Chapter 56

Auber awoke from his sweet sleep. He gulped down the wine on the bedside table as soon as he rose.

“Burp.”

The alcohol soon energized him, and Auber looked out the window and smiled satisfactorily.

“My gate looks amazing yet again!”

The view of the gateway from his room was spectacular. Auber could see everything along the horizon, even including the tent village. As he opened the windows, the wind that had traveled from the horizon entered his room.

‘The news of that bastard Donovan getting beaten into a pulp makes me dance in joy.’

Auber danced with his arms wavering about.

“...this is the truth!”

Auber heard a freaky noise as he stared at the window. It sounded like someone was crying out.

“Did the vagrant do something again?”

Auber washed his face with the water that was in his sink.

“Captain Auber!”

One of his soldiers hastily banged on the door of his room. Auber frowned.

“What is wrong?”

“Y-you must come to the gate right now, Adjutant Greeman is... ugh.”

As the soldier gagged as if even thinking about this situation was too much to bear, a bad feeling overwhelmed Auber.

Auber had given Greeman a private order to hire the vagrants to teach Donovan a lesson.

‘Dammit, that idiot. He must have gotten caught. Are all the men here this useless?’

Auber scurried to dress himself.

“Jeez, you incompetents, hurry!”

After putting on his armor with the help of his servants, Auber rushed down to the gate. The freaky scream grew louder and louder as he got closer.

“I-I am Greeman, ugh, I received the order from Gateway Captain Auber...”

It was the groaning voice of Greeman. Auber opened his eyes wide and ran toward the gate.

“What is all this commotion!”

After yelling his words, Auber almost collapsed on the ground.

“C-captain, p-please save me. Ughhh.”

Greeman wept. Adjutant Greeman, who had inquired about the attack on Donovan, was miserably hanging from a pole.

The pole was buried deep in the ground with Greeman hanging at the top. If he were tied up normally, Auber wouldn’t have been this shocked.

‘What has he done to a person’s body?’

Greeman was quite literally folded up. His bones were dislocated and fractured. His legs and back were bent backward so that his feet were touching the back of his shoulders, and his arms were acting as ropes to be tied around the pole. It looked like Greeman didn’t have a bone in his body.

“My lord, please, my lord.”

Greeman wasn’t the only one on the pole. Alongside him, a dirty vagrant was facing the same situation. Their mouths were still moving as they begged for mercy, but they no longer resembled a person. They were almost better off dead.

“Ah, there’s the last man that I was looking for. Keep talking.”

Urich said as he tapped on the pole. Greeman, hanging on the pole, raised his voice in terror.

“I am Greeman! I am one of the adjutants of the garrison of the gate! I received an order from Gate Captain Auber to hire some people to attack Donovan, the vice leader of Urich’s Brotherhood!”

Greeman repeated what he had already said over and over again. The vagrant hanging beside him also spoke up.

“I was hired by Greeman for the attack on Donovan! The four of us beat him until he was nearly dead! We were given gold coins for our work! Ugg.”

The vagrant screamed as tears and snot ran down his face. A dark waste mixture dripped down the pole.

More and more people gathered to see the rare spectacle. The merchants and nobles who were waiting for their inspection at the gate were no exceptions to the crowd.

“The human will to live is an amazing thing.”

“How are they still alive? Their backs are snapped backward with their feet touching their shoulders.”

“Look at their arms! He tied a knot with human arms.”

“This is terrible; I can’t look anymore.”

Even those who had seen gruesome things in life had to shake their heads and look away. They shuddered at what Urich the barbarian had done.

“U...rich...”

The mercenaries came to the entrance of the gate after hearing the news. They had forgotten something over their journey. Their leader Urich, whom they had been sharing meals and cracking jokes with, was a man who was so accepting of civilization to the point of converting to their religion. Because they were familiar with that side of him, they couldn’t see the true face of Urich.

‘Urich the barbarian.’

Even after learning to speak Hamelian, learning the ways of civilization, and converting to Solarism, Urich’s true nature was that of a barbarian.

His standards of violence and morality were different from those of civilized people. The environment that he was born and raised in was foundationally different from civilization, and it was no wonder that his nature wasn’t changed overnight.

