Lord of Rot

”New recruits can be selected from the serfs.”

Leech’s final words were the stamp of approval on establishing the Porcupine Territory Cavalry.

The commoner population was only two hundred, and nearly all the able-bodied young men had already joined the ranks of the Porcupine Soldiers. It was impossible to find any more recruits among them; they were either too old or too young. Fresh blood was a necessity.

”Pick the younger ones,” Leech stressed again.

Soldiers were different. They were responsible for defending their home. If they didn’t feel a sense of belonging, how could they be expected to risk their lives to protect it?

The younger they were, the stronger their sense of belonging would be as they grew up in the Porcupine Territory.

”Sir!” Kuai Ren snapped to attention, stomping his foot in response.

THUMP. The sound startled Qing Tian, who had just slunk back into the room.

”MEOW!” Its fur stood on end as it quickly fled.

The Desert Noble Kro Camel also paid a visit. As the only noble who had truly defected to Leech’s side, and especially since he had earned considerable merit in the destruction of Wado Eighteen, Leech was very courteous to Kro.

Even wining and dining was a talent, and this man was a natural social butterfly. However, socializing required a powerful lord; others had to be willing to pay you any mind in the first place.

Leech allocated the funds and told him to set off as soon as possible, and to try and return before the new year.

Warhorses were suitable for Knights. Leech wanted to create light Cavalry, scouts, and other units. Docile, fast horses were also a good choice; they could be used for breeding and improvement after being brought back.

As for warhorses, he would keep one stallion for breeding and buy as many mares as possible to be wives for Rocket in the future, filling out his harem.

’Maybe in the future, I can establish a Horse-headed Eagle Knight Team for direct aerial combat,’ he thought to himself.

’You all can charge on the ground while I charge through the sky.’

The thought filled Leech with anticipation for the future.

Kro Camel moved quickly. He took his retinue and set off that very day, excitedly embarking on the road to the desert.

Dinner was another small party of drinking and feasting. The life of a nobleman was just so dull and tedious.

At night in Pigtail Bay, the pier was just starting to take shape. Leech walked alone along the shore as the sea breeze brushed his face, dispelling the faint tipsiness from his wine.

There was still some distance from the pier to the Cape Cavern. He could use this walk to clear his head. Gazing at the sea at night was a universal pastime in any era.

Suddenly, a beautiful singing voice came from behind a reef.

It was just a woman’s voice humming, without lyrics. The smooth vocal line and song were like the gentlest arrow piercing Leech’s heart, an arrow coated in sweet poison. If he tried to pull it out, the barbs on the arrowhead would resist the impulse.

Behind the reef, a golden Water Nymph was singing to the moon.

The singing did not stop at his arrival.

Leech simply found a reef to sit on and listened quietly.

He didn’t understand music appreciation, but any song that could evoke such empathy was, for the listener, the greatest song of all.

The singing stopped. The sound of the waves lapping against the reefs seemed like the sea, reluctant to let the song go, was still keeping the beat.

Leech was also savoring the memory.

He recalled that there were many magical creatures and spirits of the sea that loved to sing. He wondered if they were close relatives of the Water Nymph, a type of Freshwater Elf found in lakes.

Freshwater fish would surely die in the sea. Thankfully, a freshwater nymph in the sea was in no mortal danger.

Oh, right. She was already dead.

The moonlight fell on the Water Nymph’s golden body, reflecting a faint glow.

”That was beautiful,” Leech said.

The Water Nymph nodded. ”Looking at the moon, I suddenly felt like singing.”

”I have a Magic spell you might want to try learning.”

He suddenly remembered a Magic spell he had obtained from a tower in the underground castle of the Cape Cavern.

Enchanting Melody.

”I don’t understand musical scores, but with your voice, you might be able to sing it.”

Leech drew the magical score in the sand.

”I can read it,” said the Water Nymph.

She began to try it out. It was a completely different kind of song. Upon hearing it, Leech suddenly fell into a trance. He didn’t want to do anything but listen to it forever.

Only when the song stopped did he come to his senses. It seemed he had just been enchanted; his mind had been filled only with the song, completely uninterested in anything else.

”It’s very similar to a song from my memories,” the Water Nymph said to Leech. ”But this melody has an extra power to charm the heart.”

”The song from your memory can’t charm people?” Leech asked. This was a question he had been holding back for a long time. In truth, he was more interested in what abilities the Water Nymph possessed.

