Episode 65
* * *
When Dale regained consciousness in the darkness of the night, he found himself in a very familiar world.
“You finally came to see me?”
There was a girl with black goat horns, fluttering the hem of her pitch-black dress, running through the cold world.
“I’ve been waiting for you, brother.”
With a smile like seeing a father returning from a business trip.
Looking at that smile, I remembered a story my father, Black Duke, had once told me.
“Do you know the world of truth?”
A forbidden area that must be reached in order to reach the area of the 9th circle.
“Kyahahahaha!”
At those words, the girl burst into laughter, as if she couldn’t hold back her joy.
“What’s so funny?”
In response to Dale’s question, the girl answered, holding her stomach and laughing.
“That makes sense.”
As if he couldn’t stand the laughter.
“Because I was born in that world.”
“… … !”
Dale took a deep breath. Only then did he understand. The Book of the Black Goat was not just a simple book of magic. And the incarnation of the ideas before it was not an avatar created by a single wizard.
Has the Immortal Frederick also reached the world of truth?
So how many wizards have reached that realm so far, but why has no ‘Wizard of the Ninth Circle’ appeared throughout the history of the continent?
“Then you too… … .”
Dale asked again.
“Were you one of the demons in that world?”
“Devil? What is that?”
The girl tilted her head innocently. After tilting her head, she answered. With a cold sneer, as if looking down at an insect.
─ Do you think that a mortal who is bound by the shackles of thought can dare to understand ‘us’?
“… … !”
An intimidating feeling that was incomparable to anything before was radiating out. Tentacles rose from under the hem of the girl’s skirt and began to devour Dale’s world. It was like looking into an endless abyss of darkness.
“Yes, me.”
The girl stepped into Dale’s arms.
“I like you, oppa.”
The little girl hugged Dale and whispered in his ear.
“I can’t stand my brother’s loneliness and solitude because I love him so much.”
It was not a girl’s voice. It was a woman’s voice, full of passion and obsession.
“So, I will stay by your side, oppa.”
But there was no warmth felt from the body of the girl hugging Dale.
“I will be a ‘good kid’ who listens to my brother well.”
A feeling of cold, chilling chill and darkness seeping into my heart.
“… … What is your name?”
In that feeling, Dale asked back.
“Shub.”
“Shoove… … .”
With the answer, the strong wind blew again. It was so strong that it was impossible to keep my feet still.
When he came to in the wind, Dale was in his bedroom.
My heart was pounding. A heart with three circles wrapped around it.
‘Three circles… …?’
No, it wasn’t. After thinking about it that far, I realized. The ‘circle fragment’ that hadn’t yet fully taken shape, but was clearly engraved on top of the three circles. And the presence of tentacles squeezing the fragments.
As a wizard of the 3rd Circle Master, the realm of the 4th Circle began to reveal itself before him.
Even reaching the 3rd circle in one’s early twenties is a talent close to a miracle, and for those without talent, the 4th circle is something that cannot be reached even if one devotes one’s entire life.
And those four circles are right in front of an 11-year-old child.
It was a growth that was so great that even the word “talented” was inadequate.
* * *
Some time later, the barracks of the heavily armored infantry unit, including Lord Yoness.
“Ugh, the taste of alcohol is amazing!”
“Nothing can compare to the taste of this after rolling around to death!”
“The food is filling and the spinning is worth it!”
“Hahaha, it’s really true that I can eat meat every day!”
Raising a good soldier is similar to raising a good war horse. It is not something that can be solved by just running them around haphazardly, but requires systematic management, including providing them with quality food.
A luxury that a mere mercenary could not even dare to dream of.
In his growing size and skills, there was no trace of the shabby mercenary appearance.
A hundred or so heavy infantrymen.
Although individual weapons are nothing compared to those of a knight, the defensive posture that is systematically maintained is powerful enough to stop even a cavalry charge.
“As expected, being the eldest son of a duke’s family isn’t something just anyone can do.”
“That’s right.”
As their intoxication grew, the mercenaries brought up their leader as a topic of conversation. Sir Yoness nodded, taking a sip of his drink.
“At first I thought he was just an unlucky brat who was living off his own success… … .”
“Oh my, our unit leader. It seems like only yesterday you were whining about getting beaten up by a brat!”
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One of the mercenaries chuckled as he sipped his drink.
“Shut up, you f*cking punk.”
And I remembered the appearances that the ‘Black Prince’ had shown on the battlefield.
“How can you tell that he’s a normal kid?”
“That’s right, isn’t he the greatest genius in the empire!”
“How can Sir Yones be so great? Even the Night Raven Knights of the world are at a loss as their leader.”
That day, he was seen alone, suppressing the Orc Warlord against the great migration of demons.
Furthermore, when they heard that the Duke’s castle had been attacked by the Elder of the Black Tower, a hundred mercenary troops hurriedly armed themselves and fought alongside the Night Raven Knights.
There, Lord Johnes saw the ‘Monsters of the Saxon Dukes’ mercilessly slaughtering their enemies.
The very ones that monsters bow down to and are loyal to without even a shred of doubt.
It wasn’t something that could be solely described as the best talent in the empire or genius.
The embodiment of absurdity.
“… … Well, us.”
