Chapter 87: Own Blood

The night wind blowing from the autumn sea was cold, making even Urich, who was clad in leather, shiver.

Click.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Urich reached up with his hand to climb the coastal cliff.

"Hup."

He inhaled deeply, pulling himself up. Swiftly, he inserted his fingers into the crevices of the cliff to support his body.

'I should never have volunteered for this.'

Urich took a brief rest after he wedged his body in the cliff. He looked down to see the soldiers who had followed his path climbing up the cliff after him.

'Even Im tired already, those guys must be dying.

Even though they had handpicked those with good stamina from the princes camp, they were not looking too good on the face of the cliff.

The soldiers faces were pale as if they were just about to die. They breathed heavily, stretching out their trembling arms. They had discarded their heavy armor and were carrying only their shields and weapons on their backs.

Woosh!

The waves hit the cliff, creating a large spray.

"Phew. Wed probably die if we fell from here, huh?"

Urich took out his leather water flask. After quenching his thirst, he looked up again.

'I understand that you want to wrap up the siege before the winters here, but this is pretty tough, Pahell.'

The command had come up with several strategies, but all were rejected due to heavy troop losses. Not only the lords of Porcana but also the Imperial army commanders were reluctant to risk their soldiers.

The only feasible operation before the arrival of winter was an infiltration of the castle. The plan was to infiltrate through the loosely guarded coastal cliffs and open the castle gate for the rest of the army. The task was given to Urich.

"Ugh, hagh."

The soldiers who climbed up next to Urich gasped for air. They gathered in the crevices of the cliff to catch their breath and recover. Each one of the men were all men who were confident in their stamina, and the group even had a few Imperial knights among them.

"All that and were still only halfway there," A soldier resting in the crevice muttered in despair.

'There are fourteen of us, including myself.'

Urich counted the number of soldiers. Thankfully, no one had fallen off the cliff yet.

Its not like a bigger number of men increases the chances of success in an operation like this, anyway. If we had a bunch of men who could climb this cliff, we would have scaled it and taken the castle a while ago.'

The thirteen men who were with Urich on the cliff were already the best of the best, each renowned in their respective units. On top of that, the Imperial knights were, needless to say, exceptional.

"Alright, rest up and keep an eye on the track that I take to climb."

Urich, who had arrived first, had finished catching his breath. He was ready to continue the scale.

"Thank you, Urich."

An Imperial knight looked at Urich with respect. Even as a barbarian, Urichs willingness to take on harsh and dangerous roles without a single word of complaint deserved their respect.

That is some strength.'

The other men watched Urich as he energetically climbed the dark cliff, almost pouncing from protrusions to protrusions.

"Jeez, he's basically a monkey, a soldier said as he laughed.

Urich pioneered the path up the precarious cliff, buffeted by the sea wind. One wrong step could mean a fatal fall, but regardless, he carefully distinguished between loose and solid rocks to guide the others.

Urich and the soldiers reached the base of the castle wall. The wall near the seaside was neglected and lower in height due to the constant battering of sea winds. With its widened gaps, the wall seemed easily scalable even for the exhausted soldiers.

Swish.

Urich bit a dagger in his mouth. He used hand signals to split the soldiers into groups. They moved in units of three or four, led by the Imperial knights who had climbed with them.

'Eliminate the guards on the wall, move to the gate, and open it. Once the signal is given, the troops lying in ambush around the gate will move in.'

Urich recalled the plan. His role was critical. Without opening the gate, the attack would fail before it even began.

Whoosh!

Urich waited until the wind and waves intensified. A strong gust soon blew. The salty wind blinded the enemies, and the sound of waves muffled their ears.

Click.

Urich gave the signal. The soldiers climbed the wall.

'Two.'

Urich, who was the first to reach the wall, glanced down. He saw a guard patrolling the wall. As expected, the defenses on the cliffside wall were lax.

Crack.

Urich leaped onto the wall, pouncing on the guard. He grabbed and snapped the mans neck with ease.

"Huh? Gagh!"

