LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 88
Katherine quickly summoned the Subjugation Team despite the sudden situation.
On the surface, it seemed like a rush job, but internally, things were different.
From discussing team formations to organizing supplies, carts, and laborers to assist the Subjugation Team, everything was thoroughly planned out.
Considering the number of adventurers exceeding the entire population of Fungusbee, along with the carts for supplies and loot collection, and the scale of those eager to grab their share, it was beyond ridiculous.
Yet, the money, position, and honor backing Katherine made it all possible, despite how absurd it seemed.
However, the mood entering and exiting the restroom differs.
Once she began issuing commands, resistance emerged like flipping a palm.
These were individuals who valued pride over their lives and had knowledge that was inversely proportional to their overflowing aggression.
Naturally, the common response in such a situation was straightforward.
The dead do not speak.
Anyone who dared to oppose could face the death penalty without anyone else saying a word due to the crime of noble defamation.
After all, those few were lacking in both skills and rank.
But Katherine did not respond that way.
She knew adventurers very well.
“No, even if you call yourself a Water Master, you don’t know the hat of an adventurer—”
“Whaaaaa!?”
“Shut up! Hahaha, this kid spoke rudely because he’s inexperienced.”
“Whoa, that’s bold for the Great Spirit of the Cold Wave. Do you want to become an ice statue alive?”
“What? The Great Spirit of the Cold Wave? Sounds familiar…”
“Dammit, how can you not recognize a former S-Class adventurer just because some time has passed?”
“Senpai. We apologize that we couldn’t teach the juniors properly.”
“Well, that was over a hundred years ago, so I can understand not knowing.”
“This kid doesn’t even know how to reflect!”
Yeah, I thought this would happen.
Katherine squeezed her eyes shut, recalling the long-buried history that suddenly made an appearance after such a long time.
“Well, what can I say? You’re very capable?”
Narque muttered softly as he looked around the plaza.
“Well, since I’m not inexperienced, I should be able to sense this much.”
“Ex-experience?”
“Well, I once lived as an adventurer back in the day.”
“…Huh?”
Narque, hearing something unimaginable, widened his eyes like a startled rabbit.
Come to think of it, the adventurers who just departed mentioned the Great Spirit of the Cold Wave. An S-Class adventurer? Sir Atanitas?
Seeing Narque’s confused expression, Katherine shook her head.
“It was a time when I was neither a sage nor a grand wizard.”
“Wow, calling it a past glory seems a bit too much for an S-Class adventurer!”
Adventurers exploring unknown realms untouched by civilization, conquering dungeons, and hunting dangerous monsters do exist, but in reality, it was different.
Most were merely all-purpose errand runners under the Adventurer Guild, engaged in lucrative jobs excluding assassination and war, which wasn’t entirely false.
Of course, true “adventurers” exist as well.
But they make up a small fraction of all adventurers.
Those who shed their sloppy, all-purpose errand-running lifestyle eventually gain enough respect from people and the qualifications to choose their requests, generally being adventurers of C-rank or higher.
And A and S-Class adventurers are the pinnacle among them.
Their skills are recognized, and they are conventionally regarded as nobles without titles throughout Europa.
Katherine felt uneasy under Narque’s gaze, which seemed akin to watching a celebrity.
After all, her life as an adventurer was a dark history.
“There’s even a former smuggler in Winterhome, so former S-Class adventurers are relatively common.”
“Eh!?”
“You must have seen him often, right? The middle-aged man following Count Godwin.”
“Uh, Sir Viktor?”
Narque blinked in surprise.
“He was called the King of Smugglers out of respect and jealousy by guests and dignitaries alike.”
Katherine was famous for her blunt remarks, expressing her opinions candidly, even to nobles much higher than herself.
But despite their low rank, she maintained a universal reputation for remaining polite and friendly.
“It’s hard to imagine.”
“Well, everyone has one such past. You’re an elf, yet you’re a necromancer.”
