Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 26

Calliope shot out like lightning.

I couldn’t even see her move.

In the blink of an eye, she was gripping Baguku’s neck.

A tall woman, not much shorter than me.

Grabbing the neck of an Orc a head shorter than her was easy.

“Ughhhhk.”

“Kuh, Kr… Ugh… !”

Baguku’s reaction was slow.

Even though he was as strong as Gerhard, he was still a novice compared to Calliope.

He instinctively took a step back just before his neck was grabbed.

But could he avoid her hand with just one step?

Only after his neck was caught did he belatedly reach out with both arms to grab Calliope’s helmet and crush it.

If she were an ordinary human, it would have worked as he intended, but…

“Futile.”

Calliope gripped his neck with her right hand and moved her left.

She grabbed Baguku’s right arm at the shoulder and pulled.

Shwaaa—

“Kuh… Kuh-heuk!”

Baguku’s right arm was torn off at the shoulder in one swift motion.

The scream was blocked in his throat, unable to escape his lips.

Green blood soaked the floor and stained the gold.

I saw the man’s eyes, bulging as if about to burst from the pain.

“You must find the feeling of becoming weak refreshing. Don’t you think?”

“……!”

He tried to say something, but no sound came out.

In the first place, I had no intention of listening, nor was he worth it.

I only regretted letting him go so easily.

I tilted my head slightly to the side with a sneer and gestured.

“That’s enough. Finish him off.”

Calliope grabbed Baguku’s side and wrenched his neck.

“Hii, Hiiiik!”

I looked down at the man screaming.

His eyes were sunken, one of his ears was torn off, and he covered his face with both hands, letting out a thin scream.

He was terrified at the death of the monster who had exploited him.

There was no sense of relief or liberation, only worry that I might kill him too was evident in his expression.

‘This is what humans are in this world. Born as livestock, raised as livestock, and dying as livestock. Even without chains, they don’t run away, and when their master dies, they feel more anxiety than joy, a weak race.’

Even if I said, ‘You are free now,’ the slave would not accept it.

The chains of slavery that bind his heart are tightly fastened.

Liberation is a strange and unfamiliar thing to those who do not know a life without slavery.

If these people were released into the plains of freedom, they would only become free sheep eaten by wolves.

‘What sheep need is not freedom but a shepherd. A good shepherd to lead and protect them. And that is what I want to become. Though I don’t know if it’s possible.’

“Master will definitely become one.”

Reading my thoughts, Calliope replied in a low voice.

I also read a fanatical joy in her thoughts.

“Yes, I hope so.”

The outside was buzzing.

They must have sensed the strange atmosphere in the reception room.

Whether it was because of the screams or the smell of blood.

I ordered Calliope.

“Kill all the filthy creatures in this place. Those who dominate humans, those who eat humans, those who violate humans. Kill all the outrageous things that dare to stand above humans, and make sure no one outside knows.”

I am freeing you from slavery.

“Do not come outside.”

Calliope left the reception room and locked the door.

Soon, all sorts of screams and shrieks leaked in from beyond the door.

I remained in the reception room with one subordinate and one slave.

The reception room was filled with gold, Baguku’s blood, and a rotten stench.

I pulled up a chair and put the half-smoked cigarette back in my mouth.

“What are you going to do now?”

The subordinate who had been guarding the door asked.

She was a subordinate I created while heading to Lagoa.

————————————

Nun

Rachel

Lv. 37

Grade: C

————————————

Her level was too low to directly confront monsters, so I kept her by my side.

I let out a hollow laugh at the job that reminded me of an indulgence seller [someone who sells forgiveness of sins].

“First, we have to wait.”

Until Calliope finishes beating up all the monsters in the mine.

I added that it wouldn’t take long.

She caught Baguku with her bare hands.

Monsters much weaker than him would be no different from ants.

As if to support my judgment, the commotion had already subsided.

“What’s next?”

I looked at the man who was still trembling.

“Liberate the slaves, gather them, and return to Olympus.”

“There seemed to be quite a few of them.”

“Yeah. Quite a few.”

To the question of how to take them, I gestured with my chin.

A kite was sitting on a small wooden window made in the wall.

“I’m ready, Edar.”

Griff’s voice came from the kite’s mouth.

