Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 34

Annihilation

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The northernmost end of Wallachia.

A river bordering the Oroko Great Plains and Wallachia.

An encampment stood before the river, filled with countless banners.

The banners fluttered in the wind, each bearing a different crest.

Anyone familiar with the history of the northern nobility would have been astonished by this sight.

The crests of all the northern nobles, save for one, were present here.

“Any news from Dorin?”
Pinto asked from inside the largest tent in the encampment.

He spoke while chewing on an apple, spraying juice from his mouth.
The dozen or so high-ranking nobles seated before Pinto inwardly cursed as they watched the juice splatter on the table.

‘Such a boor…’

Of course, they wore smiles on their faces.

“It seems he’s still hesitating.”
Pinto crunched on the apple and frowned.

“There’s no brother like the elder. That’s why I cut ties.”
Pinto had heard through spies that Gerhard, the man who manipulated Count Jeremy Dorin from the sidelines, had left his post.

With the troublemaker gone, Pinto had urged Dorin to join the subjugation, but after hearing that Dorin was gathering troops, Pinto hadn’t heard from him since.

‘Is he waiting for the outcome to become clear before siding with the victor?’
Pinto muttered, calling him a fool.

‘Weighing the options means he thinks I might lose. He really takes me for a sucker.’
Thinking that far, he felt a surge of annoyance.

“If Dorin doesn’t arrive at Ollimorphous by the deadline, I’ll consider him an ally of Ollimorphous.”

“Oh ho?”
That meant he would attack the Dorin County as well.
The lords forgot their displeasure and revealed their anticipation.

More opponents to fight in a battle where victory was assured?
It was like an increase in rewards.

‘Count Dorin is a fool.’

‘He should be grateful if he doesn’t have his territory confiscated even if he arrives on time.’
Who would take over the Dorin County?
The nobles smacked their lips, and Pinto stood up.

“Let’s set off soon.”
Pinto led the nobles out of the tent.

Soldiers awaiting departure were lined up in formation before the tent.

He mounted his horse, looked down at the soldiers, and smiled.

‘The Orc will be satisfied with this much, right?’
When Ugdhash had asked how many soldiers Pinto could mobilize, Pinto had replied that he could mobilize 10,000 soldiers.

That number included conscripted farmers.
However, the number of soldiers lined up before him was close to 20,000.
Furthermore, the vast majority of them were mercenaries, not conscripts.

‘To think the civil war would end just in time. What good luck.’
The civil war that had raged in central Wallachia for several years had ended.
Because it was such a large civil war, countless mercenaries had flooded the market.
When there is a large supply in the market, the price naturally decreases.
The northern lords were able to hire many mercenaries at a low cost.

‘And they’re even competing with each other, how great is that?’
As mercenaries became available at a lower cost than expected, the lords even started competing with each other, and many emptied their coffers to recruit mercenaries.
No, it would have been fortunate if they only emptied their coffers.
Some lords even borrowed from Pinto at high interest rates.
If they monopolized the gold mines of the Great Plains, they could reign as kings of the north, but if they failed, they knew what kind of treatment they would receive, so they risked everything.
This was why the expected force of 10,000 had become 20,000.

‘Idiots. Do they really think I’ll make contracts based on performance?’
The ridicule brewing inside almost escaped his lips, so he covered his mouth.
No matter how much performance the lords accumulated, Pinto would decide with whom to trade.
Objections? He could just say Ugdhash had decided.
Even if they were precious nobles, they were just monkeys in front of the other races.
Pinto knew this well, so he despised the noble race.

‘It might be good to receive a territory this time.’
Once this subjugation was over, no lord would have sound finances.
It would be difficult to object even if he took titles and land as payment under the pretext of high-interest loans.

‘I can’t just rely on that Orc forever.’
Pinto knew better than anyone the weakness of his foundation.
Born a commoner, all he had was Ugdhash as his backer.
Even that guy would abandon him without hesitation if there was a better trading partner than Pinto.

‘He keeps raising the price every time I ask for a favor, so I’m getting less and less. I’m not openly acting like a king, but even those guys admit that I’m better than them, right?’
He recalled how he had sat at the head of the table in the tent, talking loudly in front of the high-nosed nobles.
No one had objected at that time.

‘It’s funny. I, who am despised for my lowly blood, sell my own race better than those of noble blood and receive better treatment.’
And the fact that those of noble blood were eagerly begging him to buy their own race, Pinto found it truly amusing.

‘Ollimorphous brat… Resist desperately. Deplete the strength of the nobles as much as possible to make it easier for me to become a lord. That’s the best reward you can give me.’
Suppressing his anger, he thought of his son Sandro, from whom he still had no news.
Thinking about the cost of raising Sandro as his successor made his stomach churn and his anger boil.

