Chapter 172: Conquest and Conquest

The warriors of the tribe built a fortress below the mountains. It was incomparably rough compared to the camps of the imperial army which had a very well-structured foundation, but it was still much better than having nothing.

The tribal warriors gathered below the mountains, including many from tribes that were much further away. Since Urich had returned to the base of the mountains, the number of stationed warriors had reached three thousand.

"Noah Arten."

Urich went to find Noah. Noah was drawing a military map inside his tent.

"You came just in time. I need you to take a look at the mountain terrain I mapped out. There's no one who knows the geography of the mountains as accurately as Urich of the Stone Axe!"

Urich looked at the leather map laid out on the table. It was drawn based on the testimony of various warriors.

A high mountain range stretched long and straight, and not far from the Stone Axe Tribe, there was a rugged gorge. The pioneering road Yailrud was about two-thirds complete, and in the middle of the ridge that turns west from above the gorge was the coveted campsite everyone desired.

‘The imperial army is almost done with their conquest of the mountains. All they have to do now is come down.’

The imperial army could come down the mountains with light soldiers if they wished. However, they were a group that aimed for a complete victory, not the glory of battle. They wouldn't rashly come down the mountain without their heavy infantry and cavalry.

‘They need to complete the Yailrud to bring the heavy infantry and cavalry over the mountains.’

Once Yailrud was connected to the plains below the ridge as planned, the imperial army would swarm in like a tidal wave.

‘But we’re stationed here and holding it down.’

The imperial army was certainly going to rush to seize the location for completing Yailrud. It was a game of capturing territory being played between those who wanted to extend Yailrud and those who wanted to stop it.

‘Noah is trustworthy. Even though he's a civilized person, he drew this map for us.’

But the possibility that Noah Arten could betray the westerners always needed to be in the back of his mind. No one knew what lay in a person's heart.

‘Just like how Belrua stabbed me in the back. To think that Belrua, who was so against and disliked Samikan, would marry him to preserve her status in the alliance...’

Even now, the thought brought a hollow laugh. Urich had never imagined Belrua would do such a thing.

‘Belrua made a decision as a pragmatic chief.’

Marriage was a means to solidify the position of the Red Sand Tribe in the newly formed alliance. If Belrua was ousted from the chief's position for being a woman, and a new Red Sand chief emerged, it would only worsen the tribe's status within the alliance.

Urich thoughtfully revisited Belrua's decision. Sometimes, a chief had to make decisions that went against their beliefs and nature. That was the responsibility and role of a chief.

‘Gizzle did the same. He hated me more than anyone, but he ultimately handed over the chiefship to me completely.’

Urich always thought of Gizzle, the previous chief of Stone Axe. Although they were never on good terms, Gizzle's attitude and mindset as a chief was something to learn from.

Urich reviewed and corrected a few parts of Noah's leather map.

"The imperial army is formidable, but fortunately for us, the direction of their approach is obvious. The mountains serve as a natural fortress for us. They significantly reduce the places we need to monitor and defend."

Noah pointed to the expected path of the imperial army.

"You knew how strong the imperial army is, so why didn't you warn Samikan?" Urich asked Noah.

"It's not that Samikan wanted to be late."

Noah defended Samikan. Urich frowned.

"Don’t give me that bullshit. I clearly told him before we parted; that he should be ready to send warriors at any time. It was Samikan who ignored my words and did whatever the hell he wanted to do."

At Urich's admonition, Noah sighed and limped to fetch some alcohol.

"Let me pour you a drink."

Urich put his mouth to the liquor pouch instead and chugged half of it.

"

Burp

, we struggle within the mountains, but so does the imperial army. The flatter the terrain is, the more advantageous it becomes for the imperial army with their skills in formation battles. You should know that better than anyone else here, do you not?"

Urich had a complete understanding of the characteristics of the imperial army. Noah's eyes widened as he nodded.

"That's true."

"We shouldn't be preparing to defend here. We have to lead the warriors up and attack. We have to prevent the completion of Yailrud."

"You and I, we both underestimated Samikan. We thought he'd be satisfied with just ruling over a bunch of tribes... Haha."

Noah laughed lightly. Urich's expression darkened further.

"What are you talking about... wait, you’re not serious...?"

