Barbarian Quest

Chapter 177

"B-barbarian."

Georg whispered, not wanting to die. Urich nodded in satisfaction and placed the axe blade on Georg's shoulder.

"Yes, the barbarian you’ve all been waiting for is finally here."

Urich joked, holding Georg's nape loosely and baring his teeth.

"I-I am a slave. I-I’m not a soldier here."

"I can tell from your clothes. That's why I targeted you. You see, I see pretty well in the dark."

Urich and the Blue Mist warriors had descended the mountains and passed through Yailrud. They had silently eliminated a patrol unit they encountered along the way.

After crossing the mountains via Yailrud, the warriors were on standby in the distant forest, and Urich infiltrated the Arten outpost alone. He knew the layout of the outpost, but many parts had changed due to the expansion work that had been done. There was now even a moat under the wooden fence, making it difficult to enter without going through the fortress gate.

"Are you finally invading?"

"Why would I tell you that? Just lead me to the gate, and I'll spare your life."

Urich urged Georg. Strangely, Georg remained calm.

"Over there, there should be soldiers on patrol right now. This side is where the slave tents are located, guarded by two soldiers at the entrance."

Georg laid out the soldiers' locations in detail. Urich was the one surprised this time and stared at Georg.

"You’re helping me?"

"Well, I have my reasons. Anyway, that’s that, but you're fluent in Hamelian."

"I have my reasons too."

Urich scanned Georg from head to toe.

‘He’s skin and bones from not eating properly. And has lots of bruises.’

It was clear to Urich that Georg had been treated poorly.

"There are two hundred soldiers and five hundred slaves here," Georg said as he crouched behind a tent.

"Are you talking about the slave soldiers?"

"That’s five hundred slaves ready to revolt at any time given the signal. The imperial army did not keep their promise of freedom."

Georg said as he gritted his teeth. He wasn't interested in why or how Urich spoke the language of the empire.

‘It's important that a barbarian who we can communicate with is here.’

Even if the slaves helped the imperial army against the barbarians, there was nothing for them to gain. They would either die from the labor or, if a battle broke out, be used as human shields by the imperial army.

"If you're going to attack this place, I'll help."

"...Are you serious? You are aware that I’m a barbarian, aren’t you?"

"If I persuade them, most of the slaves will revolt. All I ask in return is that you promise us freedom. This war isn't ours. We were forcibly brought here to fight against our wills."

Urich believed Georg's words. He knew how slaves were treated in the civilized world. They were treated no better than livestock.

"Lead the way."

Urich followed Georg to the tents where the slaves were sleeping.

Crack.

Urich quickly snapped the necks of two soldiers guarding the entrance. Witnessing Urich's lethal skills, Georg was terrified. Human life was extinguished with such ease.

‘He’s an incredible barbarian. There’s a reason he infiltrated the outpost alone.’

Georg knew that the moment he betrayed Urich, he would meet the same fate. It took Urich no longer than taking in a single breath to kill a person.

"Get up but stay quiet."

There were three slave tents, each housing over a hundred slaves sleeping clumped together.

‘What a pitiful state.’

Urich also clicked his tongue as he looked at the lying slaves. Their conditions were no better than living corpses.

"W-what's happening?"

"Shh, be quiet."

Georg quietly woke the slaves, one by one, silencing them. They squirmed in the darkness, focusing on Georg's words.

"The barbarians are about to invade."

"W-what did you say?"

"Keep your voice down."

"W-we're all going to die, aren't we? W-we have to run away."

While the slaves were chattering, Urich stood behind Georg. Urich's shadow was significantly large. Just by his build alone, he didn't look like a starved slave.

"I'm Urich, the so-called barbarian you've been talking about."

The slaves' eyes widened at Urich's fluent Hamelian.

"...To me, it doesn't seem like you're being treated too well. I do not lie; if you help us take over this place, I will give you freedom. There are over five hundred warriors waiting outside. But if you decide to refuse my offer, you won't be able to leave here in one piece."

The slaves looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll help."

"There's no reason not to. We have no other choice."

The slaves did not discriminate between their fellow civilized people and barbarians. What mattered to them was who promised them freedom. The imperial army had already broken that promise once, so they decided to trust the barbarian's promise.

"Good, where's the armory?"

Urich asked Georg. Georg didn't know to that extent, but a slave who had been carrying supplies from the armory raised his hand.

Urich also raided other tents with Georg and met the rest of the slaves. Their resentment toward the imperial army was so high that they did not hesitate to cooperate with the barbarians. Many were ready to risk it all in a desperate move.

‘Things are going smoother than expected. With the cooperation of the slaves, taking over the outpost should be easy.’

Urich had started with a thousand warriors, but half of them had died or were injured crossing the mountains, leaving only about five hundred. Some were sidelined due to frostbite and injuries. Excluding those not fit for battle for various reasons, there were five hundred warriors capable of fighting, but even they were severely exhausted, not able to bring out their full combat power.

‘They have two hundred imperial soldiers inside the fort. Colliding with them head-on would be a difficult battle to win.’

Urich boldly infiltrated alone. Though his legs were trembling from exhaustion even when just standing, he was in better condition than the other warriors.

Urich and Georg moved stealthily between tents to secure the armory.

‘First, I’ll release the slaves and arm them from the armory. Then, I'll open the gate and send the signal.’

Urich's mind buzzed with plans. Patrolling soldiers were occasionally seen as it was nighttime, but the laxity was evident in this rear area that hadn't been invaded for a long time.

"Hey, who's there?"

Urich twitched. Urich and Georg, who were hiding behind a tent, held their breath.

