Barbarian Quest

Chapter 227

Samikan thought he was dying. He felt an impact thumping on his chest. He laughed, thinking he should really wear armor next time.

"Great Chief!"

The warriors rushed in. They grabbed Samikan and dragged him to the rear of the lines. As Samikan fell, he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.

'I wanted to be a great person.'

A person whose name does not fade over time. Someone who reigns over others and accomplishes deeds that everyone looks up to.

Samikan opened his eyes. It didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. He looked at his chest.

Buzz.

The place that the arrow was stuck in was the decorative part of his sun necklace. The arrow, entangled in the silver sun decoration, had only slightly penetrated his flesh. In fact, it was barely a graze.

"It's a miracle," a warrior who checked Samikan's wound said.

"The protection of the heavens has protected the Great Chief!"

The thunderous voices of the warriors were almost deafening. Samikan looked at the sun necklace where the arrow was stuck.

‘This thing really saved me...'

It was a stroke of heavenly luck. There was no other way to describe it. The sun decoration was bent and dented from the impact of the arrow.

'Sun God Lou.'

Samikan twisted his lips. He felt like there was a god protecting him. It seemed like an invisible presence was pushing him forward from behind.

"I guess this means there's still some time left for me," Samikan muttered as he stood up.

He picked up the sword he had dropped. The warriors were shocked to see Samikan rise even after being hit by an arrow.

Crack.

Samikan broke the arrow stuck in the sun decoration and threw it aside.

Swoosh.

Samikan raised his sword high. The warriors, who were already fearless to begin with, charged recklessly through iron and arrows as if they were rushing toward their own deaths. No warrior was going to shy away from the attack when even their Great Chief had been hit by an arrow while taking the front.

The imperial army's formation crumbled in front of the overwhelming morale. The warriors trampled on the shields of the imperial soldiers and threw themselves between blades and spears. Warriors stepping on their brothers' corpses cut down their enemies as they roared like beasts.

General Vagna's strategy had backfired. Not only did he fail to kill the leader of the barbarians, but he ended up boosting their morale. Vagna screamed, watching the collapsing formation without even knowing why.

"P-prepare the horses!"

General Vagna grabbed the reins and mounted his saddle. He issued a retreat order to his adjutants and knights. The conscripted soldiers on the front lines just died off without even realizing that their leaders were running away and leaving them behind.

"Shit! Dammit! Sons of bitches!" Vagna spat out curses that were not pointed at anyone specific.

'I'm finished.'

He had completely wasted troops without yielding significant gain. The western front, which had been barely managing a standoff, was going to be a chaotic battlefield dominated by the barbarians once again.

The empire was currently focused on the northern front. The organized northerners posed a great threat. If the western front collapsed amidst this, it would certainly be a headache, to say the least.

A knight who sought glory only to face ruin. Vagna had never imagined he would be in such a situation.

Thwip!

An arrow flew from the front. A horseman riding beside Vagna was hit by the arrow and fell off his horse.

"W-what was that?"

Vagna turned the horse's head and ordered his adjutants to advance. The adjutants, with anxious faces, drew their swords and moved forward.

Swoosh.

Warriors burst out from both sides of the narrow path.

Vagna initially thought the western plunderers had also positioned forces in the rear as well, but on closer inspection, their attire was different.

"Northerners?"

The way their beards were braided, their long hair tied around their neck to protect it, and the double-handed axes that were characteristic of the northerners. This was unmistakably the northern attire.

Before Vagna could even speak, the northerners attacked him and his adjutants. Their axes cleanly sliced through the necks of the horses. The knights who fell screeched as the incoming blades pierced their faces through the visors of their helmets.

Step, step.

Urich emerged among the northerners. He hurled his axe powerfully and knocked Vagna off his horse.

"Kagh!"

Vagna screamed as he fell. He sprained his ankle, but he still tried to get up and flee.

Crunch.

Urich stepped on Vagna's back and pressed his sword against his neck.

