Ch.150Chapter 150

The mercenary captains hired by Berman quickly decided to surrender after Berman’s head was mounted on a pole.

However, soldiers loyal to Dencan called for a fight to the death to avenge Berman…

“Remember how much Lord Berman did for us! To avenge him, my life is nothing—”

“If you’re that loyal, go follow him by yourself. I have no intention of dying for that scamming bastard!”

“Capture those bastards and feed them to the wolves!”

…The mercenaries who had been severely betrayed by their employer had no desire to accompany Berman on his journey to the afterlife.

Not just anyone, but he had calmly presented them with a contract while keeping secret that they would be facing a king. They wanted to hack his corpse to pieces.

The mercenary captains beheaded the soldiers who were screaming for revenge with crazed eyes and proceeded to surrender.

The mercenary captains who raised white flags were able to meet Wendigo under the watchful eyes of the wolf riders… As soon as they laid eyes on Wendigo, they cursed inwardly.

‘What kind of courage did that crazy knight have to challenge such a monster?’

‘What the… the rumors were true. I thought it was just a large brute wearing a helmet with deer antlers.’

‘If you’re going to die, at least die gracefully.’

The mercenary captains were shocked to learn that the rumored King of Manheimr was truly a Djin (or monster), and were further surprised by the neatly dead chimera behind him.

When they failed to show proper respect due to their shock, one of the wolf riders shouted angrily.

“You’ve lost your minds! Kneel immediately!”

The warriors surrounding the mercenary captains drew their weapons and aimed at them, emanating killing intent. They looked ready to behead anyone showing the slightest disrespect.

Naturally, being mercenaries who valued their lives above all else, they threw themselves to the ground in panic.

“We-we’re sorry! We were just shocked by the king’s majesty…”

“We were deceived by that cunning Berman! Had we known the king was coming to punish him, we would never have contracted with him!”

“Here, as proof, we’ve brought the heads of soldiers who followed Berman.”

The mercenary captains opened their bundles, showing the severed heads inside while begging for mercy.

The warriors continued to glare at the mercenary captains with murderous eyes, waiting for Wendigo’s decision.

Thinking this was a good opportunity to catch the king’s attention, the nobles gathered around Wendigo and offered their opinions.

“How about selling them as slaves? Despite their ferocity, mercenaries are quite popular for their strong bodies.”

“Your Majesty, if you command, I will flay their backs and pull out their ribs. Nothing instills fear in enemies better than that.”

“Or perhaps feed them to the wolves…”

‘Do these people want me to be some dark lord of terror?’

Wendigo was disgusted by these uniformly “precious” suggestions. He had considered selling them as slaves, but killing them all wasn’t to his taste.

Death only brings fear and corpses—what use was that?

‘A terrified rat will bite the cat.’

Wendigo was confident he could kill even if bitten by a chimera, but the warriors who followed him were not so resilient.

The warriors weren’t sturdy enough to recover after taking a few sword wounds like Wendigo.

Having reached a conclusion, Wendigo raised his hand to stop the nobles’ increasingly extreme suggestions.

The mercenary captains, who had been slowly reaching for daggers hidden in their clothes, lowered their bodies again.

“From what I hear from the mercenary captains, there seems to be no lie. However, they cannot deny the crime of serving in a traitor’s army, so they shall serve under me to atone for their sins.”

Some of the more extreme nobles were disappointed by the light punishment, but most easily accepted Wendigo’s judgment.

They had suggested cruel punishments to catch the king’s attention, but they hadn’t really wanted the mercenary captains dead either.

If the warriors these captains brought died, they would suffer the loss—naturally.

The mercenary captains inwardly sighed with relief at the unexpectedly generous decision. They might not receive wages while serving, but at least they kept their lives.

The mercenary captains thought the King of Manheimr was truly generous despite his appearance…

“Your Majesty, what shall we do with the heads they brought?”

“Throw them to the wolves as snacks.”

