Chapter 171
Urich and the warriors battled against the cold. The chilling winds below the gorge felt ferociously cold, nearly enough to tear their flesh. Even the warriors, who often couldn't distinguish between recklessness and bravery, bundled up tightly in the extreme conditions. The warriors from the west were not strong against the cold.
"U-Urich, w-we should go back down to the ground too."
Vald shivered as he spoke. It was an exceptionally cold night. The rainy season had already begun, and the cold had turned the rain into icy hail.
"If you want to go down, you can go by yourself, Vald."
Urich calmly watched the darkness from the top of the watchtower. His steamy breath was visible in the cold air.
"Dammit, do you really expect me to go without you?"
"Then stay here."
"I’m going to go mad. Let's just give up this campsite and set up our own camp below the mountains."
Vald grumbled. Below the mountain range, they could have been running around naked in the rain.
"Has there been any contact from Samikan?" Urich asked.
"The messenger might have met an exile on the way and died or something. Should we try sending someone again?"
"Yeah."
Urich nodded. They desperately needed Samikan's support. However, the communication network of the tribal society was terribly slow and inaccurate.
'We need to fortify our defenses before the imperial army gathers their forces and pushes forward.'
With the Stone Axe Tribe’s own power, they could only manage to station about three hundred warriors at most. Securing supply was even more difficult, and deploying more warriors would inevitably deplete the Stone Axe Tribe's workforce. They needed to work diligently during the rainy season to prepare for the next dry season.
"It seems the warriors from Red Sand and Blue Mist won't last much longer before they go back down the mountain. They don't see this battle as their own. They’re not very happy with the fact that they’re fighting up here without their chiefs."
"How stupid. Defending this place isn't just the Stone Axe Tribe's problem. It's a problem for all of us."
The Sky Mountains not only tied down the tribal warriors but also posed a fatal constraint to the imperial army. Their ability to stand on equal footing was thanks to the advantage provided by the mountains.
'Most of the imperial army is concentrated in the north and Hammel. It would take them a while to gather enough men to send to the mountains; there’s no way they can come faster than Samikan and Belrua.'
Urich was somewhat aware of how the forces of the empire were distributed. It would take a considerable amount of time for the imperial army concentrated in the north and the capital to reach the west. He had evaluated that they had some leeway based on that calculation.
"Even if we can't gather all the warriors of the alliance, if Samikan and Belrua join us, we can make do."
Urich murmured. He planned to accomplish what the northerners could not.
'We became one before the imperial army got to us. We won't suffer the same fate as the north.'
Urich closed his eyes, lost in thought. He had gotten used to falling asleep in the cold. He opened his eyes wide, suddenly awakened by the commotion.
"They're here again!"
The warriors rang the bell and shouted.
"Another pointless exchange."
The exchange was going to end after shooting a few arrows back and forth. Urich believed the imperial army wasn't ready for a full-scale battle yet. The imperial army, while brave, was a rational organization that didn't move on uncertain chances.
"H-huh?"
The warriors on the watchtower panicked. The darkness lit up with torches. The number of enemies visible from the other side wasn't small.
"Gruhhhhhhh!"
There was a whole crowd screaming. A mass of conscripts and slaves with torches eyed the camp where the tribal warriors had stationed themselves.
"Go! There's no need to look back! Forward is the only way you can go!"
The imperial army officers shouted, pushing the slaves forward with their spears. They forcibly pushed the conscripts and slave soldiers toward the camp.
'Hundreds died crossing the ridge.'
Duke Langster frowned at the remaining conscripts and slave soldiers. The vassal states had sent such weak individuals that many collapsed just crossing the ridge. Even those who survived seemed so frail that even a light breeze could knock them over.
"Urich! There’s a ton of them! It looks like over hundreds!"
Vald shouted. Urich was just as taken aback.
'How did they replenish their forces so quickly?'
Enemies peeked through the irregular rocks and bushes. Urich squinted, examining the armament of the enemies. Upon closer inspection, they were frail conscripts, far from imperial soldiers. Fear swirled in their eyes without a bit of fighting spirit.
"Stay calm! Don't be afraid! Those men are not warriors."
Urich yelled. The force that the imperial army had brought was merely for filling numbers.
"But the number of them is no joke. We can’t even count them, and there’s even more still swarming behind."
"Shut up and hold up your bow."
Urich aimed his bow. The warriors unloaded their arrows at the approaching enemies.
The slave soldiers and conscripts rushed in fear. If they retreated, they would be killed at the hands of the imperial army. The slaves charged toward the sliver of light that they saw coming from the camp.
"Woooooooo!"
The slaves combined their strength to lift a log and struck the camp's fence with it.
"Damn bastards! This feels disgusting!"
