"Th-That's our emergency stash. Please give it back! What kind of tyranny is this? Weren't you searching for the Book of the Divine King?"
"No! You never know what form a grimoire will take! What if it turns out to be in the form of a jewel?"
"We'll take it, inspect it thoroughly, and if it turns out not to be the Book of the Divine King, we'll return it. Got it?"
Even though they were saying that, there was no way the mercenaries would return anything they had taken.
'They're stripping them down to their underwear. This is bad.'
Azadin clicked his tongue, realizing that the page of the Book of the Divine King he had on him was bound to be discovered.
What should he do? Should he reveal his identity here and take them down?
But he had already taken care of Kozel, and if he dealt with these guys now, his movements would become too predictable.
As Azadin hesitated, Ismail and Miriam approached him.
"What should we do?"
"Shall we fight?"
"Wait. Hold on."
Azadin stopped the two youths. Among the mercenaries, a messenger had arrived and was having a conversation with them.
The mercenaries, visibly flustered, began packing up their weapons and loot.
"That's it for today."
They allowed only those whose belongings they had searched to pass through and ordered the rest to stay at the lodging outside the gate before disappearing inside.
"What's going on?"
The merchants, frowning, looked puzzled.
"They say an ogre was spotted nearby," Azadin informed the merchants.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I have good hearing, and I heard them talking clearly."
"What?"
The merchants and travelers who had to stay outside the gate were startled by his words.
"What do you mean...?"
"Huh?"
As soon as Azadin mentioned the ogre, the mercenaries clicked their tongues and went inside the gate. The merchants and travelers watched the scene closely.
"Wait!"
"Let's talk!"
The merchants knocked on the small window in the gate, trying to get the guards' attention, but the soldiers ignored them.
"What is this...?"
"Is it... true?"
Judging by the mercenaries' reaction, it seemed certain that an ogre had indeed appeared nearby. The merchants and travelers turned pale with fear.
***
In the eastern inland region, near the Anukia Desert, there was a highland basin known for its relatively fertile land thanks to the sandstorms blowing in from the desert and the well-timed rains during the rainy season.
However, the ogres descending from the Black Fang Mountains had taken over the highland basin, forcing the human inhabitants to retreat.
Ogres were muscular giants twice the height of an average adult male, weighing more than ten times as much. They possessed overwhelming strength far beyond that of humans. Though they were not very intelligent, they were savage and enjoyed feasting on human flesh.
One of the primary duties of Salasma's margrave, Count Kazel, was to act as a barrier, preventing these ogres from invading human territory.
Fortunately, monsters lacked the organizational ability for large-scale, coordinated expeditions. Additionally, the ogres of the highland basin were more inclined to fight among themselves, engaging in cannibalistic conflicts rather than launching invasions.
Taking advantage of this internal strife, successive margraves of Salasma had gradually expanded eastward, establishing pioneer villages beyond the gates. However, the recent drought had affected even the ogres, causing them distress.
Although ogres were not smart enough to conduct long-distance expeditions, the water shortage motivated the tribes that had lost internal conflicts to look beyond the eastern inland region.
***
"An ogre, you say? How many of them?"
Tarkiev, the illegitimate son of Count Kazel, asked the scout who had come to see him.
"Only one has been confirmed so far, but it's accompanied by number of hobgoblins and goblins. The exact number is unknown, but based on the scout's report, there are at least over ten goblins."
"This is serious. Over ten? That means it's at least a platoon."
Proper ogres typically commanded groups of hobgoblins and goblins. In other words, the one they had spotted was not a lone fugitive fleeing from its tribe's cannibalistic struggles, but rather a proper scout or raiding party leading a unit of soldiers.
An ogre alone was a formidable opponent, and now it was leading a band of goblin soldiers, making it an even bigger threat beyond what humans could easily handle.
Of course, this was a gate fortress, and the defensive walls and terrain could be used to their advantage.
But Tarkiev had no reason to waste his private forces battling them here. There was no profit to be made, and fighting would only increase the reward he'd have to pay the mercenaries. The rule was to double their regular wages during combat situations.
"It can't be helped. Let's take the loot and withdraw."
Tarkiev decided to quickly vacate the area with the plundered goods.
At that moment, a man entered the village hall. It was a hunter serving as the acting village head.
"Sir Tarkiev, we have a serious problem."
"A serious problem? What is it? Has the ogre already arrived?"
"No, the people outside the gate are causing a commotion. It seems they've caught on to the ogre's approach."
"What? What nonsense is this? Who's the fool that told them?"