"Are you the commander?"

"T-That’s right! I am Vagna Borden!"

Urich kicked Vagna's head. Vagna promptly passed out as he showed the whites of his eyes.

"Urich?"

The alliance warriors who had chased after Vagna widened their eyes as they recognized Urich leading the unfamiliar northerners.

"Urich is back!"

The news made its way around the battlefield. Urich's return was announced.

Samikan also stood in the middle of the battlefield, covered in blood. Samikan squinted from afar as he watched Urich return.

* * *

The spirit of the alliance army was high. They had broken through the empire's blockade, and Urich, one of the pillars of the alliance, had returned. They collected the imperial soldiers' weapons and gathered and burned all the bodies at once.

The warriors held a feast celebrating their victory in the middle of the battlefield where the smell of burning corpses filled the air.

"Great Chief Samikan wouldn't die even if arrows hit him."

"Even death avoids the Great Chief!"

Tales from the battlefield were exchanged among the warriors, becoming their drinking snacks for the feast.

Meanwhile, the wounded warriors were dying. Shamans prescribed medicine to alleviate the pain of those close to death and prayed for a peaceful afterlife for them.

"So those people are the people of the north?"

"They look fierce."

The northern warriors brought by Urich dined among themselves, occasionally glancing at the plunderers from the west and commenting.

"These plunderers are smaller than I expected. I thought they would all be as big as Urich."

"Can they even fight properly?"

"They may not understand our language, but I think it would be wise not to underestimate them. They're an army equipped with experience from fighting the empire numerous times," Sun Warrior Harvald said.

Harvald had moved with Urich to be in charge of overseeing the northern warriors.

Urich reunited with the chiefs of the alliance. Many had been waiting for him.

"Those men are our allies. Currently, the empire is deploying a large part of their troops in the north. The north and the west may not fight together, but we’re both practically benefiting each other."

"I see, so that's why there were no reinforcements from the empire."

"Having two fronts must make things difficult for them."

Urich had left the alliance by his own accords to form an alliance with the north. Even for the most influential figure after the Great Chief, it was technically an overreach of his authority. But not a single person blamed Urich.

Samikan knew that pointing out Urich's overreach would only diminish his own prestige. Instead, he filled Urich's cup and smiled.

"Let’s raise our glasses for Urich, my brother and the Son of the Earth!"

Samikan raised his glass high. Other chiefs shouted and clinked glasses.

"Are these northerners trustworthy?" Samikan asked.

"Their resentment against the empire is rooted very deep within their people. In the north, there are countless people who would jump up from sleep at the chance to slit an imperial's throat."

Urich proudly recounted the events that had occurred in the north. Sitting by the campfire with alcohol, stories flowed easily.

"Samikan, I heard you were hit by an arrow in the battle today?"

Urich suddenly stopped his storytelling and changed the subject.

"Right. I survived thanks to this thing."

Samikan pulled out his sun necklace. The decoration, dented by the arrow, had its own unique charm. Now, it almost looked like an important relic with its deep meaning.

"That’s the symbol of the Sun God. Did the god of civilization protect you?"

Urich's eyes widened. It was too strange for it to be brushed off as a mere coincidence.

'Why would Lou protect Samikan?'

Urich and Samikan were invaders who were destroying the civilized world. It was puzzling that Samikan would be protected by the Sun God.

"Perhaps their god is angry and helping us instead."

As Samikan said this, the warriors opened their mouths in laughter, exposing the food they had been chewing.

"Then we are those bastards’ divine punishment!"

Meanwhile, captured imperial soldiers were tied up. Georg and the civilized mercenaries were trying to persuade the defeated soldiers to join the alliance. The alliance had a significant number of mercenaries from defeated troops who stayed because of the fair distribution of spoils by the alliance.

Georg, known for his eloquence, urged them to join. His face was splattered with blood-mixed saliva.