The warriors cursed as they killed the slaves and conscripts, roughly getting the gist of what was happening.
The slaves roared and raised their makeshift spears. Some even charged forcibly with bare hands.
"They keep coming no matter how many we kill! They're piling up the corpses to climb over the fence!"
Vald thrust his spear at a conscript attempting to climb over the fence. A conscript holding farming tools screamed as he fell below the fence.
"Do not look back! Riches and freedom await you!"
An imperial army officer shouted.
"These men are vagrants, they’re as good as dead already! Kill them all! Today, the beasts of the mountains will feast!"
Urich encouraged his warriors and swung his sword. The soldiers trying to climb the fence were swept away and killed. It had been a long time since human life felt so feeble.
'These men are not warriors.'
The imperial army was worthy to face Urich and his warriors in a life-or-death battle. But these conscripts and slaves were not warriors. It was a massacre without any joy.
Thwip!
While the tribal warriors faced the human wave tactics of the imperial force, the imperial army positioned snipers to take down the tribal warriors one by one.
'We can handle as many of these conscripts they throw at us, but the imperial army is right behind them.'
Urich roared as he swung his sword.
'Such a despicable strategy.'
Using slaves and conscripts as a shield, the imperial army fought under safety. But in war, being despicable equated to being excellent. The imperial army was despicable because they were excellent.
"Urich!" Vald called out to Urich.
Twitch.
Urich felt his hair stand on end. He rolled on the ground after leaping down from the fence. Several arrows passed where he had been half a second ago.
'Targeted fire aimed at me.'
They were arrows aimed specifically at Urich.
"They're targeting you. If you die here, it's all over. Be careful."
Vald jumped down beside Urich, advising him.
"They’re coming around to the inside of the fence. We have to retreat deeper into the camp, form a line, then fight them."
Urich gathered the remaining warriors. Fighting on top of the fence was only going to make them targets for the imperial snipers. It was better to fight the conscripts inside the fence.
Duke Langster admired the tribal warriors gathering beyond the fence.
"Oho, they all retreated to the inside to avoid our snipers. Excellent judgment. That barbarian is a formidable commander."
"His decision-making makes it hard to believe that he’s just a barbarian. He is acting with calmness rather than being swept by the heat of the battle."
"Makes me want to see his face."
"Since they've abandoned the fence defense, shall we send our soldiers inside?"
A knight suggested, itching to move after being held back behind the slaves and conscripts who were fighting most of the battle at the forefront.
"No, we need to drain their strength a bit more. We've already used the slave soldiers as sacrifices. Might as well use the situation to our advantage."
Duke Langster patiently waited for a shot at a certain victory. He didn't give the barbarians a chance for a crucial retaliation.
Pressed by the mass assault, the barbarians were cornered. Duke Langster pondered how to deliver the final blow.
‘There are too many of them. The warriors are getting exhausted.'
Urich looked around at his warriors. There weren't many casualties on their side, but the exhaustion was evident on the faces of his men. Yet, the wave of conscripts and slaves didn't seem like it was stopping.
‘Do we have to abandon this place?'
Urich frowned.
'I want to defend this place at all costs. This is one of the few strategic points in the mountains.'
Retreating from this point was going to be tantamount to being pushed back to the base of the mountains. There would be no stopping the construction of Yailrud. Once the imperial army took the camp, they wouldn't be careless again. Taking a fortress well-defended by the imperial army was a difficult task.
'I am a chief. I'm responsible for the lives of other warriors, not just my own.'
Urich had to make a decision. He was no longer just an individual warrior.
The chief of the Stone Axe, the one blessed by the sky, and the Son of the Earth. As his fame and responsibilities grew, so did the load he had to bear. He was not a free man.
"... fall back before we're completely surrounded."
Urich made a bitter decision. As soon as Urich’s command dropped, the warriors secured an escape route. They pushed the invading soldiers away and gathered around Urich.
'We've lost. No, actually, I’ve lost.'
Urich looked back at the camp getting more and more distant with empty eyes.
"I've let down the warriors. I’ve failed their expectations and the faith they’ve put in me.”
Urich's face contorted. Even as they retreated, he looked back several times. All he saw were soldiers with crazed faces chasing after the tribal warriors.
At some point, the pursuit ceased. The imperial army's goal was to reclaim the strategic point and resume the construction of Yailrud. They didn't bother chasing the tribal warriors too far.
‘Son of the Earth? What a joke,’ Urich thought to himself.
He had lost warriors as well as the strategic point. The three-hundred-strong force that was initially at the camp was now reduced to around two hundred. Urich couldn't look at the faces of the warriors who had endured the cold to defend the camp.
"Pick your head up, Urich," Vald whispered.
