Episode 23-Ordeal (3)
“found. “It’s over there!”
Open plain. Two people were cautiously approaching something. However, even though they found what they were looking for, they could not help but sigh.
This is because the moment they approached, the targets immediately ran away. Varun, who was one of the two, looked at that and shook his head.
The horses that ran away were game horses whose bodies were made of angular blocks, but the moment they approached, they turned into living wild horses.
If they had come on horseback, they could have caught them, but outside creatures other than those chosen were not allowed to enter this place.
“How can that mysterious spell that pulls out a stone pillar from the ground not work?”
“Honestly, I haven’t figured it out yet, and it takes so much stamina that I think it’ll be hard to catch a horse with that.”
Jun, a villager who came with him, asked Varun if he could try using the magic he used in the battle against Bug, but Varun looked embarrassed and said it was impossible.
The reason they move here to save horses is to replenish the horses that were damaged in the battle against bugs and to increase the number of livestock. However, unless there were relevant characteristics, you would have to catch a wary wild horse with your bare hands.
“I can’t help it. Let’s think about the livestock later. “It would be easier to hunt, but catching and taming it would be difficult.”
Varunun In the end, I gave up on catching the horses today. It would be nice to get more livestock, but it wasn’t urgent right away.
“uh!? Hey, look over there!”
But then, as Jun was turning to follow Varun, he noticed something. Surprised, Varun turned his head, and before he knew it, he had appeared in a place where no one was there.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘It’s been a while since you came.’
Varun saw him looking at them with a slightly nervous face and bowed his head in greeting.
Then he nodded his square face as if accepting the greeting and waved his angled arms toward the wild horses in the distance.
‘if?’
Varun and Jun naturally saw his actions and wondered what might have happened. They couldn’t help but hope that he, who always showed his mysterious power, would solve the difficult situations they found themselves in.
In fact, he combined several items and held them in his hands. Reins made from the food and animal skins that the horses in the game like to eat. Using those items, players of the game could actually tame and ride livestock.
“It’s hard to even dare to predict.”
In fact, he approached the wild horses with food, made them obey him as if he had tricked them, and put a halter on them to make them into horses he could handle.
And when the horses approached Varun and Jun, they were speechless and scratched their heads when they saw them. As if this world itself was a place that deviated from common sense in the first place, the things they see now also completely deviated from their common sense.
“thank you. “Our guardian spirit.”
Varun, who took over several horses that had become calm, expressed his gratitude to him. At some point, Varun regarded him as a blessing and guardian deity that had come down to them. Today was the first time I mentioned that thought to his face, but the square face with a somewhat fierce expression didn’t seem to really understand what I was saying. I looked at him, but there was no expression, so it was impossible to detect his emotions.
Still, he seemed to have conveyed the meaning of his gratitude by repeatedly sitting down and standing up as usual, expressing his affirmation.
“You came back early today. “It’s worth it because it happened this morning.”
Varun, who returned to the village with the residents he had been working with as well as the newly acquired horses, met Riena, who had returned first.
Varun, who heard what happened to her, was impressed and said that she deserved to come early.
“From what I heard, he appeared in that world after I came back. “Are you two the same being with different bodies?”
“Things like that happen, too.”
After hearing Varun’s story, Riena thought that the knight who was with her was the same as the square man who helped Varun.
It was actually a correct guess, but Varun didn’t think too hard and just shook his head.
“Because right now I don’t think the identity of the person showing us favor is important. “Is there something more urgent than that, Les?”
“It may be urgent, Chief.”
Instead, Varun turned his attention to a resident who was watching him as if he had something to say. He was called Les and he had not even taken off his iron armor yet.
“I saw something while scouting.”
Varun looked into Les’ eyes and guessed the general content. Excluding Riena, Les is a sturdy man with the highest combat power and is the leader of the scouting party.
Their job was to ride horses every day and scout out the surrounding area, looking for any danger that might infiltrate this area.
What Les had to say was that he saw something.
“A little bit southwest of here. “Other people are passing by there now.”
“The others?”
“I guess…they look like marauders.”
Les told us what he and his scout comrades had witnessed. At the word “predator,” not only Varun but also Riena’s eyes were greatly shaken.
Because the raiders of the plains were the enemies who harmed their villages and families.
