210. This Is Only the Beginning

“Swesi is the sole organization that has been allowed to perform illegal acts in Larkenta.”

“Is it the doing of the castellan? Well, it’s obvious that no one else but the castellan can give permission for something like this.”

“That’s correct. However, for what reason drove you to do something crazy as making Swesi your enemy…”

“Did you already forget your role in this? You are to only answer my questions. This is your last warning.”

“Ah… Yes. Sorry.”

This person was obedient to the point of suspicion.

Until just a few minutes ago, this officer was yelling at the guards.

However, after kneeling at the sight over brute strength, the officer was answering any question I asked like a vending machine spilling out its contents.

It seemed that this person was your stereotypical subservient to the strong, but harsh to the weak.

While it was a natural instinct of animals to obey the strong, humans could make the choice.

It was obvious that this officer having this personality would be extremely beneficial to me.

I asked about their numbers and the strength of their generals.

“That place that the guards were protecting is your headquarters, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“In total, how many of you are there?”

“Huh? Are you asking about how many people make up the organization? Let’s see. Around 300 or so.”

“You’re telling me that there are 300 besides the guards?”

“No. The number includes 140 guards that I am also a part of. Due to the castle being located in the center of the 7th tier hunting grounds, there are quite a lot of guards needed.”

“So you’re telling me that there are about 140 members left.”

“Huh? Why aren’t you counting the guard group?”

A quick punch.

“Ugh…”

“This time, the control on my output of strength was perfect. I’m slowly getting used to it. Since you’ve paid the price, I’ll answer you. The 140 guard regiment you mentioned. You’re the only one left.”

“Huh… That means…”

“Next question. How strong are the generals inside? My guess is that they cannot be compared to the strength of the guards.”

A blank look appeared unlike before I told this guard captain officer that every guard in his regiment had perished.

And it seemed that this officer finally understood how serious this situation was and that if my questions weren’t answered properly, the fate that befell the guards would also come.

Only after hearing the answer to the question could I finally see desperation and sincerity behind the replies, almost as if begging to be spared.

“That’s correct. When joining the Swesi organization, the first place you’d end up would be to become part of the guards. Only after hunting monsters for 2 to 3 years daily would you be recognized as a member. However, it’s not like you can quit halfway because it is too difficult. Through overseers like me, every action the guards take are reported to the higher ups, and anyone who tries anything disappears without anyone even realizing they are gone.”

“So how strong are the generals? Since you can’t describe them with numerics, make it easily understandable by explaining it in hunting terms.”

“Firstly, I, the guard captain, and the product overseers have very poor combat capabilities. We work using our heads instead of our bodies. However, that is not the case at all if you’re talking about the hunters and the highest ranking generals.”

“Product overseer… The name of that title is revolting. I assume that the products are women and Protectors, right?”

“That’s correct. To explain starting from the bottom, about 40 hunters are present. To be frank, they are the ones who take the goods and bring it back.”

“How strong are they?”

“Their strengths vary even within that grouping, but most of them have enough combat capabilities to hunt easily in the unexplored territories. They can easily gather around 30 to 40 of the monsters and take them down at once with ease.”

“Not bad. Around 1 hour ago, they would’ve been tough to deal with.”

As expected, the man who went in and out of the castle after arriving on a carriage that was made with magic was a hunter in the Swesi organization.

Sensing his presence and delaying the plan for a bit was a fantastic choice.

With how strong I was back then, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid a drawn out fight.

I say back then, but that was less than an hour ago, perhaps minutes.

I already have emphasized this a lot, but annihilating all the guards in one clean sweep was the most solid preparation I could’ve done for the next stage of my plan.

Listening to what this person was telling me, each of the hunters was as strong as me before I had wiped out the guards.

I even had the suspicion that each of them was stronger than I.

However, that was definitely no longer the case.

I had become more than two times stronger than before.

That didn’t mean that I was limited to fighting a hunter 2 versus one.

This meant that if I was able to group them up and pour attacks down on them, I would be able to cleanly wipe them out even if there are 40 or 50 of them.

It was because now I was capable of attacks that would easily shred through their defensive capabilities.

However, I did not know how it would turn out if I gave them the opportunity to retaliate.

“Good. Now how many are in the product overseer group that you mentioned before? Do they also carry a significant amount of power?”

“That is not the case. They are the same as the guards. All they do is oversee the new Protectors who just gained their powers and the maidens.”

“How many of them are there?”

“At least 60.”

“So there are 160 members left. Out of those, the weaker hunters and the product overseers consist of a 100 or so… The remaining are 60-ish. But something seems more off the more you explain though?”

“…”

“Didn’t you say that after 2 to 3 years of guard work, they become recognized and are able to take on a new position?”

“That’s correct.”

“Even if there is an error in calculation in between the process, at least 100 or so should be graduating each year, but you’re telling me that the total number of members only comes up to 300? Isn’t this too much of a difference? From what I know, this group has been doing this for over 10 years now.”

“Ah… That’s simple. It’s because they’re sold to the nobles as well. More accurately, rather than being sold, they are being chosen.”

“Hm?”

