Lord of Rot

Bor turned to look at Kro Camel, who had suddenly interjected. He snorted coldly and asked Wado Eighteen, ”We’re attacking Hebang Village today.”

”Yes. We’ll just send our men to overwhelm them!”

They hadn’t even had time to discuss tactics, but Wado Eighteen didn’t care. All they had to do was use their old methods: overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers. Victory was guaranteed.

”You’ve been absent from the battlefield several times now,” Bor said, looking at Wado Eighteen.

Wado Eighteen replied, ”I’ll be there when we attack Longship Castle.”

The atmosphere grew tense.

”Alright, you may leave, Sir Bor,” Wado Eighteen said.

”I’m not a knight!” Bor spun around and left, slamming the door heavily behind him with a BANG.

Caught between the two brutish butchers, Kro was too terrified to even breathe. Fortunately, the suffocating atmosphere didn’t last long.

After that unpleasant exchange, there was no point in further conversation. Kro excused himself and left.

With war on the horizon, some of the men had already begun to make preparations.

Kro watched the disorderly crowd, wondering how this force managed to stumble along without completely falling apart.

’A minor lord could never support an army like this. Wado Eighteen’s defeat is already set in stone. Meanwhile, I still have to play my part and better serve my own lord.’

’In Porcupine Territory, I discovered my own worth. It turns out I’m not just a useless glutton. I have strengths, and Lord Leech Clarence was the only one who saw them!’

’This strange feeling of being appreciated was intoxicating, making him willing to remain in this dangerous place.’

A feather drifted down, carrying a strange, somewhat pungent smell.

”So many birds,” he said, looking up at the sky where birds circled overhead.

’When the troops began to move, some of the birds flew directly over them. It was as if they had a mind of their own, as if they were monitoring Wado Eighteen’s men.’

’Impossible!’

He shook his head. ’I must be hallucinating from the stress.’

These nerve-wracking days made him miss life in the taverns of Porcupine Territory. Of course, he liked Green Forest Castle even better, since it had a brothel and Porcupine Territory still hadn’t built one.

A malicious glare shot toward him from a distance. It was Bor and his cronies. They were whispering amongst themselves, their looks for Kro filled with loathing.

’I need to stick closer to Wado Eighteen,’ Kro thought. He knew for a fact that if those thugs got a chance, they would kill him without a second thought.

Just as Kro suspected, Bor and his men were huddled together, whispering.

”He’s changed.”

”He thinks he’s a Baron now. He’s forgotten we were all just Refugees who became bandits!”

”I’m sick of all his stupid rules.”

”It’s not just that. He’s getting cozier and cozier with that noble bastard. And now he’s too scared to even go into battle.”

”Should we find a chance to kill that noble?”

”Let’s do it.”

As the men schemed, they had no idea that in a tree behind them, a small, unblinking bird was tilting its head, listening to every word.

...

「East Port, Roaring Castle.」

When Baron Porcupine declared war on Wado Eighteen over a few dozen slaves, the news was immediately carried on raven’s wings to Roaring Castle.

Sidor Sea Water looked up at the sky. ”That raven seems to have come from the direction of Iron Stone City.”

Unfortunately, he was merely an illegitimate son. Although his father allowed him a room in Roaring Castle and let him handle minor tasks, he was forbidden from having servants or meddling in any real business.

But Sidor had his ways, thanks to his stupid and arrogant older brother.

He straightened his clothes slightly and walked toward the castle.

After pacing back and forth a dozen times, he ”accidentally” bumped into a handsome young man who bore a passing resemblance to him. ”Oh, Pine.”

Pine Leopold, the clan’s eldest son and heir to the Leopold Dukedom.

Among his siblings, Pine only had a younger sister. He was actually quite good to Sidor Sea Water. An illegitimate son posed no threat to his inheritance, yet they shared the same blood, which theoretically guaranteed loyalty to the family.

More importantly, Sidor knew exactly what he liked.