"Spit! Just kill me instead! You filthy barbarians and traitors!"

A captured imperial soldier shouted. Despite his courageous exclamation, his head was swiftly chopped off and rolled to the ground.

Georg wiped the spit from his face and continued nonchalantly.

"These plunderers share the spoils equally. Fight with us three times, and you can go back to your homes with your loot. In fact, slaves and mercenaries who have fought with us have accumulated wealth and returned home! You there! What is your actual job?"

Georg pointed at a disheveled man. The man replied hesitantly.

"I am a carpenter."

"If you go back now, you'll only end up being drafted into your lord’s war, since this war is going to go on for a while. You'll have to fight with getting almost nothing in return. But if you stand with the plunderers, you can have gold and jewels."

Georg pulled out his gold necklace and shook it. Greed flashed in the eyes of the defeated soldiers.

"If you're going to end up fighting anyway, isn't it better to side with those whom you can earn gold and treasure from? I was a slave myself! Just like you, I was dragged into meaningless battles and had to shed blood! But now, I fight for myself, not for anyone else. I am a free man who can take what he fights for!"

Georg's speech made the soldiers who were slaves and ex-convicts nod in agreement. They seemed ready to join the alliance on the spot.

War had always belonged to the nobility. All of the honor and wealth were taken by the nobles while commoners gained nothing. At best, they received food and silver that was just barely enough to avoid starving in the winter.

"If you want to take as much as you bleed, stand up! That is true justice! Pick up your weapons and seize what is yours! Be the robber, not the one being robbed!"

Georg raised his voice until his throat stung. His public speaking skills had improved dramatically. He was already a good speaker, but on top of that, he had learned to modulate the strength and tone of his voice while taking on roles of persuasion and inducement. Being a former scribe slave himself, authenticity and sincerity were also there.

Georg's words dug into the hearts of those who had nothing.

"Can we really share the spoils equally? Can we really take the loot ourselves?"

"No one will take what is yours."

"Then I will join."

Getting things started was always the hardest part. Defeated soldiers gradually stood up, ready to join. Among them were also some current mercenaries that Georg had planted in advance among the captured soldiers.

"What a way with words! They turned into clay in your hands."

Harvald praised Georg as he watched. Such eloquent speech would be enough to get many nobles in the imperial capital to hire him.

"Ahem, ahem. I've been talking quite a lot recently, so I’ve become accustomed to it."

Georg drank some water and cleared his throat. Most of the defeated soldiers joined the alliance. Their number exceeded a thousand. Though they were low-quality soldiers with barely any discipline, they were a precious force for the frequently skirmishing alliance.

"His Imperial Majesty is watching all of you bastards!"

"Traitors!"

"Do you think the empire won’t find out about your betrayal!"

The professional soldiers with strong loyalty to the empire cursed as they watched the other soldiers join the alliance.

Georg looked at the soldiers who had not been persuaded. He signaled to the warriors with swords. Screams followed in sequence. Well-trained imperial soldiers posed a significant threat and could not be left alive.

With a grim expression, Harvald watched the soldiers dying for their honor and loyalty. It was an uncomfortable situation from the perspective of a Sun Warrior.

‘Traitors... is that so...’

He could not immediately see what was truly right or wrong. Harvald had also been swept up in the grand currents of the era, ending up here by chance.

Harvald quietly recited a funeral prayer in front of the dead soldiers. The other northern warriors and western plunderers enjoyed the banquet, but Harvald was not in the mood.

Murmur, murmur.

The atmosphere suddenly died down. Harvald looked up at the tribal chiefs of the alliance who were enjoying the feast just a second ago.

"...Is that true?"

Samikan broke the heavy silence. News had come from the Arten outpost when the heat of battle had not even cooled yet.

"Noah Arten has been found dead, Great Chief."

Samikan dropped his cup and bowed his head. He swept his hands over his face and opened his eyes that had been closed. A silent rage shook his heart, and the sun necklace jingled.