Barbarian Quest

Chapter 205

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.

Urich led only a few other warriors and headed north. The only ones with him were Georg and about a dozen warriors.

"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.

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.