Urich's eyes widened.

"Yes. Samikan is waiting for the completion of Yailrud. I've told him countless times it's madness. I told him not to underestimate the empire. Although I come from civilization, I don't wish for Samikan to meet a miserable end."

"So Samikan isn’t trying to defend, he’s trying to cross the mountain using Yailrud. You were still helping him knowing all this? That’s your homeland on the other side of those mountains, Noah Arten!"

“Samikan can’t reach the Imperial Capital anyway. At most, he’ll manage to get to some of its surrounding kingdoms, and those aren’t my home.”

Noah replied calmly, but Urich caught a discrepancy in his words.

“... you were against his plan at first, but now you think it has a chance.”

“Only if he manages to defend successfully against the first attack of the empire. Things are different than it was in the north. The west managed to unite before the empire’s invasion. Even the north, who united way too late, was a huge threat to the empire. It’s true that the imperial army is strong, but their forces are spread out among various lines. By the time the empire can send its forces out to its surrounding kingdoms, your alliance would have already completed the plundering and be long gone. As you guys proved in your last expedition, the warriors of the west, who have lived their entire lives walking and running, can march more than twice the distance that the imperial army is capable of. They’ll never catch up to you.”

Noah pointed at the east of the mountains which hadn’t been drawn on the leather map yet.

Urich stared at the map as he stroked his chin. Listening to Noah’s expectations, Samikan’s plan didn’t sound as absurd as it did initially. There was a chance.

‘I have to admit, Samikan’s ambition is bigger than anyone else, and so is his vision. To think that he was planning on crossing the mountains to attack their side...’

Urich had been completely devoted to defending their land. That was all he had thought about.

“What if the empire destroys Yailrud?”

"They’ll barely manage to destroy the initial part, at most. The alliance army supply themselves through plundering and has no cavalry. Mountain goat warriors climb better than people in mountainous terrain. As long as Yailrud crosses the high altitude that many expeditions have failed, the rest is relatively smooth ridges that can be traveled by foot. All we need to secure is 70% of the road. Even if the empire destroys the first 30%, tribal warriors can still pass through."

The plan flowed out of Noah’s mouth smoothly.

‘He's been preparing for a long time. Ever since we came back from the expedition, Samikan must have been thinking of not defending but crossing the mountains through Yailrud.’

Urich acutely felt Samikan's leadership qualities and vision. The perspective he held was completely different from Urich's.

"If we lose to the imperial army after crossing the mountains... things will be just like it was in the north. Young men will either all die or become slaves."

"You can’t gain anything without risk."

"Is Samikan going to gamble the fate of the entire west for the sake of his own ambition?"

"A man only lives once."

Noah shrugged. Urich felt a sense of déjà vu.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

‘Emperor Yanchinus.’

An obsession with achievement and bold actions.

‘Samikan is similar to Yanchinus.’

The almost sticky obsession that Urich had felt from Yanchinus was also present in Samikan.

‘Men who walk a tightrope between destruction and glory.’

It wasn't just their own downfall. Despite their actions and failures potentially leading to the suffering and death of countless men, they acted solely for their ambitions without any guilt.

‘Is that the quality of a conqueror?’

It was an aspect Urich lacked. Urich was closer to an explorer than a conqueror.

Thump, thump.

His heart pounded. Had Urich been a warrior who was under Samikan, he might have been impressed by that ambition and sworn loyalty.

‘Plundering the civilized world with our own hands.’

It was a paradoxical pleasure.

Urich admired and loved the civilized world. Yet, in a corner of his heart, he had the madness of barbarism. It was a barbarian's nature to destroy and plunder everything.

Urich always dreamed of burning land. The burning land must have not only symbolized the western lands.

"Thanks to Samikan, my life was saved. This must also be Lou's will. And meeting the great explorer Urich as well."

Noah laughed.

"...I'm not a great explorer."

Sometimes, Urich felt a sense of guilt. The closer he got to Noah, the stronger that feeling became.

Urich had practically destroyed the Arten family. The men of the Arten family who had successfully crossed the mountains should have enjoyed glory and honor, but each met an unfortunate end at Urich's hand.

