Barbarian Quest

Chapter 185

Horse-less knights, nobles on their feet. That was the situation of the legion.

The warhorses of the Western Legion fell one by one, rendering the formation of cavalry impossible. Most of the scouts couldn't even ride out on horses.

'To think that we can’t use horses in the plains, where our cavalry can shine the most.’

Odinist laughed hollowly. Despite having more to eat than the other soldiers, his cheeks were still sunken in.

“Hah, the first battle sure was nice. The sight of the empire's heavy cavalry piercing through the barbarians!”

Odinist muttered to himself and then snickered. The officers and nobles around him murmured after witnessing that moment.

“The legion commander doesn’t seem like he’s in too good of a shape.”

“Perhaps someone else should take charge...”

“Who do you have in mind?”

Everyone stayed silent. No one wanted to take on such a huge responsibility in such a dire situation.

The Western Legion was just wandering aimlessly on the plains. They were simply walking westward without any plan.

“Dammit! How much longer do we have to walk?”

“Goddammit, all this marching while only getting one meal a day? How does that even make sense?”

“It doesn’t!”

Discontent grew among the lower-ranking soldiers. Their eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. Extreme fatigue and hunger had swallowed even their pride and loyalty.

“It’s not like we have anywhere else to run to. This land is a hellish place with nothing in it. There's no value in conquering it!”

The morale that began to fall was plummeting without end.

“Yes, there's nowhere to return. Even Yailrud has been blocked.”

The imperial army hadn't managed to resupply locally even once. Everywhere they went, they only found deserted villages and the game was too scarce compared to the number of troops. Moreover, they were men from the civilized world who didn't know how to survive in the west in the first place.

“Oh, Lou.”

Even calling the name of their god didn't make food fall from the sky.

“E-eeek!”

The soldiers at the front screamed.

“The dwarf demons are here!”

There were those in the legion who hadn't seen the mountain goat warriors themselves, but there was no one who didn't know of them. The small barbarians riding on the back of mountain goats.

Ti-ing!

The mountain goat warriors shot arrows from a distance and then ran away. The soldiers quickly raised their shields in response, and there was almost no damage, but the legion had no cavalry to chase after the mountain goat warriors.

'Even the remaining horses are exhausted.'

Even the soldiers considered the precious warhorses as emergency rations. The legion was struggling with surviving to the point of not being able to focus on preserving its combat power.

“Commander Odinist! We need your orders!”

A noble shouted commandingly at Odinist, who almost seemed like he was daydreaming.

“A-ah, into your battle positions!”

Odinist shouted reflexively.

'The enemy didn't just come for a stroll. They must have sent them as scouts to assess our situation and decide whether to attack or not.'

Odinist forced himself to think.

The empire's heavy infantry, despite being tired, prepared for battle by donning their armor. They were indeed professional soldiers who took the war as their jobs.

The soldiers under the nobles, except for a few private soldiers, were conscripts and thus of poor quality. Their movements were sluggish due to their low morale, and their lack of vigor was evident to the commanders.

Buuuuuuuuup!

A horn sounded from afar.

At this moment, the Western Legion didn’t even have the confidence that they would beat the barbarians. They were just struggling to survive, like the weak hoping for nothing but to live.

In contrast to the Western Legion, whose morale was at rock bottom, the alliance's spirits were higher than during the first engagement.

“Samikan! Samikan!”

Samikan emerged from among the chiefs. He was clutching the wound on his chest. Every breath felt like someone was stabbing his lungs. It didn't seem like a fatal wound, but it wasn't one that was going to heal easily either.

'This will be a burden I’ll have to carry for the rest of my life.'

Samikan raised his head. He climbed onto the platform and looked at the over ten thousand warriors.

“The Great Chief of the heavens!”

“Samikan is with us!”

The warriors looked up to Samikan and praised him.

Samikan closed his eyes and spread his arms. The stabbing pain in his chest disappeared as if something had washed it away. Ecstasy and ambition took over his body.

‘I will attain immortal glory and become a legend.’

Even with his eyes closed, he saw a bright light. It felt like the voices praising him overlapped on top of one another and were pointing toward a distant future.

The excruciating pain that entangled his body disappeared as if washed away. He felt light as if he was running with the wind of the plains at his back.

“This land is ours.”

Samikan shouted out loud, forgetting the pain in his chest.

“Brothers, join me.”

Samikan always led the charge in every major battle. In the tribal alliance that was fundamentally a warrior society, those who did not lead in battle did not receive respect.

“Samikan, with a body not yet healed from injury...” Noah Arten whispered beside Samikan.

“It’s not a wound that would heal with time, anyway. I cannot miss this opportunity. Today, I will obtain immortality.”

Samikan’s decision was firm.

Samikan moved through the warriors and stood at the forefront.

“Oh, ohhhhhhh!”

As Samikan passed, the warriors clanked their weapons and shouted. Their heightened emotions heated the air. The pungent smell of men tangled together, numbing the remaining ounce of fear.

“The barbarians are coming!”

“Maintain our formation. No matter how many they are, they are just barbarians at the end of the day. Are we not the invincible legion?”

Odinst, although struggling, shouted. Despite his words, he was also lacking confidence himself.

The fervor felt from the barbarian army and the Western Legion was different. Even Odinst could feel it. The difference between an army confident in victory and one with plummeting morale was stark.

The alliance forces outnumbered the Western Legion by about two to one. While numerically superior, if the Western Legion had been in normal condition, the alliance would have stood no chance in a frontal engagement.

“U-ughhhh.”

