Barbarian Quest

“Archers, ready!” Varca shouted as he drew his sword.

His voice resonated clearly among the soldiers. Although he didn’t have much talent in commanding an army, just the presence of the king alone was enough to boost the soldiers' morale.

Creaaak!

The archers pulled back their bowstrings. Varca raised his sword high and then brought it down.

“Shields!”

Imperial knights in chainmail raised their shields to block the incoming arrows.

‘My whole body is aching.’

Carnius practically crawled up the hill. The last line of the Porcana defense was in sight.

“If only I were ten years younger….”

Carnius chuckled as he watched the knights climbing the hill ahead of him. The knights fought the enemy without hesitation as if they were a suicide squad. Carnius' reckless actions had ignited their morale.

‘This whole plan wasn’t really like myself to begin with.’

Carnius spat bloody phlegm onto the ground. His heart and lungs felt like they were going to burst. He thought his lifespan was probably reduced by a decade even if he managed to survive this battle. It was a fight that abused his entire body.

‘Don’t even think about surviving. Fight with the resolve to bury your bones here and die.’

If one left something behind before a battle, they couldn’t give their all in the fight. The Sword Demon Ferzen had no attachments for this very reason. He had neither children nor a wife so he could die without regrets at any time.

‘Lord Ferzen, you gave up everything to live the life of a knight. You tossed aside even the basic human pleasures and comfort…’

To become a great knight, one had to give up everything and sacrifice. Living a happy life while becoming a great person was difficult. The life of becoming a great person belonged only to those who suffered endless pain and struggled in despair.

‘That's probably why I could never surpass Ferzen.’

Carnius wanted a happy life. He wanted to die peacefully with his wife and son by his side.

“Such a complacent person could never receive Lou's blessing.”

But now, things were different. His mind was sharp as if he was possessed by a divine spirit. He could see things he hadn't seen before and felt capable of things he once thought impossible.

“Oooh, Lou.”

Carnius kissed the sun-ornamented hilt of his sword and climbed the hill. The knights who had arrived first were cutting down Porcana soldiers and clearing a path.

“Grant us the strength to defeat these heretics. We need the courage to protect innocent people now. Do not let our land be trampled by barbarians who know no mercy or love,” Carnius prayed as he walked among the knights. The knights also recited prayers or the mottos of their houses.

“King Varca!”

Carnius shouted, seeing Varca standing behind the soldiers.

Varca flinched and looked at the imperial knights who had approached within shouting distance.

“You will pay for allying with heretics and threatening the empire and the civilized world! Shame on you!”

Carnius' voice thundered. His claim was extremely threatening, fitting for a seasoned general. Varca shrank back without even realizing it.

“If you want to talk about true shame, go talk to your emperor, general! Can’t you see the disaster brought by the empire's tyranny?” Varca shouted back, not giving in. Carnius' bloodshot eyes were terrifying.

The remaining imperial knights on the hillside did their part as the barrier. Even the mountain goat warriors couldn't easily break through while Carnius aimed for the Porcana-Alliance command.

The mountain goat warriors had superior mobility, but their small stature hindered their ability to perform in frontal battles. They couldn't easily overthrow the steadfast knights.

“Kaaargh!”

Carnius dragged his exhausted old body and cut down the enemy soldiers. The almost miraculous swordsmanship of a knight who had wielded a sword all his life was impressive. Soldiers who had only practiced thrusting their spears against scarecrows were no match and died helplessly to the knights.

Swish!

A spear aimed at Carnius’ neck. Carnius twisted his head and swung his sword without even looking. The soldier with the spear fell to the ground, scattering blood.

‘Leo.’

His old heart boiled. Passion burned just like it did in his youth. His heart, which seemed it would never beat again, thumped as it consumed his son's death.

‘I could never surpass Ferzen in my lifetime myself, so who did I think I was to try to raise you as a knight….’

