#100
Northern Mountains (1)
The Hubert Trading Company, based in Tarak of the Tulk Kingdom, was prospering by the day.
A major factor was that, in the early stages of the business, they had been able to minimize interference from other factions by making use of Harley, who had risen to become a big name in Tarak’s mercenary world, and the authority of the religious order behind him.
‘Once we grew to a certain point, that started losing its effect, though.’
As the trading company began to expand, the obstruction coming from the shadows continued to increase.
There were still none who openly tried anything, but the covert threats being applied had now reached a point where they could no longer be ignored.
‘Still, I’ve prepared a means to respond this time, so it should improve from here on.’
Recently, after entering into a close relationship with Talia’s Brokoslak Clan, a number of vampires had secretly infiltrated Tarak.
Of course, unlike Talia, which the clan had occupied, they had to be cautious at all times here and move only in the shadows, but the vampires of the now-strengthened clan were able to blend in without any particular trouble thanks to the trading company’s help.
‘Besides, the personnel dispatched to Tarak this time are individuals whose “Refined Blood Crystals” evolved with a focus on stealth.’
Since he had deliberately adjusted their direction to specialize in concealing their identities, at this point they could be called a unit specialized in infiltration and operations.
However, even in Tarak, where everything had been proceeding smoothly like that, a sudden change arrived.
And on a considerable scale at that.
‘...I knew chaos was coming, so I did secure supplies like food, oil, and weapons in advance. But this is beyond what I had anticipated.’
In the trading company’s office, Hubert frowned as he examined the urgently delivered documents.
For a merchant, information was life itself.
Because he had also paid great attention to establishing a system for rapid information gathering, he was able to obtain even such important information immediately, but...
“If it’s an incident of this scale, there’s probably nowhere that doesn’t know already.”
If even he, a mere merchant, knew about it, other places must have already begun moving.
And just as Hubert expected, that was happening in real time.
“Move, move!”
“Check again to make sure nothing’s been left out!”
Clank, clank!
Dudududu—!
In an atmosphere far more unsettled than usual, the army of the County of Aonia, to which Tarak belonged, began advancing north all at once.
In addition, soldiers who had departed not only from other cities but also from the lord’s castle in the center were quickly moving toward the northernmost point of the territory, the Iron Fortress.
Since they were moving on such a large scale, it was only natural that the news would reach those staying in the city as well.
Stories related to it spread rapidly wherever people gathered, such as the Mercenary Guild and taverns.
“Hey, did you hear the news? They say the Iron Fortress is recruiting mercenaries on a large scale. The army’s already on the move, too.”
“Yeah, I heard. Something about the monsters of the northern mountains showing signs of moving south?”
“Things were already uneasy with undead showing up and all that. Who knows what might really happen now.”
“Come on, it’s probably a coincidence. It’s not like the monsters in the northern mountains have only ever gone berserk once or twice.”
Since not all information had been released yet in order to minimize confusion, most people, who knew nothing about the Abyss, merely regarded this commotion as temporary.
Of course, among them were some who, through various pieces of information, sensed that this situation was not ordinary.
“This... What I heard from Bizar’s party last time keeps bothering me.”
“What? Do you have some kind of information?”
“I met a party that had just returned from the mountains not long ago. I heard it then. They said they suddenly encountered a mutant and a lot of their companions were badly hurt.”
“A mutant? Isn’t that common when you’re hunting monsters?”
“Not an ordinary mutant. They said it charged at them madly, as if it had rabies...”
But they, too, were the same in that they did not know the exact information.
Besides, even they shared the thought that with the army being mobilized, how big of a problem could there really be?
One by one, those bewitched by the enormous reward offered by the territory headed toward the northern Iron Fortress.
“Hey, Harley! You heard the news, right? What are you planning to do? We’re thinking of going to take a look ourselves.”
The same was true for the three southern warriors who accompanied Harley.
As the Hubert Trading Company grew in size and hired many talented people, they too had gained more leeway.
They had only taken on the tedious guard work out of loyalty to their friend; having left the south and come all the way here, they originally preferred more active missions such as monster hunting.
“Hmm, the northern mountains...”
A tavern bustling with all kinds of noise.
Harley fiddled with the cup placed in front of him and organized his thoughts.
He had never personally seen a monster affected by “madness.”
Because the Abyss had opened just as he had finished a hunt and was about to return from the Iron Fortress to Tarak.
Since monsters affected by it had appeared only after quite some time had passed even after that, it was only natural.
However, when he combined the information obtained through Hubert with the facts Heinz II had learned by moving the clan...
This matter was by no means something that would pass easily.
‘That’s why the Talia Kingdom is also gathering troops toward the Demonic Beast Forest in the west.’
Since Hans, Heinz II, and even Harley had all experienced roaming freely through the Demonic Beast Forest, it was hard for him to properly feel it, but that place was originally a dangerous area that not just anyone could enter.
If demonic beasts infected by madness, their aggression and vitality further strengthened, came pouring out of such a place, the kingdom would suffer considerable damage.
‘That’s why I sent the clan’s elites there, including the True Bloods Frizia and Obor.’
Separate from the soldiers of the Talia Kingdom, they would enter the forest directly and conduct guerrilla warfare to reduce the number of dangerous demonic beasts.
‘But the northern mountains are an even worse place than the Demonic Beast Forest.’
The vast northern mountains stretched across the entire northern region of the continent.
