159 Slope
***[Goruka, Chief of the Red Hawk]***
People who were brought from the steppe tribes were confined to cattle sheds.
Most are women, but there is a small mix of men and children.
They were sitting close together in a building without a proper roof.
Most of the few men have swelling or bleeding somewhere in their bodies.
There was also a man whose entire skin was purple.
Perhaps it was because he rebelled.
And, regardless of men and women and children, they all dried up.
Some people had been abducted recently, but all of them had only bones left.
The building confining the steppe tribes looked like a tomb containing a living body.
Upon seeing the Gorukawa warrior, the abductees could neither stand nor run, and shed tears without making a sound.
The man is probably too beaten to move, and the women and children are terrified.
I can’t even make a sound when I know they won’t do any more harm if I treat them so roughly.
The shouts of the enraged warriors stretched into the air.
The shouts of Goruka, who brought his sister in his arms, also spread to the sky.
In the steppes, warriors and patriarchs are the protectors of the family.
It was the fault of their patriarchs, the warriors of the tribe, that these people were dragged in and ravaged and suffered.
“Someone has run away! There’s a secret passage in the back of town!”
someone shouted.
After giving his sister to his brother-in-law, Goruka turned around.
No one escapes from this town.
Capture and kill them all without leaving a single one.
***[Baron, ex-fiancé of Renée]***
There are quite a few villages in the Barony that have become uninhabited.
There were several villages that had more convenient places to catch and sell barbarians or had decent houses.
Nevertheless, there is a reason for making this village a base.
It was because there was a cave leading from the village into the shallow forest.
It is unknown how such a strange cave reached the village.
The village, too, may have been part of the forest long ago.
The cave is usually cool even in summer, so the village seems to have used the cave as a storage for food.
There were traces of wheat or meat placed throughout the cave.
It may have been a place where the harvested grain was hidden after deceiving the lord.
No, that would have been the main purpose.
A small shed was built in front of the entrance to the cave, and bushes were growing naturally around it.
From the outside, you have no idea that there is a cave beyond it.
Even the savages probably don’t know.
So you can rest a little.
The baron gasped and stopped.
“Master!
The men who came with him breathed heavily and said.
A few of them looked back in fear.
“… this, the entrance is well… ha… ha… blocked… this far, ha, far away… ha… ha… they also…”
I was out of breath and couldn’t speak properly.
But I really can’t run anymore.
Although he does the tough job of human trafficking, the Baron himself is a man who simply gives orders.
He sold the people he had captured at a good price, and only expanded the business by attracting those who would join, but the actual work was the subordinates.
My stomach is rocking and it hurts, and the soles of my feet feel like they are on fire.
Even if I beat him to death, he really wouldn’t be able to move anymore.
“They’re good at tracking. They’re paying attention to people in town right now, so even if you don’t notice them, they’ll find out soon.”
The person who said that was a subordinate in charge of practically everything related to the abduction.
It was this henchman who captured Renée from the monastery, the baron’s most trusted confidante.
He believed that this man would bring Renee without even lifting a finger when he ordered it.
When I thought of Renee, something bitter came up in my mouth.
how was she
Was she captured by barbarians and became their woman?
Even if they became aristocrats, most of the women the baron handled were commoners or changgwan women.
A woman from an aristocratic family has never been touched.
There were quite a few good-looking women among commoners, but there was no noble woman as beautiful as Rene.
When I got my hands on her, I was really happy.
I don’t know how the Viscountess knew she was escaping the monastery, but as soon as she heard about it, she fell in love with her to the point of sending his men at random.
My heart was twisted to think that it was taken away even though it had become my own through hard work.
“master!”
Hearing the voice of his servant, the baron returned to reality.
Oh, yes. was running away
damn it
The baron muttered that and stood up.
That was the moment.
One of his subordinates suddenly fell forward.
The torch he was holding fell to the floor, leaving a large shadow on the wall.
An elongated object stands up above the fallen shadow.
arrow?
The moment it came into sight, the henchman kicked one of his subordinates.
As the load rolls backwards, it falls along with the other load.
The henchman grabbed the baron’s arm.
In the hands of the baron, the henchman put the torch he was holding.
“They’re here. Run. Hurry up!”
Before the henchman’s whispers were finished, the baron started running.
The sound of fallen men getting up was heard.
It looks like a henchman threw a knife at one of them.
One of his subordinates was screaming and shouting, “My leg.”
Those minions are bait.
I knew it through intuition, even if my confidant didn’t tell me.
We have to run away while the savages stop because of those men.
It seems like a lie that it was difficult to even lift a finger a moment ago.
When you fall into a crisis, a person’s body will come out with power that was not there.
The baron ran like crazy.
I’m glad I have a henchman.
Even at this point, he doesn’t abandon himself… uh…
“Hey, hey!”
The baron involuntarily exclaimed in a low voice.
The confidant, who had been lagging behind a moment ago, brushed past him, and before he knew it, he overtook him and ran forward.
The back goes away in an instant.
Inside the dark cave, the Baron’s torch cast a large shadow on the wall.
The shadow of the henchman gradually grew farther and smaller, and all that was left was his swaying shadow.
“That damn bastard!”
The baron chewed and threw away the torch.
You have to hold it up to become an arrow target.
After throwing away the torch and running for a long time, the light that had been shaking slightly disappeared completely and it became dark everywhere.
I can’t help it from now on
The baron moved forward, pressing his hand against the wall.
In the middle, the cave splits into several passages.
When I came before, I made a scratch with a knife to mark the way out, but now I couldn’t see it at all because I didn’t have a torch.
The Baron searched for his memory.
