Barbarian Quest

Chapter 239

The wavering blades clashed. It looked more like the blades were dragging the men, not the other way around.

Urich and Samikan fell several times but both managed to get up over and over again, though it was clearly a struggle. The swings of their axes and swords lacked the strength to inflict fatal wounds.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing was heavy. Urich, gritting his teeth, pushed Samikan with his left shoulder. Samikan staggered, and Urich swung his axe with as much momentum as possible, aiming to split Samikan’s head.

"A-aaaah!" Urich shouted as he swung his arm widely.

Claaang!

Samikan desperately raised his sword with both hands. Once again, metal clashed. The axe that was thrown off its course slightly tore through Samikan's clothing.

"Huff."

Urich sighed and kicked Samikan. The struck Samikan rolled on the ground.

It was hard for the watching warriors to predict who would win. Samikan was frail like a dying old man, but Urich was also severely injured and had been struck by lightning on top of that. The two men, who should be struggling to even lift a finger, were fighting.

Despite their different ideas and purposes, they were both individuals with superhuman perseverance. The warriors watching held their breath under their dominating presence.

"Just die, Urich. It’s time. You kicked away the mercy that I had shown you."

Samikan, slumping his shoulders, stood up. He gripped his sword properly again. Although he had no major injuries from the fight, blood dripped from his lips.

"Mercy? That’s something that I’m supposed to grant to you. I’ll finish you off before you show any more of your uglier side."

"Haha, without me, this alliance wouldn’t even exist."

"Yes, right. You were indeed the ‘great’ Samikan."

Urich took a deep breath and charged. For a split second, he was as fast as he had been when his strength was at the usual condition.

Thump!

Urich's axe hammered down on Samikan’s sword like a mallet. Samikan, who had lost his grip on the sword, grimaced and charged at Urich.

Thud!

Samikan swung his fist, striking Urich's right collarbone. The bone that had barely settled in place was dislocated again, causing an involuntary groan to escape from Urich.

Urich lifted his knee and hit the approaching Samikan in the solar plexus, then swung his axe aiming for Samikan’s neck as he stumbled back.

Slash!

Blood spurted long. Samikan raised his left hand to block Urich’s axe.

Normally, Urich would have easily severed the hand, but he was lacking strength this time. Samikan’s left hand was only severed halfway through.

Swish.

Samikan, while holding Urich's axe, pulled a dagger from his belt. A quick stab aimed at Urich’s throat.

Thwip!

Urich tilted his neck to dodge the dagger. The blade tore long across the side of his neck. Blood seeped out but no major vessels were cut.

Twitch.

Urich quickly turned his head and bit down on Samikan’s right hand that was holding the dagger. His limbs were weak, but his biting force was still as strong as ever.

"Pah!"

Urich bit off a chunk of flesh from Samikan's palm and spat it out. Samikan, stepping back, silently picked up a fallen sword with his two damaged hands.

"I’m trying to send you off gracefully before you ruin the alliance you created. That way, you'll at least be remembered as the hero who founded it," Urich said, wiping his blood-stained lips with the back of his hand.

The tide of battle was gradually turning in Urich's favor. The slight differences in combat skills were becoming increasingly apparent. Urich was a warrior with natural robustness and abnormal real-life combat experience. He knew how to use his entire body as a weapon even in the worst situations.

"Is it wrong for a man to aim higher? Even if I falter through misjudgments and mistakes, I should live without regrets until the day I die, brother."

Samikan’s eyes shone sinisterly between the strands of his fallen hair. They were filled with malice and stubborn determination. He was a man who achieved everything with the sole ambition of leaving his name in the world. That was something he valued more than his own life.

"You're hopeless, Samikan. A chief is supposed to protect his brothers and his tribe. You've forgotten your most fundamental duties, and that’s why you no longer deserve to lead us as the Great Chief. You were willing to die for your own honor and conviction, but not for your brothers."

Urich strode toward Samikan.

"Taking you in was my mistake. The Son of the Earth was a blade I could not wield," Samikan said as he chuckled.

As Samikan’s and Urich’s weapons clashed, Urich could feel Samikan's strength had significantly weakened. He pressed on with force.

"If you really thought of me as your brother..."

Urich swung an axe with one hand. Samikan's sword was knocked away by the impact.

‘It's over.’

Samikan watched his sword fly from his grip and realized that was it. His life of desperately surviving each day flashed before his eyes as he spread his hand toward Urich.

"...I would have gladly died for you, my brother."

Urich, with somber eyes, drove his axe down.

Crunch!

The axe lodged into Samikan's face. Urich, too weak to even pull it out, slumped down beside him.

Urich only managed to move his eyes to look at Samikan’s face covered in blood.