He had tried to pass on the life of a knight living in Ferzen's shadow to his son. Despite living his life constantly compared to the Sword Demon Ferzen, he had forced the same life on his son. It was shameless and embarrassing.

‘You probably never got to say that the Iron Blood Carnius was better than the Sword Demon Ferzen. Everyone knew that Ferzen was the best.’

Leo grew up hearing that his father was always inferior to someone. If Carnius hadn’t raised his son as a knight, he wouldn’t have passed on his inferiority complex.

“I’ve lived a shameful life,” Carnius muttered, exhaling his breath that smelled of exhaustion. He hadn't even tried to understand his son's feelings, who couldn't say his father was the best.

A father should be the best in the eyes of his child. That was the duty and mission of a father. A man his child could admire as a role model without doubt.

“General!”

The knights rushed out to protect Carnius. No matter how much spirit he had, he couldn’t overcome his aged body. As his stamina declined, his fingers trembled, and his vision significantly narrowed.

“Push! We just have to push a bit more!” The knights shouted.

Porcana’s infantry, having lost their morale, began to throw down their weapons and flee.

“Hold the line! Reinforcements will arrive soon! Anyone who deserts will be dealt with by strict military law!” The nobles of Porcana shouted, grabbing fleeing soldiers by the back of their necks.

“My lord! I have two children… Kagh!”

The nobles of Porcana beheaded the fleeing soldiers to prevent the others from doing the same. It was a brutal measure, but without it, the soldiers would all run away. Varca also turned a blind eye and encouraged the soldiers.

Thud, thud, thud!

Dozens of mounted warriors burst out from the alliance army. They charged up the hill to support the command post.

Urich gritted his teeth and spurred his horse. It was a hastily assembled cavalry of warriors who knew how to ride. Naturally, except for Urich, they looked awkward on horseback. Mounted combat was out of the question.

‘The empire’s heavy cavalry chose not to bypass and penetrated directly to break through the weakest point.’

It was just like when Urich broke through the front of the imperial army. Acting on impulse by directly observing the battle instead of making rational decisions was the trait and privilege of the field commander.

‘I didn’t think he’d go straight for the command post. Impressive. I thought he was just a stuck-up oldie.’

Urich smirked.

“Signal the mountain goat warriors!”

Katagi blew a horn and waved a spear with a red cloth tied to it, signaling a simultaneous attack. The knights blocking reinforcements at the foot of the hill were hit from both sides by the mountain goat warriors and Urich’s charge.

“Ooooooooh!”

Urich jumped off his horse. The warriors also dismounted and faced off against the knights.

Thwiwiwip!

The knights were disoriented by the arrows from the mountain goat warriors attacking from behind. They could only defend from one direction.

Thump!

Urich and the warriors thumped on the imperial knights' shields.

“Hooooaaaah!”

Urich kicked the imperial shields forcefully. Even the heavy knights of the empire fell over from his strength.

“Oooooh!”

Urich took a spear from a nearby warrior and quickly thrust it. The spear pierced through the chainmail and into the flesh.

“Push forward!”

The number of warriors climbing the hill only increased. Quick-witted warriors acted independently without being given orders. Due to the lack of discipline, there were many who deserted their posts to join Urich as well.

“Hoh! We are here, Great Chief!”

Some chiefs sent their fastest warriors up the hill even though Urich hadn’t ordered. The alliance's chiefs and thousand-man-unit captains were all seasoned veterans. As they had fought all their battles thus far based on intuition alone, they were excellent at dealing with unexpected situations.

The knights guarding the bottom of the hill wavered and merged with Carnius’ army. Carnius’ forces were now surrounded on all sides. The resistance from the command post was unexpectedly strong, delaying the mission.

“It was a good fight, general. What a pity.”

“It was an honor to fight with you men,” Carnius said to his knights

Carnius and his knights knew their end was near. They bid farewell to their comrades with heavy breaths.

“...General, you must escape.”

