. No rare delicacy could match the emotion contained in that.

Everything around Eugene had changed, but these fundamentals wouldn’t change.

Nom nom.

Munch munch.

Eugene also watched contentedly as Valda, Homi, and Maria swallowed rice.

Naturally, he wasn’t forcing rice on everyone to suit his own taste. It was a necessary measure for smooth operations in the East.

“You need to get used to this taste. Rice is the easiest food to obtain in the East. On the field, we can’t maintain the high bread and meat ratio like in the West.”

“We’re veterans who can fight even while eating rotten meat or bugs. During operations, we’ll eat whatever’s given, so you don’t need to worry. How unusual for a monarch to consider even warriors’ tastes.”

“I just like doing it that way.”

The more successful a person became, the more they delegated tasks downward. Eugene, now king, didn’t even draw his own wash water.

But there was one thing—supplies—that he personally oversaw, just as when he had hired the Jackal Mercenary Company seven years ago. Beyond his tendency to prioritize logistics over strategy, he simply enjoyed it.

Some high-ranking nobles had hobbies like weapon maintenance, spending all day polishing swords with cloth. Eugene’s hobby was a bit more military-friendly.

“The story about the Caliph mobilizing over 200,000 troops. I thought it was an exaggeration at first, but now it seems entirely possible—if supplies are centered on rice.”

Cassandra scraped the remaining rice grains from her bowl as she spoke.

“I don’t know about anything else, but as a grain for feeding people, it’s truly remarkable.”

When discussing rice’s advantages over wheat, high population-sustaining capacity and cultivation methods unaffected by soil quality were usually mentioned.

But beyond these, there was one more tremendous advantage: the convenience of logistics and field cooking.

Rice only needed water and a pot to be ready in 30 minutes. It was perfectly optimized for stockpiling in large quantities and consuming gradually.

Wheat, on the other hand, required milling facilities, dough preparation, and an oven—a three-piece set that made field preparation highly restricted. And if made into bread in advance, the shelf life was far too short. Rice could be stored for years.

“For someone commanding an army, I can’t think of a more valuable food than rice.”

Cassandra, who approached everything from a ruler’s perspective, was the most rice-friendly in Eugene’s court.

“Tonight, I’ll take charge of cooking. As I mentioned before, I’ll try frying rice with meat oil. You can adjust to our taste, right?”

“Of course. With barely a handful of humans in the unit, we should cater to the fairy race’s palate.”

Humans and demi-humans had subtle differences in taste and smell. Since rice itself was unfamiliar food, having a dark elf research how to suit dark elf tastes was most efficient.

Cassandra, who shared Eugene’s thinking as a ruler, was a reliable ally. Since arriving in the East, she had been working around the clock to genuinely establish rice for her people.

*

Following Eugene’s mercenary company were not just merchants and workers. Camp followers were also accompanying them in large numbers.

“Can you repair combat boots?”

“Of course! Just leave them to me! Is there anything else you need?”

In front of a tribal warrior who brought his boots, a lady spread out her repair kit and smiled brightly.

“That’s enough for today. Leave the laundry tomorrow.”

“…Is there really nothing else you need?”

“Nothing.”

Though the lady asked in a suggestive tone, the tribal warrior turned away sharply.

“Tch!”

“Sigh.”

The women sighed as they watched the warrior retreat.

“We were happy to hear a large unit was moving, but what is this? Even a chamber pot isn’t just a chamber pot, you know?”

“I heard they were nomadic tribes, so I thought they’d all be beastly, but why are they so wooden?”

These women, called camp followers, were jack-of-all-trades who took on all the menial tasks within an army.

Cooking, washing dishes, laundry, cleaning, repairs, nursing—these were basic options. Beyond that, they served alcohol while selling songs or dances, and sometimes provided prostitution.

Actually, the latter was where they truly made money. Just as a restaurant’s real profits came from alcohol.

Just as every mercenary company had senior soldiers to guide and soothe new recruits, camp followers also had veterans who took care of debutantes.

“Don’t be scared. Fighting is for the warriors, and we’ll be safely tucked away in the rear.”

“We’re going to exterminate monsters, aren’t we? If it were bandits, we might survive even losing, but if we lose to monsters…”

“We’re following a king’s army—nothing will happen to us, surely?”

“But sister…”

“If you’re really scared, go back north and service miners. You don’t want that, do you?”

An immediate strong reaction erupted.

“Of course not! I’d rather wander the battlefields than sleep with miners. You don’t know how dirty they are, sister?”

“Dirty? The mercenaries rolling around in the mud are just as bad. The moment they drop their pants, it’s hell.”

“Still better than miners. Miners are humans made of black paint.”

“???”

“When you roll with them once, I get dyed black too. Mercenaries aren’t that bad, are they?”

“Ahahahaha! What is that!”

The laughter echoed through the camp.

“Need any other service? Want a shoulder massage?”

“I’ll take the sentiment.”

“…!”

Another rejected lady trudged back listlessly.

“Strikeout?”

“Yeah. Third time now. He was really my type.”

Still lingering, the lady kept stealing glances at the tribal warrior.

“A famous feast with no food, as they say.”

Their main clientele, mercenaries, lived so rough they had no time to maintain their appearance and often smelled terrible everywhere.

That was why the newly established Silver Mercenary Company had attracted tremendous interest from the camp followers.

-Did everyone see? They’re real fairies!

-Aah~! I’ve never seen such clean skin in my life. Their hair looked like it was spun from ground pearls.

-Up close, not one of them had a beard. Not shaved—they just don’t grow one. No sweaty smell either, just the scent of grass leaves…

If they were going to spend the night anyway, it was natural to prefer a fairy race male over a hairy, foul-smelling ugly man.

Just as merchants competed for campaign merchant positions, camp followers also fought fierce competitions to be here.