As countless people moved through the plaza, which had been chaotic, things began to organize.
Those like Karem moved to shelters the village had prepared, while people who could fight headed towards the barricades with weapons in hand.
Laborers began loading supplies brought by cattle and horses onto the carts, while adventurers appointed as team leaders started forming groups enthusiastically.
In the industry, seniors are usually objects of dread.
Those who resisted until the end were kept in line by seniors horrified at the rudeness shown toward an esteemed senior who had retired from the industry.
It took less than an hour for the Subjugation Team to finish their preparations.
Adventurers surrounded the supply carts packed to the brim and the empty carts meant for collecting loot as a protective barrier, while Katherine led Narque to the center in the wagon.
“I won’t say much. The target of the Subjugation Team is clearly visible over there.”
Katherine pointed her staff, gazing into the ominous presence looming blackly against the sky beyond the barricade.
“The quicker we eliminate the source, the more bonuses will return to you. Don’t let your meager skills be overshadowed by ambition. Now, let’s depart.”
With that, Katherine promptly sat down.
The Subjugation Team hesitated for a moment after the high-ranking individual finished her usual short briefing, but they began to move only after Katherine struck the wagon floor with her staff.
“Uh, Sir Atanitas, is it really okay to end it like this?”
“What are you talking about?”
Exactly what I meant.
The laborers trailing the Subjugation Team, even the wandering adventurers, and even some priests who had been grinding Narque for advice, all agreed with the necromancer this time.
“Well, I thought a speech could boost the Subjugation Team’s morale or uplift the atmosphere or something.”
Narque boldly expressed his opinion despite Katherine’s glare.
And all the adventurers nodded in agreement with her opinion.
Upon hearing morale and atmosphere, Katherine mulled it over while stroking her chin. Meanwhile, the Subjugation Team moved steadily forward and halted before the barricade entry.
“Fine, I’ve made a decision.”
Katherine snapped her fingers, having been lost in thought.
“If the subjugation ends successfully, I’ll add a bonus equal to the reward money! Also, all byproducts aside from the target of the subjugation are yours!”
The Subjugation Team could hear Katherine’s voice loud and clear.
Those waiting for the barricade to open completely turned to each other in disbelief, murmuring about what they had just heard, and soon let out booming cheers.
And amidst the barricades, the vigilante group and townsfolk who had been keeping an eye on the forest cheered as well, unsure of what was happening, raising their weapons and hands in excitement for the morale of the Subjugation Team.
“Hmm, this is definitely the way to motivate adventurers. Nothing’s changed since back then. Huh? What’s up, Narque? Your expression looks strange.”
“I, I was thinking of something a bit more impressive for a speech or something.”
“Ha, for adventurers, this is the way to go.”
Katherine grinned, curling her index finger and thumb into a circle.
Even Narque understood what that meant.
“There’s nothing that gets adventurers to work harder than this. I guarantee it from my experience.”
“Uh, definitely.”
Narque surveyed the appearance of the Subjugation Team as they moved through the newly opened forest.
For a moment, those who had been agreeing with her—and even priests who revered gods—were admiring Katherine’s open-mindedness.
Of course, such uproar died down completely as the Subjugation Team entered the forest.
*
*
*
Typically, even the smallest Subjugation Team sends scouts out to detect threats in advance.
However, Katherine didn’t pick scouts.
No, to be precise, she did pick scouts.
But the ones currently acting as scouts were not adventurers.
“Uh, Sir Atanitas. In the sight of Squeaky and Twitty, there’s a horde of Mushroom Golems—”
“What’s their direction and number?”
“T-there’s one large one and two medium ones… No, three. The rest are small.”
Narque, seated beside Katherine with both hands clutching her staff, blinked her pale eyes, which glimmered softly.
While her body was with the Subjugation Team, her gaze was roaming around the woods and bushes filled with small skeletal mice.
Effectively, she was their moving surveillance system.
