Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 47
Ascent (2)
Hwii-i-
The cold midwinter wind blowing through the open window.
Outside the window, a boy mercenary was walking along the side of the carriage.
“what?”
“The Lord of the Sangdan asked me to ask if there was any inconvenience.”
The boy spoke in a strong voice. He seemed a little intimidated by Dallen’s size and deep, deep voice.
The status of a gold-plated mercenary, which seemed distant from the perspective of a boy who was still an unregistered mercenary, also probably played a role.
“Tell them there are none.”
“…Oh, there’s one more!”
“Tell me.”
“The Lord of the Sangdan told me to give you this.”
The boy held out a box with trembling hands. It was a small wooden box with simple tassel decorations.
When Dallen accepted the box, the boy mercenary stuttered.
“You said it was a popular snack in the merchant city of Benil, or Benningham. It’s a snack made with sugar cane juice instead of honey, so eat it when it’s free….”
“I understand. ” “Thank you.”
Ssuk suk.
A thick hand stroking the boy’s head outside the window. Frozen hair rustled in a bear-like grip.
“What did you say your name was?”
“It’s Farn.”
“Age is?”
“I turn fourteen on this birthday.”
The boy answered in a voice that had just begun to change. Even his face still had a youthful look to it.
Dallen said, recalling the memory of briefly introducing each other before the departure of the flight.
“Well, I remembered. Parn, an unregistered mercenary. “You said this was your third request, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then once this is over, I will wear a bronze medal. Congratulations.”
The boy’s face turned slightly red.
It was a mixture of shame, joy, and embarrassment at the unexpected celebration.
Dallen laughed lowly when he saw that.
Despite being a mercenary who does rough work every day, the innocence that comes with age has not faded.
Dallen took out an empty leather pouch as the sight reminded him of his hometown, which now seemed so far away.
He picked up a large handful of snacks from the box, put them in his pocket, tied the opening tightly, and handed them to the boy.
“Eat this secretly. “I will tell the owner of the top that I said I will eat well.”
“Thank you!”
“Shh. You have to eat it secretly. “Go quickly.”
Dallen ruffled the boy’s hair one more time.
As I was watching the back of the boy running through the open window, Lucia spoke to me.
“It’s surprising.”
“what?”
“The thing is that Daelon, who is so powerful and fierce in front of the demons of the labyrinth and the magistrate of the Holy Knights, is as soft as a reed in front of the boy.”
Dallen chuckled. Lucia laughed along and added.
“And since he is such a big eater, I thought he was the type of person who wouldn’t give up his food no matter what anyone said.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Please refrain from speaking profanely in front of the Paladin, Dallon.”
What’s wrong with someone who started swearing at you when you first met?
Dallen looked at Lucia with an absurd expression. She chuckled, opened the window, and looked the other way.
Dallon soon turned his head back out the window.
There was a long queue outside the window.
Horses, mules, wagons, carts and processions of people.
The size of the Galios upper deck was more than twice as large as when it came to the city.
‘We also hired about sixty mercenaries.’
As many as sixty sword wielders. This number is almost like a small army.
Most of the mercenaries were guarding the outside of the procession.
They were bronze mercenaries or, like the boy from earlier, mercenaries who were still operating as unregistered.
The Dongpae walk around the perimeter, and the Eunpae take turns standing guard on horses or wagons.
If a gold-plated mercenary like Dallon was involved, the upper level would prepare a separate carriage to take him there.
It was like an unwritten rule in this industry that clearly differentiates people based on ability and performance.
“…It’s peaceful.”
Suddenly Lucia muttered. Dallen put the cookie in his mouth without saying a word.
He muttered his mouth and moved his legs to consciously check the holy sword that had been wrapped in a cloth.
The cookies tasted like bear cookies sold at a bakery.
***
The top went south without any trouble for about a week.
As Lucia said, the four days were truly peaceful. This was because even common thieves were rare within the patrol area of the Labyrinth City.
As soon as we left the patrol area, bandits and goblins began to appear one by one. However, there was no significant disruption to commercial travel.
In the first place, this commercial route was too big a target for ordinary thieves to target.
The number of mercenaries alone is 60, and if the workers of the upper level are armed with swords, the number of troops is 100 to 100.
There were a couple of attacks by unscrupulous thieves, but as soon as the mercenaries attacked with their weapons drawn, they quickly turned around and ran away.
There was no need for Dallon or Lucia to step forward.
It has been eight days since I left Falcion.
“Hwaam.”
Lucia yawned. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked at the seat next to her.
Dallen quietly closed his eyes and swayed with the vibrations of the carriage.
‘Aren’t you bored?’
Thinking like that, she relaxed her soggy body here and there.
When she first joined Sanghaeng, her eyes widened when she heard that they would provide a carriage.
But after spending a day in that carriage, her thoughts became completely opposite.
Staying in a cramped carriage all day was more difficult than I expected.
The carriage was constantly shaking and the temperature was not much different from outside, but it was cold inside.
Since it was a carriage trip, I expected to lie down comfortably, but it was impossible to even straighten my back and stand up, let alone lie down.
As a paladin who has been training her body for half her life, she feels like a bird trapped in a narrow cage.
Even if she could endure all of that, there was another crucial reason why carriage travel was difficult for her.
‘…I’m bored.’
It’s just that it’s so free.
‘When I was traveling on foot, I had the pleasure of looking around and doing even small things myself.’
A walking trip was just another form of spiritual practice.
We had to walk without stopping, be constantly alert to our surroundings, find a place to sleep before the sun went down, and prepare a tent and fire.
However, now that they had joined the commercial movement, all of that work was being done by merchant workers or mercenaries.
Even the dishes she liked were made by workers at the top and brought to her, so there was nothing she could do.
