Barbarian Quest - Chapter 58: Road to the Empire (10)

The trial by duel was over. Sun Warrior Havald took over as the temporary gate captain and quickly cleaned up the situation as if he expected this conclusion.

“I apologize for not recognizing you during our previous encounter, Prince Varca. I did sense an extraordinary elegance from you, as expected from royalty,” he said, respectfully. Havald raised his hand to his chest and took a knee. It was etiquette shown towards someone of high status.

“I didn’t expect to see you again here, Sir Havald,” said Fahel. He helped Havald up. Havald’s appearance was a surprise to everyone. No one thought they would run into him here.

“I also did not expect to meet you again in this manner, Your Royal Highness.”

Fahel quietly looked at Havald’s complexion. Havald was someone who had Northern blood partially running through him. Even if he was a man raised in civilization, traces of barbarianism still remained.

“What will happen to Gate Captain Ohber?”

“We will interrogate him and get the truth. Until he tells the truth, he won’t be released from prison.”

Ohber was locked in the underground prison at the gate. All of his rights were stripped away from him, and he was tied to chains. It was a miserable sight.

Sun Warrior Havald was easily able to take command of the gate. That showed just how unorderly the gate was and how little faith the soldiers had in the gate captain.

“If it weren’t for you, Sir Havald, it wouldn’t have settled so easily like this after the trial by duel. Thank you.”

Only then was Fahel able to take a breath. In the worst case scenario, the mercenaries and gate defense guards would have fought.

“Ohber was going to get his status removed anyways. The past few days, I was investigating comments about the gate captain here. Rumors about the 12th Gate Captain not doing their job properly had already reached the ears of the imperial family. The Sun Warriors take on these trifling matters at times,” said Havald.

The Order of the Sun Warriors was a unit under the Emperor’s direct command. The members of the order were either full barbarians or mixed. It meant that they were unaffiliated with the Empire’s nobles.

‘The Order of the Sun Warriors, a group of individuals who aren’t tied by blood with the nobles, execute their orders more fairly than anyone else.’

Fahel knew about the complicated reasons that the Order of the Sun Warriors were established for.

The Order of the Sun Warriors was a gathering of warriors separate from noble society. The moment they received their orders, they would indiscriminately kill their opponents and bring their heads to the Emperor, even if their target was a high-ranked noble. Because only religious creeds and honor amongst warriors are important to the Sun Warriors, they don’t easily have a change of heart for worldly desires.

On the other hand, the Order of the Imperial Steel Knights have difficulty dealing with nobles because the vast majority of their members were nobles themselves. The vast majority of nobles had a friendly relationship with other nobles. The Order of the Imperial Steel Knights were of course loyal to the Emperor, but in the end, they were nobles that acted for their house’s wealth and honor.

“Corrupt officials are the pus that ruins the Empire. When there is pus, one must boldly cut it out before it gets bigger,” commented Havald, implying Ohber’s future.

“Then why are you not asking about the crimes that Urich committed?”

As Fahel asked, it was Havald that had his eyes wide in shock.

“What crimes? As long as Adjutant Grimun’s words are true, there is no reason to punish Urich. Urich’s actions were a just retaliation. And with Grimun dead, there is no chance of his confession being taken back.”

Grimun closed his eyes for the final time after the battle. His corpse was burnt and his soul returned to Ru’s side.

“…I’m sure that Ru wouldn’t have encouraged retaliation,” said Fahel. After saying that, he quickly covered his own mouth.

‘I must have gone mad. This was something that could have been just passed over.’

It was simply just defiance. Fahel, who was educated by clergies and scholars, was a devout believer.

“Your Royal Highness, while Ru teaches us to forgive each other’s sins, humans are corrupted by the world. They will not repent if they are not punished. Just like how my mother’s pagan race only finally converted at the end of countless pain.”