A knight who had barely managed to grab a hold of a horse approached Carnius. If the barbarians coming up the hill completed their encirclement, escape would be impossible.

“What are you saying!” Carnius shouted angrily.

The adjutants and knights exchanged glances and nodded.

“If you escape, we will surrender. The king of Porcana will ransom us at best, but he will not kill us. That wouldn’t be the case if we were dealing only with the barbarians, but the king and nobles of Porcana are civilized and honorable.”

“You want me to flee alone? Are you trying to disgrace me?”

“Porcana will let us live, but you, General Carnius, they will kill without a doubt. You were extremely threatening today. So, survive and command the imperial army one more time. The empire needs the experience you have from fighting the plunderers multiple times. There will be many more opportunities to gather an army and fight, but if you are captured here, the empire loses all those chances.”

The adjutant grabbed the reins and urged him.

“I-I can’t run away from this battle.”

“Are you going to die without avenging your son, general!” The adjutant shouted.

Carnius grimaced and mounted the horse.

“Make way! Fight with everything you’ve got until the general makes it out!”

The adjutant shouted. The knights abandoned their attempt to capture the command post and moved toward a weaker part of the encirclement. About ten knights gathered their horses and clung to Carnius, acting as bodyguards.

“Escort the general to safety, even if it costs your lives,” the adjutant urged the knights.

The knights fought fiercely to extract Carnius. The mounted Carnius and his escort knights attempted to escape through the path created by the knights.

“Ooooooooh!”

The Porcana soldiers guarding the command cheered, celebrating their victory. The famously formidable imperial knights were tucking their tails and running for their lives.

The entire imperial army was retreating. The Porcana-Alliance army pursued them relentlessly.

“Get me a horse! We have to chase them down!”

Urich abandoned the remaining imperial knights and readied his horse. His eyes were fixed on Carnius. Even in the chaos, he picked out his target.

‘We can’t let him escape. He is going to become a huge threat.’

Carnius was a commander who had fought the alliance multiple times. It would be fortunate for the western plunderers if he was demoted for his defeat, but if he was given another opportunity to lead an army, he would become a formidable enemy.

‘He made an unexpected assault. I didn’t expect him to break through that part and target our command. He’s a commander who knows how to read the flow of battle.’

Urich felt a strange kinship with Carnius’ actions today. He understood and empathized with why Carnius made such decisions. The flow of battles was not always rational. Each and every one of the soldiers on the battlefield was a living being, and this made their morale, though invisible, crucial.

It was impossible to comprehend all the variables on the battlefield with one’s head. Sometimes, reckless intuition was needed to catch the enemy by surprise.

‘We cannot lose him.’

Urich wanted to send the mountain goat warriors in pursuit, but even the battle goats were exhausted. Unlike horses, there were no replacements for them, either.

“Gather the horses that aren’t panting!”

There were horses scattered all over the battlefield, a mix of friendly and enemy mounts. The warriors, following Urich’s command, captured the horses.

“Urich! Don’t overdo it! The battle here isn’t over yet!”

Varca came down the blood-soaked hill. The imperial resistance was still alive. Although victory seemed almost certain, the strength of the imperial army always unsettled their enemies.

“Shut up. We can’t let Carnius get away. If we lose him here, we’ve basically lost half of our battle today,” Urich shouted firmly, pulling the reins. He wasn’t going to be able to relax until Carnius was dead.

Urich hastily formed a pursuit team and chased after Carnius.

‘They’re coming after us.’

After barely escaping the battlefield, Carnius frowned upon seeing the pursuers. The shame of fleeing was almost unbearable.

“General, throwing your life away here will not be an act of courage,” a knight spoke as if he read Carnius’ mind.

“Heeeeyyyy! Carnius! Let’s settle this like men!”

The voice, though quite distant, sounded like it was coming from right behind him. The brash and loud voice echoed through the woods.

Carnius instantly recognized the voice.

‘Urich the barbarian.’

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