Chapter 34

The mercenaries had set up their camp in the mountains after walking for half a day.

“We are the Urich’s Brotherhood, and Urich is our youngest!” One of the mercenaries belted out and the others chuckled.

“Urich, don’t you think your face is way too aged? How is a face like that only... hah! You’re driving me crazy,” One of the mercenaries said as he spat out the water he was drinking.

“Shut up, assholes.”

Urich laid down a wolf pelt on the ground and sat on it. He took out one of his axes and stuck it into the dirt.

“You want me to call you Sirs? Older brothers? Then fight me for it.”

No one dared to go up against Urich. They were only joking around.

Crackle, pop.

The mercenaries gathered some firewood and started a campfire. The warmth soon spread around the camp. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Ugh,” Pahell groaned as he took his shoes off to reveal his blister-covered feet.

“Power through it, Master.”

Phillion took out an ointment and slathered it on the bottom of Pahell’s feet.

“Ugh.” Pahell flinched at the stinging pain. Urich laughed at what he was seeing.

“You sound like you’re being stabbed with a sword. Quit whining.”

Pahell glared at Urich for his comment.

“You! You think I’m a peasant like you lot? I am of noble birth; I shouldn’t be walking on my feet on this rugged ground like you!” Pahell cried out as his anger was building up.

‘Why must I go through something like this, why?’

He had to walk up the mountain path for an entire day. His knees were on fire, and his feet were torn up. He had never experienced a pain like this before.

“Master, please calm down,” Phillion said to Pahell as he eyed the mercenaries to stop provoking his young master.

“Calm down? You want me to calm down right now? Sir Phillion, get down this mountain this instant and fetch me a horse!”

“That is...”

“Fuck! Dammit!”

Pahell cursed over and over to the point of tiring himself out. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed, spreading the sorrowful cry of a young man throughout the camp.

‘What a weakling.’

Urich stared at Pahell. He reminded him of Gottval, yet they were nothing alike.

‘Gottval had something that was worthy of my respect.’

Urich adjusted his sun pendant. He still remembered Gottval’s words.

‘The civilized world is full of all sorts of people.’

Back in his tribe, a man’s worth was determined only by his ability as a warrior. A great warrior equated to a great man, meaning that a poor warrior was a nobody.

‘In this world, even a man that weak is worth following and protecting with one’s life. What determines the worth of a man in the civilized world? Is it money? Is it their status?’

Urich quite liked the civilization. The people were as diverse as they were numerous. Urich wanted to understand their values—the mindset of those who weren’t warriors but were still respected.

“Hey, young master, can you read?” Urich asked Pahell as he sat down in front of him. He pulled out the writing textbook that was gifted to him by Gottval.

“A book?” Pahell looked at Urich with a shocked face.

‘How does this barbarian have a book?’

Books were expensive items. The monks had to stay up all night and spend days and days printing copies to produce a single book. It wasn’t something that a mercenary, let alone a barbarian one at that, could casually carry around.

“Why are you so surprised? I know a bunch of words already. This says The Beginner’s Guide to Writing. What, a noble like you doesn’t know how to write?” Urich said as he pointed at the words with his finger.

“Don’t know how to write? Me? Who do you think I am! I was done with this beginner’s textbook when I was just seven years old,” Pahell furiously glared at Urich.

“Good, then teach me through the parts that I don’t know. I can’t learn very well on my own.”

“W-what does a barbarian like you need to learn how to read and write for?”

“I’m a believer of Lou, too. I have to learn to read to learn Lou’s teachings better, no?”

“Ugh,” Pahell flinched at the name of the God of the Sun.

‘Hah, getting baptized was a good decision.’

The people of civilization were weak in front of the name of Lou. The higher one’s status was, the more sensitive they were to his name.

“Oh Lou, I want to learn more of your teachings, but this brother won’t help me!” Urich recited a playful prayer.

“Okay, okay. Where are you stuck?” Pahell reluctantly asked as he looked at the book. Urich pointed out the letters that he could not make out.

