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Chapter 28 – Baptism (4)
“From this point on, it’s their territory. The mountains and forests despise outsiders.”
Sven spoke after taking a deep breath. The subjugation force was climbing the mountain, scouting all around to find the bandits’ hideout.
“If we can’t find their hideout before nightfall, they’ll attack us at night again.”
There were three injured from the previous night’s raid. Because they had to take those soldiers back to the city to get treated, there was a loss of six combatants before they even went to battle. If they included the dead mercenaries, there were ten combatants missing.
“There are about thirty bandits. There aren’t that many of them.”
Marsal Seton spoke to his aide-de-camp and the mercenaries.
“A few of the bandits are good at maneuvering the mountains. If we look down on them because they’re few in number, we’ll be wiped out.”
Urich spoke while noisily chewing on a piece of dried meat. Seton scowled.
“I hope that you can abstain from saying things that will lower our morale.”
“No, I’m serious. The day after the attack, I chased their tracks in the morning. But after a certain point, there was nothing. I’m a hunter. I’ve chased wild animals for three days straight. If I lost them, it means that they knew how to use the environment.”
Urich spoke calmly.
“So you’re saying they’re no ordinary thieves
”
Seton thought while holding his chin. Even if they succeeded in the bandit subjugation, if there were too many injured, it was essentially a failed mission. This was a subjugation and not a war. It was also the marshal’s duty to make sure the soldiers returned safely.
“It means that there’s a high chance that a barbarian or a hunter is mixed in with the bandits, Marshal. If they were just hungry farmers that became bandits, they wouldn’t have thought to attack us at night,” said Donovan from the back.
“I know that much as well. But unless we know exactly where their hideout is
 it’s difficult to move carelessly.”
It was more difficult to find the bandit hideout than they had anticipated. However, if they split up their forces, there was also the danger of them being killed one by one.
“I’ll go find the bandit hideout. Give me some of your fast soldiers. Even better if they used to be hunters,” said Urich. Seton narrowed his eyes.
“Are you confident? Didn’t you just say you weren’t able to find them because their tracks were cut off?”
“Obviously I’m not some god of hunting. Even I can’t find tracks that have been cut off. But the bandits felt the thrill of attacking us, so they will attack us at night again. I’ll chase them to the end then.”
Seton quietly listened to Urich’s words then nodded.
He picked out soldiers that used to be hunters as well as those who had good movements and put them under Urich’s command. The soldiers looked at the barbarian with terrified eyes.
The day started to grow dark, and the subjugation force—who were tired from their continuous searches—prepared camp. Because they suffered severely from the previous attack, they placed sentries in various places.
Urich’s pursuit party slept all day and woke up at night. They didn’t wear armor and wore the minimum equipment that they could.
“Mercenary leader, do you really think that they will ambush us again?” asked a soldier. Urich was dulling the reflective light of his axe blade by rubbing charcoal on it.
“They were rather skilled at maneuvering around the mountain. They will definitely try to attack us again. They probably have confidence that even if it fails, they won’t get caught. Because I would also do the same. And just call me by name. My name is Urich, Jesva.”
Jesva was a former hunter. He was tired of the unstable life of a hunter and challenged the city peacekeeper exam. He passed and was able to become a soldier of Havirond.
“Understood, Urich,” responded Jesva. Four soldiers, including him, were under the mercenary leader’s command.
“Haha, to think the day would come when I would be able to maneuver around a mountain here to chase people.”
Urich smiled. A hunter’s blood flowed through his veins. He enjoyed the occasional hunt—whether it was hunting for beasts or people. Just the act of chasing down something made his blood boil.
“I also used to be a hunter, Urich. I also think that I have a bit of talent. Whenever I would go up the mountains, regardless of how long it takes, I would always come down with at least one kill.”
Urich and Jesva shared stories with each other. There was nothing to do while waiting for the ambush anyway.
“But being a hunter doesn’t pay well compared to the risks involved with it. Especially with the huge influx of furs and leathers from the North and the South, our small profits decreased even further. And since I was married as well, I thought ‘I shouldn’t keep going like this.’ Since I needed a stable income to feed my family.”
Jesva spoke as if he was lamenting over something. Urich was greatly interested in his stories.
“Why was there an influx of furs and leathers from the North and the South?”
