Chapter 213: The Undead Hordes (8)
Russell lifted his gaze to the sky as she spoke. White clouds blanketed the sky. Not the white, fluffy clouds you see on a clear day, but the ones that appear to have been boiled and dried multiple times.
Instead, they were like thick, wet wool. They were so heavy, it felt like they would fall at any moment. But instead of falling and crushing the earth, the clouds were tearing off their own flesh and sending it down.
When he felt a presence, he peered down. It was Weizen. Scilio stood behind him, arms folded and eyes fixed on Russell. Weizen approached first and chatted.
“Thank you for your trouble. Thank you for giving me memories I’ll never forget, even until I die.”
“You worked hard too.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
Weizen extended his right hand. Russell took it and shook it up and down a few times. He said with a sheepish expression.
“What, you know. Thanks. You saved my life, too.”
“It was nothing.”
“It means something to me. Be careful. I’m not sure what you’ll be up against.
“Move out of my way, you little shit. Are you the only one who can say goodbye?”
Scilio pushed her younger brother aside and approached, scanning Russell up and down.
“Ha, you’re a face that’s too good to give away. But it’s too big for me to eat, so I guess I’ll have to let you go. Farewell.”
Russell was speechless at the ridiculous greeting, and Weizen shook his head.
“Sister, please. Shouldn’t you look at yourself before passing judgment on others?”
With the bickering siblings in front of him, Asharin was greeting Aellasis. She seemed to want to go with Aella, but now that she had confirmed the truth of the rumors about the dragon’s awakening, she said she had to go somewhere.
“There will probably be a lot of surprised dragonkin. Some elders will want to come, but they’re too old to make the journey…”
“Come by later. And don’t address me formally.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I will miss you.”
Asharin placed her hand on Aellasis’ head, who was blinking back tears. Despite her considerable growth, she still resembled a young girl patting an adult woman’s head.
Asharin, who had been slumped over, straightened her upper body and gazed at Russell.
“Would it be presumptuous of me to ask you to take good care of yourself?”
“You’re right.”
“So that’s it. I’m going.”
With a quick goodbye, Asharin turned and walked away.
Russell mounted his black horse. Kry snorted loudly, as if encouraged by the fact that he was finally jogging after several days.
The snorting disappeared quickly into the vacuum. The snow falling from the sky muffled every sound.
Snowy days are silent. On snowy days, people often sense that quiet is boisterous.
Russell watched Asharin’s back as she walked away, the siblings who were saying goodbye, and the soldiers and civilians who were getting ready to work despite the snow falling on their heads.
Russell gave the siblings a tiny nod before turning the reins. He was followed by the horse that Calia and Aellasis were riding, then Elenora, Jess, and Lexi.
At some point, the collapsed buildings vanished, and neat shops and houses began to appear one after another.
They walked past the market square and into the main street, with no one stopping them until they reached the northern gate.
Russell and his party easily went through the north gate and into the forest, which was filled with curving ridges.
“Shall we go up?”
“We can’t go directly to the center. The Impalea Mountains form a semicircular shape, running from south to west. We’ll have to go around the mountains on the left and then up diagonally.”
“Okay.”
Winter was definitely not the best time to travel. But there was no one in the group who would be frozen stiff from the cold.
“Wait a minute, I’ll pray for the horses.”
Elenora, who had bent her head to avoid the snow blowing in from the front, clasped her hands together and invoked her holy power.
A golden light emerged from her, and she divided and sank into each of the party’s horses. The horses, sensing the warmth, shook their heads or snorted.
“They won’t feel the cold for the next three hours.”
“Good. Let’s go.
Russell flicked the reins before gently kicking Kry’s side. Kry, neighing roughly, surged forward. The horses in the group followed one after the other. The six people and steeds vanished into the snowstorm in an instant.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Sleeping outdoors in the snow is not something to recommend to travelers. The frozen ground stiffens muscles, makes them ache, and makes your mouth go numb.
Trees, woods, and broad plains do very little to impede the wind. If you’re in a forest or on a mountain, the wind that blows violently through the trees that have developed in a regular manner will cut like a blade.
The plains are not too different. The only distinction is if it’s sharp or forceful.
The invasion of the army of the dead, which began in the northwest of the empire, created many refugees.
No life desires to be born, just like any other. or is there a way to choose your parents. But resentment is possible.
Refugees who fled to the east, west, and south to escape the hordes of the dead, which hit like a natural disaster or inescapable calamity, were largely unwelcome.
This is because there is a limit to the number of community members that a territory, city, or village can accept.
Furthermore, the season didn’t help. Some regions embraced those who had lost their homes and land in an instant, while many castles, villages, and cities did not.
One-third of the refugees spread out and settled in small and medium-sized villages or cities; one-third died; and the remaining one-third became bandits or thieves.
And one of the greatest groups of refugees who turned bandits has recently discovered a target.
Leogen listened attentively to his subordinate’s statements. Then he opened his mouth, which was hidden by his beard.
“You mentioned there was a priest and a paladin. Do you want to be punished by Heaven?”
The subordinate appeared indignant.
“How can we tell if they’re really priests or paladins? They could just be dressed in similar clothes and armor, like us.”
The subordinate held up both his arms. His attire was a hodgepodge of armor. Breastplates, shoulder guards, shin guards, and greaves were all different.
This was because he was wearing other people’s things. In fact, everyone else in the bandit group was similar.
The only difference was Leogen. He was fully armored in a shining plate.