“They cannot stand a chance against you, Protector sir, but don’t you think that the guards still carry quite a lot of power? They can defeat monsters from the 7th tier hunting grounds with ease after all. That means that they really don’t need to join Swesu and can hunt in order to live a life that is more than luxurious. But why do you think people like that are trying to enter Swesi? It’s because they want to be bodyguards for the nobles or knights for the castle.”

“It sounds like Swesi serves as some kind of a training facility as well.”

“That’s correct. As you’ve mentioned before, do you think that the number of Protectors produced in over the last decade is but a few? Most of the bodyguards of the nobles are those who’ve entered Swesi at some point. It is all to obtain wealth, fame, and political power.”

“Damned bastards hailing from a damned organization into a more damned world… Enough of that. Explain to me about the remaining 60.”

“Yes. I’ve noticed that you are curious about the number of strong members in the Swesi organization…”

“Continue.”

“If my presumption is correct, the only members you have to watch out for are five of them. I do not know how much growth they’ve achieved after being chosen by the nobles, but if you disregard the castellan and any nobles above the rank of count that has ties to Swesi, then you only have to worry about the five of them currently inside the main headquarters of Swesi.”

“One must be the head of the organization, and I assume the rest must be pretty high ranking officers as well?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“How strong are they?”

“I dare not try explaining it in terms of hunting… To put it as simply as possible, I believe they are at least as strong as a marquis.”

“The strength of all five of them combined is that of a marquis… I won’t know how strong that is unless I know how strong a marquis is. Can’t you explain it in more simple terms?”

“I do not know how strong you are, Protector sir…”

“Enough to group up about 40 hunters and kill them all. Is this enough for you to get an idea?”

“Yes. Even with that much, it still won’t be enough. Maybe if you’re able to fight the 5 of them one by one.”

“This organization is a lot stronger than I had expected.”

“The castellan didn’t recognize this place just for show.”

I was able to get a rough estimate of how strong they were.

I’ve learned that the organization was huge and they were strong, but also that beating these opponents wasn’t impossible.

As long as I didn’t charge in headfirst, there was a chance that I could win.

However, I didn’t know how Swesi would react to losing more than half their members.

My next question addressed the reason why I targeted Swesi in the first place, and it was about the captured daughter of Dump, Berlette.

I asked about what they do to the people they’ve kidnapped that they refer to as products.

“Next question. What happens to all the people that are kidnapped? The people you refer to as products.”

“The young maidens and Protectors are treated differently. Firstly, the maidens…”

“Stop. I’ll change the question. Let’s keep this simple.”

“Yes, yes…”

“I have two people I need to rescue. Both of them have been captured by Swesi, with one being captured 10 years ago, and the other only 3 days ago. Tell me a way.”

“Sigh… It’s quite the difficult question.”

“Right? Don’t you think that I’ve been too nice to you this whole time?”

“Eek!”

I showed my first to this guard captain who was avoiding answering me with an expression of ‘Please not that.’

It was almost funny how this person who had even understood the intentions behind my questions and was answering well suddenly now behaving like this.

At the start, it was almost as if this guard captain was going to give everything up.

The officer took a defense stance with arms and legs raised to block any attacks, and continued to speak.

“That’s not it… Every bit of information I have told you so far is the complete truth without any falsehoods. Anything you ask from me from here on will also be answered the same. However…”

“You’re curious if I’ll let you live?”

“Yes…”

“It’ll depend on your actions, don’t you think? Listen well. My only target isn’t just Swesi. The count, marquis, and even the castellan are all Protectors that have benefited from Swesi, correct?”

“T… That’s correct.”

“My goal is that. Because my dream is so grand, don’t you think I’ll need a large amount of information to match it? I’m going to need a strategist who is talented in both intel gathering and combat tactics. So it really depends on how you.”

“I understand.”

“I’m not the type to play around with lives. If I plan to kill someone, I tell them straightforward before doing so. I’ve done so till now. So think it over carefully.”

“I understand!”

I wasn’t lying.

I’ve done so to those I’ve captured for intel, and to those who fought against me using their might.

I do not give false hope. No matter how much my enemies pleaded and begged, I still remained rooted in my principles.

With that as proof, I am stating that what I’ve said to this person is true.

Also, stating that I will be taking down the nobles wasn’t an empty statement either.

Those who stayed at the castle and held political power were also Protectors as well. That meant that I could take their lives and receive power.

Perhaps understanding what I’ve said, the expression of the guard captain’s face was calmer than before.

“First, there is no way to track down the person who had been kidnapped 10 years ago. No matter what the method is, after being sold to a noble, there is no way to even find out if they are still alive.”

“…”

“They could be living as a completely different person in both mind and identity, or are already dead.”

“Then what about the person who was kidnapped 3 days ago?”

“That person is still inside the castle. At the request of the overseers for the products, at least a span of 4 months are needed to change the products.”

“Revolting bastards. That means that we still have time for now.”

“Yes. Rarely do nobles come in person to take their products, so unless that happens, I am positive.”

“Berlette has roughly 4 months… But the time remaining for me isn’t that long…”

“Do you need more information?”

“That’s enough for now. Now, you will be planning ahead with me.”

“Yes! I’ll do everything in my power to assist you.”

“It seems that there isn’t a speck of loyalty for the organization Swesi that you served.”

“Ahem…”