Lord of Rot

Over a dozen Transcendents were being slaughtered one-sidedly. Wild sand howled as blood and limbs flew through the air. One moment, the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps seemed invincible; the next, not a single member was left in one piece.

Witnessing a battle of that caliber, the Soldiers and Mercenaries who had followed along didn’t even dare to resist, dropping their weapons in unison.

The wind from a single punch could send dozens of men flying. When faced with such god-like opponents, a willing surrender was a far better option. Why seek death?

The war was over before it had even begun.

Baron Jin Fu’s ears were ringing and his vision swam. He didn’t know how he had ended up in front of Leech. By the time he came to his senses, the group of Transcendents who had slaughtered the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps had returned, every one of them reeking of the pungent stench of blood.

Baron Jin Fu, who normally took pleasure in watching slaughter, now felt the true horror and gore of killing, and his knees grew weak.

The barbarian woman, Lin Nuo, reported, ”My lord, we killed 15 enemy Transcendents. We have zero casualties. A total of 201 have surrendered, but the prisons in Bonta Bazaar can’t hold this many people.”

”Check their identities. Let those who can pay a ransom write a letter home. We’ll release them once the ransom arrives. Those who can’t pay will repair roads, build walls, and work in the mines. Have Kuer handle the follow-up.”

Leech cherished his own people, but his attitude toward prisoners was entirely different. ’Be my enemy, and I won’t just make you work eight hours a day. You’ll get no weekends, either—three days off a month, at most.’

”Yes!” Lin Nuo had no objections. She wasn’t interested in miscellaneous trifles; being put in charge of military affairs around Bonta Bazaar was enough to leave her deeply satisfied.

After all, the ones she commanded weren’t ordinary people, but Transcendents!

This was real power.

Leech turned to the pale, trembling Baron Jin Fu and said, ”Lord Adari.”

Baron Jin Fu’s throat was dry. ”Lord Leech... I... I...”

He now hated Kunq Green Oasis to death. ’If it weren’t for that fool, how could I have provoked Baron Porcupine?’

And that stupid Wild Boar Mercenary Corps—15 Transcendents slaughtered like chickens, while Baron Porcupine’s side didn’t suffer a single casualty. He knew how strong Transcendents were supposed to be, but to lose so completely left him feeling like he was in a dream.

’Even in my dreams, I probably wouldn’t dare imagine such a scene.’

When Kunq Green Oasis had returned with three Transcendents, he had been so worried that he hadn’t dared to act. This single battle with Leech’s subordinates had completely shattered his perception of reality.

’If I had just continued cooperating with Baron Porcupine, my life might have gotten better and better... No, that’s not right,’ Baron Jin Fu thought with a bitter smile. He knew himself all too well. It wouldn’t be him if he hadn’t been interested in Bonta Bazaar.

Leech, however, seemed to be in a very good mood, not at all angered by Baron Jin Fu’s actions. He said, ”Thank you so much for personally escorting the injured merchants back. However, we’ve just been through something, so we won’t ask you to stay and rest. Kuer, send fifty men to escort Lord Adari back to his domain. The desert bandits have been causing too much trouble lately. It’s a good opportunity for our Soldiers to help Lord Adari protect his home from harm!”

”Yes!” Kuer Oasis nodded in response.

With Transcendents guarding it, Bonta Bazaar was impossible to breach. Sending his men out at this time meant taking complete control of Adari’s two villages.

Kuer knew perfectly well that the nearby ”desert bandits” were their own men.

Leech thought for a moment, then added, ”My bodyguard can go back with Lord Adari as well. He’s quite strong and can provide close personal protection for him.”

Corpse Ghost Biqi, encased in what looked like tin-can plate armor, stepped forward and automatically stood beside Baron Jin Fu.

The dangerous, foul odor emanating from the Corpse Ghost made it difficult for Baron Jin Fu to breathe.

Baron Jin Fu knew. With a Transcendent by his side, fifty Soldiers entering his domain, and having just lost all his own men, his territory was no longer his own.

That included his groves of date palms and his spices.

”Thank you so much for your mercy,” Baron Jin Fu said, bowing to Leech.

He had no choice but to accept Leech’s ”goodwill.”

’The Wild Boar Mercenary Corps was so sure of victory. They probably never imagined they would lose so miserably.’

As he left Bonta Bazaar, Baron Jin Fu felt a surprising sense of glee.

How interesting would it be if the leader of the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps, who had just become a Viscount, found out that the vast majority of his men had been annihilated? He desperately wanted to be the one to deliver the news and imagine the man’s expression, but for the sake of his own skin, it was better to keep his mouth shut.

From this day forward, he decided, he would just drink, eat, and not concern himself with worldly affairs.

Life wouldn’t be so bad. Just like before.

...

The fifteen corpses of the Transcendents were piled in a heap.

Fortunately, being the corpses of Transcendents, they had not yet begun to stink.

Leech took out the Rhino Horn and began performing extractions on the corpses, one by one.

The recent battle had allowed him to gauge the strength of the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps. They were about on par with Trevor and Allen—mid-tier at best.

’There’s no point in turning them into Corpse Ghosts. The combat power of an Extraordinary Corpse Ghost is only so-so. It’s more profitable to find the corpses of Casters or magical beasts to turn into Corpse Ghosts instead.’