"What right do I have to look at these men?"
"The more shame you feel, the more you have to become shamelessly confident. That’s what Gizzle did. Just be half as shameless as Gizzle, Urich."
Vald even brought up the dead Gizzle. Urich curled his lips in a smile.
"I misjudged. I assumed their reinforcements wouldn’t have arrived yet."
"Gizzle destroyed our tribe and still kept his chief position! We don't blame you. You are our hero. Carry yourself with confidence."
As a warrior, Urich was a perfect being, the pure essence of a warrior.
'That's the problem. Urich doesn't have the dirty side like Gizzle and Samikan.'
Vald loved his innocent brother, but innocence alone couldn't fulfill the role of a chief. A chief needed to do dirty and petty things for their position and power. Sometimes, even forsaking the pride of a warrior was necessary to fulfill a chief's duties.
Urich and the warriors descended the mountains. The injured warriors limped.
"Pick a few that are quick with their feet to scout the movements of the imperial force. The rest of you can go back to your tribes."
Urich said as they reached the base of the mountains. The weary warriors were pleased to hear they were returning to their tribes.
Urich gave up the border of the mountains. From the start, it was an impossible task with just the Stone Axe Tribe's strength alone. If Stone Axe alone was enough to hold off the empire, Urich wouldn't have bothered to grow the alliance.
‘Why do you think I created the alliance and helped you become the Great Chief...'
There was no word from Samikan. Urich had sent his men several times, and it was unlikely they all failed to meet Samikan.
"Samikan, did you really not receive my message?"
Urich ground his teeth. Samikan had not sent the demanded forces in time. The Blue Mist Tribe was a lot closer to the mountains than the Red Sand, and Samikan's forces were more numerous and superior. The person Urich needed was Samikan, not Belrua.
Urich and the warriors returned to the Stone Axe Tribe to look after their wounds and rest. The mood was heavy due to their defeated retreat.
A week went by after Urich came down from the Sky Mountains. A group of warriors appeared on the village horizon. It was Samikan and the Blue Mist warriors.
"It seems like I was late, brother," Samikan said as he entered the village.
Urich cocked his head.
"Yeah, you're late."
"I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay. Samikan has arrived."
Samikan spread his arms and embraced Urich.
The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Shortly after Urich's retreat, Samikan arrived with his forces at just the right time.
To the other warriors, it looked like Samikan was comforting the defeated Urich. Samikan squinted and whispered in Urich's ear.
"I am the one who is going to be a legend, Urich."
Urich suppressed the urge to snap Samikan's neck and smiled.
"You can take all the honor and glory for all I care, brother," Urich replied.
"I was going to, anyway."
Samikan smiled faintly.
"But if you ever play your dirty tricks again, I swear on the name of Stone Axe... I'll make you beg to be killed with that deceitful mouth of yours."
Urich threatened. Samikan, meeting Urich's yellow gaze, sweated coldly.
‘A brother who is more like a beast.'
Samikan was also more than capable as a warrior. However, in front of Urich, he diminished as a warrior. In fact, all warriors were merely fireflies before Urich.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. I didn't abandon Stone Axe. There were other matters that had to be attended to. I've been receiving oaths of loyalty from tribes in the north and south of the wasteland. Our alliance's fame has spread so far that tribes came to us voluntarily. Belrua and I met with the tribes that newly joined the alliance. That's why I arrived here late."
"Where's Belrua now?"
"The Lady of the Alliance is going to be joining us after gathering warriors from the other tribes. The alliance's army is gathering once again."
"...the Lady of the Alliance?"
"The Red Sand and Blue Mist have become tied by marriage. The child from Belrua and I will be the successor of the alliance, supported by our two giant tribes."
After hearing Samikan’s words, Urich laughed hollowly. He covered his forehead, chuckling.
"Ha, hahaha."
Urich's body was covered in fresh wounds. Blood still seeped through the bandages on his thigh every time they were changed.
'While I was fighting and struggling, the two of you were busy messing around.'
He laughed out of disbelief. While he was fighting with the other warriors, the alliance's power structure had shifted. The alliance, once led by Urich and Samikan, was now essentially led by Samikan and Belrua.
‘You were the one who warned me not to betray and to be wary of Samikan...'
Belrua's face haunted his mind. Urich hadn't only been defeated in battle. He had also lost in the political game of the alliance. Urich felt played by the two experienced chiefs.
"Don't worry, Urich. I will protect this land and our brothers."
Samikan patted Urich's shoulder as he walked away. Warriors swarmed around him and followed.
Over a thousand warriors had followed Samikan, and that number was only going to grow. That was enough to retake the camp in the mountains.
The battle of taking and being taken over was beginning all over again.
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