Chapter 174: The Mandus Tribe

“Pffft! I knew a day like this would come.”

Hugo Yates wore a bitter smile.

The face that had looked like his soul had been threshed clean now flushed with color. His eyes regained their spark, as if he had a great deal to say about the east.

His cocky attitude was unpleasant, but I decided to let it slide for now.

I’m curious what he has to say, after all.

If it turned out to be worthless nonsense, I would cut him off without mercy.

But right at that moment—

—Kick the unlucky bastard!

—A madman needs a beating! Hiyah!

Thud! Thud thud!

A black flying squirrel and a white bat suddenly burst out.

The two began stomping all over Hugo Yates’s head.

“Uwaaagh! W-what the hell is this?!”

—He looked so unlucky I just had to hit him.

—Football is all about the Feltron team! All our players learned their takedowns from me!

They charged with their shoulders and pinned him down with their butts like it was a football game.

It was absolute chaos.

I turned to Trevor with a dumbfounded look.

“Player Trevor, do you have any idea why the former owner of your team is acting like this?”

“You probably know better than I do, Chairman. Aren’t they your pets?”

“I asked just in case you knew since they’re on your team. Even I can’t understand these guys.”

“Haha.”

Trevor laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

The situation was ridiculous, yet he did not seem particularly bothered.

He must have seen Shugl doing weird things often.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

—We haven’t hit him enough yet.

—His smile pisses me off!

I forcibly pulled the two rampaging half-demons off.

Hugo Yates’s face was now a complete mess.

His hair was even more disheveled, and countless tiny footprints covered him.

He seemed far more mentally broken than before; his eyes had lost focus entirely.

That felt pretty satisfying.

It had been annoying how he acted all high and mighty just because he knew something about the east.

I had been holding back for the greater good, but the two half-demons must have noticed.

They stepped in and beat him up for me.

Anyway, since I did not do it myself, I could not really say anything.

I patted Hugo Yates on the shoulder.

“Hey. Get up.”

“Uh! Uhh! J-just now that was……”

“Looks like sewer rats attacked. There are so many rats in the Abyss, you know?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?! I clearly heard voices talking!”

“Where are there talking rats? Have you been locked up so long that you’ve gone crazy?”

“That can’t be!”

“Enough with the chatter. Tell me about the east. If you give me useful information, I’ll make things easier for you.”

I nodded toward Baron Lelbrant.

No inmate would not know he was the head of the Corrections Headquarters.

As expected, Hugo Yates’s eyes sharpened.

“How much?”

“It depends on what you do. If the information is satisfactory, I could even transfer you to the surface prison.”

“……!”

Compared to the Abyss, the surface prison was practically paradise.

It was an extremely tempting offer.

Every inmate’s wish was to move to a slightly more comfortable place.

But Hugo Yates’s expression turned sly in an instant.

“Heh heh! I can’t just hand over information without any guarantee. Write an order right here transferring me to the surface prison, and I’ll talk.”

As expected of a rotten but still sharp old fox.

He seemed to think that if he spilled everything, he would be squeezed dry and discarded.

Of course, I had no such intention.

If he provided truly useful information, I really planned to move him up.

So a rotten guy is still rotten after all.

Humans were fundamentally self-centered in their thinking.

That was not necessarily bad.

It just meant they could not help it.

Everyone moved assuming others were like themselves.

Why would rotten people trust others easily?

Because they assumed everyone else was trash like them.

Well, I could understand that much.

In this world, living too kindly just made you an easy mark.

“Here.”

I wrote out a transfer order, stamped it with my seal, and handed it over.

Hugo Yates smiled smugly.

But I had not left it without a safety measure.

“There is one blank space, right? I have not written your name yet.”

“This is different from what we agreed!”

“How would I know how valuable the information you babble is? I can’t write the order first. If the content is not proper, it will be void.”

Hugo Yates glared at me, grinding his teeth.

But he had no choice.

“Fine, I’ll trust you.”

“Go ahead and speak. Information on the eastern barbarians would be good.”

“The front line seems unstable? That incompetent new Marquis Yates must not have been able to guard the border properly.”

Hostility filled Hugo’s tone.

He hated his own son intensely.

I had wondered why, but his last remark gave me a clue.

He said the legitimate son had a very weak personality.

He lacked the qualities needed for a lord defending the frontier.

So even when the barbarians stirred, he could not suppress them properly.

But I did not agree.

I did not want to be led by his pace.

“It has nothing to do with Marquis Yates.”

“What about the Eastern Defense Army?”

“It is overloaded.”

“The entire army must have been deployed to the Yates Marquisate.”

Hugo Yates accurately deduced the war situation without any information.

He really had led a country for a long time.

