YM778.TV Chapter 230: Barbarians (1)
A winter longer than usual, the sudden fall of the northern walls, poison spreading in the south, the invasion of the east by the heretics and the rebellion of the Xeruem Order.
Numerous incidents broke out at once; the kingdom was in utter chaos and removing the cause of the winter was the job of the player. As people that were aware of this future, Park Sihu and I had tried our best to prepare for it in the last iteration.
We stopped Dun Scaith from pouring the venom into the southern river, and stopped the Xeruem’s rebellion ahead of time.
The Sword Emperor dealt with the problems of the east by himself even in the game, so we headed north after the south and the west to protect the walls but…
[How did it not even last 3 days?]
The walls, which we thought would last the longest, fell much quicker than expected.
“I can see why.”The reason for that was unraveled before our eyes.
– WAHHHHHHHH…!!
Roars were reaching us from all the way over there, and the entire horizon was packed with people.
“K, Korin-hyung!”
Germain Luther came in a rush to report the results.
“Are you done?”
“Yes! It was hard to count them all because the barbarians didn’t have any flags but… somehow.”
“Tell me.”
“More than 230,000! There are some children and old people, but it seems there are at least more than 150,000 able troops!”
“That is quite a lot.”
Northern Kingdom.
It was a common reference to the union of barbarians tribes of the north.
There were nigh 300 tribes, including that of half-giants, witches, sorcerers and other demi-humans.
Living in the harsh lands of the north, they inevitably had to become invaders and plunderers, which meant they were masters of battle regardless of gender. ř
As such, even the females were considered warriors in the Northern Kingdom barbarians. They were a tough bunch indeed.
“C, can we beat them?”
Germain looked at me nervously as if he had full trust in me.
It was understandable though, because there had never been an invasion of this level in the history of the kingdom.
“150,000 barbarian warriors. That means there would be at least 7-800 knights so… that makes sense.”
No wonder it fell in three days. Even more so because the Valkyries, the great warriors of the God King, were also among the mix.
“We will. Somehow.”
“Ohh…”
We will beat them in a frontal battle for sure. This was certain I was certain about.
First off, we had me.
Looking at my current power level, I would at the very least be around half of Park Sihu in his prime, back when he was called the God of Magic. Well but if we were to fight, I would still somehow come out on top.
On top of that, we also had Lady Josephine Clara, who was at the level of a nightmare in the unique environment of a battlefield.
Even just one meteor strike in the middle of their armies would be a disaster.
Not only that but we also had Marie, Hua Ran, Alicia… Kranel, Yuel and Dorron who also acquired divine treasures from Mag Mell, who could each fend off hundreds.
We would win for sure.
“There would be a hundred thousand casualties though. That’s the issue.”
“Umm, from the barbarians?”
“Yeah.”
Germain didn’t seem to understand what the issue was. As a believer of the Old Faith, the barbarians of the north were heretics that deserved death, and that was probably what he was taught in his upbringing.
Actually, anyone would think that as a citizen of the kingdom, who had been under their constant pressure.
From my perspective, they were all the same people, but the deep crevice of hatred among hostile countries was not something that was easily solvable.
However, they were also an excellent ‘ally’ in my eyes.
“Hey, Luther.”
“Yes?”
“We are making them our allies now.”
“What?! What do you mean!” he shouted back in fright.
It was rare for him to shout at me but it was a normal reaction.
“I said it before, right? There’s going to be countless demonic beasts, never seen before. We need the help of even one person.”
“B, but…”
Germain didn’t seem to know what to say.
“But… hyung,” he said. “Will those barbaric animals listen to you?”
He couldn’t say straight-forwardly that he wanted all of them to die, and thus opted to suggest it in a roundabout way.
It was still a fortunate thing that this Germain-guy seemed to have gone through some change. If he was the same as how he started off in the Academy, he would have gladly suggested that we kill all of them.
“Of course, there’s no reason for us to be on the losing side of the negotiation. I have my plans.”
