Barbarian Quest

Chapter 179

Duke Langster was a high noble. Even as a prisoner, a hefty ransom could be received for him. However, to the barbarians, ransoms held no value. Because they were dealing with the emperor, he couldn’t be used as a bargaining chip either.

‘More than anything, he knows too much.’

Urich thought about keeping Duke Langster alive as a prisoner, but he changed his mind. The letter he had written to the emperor contained the sincere heart of a capable and loyal man.

‘If I keep him alive and he somehow returns to the empire... he will certainly become a disaster for me.’

Urich did not yet want to reveal his whereabouts to the emperor. Duke Langster was the seed of a disaster.

The atmosphere was chilling. Inside the barracks, the air was still.

The cheers of the warriors and screams of the soldiers were coming from outside. The slaves were laughing and jumping around. Thrown torches set the tents on fire. Despite Urich's orders, some warriors who couldn’t hold their barbaric urges back gouged out the eyes of captured soldiers and skinned them.

Urich didn't think he could stop all of the warriors' violence in the first place. He was content as long as the slaves he had allied with were not harmed.

“Sigh.”

Urich sighed, twirling his axe in his hand. He sat in front of Duke Langster, placing the letter in his inner pocket.

"Were you trying to protect your homeland, Urich?"

"Cutting off the supply lines would cripple even the great empire's legion, wouldn't it?"

Urich's yellow eyes shone.

"That would be up to how we adapt to the situation."

Duke Langster did not give a clear answer. Urich tilted his head to the left, staring directly into Duke Langster's eyes.

"You're lying. I can feel you trembling."

"That’s because you're holding an axe to my neck, obviously."

"Nope, I know people like you. You're not the type to tremble for your life out of fear. You're a brave knight of civilization after all, aren’t you? Haha."

Urich's laughter spread dryly. As flames surged outside, Urich's shadow flickered.

"You’ve protected your homeland this time, so continue to do so. Cutting off Yailrud and strengthening the mountain defenses will make the west untouchable even by the imperial army."

"...Thanks for the advice."

Urich muttered, then raised his voice.

"But we are not going to cut off Yailrud. I plan to mangle it just enough to stop your supply lines."

"You can’t do that, Urich! Go back to your lands!"

Duke Langster pleaded desperately. Urich shook his head.

"The ones who started the invasion were you, the civilization. We're going to cross Yailrud and advance east."

"You’re a man with a good head on his shoulders. Do you really think you can face the empire with some barbarian tribes?"

"We're not a tribe. We’re an alliance. Over ten thousand warriors are waiting eagerly and patiently for your blood."

The number ten thousand made Duke Langster open his mouth wide in shock.

"Ten thousand...?"

It was crucial information that the empire and the legion were not aware of. The barbarians of the west had already formed a group as large as an average kingdom. The legion, thinking at most of encountering a thousand warriors, were about to face an army of ten thousand.

"I’ve dragged our talk too long."

Urich said as if everything was finished. He raised his axe high.

Duke Langster bowed his head tremblingly. He wanted to live a little longer, just so he could warn someone, anyone, about Urich and the western barbarians.

Duke Langster's life flashed before his eyes. Born as the eldest son of the prestigious Langster family, he received excellent education, achieved great feats on the battlefield in his youth, and completed his tenure as the viceroy of the north excellently. Even as a man of civilization, he was never malicious against the barbarians. Although he was a conqueror and an invader, he was a rare good man from the position of the strong who always spared thought for the weak.

Had the situation at the outpost been better, he would have freed the slaves along with the conscripts. There was just no other choice. With an excuse called ‘having no other choice,’ people committed numerous mistakes and wrongs. Even when they knew what the right choice was, they still chose the practical evil with their eyes tightly closed.

"Please, have mercy," Duke Langster, sweating profusely, prayed with his head bowed and hands clasped.

"For whom?" Urich asked briefly.

"For you, and everyone."

"Hmm."

Urich tilted his head, then swung his axe. Duke Langster's head rolled on the ground.

Step.

Urich picked up Duke Langster's severed head and went outside.

"I have slain the head of the enemy leader!"

As Urich exclaimed, the warriors rampaging through the outpost raised their weapons and shouted along.

"Wooooooaaaah!"

"Uuuuuuurich!"

The warriors, drunk on blood, forgot all about their fatigue and ran a rampage. The slave soldiers gathered in one place, watching the frenzied massacre with terror-stricken faces.

‘T-they truly are barbarians.’

Georg gathered the surviving slaves in one place and waited for the barbarians to calm down. Approaching them rashly might direct their merciless blades toward the slaves.

