Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 128

Creating Retainers to Build a Human Empire 130 (130/185)

Human Ranch (10)

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“As expected.”

Edar nodded at Calliope’s words.

“Yes, I suppose so.”

He saw the enemy rushing towards them from the front.

The enemy was the Koahmic army, numbering thirty thousand.

A sandstorm rose behind the enemy descending from the hills.

Ddddd—

The rough vibration reached the riverbank.

Edar turned his head and looked at the Imperial Army. Unlike the enemy rushing fiercely, the Imperial Army was not even in formation.

There was no point in forming ranks now. They couldn’t form ranks, and even if they did, they wouldn’t stand a chance. The ones left in the rear were not riflemen.

What could they do with spearmen mobilized for show?

“Just buy some time.”

Edar ordered Calliope.

“Don’t even think about inflicting damage on the enemy. Just prevent them from crossing the bridge. Just stop them from targeting our rear.”

“Understood.”

To have her alone block an army of thirty thousand?

Anyone who heard that would think it was a suicide order.

Calliope showed no change in expression.

“I’m always giving you a big burden.”

“It’s nothing.”

Her thoughts replied that she rather wanted to be relied upon.

Edar read her thoughts and chuckled.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

As Edar joined the rear guard crossing the bridge, Calliope was the only human left blocking the Koahmic army.

She took a small breath and looked up at the front.

– Increase speed!

The enemy cavalry charging towards her.

The cavalry commander leading the vanguard shouted.

She couldn’t hear the sound, but Calliope knew what he was saying by looking at the shape of the lizardman’s mouth. She had all sorts of talents from the time she was created, including lip reading.

– The enemy is abandoning the supply wagons and running away!

– Ignore them! Attack the livestock first! The spoils will be distributed after the battle!

Her talents weren’t limited to that.

She was more skilled in battle than anyone else.

She mainly used a sword, but anything in her hand became an excellent weapon. Pebbles were a prime example, and so was the bow she was holding now.

Squeeze…

Calliope drew the bowstring.

Flames flickered on the arrowhead.

‘Idiots.’

She had no expression.

But she had emotions.

She just restrained her expression extremely.

She was a human with emotions.

‘Edar knew everything.’

The emotions she held now were disgust and ridicule.

Calliope’s gaze turned to the wagons abandoned in the rear.

The wagons were scattered at regular intervals, and at first glance, it looked like they had been ambushed during transport and abandoned.

The reality was different. The wagons were powder kegs.

Oak barrels filled with gunpowder were placed inside the wagons. It was a trap arranged to cause a chain explosion when one wagon exploded.

Edar judged that the method of mindlessly detonating gunpowder while breaking through the Elven barrier was also a valid use.

The downside was the enormous consumption of gunpowder, but the Minister of Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry, Pasimea, had a genius-like talent for meeting demand. After listening to a few groans like screams, she always granted Edar’s wishes.

‘He knew from the beginning that you were making false promises.’

Ddddd—

The enemy cavalry passed the wagons.

Fing!

Calliope released the string.

The fire arrow struck the gunpowder barrel on the wagon.

Boom!

The gunpowder barrel exploded, engulfing the cavalry passing by.

“———!”

The screams were buried by the huge explosion.

The explosion emitted gray smoke and covered the surroundings, and the flames mixed in the smoke bounced off other wagons, causing a chain explosion.

Thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump—!

“Koahmic…!”

The cavalry who were lucky enough to escape the explosion radius cried out in horror.

It was the vanguard that had passed the wagon just before the gunpowder barrel exploded.

“It was a trap!”

Originally, the cavalry would have only looked ahead and ran.

They inadvertently looked back when the lone human woman shot a fire arrow, and a roar and storm hit their backs.

The sight they saw was smoke rising high into the sky, fierce heat, and the bodies of their comrades who had exploded and died. How could they remain rational after seeing this?

They pulled on the reins, stopped the charge, and stood there blankly.

Thud!

Taking advantage of the gap, Calliope rushed in.

