93. Shatran’s Stigma (7)
Rusmeier Territory.
This place was isolated not simply because the nobles suppressed their actions or hindered their revival, but also because of the enemies that constantly visited.
“Growl…!”
It looked similar to a quadrupedal animal like a dog or a wolf, but instead of fur that could be easily torn by piercing it with a sword, its skin was covered in hard boulders.
“The demons have appeared!”
“Children, the infirm and elderly, evacuate!”
It’s not an animal.
Demons.
In the game, they were simply called monsters and weren’t given much attention, but they were another one of the Empire’s enemies and the main enemy of this territory.
▶CHAPTER 2 – Episode II. The Repelling Hand is in progress!◀
▶The demons have appeared!◀
▶Protect the village!◀
▶The achievement rate will be determined by the extent of damage to the territory’s people!◀
※List of main enemies
[ Waglu Hound ]
[ A species of wolf characterized by the stones imbued with magic embedded all over its body. Its defense is quite high, so unless you have a proper weapon, a certain amount of damage will be nullified. ]
[ Waglu Rasan ]
[ A species of monkey characterized by the stones imbued with magic embedded all over its body. When it crouches down, the damage it inflicts is greatly reduced. ]
‘No wonder Rusmeier was always getting wrecked by the demons.’
No matter how much you use weapons made of carved wood, the damage is greatly reduced against those demons.
Not only that, the fact that they didn’t have proper armor was also a problem.
If they had armor, they would have been able to withstand the two types of demons to some extent, even though their attack power wasn’t that high.
No weapons. No armor.
There were no means to create them, and contacting other territories was impossible.
Being ostracized by the nobles and isolated, there was only one option they could take.
It was that obvious and passive method of stalling for time and relying on others.
But this time, it was different.
As Camilla said, they stood up on their own. Even if it was like throwing eggs at a rock.
‘I need to watch for a bit.’
There was no reason not to step up.
I had chosen Rusmeier as a stepping stone to attend the Eastern Nobles’ Conference, so in order to show how to properly lead a territory to revival, it was right to minimize the damage from those demons.
Rusmeier’s achievement rate went up depending on how well you protected the village.
However, I had to keep in mind that it was a one-sided idea, a comforting idea that could only be done in a game.
“Euaaah!!!”
“Keuk!!”
“Hey, monkey! You’re mine!!”
“Kwaaah!”
As soon as they saw the demons, two young men rushed out.
The two men, who were probably the strongest force in this territory, fearlessly charged at the demons with their crude and flimsy wooden spears.
“I’ve got this one tied up! Take care of the others in the meantime!”
““Let’s go!!””
Then he says he’ll take care of the other demons since he tied them up.
Obviously, it’s inefficient.
Every time one of the townspeople gets hurt or exhausted, the achievement rate goes down.
If they only sustain light injuries, it’ll be fine, but if they get seriously injured, the rate will drop significantly, and in the worst case, if there are casualties, it’ll drop drastically, leading to a failed episode. In short, a bad ending.
Therefore, if I proceed with this episode, Carsein will inevitably have to deal with those demons.
Because with the power of this town, they can’t handle those demons.
No matter how much their morale has risen, there’s a limit to it.
That’s why Carsein, who has gained enough stats, will have to deal with those demons.
I had to intervene now so that the achievement rate wouldn’t decrease.
However.
Is that really the right thing to do?
‘No. I can say for sure that that’s definitely not the right thing to do.’
If I think about this episode rationally, it means that Ruthmayer defeated those demons relying entirely on Carsein’s power, doesn’t it?
That itself is a huge contradiction.
Ruthmayer is periodically attacked by demons.
Let’s say that Carsein blocked this attack.
Then what about the next attack? What about the attack after that?
If no one continuously blocks them, what will eventually happen to this town and territory?
This was the blind spot.
No matter how much I raise the achievement rate to the maximum in this attack, once Carsein leaves, they’ll have to rely on someone else’s power.
Whether they rely on Bagran’s back, or call other knights to rely on their backs in the future.
Or in the worst case, if not that, request help from those nobles.
No matter what, Ruthmayer will remain unchanged.
So, I won’t intervene.
Even if the achievement rate drops and drops again, I shouldn’t readily lend them a helping hand.
This isn’t a game anymore, it’s reality for me.
‘Then I need to come up with a way.’
I need to drastically reduce the amount they rely on me. I need to come up with a way to do that.
I rolled my eyes and looked around at the territory’s people fighting the demons.
They already have the will.
Looking at them gritting their teeth and charging at the demons, they have plenty of will to change on their own.
So.
‘I need to change the method.’
