Chapter 136: Bewitching the Worker Ants

“UWAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

Craaaaaaaaaash. Claaaaaaaang.

Prince Alskane’s rage-filled cry was like the howl of a tormented wolf. Just yesterday, he had, in essence, been the commander of 200,000 troops and 500 Skyknights. But in just one day, and in an incredibly short amount of time, Laviter’s great army was shattered into pieces.

Alskane had gone into the battle with the resolve to capture Nerman’s Lord, tear his skin off, and rip him to pieces. Defeat was something that had never even occurred to him.

But Prince Alskane tasted defeat, a wretched defeat that made him the number one person responsible for a battle where 200,000 troops and 500 Skyknights were lost.

“KUAAAAAAAAGHHHH!”

He still remembered how Nerman’s Skyknights doggedly chased after them. Due to his fear of death, Prince Alskane peed himself. Even after arriving in the Yanovis Duchy castle, he was kept awake the entire night by the sound of Kyre laughing after shoving him and the empire’s troops into hell.

“UWAAAGH, UWAAAAAAAAAGHHH!”

The Prince tore at his hair as he howled, the shards of every piece of furniture in the room at his feet. He had suffered humiliation that he would never be able to forget, even in death. He wanted to kill that bastard so badly that he would gladly sell his soul to do so.

When it came to the Lord of Nerman, Kyre, all Alskane wanted to do was to rip out his tongue and tear his heart to pieces.

* * *

“Why is my ear so itchy all of a sudden?”

Thanks to the beauties at my side, I slept very deeply and woke up refreshed. The sun reached midday before I was able to make my way to my office. It was about time to get up, but because there were two beautiful women who burrowed into my embrace like it was some kind of competition, I ended up having to stare blankly at the ceiling, counting every mote of dust up there.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two beauties woke up at the same time. I left them in my room and went into my office after cleaning myself with magic. But then, I suddenly got an itch in my ear. It was as if someone was scheming against me and cussing me out, because no matter how much I scratched my left ear, the itch refused to abate.

“Very good, that’s a great attitude,” I said with satisfaction as I looked at the covert from the office window. We’d thrown such a wild festival yesterday, but no one looked as lazy as me. Knights and soldiers were busily moving around various goods and repairing hangars destroyed by stray spears. From my viewpoint as a lord, their attitudes were truly praiseworthy.

Knock knock.

“My liege, it’s Derval.”

“Oh! Sir Derval, come in.”

Creak. With my permission, Derval carefully opened the door and entered.

“How is your health?” he asked.

“Great. I slept like a baby for the first time in a while.”

“That is a relief.”

“How about you?”

“Thanks to you, my liege, I was also able to have a deep sleep.”

I could imagine that he hadn’t been able to sleep properly because of Laviter. He wasn’t the type of person to have slept in, but even a short but deeply restful sleep was better than a long but fitful one.

“Is the cleanup done? At least for the most part?”

“Not quite yet, but the large tasks have been completed.”

“Tell me what the damage was on our side.”

Even as I enjoyed the festival yesterday, a part of my heart ached. There must have been casualties among the territory’s Skyknights, and there was likely a great deal of casualties from the knights and soldiers fighting on the castle walls. Even so, a short festival was necessary. It was sad that they died, but Nerman was able to achieve peace thanks to their noble sacrifices. I was sure that even as we drank to celebrate that peace, no, to celebrate the dead, a part of everyone’s hearts was in mourning.

“From the 102 Skyknights that sortied, there were nine casualties. Of the twenty-five wyverns that were shot down, twelve died, and the rest were healed with holy water.”

“Mm…”

It was pretty much nothing compared to the 300+ wyverns shot down on Laviter’s side, but hearing that nine knights had died made my heart sting with pain.

“In addition, thirty-five knights and 890 soldiers defending the walls were killed. We treated the wounded swiftly with holy water, but there were many who could not be healed. Also, around 150 civilians lost their lives to stray spears.”

‘So many people died…’

I closed my eyes and briefly mourned their noble deaths.

“Other than that, 12 ballistas were completely destroyed, 30 were partially damaged, and the city wall has also taken considerable damage.”

The damage was less than expected. Who would have thought that anyone could win such a huge victory with damage as minimal as this against a large force from Laviter? However, from the territory’s viewpoint, the losses we suffered weren’t small. It was possible to treat them with holy water as long as they didn’t die instantly, but so many people had died without a chance of treatment.

“And the losses on the enemy side?”

“Their damages are enormous. First of all, only 200 of the 500 enemy wyverns returned alive, and around 170 wyverns out of the 300 crashed or had no impediment to their lives. The remaining 130 died.”

