Chapter 205 |
The warriors who were with Urich were moving west to join Samikan at the Arten outpost.
The alliance had achieved an unexpected success in the imperial pursuit, which gave them time to regroup at the Arten outpost. The imperial army, who had suffered near-defeat losses, also needed to regroup and reorganize.
The people of the civilization were trembling. Barbarians who had survived the fight with the imperial army were roaming the civilized world. They plundered everywhere they went and killed anyone they could see, adults and children alike.
The horror of the western barbarians spread like a plague through the words of the survivors and soldiers who had faced the barbarians and lived.
"Not even the imperial army could handle them."
"I heard General Carnius lost."
"Who’s Carnius?"
"That high-ranking general. Even a great general couldn’t stop them."
The reputation of the imperial army had hit rock bottom. The scattered barbarians raided farms and villages as they gathered at the Arten outpost.
"Are you really not going to go to the Arten outpost?"
Georg asked with a fully dissatisfied expression.
"I already said no, how many times are you going to ask me the same question?"
Urich drank water from his water skin on his horse.
"Well, I think it would be better to join up with Samikan as soon as possible…"
Georg couldn’t understand why Urich was heading north so abruptly. While the warriors blindly trusted Urich, Georg needed a rational explanation.
"There’s a limit to the forces we can muster from the west. Even if we call them up again, we’ll barely scrape together just over ten thousand. We need external forces, whether that’s mercenaries, or something else."
"So, you think there’s a solution in the north?"
"Well, there are the northerners who hate the empire in the north. We might be able to use some of them."
"You’re going to the north with such a casual plan? My goodness, you might as well ask that imaginary royal friend of yours for some troops."
Georg was appalled.
‘Damn, maybe I should have just left. What riches and glory am I trying to get by sticking with this barbarian…’
Many mercenaries had already left with the loot they had plundered. The imperial army had suffered greatly, but in the long run, the alliance was still at a disadvantage. Urich did not try to stop the departing mercenaries.
"Just think of it as traveling. You’re a former slave, so you wouldn’t have had this freedom before, am I wrong?"
Urich patted Georg’s shoulder. Then he joked and laughed with the other warriors.
‘The warriors of Valdima…’
The warriors who had fought alongside Urich in Valdima bore scars of burns, large and small. They took pride in having won a disadvantageous battle with Urich. They took their burn marks as a badge of honor and shared a sense of belonging.
Urich and the warriors looked like mere wandering mercenaries. They wore the clothes of the people of civilization, but since they couldn’t hide their language, they avoided villages.
"Urich, our food supplies are running low. How about them?"
A warrior looked at a group of merchants approaching on the horizon. The merchants, traveling with three wagons, also had several livestock.
"They would be a piece of cake for us."
"Looks like we’re going to have a feast tonight."
The warriors licked their lips and reached for their weapons. Urich narrowed his eyes as he watched the merchants.
"There’s no need to fight them for it. We have enough money."
Urich raised his arm to stop the warriors. He and Georg approached the merchants.
The merchants were initially wary of the sudden appearance of Urich and his warriors but soon laughed and talked with him.
"For this much, you can take two sheep!"
A merchant dangled a glittering ornament between his fingers, reflecting it in the sun. After checking the craftsmanship and quality of the gem, the merchant chuckled broadly. It was quite a profitable deal.
"Oh yeah, give us some of your dried food as well, if you can."
"Haha, I'll give that to you for free! Never thought I’d make such a hearty deal on the road like this."
The deal between Urich and the merchant ended well. The merchant also pulled out three bottles of honey liquor as a gift.
"They’ll probably never know how close they came to death just now."
Georg stroked his chest. If the warriors had had their way, a bloodbath would have ensued for sure.
"Why not just kill them and take what they have? Why even bother trading?" A warrior who had suggested the attack asked.
Even if they had raided the traders, there would have been no losses for the warriors. Urich obtained through trade what could have been taken for free.
"There's no need to kill when you can easily obtain through trading. We wouldn't have been able to take everything those guys had anyway. The leftover goods would just be wasted."
The warriors tilted their heads in confusion.
"They're not our brothers. We don't need to care about all that."