The imperial soldiers formed a shield wall, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Through the gaps in their shields, they saw the barbarians, filling the land and charging at them. They wanted to throw away their weapons and flee right then.

“Hold your ground! They are coming!”

Officers among the soldiers screamed, squeezing out their voices.

Two armies faced off across the wide plains and clashed head-on. It was a battle of strength with no tactics.

Booooom!

The legion and the barbarian warriors collided. Screams and roars intertwined as if they were one.

“Woaaaah!”

The barbarian warriors thrust their spears between the soldiers' shields.

“Do not let go of your shields! Do not let go!”

Imperial soldiers yelled desperately. If a shield was penetrated, the soldiers next to it would die too.

Not all barbarians charged mindlessly. A group of unified steps thudded across the plains.

Step, step, step.

Among the barbarians, there were units with uniform training. These barbarian warriors, who had even undergone formation training, moved to the flanks in lines. They pounded the Western Legion's flanks like heavy hammers.

‘These barbarians aren’t all the same! Their training status and armaments vary.'

Odinst's eyes widened. A barbarian unit was using a formation, jabbing at the legion's left flank as if they were the imperial army.

The imperial heavy infantry that was densely packed in the center couldn’t easily move to the sides. Just handling the frontal assault of the barbarians took all their strength.

"We need support! Legion commander!"

The nobles shouted. The flank was guarded by light infantry, who were good in mobility but weak in armament, and mostly consisted of conscripts from the nobility.

"It seems like the barbarians coming to our left flank are their elite forces. If we can break their momentum, we might have a chance."

Doleman advised Odinst. Odinst raised his hand to give permission.

"Let's show these ignorant barbarians the power of the empire!"

As Doleman shouted, the knights raised their weapons in response.

Though the strength of the knights without their warhorses was greatly diminished, they were still much stronger than ordinary heavy infantry as they had trained in martial arts their whole lives. Among them, the steel knights clad in full plate armor were a formidable force even as foot knights.

Clank, clank.

About four hundred foot knights, who were once heavy cavalrymen, advanced to the battlefield. Among them, a hundred were clad in full plate armor.

"The metal armors..."

Samikan squinted as he commanded the formation unit. They might not be on horses like before, but the intimidation of the full plate armor was still immense.

Even the bravest warriors flinched at the sight of the approaching knights. The exchange rate was too poor against the knights. Their modest weapons were hardly effective against them.

'Urich, what would you do in this situation?'

Samikan twisted his lips. Urich was an excellent warrior. His mere presence was capable of boosting the morale of the fellow warriors.

"Huff, huff."

Samikan breathed heavily. Against the ruthless steel armor, all strategy and tactics were rendered useless. They had no choice but to confront them with strength.

"Great Chief! It's dangerous!"

A warrior stepped forward to warn Samikan who was advancing to the front of the formation.

Samikan stood in front of the formation and laughed, forgetting the pain in his chest.

Wooosh.

Suddenly, his head spun. His ears were stuffed. Samikan looked up at the sky, then turned his eyes to the ground.

Samikan's eyes were vacant. The fear of death disappeared. His mind was at peace. It felt like he wouldn't die even if he threw himself among those knights.

"Oh heavens, oh, our mountains. If you have chosen me, Samikan, as a great one, then show me your proof today."

Samikan had lived his life mocking the heaven's omens. He even coerced the shamans to manipulate the omens for his advantage. In a tribal society, it was a deed worthy of the most severe punishment.

Yet, Samikan still ascended to the position of the head of the alliance even as he proclaimed heaven's will falsely. Ironically, it could be interpreted as having heaven's permission.

Today, Samikan directly sought heaven's permission. He rushed directly toward the knights as if he were possessed by something.

"Follow the Great Chief Samikan!"

As Samikan charged ahead, the warriors followed without hesitation. Samikan's forces collided with the monster-like steel knights.

"Kaaghhh!"

Samikan let out a scream-like roar as he thrust his spear deeply. It was a reckless charge by Samikan, but a knight wearing chainmail fell to Samikan's spear.

"Protect the Great Chief!"

To protect Samikan, who had penetrated deep into the knights' ranks, warriors threw themselves forward, blocking knights attempting to attack Samikan and dying in his place.

"Oooooh!"

Samikan fought as if he were possessed. He seized a mace from a dead knight and swung it. The heavy mace struck the helmet of a knight.

Samikan was undoubtedly an excellent warrior. Without being one, one could not rise to the position of a chief. But today, he displayed something beyond his usual capabilities.

Whoosh.

His senses were sharp. Samikan even dodged stabs coming in from his blind spots. He struck the side of a knight fiercely with the mace.

"Aaaah!"

Blood splattered on Samikan's face from the knight's helmet. The blue battle paint mixed with blood looked grotesque. He looked like a ghost of a pale lake.

'If I am truly the one chosen by the heavens, I will not die today.'

Even the cynical Samikan wished for heaven's favor in the end. A great one was not made by human strength alone.

"Ohh, our Great Chief."

The warriors too saw the blessings that had descended upon Samikan.

Samikan was standing at the forefront as he fought the monstrous knights, yet he remained unscathed.

There were no calm observers on the battlefield. Their rationality was blurred by blood, and their heightened emotions clouded their vision.

They were not seeing how many warriors threw themselves to death to protect Samikan. Those who died in place of Samikan did not speak. The only thing that mattered was the fact that Samikan was standing unharmed at the very forefront of the battle.

The warriors attributed numerous meanings to Samikan. That was what sanctity was. Interpretations were infinite, and anything and everything seemed positive.