Chapter 109. Baron Raul Camargue's Tyranny
A clear, sunny winter day.
The Camargue Marsh.
High Priest Adder of the lizardmen was sleeping inside the temple when she suddenly began talking in her sleep.
"Nooo! Don't hit me!"
"High Priest Adder, are you all right?"
A maid shook her awake.
Adder opened her eyes.
Once she realized where she was, her lips trembled and tears began falling.
"Sniff... I had that nightmare again."
"You should forget about it now. We have a great deal of work to do."
"Yes. I'm sorry."
Adder wiped her tears with a forepaw.
She forced herself up, gathered several ritual tools, and went outside.
Thud! Thud!
Four lizardman warriors were fighting barehanded in front of the temple.
Dozens of warriors surrounded them and watched.
"Is it still not finished?"
"No. It should end soon. Please wait."
The fighting tournament had continued for two days and nights.
Its purpose was to select a new chief.
No exceptionally powerful warrior had been born among the lizardmen recently.
Because of that, the position of chief had remained vacant.
Adder had effectively led the tribe herself, but there were limits to what a priest could do.
They needed a warrior chief.
Adder sighed.
"This is all because the Naga's sacred relic was stolen. Someday, those brown bears..."
The maid cut her off.
"Half our warriors are already gone. Right now, preserving the tribe is more important than revenge."
"But without the sacred relic, our females lay fewer eggs."
"If we obtain enough food, we can somehow manage. Please focus on the tribe's internal affairs."
"...Fine."
At that moment, cheers erupted.
One exhausted, bleeding warrior stood over the others and raised both arms.
The maid smiled.
"It seems the new chief has been decided."
Adder stepped forward wearing her priestly garments.
"Warriors of the Camargue, you have all fought honorably. The winner, Viper Camargue, will from this moment..."
Something fell from the sky.
Thud.
A small object landed near Viper's feet.
"Hm?"
The newly selected chief picked it up.
"What is this?"
BOOOOM!
Flames exploded.
Lizardmen were thrown in every direction.
Adder was caught in the blast as well, but a defensive ritual magic item activated around her.
When the smoke cleared, her eyes widened.
The four warriors who had fought in the final round looked like discarded scraps of food.
They had already exhausted their mana during the tournament.
They had no strength left to defend against the explosion.
"Shaman!"
Adder screamed.
"Catch the shaman bastard!"
The surviving warriors scattered in every direction.
They extended their tongues, tasting the air for scent.
But they found nothing.
No smell.
No footprints.
No trace.
The lizardmen naturally assumed it had been shamanic magic.
In their experience, only shamans could create explosions like that.
The warriors who had seen the earlier explosion in the Rhône had only witnessed a column of water from a distance.
No one connected the two incidents.
The next morning, another explosion occurred.
BOOM!
Their food warehouse burst into flames.
Adder rushed outside with the maid.
"Again?!"
The maid stared at the fire with a pale face.
"This shaman seems determined to exterminate us."
"Who?!"
Adder's eyes filled with tears.
"We've lived in this marsh for more than a thousand years! Humans never wanted this enormous useless swamp! We don't have enemies from other races either!"
She clasped her hands.
"Naga, please save us."
Unfortunately for her, the culprit was not a shaman.
* * *
Raul, Chief of Security Affairs.
And, unofficially, Baron Raul Camargue.
He visited the lizardman settlement every day.
One bomb per day.
The candidates for chief.
The food warehouse.
The armory and workshop.
The chief's residence.
He had been steadily blowing things up.
And now he was standing in front of me with his head lowered.
"Raul."
"Yes, my lord."
"Do you have any idea how expensive those bombs are?"
"...Yes."
"Witch Winnie doesn't make those for free."
"I'm sorry."
Raul had a reason for doing this.
When I divided my territories into fiefs, I'd given him the Camargue region.
The problem was that Raul was still legally a slave.
That made it difficult to formally grant him a fief populated by humans.
So I'd used the excuse that Camargue was inhabited by lizardmen.
Raul apparently wanted the land to become a proper human territory as quickly as possible.
"How are the lizardmen reacting?"
"They've stopped leaving the settlement except to gather food."
"Good."
Driving the lizardmen away from the mouth of the Rhône was useful to me too.
They could potentially threaten cargo ships traveling along the river.
"How many are left?"
"Around four hundred warriors. Roughly seven thousand others."
"Too many."
They were physically strong.
Fortunately, there didn't appear to be any Chief or Great Chief-class monster among them.
"Think of another way."
Raul raised a finger.
"Bombs..."
"No bombs."
"...Then how about using all thirteen golems? If we kill them steadily for a few months..."
"That's even worse."