"They may not be our people, but they are humans like us. This world is complicated. Strength isn't everything. If you just kill whenever you feel like it, you'll end up with only enemies around you. Maintaining good relationships with a lot of people can unexpectedly bring you good."
"… Well, it must be true if you say so."
The warriors were not fully convinced by Urich's words, but they did not object. Urich was a superior warrior and had extensive experience with the civilized world.
Urich had already earned the respect of the warriors in the past, but now his influence had grown to the point where it could override even the customs of warriors.
"Let's rest here for today."
Urich found a clearing as he was walking through the forest.
A campfire was lit, and a warm glow spread around. The warriors each prepared their food and cleared rocks and branches to make sleeping spots.
"Hah, this is nice."
Georg sipped a cup of honey liquor and exhaled a sweet breath.
'How did I end up traveling with these barbarian warriors...'
Georg couldn't quite understand his own decisions either.
'All this is extremely dangerous. The imperial army is going to gather its forces again to strike the alliance one more time. Although we’ve managed to survive until now... the strength of the imperial army is formidable. We won't be able to handle them next time.'
What was visible to them wasn’t all of the imperial army’s power. The empire was still subjugating the south and the north and had poured many troops into maintaining order in those places. Moreover, they always had border guards moving along the extensive border to prevent any uprising from their seven vassal kingdoms.
'If they were to really try, the empire's total mobilization force would be about a hundred thousand.'
Georg reminisced, slightly intoxicated. A grand army of a hundred thousand meant just the combat troops of the empire, and the actual mobilized personnel could rise to between a hundred fifty and two hundred thousand, as non-combat personnel would also increase with a larger force.
'But the empire can't issue such a mobilization order easily. Mobilizing such a massive force risks destabilizing the nation with the aftermath.'
Above all, the stability of the civilized world depended on the empire. The moment the empire weakened, elements of instability would overflow. Hardline independent nobles were always waiting for their opportunity in the seven vassal kingdoms which were only annexed fifty years ago, and barbarians who hadn’t given up their sovereignty were hidden away in the deep south and north.
As he was lost in thought, Georg raised his head at a noise nearby.
"Georg, do these guys ever pick on you?"
A tipsy Urich approached Georg.
"No, they actually treat me quite well."
Georg wasn’t just being polite. Georg had been with the warriors for quite some time now. They had fought together in more than just a few battles. The warriors respected those who fought alongside them.
'In their society, fulfilling one's role as a warrior is important. If you do your part as one, you can earn their respect.'
Georg had never used a weapon before he was conscripted as a slave soldier. Even after many battles, he still wasn't particularly great at it objectively speaking. But somehow, he was still alive.
The warriors who had finished their honey liquor lay down. Georg wrapped himself in his cloak and closed his eyes. Only the sound of the fire crackling was heard.
Everyone's consciousness quietly subsided.
'Georg, you ungrateful filthy slave. You were the one who killed Asilmate.'
Georg often had nightmares. His former master despised him and pointed his cane at him.
'No, I loved Asilmate, and Asilmate loved me.'
But no matter what he told himself, the truth was that he had betrayed the master who raised him, and he had lost the woman he loved.
"Uuuuugh."
Georg groaned. He woke up from the nightmare and faced the morning.
'How long do I have to start my mornings like this?'
Georg blinked as he felt the morning dew. His eyes were moist.
* * *
Samikan swallowed his words.
'Luck was not on our side.'
But such words were never going to convince the warriors.
The protection and blessings of a transcendent being were privileges bestowed upon the Great Chief. To utter that luck was not on their side would mean he had lost his right to lead as one.
The alliance army, defeated by the imperial army, split into three groups to retreat. Fortunately for Samikan, the main imperial pursuit force had followed Urich.
Samikan headed south, planning to cross the river at the Langkegart border and destroy the bridge to ditch the imperial pursuit.
Kwaaaaah!
The river was overflowing. It was Samikan's miscalculation.
'The river has flooded.'
The rain had not stopped, and by the time Samikan arrived, the river had overflowed. Being a stranger in the land of civilization, Samikan did not know that the river often flooded during this season.
Samikan looked up at the sky, which continued to pour rain.
'Is the sky no longer watching over me?'