Unlike the El Rath Kingdom, the Northern Kingdom was a set of tribes that still served the previous gods.
The answer was therefore simple.
I just had to persuade the gods they served.
****
The so-called barbarians of the Northern Kingdom were considered in the El Rath kingdom to be barbaric, lawless and violent, but they had their own civilizations and laws.
They referred to themselves as free people, and hosted small conferences that decided on the future path of their village, tribes and the union.
However, the union conference last winter had created a huge strife in the group.
“Skjaldmaer (Shield maidens)…! It’s time for the tribe conference!”
A man wearing a helmet of horns painted in white yelled out loud, looking for Brunhild.
Brunhild headed to the tent of conference where the representatives of hundreds of thousands of barbarians were gathered for their meeting. Waiting inside were the tribe chieftains and their advisors, skjaldmaers… the Valkyries.
“You’re here, big sis.”
A large woman greeted her upon arrival. She, who was as big as half-giant with an immense build and muscles, was one of the Valkyries, Thrud of Strength.
Brunhild scanned the ones inside the tent and heaved out a sigh of lament.
“Seems that a few… weren’t able to reach here.”
There were more than a hundred tribes following Brunhild when they set off, but now there were only 70 tribe leaders and less than 20 shield maidens.
The ones absent were most likely dead already along with the warriors of their tribe.
“It can’t be helped, shield maiden. However, they fought valiantly till death. I’m sure they are waiting for us in Valhalla.”
Brunhild gave a quiet yet bitter smile in response to the words of one of the tribe leaders.
The tribes of the Northern Kingdom believed in Odin, the God of War.
They dreamed of Valhalla, the heaven of valiant warriors, but now that the gods had fallen, even Brunhild couldn’t be certain of the existence of Valhalla.
That was why a few of them had betrayed… or rather taken a different path. After all, for the shield maidens who believed in the gods and the tribes, the proposal raised by Tates Valtazar had been like a tub of honey too sweet to refuse.
However, she believed that was akin to betraying the gods they had been serving for thousands of years.
Being under the same flag as the last Frost Giant and reviving the World Tree, was an act of betrayal to the gods they had been praising and worshiping.
That was why Brunhild, as well as the Valkyries and the tribe leaders here, had been vehemently against their cause.
“O skjaldmaer. We do not have much time in our hands. The wicked demons of Valtazar have already set off on their path.”
“…We must contact the walls first. We have to send them a message.”
“Those feeble southerners will not accept us in!”
“That’s right! It will be better for us to overtake those walls and meet the monsters ourselves!”
“More than anything, we don’t have time. The demons are right behind our tail.”
Right – they didn’t have time. They didn’t have enough time to persuade the El Rath kingdom.
Valtazar already had more than half of the Northern Kingdom tribes under his wing.
Out of 297 tribes of the union, 95 had been against his cause.
As soon as they demonstrated their opposition, Valtazar began a ruthless massacre of those 95 tribes. Due to the unending onslaught of shadow demons, and natural demonic beasts and spirits, the oppositional tribes had been chased all the way here.
Brunhild and the Valkyries had to lead the anti-Valtazar tribes south to literally survive.
Those tall walls were standing in their path, and they had to cross it to avoid the waves of monsters coming down.
“Hilde… Did you finish scouting the city?”
She called one of their sisters, who had set off to scout the enemy forces, and Hilde walked forward with uncertainty.
“Yes, unni…”
“How is the defense level of the borders?”
“It was much stronger and reinforced compared to the last time we checked, and they had more than double their previous numbers.”
That still meant there were only 2,000. Hearing that, some of the tribe leaders scoffed in derision.
There were 150,000 warriors on their side. If they wanted to, they could breach the walls in less than half a day.
“But… there are at least 4 powerhouses on their side, that are each at the level of a grand leader.”
“What?”
Grand leader.
In the Northern Kingdom, which worshiped the strong, it referred to the strongest great warrior who led their union.
It was the same standard as a Unique Grade in the kingdom, and it was hard to see even one of them come out in a century.