Like prey facing its predator, the civilized people were terrified at the ruthlessness of Urich.

“Even after converting, you haven’t forgotten your roots, Urich.”

Sven stared at the men hanging on the poles with a faint smile. It was a sight that ignited a fire in his heart. It made him want to swing his axe around with a loud battle cry.

“What an amazing skill. He folded up those men while keeping them still alive! I’d pay him to teach me how to do that.”

The northerners were in awe of Urich’s skills. Urich knew how to effectively break a man’s body. It was a sense that he had acquired from murdering countless people.

“We have more people now. Say it again.”

Urich hit the pole again, and Greeman and the vagrant repeated their words.

“I, ugh, am Greeman, and I received an order from the gate captain, hugh, please, ugh,” Greeman groaned and gasped for air. Urich frowned.

“Say it properly. Do you want me to fold you the other way, now? We’ve already done it one way so the other way shouldn’t be too hard.”

Urich’s words made Greeman shake his head aggressively.

“I’ll do it, I’m doing it, please, please! I am telling the truth, and I swear that on Lou’s name. If my words are false, then my soul will wander the world of the living! There isn’t a single lie in what I’m telling you!” Greeman exclaimed, and his loud voice echoed throughout the gate.

“Good, there are enough people now.”

Urich put down the heads of the three vagrants that were hanging from his belt. The eyes of the severed heads were still open, with fear and terror still evident in them. They were the faces of men who were captured by fear until the moment they died. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Gate Captain Auber! Here is the evidence that you hired these men to attack my brother. Do you have anything to say?” Urich plunged his sword into the ground.

‘Dammit, there are too many eyes watching.’

Auber frowned. The situation had gotten out of hand for him to deal with it quietly. The caravans and travellers, and even the nobles passing through the gates were gathered to see the situation.

“You couldn’t handle the pain of the torture, so now you’re telling lies, Adjutant Greeman! When did I give you such an order? It was probably just an act of over-loyalty since you have always sucked up to me!” Auber denied desperately.

Greeman, still hanging by the pole, glared at Auber as bloody tears ran down his face.

“How could you say that to me! L-look what your order got me into! I curse you, Auber! You have used me to fulfill your personal vengeance, you son of a bitch!”

Instead of being angry at Urich, Greeman poured out his rage onto Auber. A person’s psychology was a strange thing.

“There must have been a misunderstanding between us, Mercenary Leader Urich! I have never given him such an order! I know that my relationship with Donovan isn’t exactly great, but I, Auber, am a man who can separate personal vendetta from the professional side of things.

Urich picked his ear as he took a step forward. The soldiers on guard flinched.

“Say it again, but this time, swear on the Sun God Lou’s name.”

Auber flinched. You weren’t supposed to lie to the name of Lou. Those who did would see their souls become evil spirits that wander the world of the living after they died. Becoming an evil spirit was one thing that all Solarists were afraid of.

“Are you saying that you don’t believe me?” Auber narrowed his eyes.

“Obviously not. How do you expect me to believe the words of a fat man who can’t even fit into his own armor? If you were me, would you believe the words coming out of a pig’s mouth?”

The crowd broke out in laughter after hearing Urich’s words. Auber’s face turned red.

‘This bastard is a barbarian. Him saying that he has converted to solarism is probably a lie, too! No Solarist would do such a terrible thing to another person,’ Auber muttered to himself.

‘It’s okay to lie to a barbarian pagan. I’m sure Lou would forgive me, too!’

After coming to a decision, Auber opened his mouth.

“Urich! I swear to the Sun God Lou when I say this. There isn’t a word of lie in what I’m telling you!”

“Hah, really?”

Urich spun his sword at Auber’s words, and Greeman poured out all the curses he knew from the top of the pole.

“Your soul will wander the world of the living forever after you die, Auber! You are no better than an animal! That bastard made me do this, barbarian! Kill that shameless Auber! The Sun God Lou has his eyes open looking at the truth!”

Greeman had been abandoned. His life was over. And even if he did survive, what could he do with his limbs and back broken? He had nothing but evil vengeance left in his heart.

Auber did his best to ignore Adjutant Greeman. Since Greeman was a solarist, speaking to him would mean that he was lying to a fellow follower of Solarism.

