Book Eater

Chapter 46: I Ask You (3)

Indeed, Randolph’s eyes stayed glued to the gold coins. At the same time, three hundred gold would become a much smaller amount when divided between a hundred mercenaries. So, even though it was higher than any single payout the Wandering Wolves had ever received, it wasn’t worth risking their lives.

“Let me hear the plan.”

Theodore’s heart sank at Randolph’s ambiguous answer, but he rallied. “That’s a surprise. Is the pay lacking?”

Randolph shook his head. “Not at all. Three hundred gold is enough. I’m just concerned that this job will become a mess. So I need to hear the plan.”

Normal mercenaries would accept any job, from slandering someone to killing a drake, if there was enough coin to be won. It was the underlying essence of a mercenary.

.

However, Randolph placed his instincts before those principles. “No matter how good the money is, I won’t fight a losing battle. I will listen to your plan and then decide if I will accept this commission.” The mercenary captain’s eyes gleamed in the dark. ”But I’ll admit that revealing your wallet was a good move. I want to refuse your gold, but you wouldn’t have brought out this much coin without a plan.”

What a strange mercenary.

It was clear that the three hundred gold had only brought the mercenary to the table. Randolph seemed to operate under different rules than common mercenaries. Theo suspected he was the descendent of a great warrior, given that he was out roaming the world looking for lost heirlooms.

However, Theo wasn’t about to give up the initiative in the discussion that easily. “As you can tell, holding on forever is impossible. We will hit our limit in two or three days.”

Randolph nodded. “Mhmm, the undead are too annoying.”

Randolph was also frustrated with this battle of attrition. The undead seemed both tireless and countless. Randolph now understood why warlocks were dealt with using all of a nation’s resources. A single warlock was very skilled at causing mass casualties, but were vulnerable to powerful individuals. One ancient warlock had been so successful in his early days that he had created an entire undead kingdom. Unfortunately, he was killed by a swordmaster who managed to sneak into his city.

Theo continued, “There’s only one viable path. A counter-attack.”

A warlock had little to no direct combat ability. That would not change even if the grimoire devoured its host. If a small, powerful strike force managed to get past the undead, the warlock would be defenseless. But most importantly, it was the best time to eliminate the warlock.

The undead are only a month old, and the grimoire is still in the middle of devouring its host. The more it devours its host, the stronger and more numerous the undead will become. This is the weakest the warlock will ever be before it becomes a disaster only the kingdom’s forces can put down.?

If the grimoire managed to devour its host to the point where it could create advanced undead, the consequences would be dire. The entire region would fall to the undead, and there was a high chance that the villagers wouldn’t be able to evacuate in time.

Theo planned to strike before that happened.

“That’s a good point. So you intend to hit the base with a small group of elites?”

Theo nodded. “Yes, I’ve already found the warlock’s base. Randolph, if you protect the two of us, then it won’t be that hard to take out the warlock at night.”

Randolph frowned. “Why bother to attack in the middle of the night? It would be ideal to hit the undead in the daytime when they are weaker.”

“A night operation is better. We don’t have to wade through the cannon fodder.”

If their battle with the warlock happened out in the open, then Randolph would be correct. But the warlock was holed up in a cave, so it would be less ideal if they also needed to blast through thousands of undead before reaching the warlock. It was better to strike after the undead left the cave to harass the village. Theo, Sylvia and Randolph would take advantage of the vulnerable base to strike hard and fast. Theo had been entirely accurate in calling the strategy a counter-attack.

... What a monstrous kid. And he’s only nineteen? What the hell are the magic towers teaching kids these days?

Randolph felt a chill run down his neck when he realized Theo’s plan. He had studied tactics and strategy for years, but he was a little taken aback at the bold strategy outlined by this nineteen year old boy. If it failed, Theo would definitely lose his life, but Randolph didn’t see any hesitation in his eyes. He almost seemed mad.

Nevertheless, Randolph didn’t find any issues with the overall strategy.

Theo hammered the final nail into the coffin. “... I will add one more clause. The Wandering Wolves will remain to defend the village while the two investigators and Randolph attack the base. If the counterattack fails, the company will evacuate with the villagers. Regardless of the outcome, the Wandering Wolves will be paid three hundred gold. How about it?"

The company would easily form a fighting rearguard behind the villagers as they escaped. Randolph laughed as he realized he had no reason to refuse. If he declined and left with his company, it would be humiliating. He was being offered the chance at three hundred gold and the heirlooms, so the reward was well worth the gamble.

He rose to his feet and took out his mercenary badge. “Randolph, captain of the Wandering Wolves, will accept Theodore Miller’s commission in the name of Marcus, the God of War.”

The steel mercenary badge glowed crimson. It was similar to the Geass Scroll, and acted as a witness and enforcer of the contracts a mercenary made. If the contract was broken, then the mercenary would be punished by the priest of the God of War, Marcus. Theodore and Randolph were now firmly on the same side.