At the very least, for the current generation of the Northern Kingdom, there wasn’t a single one who could be objectively called a ‘grand leader’.
“That is impossible! How could there be not one, but four powerhouses at such a level?!”
“Skjaldmaer Hilde must have made a mistake!”
It was an unbelievable evaluation. Despite the disbelief and doubts of the tribe leaders, Brunhild gestured to them to quiet down and asked.
“Are they… Sword Emperor Garrand or Dimensional Witch Josephine Clara?”
Two more even apart from them…? Brunhild assumed the worst but…
“No. It was my first time seeing all four of them.”
Hilde multiplied several-fold the worst-case scenario she had thought of.
“…”
It was a big problem.
To think there would be four of such powerhouses on their side… a bunch of them would be massacred meaninglessly considering they had the advantage of a fortress.
‘But it’s still winnable.’
There were 150,000 warriors on their side, with more than a thousand great warriors, which were the same as knights in the El Rath Kingdom. On top of that, they had 19 valkyries, each specializing in wars.
With even the addition of the leader of the shield maidens and the strongest Valkyrie, Brunhild, it was impossible to lose.
“First off… we have to show off our might and request they surrender. It’s best if we don’t shed innocent blood.”
Send a messenger.
Ask for their surrender, and tell them we would have no choice but to attack otherwise.
It was then.
– Kwagagang!
A deafening thud reverberated across the cold wasteland.
****
“Kuahk…!”
The warrior who had been defending the entrance of the encampment facing the walls was buried in snow.
Also around him were dozens of similar warriors. None of them had seen the exact identity of the thing that dropped like a lightning bolt.
“Ugh…”
One of the warriors who had been watching from nearby dropped his chin in awe.
“This can’t be…”
They were being attacked. Someone had ripped apart the tents of the tribes and had destroyed the entrance of the encampment.
Who in the world was it?
What kind of dumbass would ambush the encampment of 150,000 warriors?
Even more surprising was that Malak, a half-giant, had been bashed away from a single punch. The great warrior reaching 3 meters in height, who could rip demonic beasts into halves with bare hands, was rolling on the ground in pain.
Standing at the center of that scene was a single person. The warrior realized in an instant, that that man was in a realm that he would never be able to reach in his life.
‘H, how could a warrior of such a young age…!’
He could tell that he was at the level of a top great warrior.
“B, bastard…! Name yourself!”
“Hoh… This has been a while. I guess so because there are no newspapers in the Northern Kingdom.”
“What?”
Leaving aside the warrior in a stupor, Korin was rather delighted to see people who didn’t know about him.
“Where’s your boss? There’s too many people here that I can’t find them.”
“You insolent fool…”
The warrior picked up his ax. He knew he wouldn’t be able to defeat that man, but he couldn’t step back like a coward before everyone else.
At the very least, he was sure that the shield maidens would lead him to Valhalla if he were to die against a foe of that level.
He decided to try his best to hold the enemy in place and buy at least a few seconds until the great warriors arrived.
“…”
Korin simply watched the other warriors slowly standing back up.
He intentionally struck them with nothing but a shockwave so that he wouldn’t end up killing them. That alone should have alerted them of the difference in strength, and yet they were still eager to fight like true warriors.
“I don’t hate it. I’m sure there’s no man out there who wouldn’t appreciate a sight like this.”
However, it was annoying for him because he had no plans of killing anyone.
“Survival of the strongest! We may be weak and lose our lives, but our great warriors and our shield maidens will surely destroy those feeble walls of yours!”
The fundamental principle of the Northern Kingdom was that – survival of the strongest.
It was a simple logic that it was natural for the strong to plunder the weak.
They considered their own death to be the inevitable outcome of their weakness, and the fall of the walls would also be because they were weak.
“Seriously, this way of macho thought process…”
His voice suddenly turned even colder than the wintery blizzard.
How could a warrior who resembled the blazing Sun give off such a cold aura? The warriors gulped and clenched onto their swords and axes, but their opponent remained standing there without pointing his spear at them.