Havald felt the barbarian blood flowing through him. The raging blood was close to passion. Sometimes, a beast’s will was what dictated his actions, not Ru’s creed. Every time Havald felt that passion stirring up within him, he recited Ru’s words.

‘The eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.’

The soul, corrupted by the world, would rise to the sun. Sun God Ru took those souls and burned their sins in the fires of the sun, cleansing the human souls of all sins. And after that, after the souls were completely purified, they returned to the world.

Those who were not able to enter the cycle turned into evil spirits. The souls that became evil spirits tore and fought each other until they returned to nothingness. A horrible end where their existence itself disappeared.

“You must be a truly devout believer, Sir Havald.”

Fahel spoke in an awkward manner that made those words seem neither like a compliment or insult. He looked at Havald’s eyes.

“If I show mercy to Ohber, my soul will become much cleaner. A benevolent heart is one of Ru’s teachings. But Ohber’s soul, which has not properly repented, will become much, much more corrupt. In the end, he will become an evil spirit and wander this world. I will punish his flesh until he truly repents. Once he does, his corrupted soul will become clean and return to Ru’s side.”

Havald’s eyes were looking straight ahead. His belief did not waver at all.

‘Punish his flesh.’

Those words echoed in Fahel’s head. He could already see the future where Ohber was being tortured. Havald would torture Ohber with a heart free from evil desires; a just heart meant to purify Ohber.

“I see…”

“Ah, and once the new gate captain arrives, I will personally escort you to the royal capital, Your Royal Highness. I will take my leave now,” said Havald.

Fahel gave a short nod.

Havald left the room to take care of his remaining duties. He was forced to take on a lot of responsibilities as the temporary gate captain. He didn’t have a moment to rest as he was busy taking care of the mess that Ohber caused. It wasn’t just one or two things that ended up corrupt through Ohber’s silence.

* * *

* * *

“It doesn’t fit you, Urich. Just sell it,” said Bakman. Urich was trying to force the plate armor to fit on his massive body. He looked rather hilarious wearing it.

“Look at you, Urich. What is that?”

“I think just being naked suits you the best.”

“If you’re a barbarian, act like a barbarian.”

Mercenaries mocked Urich as they passed by. Urich didn’t look like he was wearing armor. The plates of metal just looked like it was placed on top of him. His flesh was exposed between the armor’s gaps. He looked ridiculous to the point where people wouldn’t believe that he was truly wearing the invincible plate armor.

“Ahem.”

Urich got into a terrible mood and threw the armor away. He was a barbarian of massive size. His muscles were exceptionally developed, making his frame completely different from normal people’s. There was no way regular armor would fit him.

“BWAHAHAHA! Urich, are you upset because you can’t fit in the armor? Really?” Bakman grabbed his stomach as he laughed at Urich’s actions. Urich started kicking the dirt as his face turned red.

“Shut up. Just take this off properly. Why is it so complicated to put on? I’m never going to wear something like this again,” said Urich while taking off the piles of clothes and armor on him. He was wearing multiple layers of clothes underneath the plate armor. It was so that when someone struck him with a blunt weapon, the armor would take the majority of the blow and the leather and cotton underneath it would absorb the rest of the impact.

‘Even if I can’t wear it, it’s still impressive armor.’

It was the first time that he had such a close look at plate armor and was even able to look at its interior. Even if he couldn’t wear it, he couldn’t help but marvel at its structure and capabilities.

“It’s an armor that everyone desires. But if you, the mercenary leader, can’t wear it, it might be best to sell it to nobles. It’s something that’s too expensive for normal mercenaries to wear. Furthermore, whilst imperial steel weapons are fine, it wouldn’t be best to put plate armor on the market, even if it is the Empire,” said Bakman.

“Yeah?”

“If Havald were an Imperial Steel Knight and not a Sun Warrior, he might have even taken away the plate armor. I’ve heard countless stories about collectors acquiring plate armor and having it taken away. Since it was taken through a trial by duel, the means of acquisition are valid, so there would be a line of people offering to buy it. There weren’t just one or two nobles that were watching the fight, y’know.”