Another guard saw Urich and tried to yell, but the soldier who followed Urich stabbed him in the throat.

"Hmph."

Urich lightly exhaled as he threw the dead guards off the wall.

"Alright, lets go, my friends."

Following Urich's signal, the soldiers moved low, hiding their bodies in the shadows.

The infiltrators who had climbed the castle wall were skilled, and the guards quality was inferior. They advanced smoothly on the wall.

"Huh?"

But unexpected situations were always bound to arise. A soldier strolling below the wall late at night caught their attention. The soldier was rubbing his eyes. He may have stepped out briefly to take care of his bathroom needs, but regardless of the reason, the soldier looked up at the wall. A shadow-like figure caught his eye.

"Hey, is someone there? Answer me if you're there," the soldier called out insistently to the wall.

'Damn it.'

Urich and the soldiers pressed their bodies against the wall, holding their breath with their eyes rolling.

"Look, I know you're there, so just show yourself," the soldier raised his voice again.

Swish.

Urich moved. He leaped from the wall, landing on top of the soldier. He firmly grabbed the soldiers neck.

Crunch.

Urich felt the man's neck bones crush under his grip. A sound echoed to his fingertips.

"Hmm?"

Sensing someones presence, Urich turned around. Someone was standing beneath the shadow of the wall.

"Kyaaaaahh!"

It was a sharp, high-pitched scream of a woman.

'Damn, he must have snuck out to meet up with this woman at night.'

The soldiers persistent inquiries made sense now; he was trying to avoid getting caught in his secret meeting.

Thump!

Urich grabbed the woman's head and slammed it against the wall. She collapsed to the ground with blood streaming down her forehead.

Her scream quickly drew the attention of the enemy camp. Torches flickered from all directions.

"Who was that?"

"An enemy?"

The guards scurried over to the source of the scream. They threw their torches, illuminating the area.

'Weve failed.'

The operation was a failure. It was bad luck.

Thwip!

The guards fired crossbows and arrows. The discovered intruders lifted their shields and shouted for retreat.

"Run! Lets get out of here!"

They fled back the way they came. Urich couldn't follow, as he was still at the base of the wall all by himself. Climbing now would turn him into an easy target for the enemies.

'I need to hide.'

Fortunately, there were no guards watching Urich who was at the bottom of the wall. They were all focused on the soldiers on top of it.

The fleeing soldiers jumped off the wall down to the cliff. They descended the same cliff they had climbed. Some slipped and fell. Five men either died or fell off the cliff on their way back to the boat below the coastal cliff.

"Damn it, where's Urich?"

An Imperial knight on the boat shouted. He was worried about having left Urich behind.

"He'll manage! Right now, we have got to get out of here, raise your shields!"

The soldiers raised their shields to block the shower of arrow attacks. They rowed away from the cliff. The infiltration plan had failed, and they had left Urich behind in the heart of the enemy camp.

Urich, now alone, weaved through the buildings to avoid being discovered. The darkness of the night helped him avoid the eyes of the enemies, but dawn was approaching. When daylight broke, it would be impossible to stay out of the enemies sight.

'I need to find a place to hide.'

The guards would thoroughly search the castle for any potential intruders after finding the dead soldiers. A hasty hiding place would have him easily discovered.

"Sniff."

Urich's nostrils flared. He sensed an intensifying stench and followed it to its source.

Creak.

Urich found a pit full of waste. It was a place where all sorts of waste from the castle, including excrement and food scraps, was collected. When it rained, the refuse flowed down the coastal cliff into the sea. Since there had been little rain recently, the pile had grown quite large, emitting a strong odor.

"Again?"

It was a familiar situation. However, it was possible that an exit might be in the pit. Urich sighed heavily and took a deep breath.

Squelch, squelch.

Urich waded through the refuse pit where the waste came up to his chest. The filth clung to him like a swamp.

"Shiiiieeeet."

The refuse pit deepened, submerging Urich up to his head. The outlet to the sea was half-clogged with solidified waste.

Crunch, crunch.

