Lord of Rot

The towering city walls were built from enormous black bricks.

I had seen the walls of Iron Stone City, but they paled in comparison to those of Burning City. No wonder the East Gorge People couldn’t conquer it back then, even with their fierce assaults.

”Whoa!” Carrot, his squire, couldn’t help but gasp in awe, echoing the feelings of everyone present.

Leech left the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard outside the city to prevent any powerful Transcendents or Casters from seeing through the effects of his [Pot of Invisibility].

’Nothing is ever certain.’

He also parted ways with Guy.

’If the members of the Round Table see Guy beforehand, and they see him with me, they’ll definitely start watching me.’

He couldn’t afford to put himself in a dangerous situation. Leech had no intention of attracting attention; until he figured out the truth about the Round Table, he’d rather just lay low.

Of course, once he *did* figure them out, no one would be more reckless than him.

’Just like when I devoured more than 200 elite monkey soldiers in one go.’

In times of peace, no one paid much mind to a minor baron with a dozen soldiers. Upon entering the city, Leech spotted the Leopold family’s Golden Mule. He couldn’t tell if they were from a cadet branch or the main line, but he knew that anyone with the surname Leopold could travel in a Golden Mule carriage.

He had no intention of going over to say hello. Although he was acquainted with the illegitimate son Sidor Sea Water, and even corresponded frequently with ’Red Rose’ Evangelina... they only ever discussed the soap business. ’We probably aren’t even friends,’ he thought. He didn’t want to approach them, only to get the cold shoulder for his trouble.

After paying the entrance fee, the soldiers let them through.

A noble title always commanded a certain level of respect. Leech didn’t encounter the clichéd scene he was half-expecting, where someone would try to provoke an unknown baron, only to be humiliated. The soldiers simply performed their duties.

Once inside the city, Leech had his men rent a house.

He would arrange for Guy to stay nearby so that he could provide immediate backup if any problems arose.

’Three days until the Round Table gathering.’

The Round Table was extremely cautious. They had only specified gathering in Burning City; the exact meeting location would be announced later.

A house was rented quickly.

It was a two-story building with a small courtyard.

It offered good privacy, and the courtyard walls were sufficiently high.

What pleased Leech most was the overgrown little garden. ’I could set up a tombstone here and no one would ever notice,’ he thought.

’Convenient!’

As Leech gave the place a quick inspection, Carrot spoke up from beside him. ”This house belongs to a merchant. When he heard you were looking to rent, he enthusiastically insisted you stay here. He said you can stay as long as you like, free of charge.”

”A merchant?”

”Yes. He said his name is Deni, a merchant from East Port.”

”East Port, you say...” Leech murmured, realization dawning on him.

’It seems Claude’s business is thriving, and the reputation of Porcupine Territory has spread along with it.’

The whole reason Leech had added the ”Porcupine Brand” prefix to all of Porcupine Territory’s goods and insisted merchants recognize it as such was precisely for a day like this.

Porcupine Territory, Porcupine Brand—any interested merchant could easily find the information they needed.

If the names were inconsistent, slower merchants would never realize all those fine products came from Porcupine Territory. And think of all the Jinri and Silver Moons that would be lost!

”Well done.” Leech was pleased with Carrot’s initiative.

’A merchant sought me out on this trip, expanding my business network without me even trying.’

A proper squire should understand his Lord’s intentions. Leech was currently obsessed with selling goods from Porcupine Territory, and a single merchant like Claude could no longer satisfy his ambitions.

Building the wharf was a massive investment, and if he wanted it done quickly, he had to pour money into it.

”You can go tell Mr. Deni that since we’ve just arrived in Burning City, perhaps we could have dinner together tonight.”

”Yes!”

”Oh, and buy a coffin.”

As for the Baron’s penchant for buying coffins, Carrot had moved past surprise and into acceptance. His Lord had no real vices; he just liked coffins, and that was nothing to worry about.

’At least it’s better than those nobles who are fond of little boys.’