Leech was no longer so desperate that he would take any Transcendent he could get his hands on. He was now pursuing a higher cost-to-benefit ratio.

Corpses of the flesh-and-blood enhancement type, with their powerful physiques, were the best materials for Extraordinary Corpse Ghosts. Just put them in armor and they were ready for battle.

Physically weak Casters were also acceptable.

It was only the ordinary Transcendents, with unremarkable abilities and average strength, who were stuck in an awkward middle ground—not good enough for the high end, but too good for the low. Like Trevor and Allen, they had little value.

At this point, in addition to the Extraordinary substance from the ’orc’ Pig, Leech now had fifteen more, for a total of sixteen Extraordinary substances.

The ability to create sixteen Corpse Ghosts in one go was a massive windfall.

Pig’s Extraordinary substance was starting to look a little dim. He would have to find a corpse to turn into a Corpse Ghost soon, or it would go to waste.

At the same time, Leech wondered, ’I wonder how many more Transcendents the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps has.’

The feud had been started, and there was no turning back. Now, Leech could only hope that his opponents had more experts on hand. The more the better. It would be best if they had another twenty or thirty Transcendents. That was just wishful thinking, of course, but he was sure they had to have more—fewer than ten, certainly.

Leech ordered the corpses to be burned.

Without their Extraordinary power, the corpses would soon begin to rot and would likely cause disease. Burning them to ash and scattering the remains was the best way to dispose of them.

「Evening」

Leech was chatting with Vendra.

Vendra was explaining what he knew. ”The golden Holy Grail needs to absorb the Life Force of a Transcendent to be converted into the soup.”

But Leech asked, ”If you pour the soup on the fields, will the crops grow faster?”

”Huh?” Vendra was stunned. Such a precious Soup of Life... even if improper use could turn a person into a monster, wasn’t it an incredible waste to use it for watering fields?

”I suppose it would,” Vendra replied hesitantly.

Leech sighed. ”So it seems that here, Magic is the primary means of production.”

It was just a shame that Transcendents were so precious. Leech would rather use them to create Corpse Ghosts, or extract their substances to forge equipment, than convert them into a Soup of Life for farming—unless there was a special reason, like a drought.

Ultimately, Leech was a lord. The purpose of the people in his domain was to provide resources and wealth to support him, not for him to sacrifice his own interests to support them.

”Why is it that her Life Force was drained back then, but she didn’t age?” Leech asked, looking toward Bai Lu in the courtyard.

The elven girl, Bai Lu, was training the Snake-man girl, Nia. With a cold expression, Bai Lu would casually issue a command, and Nia would desperately try to complete it, not daring to show the slightest resistance. It was clear that Nia’s fear of the elf was bone-deep; she would do anything she was told without question.

’Is it because elves have longer lifespans? That makes sense, I’ve heard elves are a long-lived race,’ Leech’s thoughts began to stray. ’Are children born to humans and elves also a long-lived race?’

Vendra remained completely silent. He, too, had foreseen his own death at Bai Lu’s hands on several occasions, so it was best to just keep his mouth shut.

It was almost dark when Kuer Oasis finally finished his tasks and hurried over.

Leech had a habit of being a hands-off boss, which allowed Kuer to feel a bit like a City Lord when handling the smaller details. The feeling of holding real authority was truly wonderful.

”My lord!”

”Is everything taken care of?”

”Yes. A total of twenty can pay a ransom,” Kuer nodded. ”The rest wish to surrender and become soldiers in Bonta Bazaar’s garrison. They swear to serve you loyally and never betray you.”

That was a force of over one hundred and eighty men, fully armed and uninjured. If they were absorbed directly, Bonta Bazaar would become even stronger than before.

Kuer was very tempted by the idea.

”Have them repair the city walls, work the mines, or dig wells,” Leech said.

This group had not an ounce of honor or shame. They probably believed that as long as they surrendered and swore an oath quickly enough, it would never count as betrayal.

Leech had no need for a group of turncoats who would stab him in the back at a moment’s notice.

”Yes!”

Kuer nodded and said, ”There’s one more thing. That bastard Kunq escaped. I only learned after interrogating the prisoners that the entire reason Baron Jin Fu and the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps came here was because of that bastard Kunq!”

But a single word flashed through Leech’s mind: Talent!

”He escaped?” he asked.

”During the battle, he must have realized something was wrong and slipped away,” Kuer said. ”I’ve already sent men after him. He’s only on two legs; he couldn’t have gotten far.”

”Good. Bring him to me when you catch him.”

”Yes!”

Kunq Green Oasis had played a masterful gambit, delivering Baron Jin Fu—a man Leech wanted to devour but found difficult to tackle—right to his doorstep. He even threw in a ”buy one, get fifteen free” bonus, delivering a whole pile of Transcendents.

The man was practically a good luck charm!

The Oasis Clan was truly full of talented individuals. He couldn’t kill them; he had to nurture them. He could let Kunq go every now and then to hook more people and bring them back for him.

Leech could already envision the scene: with the ”dedicated and responsible” assistance of Kunq Green Oasis, he would one day command an army of hundreds, even thousands, of Corpse Ghosts.