Wendigo answered a retainer’s question in a calm voice. He figured they would only become fertilizer if buried, so he might as well fill the hungry wolves’ stomachs…

The retainers nodded with satisfied smiles at Wendigo’s cruel(?) command that denied even the mercy of burial to his enemies.

Indeed, such ruthlessness when punishing was befitting of a northern lord.

“Go ahead and devour those sinful ones!”

“Grrrr!”

With permission granted, the drooling wolves thrust their heads into the bundle full of heads.

The mercenary captains trembled in fear as they watched heads disappear right before their eyes.

Truly, he was a ruler of iron and blood worthy of unifying the north, showing no mercy.

They resolved, again and again, never to displease the king.

* * *

Considering the warriors’ stamina, Wendigo decided to stay at the castle for just one day before moving on.

Of course, Wendigo couldn’t rest in the castle. Unlike his palace, Berman’s castle was inevitably built with only human proportions in mind.

Wendigo had no choice but to rest and dine in a tent. Still, thanks to the meal prepared by the castle’s chef who put his life on the line, he had no complaints.

The chef, recognized for his skill, fainted while shedding tears. Surely it was because he was moved to have his skills acknowledged by the king.

Just as Wendigo was using bread to clean up the last of the sauce on his plate, Skadi Brynhild returned and entered the tent.

She reported to Wendigo with a bright expression.

“Lord Wendigo. I’ve captured and interrogated the summoner I mentioned.”

“I thought such tasks could be delegated to others… but I’m glad you returned unharmed.”

“It’s a bit strange for you to say that…”

Indeed, Wendigo’s words lacked persuasiveness.

Despite having risen to a position where he could order his retainers to subdue enemies, he personally tackled problems by creating possession bodies.

Knowing this fact, Wendigo pretended not to hear Skadi’s muttering. Skadi also decided against asking Wendigo to maintain his dignity.

If Geron couldn’t persuade him to maintain his dignity despite asking every day, what difference would her words make?

Every good ruler has at least one minor flaw.

Thinking about it that way, leading by example was hardly even a flaw. It was certainly a better flaw than being lazy or arrogant.

“Ahem. Anyway, what information did you get from the interrogation?”

“Yes. I couldn’t obtain any extraordinary information, but I did learn a little about them.”

When Wendigo awkwardly cleared his throat and asked, Skadi began with a gentle smile.

Gelman, moved by Skadi’s thorough torture—no, interrogation—faithfully answered her questions.

How long Dencan’s clan had existed, how much they had struggled to establish a human king according to their ancestral prophecy, how extensive their forces were…

“Most of the nobles in southern Manheimr are part of Dencan’s clan. They form blood ties and secretly raise the children as clan members, essentially consuming entire families.”

In extreme cases, they wouldn’t hesitate to commit seed theft—forming blood ties with incompetent individuals but spreading the seed of capable ones instead.

Wendigo expressed admiration for this radical bloodline ideology. If nothing else, the idea of replacing an incompetent family line with a capable one was truly innovative.

“They’re madmen. But the fact that they weren’t discovered despite such actions proves they’re systematically mad… Did you find out why they started the war?”

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t discover why the current clan leader suddenly started the war. Originally, the leadership’s goal was to persuade Dario and send him back…”

The clan was bewildered by Dencan’s sudden actions but didn’t question them. Gelman could only guess that the wisdom of ancestors, unknown to him, had shown Dencan a new path.

Gelman’s guess wasn’t entirely wrong in that Dencan was pioneering a new(?) path incomprehensible to ordinary people.

However, since it was a path he couldn’t reveal to the clan, Dencan’s retainers had every reason for growing concern…

Surprisingly, the clan regained composure, dismissing Dencan’s temporary eccentricity.

“He said that the grand plan that Dencan’s clan had patiently prepared for ages was about to be completed.”

“Grand plan… Did you find out what it is?”

Skadi shook her head at Wendigo’s question. Unfortunately, Gelman had died before answering.

