48 – Savior
Not far from the village of Labrione, the westernmost part of the Mersenne Empire, there was a plain.
Thump thump.
hehehehe.
Countless Inma were slowly advancing across the field on this early night.
Each of the men, dressed in rough attire and wielding rusty swords or worn-out axes, looked exhausted as if they had been walking for a long time.
However, perhaps due to their anticipation of the upcoming plunder, there was an intense madness lurking in their eyes, contrasting with their constant grumbling.
At the forefront of the procession.
“Whoa, whoa-“
A muscular man with no shirt.
Barbadun, the savage king, with his black hair flowing like a beast’s mane, stopped speaking.
Upon seeing this, the other savages following behind him began to stop one by one.
As Barbadun turned his head, the necklace made of large fangs around his neck jingled slightly, colliding with each other.
“Is that Labrione Village over there?”
Barbadun approached the man who had been silent next to him and spoke.
“Yes…”
The man, dressed as an imperial citizen, responded cautiously, sweating profusely.
As if he had already confirmed multiple times that he could be killed at any moment, he carefully chose each word.
Barbadun once again caught sight of a small distant light.
Tonight, he could prey in many ways.
“I might finally have a comfortable bed to sleep in.”
Barbadun thought of Empress Herpina, who had seized the real power of the empire.
Since he had never actually seen her face, he could only imagine her as a noble lady in a splendid dress, who had once enslaved him in his childhood.
“Arrogant woman.”
How dare she propose such a deal to him.
Barbadun felt an extreme disgust for the imperial citizens who believed that only they were chosen by the goddess.
Especially.
The arrogant nobles, who believed that ignorant savages would definitely accept their deals and obediently follow them, seemed even more repulsive.
“…”
Barbadun never intended to keep his deal with the empress from the beginning.
He only needed time to strengthen himself to confront that lunatic, Cervis.
He had gathered a massive army of nearly 90,000 by uniting the savage tribes that had been living apart.
It was to turn the empire, which had taken their lands, into ruins and regain the fertile soil.
He wanted to overturn the history of being chased and killed by imperial soldiers or sold as slaves at every opportunity this time.
It began in the village of Lavrion.
From Noble mtl dot com
Coming earlier than the agreed time was also part of the plan to provoke anticipation.
From young children to the elderly, it was a determined effort to release the pent-up sorrow and resentment of being thoroughly oppressed and trampled upon, wandering without a place to go.
“Let’s go.”
As Barbaradun spoke, the savage army holding torches in between surged forward once again.
***
The Latun River, a massive stream that diagonally cuts through Mersen.
Its tributaries flow into small streams, encircling the village of Lavrion before returning to the Latun.
Although it was nothing more than a small stream, not particularly deep or wide, it was more than sufficient to sustain the sparsely populated village of Lavrion.
And the emergence of a small forest next to the village was all thanks to that water source.
With a relatively high average temperature throughout the year and the nearby river increasing the humidity, even though it was still late spring, fireflies were gathering to perform a fantastic light ritual.
Naturally.
In the past few days.
The children of the village, who had nothing else to do, would drag their parents to come here together as soon as night fell.
Even though the parents would try to stop them, saying it was dangerous and that savages might appear.
They were just momentarily relieved, thinking it would be fine, as they recalled the great victory the prince had achieved against the savages a year ago.
In the darkness, the murmuring stream and the bushes were flowing endlessly, and above them, a surreal spectacle of lights unfolded.
The breeze, filled with the scent of flowers, was refreshingly cool, and it was a peaceful late spring night that made one feel drowsy for some reason.
The villagers leaned against the railing of the short bridge or sat on large rocks in the stream, dipping their feet in the cool water, each enjoying their own happy time.
And then, a child, gazing at the endless horizon beneath the cool light of the plump moon, shouted with excitement.
“Dad, there are fireflies flying over there too!”
“Do you really think there would be fireflies over there, you rascal?”
Leckett, the blacksmith who had become a mess while playing with all the neighborhood kids for about an hour, turned his head absentmindedly and responded with a gruff voice, unable to hide his astonishment.
“Hey, savages! Everyone, run away quickly!”
As soon as he saw the torchlight, which was getting closer from a distance, thinking it was a savage attack, he immediately shouted loudly.
It was not an ordinary scale.
The lights that filled the horizon were far more numerous than the fireflies in front of them.
“How many are they exactly….”
It felt like there might be even more than the countless stars scattered in the night sky.
An unprecedented event.
It seemed completely inadequate to describe it that way.
It was a massive army that couldn’t be compared to the temporary looting by savages that he had experienced since childhood.
