Barbarian Quest

Urich widened his eyes and stared at the arrow flying toward him. He tilted his shield to block the arrow.

Thuck!

Arrows were embedded in the shield. The vibrations traveled through the shield and shook his arm.

"Follow the Great Chiiiieeef!" Katagi shouted.

He threw himself into the collapsed wall without hesitation, fearing that Urich might become isolated. The warriors followed, not paying any attention to the shower of arrows.

In battle, the morale of the army was just as important as their strategy and tactics. Sometimes, a commander charging at the forefront was the quickest way to boost the spirit.

Urich, having blocked the arrows, looked at the soldiers surrounding him. He could feel their determination.

‘They’re probably going to try to stop us in this narrow gap.’

In infantry battles, the alliance army held an overwhelming advantage. To stop the alliance, an equal number of heavy infantry was needed. But Marganu had no more than five hundred.

Urich shouted as he advanced. The faces of the Marganu soldiers filled with fear at the sight of the hulking barbarian.

"Ahhhh!"

The soldiers thrust their spears as they had been trained. Urich grabbed the spear between his armpits and pulled a soldier out of formation.

The soldier tried to return to the formation but couldn't avoid the blade coming from behind.

Slash!

The soldier's head was severed by Urich's sword. He kicked the falling head of the soldier forward.

"Eeeek!"

The soldiers were horrified as the head of their fallen comrade fell into their arms. It was a brutality they had never experienced before. They couldn’t believe that the barbarians entering through walls were the same humans as them.

‘Fear.’

Logically speaking, the alliance army was at a significant disadvantage in this war. They had to use every trick in the book in order to deal a blow to the empire with just ten thousand warriors.

‘I don’t even expect us to topple the empire. We just have to cripple them enough to keep them from targeting the west again.’

Urich used every weapon at his disposal. The most important of them was fear.

"Wooooaaah!"

Urich roared with all his might. The soldiers approaching him flinched at the beast-like roar. Urich threw an axe, killing another soldier.

The formation around the dead soldier broke and scattered.

No matter how outstanding Urich was as an individual warrior, it was impossible for him to cut down a hundred warriors by himself. But on the battlefield, the influence he exuded was greater than that of a hundred soldiers combined. All he had to do was overwhelm ten enemies and the momentum gained through doing so was enough to disrupt the enemy’s formation and energize his allies.

In close combat, individual prowess influenced the battle's outcome. Urich already knew how to exert influence on the battlefield. He was a warrior with a plethora of real combat experience.

‘I think I understand how that Sword Demon Ferzen gramps became a legend.’

There was a story of the Sword Demon Ferzen holding off a hundred men on a bridge. Though it was a very famous tale, it was impossible for even Ferzen to defeat a hundred men alone; no matter how formidable he was as a warrior.

‘He probably took down a few quickly and bluffed. The enemies probably couldn’t dare to cross the bridge because they were all scared after hearing Ferzen’s fame.’

A bluff that put one’s life on the line became a skill if successful.

Although Urich had stepped forward and only cut down a few soldiers, it appeared to others as if he had single-handedly broken through the enemy lines. It was certainly a dangerous act, but it was not beyond human capability.

To perform the role of a hundred, one didn’t need to be as strong as a hundred. Being just a bit stronger than the others was enough.

"Kaaaah!" The soldiers screamed.

"Woooooah!" Urich shouted as he grabbed a severed head by the hair and lifted it.

As if Urich's cry was a signal, the warriors threw themselves into the fray without hesitation.

Marganu’s defense captain sensed the flow of the battle. More and more barbarians were squeezing through the narrow gap in the wall.

‘We have to hold this ground even if we die doing so.’

The captain grabbed a fleeing soldier and beheaded him.

"Fight! Advance! Are you going to let our families be ravaged by the barbarians? Fight, sons of Marganu! Defend this land!"

The captain shouted desperately. The knights executed the soldiers who were fleeing after losing their spirits on the spot.

The soldiers, now realizing they would die either way, had no choice but to stand their ground. They trembled as they faced the approaching barbarians.

