248 – Waterway War (3)
The mercenary corps was formed at the time when ripe golden rice was swaying in the vast farmland that was spread out across the field.
That’s why they named themselves the Golden Rice Mercenary Corps, and were determined to become affluent and rich like the farmers who had those grains that were well-ripened after a good harvest.
“Aww, bugs.”
Of course, the life of a mercenary was not very comfortable. It’s a perfect environment where you can’t enjoy a proper meal and sleep often, and you’re going to get a bone disease from doing rough exercise.
So, of course, the members of the mercenary corps changed often, and there were many colleagues who died while working.
That wasn’t a big deal.
In the first place, it was common to meet with money and be separated by death.
“…… How are you, boss? Can you see it soon?”
“Yes, I see.”
It wasn’t that important.
Someone had a dream of living while farming with a few serfs. Because he hated his situation as a serf, he ran away and became a mercenary.
Someone wanted to settle down in a moderately good city and open the restaurant of their dreams. He was a grateful member of the mercenary corps who took care of meals while practicing cooking.
Someone wanted to be a patron of a merchant ship or a whaling ship in a port city with two decent women, and live off the money they sponsored without working. After living as a sailor, after the ship sank, he was a member with a past that miraculously survived while wandering the open sea with a single boat.
Everyone had different dreams, but everyone needed money for their dreams.
There were people who made enough money and left the mercenary corps and lived well after achieving their dreams. There were also people who made money and left the mercenary group, but couldn’t adjust to the changed peaceful life and went on a rampage and ended up in prison.
If you live well after leaving the group, it’s good as long as you live well, and if you don’t live well, as long as you don’t live well.
Because that was the footsteps of those who had already left, they, who had to work hard to earn money, couldn’t even pay attention to such things.
Yes.
Even now, they have to think about how to ambush and catch the water people and their guests in the distance while fighting the insects that are targeting them.
“Hey, boss. You have that.”
The member who was looking at the Chester family and water people with the captain through a telescope saw something.
“Those people look very rich, don’t they? Look at that. You make a staff out of gold.”
“Sure. If you have money for something like that, give it to us.”
“Is one of them a knight… She’s a woman, but a knight? Aren’t living here decorations?”
“It’s strange to be a female knight. Her armor is in place, and her helmet covers her face. Aren’t there usually a lot of armors that don’t even have a helmet at all?”
I knew of the Golden Rice Mercenary Corps, which travels across several continents to work.
They knew very well that there were many more mysterious things in this world than they could have imagined.
I’ve met sailors with amazing dragon power that made it hard to believe that they were the same person, and there were also people with tools that exerted mysterious powers that Ichiro couldn’t explain.
And in order for a woman to properly work as a knight, there were many cases in which she borrowed the power of something mysterious to make up for the difference in physical ability with that of a man.
“I must be vigilant.”
“How do I put myself to sleep with medicine?”
“No… Because of the humidity here, the powder does not spread well, and it is a waste to spread the medicine by exploding it with gunpowder.
The captain turned his head back after listing the means and weaknesses that came to mind for a moment.
“What should I do?”
“Hmm. After all, the best thing is to ambush at night, right?”
“Yes.”
Since it was a familiar thing, all of the subordinates quickly exchanged opinions by saying the methods they were thinking of.
“If we were to fight, wouldn’t it be better to shout that we are after the water man? Then those escorts will take their lady and run away.”
“I covet their money or things, but I can’t risk my life for it.”
“How about shooting an arrow coated with paralytic poison from a distance? I have a little bit of poison left.”
“An arrow to paralysis poison. Not bad.”
“First of all, the net! Let’s cast a net. If you cast a net, you might be able to catch at least one. If you catch just one person properly, it’s a success, and if you’re lucky enough to catch several people, it’s a jackpot, right?”
Among the various opinions, the captain picked out a few opinions.
“First of all, paralytic poison is not allowed. If you don’t hit a large blood vessel, the effect comes too late, but if you hit a large blood vessel with an arrow, a person dies.”
“Ah, such a problem.”
A native member newly recruited from the continent of Tongdan was learning from the senior mercenaries that hunting animals and hunting people is different.
