Barbarian Quest

Chapter 223

Bilker felt a hand tearing into his back. The heat from it seemed to shoot all the way up to his head. He couldn't tell if he was alive or dead, and as dreams and reality blurred together, his sense of self became obscured.

‘Mom.’

The one face he yearned for came to mind. His mother had always been kind but also strong in the way of northern women as a widow who raised her son alone.

‘Bilker, Lou promises reincarnation in the afterlife. Being a man doesn't mean you have to fight on the battlefield.’

Bilker’s mother was happy about Lou’s spreading across the north. The northern custom that men must go to battle was slowly fading.

Bilker had also thought he would die in bed, not in battle.

‘But here I am, dying from an arrow.’

He was hit by an arrow. Regardless of what anyone said, a battlefield was still a battlefield.

‘Ulgaro will come for me, Ulgaro will...’

He was afraid that Ulgaro would be the one to come and take his soul.

Two scenes flickered in Bilker's mind. One was a sky bathed in warm sunlight, and the other was a night tormented by a raging storm.

The roar of the downpour rang in his ears. In the darkness, a warrior in a winged helmet stood waiting for Bilker, pointing a sword at him.

‘No, I won't go there. I won't!’

But he couldn't make a sound. The words only circled in his head.

Hum, hum.

Ulgaro in a winged helmet. Standing behind him were warriors dripping flesh. The dead warriors were waiting for Bilker.

—Come, child of Mijorn.

—Come join your grandfather.

The warriors beckoned. The stench of decay seemed to reach Bilker's nose.

Bilker reached for the sun, but his body was endlessly heavy, too heavy for him to leave the Field.

‘Lou, please...’

Was it because of the curse of being Mijorn’s bloodline? Or was it because he couldn't escape his northern identity? Bilker's prayers did not reach Lou.

"Snap out of it, Bilker."

Urich's words brought Bilker back to reality.

"Ah, aah."

Bilker tried to scream but only managed to groan due to the pain. The spot where the arrow had hit throbbed.

"I had to widen the wound to get the tip of the arrow out."

Urich washed his hands in hot water. The stench of blood was everywhere.

Crackle, crackle.

The campfire blazed fiercely.

After their battle, Urich, Krika, and Bilker had camped by the lakeside. They were not able to get too far away.

No one was in good shape. Bilker was nearly dead from the arrow wound, Krika suffered from a high fever, and even Urich also had deep cuts.

"Huff, huff."

Bilker’s condition was the worst of the three. He had lost his psychological stability, and was never strong against physical injuries, either.

"Getting hit by arrows isn’t for everyone," Urich muttered.

Urich was finally tending to his own wounds. He applied a paste made of herbs to his injuries.

"He still seems pretty out of it," he said as he waved his hand in front of Bilker's eyes. Bilker's pupils did not follow his motions.

The three battered men took a short rest and wandered looking for a farm village nearby. They didn't find one but stumbled upon a hunter's cabin in the woods.

Creak.

"At least we can get out of the wind here."

Urich laid Bilker on a bed.

Krika, even while staggering, stoked the fireplace. He silently did his job despite being on the brink of collapsing from fever.

'I've thought of this before, but Krika has potential.'

He was a boy who would become something significant if he grew up. His actions were the epitome of a warrior society.

"Let's stay here today and find a village tomorrow."

Urich pulled his cloak tighter and sat in front of the fireplace. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a tooth that came loose after being cracked.

'The arrow that went through my cheek damaged my tooth too.'

Urich showed a bitter grin. Another wound was added to the collection.

‘Even the finest sword rusts and loses its edge over time... My body will also break down eventually.’

Not even the strongest warrior was immune to the flow of time.

‘What can I do before my body gets shattered?’

Urich quietly watched the campfire.

Krika hesitated to speak easily to Urich. A feeling of reverence welled up inside him.

‘He is the warrior of warriors.’

The ideal warrior Krika always imagined was right here. Urich possessed a body like steel and a spirit as steadfast as the mountains. No warrior who had seen Urich in battle could withhold respect.

"Krika, try to sleep soon," Urich spoke after feeling Krika’s gaze.

Krika hesitated for a second, then finally spoke, "Urich, what god do you believe in?"

"Not sure."

Urich paused. He felt an emptiness.

"You wield your sword without even knowing where you'll end up when you die?"

Krika let out a hollow laugh, then rubbed his throbbing head.

"Eh, I’m sure someone will take my soul if they want it," Urich said with a chuckle. He felt the gods frequently eyeing his soul with greed.

‘Am I really loved by the gods?’

It was an arrogant thought. However, Urich often felt transcendent gazes.

‘Even right now, if I turn my head and look into the darkness...’

Urich blinked. He looked out the window, then turned his gaze back to the fireplace.

Krika and Urich exchanged a few trivial words before shutting their eyes. Both were so tired that they fell asleep quickly.

Urich fell into a deep sleep for once. He was hardly able to wake up, even as groans sounded near him.

"Urich."

Krika woke Urich. His fever had significantly dropped overnight, so he was feeling much better.

"Ughhh."

