Chapter 97. Attack from Underground (1)

“A mining team of seven has gone missing, every one of them.”

It was a report from the site supervisor.

“I heard something like shouts and screams from far away. At first, I thought they were just fooling around… but it felt unsettling, so I went to check myself, and then, this, this terrible thing happened……”

And this was the testimony of the miner who first discovered the scene of the accident.

“It was an attack.”

To sum it up, it would be as Olif said.

It was a man-made disaster.

Caused by an act of aggression with clear intent.

Several pieces of evidence supported this.

The testimony of a miner from a nearby tunnel who heard screams from a distance.

Black, discolored bloodstains scattered in spots on the ground.

And the drag marks leading deep into the tunnel.

“Seal the tunnel.”

I ordered the soldiers to block off the tunnel.

Afterward, I explored the area around the scene with Brol and Olif.

If it were a simple rockfall or collapse accident, I would have taken appropriate safety measures and moved on, but this was not the case.

I had to track down the culprits, capture them, and uncover who was behind them.

The mine would have to halt operations for a while, but it couldn't be helped.

If I dealt with it by simply posting guards, it would lead to more casualties in the future.

Seven able-bodied workers were dealt with in an instant deep inside the mine.

This was not an accidental crime.

It was a thoroughly planned crime.

“Ha, really. Aren’t they crazy? Why on earth would they do something like this?”

“It must be the work of those who covet the mine. It’s been decades since an iron mine like this has been found in the southern part of the Empire.”

“Still, killing people just like that? Isn’t that too much?”

“They might have wanted to extract information. The city is heavily guarded, so they probably started with the lowest-ranking miners at the mine.”

Olif said, examining the bloodstains on the ground.

It was a plausible opinion.

Among the various events in the luck-based crapshoot game Warlord Conquest, there were events of this kind.

An event where, after developing a new resource like a mine or a sawmill, the facility is sabotaged by a hostile force.

“The purpose is likely one of two.”

First, an attack aimed at seizing technology, equipment, and personnel.

Second, a sabotage operation with a strong threatening nature, and one that is also effective.

“I hadn't thought of the latter, but both seem possible.”

“That's right.”

There is ample reason to commit terrorism even without coveting it.

After all, not everyone benefited from the development of this mine.

For the past few decades, the price of steel in the southern region has been particularly high compared to the north.

This was because there were no large-scale mines in the south after Gunterburk closed its mining industry.

Wolfskrig changed that landscape.

This city literally poured high-quality steel into the market using explosive mining and stamp mills.

It was a foregone conclusion that the price of steel in the vicinity would plummet.

Most people welcomed it.

Cheap raw materials benefited everyone who used iron tools, including the blacksmiths who used them, mercenaries, and farmers.

However, the merchant guilds that had been profiting from the price difference of steel must have suffered huge losses.

Even if they held a grudge against me, well, there's not much I can say.

It's just that in a market economy, I was the winner and they were the losers.

“There's nothing. There's really nothing. No witnesses, and no murder weapon left behind.”

“This is troublesome. If they had headed outside, we could at least make a guess, but there are no signs of anyone going outside in this vicinity. There are only drag marks and footprints leading further into the mine.”

Despite searching the surroundings thoroughly for a couple of hours, we couldn't find any other evidence near the scene.

It seemed the workers were ambushed and couldn't even attempt to resist.

The faint footprints left behind were also difficult to get detailed information from, other than knowing they were military boots.

There is only one answer.

“I will go myself.”

To follow the last clue, the trail of the dragged bodies.

“My Lord Viscount, it is dangerous.”

“And the battlefield isn't dangerous?”

“This is different. This could be a trap aimed at you, my Lord Viscount.”

Olif tried to stop me.

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes for a moment.

As he said, it might be a trap.

However, my gut feeling says it isn't.

If they wanted to target me, there are plenty of more direct ways.

In the first place, what noble in the world would go to investigate the scene of an accident like this on their own?

“-is what they might think, wouldn't they?”

“That is true, but….”

I am not one to avoid danger.

Crisis always accompanies opportunity.

If it's a crisis I know of, I can probably handle it appropriately by weighing the process and the outcome.

However, the mine attack event in Wolfskrig is a crisis I have never experienced before.

Ignorance will lead to greater danger in the future.

At least in this harsh world, that is the truth.

“Olif, wouldn't it be good for the morale of our subjects if I take the lead myself?”

“……”

“Conversely, it will be taken as a strong warning by them.”

They directly committed an act of terror in another lord's mine.

It's a difficult thing to do unless the mastermind looks down on this side considerably.

It's not strange.

The outside perspective of Wolfskrig would be that of a frontier city ruled by a mere mercenary who has just become a noble.

No matter how rapidly it is developing, it's only been half a year.

Since it's a world without the internet, there must be many people who dismiss the rumors about this city as complete nonsense.

Therefore, how this incident is handled will serve as a sufficient warning.

Not only to the mastermind of this incident but to all who harbor similar dark intentions.

Of course, I have no intention of dying an unnatural death while trying to save one mine.

I plan to equip myself with sufficient safety measures.

“A fight?”

I decided to go with Randal.

Bringing an army into a narrow tunnel like this is a suicidal act.

I need to take a small elite force, just like when I conquered Tribus' dungeon before.

In that sense, Randal is the most trustworthy person.

Whether a trap or an enemy ambush awaits us, if it's the guy I know, at least he won't die.

I thought about taking Olif like before, but I decided to leave him in the territory.

In the unlikely event that things go wrong and my return is delayed, he is virtually the only person who can fill my absence.

By the way, this old man.

“You are in charge of running the territory while I am away.”

“Please promise me you will return.”

“……”

He keeps trying to plant a death flag.

***

Creak. Creak.