Squeak——

Pinto looked at the sky.
A kite was gliding over the encampment.
A lone kite flying on a day when winter had not yet faded?
A question mark appeared above his head as he watched, and then he felt a gaze.
It felt as if the kite was looking down at him.

“What’s wrong?”
The lord next to him asked Pinto.

“It’s nothing.”
He reassured himself that the cold weather was making him think strange things.

A force of 20,000 was crossing the river.
Who could defeat such a force?

“How frustrating.”

“Well, there’s only one bridge.”
Pinto shrugged at the lords’ grumbling.
Crossing the river was slow because there was only one bridge across the river.
Never before had such a large group crossed the river, so 20,000 people had to pass over a narrow wooden bridge that was decades old.
It was only after the lords, unable to bear the slow and creaky sight, decided to build rafts to cross that the speed picked up.

‘They managed to cross by today.’
Pinto clicked his tongue and crossed the bridge as well.

Boo————

A trumpet sounded.

“What is it?”

“A large force is approaching from the front!”
A large force?
Pinto looked in the direction the soldier was pointing.
Dust was rising beyond the horizon.
He hardened his expression and gripped the reins tightly.

‘Ollimorphous? Is it that brat?’
He wondered if the lord of Ollimorphous was leading a force.
But soon, Pinto shook his head, denying it.
The population of the Great Plains was smaller than that of a small territory.
They could never gather such a large army.

‘If not, then what is it?’
With nervous eyes, he watched the horizon as the dust cleared.
A gentle breeze pushed the dust away, revealing the appearance of the group.

“Orcs! It’s a horde of Orcs and Goblins!”
A horde that must have numbered at least 10,000.
Pinto’s face immediately lit up.

“Lord Ugdhash has come!”
There were many Orc and Goblin tribes in the Great Plains, but only Ugdhash’s Steel Mist Tribe could mobilize such a number.

“Ooh…”

“He came himself?”
The lords, who had also been nervous, exclaimed in admiration.

“It seems he was worried about us and came to meet us.”
Pinto shrugged and spurred his horse forward.
He intended to personally greet Ugdhash and stand by his side to highlight his own power.
However, as he crossed the plains and got closer to the horde, the unease from before resurfaced.

“Huh?”
Instinctively, Pinto stopped his horse, gripping the reins.
Somewhere between the northern lord’s army and Ugdhash’s tribe.

‘I can’t see Ugdhash?’
He couldn’t see the leader, who should have been at the very front.
Pinto narrowed his eyes and tried to find Ugdhash in the approaching horde.

Thud, thud—

The Steel Mist Tribe stopped walking.

“…?”
A path opened in the middle of the horde, and a human male emerged.
The moment Pinto made eye contact with him, he felt breathless.
It felt as if someone was pressing down on the back of his head, trying to force his neck down.
On top of that, there was an anxiety that tightened his chest.
It was a completely different sensation from when he was facing a strongman like Ugdhash.

“It’s been a while, but you wouldn’t know me. Pinto.”

“Who are you?”
A kite descended and sat on his shoulder.
The man gently stroked the kite and replied.

“Edar.”
His heart seemed to stop.
The hand gripping the reins loosened.

“…Where is Lord Ugdhash?”
Edar gestured with his chin.
A Goblin holding a wooden box approached Pinto.
Pinto stared at the wooden box with wide eyes.
It was a message that anyone could understand without opening it.
Pinto pulled on the reins to avoid the Goblin offering him the box.
When he refused to receive it, the Goblin threw the box on the ground.

Thud…
A rotten head rolled out of the opened box.
It was, of course, Ugdhash’s head.

“H, how…?”

“Because he was weak.”
Edar smiled.
Pinto knew that the smile was mocking.

“You said it yourself. The law of nature is that the strong devour the weak. Ugdhash died because he was weak. Yes, that’s all.”
Pinto opened his mouth and stared blankly at Ugdhash.
Even though it was rotten, the emotion he had felt at the very end remained clear.
It was fear, an emotion Pinto had never seen before.
He had never seen or imagined Ugdhash being afraid.
Wasn’t he the one who even found the recommendations of the Grand Council bothersome?
What had made Ugdhash afraid?
Pinto raised his head and met Edar’s gaze.

“You’ve brought quite a few. Are those all your followers?”
He was referring to the northern lords’ army.
Pinto didn’t want to answer, but his head nodded on its own.
With the nod, his neck trembled, and his whole body shook.
Even though spring was approaching and the weather was warming, a chill ran through him.

“I should thank you.”

“W, what for?”

“Because I don’t have to go and deal with them one by one.”
Edar raised his right hand.

