"Are you talking about those mercenaries?"
Derick furrowed his brows.
"It looks like they're trying to take over this village completely and rob those who pass through. Which means…."
They don't know who stole their bone wands. So, they must have decided to occupy the relay station village and investigate every traveler passing by.
"They don't have that many numbers, yet they broke through the gate with ease. Was it an ambush? Or… did the count's bastard awaken the blood of the Divine King?"
"I don't think so."
"Then it must be the Kurt Divine Clan cultists. They must have been confident in their chances to attack this village. If that's the case, it's better to run now."
Derick assessed the situation coldly.
As expected of a former herald, even though he had been defeated by Arael and forced into retirement, he still possessed excellent situational judgment.
"Then, I shall act separately."
"No, before that… hand over the copy of the Book of the Divine King."
"No."
"Do you think I'd steal credit for your achievements?"
"Yep."
"...."
"Well, that too, but if you take the copy of the Book of the Divine King, won't you become the target of their tracking magic?"
"It's not a problem."
"Not a problem, huh… Are you planning to fight? I heard rumors that the merchants in the Korasar Peddlers' Guild have mastered the Dual Immortal Bow. If that rumor spreads, the merchant guild you've painstakingly built will be in shambles."
Currently, their caravan consisted of Derick, a former herald, two people who had fully completed their clan's training, and several others who were at least as skilled as regular merchant guild guards.
However, the Korasar Peddlers' Guild was, at its core, an ordinary merchant guild. There was no reason to expose their combat abilities in a place crowded with people.
Moreover, revealing their connection to the Herald clan would only bring trouble. They couldn't afford to lose the merchant guild they had painstakingly established in the Kingdom of Korasar.
"You bastard."
Derick was furious at Azadin's words. Because Azadin's point was correct.
If he took the copy of the Book of the Divine King, the Korasar Peddlers' Guild would be forced to fight, and in the process, their true nature could be exposed.
"Well, I'll act as bait, so don't worry too much."
With those words, Azadin descended among the servants folding up the market stalls.
"I just left my laundry not long ago, so I need new clothes. I'll take some from the merchandise. That's fine, right?"
As Azadin gathered his gear, Midiam and Ishmael returned, leading a mountain goat that had just been shoed.
"What's going on? I was just resting."
"You two, go inside the tent and grab the food from the table."
Azadin pointed to the tent where he had been eating with Derick.
"Food, at a time like this?"
"Do you know how many people in the world starve to death? You should never take food lightly. Take it with us."
As Azadin spoke, two armed men approached the caravans.
"Now, now, everyone, calm down! Leaving the village is not allowed!"
"If you stay put, nothing bad will happen, so just remain still."
Their words were polite, but they held a flail and a longsword in their hands. And there were only two of them.
'Wait, they're sending people here?'
Azadin knew the total number of mercenaries under Tarkiev's command.
They had drafted a few idle village youths on the spot to bolster their numbers, but at best, they had around twenty men.
With how busy they should be taking over the gate and the relay station, sending troops to subdue the caravan seemed odd.
And only two men at that?
Sure enough, merchants who were not part of the Korasar Peddlers' Guild reacted.
"Hey! Take care of them."
"Got it."
The guards of the other merchants surrounded the mercenaries.
"Did you really think merchants would avoid conflict at all costs? Don't be ridiculous."
"You bastards are the mercenaries who attacked the gate, right? It doesn't matter if we kill you!"
The merchant guards charged at the mercenaries.
Five against two.
The outcome seemed obvious—until the unexpected happened.
—Thud!
With a dull impact, the charging guards were sent flying.
The mercenaries had merely swung their weapons. But the moment their weapons clashed, the steel bent, and the guards were flung away by the recoil.
"Ah, damn."
"Looks like weapons can't withstand our strength."
They threw away their broken flail and sword, then took new weapons from the fallen merchant guards and resumed their attack on the remaining guards.
"Wa-Wait!"
"We surrender!"
"Aagh!"
Even as the guards surrendered and begged for mercy, the mercenaries ruthlessly slaughtered them, killing all five in an instant.
"Hiik?!"
"My… my god!"
The merchants who had stepped forward without much thought recoiled in horror. The mercenaries chuckled as they stood up.
"Relax. We're not here to kill merchants."
"Yeah. It's just that… hmm."
"Huh."
As they spoke, the mercenaries suddenly fell silent, staring blankly ahead. Their gazes lost focus, wandering emptily through the air. Then, their eyes shifted toward the corpses.
"What the…?"
"…I'm hungry."
They dropped to the ground, crawling on all fours like beasts, approaching the bodies they had just created.
And then—
—Chomp!
They began gnawing on the corpses.
"Kyaaaah!"
The women in the merchant group screamed in horror.
***
Screams erupted throughout the relay station village.
The mercenaries who had received spider transplants possessed terrifying strength, allowing them to slaughter the other soldiers in an instant. However, they were all suddenly overcome by an insatiable hunger and began devouring people.
At first, they simply tore into the corpses, biting off the tender flesh, but eating like that wasn't fast enough to keep up with their appetite.
With so much meat available, the human mouth was simply inefficient for consuming it quickly.
