Barbarian Quest

Chapter 94

Camilron exchanged glances with the soldiers around him. They were men who shared the same goal as him.

'Have they figured out that I’ve sold them out?'

Camilron cautiously observed the royal guards. They were standing behind the gate on standby.

'If they knew what I did, my head would have been gone by now. Duke Harmatti probably assigned them here on his hunch alone.'

Camilron felt a chill run down his spine. He tried to hide his expression while looking at the royal guards, who stood still without an expression on their faces.

'If I don't open the gate, the prince’s camp will retreat. They won't proceed with the attack recklessly.'

Camilron gazed at the sky. It was high and cold. With each breath, he felt the winter creeping closer.

'How many more will starve if we’re forced to go through this winter cut off from the outside world...'

Food was first distributed to the nobles and the army. Despite that, the soldiers were still starving. Each morning, the factions had to check their own men to see if anyone had died of hunger. The situation was even more dire for the civilians, with the number of starvation deaths growing by the day.

'What's the point of principles when people are starving to death?'

Camilron was a knight who worshipped the sun god Lou. Loyalty to his lord was important, but the duties of a knight were even heavier. At least, that's what Camilron believed.

'This civil war must end before the terrible winter arrives. At this point, it doesn’t matter who wins.'

There was nothing more horrifying than innocent people starving to death. Camilron muttered a prayer, then looked at his fellow soldiers.

‘These men share my values.'

Most of the men who sided with Camilron were local soldiers. They couldn’t bear to stand idly by and watch as their neighbors and families starved.

'This tragedy must end.'

There wasn’t a single personal ambition or interest on Camilron’s mind.

"Lou, the god of sun, grant me the courage. The courage to do what's right."

Camilron closed his eyes, recalling a scene. A young girl had collapsed in an alley, a girl too young to have even developed breasts. Dirt clung to her emaciated lips. How hungry must she have been to think of eating the dirt from the ground?

"Today, we fight... for those without fangs."

Camilron drew his sword, swiftly turning around. He stabbed the neck of the royal guard standing before him in a quick motion.

"Open the gates!"

Camilron shouted with all his might. The soldiers who shared his values pulled the gate's winch.

"You've lost your mind, Camilron!"

The royal guards raised their weapons after directly witnessing Camilron's betrayal.

"The civil war shouldn't have come this far. When we were defeated at the Baldric Plains, lord Harmatti should have surrendered," Camilron said as he shook off the blood from his sword.

His men stood by his side with their shields raised.

"Hold your positions! For the people of this land!"

Camilron stood at the forefront. As the winch released, the gate started to descend. The royal guards rushed toward the gate without hesitation, and a sword fight broke out in an instant. The soldiers had no clue as to what was happening and hesitated to act.

"These men are traitors! Kill the traitors!"

After figuring out the situation, the commanders shouted their orders to their men. But in the chaos, immediate action was impossible. The gate was crowded with the soldiers who had their shields raised in defense.

'This is not good.'

The guards of Duke Harmatti glanced at each other. Dealing with the traitors was not the problem as the rebels wouldn't last long anyway. But if the gate was completely lowered before then, that was going to be the end of everything. Once the gate becomes a bridge, the deep moat will no longer serve its purpose.

Grrrumble!

The trembling of the earth was felt from the other side of the walls. The prince's army was approaching like a tidal wave. The disparity in numbers was overwhelmingly against them. Allowing the enemy's entry was tantamount to defeat.

"Die for your lord. Mardi, Paul."

The called royal guards nodded. They led the charge toward the gate in a desperate attack without regard for their own lives.

Schluck!

The two royal guards used themselves as bait, drawing the enemy's attacks. They swung their swords wildly with their eyes glaring, breaking the enemy line.

"Charge!"

The remaining royal guards followed suit. On the side of the traitors, Camilron was the only knight.

"Keugh!"

Camilron grunted as he blocked a sword of a royal guard.

'Just a little longer.'

Sacrificing their lives was also true for his side. If they weren't prepared to die, they wouldn't have dared such an act.

Grrrr.

As the royal guards and soldiers clashed, blood splattered in every direction. The soldiers fiercely grabbed the ankles of the royal guards.

"If we don't open the gate, we'll all starve to death! Either way, it's the same ending for us, you bastards!" A dying soldier shouted toward the walls. His words caused unrest among the soldiers.

"Ignore the words of a traitor, soldiers! Look ahead! The Imperial army who tramples our very homeland is coming!"

The commanders exclaimed as they slapped their soldiers' cheeks, trying to keep them focused. It seemed they might just prevent the gate from opening.

"Fire!"

The prince's army had gotten into firing range. The soldiers frantically shot their arrows. The battle outside the walls had begun.

"Camilron! Your betrayal will be remembered in history as the symbol of disgrace and dishonor!"

A royal guard pressed Camilron hard. For Camilron, facing even one imperial guard was a challenge.

Camilron raised his shield, attempting to parry the sword. The blade of the royal guard slid alongside the shield, piercing Camilron's neck.

"Keugh."

Camilron dropped his shield, clutching his neck. Had his chainmail not extended to his neck, he would have died from that blow. However, he was still severely wounded. Blood gushed profusely.

"Where do you think you're running off to, Camilron!"

Camilron staggered toward the gate's winch, leaving a trail of blood behind every step.

"Get out of my way!"

Camilron pushed away the soldiers turning the winch and raised his sword high. He was trying to cut the winch's chain.

Clang!

The chain of the winch didn't break easily. Instead, the sword's edge dulled.

"Huff!"

Camilron, not bothering to staunch the wound on his neck, gripped the sword with both of his hands. He struck the winch's chain with all his might.

Clang!

Camilron's face turned red with effort, and even more blood poured out from the constricting blood vessels in his neck.

