I Became the Commander in a Trash Game Who Copies Skills-Chapter 151 : Chapter 151

Chapter 151. Plague City (1)
‘A band of marauders wandering the underground.’
If I had to describe the species known as the Ratmen in one phrase, that would be it.
A famous scholar in a setting book once referred to the Ratmen as ‘nomads.’
To use Earth as an example, they were classified alongside the various tribal nations of the ancient Near East, the Vikings who swept through early medieval Northern Europe, or the nomadic peoples of Central Asia represented by Genghis Khan's Mongols.
But there was a significant flaw in such a classification.
The aforementioned nomads were, after all, human, and after successive conquests, they settled down to establish kingdoms and empires.
In contrast, the Ratmen, after devouring and bringing their hosts to ruin, would not settle but scatter to find other victims.
Their ecology was much like that of parasites or viruses.
However, there were one or two commonalities, the most representative being their movement in tribal units.
Much like the nomads who roamed the vast Central Asian plains, they gathered and acted in large and small tribes.
A Ratman tribe was usually called a ‘priesthood.’
The three largest and most powerful of these priesthoods were: The Technopriest Council, the Weird Priesthood, and the Corruption Priesthood.
According to Ella Siollus' testimony, it seemed all three of these priesthoods were currently gathered in the subterranean city beneath the Imperial Capital.
“Oh my, my, the Viscount is so smart. You know so much about the Ratmen, don’t you?”
Randal and I had naturally joined up with Siollus and Karok.
We shared the same goal of rescuing the Emperor, and we also judged each other's knowledge and martial prowess to be useful.
For the record, Siollus quickly dropped the formalities with me.
She claimed that fire mages were practically relatives.
“I read it in a book.”
“Wow, you read books too? That’s not very noble-like, is it?”
“What exactly is your idea of a noble?”
“With a few exceptions, aren’t they like mosquitoes that suck the lifeblood of their domain's people? Or bedbugs that cling to the Imperial Palace, scrounging for scraps?”
“…I don’t even know where to begin pointing out how dangerous that statement is.”
“Yup. If I hadn’t joined the Secret Knight Order, I probably would have been hunted as a witch, don’t you think?”
“……”
I thought she had pretended to be demure and proper in front of Viscount Pewin before.
Was she showing her usual personality so quickly just because her grandfather wasn't around?
Siollus, while leading the way at the very front, continuously struck up conversations with me, who was right behind her.
If her stories were completely useless, I would have just ignored her, but the problem was that useful bits of information would pop up in between.
“His Majesty used to call this subterranean city the ‘Plague City.’”
“Plague City?”
“Yup. Although several priesthoods have gathered, the main force is the Corruption Priesthood. The Weird Priesthood sent their main forces to the east, and the Technopriest Council is scattered all over the place, you see?”
“The main force of the Technopriest Council should be in the south.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“During the western expedition, a large-scale tunnel heading south was discovered in a Dwarven Hold.”
I explained briefly.
About Tubon Fortress and the tunnels beneath it, and about the group of the Technopriest Council that had occupied the deepest part of the Everlasting Mountains Hold.
Of course, I appropriately omitted and embellished the part about disguising my clone as William to enter the hold.
Looking back at the events of that time, the Technopriest Council had left behind only one of their Archpriests and a portion of their forces, sending the majority of their strength south of the great desert.
Coincidentally, Indika, which they would have targeted, had been destroyed by the Lumer Legion around the same time.
There was a high probability that a major conflict had occurred between the two.
The victor was likely Lumer.
Shortly before departing for the Imperial Capital, I had received a from the Vampire Duke that the Lumer Legion had begun crossing the great desert.
That was one of the imminent dangers to my domain.
One that I would have to deal with after rescuing the Emperor.
“Alright, here we are. You’ll be able to see it all at a glance from here.”
Siollus, who had been leading the way, came to a halt.
As she pointed, I brought my eye to a crack in the wall.