”Sidor, what’s up?” Pine stopped and asked.

”I heard there’s a very special Sub-human at the Black Market this time. I thought you might be interested.”

”Tell me more!” Pine’s eyes lit up.

Sidor said, ”I hear it’s a female Snake-man. With a forked tongue.”

”Hiss...”

”Haha, you truly are my brother!” Pine exclaimed, happily draping an arm over Sidor’s shoulder. The two chatted at length on the topic of ”forked tongues.” But conversations are like that; after the pleasantries, the troubles come to mind.

”Is something troubling you?” Sidor asked.

Pine grumbled, ”It’s Porcupine Territory. That new Baron Porcupine is causing trouble.”

”Baron Porcupine?” Sidor recalled the country noble he had met at Iron Stone Castle. As one of the East Gorge People, it was hard not to have heard the stories about Baron Porcupine.

The son of a blacksmith becoming a Baron—it was the stuff of legends.

His son was a legend in his own right, surviving an assassination attempt and making a miraculous recovery. Some even called him a Divine Favored.

He was intrigued. ”What happened?”

Pine grumbled, ”You know about the mess in Waterfall Land. Father doesn’t want to talk about it, but that stupid Baron Porcupine, just because he lost a few dozen slaves, is determined to get involved. He’s even saying he’ll chop off that bastard’s head. Father just asked me what we should do about it.”

”And what did you say?” Sidor asked, though he could already guess his brother’s answer.

”I said he’s just a country baron, so we should let him fend for himself,” Pine said. ”We chose to ignore the situation at Longship Castle, didn’t we?”

’That’s completely different, my foolish brother.’

’The Wados have no heir by blood. The Baroness’s control of the castle is illegitimate.’

’But Baron Porcupine is a loyal vassal of the Golden Thorn Sword Clan, not to mention a man who performed great service for our father. How could the two situations be compared?’

”And then Father scolded me,” Pine said. ”He told me to stop Baron Porcupine. He said, ’A porcupine’s son is still a porcupine, covered in quills,’ and then he just burst out laughing.”

’It’s because Father admires brave and fearless warriors,’ Sidor thought. ’He needs the new Baron Porcupine.’

”Perhaps I could go in your stead,” Sidor suggested. ”I have nothing better to do, and I’ve met Leech Clarence before. We got along well.”

”I’ve met him too,” Pine said. ”He was injured later, wasn’t he? His stepmother’s doing. But he made a miraculous recovery... You want to go?”

Sidor countered, ”Aren’t you interested in the Snake-man with the forked tongue?”

”Oh, of course I am!” Pine was overjoyed. ”Then I’ll leave it to you. Just make sure you don’t let him die.”

”I’ll do my best.”

「Linta Bay, Green Forest Castle.」

When Stacy received the news and found her grandfather and father, they were in the middle of a pleasant chat.

”Don’t you two know? Leech has declared war on that... that bastard!”

”Of course we know.”

Stacy said, ”We have to do something!”

But Knight Wisdom shook his head. ”We will do nothing until he asks for our help.”

”Why not?”

”Because that is the nature of the Porcupine Clan. When you marry into their family, your children will be just as stubborn as any Porcupine.”

”Then I’ll go myself!” Stacy declared, turning to leave.

Seeing this, the Knight said to his son, ”Lewis, go stop her!”

Lewis spread his hands helplessly. ”I can’t win a fight against her.”

”Then get Bode to help. She’s your daughter, and she won’t even listen to you.”

”She’s your granddaughter, too,” Lewis muttered, then scurried off before his father could lose his temper.

SIGH... In the study of Green Forest Castle, sighs had become a common sound ever since Leech’s departure.

「Iron Stone City.」

When word spread that Leech had sworn to take Wado Eighteen’s head, both Baron Spark and ”Charming” Becky, who did business with Leech, chose to ignore it.

’A few dozen Soldiers against tens of thousands? Does he really think he’s a Divine Favored?’