Chapter 228

Noah Arten's body was found in the moat beneath the fortress. The warrior who pulled up the wet body grimaced at the stench.

"He was murdered," Urich commented upon examining Noah's body. It seemed a blade had pierced his chest.

"He was stabbed from behind, Samikan."

Urich checked the body and then turned to Samikan. He flinched upon seeing Samikan’s face.

‘This is going to be a problem. He's really angry.’

Samikan, usually composed, was seething with hatred. However, he did not show his emotions to other warriors. It was because it was Urich that he showed his feelings fully.

"So, someone killed him... Someone who stayed behind in the fort while we were fighting..."

Urich quietly stepped back as Samikan sat beside Noah's body for a long time. No more blood was flowing out of the wound in Noah’s chest.

Clank.

A clear sound came from Samikan's chest. It was the sun necklace he had received from Noah. The dented sun decoration glimmered faintly.

‘I was supposed to be the one dying.’

Death had gotten right in front of his eyes. Without the sun necklace he got from Noah, he would have died.

"The death that avoided me has struck you. You passed on the divine protection you received to me. Foolish one."

Samikan twisted his lips and lightly tapped Noah's cheek.

"Give him a funeral in the way of his people," Samikan ordered, and the warriors began to pile up wood for the deceased Noah.

‘It wasn't Urich. Urich didn't have the time to kill Noah, nor is he the type to do such a thing.’

While wary, Samikan trusted Urich. Urich was the greatest warrior Samikan knew. A true warrior doesn't engage in deceitful acts.

‘There are too many suspects.’

It wasn’t just one or two people who had stayed behind at the Arten outpost. Samikan had stationed a significant defense force at the outpost in case of an unexpected counterattack.

Samikan had many enemies. Most of the chiefs and warriors in the alliance had been enemies in the past. It wouldn't be strange if they harbored ill will toward Samikan.

Samikan and Urich talked alone. Urich crossed his arms and nodded as Samikan spoke.

"... If there are so many suspects, I guess finding the culprit from suspicion alone is not an option. You should’ve done better to not make so many enemies, huh?"

"When you’re holding a position like mine, just behaving yourself isn’t going to prevent enemies from arising."

"Whatever. The truth is that it's impractical to try to find the murderer."

"If I start interrogating the chiefs one by one now to try to find who killed Noah, the alliance will crumble. Noah wouldn't have wanted that."

Samikan clenched his fist, swallowed his anger, and continued speaking.

"Find the murderer, Urich. There are those within the alliance who want to undermine my authority."

Urich grinned, showing his teeth.

"Am I not included in that group?"

"You are my brother. I can trust you."

Samikan grabbed Urich's forearm and looked him in the eye.

"Shouldn't you have thought that earlier? Isn't it too late?" Urich said as he scoffed sarcastically.

"We've had a lot of things happen between us, as well as lots of misunderstandings. But now I know you, Urich."

"But I still don't think I know you well enough."

"You're not the kind to betray others for personal gain. I know that if I keep my trust, you'll keep yours," Samikan said as he walked past Urich.

Urich stood hesitantly, watching Samikan's back.

"Well, I guess he's not wrong."

It was a complicated feeling. Although chosen by himself, Samikan bore a heavy responsibility. Because he was in that position, he couldn't openly grieve the death of a friend who was like a brother to him. Although it was for his own ambitions, he had to prioritize the stability of the alliance over his personal vengeance.

"Poor you, you don’t have things too easy, either."

Urich turned his stiff neck left and right, cracking the bones with a pop.

* * *

Urich returned to the Arten outpost and met with many people. He was a figure of status within the alliance, and people came to see him daily, like an audience.

"You really were leading the alliance."

Sun Warrior Harvald observed the western plunderers as he stood beside Urich. They were a foreign yet occasionally familiar group. One thing that was clear was that they too maintained a warrior society.

"You thought I was lying? I may not be the Great Chief, but they won’t break an alliance I've made. I have my own status here, and we as an army also need alliances."

Harvald was reassured by Urich's status. There was only one person in the alliance who was strong enough to break an agreement made by Urich.

"Did you say the Great Chief’s name is Samikan?"

"Yeah, he’s the one I swore an oath of brotherhood with.”

Urich and Harvald chatted before the next visitor arrived. Harvald continued to wear his Sun Warrior attire.

"It looked like you two were not on very good terms for brothers."

"You’ve also fought and killed men you called brothers. Relationships can be sour sometimes."

Harvald flinched. Even if he was angered by the comment, there was no grounds for rebuttal. It was true that the Sun Warriors had split and fought amongst themselves because their beliefs differed too greatly.

"Urich, Six-Fingered is here," Georg announced as he creaked the door open.

Urich gestured, and Six-Fingered sneakily entered Urich’s dwelling. Urich greeted him while sitting in his chair.

"It’s been a while, Urich the Son of the Earth," Six-Fingered said, waving a palm tree staff adorned with a wolf's skull and bear paws. He wiggled his six fingers like spider legs.

Harvald standing behind Urich openly expressed his disgust at Six-Fingered's attire and eeriness.

"How freaky. If you walked around like that in the empire, you wouldn’t have kept your head," the Sun Warrior said to the shaman.

Six-Fingered didn’t understand Harvald's language but figured that it wasn’t a compliment.