"A-aaah!"

Even the imperial soldiers who had surrendered couldn't escape the warriors' blades. As if they were trying to compensate for the hardships they had to endure in the mountains, the warriors brutally killed the imperial soldiers.

"Enough, spare some of them. We need these bastards to repair this place for us."

Urich moved among the warriors, stopping those who tried to kill any more soldiers.

"Understood."

The warriors heeded Urich's words, gathering the remaining soldiers in one place and binding them. Only about fifty imperial soldiers survived. They trembled and lowered their heads.

"Georg?"

Georg emerged from among the slaves. Smirking, he looked at one of the imperial soldiers.

"Hello, Sir Adjutant."

Trickle, trickle.

Georg unzipped his trousers and unleashed a shower of urine onto the bound lieutenant, returning the favor from earlier.

"Pfft!"

The adjutant shook his head in a feeble attempt to avoid the urine.

Georg shook off his legs and pulled his trousers back up.

"How could you ally with the barbarians, shame on you!"

The adjutant screamed. How the slaves had allied with the barbarians was beyond him.

"At least that barbarian seemed likely to keep his promises."

Georg pointed at Urich.

"You damn bastards!"

"Taste my piss too!"

"Open your mouth like a whore!"

After seeing what Georg did to the adjutant, the other slaves surrounded the bound imperial soldiers and drenched them in urine. The imperial soldiers trembled as they were soaked in the slaves' urine.

"Haha, what a sight!"

The warriors, while gathering the bodies in one place, looked at the urine-soaked imperial soldiers. The laughter of the warriors was low and thick.

"What should we do with the bodies?" The warriors asked Urich.

"Gather them and burn them. There should be oil somewhere."

Urich looked at the accumulating bodies and walked toward the prisoners.

Twitch.

The imperial soldiers realized Urich was the leader of the barbarians. Everything had been revolving around Urich since earlier.

"Is there any military cleric or someone who knows prayers among you?"

Urich asked the soldiers as he looked at them. His fluent Hamelian caused a stir among them.

The prisoners looked at each other, but no one stepped forward. Urich scratched his head, pointing at the pile of bodies.

"We should at least do a makeshift funeral for your comrades. Do you think they would rest peacefully if we just burned them like this?"

Urich respected even the souls of his enemies. He did not curse the dead.

A soldier who grew up as an orphan in a monastery raised his hand. He cautiously approached amid the wary eyes of the barbarians.

"What are you doing, Urich?"

"Why did you bring that guy out?"

The warriors jeered at the soldier, shouting and yelling. Even as he trembled, the soldier bravely walked up to the pile of his comrades' bodies.

Splash.

Urich poured oil and lit the pile of corpses on fire. Normally, each body should be cremated separately, but there was neither the reason nor the resources to afford such care.

"This is how they do their funeral."

As Urich spoke, the warriors laughed.

"Burning the dead? What a foul custom."

There wasn’t a hint of respect or solemnity in the warriors' attitude.

Only Urich watched the burning flames, quietly wishing the souls would find their way.

The soldier recited a funeral prayer, and a few soldiers followed suit. Even the slaves, who had been mistreated by the soldiers, did not disturb the funeral and sometimes even observed a moment of silence as they watched the smoke.

‘That man is different from the other barbarians.’

Not just Georg, but even the prisoners thought as they watched Urich. Urich understood and respected the culture and mindset of the civilized people, which alone made him feel incredibly familiar.

"Urich, you promised us freedom."

Georg approached Urich.

"No one will hold you here. You've earned your freedom with your blood."

Having received Urich's affirmation, Georg returned to the slaves and said something. The slaves who were promised freedom erupted in cheers.

"But what do we do now?"

Now that freedom was actually granted, the slaves didn't know where to go. At best, they were going to resort to being a bunch of bandits or thieves.

"Let's join hands with the barbarians. There's plenty of food here. Staying here for a while might be a decent option..."

As Georg suggested, the slaves shook their heads.

"The imperial army will come to exterminate them. We have to get away from them before that. And also, who knows when the barbarians might turn against us?"

"Those who want to leave, leave. I’m going to stay here."

Georg declared. Other slaves couldn't understand his decision.

"You’re going to stay with a bunch of barbarians? Are you out of your mind?"

"What else are we supposed to do if we go out on our own? Become a bunch of bandits? Do we even have a way to survive in this group that has more than several hundred of us? We found our freedom by turning against the imperial army. We might very well find ourselves beheaded."

"That's true. Shit. Even with freedom, things are just as shitty for us."

Georg's words stirred the slaves. Leaving the outpost right now didn't present any clear solution.

