Deadmeat Saga

Chapter 60 – Impending Civil War?! New Plans.

The following day, the three knights and their men at arms peacefully left, all converted.

After witnessing Dame Magdalene's fall and his previous torture, Sir Reimund quickly broke. However, Sir Huidemar was indeed a tough cookie. Even after repeated psychological blows, he remained unyielding. Gerhart had to brute-force the conversion, which required Qold to dampen his mind and ingest Gerhart's blood.

And now, Gerhart had insiders among Marquise Freeperd's men. And especially Huidemar, a trusted senior knight. Because of his seniority, Huidemar also had access to information that Gerhart and the villagers didn't know yet. Among them is disturbing news.

"King Antoine Youvamore's health is deteriorating, and it is unknown when he will die?! And the kingdom suffers from an internal succession struggle between the 1st prince, 2nd princess, 5th prince, and 7th princess? And there is a risk of civil war? Marquise Freeperd supports the 5th prince?" Gerhart frowned, sitting in his house.

"That is an ill omen." Hope also frowned.

"I am not adept in human politics, but isn't it logical to support the strongest to be the leader?" Qold asked.

"No. We prefer powerful and wise leadership, but charisma, favoritism, and benefits play a role." Havre shook her head.

"Although I understand the problem, I don't know the situation in the kingdom's royalty," Gerhart said.

Old Gerhart was a bit dull and wasn't interested in the royalty. Heck, he didn't remember who his king was. He only knew the local lords so he could avoid trouble. Plenty of others shared that sentiment.

"I apologize, but I also don't know." Havre shook her head. She was a villager in bumblefuck nowhere, so news barely reached their village. And she didn't even care to know.

Qold didn't even bother commenting.

"I know about it. My family were influential merchants, so we had to understand the political situation of our neighbors. King Antoine Youvamore rules the kingdom and has four wives. The first wife birthed the 1st prince. The second wife birthed the 2nd princess. The third wife birthed the 5th prince. And the fourth wife birthed the 7th princess. All of them are talented individuals in different fields and supported by various forces.

The 1st prince is a martial genius, supported by knight orders and militant nobles. Additionally, he has the support of his grandfather, Duke Fitzgerald, and is married to a duke's daughter from the Osora Kingdom and already has a son. 

The 2nd princess is a magic prodigy highly esteemed by arcane guilds and royal magicians. Her uncle is the prime minister, and she has support in the royal court and the minister's noble faction. She is also engaged to the chief apprentice of Fire Magus Detaz.

The 5th prince is as intelligent as he is cunning. His aunt is Grand Burgheress Prisca al Mutaism from the Nehan Kingdom and is engaged to a minor Nehan Princess. Some rumors say he has connections with the underworld, but they are without proof.

As for the 7th princess, her mother was an A-rank adventurer, and she also became a B-rank adventurer within a year of joining the guild at 17, now 18 years old. Not many know about her, and she doesn't show much concern for the throne, but the Adventurer's Guild, Craftsman Guilds, and the common folk show their support. And since the Adventurer's Guild held much power, she inadvertently became a contender.

The temples are neutral, but one of the lesser princesses is a high priestess. She was born to a maid elevated to concubine to prevent her from being born out of wedlock and was not eligible to inherit the throne. Her half-siblings are trying to earn her support, but she has displayed a cold attitude since she and her mother got mocked during her childhood, and only the 4th wife and 7th princess were close to them before becoming a high priestess, so there is a high chance she would support the 7th princess. At least, if the 7th princess wants to contend, that is.

The nobility hates the 7th princess due to her ardent hatred of the slavery system and racial discrimination of demi-humans, making support from almost all nobles impossible. However, some sources claim that the king favored her because of this, but that is hearsay.

That is all I know." Hope concluded.

"That's a lot." Gerhart widened his eyes.

"Smart merchants need to know things and gather intelligence from rumors. To begin with, since I was sickly and stuck at home, I had plenty of time to study these things and minor intrigues as a pass-time." Hope shrugged.

"So... If the king dies, doesn't that mean a civil war would start if a clear successor is not selected? Do we want to support one of the royal children?" Havre asked.