Urich scraped and dug through the clogged pit with his hands. Once he created enough space for a person to pass, the waste started flowing out.

'Urgh.'

Urich squeezed through the narrow channel, emerging outside like a horse's dung being squeezed out of its backside.

"Ugh."

Urich groaned as he reached out to grab a protruding rock. He almost got swept down the cliff along with the waste.

"Ptui, ptui."

Urich spat and looked around. Thankfully, there were no guards in sight.

These cliffs are steep. I dont see any boats either.'

The situation was grim. The cliffs here were much steeper than before. There seemed to be no way down for a person. The waves continuously splashed at the cliff's base. Urich didn't know much about the sea, but he still realized it wasnt a place to go for a swim.

'The shore is too far from here. I'll probably get caught by guards on the way.'

Even after getting out of the castle wall, he had nowhere to go.

Ding! Ding!

The sound of a bell rang from the wall. The inside of the castle was in an uproar.

'Pahell said that he wanted to end the civil war before the winter came.'

Urich looked up at the high inner castle. Key figures of the civil war, such as Duke Harmatti, were likely staying inside that one.

'I just need to cut off Harmattis head, and the civil war ends.'

Urich found a crevice in the cliff big enough for his body to squeeze into. He squeezed into it like a seabird finding a nest on the cliff and closed his eyes. He slept to regain his strength.

Urich revised his plan. He was going to cut off Duke Harmatti's head and return.

* * *

"Urich still hasn't returned! I knew we shouldn't have sent him in there!"

Pahell shouted, clearly showing that he was agitated. It had been a day since the special unit had returned from their failed mission. Only seven out of the initial fourteen had come back.

"Urich will find a way to make it out of the castle on his own. Please calm down, my prince," Phillion said as he tried to soothe Pahell. It had been a while since Pahell lost his composure like this.

"Urich is a person too! A human! How do you expect him to escape from there all alone?"

Pahell kicked a chair, shouting. Fortunately, he and Phillion were the only ones in the tent.

'It's not good for others to know that the prince is so agitated over a single barbarian mercenary.'

Pahell was no longer just a young master. He was soon to become king of his kingdom. He needed to maintain a certain distance between himself and Urich. The nobles would not look kindly upon their lord being so close to a barbarian mercenary.

'Even Urich has his limits. Just like everyone else, he can fall to his knees too.'

Pahell had seen Urich almost die several times. Urich was certainly not invincible.

"Summon the nobles and commanders immediately. We're going into a full-scale attack. We've built enough siege weapons for a good attack," Pahell said to Phillion as he chewed on his fingernails. His eyes were fiery.

Slap!

Phillion took off his glove and slapped Pahell's cheek. He used the right hand which had almost no fingers left.

"Come to your senses, my prince. Thousands of lives depend on your words. That order is not something to be said so emotionally."

Pahell covered his reddened cheek. His eyes were slowly regaining their composure.

"You're right, Sir Phillion."

Pahell had strived to minimize the number of lives lost in this civil war. He realized what he had almost committed. Besides, the lords would oppose a full-scale attack, and if he had forced things to have it his way, he would have been labeled as an emotional and incompetent king.

'I almost ruined everything with my own hands.'

Phillion brought a bronze cup of cold water to Pahell's cheek.

"Urich is a monster of a man in a good way. He wont die so easily. Besides, if Harmatti had captured or killed Urich, they would have sent a message by now. Harmatti also knows Urichs face."

Pahell drank from the cup that was against his cheek and nodded.

"I have urgent news!"

A knight shouted outside the tent. Phillion pulled back the curtain that was covering the entrance of the tent.

"What is it?"

"The enemies have hung up some of our soldiers on the castle wall. It seems like the captured members of the infiltration unit!"

Phillion held his forehead and shook his head.

"Take me there immediately." Pahell's eyes flared. He threw the cup and put on his coat.

'If Urich is among the captured...'

Pahell clutched his chest.

'Then I don't know what I might do.'

Phillion followed Pahell with anxious eyes, murmuring softly.

"Please, dont be Urich."