The Koahmic army numbered about 30,000, but only the cavalry had reached the riverbank. Even among the thousands of cavalry, the number that passed the explosion and arrived in front of Calliope was 72.

Slash!

72 lizardmen were nothing to Calliope.

“Cough!”

The sword was unstoppable.

It cut anything with a single swing.

The only consolation for the enemy was that the cavalry was widely spaced. If they had been close together, three or four would have died with each swing.

The consolation was not much.

The 72 lizardmen were annihilated by Calliope before the smoke from the explosion cleared. She dealt with the cavalry commander and his group without a single wound and wiped the blood splattered on her face.

“······.”

The Koahmic army was shocked by the explosion and stopped their offensive.

The explosion itself did not cause much damage. The roar and smoke, and the fact that the dry grass in the meadow had caught fire, made the damage look exaggerated.

“Don’t hesitate! Don’t let the livestock escape!”

Koahmic waved his hand, enraged.

A strong wind swept across the meadow, clearing the smoke.

Only after the smoke cleared did they realize that the damage was less than they thought, and that the last soldier of the Imperial Army had reached the bridge.

“It’s a trick! The humans are trying to trick us into letting them escape!”

“Don’t let them get away!”

The Koahmic army regained their fighting spirit and continued the pursuit.

Clang!

“M, my aaaaaarm!”

“······!”

But Calliope was there.

She stood on the bridge, blocking the army.

“A mere human!”

With a thud, a lizardman’s head exploded.

When Calliope swung the spear she had taken from the enemy, the head hit the body of the spear and exploded. At the same time, the spear could not withstand it and broke, but Calliope immediately snatched another enemy’s sword and swung it.

“F, fall b, back… Cough!”

The bridge was 600m long and 7m wide.

Calliope reversed the attacks aimed at her, and also cut down the enemies who ignored her and tried to chase the Imperial Army. As a result, she had a few small scratches on her body, but not enough to slow her movements.

Koahmic, who had been pushing warriors to exhaust her, eventually could not withstand the damage and withdrew his army. More than a hundred bodies were piled up on the bridge, looking like a small hill.

Gritting…

Koahmic gritted his teeth.

His pride was shattered by a mere piece of livestock.

No, his pride was shattered from the moment he failed to kill Edar and negotiated. It would be more accurate to say that even the opportunity to restore his pride was shattered.

An army of thirty thousand was blocked by one human.

“Is there no one among the self-proclaimed warriors who can catch a single piece of livestock!”

At his cry, the war chieftain stepped forward.

The war chieftain, who led the expeditionary force dispatched to Koahmic’s Mycenaean Empire [a powerful, ancient civilization], was the kingdom’s second strongest after Koahmic.

He led half of his personal guard and rushed towards Calliope. Since the width of the bridge was wide, he judged that even she would not be able to easily fend off a simultaneous attack if they surrounded her and launched an all-out attack.

“Even beasts need to form a pack. If you try to take on everything alone, believing that you can stand alone, it’s useless. Being proud is not a good thing. In other words, it refers to arrogance.”

But they were mistaken.

How long would Calliope face them alone?

Gehard and Zecht, two retainers, stood beside Calliope.

“Where is Edar?”

At her worried question, Gehard shook his head.

“Calliope, His Majesty sent us to help you. Worry about yourself now, not His Majesty.”

“Who is protecting Edar?”

Gehard and Zecht clicked their tongues as they looked at her.

What they should be worried about was the enemy in front of them.

All retainers value their master more than their own lives, but she was exceptional even among retainers. In another way, she was as good as Rachel.

“His Majesty has the Imperial Guards by his side. The Imperial Guards that you worked so hard to select. You have to give them faith too. Don’t you think?”

“······.”

Even if she had no expression, the retainers could read each other’s thoughts.

Gehard and Zecht read disbelief in her thoughts.

“The brothers and sisters of the Imperial Guard are also having a hard time.”

“You should be grateful that I’m your superior.”

Gehard hardened his expression as he saw the approaching personal guard.

