Chapter 112
Chapter 112 – Intense Battle (2)
“No, where do you think you’re running off to?”
After a fierce battle, the enemy commander fell, but the fight was far from over. Riena, catching her breath, beheaded the commander to announce her victory, yet many were still unaware that their leader was dead.
Amid the disintegrating expeditionary force, numerous deserters were emerging. While our fewer allies were too occupied to notice them, I spotted some particularly special ones among the fleeing enemies.
I hesitated before preparing my hammer and chainsaw; capturing them alive could prove beneficial.
I needed to understand why wizards from a foreign land had allied with the Tribe of the Grassland to invade us.
‘Time is of the essence.’
I hurriedly searched for the part of the mouse I could use.
Fortunately, some of those retreating in the back could be caught with the mouse. If I placed them in the path of the fleeing enemies in advance, I could naturally capture them.
Of course, the enemies attempting to escape were no pushovers, so I couldn’t send just anyone. I needed to dispatch those I could trust.
“—?!”
Shura, who had temporarily retreated to protect the injured, seemed like a suitable choice. I’d be helping her anyway.
Surprised by suddenly being lifted, she squirmed but soon resigned herself to my mouse.
I dropped her and a few others in front of the enemy’s escape route. They hurriedly looked around, but upon seeing the enemies charging in from a distance, they realized what I had orchestrated and quickly hid.
“–, —!”
A wizard named Rihar, who appeared to be the enemy’s leader, rushed his subordinates to approach the ambushed allies.
The numbers were about even, and with only Shura as the warrior, it made a difference that we could launch a surprise attack.
“–!”
Our allies, readying arrows, let them fly at the enemies’ horses all at once. The sudden rain of arrows from an unexpected direction sent the enemies tumbling off their mounts.
The unfortunate ones fell headfirst, their necks twisted at horrifying angles.
Taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion, our allies surged forward and ambushed the staggering foes.
*
“Pick up the pace! We must escape!”
The moment Ghir, the expedition’s commander and general, realized Riena’s divine power too late, he was caught off-guard.
Witnessing this, Rihar took his mages and abandoned the expedition. Their aim was to help Luke, not to fight to the death.
‘This news must reach others. There are madmen living in the northeastern outskirts.’
Rihar’s face was pale, stripped of his hood. Everything he saw and heard while following the expedition regarding the Arin Tribe was utterly shocking.
From an oversized castle unfitting for the Tribe of the Grassland to a tremendous display of grand magic, not to mention the exceptional armaments and holy power wielded by the knights.
Only now did he realize who they had attacked, and all he could think of was reporting this news to the upper echelons.
“Ambush!”
“W-what!?”
Before they could even anticipate it, they fell under ambush and were sent sprawling from their horses as arrows struck true.
The arrows sailed through the air, expertly targeting the horses and severing their lifelines.
“Gah…”
Rihar, like the others, tumbled from his mount. Though he executed a roll to avoid injury, he felt nauseous and his entire body throbbed.
‘How dare you…’
Grinding his teeth, he immediately raised his staff and unleashed magic upon those charging at him.
Flaming fireballs, each the size of a human head, erupted instantaneously, causing explosions that he believed would wipe out the enemies.
“Ugh?!”
However, his magic betrayed him. While it flew fiercely, someone’s counterattack split it in two, neutralizing the spell.
He continually cast magic, yet he couldn’t believe his eyes. A girl with black hair, dressed similarly to the knight who faced Ghir, charged without hesitation, slashing through his spells with her daggers.
‘This is ridiculous. She’s formidable.’
Rihar sighed, anticipating his defeat. The moment Shura, with eyes gleaming, dove in like a black panther, he sensed that as a mage, he couldn’t shake off an opponent like her.
It was absurd to be defeated by such a girl, yet he’d already faced numerous shocks on his way here. Comparatively, Shura’s skill didn’t seem like much at all.
“I… I surrender.”
“Good. Now drop that staff.”
Even now, Shura, continuing to raise her skill proficiencies, activated a skill and disappeared from his view, suddenly appearing behind him, pointing a dagger at his back.
The other mages were soon subdued, leaving them as prisoners rather than hiding their identity as part of the unknown forces cooperating with Luke.
“I thought this matter only involved our Tribe of the Grassland. This is turning out to be a mountain on top of a mountain.”
“I can’t comprehend. Why are humans from beyond the wall involved?”
When Shura returned with the captured mages, the battlefield was already near its end.
Most of the expeditionary force either surrendered or fled. Numerous corpses lay scattered, testimonies of the fierce battle. In such a situation, upon hearing Rihar’s testimony, Balun sighed incredulously.