My eyes grew wide. 170 wyverns had survived. No amount of money could buy that many wyverns in a short period of time.

‘We did it!’

I clenched my fist. I considered capturing at least 100 alive a success, but we had managed 170.

“Also, 250 of the 300 Skyknights riding the wyverns either died or committed suicide. The rest were taken as prisoners.”

That was only natural for the Laviter Empire’s best nobles and knights. There were definitely people who killed themselves because it would be shameful to be captured by the enemy.

“What about their infantry?”

“Well… it’s quite a headache.”

“What do you mean? Did they go on a rampage or something?”

“No, sir. It’s not that they rampaged, but that too many soldiers were captured as prisoners,” Derval said, unable to hide his unease.

“There are too many?”

I also somewhat expected this.

“Yes. They are so numerous that we haven’t been able to figure out exactly how many enemies we’ve captured as prisoners. It has to be well over 180,000 at the very least.”

‘That’s indeed a lot.’

180,000 wasn’t some meager, pitiful number or anything. It was a force ⅓ the size of Nerman’s population.

“We’ve gathered the prisoners on the plains outside the city and have them under watch, but we’ll need at least 5,000 soldiers in order to contain them.”

Derval emphasized the ‘at least.’

‘Even after nabbing a big victory, the aftermath is a pain.’

180,000 soldiers were captured as prisoners. They were all young, healthy soldiers with hearty appetites, so they would also eat a lot.

“Have you treated all of the wounded?”

“We treated the ones with urgent wounds yesterday. Lady Aramis and the paladins lent us their help.”

There was no way the angelic Aramis would have left them to die. To her, it didn’t matter if they were enemies or allies—they were all just pitiful children of God in her eyes.

“What do you think should be done with the prisoners?”

“The Laviter Empire should be contacting us soon. Noble families will send people to retrieve the nobles and knights, whether they’ve died or not, and the empire will also come to negotiate for prisoners in order to quell the complaints of the people.”

‘Hooh, prisoner negotiations, huh.’

For the winners, the war was a blessing, and for the losers, it was a curse like no other. We reaped a massive profit from the wyverns alone, but it seemed we’d be able to get an extra cut from the prisoner negotiations.

‘Wait a sec, so how much war supplies did they leave behind?’

Even if we were to sell the weapons used by 200,000 Laviter troops as scrap metal, it would be enough to sustain Nerman for several years. There were also various other military goods necessary for war, like arrows, horses, provisions, and tents for sleeping. We must have acquired an unimaginable quantity of military supplies.

“But where did all the knights go? I didn’t see many wyverns in the covert, either.”

“They sortied to mop up the remnants of imperial troops scattered around the territory. The number of people that fled is significant as well.”

“Are the civil militias at every village in operation?”

“Everyone who fled went in the direction they came from, not to the areas where most of our residents are concentrated. And even if they were to appear, our people won’t lose to a few shabby Laviter soldiers.”

Before I came here, Nerman’s residents came out of the womb with the goal of becoming mercenaries. We brought in most of the old soldiers for the war, but even the people left in every village were capable of putting up a fight.

“Are there any mages, by any chance?”

“There are. We have captured 200 mages of at least the 4th Circle from the battlemage regiment belonging to the Corps. They are dangerous individuals, so we put mana shackles on them, along with the knights.”

‘200! Kukuku.’

As expected of a large empire. Unless you were an empire, you couldn’t even dream of having a regiment of several hundred 4th Circle or higher mages.

My brain began to whirl with countless calculations. I couldn’t just leave such a huge lump of manpower sitting around. No work, no pay! Those who didn’t work didn’t have the right to eat!

“Gather all of the prisoners in front of the central gates.”

“…?”

Derval blinked at me, not understanding my meaning.

“I have something to say, so except for the knights and mages, round up all the prisoners.”

“As you command!”

It wasn’t my first or second time giving an order like this. Derval erased his doubts and shouted his acquiescence. I would show him once again that I, Kang Hyuk, had a lot of nerve.

* * *

‘You can’t see the end of them.’

Simply gathering all of the prisoners being kept all over the place took a long time. After shaking off the shock from yesterday, they probably couldn’t believe that they had become prisoners. With a force of 10,000 at most keeping them prisoner, I was sure the impatient ones in the lot were feeling wronged enough to bite their tongues and die.

‘To think that the slaves of yesterday are allies today… All sorts of things happen in life, don’t they.’

The Temir warriors were encircling the imperial troops, following the orders of Kantahar, who I had appointed the leader of the Temir slaves. It was like that phrase adults said sometimes, you’ve got to meet the right match to live well.

‘Their military discipline is perfect.’

