The Lazy Genius of the Duke - Chapter 37



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The Duke’s Lazy Martial Arts Genius (37)

It’s not a person, it’s a monster (2)

“Hey! Hans! What are you smuggling in again, scurrying around like a rat?”

“Smuggling! When did I do that!”

“No, don’t you know that you got caught stealing orc penis? They say that if you take it and eat it, your stamina will increase? Did you see any effect?”

Hahahaha!

The scenery at the gate leading into Dudek’s territory was very different from other gates. Even at the Academy, there was a long line to enter and exit the Academy territory.

For most territories, passing through the gate was the most difficult part, as it was necessary to check who was entering the territory and whether they were bringing in dangerous items.

Because if discipline was not properly established there, public security within the territory could become a mess.

“It’s so free, so wonderful.”

But the Dudek Viscounty was different. Benio’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the gate guards joking with a man named Hans.

That wasn’t all.

Most of them were just letting people in without even conducting a proper inspection. It was more questionable whether they could properly maintain security by letting people in like that.

“Originally, Dudek’s Viscounty had this kind of atmosphere. Because of Dudek Mountain, there were nearly a thousand mercenaries and merchants coming and going every day. But it wasn’t like this….”

Amblan tilted his head. It seemed different from what he knew. Benio remembered that as he passed through the gate.

“It’s so easy it’s ridiculous.”

“If it’s not suspicious, other territories are like this too. But Dudek-ryeong is a bit more severe.”

Dudek Viscounty is where those who sacrificed themselves to stop the monsters coming out of Dudek Mountain and bring peace to the empire gathered.

It is said that Dudek’s ancestors were not originally from noble families, but from commoners. He was drafted as a common soldier and served, but he performed a meritorious deed by rescuing a prince who was in the army. When the prince became the emperor, he was praised for his merit and became a noble and was granted a fief.

That territory was Dudek.

Dudek’s ancestors claimed this place, which no one else wanted, as their fief to prove their loyalty to the empire, and this has continued to this day.

‘No one knows whether this was something they really wanted or not.’

Perhaps, he received this place as his fiefdom because he was pushed out by the nobles. However, in any case, Dudekryeong has maintained Dudekryeong for three hundred years, so it means that receiving this place as his fiefdom at that time was ultimately a wise decision.

“Since it is a place where many mercenaries come and go, we can assume that the free atmosphere of mercenaries spreads throughout the territory. Most of the soldiers are probably from a mercenary background. They came here and settled down.”

“Are you saying that mercenaries are settling down?”

“That’s right. In fact, there’s no better place for mercenaries to settle down than Dudek. Even if you retire, it’s not hard to make a living here because of Dudek Mountain, and there’s always a battle going on, so there’s a lot of demand for soldiers.”

“okay.”

The settlement that is avoided by others is the most preferred settlement for mercenaries, Amblan added in his explanation.

“If that were all, even the most life-threatening mercenary would not have settled here.”

“What else do you mean?”

“If Dudek-ling falls to monsters, all the nearby territories will be exposed to the threat of monsters. That’s why the surrounding territories take turns sending knights to help defend Dudek-ling.”

“ah.”

“This place is maintained by the fact that there are fifty allied knights in the three surrounding counties and two baronies. Of course, the expenses are also covered by the surrounding territories.”

Fifty knights.

That was by no means a small number. It was a number that could only be maintained by a count or higher.

That means that Dudek-ryeong has a knight corps of fifty members from surrounding territories and Dudek-ryeong’s own knight corps, so the knight power alone far surpasses that of an average countship.

“Over there. Over there. Over there, over there.”

Ambulance pointed with his finger to where different flags were fluttering. There was a barracks with a smokescreen, and the flags represented the territory they had come from.

“Phew.”

Ambulance exhaled sharply and made a weary expression. Benio supported Ambulance and grabbed a passerby.

“Do you know where the temple is?”

The man in mercenary attire glanced at Benio, then looked at the ambulance next to him, and pointed with his finger to a certain place.

“If you keep following this road, you will come out.”

“thank you.”

Benio supported Ambulan. The city was very lively and full of energy. Fresh monster corpses were coming in every day, and there were merchants everywhere who were bargaining to buy them.

And with hundreds of mercenaries coming and going every day, commercial facilities centered around mercenaries developed.

There were dozens of inns, blacksmith shops, grocery stores to prepare for long journeys, hardware stores, and even several gambling halls, bars, and red-light districts where mercenaries could relieve stress.

But then Benio’s steps slowed down.

“Cadet Benio?”

“It looks like a fly has swarmed me.”

“fly?”

“yes.”

Benio had been aware of the tail’s presence for a while. He didn’t know when it had been following him, but it wasn’t an illusion. Even when he turned around on purpose, it continued to follow him, keeping an eye on him.

“I think it’s the mercenary from earlier.”

“A mercenary?”

Ambulance tilted his head for a moment, then nodded after looking at his and Benio’s attire.

“If they were like wild dogs, they could easily do that. It was my fault.”

Benio was wearing gear borrowed from the guild, so he didn’t show it, but he wasn’t Amblan. He had taken off the full plate armor that symbolized a knight, but it couldn’t be helped that his clothes still looked a bit shabby.

I saw it.

Splash.

Ambulance gritted his teeth quietly. He had become a target for mercenaries because he looked weak due to his injuries.

But Benio shook his head.

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“It’s okay. It actually turned out well.”

“How did it go?”