‘Damn, even in their laxity, they're still imperial soldiers. I shouldn't have been distracted.’

Urich gripped his axe tightly, ready to push through in close combat if necessary.

Gulp.

Swallowing hard, he listened to the footsteps of the imperial soldiers.

‘There are four of them. I can't take them all down at once. At least one is going to manage to scream.’

Urich's eyes glared as he fondled the axe handle.

Tap.

Georg tapped Urich's forearm.

"Let me handle this."

Georg stood up and ran forward, only to trip and fall.

"What, Georg, it was you? What are you doing out here at this hour?"

A soldier relaxed his expression seeing Georg but didn't let go of his spear.

"I-I got lost."

"What? Are you joking? You got lost? How long have you been working here?"

Georg's absurd excuse enraged the soldiers. They were convinced there was more to Georg's story.

‘Shit, I thought this guy was smart, but he’s just an idiot!’

Urich inwardly cursed. Even he found the excuse ridiculous. It was only natural for the soldiers to press Georg further.

"This is the worst."

Sweat beaded on Urich's forehead. Killing the four soldiers wasn't the issue. Urich had survived several situations where things were even worse.

‘But if I fight them, other imperial soldiers will come swarming.’

Urich pondered how to survive while thinking about various options.

Meanwhile, Georg trembled and fell backward under the soldiers' threat.

"T-to tell you the truth, I was s-so hungry I was trying to steal something to eat. Dammit, I've only had watery, tasteless gruel for the past three days. I feel like I’m going to die."

Georg Artur pleaded, clutching his stomach desperately. The soldiers looked at him with disdain.

"Do you not know you could get your head chopped off for that? Slaves aren't allowed out at night. You're an idiot."

"But what am I supposed to do about being hungry?"

"Food distribution will get better soon enough. Here, eat this for now. Don’t tell the others about this."

A soldier tossed a piece of hardtack that was about half the size of a fist, to Georg. His face lit up as if he had received gold, and he repeatedly bowed his head in thanks.

"Thank you, sir. Truly, thank you! Lou will surely remember your kindness!"

"Enough, eat that quick, and go back to the tent."

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers passed by Georg, chattering among themselves.

Georg wolfed down the hardtack, nearly choking on it. Once the soldiers had moved away, he returned to where Urich was.

"That was impressive."

Urich was genuinely admiring how Georg handled the situation by improvising.

"The first lie might be doubted, but a second lie mixed with truth is not so easily questioned."

"You're a liar then. I shouldn’t trust you."

"I may be great at lying, but I’m not a liar."

Georg corrected Urich with a faint smile on his face. They approached the armory, evading the patrol.

"I haven't gotten your name yet."

Urich grabbed a weapon and said to Georg.

"It’s Georg Artur."

"Artur? Are you a noble?"

"Nope, it's a surname I made up."

"Hmm, you’re an eccentric. Well, who cares."

Urich surveyed the surroundings. He took advantage of the moment when other patrols were not looking and swiftly slit the throats of two guards stationed in front of the armory. It was an assassination as silent as a cat and as ruthless as a storm.

Splash!

Covered in blood, Urich dragged the bodies to a shadowed area.

Creeeaaak.

Georg opened the armory and entered. Inside were not only the gleaming standard-issue weapons of the imperial army but also various crudely made arms piled up.

"I'll call the others to arm themselves from the armory. The main gate is straight ahead from here. Urich, when we start the uprising, the forces at the main gate will swiftly be drawn here as well."

"... I’ll see you again if we’re both alive after the battle."

Georg watched Urich disappear back into the shadows.

‘What a remarkable barbarian, coming in here alone.’

It was no ordinary courage. The imperial army would never see it coming that there was a western barbarian so fluent in the imperial language.

‘I am going to be a free man. And then...’

Georg clenched his fist. There was something he needed to do.

* * *

The Blue Mist warriors were waiting in a forest away from the outpost. They desperately wanted to light a fire but resorted to sharing their body heat with each other instead to avoid being caught out by the enemies.

"We shouldn’t have sent Urich alone. This is too reckless, even for the Son of the Earth."

The available force of the Blue Mist warriors was around five hundred. Over a hundred had died, and most of the survivors were not in a condition to fight. Several needed amputations of legs and arms, and among them, there were many who were not going to survive much longer. Just as Urich predicted, not even half would return in one piece.

‘We didn’t even cross the mountain's peaks and we’re in this state. How in the world did Urich do it?’

Had the warriors attempted to cross the peaks, they wouldn’t have avoided annihilation. There was a reason the mountains had long been taboo.

"Truly, without the heavens' permission, one cannot directly cross the mountains."

The warriors murmured. Their crossing of the mountains was solely thanks to Yailrud. The great bridge built by human hands defied the heavens' will, allowing the passage of humans in and out of the mountains.

"Urich is the Son of the Earth. We shouldn't measure him with our standards. He’s just like Samikan."

The Blue Mist warriors spared no praise for Urich.

"Even so, to go in there all alone..."

"Urich told us he could do it. Trust him. Doubting Urich is the same as doubting our Great Chief Samikan."

"But Urich already lost in battle once before, and that was also in the mountains. The Son of the Earth doesn't always win."

That single defeat in the mountains became a blot on Urich's sacredness.

The Blue Mist warriors waited anxiously in the forest for Urich's signal.

"If he manages to open the gates of that fortress by himself..."

The warriors fell silent, gazing up at the dense stars.

Beeeeeeeeep!

Urich's whistling arrow whistled long and loud. The warriors grabbed their weapons and stood up, having eagerly awaited just this signal.

"...Let's go, brothers. Urich is waiting for us."

The warriors roared and cut through the forest.