"We had our chances. We had several chances to make different choices."

Perhaps Urich and Samikan could have been close brothers, standing together against the empire. They wasted too much time being weary against each other, trying to read each other’s intentions, and repeating meaningless conflicts.

"You called me your brother, yet you never wanted to share the honor."

Urich gripped the axe embedded in Samikan's face and pulled forcefully several times to retrieve it.

Squelch.

Sticky, dark, dense blood coated Urich's hand, indicating how poor Samikan's health had been.

"The heavens have chosen Urich to judge the man who deceived and manipulated! Look! Here stands the man who holds the will of the heavens!"

Six-Fingered ran up, jumping up with excitement. He felt a rough sense of liberation as he looked at Samikan's corpse.

Urich, listening to the noisy Six-Fingered, sighed heavily. The Stone Axe warriors promptly supported Urich and carried him to his tent.

* * *

Urich, who had been sleeping like he was dead, finally opened his eyes. It had been two days since Samikan's death.

Urich had challenged Samikan to a duel and won. In tribal societies, it was common for subordinates with power and legitimacy to challenge their superiors. In smaller tribes, even those with only physical strength often took the chief's position.

However, the alliance was not a small tribe. It was a vast group that led ten thousand warriors and conquered most of the west.

Simply being an exceptional warrior was not enough for someone to ascend to the position of Great Chief. One needed force, intellect, and a sizeable following for such a grand position.

Having just woken up, Urich came to his senses and drank some water. The healers, who had been dozing off nearby, rushed to check on him.

Creak.

Sitting inside the Great Chief’s tent, Urich tilted his head and watched the flickering torch.

‘My vision is blurry on one side.’

His right field of vision hadn't fully recovered. The healer had mentioned that soon he would not be able to see with his right eye.

"Well, it doesn't matter."

Urich chuckled. He had never expected to grow old with his body fully intact. The fact that all his limbs were still fine was already a blessing.

Twitch.

Urich moved his right fingers. He could still feel them. The broken collarbone had settled back into its place and had begun its healing process.

Six-Fingered stealthily entered Urich's tent. His hands were stained with blood. He had taken out the shamans who had clung to Samikan. Now, there were no shamans or priests left to oppose him.

"Samikan was deceiving and defiling the heavens. He has paid the price for his wrongdoings," Six-Fingered spoke politely.

"I don’t think that’s something you can say. You were the one who cooperated."

"If I hadn't done so, he would have killed me. Samikan's body has been hung on a pole in the open area."

Hearing this, Urich sprang up and grabbed Six-Fingered by the scruff.

"Ke-kek!"

"Who the hell told you that you could insult Samikan's body?"

"S-Samikan was a deceiver of the heavens!"

"Shut it."

Urich hurled Six-Fingered away with one arm. The commotion drew warriors inside, who bowed their heads upon seeing Urich.

"Hmm."

Urich's body was still not normal. Despite his proud robust body, the injuries and wounds he had been accumulating were not insignificant. He slowly walked toward the open area where their duel had taken place.

"Urich."

The warriors showed their respect to Urich as he passed.

The vivid lightning scar on Urich's right arm was proof of divine will. He was the Son of the Earth and a warrior of the heavens. Urich had obtained all the honors a warrior of the west could possess.

"Do not disrespect Samikan's body!"

"Give him a proper funeral!"

The warriors of the Blue Mist Tribe were exclaiming in the open area. They had been waiting only for Urich to wake up, enduring the humiliation that Samikan was being put to.

Creak.

The wind swayed the pole. Samikan's body, hung just after the duel, was still suspended there.

His body had started to decay. His warriors were chasing away the birds that tried to feed on it.

"Urich, it would be better to deal with Samikan's men now. They are harboring resentment."

Six-Fingered, who had followed Urich, spoke again. Urich, picking at his ear, looked at Samikan's body hanging on the pole.

‘Just for what did we hate each other and fight so much over?'

Urich could only laugh. He had never coveted Samikan's position. He simply wished that his brothers and kin would not become slaves of the empire.

'But in the end, I killed you and took your place.'

Emptiness outweighed relief inside Urich after Samikan’s death.

"... well, since it came to this, I might as well do a better job than you."

Urich strode toward the pole where Samikan was hung. The warriors moved away, clearing a path.

Crack!

Urich kicked the pole and broke it. He caught Samikan's falling body. Despite the foul smell and unpleasant fluids running down his arm, Urich kept his face straight.

The sight of Urich treating his ex-enemy Samikan with respect took the warriors by surprise. The insults that Samikan had inflicted on Urich were well-known amongst the warriors of the alliance.

‘This is the mercy that I can offer as a warrior.’

Urich cradled Samikan's body and walked toward the warriors of the Blue Mist Tribe.