“Ahah, so that’s what it was. I couldn’t figure it out for my life,” Urich exclaimed as he slapped his knee.

“The book is old, so the ink was faded. No wonder you couldn’t read it.”

Pahell flipped through the book in a flash. To him, the textbook was like a child’s play.

‘He’s a fast learner.’

Pahell felt that Urich was different. He was amazed at Urich’s ability to remember his teachings.

‘You only have to teach him once, and he’ll remember most of it.’

Urich’s memory was something that every civilized person who had ever taught him had marveled at.

“Why are you stopping?” Urich picked up his head and looked at Pahell.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Pahell glanced at Urich, then turned his head.

‘He’s not messing with me. His memory is just really good.’

Pahell surprisingly put a lot of effort into teaching Urich. The word that he taught him this time was ‘World.’

“Have you heard of the Edge of the World?”

Urich asked out of nowhere. Pahell, fitting to his noble status, was rich in knowledge. Even when he was simply teaching the letters, he would sprinkle in some background information.

“It’s the cliff at the edge of the sea. It forms the waterfall that prevents the sea from flooding the lands. The first time I saw you was your first time seeing the ocean, right? I’ve never seen someone drinking the ocean water. It was funny.”

Pahell laughed, remembering the sight again. Phillion saw his young master’s smile and breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Ah, Master got his smile back. Thank Lou.’

Pahell drew a picture in the dirt.

“This world is a flat square. Our continent is in the center of it, with the Sky Mountains in the west and the Edge of the World, some call it the End of the World, in the eastern sea.”

“The northerners said that there is another land at the end of the eastern sea, not the Edge of the World. They said that on that land were people with black hair and black eyes. What am I supposed to believe?” Urich asked.

“Land at the end of the eastern sea? Says who? That’s just a story made up by the delusional barbarians who have never even been there. At the end of the eastern sea is a cliff. it’s literally the end of the world,” Pahell denied the possibility of the existence of the land of the east.

“So, you’re saying that someone’s seen the end of the world and returned to tell the tale? Who? Was it you? Did you sail all the way out there and see it with your own eyes?”

Urich’s questions were endless, but Pahell proceeded to answer all of them, full of confidence.

“There are records. Records left by people who nearly fell down the cliff at the Edge of the World and returned. They said that at the end of the eastern sea, there is only the cliff.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you’ve never seen it yourself.”

“Of course. I don’t have a death wish,” Pahell scoffed as he crossed his arms. Urich pondered on his answers, then slowly turned his gaze to the west. The sun was setting in that direction.

“Then, what’s on the other side of the Sky Mountains?”

The corners of Urich’s mouth twitched upward, and his eyes sparked with desire. The monster of curiosity squirmed dynamically inside his chest.

“There’s nothing but endless cliffs beyond the Sky Mountains. No one can cross that mountain range,” Pahell answered, again with confidence.

“Really, huh? Are you sure? Really?”

Urich repeated as he made it obvious that he couldn’t contain his grin.

“Of course, what, you don’t believe me? Do you know how many books I’ve read? If you stacked all of them up, the pile would be way taller than you. The books contain the whole world. I know everything,” Pahell said as he thumped his chest. Phillion, who was listening in on their conversation, spoke up.

“Our master is an avid reader. Even the priests are often amazed at his knowledge during their conversations.”

Pahell proudly shrugged at Phillion’s compliment. It seemed like his mood was lifted.

“Good talk. Now I know for sure,” Urich said as he got up from his seat and stared into the dark forest. He saw the evil spirits in his imagination. He still felt like the spirits of his forefathers and brothers were watching over him.

“In order to know everything about the world, I have to see everything with my own eyes. There’s no other way. Books lie.”

Pahell snapped at Urich’s words.

“A-are you belittling me?”

Pahell felt foolish and was regretful of the momentary friendliness he felt toward Urich.

‘At the end of the day, a barbarian is a barbarian. There’s no point in teaching him anything!’

Pahell’s lips were quivering.

“Get some sleep, Young Master. Tomorrow, I’ll ask you about the capital of Hamel. You’ve been there, right?”

