Chapter 37: Wild Horse

Chapter 37: Wild Horse

The mercenaries were finally out of the mountains and had reached the plains. Once they stepped onto the flat grounds, they were able to release their tension.

“Duke Harmatti is currently ruling the Porcana Kingdom as a regent,” Phillion said to Urich.

“So, what you’re saying is that Duke Harmatti is the younger brother of the king and is currently ruling the Kingdom as its regent. Doesn’t that basically make him the king?”

“But the right of succession belongs to Varca Aneu Porcana—our prince. For Harmatti to officially become the king of Porcana, the prince must be removed from the picture.”

Pahell swallowed hard in anger as he listened to Phillion explain.

“That’s right. I am the rightful heir to the throne. Once I become of age, the traitorous Duke Harmatti has no choice but to cede the throne to me,” Pahell said as he gritted his teeth. He was filled with resentment toward his uncle.

“Righteous and whatnot, you use too many big words. Why doesn’t the strongest man just take the throne for himself?”

Urich couldn’t understand what all the complications were about. In his tribe, the strongest warrior naturally became the chief. Even the son of the chief had to hand over the position to the strongest warrior if he demanded it.

‘That’s why I was always getting into fights with the chief’s son back home... Even if I never wanted to become the chief, it was my fate as the best warrior, anyway...’

If Urich had stayed on his side of the Sky Mountains, he would have become the chief of his tribe by now. Even though he had been denying the position, he knew that it was his fate. He was a warrior destined to be the chief.

‘My fate changed the moment I stepped foot on the Sky Mountains.’

Urich believed that he was making up his own fate with his own power.

“Imagine the strongest man takes the throne whenever it becomes vacant. That would be terrible!” Phillion said with a shudder. Urich blinked in confusion.

“Why would that be terrible?”

“Because, then, every time a king dies, the kingdom would split into different forces. Any noble who thinks they stands a chance in taking the throne would demand the right and go straight to war with anyone who disagrees. That’s why there must be an heir to the throne—the blood heir that no one can dispute!”

Urich laughed at Phillion’s words. CHeCk for new stories on no/v/el/bin(.)c0m

“Then why don’t the nobles just go head-to-head with each other with their swords? Whoever wins can take the throne. What’s the big issue?”

The other mercenaries chuckled beside him.

“Maybe that’s how you lowly barbarians do it, but for our kingdoms, it takes more than just battle skills to be a good ruler and a king. A king must have the wisdom and knowledge to rightfully rule their kingdom,” Phillion exclaimed as if Urich’s inability to understand was bothering him. Urich looked at Pahell.

“This kid who pisses his pants has the royal wisdom to rule a kingdom? Hah!”

“H-how rude, mercenary leader Urich! I-I am...” Pahell yelled as his face turned red.

“’I am of royal birth!’ That’s what you were about to say, right?” Urich sneered, mimicking what had become Pahell’s catchphrase.

“I-if it wasn’t for the oath, I would have executed you for insulting the royalty right now!” Pahell blustered on.

“Urich, don’t tease the little prince too much,” Bachman said as he massaged his shoulders with his spear shaft.

The mercenary squad had regained their relaxation after returning to the flatlands. They were finally able to catch their breaths and release the tension of getting through the mountains safely.

“Duke Harmatti probably didn’t expect his men to fail. Even if there’s another chase party coming, it’s going to take them quite some time to catch up to us. Hopefully, this means that we can make it to the capital of Hamel without any more issues,” Phillion said as he looked back at the mountains that they had just descended.

“How long until the border of the Porcana Kingdom, Donovan?”

Donovan was in charge of the map. He unrolled the map scroll and eyed the distance.

“We still have about two days.”

“Let’s drop by a city after we get past the border. That should be okay, right?” Urich asked Phillion. During the last bout of their journey, the mercenary squad wasn’t able to visit any cities inside the Porcana Kingdom. Because of that, they weren’t able to replenish the supplies that were running out; no drinks to warm up the fatigued bodies, and there were the occasional complaints about not being able to bed a woman among the mercenaries.

“The duke’s influence only reaches as far as the border. Once we leave the kingdom borders, the job is practically halfway done. I do worry about the prince’s fitness. You mercenaries might laugh, but he truly is trying his best to keep up. He had never walked this much in his life, and yet he’s grinding his teeth trying not to fall behind,” Phillion said as he glanced at his young master who was struggling to keep up with the mercenaries. Urich smiled.

“Your master is quite persistent.”

“He takes after his father, the king. It’s just that his twin sister, Princess Damia, is a bit of a tomboy, so growing up with her tempered him a little.”

“Wait, so you left the kingdom without his sister? You left her behind? Isn’t that dangerous for her?”

“A woman cannot inherit the throne. Duke Harmatti has nothing to gain from doing anything to his niece, the princess.

When they were finally completely out of the mountains, they were faced with the plains where the grass was short.

“Horses!”

The mercenaries in the front of the line shouted as they spotted a group of horses.

