Chapter 283

Gottval heard the prisoners talking about a girl.

“A saintess?”

“She was the reason we were able to win battle after battle, though it seems that all ends here.”

“I would like to hear more about it.”

Gottval listened to the story of Basha from a prisoner. His eyes widened more and more.

“Is this all true?”

“She came riding a donkey, wearing a priest’s cloak, looking for the army. At first, everyone whispered that she was a crazy woman, but we all acknowledged that the fact that she traveled alone for such a long distance as a woman was proof of Lou’s grace. Heck, when battles broke out, even arrows and spears avoided her.”

“What is her name?”

“Her name is Basha. She’s the only woman around, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find her.”

Gottval moved among the prisoners with his empty sleeve flapping in search of Basha. Some prisoners recognized him and spoke to him.

“Father Gottval...”

“Please, grant us your blessing.”

Even in his busy state, Gottval prayed and offered words of comfort to the people.

“Who is that? Why is he in the barbarian army?”

“Have you not heard of Gottval, the one-armed saint?”

“Oh, I’ve heard rumors of a one-armed priest. That’s him?”

“He’s so devout that even the barbarians dare not mistreat him. He’s a remarkable person.”

Gottval searched for Basha but couldn’t find any trace of a woman.

‘Could it be...’

A bad thought crossed his mind. Gottval closed his eyes tightly, knowing well how the Alliance Army treated women. To make things worse, Basha was a woman who fought as an enemy, making it even more unlikely that they would leave her alone.

‘Please...’

Hoping Basha was unharmed, Gottval asked the surrounding prisoners about her whereabouts.

“The barbarians took her earlier! Please, please make sure she isn’t harmed by the barbarians, Father Gottval!” A prisoner who saw Basha being taken by the Barbarians pleaded.

Gottval inquired with warriors who spoke Hamelian to find out where Basha had been taken to.

“Urich took her?”

Gottval frowned. Urich was also a young barbarian man with active desires. There was no telling what he might do to a female prisoner.

Gottval ran to Urich’s tent and uncharacteristically burst in.

“Urich!”

Gottval’s eyes widened. The muscular Urich stood there, shirtless, with Basha sitting in a chair next to him.

“Oh, you’re here, nice. I was about to call for you.”

“W-what in the world are you doing, Urich!”

“Hmm?” Urich tilted his head in response.

Upon looking between Urich and Basha, it didn’t seem like Urich was trying to assault her in any way.

“O-oh, it’s nothing.”

“Come and put some ointment on her face. I’d do it myself, but she’s been glaring at me like she wants to kill me ever since I had her brought here.”

Urich shrugged and tossed the ointment he used to Gottval.

“Hup.”

Urich used a wet towel to scrub the blood off his body, which, along with the newest additions, was so scarred and burned that it was hard to find a patch of unmarked skin, showing just how hard of a life he had led.

“You must be Urich.”

Basha spoke while sitting in the chair. Urich shrugged and wiped the blood off his neck with the towel.

“Get some treatment before you start rambling. A woman shouldn’t have such a big scar on your face.”

“The leader of the barbarians.”

Basha gritted her teeth. Every night, the last moments of her father and mother vividly replayed in her mind. She quietly rolled her eyes, looking for something she could use as a weapon.

“The soldiers told me about you, Basha,” Gottval said, sitting in front of her. Despite a Sun priest being in the room, her attitude remained sharp.

“What is a Sun priest doing with a barbarian?”

“These people will too eventually come to realize Lou’s love.”

Gottval applied the ointment to Basha’s cheek.

“Lou would never love barbarians and they will never find peace.”

“Lou does not discriminate between barbarians and the civilized. That is merely our arrogance.”

“You say such things so easily when they’ve burned our lands and killed people cruelly! All barbarians must be killed! That is Lou’s will.”

Gottval frowned. The supposed saintess sitting before him was very different from what he heard from the soldiers. She wasn’t very saintly at all.

“Lou’s will cannot be interpreted so easily. I have seen many barbarians, and I know that even barbarians can receive Lou’s grace.”

“I heard Lou’s voice myself, and He told me that we must kill all barbarians. Even the northern barbarians couldn’t touch us because we received Lou’s blessing.”

“But you were defeated and captured by these men. So, this too must be Lou’s will.”

A mere village girl could never win an argument against a proper Sun priest. Citing Lou’s will had been working thus far on ignorant commoners, but Basha stood no chance here.

“B-b-but!”

Unable to contain her anger, Basha’s shoulders shook violently.

“That’s enough teasing, Gottval.”

Urich, done cleaning up, sat in front of Basha. The wooden chair creaked and wobbled.

“I’m not teasing her, but it does seem like she misunderstands Lou’s will.”

“Hey, who knows? Maybe Lou really did whisper to her.”

Urich chuckled. Gottval sighed and took a step back.

“Basha, was it? Eat some of this food. How are you planning to bear a child with that skinny body of yours?”

Urich pushed a tray of meat and fruit toward Basha.

