[The Barbarians are moving.]
The officials guarding the Western border sent a carrier pigeon in horror. They were asking Acerus for orders to prevent the Barbarians from leaving the Gorgon Mountain Range. They argued that the Barbarians should be captured even if it had to be done by force.
A Barbarian could replace dozens of soldiers. Among them, a particularly strong Barbarian could replace ten knights. Two thousand Barbarians could replace twenty thousand well-trained Imperial troops. Maybe even more.
After settling down on the Western border, the empire no longer needed to dispatch knights twice a year nor did they receive reports regarding demonic beasts appearing at the border.
Acerus fell into anguish. It was not difficult for him to head to the watchmen prison, fire the knights in question, and free Demian and his comrades. Even now, the whole issue could be solved with a single order from him.
“But that’s not what the saintess wants.”
If Lara wanted something like that, she would have contacted Acerus as soon as Demian was put into prison. They even had a conversation over the receiver just a few days ago, but still, Lara did not say anything about the matter.
“Oi, how do you think I should handle this?”
Acerus asked his aide, he was reading a mountain pile of material brushed on one side of the table. The aide answered flatly.
“I’m sure you can handle it just fine.”
“What?”
“How do I understand the deep meanings of great people? As similarly great people, Your Imperial Highness should know how to handle this.”
“You punk, whose side are you on?”
“I’m on my own side.”
No one gave him the right answer.
Acerus was impatient, he grabbed the receiver to talk to Lara. But she did not respond.
“Your Imperial Majesty.”
“What?”
“You should dispatch the knights first. The problem will get bigger when the demonic beasts come down the mountain range. It’s not like you can easily persuade the Barbarians with words.”
“Hah…”
“And please stay neutral.”
“What?”
“You are not the King of the Barbarians, you are the Crown Prince of Tarragon. If you keep fighting for the Barbarians like this, the wrath between the two will only deepen.”
Acers’ head cooled down. His aide was right.
“The knights of this country have also risked their lives on numerous battlefields for hundreds of years. You should not just abandon them just because of the Barbarians.”
Then, what do you want me to do?
Acerus drooped his shoulders.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Having been at war for a long time, Tarragon did not just simply expand its territory. A wide, straight road was essential for the movement of horses, soldiers, weapons, and supplies.
“Nowhere on the continent is there a country with roads as developed as Tarragon.”
“True.”
“This is all the result of war.”
“So what? The roads are well paved and it’s easy to move around. What’s wrong with you?”
“Dude, I’m saying that I like it because it’s comfortable.”
They were Barbarians.
One of the Barbarians was holding a letter sent from Oscar. The barbarian grabbed the small piece of paper with his thick fingers. He stared at the small text on it and murmured.
“So, Demian loves a woman to death but she does not accept his feelings. So he needs help from all of us. Do you think this makes sense?”
“Nope.”
The Barbarians laughed out loud at once. They were all wearing cloaks made from the fur of a wolf-type demonic beast caught in Gorgon. The white manes gleamed magnificently in the sunlight.
“It looks like there is some big fight going on. An enemy strong enough that all of us have to go fight has appeared. And since Oscar was the one who sent it, I’m sure he’s being serious.”
“That prick is close to the Emperor’s son. He must have received a favor or something.”
“But still, did he expect us to believe that Demian is in love? He should have just said that a Demon Lord has appeared in Dandelion.”
“Hehehehe!”
They laughed out loud again. Breaths of white steam flowed from the horses’ and Barbarians’ mouths and scattered into the air.
“Demian, that hopeless punk did not even blink an eye when he saw the baby chicks my wife was raising! Those cute chirping things! Do you know what nonsense he spouted back then? He asked how long he would have to raise that chick before he could eat it. He scoffed, saying he would rather go out and hunt!”
“That cold-blooded dumbass.”
“Do you think that’s all? My wife said that she knew a smart lady and she would introduce her to him. But he said he hated women because they’re annoying!”
“What a prick.”
“Love, my ass! If that really happened to Demian, I will go to Dandelion and become his subordinate!”
“Me too!”
“Same here!”
