Lord of Rot

”Sir Leech! I’m Steven Linsen!” The young noble’s son immediately turned to look at Leech and bowed. ”My father loves Porcupine Wine!”

A smile appeared on Leech’s face. ”Sir Steven, we will definitely rescue Miss Agnes!”

’Doing business together makes us friends.’

The party continued onward, the only change being that Leech now had an emotional and indignant Steven by his side.

Philip sent out scouts periodically, but the corpse bird Leech controlled had already reached Pebble Castle far ahead of them.

It was a small, dilapidated castle built on a riverbend.

The corpse bird spread its wings, flying low over the land.

Near Pebble Castle, someone had set up fishing nets in a stream.

However, the stream was too shallow to hold any large fish.

At a sentry post, two armored soldiers were chatting idly.

The corpse bird immediately perched in a nearby tree, tilting its head to listen.

”When do we get our turn to go in and have some fun? Leopold gets her first, though.”

”Tsk. The boss said everyone gets a turn.”

”Hehe. Her skin is as white and smooth as milk. I’d give up a few years of my life just to have her once.”

After listening for a while and determining there was no more critical information, the corpse bird once again spread its wings and flew toward Pebble Castle.

Scattered sentry posts, all in well-hidden locations, lined the path to Pebble Castle.

But no one would ever notice a bird passing overhead.

Just as it neared Pebble Castle...

WHOOSH—!

An arrow suddenly shot out, piercing the corpse bird’s body.

Leech’s world suddenly spun, and his vision tumbled to the ground.

He was controlling a small bird. While being pierced by an arrow wouldn’t destroy it, the bird couldn’t fly with such a heavy projectile stuck in it. He had no choice but to abandon it.

’The defenses are tight. Not even a bird can get through.’

He began to doubt whether Philip and his four companions could rescue Agnes. The enemy had clearly dealt with Transcendents before and was extremely cautious.

It was even highly likely that the enemy consisted of Transcendents themselves!

Unwilling to waste his other corpse birds, Leech had the remaining few hide in the mountain forests, monitoring from a great distance.

After nightfall, Philip ordered a halt for rest. They were still half a day’s journey from Pebble Castle.

The scouts had returned from their reconnaissance and reported their basic findings.

They would rest for the first half of the night and launch a surprise attack in the second.

The riverbend area offered plenty of cover, making it perfect for a night raid. But after what had happened to his corpse bird, Leech was skeptical about how effective a surprise attack could be.

With a raid imminent, it was not the time to set up pots and cook. Everyone ate cold meat and dry bread.

Leech’s contingent ate better, however. A self-heating pack was enough to bring a pot of water to a boil. They added some dried meat and soon had a fragrant stew, which the other Mercenaries and peasants eyed with envy. They couldn’t figure out how Leech’s men were boiling water without a fire.

Drinking hot water was one of the customs in Porcupine Territory.

Baron Leech, who enjoyed poisoning others, was also worried about being poisoned himself. Boiling water before drinking it could prevent a great deal of trouble.

Steven came over. ”Sir Leech, what is this?”

”A heating pack,” Leech said. ”It heats up when you add water. While it can’t match a real flame, it’s more than enough to boil some water.”

Steven accepted a cup of hot water, but it was clear from his expression that he had no taste for it. He took a sip and frowned.

”Sir Leech, could you give me a warhorse?” Steven finally voiced his thoughts. ”I want to ride with you in the charge.”

There were sixteen noble Knights in total. Excluding Philip and the other four Transcendents, the remaining eleven, including Leech, were the main body of Knights. If a frontal conflict broke out, they would be responsible for the charge.

Leech turned to look at Steven and shook his head decisively. ”Absolutely not!”

”Why not?” Steven asked, confused.

Leech asked, ”Where is your warhorse?”

’His meaning was simple: You don’t have your own warhorse, so you’re trying to freeload off me? Do you have any idea how much a warhorse costs?’

’If he had his own horse and equipment, Leech certainly wouldn’t stop him.’

’Dying in battle is a nobleman’s glory; he wasn’t about to stop someone else from seeking it on the battlefield.’

Steven nodded gravely. ”I understand. Thank you, Sir Leech!”

’Huh? What did he understand?’

But then Steven said, ”You mean I’m not ready yet, right? My father has told me the same thing, but I’ve never understood what ’being prepared’ truly means. How can one be considered prepared?”

”I think you definitely need to get prepared,” Leech said. He’d already realized that Steven Linsen was a bit of a dramatic daydreamer, prone to getting lost in his own head.

’First, he needs to break that nasty habit of freeloading. Then maybe he can get his head on straight.’

Not getting the answer he was looking for from Leech, Steven nodded and walked away, heading toward Philip.

In this company, made up of the second sons of nobles and other minor lords, Leech was the Baron Porcupine. He was also credited with leading a campaign against the tens of thousands of Wado Eighteen’s followers in Waterfall Land. Although, by the time he arrived, Wado Eighteen’s forces had already scattered on their own—earning him the mocking title ”Baron of Luck”—he had, at the very least, been on a battlefield.

Then there was Fosak, a veteran Knight. His combat record wasn’t spectacular, but any old Knight who survived the battlefield had his own ways of getting by.

Of course, the most renowned of them all was Philip Cavendish, the Midnight Sun.

Leech, for his part, couldn’t be bothered with whatever preparations Steven intended to make, as long as he didn’t come looking for him again.

After midnight, Philip and the other four were fully equipped and ready to set out.

”Be careful,” Leech said, walking up to them. ”Saving her is the number one priority.”

His own corpse bird hadn’t been able to breach the castle’s airtight defenses, so Leech was a million times more cautious about this operation.

Philip smiled and nodded. ”The Cavendish family motto: All-Conquering!”

The other four nodded. ”All-Conquering!”

The five Transcendents disappeared into the darkness.

Leech took a deep breath. ”Attack Pebble Castle!”

The thousand-strong force moved forward.

The moment they began to move, Leech ran into a host of problems.

It was utter chaos.

The poorly trained militiamen, armed with nothing but iron forks, dragged their feet, clearly unwilling to risk their lives in a fight.

The Mercenaries had a similar attitude, planning to put in an appearance without exerting any real effort.

”Johann!” Leech looked at that sorry excuse for a Knight. ”Get the men moving! We’re just responsible for the feint; we don’t need to meet the enemy head-on.”

Controlling their own soldiers was the noble Knights’ problem.

They were the ones who needed the military honors. If their subordinates didn’t put in the effort, they would be far more anxious than Leech.

Even from a distance, Leech could hear the other noble Knights making grand promises to their men. If the troops were only going to put on a show, this whole trip would have been for nothing.

After a good while wasted, the troops’ morale finally seemed to lift, and the column advanced toward Pebble Castle.

The riverbend at Pebble Castle was wide enough for about twenty horses to ride abreast. The riverbed itself was nearly dry, with water that would only come up to their ankles.

A thousand men, a dozen or so family banners fluttering in the wind—under the moonlight, the procession looked somewhat imposing.