'Is this how it ends?'

He looked at the chain with desperate eyes. The chains simply refused to be broken. The reality was that If it had been that easy to cut, the soldiers would have done it already.

The winch was not even halfway released. The chain lock required manual turning to release it properly. The half-lowered gate hung awkwardly.

"Gah!"

The soldiers blocking the royal guards started to fall one by one.

"Waaaah!"

Camilron screamed and repeatedly struck the chain, over and over again. The blade of his sword was finished.

"Hah, hah."

Exhausted, Camilron looked at the royal guards with a weary face. Behind the guards, rows of archers stood ready.

"...oh Lou, you did not lend me your hand today, but please, have mercy on the poor people of our castle."

Camilron let his arms fall, resenting the Sun God.

Thwip.

An arrow struck Camilron's head. He staggered for a moment, then fell to the ground.

"Rewind the winch!"

An imperial guard sheathed his sword and ordered the soldiers. Camilron's rebellion was quelled, and it was now time to focus on defense again.

Creak, creak.

The soldiers rewound the winch as they sweated profusely.

"Eh?"

A soldier watching the rising gate blinked in surprise. He saw something unusual at the edge of the gate.

'Is that... a person’s hand?'

There was a hand hanging from the edge of the gate.

"Huff, huff."

The man clinging to the gate was Urich. His face was flushed red from being completely out of breath.

Urich saw the gate being raised again and had leaped and clung to the edge. Many soldiers who attempted to follow him only fell into the moat. Urich was the only one who successfully made it to the gate.

‘That is just tragic.'

Urich awkwardly climbed over the gate and glanced at the corpses of the soldiers who had colluded with the prince’s camp. It was clear they had struggled mightily to open the gate for the prince.

"You must have thought you failed as you died..."

Urich muttered. He managed to get over to the other side of the gate just before it closed. Harmatti’s soldiers shouted and swung their spears at Urich.

"But you did not fail. Because I have arrived!"

Woosh!

Urich swung his two axes with force. The heads of the two soldiers who had lunged at him were cut off. The loose heads flew left and right, smacking into the wall. It was a clean and satisfying motion, like chopping off the head of a wooden doll.

Urich crossed his blood-dripping axes and stared down his enemies. He took a slow breath, reading the flow of the battlefield.

"There’s only one of them, shoot!"

A royal guard looked back at Urich and ordered his soldiers. Urich eyed the row of archers in front of him, who drew their bowstrings.

‘This guy, I choose you! He’s got a nice armor!'

Urich picked up the corpse with the sturdiest armor. It was the lifeless Camilron. His size was just big enough, and combined with his chainmail, his body made for an adequate human shield.

Schluck!

Arrows plunged into Camilron's body from various angles. Urich, using Camilron's body as a shield, shuffled sideways. He raised his axes high.

‘I have to cut the chain on the winch.'

It was a task that Camilron had failed to do.

Clang!

Urich struck the winch chain. The chain resonated loudly; the sound was different from Camilron’s attempt before. Urich's strength was extraordinary and his axes made of imperial steel were of a different quality than other iron weapons.

The royal guards who had become anxious after watching Urich’s strike drew their weapons and rushed in on Urich.

"Haha, you’re too late, dumbasses!!"

Urich laughed. He struck the winch chain one more time. This time, sparks flew as the chain links split.

Shrrrrr!

The broken chain slackened helplessly. The gate, which had been rising, plummeted down at an incredible speed.

Boom!

The lowered gate became a bridge across the moat. Urich, hiding behind Camilron's corpse, gleamed with anticipation.

A silence took over the area. Not long after the thump of the fallen gate, a thunderous roar broke the heavy silence. Seeing the gate open, the prince's soldiers flocked toward it.

"Remember, the one who opened the gate is me! Urich!!!!"

Urich screamed as if he was ripping his vocal cords out of his throat. His mercenaries had been waiting for the gate to fall for a while due to their confidence that it would since Urich made it over to the other side.

"Uuuurich's Brotherhooooood!"

The mercenaries shouted and were the first to cross the bridge. They held their shields above their heads, blocking the pouring arrows.

Crash!

The rocks fell and boiling oil rained down. Mercenaries hit by the barrage jumped into the moat, screaming. Only the mercenaries who avoided rocks and oil, basically the ones who were blessed with divine fortune, entered through the lowered gate.

"Let's go, my brothers!"

Urich grinned at the mercenaries who caught up to him. His cheerful smile, which seemed impossible to come from a man who was on the brink of life and death, instilled trust in the mercenaries.

'Urich is always with us, leading us.'

The mercenaries' hearts pounded, not with fear but excitement. The thrill of battle was enough to completely erase their fears.

"Khehehe. Today is our day, my friends."

Sven, gripping a two-handed axe, stepped forward. He had burns on his cheeks from the boiling oil, but he couldn’t care less about some mere burns.

"Ohhhhh!"

Urich hurled Camilron's corpse toward the archers. Camilron's chainmail-clad body was a sufficient heavy weapon. The archers were knocked down by the impact.

"Chaaaarge!"

Urich dragged out the word as he shouted. He was at the forefront of the charge, spreading his arms wide, roaring mightily as if he was inviting his enemies to attack, that is, if they dared. A great warrior's cry always boosted the morale of the entire unit.

'Dammit, he's already taken the lead.'

Other nobles and knights blamed themselves for not acting boldly.

Urich had already made a notable contribution. He climbed the closing gate alone and was the first to break into the enemy camp. On top of that, he even led his mercenary squad to be the first unit to enter the walls.

‘I have to at least beat him to Harmatti’s head.'

The battle was essentially won. Now, the prince’s camp fought for their individual achievement. They envied and resented Urich. They wouldn't just stand by and watch a barbarian mercenary outdo them.

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