novelraw Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Chapter 91
To start with the conclusion, I decided to accept the Fox Tribe as members of the territory.
The Fox Tribe had both of the things I wanted most.
Information networks and merchant manpower.
Just as Yuria had said, it seemed the world was turning into a place where we could no longer survive by just doing well on our own.
The recent disturbance in Levelium was also an incident in that same context.
There had been no clear solution to this matter, but if the Fox Tribe joined, it could be resolved relatively easily.
What I wanted wasn’t the confidential secrets of other territories, but just the general flow of affairs—and that was exactly the sort of information the Fox Tribe living in those territories could easily provide us.
“Not to mention their merchant manpower. They could be put to use immediately.”
At this point, I almost wondered if this was a gift from Lord Bestia just for me.
I couldn’t completely deny the rabbit brat’s claim that my trip to Haken had been preliminary work to bring the Fox Tribe into our territory.
And the decisive reason I could accept the Fox Tribe.
–Wasn’t it to drag that pretty female into your bed?
‘It wasn’t, you damn rabbit.’
Of course, it wasn’t because I had been swayed by Yuria.
It was simply that they didn’t seem like they would cause any real harm.
‘These guys are incredibly weak.’
I had been wary of refugees with a leader because of the risk to the safety of the territory.
Things like internal rebellion, for example.
But in this case… how should I put it? They seemed even more harmless than the Rabbit Tribe.
Most of them gave off the impression of intellectuals.
The Rabbit Tribe, by nature, were Workers, so they could at least grab farm tools and attack if they had to. But the Fox Tribe were mostly merchants who had led trade caravans or worked in guilds, so they had no connection to weapons at all.
At most, there was the Ninetale Mercenary Band that was rushing over this way, but that alone wasn’t enough to do anything.
–It will be much faster for that fox female to conquer her lord than for the Fox Tribe to conquer the territory.
The ridiculous thing was that this wasn’t even wrong.
Her looks were such that they transcended personal taste, and when I talked with her, it was rather entertaining in its own way.
Yuria had a different sort of charm compared to battle-oriented ones like Irene or Leisha.
“Alright, since we’ve decided to accept the Fox Tribe, we’re one family now. So let’s have a proper talk.”
“About the pigs. That’s what you’re curious about, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. The pigs. Just what’s going on with them?”
It was only after accepting the Fox Tribe’s alliance that I could obtain proper information.
The information that the Boar Tribe would invade our territory.
It could very well be a matter of life and death for the territory.
“It all started with that marriage scam you were caught in.”
“How so?”
“The true purpose of that marriage scam wasn’t to trick you.”
“Then what?”
“It was to take something. Most likely from the mine.”
That marriage scam had left Iron with a great wound.
But what they wanted wasn’t to deceive Iron.
The reason they had tricked Iron was to obtain a certain item.
“They were after the Golden Pig Statue.”
“The Golden Pig Statue? That’s the sacred relic of the Boar Tribe?”
“That’s right. Just like the Black Rabbit Statue you hold.”
“You knew?”
“Come on. I’m the Silver Fox of the Fox Tribe. Do you think I wouldn’t sense Lord Bestia’s divine power? In fact, we handed the Rabbit Tribe over to you so readily precisely because you are the Guide.”
This region had originally been where the Boar Tribe lived.
But when they were attacked by the Bear Tribe, the Lion Tribe, and humans, the Boar Tribe fled north, and in the process, they lost their sacred relic.
As a similar example, the Rabbit Tribe had also lost their relic when they fled to the Forest of Illusions, and the Black Rabbit Statue had just been quietly waiting inside the burrow of the Horned Rabbits.
So it wasn’t all that surprising that the Golden Pig Statue had remained in this region.
It had been a chaotic time, after all.
‘So this woman knew. That I’m the Guide.’
–No wonder she had been so overly cooperative from the start.
I felt like I had just taken a blow.
As expected, she wasn’t someone to underestimate. I moved on to the next part.
“So they came here targeting that from the beginning, meaning they knew where it was?”
“Most likely. They had arranged things with the pigs beforehand. They must have promised, ‘If you give us the relic, we’ll cooperate.’”