“As the Empire’s conquest was stabilized, the barbarians started to become civilized. But I think you would know about this more than I do, no? Anyways, there are a lot of skilled hunters amongst the barbarians, and because there are some merchants that are contracted with them, there was more fur and leather being distributed throughout the Empire.”
“Oh! I see.”
Urich included an interjection. Jesva spoke with his chest proudly.
“I heard that they were recruiting for peacekeepers in Havirond just in time, and so and so happened, and I ended up here. Being a soldier in Havirond is quite nice compared to the nearby fiefs or cities. They treat us well, so we don’t have to worry about food or anything. And my wife is pregnant with our third child and soon—”
Urich blocked Jesva’s mouth.
“Shh.”
“D-Did enemies appear?” Jesva whispered.
Urich shook his head.
“Whenever people talk about family during these moments, they always seem to die during battle. At least from my experience.”
Now that he heard it, it also seemed to be true. Jesva nodded to show that he agreed with it.
“Then it might be best to not talk about family. It feels like it’s going to bring bad luck, haha.”
Jesva laughed.
‘I had some prejudices because he was a barbarian, but talking to him makes me think that I can get along with him.’
The mood became much lighter. Jesva was first scared when he saw Urich. It was because he saw Urich violently beat two soldiers with his bare fists.
‘He wasn’t as violent of a person as I thought he was. He doesn’t look as old as I thought he would, and he’s good at listening to others.’
Jesva thought that the tracking mission with Urich this time would be a success. He felt a bond with him after talking to him.
A bond—having your comrade’s back—was an important sensation. Urich and Jesva both knew it well.
“They appeared!”
BAOOOOO!
The sentries blew their horns. Unlike before, the soldiers prepared shields next to them or rested next to a cover. There was no one who was blindsided by the sudden ambush.
“Which side is it?! Throw some torches!”
The subjugation force shouted with loud voices while searching their surroundings.
The bandits, who couldn’t find anything fun to do in this ambush, left without hesitation. They were just testing it without expectations in the first place.
“Let’s go, friends.”
Urich and the soldiers chased them. The pursuit party kept some distance as they quickly followed the bandits’ traces. Since they were all soldiers who had good movements, they were able to tenaciously chase the bandits.
“Fuu, fuu.”
The further they traveled, the heavier their breaths got. On the other hand, the bandits’ pace got faster.
‘For bandits, they have pretty good stamina.’
Urich looked at the soldiers. It was hard to chase the bandits while dragging the soldiers as well.
“Follow me slowly. I’ll break branches to mark where I’m going,” said Urich.
Jesva opened his eyes wide. Urich’s stride broadened. In an instant, he was ahead of the other soldiers.
‘I was also confident in my skills of maneuvering around the mountain
 But he’s practically a beast. He’s basically a wolf.’
Urich closed the distance with the bandits in an instant. But even then, his footsteps were so quiet that it was almost nonexistent.
Snap.
Every once in a while, he would wrap leather around the branch before snapping it. The leather would reduce the sound.
‘Their stamina is equal to the tribe’s warriors’.’
Urich felt how different they were while tracking them. The civilized here comparatively had lower stamina. It was strange that ordinary bandits had this much.
‘No one would be able to chase them other than me.’
Urich hopped between the rocks. The bandits’ hideout was in a more dangerous place than they expected.
Swiiiiish.
Urich felt a chill down his back. His hair was twitching.
Ffft.
He immediately jumped down the rock. His hair was cut.
“You did a great job dodging it.”
The man who attacked Urich spoke. The upper half of his body was completely covered in a strange tattoo.
“Did you know that I was chasing you?”
Urich spoke while pulling out two axes.
“The back of my neck felt ticklish, so I knew someone was chasing us.”
The tattooed man was carrying a curved sword. It was the first time that Urich had seen a weapon that looked like that.
‘I have to kill him quickly.’
It was a disadvantageous situation for Urich. If anyone were to join, it would most likely be an enemy instead of an ally. There was also a chance that the bandits’ hideout was someone nearby.
Clang.
Urich lightly hit the two axes together and used that as a signal to charge in. His specialty was the dual axes. He used his overwhelming power to mercilessly attack the opponent.
Clang! Clang! Ting!