Despite having become prisoners, once my men started herding them to one side, the Laviter troops swiftly organized into rows and lines on their own. Thinking what might have happened if we had really clashed head-to-head with them was pointless. In a formal, textbook battle, the people of Nerman would have obviously lost 100 times out of 100.

Standing on a rampart next to the central gates, I shouted loudly using mana.

“I am the Lord of Nerman, Count Kyre.”

“……”

The moment I appeared, the gazes of the prisoners were focused entirely on me.

Ziiiiiiing.

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They were glaring at me with eyes whirling with a mix of rancid emotions, like murderous intent, rage, hate, fear.

“The circumstances leading to our meeting are regretful, but in any case, nice to meet you all.”

I filled my voice with the self-assurance of a winner. If I were a tyrant, not a single person would complain even if I were to kill all of these prisoners. In the current age, prisoners captured from war had no more value than that of slaves.

“I have gathered you all like this in order to make a proposal.”

“……?”

The prisoners looked confused by my words. I was someone who held authority over their life and death. It was probably the first time an enemy leader came out personally and offered prisoners a proposal.

‘Ya brats. Relax, I won’t eat you.’

I could feel taut tension from their questioning gazes. They were clearly worrying that I might do something to them.

“Even if you are prisoners, I do not wish to handle you like slaves in accordance with the war traditions thus far. As a faithful servant of the Goddess of Mercy, Neran, I do not wish to treat you like animals.”

“……”

As my words carried over the land, the prisoners fell into silence.

“Soon, the Laviter Empire will propose prisoner negotiations for you. I will readily accept that proposal.”

For the sake of my goal, I first reassured the prisoners.

“Also, until you return to the empire, you have my word that you will receive three meals per day, comfortable quarters, and the opportunity for the sick to receive treatment from the Neran Temple, just like Nerman’s soldiers.”

Second, I threw out the bait.

“Can those words be believed?”

“Hmph, they’re all lies.”

The incredible treatment I offered had the prisoners murmuring in surprise.

‘Ya brats, you surprised? Huhuhu.’

They were in a situation where they could be thankful that they weren’t killed or sold off, so of course they were surprised that I was offering them plentiful food and a place to sleep.

“Silence!”

Thruuuumm.

I activated my mana core and shouted the command with such force that the very earth seemed to shake.

“……”

The prisoners fell silent again, shushed by my one deafening word. I could clearly feel their fear towards me upon experiencing my oppressive mana.

“But that won’t be given for free. That is precious grain my people, knights, and soldiers spilled blood and sweat to grow. Anyone who takes it without giving anything in return has no conscience. In addition, know that I am not saying this because I forgive you for killing my soldiers and people yesterday.”

A warning followed the good conditions. I could see the prisoners’ gazes wavering. Even they had to admit that what I offered was far too good, but if they had a shred of conscience and the capability to think, they should know their crime.

“Until the empire comes to carry out the prisoner negotiations, I will put you to work in Nerman’s development. However, I will not treat you like slaves. Regular soldiers will receive a salary of 1 Gold per month, centurions 10 Gold, and lieutenants 100 Gold.”

“!!”

“What kind of ridiculous…”

Nothing like this had ever happened in the continent. Giving captured prisoners not just one meal per day, but three, a place to sleep and access to the temple, as well as a salary on top of that… Getting a salary for something they were going to be forced to do anyway made the Laviter soldiers look at each other in agitation.

‘How could you guys possibly understand my intent?’

The better the bait, the better the fish—that was an eternal truth. The Nerman soldiers keeping watch over the prisoners also looked surprised. The salary I was offering was lower than theirs, but simply giving money to prisoners was something they couldn’t understand. However, I absolutely needed the help of these prisoners.

“But if anyone causes trouble despite this incredible offer of mine, or attempts to flee, he or she will be killed immediately upon discovery. And as you all probably know, even an upper circle mage is not capable enough to flee from Nerman. We have the ocean to one side, rugged mountains encircling us, and there are still various monster encampments scattered around. In addition, Nerman is entirely made up of plains. If you have the confidence to avoid detection by Skyknights, do as you please… if you do not value your life, that is.”

I put the decisive finishing stamp on my speech. Basically, obedient ones would be given the salary of most mercenaries, while anyone who tried to flee or do anything seditious would be culled. Anyone who wanted to continue living would have no choice but to do as I said.

‘And that marks the birth of a huge labor force of 180,000! A present granted to me by the heavens!’

Nerman was a place with a mountain of things on the agenda. I would make use of the elite Laviter soldiers, who had strength to spare thanks to their robust physiques. They would become the ants working to construct my paradise!

* * *

“You’re already leaving?”