– Kang!
One of the warriors carrying an ax tilted his head in confusion.
He felt something swoosh past his neck but didn’t know what it was. He touched the side of his neck and found a trail of warm blood.
“…Was that the wind?”
But how could the wind be so sharp and heavy?
Upon turning back to Korin and realizing that he was now pointing the spear at him, the warrior realized that he was only alive thanks to the mercy of this young man.
“Damn it! Are you insulting me?! Kill me!!”
The offended warrior roared out loud which made the dozens of warriors run in at once. Korin, however, remained standing there, waiting for them to approach him.
Their axes fell towards its foe. Dozens of blades were about to land on him but that was when he lifted his right leg and—
– Kwang!
— He simply stomped down with his foot.
“Kuhak!?”
“Kuahk!”
The snow scattered to all sides and so did the warriors. It was just a stomp and yet the shockwave was enough to send the warriors flying.
It was an overwhelming difference in strength.
It was then.
“How dare you…!”
A roar echoed from above.
– Kwangg!
An enormous shadow descended along with a thud. Korin parried the roaring axe with his spear.
– Kajik!
In that moment of collision, the land beneath his feet caved in with a crack. An unbearable gush of wind resulting from the clash cleaned all the surrounding snow, making the land return to its snowless state. Even the dead roots of plants were ripped apart.
That was how strong the descending ax was, but the spear did not move a single inch.
‘He blocked my ax?’
Torkel retrieved his ax and fell back. The 4-meter-tall chieftain of the tribe of half-giants, Black Axes, commended his foe.
“Not bad for a midget.”
Realizing he was a strong opponent who easily withstood his ax, Torkel’s eyes gleamed with his desire to fight against the strong.
That was when more warriors gushed out of the encampment.
Among them were half-giants, sorcerers and the pride of the tribes, the great warriors.
There were a hundred of them.
Torkel placed his ax on his shoulders and asked Korin.
“Who are you, and what are you here for?”
Korin conveyed his purpose and stated as a matter of fact.
“You stand no chance against me. So tell Brunhild to come out. It won’t even be a fight otherwise.”
The entire area turned dead silent.
It wasn’t because they were flustered or shocked.
They were furious.
The hundred warriors including chieftain of Black Axes, Torkel, had to contain their burning fury within their skins.
“How dare you! Try to face the divine skjaldmaers!!”
Torkel’s roar erupted the surrounding air and sent the surrounding snow back into the atmosphere. What the knights referred to as aura covered his entire body in invisible flames.
He wasn’t the only one.
The hundred warriors behind him, as well as the hundreds and thousands of their warriors – in fact, even the tens and the hundred thousand warriors would all be willing to shred this insolent invader to pieces.
Skjaldmaers.
The shield maidens of the God of War.
This man was daring to meet the beautiful Valkyries who showed benevolence and mercy to the poor northerners and led them even after the fall of gods.
Even though he wasn’t a great warrior nor a chieftain, he had the guts to make such a bold request.
At the face of that undisguisable show of killing intent, Korin did not flinch in the slightest. His straight back showed no signs of bending down, and veins were filling his thick arms.
At the same time, his internal energy came surging out like it was trying to push the entire world away.
– KUWOOOOOOOOO!
The world was met by a bizarre noise. The chilling blizzard turned into heat; snow melted and the cold vanished.
Korin repeated his purpose.
“I am here to meet the leader of Valkyries, Brunhild.”
The Sun moved with his steps.
The land, which had once been full of snow, heated up along with the atmosphere as the snow evaporated into the air.
– Chiiik!
Unraveling before the barbarians of the north was a sight they had never seen before. The snow melted; they vanished, and now the ground was bubbling with heat.
Korin felt the change in the gazes looking at him.
Until moments ago, the warriors had been burning with the desire to fight. Their eyes were still on the same person, but now it was that of fear and awe.
Korin didn’t bother moving; he simply stood there waiting on the spot.
That was when a group started walking towards him.