I Was Connected to Earth's Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]!

Chapter 28 – The Power of Stone Rubble

On the upper floor of the royal castle, I was tapping my fingers irritably on the desk in the round table where the military council was held. The only people around me were a lone general with a distracted look on his face and a squire assigned to me.

Everyone else was probably running around busily organizing their respective armies. Maybe. The only ones who don’t have work to do are the idiots, the incompetents, and us who are summoned.

“…Hey, is there any word from the scouts?”

“I apologize, hero-sama. There are no signs of the returnees yet.”

“Damn it.”

They’re not coming back.

No one.

The scouts, a total of more than 80 advance troops, a platoon of guiding mages, a viceroy’s troop sent on suspicion of desertion, and more than a dozen messengers sent out to think of reasons for the loss of contact, but no one came back.

As far as the kingdom’s army is concerned, the war is now open.

They must deliver a lightning-quick blow to the careless subhumans. For that purpose, they sent out scouts and advance troops made up of cavalry and infantry. None of them had contacted us, and none of their whereabouts were known.

In addition, the third prince, who was said to have gone out on his own to defeat the enemy, is nowhere to be found. The most elite of the royal army’s mage corps calls itself a guiding mage platoon, but in reality, it is a squad, in short, a mage prince who doesn’t know his place and his protector.

He doesn’t listen to anyone; he doesn’t follow anyone’s command. It’s not like they’re going to want a demon tag that’s only high in rank and mediocre as a fighting force. When everyone in the castle heard that he had left without permission, they were all relieved, but it was more trouble than it was worth when he didn’t come back.

At any rate, the place where that idiot disappeared is the place that will become the battlefield. If he was dead, that was fine. If he remains unidentified, he will be an obstacle to the release of large-scale attack magic. If the prince were to become involved, the commander would certainly be held responsible.

“…I would rather just burn them all down.”

“What is it, hero-sama?”

“Nothing, nothing. When do we leave?”

“His Majesty the King would be the one to lead the main force…”

“I know what that means! I’m asking when the main force will be leaving!”

After shouting at him, I realized that there was no way the squire could have known that. The king had decided to deploy the troops, but the preparations were slow in coming. Because the noblemen have been late one after another. Frustration and anxiety are prevalent.

Even I can see that I’m losing my composure.

“Report, sir!”

I looked up at the words but was disappointed when I saw a soldier rushing into the room. He was a guard in the castle. This was not a report from the front line but an announcement of a new problem.

“The Transportation Corps has disappeared.”

Needless to say, supplies are the key to maintaining the front line. They were slow and had to get there early to set up, but they must have been sent out with a sufficient number and skill of soldiers as escorts. And now they’re gone?

The troops that have disappeared so far have been combating troops of various types. But the Transportation Corps is the second half of the army, not the front. …I believe.

“What do you mean, were they captured? Why would the Transportation Corps be on the front lines right now?”

“No, sir. According to the guards, they stopped and camped a dozen miles from the planned battleground.”

“Report accurately. What do you mean, “disappeared”?”

“A wagon loaded with supplies disappeared in the morning, leaving behind ten naked bodies and two living soldiers, also naked.”

“The survivor reports… no, is that the report?”

“Yes. The wagons and clothes suddenly disappeared, and the soldiers suddenly died.”

I’m about to yell at him, but there’s something I need to check before I do.

“What are the wounds on the body? Gunshot wounds… ah, a round hole somewhere on the body?”

“…Y-yes. How did you know that?”

I thought it was impossible, but I knew it was that guy. He must be on the subhuman side, that’s for sure.

That is, it’s a strange magic that has been shown in the White Room to steal supplies. The magic of instantaneous movement, robbery, and shooting. There is no way to counter this, at least… not with the soldiers of the kingdom army. If they keep handling this, the damage will only increase. And the supplies they take will steadily fatten them up.

“We’re going into battle. Get the horses ready.”

“No, sir! His Majesty the King has ordered us to wait until further notice.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! We can’t wait forever! I’ve told you many times that it’s foolish to underestimate the power of war! This is the result of ignoring that! If we continue like this, we’ll be crushed before the war even starts!”

The soldiers glanced at each other, intimidated by my fierce attitude.

“I don’t like it. What are you guys hiding?”

“Hiding what…?”

“If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. If you can’t trust me, that’s fine; it can’t be helped. But in that case, I will abandon you on the battlefield.”

The guards who would remain in the castle might not mind, but there was a high possibility that they would be uprooted and mobilized in the current situation. The one who couldn’t take it anymore was the squire who would be following me to the front lines.

“We don’t know the reason or cause yet, so our report is unofficial.”

“I don’t care. Talk.”

“Some of the advance troops are camped outside the invasion route, in front of the planned battleground.”

“Conserving our strength before contacting the enemy? I have repeatedly said that this is a foolish strategy…”

“They are not a fighting force. On the contrary, they are unable to move from the spot. According to reports… there seems to be an outbreak of plague.”

◇ ◇

There was one thing that neither Myrril nor I had expected.

Or rather, we had forgotten about it. The dead bodies that had been shot and left in the path between the royal capital and Casemaian.

No one recognized the naked, rotting corpse lying on the side of the road, swollen with gas, as the prince. One of the soldiers, who was trying to pass quickly because of the foul smell, threw a stone at the corpse, cursing.

The prince, who was ruptured and spreading carrion, seems to have bestowed germs all over his impolite subjects.

It’s unclear what kind of disease it is, but several generals complained of high fevers, diarrhea, and vomiting, and just before the war began, the valuable asset of a high-ranking attack mage was wasted on an inefficient detoxification treatment…

But that’s another story.