The coffin was delivered shortly after.

He cleared everyone out of the room, leaving only Aina to stand guard.

A speck of yellow light shot from Leech’s eyes, landed against the wall, and turned green.

A tombstone, marked only by an empty groove, rose from the ground.

The groove was now filled with green moss, signifying that Leech’s exploration was 100% complete. With a mere thought, the ground cracked open, revealing the grotto and pool of the Water Nymph below.

Looking down, he saw jewels by the side of the pool, along with the fresh, blood-soaked corpse of the Water Nymph.

He tossed the coffin into the grotto and jumped in after it.

Inscribing the Array had become second nature to him.

Next, the corpse.

The Water Nymph’s body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood with barely any intact skin, all thanks to how savage Guy had been.

He first used gold nuggets to fill in the missing parts of her body.

He couldn’t just pile on gold to cover the mangled flesh on the surface—that wouldn’t be cost-effective. The most economical way was to cover the decayed areas with thin gold sheets and stitch them in place.

Making the gold sheets was easy. With his Extraordinary strength, Leech could pinch gold nuggets into reasonably thin sheets with his bare fingers.

The stitching process was gruesome. The sensation of the needle piercing flesh was by no means pleasant.

’Maybe I really can create a Frankenstein’s monster one day.’

Leech joked to himself.

After spending the better part of the day, he had finally clad the Water Nymph in a skin of gold.

Her face was also a mangled wreck, so Leech simply took the jewel-encrusted golden mask and fastened it over her features.

Complete.

He placed the corpse in the coffin, laid the [Wind Cavalry Helmet] on its body, closed the lid, and recited the Spell.

WHOOSH.

He opened his eyes.

’Now, all I have to do is wait.’

He left the grotto and sealed the entrance.

「That night.」

Leech was invited to a banquet at a location not far from his rented house. It was a very ordinary residence, looking a little shabbier than the one Leech was staying in.

”Yarrn, my Lord!”

The man who greeted Leech was tall and thin, with a handlebar mustache.

His cheeks were gaunt and his cheekbones high.

He wore a respectable robe. In contrast to the dazzling colors favored by the nobility, his was a simple, elegant purple.

Leech found the sight of a man in purple to be... rather odd.

”Yarrn, Mr. Deni.”

Leech nodded slightly.

Leaning on his cane, he followed Deni through the front door.

A banquet was already set up inside.

The dining room was about sixty or seventy square meters, occupied by a single round table.

It was no match for the dining halls in castles, which could be hundreds or even thousands of square meters, and at first glance, it felt a little cramped.

”Please, forgive my humble accommodations,” Deni said, pulling out a chair for Leech. ”The war just ended, and merchants from the East Gorge aren’t very popular in Giant’s Foot. I would have liked to host you at a proper manor, but I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment.”

”This is perfectly fine,” Leech said. ”I’m not particular about my surroundings. Dining in a small house can be a rather interesting change of pace.”

Deni smiled. ”Thank you for your generosity.”

After they were seated, a hired maid poured them both wine. Deni reached out and grabbed a chicken leg... that’s right, they still ate primarily with their hands here.

Leech found it a bit disconcerting to see such an outwardly elegant man eat so barbarically.

”The cuisine in Giant’s Foot is different from that in the East Gorge,” Deni explained. ”The weather is hot in the south, so they favor sour and spicy foods.”

Leech nodded. He had already smelled the sour and spicy aromas.

”What business brings you to Burning City, Mr. Deni?” Leech asked. He made no move toward the food, instead lifting his wine glass for an elegant sip.

”Exquisite silverware. The craftsmanship in Burning City is exceptional, and silverware sells well in the East Gorge and even the Northern Territory. Still, it’s nothing compared to that lucky fellow, Claude.”

’Merchants love to talk in circles.’ In this respect, Leech much preferred Claude.

Leech reached out and took a piece of fruit.

’I’m definitely not touching the main dishes, especially not the one Deni just stuck his hand in.’