The moment they had that thought, their bodies began to mutate. First, two additional legs sprouted, each tipped with sharp claws. These new exoskeletal limbs emerged from their backs, making it easier for them to tear apart the corpses.
Their jaws split vertically, allowing their mouths to open wider. Inside, rows of razor-sharp teeth formed, letting them chew and swallow flesh even faster.
And then, an even greater hunger overtook them.
"Meat…."
"More meat!"
As they turned to search for more flesh, their eyes had been replaced by writhing masses of countless tiny spiders.
***
"Hiiik…."
Seeing humans transform like that right before their eyes, the merchants recoiled in horror.
The two mercenaries had already become terrifying monsters, completely engrossed in devouring the corpses they had created.
"I'll borrow this for a moment."
Watching the scene, Azadin picked up a javelin from a store display and threw it.
—Thunk!
The javelin pierced through the spine of one of the corpse-feeding mercenaries.
For an ordinary person, such an impact would have been more than enough to cause instant death. The shock should have shattered their nervous system.
But the mercenary did not die.
"What the hell?"
He merely reacted with a sluggish discomfort, as if he had simply stepped on a thorn.
The mercenary then pulled the spear from his body, and tiny spiders swarmed over the wound, rapidly sealing it shut.
"Who's there?"
The mercenaries, preoccupied with the corpses, hadn't noticed Azadin throwing the javelin.
Or rather, even if they had turned to look, they wouldn't have seen him.
Because the moment Azadin threw the javelin, he immediately ducked behind the wagons and disappeared from sight.
"Hey, those are the minions of the Spider Queen Arthra, of the Kurt Divine Clan."
As Azadin maneuvered behind the wagons, Derick issued a warning.
"I know, they look like spiders. You guys stay put, Derick. Just keep pretending to be powerless merchants."
Azadin responded calmly, weaving his way between the wagons to flank the mercenaries.
"Their bodies are already nothing more than corpses. Their nervous systems are controlled by magic, linking them together through the tiny spiders. Be careful, Azadin. You may be a dropout, but you're still one of the 108 Spirits of Aragasa."
Your failure would bring shame to the clan.
That was what Derick was implying.
"Spare me the lecture!"
Azadin grabbed a bolt of cloth from a nearby merchant's wagon, leaped onto a wagon roof, then jumped down, spreading the fabric in midair to drape it over the two mercenaries. And then—
"Hup!"
He planted his feet firmly into the ground and delivered a powerful strike over the fabric.
First high, then lower.
—Boom!
With a rapid succession of strikes, the blows resounded like explosions.
Azadin's forceful attacks left the mercenaries momentarily stunned.
Even if their bodies were composed of countless spiders, Azadin had used the cloth to extend his strikes across a wide surface, ensuring that every spider within them was struck evenly.
But it wasn't enough.
—Shraak!
From the backs of the mercenaries, new limbs sprouted—no, not limbs. Spider legs.
The monstrous appendages burst through the fabric, stabbing toward Azadin.
He had no choice but to retreat to evade them. But as he backed away, the mercenaries shredded the cloth and rose back to their feet.
"This is troublesome."
Azadin muttered under his breath.
"Over here!"
Just then, Midiam swiftly grabbed a torch hanging from a wagon and threw it.
The moment the fire drew near, the mercenaries shrieked in agony.
The tiny spiders within their bodies were vulnerable to heat. Small insects could be cooked alive by even a little warmth.
'I knew that, but setting them on fire isn't exactly easy….'
In this merchant caravan encampment, where wagons were packed closely together, an uncontrolled fire could turn into a catastrophe.
While Azadin hesitated, Ishmael grabbed several torches, lit them, and started hurling them at the mercenaries.
"Aaaargh!"
"Uwaaaah! What is this?!"
Panicked, the mercenaries tried to escape the ring of fire, but Azadin kicked them back inside.
"Stay in there and enjoy a nice warm bath."
The spiders, startled by the heat, tried to escape from their hosts' bodies, only to meet an even worse fate outside.
But if they remained within, they burrowed deeper into the flesh of the still-transforming mercenaries, causing unbearable pain and violent rejection reactions.
"How about that? Pretty useful, huh?"
Midiam smirked and walked up to Azadin with a self-satisfied air.
"It is not over yet, so stay alert."
Azadin replied as he set fire to the shredded cloth. Other merchants followed suit, throwing in burnable materials, while some dug up sand to keep the fire contained so it wouldn't spread to the wagons and goods.
In the end, the two mercenaries burned to death without much resistance.
"Ugh. What… what the hell is this?"
The merchants looked on in horror as the grotesque creatures burned. Seeing human bodies with spider legs protruding from their backs, being consumed by flames, was a nightmarish sight.
"By the way, who are you people? Huh?"
When the merchants turned to question Azadin, he had already disappeared.
"What… What the hell?"
"They were some strange folks."
***
"How about my help? That was timely, wasn't it? No need to thank me, I was just…"
Midiam puffed up with pride as she followed Azadin.
"You did well. You truly are a clan member I met in a distant land."
"Oh, not this again. Will you finally accept me as your servant now?"