"As a sign of respect for a great explorer, let me give you a piece of advice. Don't try to surpass Samikan's authority. Samikan wants to be seen as an unrivaled being. Just be wary of that. Samikan regards you as an important person and likes you personally. Otherwise, you would have died long ago."

Urich was the Son of the Earth and held a position in the alliance comparable to Samikan's. In battles, he even garnered more support than Samikan.

'Samikan was waiting for my failure in battle because that was the one place where I had greater authority than him. Samikan was keeping me in check.'

Urich was not one to lack political sense, but Samikan had an even greater political acumen.

Surprisingly, his boiling emotions cooled. Acting on emotions alone wasn’t going to achieve anything. Only those who endured that temptation could seize the opportunity.

"Hmm, then there's only one problem. How to stop the advancing imperial army. If Samikan stabbed me in the back and still can't stop the imperial army, he'll just become a tyrant who screwed over the whole west."

Noah laughed. Though he did not reply, he agreed.

Urich tilted his head slightly and looked at the map.

* * *

In the empire's camp, the smoke from burning bodies continued day and night for three days. The slave soldiers and conscripts, who contributed greatly to the victory, died in large numbers.

Neither slaves nor conscripts received proper treatment for their injuries. Winter gear was scarce, barely reaching one in ten of them.

"W-we're the heroes of the v-victory."

A slave soldier said as he chattered his teeth. Despite their sacrifices leading to victory, there was no reward for them. Only then did they realize their grim reality.

"There is no freedom for us. We're just tools to be used until we die. The freedom they promised us is death."

Unlike the conscripts, the slaves didn’t even have a place to return to.

Already in poor nutritional condition, the slaves quickly weakened and died even inside the camp. The empire's supplies were distributed to the conscripts first and reached the slaves last.

"The ones who just twiddled their thumbs in the back get to pick the best for themselves first."

The slaves gazed at the pale gruel. Even that was greedily coveted as it was warm food.

"What can we even do? If we fight back, they’ll just kill us. Keke."

To make things worse, the slaves weren't even from the empire but from its vassal kingdoms. Slaves from the vassal states, forcibly brought to the battlefield, became quickly exhausted. Their morale plummeted.

"Shut your mouth. If you're caught talking, you'll be sent out to chop wood."

The heroes of victory, the slaves, were the first to be forced into labor. It was the already-emaciated slaves who were burdened with the tough work of repairing the camp. The quicker-witted slaves quietly hid to avoid labor.

"It's too obvious. Things might be different for the conscripts, but at this rate, not a single slave soldier will return alive."

"Stop with the ominous talk."

"It's not ominous talk; we need to face reality to find a solution. Denial won't do anything for us."

"Hah, then how come your high-and-mighty-ass ended up becoming a slave like the rest of us?"

Arguments broke out among the slaves. One of them was a young man with a dignified appearance, rather unfitting for a slave. He even carried a noble aura in his speech.

“You’re right, I am a slave now. That is an indisputable fact. But I have no intention of living as one until the day I die.”

The young man declared. Despite his skinny body, his eyes had clarity. His intent intimidated the slave who was snapping at him. His mannerism was quite elegant. Despite his dirty face, his features were distinct, suggesting he might belong to a noble family.

Occasionally among the slaves were descendants of fallen nobles or illegitimate children who were abandoned to hide family secrets.

"W-what is this? W-who are y-you?"

"Me? I’m the slave of the scribe, Georg Artur."

"Y-you have a last name? A-are you from a n-noble family?"

The slaves murmured. Even the mention of being a scribe's slave made him seem like he was somebody. The mere fact of having noble origins naturally elicited respectful speech from them.

"No, Artur is just a surname I gave myself. Cool, isn't it?"

Georg laughed brightly. The slaves then shook their heads in disbelief.

"This guy’s crazy... But you seem like you’re literate, why are you on the battlefield?"

"I slept with my master’s wife. He sent me here to make sure I die a miserable death. That coward scribe didn’t even have the courage to get blood on his own hands. But I guess that’s why he didn't notice his wife getting railed by a slave, right? I did that shit for three whole years."

The slaves laughed at his story. Georg's tale was thrilling.

Gradually, the slaves focused on Georg's story. As a slave who worked under a scribe, Georg knew how to speak eloquently and had a lot of knowledge.