“Calliope, if you’re worried about His Majesty, deal with those guys quickly and go back. So don’t get excited, stay calm, and fulfill your duty as usual.”

“······.”

Calliope closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them.

Her confused thoughts subsided.

Soon, cold reason settled on her, and her attack was more passionate than ever. The passion to return to her master continued until the moment she finished slaughtering Koahmic’s war chieftain and his group.

After a while, only three retainers remained on the bridge.

Koahmic stopped the pursuit. He realized that no one could cross the bridge as long as the retainers were on the bridge.

Calliope slammed her foot down hard, destroying the bridge and returning to Edar’s side.

###

At that time, when Calliope was blocking the Koahmic army.

Kuiraou’s army was rushing in from the front of the Imperial Army.

Kuiraou’s offensive was the same as Koahmic’s. A simple tactic of charging with cavalry in the lead, followed by infantry running as hard as they could.

The difference was that Koahmic came down from the hills and attacked the Imperial Army, while Kuiraou had to attack the Imperial Army on the hills, and the Imperial Army did not detonate gunpowder barrels.

“Aren’t you going to use gunpowder barrels like in the rear?”

I shook my head at the question from Gehard’s adjutant, retainer Titus.

He was a person who had assisted Gehard since the early days of the Imperial Army’s founding and was skilled in military tactics, so I was considering him as the field commander succeeding Zecht.

“The rear is being chased. It looks like they abandoned the wagons. But the front is different. Koahmic or Kuiraou will notice something strange.”

Gunpowder was not so plentiful that it could be used so carelessly.

“But there’s not much to worry about. Even if we don’t set up such a trap, it’s as good as setting up a trap.”

“What do you mean?”

“The enemy is ignorant of gunpowder. They will climb the hills like moths to a flame, so what’s the problem?”

I pointed with my chin to the riflemen and artillerymen positioned on the hills.

189 field guns and siege guns had finished their deployment.

“From Koahmic and Kuiraou’s point of view, now is the best time to strike the Imperial Army. Even though they have a decent number, they don’t seem ready to fight.”

In fact, most of the Imperial Army was crossing the bridge.

The group that crossed the bridge and even formed ranks was only about 10,000.

“The number of Imperial Army is roughly 60,000. Of these, the 10,000 who have formed ranks are only one-third of the approaching enemy group. And look. From the perspective of someone ignorant of gunpowder weapons, how would the group lined up on the hills look?”

“Wouldn’t they see them as miscellaneous soldiers holding wooden sticks without blades?”

“That’s right. That’s the trap. A trap created by ignorance.”

Titus chuckled dryly.

“It’s been several years since we first used cannons, yet they remain ignorant of gunpowder weapons. Didn’t Your Majesty say that the dwarves have been using gunpowder since ancient times? How can they be so ignorant?”

“There are many reasons. One of them is the representative system.”

“Are you saying the representative system is the cause of their ignorance?”

I nodded.

“The representative system was created for communication, but due to mutual checks and balances, communication often fails. Instead, they hide information or spread falsehoods, hoping their rivals suffer.”

This was why gunpowder weapons had been so effective as new weapons against the Naga, Orcs, Goblins, and finally, the Lizardmen.

‘They suffered great damage from gunpowder weapons?’

‘Other nations and races should suffer the same damage as us.’

The representative system was an organization made up of groups that thought that way.

“It’s hard to understand.”

“There’s no need to think so hard. It’s because they still look down on humans. Why else would they target the Mikena Empire even though I’m running rampant like this?”

“Isn’t it because they think humans are less threatening than vampires?”

“That’s right. Even though an empire without a single ship conquered a republic using cannons, the Naga didn’t inform the representative system of this fact. And they didn’t retaliate, as if they could capture humans at any time.”

It was truly arrogant.

‘I’m tightening the noose around their necks.’

‘But the ones being strangled laugh as if they can loosen it at any time.’

“But that’s only until now.”

Things will change after this expedition.

The actions of the Human Empire have been too blatant.

