Barbarian Quest

Chapter 196

The imperial army inflicted heavy damage on the barbarian army. Only jubilant voices were coming from the imperial camp.

"We have completely demolished them! They are too busy running away, General! I will immediately organize a pursuit team."

Carnius squinted his eyes.

‘Was this really the group that drove Langkegart to ruin?’

Carnius' gaze was on the entire battlefield. He envisioned even the unseen parts in his mind, reading the flow of the whole battle.

'It was a good move engaging in mountain maneuvers since you were confident in your infantry combat, barbarians.'

In mountainous terrain, it was difficult to utilize the heavy cavalry, which was the imperial army's greatest weapon. The barbarians also feared the heavy cavalry, which drew them toward the mountainous terrain all the more.

'They kept drawing us in deeper by repeating small skirmishes and retreats.'

Carnius laughed the moment he saw through the barbarians' shallow tricks.

'So, I let them win. I was planting hope in their minds.'

He placed conscripts of lesser quality from the imperial army at the front. As a result, the barbarians achieved good outcomes in several minor engagements.

Because of their success in the small skirmishes, the barbarians engaged more actively. But this also led them to fail to notice the units approaching their rear.

'This is not your land. It belongs to us, the civilized.'

The imperial army had tactical maps with the kingdom and empire's territories intricately drawn.

'We put a knight and a soldier on each warhorse and sent them on a detour.'

Carnius had sent close to six thousand knights and soldiers toward the expected retreat path of the barbarian army. Although horses could not climb the mountain, they raced through the gorges that cut across the mountainous region. Upon arriving at the rear on warhorses, the knights and soldiers dismounted and climbed the mountain on foot to surround the barbarians.

'The knights and soldiers who moved through the gorge's shortcuts on horseback managed to capture the barbarians' rear and surrounded them successfully.'

Caught off guard by the imperial army' unexpected rear attack, the alliance crumbled completely. On top of that, the total force of the imperial army was much larger.

'We deployed most of our elite forces not to the front but to encircle the barbarians from the rear. Only well-trained soldiers could climb the mountainous area in a short time to surround them.'

Had the alliance army insisted on a frontal assault instead of a retreat, the imperial army could have actually been the ones at risk. Had the alliance charged forward while the elite troops of the imperial army were maneuvering for a rear encirclement, the lower-quality troops would have had to face the daunting task of stopping the fearsome barbarian warriors.

‘They were a half-clever army. The barbarians couldn’t make the bold decision and lured us in by retreating step by step, like a textbook.'

The surrounded alliance army instinctively tried to break through to the rear. It was the usual assumption that the enemy's rear lines were going to be thinner.

But the imperial army unit encircling the alliance's rear was in fact the cream of the crop. The knights and heavy infantry, whom the tribal warriors loathed to face, attacked the barbarian warriors.

"This is your father, Leo. The Iron Blood Carnius. He read the barbarians' strategic thoughts and struck at their weakness," an old knight said to Carnius' son, Leo.

"The only losses we've had were the conscripts we threw as bait in the smaller skirmishes... the ones we practically sent to die against the barbarians."

"Your father has often used the tactic of exposing his side to get the opportunity to strike at the enemy's throat. In war, casualties are inevitable. A commander should not fear expending his troops. Lives are merely numbers, a resource that can be exchanged."

"Lives are merely numbers... huh."

Leo mulled over those words. It was a hard pill to swallow for a passionate young knight.

Thanks to Carnius' strategy, the imperial army drove the alliance into a defensive position without suffering significant losses themselves. Losing its strategic direction, the alliance army began to scatter and retreat in smaller units.

Urich was also among the retreating alliance army. In his dazed state, Urich looked at Vald supporting him.

'Vald, my loyal brother. Even if it meant death, he wouldn't leave me behind. He's been regretting leaving me in the Sky Mountains ever since that day.'

Vald's mouth was firmly set. Despite the large frame of Urich, Vald kept walking, supporting him.

"Vald, check my pocket," Urich said, rolling his eyes.

"What?"

"There should be a cigarette rolled up with powder inside."

"Are you out of your mind? You think this is the time for that stuff? We don't even have time to light a fire."

"I'm not going to smoke it. Pour the stuff that’s inside into my mouth."

Urich had received smoking medicine from the old shaman a while ago. He had carried it with him ever since to smoke it just in case he got injured.

'I didn't think I’d use it like this...'

Urich dissolved the gritty powder with his saliva and then swallowed it. A bitter taste spread across his tongue and down his throat.

Eeeeee.

A ringing noise sounded in Urich's ears. The drug took effect immediately. It was not intended for ingestion. The powder Urich had swallowed was close to a lethal dose.

Thump, thump.

His heart pounded, and his brain felt like it was melting. Vald's face looked distorted.

"Kaaak!"

Urich screamed, bending over forward. His yellow pupils dilated to an abnormal size.

"Urich?"

"That damned old hag. This shit is way too strong."

Urich gasped for air. He grabbed a handful of mud and sloppily smeared it on the back of his head. The pain almost felt like a bitter pleasure.

"Gather the warriors around us. We're getting out of here."

Revitalized by the drug, Urich stood up on his own and commanded.

Eeeeee.

Voices of several warriors overlapped in Urich's ears. His vision wavered as if everything was bending. Every time the raindrops hit the ground, their sound splintered into multiple colors.

'Pull yourself together, Urich.'

Urich steadied himself.

‘Which way should we run?'

The hornblower had only sent a signal to retreat. No one was given a clear escape route.