’Sickness enters through the mouth. I’ll pass on eating with my hands.’

Seeing that Leech remained silent, Deni got straight to the point. ”I am also very interested in Porcupine Soap, Porcupine Wine, and Porcupine Honey, Lord Leech.”

”But I already have a deal with Claude. He’s even helping me build my wharf. A porcupine is covered in quills, but it will never betray a friend.”

”Of course, I’m well aware of the Porcupine Clan’s integrity! I would never doubt you!” Deni said, his expression turning serious. ”I’m not asking you to stop selling to Claude. I’m willing to purchase the goods that aren’t part of his allotment. As you can see, my business spans from the Northern Territory to Giant’s Foot. The volume of goods I require is far greater than what Claude can handle.”

’Take a merchant’s words with a grain of salt. It’s mostly boasting.’

Still, Deni had a sharp eye. He could tell that Claude couldn’t handle Porcupine Territory’s full output.

’Even if Claude could handle it all, I wouldn’t be worried,’ Leech thought. ’Soap production is low-tech. Anyone can do it with a bit of training.’

Distilled liquor was slightly more difficult, but with the large stills built by the blacksmiths, production was ridiculously fast.

It was all just manual labor. As long as they followed the detailed instructions, there was little room for error.

Leech said, ”Porcupine Territory always welcomes new friends. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to bring a trade caravan to visit.”

Deni broke into a smile. ”Of course, my Lord.”

He grabbed his cup with a greasy hand and raised it to Leech. ”We will surely become great friends.”

Deni hadn’t expected to close the deal with Leech tonight. All he needed was an opening. Once he was in on the business, he could drive down prices or use other means to seize Claude’s market share and maximize his own profits.

Leech was also happy to watch the merchants compete. Dealing with only one major merchant made Leech feel like he was being backed into a corner. Now, with a new player in the game, he could let them fight it out amongst themselves.

With business out of the way, Leech and Deni started to make small talk.

Deni was a true merchant; despite not being in Burning City for long, he had a thorough understanding of the local situation.

”Burning City has no official lord at the moment,” Deni said. ”But a group of nobles from Giant’s Foot are jockeying for the position. They tried to prop up some scholar’s apprentice, claiming she was a young lady from the Borne Clan. Heh, what a bunch.”

As expected of someone from the East Gorge, he looked down on the ”barbarians” of Giant’s Foot with an innate disdain.

Across the entire Lu Leiyi Continent, the Royal Capital stood at the top of the pecking order.

Below them was the East Gorge. With its abundant resources and powerful army, the East Gorge referred to the people of Giant’s Foot as southern tribal barbarians, those from the Northern Territory as furry bears and long-haired barbarians, and the people of the Western Endor Plateau as monkeys on horseback and riding barbarians.

The elegant people of the East Gorge despised everyone.

”If there’s so much conflict, why does Burning City seem so orderly?”

Since entering Burning City, Leech had found the people to be quite orderly, not at all as chaotic as the legends suggested.

Previously, any mention of Giant’s Foot conjured images of chaos: tribes large and small hiding in the mountains, each a law unto themselves, running around naked, practicing cannibalism, and so on.

In short, it was not a good impression.

”Because Prince Hoffman has suppressed all disputes,” Deni said. ”My Lord, you may not believe this, but...”

Deni’s expression suddenly turned grave. ”Prince Hoffman commands lightning. It is because of this immense power that he has suppressed all the unrest in Giant’s Foot, just like the legendary...”

”Thunder Giant?” Leech finished for him.

Legend says that giants who commanded lightning once dwelled here. Their heads scraped the sky, their feet stomped the earth, and to them, Giant Dragons were nothing more than roasted turkeys.

’Myths are just myths, a mix of truth and lies. You can’t take them at face value.’

’But for a single Prince Hoffman to bring the entirety of Giant’s Foot—with all its warring faiths and chaotic tribes—to heel... this man is no simple character.’

’And Leech was fairly certain that the part about commanding lightning was true.’