Chapter 190

Before starting their invasion of the Langkegart Kingdom, a tribal council was held. One by one, the chiefs entered the tent.

"Why is that man here at the tribal council?" One of the chiefs spoke upon seeing Georg.

Urich relayed the question to Georg with a grin, "They're asking why someone like you is here."

Although Urich spoke playfully, Georg's legs were slightly trembling.

"Weren’t you the one who told me to come? Urich."

Georg glanced at the fierce faces of the chiefs. Every single one of them looked like they were ready to draw their swords and tear Georg apart at any moment.

Georg resented Urich for making him come to the council. The tent was crowded with men who seemed like they could kill a person with only a glance.

"Georg Arthur represents the civilized mercenaries. He has every right to be here."

Samikan, sitting at the head of the table, correctly pronounced Georg's name.

"He is not our kind, though, is he?"

"My brother, Noah Arten, is not of our kind either."

"That's a different matter, Great Chief Samikan."

"There is no difference. Did we originally consider ourselves the same people? We were different tribes, but now we are united. If we can fight together, we will welcome anyone who wishes to join us and treat them fairly."

Samikan recognized Georg's position. It shut up the questioning chief.

Samikan had actively utilized civilized people where their abilities were needed. Those who were initially prisoners now worked within the alliance army. Moreover, Samikan compensated them fairly without discriminating against them for their civilization origin. There were those who had the chance to leave but chose to stay voluntarily with the alliance army.

Samikan was flexible in expanding his forces. He had united tribes that once considered each other strangers and made a civilized person like Noah Arten one of his closest allies. He provided positions and treatment to any individuals who possessed talents needed within the tribal army.

"How are things on your end, Belrua?"

Samikan asked while splitting an apple with a knife.

Belrua was Samikan's wife and a chief. Nobody disregarded her anymore.

"We're learning how to make better quality iron. We’re not at the 'steel' level yet... but we can now make weapons from iron that are much better quality than before."

Belrua had interacted with blacksmiths of civilization, and the blacksmiths of the Red Sand adapted and modified civilized weapons to suit the tribal warriors of the alliance.

The alliance army's armament quality was no longer comparable to what they had when they first crossed Yailrud. The blade of their axes was no longer jagged, and the armor for the upper body consisted of iron plated over leather. Many warriors were equipped with gear not inferior to the empire's heavy infantry.

'But how exactly do we make steel?'

Belrua only became more and more fascinated with steel. Despite having the end product right in front of her, she did not know how it was smelted. Her greatest interest was in the method of smelting steel.

Steel was a top secret of the imperial smithy. Nobody knew the secret behind how steel was smelted, whether they were the imperial army or civilian blacksmiths.

The tribal council discussed various issues. Samikan's primary concern was the education of the tribal warriors. They had many new things to learn, including riding horses and different siege tactics.

"We will proceed with our cross-marching strategy all the way to the capital city of Langkegart. The defense there will be stronger, but since we've also become quite adept, there should be no difficulty in capturing it."

Samikan pointed to the map and pointed out the direction of their march.

The chiefs nodded and their eyes shone. Their spirits were high from successive victories and plundering.

"Marching directly to the capital is good, but we must not overlook this place."

Georg stepped forward with courage. Samikan looked up and signaled Noah for translation.

"That place is not on the way. Is there a reason we should go out of our way to attack it?"

The place Georg pointed to was a border city. As a city on the border, it had a point of contact with the empire as well as the neighboring kingdom.

"This border city, Vernikal, is a commercial city engaged in triangular trade. If we attack it, we’ll be able to quickly spread the fear of the alliance. And most slaves traveling up to the empire from the south pass through Vernikal. The slave market there is so large that there are always plenty of slaves to be bought at any time. I will persuade those slaves to join the alliance army. I was in the same situation as them, after all."

Georg's words were conveyed to Samikan and the chiefs. Samikan stroked his chin and nodded.

"How many men will be needed?"

"It is a commercial city with strong defenses, but about five thousand should be sufficient."

Samikan discussed the distribution of forces with the other chiefs. The entire tribal army moving to attack Vernikal would be a considerable detour that would give the defenses of Langkegart’s capital enough time to prepare themselves. Capturing it before the enemy issued a conscription order and gathered forces was the tribal army's grand strategy.

"Urich, the number I can give you is three thousand. Do you think it’s possible?"

Samikan always relied on Urich for important matters, especially more so since arriving in the civilized world. Urich had a deep understanding of the civilized world.

Urich nodded to Samikan's words.

"Whether it's possible or not isn't something I can decide and tell you right now. The real question is whether I have the will to do it."

Samikan smiled wryly at Urich's wordplay.

"Right. So, are you going to do it? Urich."

"Of course, brother."

Urich stood up, looking at Samikan and the chiefs. He then left the tent with Georg.

* * *

Urich led three thousand men and the civilized mercenary squad toward the commercial city of Vernikal.

Clank.

Urich adorned his wrists and forearms with golden ornaments. He lifted his arm and stared blankly at the gold.

"Georg, these ornaments hold tremendous value in the civilized world."

"They're incredible treasures. You could probably even buy someone's life with them."

"But in our world, they’ll be enough to buy a few goats, at best. In a drought, where food is scarce, shining gold is no different from the regular pebbles on the ground."

Urich felt the meaning of relative value.

Many tribal warriors had little to no interest in the treasures of the civilized world. Although some instinctively coveted jewels or gold, their greed for wealth was still far less than that of civilized people.

"During a drought, even if you shoved millions of gold coins in someone’s face, you won't be able to buy food. You have to pull out a metal sword to steal their food."

"I can’t imagine a climate with distinct dry and rainy seasons like yours."

"Do you know why we crossed Yailrud to come here?"

Georg paused for a moment to think, then hesitantly moved his lips.