"Urich! The warriors are gathered! Let's fall back."

Vald spoke from beside him. Urich looked to the rear.

'Vald is right. We're surrounded. We need to break through to the rear. But...'

Urich's eyes flickered restlessly. He felt a warmth rising from behind him.

'It’s red.'

Something red seemed to emanate from the bushes behind. An aura full of murderous intent undulated.

'The rear looks ominous.'

Instead of the back, Urich looked forward. The main force of the imperial army was tightening the encirclement as they advanced.

'The red aura in the front actually seems lighter.'

Urich thought to himself but then shook his head.

'I must be insane. I can’t be influenced by the hallucinations from the drug...'

The red aura was a baseless hallucination. The red aura coming from the rear was strong, and what he had thought was the main force of the imperial army in the front seemed like it was actually emanating a weaker, fainter red aura.

"Urich?"

Vald urged Urich into action.

'Is Urich still out of it? If he is, then I have to...'

Vald was about to issue orders in Urich's stead.

"Hold it."

Urich raised his hand to stop Vald. He blankly stared at the shade of the trees.

'You’ve shown yourself again, Ulgaro.'

Urich was looking at Ulgaro. In the battlefield with pouring rain, Ulgaro stood beneath a tree, wearing a winged helmet. Standing in the shadows under the tree, Ulgaro silently drew his sword and pointed forward.

Urich hadn’t seen a vision this clear in a long time. He rubbed his eyes and looked again at Ulgaro.

Thwip!

Ulgaro was nowhere to be seen, and in his place stood a tribal warrior. The warrior who was struggling just to remain standing fell to an arrow from the imperial army.

‘Have I really gone mad?’

He had faced an illusion in a state where both his mind and body were weakened.

‘But I felt something ominous about our rear even before this. Think, Urich. Try to remember.’

Perhaps the illusion was just a manifestation of his anxiety and intuition.

Urich had pulled through near-death experiences countless times. A warrior sometimes had to just trust their intuition.

What Urich and the warriors faced from the rear were armored knights. The alliance units that collided with the rear suffered tremendous damage.

‘There is no certainty.’

Rather, the alliance army had gained a significant advantage by deploying a feint, and engaging in minor skirmishes with the imperial army at the front.

‘It was wrong to gain an advantage from skirmishes we were prepared to lose to begin with. The side deploying the feint constantly gaining the upper hand in the battles? That’s absurd. The situation was suspiciously favorable for us.’

Uncertain convictions overlapped.

‘What I’m about to do could very well be something insane that I’m only doing because I’m all high on drugs.’

Urich supported himself by using his sword as a staff. He stood up straight, opening his eyes wide.

"Vald, tell the warriors. I, Urich, will break through to the front."

"What kind of bullshit is that..."

"Tell the warriors around us."

Urich repeated firmly.

"Shit! I know I said I'd die for you but... Whatever. I don’t even know anymore. Damn it all."

Vald relayed Urich’s orders to the other unit commanders as instructed. About fifteen hundred warriors were within reach of Urich’s command at the current situation.

Not far from Urich’s unit, Georg’s mercenary squad was preparing to break through to the rear, like the other barbarians. They had the lowest morale among the alliance army.

"L-let's just surrender. Georg! We're all going to die with them at this rate."

Hearing this, Georg laughed as he sweat profusely.

"Haha, you think they’ll spare us if we surrender? We’re slaves, and on top of that, full of barbarians."

Although they were civilized mercenaries, because they consisted of slaves and lower-class individuals, there were southern barbarians and mixed blood among them. This meant that the imperial army would never spare them. They were bound to be beheaded as an example, and at best, they would be shackled again.

The imperial army did not attack the barbarian army hastily. Having almost secured the victory, they maintained their encirclement neatly, focusing on perfection and caution.

Georg glanced toward Urich’s unit while organizing the remaining mercenaries.

‘Urich?’

It seemed like Urich was also organizing his forces and preparing for a breakthrough. However, there was something odd about the direction he was aiming at.

‘Is he trying to break through to the front?’

Urich's unit formed a wedge formation and aimed their advance toward the front.

Georg was conflicted. The other barbarian units were scattering in different directions without a head, and there was no chance for a unified command to go through the entire army. It was all up to the field commanders' judgment at the moment.

‘I’d much rather trust Urich than these other foolish barbarians!’

Georg knew Urich. He was one of the cleverest people Georg had ever met.

‘Urich wouldn’t do something meaningless in this situation. Has he judged that breaking through the front is easier? Maybe...’

Georg turned the mercenary unit’s direction to follow Urich’s unit. About seven hundred remaining mercenaries tailed behind Urich’s army under Georg’s lead.

"Georg’s unit is following us," Vald shouted to Urich after glancing behind.

Even though no words were exchanged, Georg reinforced Urich's decision. Their thoughts and hearts had aligned.

"Huff, huff."

Urich breathed in deeply. His vision flickered. Each drop of falling rain felt like it froze his skin. His eyes, which were looking at the boundary between reality and illusion, ached as if they were about to fall out.

Urich firmly assembled his unit into formation, even sacrificing the time they could have used to retreat.

‘If my judgment is wrong, we’re all going to be annihilated here.’

The encirclement had tightened so much that there was no time to retreat in any other direction. A few alliance units managed to escape the encirclement at great sacrifice. Samikan’s unit was among them.

"Vald, blow the charge horn," Urich muttered, holding his axe and sword.

Buuuuuuup!

Vald blew the signal. Warriors who believed in Urich’s sanctity advanced forward.