Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 110

Creating Retainers to Build a Human Empire 112

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Western Walachia Border Region.

A long carriage procession halted at the boundary separating the Empire and the Cesena Republic. Blocking the lead carriage was Mountain Hermit Nuadh and a detachment of the Security Forces.

“Say that again.”

Nuadh said, looking down at the representative of the trading company from atop his horse.

“I’m sorry, but…”
The merchant replied, eyes bulging as he looked up at Nuadh.

“The transaction is already complete. I cannot accept your request to return the goods.”

“…”

Nuadh examined the goods carefully.

The goods loaded on the carriages were humans.

Slaves bound in chains, staring blankly at him and his men. Humans who had been freed from slavery by Emperor Edar’s decree, yet unaware of this fact, were being sold to a foreign land.

Their number, even by a rough estimate, exceeded one thousand.

“These are not goods. You can’t possibly be unaware of that.”

“That may be so within the Empire.”

The merchant smiled, revealing his teeth.

As he spoke, the skin below his neck trembled noticeably, as if there was something inside.

‘An unpleasant fellow.’

Nuadh frowned at the sight.

He was a peculiar individual, not just in his manner of speaking but also in his appearance.

Perhaps, he wasn’t human at all. Hadn’t he seen beings in Germania who possessed the form of humans but were not? He observed the merchant, but the man was covered from head to toe in cloth, despite the approaching summer, revealing nothing but his disturbingly trembling neck.

“Whether you accept it or not is irrelevant. The Emperor of the Empire has decreed that humans cannot be bought or sold, and if such a thing occurs, the transaction is to be invalidated and immediately confiscated.”

“We are not citizens of the Empire.”

“I’m not simply asking for the deal to be called off. I’m offering double the original purchase price as compensation.”

“I refuse.”

A reply without a moment’s hesitation.

“A merchant refusing gold? That’s quite unusual.”

“There are things more valuable than gold.”

Nuadh scoffed.

“If you do not accept the offer, I will enforce it.”

“Enforcement, you say?”

The merchant scanned the Security Forces blocking the trading company.

Eight retainers and about a hundred Security Force humans. They differed fundamentally from the Imperial Guard or the Ministry of Military Affairs. Unlike the two organizations that were newly established and staffed after the administrative system was put in place, the Security Forces had roots in the organization Nuadh had operated since before its establishment.

From the clan’s businesses and assassination squads to Griff’s spies, they had already formed a quasi-military organization before being recognized as a formal entity.

“Hmm…”

Thus, the hundred or so Security Forces, excluding those created by Edar, were not disciplined soldiers like the Imperial Army but rather ruffians raised in the shadows.

The Security Forces made eye contact with the merchant, smirked, and tapped the hilts of their swords at their waists.

‘Come and get it, if you dare.’

They silently provoked their opponent, knowing that Nuadh was a generous master and they would receive a share of the spoils if they seized the trading company.

“…I suppose there’s no choice.”

The merchant clicked his tongue and raised his hand.

The trading company’s guards, who had been ready to fight the Security Forces, disarmed themselves at the merchant’s command.

“You will regret this.”

“Those who opposed His Majesty always said the same thing.”

Nuadh glared sharply at the merchant.

He had noticed that the merchant hadn’t blinked once during their conversation and had seen the scale-like skin peeking out from the cloth covering his entire body.

He realized that the merchant possessed the form of a human but was not.

“Your kind is acting as the vanguard of the Great Council, but I spare you because you do not directly confront the Empire. When you return, do not harbor foolish thoughts and never covet humans again.”

However, Nuadh’s warning was in vain, as the Republic resolved to wage war against the Empire, sending its warships to attack all of the Empire’s coasts simultaneously.

The Empire immediately launched a counterattack, but to no avail.

The Republic’s objective was not the Empire’s territory.

When the military arrived at the affected areas after receiving reports of the attacks, all they found were villages and cities devoid of a single resident.

The Republic hunted humans on every coast of the Empire.