Chapter 56

Name:Barbarian Quest Author:
Chapter 56

Auber awoke from his sweet sleep. He gulped down the wine on the bedside table as soon as he rose.

“Burp.”

The alcohol soon energized him, and Auber looked out the window and smiled satisfactorily.

“My gate looks amazing yet again!”

The view of the gateway from his room was spectacular. Auber could see everything along the horizon, even including the tent village. As he opened the windows, the wind that had traveled from the horizon entered his room.

‘The news of that bastard Donovan getting beaten into a pulp makes me dance in joy.’

Auber danced with his arms wavering about.

“...this is the truth!”

Auber heard a freaky noise as he stared at the window. It sounded like someone was crying out.

“Did the vagrant do something again?”

Auber washed his face with the water that was in his sink.

“Captain Auber!”

One of his soldiers hastily banged on the door of his room. Auber frowned.

“What is wrong?”

“Y-you must come to the gate right now, Adjutant Greeman is... ugh.”

As the soldier gagged as if even thinking about this situation was too much to bear, a bad feeling overwhelmed Auber.

Auber had given Greeman a private order to hire the vagrants to teach Donovan a lesson.

‘Dammit, that idiot. He must have gotten caught. Are all the men here this useless?’

Auber scurried to dress himself.

“Jeez, you incompetents, hurry!”

After putting on his armor with the help of his servants, Auber rushed down to the gate. The freaky scream grew louder and louder as he got closer.

“I-I am Greeman, ugh, I received the order from Gateway Captain Auber...”

It was the groaning voice of Greeman. Auber opened his eyes wide and ran toward the gate.

“What is all this commotion!”

After yelling his words, Auber almost collapsed on the ground.

“C-captain, p-please save me. Ughhh.”

Greeman wept. Adjutant Greeman, who had inquired about the attack on Donovan, was miserably hanging from a pole.

The pole was buried deep in the ground with Greeman hanging at the top. If he were tied up normally, Auber wouldn’t have been this shocked.

‘What has he done to a person’s body?’

Greeman was quite literally folded up. His bones were dislocated and fractured. His legs and back were bent backward so that his feet were touching the back of his shoulders, and his arms were acting as ropes to be tied around the pole. It looked like Greeman didn’t have a bone in his body.

“My lord, please, my lord.”

Greeman wasn’t the only one on the pole. Alongside him, a dirty vagrant was facing the same situation. Their mouths were still moving as they begged for mercy, but they no longer resembled a person. They were almost better off dead.

“Ah, there’s the last man that I was looking for. Keep talking.”

Urich said as he tapped on the pole. Greeman, hanging on the pole, raised his voice in terror.

“I am Greeman! I am one of the adjutants of the garrison of the gate! I received an order from Gate Captain Auber to hire some people to attack Donovan, the vice leader of Urich’s Brotherhood!”

Greeman repeated what he had already said over and over again. The vagrant hanging beside him also spoke up.

“I was hired by Greeman for the attack on Donovan! The four of us beat him until he was nearly dead! We were given gold coins for our work! Ugg.”

The vagrant screamed as tears and snot ran down his face. A dark waste mixture dripped down the pole.

More and more people gathered to see the rare spectacle. The merchants and nobles who were waiting for their inspection at the gate were no exceptions to the crowd.

“The human will to live is an amazing thing.”

Greeman had been abandoned. His life was over. And even if he did survive, what could he do with his limbs and back broken? He had nothing but evil vengeance left in his heart.

Auber did his best to ignore Adjutant Greeman. Since Greeman was a solarist, speaking to him would mean that he was lying to a fellow follower of Solarism.

‘This is fine because I’m only lying to that barbarian, that goddamn pagan!’

But Auber had already lied to a whole crowd of solarists, and his self-justification was full of errors. Nevertheless, Auber assured himself that he had nothing to be ashamed of.