However, Theo wasn’t done. “Ah, that reminds me.”

“Hmm?”

A slow smile stole across Theo’s face. “During a commission, any loot normally goes to the people making the commission. Is that correct?”

Randolph blinked at the unexpected question. He figured the young magician was just unfamiliar with the mercenary industry, so he nodded without thinking.

Theo’s smile widened. He had finished hiring the mercenaries, but now it was time to earn some money.

“Hrmm, I wonder how much I can get for the family heirlooms in the warlock’s base?”

Randolph’s eyes bugged out like he had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

“W-What?!”

The heirlooms weren’t near the base but inside it? If so, the heirlooms would belong to Theo. Randolph had been blinded by the three hundred gold, and had forgotten to confirm where the heirlooms were.

... Has this brat been aiming for this from the beginning?

Randolph was lost for words as he stared at the ecstatic magician in horror.

It’s a good thing I read the report carefully.

The Magic Society had provided him with some of the missing magician’s reports before contact had been lost. One report mentioned the discovery of twin swords in the cave.

Theo grinned at Randolph as he pointed at the gold in front of him. “Ah, now that you’re three hundred gold richer, would you like to share some of that bounty with me?”

Randolph decided that this magician’s voice was probably what people imagined the devil’s whisper sounded like.

***

In the end, Randolph was forced to trade two hundred gold for ownership rights to the heirlooms. Thus, Theo hired the Wandering Wolves and an excellent swordsman, Randolph, for only a hundred gold, netting him a profit of at least fifty gold.

I could have asked for more, but… I shouldn’t be too greedy. I can’t ask the mercenaries to fight for nothing.

If he had taken back all the gold, then Theo and Randolph might have become enemies after their contract ended. Unpaid labor was a cardinal sin among mercenaries. If Randolph didn’t keep the hundred gold, he would be forced to pay the mercenaries out of his own pocket or they might abandon him. Randolph was satisfied with a few gold coins, since he would get the heirlooms.

“Well, this is a win-win situation,” Theodore muttered.

Randolph snorted from behind him. “How is this a win-win situation, cheapskate employer?”

He was still feeling the sting of getting tricked out of two hundred gold. However, he was comforting himself with the idea of finally getting the heirlooms he had been searching for.

Theo grinned at him. “We both get what we want, I suppose.”

“Haha, what a terrible sense of humor.” Randolph laughed as he continued to brief Theo. “The defenses are complete. We’ll be able to defend even if twice the number of undead from yesterday show up.”

He glanced around admiringly as he said, “To be honest, it really is amazing that you magicians could make all this in just half a day.”

The plains around the Miller Barony had been completely altered. Snow-white walls circled the village and the manor in concentric rings, forming a formidable set of defenses. Theo had made liberal use of the 4th Circle spell Stone Wall, and reinforced them so that they would survive a few undead charges. He had also made alcoves for the mercenaries to take shelter if another ghoul wyvern showed up.

“Well, it is almost all thanks to Mitra,” Theo murmured as he patted the small girl resting on his chest.

Mitra sleepily responded with a faint vibration that tickled his chest. She had seriously exerted herself to create all the walls and reinforce them against the undead.

As Theo and Randolph checked the walls, Sylvia approached them.

She greeted them sleepily. “Hrmm, Theo...”

Theo turned. “Did you just wake up?”

Sylvia covered a yawn. “... Yes, it has been a while since I took a nap.”

Sylvia still looked half-asleep, but Theo could feel that her magic power was back to full. The mana in the air responded to her unconscious control, cooling the breeze that blew by. Randolph glanced at her briefly before turning his attention to the darkening forest.

The twilight sky was gradually turning darker.

“It is sunset, Employer.”

The two magicians looked in his direction. The sun was sinking behind the mountains, and the children of darkness were emerging from the shadows. They could already see movement in the dense forest that was giving off an unearthly blue glow. The undead were glowing with necromantic power, the energy that denied the laws of nature. Once the sun set, the night of the undead would begin, and blood and death would follow.

The mercenaries began to stir nervously, and a few fortified themselves with sips of alcohol in hidden containers.

Randolph took a deep breath and roared, “It’s the last night, buckos! We’ve fought and suffered and bled, but it ends tonight! Enjoy the night until the sun rises tomorrow, ‘cause tonight’s the night we say farewell to these damn guys!”

The mercenaries’ blood heated up at Randolph’s passionate roar, and they roared back at him.

“Ohhhhhhh!”

The almost animalistic howl of joy and anger caused the distant undead to hesitate for a moment before shuffling forward again. The mercenaries were like hungry wolves behind their captain as they took their posts.

A cold wind shook the leaves of the forest as the sun disappeared from the western horizon. An eerie screech grew to fill the air as the forest seemed to spill over with death.

- Roaaaaar!

The mercenaries’ weapons gleamed in the moonlight as they focused on the horde of undead creeping toward them.

It was the night where undead, humans, and grimoires would find their way to the boundary of life and death.