“I’m guessing that they’re wild horses.”

The horses were grazing leisurely. They were wild beasts that had escaped the influence of men.

“We should capture that horse,” Phillion signaled the knights. They removed their armor and prepared the ropes to capture the wild horse.

“What are they doing? Those are wild horses. You can’t ride them even if you somehow manage to capture them,” a few mercenaries yelled to the knights. The knights lowered their stance and approached the herd of wild horses.

“Let’s just sit back and see what they do,” Urich said as he watched with interest. He had never ridden a horse, and using horses for transportation was something that he had never imagined until he crossed the Sky Mountains.

“We got one!”

“I’m not slow, it’s just that this horse keeps pushing me away,” Urich, who was on the ground after falling, glared at the horse.

“Hey, this horse has a name. Call him Kylios. They have ears just like us, you know?” Pahell crossed his arms and continued to scold Urich. His grin never left his face.

‘Someone like you could never learn how to ride a horse this quickly.’

Pahell thought that it would take Urich ages to learn how to properly ride a horse.

‘He’s too fierce and aggressive.’

Urich was a man who intimidated others with his presence alone. The sharp and ferocious aura exuding from his body was extraordinary.

‘It might help him in battles, but it won’t do him any good when he’s trying to ride a horse.’

Horses were sensitive animals. Intelligent, too.

‘Unless he finds a way to calm his aura down, he’ll never be able to mount Kylios. Maybe a horse that’s been tamed a long time ago.’

Pahell soothed Kylios and looked at Urich.

“You should just give up. You’re too slow and dull to ride a horse.”

“You’re joking, right? I’m slow and dull?” Urich laughed in disbelief. He glared at Kylios again.

‘This goddamn animal. You let that noble on your back but not me?’

His pride was hurt, and his competitive side was showing.

“Alright, watch me. Just mount him like... this, and give him a few good taps. Who’s a good horse? Well done, Kylios.”

Pahell nimbly mounted the horse. He brushed Kylios’ black mane and poured his love and affection out onto him.

“Purr.”

Kylios skimmed the ground with his front hooves to show that he was happy. It was hard to believe that the two of them had only spent a day together as they already seemed inseparable. It was Pahell’s natural talent.

‘Why? Why is it so obedient to Pahell?’

Urich couldn’t understand it at all.

“We’ll end it here, Urich. Maybe if I tame him a bit more, he might let someone slow and dull like you on his back, too.”

Urich was boiling with rage and frustration. Pahell looked at Urich’s sagging shoulders and laughed. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Fuck, damn you, you stupid beast!”

After returning to the mercenaries, Urich bounced around in frustration. He couldn’t get what he wanted.

“It’s not surprising that a beginner couldn’t tame a horse that was roaming in the wild just this morning. It’s just the way it is, Urich,” Sven tried to cheer up Urich as he shifted to make room for him.

“That young noble does it just fine. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to.”

In whatever he did, Urich was always the best. He had never experienced being bested by someone in what he wanted to do. His physique was a blessing.

“Urich, you are strong and agile. You are a natural-born warrior. Has anyone ever looked at that and said, ‘I can do exactly what Urich can, too!’? Everyone is born with different gifts and talents. There’s no point in being jealous of someone’s natural talent,” Sven said calmly. He held a hot meatloaf in one hand and a knife to cut it with in the other.

“But I want to ride a horse, too,” Urich whined like a child.

“Skill doesn’t come overnight, and I’m sure you know that better than most people. Did you gain your skills as a warrior in a day? No, you gained it by slaying through countless men.”

Urich was speechless. There was nothing to say.

‘Maybe I rushed it.’

Urich subconsciously looked down on Pahell. He considered him a lesser man than himself.

‘I thought there was no way that I couldn’t do what Pahell could.’

Looking back, he realized that it was his arrogance.

‘Did I think that Gottval was a lesser man than I am just because he couldn’t fight? No, I didn’t.’

Urich pondered as he stared into the crackling campfire.

‘Sven is full of experience. His words are cautious and are always backed. But as a warrior, he’s got more fire than anyone else. He’s a warrior equipped with both fiery battle spirit and cold logic.’

‘Bachman has a silver tongue, and he can read the room like no one else can. He can sway the people, although his fighting is average.’

‘Donovan has the nastiest personality, but he looks after his own people. He has that ex-military experience so he’s good at commanding our squad. He’s helpful in battles.’

Urich looked at Pahell. He was resting in his seat after tying the horse to a nearby tree.

‘Pahell... can’t fight, has a disgusting personality, has no experience, and isn’t cautious. But... he sure can ride a horse.’

Pahell sensed Urich’s gaze and looked back at him with confidence.

“What, you want to give up on horse riding already?”

Urich smiled and shook his head at Pahell’s words.

“No, I’m going to keep trying. By the way, Pahell, you’re an amazing horse rider. How do you ride a horse so well? I guess you really are of royal status.”

Even after hearing a compliment, Pahell somehow felt offended.