Katherine quickly relayed this information to the leaders of each team in the Subjugation Team.
Naturally, the leaders were displeased at receiving information without even sending out scouts.
But soon, they felt the truth of Katherine’s words within their own bodies.
“Oh my god, they’re really here!?”
“Get a grip! They’re overwhelming us!”
“Who cares about the men’s strength? If that’s all you got, just drop your pants!”
“Lightning Arrow!”
An ambush launched from the main camp of the Mushroom Golems.
However, the Subjugation Team, having prepared in advance, successfully defended against the assault.
They wiped out the attacking horde of Mushroom Golems and tore out their cores.
A literal biological radar.
But Narque’s contributions didn’t end there.
After briefly stepping down from the wagon, Narque cut through the adventurers and approached the wreckage of the Mushroom Golem.
“Uh, one gold coin for the Ferryman of Acheron, one bone for the Wolf of Nastrond, a piece of flesh for the beast of Duat.”
As Narque chanted spells while tapping the ground rhythmically with her staff, soon, the walnut-sized bodies began to shrink, and the gray-tinted Mushroom Golems started to move.
The leftover Akusare Mushroom Golems that had been abandoned without collecting cores due to time and space constraints joined the Subjugation Team as their meat shields.
At this point, some who had hesitated because they feared being associated with a necromancer began to think differently.
Especially among the adventurers who walked the path of magic, a few, though hesitant, approached Narque, overflowing with curiosity.
“Necromancy doesn’t apply to creatures that had no soul, right? How can you raise Golems?”
“U-using cores, it’s the energy of the undead. Since the spirit is tainted, it’s a trick possible in those conditions. It’s a bit different, but frankly speaking, it’s a form of control.”
“Control?”
“If you think of it as similar to Puppetry—”
“Oh. Like a marionette?”
The Subjugation Team moved without hesitation.
They monitored the surrounding situation in real-time.
Deploying Mushroom Golems towards the direction of the approaching enemies and launching an attack.
While the Mushroom Golems tangled with the enemies, the adventurers launched their unyielding attacks.
The gigantic Mushroom Golem that could have caused substantial damage to the Subjugation Team was silenced instantly with Katherine’s magic.
Naturally, the Mushroom Golems that Narque raised were consumed in each battle.
But since their ranks were replenished every time the ambush was over, losses were maintained at minimal.
The Subjugation Team’s casualties were almost non-existent aside from a few adventurers swept away by blind attacks or those whose ambitions had led them astray.
In fact, the adventurers, who had never experienced such a safe subjugation before, were feeling a sense of discomfort.
Never had such a pleasant subjugation happened before.
“Forgive me for turning a blind eye to lesser evils to prevent greater wrongs.”
“Ugh! Ughhhh! Ughhh!”
“The scales of justice and judgment are fair to everyone—”
Obviously, the priests displayed diverse reactions.
Yet, aside from a few exceptions, a mood of acceptance of reality prevailed.
No matter how much of a necromancer she was, she was actively working to reduce the Subjugation Team’s damage and, in fact, was currently demonstrating more prowess than anyone else in the Subjugation Team.
As the sky began to darken, the Subjugation Team came to a halt.
“Phew, that’s the first time managing something like this for so long—”
“You’ve worked hard; you can rest now.”
“C-can we?”
“Now those things need to earn their keep.”
Without protest, the adventurers complied with Katherine’s orders.
Indeed, it was time to earn their keep.
Setting up a campsite in a suitable clearing of the forest, the adventurers gathered together to pitch tents and build fires while sneakily exchanging glances before assigning night watch.
Naturally, Katherine and Narque spent the night in their exclusive wagon.
“From enjoying that delicious food for lunch to filling our stomachs with hardtack and jerky.”
“Ugh, just thinking about it makes me mad.”
“Well, given the sudden change in circumstances, there was nothing that could be done; might have needed to carry a few defensive magic tools with us.”
“W-would it really need to go that far?”