“Barbarians, huh. You seem to think they are just ordinary humans.”

“……?”

For a moment, I almost showed my inner thoughts.

It was truly the first I had heard of this.

But I had an iron face trained through countless audiences with the Emperor.

I showed no reaction at all.

I simply stared at him, and his expression twisted.

“Tch! So you already figured that much out.”

“Did you forget where I’m from?”

“Well, there was a transcendent being in the north too.”

The one Hugo Yates mentioned was Feltron.

The half-demon who had once united the northern nomads and threatened the Empire.

Of course, he was now just a football team mascot.

And he has no idea that guy is right in front of him.

Feltron was sitting on my shoulder, wiggling his toes.

Muttering useless things to himself.

—Did I kick too hard earlier? There’s a scratch on that smooth skin. I need to stop by the nail salon today.

A half-demon getting a manicure and pedicure.

What kind of nonsense was that?

But I could not flick his forehead like usual.

This was a very important moment in my battle of wits with Hugo Yates.

“I would like to know the characteristics of the eastern barbarians. In detail.”

“Hah! I thought you would say that. No matter how much of a northern berserker you are, you could not know the eastern situation in detail.”

“Stop with the pointless staring contest and get to the main point already. It’s starting to get boring.”

When I stared at the order, Hugo quickly hid his hands behind his back.

Then he immediately began to speak.

“The eastern barbarians call themselves the Mandus. In my view, those guys are not human.”

The Mandus were faster than humans in every way.

Their pregnancy period was five months, and it took only nine years to reach adulthood.

They had excellent strength and agility, and they were quite tall.

The average height difference with Empire citizens was about fifteen centimeters.

Moreover, they were born with outstanding combat sense; every single one could be called a warrior.

Like the northern nomads, they lived by plundering, and they used to attack the Empire on a wide scale.

That was until the Yates Marquisate was established and completely blocked the eastern route.

To think he was holding back those kinds of guys. He really was quite an impressive person.

Of course, their strengths did not completely cover their weaknesses.

There were plenty of other people who could handle the east besides him.

“What are their weaknesses?”

“They age quickly, and there are not many elders in their tribes.”

“Do they die young?”

“No. When they grow old and become useless, they are used as food. Those guys do not acknowledge anyone who is not a warrior.”

“Oh……. A group of real men.”

“Their average age is low, so their tactics are very simple. At most, nighttime raids.”

I could see why the Mandus had never grown into a nation-state.

They ate their elders once they grew weak with age?

The skills and wisdom they had learned over their lives would vanish.

Humans are stronger than other animals because they pass knowledge to the next generation.

Some of it is lost, but most develops further over time.

By rejecting that advantage themselves, they could only remain barbarians.

“But there is one thing I find strange.”

“What is it?”

“You said their tactics are simple? Then why are everyone so afraid of them?”

“Because there are not many tactics they can use anyway.”

The Yates Marquisate was in a very peculiar location.

Plains to the west, mountains to the east.

Naturally, the castle was built at the pass where people traveled.

To enter the Empire from the eastern continent, one had to pass through narrow canyons and gates.

It was a natural fortress.

If they wanted to avoid Yates Castle, the only way was to cross the mountains.

A large army trying to move through rugged terrain?

Even if left alone, they would destroy themselves.

“But the Mandus often manage that difficult task.”

“They cross the Yates Mountains?”

“Small elite units come and attack supply lines. Our job is to find those guys and crush them.”

“I see how you have been blocking them.”

That was why the Yates Rangers were so famous.

They must have climbed the mountains like mad and fought the Mandus every day.

“If those guys launch an enormous invasion? Then there is only one reason.”

“What is it?”

“A hero has been born among the Mandus.”

“What did you do in those cases?”

“We do the same thing. Cross the mountains and cut off their rear. War is always a fight over supplies, after all.”

I nodded slowly.

After talking with Hugo, my mind felt clearer.

The northern nomads had also united because of Feltron.

As expected, someone who had experienced it firsthand knew best.

“Baron Lelbrant?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Send this man to the regular prison in the capital.”

“R-really?”

I did not understand why he was surprised.

I had lived very righteously until now.

“He provided proper information, so he should receive proper compensation.”

“Kwahahaha! As expected of the guy who threw me into the Abyss. Very straightforward.”

Hugo Yates burst into wild laughter.

But he knew only one thing and not the other.

I whispered to Baron Lelbrant.

“I don’t know why he’s so happy. He seems to think the regular prison is easy to live in.”

It would certainly be much better compared to the Abyss.

But he knew only one thing and not the other.

That place is hell too.

When I gave a sly smile, Baron Lelbrant smiled brightly as well.

“I will make sure to convey it properly.”

I had said nothing, yet I had no idea why he was acting like that.