The rotten wooden floor, with only its frame remaining, lets out a grotesque moan.

The supports erected on both sides along the passage are precariously half-broken.

This is the abandoned mine area.

Deep in the mine where the miners have not yet started mining.

As befits a mine that was once one of the best in the Empire three hundred years ago, the tunnel itself extends deep.

The bloodstains and drag marks led into that abandoned mine area, which was no different from a ruin.

From the middle, the bodies of miners, left abandoned haphazardly, were found one by one.

All with pale, bluish faces as they died from excessive blood loss.

“……”

I closed the eyes of the corpses and moved on.

A total of six bodies were found.

One is still missing.

The drag marks and footprints also continued deeper.

Randal suddenly spoke up.

“Brave bastards.”

I thought the same.

I know that even on Earth, being a cave explorer is a life-threatening job.

What's more, this is a fantasy world.

It's a world where ghosts and monsters can actually pop out of caves, or if not that, a dead body can suddenly stand up.

Moreover, beneath this mine lies the ruins of the Lumer civilization.

The ruins of the great empire that conquered a vast territory in ancient times, the entrance of which I had explored in Berenburg.

At this point, they should be dormant as long as I don't openly invade, but as the game progresses, the probability of the ruins awakening increases exponentially.

Ultimately, it was fixed at a 50 percent chance every year.

In this one-trick-pony game where almost every event is determined by a percentage sign and the number in front of it, that's not much different from one hundred percent.

‘The Ratmen could have settled here.’

Of course, it's a very low probability.

If so, the intruders would have already paid the price.

Personally, I hope it's not this one.

Clashing with the Ratmen at this point would be worse than fighting an all-out war with a decent noble or merchant guild.

“Viscount, this way.”

A fork in the road.

Randal strode towards the left.

He certainly has good senses.

Seeing him follow the faint traces left on the floor, which had become no different from a natural cave, without any hesitation.

Suddenly, I remembered the advice he gave me during the battle with the consecrator Grok-Tau and asked.

“Do you remember when the beastman warchief challenged me to a duel?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“The things you told me right before I fought the beastman warchief. How did you know that I needed that?”

“I don't remember what I said.”

“……”

Did I ask for nothing?

He says he doesn't remember.

It was a question I had been hesitating to ask for a long time, despite my curiosity, because I was afraid it might reveal my secret-like ability.

Only after I repeated his words exactly as he had said them did Randal nod his head with an "ah."

“A hunch.”

“A hunch?”

“When you live on the battlefield, you meet a lot of people. There are many strange ones too. But in the grand scheme of things, they are divided into two categories.”

“…Die or live?”

“What kind of barbaric classification is that?”

No, why is he looking at me strangely?

I tried my best to say what the other person might be thinking.

“Viscount, I didn't know you were that kind of person. To think Olif was right.”

“…Anyway.”

“People who use their heads. People who use their bodies. Usually, those who use their heads become spellcasters or strategists. Those who use their bodies become warriors or field commanders.”

After thinking for a moment, he shrugged and continued.

“The Viscount is a spellcaster. A strategist. But you also have a talent for the sword.”

“I do?”

“You do. It's just that you always judge with your head first and then move, but I felt like you also know how to move with your heart. That's why I said it.”

“It was a great help.”

“I'm glad if it was.”

Randal let out a low laugh.

It was a laugh like the growl of a beast.

I felt it once again.

Recruiting him from the Imperial Capital was an excellent decision.

He was a battle maniac crazier about fighting than anyone else, but at the same time, he was a good teacher.

Although he sometimes shows a side of him that seems to have a screw loose.

Especially his tendency to overuse ‘A fight?’.

I'm pretty sure he was a taciturn and serious character in the game.

Other than [Blood-Crazed Penitent], he didn't have any particularly strange traits.

“What are you thinking so seriously about?”

“…Nothing.”

Well, perhaps such variables are proof that traits don't decide everything.

In the world that has become reality, my knowledge from the game is only a major reference material.

Using it as the one and only decision-making tool would be a complacent attitude.

Even setting aside the 4.0 update, the living, breathing world has far too many variables.

“But Viscount, for your talent, your body seems weak.”

“What?”

“Your strength is weak and your movements are slow. Your ears seem to be good, at least, but your other senses are all dull. Your skin and bones are also weak.”

“I know. That's why I train….”

“Stop being stuck at your desk all the time and get some exercise. Eat some meat too. And get proper sleep. That's how you build muscle.”

“……”

There should be a moderate number of variables.

Did he get the [Nagging] trait during the update?

“Most of all, Viscount.”

Randal stopped walking.

“The Viscount lacks desperation.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You're teaching Damas, aren't you?”

“So?”

“He's not very skilled. But he has desperation.”

Randal said, re-tying his long hair.

“The Viscount is the opposite. The Viscount has skill. A tremendous amount of it. But you lack desperation. That's the same as having no talent.”

This is a bit unfair.

I opened my mouth to refute.

At that moment, he raised his hand.

And he tapped his temple with his finger.

“It's different from the talent I mentioned earlier. This talent is not in the head.”

His finger then pointed to his chest.

“It comes from the heart.”

“……”

“Think about it. How was it when you fought the beastmen? What did you feel when you deeply mastered the techniques of the Imperial soldiers?”

The guy, who had let out a smirk, started walking again.

“And the trail ends just ahead.”

He was right.

Not long after, the faint trail of the dragged body, which had continued until then, disappeared.

But it's strange.

There is no miner's body.

A still body wouldn't have sunk into the ground or soared into the sky.

The answer soon revealed itself before my eyes.

“A cliff.”

As soon as we came out of the cave, a thousand-fathom cliff spread out before our feet.

It was a giant valley spread out underground.