“How much would I receive if I sold it?”

“Who knows. If it’s a customized full plate armor like this, it would at least start at 100 million cil. But since it’s a bit old and the visor is dented, the price will go down a bit. But it should still go for at least 80 million cil,” said Bakman. He had a rough idea of the price.

Urich flinched.

“What?”

“It’s not called a treasure for no reason. Since only a limited number of plate armor is crafted exclusively in the Imperial Smithy, this price takes that fact into account.”

“Hold it. Shit! This sells for 100 million cil?”

Urich thought of the Sky Mountain Range. He only took Imperial Knight Pordgal’s sword. Pordgal’s armor was still in the Sky Mountain Range, becoming buried in snow.

Urich didn’t know about the value of plate armor when he was at the Sky Mountain Range. If he had known then, he would have done whatever it took to bring it down with him.

“Hmm…”

He thought of the many times he faced trouble because of money. He rolled around in the dirt countless times as a gladiator and teetered on the line between life and death multiple times as a mercenary.

‘It’s only easy to live here if you have money.’

Urich avoided doing things that were only permissible in his motherland like plundering. He tried his best to follow civilization’s rules, wanting to learn their common sense.

‘Damn it, if only I carried that armor with me… I wouldn’t have struggled like this.’

Bakman looked at Urich’s reaction and gave a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy about becoming rich? It’s practically a treasure box. And if we finish this request as well, we’ll have enough to eat and play around for the rest of our lives. And the prince especially likes you. He might even knight you and give you a quasi-noble status. Damn it! I’m getting jealous just talking about it!” said Bakman, excited. Urich was a man that knew about loyalty. Even if he was extremely successful, he would take care of Bakman.

“Yeah, let’s sell it.”

After a long deliberation, Urich decided on selling the armor. Bakman quickly went into sales negotiations.

A noble, who looked like they had never fought a day in their lives, came to the mercenary group’s camp to purchase the armor. Looking at how every single one of their fingers had a showy ring on them, they were quite a wealthy noble.

“Hohoho. I finally acquired it. Plate armor acquired through a valid means of acquisition! If it’s this, there isn’t a single reason they could come up with to try and take it from me.”

As the transaction was finished, the noble laughed. He stretched out his hands to caress the plate armor.

After confirming its state, the noble gladly passed over a jewel-filled pouch. When they opened it, it was filled to the brim with sparkling jewels of all sorts of colors—to the point where the mercenaries’ eyes hurt.

‘I can’t believe he’s buying armor that he won’t even wear.’

Urich was reluctant to sell it, but he didn’t show it. An exceptional piece of armor was turning into a rich noble’s accessory.

‘But I guess this is also one of the ways of the civilized.’

As he thought that, a laugh naturally followed. The noble, who saw Urich smiling, thought it was because Urich was happy about the jewels.

“It was a good deal for the both of us, Mercenary Leader Urich.”

“Well, it wasn’t bad. I’m also happy, seeing how much you like it.”

The noble put their hand forth for a handshake. Urich also knew about the civilized’s customs. He accepted their handshake and lightly bumped shoulders.

“Ah, and do you know what the people are calling you?” asked the noble moments before leaving.

“Huh?”

Urich, who was pulling out the jewels one by one, raised his head on an impulse.

“They call you ‘Armor Destroyer Urich’. You should use that popularity well. The way you used your knee to completely destroy that iron visor is embedded deep into everyone’s head. The people who saw that duel yesterday probably mentioned your name everywhere they went while sharing that story. That there is a warrior destroying armor with their bare hands! Hohoho!”

After finishing their words, the noble gave a wink. Urich felt a chill.

Armor Destroyer Urich. Urich’s reputation reached the imperial capital before he himself did. Urich’s Brothers and Fahel reached the imperial capital in half a month.

Amongst those that swung the sword, there was barely anyone that didn’t know of Urich’s name now.