Chapter 169

Chapter 169

Clang! Clang!

The imperial engineers hammered the wooden posts into the ground. They were constructing a campsite on top of the rugged gorge, fortifying the surroundings.

"Go cut down some more wood and bring them over here!"

The engineering officer raised his hand and shouted.

The engineering and construction skills of the imperial army were superior to that of most average professional carpenters. They even brought up workers who were working on the construction of Yailrud to fortify the campsite on the gorge.

"Duke Langster is worrying about nothing. To build a fortress in the middle of the mountains because he’s scared of some barbarians..."

The engineering officer grumbled.

'Building a fortress for barbarians who won't even come up here is a waste of manpower.'

Dissatisfaction was evident on the faces of the soldiers working on the construction. They were already plenty tired from the long construction of Yailrud.

Yailrud was a bridge made of blood, with people dying every time it underwent extension.

"There is a lot of dissatisfaction among the soldiers regarding the construction of this campsite, my lord," a knight reported to Duke Langster.

"They probably think it's a waste of manpower. It's natural to be unhappy about an increase in workload."

"Do you really think it is worth building a campsite here?"

Even the knight harbored doubts.

The barbarians were merely standing guard from afar. The thought of them attacking first didn't cross anyone's mind.

"What if they advance here and destroy Yailrud?" Langster asked the knight.

"They probably don't even know the existence of Yailrud, my lord."

"Better safe than sorry. If I can take some criticism from the soldiers and prepare for the worst, it's a gain."

Duke Langster chuckled, lightly patting his stomach.

‘The best-case scenario would be to avoid conflict with the barbarians altogether, but we must be prepared.'

Duke Langster surveyed the campsite under construction. His soldiers were diligently erecting fences to fortify the campsite.

'Yailrud.'

Duke Langster looked down the gorge. He could see the cliff-hugging Yailrud. At the end of Yailrud, workers were constructing a bridge, and from the direction connected to the base, porters laden with materials were heading toward the campsite.

"Lift!"

Soldiers used pulleys to transport the loads from Yailrud up to the gorge.

The campsite's supplies were steadily piling up. Over a hundred soldiers were stationed.

"We've put up the fences around the most vulnerable areas first. Even if the barbarians come, they won't be able to attack rashly."

The engineering officer reported to Duke Langster. He boasted, looking at the tightly set log fence.

Screeech!

Duke Langster raised his head as he received the report. A hawk cried out, soaring over the mountain ridge.

"Woaaaaaah!"

Shouts echoed from the direction the hawk came from.

Ding! Ding!

A soldier rang the bell in the campsite.

"Enemies! The barbarians are coming!"

Soldiers hurriedly climbed up to the fence. They prepared their crossbows, spotting the approaching barbarians through the trees.

“All men, stay in your positions!"

The adjutants encouraged the soldiers, shouting.

"It’s just as the Duke said. The barbarians have really come."

The soldiers murmured, looking at the barbarians. Their eyes were calm. Despite the surprise attack by the barbarians, they waited for orders from their officers without panicking.

"Fire!"

The soldiers released their crossbows in unison. Sharp arrows swept through the barbarians.

"Keugh!"

Urich watched as warriors fell beside him.

Crack!

Even the warriors with shields couldn't block the arrows from the crossbow. The arrow pierced through the shields, penetrating the warriors' bodies.

'These crossbows have stronger tension.'

Urich frowned.

The campsite's crossbowmen were using improved crossbows with stronger tension. The soldiers used tools to step on and reload the crossbows. This allowed them to load the crossbows with greater tension and made the arrows' impact more severe.

"Duck!"

Urich extended his arm, shouting. The warriors crouched and advanced.

"Stick closer together!"

As the arrows flew, more and more warriors collapsed and rolled on the ground.

Urich bit his lip in frustration, sweat dripping down his chin.

'We either retreat or continue advancing with sacrifices. But if we miss this opportunity... the fortress will only become stronger.'