“W, wait a minute…! Let’s talk! Let’s talk…!”
But Edar erased his smile and replied calmly.

“You talk to people. Do you think you’re a person?”
His hand went down.
Ugdhash’s, no, Edar’s Steel Mist Tribe moved.

Kuworeoereoreo——!
Pinto reflexively pulled on the reins and turned his horse around.
He spurred his horse towards the northern lords behind him.
The lords were waiting for him with wide eyes.

“Pinto! What is it? Why suddenly…?”
From behind, the approaching roars grew louder.
Pinto stammered urgently, his jaw chattering.

“A, a, attack…!”

“What?”

“It’s not Ugdhash! It’s, it’s the enemy!”
It wasn’t Ugdhash.
It was the enemy.
For a moment, the lords’ expressions disappeared.
And it was a very short time.
Soon, their eyes bulged as if they would burst, and their mouths gaped open as if they would fall off.

“Attack!”
A lord who had belatedly come to his senses drew his sword.

“F, f, formation! Get into formation!”
Following suit, other lords shouted at their soldiers.

“Spearmen to the front!”
But it was too late.
No, it would be better to say it was too early.
The soldiers’ reactions were too slow, and the enemy’s advance was too fast.

Ueoereoreoereoreo——!
They had to raise the spears and shields they were holding… but their bodies didn’t respond.
As if they were in a dream, the soldiers stared blankly ahead.
Giant wolves running with their mouths open,
The green-skinned other races riding on them,
Their figures and roars growing larger and larger.
Was this reality? At the moment they asked themselves,

“Spearmeeeen—!”
The Steel Mist Tribe’s army collided with the human army.

Crush! Crush—! Crrrrrrrush——!
The army was crushed by the army.
As if pressed in a compactor.
Monsters in front, humans behind.

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

“S, save me…!”
All hell broke loose.
The northern lords’ army had just finished crossing the river.
Naturally, they had not properly formed their ranks.
In the first place, they hadn’t even thought they would be fighting.

‘Why are these other races attacking us?’
Everyone believed that the Steel Mist Tribe was an ally.
There was no sign to suspect it was a misunderstanding.
The humans were thrown into chaos without the time to adapt to the changed situation, their ranks collapsed, and the Steel Mist Tribe began their hunt.

“No! No way!”

Wagjak— Wagjak!

“My aaaaaarm!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”
A wolf larger than a person chewed on a human’s head.
A Goblin smaller than a human’s fingertip stabbed and tore at human flesh.
The Orcs chopped down humans as if butchering them and put their entrails in their mouths to fill their hungry bellies.

“Run away!”
No one resisted the hell that had descended upon the world.
Everyone turned their backs and ran.
They pushed, tripped, and trampled their comrades as they fled.
In their fear-stricken minds, there was only one memory.
The bridge, there was a bridge behind them that they could use to cross the river.
If they crossed the bridge, they could escape this hellish Great Plains.
So they turned their backs and ran to cross the bridge.

Crack!
But the bridge behind them collapsed.
Was it a coincidence, or was it inevitable?
It collapsed as if its lifespan had expired just as they were crossing the bridge.

“……”
Even in the chaos, there was silence.
The deserters stared at the river with empty eyes, as if they had lost their minds.

“Get out of the way!”

“It’s full here!”

“Get lost!”
Some rushed to the rafts and fought.
They fought over who would get on, and the rafts overturned.
Some lost their balance and capsized while crossing.
Only a handful managed to cross the river.
And the rafts that arrived on the other side did not return.

“We can’t escape…”

“What, what do we do now…”
Those who stared blankly at the river were despondent.
Some, seized by fear, threw themselves into the river.
They tried to cross the river with their bare bodies but were swept away by the currents.
Only after seeing that sight did the remaining people acknowledge reality.
That they had two choices.
To die, or to fight and die.

“Die, humans!”
The resentment born of desperation awakened their will to resist.

“You die first!”
As their will surged, the atmosphere was renewed.
They were knights and mercenaries.
If they had the will to fight, their experience was no less than that of the other races.
Moreover, their numbers were no less than those of the Steel Mist Tribe.

“Let go!”

“Dieee!”
Two or three humans clung to one Orc.
If they couldn’t cut it with one swing, they swung two or three times.
They kicked Goblins and bit the wolves’ necks in the same way.
The battlefield, uncontrolled in the chaos, was barbarism itself.

“D, damn it…!”
In the midst of it, Pinto’s face turned pale.
He had never been so close to a battlefield before.
The thick smell of blood made it difficult to breathe, and his heart was pounding as if it would burst.
There was nothing he could do here.
Even his escorts were caught up in the battle and died.
No one was left by his side.