Chapter 267

Chapter 267

Urich looked at the sick warriors from a distance. They would not be able to join the expedition.

“There are about five hundred of them,” Georg said after calculating the number of sick warriors.

“If they’re lucky, they’ll be able to return safely.”

The disease was severe. Some warriors managed to recover after three days, but there were also many who languished and died. In any case, the alliance couldn't continue dragging the sick with them.

No warriors opposed Urich's decision. In tribal society, the weak were left behind. That was the natural way of things. In dire situations, the elderly and disabled voluntarily left the tribe.

Katagi, who had finished the march preparations, reported to Urich. After his report, Katagi added a few words.

“Urich, we need to keep an eye on Six-Fingered. He’s spreading dissent against you, the Great Chief.”

“Should I just kill him?” Urich said as he chuckled.

“That would cause an uproar. Whatever the case is, he is still the priest of the alliance.”

Katagi shrugged. Urich did not have the same level of control over the alliance as Samikan.

‘It would be hard to replace Six-Fingered with another shaman like Samikan had planned to.’

Samikan knew the key figures of the alliance intimately and understood their conflicts and connections. He skillfully used people to run the alliance according to his will.

Leading the alliance was not something that could be done with ordinary skills. It was akin to being a king in the civilized world. There were many who would turn their backs on the Great Chief if things went wrong.

Urich's reign as the Great Chief was purely thanks to his reputation as a warrior. The warriors who admired him were his support base.

‘I’m different from Samikan. Samikan kept his Great Chief status even after losing in battle, but I’ll lose mine if I lose just once.’

Urich lightly shook his head as he looked over the alliance's camp.

“Great Chief! Someone has come to see you.”

Urich glanced back. A man wearing a hood stood surrounded by warriors.

“Show your face,” Katagi spoke on behalf of Urich. The man pushed back his hood.

“I’ve come to see Urich, the leader of the plunderers.”

The man spoke without a hint of fear. His almost overly calm voice had an oddly persuasive tone.

“You’re a southerner.”

Urich smirked as he looked at the man's face. The man was a southerner with mottled tattoos on his cheeks. His skin was a slightly tanned brown. Tattoos were a common cultural element among many peoples, but they were especially enjoyed by southerners.

“I’m pretty good at remembering faces, but it seems we’re meeting for the first time.”

Urich waited for the man's response.

“My name is Joya. Though we’re meeting for the first time, I’ve heard of your name and deeds many times. You are a very important person to us.” ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

The man who introduced himself as Joya had a gentle appearance. He was young yet exuded a mature atmosphere. He had a charisma that drew people to him.

‘He must be a priest or a shaman.’

Urich knew such types well. They had a mysterious aura that seduced people. They were people who spread their religion.

“So, Joya. What business do you have with me? If you ask a meaningless question even once, I’ll rip out your tongue.”

Joya flinched for the first time. He hesitated for a moment, then took out a small cloth pouch from his inner pocket.

“I am a disciple of Trikee. I came because I heard rumors that your army is suffering from a plague.”

“Trikee? That guy is still alive?”

“He is in the south now, but he spread disciples like me across the civilized world before leaving. Our influence has grown beyond what you might imagine.”

The conversation between Urich and Joya didn’t make any sense to the others in the room.

“Haha, so he survived stubbornly. I thought he was dead since I hadn’t heard any rumors.”

“There will be rumors soon. Very soon.”

Joya spoke ambiguously. He opened the cloth pouch and took out several small pills.

“And those are?” Urich asked.

“Dissolve these in water and give them to the sick warriors. They should work well against the fever.”

Joya's words caused a stir among Urich’s close aides.

“Be careful, Great Chief. It could be poison.”

“Judging by how he mentioned Trikee, it shouldn’t be poison. That guy is an enemy of the empire.”

Urich had Katagi receive the pouch of pills.

Urich watched the two alternately with an intrigued face. He had intentionally summoned Gottval to face Joya.

‘I was curious if Gottval—the man who preaches mercy and love—could do the same in front of Serpentism.’

Gottval did not spew curses or baseless anger, but he could not hide his discomfort and hostility.

"The afterlife in Serpentism—that was about going to the next world when we die, right?"

Urich subtly started the conversation.

“There is no such thing as the next world. The reincarnation and the sun can be proven, but the next world does not exist,” Gottval quickly responded.

Joya became frustrated and retorted coldly, “If the sun god Lou loves the humans on earth, then why do people live in suffering? Sun priest Gottval.”

“We must not judge His will by our standards.”

“When we ask you Solarists about the sufferings in this world, you always repeat those same words. The current world is full of only despair and suffering. If I had to be reborn in this world, I would rather choose eternal demise.”

“There is no such thing as an eternal demise. You merely become a shadow standing on the opposite side of the Sun—a shadow wandering the earth as an evil spirit, just like Ulgaro.”

“You wouldn’t understand. People like you who blindly follow the sun will never move on to the next stage and remain forever trapped in this world.”

Urich leaned back in his chair and watched the argument.

“So is that why you kidnap and eat children?”

“That is a thing of the past. It never had a whole lot to do with us in the first place.”

“Even if it was in the past, it’s still true. As long as that sin exists, you will never gain the understanding of others,” Gottval said this and left the room.

Joya picked up a glass of water and soothed his dry throat.

“Did you enjoy that, Urich?” Joya asked.

“I guess you could say that.”

Urich smiled, chewing on an unknown red fruit. Red juice stained his mouth.

“Our church does not see your appearance as a mere coincidence. The Ark said that this world would end soon, and you are the harbinger, Urich.”

“Harbinger?”

“The beast of the apocalypse, the disaster that will destroy the world. A stage to select those who will move on to the next world.”

“That is quite... grand.”

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that you lead such a large army and sweep through the world? This is the will of the world.”

Joya’s eyes sparkled. His gentle smile was filled with faith.

Urich treated Joya as a guest and prepared a separate sleeping place for him. After a hectic day, Urich lay down to sleep.

“Beast of the apocalypse? Will of the world? Funny.”

Urich snorted.

‘Everything is my choice.’

He was tired of the vague, ambiguous words of the priests and shamans. Those men didn’t believe in human will. They spoke as if humans were nothing in the face of transcendent beings.

Hisssss, hiss, hiss.

That night, Urich heard the sound of a snake while half-asleep. Perhaps because of the story about Serpentism, he remembered the day he almost got bitten by a snake, except in his dream, Gottval didn’t save him, and he was bitten on the neck.

The snake’s pupils gazed into Urich’s. Its forked tongue licked Urich’s ear. The snake tried to pry open Urich’s ear and burrow into his head.

“Shit!”

Urich cursed and sat up. His neck throbbed. When he touched it, there were no signs he was bitten by a snake.

“What a shitty dream. Eh?”

After washing his face with cold water, Urich looked at the floor of his tent. He picked up a transparent, elongated object with his hand.

‘Snake shedding.’

There was a shed skin of a snake in Urich’s tent. Feeling eerie, Urich searched around the tent but found no trace of the snake.

“...Find Joya and bring him to me.”

Urich went outside and ordered the warriors, but Joya had already disappeared. No one knew how he had evaded the warriors’ surveillance, but he was gone like the wind.

Contrary to Urich’s unease, the warriors who had fallen ill recovered overnight. They still had mild colds but were able to move again.

Urich stood there, dazed for a long time.

“You have the face of someone bewitched by a cultist, Urich,” Gottval said as he passed by. He prayed softly for Urich.