Instead of trying to break a rock with an egg like now, I need to crush the rock with an efficient and innovative method.
Since this isn’t a game, I can get involved from my side as well.
“Camilla.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“How long can the territory that was attacked by the demons hold out for?”
Camilla put her hand to her mouth and fell into thought.
“The demons of Mount Wagleu are strong, but they don’t have any weapons… By now, the other territories should have sent support after hearing about the demons appearing. We can hold out for about an hour.”
“An hour?”
I was a little surprised.
Those people, who had nothing, were holding out for an hour.
“Well, it’s hard to explain in detail… but the reason why Rusmayer has suffered little damage despite being attacked several times is because of their diet. They eat crops that grow in harsh environments, so they can fight off demons to some extent.”
“Really. I see.”
When I heard that they fed their children milk to supplement their nutrition, I wondered why there was such a strange setting.
However, after tasting the crops here, I realized that it wasn’t just a setting.
Yes. The people of this territory may seem poor, but they are quite strong.
▶You have consumed Rusmayer Whole Wheat Bread and your Strength has increased by 0.05 for 3 hours!◀
▶Regular consumption can permanently increase your stats!◀
[Limit: 0.30]
If you think of it as a game and a game setting, it’s just a special food that gives you buffs.
But what if you take it as reality?
The saying that bitter medicine is good for the body is the same here.
Rusmayer Whole Wheat and Rusmayer Brown Rice, which are only grown in Rusmayer.
Really, they were difficult crops for young children to eat.
Not only is it difficult to harvest the crops, but even after obtaining them with difficulty, they have to go through a difficult process to eat them, and even then, the texture is rough and hard, so it must be difficult to digest. There is a separate reason why milk is necessary.
However, seeing that the adults have gotten used to eating this, it seems that the more they adapt, the more additional stat bonuses they will receive, which is not strange.
Back to the main topic.
One hour? That’s enough.
My Strength stat is permanently increased? That’s even better.
It means I can wield heavier, stronger weapons.
“I guess I don’t have to go out there myself.”
“Yes? What do you…”
“I don’t know about the armor, but I can make as many weapons as I want.”
“You can… make weapons?”
“Yes. Show me the town hall, the warehouse, or anywhere else. It would be better if it was a place with a lot of junk.”
They must have been scared all this time, but I just need to tell them and teach them.
Those demons are so weak that even with the stats I have as Karsein, I can defeat them.
***
“Hmph. Why do I have to see this annoying thing?”
Modric’s son, Hemnan Modric, got up with a yawn.
The Eastern Nobles’ Conference will be held soon.
As the eldest son of Count Modric, he is in a position where he must fulfill his duties as a noble.
However, he was just complaining about why he had to attend such a boring meeting.
“What’s so important about that damn Eastern Nobles’ Conference? What? Do nobles have to live because there are commoners? Does the country have to live because we save the poor?”
Hemnan clicked his tongue in disgust.
“Our blood is different from the start. Those who can’t inherit that noble bloodline are all problematic, so that’s why they’re like that, but should we help those kinds of people? It doesn’t make sense.”
He slammed the book shut as if he was disgusted.
“They should be grateful that we, the nobles, even acknowledge their existence! Why should we stoop so low as to… hey! Hey!”
The commoners were nothing more than tools to serve the lives of the nobles.
The filthy, smelly peasants were nothing more than an eyesore to society.
That was Hemnen’s motto.
Therefore, when the time came, he would complain about the royal family, who only increased useless systems and lowered the authority of the nobles.
“Hmm… well, it’s still a fairly enjoyable day, isn’t it?”
Hemnen’s lips twisted wickedly.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Lord Hemnen. The carriage is ready.”
“Oh. Right.”
When he finished preparing, he glanced at the mirror, flicked his bow tie to make sure there were no problems, and then went outside.
The carriage of the Viscount Modrich family that Hemnen rode in was headed for a territory.
Without anyone’s help.
The nobles were reluctant to lend a hand.
In the future, he would have to rely solely on the Viscount Modrich family. That was Rusmayer.
He had known for a long time that demons appeared regularly in Rusmayer.
That’s why he left it alone on purpose.
Even if he helped, it wouldn’t be his territory anyway, so there would be no benefit.
If there was an accident there, only the Viscount family would suffer.
He had been wondering how to get rid of those pesky Rusmayer people when the demons invaded, which was a blessing in disguise.
However, even as time passed, they did not collapse and stubbornly held out. They continued to fend off the demons’ attacks, seemingly on the verge of collapse, and succeeded in isolating them by colluding with other families, but it was a truly unfortunate situation to see them stubbornly endure.