The part connected to the Tulk Kingdom was only one branch of them, but it was such a dangerous place that, despite countless mercenaries going out to hunt every time, the monster population continued to increase instead.
‘There’s no way the nations that have already received various information don’t know what’s about to happen.’
The army of the County of Aonia was headed there right away, but soon reinforcements from the surrounding territories would begin arriving one after another as well.
This matter, too, would probably not end easily.
‘The stage of handling things by passing information only to the upper ranks is over now. This incident will likely become the trigger for the information to spread among the public as well.’
About the resurrection of the Immortal King and the opening of the Abyss.
There would be much chaos ahead.
It might shake many places because of that, but it was absolutely necessary.
And.
The Immortal King’s infamy spreading far and wide was, rather, something he had wanted.
‘That was what I was aiming for from the beginning.’
But what Harley had to think about now was a separate matter from that.
The question was how he should respond in a situation where all hell was about to break loose...
After pondering for a moment, he soon widened his eyes and sprang up from his seat.
“Right, let’s go! This body cannot miss out on a place like that! Wahahaha!”
“Oh! That’s our Harley!”
“Looks like we’ll be relieving some stress for the first time in a while!”
In truth, there had been no need to worry.
If things seemed ambiguous, wasn’t Harley’s style to just charge in first?
Besides, if the Iron Fortress really did fall, even the foundation Hubert had worked so hard to build in Talia would be blown away.
It would be better to step in personally and try to control the situation.
‘If it seems really dangerous, I can just cancel the summoning.’
Though he wondered whether Harley, now possessing a truly monstrous body, would ever find himself in danger.
And so, he strode out of the tavern with imposing dignity and crossed the main road.
Having already become a famous figure in Tarak, he was a familiar presence to the residents here, but the reactions around him were more or less the same as before.
They avoided meeting his eyes and slowly moved out of the way.
‘Well, it can’t be helped.’
Harley glanced down at his own body.
His bare, muscular upper body, beast-head helmet, and tooth ornaments were the same as ever, but there was one part that had clearly changed from before—.
The inscriptions carved all over his body.
A splendid flame pattern extending from his heart across his chest and up to beneath his jaw.
A pattern of storm and lightning that began from his forehead, crossed over his right eye, and continued down to his cheek.
Even the beast on his right arm and the crossed axes on his left arm.
If each inscription were viewed separately, they were beautiful patterns that seemed almost artistic, abstractly embodying the concept of each element.
But once they harmonized with Harley’s vicious body, they merely seemed to further emphasize his intimidating appearance.
On top of that, his actions so far had also played a part in spreading his ill fame.
He had never gone out of his way to seek out and torment the weak, but he had mercilessly smashed anyone who challenged him.
‘If I didn’t go that far, things would get too annoying. It couldn’t be helped.’
It was a side effect of gaining fame.
In this barbaric mercenary world, reputation was practically the same as power.
With things being that way, it was only natural that mercenaries who drifted into Tarak from outside all tried to test him.
Even after seeing this body, they clung to him with annoying provocation and challenges, and even ambushes.
The solution Harley came up with for that was this.
To thoroughly crush anyone who challenged him.
So that they would be overwhelmed just by watching from the side, so that they would not even dare to bare their teeth at him.
In that way, Harley was able to establish himself, at least in Tarak, as someone everyone knew, yet someone no one dared even think of touching.
Jingle— jingle—
When he opened the Mercenary Guild’s door and entered with the three southern warriors, the same scene as always greeted them.
A clean and refined interior, and mercenaries gathered here and there, talking among themselves.
Every topic of conversation they were sharing was about the northern mountains this time.
Since it was a recruitment effort on an unprecedented scale, everyone’s attention was focused in that direction.
‘There do seem to be some who sense the danger, but overall, the atmosphere is positive. Well, it hasn’t actually happened yet.’
Among those who sensed the crisis, there were even some who not only declined to participate but evacuated to the south of Tarak altogether, but since the reward offered by the territory was so large, there were also quite a few who expressed their intent to join.
“Hey, Harley. It’s our turn.”
As they were waiting for a short while, their turn finally came.
And as his companions applied to participate in the request one by one...
“Um... Sir Harley?”
The young male employee sitting at the counter looked up at him and carefully opened his mouth.
“As it happens, a designated request for Sir Harley came in separately today. We were planning to contact you personally soon, but since you came here in person like this...”
“Hmm? Designated, you say?”
While working as a mercenary, Harley had received many designated requests, and a designated request, where the client selected the mercenary to carry out the mission, paid more than an ordinary method.
The guild merely served as the intermediary, and the details were negotiated separately between the client and the mercenary.
As such, it was a method mainly used for work that required confidentiality or particularly difficult missions.
“Hmm... Right now, I was planning to head to the Iron Fortress, so I’m not particularly interested. I’ll refuse that matter!”
He had just decided on his destination, so how could some other mission catch his eye now?
He was sorry, but the timing for making the request was bad, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Um, the thing is... I-I don’t think you should refuse. The person who entrusted this task is...”
At the unexpected reaction, Harley frowned slightly.
The rule was supposed to be that they did not force missions like this.
“What does that mean? I don’t have time, so tell me straight, friend!”
“Y-yes! Th-the person who directly entrusted it is someone else, but the name registered as the client is...!”
The employee, who had been speaking loudly while stiff with tension, paused, glanced around, then leaned toward Harley and whispered softly.
“Lord Tarmin Aonia...”
It was a name even he had not expected.
“In other words, the lord of this territory.”