“The words that are said before the Sun God are conflicting. Lou will be the judge of who is telling the truth and who is telling the lie. Let’s have a duel trial. I’ll volunteer as Greeman’s representative!” Urich said as he spread his arms. Greeman asked him to kill Auber with blood dripping down his face and body.

“What does a barbarian like you know? There’s no getting through to you.”

Auber was nervously jumping on his feet. He had no intention to go through with a duel trial.

“Stop for a moment! This is interesting. I will be the officiator of the duel.”

A group of armored men emerged from the crowd. There was a symbol of the sun on the cloth draped over their armor.

“The Sun Warriors!”

The crowd murmured as five Sun Warriors came out of the crowd. It was an unexpected appearance, and even Urich opened his eyes wide and stared at a familiar face.

“I am Harvald of the Sun Warriors. I will officiate the duel trial. Someone has lied to the Sun God Lou; we mustn’t let this go! Aren’t I right, everyone?”

The Sun Warrior Harvald exclaimed to the crowd and smiled at Urich. The crowd erupted in cheer.

“To the justice of the sun!”

“May Lou lift the hands of the innocent!”

The crowd shouted, and the duel seemed inevitable.

Auber bit his lower lip as he looked at Harvald the Sun Warrior.

‘Why are the Sun Warriors here? Dammit.”

The Sun Warriors were treated as near priests. They were that devout to the doctrine of Solarism, and their words were not taken lightly.

“If you are truly innocent, then show us through the duel whether it was Adjutant Greeman who lied or Captain Auber!” Harvald said again

Auber was quick to retort, “Sun Warrior Harvald! That man did an unspeakable thing to my adjutant and made him go mad with his torture. That’s why he’s saying all this nonsense! You must arrest this barbarian right this instance!”

“Sir Auber, if what you are saying is the truth, then you will win in the trial because Lou will be on your side.”

Harvald nodded as he expressed his respect. Insults came up to the throat of Auber.

‘That lunatic! You’re telling me to do a duel trial?’

Auber looked around the gate. The crowd had grown considerably, and their eyes were all on the duel trial. The nobles dressed in fine clothing also murmured among themselves, presumably about the duel.

Brrr.

Auber’s fist trembled. He called upon the strongest soldier from his garrison.

“Raymond! Be my representative!” Auber shouted, and a man with sharp eyes emerged from the soldiers. He was a warrior with a moderate build.

“Raymond! Raymond! The warrior of the twelfth gate!”

The soldiers cheered his name. It seemed like he was quite a renowned soldier.

“Wear my full plate armor and fight for me, Raymond!” Auber said as he walked behind the gate. He called his servants to take his armor off.

“The pay for my representation is fifty gold coins, Captain.”

Raymond said as he demanded five million cils. Auber frowned and nodded.

“Okay, okay! Just make sure you win!”

“Of course, Captain. You’ve seen my skills. There is no way that I lose to a mere barbarian who doesn’t even know the basics of our swordsmanship,” Raymond said as he swung his sword magnificently.

Raymond was a squire of a noble family who had learned the proper swordsmanship of the empire growing up. If the master that he was serving hadn’t died, his skills might have been recognized to earn him a knighthood.

As Auber and Raymond were preparing themselves for the duel, Harvald talked to Greeman, “Greeman, you must appoint your representative. This is the duel to determine the truth between you and Sir Auber.”

Greeman looked at Urich as he let out his dying groan.

‘This bastard is the man who made me like this, but he’s also the man to get my revenge on my superior who tossed me aside. Win the battle, and I hope you die with a big wound after as well.’

Urich received a gaze full of curses from Greeman.

“I will fight for your innocence, just leave it to me! I can’t forgive a boss who would toss his man aside like a broken toy,” Urich gave Greeman a thumbs up as he smiled.

“...die, all of you, die. You sons of bitches,” Greeman muttered with sadness. He couldn’t feel anything below this snapped back. He knew that he had less than a day to live.