‘It’s not over yet. We’ll hold here as long as we can.’

The battle wasn’t over. Though the tide favored the barbarians, the soldiers’ formation around the narrow gap was still intact.

"That one’s the leader! Attack him!"

The defense captain, with sharp eyes, directed the archers toward Urich. If the leader of the barbarians was killed, they could regain the upper hand.

"Hah, not bad at all," Urich said cheerfully, ducking his head.

An arrow whizzed past him, striking another warrior’s face. Dying to a stray arrow was a common occurrence on a battlefield.

‘I can tell that the commander has some experience. He’s holding out until the end.’

Urich acknowledged the enemy commander. Despite the relentless pressure of the alliance, the enemies did not break.

The defense captain maintained the formation to the last, even beheading his own fleeing soldiers. Though it was unfortunate for the soldiers, it was a necessary action on the battlefield.

Urich drew his bow. Amid the chaos, he identified Marganu’s defense captain. He was the particularly vocal knight, who frequently gestured with his fingers.

‘If I kill him, they’ll implode in no time.’

Urich pulled the bowstring. His eyes tracked the captain.

Creak.

Urich waited for the captain to stop moving. At this distance, a moving target was hard to hit. Moreover, the captain wore armor, so his head was the only spot he could aim for.

Tang!

Urich released the arrow. It flew across the battlefield toward the captain.

“Kagh!”

The scream came from an unexpected place. A knight next to the captain was hit in the armpit by the arrow.

"Eh?"

Urich tilted his head, looking at his fingers. The arrow had missed by a long shot.

‘Ah, it’s because of my right eye.’

Urich’s right eye was clouded. Things looked blurry when he woke up in the morning. What should have been an accurate shot missed because he couldn’t focus properly.

‘Man, I guess I’ll have to practice shooting again,’ Urich thought as he slung the bow over his shoulder and sighed.

“I guess I have no choice but to break through head-on.”

There would be some sacrifices, but it was the only option. Just as Urich thought this, a loud noise came from the west side of the fortress.

“The western wall has been breached! The barbarians are coming through! Urgh!”

A wounded messenger reported to the defense captain before collapsing. He had dragged himself to report with an arrow in his back.

“The west?”

The defense captain looked west as he closed the eyes of the dead messenger. He had reassigned forces from the west to the breached wall after judging that the barbarians who had approached the western wall wouldn’t actually attack.

However, the barbarians on the western side had boldly breached the wall. With the bare minimum forces left to guard the wall, even the high walls were useless.

“Ke, keke.”

Olga of the Frost Snake Tribe climbed onto the western wall as he shrugged his shoulders. He had led a thousand warriors to attack the western wall.

‘The Great Chief’s order was to just lure them to this side... But they pulled back instead of reinforcing the wall here.’

Olga had taken it upon himself to attack the western wall.

It was a rather primitive breaching tactic using ropes and ladders, but the sparse defenders on the wall allowed the warriors to breach the wall with great momentum.

Schring!

Olga thrust his spear forward, directing the advance. His warriors swept through the fortress from the west, leaving only a trail of dead soldiers in their wake.

Olga’s warriors reinforced the main alliance force breaking through the collapsed wall. The warriors appearing from the west destroyed Marganu soldiers’ formation from the rear.

“Huh? Why are Olga and his men coming from there?”

Urich said, cutting open a fallen soldier’s belly. The stench of intestines rose from the ground at his feet.

“It seems like Olga has disobeyed the order of the Great Chief and crossed the western wall,” Katagi ground his teeth as he spoke.

“He really is impressive. He did well on his own,” Urich praised Olga.

But unlike the impressed Urich, Katagi frowned and rebutted, “Great Chief, he disobeyed your order, which was to only threaten the western wall! He should be punished later.”

“If I were looking for people who would just blindly follow my orders, then I wouldn’t have looked for talented individuals in the first place.”

Urich watched Olga’s forces. The battle’s tide had completely turned. Only the screams of the Marganu soldiers echoed all around.

Urich stepped over the bodies to meet Olga’s forces.