“Yeah, it’s a pity, but spring is important for our people as well.”

“I’m sorry to see you go.”

“Hoho, don’t worry. I’ll make time to come down and see you now and then.”

‘Now that she’s leaving, I feel a bit sad.’

Lokoroïa and the Temir folk could be called the true protagonists of our landslide victory this time. Despite that, it was still difficult for them to mesh with Nerman’s knights and soldiers, and it was time for them to leave.

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“Thank you.”

“Nonsense… The Great Guardian Warrior is me, and I am the Great Guardian Warrior, so no thanks are necessary.”

Even as she spoke about man and wife being of one flesh, her eyes were full of regret as she looked at me.

“This is a present for you.”

“Really?”

I didn’t have much to give. As someone who received a ton of jewels every year as tributes, Lokoroïa was more rich than me. I gifted her a dwarven-made mithril hairpin. It had a crescent moon shape and was encrusted with a bunch of little diamonds.

“I like it,” Lokoroïa said, smiling brightly as she put it in her hair.

“Safe travels. Send a lumikar if there’s anything you need.”

“Yeah, good luck over here too.”

With those words, Lokoroïa gave me a hug.

‘Affection sure is a scary thing.’

Even though we only kissed and slept in the same room together, my chest was all stuffy. This feeling could be called the sadness of parting with your loved one.

“Great Guardian Warrior… I fully understand it.”

“W-What do you understand?”

Still in my embrace, Lokoroïa started saying something weird.

“It’s only natural for outstanding warriors to have multiple women in order to sow their amazing seed.”

‘Geh!’

As expected of Lokoroïa, she had very special 4-dimensional thoughts. I had no idea a young person like her could have such… admirable thoughts. I didn’t know who educated her, but it seemed they had done a great job.

“Just don’t forget me. That’s all I ask. Alright?”

As she spoke, Lokoroïa’s eyes gleamed like black pearls as she raised her head to look straight into my eyes.

Chu.

I laid a light kiss on her forehead.

“Heheh…”

Unlike usual, Lokoroïa giggled at my kiss like a cute girl her age should act.

“I’ll come visit you soon. Be well.”

“Okay,” she murmured, leaving my arms and jumping up onto her wyvern.

“Darutakain! Darutakain!”

The Temir Skyknights shouted ‘darutakain,’ and I raised my fist high in the air in response.

“YEAAAAAAAAAH!”

These helpful assistants raised an energetic cheer.

Flap flap flap flap flap.

Lokoroïa’s wyvern thudded off, beating its wings hard and going aloft.

Flap flap flap, flap flap flap flap flap.

300 wyverns followed suit.

‘Safe travels, my friends.’

We received their help, but the Temir Skyknights were forced to stay outside the city because of the complicated relationship from the past. They left just like they had come, disappearing like the wind.

‘I will definitely turn this land into a place where everyone can live peacefully without hate…’

This time, I was sending them off in a regretful manner, but one day, my land would be one where everyone could live with open hearts. The name of that land was Nerman, the cradle of love and peace.

* * *

“T-That is…”

“What’s wrong? Do our words sound like a joke to you?”

“……”

In the Imperial Palace of the Bajran Empire, Count Kalderon, the ambassador sent by the Krantz Kingdom, was rendered completely speechless by Emperor Poltviran’s proposal.

“Oh mighty Emperor of the Great Bajran Empire, the two princesses of the kingdom have already married into neighboring kingdoms. But Your Majesty desires to take them as concubines… I beseech Your Majesty to retract thy words. If Your Majesty were to bestow any other command upon us, every citizen of the Krantz Kingdom will do their utmost to realize it.”

Emperor Poltviran gave one condition, and it was that the twin princesses that had married into the Kuviran and Kerpe Kingdoms several years ago had to be given to him as concubines. The Emperor spoke lightly of a demand difficult to grant even if they were unmarried. As he did so, his viper eyes gleamed coldly, seemingly giving off the stench of blood.

“Kukuku, then I suppose negotiations have broken down. We made a fairly easy demand, but you kicked our kindness away…”

There was no doubt that he was insane. In order to satisfy a perverted desire, the Emperor did not hesitate to immediately destroy a long-standing alliance between Bajran and Krantz with his absurd remarks. The expression of the ambassador, Count Kalderon, turned as black as the bottom of a burnt pot.

“Go tell your king. In the season of the Ruler of Fate, Romero, We shall personally go forth to subjugate the Krantz Kingdom that insulted us! KUHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Emperor Poltviran’s laughter echoed throughout the palace, ringing with utter delight. Bajran troops were already assembling at the Krantz Kingdom’s borders, all in order to faithfully carry out the commands of their mad emperor.

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