The Necromancer Commands Slaves, Not Undeads

18 – Manticore Subjugation War

We briskly moved our steps. Following the black wolf, we saw the mansion on the hill. As we diligently hiked the uphill, we observed guards wandering around the wired fence, protecting the premises.

The black wolf approached them and exchanged a few words. After a brief conversation, the guards ushered us into the mansion while accompanying us.

The mansion was enormous. Precisely, it wasn’t a building rather it contained various facilities such as yards, gardens, barns, and workplaces for workers within its premises.

There were many people coming and going at the Freud territory, not as many as a big city, but still a lot. The perks that came from it must have been significant.

We followed the guards to the guest room inside the mansion where the feudal lord was waiting for us.

The guest room was filled with luxurious decorations; this was the first time I had been in such an opulent room in this world. I opened my mouth in awe.

The lord was seated in the high seat of the guest room. He was dressed in a neat, luxurious brown suit. He was wearing a monocle in one eye, a literal manifestation of the term ‘gentleman’.

The Lord of Freud, with his black hair and moustache, greeted us as we entered.

“You honour me greatly, Frey’s Lord. I am the Black Wolf, leading a small mercenary guild. I have a pertinent matter to discuss with you at this meeting.”

“Um um. One thing I’m curious about. Who are these young boy and girl?”

He directed his gaze at me and Dorothy, and I spoke on behalf of the Black Wolf

“Hello, my lord. I am a magician. This girl is my assistant, Dorothy.”

Dorothy and I briefly bowed to the lord. When I introduced myself as a wizard, the lord opened his eyes wide, incredulous.

“You’re a wizard? You look quite young.”

Considerably sceptical, the Black Wolf spoke on my behalf.

“I understand your skepticism, my lord. Before seeing this wizard’s capabilities, I too thought he was just a suspicious kid. However, he is indeed a wizard, and one capable of combating an entire mercenary group alone.”

“Uh huh… is that true?”

I simply smiled at the lord. He gave a low groan and nodded, seemingly believing the Black Wolf’s story for now.

Shortly after a brief silence, the lord spoke again.

“I have heard you have a pressing matter to discuss with me. Something about a bandit subjugation.”

Black Wolf responded to that.

“Yes, indeed. There were some things to be delivered to the guards, did you receive them?”

The lord nodded.

“You mean the manticores with the slave engravings? I’ve received it, indeed! I am well aware that your excellent martial skills have brought peace to this Freud territory.”

Seemingly excited, the lord said. The Black Wolf humbly bowed his head and spoke again.

“Thank you, my lord. But, before I discuss those martial arts, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

The Black Wolf calmly explained the situation. In fact, the manticore lurking in the vicinity caused an accident during the slave transport. The slaves were just used by the Manticore.”It was a ploy.”

The Manticore, a formidable opponent able to control monstrous beasts, had insisted that their upcoming bandit extermination plan required significant modification.

The expression on the lord’s face froze when he heard about the Manticore.

“The Manticore?”

With a baffled expression, he muttered in a low tone.

“I thought it was merely a case of ordinary slaves escaping… this situation escalated quickly. And they’ve situated themselves near the road that connects the territories of Elia and Freud…”

“Indeed. We must exterminate the Manticore as quickly as possible before the damage increases.”

“However… the people currently gathered for the extermination are a rabble. If they know they aren’t facing runaway slaves, but the Manticore, many of them will quit…”

The lord was right. The difficulty level differs between bandit extermination and monster extermination and there are sure to be deserters.

“What about bolstering our numbers with mercenaries?”

The Black Wolf broached the subject. As the Freud Territory had more guards to control the transient population compared to other cities, but the lord seemed hesitant at this suggestion.

“We can’t put a bunch of mercenaries in the extermination unit. Who knows what would happen within the city when I and my soldiers are gone…”

“There’d be no control.”

I quietly listened to their conversation. The discussion was circular, with no viable solutions coming forth.

The Black Wolf looked at me, silently asking what I would do. Originally, I would’ve been satisfied with a proper reward for my effort from the lord.

I didn’t plan to stay long in Freud Territory. I had a pursuit behind me, just as I‘d told Dorothy. I couldn’t dedicate much time to this extermination, but the situation was pressing. If the lord and I could negotiate successfully it could yield significant returns.

Alright. Let’s try this then.

“Excuse me for interrupting, but may I share a humble suggestion?”

Upon saying this, both the feudal lord of Freud and the Black Wolf looked at me.

“Lord, I have one question. At this very moment, how many troops can you mobilize?”

“Hmm…60 mercenaries and 30 elite soldiers from my own territory.”

“Black Wolf, how many forces would we need to exterminate the Manticore?”

“We must at least maintain the current 90 men. As you know, a Manticore is a monster that manages wild beasts like herds of wolves or bears. There is a high chance they will control savage animals.”

“And they also have runaway slaves.”

I continued addressing the lord.

“If we can prevent the desertion of the current mercenaries, we can quickly proceed with the extermination?”

“But how…”

“I have a plan. Black Wolf, your mercenary group will participate in the extermination, right?”

“Yeah.”

The reason why the lord and Black Wolf took this issue so seriously was because they considered that many mercenaries would desert.

And I had a solution for that.

“Firstly, gather the mercenaries without mentioning the Manticore. The meeting point will be here. After gathering, inform them about the Manticore. I’ll take care of what happens next.”

“This location…”

The Black Wolf stroked his chin, while the lord looked at me dubiously.

“Do you have a method of preventing the desertion of mercenaries?”

“Even if there is some desertion, we will be able to maintain the initial 90 men.”

Seeing me confidently voice this, the lord looked at me with a bewildered expression.

Shall we wager?

“Lord, how about we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“If we don’t reach 90, I’ll put my life on the line.”

At this, the Black Wolf…Daewa and Dorothy were taken aback. Dorothy, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her. When I turned to face Dorothy, she was shaking her head vehemently to communicate that this was a terrible idea.

She said anxiously, “Master. You can’t!”

“It’s okay, Dorothy.”

“But!”

I stroked her hair and put my index finger to her lips as I turned back to look at the owner.

“If the extermination is carried out and successfully completed, you must meet my three requirements.”

“Um…..”

“These are requests that you can comply with. I promise.”

Finally, the lord erased his uncomfortable expression. He nodded and conceded to my terms.

“Promise me.”

“Thank you. Please gather the soldiers as soon as possible.”

“Two days should be enough.”

“Great. See you again in two days.”

With that, our discussion with the lord ended, and we swiftly left the mansion. Dorothy and the black wolf looked at me with worried expressions.

“I understand that your proud skeleton soldiers are certainly intimidating, but it’s not enough to hold the soldiers together. What were you thinking when you said that?”

“Master… you gambled your life too easily…”

Ignoring their concerns, I shook my head.

“I have it all planned. People usually go with the flow. If it doesn’t work, what else is there to lose other than death?”

The black wolf sighed and scratched his head. As he left, he left with these words.

“Alright… Okay. See you in two days.”

Then it was just me and Dorothy. Dorothy, looking worried, held my hand with her small, fine hands.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I soothingly stroked the back of her hand with my thumb and smiled.

“It’s okay. Trust me.”

At this point, Dorothy’s worried eyes disappeared. She nodded, as if to say she believed in me.

“Understood.”

We returned to the inn to prepare for the sudden extermination game that we would be wading into in two days.