At that sight, the mercenaries under Lord Yonesse spoke.
“The best boss is one who treats you well, feeds you well, and clothes you well.”
“Isn’t the eldest son of the Saxon family our leader?”
“After all, being good at rope walking is the best.”
“For the captain!”
“For the lieutenant who was treated like a dog by the captain!”
No matter how harsh and severe the training of the Night Raven Knights was, the mercenaries could not have been unaware of it.
About the fate that will be faced by mayflies on the battlefield who neglect their training without even a shred of discipline or military discipline.
That is why I could also see the value of the harsh teachings of the Night Raven Knights. In addition, they were provided with luxurious meals without any shortage, and even heavily armored suits that a mere mercenary could not even dare to dream of.
A 100-strong heavy armored infantry unit that the world’s ‘Black Prince’ is personally training.
“And you even have hair on your penis? You’re already a man!”
“Hahaha, that’s true!”
It was just then.
“How many verses are you going to tell that dick story for?”
Amidst the jokes of the mercenaries, a very familiar and transparent voice was heard. It was the captain of the heavy infantry unit who did not hesitate to come to his subordinates’ barracks on foot in the deep night.
The black surcoat fluttered in the night breeze.
“Come on, come on, sir!”
Their new leader, Dale, was there. The mercenaries’ expressions froze in thought. An awkward silence fell again, but Dale paid no attention.
He walked calmly between them and opened his mouth to the stiff-faced Lord Yoness.
“Have a drink.”
“……yes.”
Awkwardly, I accepted the glass of wine that Dale offered me.
“Drink it all up.”
“……yes.”
Silence fell.
“I remember your actions against the Elders’ Death Knights.”
“I was only doing what I had to do for the captain and the House of Saxony!”
At the end of the silence, one of the mercenaries shouted, and Dale smiled quietly.
“Now that I think about it, I guess we should probably decide on a name for our unit.”
The name they originally used was the somewhat uninspiring Kennet Mercenaries.
It is easy for a lower-ranking noble to use a pseudonym to make his reputation known, but the situation is different when it comes to the ‘Duke’s family’. There are many risks to using the name of the Duke’s family without caution.
After thinking about it that far, Dale opened his mouth.
“From today, we are ‘Black Armor Company.’”
And there were a hundred heavy infantrymen wearing the black armor of the House of Saxony. Black Armor. A name that symbolizes the House of Saxony more clearly than anything else.
An armed organization that handles the vast array of needs of customers wishing to wage war. War Agency Corporation.
The name that will be reborn as the best military company (PMC) on the continent.
“Oh, Black Armor Company!”
“For Black Armor!”
“For the captain!”
At that name, the mercenaries shouted in excitement like children.
* * *
“Black Armor Company?”
Dale nodded in response to the Duke of Saxony’s question.
“Are you planning on training a mere mercenary force?”
“We are not a mere mercenary force.”
At his father’s question, Dale shook his head.
“What I want is a mercenary organization that has ‘operational capabilities stronger than the client’.”
“Operational capabilities stronger than the customer?”
Father tilts his head at the unexpected words.
“Usually, mercenaries are just there to fill the numbers of troops according to the orders of their employers.”
No matter how powerful and renowned the mercenaries are, the concept itself does not change.
“However, the product that our Black Armor Company wants to sell is not ‘soldiers.’”
“Then what are you selling?”
Dale answered.
“It is a victory in war.”
Not even a battle. Victory in war.
“Upon request from our clients, we will intervene in ‘all operational processes necessary for the client to win the war.’”
As a thorough war professional, I intervene in all operational processes.
Usually, nobles would not give up their pride to a mere mercenary. It is their job to plan the main strategies and tactics of war, and the value of mercenaries is simply that they are pawns who carry out their orders.
But there was one final piece of the puzzle to make that outrageous concept possible.
“As the eldest son of the House of Saxony, they too cannot help but submit to the hierarchy.”
It is rare for the eldest son of a grand lord to lead a mercenary troop, let alone a lower-ranking noble or a second son. It is hard to find a history of this. What about the successor to the Saxon Duke’s house, the ‘Black Prince’, who is said to be the greatest genius on the continent?
Dale’s talents were not limited to swords and magic, and by now people would know that fact.
Beyond his individual abilities, Dale demonstrates outrageous strategies and military talent.
Genius of war.
That’s why Dale explained the concept of ‘Black Armor Company’ again, as if he was explaining the details of the business to investors.
Taking each and every mercenary with care, training them to be the best, and securing the funds and resources to carry out missions beyond combat.
In addition, it is essential to supplement the cavalry force of the House of Saxony for organic combined arms tactics.
Everything that was available had to be used, and the name of the Duke of Saxony was no exception.
“How are you?”
Dale asked again.
“I think it’s an investment worth taking.”
“What an unexpected form of organization.”
At Dale’s words, the Duke of Saxony stroked his chin as if he found it interesting.
“A mercenary force that acts as an agent for war itself… … .”
In the end, battles cannot be left out of Dale’s training. That is why it was something that the Duke of Saxony could not refuse. Furthermore, in front of the ‘scale of investment’ of his father who was worried about his son, even Dale had to hold his breath in surprise.
‘After all, spoons are the best.’