In the meantime, as he continued to ask the Viscount family for help, Hemnen managed to find a way to bring them down.
“Hoo hoo. Shall we receive compensation today as well?”
Despite knowing that the demons had appeared, Hemnen did not bring any knights with him.
Because he knew.
The fact that the people of Rusmayer had already drained the demons of their power.
That’s why it didn’t matter even if he only brought a few knights with him.
On the other hand, there was a lot to gain from this.
The traces of killing the demons were left by the knights wielding swords, in other words, the Viscount Modrich family. So even if they were to obtain the valuable spoils of war, which were the corpses of the demons, it wouldn’t matter. In the first place, they might not even know that they had drained their power, since they only beat them with wooden sticks.
Because of this, they had the right to extort the village because they had helped, and there was no one to stop them. Those foolish commoners wouldn’t know, of course.
It was unlikely, but in the event that someone was dissatisfied with this, they did not belong to any territory.
Thus, Hemnen returned, having profited doubly and triply.
“Hey. I heard that Rusmayer’s funds are almost running out?”
“It’s close this time, but there definitely won’t be any next time after we collect the taxes.”
“Ooh. Is that right?”
He licked his lips and savored the taste.
“Then let’s raise the stakes a little bit this time. We’ll give you plenty of money, so work a little harder. Got it?”
“”Yes, Lord Hemnen!””
If you don’t have the money to pay, you’ll have to offer something else, won’t you?
There was no way for the village to earn a fortune or anything of value to replace it. If they don’t have the money, it’s obvious what they’ll have to pay with.
‘Heh heh. I also heard that there’s a fresh young woman who’s almost of age, so I’ll have to take it a little harder this time.’
He would have no choice but to obey.
As a count of the Modric family, he would have to follow suit obediently since it wasn’t a family that could be easily fooled.
With such expectations, Hemnen set foot on the Rusmayer estate.
However, the atmosphere was strangely different.
Every time, as usual, when he stepped into the entrance at this time, there would be a scene where the women would beg him to help because they couldn’t stop the demons. But wasn’t it too quiet now?
Hemnen, who had been looking around for a while, went all the way into the village.
And soon, his eyes widened.
“Wow!!!”
The people of the Rusmayer estate were cheering, stepping on the corpses of the scattered demons.
‘What the hell happened…!’
Did the foolish people of the Rusmayer estate defeat the demons on their own?
The demons of Mount Waglu have hard rocks attached to their bodies like an outer skin, and they cannot be removed without proper equipment.
However, unlike before, they were definitely dead with no sign of getting up.
As if to prove that they were the ones who killed them.
‘There’s no way they have such weapons? No, wait. What is that?’
The flimsy wooden spears they used to use were gone, and instead, there were clubs studded with useless scrap metal or debris.
Because of the new weapons, the demons were left with all sorts of wounds and bloodstains. This way, even if they left a sword mark, they wouldn’t be able to claim that they killed them.
‘Dammit! I can’t get anything this way!’
Demon corpses.
Extermination costs.
In addition, there was even a woman he could have taken because of the lack of money.
He couldn’t get anything.
‘Who is it? Who the hell! Who the hell did this to my slaves…!’
It was clear that someone had intervened.
There was no way the foolish people of the Rusmayer estate could have come up with this idea.
He had to find that guy first.
Hemnen gritted his teeth and shouted.
“You guys! I’m here, and you’re not even greeting me!”
The villagers turn their heads and look at Hemnen.
Their eyes were not very welcoming.
They seemed to have something to say.
But Hemnen didn’t notice it.
Found him.
He found someone he had never seen before among them.
“Hey, you in the black hood! Who are you to be in this estate without permission?!”
All he had to do was kick that guy out.
An excuse? He could make up as many as he wanted.
With the power of Count Modric, anything would be possible.
“Get lost! How dare you…!”
-Clang!
A sword intended to cut something flies past Haemun.
What was cut was Haemun’s hair.
“Huh, huh-?!”
“Young Master Haemun!”
“This bastard! How dare you point a sword at Young Master Haemun right now!!”
“How dare! How dare you do this to me, you-!”
Haemun screamed like a toad that had just been poisoned.
“Show me your face that is hidden by that hood right now and tell me your name! I need to see your face first to decide what kind of punishment I’m going to give you!”
Then, the man who was wearing the hood finally showed his face.
“I don’t think introductions are necessary, Haemun Modric.”
“You, you’re…!”
The others didn’t recognize him because his appearance had changed so much.
But Haemun could never forget him.
“Karsain, Vagrant…!”
The memory of him beating him up like crazy at Arina Vagrant’s coming-of-age ceremony in the past could not be forgotten, no matter how much he had changed.