Barbarian Quest

Chapter 137

Urich stood in the village square with several warriors. He drew his sword from his waist.

"This is the imperial steel. Its strong and also highly flexible."

He swung the imperial steel sword lightly, demonstrating its superior quality compared to the tribe's crude iron weapons.

"Are there a lot of people with weapons like that beyond the mountains?"

A young, curious warrior asked. He was a boy just beginning to grow a beard.

"Not many have steel weapons. I got lucky with this one, too. But even their standard iron weapons are way better than ours. They even have enough iron to make armor. 'Knights,' they call their skilled warriors, mostly wear iron armor."

Urich spoke slowly, drawing an increasingly large audience. His words seemed factual, too detailed to be mere lies. Young warriors and impressionable children who werent stuck to their ways like the older adults primarily followed him.

"Don't listen to his nonsense! He's deluded by evil spirits!" the shamans and elders passed by, dismissing Urich's claims about the lands beyond the mountains. Urichs discovery was simply unacceptable to them.

If that's true, where do the souls of our ancestors rest?

It was an unthinkable notion for them. They couldnt accept it. Urich's statements meant that the world beyond the mountains also belonged to humans. It wasnt the most exciting news for the elders.

"But where else could such weapons come from if not beyond the mountains?" the boy standing near Urich asked.

"I-its a gift from evil spirits, no doubt! There must be a great price to pay!" an elder shouted, looking angrily at Urich.

"If I could have a weapon like this, I'd gladly sell my soul for it. Haha!" The boy laughed, performing a front flip in the air. The westerners, though not as physically imposing as the northerners, were agile warriors with remarkable endurance and stamina thanks to roaming the plains and barren lands without any other means of transportation.

"You are all mad! Urich has bewitched the young ones!" The elder stormed off, deeply unsettled. Urich's claims about the mountains brought unease to the older people of the tribe. If Urichs claims were indeed true, where would their souls go after theyre dead? It was simply unacceptable.

"Urich, tell us about the women that smell like flowers!"

The boys on the cusp of adolescence were deeply interested in Urich's tales. Whether true or false, Urich's stories of his adventure were captivating.

"In the lands beyond the mountains, just a few days' journey, there's a bustling village with..."

Urich began his tale, frequently glancing at the tribe members around him.

'Many keep their distance, wary of the elders and shamans, yet they're curious. It wasnt just me intrigued by what was beyond the mountains. There's a shared sense of wonder and question about it.'

Urich felt pleased. His curiosity wasnt alone. Other tribe members also fantasized about crossing the mountains as he did, except they didnt have the courage to put it into action.

'The north couldn't stop the empire, but it grew into a formidable presence.'

Urich knew the history. He learned why the empire succeeded and the north failed.

'The north unified too late. They rallied only after the empire took over most of their lands.'

He recalled the tale of Mijorn the Brave, the northern hero who nearly became a king but was slain by the Sword Demon Ferzen. Mjorn's unification effort almost engulfed the empire's northern territories even though it was rather late.

Urich had witnessed the fallen north with his own eyes. Warriors lost their battlefields, and people were stripped of their traditions and culture.

'Do I want to be a king?'

He questioned himself, but his heart wasn't stirred. All he wanted was to protect his kin, not see the west succumb like the north.

"Urich! We heard you've returned!"

Warriors who had been away hunting for days returned, many of whom had fought alongside Urich before.

"It's been a while, Numir."

They greeted each other warmly, with hearty slaps and robust embraces.

"Urich the Cursed, how cool is that?"

Some warriors, unfazed by the shaman's warnings, joined Urich.

"Here's a gift. Give it to a woman you fancy."

Urich tossed ornate trinkets to the warriors, aiming to win as many allies as possible. He had always been a good leader, but his experience as a mercenary leader also taught him how to handle rough men.

"Incredible, who wouldve thought Id be receiving gifts from Urich?"

The warriors marveled at the trinkets that they had never seen before. It was surely going to be appealing to women. They didnt care whether something was cursed as long as it was beautiful.

"You guys probably don't know because you were basically fetuses back then, but Urich is extraordinary. His feat of slaying thirty men is still talked about."

Numir playfully ruffled the hair of the young boys.

"We know!"

"What would you know, you little brats?"

Urich's legend was unparalleled in the tribe. Had he not disappeared, Gizzle would have struggled to become chief this easily.

Urich quickly reintegrated into the tribe despite his three-year absence. But not everyone keeping an eye on him was friendly.

"Chief Gizzle, we can't let Urich do whatever he wants like this. No matter how much we need a great warrior..."

A warrior advised Gizzle, who watched Urich from a distance. Urich's influence had swiftly regained its former strength.

"Why shouldn't we leave him be?" Gizzle asked coldly, grinding his teeth.

"Ill be honest as your friend, Gizzle. Urich is a man who is a threat to your position. Everyone knows Urich's prowess, regardless of his curse. If he still has his old skills, he could easily be the war chief. Instead, not appointing him could cast doubt on your leadership."