"Honestly? I prefer if such a civil war doesn't happen. People die senseless deaths, the economy suffers, and the surrounding kingdoms would eye us like vultures. Vlita, my home city, would likely also be engulfed in war, and my orphanage would suffer." Gerhart grimly said.

"Then the solution is obvious. Use force to crush all opposition and prevent the civil war." Qold boldly said.

"That's crazy talk! You would need several S-rank powerhouses to— hah. No, there is some sense in that insanity." Hope suddenly had a thoughtful look.

"What?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"With our improved talent, we might match S-rank powerhouses as long as we level up to lvl 60," Hope said.

"Level 60?! You would need a 60-floor dungeon to produce such magic stones. In the Youvamore Kingdom, only the capital has that. And it is strictly controlled by the Dungeon Exploerer's Guild. If we enter it, they would immediately know." Gerhart frowned.

"Not necessarily. We have other options. For example, we can head to the Nehan Kingdom and start incognito as adventurers there. The Dungeon Explorer's guild has lax registration requirements, so we can register by claiming to be upstarts." Hope smirked.

"But they might recognize us eventually, leading to complications," Gerhart said.

"Gerhart, Qold has a transformation talent, and Ray has Analysis Block. These are perfect for hiding ourselves. If it weren't for the worry about the magic imprint on the guild cards, I would suggest boldly going to the capital." Hope said.

"I see. Yes, it might work." Gerhart thoughtfully nodded.

"And there is another option," Hope said. "We can head to the Osora Kingdom to claim my family fortune. My family is comparable to Grand Burgheress Prisca's wealth, so we can use it to support the claim of one of the heirs."

"Ah, right. You did say something about your half-brother and stepmother selling you. It might be a good opportunity to give him some well-deserved payback." Havre nodded.

"Hm... The Nehan Kingdom's borders are right next to us, and the Osora Kingdom is on the other side of the Youvamore kingdom. We should start with the Nehan Kingdom and gather energy. Once we have enough and reach lvl 60, we will return here to settle some matters before heading to the Osora Kingdom and settling the score with your scummy half-brother and stepmother." Gerhart said after some thought.

"Okay! That sounds fair. We can also take Ray and Calvin as muscle." Hope smiled, excited at the prospect of having revenge.

"Then when should we head out? What provisions will we take?" Qold asked.

"The village has three privately owned cargo wagons and several horses. We can use the wagons to transport and sell the monster materials we received from your tribe and some of the weapons from the fallen. We can buy supplies with the money from selling them and hire a guide to the Nehan Kingdom. As for heading out, we don't have time to waste, so we should do it today in two hours." Hope said.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Havre nodded.

"Then we will go with this plan. We'll start making final preparations and go." Gerhart decided.

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Two hours later-

Three medium cargo wagons pulled by six horses and loaded with goods left through the open village gates. Thomas, Hannes, and Lars drove them, and six individuals sat on the covered cargo- Gerhart, Hope, Havre, Qold, Calvin, and Ray.

"Take care, Lord Gerhart! I will watch over the village in your place! Havre! Guard him well!" Asher, who regained his old appearance, waved.

Gerhart turned Asher into an Envoy and gave him Qold's Partial Transformation. The talent wasn't too expensive, only costing 100 points. Although it didn't change his base form, it allowed him to disguise himself and bless several other villagers if needed.

"I will, father!" Havre felt a bit emotional, waving her hand to say goodbye.

"Goodbye, Lord Gerhart!"

"Goodbye, Uncle!"

"Woof! Woof!" [Bye, master!]

"Havre! We will miss you!"

"Farewell, Hope!"

"Calvin! I won't forget you!"

"Goodbye, Ray!"

"Qold! Serve the Warchief well!"

The villagers said goodbye, including the wolves and several Goblin Commanders who came as part of the cultural exchange.

"Goodbye, everyone! We will return in a few months!" Gerhart smiled and waved back.

Gerhart had to admit that he grew a bit attached to the place. But he knew he couldn't restrict himself if he wanted to continue to develop and grow more quickly. It was never too late to return later on.