It probably went to the left at the first fork.
The problem was after that.
It’s so dark that I can’t even tell which way is the fork in the road.
But there were also some good things.
If there are many forks in the road, even the savages will have a hard time finding him.
It was time to take a breath after feeling a little relieved in the midst of nervousness.
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine from the top of my head to my buttocks.
It gives me goosebumps.
There is something.
The moment I thought that, my shoulders felt hot.
Suddenly, there was the sound of something falling to the floor, and the baron stumbled sideways, losing his balance.
Once again, this time the other shoulder heats up.
Ah, barbarians.
A servant had said this once before.
Because they are savages, they say they roam around like daytime without fire, and that’s why they can go long distances on horseback at night with only the dim moonlight.
damn, damn, damn.
It reminded me of the henchman who abandoned himself and ran away.
Will only him survive in the end?
“Damn it! There’s one more, you savage! There’s one who ran before me!”
Barbarians do not understand the language of the kingdom.
Even knowing that, the baron shouted that.
It was so unfair to think that he was the only one surviving, so I couldn’t be arrogant.
Then, an ice-cold voice rang in my ears.
“Know.”
Uh, is this…?
It was not the language of barbarians, but the language of the kingdom.
Could this guy be our country… the kingdom guy?
The moment I thought that, my throat felt hot and my eyes darkened.
“Those who abandon their comrades and run away to live for themselves, or sell them out because they feel unfair about dying alone… You guys are uglier than animals.”
That was the last thing I heard.
What a f*cking hypocrite.
Everything in the world is the same.
My body, my life is the most precious law.
Sacrificing others?
Parents give up their bodies for their children?
From nob le mt l dot com
Do not be ridiculous.
When an arrow comes flying, it is human beings who inadvertently block it with their own children.
I wanted to protest like that, but my lips didn’t move any more and my thoughts became dull before I knew it.
Oh, damn life.
When you’re happiest, it ends miserably.
***[Goruka, Red Hawk Chief]***
By nightfall, everyone involved in the abduction was dead.
A few escaped out of town, but they chased them all and spared no one.
Goruka butted heads with the men of the other tribes.
“How do I do it?”
“It’s a big deal.”
“I can’t move like this.”
Silence fell between the people.
Originally, all the grassland tribes, women and children, ride horses.
When an enemy they could not defeat attacked, they rode away and fled.
If horses are not enough, slaves, the sick, and the elderly remain to buy time against enemies.
But this time, it was difficult to use the horse because there were many people in bad condition.
If you go back to the grassland, you may be able to cure it somewhat with medicines such as herbs that are rare for each tribe.
But here it was a crowd.
die on the way
Goruka’s older sister was the same.
It’s barely breathing, but it’s in a dangerous state.
“It must be difficult to use the cart in its current state.”
someone muttered in a low voice.
It was as he said.
There were many people who would die within a few days if they were moved by carts.
Even so, I can’t stay here for long.
Sooner or later this news will reach someone in the kingdom.
then you get attacked
‘What do we do.’
In the end, after repeated discussions, it was decided that about half of the warriors would move to the meadow first, leading someone who could move.
Other warriors remain here with the wounded.
Seeing the condition of the injured, we decided to start a little later.
“…”
The steppe people originally fought on horseback and ran away when they were at a disadvantage.
Then, looking at the gap, they attacked again.
The grassland tribes with excellent mobility had the advantage of hitting and falling and attacking again.
But with so many wounded, it’s hard to fight like that.
Mobility must be given up.
Those who remain will have to prepare for death.
Still, I couldn’t choose to leave my people here and leave.
No one had even mentioned that possibility.
The brother-in-law decided to take the child and leave first.
Goruka remains.
It was a difficult decision considering the Red Hawk Tribe, but he thought that if he, who knew the kingdom best, remained here, it would be the way to increase the survival rate of those who remained.
Besides, he has the Duke’s coat of arms given to him by Oscar.
There might be a way to use this.
“…”
In the midst of the starlight pouring in, my sister was saying her last goodbyes to her brother-in-law.
While praying for the safety of her departing husband and child, the older sister smiled.
“I’m glad to see your face. I’ll follow soon… Please take care of my child.”
My sister’s face glistened in the moonlight.
It was an expression of knowing that it would be difficult to meet again.
Tears are all over the sister’s face.
The brother-in-law did not show any tears, but he was weeping with his whole body.
Goruka sent half of the Red Hawk Warriors, in order of age, to the grassland first.
A few people strongly objected to staying, but when other older warriors persuaded them, they reluctantly agreed.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry, we’ll follow soon.”
Saying things no one would believe, Goruka shoved the tribal warriors in the back.
After they left with the moon in the sky, Gorukawa warriors searched the building for medicine.
But there was little to help.
Reluctantly, the steppe warriors cleaned the wounds of the wounded and applied the herbs they had.
You can’t expect a big effect, but it’s better than nothing.
After that, he started repairing the wagon and wagon inside the wagon.
Take out all the more or less useful things.
A lot of straw was laid on the cart and wagon to lessen the vibration.
Anyway, I can’t stay here forever.
You have to move.
Check the number of arrows equipped with magic bombs, and distribute them evenly among the warriors who will be in charge of the attack.
One of the wounded died that night.
He was lying in the same warehouse as his sister, barely breathing when he was found.
I thought he was already unconscious, but at last he opened his eyes.
The dazed eyes met Goruka at the last moment.
They seemed to recognize that Goruka was the warrior who had come to save them.
He quietly closed his eyes with a very relieved expression on his face.
And two days later, Goruka finally departed with the wounded.