Chapter 171

Chapter 171

Urich and the warriors battled against the cold. The chilling winds below the gorge felt ferociously cold, nearly enough to tear their flesh. Even the warriors, who often couldn't distinguish between recklessness and bravery, bundled up tightly in the extreme conditions. The warriors from the west were not strong against the cold.

"U-Urich, w-we should go back down to the ground too."

Vald shivered as he spoke. It was an exceptionally cold night. The rainy season had already begun, and the cold had turned the rain into icy hail.

"If you want to go down, you can go by yourself, Vald."

Urich calmly watched the darkness from the top of the watchtower. His steamy breath was visible in the cold air.

"Dammit, do you really expect me to go without you?"

"Then stay here."

"I’m going to go mad. Let's just give up this campsite and set up our own camp below the mountains."

Vald grumbled. Below the mountain range, they could have been running around naked in the rain.

"Has there been any contact from Samikan?" Urich asked.

"The messenger might have met an exile on the way and died or something. Should we try sending someone again?"

"Yeah."

Urich nodded. They desperately needed Samikan's support. However, the communication network of the tribal society was terribly slow and inaccurate.

'We need to fortify our defenses before the imperial army gathers their forces and pushes forward.'

With the Stone Axe Tribe’s own power, they could only manage to station about three hundred warriors at most. Securing supply was even more difficult, and deploying more warriors would inevitably deplete the Stone Axe Tribe's workforce. They needed to work diligently during the rainy season to prepare for the next dry season.

"It seems the warriors from Red Sand and Blue Mist won't last much longer before they go back down the mountain. They don't see this battle as their own. They’re not very happy with the fact that they’re fighting up here without their chiefs."

"How stupid. Defending this place isn't just the Stone Axe Tribe's problem. It's a problem for all of us."

The Sky Mountains not only tied down the tribal warriors but also posed a fatal constraint to the imperial army. Their ability to stand on equal footing was thanks to the advantage provided by the mountains.

'Most of the imperial army is concentrated in the north and Hammel. It would take them a while to gather enough men to send to the mountains; there’s no way they can come faster than Samikan and Belrua.'

Urich was somewhat aware of how the forces of the empire were distributed. It would take a considerable amount of time for the imperial army concentrated in the north and the capital to reach the west. He had evaluated that they had some leeway based on that calculation.

"Even if we can't gather all the warriors of the alliance, if Samikan and Belrua join us, we can make do."

Urich murmured. He planned to accomplish what the northerners could not.

'We became one before the imperial army got to us. We won't suffer the same fate as the north.'

Urich closed his eyes, lost in thought. He had gotten used to falling asleep in the cold. He opened his eyes wide, suddenly awakened by the commotion.

"They're here again!"

The warriors rang the bell and shouted.

"Another pointless exchange."

The exchange was going to end after shooting a few arrows back and forth. Urich believed the imperial army wasn't ready for a full-scale battle yet. The imperial army, while brave, was a rational organization that didn't move on uncertain chances.

"H-huh?"

The warriors on the watchtower panicked. The darkness lit up with torches. The number of enemies visible from the other side wasn't small.

"Gruhhhhhhh!"

There was a whole crowd screaming. A mass of conscripts and slaves with torches eyed the camp where the tribal warriors had stationed themselves.

"Go! There's no need to look back! Forward is the only way you can go!"

The imperial army officers shouted, pushing the slaves forward with their spears. They forcibly pushed the conscripts and slave soldiers toward the camp.

'Hundreds died crossing the ridge.'

Duke Langster frowned at the remaining conscripts and slave soldiers. The vassal states had sent such weak individuals that many collapsed just crossing the ridge. Even those who survived seemed so frail that even a light breeze could knock them over.

"Urich! There’s a ton of them! It looks like over hundreds!"

Vald shouted. Urich was just as taken aback.

'How did they replenish their forces so quickly?'

Enemies peeked through the irregular rocks and bushes. Urich squinted, examining the armament of the enemies. Upon closer inspection, they were frail conscripts, far from imperial soldiers. Fear swirled in their eyes without a bit of fighting spirit.

"Stay calm! Don't be afraid! Those men are not warriors."

Urich yelled. The force that the imperial army had brought was merely for filling numbers.

"But the number of them is no joke. We can’t even count them, and there’s even more still swarming behind."

"Shut up and hold up your bow."

Urich aimed his bow. The warriors unloaded their arrows at the approaching enemies.

The slave soldiers and conscripts rushed in fear. If they retreated, they would be killed at the hands of the imperial army. The slaves charged toward the sliver of light that they saw coming from the camp.

"Woooooooo!"

The slaves combined their strength to lift a log and struck the camp's fence with it.

"Damn bastards! This feels disgusting!"

The warriors cursed as they killed the slaves and conscripts, roughly getting the gist of what was happening.

