How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 270

270. The Stolen Center (1)

I aimed for the Imperial Capital as quickly as possible.

It was a forced march that lasted almost a month.

It was only possible by using magic and elemental skills to increase our pace.

If there were traffic laws in this world, I would have racked up dozens of tickets by now.

“Even though we’re rushing like this, we’re still not there… The Empire is disgustingly large.”

“…I can only apologize for not being more helpful.”

The Imperial Knight, Yoon Han, spoke weakly, seemingly sorry for not being of much help.

But it’s not his fault.

“It’s not your fault the Empire is disgustingly large.”

“Even so, there might have been a better way….”

“Well? Getting anxious about things you can’t control will only make things worse. For now, let’s focus on getting there as safely as possible.”

“…I think Aileon is right.”

Crusoe agreed.

“More than anything, no one is ahead of us at this point. I believe what you did was correct, don’t you think?”

“Thank you, magician. Hearing you say that makes me feel a little lighter as I hold these reins.”

“No… it would be a problem if you actually mishandled the reins. Make sure you hold them tight.”

As soon as I said that jokingly.

“Hmm?”

Thump!

Suddenly, the carriage shook violently.

It stopped.

…Did he really let go of the reins?

I was about to give him a stern warning when I peeked my head out of the carriage and immediately frowned, realizing the cause of the sudden stop.

“…There’s something annoying.”

“What is it?”

“A roadblock.”

“…Excuse me? What did you say?”

Crusoe, as if not understanding, leaned her head out of the carriage after me.

Then, she let out a sigh as if she was equally annoyed.

“They look troublesome.”

Tell me about it.

A large number of armed soldiers were positioned in the path where the carriage had to pass.

“Are they Imperial soldiers?”

As I asked in doubt, Yoon Han muttered, as if he couldn’t understand.

“It’s strange. They’re not flying any flags… and I don’t even know which territory they belong to.”

“…Hmm. Well, it’s obvious then.”

“Aileon, what should we do?”

“They’re coming towards us first. It’s better to wait for a moment.”

The conclusion seems obvious, but let’s wait just in case.

Crusoe and I quickly pulled our heads back into the carriage and closed our mouths to avoid making any noise.

We’ll leave the response to Yoon Han.

Soon, a few of the soldiers approached Yoon Han and spoke to him first.

“Hey, you in the carriage. Where are you going?”

“…I am Yoon Han of the Imperial Knights Guard. I cannot reveal the details, but I am on my way to the Imperial Capital by order.”

Yoon Han confidently stated his affiliation.

If the other party is really an Imperial soldier, they should react there.

‘…Quiet.’

There’s no particular reaction.

Just in case, I grabbed Killmuris [his sword] and activated my swordsman abilities dwelling in the sword, maximizing my senses, but I still couldn’t find even a hint of agitation.

“By whose order?”

“As I said, I cannot reveal it.”

I could feel Yoon Han moving.

He’s probably showing something to prove his identity.

However, the other party doesn’t seem to care, as nothing special is sensed.

Suspicious.

“By whose order are you lying in ambush here?”

“Likewise, I cannot say. I am controlling this path by order.”

“…I’ve never heard of that.”

“Hmph, even if you are a great Imperial Knight, you don’t know everything in the Empire. Well, anyway, you can’t pass. Keep that in mind.”

I subtly signaled Crusoe with my hand.

An easy-to-understand gesture of slitting my throat.

It means, ‘as expected.’

I probably conveyed it roughly, since she gave me an annoyed look.

In the meantime, the conversation continues.

“Who is in the carriage?”

“Guests. I cannot reveal them either.”

“Hmph, I can’t be fooled by such words. I need to check. Tell those in the carriage to get out immediately….”

“Wait!”

He doesn’t listen even when Yoon Han stops him.

It was when he was about to forcibly touch the carriage.

No doubt.

Murderous intent.

Then it’s confirmed.

I nodded and kicked open the door and jumped out.

“Alright! I’ll get you out!”

And before the other party could react, I immediately cut off his head.

And the other groups following him were surprised and tried to react a beat late.

“Eat this!”

I immediately activated the magic I had prepared in advance.

Mana Blast.

The emitted mana caused an explosion, shattering them with pressure alone.

Of course, the remaining guys had no choice but to react.

“It’s an enemy!”

“Kill them!”

“It doesn’t matter if you kill them! Just find out their identities!”

They raised their weapons and tried to rush towards us at once.

Then, it’s Crusoe’s turn to step up, just like I did a little while ago.

“Flare Storm.”

Crusoe immediately leaned only her upper body out of the carriage window and pointed her staff.

The storm of flames swept through them without affecting the carriage, burning them to ashes.

Annihilation in an instant.

Easy.

“Weren’t you two being too hasty?”

Yoon Han asked, somewhat bewildered, and I rummaged through the corpses and took out a crest from within.

“…That is?”

“These guys aren’t Imperial soldiers. They must be pretending to be Imperial soldiers to control the road. As for where they’re from… we’ll find out by looking into this mark.”

“…Zelhart Mercenary Corps.”

“Excuse me?”

As I tilted my head and looked at the crest again, Yoon Han spoke again in a trembling voice as if he knew what it was.

“There’s no mistake. Zelhart Mercenary Corps, that is their mark.”

“Zelhart… ha, so that’s how it is. Is that guy involved too?”

I scratched the back of my head and understood what he said.

I don’t know what the mercenary corps’ crest looks like, but at least the name was definitely in my head.

It means I’ve read that information from the original work.

More than anything.

<…….>

<…….>

<…….>

Points are coming in as I defeat them.