“…The Empire’s movements have been unsettling. Ever since the new Emperor seized power in a bloody power struggle, their pressure on the surrounding areas has greatly intensified.”
“They needed a new force to counter the humans beyond the wall.”
Rihar, realizing there was no turning back, openly spoke of their purpose. Why they had allied with Luke and provided him with supplies and technology.
They intended to unify the many tribes living in the grasslands into a new force to combat greater foes.
“Why must we fight? Trade with the Empire, including with you, was a privilege only some tribes had. Yes, we plunder, but that’s only because you refuse to trade.”
“Don’t be foolish. The new Emperor is a tyrant, brimming with ambitions for conquest and achievement. He has already begun to consolidate power around here, and he wouldn’t let those who have thwarted him for so long in the grasslands remain unopposed. Luke has realized this early and seeks to unite the strength of this area to survive.”
As Balun expressed disbelief, Rihar shook his head firmly. This caused a stir around them. The truth in his words didn’t seem like a lie, leaving Balun momentarily speechless.
The sudden collapse of balance in the grasslands and the ensuing conquests and plunder. The pain of losing family and tribe.
He realized what had set this snowball rolling.
“Perhaps it’s for the best.”
Furthermore, Rihar put his thinking cap on. Noticing Balun’s wavering as he learned the truth, he sought to use it to his advantage.
“It seems you have developed beyond comparison with other tribes. I don’t know how, but if it has come to this, why not unify these grasslands? If I report back positively, the higher-ups may change their plans.”
“You cannot comprehend how foolish that idea is, Southern Kingdom mage.”
Balun chuckled at Rihar’s audacity to make a counter-proposal. That he was so oblivious to the kind of enemies they were fighting was laughable beyond belief.
“If the grasslands remain divided like this, they will be conquered!”
“Thanks for worrying about us. But it’s not without reason.”
Turning his back on Rihar, who shouted in frustration, Balun looked up at the sky. Unifying the grasslands. In truth, Balun had hoped for that too.
It’s something every warrior living here would yearn for at least once. However, they had already undertaken a greater and more important mission, and thus could not afford to look elsewhere.
“Chieftain, before we proceed according to plan, shouldn’t we absorb Garhan’s forces completely before passing them onto Luke?”
“Indeed. Therefore, we shall perform a rite to commemorate this victory while praying for future triumphs to our Guardian Deity. He will surely answer us, and those ignorant outsiders will come to know who we truly are.”
“What will happen to those captured?”
“Let’s send them to the northern fortress. Being mages, there’s bound to be some use for them. I want to see for myself what kind of nonsense they spout after witnessing the truth with their own eyes.”
After discussing with the warriors, Balun turned back with a grin to Rihar, who still called out to him.
‘No, what on earth am I witnessing?’
Rihar was dragged into the village as a prisoner. What he saw there was distinctly strange.
Unlike the Tribes of the Grassland, there were angular houses built, and the sharp angles were overwhelming. It looked so unnatural.
While back in his homeland, houses were built from bricks or stones, achieving such knife-like precision was impossible.
“Guardian Deity? This makes no sense. I don’t feel any divinity. Why…?”
“Shut it. At this point, it’s better to see and judge for yourself.”
Rihar silenced the grumbling subordinates nearby and continued to survey the surroundings. What shocked him was not just the angular buildings around.
‘D-Dwarves? No way.’
He was astonished to see the Dwarves, thought to be long extinct on this land. The others casually conversed and mingled with the Dwarves as if it were perfectly normal.
‘So everything is through the Dwarves…’
“I will begin the ceremony!”
As the tense Rihar simply considered that the Arin Tribe had achieved their progress through cooperation with the Dwarves, the villagers were already fully prepared for the ritual.
This ceremony was a highly significant and effective act that indirectly communicated with the beings beyond the screen, uniting the hearts of many.
“Great timing.”
As Junyoung watched this unfold from beyond the screen, he chuckled, tidying up the achievements garnered through the war victory while preparing his own offerings.
He began collecting the tributes Balun had offered through a file transmitter. Items like precious metals weren’t taken as spoils unless otherwise, focusing on the farming potions and items he had gathered instead.
With a flash, items began to transmit. As villagers saw the disappearing objects one by one, they marveled and hurriedly began their prayers, while Junyoung scrambled to collect the potions that popped out from the monitor.
‘What on earth is going on?’
The spectacle came as a tremendous shock to outsiders, including Rihar. Most notably, the very existence that the Arin Tribe claimed as their Guardian Deity felt undeniably real.