"Pick your head up, Urich," Vald whispered.

"What right do I have to look at these men?"

"The more shame you feel, the more you have to become shamelessly confident. That’s what Gizzle did. Just be half as shameless as Gizzle, Urich."

Vald even brought up the dead Gizzle. Urich curled his lips in a smile.

"I misjudged. I assumed their reinforcements wouldn’t have arrived yet."

"Gizzle destroyed our tribe and still kept his chief position! We don't blame you. You are our hero. Carry yourself with confidence."

As a warrior, Urich was a perfect being, the pure essence of a warrior.

'That's the problem. Urich doesn't have the dirty side like Gizzle and Samikan.'

Vald loved his innocent brother, but innocence alone couldn't fulfill the role of a chief. A chief needed to do dirty and petty things for their position and power. Sometimes, even forsaking the pride of a warrior was necessary to fulfill a chief's duties.

Urich and the warriors descended the mountains. The injured warriors limped.

"Pick a few that are quick with their feet to scout the movements of the imperial force. The rest of you can go back to your tribes."

Urich said as they reached the base of the mountains. The weary warriors were pleased to hear they were returning to their tribes.

Urich gave up the border of the mountains. From the start, it was an impossible task with just the Stone Axe Tribe's strength alone. If Stone Axe alone was enough to hold off the empire, Urich wouldn't have bothered to grow the alliance.

‘Why do you think I created the alliance and helped you become the Great Chief...'

There was no word from Samikan. Urich had sent his men several times, and it was unlikely they all failed to meet Samikan.

"Samikan, did you really not receive my message?"

Urich ground his teeth. Samikan had not sent the demanded forces in time. The Blue Mist Tribe was a lot closer to the mountains than the Red Sand, and Samikan's forces were more numerous and superior. The person Urich needed was Samikan, not Belrua.

Urich and the warriors returned to the Stone Axe Tribe to look after their wounds and rest. The mood was heavy due to their defeated retreat.

A week went by after Urich came down from the Sky Mountains. A group of warriors appeared on the village horizon. It was Samikan and the Blue Mist warriors.

"It seems like I was late, brother," Samikan said as he entered the village.

Urich cocked his head.

"Yeah, you're late."

"I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay. Samikan has arrived."

Samikan spread his arms and embraced Urich.

The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Shortly after Urich's retreat, Samikan arrived with his forces at just the right time.

To the other warriors, it looked like Samikan was comforting the defeated Urich. Samikan squinted and whispered in Urich's ear.

"I am the one who is going to be a legend, Urich."

Urich suppressed the urge to snap Samikan's neck and smiled.

"You can take all the honor and glory for all I care, brother," Urich replied.

"I was going to, anyway."

Samikan smiled faintly.

"But if you ever play your dirty tricks again, I swear on the name of Stone Axe... I'll make you beg to be killed with that deceitful mouth of yours."

Urich threatened. Samikan, meeting Urich's yellow gaze, sweated coldly.

‘A brother who is more like a beast.'

Samikan was also more than capable as a warrior. However, in front of Urich, he diminished as a warrior. In fact, all warriors were merely fireflies before Urich.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding. I didn't abandon Stone Axe. There were other matters that had to be attended to. I've been receiving oaths of loyalty from tribes in the north and south of the wasteland. Our alliance's fame has spread so far that tribes came to us voluntarily. Belrua and I met with the tribes that newly joined the alliance. That's why I arrived here late."

"Where's Belrua now?"

"The Lady of the Alliance is going to be joining us after gathering warriors from the other tribes. The alliance's army is gathering once again."

"...the Lady of the Alliance?"

"The Red Sand and Blue Mist have become tied by marriage. The child from Belrua and I will be the successor of the alliance, supported by our two giant tribes."

After hearing Samikan’s words, Urich laughed hollowly. He covered his forehead, chuckling.

"Ha, hahaha."

Urich's body was covered in fresh wounds. Blood still seeped through the bandages on his thigh every time they were changed.

'While I was fighting and struggling, the two of you were busy messing around.'

He laughed out of disbelief. While he was fighting with the other warriors, the alliance's power structure had shifted. The alliance, once led by Urich and Samikan, was now essentially led by Samikan and Belrua.

‘You were the one who warned me not to betray and to be wary of Samikan...'

Belrua's face haunted his mind. Urich hadn't only been defeated in battle. He had also lost in the political game of the alliance. Urich felt played by the two experienced chiefs.

"Don't worry, Urich. I will protect this land and our brothers."

Samikan patted Urich's shoulder as he walked away. Warriors swarmed around him and followed.

Over a thousand warriors had followed Samikan, and that number was only going to grow. That was enough to retake the camp in the mountains.

The battle of taking and being taken over was beginning all over again.