‘This is fine because I’m only lying to that barbarian, that goddamn pagan!’

But Auber had already lied to a whole crowd of solarists, and his self-justification was full of errors. Nevertheless, Auber assured himself that he had nothing to be ashamed of.

“The words that are said before the Sun God are conflicting. Lou will be the judge of who is telling the truth and who is telling the lie. Let’s have a duel trial. I’ll volunteer as Greeman’s representative!” Urich said as he spread his arms. Greeman asked him to kill Auber with blood dripping down his face and body.

“What does a barbarian like you know? There’s no getting through to you.”

Auber was nervously jumping on his feet. He had no intention to go through with a duel trial.

“Stop for a moment! This is interesting. I will be the officiator of the duel.”

A group of armored men emerged from the crowd. There was a symbol of the sun on the cloth draped over their armor.

“The Sun Warriors!”

The crowd murmured as five Sun Warriors came out of the crowd. It was an unexpected appearance, and even Urich opened his eyes wide and stared at a familiar face.

“I am Harvald of the Sun Warriors. I will officiate the duel trial. Someone has lied to the Sun God Lou; we mustn’t let this go! Aren’t I right, everyone?”

The Sun Warrior Harvald exclaimed to the crowd and smiled at Urich. The crowd erupted in cheer.

“To the justice of the sun!”

“May Lou lift the hands of the innocent!”

The crowd shouted, and the duel seemed inevitable.

Auber bit his lower lip as he looked at Harvald the Sun Warrior.

‘Why are the Sun Warriors here? Dammit.”

The Sun Warriors were treated as near priests. They were that devout to the doctrine of Solarism, and their words were not taken lightly.

“If you are truly innocent, then show us through the duel whether it was Adjutant Greeman who lied or Captain Auber!” Harvald said again

Auber was quick to retort, “Sun Warrior Harvald! That man did an unspeakable thing to my adjutant and made him go mad with his torture. That’s why he’s saying all this nonsense! You must arrest this barbarian right this instance!”

“Sir Auber, if what you are saying is the truth, then you will win in the trial because Lou will be on your side.”

Harvald nodded as he expressed his respect. Insults came up to the throat of Auber.

‘That lunatic! You’re telling me to do a duel trial?’

Auber looked around the gate. The crowd had grown considerably, and their eyes were all on the duel trial. The nobles dressed in fine clothing also murmured among themselves, presumably about the duel.

Brrr.

Auber’s fist trembled. He called upon the strongest soldier from his garrison.

“Raymond! Be my representative!” Auber shouted, and a man with sharp eyes emerged from the soldiers. He was a warrior with a moderate build.

“Raymond! Raymond! The warrior of the twelfth gate!”

The soldiers cheered his name. It seemed like he was quite a renowned soldier.

“Wear my full plate armor and fight for me, Raymond!” Auber said as he walked behind the gate. He called his servants to take his armor off.

“The pay for my representation is fifty gold coins, Captain.”

Raymond said as he demanded five million cils. Auber frowned and nodded.

“Okay, okay! Just make sure you win!”

“Of course, Captain. You’ve seen my skills. There is no way that I lose to a mere barbarian who doesn’t even know the basics of our swordsmanship,” Raymond said as he swung his sword magnificently.

Raymond was a squire of a noble family who had learned the proper swordsmanship of the empire growing up. If the master that he was serving hadn’t died, his skills might have been recognized to earn him a knighthood.

As Auber and Raymond were preparing themselves for the duel, Harvald talked to Greeman, “Greeman, you must appoint your representative. This is the duel to determine the truth between you and Sir Auber.”

Greeman looked at Urich as he let out his dying groan.

‘This bastard is the man who made me like this, but he’s also the man to get my revenge on my superior who tossed me aside. Win the battle, and I hope you die with a big wound after as well.’

Urich received a gaze full of curses from Greeman.

“I will fight for your innocence, just leave it to me! I can’t forgive a boss who would toss his man aside like a broken toy,” Urich gave Greeman a thumbs up as he smiled.

“...die, all of you, die. You sons of bitches,” Greeman muttered with sadness. He couldn’t feel anything below this snapped back. He knew that he had less than a day to live.