The Water Nymph said, ”It cannot.”

Leech was about to question it, but then a thought struck him: ’Why would she need a song to charm people?’

The Water Nymph’s original appearance was extremely beautiful. She sang well, had fair skin, a perfect figure, and didn’t particularly like wearing clothes.

’Just imagine: when a bunch of pervs pass by a pool and see a top-tier beauty, soaking wet, dancing for them and even opening her arms in welcome... they wouldn’t need any magical enticement to pounce on her. Her charm was already maxed out.’

After confirming the compatibility between the chanting Magic and the Water Nymph, Leech thought to himself, ’Maybe I can collect more chanting-based Magic in the future.’

After chatting a bit more, Leech looked toward the Cape Cavern. He had to go there personally.

He also wanted to see his prisoner, Betty. He was determined to recruit her talent and integrate Betty into the industrial development of the Porcupine Territory, rather than letting her work in isolation. The research was progressing too slowly.

The basic research and development of the firearm was fine. The general trajectory of the shot could be predicted, and the barrel’s sturdiness was good. The only thing left was figuring out how to let an ordinary person fire it, instead of using Magic.

He wanted to skip the Matchlock Gun stage and move directly to the Flintlock Gun.

As long as he had the concept, the next step was to find talented people to replicate his ideas.

A wave crashed in, soaking Leech’s leather boots.

He splashed through the water with a SPLAT and stepped into the Cape Cavern for the first time.

He passed through a vast residential area, where rotting corpses and white bones were scattered everywhere.

Broken spears and bows littered the ground.

Further in was the commercial district. Glowing moss provided a faint light. It was his body’s first time here, but mentally, he was very familiar with this massive underground territory.

A small, thin figure in the plaza area heard the footsteps, turned to look at Leech, and said, ”Another one?”

”Betty Bone,” Leech said, his tone like a lord addressing his prisoner.

”Baron Porcupine?” Betty suddenly rushed in front of Leech, looking up at him in pleasant surprise. ”You came!”

Her reaction made Leech a little uncomfortable. Logically, having been imprisoned by him in a sunless cavern, she should be furious to see him.

Before, it could have been interpreted as her making the best of a bad situation, but what was with the smile now?

’Stockholm syndrome?’

”Quick, I’ve developed a new Alchemy Bomb!” Betty grabbed Leech’s hand, pulled him forward, and stopped in front of a pile of iron cans. ”It’s an Alchemy Bomb I made, reinforced with Magic.”

”Want to test its power?” She bent down and struggled to lift an iron can.

Leech nodded and took the iron can from her hands.

He flexed his arm slightly, stepped forward with his left foot, and threw with all his might.

WHOOSH—!

The iron can tore through the air and suddenly flashed with light high above.

”BOOM!”

A wave of fire churned the air in the cavern’s ”sky.” The backlash of heat washed over them, making Leech instinctively narrow his eyes.

The power was greater than a simple bomb. The explosion was spherical; he could even see the outline of the sphere as it detonated.

Leech’s current throwing strength was nearly comparable to a small catapult. The Alchemy Bomb had shrunk to the size of an ant in his vision, but the heatwave that washed back from the explosion still made his skin feel scorched.

”Hahahaha!” Betty laughed wildly, jumping for joy. ”It worked! Explosion, explosion, explosion!”

Leech decided to drop the formalities and ask directly, ”Betty Bone, are you willing to serve me? I can absolve you of the crime of invading a Baron Territory, release you from your imprisonment and punishment, and restore your freedom.”

”Huh?” Betty tilted her head. ”Freedom? How boring. I’m already free! Freedom is explosion!”

During her time in the cavern, something must have gone wrong with her brain.

”But I do want to pledge my loyalty to you,” Betty said, covering her mouth and giggling. ”And then... blow you up with a bomb! Oh, how romantic! To be blown into bloody bits of flesh!”

Leech said, ”You should understand what pledging loyalty means. But I can let you blow up other targets.”

”As long as I can blow something up! It would be best if there were targets, the kind with two legs, two arms, and one head. BANG, BANG, BANG, and then they fall to the ground,” she said, excitedly pantomiming as if she were holding a long gun.

Leech ignored her minor mental instability and nodded. ”In that case, I accept your pledge of fealty.”

Firearms, Alchemy Bombs... Betty’s value was self-evident.