And he could do so because Leogen was the original owner. After barely escaping from the castle and territory that had fallen after being invaded by the army of the dead immediately after his knighthood, Leogen became a half-baked knight with knightly skills and powers but no knighthood.
And he didn’t really complain about it. He was more inclined to avoid the strong and bully the weak than to protect the weak and stand up to the strong. That was the reason.
“Hmm. Get up.”
Leogen’s words were not directed at his subordinate. A woman rose from under the chair and desk where Leogen was sitting, wiping her mouth.
Her face and clothes were dirty, but she was still a pretty woman.
“You have worked hard. Go outside and wash up. Hot water will be ready.”
The woman nodded in thanks and went out. Leogen chuckled when he saw his subordinate looking at her with longing as she left.
“Why? Do you want to hold her, too?”
“Oh, no. No……”
“She’s mine. If you want to hug a woman, go find one like the others. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Tell me more about the group of travelers who visited our community.
The subordinate spoke faithfully, albeit in a rambling way, about what he had seen. Leogen nodded, then stood up.
The subordinate flinched and took a step back. When Leogen stood up, he had a powerful presence. Leogen, who was almost two meters tall, grabbed up the greatsword hanging against the wall and spoke.
“Okay, let’s go see.”
Kwang!
Leogen made a loud noise as he was about to say he was going to see. The building trembled as tremors rippled over the floor, and dust dropped from the old ceiling.
Leogen scowled and glanced outside.
“What the hell?”
“Ca, Captain!”
As if to answer his question, another subordinate hurried in through the open door.
“They’re just killing our guys, the travelers, right now……!”
“Damnit, what the hell. Hey, didn’t I tell you not to let anyone else approach?”
The subordinate unknowingly lied in response to Leogen’s heated question.
“N, No! I definitely told them…!”
“You tiny crap that should be dipped in soy sauce and cooked. You should get out there with your swords right now. If someone refuses to come out, tell them I’ll skin them alive!”
“Yes!”
Two subordinates answered and quickly jumped out of their seats. Leogen, tucking in his pants and tying his greaves, picked up his helmet and lifted his gleaming eyes.
“Where are they? Who are they?”
He was met with blood and gore.
Leogen’s band of outlaws numbered around a hundred, but he had not thoroughly counted them. There would be more if you added the families and relations of the sixty or so men, but he could only send over a hundred into combat.
He had gathered thugs and mercenaries, so their individual fighting abilities varied. As a knight, Leogen had learned not only killing techniques but also the most basic troop deployment.
Knights with very poor individual talent typically learn this in order to work as staff officers, but Leogen learned it merely for fun.
That is why the band of bandits he headed was able to rule two surrounding towns and live as if they were aristocrats. Enough to supply a woman who will ‘happily’ spend the night with him in warm bathwater, even in this frigid winter.
That is why, after a little more than a month of training, the bandits fought as archers, spearmen, and shieldmen. They died in a variety of interesting ways.
Leogen paused in his tracks, seeing the greatsword swing through the gap between the troops.
A large man was battling, his black hair flying. No, the word ‘fighting’ did not fit.
No one would claim that a tiger that had fallen into a pack of cats was fighting with them. It was more akin to hunting or a massacre.
When the man’s foot kicked one of Leogen’s minions, he was able to temporarily defy gravity. The subordinate flew virtually horizontally and collided with an awful wall. Leogen couldn’t stop thinking that it’s like a mosquito that had stung his palm.
Some people took advantage of the environment by climbing walls or roofs to shoot arrows or jumping down to swing their swords.
The greatsword defeated them all fairly. Arrows bounced off, and those who fell were split in half and rolled across the floor. Leogen’s opportunity arrived when the man turned away.
“Suck!”
He took a short, sharp breath to avoid making a battle cry.
Before the subordinates, who had just recently recognized their leader in the midst of the turmoil, could rejoice or shout, Leogen stabbed his greatsword directly at the man’s back.
The man, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, spun around, using his right foot as a pivot.
In a second, the man’s greatsword was in front of his face. Leogen’s greatsword and the man’s greatsword collided with a thud.
The air cracked, and the subordinates, unable to bear the impact, tumbled backward.
Leogen gritted his teeth, forcing his hand to grip the hilt as he pushed against the man. Ten strikes in one breath were unleashed upon the man.
However, the man remained still, as if he were a wall, blocking all of Leogen’s swords. Then, while fighting with swords, he managed to crush the skull of a bandit who was attempting to sneak up on him with a punch.
Leogen screamed urgently.
“Fall back!”
The bandits scattered in response to Leogen’s cry. Their expressions were a mix of gratitude and terror at giving them such a quick command.
With his worried subordinates’ gazes on him, Leogen walked forward and gazed at the man.
The handsome man, with his rough hair knotted back, wore a fatigued expression on his face. Not bodily exhaustion, but fatigue caused by repeatedly seeing the same thing.
“I am Leogen. Who the hell are you?”
The man exhaled.
“Who am I? I am a traveler. Damn that. How come every village I visit is like this? Are you all in cahoots?”
The man spat on the ground before walking over and raising his greatsword over his shoulder.
Leogen raised his greatsword, sensing there was no opportunity for discussion or conversation.
It was a greatsword that felt remarkably light given its size, but Leogen couldn’t help but quiver.
He spoke in a quiet voice.
“If we retreat here, will you spare us?”
The man raised one eyebrow as he heard Leogen’s statements.
“Spare you?”
“Yes. I understand you have a party. I don’t know about you, but it will be difficult for your group to feel safe in front of our guys. So, why don’t we all have a lovely time here and then retreat……”
“You’re full of shit.”
Leave a Reply