Of course, while Skadi might not be skilled at torture, she was excellent at saving lives and restoring vitality.

Naturally, if Gelman had shown signs of collapsing under torture, she would have used every means available to save him.

But she failed to save Gelman. As he was about to answer the question, he emitted a shrill scream and expelled his life force through his entire body.

“When I first checked, I couldn’t detect any magic. Perhaps it’s related to bloodline power, like in Mr. Shir’s case.”

“Fitting for those who advocate bloodline supremacy. It’s ironic that those who preach about clan loyalty show no mercy to their own clan.”

Wendigo, who hadn’t expected much, simply nodded.

After all, it would be stranger if people who had successfully played cuckoo without being discovered hadn’t taken measures to maintain secrecy.

After brief consideration, Wendigo narrowed down what he could do immediately to two options.

One was to march quickly southward to find the enemy’s main base.

Simply thinking, marching toward Dencan’s territory would suffice, but those with something to hide typically don’t plan major operations on their own land.

Would people who had built power dishonorably from the shadows since their distant ancestors’ time carelessly establish their base on their own territory?

‘I’ll need to sweep a wider area.’

The sudden expansion of the operation required more troops, but that wasn’t a major problem.

There were plenty of warriors eager to join the king’s army, so he could simply send dispatches to recruit them.

However, siege engines were needed to attack castles… As far as Wendigo knew, the only siege engine northerners knew how to build was a battering ram.

Siege towers and catapults required more engineering knowledge than expected.

If they tried to force construction, they could make something, but it wouldn’t be proper. It was better not to build such things at all.

Currently, only he and Skadi could break down castle gates…?

Lost in thought, Wendigo stared at Skadi when she caught his eye. When their gazes met, Wendigo realized his foolishness.

He was the most suitable person for breaking down castle gates.

So why not increase his numbers?

“Lord Wendigo? It’s a bit embarrassing when you stare like that…”

“Skadi, you’re always such a great help to me. I have a favor to ask of you.”

“?”

Skadi blinked and tilted her head at Wendigo’s sudden words.

* * *

As Wendigo predicted, Dencan’s clan had not established their main base in Dencan’s territory. Since the clan’s origin wasn’t in Dencan’s current territory, this made sense from their perspective.

Moreover, they were reassured by news that Wendigo’s army was a deformed one that relied on the king’s personal capabilities for siege warfare…

“Lo-Lord Galond’s castle has sent an urgent request for aid!”

“Lord Haven is also requesting assistance, saying the King of Manheimr is ravaging his territory—”

“Magician Lord Harvest reports that the King of Manheimr has appeared to attack his castle…”

“What is this? How fast is the king advancing that requests for aid are flying in from everywhere!”

The clan leadership, who had predicted that the king could at most create additional legions for simultaneous attacks, fell into great confusion.

All the castles under attack claimed the king had personally appeared, making it impossible to determine which reports were false.

Dencan’s close associates who headed the clan tried to figure out which was real, but…

“His Majesty has broken down the castle gate! After he’s done so much for us, we would have no face to meet him if we don’t deliver victory. All troops advance and show the northern spirit!”

“Now, now, His Majesty said if you ring this bell once, he’ll make a spear, twice for a throwing spear… Wait, wait! What happens if you ring it three times in a row? You just got a spear stuck in the wall because of you!”

“This… if we use His Majesty properly, we could plunder any castle or fortress…”

In fact, from a certain perspective, all armies could be said to be accompanied by Wendigo.

Clones created solely for siege purposes, stripped of autonomous functions, were following each army and smashing castle gates.

Except for the fact that they lacked reason and embarrassingly required retainers to adjust their angles, all of Manheimr’s armies were essentially being led by the king in person.

And an army accompanied by the king naturally has sky-high morale.

The nobles who, thanks to the king’s grace, were able to conduct the northern traditional event of wealth redistribution at castles and fortresses, praised his benevolence and devoted themselves to eradicating Dencan’s clan.