Barbarian Quest

Chapter 270

Chapter 270

Basha watched as the northern barbarians charged toward her. Howling frivolously yet ferociously, they pushed through the soldiers and knights.

‘Barbarians, barbarians,’ Basha thought. ‘They are unworthy of Lou’s grace and love.’

Claaaang!

Metals fiercely clashed as the knights tried to stop the northerners from getting any closer.

“Hooooh!”

Bilker leaped high into the air and over the knights, then used his agility to avoid being caught.

Upon finally spotting the flag bearer, he smiled with satisfaction.

‘There you are.’

He didn't know who the flagbearer was, but he knew that decapitating them would surely dampen the imperial army’s morale.

Thud!

With the flagbearer pinned to the floor, Bilker drew the axe strapped to his waist and held it high. He only needed one strike to split the knight’s head open.

However, he hesitated.

“A woman?”

No, the knight was no woman; she was just a young girl. Children her age had no business being on the battlefield.

Bilker was not above killing women. He simply did not expect to encounter such an incongruous individual.

Fear slowly crept up into Basha’s eyes like a foul stench. Unable to break free, she screamed as if she was having a seizure.

“Aaaaaah!”

Basha then forcibly sat up, accidentally slamming the top of her head against Bilker’s jaw.

Thunk!

‘Damn.’

Bilker tumbled down the wall. His spine tingled.

‘What is this girl doing here in full armor?’

Although there were women who knew how to fight and were as tough and strong as men, war was inherently a man's domain. It made no sense for a slender girl to be standing on the battlefield.

“Aaaaaah!”

Basha let out another ear-splitting scream—making Bilker frown—as she jumped down toward him from the wall. She aimed the bottom of the flagpole she was holding squarely at his face.

“Basha!”

Imperial knights and soldiers also jumped down, following Basha. Several soldiers landed awkwardly and twisted their ankles.

Crunch!

Bilker rolled to the side to dodge Basha’s attack.

“Bilker! Fall back! We're being overwhelmed! The wall has already been breached!” a northern warrior shouted as the rest of their troops surrounded Bilker.

Things were not looking great for the Northern Army. The fortress was gradually being breached.

“Those damned Caselmaroni bastards.”

The Caselmaroni troops had withdrawn, claiming they needed to defend their own territory.

‘The empire probably pulled a diplomatic trick on them.’

Acknowledging the unfavorable tide of the battle, Bilker led their remaining troops out through the back gate.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Considering this fortress offered them the most defensible position, it pained them to abandon it.

“We’ll have another opportunity soon, Bilker. The Imperial Army can't afford to focus solely on the north,” said one of the northern Sun Warriors guarding Bilker.

As the northern warriors retreated, the imperial army jeered at them from on top of the wall.

“Piss off, you idiots! Lou does not love you!”

The imperial soldiers bared their buttocks and shook them toward the northern warriors while shouting.

After recapturing the fortress, the Imperial Army immediately began repairing and reinforcing the fortress. Basha was constantly mentioned among the soldiers who were carrying the materials.

Despite having slept soundly, she felt weary and heavy and ached all over. With the adrenaline rush now gone, every step she took felt as if it would shatter her.

Basha awkwardly stepped outside. She then looked at the fortress that she had captured.

‘I took this fortress from the barbarians.’

A sense of accomplishment pounded in her chest, seemingly making the pain vanish.

‘I am special. I am under Lou’s protection and grace.’

Basha walked confidently. The soldiers, who were holding torches, knelt and prayed as soon as they saw her.

Creak.

A serene echo spread as she entered one of the halls of the fortress.

Perhaps it was because it was a prayer room, but it seemed to have been left untouched.

Looking at the center of the hall, Basha tilted her head. “Why are there sun relics here?”

Despite having been previously owned by barbarians, the hall was decorated like a Sun Temple. It even had signs of prayers everywhere.

‘I thought the barbarians worshipped the god of war?’

Even an ignorant person like Basha had heard that the barbarian god was evil and violent. He moved under the cover of night and darkness and embraced storms and thunder as his symbols.

Basha’s pupils shook. Frozen, she clutched her throbbing forehead.

“Basha, Basha,” someone whispered from behind a pillar.

She turned toward the call, finding the military chaplain who had been following the imperial army.

“Brother?”

Basha bowed her head politely in greeting. The chaplain glanced around before approaching her.

“I heard you fought bearing Lou’s revelation,” he said.

“Lou has tasked me to save the empire from the barbarians,” she replied.

“Then you’re targeting the wrong people. The northerners believe in Lou. They even aim to build the kingdom of the Sun.”

Frowning, Basha glared at the chaplain. Sadness was evident in her eyes.

Taking her silence as an opportunity, he continued, “Haven’t you heard the rumors? Even Bilker, a descendant of Mijorn and the self-proclaimed king of the north, is said to be the son of the sun god. The empire is waging a futile war driven by worldly desires.”

“... I refuse to believe such a blatant lie. The barbarians are likely just trying to deceive us while still worshiping their barbarian god,” Basha argued, her voice rising and her gaze growing colder. “If they believed in Him, Lou would not have commanded me to kill them. I have also gazed into their evil eyes myself. Lou does not dwell in them. That Bilker must harbor the barbarian god in his heart!”

“Come with me to His Holiness the Pope, then! If you have truly received Lou’s revelation, His Holiness will recognize it.”

The chaplain grabbed Basha’s wrist. She recoiled in fear and pushed him away.

“I-I heard the voice of Lou. He saved me and bestowed grace upon me! All barbarians must die!”

“The barbarians are tools Lou has sent to punish the corrupted. Although they are disguised as heretics, they will eventually return to Him just as the northerners have. After all, all humans are sons and daughters of Lou.”

“Are you saying... that we are no different from the barbarians?”

Basha trembled.

‘This priest has been corrupted.’

Her ears buzzed. She reached toward her waist and clumsily drew her sword.

“W-what are you doing?!”

As the chaplain stepped back in alarm, Basha ineptly cut into his chest deeply.

“Kaaagh!”

She then viciously drove the blade in deeper. Blood gushed onto the floor.

“Pay for your sin of invoking His name while tainted by heretical gods,” Basha murmured as she ended the chaplain’s life.

Still enraged, she repeatedly kicked and stomped the dead chaplain’s lower body.

Hearing the commotion, a knight on patrol entered the hall. He flinched as soon as he saw the dead chaplain and the blood-soaked Basha.

“Basha! What’s the meaning of this?!”

“This man tried to defile me, but Lou protected me. Let us pray to Him.”

Basha quietly knelt before the sun relic and began to pray with an incredibly serene expression.