Ever since forming the alliance, Samikan had been on an unbroken winning streak. Every single thing he set out to do went smoothly as if his dreams and reality were intertwining. Everyone and everything seemed to be under his control.
'Something went wrong, and things are getting out of my hands.'
In this battle, Samikan felt like he was standing in front of a wall. It was unclear how to overcome it. The imperial army was strong, and the alliance forces were weak. Their enemy wasn’t just a band of half-farmers; a true civilization's army had presented itself.
'Not everyone here is a warrior like us. But those who are warriors have certainly been well-trained.'
Division of labor and specialization. These were the characteristics of the civilized world.
In the civilized world, a farmer could live their entire lifetime without ever wielding a weapon. This was thanks to the existence of soldiers who offered protection in exchange for a part of their harvest.
The time for plundering had ended. The guardians of civilization had drawn their weapons against the plunderers.
"We can still find a way to cross it. It will just take a bit longer."
Samikan managed to cross the river with great sacrifice. The imperial soldiers mocked the fleeing warriors by shooting arrows from across the river.
The defeated Samikan retraced his steps along the path he had previously plundered and returned to the Arten outpost.
The imperial army did not attack the Arten outpost easily because they did not know the full extent of the western forces. The returning allied forces at the Arten outpost could buy some time for the time being.
The fervor of war and plundering subsided, and a brief peace arrived.
"Samikan, when Urich returns, let's destroy Yailrud and head back to the west."
Belrua spoke, having woken up quite early in the morning. She sat naked in front of the fireplace. The warmth and light from the fireplace bathed her body.
Samikan, covered in fur, blinked as he woke up. He and Belrua were married, so it was natural for them to sleep together, though it took months after the marriage for that to start. Although it began with difficulty, the two had frequently mingled since under the guise of strategic marriage.
'Is it because we've been together physically a few times, or is it because we've gone through a lot of things together... I've grown fond of him.'
Belrua smirked at Samikan. She used to want to kill him herself, but now he seemed like just another man to her.
'I thought he was a merciless man, but he has his weak sides too.'
Even arranged marriages often grew closer over time. Affection can cling more frighteningly than love.
Samikan squinted at Belrua. No matter how hard he tried, or how nice he wanted to be, her body was not conventionally attractive as a female. Belrua was healthy but had a muscular, scarred body, not unlike a man's.
'Well, at least a healthy body should bear children well.'
If a male child was born between the two chiefs, he could be a candidate to lead the alliance in the future. Belrua was still young and was going to have plenty of chances to bear a son.
The fur blanket next to the lying Samikan stirred. The room wasn't just occupied by the two of them.
"Hmmm, you two are already up? Then I'll be on my way."
A woman rose naked and sauntered out of the room, swaying her butt. She had shared the bed with Samikan and Belrua the previous night to make theirs more entertaining.
Samikan and Belrua paid no attention to the departing woman and continued their conversation. Before they were a married couple, they were politically entangled chiefs. The lives of many warriors depended on their decisions.
"Belrua, were you not also quite intrigued by the civilized world? It’s not like you to suggest destroying Yailrud now."
Samikan clutched his chest in pain and sat up. He smoked a concoction of herbs prepared by a shaman. The smoke filled the room.
"That’s true, but... I think I might be pregnant. My belly’s only going to get bigger from here, and it’s going to be hard to fight with a growing belly, won't it?"
Belrua spoke as she stroked her belly. Although her monthly cycle had ceased a while ago, her belly barely protruded because of her muscular body.
Samikan's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. He even forgot his pain.
"Are you really pregnant?"
"I hope it's a boy. If it’s a girl and she takes after me, her life will be hard."
Belrua chuckled bitterly. She felt a life stirring within her.
As time passed, scattered allied warriors also returned to the Arten outpost. The large and small fragmented units, consisting of anywhere from hundreds to dozens of warriors, returned and gathered.
...And the warriors from Valdima who were led by Urich returned. Though they were all marred by burn scars, they did not return like defeated soldiers. Instead, they boasted of their exploits, having repelled the empire’s pursuit force.
Indomitable warriors who overcome adversity were always admired, regardless of the era. The men praised the great warrior Urich.
"But where is Urich?"
At that question, the warriors from Valdima pointed north.