The two iron weapons hit each other. The surroundings occasionally got brighter from the sparks. He could see the tattoo more clearly.
‘A snake?’
The tattoo’s true identity was a snake. It looked like the snake completely wrapped around the man’s body.
“Heut!”
Urich put all of his strength into his arms. He swung his axe with all his strength.
CLANG!
The man’s curved sword flew back. Urich was overwhelming him with his strength.
THUNK!
Urich’s other axe landed deep in the tattooed man’s neck.
“Ggggggguk.”
The tattooed man sat down while holding on to his neck. He looked at Urich with a face full of disbelief.
“I am a bit strong.”
Urich shrugged, grabbed the tattooed man’s hair, and hacked at his neck with an axe.
“Tch, the edge is ruined.”
Urich looked at the chipped axeblade. It wasn’t able to endure Urich swinging it against the curved sword with his full strength.
‘Imperial steel really is the best for weapons.’
He regretted leaving behind his imperial steel sword. He originally left it behind because he thought it would get in the way.
If it were the imperial steel sword, it wouldn’t have chipped just because of that. There was a reason why all warriors admired imperial steel weapons. It was expensive and hard to get, but it was worth it.
“You guys finally caught up.”
Jesva and the other members of the pursuit party slowly caught up to Urich.
“He’s a Serpens believer. A barbarian from the South.”
A soldier spoke after looking at the tattoos on the dead body.
“Serpens?” asked Urich.
“They are disgusting pagans of the South that sacrifice children. They’re not treated just as heretics but as cultists. They are deplorable bastards that aren’t treated well even by other Southern barbarians. Ptoo!”
The soldier spat on the corpse. The civilized somewhat recognized the other heretic religions but absolutely abhorred Serpens.
Swish, swiiish.
Urich felt his hairs stand on end again.
‘These guys aren’t ordinary people.’
Even Urich wasn’t able to sense their presence until they came close. Men with snake tattoos showed themselves. They looked at their comrade’s corpse and scowled.
“It looks like you’re all full of comradery? Haha.”
Urich forced a laugh. There were over ten tattooed men surrounding them.
“Wh-When were we surrounded?!”
Jesva was startled as he pulled out his sword. Urich, Jesva, and the other three people in their pursuit party. They would have to face them with only five people.
“Blow the horn, Jesva. There’s nothing we can do other than hold on until the reinforcements arrive.”
Jesva pulled out the horn and put it to his lips. The moment he tried blowing into it, blood poured out of his chest.
‘An arrow.’
Bandits carrying bows appeared out of the bushes. They didn’t have tattoos, but they were members of the bandit group.
‘Are there around twenty of them in total?’
Urich looked at the enemies while supporting the dying Jesva with his shoulders.
Cough.
Blood was pouring out from his neck.
“I told you. When people talk about their family before a fight, they always end up dying.”
Urich smiled bitterly. Jesva’s chances of surviving were hopeless anyway. He used the dying Jesva’s body as a shield. The archers couldn’t aim for Urich.
“U-Urghh.”
The soldiers who came as the pursuit party were trembling. The sensation of fear was slowly creeping up on them because they were surrounded.
“Yell while you fight. So that our forces can come.”
Urich looked at his surroundings. There were benefits to being in a dark forest.
‘I keep thinking that I could die here.’
Urich smiled. He took in a deep breath and let it out with a roar.
“UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
His voice was heard loud and clear throughout the entire mountain. It was to the extent that a horn wasn’t necessary. His voice echoed again and again.
He participated in battles between the tribes before as well. They weren’t always winning battles either. There were times when they had to run away and times when it was disadvantageous. Urich learned how to survive on the battlefield by watching his brothers die.
He slowly stepped back and moved between the trees. He couldn’t afford to take care of the other soldiers as well. It was difficult enough for him to survive.
“Come. I’ll cut off the head of whoever comes to me first.”
Urich threatened them while showing his tongue. Even the tattooed men hesitated for a moment because of his spirit.
Everything was against Urich except for time. The subjugation force that heard his roar was coming.
The ones in a rush were the bandits. They rushed in towards Urich and the soldiers.
Urich grasped his axes tight while staring at the charging enemies.
‘If I die here, where will my soul go? Will I really become an evil spirit?’
Urich laughed at his pointless thoughts.
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