"...Revenge, isn't it?"

"If it were for revenge, we've already done enough. We've slaughtered many people of the civilization. And we've already repelled the invaders a long time ago."

"To show off your power?"

"That's also right to an extent. It's about showing our strength clearly, so they never dare to drool all over our land again. But that's just a pretext. Pretexts alone gain us nothing. There must always be a tangible benefit."

Urich tossed the ornaments onto the carriage.

"What benefit are you talking about, Urich?"

This time, Georg asked proactively. He was curious about Urich as a person.

'The first to cross the Sky Mountains, so said the barbarians. A man who experienced the civilized world all by himself and returned home. The Son of the Earth who earned the respect of all warriors.'

In the alliance, neither lineage nor origin mattered much. What mattered was whether one had the ability to satisfy that position. Even if one was born a chief's son, without the necessary skills, one would be nothing more than a mere warrior.

'In the alliance, having a position means that that person has the skills to match it. It’s different from nobility where bloodline alone is enough for someone to inherit everything.'

Quite a few civilized people who had the chance to regain freedom chose to stay in the alliance. Whether one was a farmer or a blacksmith, if they contributed to the alliance, they received a fair share. Everyone got a reward matching the amount of their contribution. This was possible because the western barbarians possessed little greed.

The western barbarians had a minimal desire for personal property. Behind the violence of barbarism was a simple character, content with just enough food to eat.

"When we go back to the west, we'll just end up endlessly warring against each other again. The alliance is just a nice shell. Not just me and Samikan, but the other chiefs are aware of it too. When the dry season comes, we'll have no choice but to fight over the limited resources again."

They were able to get through the last dry season by going on a western expedition to maintain the alliance's unity.

"So, you elected to divert your strengths outward instead of fighting among yourselves."

"If we had gone into another tribal war, it would have been more tragic than before. Since we already have a sense of being the same kind, it would have meant that we were killing our own. Some tribes would ally to attack weaker ones. Like this, the population and tribes would decrease until the remaining people could survive comfortably."

Urich pinned a thread of hope on agriculture. However, whether farming would succeed was uncertain, and even if successful, a full-fledged agricultural society was still a long way away. Until then, it would be a continuous struggle of taking from each other as before.

"I see..."

Georg learned things about westerners that the rest of civilization was not aware of. They were not merely cruel barbarians.

'After all, it was the empire that started the invasion in the first place.'

Georg and Urich rode side by side at the front of the three thousand. A few tribal warriors who had learned how to ride a horse also clumsily rode along.

"Now, tell me your story too. You can ride a horse, read and write. You would be treated decently wherever you go, so why are you still here? Is it still a secret?"

"I won’t get anything better than the treatment I get here wherever I go. Here, I get gold and jewels as a reward, and not to mention the women..."

"As far as I know, you haven't touched a woman once. You've refused all the girls we gave you as a reward," Urich questioned Georg rather sharply.

At that moment, Georg's expression hardened.

'Damn, has he been watching me this whole time?'

Suddenly, Urich's friendly face seemed terrifying.

"Is it a crime not to touch women?"

The answer that came from Urich was firm and decisive.

“Being a man and not embracing a woman is wrong.”

“According to Lou’s teachings, sexual desire should be restrained...”

“Hah, that’s bullshit. Even your great emperor and the guardian of your faith is a lustful maniac who can't live a day without women. Out of all the Lou-lovers I’ve met, I’ve rarely seen one who managed to keep it in his pants.”

Urich chuckled. Georg blushed and squirmed.

“I will not comment any further. Everyone has their circumstances.”

“Georg Artur, you were sent to cross the mountains as a slave soldier for coveting your master’s wife. That was practically a death sentence. Not only that, but you also bravely offered advice during a tribal council. I didn’t know you cared so much for the alliance.”

Urich kept digging into Georg. Sweat trickled down Georg’s forehead.

“So what?”

“So I thought real hard about it—about your situation. Vernikal is your hometown, isn’t it? The place where you lived, where your master who sent you to the battlefield lives.”

“...That's correct. Do you want a prize or something?” Georg said with a sigh.

“I’m not trying to demoralize you. But I need to know at least a bit about my subordinate's background.”

“Subordinate...?”

“I’m the one who took you in back at the Arten outpost. So, that makes you my subordinate. Anyone who disrespects you disrespects me. So, if anyone tries anything funny, feel free to talk to me anytime.”

“I-I am a man from this land.”

“This isn’t my first time having a civilized subordinate. Hell, I even have a civilized friend too.”

Georg’s eyes widened.

The day was fading. The tribal warriors returned in groups after plundering nearby farms.

“The civilized world is great. There’s food all over the place.”

Warriors who were carrying kidnapped women on their shoulders and sacks of grain in one hand returned to the camp.

“Right? I could live here for the rest of my life. There’s women and food everywhere.”

The warriors set up camp, laughing. They were men who could laugh lightly even after slaughtering an ordinary family who were simply living their ordinary lives. That was their way of life. Living by taking from others was natural.

“Oh, Lou! I’ve turned a blind eye to women being raped and have been feeding on stolen food. And... I will probably spend tomorrow just like today as well. I will donate to the temple when I return, so... please forgive me for overlooking all this injustice.”

Georg prayed in his own way. He sat at the same fire as Urich and shared a meal with the warriors.

As they traveled to Vernikal, Urich occasionally told Georg about his adventures in the civilized world.

“Enough with the lies. If you're friends with royalty, then I’m the long-lost half-brother of the emperor.”

“I’m not lying. It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself... but I’m kinda famous.”

“Even if that’s true, saying so yourself is pretty corny, Urich. Such brags might work on others, but I’m quite educated, you see, ehem.”

For a second, Urich contemplated whether to split Georg's head open right there and then.