"Let me talk to that barbarian leader."

The newly freed slaves nodded, entrusting Georg with the negotiation. Georg was, after all, the representative of the slaves and the smartest among them.

"Why are you still here? You got your freedom."

Urich, seeing Georg approaching again, smiled.

"We have nowhere to go. Most of us have no ties anywhere."

"So what?"

"Where will this army go next?"

"Hmm."

Urich smiled, trailing off. He looked in the direction of Yailrud.

"If you are going to continue to attack the civilized world, I will help. As long as you promise a fair share of the spoils, of course."

Without responding, Urich walked toward Yailrud with a few warriors. Georg also followed Urich to the entrance of Yailrud.

‘This is a magnificent structure. We wouldn’t even be able to think of a bridge like this in the tribal world.’

Urich stood before Yailrud. The lengthy Yailrud stretched out with its end invisible. It was the only passage connecting the civilized world to the west. As Urich and his warriors had done, there were detours that could be taken, but at the end of the day, anyone wanting to cross the mountains had to go through Yailrud.

Step.

Urich walked on Yailrud. Completely destroying it would sever the pathway between the west and civilization. It would be extremely challenging even for the empire to undertake another grand project like Yailrud. Even now, the empire was overextending its investments for its western expansion.

‘Samikan said to only destroy it enough to make resupplying impossible.’

Destroying the supply route wasn't difficult. Just hammering the path enough and severing sections of the bridge was going to do the job. That alone would make it impossible for the imperial legion to repair Yailrud in time.

"Urich?"

The other warriors waited for Urich's command.

Urich closed his eyes, pondering. He envisioned Samikan and his ten thousand warriors crossing Yailrud. They would ravage the civilized world. Plundering, destroying...

‘My beloved civilized world.’

Urich's eyes gazed down the gorge. The waterfall and rapids churned as if they were trying to pull people in.

Urich always held admiration for the civilized world. He was moved countless times by civilization. Even Yailrud, which was built to invade his world, stirred his heart. The grand civilization built by human hands always pounded at Urich's heart.

Wooosh.

The wind blew. Urich's blood-streaked hair fluttered.

Urich bent forward and looked back and forth between west and east. Samikan wished to conquer the west and then reach out to the civilized world. That was Samikan's will.

‘Is my will the same as Samikan's?’

Urich thought. Like his ambivalence toward Samikan, his feelings toward the civilized world were contradictory. He loved the civilized world, yet always felt the impulse to grasp it in his hands. The burning earth that always appeared in his dreams might have been pointing not to the west but to civilization.

The impulse he had tried so hard to keep hidden until now—the nature to slaughter and destroy.

‘I, too, wish to lead my brothers and warriors to that world, no matter whatever awaits us at the end...’

Even if what awaited him was relentless slaughter and endless days, Urich longed for it. Desires were sometimes brutally selfish, just as Samikan and Yanchinus trampled on numerous lives for their ambitions... No one had the right to trample on others to pursue their desires, but humans have lived that way for as long as they have been around. The only difference was the scale of their actions.

"You said your name was Georg, right?" Urich looked back and asked.

"It's Georg Artur."

"If we were to attack the civilized world, where would be a good start?"

After a moment of thought, Georg said,

"... The Langkegart Kingdom. It's also my motherland."

"Why Langkegart?"

"Not only is it the closest, but it has been heavily levied by the empire for resources and manpower recently. If such a country were to be pillaged without the empire's protection, other vassal states would lose their faith in the empire. The more ruthless the plundering, the better the effect will be."

Urich smiled lightly.

"You pass. You're welcome to join us. We'll treat you as free mercenaries. The spoils will be shared equally according to your contributions."

Urich had the warriors dismantle most of the ladders leading up from Yailrud across the gorge and cut off sections of the bridge.

Yailrud was damaged enough in the middle to make crossing difficult. Urich sent the warriors up the gorge through the intact early sections of Yailrud to keep watch.

"I’ve done my part, Samikan."

Urich quietly sat in the chair where Duke Langster had sat. He rested his elbows on the armrest and propped his chin.

The force Urich had under his command nearly reached a thousand, combining the four hundred slave soldiers who became free mercenaries and his remaining five hundred warriors. This was enough to control the outpost and cut off the Western Legion’s scouts.

The warriors shouted Urich's name in praise. Urich's heroic act of opening the gates of the outpost and signaling the attack made them forget his previous defeat. Once again, Urich's fame shone.

The warriors remaining in the outpost claimed that Urich, the Son of the Earth, must have received the blessing of all spirits.