Before Urich could even finish, the knights swept through the tribal warriors, cutting them down. Wherever the knights passed, tribal warriors fell in heaps.

The ferocity of the tribal warriors meant nothing in front of the brutally advanced weaponry.

"I... am coming," Urich murmured as he licked the blood off his lips.

"Kaaaa!"

He felt the screams of his brothers. The hot blood they shed was warming the cold mountains.

'Urich, this is a calamity that you have brought.'

The evil spirits of the mountains whispered to Urich.

'You are not a son of the earth.'

'You poor orphan.'

'The burning earth will become reality.'

Urich heard the voices as he picked up his axe and sword, swinging them again in the chaos where his brothers and foe were entangled.

Thuck!

As he was busy battling, his body staggered as a crossbow bolt lodged in his thigh.

"Aaagh!"

Urich screamed and threw his axe at the soldier who shot the crossbow. Despite the distance being too far for a throwing axe, Urich's impulsive throw managed to get his axe lodged in the crossbowman's head.

"That woke me right up."

Urich laughed as he snapped off the arrow in his thigh. He eyed the approaching knight.

Clang!

Urich parried the knight's sword with a steel blade and sidestepped. He kicked the knight's groin and broke down his stance. Urich had thought several times about how to fight a knight in full plate armor. His attacks flowed naturally.

Thump!

The knight fell to one knee after being kicked. Urich grabbed the knight's arm and pulled.

Crunch!

A grotesque sound came from the knight's arm. The joint dislocated and the muscles tore. The arm, extended by a palm's length, dangled loosely.

"Gaaah!"

The knight screamed. Urich stomped hard on the knight's head.

Crunch!

The thrashing knight's neck broke.

"With his bare hand...?"

Onlookers shouted in shock.

Urich had subdued and killed a knight in plate armor, almost too effortlessly. Such a feat required high concentration, a high understanding of the structure of plate armor, and the strength to crush human bones barehanded. The smallest mistake would have had Urich on the ground.

"Phew."

Urich exhaled deeply. His heated breath fluttered in the air. He shouted to the struggling warriors.

"Pick up the spears on the ground! Use the long spears to stab them! Make them fall!"

The warriors didn't confront the knights directly and retreated. They grabbed the spears dropped by the imperial soldiers and attacked the knights with them.

With the spears, several knights were entangled and fell.

'Hammer.'

Urich picked up a construction hammer used for building the campsite. Though way too heavy for combat, it was sufficient to ensure the fallen knight's demise.

Crash!

Urich smashed the fallen knight's head with the hammer. The recoil from the impact numbed his body.

Having killed two knights already, Urich glared menacingly at the other knights.

"What the hell is happening?"

The knights were bewildered. They were confident they could change the course of the battle with their strength.

'They fight as if they have experience battling against plate armor.'

The barbarians didn't seem like they were fighting the imperial army for the first time. They somehow found ways to defeat even the knights who were clad in the full plate armor.

"Retreat!"

Duke Langster made this decision. There were still at least two hundred tribal warriors left. The knights had not performed as well as expected, getting stuck against a single large barbarian and his warriors.

'Who on earth is that man!'

Duke Langster glared at the large barbarian who seemed to be the leader. His face was blackened with war paint, making his features indistinguishable.

There were about fifty remaining soldiers and knights. They were retreating after having lost half their forces. They abandoned the camp and fled.

At first glance, it might seem like a victory for the tribal warriors, but from over four hundred warriors, only half remained. It was a devastating trade. They were in a disadvantageous situation in every aspect, and they had practically used the lives of the warriors as a tool for victory.

"Urich! Urich!"

"Ooooooh!"

Urich looked at the corpses with half-closed eyes. The warriors shouted Urich's name, rejoicing in their near-mad victory against a strange civilization.

'We can't fight like this in the future.'

Urich felt more regret than joy. He pondered if there had been a better way. The death of his brothers weighed heavily on him.