“And that cooperation was letting the Boar Tribe occupy Johnson Territory.”
“From the pigs’ perspective, it was an offer they had no reason to refuse. It was something they had long desired.”
I had a rough idea of the situation now.
Someone had planned to hand this place over to the Boar Tribe, and they developed the mine with the intention of recovering the relic.
Most likely, the assassination attempt on me had been to ensure their domination over this place.
Without Iron, the combat strength of Johnson Territory would plummet.
But there was still one question that lingered.
“Then what about the marriage scam?”
“Oh, that? I bet that was Albert’s request. To screw me over.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, if you, furious, killed me, that would’ve been the best outcome for him. If not, then at least he could force me into penance. At the time, my father was still healthy and strong. It was the perfect time to keep me in check.”
“You guys really don’t get along.”
“Our family affairs are… complicated.”
Well, that Albert.
He hadn’t even tried to hide his loathing toward Yuria.
Thinking back, when he sneered about her being a beast, it made sense given that Yuria was a Beastman.
I still didn’t know why he hated Beastmen so intensely, but hearing that it was entangled with their family affairs made me think that their side was also a tangled mess.
‘Still, it’s half just as I expected.’
The matter of the Boar Tribe’s relic was completely outside of my predictions, but the marriage scam itself had been aimed at causing trouble for Yuria, so in that sense, it was half as I had guessed.
I had thought that scam had been targeting Yuria more than me.
Yet even so, there remained one unresolved question.
“Why did they try to collapse the mine? Assassination aside, what reason was there to bring it down?”
Why had they tried to collapse that mine, the very place where the Boar Tribe’s relic was buried?
There had been nothing there.
Even when Iron had checked it himself after his former wife had fled, it had been nothing but a dingy cave.
‘Do I have to check this out myself? Damn, this really feels unsettling.’
The mine wasn’t far from the castle anyway, so checking it out wouldn’t be difficult.
“Alright, let’s sum this up.”
Some dark figure had made a deal involving the Boar Tribe’s relic, and soon the Boar Tribe would surge this way.
Meanwhile, Albert, who had joined hands with that dark figure, had drawn the Empire’s men into Levelium, and that place was also on the verge of becoming a mess.
“Damn it, even looking at this again, it makes my head spin. Just who the hell are these bastards?”
“I don’t know who they really are, but there’s one thing I figured out for sure.”
“What?”
“What they want is chaos. If things go as they intend, the central and northern part of the Ribella Peninsula will be thrown into utter confusion.”
“What about Albert then?”
“That fool will just be used as a pawn in the middle and then discarded. I told you earlier, didn’t I? Striking the Empire’s forces from behind to seize Levelium was an impossible dream from the very beginning. Those schemers will cut ties with Albert without hesitation.”
So they wanted chaos.
Truly insane bastards.
‘What’s even worse is that our territory just happened to get dragged into it.’
I had thought we might finally live in peace, but these rotten bastards just had to stir trouble.
“The Fox Tribe coming to Johnson Territory was something of a gamble. This place will turn into a battlefield too.”
“That’s true.”
“But still, we came here trusting only in you. So you must protect the territory no matter what.”
She was right.
I didn’t know who these people were that caused such trouble, but if the enemy came, the first thing we had to do was stop them.
The rest could be thought of later.
The one bit of fortune was that, with Yuria joining the territory, we could learn of the enemy’s attacks in advance.
So for now, I decided to focus on defending the territory.
I delivered the news to the Lord of Haken that Imperial Knights had appeared in the Levelium region.
This wasn’t a problem that concerned only this region.
If the Empire remnants took control of the Levelium region, more and more of the Empire’s men would enter.
If the Level Merchant Group had discovered a safe sea route linking the Imperial coast to here, they could use that route to safely advance into the Levelium region.
“Do you think those Empire bastards will be satisfied with just the Levelium region?”
Their greed wasn’t so small as that.
They would surely try to expand into other parts of the Ribella Peninsula.
The reason I informed the Lord of Haken was so that the news would spread to other major southern territories as well.