“Come up as soon as Calliope’s hunt is over.”

“Hunt, the word is scary.”

“Monsters aren’t people.”

“Oh… you’re ruthless.”

The kite shook its body once and flew outside.

Rachel watched it and tilted her head.

“Who is it?”

“Griff. Your brother and a great magician.”

“Didn’t you deliberately not bring him along?”

“There was no need to bring him.”

If he had come along, he would have likely clashed with Baguku’s subordinates.

It would be one thing if it were just goblins, but Orcs and Minotaurs were dangerous.

Only someone like Griff could easily deal with those kinds of creatures.

‘The levels of the subordinates I’ve created so far don’t have enough of a middle ground.’

Calliope Lv. 92,

Gerhard Lv. 73,

Griff Lv. 59.

Even the top three had level differences of 10 or 20.

The subordinates below them were mostly in their teens and twenties.

Confronting other races at this level was too risky.

At the very least, they needed Rachel’s level, equipment, and formations.

Without these conditions, they were only comparable to knights based on human standards.

Compared to Orcs, they were just stronger monkeys than goblins.

‘Right now, even low-level subordinates are lacking one by one, but when I have the 余裕 [leeway or margin], I need to consider ways to raise their levels, equip them, or increase their power.’

There were many ways.

The experiences from previous iterations remained vividly in my memory.

If I had the time and resources, and if the Assembly didn’t interfere, it was a goal I could achieve.

‘The resources… can be covered by occupying this place.’

It would be like monopolizing Oroc gold coins.

‘The problem is the Assembly. This is a race against time.’

The Assembly wouldn’t just keep watching like they are now.

It was clear that they would try to restrain me in some way in the near future.

That’s how it had always been in the iterations I had experienced.

“Griff will have brought several transport wagons. Load the humans and treasures onto them and return to Olympus.”

“Is there a reason why you’re not settling them here in Lagoa?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t have the capacity. Olympus is the only village that can accept this many immigrants.”

“Ah…”

I said earlier that there were quite a few slaves, but there really were a lot.

More than the immigrants that Kistler brought at the beginning of his term.

It wasn’t for no reason that the room was full of gold.

It was natural to get this much gold since so many humans were used as mine slaves.

“And would it be the end if we settled them here?”

Rachel looked at the man huddled in the corner of the room.

Like a puppy who had been beaten by his owner all his life, his eyes were wide and he was trembling like an aspen, looking at us.

“Most of the humans here are probably not in their right minds. To monsters, humans are less than livestock. It’s very difficult to maintain reason under such treatment.”

That man was lucky.

Even though one of his ears was slightly torn off, he still had all his limbs.

Monsters regarded humans as walking fruit trees.

If they were hungry and a human was nearby, they would naturally reach out.

They tore off human flesh as if plucking fruit.

If they survived being torn apart, they lived as slaves with disabilities, and if they didn’t survive, they became instant food for the monsters.

And women… never came out of the cave.

“Until their minds heal naturally, they will have no choice but to live as slaves who listen to their masters.”

“They’re hurt. Shouldn’t we let them rest?”

“Who will take care of them? We don’t have the 余裕 [leeway or margin].”

I put my hand on Rachel’s shoulder and patted her.

“Don’t worry. Time will heal them.”

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.

“What are you going to do with the monsters?”

“I have to kill them, all of them.”

“Not keep them as slaves?”

I shook my head.

“They only know how to fight. They have no patience. If they go into the deep mine, they’ll just fight each other and die.”

It would also be troublesome if they escaped and informed the garrison of the situation.

“The mine will be closed for a while then.”

“Until the slaves are settled in Olympus and your numbers reach a certain level. It’s dangerous to entrust mining to humans.”

It’s also inefficient.

The mine is the worst place for humans to work.

There’s a lack of oxygen and groundwater rises,

The accumulation of carbon dioxide and methane gas is also dangerous,

It’s dark and you can’t see in front of you, of course,

There was even the risk of being buried alive when the cave collapsed.

In this environment, human work efficiency is very low.

‘Subordinates who share thoughts and don’t feel fatigue to the extreme are suitable for this environment.’

Of course, I can’t mobilize subordinates right now.

Even developing Olympus alone is not enough.

‘Still, this should keep me from worrying about money for a while.’