"It seems like this man doesn’t like me too much, Urich."

"He had a complicated upbringing. Let him be."

"I would like to talk alone," Six-Fingered said.

Urich dismissed everyone around. With a single gesture from Urich, the room became quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"Let’s speak openly, Six-Fingered. We’re not the type to hide cunning intentions from each other, are we?" Urich said as he grinned broadly.

Six-Fingered responded with a similar grin, revealing his rotten teeth with an awful stench. The herbs he had smoked had stained his teeth black and yellow.

"...I heard you are looking for the person who killed Noah Arten."

Six-Fingered brought up the topic. Their eyes met in a tense exchange.

"Did you kill Noah?"

"I did not kill him."

"I didn’t think so. I was just wondering. You're afraid of Samikan. You wouldn’t have crossed that line of killing Noah. Because if Samikan found out, he would surely kill you."

Urich's golden eyes glared at Six-Fingered. Six-Fingered felt like he was standing before a predator.

"It’s good that you know that. I just wanted to come here and tell you that I didn’t kill him, and..."

"And?"

"You might have heard that Samikan and Belrua are expecting a child together."

"That's good news. If it's a boy and he grows up to be manly enough, he’ll be the next Great Chief," Urich replied nonchalantly.

Six-Fingered frowned at the corners of his wrinkled eyes.

"Do you not have any ambitions?"

"Ambitions? Of what? Being a Great Chief?"

"Are you telling me that you, a warrior with the status of ‘The Son of the Earth,’ don’t even aspire to lead the men of the alliance as their head?" Six-Fingered said as if he was criticizing Urich.

"Being a Great Chief doesn’t mean much to me."

Urich narrowed his eyes. His pupils emitted a hollow light. He slowly reached out and grabbed Six-Fingered by the collar.

"Toppling Samikan is your ambition, not mine. Don’t babble to me about it. If you want to do it, don’t ask for my help; do it yourself."

Six-Fingered averted his gaze. Urich let him go.

"One day, you’ll be stabbed in the back by Samikan again. Is it not one of the basics in fighting to strike before being struck?"

"Get out of my face before I tell Samikan about what you just babbled on about."

Six-Fingered left Urich’s dwelling without hiding his discomfort.

Left alone, Urich picked up a leather pouch filled with liquor.

"This guy, that guy... all the same headache..."

Urich emptied the liquor pouch in one go and wiped his mouth.

* * *

The alliance held a tribal council to decide how they were going to move forward. This time, most of the tribal leaders within the alliance participated, easily exceeding thirty in number. Besides the chiefs, shamans and other influential warriors were also mixed in.

"Let's cut off the bridge and return to the west. This place is too far from our tribes. If we advance further east, we will only get further. Our warriors are dying without being able to go home or see their families."

Many men agreed with this. Most of those who were agreeing were from tribes that were far away. Interpreters relayed the message.

Urich waited for the speaker to finish before responding.

"I get where you’re coming from, but that would be a foolish move. Even if we cut off the bridge and return, the imperial army will eventually cross the mountains again. And when they do, they will be even better prepared, no matter how long it takes."

"Then what do you suggest we do, Urich?"

"The empire is fighting against the north right now. We need to crush it while we have an ally against the common enemy. We have to destroy it to the point where it doesn't have the capacity to cross the mountains to pose a threat to us again. Ah, it would be enough to go to the extent that the vassal states under the empire gain their freedom."

"If the vassal states are freed, will the empire collapse?"

"At least they won't be able to think about crossing to the west then because of a closer enemy in sight. Even now, with the north as an enemy, they can't commit too much of their forces to us. If we cut off the bridge and go back to our homes for some immediate relief, it will be our sons who have to face an even bigger and stronger enemy. We’re going to end this bloodshed in our generation."

After Urich spoke, those who were advocating for retreat quieted down.

Samikan looked around. He interlocked his fingers while looking at the chiefs.

"Any other opinions? I won't hold anyone back if they insist on leaving the alliance and retreating. But after everything is over and we return to the west, expect to meet as enemies."

It was a clear and obvious threat. Samikan had bound the west into an alliance by force. The other chiefs knew what end those not part of the alliance met.

"Samikan, free the royal family of Langkegart."

Urich spoke while tearing into boiled lamb ribs. The meat had been stewed so long that it just fell off the bone as if it were melting.

"And the reason?"

Samikan propped his chin with his interlocked hands.

"We've shown them enough of our cruelty. Langkegart no longer has the strength to fight us. We need to show them that we are willing to negotiate as long as they don’t resist. It will make it easier for us to negotiate with other kingdoms as well."

"Release the royalty we worked so hard to capture just for that? Are you serious, Urich?"

Samikan frowned. There was a possibility that Langkegart could still muster the little strength they had left to oppose the alliance.

"If they try to come at us again, then we'll show them what true annihilation looks like. I'll personally strip their scalps."

The chiefs murmured. Many opposed Urich's suggestion to simply release the hostages.

"...Alright, Urich. We'll release the royal family of Langkegart."

Other chiefs expected Samikan to oppose, but he accepted Urich's advice.

'Noah would have said the same thing as Urich.'

Samikan touched his sun necklace bitterly. It was the first time he had felt such a void after losing someone.