Threat to my position? The garbage that comes out of your mouth

Were not boys anymore, Gizzle. If it werent for your chief bloodline, you wouldnt even have been considered a competition to Urich. Thats the reality, Chief Gizzle. Im going to stand with you until the very end, but warriors tend to follow stronger warriors. Put your chief pride aside for a bit and keep an eye on Urich.

Gizzle seized the warrior's throat, his eyes icy with fury.

"A-are you saying that Im inferior to Urich?"

The warrior calmly swatted away Gizzle's hand.

"Dont act like you dont know it, Gizzle. We couldn't never beat Urich's gang as kids. But now, you're the chief of the Stone Axe Tribe. You have a tribe and a position to protect. We only need one chief."

"Dammit, Kirungka!"

Gizzle called out his friend's name. Kirungka had been with Gizzle for a long time. Men who hunt in groups often had allies they grew up with, and the bond between Gizzle and Kirungka was closer than blood. Calling them brothers was by no means an overstatement.

Gizzle and Kirungka bumped their fists together. That evening, Gizzle summoned Urich and assigned him a task.

* * *

"It's practically a temporary banishment."

Urich walked toward a forest far away from the Stone Axe Tribe, where an old shaman lived.

'I didn't come back just to take care of an old lady'

Caring for the elderly shaman was the order from Chief Gizzle. Without a valid reason to decline the order, Urich gathered his belongings and headed to the forest.

'Still keeping me in check, I see. A wise choice for you, Gizzle.'

It was true that Urich had been encroaching on Gizzle's influence. Young warriors were more drawn to Urich than Gizzle. Between a conservative, traditional chief and an adventurous, progressive wanderer, it was quite clear which side was making the hearts of the youth beat.

"But now is not the time for us to fight each other."

Despite several meetings, Urich and Gizzle never saw eye to eye.

To Gizzle, the threat of the Blue Mist Tribe was more immediate and realistic than the unseen imperial army beyond the mountains. He regarded the army as a fabricated threat by Urich to usurp his position.

Squeak, squeak.

Urich spotted a large rat emerging from the bushes. He swiftly threw his axe from his waist, slicing the rat in two.

Might as well make her some nice food."

Urich quickly cleaned and skinned the rat on the spot, leaving only the edible meat hanging.

"Hey, old lady."

Urich entered the shaman's tent.

"Piss off, cursed one!"

As soon as he entered the tent, the shaman threw a stone at him. Urich dodged the stone with a quick shake of his head.

"The chief ordered me to take care of you, old lady. Feed you some meat as well."

Urich casually unpacked his belongings inside the tent.

"You will bring disaster upon us! Disaster!"

The shaman trembled. She once praised Urich as a warrior of light.

"Disaster will come when it's time."

Urich skewered the rat meat on a stick and placed it over the fire.

Sizzle.

The rat meat quickly cooked to a golden brown. Despite all the curses she threw at Urich, the shaman's mouth watered at the sight of the meat. Living alone in the forest, she rarely had the chance to eat meat.

"I'll be staying here for a while."

Urich sat in front of the fire after unpacking. He knew the shaman well. Despite her outward demeanor, she didn't truly dislike him.

'She's just a little upset.'

The shaman had known Urich since he was a child. It was unlikely she truly hated the warrior she once adored like he was her own grandson.

"I knew that Gizzle would push you out."

She spoke with her wrinkled face.

"A chief's order must be followed, even if I dont really like it."

Urich, who rarely obeyed orders from others, made an exception for the Stone Axe Tribe. Though usually unresponsive to authority, he respected the chief of his own tribe. The chief was the head of the family that was his tribe.

"If you hadn't climbed the mountains that day, you would have become the chief. Women of the tribe would have vied for your seed and thrown themselves at you day and night, and neighboring tribes would have offered tributes out of fear. You lost all that by breaking the taboo!"

The shaman spoke passionately, almost spitting blood, regretting the missed opportunities

for Urich. To her, Urich was the warrior who could have led the Stone Axe Tribe to its golden age.

"I gained much more instead."

"Nonsense! All you gained is a curse!"

"Granny, what I gained beyond the mountains is wisdom and knowledge. Treasures I would have never found here."

Urich spoke as he flipped the cooking rat meat.

" Was that worth sacrificing the tribe's glory and the chief's position?"

The shaman sighed and brought out rock salt, seasoning the rat meat.

"More than worth it! I'm not joking. Beyond the mountains, I saw people living. I saw them with my own eyes, and I have their blood on my own two hands. There were friends and foes, just like here. Not spirits or souls, just a world inhabited by people."

Urich spoke with excitement, recalling his encounters beyond the mountains, including with sun god Lou and Ulgaro from the north.

The shaman's eyes trembled. She saw a childlike innocence in Urich. How could someone possibly be lying with a face like that?

The shaman, with trembling fingers, spoke. Her lips turned blue. She took several deep breaths to calm herself.

Woosh, woosh.

Strange sounds whistled past her ears. Shadows in the tent seemed to move, red-eyed spirits lurking. Despite being near the fire, a chill ran down her spine. She closed her eyes and then opened them again.

"Continue, Urich. Tell me about the gods and humans beyond the mountains."

The shaman gathered her courage.

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