With that, they departed.

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The carriages traveled quickly on the dirt road, far faster than regular wagons. It was due to the horses receiving blessings during the grand sacrifice of the goblin army, raising their abilities. Gerhart also invested another 100 points each to increase their levels.

Because of that, they were only a tad slower than the knights, arriving by the evening of the next day at Auchendale, the border town with the Nehan Kingdom. Since it was already evening, they parked their wagon at a stable outside Auchendale and rested in an outer inn catering to merchants.

Of course, they were all transformed to prevent others from recognizing them.

Gerhart changed his chiseled features to an honest-looking appearance, adding some blemishes and scars here and there.

Hope changed from a white-haired mousekin to a black-haired human girl with hazel eyes.

Havre returned to her Rustic Girl appearance before becoming a Sword Saint.

Qold remained a tanned beauty but removed any tribal jewelry.

Calvin and Ray switched hair and eye color and modified their facial characteristics but remained handsome.

Thomas and Hannes didn't change appearance, but Lars returned to his middle-aged look since he was the one who sometimes went to town to trade, acting as the merchant this time.

Gerhart also acquired Ray's Analysis Block, which cost as much as Analyze Status at 1,000 points, giving it to his other five members.

{Unique Skill - Analysis Block: A talent that masks one's emitted energies, effectively blocking energy-reading abilities.}

Status Analysis worked by analyzing another's energy and converting it into information. Analysis Block countered it by blocking emitted energies, which also worked on other detection abilities. Gerhart wondered if it would also work against Abia and Skyler's detection abilities.

"Lars! Good to see you! I hear old Sven got murdered on the road, and knights got dispatched to your village. Everything okay now?" The innkeeper put the drinks on the table and asked, familiar with Lars.

"Everything's fine, Abraham. There was a Goblin Mega Tribe on a rampage, but we purged them and even got some loot to sell." Lars said, not mentioning it was not a Mega Tribe but a bonafide Horde that almost genocided their village.

"Well, as long as you're alright. And who are these young people? Are they new adventurers?" Abraham, the innkeeper, curiously asked.

"Yes. Our village is just a small pond, so these youngsters want to see the world." Lars smiled.

"Haha! It's good to be young. I also used to be an adventurer until I retired. I was once D-rank, you know?" Abraham proudly said.

"A weak one." Gerhart thought while looking at the innkeeper's status, unimpressed.

Anyone who wasn't at least A-rank, had extraordinary talents, or had latent potential was unworthy of his attention. It wasn't because he looked down on them, but because he was too strong already, his horizons broadened.

In this border town, he doubted anyone was better than B-rank. At least, in this dinky inn, he didn't see anyone above D-rank.

It was the situation in most places. Most people had the potential of F and E-rank, with slightly more talented people being D-rank. Nobles, who had better bloodlines, had higher chances of birthing C and B-rank powerhouses, and royalty had plenty of powerful bloodlines in the mix, making B and A-rank powerhouses almost guaranteed, with S-rank born every several generations.

In fact, in the entire Freeperd Marquisette, with a population of over ten thousand, he doubted there was more than one A-rank to guard the borders. They lacked sufficient resources to have more than one A-rank there.

"Abraham, do you know any reputable traveling guide to the Nehan Kingdom? These youngsters want to travel there." Lars inquired.

"Are you sure you want a guide and not a caravan? It is more expensive and less safe." Abraham asked in surprise.

"We're sure. We also want to buy some horses and supplies." Lars nodded.

"Well, it's your dime. Visit the merchant's guild tomorrow and look for Monica. Although she is a bit expensive, she is very knowledgeable." Abraham suggested.

"Thanks. Cheers." Lars smiled and drank his beer.

After the group ate and chatted, they rented rooms and went to sleep- Except for Gerhart and Qold.

Although they didn't have much privacy, and he gave Hope and Havre some attention, Gerhart still fed Qold, and she reached 99% bloodline concentration, a bit short of full demonification. Eager to complete the Familiar Contract, they stayed in a double room.

"Hmhm...  Are you ready to take the virginity of a succubus, master?" Qold licked her lips, undressing herself.