“To the right is Archduke Gabir’s army. The main tunnel leading directly to the Plague City is semi-hidden between the cliffs on the left.”
My vision stretched through the narrow gap.
After a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark, things started to become visible.
An endless darkness, and beneath it, the scattered glow of sacred white light sources, the flickering of countless torches, and the silhouettes of human-like figures walking among them.
It was an enormous cavern, and at its bottom, the encampment of the punitive force.
I was looking down from a tunnel on the cavern wall through a tiny fissure, much like peeking into a living room through a narrow crack in a door from inside a room.
“Do you believe me now?”
“Yes.”
After confirming the approximate numbers and armaments of the punitive force, including the presence of what must have been prototype tanks, I pulled my eye away from the crack.
I needed to see it with my own two eyes.
To see if the punitive force was truly pinned down in the cavern as Siollus had said.
“They’re in a completely defensive posture. Are they unable to advance because of those brainwashed soldiers you mentioned earlier?”
“That’s right. Half of it. The other half is because of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Because of His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Archduke Gabir is waiting for His Majesty’s command.”
Randal looked through the rock crevice after me.
Siollus crossed her arms and nodded.
“I heard that His Majesty was to give the signal at the most perfect timing.”
“Wasn't he holding back the Ratmen in the Plague City?”
“That’s right. But he also said this.”
She furrowed her eyebrows, which were as red as her hair.
“That the seed of disaster must be eliminated.”
“What is that?”
“How should I know? He must have been talking about the Ratman army or their Archpriests.”
The Ratman army.
That was a high possibility.
Millions of Ratmen and the Archpriests leading them were a disaster in themselves.
But the word ‘seed’ stimulated an ominous feeling.
Considering the main force of the Ratmen invading the Imperial Capital was the Corruption Priesthood, there was one more element that could be called a seed of disaster.
Of course…
“Do you have something in mind?”
“No.”
…it was probably just the worst-case scenario.
But I needed to be prepared.
In this playthrough, whatever I thought was the worst-case scenario usually came true.
Anyway, it was time to organize.
Four personnel for the operation.
Two objectives.
“First. Rescue His Majesty the Emperor. Second. Destroy the Weird Priesthood’s altar that is brainwashing the soldiers so that the punitive force can advance.”
“Alright. Then we’ll have to infiltrate the Plague City first. Karok and I have scouted a tunnel ahead…”
“Let’s change the infiltration method.”
Infiltrating the subterranean city was very difficult.
Both in terms of its structure.
And in that its inhabitants were not human.
Especially in a state of war like now, the security would be even tighter.
There was no doubt about the skills of Ella Siollus or Karok, but even for them, it would be difficult to penetrate deep into the subterranean city.
“I have a way.”
***
[[Warrior’s Binding] deployed.]
[Enemy defeated and bound.]
[Ratman Hunter(1), Ratman Slave Soldier(1)]
[[Warrior’s Binding] deployed.]
[Bound enemy summoned.]
[Summoned Forces: Ratman Slave Soldier(2)]
***
Ratmen were intelligent.
If one were to score the average intelligence of species, they would probably take first prize among the Beastmen.
And that was despite the swarming slave soldiers dragging down the average.
That's why they could handle firearms, copy dwarven technology, study complex spells and rituals, and create mutants.
Anyway, like all intelligent species, Ratmen used tools.
Carts for transporting prey or prisoners were one such tool.
One of the main tasks of Ratman Hunters was to periodically patrol the paralysis poison traps they had set, harvest the unfortunate prey that fell into them, and supply them to the city.
Rumble. Rumble.
I was riding inside such a cart.
My hands and feet were both tied with ropes.
In truth, this was the kind of rope that could be broken at any time.
Not just by me, but by everyone in this cart.
“My back is itchy. Karok, I want to scratch my back.”
“If you break the rope again, we’ll be in real trouble. We don’t have any spares.”
“Uwoong, it’s itchy.”