We hadn’t participated because we had been too busy surviving, but the Ribella Peninsula had a temporary deliberative body called the Assembly of All Lords.
It wasn’t much, just an organization meant for the lords to cooperate on issues that required united action.
These days it was used more for lords to gather in cliques for socializing, but since most lords attended, it was the best venue to spread this matter.
–That’s troubling. I’ll make sure to announce it immediately.
The Lord of Haken agreed with my view, and said he would soon propose convening the Assembly of All Lords.
Since it was a meeting where the major lords and many other lords gathered, there would be a decision on how to respond to this issue.
Even if factions had formed around the major lords, since the common enemy of the Empire remnants had appeared, I figured some consensus could be reached.
“For now, blocking the Boar Tribe’s invasion is the priority.”
According to the information Yuria had provided, the Boar Tribe would attack Johnson Territory with about 3,000 warriors.
Roughly 800 warrior-class fighters, and about 2,200 trainee warriors at soldier-class.
Considering that the knightly forces of Haken Territory numbered around 500, it was certainly a formidable power.
And since they were still gathering, I had to assume their numbers could grow further.
“They’re still just pigs. No problem.”
Beastmen tribes differed in their combat strength and methods.
The Lion Tribe, with the strongest individual combat power, preferred chaotic brawls and melee fights.
The Dog Tribe, skilled at collective battle, specialized in forming battle formations and annihilating enemies.
The Boar Tribe, on the other hand, didn’t have impressive individual combat power but relished mass wave tactics that overwhelmed with sheer numbers.
They were also highly adept at tricks like ambushes and betrayal.
Even if they had 800 warriors, Leisha assessed that their power wasn’t equivalent to 800 knights of Johnson Territory.
“Still, 800 warriors isn’t a small force. We should think of minimizing casualties.”
Honestly, if it came to a defense behind the castle walls, I was confident we could hold off 3,000 or even 4,000.
With the newly reinforced archers, I was confident we could cut down at least a third before they even reached the walls.
It wasn’t like the Boar Tribe had any remarkable technological capabilities.
Unless they brought something like a Mana Cannon, there was no way they could easily breach the walls.
“A Mana Cannon? Ha, as if such a thing exists. Even Haken doesn’t have one yet.”
“They don’t?”
“They existed before the Great Cataclysm. But now not even a prototype remains. It’ll take a long while before anyone gets there again.”
I had asked Irene just in case, but it turned out that even Haken hadn’t managed to restore a Mana Cannon.
Apparently, the one we had used before had been an incredibly rare item.
If only we hadn’t blown it up and had instead kept it safe and sold it, it would’ve fetched quite the price.
–If not for that, you would’ve already been diving headfirst into the afterlife, Master.
In any case, under these circumstances, defending the walls was extremely advantageous.
We already knew who the enemy was and when they were coming, so we didn’t even have to worry about an ambush.
“But even so, this is a problem for us too.”
The problem lay in the situation of having to defend.
Right now, wheat was growing in the southern fields of the territory.
It was sprouting well, and in two months, it would be ready for harvest.
For our territory, which had given up farming for practical reasons, this was the first monumental event where we could finally get a proper yield.
But if we had to defend, we would lose our precious farmland again.
As a lord, it was a choice I didn’t want to make.
“To block the enemy with minimal damage……”
And so, I was troubled.
Should I once again sacrifice the farmland and commit to a defensive battle?
Or should I take the bold move of intercepting the enemy outside?
“They’re pigs, aren’t they? At times like this, ask the expert.”
“Expert?”
“Yes. Leon knows the characteristics and ecology of Beastmen in great detail. Besides, Bear, it’s not like you’ve come up with a brilliant strategy, have you?”
“Leon? You mean your youngest brother Leon?”
“Don’t underestimate him because he’s young. Leon is the brain of the Black Lions.”
That suspiciously wicked little kid, Leon.
The younger brother of Limond and Leisha, and the master of our TRPG party—Leon might be young, but he was extremely clever.
If even Leisha spoke of him this way, then it meant he was quite knowledgeable in this area too.
‘There’s no reason not to ask him.’
Whether young or old, if someone was smarter than me, there was no reason not to seek their opinion.