Tarkiev was flustered. The ogre was moving south, while the frontier settlements lay in the southeast. In other words, the refugees and merchants outside the gate, who had come from the southeast, shouldn't have known about the ogre's approach.
"No one told them."
"Someone must have overheard the messenger."
"Ugh, these fools..."
"What should we do?"
"What do you mean, what should we do? Lock the gate! The nerve of them."
"Excuse me?"
The hunter was stunned at the order to lock the gate. If the ogres approached, the people outside the gate would be the first to be exposed to them, defenseless.
This was effectively throwing them away as expendable sacrifices.
"Now that we've confirmed the Book of the Divine King isn't here, we'll leave. The local militia can handle the incoming ogre and monsters."
"What...?"
The hunter was bewildered. He had known from the start that this brat wasn't the chivalrous knight from old stories, but he hadn't expected him to be this brazen in abandoning the villagers.
"You've already conscripted all the able-bodied young men, haven't you?"
"Of course, we'll leave them behind. Hmph, they've received basic military training, so they should be useful enough."
"..."
They had been conscripted as soldiers for just one day, yet Tarkiev was acting like he'd done them a great favor by training them. The hunter found him shameless, but he dared not voice his thoughts.
"Then at least let the people outside come inside the gate. I'll take charge of the defense here."
When the hunter made this request, Tarkiev scoffed.
"And what exactly do you think you can do? You're not even a knight."
A knight abandoning his post had no right to say that, did he?
The hunter thought that but kept it to himself.
"Fine. I'll leave the defense to you, then!"
With that, Tarkiev summoned the mercenaries, who began requisitioning the village's horses, cows, and carts to load their loot.
***
The travelers and merchants outside the gate were horrified by the rumors of the approaching ogre.
"Oh no, we're all going to die."
"What should we do? Should we leave the road and try to escape?"
"But the sun is about to set..."
Traveling through the mountains at night was practically a death sentence. You never knew when wild beasts or monsters might appear, and even a simple stumble over a rock could result in severe injury or death.
Traveling at night was only feasible on well-maintained imperial roads or for those with exceptional night vision, like dwarves or elves.
As they stood there in distress, the gate suddenly began to open.
It was opened by the village militia, most of whom were middle-aged men. The young men were nowhere to be seen.
"What's going on?"
"Where are the knights?"
"The knights and mercenaries have left."
"What?"
"So come inside quickly."
A man who appeared to be a hunter allowed the outsiders to enter the village.
Azadin, still pretending to be blind, entered the village, tapping his cane and leading his goat. The village was filled with a grim atmosphere.
It was clear that the young men had been conscripted, the village's wealth had been looted, and the remaining people were hastily preparing for defense with what little they had.
"As you can see, we're in a dire situation. So, would you be willing to help defend the village?"
The hunter asked politely, but the village militia around him, holding spears, wore threatening expressions.
"What kind of help do you mean?"
"Those who can fight should fight, and those who can't should provide support."
"Huh?!"
The merchants were taken aback.
"That's not... what we normally do..."
When merchants are conscripted during wartime, they typically become supply merchants, traveling with the army to buy and sell necessary goods. They don't go to the front lines themselves.
Even for those fighting, it's usually better to have merchants serve as supply units to manage logistics.
However, that's in prolonged wars. In a situation like this, where they had to defend the gate from a dangerous enemy in a single decisive battle, supply merchants were of little use.
"What about us?"
At that moment, a blind man spoke. He was a young man with a long scar running horizontally across his face.
Behind him were a boy and a girl, both covered in dusty cloaks. They appeared to be in their early teens—old enough to be considered adults in the southern regions, where child marriages were common, but still children in this area.
"Blind and with children... You should evacuate with the elderly and weak."
The hunter said this and began devising a defense strategy.
***
An ogre carrying a flag with the symbol of the Broken Fang Tribe was descending the mountain path.
The road through the 'Desert Spine' Mountains, marking the border between the eastern inland and the Kingdom of Korasar, was treacherous. Anyone trying to avoid the impassable peaks would inevitably end up at the gate village.
As they made their way down the winding paths, the ogres happened upon humans with shattered eyes and broken legs.
"You, portable rations. You belong to me, Goldu."
They captured the fleeing humans and stuffed them into a large meat chest they carried on their backs. The chest was filled with body parts from humans, goblins, and various wild animals. The captured humans screamed as they were thrown inside.
"Save me!"
"Dammit! Curse that Herald Clan!"
"Aaah... Oh Divine Kings! Please save us!"
Dragged into the pile of corpses, they screamed and cried for salvation.