“Don’t you think that the Dudek-ryeong that Lord Amblan knows is very different from the Dudek-ryeong of today?”

“That’s true.”

Mercenaries are originally rough. However, that doesn’t mean they are the kind of guys who would go as far as to try to steal from people they see on the street.

This is because even the mercenary guilds try to weed out such people through midnight purges.

If those guys start to harm the mercenary guild, it will be the mercenary guild that ends up suffering. That is why mercenaries belonging to the mercenary guild rarely commit crimes.

But, of all places, are there such mercenaries roaming around within the Dudek Estates?

“Was the security of the territory originally bad?”

“No. There are a hundred knights, but the northern part of the territory connected to the valley is so rough with mercenaries that problems arose, but at best it was a brawl.”

Ambulance knew more about Dudek’s territory than he had thought. After saying that, he noticed Benio’s gaze and cleared his throat.

“I came here to perform a knightly duty.”

Before being knighted, all aspiring knights travel the continent as knights, learning about the world in the process.

For a knight who must hold a sword, protect the weak, and uphold his beliefs, it was quite important to know the ways of the world. But I never thought that Amblan’s knight training ground would be here.

“Somehow, that’s why you felt familiar with it.”

“exactly.”

If so, it makes sense that he would know this place in detail. If he had been out on a knightly mission, he would probably have been a mercenary too.

Before being knighted, aspiring knights could not say that they were knights, so they often worked as mercenaries.

“Anyway, the fact that such guys are running around means that public safety has deteriorated.”

“I guess so.”

“Or maybe he’s a mercenary who doesn’t belong to the mercenary guild.”

“Surely, hiring unlicensed mercenaries without the permission of the mercenary guild is burdensome even for nobles.”

The Mercenary Guild is the only private organization with hundreds of thousands of combat-ready troops and is the only organization sanctioned by empires, kingdoms, and principalities.

Instead, the Mercenary Guild took on the responsibility of solving the problems caused by mercenaries as a primary responsibility. After the Mercenary King Freud, the Mercenary Guild became stronger, but it still kept its line.

The thing that these mercenary guilds react most sensitively to is unlicensed mercenaries.

Mercenaries who operate without registering with the mercenary guild and refusing to be managed by the guild. Since the proliferation of such mercenaries ultimately damages the image of the entire mercenary industry, the mercenary guild absolutely does not tolerate unlicensed mercenaries.

The same goes for nobles who hire such unlicensed mercenaries.

Even the nobles considered unlicensed mercenaries taboo, as it could easily lead to a visit from the mercenary king, Freud.

However, since they are not labeled as unlicensed mercenaries, the mercenary guild estimates that the number of unlicensed mercenaries active throughout the continent is around 10,000.

‘If they are unlicensed mercenaries, they are not subject to guild sanctions, so even if they commit robbery, there is no way to find them.’

And if they hired such unlicensed mercenaries, it is proof that something really happened in Dudek’s territory.

“If he is an unlicensed mercenary, it would be safe to assume that something has gone wrong in the Dudek Estate.”

The discipline of the guards has become lax, public security has deteriorated, and unlicensed mercenaries are roaming the territory. Amblan’s expression has become serious as he realizes the meaning.

Damn it.

At that time, the front and back of the alley that Benio and Ambulan entered were blocked in turn. This was because they had entered a deserted area on purpose to lure the guys.

Slurp.

The mercenary blocking my path laughed viciously and pulled out an axe from his bosom. The axe, which was about the size of my forearm, seemed perfectly suited for chopping things up.

“Hey, guys. Can we talk for a minute?”

The man in shiny leather armor and swinging a hatchet didn’t seem like a rookie mercenary. He looked like a fairly skilled mercenary, and he waved his hand in front of me.

“Brother over there. It looks like you have quite a bit of money. Would you like to entrust us with a request? If you do, we can complete it for you.”

“What request?”

“Saving lives.”

Hahahaha!

The mercenaries surrounding him from the front and back laughed, “Wahahaha.” Starting with the pot-bellied mercenary, and even the old mercenary who looked like he had aged several times more than the others.

What was unique was that they all had a look of murder in their eyes.

“If you give up everything you have, I’ll spare your life.”

“What if I refuse?”

Benio asked with his hands on his waist. Then the man who had been tapping his neck with the back of the hatchet opened his eyes wide and shrugged his shoulders.

“Then I’ll have to cut off the arms one by one. After cutting off all the limbs, I’ll feed them to the dogs. Our Cerberus can’t stand meat either.”

It seems that he also raises a dog. But the dog’s name is Cerberus. Benio chuckled at the childish naming sense and said.

“How about other requests besides that one?”

“The young friend is quite brave. So, what kind of request?”

“How are those unlicensed, trashy mercenaries operating in this territory, stuff like that?”

The mercenary’s face suddenly distorted at Benio’s calm words. The man holding the axe shouted at Benio.

“This kid! Do you think you can live here? You guys….”

Shhh!

At that moment, a gust of wind blew and Benio appeared in front of the mercenary. It was Sumbo. The mercenary, who was seeing Sumbo for the first time, had no time to react.

Chomp!

This is because Benio pulled out his sword from its scabbard and cut down the mercenary.

Iron Fist.

“Keep, keaaaak!”

The arm holding the axe was severed and fluttered on the ground. The mercenary who saw this screamed and fell backwards, and Benio started dancing with his sword as he jumped into the midst of the unlicensed mercenaries like a wolf among sheep.

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