‘But that doesn’t mean you can just pray for 16 hours a day.’
For her, just the morning and evening prayers she always did at the headquarters were too much.
In this case, it might have been better to go outside and take a walk along the uphill road.
It was then.
Hee hee hee!
The carriage came to a screeching halt with the sound of horses neighing.
The feeling of your body being momentarily pushed forward.
Lucia came to her senses and instinctively opened the carriage door and jumped out.
“The bronze medal goes to everyone! As for the silver medal, take your place according to your specialty!”
“What’s going on!”
“Unload the weapons on the cart! Arm your workers! “Where is the Lord of the Sangsan?”
The procession at the top became chaos.
Mercenaries were running here and there, and panicked merchants grabbed any of them and asked what was going on.
Lucia quickly activated her sacred tattoo.
My five senses became extremely sensitive, and my hands and feet gained strength along with a clear energy.
And the moment what swordsmen commonly call their sixth sense awakened, she turned her head.
Brightly shining eyes gaze beyond the people and wagons.
The moment when I catch a green wave at the end of the road between the forests on both sides.
“attack! It’s an attack! Orc pack at the front!”
The sound of the silver-plated mercenary standing guard on top of the wagon shouted so that everyone on the way could hear.
***
Dallen slowly opened his eyes.
Whenever I had time, it had already become a habit to look beyond my images into the realm of the fantasy world.
Although we were far from reality and defenseless, there was no need to worry about surprise attacks.
This is because his body, armed with superhuman senses and intelligence, was able to steadily collect stimuli and information from reality even while his consciousness was traveling through distant space.
“hmm.”
And it was for exactly the same reason that he opened his eyes now.
“Dallen! Dallen!”
Lucia’s cries pierce my ears. Dallen’s senses expanded in an instant.
The feeling that was focused inward spreads out in all directions as if it had wings.
His senses were captivated as if he were looking into the palm of his hand, beyond the entire procession and into the forest and the road between them.
A point farther than the distance of one arrow.
Signs of swarming creatures, including light and heavy stomps.
“Dallen! Wake up! The attack…”
“Orcs. The road was blocked front and back. “It looks like he plans to take advantage of the path through the forest.”
Lucia looked at him with a slightly blank face. Dallon skillfully tightened the straps of his armor and put the weapon on his waist.
“The situation is not good. “The mercenaries are moving forward.”
Lastly, he carried the holy sword wrapped in cloth on his back with a leather strap and grabbed the roof of the carriage with a clumsy grip.
And with just one application of force, he bounced his body and stood on the roof.
“Wow!”
A mercenary perched on the roof holding a bow shouted in surprise. Dallen ignored it and looked around.
The trip was on the main road of the city union that stretches through the forest. The street was well maintained, but not wide on either side.
There were about a hundred orcs blocking the upward path. The goblin was about twice that size.
They were moving wildly and shaking the ground.
Naturally, all the mercenaries at the top were rushing in and building a defense line.
Dallen turned his head. Unlike the front, the back of the ascent seemed quiet at first glance.
However, Dallen’s keen senses could even hear the heavy breathing of the orcs hiding among the trees.
As the commercial mercenaries and sword-wielding workers rushed to the front of the procession, they were only then secretly revealing themselves.
The number is approximately three hundred.
It was a group composed purely of orcs, without a single goblin.
‘You used your brain well.’
Dallen raised the corners of his mouth. I don’t know who it was, but there was no doubt that they had a clever commander.
Lucia turned her head to follow him and became thoughtful when she saw the orcs appearing from behind. Dallen told her.
“Please join the forward defense line of Sanghang. It will be difficult to deal with hundreds of orcs with the strength of the upper level. And the way forward is to minimize damage to money as much as possible.”
“But then wouldn’t the back be empty?”
“I’ll take care of everything.”
Lucia looked at him with narrowed eyes. Dallen just grinned.
The young paladin bit his lip slightly and then spoke while holding his sword tightly.
“Be careful.”
“As I said, damage to our troops must be minimized. “I believe it.”
Lucia did not respond and turned her back. She began to run to the front of the procession, emitting a soft light from her limbs.
Dallen watched her for a moment and then turned his head back to the back of Sanghaeng.
All of the hidden orcs were now on the main street.
Unlike their compatriots who were running ahead and making all kinds of noise, they were quietly approaching at a trot.
A simple but surprisingly effective strategy to draw attention forward and silently strike behind.
And the fact that the low-intelligence Orcs were effectively using this strategy was proof that their leader was something unusual.
‘Who is the commander?’
Dallen pulled out his axe. He began scanning the group of orcs with sharp eyes.
Due to the strong fighting nature of the Orc race, the commander always charges together with his subordinates.
Even though he was buried under three hundred green waves, he couldn’t escape Dallen’s senses.
‘There it is.’
And Dallan was soon found.
Among the huge muscular green bodies, two individuals stand out with their special appearance.
On one side is an orc shaman wearing a necklace made of bone fragments and teeth and holding a large wooden staff in his hand.
And the other was an orc warrior who was almost three meters tall and held a great sword as big as an adult man.
[The body of an inexperienced mercenary was found.]
[The body of a wizard who summoned lightning was found.]
Dallen laughed viciously as he looked at the notification window that appeared above the heads of each of the two orcs.
He lifted the hatchet over his shoulder.
Two commanders and one axe.
For a split second, his brain decides between the two.
And the next moment.
Parallaerack!
The disk of light flies quickly across the street.
“Ruksha…Ugh!”
The head of the orc shaman who was chanting a spell was thrown back.
thud.
The huge body of an orc falling backwards.
A wooden handle grew above its forehead, its blade firmly rooted.