“A number of marauders were riding horses, tying up more people than themselves and leading them somewhere. The movement will probably be slow due to the large number of people being dragged barefoot. “I think we’ll be passing through this area for at least two days.”
“Does the aftermath of the broken balance reach this far away?”
Varun bit his lip. The balance was broken just before their tribe was attacked. Originally, the grassland, where numerous tribes were unable to move forward and live by maintaining their own balance, suddenly became a bloody war zone, starting with the growth of one tribe that began to grow rapidly through active plunder.
Now no one can stop it. Because the war between tribes was literally a struggle for survival itself.
“Fortunately, they are putting all their effort into dragging away the slaves they have captured. “They don’t know anything about us, so if you just leave it alone, there won’t be a problem.”
Les argued that since they did not know of the existence of this place, they could remain silent. It wasn’t wrong, but when Varun heard it, he couldn’t make a decision right away.
“Are you sure you want to save them?”
“I can’t say no.”
Riena, who saw the atmosphere, recognized her father’s feelings and asked, and Varun did not necessarily deny her words.
“It’s not just emotion or recognition. Les, you and Riena, you must have seen what happened this morning. Not only that. An encounter with a mysterious spirit that occurred from the moment we arrived in this meadow. “It’s not something that can be ignored.”
Varun told us why he had such dangerous thoughts. As the leader of the group, various reasons for consideration poured out of Varun’s mouth.
“The black monster was stronger and more terrifying than any magical beast we had ever seen. It was a mighty ordeal upon us. But at the same time, blessings came to us. A blessing from the guardian spirit of this grassland. The problem is that we are too weak to endure both the trials and the blessings.”
Varun smiled bitterly and looked around the village.
A few vagabonds came in from time to time, and now there are dozens of soldiers, but the number of soldiers who can fight, excluding children and the elderly, was never large.
Varun, who led a tribe several times larger than this, and who had lost everything, still felt inadequate.
“More people are needed to take advantage of the blessings given by God and to fight against the black monsters that may appear at any time or the enemies that are targeting this place. We must not be satisfied with hoarding our strength. We need to use that to expand further. “That is my opinion.”
“that…”
Others could not easily refute Varun’s thoughts. Because that statement was based on facts.
If the number of soldiers had been even a little smaller, if they had not been armed with iron weapons prepared in advance, they would not have been able to win the fight against the bugs this morning.
“So, shall we attack those marauders first? “We still don’t know what tribe they are from.”
“According to what you said, the number of enemy soldiers is not so great that we cannot deal with them. But you might have to risk a lot.”
Although he expressed his thoughts, attempting to attack Varun first was not an easy decision to make.
They now had more resources than their enemies, but war is something that can break out at any time.
“…do. I could.”
Riena stepped forward and told Varun, who was conflicted until the end, to fight.
Her eyes did not waver, as if she had already made a decision.
“The numbers are similar, and our armament and weapons are superior. Besides, we survived the fight against that terrible monster, so we can win.”
“That’s true, but what if the opponent has many excellent warriors? “I am not yet familiar with this power, so your burden will increase.”
Varun was confused. This was even more so because the only remaining warrior in the tribe was his daughter.
“I could.”
But Riena was adamant. At the same time, a dazzling golden light burst from her body. He manifested the heavenly protection, which was the blessing he had absorbed into his body.
The intensity of the moment was enough to make others flinch.
“Father is right. It’s not enough to just store up strength like this. “Because we have to become stronger more and faster.”
She had just been fighting a hideous skeleton that rivaled a bug. After overcoming the fear radiating from the skeleton and winning, Rienna put aside some of her doubts about herself and gained confidence.
“And he would want us to become stronger too.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Go, by feeling.”
Additionally, she predicted that he, the spirit who helps them, would want their strength.
It was difficult to give a clear basis, but at least the kind of connection she had with him during the second game while risking his life fighting against enemies was the basis for her thinking.
“So, has it been decided?”
“Les, do you agree?”
“As a man, it is impossible to run away and hide forever.”
Les also grinned, saying he agreed with Riena’s words. If everyone agreed, Varun had no reason to hesitate any longer.
They eventually planned to attack their targets that night before they could get out of the area and join the main force.
[Tribal Leader’s Concern: Preemptive Strike]
“What is this?”
And that plan became visible to him as he observed the residents for the last time before going to bed.