"There will be proper honors for the former Great Chief. The Blue Mist Tribe still remains a pillar of the alliance, and I will not allow any insults to Samikan or the Blue Mist Tribe."

Urich handed over Samikan's body to the warriors of the Blue Mist. Despite the way things ended, Samikan had been an undisputed hero of the Blue Mist Tribe, having elevated them to rulers of the west in a single generation.

"Thank you, Urich—no—Great Chief."

The leader of the Blue Mist warriors nodded in respect as he received the body. The first addressing of Urich with the title 'Great Chief' came from the mouth of a Blue Mist warrior. Urich was yet to officially be made the Great Chief.

The funeral for Samikan was swiftly organized. Samikan's body was submerged at the bottom of a lake, following the traditions of the Blue Mist tribe.

Urich declared that he would not seek any sort of vengeance against Samikan's forces. Thanks to this, many warriors and chiefs attended the funeral to honor Samikan's spirit. However, there were still those who were cautious of Urich and did not attend the funeral.

"Georg, write down the names of the chiefs who attended Samikan's funeral. They’re more loyal and trustworthy than the ones who suck up to me only because of the power shift. Unlike you, keke."

Urich still kept Georg Artur close. Even if it was because he was tortured, Georg had still betrayed Urich. While the warriors cried for Georg's death, Urich ignored these calls.

"Urich, I am a man who works with his brain and his pen. It's your fault for not protecting me. What would you have done if more than a fingernail had been cut off? Do you think these ignorant illiterate barbarians would have written for you in my place?"

Georg brazenly continued to stick by Urich. Even the generous Urich, known for his leniency toward his subordinates and brothers, considered cutting off Georg's tongue and leaving just his fingers be. Georg seemed to have no idea how close he came to it.

It was a clear day, with the remnants of the typhoon gone. The sun was hot, and the sky was endlessly high. The warriors of the alliance gathered, fully armed.

Although ten thousand warriors gathered, there was profound silence.

Screeee!

An eagle screeched long and high, circling the sky before disappearing.

"Great warrior, Son of the Earth, emissary of heavenly punishment!"

Six-Fingered, adorned with feathers all over his body, shouted loudly. The warriors stomped their feet and chanted ‘Oh!’ in response.

"Urich, the chief of Stone Axe, have you seen the will of the heavens?"

Six-Fingered, with veins bulging on the whites of his eyes, shouted. The shamans on either side droned on, elongating the smoke from the censers.

"...I have seen it."

Urich couldn't help but grin, but he tried to maintain a solemn expression and responded. Turning his gaze, he spotted a figure that looked out of place in the crowd.

'Gottval.'

Urich had tried to escape through Gottval. He wanted to throw away the burdens he had chosen to bear himself. He thought the kind Gottval would affirm his weaknesses, but Gottval did not condone Urich's frailties.

'You may not be a warrior, but you are truly strong.'

There were times when a warrior could not flee even when they faced an opponent who was stronger than him. If his brothers and tribe were in crisis, he had to fight even knowing that the only outcome for him was death. Just as a warrior must endure, people must bear their burdens to the end. They had to be responsible for the choices they had made, even if it was a wrong one that they wanted to undo a hundred times over.

Urich closed and then opened his eyes, turning his gaze forward. He saw Six-Fingered's face, blackened with charcoal. The eerily white eyes of his were creepy, fitting for a shaman.

"Have the heavens commanded you to lead the warriors of the sky?" Six-Fingered shouted as if he was tearing his throat after taking a deep breath.

He continued without pause, "Have the spirits of our ancestors and the essence of all creatures inhabited your shoulders?"

Urich nodded and drew his sword, planting it on the ground.

"...If so, you are worthy to be the Great Chief! The heavens have chosen you! Great Chief Urich, may the sons and daughters of the heavens follow you!"

Six-Fingered knelt. The feathers that adorned his outfit fluttered and fell around him.

Urich caught a feather that had flown close to his face and spun it lightly. The feather twirled before falling to the ground.

He looked at the kneeling warriors. None dared to meet Urich's eyes directly.

Creak.

Urich sheathed his sword and sat down in the chair. He rested his chin on his hand and lazily opened his eyes. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a jade figurine. It was the artifact that he had obtained from the edge of the west.

Crack.

Urich clenched the jade figurine and broke it. Shattered pieces fell to the ground.

Urich closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. A tranquil scene came to mind. It was the snowy landscape he had seen from the peaks of the Sky Mountains. The young Urich had pondered in that place. To the east lay the unknown world, and to the west, his village where his brothers waited.

Urich could no longer abandon his brothers for the unknown world. He was no longer the young Urich.

"Stand up, my brothers."

Great Chief Urich spoke.