They broke through the Elven barrier, inducing Orc and Goblin invasions, and even invaded the Lizardmen’s homeland. Even if the representative system is at odds, they won’t overlook my actions.

“That’s why Vlad needs to live longer.”

I chuckled softly.

There were several reasons for instigating the Orcs and Goblins and turning back the Lizardmen’s expeditionary force, but one of them was to extend Vlad’s lifespan.

The longer he lives and fights with the representative system, the less of a threat I face.

“Prepare to fire!”

The hills were low.

Not enough to tire the enemy as they climbed.

But they were enough. The hills themselves were an advantage.

Placing artillery on the hills greatly reduces the risk of friendly fire compared to placing them on flat ground. All the cannons I mobilized were direct-fire cannons, so they would be virtually useless from the moment the riflemen and attendants moved forward on flat ground.

But it’s different on the hills.

“Fire!”

Field guns and siege guns alike fired their shells.

Thump! Bang! Bang!

The 189 cannons were the result of sending all the copper from across the empire to Ollimuse [likely a city or region known for metalworking] to be forged. When these simultaneously fired shells at the enemy cavalry, hundreds of horses tangled and collapsed.

“Excellent.”

I muttered with a smile.

It was markedly different from when we fought the Republic.

Back then, we couldn’t hit the running cavalry at all.

Our skill has improved considerably through training and actual combat.

“Not yet.”

“Hmm.”

However, as Titus warned, it wasn’t over yet.

The enemy cavalry, though damaged, did not stop their charge.

Truly, they could be called the elite of the other races.

Their fighting spirit did not break easily.

“Riflemen! Prepare to fire!”

The riflemen, lined up in three ranks below the hill, raised their muskets.

Since only a few flintlock muskets had been introduced, the vast majority were armed with matchlock muskets. But whether flintlock or matchlock, a gun is a gun.

The moment the enemy’s faces became clearly visible,

“Fire!”

Zekt shouted.

Ta-ta-ta-tang!

The enemy’s courage could be inferred from the fact that they continued to charge even after experiencing the power of cannons for the first time.

But courage doesn’t deflect bullets.

“Kuaaak!”

“——!”

The cavalry collapsed.

Kuiraou didn’t have many cavalry.

It seemed they had suffered heavy losses in the war with Vlad.

Even though they had been given enough time to gather, there were only about 4,000, nearly half the number of riflemen, and they collapsed with a single volley.

It would have been different if there were twice as many.

Even if the front lines collapsed, the rear lines would have charged.

“Good heavens···!”

Seeing their comrades running alongside them die in an instant was mentally unbearable. This was true not only for the Lizardmen but also for the horses.

Puhihing! Puhihing!

The horses stopped, raising their front hooves, and the horses following behind them either stopped in the same way or collided because they couldn’t stop in time.

“Charge!”

“Glory to the Empire!”

Immediately, the attendant cavalry rushed towards the enemy.

Kuiraou’s cavalry was annihilated in that one charge.

“The initial battle is enough for now.”

I raised my hand and withdrew the attendants.

As the attendants retreated, the battle abruptly ended.

The enemy infantry, who had been running for a while, stood there dumbfounded. They were supposed to chase after the enemy cavalry and join the battle. But the battle ended so quickly that they couldn’t join.

If they chased after the retreating attendants, they would suffer the same fate as the cavalry, and if they retreated, it would be no different from a rout.

“Kuiraou!”

At that moment, I spurred my horse forward and shouted.

“Don’t act like a coward and come forward!”

“Shut up!”

A thunderous shout erupted.

“Who are you calling a coward?”

A Lizardman emerged from the enemy ranks.

His physique was easily twice that of the Lizardman warriors beside him.

He was Kuiraou, the Avatar of the Sochtlak Kingdom.

“You’re running wild without knowing your place!”

“Place? Aren’t you the one who doesn’t know your place?”

“What?”

Kuiraou bared his teeth and slammed his spear into the ground.

The spear he held was closer to a pillar than a spear in thickness.

When the pillar struck the ground, cracks spread around it.