“Not… many soldiers… in west... so I attacked,” Olga said, wiping the blood from his spear.

“I thought I told you to just threaten them?” Urich said.

“My judgment… correct. If… you have… problem… don’t use… me.”

Olga didn’t bother to flatter Urich. He held his spear firmly with calm eyes.

“What insolence is this toward the Great Chief, Olga!” Katagi was the one shouting furiously.

Olga just glared at Katagi before continuing, “If you need… well-behaved dog… isn’t this one… enough?”

Katagi’s face turned red as Olga sneered.

“Enough. Olga showed good improvisation. Things ended pretty easily thanks to that. The result is what matters.”

Urich stopped Katagi from doing anything rash before a fight broke out. Katagi fell silent at Urich’s words, which were like the words from heaven to him.

‘Olga is a hidden genius. No wonder Samikan used him so much.’

Olga’s motives were unclear, but his abilities were undeniable.

“Olga shouldn’t be kept close. He’s a warrior who was trusted by Samikan… and most importantly, he shows no respect for you, Great Chief,” Katagi advised, watching Olga walk away.

“Haha, if any happens, you’ll protect me, right, Katagi?”

Urich laughed as he walked through the battlefield full of the stench of blood. Warriors with spears were stabbing the fallen soldiers, making sure they were dead.

“Of course. As long as my head is on my neck, no one will be able to lay a finger on you, Great Chief.”

“Good. For now, fighting the empire comes first. We can’t waste talented warriors over petty conflicts.”

“Indeed! Your foresight is truly remarkable.”

Katagi’s eyes widened in admiration.

Screams did not cease from the conquered Marganu. Fertile fields burned, granaries were emptied, and the sobs of women echoed from every house.

“Y-you beastly bastards!”

Duke Marganu was dragged before Urich. The warriors had caught him trying to run with his treasures. The duke was a tubby, round man who seemed like he would roll like a ball if punted.

“If you had surrendered, the city wouldn’t have suffered so much damage. You were the one who ignored the offer of surrender, weren’t you? We also suffered decent damage because of that,” Urich spoke, seated in a chair.

Duke Marganu widened his eyes at Urich’s fluent Hamelian.

“How the hell do you invaders have the audacity to say that!” The duke screamed to express his feelings of being wrongly done.

“What the hell is he even saying? Pigs should just grunt like pigs,” Urich said in his native tongue, making the chiefs and warriors laugh.

Realizing he was being mocked, the duke wanted to bite his tongue and die, but of course, he lacked the courage to actually do so.

“Let’s cut his head off and hang it on a pole!”

“Ooh!”

The warriors brandished their axes, circling the duke. The duke, terrified, wet himself.

“The soldiers and knights defending this land fought bravely until they died. If you really are their leader, then hold your head high,” Urich said, wiping blood from his cheek.

The duke trembled violently to the point his belly started shaking. His life was in danger. This wasn’t a noble’s war. Barbarians killed everyone indiscriminately, noble or commoner.

Clang.

Urich threw a sword in front of the duke. The duke looked up at him in confusion.

“If you really are the man standing above others, prove your worthiness, duke. Show your mettle and I’ll spare your life. Pick up the sword and aim for my neck.”

Urich pointed to his throat with his finger.

The duke hesitated, then grabbed the sword hilt.

‘Is he toying with me? Is he serious?’

The duke glared at Urich, trying to read his intentions. He searched for a way out, even glancing at the warriors' expressions. Just as he was about to stand awkwardly, something flew at his head.

Crack!

An axe embedded itself in the duke’s forehead. Urich, who had thrown the axe, watched the duke collapse with his arm outstretched.

“The enemy who destroyed your land and trampled on your people stands before you, yet you glance around looking for a way to save yourself. You deserve only death.”

The dying body of the duke trembled.

Urich stood and stepped on the duke’s head. He wiggled the axe out from the duke’s forehead. Blood dripped from the blade.

“Hang this pig’s head on the city gate.”

Urich ordered. Katagi swung his axe and beheaded the dead Duke of Marganu.

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