“I don’t eat barbarian food.”

“If that’s your concern, rest assured, because the person who prepared this is one of you. Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten in over half a day, right?”

Urich was unusually kind to Basha, and this made Gottval curious as he watched the scene.

‘I don’t think he’s being kind just because she’s a woman...’

Gottval quietly stood behind Urich, observing the situation. Basha, hesitant at first, was driven by her hunger to eventually reach for the food.

“Gottval, I need to talk to you for a second.”

As soon as Urich and Gottval left the tent, Basha devoured the food with fervor.

“Urich, that woman is called a saintess among the soldiers. I don’t know how it happened, but she has gained considerable trust among them.”

“Oh, really?”

“Huh? Isn’t that why you called her separately?”

Urich smirked and shook his head at Gottval’s question.

“I know that girl. I only met her once, but I remember her face. I wasn’t sure if it was the same person, but seeing her up close confirmed it,” Urich said.

“Oh? But she doesn’t seem to recognize you.”

“Of course not. It was a pretty messed-up situation, so I’m not surprised she doesn’t know who I am.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“She’s a survivor of one of the villages I plundered with the warriors. I practically hid her in a barrel while she was trembling with fear.”

Gottval staggered as if he had been hit by lightning. He nearly collapsed but managed to keep himself on his feet while his mind raced with all sorts of strange thoughts.

“Why did you spare her?”

“I just felt uneasy about killing a girl who was hiding and crying. You know what would happen if other warriors found her, don’t you? She wouldn’t just die peacefully; she would have suffered all kinds of horrors before they eventually killed her.”

Gottval’s face lit up and he grabbed Urich’s arm and jumped with joy.

“That’s mercy, Urich! You were already practicing it!”

“It was a village I plundered where her parents were probably killed by us. You still call that mercy?”

“At least you showed the maximum mercy you could.”

Gottval was genuinely delighted, which made Urich laugh heartily.

“Anyway, if we leave that girl alone, other warriors will get to her and she’ll suffer for sure. That’s why I called her separately.”

“I’ll teach and protect her. Basha is a girl who survived because of your mercy, and that makes her a symbol that you followed Lou’s teachings—a proof of mercy and conscience,” Gottval excitedly spoke.

“I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I’m glad it’s making you happy.”

After finishing their conversation, Urich and Gottval went back inside the tent and saw that the once-full tray of food was now empty.

“Basha...?”

Gottval, who entered the tent first, looked around for Basha, who lunged at them out of nowhere with Urich’s axe in her hands.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Basha screamed and pushed Gottval aside, then aimed straight for Urich.

“Sigh, man.”

But to Urich, Basha just looked like one of the kids from his tribe who used to jump at him.

Thud.

He kicked her hard, sending her rolling several times and crashing into a corner of the tent.

“Cough, cough.”

Basha coughed and looked for the axe, but it had landed far away.

“Stop messing around. Cherish the life you barely kept.”

Urich picked up the fallen axe and twirled it in his hand.

“Just kill me! I’d rather die fighting here than be humiliated by you! I’m sure Lou will watch over my soul!” Basha shouted with all her might.

“Me? Humiliate you? I prefer women with full tits and asses. I’m not interested in a skinny girl like you. Know your place.”

Urich mocked her, laughing. Basha’s face flushed with anger and humiliation.

“Aaaah!”

Basha screamed again and stood up.

‘This was the reason why Lou made us lose. I was destined to face this barbarian here and kill him.’

Basha charged recklessly.

Whoosh!

Urich grabbed her by the arm and threw her toward a pillar, sending her thin body flying through the air.

“L-Lou will not forgive you,” Basha muttered with difficulty, her eyes still glaring at Urich.

“It’s always people who kill other people. Call out to your god as much as you want, but divine punishment won’t come. If you want to kill someone, do some more push-ups and swing your weapons until your hands blister and bleed.”

Urich swung his arm vigorously. The axe fell in front of Basha’s face, cutting off a few strands of her hair. Basha unknowingly wet herself, thinking her neck would be cut.

“Ah, ugh.”

Basha felt her mind go blank. Lou had always helped her, so she hadn’t encountered a single bandit while seeking the emperor alone, and everyone she met treated her favorably upon hearing Lou’s name and called her an extraordinary person.

‘Even the emperor said I was special.’

But in front of Urich, she was just a little girl. Her bottoms turned yellow with urine as her body submitted to the violence.

“You seem to have some religious zeal... Don’t just talk; learn from this priest. The Lou I know doesn’t whisper to kill someone. That’s something a barbarian god would do.”

Urich gestured to Gottval, who then helped the fallen girl to her feet.

“You serve Lou... so why are you acting like you’re this barbarian’s subordinate? Can’t you hear the screams of those humiliated by them? Good people are suffering, so why doesn’t Lou help?” Basha spoke as she sobbed.

Gottval could only awkwardly smile. He said, “I don’t know all of Lou’s will either. Let’s find out together, Basha.”