“Just because you livestock have formed a group, you’ve forgotten your fear! Do you think you can beat me just because your group used sorcery to defeat my child!”

“Yes. It’s not different.”

“Arrogant!”

Kuiraou threw his spear with all his might.

The spear flew towards me in an instant.

Thung!

With a heavy sound, the spear went past me and fell behind me.

Only then did a strong wind belatedly strike my face.

“······.”

Calliope, who had knocked away the spear, stood in front of me.

I smiled and looked at Kuiraou.

“Pathetic. Kuiraou.”

“Pathetic···? You, you monkey bastard···!”

Dark clouds gathered in the sky.

Kuiraou had unleashed his soul’s magic.

Just like Sumon Thema, he summoned thunder and lightning.

Kwa-kwang!

“Aaaaaaak!”

But the lightning struck a Lizardman next to Kuiraou.

“······!”

Kuiraou stared wide-eyed at the charred corpse.

“If you’re going to show off your strength, do it properly.”

I unleashed my suppressed soul’s aura.

Kuiraou’s expression changed from anger to astonishment.

“You··· how could you···!”

“It seems Koahmic didn’t tell you what’s really important.”

Koahmic had already seen my hidden soul’s aura, but Kuiraou’s reaction was excessively strong. It seems Koahmic had hidden some information or even conveyed falsehoods.

‘That’s just like you guys. It’s only a matter of who takes the lead. In the end, there’s no intention of helping each other. Knowing this, I sought to break the balance between the three of you.’

I scoffed inwardly and declared.

“Do you still believe you can kill me?”

“I don’t know how you obtained that power, but that’s all it is!”

“But you also know that it’s meaningless for us to fight each other. Whoever wins, the survivor won’t be unscathed. And that’s exactly what Sumon Thema and Koahmic want.”

“······.”

“So, I want to make you a proposal.”

Human Ranch (11)

“Send out a Great Warrior?”

Kuiraou asked in an absurd tone.

“You and I. We each send out our Great Warrior, and we assume that the side that wins also wins the battle. The reward is that each side takes what they want. How about it?”

“You won’t fight me and settle things?”

“If you want, we can do that too. That would be faster and more certain.”

I raised my chin and spurred my horse.

Kuiraou glared at me as I approached.

I stopped within reach of his hand and whispered.

“But didn’t I say it’s meaningless for us to fight each other? Whoever wins, the survivor won’t be unscathed. If that’s the case, we’ll only be doing good for others and getting eaten. Do you want to be eaten after a life of being used?”

He couldn’t not know that ‘others’ referred to Sumon Thema and Koahmic.

The guy who had been filled with rage as if he would charge at any moment paused.

“You have to admit what you have to admit. Did I look like easy prey to you?”

“······.”

He trembled.

Suppressing his anger.

“Whether we engage in a full-scale battle and suffer damage, or we engage in a duel and get injured, neither will bring good results to each other. Think about why and how I came before you.”

It was because the other two Avatars helped me.

With sinister intentions.

“I didn’t collude with Sumon Thema or Koahmic. Unless they sent me on their own accord, I didn’t do anything.”

“Don’t lie!”

“Lie? Why do you think so?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know? I’ve already heard that you offered my head to Koahmic!”

I laughed exaggeratedly.

“Did Koahmic say that? That’s a lie.”

“A lie?”

“It’s a lie to provoke your anger and make you fight me. Why should I fight you? Why should I fight you without fighting the other two?”

“You—”

I cut off his words and continued.

“I just want humans. I knew you were raising human ranches, so I came to save them. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“······.”

“Sumon Thema and Koahmic knew this, so they didn’t fight me. Instead, they wanted me to fight another Avatar. Sumon Thema wanted Koahmic or you. Koahmic wanted you to fight me. And didn’t it almost happen exactly like that?”

I scanned the bodies of the cavalry scattered behind me.

Kuiraou’s expression hardened.

“I’ll say it again, I just want humans. If you hand over your ranch to me, I’ll leave. I won’t touch a single handful of your territory.”