Urich raised his creaking head. His whole body ached after a night's sleep.

"Bilker's condition is strange."

"Of course, it's strange. He was hit by an arrow yesterday."

Urich grumbled as he approached Bilker's bed. He checked Bilker's condition and grimaced.

"The wound has festered. His blood’s been contaminated," Urich said after examining Bilker's wound.

"Does that mean he’s going to die?"

"That's up to the gods."

"Bilker betrayed Ulgaro. A wound taken in battle won't heal easily. Now is the time he needs Ulgaro's protection, not Lou's," Krika said, trying to take Bilker's sun necklace.

Bilker, who had been groaning the whole time, opened his eyes and grabbed Krika's hand to stop him.

"Don't... Not that... Don't take Lou away from me."

"Bilker, Lou hasn't protected you."

"Ulgaro will take me. That cannot happen. I am not a warrior. I would only suffer on the Field of Swords."

Bilker trembled. His shivering was from fear and anxiety, not physical pain.

Urich quietly placed the sun necklace back around Bilker's neck.

"Going to the Field of Swords is an honor, Bilker," Krika said, but Bilker didn't respond.

Urich replied in Bilker’s place, "That would be true if he were a warrior."

Krika closed his mouth. There was nothing to say when a warrior superior to him spoke like that.

Bilker continued to shiver. He clutched the sun necklace he had received from Lagerik and didn't let go. Finally, he spoke to Urich.

"P-please, take me to a Sun Temple. I would like to see a priest."

Krika grimaced, and Urich just nodded.

Urich hefted Bilker onto a stretcher in the hunter's cabin. Urich's own wounds reopened, and blood seeped out.

Step, step.

Urich and Krika walked out of the forest. They expected a village or a farm nearby, given the dense forest and the hunter's cabin.

Thump! Thump!

From afar, the sound of chopping echoed. As Urich headed in the direction of the noise, they spotted some people.

Lumberjacks were cutting down trees along the edge of the forest. They gathered around and murmured upon noticing Urich and Krika.

"We're looking for a priest of Lou. We will pay any appropriate fee. Is there a temple nearby?"

The lumberjacks looked anxiously at Urich and Krika, worried about any trouble that might happen after letting some injured warriors into their village.

"Just keep moving, away from us. We don't want to get involved in anything messy."

"You see this kid behind me? He's been shot with an arrow and might die, so we’re looking for a priest before he dies. Don't northern men have even that much generosity and magnanimity? Did chopping wood instead of people turn all of you into cowards, or something? If enemies come, I'll fight them off for you! I am Urich, and I swear to you on my name."

Urich pointed to Bilker on the stretcher. His condition was visibly poor.

"There is a priest visiting the village for a mission. I heard he's just an apprentice, but a priest is a priest."

One of the lumberjacks led Urich's group to the village, which was modest and lacked even the most common proper facilities.

"Priest man! You have visitors!"

As soon as the lumberjack arrived at the village, he called out loudly.

The door of a shabby wooden house opened, and a priest dressed in a loose robe under a leather coat came out.

After hearing the whole story, the priest led Urich's group inside. It was a house with plenty of heat, so it quickly made them drowsy.

"Are you followers of Lou?"

"Just this one."

Urich set down Bilker.

The young priest, who had come to the north for missionary work, had a youthful face. Despite his young age, he had been traveling alone in the harsh north for his mission.

‘Surely he is a priest with deep faith.'

Urich liked priests. Being with them was comforting. Especially the priests of Solarism, who always responded gently and affirmatively to everything. Such was the teaching of Lou.

"I-I am afraid," Bilker said to the priest, like a confession.

"What frightens you, brother?"

“I am afraid that Lou may not take my soul.”

"And why do you think that?"

The priest asked back, and Bilker hesitated. Revealing that he was a descendant of Mijorn could put Urich and Krika in danger. Bilker remained silent, but Krika, frustrated, spoke from behind.

"This one is a descendant of that famous Mijorn the Brave of the North. He believes in Lou despite his bloodline."

The priest was startled and glanced back and forth between Urich and Krika, worried about keeping his head after hearing such crucial information.

"I will not speak of this to anyone else. I swear to Lou."

"Of course, you won’t. Don't forget that oath. Remember it like it's Lou's teaching."

Urich chimed in with a grin. The priest broke out in cold sweat, realizing that Urich was not joking.

"Ulgaro covets my soul. I am not a warrior. Ulgaro's side is not my place," Bilker opened up.

Krika was uncomfortable but did not interfere. Perhaps Bilker really was close to death. One shouldn't disturb another’s rest of the afterlife.

As Bilker and the priest talked, Krika and Urich waited in the next room.

"Urich, what will you do if Bilker dies?"

"That’s what I want to ask you. What are you going to do?”

Krika fell silent. The silence lingered.

After a while, Bilker and the priest's conversation ended. The priest approached Krika.

"What do you want, priest? I'm not a follower of Lou. I have no business with you."

"Bilker is asking for you."

"Me? Not Urich?"

The priest nodded.

Krika got up and sat next to the bed where Bilker was lying.

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