“Of course, I’ve been there! It’s a place beyond your feeble barbarian imagination—it’s magnificent! Hamel isn’t just the capital of the Empire, it’s the capital of civilization as a whole—the capital of the world! All roads lead to Hamel!”

Urich left behind the blabbering Pahell and returned to his spot. As he was lying down, he felt a sharp gaze at the back of his head. Sven was glaring at him from the other side of the campfire.

“If you have something to say, then say it, Sven.”

“Urich, you...”

Sven looked toward the west as he trailed off. Urich put his index finger against his lips and smiled.

“Shh.”

Sven had always wondered where Urich was from since his mannerisms and behavior didn’t quite fit in with the south, the north, or anywhere else.

‘West.’

A mysterious land that had not yet been touched by the Imperial influence; a land where its very existence was in question.

‘You truly were an outsider.’

The one who had crossed the Sky Mountains.

* * *

“Come on, power through. You’re a man, no?” Urich said as he helped Pahell up by grabbing his arm. The group was crossing the entire mountain, and even the mercenaries showed clear signs of fatigue after days of traveling through the rugged mountain.

“You just have to hang in there until we get to the border at the end of Kingdom Porcana, Master,” Phillion reassured Pahell from his side.

“God dammit, god dammit,” Pahell marched on as he cursed out. His feet were a bloody pulp.

“Good, good, curse all you want, Pahell. That’s how you become a real man,” Urich encouraged Pahell as he patted his back.

‘He may be a young noble, but he does have grit. He’s complaining more than everyone else but he’s trying to keep up in any way he can.’

Pahell scowled and climbed the next hill.

“I am, I am, of noble blood.”

Pahell’s pride was sky-high, and his clean, preppy face was now a mess of sweat and dust. He was drenched in sweat like he had just been rained on.

“Let’s take a quick break here,” Urich said after being the first to climb the next hill. He was still lively and full of energy, unlike everyone else in the squad. He helped each and every man climbing up to him.

‘So, this is how Urich is leading the mercenaries. This is his driving force,’ Phillion thought as he looked at Urich. Urich was a leader who led by example in everything he did. He was always the first one to take on the toughest jobs, and he was never drunk on his authority, nor did he give himself any privilege.

‘His age doesn’t matter to the other mercenaries. They already have the respect for him as their leader.’

There was hardly a mercenary in Urich’s Brotherhood who had never received Urich’s help in anything.

‘It would be strange for him to not have everyone’s respect just by the way he carries himself.’

Even though he was the first one to climb the hill, he helped the next people up instead of taking a break.

“Shame on me, I’m making the little boy Urich help me,” Bachman said as he grabbed onto Urich’s arm. Urich returned a grin.

“Bachman, try climbing back up.”

Urich punted Bachman, and he rolled down the hill.

“Hey, you young piece of shit!” Bachman screamed as he rolled down. Lately, he seemed to have gotten a kick out of teasing Urich, but it seldom ended well for him.

“Eh?”

Urich frowned as he was enjoying the breeze for a moment. He noticed a flock of birds taking flight and in between the trees, he saw a strange silver light.

“Donovan!” Urich called. Donovan, who was finally getting a break, picked his head up with an annoyed look.

“What?”

“Get ready for battle. It’s the chase party.”

At Urich’s words, Donovan jumped to his feet without wasting a second. Urich’s vision was unparalleled within the squad. To the ordinary mercenaries, it was out of this world.

‘It’s not just his vision that’s out of this world, it’s his whole body.’

Donovan had witnessed Urich’s abilities multiple times with his own eyes. Every warrior stumbled upon at least one battle in which they fought well enough to boast, but Urich was a warrior who pulled off something that an ordinary warrior could only dream of achieving once or twice, on a regular basis, casually.

Urich’s muscles were getting warmed up as they twitched and generated their own heat.

“Hmph—”

Urich shook his head from side to side. His mind was clear. It felt good to have clarity in his mind before a battle as all distracting thoughts were driven away. He was a man who was born to fight.