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Chapter 42 – Barbarian Hunter (2)
“It isn’t polite to do stuff like that when they’re saying no. You guys are civilized as well, right? Isn’t it only barbarians that do stuff like this?” asked Urich.
He picked up his axe and sword off the floor. The joints in his body were all still aching.
‘It feels like a year got taken off my lifespan. Humans should really just act like humans.’
Urich glanced at Kilios and laughed.
“Don’t get closer. Do you want to see this bitch die? Huh?” threatened a bandit while holding a blade to Fahel’s throat. The bandits were completely terrified by the atmosphere that Urich gave out.
‘He’s not normal. The aura that he’s emitting is on another level.’
More than anything, he was someone strong enough to carry an adult male with one hand. The bandits took Fahel captive to threaten Urich.
“Huh?” questioned Urich. He tilted his head and looked at the bandits.
“S-Stop right there! Before I slice this bastard’s neck ope—”
SWOOSH!
Urich threw his axe without hesitation. The bandit that was threatening him had his head split open.
“Kill him if you want. Hostages don’t work on me. But, if Fahel dies, I will kill you in a way that’s three times more painful.”
Urich leaped towards them with a sword in his hand. The bandits didn’t even have time to think about hurting Fahel. They were too busy running away from Urich.
SMASH!
Urich cut into the back of an escaping bandit. He brutally killed them without letting even a single one of them escape.
“Fuuu.”
He took a deep breath, face covered in blood. He retrieved his weapons and wiped the blood off them.
“Release me first!” yelled Fahel with his butt still sticking out.
Urich laughed while holding his stomach.
“You look like a fucking idiot. I wish the others could have seen this!”
“S-Stop it! You bastard! Quickly untie me!” shouted Fahel. His face was a shade of deep crimson and looked as if it were about to explode.
“Ahhh, I don’t know if it’s because I just realigned my joints, but it’s difficult to move.”
Urich slowly lumbered over and quickly spanked Fahel’s butt with a wide swing.
SMACK!
The prince glared at him with clenched teeth.
“You fucking lunatic! D-Did you forget who I am? I am Varca anu Forlcana! I am of royal blood! You dare ridicule me?!”
Urich picked his ear as he pulled out his sword and placed it in the gap in the ropes.
“I thought that you were a woman, but your dick is dangling there like a man. So you were a man as well. You should learn how to swing a sword.”
Urich freed Fahel from his restraints. The moment he was released, Fahel quickly pulled up his pants and spat on the deceased bandits’ corpses.
“You bastards will never return to Ru’s arms! You disgusting bandits!”
Fahel spat out all sorts of curses at them. He was about to say something to Urich as well but stopped himself.
‘Damn it. This barbarian.’
But Urich was Fahel’s savior. He had saved Fahel’s life countless times.
‘He saved a royal’s life several times. Normally, it wouldn’t be enough even if I gave him a mountain of rewards, but
’
Urich was giggling while looting the bandits’ corpses.
“They’re complete beggars,” said Urich.
While the barbarian was taking the spoils of the battle, Fahel was easing Kilios.
“Whoa, whoa. It’s alright, Kilios. We’ll be starting again soon.”
Fahel released the stallion.
“Urich, let’s go. It’ll take two days to reach Balgma. And that’s only if we go the correct path.”
Urich nodded and placed his hand on Kilios’s back.
Neigh.
The stallion didn’t reject Urich as the barbarian patted its back with a wide grin on his face.
“Will the mercenary group be okay? We got caught running away,” said Urich as he looked behind and at the path they took.
“We can only pray. And since they wouldn’t be able to catch up to us by torturing the mercenary group, they will probably just let them go without laying a finger on them,” said Fahel. However, even though he said those words, he was still worried about them. His statements were also to comfort himself.
“Since we crossed the border now, they won’t be able to chase us with all of their troops. And even if they do chase us, it will be a small party at most.”
Urich and Fahel started to walk. They planned to preserve Kilios’s stamina for when they need it the most.
They started to chat as they walked on the mountain path.
“Urich, are all of the people in your tribe that strong?”
Fahel saw Urich lift Kilios and was also amazed by it. He had never heard of or seen a person lift a horse with just their body.
“No. They’re normal. I’m the one who’s a bit strong,” said Urich proudly. He was always the fastest and strongest.
“Did you eat something wrong when you were little? Or are your parents like that too?”
“I don’t have parents. My tribe discovered me when I was young and wandering around the plains alone. They also just guessed my age by comparing me with the other kids. If I had to choose a parent, it would be the tribe that raised me.”
“Ah.”
Fahel felt awkward. It felt like he asked him the wrong question.
“You’re a royal. Do you have any fun stories? You told me that you’ve been to the imperial capital before, right? Tell me about that.”
Urich had a lot of interest in the Empire’s capital. It was a city that was also known as the center of the world.
“My only experience in the imperial capital was when I followed my father there when I was younger. It’s already been a decade, but I remember it so vividly. It was the first time I saw a spire that tall. It was like it was built by giants. Hamel is a massive city, but water would come out in every nook and cranny through the waterways. There was no reason to walk far to draw water from a well.”
“Waterway?”
“A path for water. It artificially draws water from the river and spreads it throughout the city. Facilities like that only exist in Hamel.”
“Waterways, huh
”
Urich couldn’t even imagine what it would look like. He just nodded.
“And they throw away their waste in the sewage system. Even though all of the massive city’s waste travels through the sewage system, it doesn’t smell at all. It’s amazing how they built a city like that. Hamel is already in the next era by itself. Other cities are just trailing behind it. Compared to the civilization in the Empire’s capital, all humans are just barbarians,” said Fahel. There was a hint of self-deprecation in his last statement. Forlcana Kingdom was also a vassal state of the Empire.