Many people who looked towards the horizon along with Leckett hurriedly started running towards the mountains, but it was already too late.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was because those who rode horses ahead of the main force had arrived first.
“Don’t kill the women and children!”
What was scarier than the rough voice was the content it contained.
“Let’s have some fun before the king finds out!”
“So what if he does?”
“I don’t know, you damn fool. It’ll be fine if we finish quickly.”
“Kill all the old ones and just cut the tendons of the young men to make them slaves!”
Luket’s strength drained from his entire body, and his hands and feet trembled.
It was a moment when the dreadful nightmares of the past were being replayed once again.
Of course, even in such a moment, he still spoke to his wife and son, whom he had not yet escaped.
“I’ll somehow buy us some time here, so run away quickly!”
His wife refused, crying.
“No, dear, come with us!”
“If we stay here, we’ll all die! Should we count Kale among the dead? Go now! Hurry! Run!”
Finally, after pushing them away forcefully and even shouting in a ghastly voice, he embraced his young son and his wife started running.
“Dad! No!”
Luket picked up a large rock.
He held it tightly in his hands, raising them high.
It was night, so they wouldn’t be easily exposed.
Since they said they would make him a slave, they wouldn’t kill him right away.
At least he planned to take one person to the path of the netherworld.
“Chase them!”
But even so, the situation was desperate.
A few people on horses headed towards the direction his wife ran.
So he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
“Why on earth is this happening… We’ve barely, just barely managed to survive…”
And then, someone who appeared to be a major approached leisurely and spoke.
With a determination to definitely take this guy with him, Lecette calmly waited.
“Still, there was at least one guy who knew how to use his head.”
But as he got closer, the opponent’s build was as big as a bear.
“……”
Unknowingly, Lecette took a step back.
“Can I kill him…?”
It would probably be difficult.
But even so, he had no intention of giving up.
“I am a blacksmith. If it’s about making weapons, I am confident. Whatever it is, just give me the order-“
Thunk!
Lecette was sent flying into the air by the savage’s fist.
When his body hit the ground, his mind became dizzy.
Thump-
An immense pain surged right above the fist that still held the stone.
The weight of the savage’s heavy body was pressing down on his wrist.
“You should have said that after putting down the stone. A blacksmith… I see. Your head seems to be useful, so your skills can’t be that bad either. But I can’t trust Mersen’s trash.”
Inevitably, when he released his grip, the rock rolled away.
The foot that was lifted up right above Lecette’s head blocked the moonlight.
“Go away.”
Lecat, sensing death, tightly shut his eyes.
Yet, he desperately wished.
Please, let only his wife and son survive.
May they not endure any pain like this.
Sshh!
Suddenly, a sound as if something incredibly fast was flying through the air was heard.
Ptoo-hwaaah!
A lukewarm liquid splattered onto his face.
Something solid thudded against the ground, spinning rapidly.
Thud, thud-
“aaah!”
The following sound was the startled scream of the savage who had just moments ago been trying to crush his skull underfoot.
No doubt about it.
It was definitely an arrow.
The arrow that had flown at an astonishing speed, tearing off the sturdy savage’s leg like a piece of ripe flesh, was undoubtedly a powerful one shot from an unimaginable bow.
Sshh!
The savage, now missing one leg, wobbled and barely managed to regain balance by flailing his arms, but the attack was not yet over.
Pwock!
An arrow flying from a completely different direction this time ripped off his arm.
Chwock!
Just before falling, the remaining arm was torn apart, splattering blood, by an arrow that flew from another direction.
Thud-
In the end, the barbarian fell.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Even after that, arrows continued to fly and were stuck in the forehead and throat of the fallen barbarian.
Lequette, who had stood up from his position and surveyed the situation, silently prayed in gratitude to the stranger who had saved him, although he didn’t know who it was.
***
On the deck of the anchored ship in the high sky where a cool breeze blew.
Elaine wiped away her cold sweat as she lowered her bow.
She had the ability to freely use divine power, so she didn’t exert any strength. But the sweat she shed was a worry about whether the arrows she shot randomly had really saved people.
In no time.
Wint, who had transformed into a small elf made of smoke, lowered his bow and raised his thumb while looking at himself.
Elaine approached the magic circle engraved in the center of the deck and checked the situation below.
Fortunately, the man she was trying to save was still alive.
But there were still many barbarians.
Phew- Elaine sighed with relief and looked up at the moon before starting to shoot her bow again.
Swish! Another swish! The arrows she shot, powered by Wint’s wind, flew toward the barbarians below, drawing such magnificent trajectories that even birds couldn’t imitate.