Their waves of laughter grew louder this time. They looked back at the letter from Oscar once again. Then, they came to the same conclusion.
There was a big fight in Dandelion. That was why, three guys, no, four guys could not handle it so they called all two thousand Barbarians. Only that conclusion could explain the letter.
“By the way, I’m hungry.”
“My wife told me not to go around starving.”
“You can starve a little.”
“My wife fell in love with my thick thighs. She told me to take good care of it so it won’t be thin!”
“Fuck that. What are you saying in front of a lonely, single man?”
The road to Dandelion was a series of boredom. They had always lived on rough battlefields so they became very bored during times of travel. So, whenever they pitched tents at the camping ground, they mainly played arm wrestling or bet on who got to hunt.
“Someone please catch a deer today. I’m sick of birds.”
“A wild boar also would be fine.”
They were having a discussion on where to camp, what to have for dinner, and who would go hunting.
“But what is this smell?”
One of the Barbarians sniffed his nose. There was a delicate smell coming from somewhere. It smelled savory and oily, full of spices and seasonings.
Growl.
A loud noise came from the stomach of the Barbarian who first sniffed the smell. He rubbed his stomach with one hand and turned the horse’s head in the direction the smell was coming from as if he was possessed.
“Oi, where are you going?”
“Oh? What is this smell?”
The closer they got, the less they could put up with the smell. It was impossible to find a restaurant in the wilderness where there were no people, so someone must have set up a camping ground before them.
“What? Are there chefs somewhere moving in a group or what?”
The Barbarians were tired of their wilderness diet that continued on for a while. There was a limit to buying and packing food in the city. They wanted to eat something hot and savory or sweet and oily.
Two thousand Barbarians turned their heads in turn. On the way to Dandelion, they found quite a lot of people moving around with tents spread out in a wide-open space along a small river stream.
They were a trading company. One could tell by just at a glance. A large wagon was lined up by the waterside. There were many mercenaries escorting the luggage, and including the workers and assistants, there were over a hundred people in sight.
It seemed like a rich merchant. The Barbarians thought so.
“Who are you?”
Seeing two thousand warriors suddenly appear, a man approached them and asked. He was a middle-aged man who wore a neat suit and coat even while he was camping.
“I’m sorry but please stop here. The workers are afraid.”
He said so and strode towards the Barbarians by himself. Then he took off his hat and asked, revealing his face.
“What do you want from us?”
But there was no need for an answer,
Grumble. Growl. Smack.
Almost at the same time, there was a great sound coming from the Barbarians’ stomachs. There were also those who glared at food with their big eyes and swallowed their saliva.
“So, you’re hungry.
The man said.
“Wait a minute.”
Having said that, the man walked to one side of the camp and approached a woman standing in front of the bonfire. She was a woman with neatly curled up wavy brown hair, her squinted eyes were of a scarlet red resembling that of a bonfire. It was Isadora.
“Madam.”
“Are they Barbarians?”
“Yes, they are.”
The man was Sebastian. The workers seemed a little frightened when the large warriors in cloaks of beast skins swarmed. But, since they were Barbarians, Sebastian and Isadora thought there was nothing to fear.
“It looks like there are roughly…two thousand of them.”
“Are they hungry?”
“Yes, even I could hear their stomachs growling.”
“How can we feed all two thousand people?”
“I’m sure they can bring the ingredients themselves.”
“Handle it.”
Isadora nodded. Sebastian thought this was good.
“Let’s go with them to Dandelion, Madam.”
“Are they going the same way?”
“This is a straight road. What else is going to come out at the end?”
“Do I have to feed them all?”
“Isn’t it better to do that? It’s rare to have a chance to meet so many Barbarians peacefully. The demon has already descended and milady is the saintess, so we have nothing to lose by making friends with the Barbarians.”
Sebastian whispered.
“They are strong.”
Isadora nodded.
“If they want to fight for Lara, forget two thousand, I can even feed twenty thousand of them.”
“Wise words, Madam.”
Isadora moved first. She strode from the bonfire to the front of the vacant lot where the Barbarians were gathered. Then, she looked straight at them and said.
“I am Thousand Gold Isadora.”
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