“Do you want me to hit it with an axe?”
“Uwooo….”
So….
Yes, it was a kind of Trojan Horse.
In the sense that four high-level heroes were disguised as prey caught in a paralysis poison trap to enter the heart of the enemy's camp.
As Randal patted the whining Karok's back with the butt of his axe, Siollus looked at me and grinned.
“What a novel method.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“It’s true. Viscount, the rumors said you were a stuffy, paladin-like noble… but you might be more like me than I thought?”
That sounded more like an insult than a compliment.
I ignored the beaming Siollus and looked out the window.
The Ratman Hunter’s cart had a fist-sized window on its side.
Of course, it wasn't for the passengers, but for checking the condition of the 'prey' from the outside.
For the record, this cart was something we had acquired a few hours ago after hunting one of the actual Ratman Hunters.
Even now, a Ratman Hunter and two Ratman slave soldiers were pulling the cart.
The slave soldiers were ones I had summoned, and the hunter was my clone.
It was a Ratman clone, created by combining the abilities of Starfish and Kkumteuli, just as I had made the vampire clone.
Of course, I gave a vague explanation to the group.
“Brainwashing a Ratman. The more I think about it, the more amazing a talent it is. Can you brainwash people too?”
“…Depending on the situation.”
“Could you brainwash me too? Or how about Karok? Karok is as dumb as those rat-people, so wouldn't it be easy?”
“Karok, is listening. Karok hates brainwashing!”
There was one problem.
This cart was too noisy.
Thanks to [Lord’s Unyielding Mind], I wasn't feeling any mental strain, but I could still feel an inexplicable fatigue building up in real time.
The terrible ride quality due to the bumpy tunnel was probably a factor, but the main culprits were undoubtedly that duo from the Secret Knight Order.
It was enough to make me regret not actually poisoning them with paralysis poison since we were infiltrating under disguise.
“Can you just tell me how you do it? Is it a spell? Or a curse? Or a miracle from Luark?”
“It's a secret.”
“Tsk.”
“I hear you have quite some knowledge of ancient magic. Could you teach me?”
“Why would I teach you that? Do you know how hard I worked to uncover it!”
Thump-thump.
A knock came from outside the cart.
It was a signal to be quiet.
The checkpoint was near.
The Ratmen placed a small number of troops at every major crossroads in the tunnels around the city.
And those checkpoints tended to get trickier and stricter the closer one got to the subterranean city.
‘Four Claw Warriors, one Warchief. Only three slave soldiers? We’re still some distance away.’
Anyway, it was time to focus.
I concentrated a little more of my senses on the clone.
A skilled pianist can handle their left and right hands freely, but in a difficult part, it's natural to focus more on one hand.
Even though I had become somewhat accustomed to fighting with two separate bodies, it was my first time acting as a different species.
“Chitter, halt!”
The characteristic chittering pronunciation of the Ratmen and their clumsy Imperial language.
Some say the origin of the Ratmen is the deep sewers of the Empire or human nations, and seeing them use the Imperial language with their rat-like vocal organs makes it a plausible claim.
As I stopped the cart, the Warchief approached.
I knelt and bowed my head.
The class society of the Ratmen was even stricter than that of humans.
“Ch-chitter, bu, business! Na, me!”
“Chitter-chitter, Hunter Tutu. I've brought prey caught in a trap.”
“Chitter, yo, your accent is strange? A-a-are you a heretic?”
“……”
I was careless.
It seems just chittering isn't enough.
I'll just handle this first, reflect on it, and try again.
“Uh, chitter! Intruder… Gack!”
[[Warrior’s Binding] deployed.]
[Enemy defeated and bound.]
[Ratman Warchief(1)]
After dealing with the checkpoint crew appropriately and burning the bodies, I changed the clone's appearance to that of the Warchief.
“Ahem. Chitter, chitter-chitter!”
It definitely needed more practice.
There was still some distance to the subterranean city.
And plenty of opponents to practice on.