I picked up the orichalcum [a mythical metal] bracelet that had fallen in front of my feet.

It was the bracelet that Baguku had given me, saying empty words about friendship.

– Gaura Melga III, Orc Slayer

The head engraved on the bracelet was the great king of the old Elven kingdom.

When the Orcs began their great migration and came to the northwest where the Elves resided, Gaura Melga defeated the Orc forces and drove them east.

And he built a wall so that the Orcs could not covet the Elven lands.

Considering that the wall still exists and the Orcs cannot covet the Elves and have no choice but to live in the barren east, he was an existence no different from an irreconcilable enemy.

Giving a work of art commemorating an irreconcilable enemy as a gift of friendship?

Is wearing this in front of Orcs friendship?

‘Orcs are funny monsters.’

I put the bracelet on my wrist.

I was wary of the other race’s craftsmanship, but I couldn’t ignore the value.

The value of this one bracelet was more expensive than the annual income of a small territory.

The material was orichalcum, and it was made by an other race artisan.

Adding in the gold that filled the room, I wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while.

“It’s over.”

Calliope opened the door to the reception room and came in.

It was a calm tone as if she had gone for a walk.

Who would believe that she had slaughtered monsters just by listening to her tone?

You would only believe it after seeing the armor that had lost its original color after being soaked in blood.

“Good work.”

When I came outside, the smell of blood was as strong as in the reception room.

It was because so many monsters had died in a narrow space.

It was hard to walk without stepping on the corpses of monsters scattered everywhere.

Even if you avoided the corpses, you couldn’t avoid getting your feet wet in the puddles of blood.

‘It wasn’t just humans that were more numerous than I thought.’

Looking at the mountain of corpses, there were as many monsters as there were slaves.

With so many, I wondered if any had escaped.

“I didn’t miss any.”

Calliope asserted, pointing to the entrance with her eyes.

The entrance was blocked by a collapsed wooden fence.

There were corpses of monsters who had turned to flee around it.

I took a deep breath of the cigarette to cover up the offensive smell.

Letting the scent of the cigarette flow through my nose relieved the nausea a little.

“Gather all the living people.”

When all the people in the garrison were gathered, there were three hundred of them.

The gender ratio was two men to one woman. Monsters preferred women, but since the place was a mine, there were more than twice as many men as mining slaves.

“……”

It goes without saying what the slaves looked like.

They were wearing rags or nothing at all.

It was natural that they were emaciated from starvation.

If they were missing one ear, they were lucky, and usually they were missing a few finger joints, or if they were unlucky, they were missing an eye or a wrist.

‘Still… there’s no one who can’t move.’

‘They would have used slaves who couldn’t be used as food.’

Rachel’s thoughts surged.

‘Food, you say?’

‘The other races call humans monkeys. What does that mean?’

It wasn’t just a word to insult them.

There was a hidden meaning that they saw humans as livestock.

‘Look. To them, humans are just livestock and tools.’

I looked at the female slaves.

Their appearance was more than just miserable.

They didn’t need to hold a pickaxe or pull a cart like men.

Women were treated differently because they were used for completely different purposes by monsters.

If they were missing one or two limbs, they were really lucky.

They only saw humans as tools for increasing their numbers.

They cut off all the elements that were not necessary for the function of reproduction.

And the result was in front of my eyes.

I inhaled the cigarette even deeper.

“Edar.”

Calliope snatched the cigarette away.

The cigarette was burning to the root and touching my hand.

She took off her gauntlet and stroked the burn marks on her fingers.

“Calm down. The humans are afraid.”

I looked down at the slaves who were trembling like aspens.

They were lying down and burying their faces in the ground.

It was a habit that had become ingrained in them while living as slaves.

That when their master was angry, they had to bow down even if they were not guilty.

I felt the resentment subside and a bitterness linger in my mouth.

‘It’s always been like this.’

It was a sight I had seen through many iterations.

If you asked if I was used to it, I would answer that I was so used to it that I was sick of it.

But the reason why my emotions were boiling like this was because it was different from then.

The difference between then and now is whether it’s virtual or real.

Now that it’s real, it evoked different emotions than before.

“Listen.”

I stepped on the corpse of a monster and stood up.

“I am Edar, the lord of Olympus.”