“I was happy to ride their coattails, but coattails—what coattails…”

“Are those guys all eunuchs? I seduced them so hard and not even a blink.”

But actually trying, they only gave menial tasks and kept their guard completely up. Forget romance—they were looking at major holes in their income.

This would also become a rumor describing the Silver Mercenary Company. That it was a mercenary unit composed of cold-blooded men indifferent to women.

In some ways, it could instill even greater fear than the evaluation of being strong fighters.

*

“That’s the Crystal Cave.”

“That’s beyond just a cave.”

The guide pointed at a destination larger than Eugene had imagined. A cove penetrating at least 200 meters inland was absorbed into a large natural tunnel at the mountain’s base.

“With that shape, there would be seawater inside the cave too.”

“Merfolk can survive on land but can’t be completely separated from water. Like frogs.”

However, eggs had to be laid and hatched on dry land. So breeding merfolk alternated between land and sea to care for their eggs. The moment they first came ashore was when they were most vulnerable to ambush.

But a cave like this would allow them to stay inside and care for eggs permanently. There seemed to be no way other than a frontal assault.

Eugene assembled an infiltration team with elite forces including hippo knights and summoners. Leading them were Cassandra and her direct special ops members.

“I’ll clear every hidden spike without missing one.”

Cassandra and her warriors, dressed in rogue attire, responded with crisp salutes. Their beautiful faces, as always, overflowed with confidence.

Click.

In fact, Cassandra found and disarmed a trap within three minutes of entering the cave. A vicious set of teeth lurking beneath green moss.

The trap in Cassandra’s hand was a leghold trap type. A common but effective trap that crushed the ankle of anyone who stepped on it unaware.

“See this? This spring part that pulls to bite.”

“It’s not a mechanical device.”

The driving mechanism of the merfolk’s trap was composed of living muscle tissue.

“This seems to be the nerve that detects prey.”

Cassandra stimulated a specific part of the trap.

Snap!

The trap immediately snapped at the air. Its solidity was like a tightly closed clam. A human ankle would be crushed instantly.

“The trap itself looks like a living clam that’s been carved and modified. I once raided a heathen chimera maker’s lair, and it was similar to what I saw there.”

The creatures found in the laboratory at that time were all horrific. Unnecessary tissue removed, stronger parts transplanted from other animals, steel claws attached where nails should be.

Compared to that, this clam trap had far more sophisticated technology applied.

“Don’t dismiss it as merely a monster’s work.”

“Right. It’s technology born and developed through completely different methods from our world.”

Cassandra and the special ops warriors greatly increased their vigilance toward the merfolk. Though it was just a single trap, it gave them a more chilling sensation than a hundred orcs.

The elements that surprised the extermination team weren’t limited to bio-traps. A pile of bones blocked the path of the advancing group.

“Human bones. They’ve been meticulously stripped.”

“Doesn’t look like teeth marks—cut with a blade.”

The skull was missing, but you could immediately tell they were human bones. A discerning eye naturally developed with long mercenary experience.

“These people seem to have come to the cave voluntarily.”

The reason why the hardened group was startled by mere skulls had its own logic.

Around the bone pile were the clothes, shoes, equipment, and backpacks they had worn until death. Their preparation was too thorough to have been captured suddenly.

“They were probably attempting to trade with the merfolk.”

Marbas pulled an old book from among the personal effects. The black cover read ‘The Great Servants.’

Moreover, obviously suspicious ritual tools, incense burners, and bizarre idol carvings emerged together.

“As revealed by the trap earlier, merfolk aren’t ordinary monsters. They have their own language and handle technology from a completely different lineage than land civilization.”

“Then they should be classified as beastfolk.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They sufficiently meet the conditions.”

Technologically approaching civilization, even if primitive, and forming a society—but hostile beings so savage and barbaric that communication was impossible.

In the West, these races were distinguished from monsters and called beastfolk. The Raksha that Eugene had crushed in the New Continent were the most fitting example.

In the East, they were all lumped together as monsters, and in the West, there were also criticisms that the classification criteria were somewhat vague.

But species called beastfolk were far more threatening to humanity than ordinary monsters. The necessity of this classification was recognized in that their power needed attention and countermeasures.

“Collecting personal effects from people attacked on land is easy. Just exterminate the monsters and retrieve them.”

This was also an excellent means of making money for mercenaries.

“But personal effects of victims who sank at sea are buried forever.”

“You don’t mean…”

Eugene sensed what Marbas was trying to say.

“Efforts to recover treasure sunk beneath the sea have continued since ancient times. As much as searching for silver or gold mines. But humans descending deep to the seabed is impossible.”

Marbas opened the book page where summoning rituals were written. He also pointed at the ritual tools scattered on the ground.

“Attempts to deal with beings belonging to the sea, like merfolk, have continued endlessly.”

“In exchange for raising sunken gold and silver treasures, you offer what can only be obtained on land—a relationship like that.”

In favorable terms, this could also be considered trade.

“But the counterpart is a monster that craves human flesh and doesn’t understand conversation. Naturally, negotiation attempts drifted into suspicious and dangerous magical rituals.”

“These ones failed and were all eaten?”

Eugene and his subordinates looked at the scattered bones.

This was what humans were like. While some felt threatened by monsters coming ashore, others invariably sensed the smell of money and attempted a gamble—even putting their lives on the line.

Eugene gazed into the darkness at the cave’s far end.

“Move. The merfolk aren’t far away.”

At some point, the cold, clear air had begun to mix with dampness and a fishy smell. They were passing through those creatures’ front yard, entering the nest.

Though they had fought across various battlefields, today was the first time Eugene and his subordinates felt such a profound sense of the unfamiliar.

The extermination team was entering a domain ruled by the sea, leaving land behind.