“Let’s do it with a net. Let’s get vines, weave a net, and throw the net at them at night.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
The mercenaries started wandering around to get vines to make nets.
* * *
“Your teeth are tough for a fish.”
The water people knew that Chester liked to hear about unfamiliar creatures, so they introduced him to piranhas that live in the river.
“Do people eat this?”
The old water man explained calmly in a slow voice that Chester could understand.
“I will eat the bodies of people who have fallen into the river, but I will not eat the living people.”
From noble mtl dot com
“What a gentle creature.”
“Instead, it bites anything it puts in its mouth.”
The old water man put a small twig into the piranha’s mouth, and when something entered the piranha’s mouth, the limp piranha reflexively shut its mouth.
Kwajik!
Small twigs break as they are.
“Oh.”
Although it is said to be thin, it has a grip capable of breaking tree branches. There are sharp teeth. It was clear that only the flesh of a creature could be lightly torn off.
“Can I eat it? There will be no poison, right?”
Nodding, the old water man began roasting piranhas over the campfire.
An old water man who takes out the piranha’s eyes as soon as they ripen and gives them a taste.
Chester and Monia were accustomed to disassembling and eating knife fish.
“Hmm. It’s just a fish.”
“Why is the fish here so tasteless in a similar environment?”
Monia seems to have expected the taste of fish because of the environment similar to the floating island, but unfortunately, the fish in the jungle did not satisfy her taste buds, who are accustomed to the delicious fish of the floating island.
After neatly putting the last bit of piranha in her mouth, Monia said she was amazed to see the crocodile resting over a campfire.
“It was the first time I knew there was such a thing as an animal with cold blood.”
“Hmm. Me too. Are snakes and frogs the same?”
While the two watched the crocodile and marveled at their new knowledge, the water people marveled at Rex playing with a tiger skin on his body.
“How can you catch a tiger so neatly? Look, there’s not a single scratch on the leather!”
“By the way, the leather on the neck is strangely stretched. Why are you like that?”
“It’s a pity. If it wasn’t for that, I could have sold it for a really high price.”
Seeing those water people, Sena asked with an incomprehensible face.
“Why do you want money so much? I’m hiding anyway, so I won’t have anything to spend money on.”
“Because the outside world knows that money is power.”
“…… No way?”
At their words, Sena looked at the water people with surprised eyes.
The water people smiled at Sena and nodded her head.
“Don’t tell me where to go. …… We intend to abandon this land and leave for another place.”
The face of the water person who said that was determined.
* * *
Quickly make a rope by weaving the vines you brought.
The Golden Rice Mercenaries, who earned money by hunting natives for a long time on the continent of Tongdan, were good at using the natural resources of the jungle.
When you have a stomach ache, you know what tree sap you should eat to recover, and you know what fruit to eat to get rid of a headache.
Like that, he knew how to use his vines well.
The Golden Rice Mercenary Corps, who made a solid vine net, soaked the net in water.
As the vines that absorbed water tightened, the weave of the net became stronger, and the vines that absorbed water became more tough, resulting in a strong net that was not easy to tear or break.
As a finishing touch, stones, twigs, and hanging vines were attached to various parts of the net so that when the target caught in the net struggled in surprise, the net became easily entangled and quickly tired due to its weight.
“Are you done?”
“Yes.”
After making the nets, the golden rice mercenaries, who each shared the nets, moved quickly while being wary of other tracking groups who might be watching them.
As they wandered around looking for vines, they put up smoke screens and left false trails, so some of the pursuers dispersed and now only a few tenacious ones stayed behind them.
‘They wouldn’t interfere with our work.’
Since it is certain that it will attack me after I succeed in my work, I was thinking of dealing with it or negotiating moderately.
‘Kill it.’
When the captain sends a signal with his hand covered with luminous moss so that his subordinates can see it, the subordinates who have been waiting separately attack the vigilant water people.
It wasn’t good to have a commotion while subduing them. Unfortunately, they brushed off their regrets and killed the people who gave them vigils.
Next, surround the water people, their guests, and an unknown giant monkey who are sleeping near the bonfire as the fire goes out and only embers remain.
After making sure that the mercenaries were all settled down, they cast their nets.
Quietly, the net made of vines spread and fell upon the sleeping people.