“Is it something that amazing?”
Urich touched his chin. His heart was beating quickly. He already forgot about his aching body.
‘My brothers back home wouldn’t believe it if I told them, since I also can’t believe it after hearing it.’
Urich didn’t have the slightest thought of returning home. There were so many things here. Even if he traveled for the rest of his life, he wouldn’t be able to see it all.
‘From the South to the North. Across the sea to the world’s edge.’
The world was vast. The past Urich was living in a tiny world.
‘We have to escape out of the tiny well.’
Urich held his chest. His head was overflowing with various desires.
Badump.
His desires reached out and grasped his heart.
“Urich?”
Fahel looked at Urich whose head was down.
“My back still hurts. I feel like I’m going to die. Let’s rest over there. It’s almost time to sleep as well.”
Urich pointed at the base of a hill. There was a rock to hide behind, so it wasn’t bad.
“Elder Sister Damia would be so sad if she saw this.”
“You talk about your twin sister a lot.”
“Of course. We are siblings born from the same mother. I love my sister. If I become king, I won’t make her do a marriage of convenience.”
(T/N: Marriage of Convenience: a marriage that is arranged for practical, financial, or political reasons.)
“Is she pretty?” asked Urich. He was squatting and chewing on a piece of jerky that he pulled out from his waist bag.
“She’s the most beautiful woman in the kingdom! Of course she’s pretty! It’s to the point where young nobles line up to propose to her.”
“Really? What about her hair color? Her eye color?” asked Urich. He laughed while pulling up his waistband.
“Blonde hair and blue eyes! It means that the royal blood is thick in her. While I was only able to inherit the blue eyes, my elder sister inherited both.”
“I see. Are her boobs big?”
“Of cou—What sort of vulgar question is that?!” shouted the furious Fahel.
“Keep going. Are her lips red? Her skin is white too, right? If you, a guy, is that pretty, I don’t need to say anything about her. Okay, It’s this for today.”
Urich put his hand into his pants.
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Trying to rub one out. It’s been too long since I saw a woman. I’m at the age when it’s at its peak. Aren’t you like that too?”
“D-Do you think that I’m a barbarian like you? You should be embarrassed!”
Fahel looked at Urich in surprise.
“I’ll be back quickly. Heut,” said Urich.
Urich tottered up and went behind a tree on the other side.
Moments later, he returned with a refreshed look on his face.
“There’s a cloud over there that looks exactly like a woman’s butt. You should also take care of yourself before the cloud dissipates, yeah? To help you relax.”
Urich was in his physical prime. As such, his libido was also in its prime.
“I was an idiot for thinking for a second that I could converse with you. You beast.”
“Sometimes, it’s better to be a beast than a human. Don’t you think so too, Kilios?” said Urich. He patted Kilios’s head as he spoke. The stallion now followed Urich well.
Urich and Fahel both closed their eyes for a bit and then walked another quarter of a day after waking up.
“I don’t know if this is the right direction. It would be nice if there were some houses to ask for directions,” said Fahel. He anxiously looked at the night sky.
“No matter where we go, as long as I’m with you, you won’t die. So don’t worry so much,” consoled Urich while throwing himself to the floor.
They didn’t light a fire. Two people was the perfect number of people to hide. They didn’t need to light a fire and potentially let others know of their location.
“Fahel, stick to me. Don’t waste any heat.”
The two covered themselves with a cape while leaning on Kilios. They gathered warmth from the horse and each other to keep themselves warm.
“If I become king, I will kill every single traitor,” muttered Fahel to himself while letting out a breath. Every day was difficult for him.
“Are you sure that the Empire will help you when you arrive there?” asked Urich while counting the stars.
“Of course. The Emperor will definitely help me, the rightful heir, take the throne.”
“Really?”
Urich couldn’t really say anything. The civilized would know much more about the society here.
“Fuu, it’s cold,” said Fahel.
It was the first time Fahel camped without a fire. It was colder than he expected it to be.
“Endure it. As long as we don’t light a fire, we won’t get caught,” said Urich.
While the barbarian was also weak to the cold, he spoke with a composed expression.
BARK! BARK!
They heard dogs from afar. Urich scowled.
“Hm.”
Fahel quickly stood up and looked towards the direction of the sound.
“You told me that we wouldn’t get caught!”
“I didn’t expect them to have dogs.” Urich laughed. He stared into the darkness and noticed a wavering torch.
“Wh-What do we do? D-Do we run away on Kilios?”
Fahel was panicking. Urich pressed his hand on the prince’s head.
“Don’t worry. There’s no guarantee that they’re a pursuit party. And even if they are, there aren’t a lot of them. If you hide here, I’ll take care of them and come back.”
Urich looked at the direction the enemies were approaching from.
‘It’s better to take care of them here instead of being chased. We’re still in the forest. It’s better to fight in a forest than in an open area.’
Step, step.
Urich entered the dark forest.
‘I’m alone again.’
Fahel pulled out his self-defense sword and watched the surroundings. It felt as if the darkness were alive and moving.
‘I also want to be a man who’s not afraid of anything.’
Fahel looked at Urich’s back. No matter the circumstance, Urich didn’t lose his smile. No matter what anyone else said, Urich was a strong person. How many people can laugh while teetering on the line between life and death?
Fahel realized his weakness. He understood that he lived a life helped by numerous people.
Suddenly, he thought of something he shouldn’t have.
‘Am I really worthy of becoming king?’
A crack formed in his heart.
—————