Lord of Rot

Leech rode his fiery-maned steed out of Iron Stone City, bringing his spoils from the trip with him.

The main caravan did not follow him. The wagons, laden with ironware, grain, several large barrels of wine, and leading slaves and livestock, were too slow. Per Leech’s arrangements, they would set out for Porcupine Territory the next morning.

So for now, the only ones riding ahead were Leech, a few guards, several old packhorses, and the "Skill Book" he had prepared for himself—a master-level thrower praised even by an Extraordinary Knight.

He suspected his mind might be different from that of an ordinary person. ’Perhaps it’s due to what the Taven Scholars call the "emergence of the Magic Tide," or maybe it’s a change from my transmigration.’ When Leech first controlled the Warg Slayer’s corpse, he had obtained its Swordsmanship skills. The first time he possessed the Earthling corpse, he gained keen night vision. He hoped that this time, he would be able to acquire the black-haired slave’s master-level throwing skill.

’I hope these horses will be of some use when the time comes,’ he thought.

He glanced at the old packhorses he had deliberately bought. If they encountered a Griffin on the way back, perhaps these old horses could sacrifice themselves to fill its stomach. A sated Griffin would likely be too lazy to bother with anything else.

The gains from this trip were already enough. Leech needed to hurry back to his own territory. No matter how nice another’s place was, it still belonged to someone else. He was starting to miss his own drafty castle and the delicious food made by his cook—a man so thin he couldn’t squeeze a single fold out of his stomach even when he bent over.

After riding for a short while, a guard responsible for the rear caravan trotted over. "My lord, the slave is dead."

The black-haired slave who called himself "Dog" was finally dead. Leech wasn’t surprised by this outcome. For someone who had been disemboweled and had been bleeding out for so long, it was a testament to his incredible willpower that he had held on until now.

"Protect his body," Leech said. "He is to be buried in my land."

"Yes, my lord!"

As night fell, they made a fire by the roadside to rest. The dark was no time to travel.

Leech ate a simple meal and closed his eyes to rest.

Meanwhile, in a house near the cemetery in Iron Stone City, a small, slender, red-haired figure’s eyes snapped open.

She dug her hands into the wall and, using both hands and feet like a humanoid spider, began to scuttle rapidly.

Suddenly, she stopped.

Someone was coming.

The person passed by below her without a single glance upward, perhaps never imagining someone was clinging to the wall above in such a bizarre posture.

After the person left, she resumed her climb, scaling the wall to the other side.

「Iron Stone City Cemetery.」

The Tomb Guardian was fast asleep in his room, snoring away, completely unaware that something not quite human had slipped into the cemetery he was supposed to be watching. The intruder was now digging frantically at a grave mound with her bare hands.

The Iron Bull-hoof Knight.

Leech controlled the Earthling Corpse Ghost to unearth the Iron Bull-hoof Knight. After refilling the grave, the Corpse Ghost dragged the heavy body away, leaving by climbing back over the wall.

Leech had bought a house here before leaving the city. In its cellar, he had not only prepared a Magic Array but also an extra-large coffin, waiting for the body of the Iron Bull-hoof Knight.

The moment Leech had first seen the Iron Bull-hoof Knight’s corpse, he’d felt a powerful urge. ’It would be such a waste not to turn him into an undead servant.’

The only regret was that he had no magic materials on hand. The Iron Bull-hoof Knight could only become a mindless undead. An undead as strong as the Knight would surely have less combat power than the Extraordinary Knight from that day.

The Earthling Corpse Ghost took out a Jinri coin and placed it on the wound on the Iron Bull-hoof Knight’s neck. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t severe.

The refinement process went smoothly, though the wait was a bit long.

By the time the coffin lid was pushed open, it was not long before dawn.

Leech shifted his consciousness from the body of the Earthling Corpse Ghost into that of the Iron Bull-hoof Knight. But in that instant, he witnessed a horrifying scene.

It was a memory the Iron Bull-hoof Knight could never forget from his life.

Pitch-black clouds hung overhead, so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

The Iron Bull-hoof Knight held a giant axe. Directly in front of him, a naked woman was tied to an X-shaped rack. She was pregnant, her belly swollen.

An old man took a knife and sliced open her stomach. The massive belly split apart like a blooming flower.

With a sickening slosh, a pile of strange black insects crawled out.

The woman shrieked in agony as more and more strange insects poured from her belly, until the ground before them was a sheet of black, until writhing insects swarmed even at the Iron Bull-hoof Knight’s feet. He lifted his boot and stomped down hard.

"Stomp the bugs, stomp the bugs, stomp the bugs..."

That was the Iron Bull-hoof Knight’s final memory.

Leech’s eyes flew open. He finally understood why the Iron Bull-hoof Knight had been driven mad. But more than the bizarre scene, another detail concerned him. In the Knight’s memory, he noticed that the disemboweled woman, the old man, and all the others were strikingly beautiful, and each had a mole on their forehead—a mole that looked like an insect.

He let out a long breath. Besides the bizarre memory, he had also gained something else from the Iron Bull-hoof Knight: expert horsemanship!

Although the story of the Iron Bull-hoof Knight riding a bull back into battle was something Leech had fabricated, a physique as strong as his was best suited for combat as Cavalry. Astride a warhorse with a great axe in hand, he would be unstoppable.

The next day, a giant figure shrouded in a heavy cloak, accompanied by a smaller, similarly cloaked individual, arrived at the pre-arranged location. They slipped into the group of slaves and left Iron Stone City with the caravan.

The journey was uneventful, with no encounters with Griffins or other large monsters.

When he returned to Porcupine Territory, two figures were already waiting for him.

"The Widow" Gelan, and "Lucky dog" Joe.

Upon seeing Leech, both men bowed to show their respect.

"It seems you’ve decided to stay?" Leech was not surprised by their decision.

He wasn’t surprised that Gelan would stay. Although an attraction to the elderly wasn’t a particularly huge scandal—the King’s second son even liked men—the nobility was just that harsh. They could tolerate anything from those above them, but would not tolerate anything from those below.

Gelan, who only had a modest amount of money, couldn’t bring himself to give up his preference, making Porcupine Territory his only option.

"Although this place is quite poor," Gelan said, straightening up, "everyone sings praises of your mercy and generosity. Even the slaves hail you as the kindest noble in the world. I am willing to work for such kindness, not to mention that some of your ingenious ideas have astonished me."

For now, the only presentable thing in Porcupine Territory showing initial results was the plow. But this efficient farming tool was enough for Gelan to see the place’s potential for development. Whether these praises were true or not was unimportant; he had to convince himself.

Joe was much more direct. "As long as you can help me get my revenge, I will pledge my loyalty to you!"

After arriving in the territory, Joe had discovered that this Baron had no army at all!

He had wanted to leave, but Gelan talked him out of it. After all, if Joe left, it would be impossible to find another noble willing to help him. If he stayed here, he could still get his revenge once the territory grew stronger. Having hope was better than having none. Joe, too, had no other choice. Besides, he had spent almost all his money, unlike Gelan, who still had a large sum.

"With the two of you joining, Porcupine Territory will surely develop even better."