Ch.260Mobilization Order (1)

With the ‘Hunting Quest’ essentially completed after the subjugation of the Cyclops, the village that had undertaken this rather massive project seemed to be returning to its normal routine.

People were diligently tending to their thriving crops, taking the lead in eliminating harmful wildlife, and spending their spare time working day labor jobs, maintaining an industrious lifestyle.

A small change had also occurred in the village: some adventurers had begun working as laborers outside of their regular missions.

Construction, salt mining, quarrying, transportation—labor was needed seemingly everywhere, and with most of the 500 villagers being farmers, they were unable to meet the demand, necessitating outside help.

Once this situation was resolved, they would of course bring in at least 100 more workers from outside to begin proper urbanization preparations, but…

Given the current circumstances, what had started as a way for cash-strapped adventurers visiting the village to earn money had grown into something larger.

Initially targeting adventurers who had squandered their funds or faced unexpected expenses, over time it had evolved to the point where there were now workers residing permanently in the village specifically for this purpose.

The fundamental reason for the emergence of these professional laborers was likely the generous wages our village offered.

Typically, day laborers would lose about 20-30% of their daily wages to employment agency fees, and after taxes and various other deductions—including skimming—they’d be left with at most 50% of their original pay.

In contrast, our territory paid outside workers about 80% of their wages, deducting only the applicable taxes, and even the base wages were higher to begin with, with no skimming along the way.

Even though public lodging and food in our village were by no means cheap, there were workers who had settled in for months, taking on dual roles as laborers and adventurers.

With reasonable prices, fresh food delivered directly from the source, and the opportunity to earn substantial money, some chose to stay for months at a time, combining their stay with long-term missions.

In reality, activities like hunting specific magical beasts or gathering their byproducts often required waiting until they appeared, which could take months on average, so they hunted while they waited.

Despite the generous wages, most worked in salt mines, which turned out to be quite profitable, allowing the village to remain in the black even while paying well.

Amid this atmosphere of new faces bringing fresh energy to the village, the leadership—directly feeling the current state of the world—was busy preparing for war.

They were training soldiers—specifically, werewolves who would crew the “BASILISK” golem armor—and producing what war supplies they could with their limited production capacity.

In particular, they needed to manufacture enough ammunition for the upcoming conflict, to the point where several mages from the Metal School had been dispatched to assist.

In this environment, the highest priority was finding a way to repair the various war machines currently operated by the village.

These war machines—combinations of mechanics and magic—were as delicate as they were powerful, with the joints bearing their enormous weight suffering unimaginable wear and tear.

After one intense battle, repairs would take at least 8-9 hours, and it was only thanks to Lord Malakai Falten’s support that they could somehow finish in 2-3 hours.

However… the field operations we would face going forward were clearly different in nature.

There was a high probability of repeated fierce battles without leaving the city of Colland, and if the enemy began a proper defensive operation using the city walls, the war could drag on indefinitely.

Naturally, establishing a method to repair these war machines in the field was essential, and surprisingly, when I shared this idea with the Metal School, they lent me their field repair equipment.

‘…I didn’t know such things existed’

In appearance, it resembled a giant mechanical scorpion carrying something like a container, with a crane-like device installed on its tail section, giving it a distinctly engineering look.

Classified as an “automaton,” it was originally equipment for repairing the Metal School’s mechanical soldiers, but Lord Malakai Falten had borrowed and modified it to repair massive war machines.

With various machine tools and a storage area for parts, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we could repair all our machines here.

It would be particularly advantageous as a mobile base capable of repairing Droop’s aerial bombardment units and powered suits, as well as golem armor.

And while we were continuing these modest war preparations…

[—Camille? Camille, can you hear me?!]

‘Yes, Father! What’s the matter?’

[They’ve finally caused trouble! They’ve sent a declaration of war and surrounded their territory!]

From my father, who had urgently contacted me, I received the news that the branch manager had finally revealed his true colors.

※ ※ ※

According to Father, the anti-lord forces in Colland, led by the branch manager, had shown such tendencies before but had now overtly seized the city and sent a declaration of war.

They claimed it was about infringement on their autonomy, arguing that those who had done nothing were interfering with the adventurers’ free city, and asserted that over 3,000 adventurers had responded to their call.

They even proclaimed that the lord’s stationed forces, residents, and even the city administration, including the lord’s representative, “voluntarily” supported this independence, but…

There were many suspicious aspects to simply accept this as a public declaration of war.

After the entire population had left—currently, the population of Colland is at most about 8,000 to 9,000, and even that might be an exaggeration, with the actual number possibly being half that.

Of course, it has long been established that the population is slightly under 10,000, but the most important point is that they occupied the city overnight.

Even if the anti-lord faction had become mainstream, there should still be pro-lord and neutral factions within, so their mysterious disappearance overnight suggests many things to me.

‘…How deep did these guys dig, anyway?’

Though it feels somewhat awkward, like looking at something so repulsive I can barely stand to face it, I instinctively sensed that this situation might be part of an unbelievably vast conspiracy.

A discomfort similar to feeling cockroaches crawling somewhere unseen, as if things were progressing in places unknown to me. Especially with my intuition fiercely warning me, this was likely another plot of “Gluttony.”

Well, knowing this right now wouldn’t change anything. I decided to move according to the current force assessment my father had mentioned.

According to Father, who had declared a general mobilization, about 5,000 troops were scheduled to be deployed directly to suppress Colland Barony.

All were professional soldiers of men-at-arms caliber, and given the nature of siege warfare, they would deploy artillery forces rather than infantry.

With the mobilization order issued by Father as the lord, at least 50 knights were obligated to participate under feudal contract, and including their subordinate soldiers and retainers, the number easily exceeded 1,000.

Additionally, the Pantheon, contacted through the Inquisition, recognized this incident’s close connection to cultists and dispatched about 2,000 temple soldiers disguised as mercenaries.

Thus, with approximately 8,000 troops expected to gather within two weeks, our village also decided to participate, as I was technically Father’s vassal.

It was the moment when the winds of war began to blow into our village in earnest.