It may be no more than defeating goblins, but there’s no mistake.

“…Is this really a hot spot for villains? Did they have some kind of group meeting?”

“Excuse me? What do you mean….”

“There’s something like that. Anyway, let’s quickly clean up and get going. I’ll tell you the details in the carriage.”

It seems like this isn’t the time to leisurely enjoy the trip.

* * *

“First, let’s organize the information.”

I took out the bundle of papers with the information I had recorded so far and started flipping through them.

Since all I have to do is some minor preparations and discussions, I thought I’d do it in the meantime. I’m also doing other work at the same time. So busy.

“The first ones we encountered were bats… vampires.”

“We haven’t heard any news since they ran away, have we?”

“He’s arrogant, but he’s also cautious. He’s been badly hurt, so we won’t meet him again easily.”

Conversely, that means that when we do meet again, he will have come prepared in his own way.

“He’s not the only one who’s a problem. The situation is similar in every city I’ve seen on the way here.”

Of course, I didn’t encounter any villains involved in the original story like the vampire.

Instead, I encountered mercenary groups hired by someone, or monsters that looked like the work of Kmelz Alfrens [a powerful mage].

I ran into some troublesome things.

“It seems they are isolating the Imperial Capital and sending their own enemies to each territory within the Empire to buy time so they can’t easily interfere with the center.”

They thoroughly control information so that no news can even be received.

“That method won’t last long. People can’t be quiet forever when suppressed.”

“That means their goal ends in the short term.”

I deliberately left out the purpose.

It’s too early to tell now.

More than anything, I’ll be questioned about the source of the information the moment I say it.

No, I’d be lucky if they even believed me.

Especially Kmelz Alfrens’s purpose is related to his true identity.

Releasing that information should be done more carefully… at least after seeing the state of the Imperial Capital directly and contacting those in need.

However, let’s release the information that can be released.

That goes for the vampire too.

“In the case of the mercenary corps controlling the road, it’s probably the Zelhart Mercenary Corps, which mainly operates in the west of the continent.”

“I don’t know much about mercenaries, but are they famous?”

“They were expelled from the Empire for causing problems in the past, but at least in terms of skill, they are among the top in the industry.”

“…Zelhart Mercenary Corps. There’s no mistake!”

Yoon Han also joined the conversation, making a loud noise from the driver’s seat.

“They are a group that caused problems within the Empire about 10 years ago and were expelled from the Imperial Mercenary Guild.”

“…What kind of problems did they cause?”

I know too, but it’s better to have that friend explain it now.

It’s not good for me to just talk unilaterally.

No one can be perfect, so it’s suspicious to act like I know too much.

“I heard they were excessively violent.”

They say it’s like burning down the thatched house to catch a flea [an idiom meaning to use excessive force].

They are a mercenary corps that committed atrocities that fit that saying.

“The anecdote of them annihilating an entire village after receiving a request to catch a wanted criminal is notorious within the Empire.”

“…It’s strange that it ended with just expulsion.”

At that level, it’s not just a guild-level problem, but a problem where the Imperial Army could intervene.

“I heard that their leader is quite cunning. He was cleverly using the line that didn’t quite violate the law, so it was difficult to find justification.”

Yoon Han sighed and said that.

“In addition, they mainly received dirty requests from nobles in the past, so they were protected.”

However, you can’t just make a name for yourself forever.

A protruding stone is bound to be hammered [an idiom meaning those who stand out will be targeted], and of course, there are those who cannot tolerate them.

The Zelhart Mercenary Corps’ violent actions eventually get caught.

“The reason they were expelled was because the Imperial Family finally caught them and threatened the guild.”

“…I heard that the expulsion process was not easy either?”

Let’s ask that to confirm the information.

“In the end, they disobeyed the guild’s orders and entered into a conflict with the guild.”

However, the conflict did not last long unexpectedly.

“I heard that there was a mercenary who defeated the Zelhart Mercenary Corps members and settled the score with the leader of the mercenary corps. El… I’m sorry, I don’t remember his name very well.”

“Ellaut Eselneus.”

I said the mercenary’s name.

Imperial S-Rank Mercenary Ellaut Eselneus.

The female mercenary who gave me a lot of trouble in the Falzente Principality, the one who couldn’t get enough of fighting.

The reason she was recognized as an S-rank by the guild was thanks to her contribution to driving that mercenary corps out of the Empire.

Certainly, the former leader of the Zelhart Mercenary Corps was also an S-rank mercenary.

Well, up to this point, I also have some information that I have grasped from the original work’s description.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t know what that Ellaut… that battle maniac is doing now….’

Since the Imperial Family has been occupied, she may not be interested in this incident and may not have intervened.

And or, in the worst case, she may have been persuaded and turned into an enemy.

‘It’s getting more and more troublesome.’

I need to grasp the exact information quickly.

How many villains have been identified so far?

The problem is from now on.

‘Then how many villains are there in the Empire?’

Even if I count them, there are quite a few.

All of them are people related to the Forellos Empire.

‘…He’s pulling all the developments related to those guys?’

I thought about it.

Is that possible?

‘It might be possible….’

Of course, it would be difficult if you asked me to induce the same thing.

Decisively, I lack the knack.

But if there is a bigger mastermind and someone who can move in an organized manner….

There is enough possibility.

‘It’s better to think of it as the worst case for now.’

Leaving aside what they are aiming for, which is unknown.

For now, that guy is gathering villains related to the Forellos Empire and inducing them to cause accidents as a group.

If there is no movement to stop it, you can assume that it coincides with the mastermind’s intentions.

‘…But what do you want to achieve with that?’