Barbarian Quest

Chapter 224

Bilker's blood was rotting. When blood rots, it doesn't just affect one area. The entire body begins to decay, not leaving a single healthy spot on the body. It was the condition that was most feared by wounded warriors. Knowing this, it was common for weapons to be smeared with filth to contaminate the enemy's blood.

"Feeling better now, huh?"

"Much better."

Bilker's expression was serene. Only he and the priest knew what they had discussed.

"You're probably going to die," Krika spoke the truth. Bilker's condition was only worsening and was not showing any signs of improvement.

"I’m sure you know this, Krika, but I've always been a pathetic man."

"Pathetic, indeed. Can’t fight, don’t have a strong will, all of it. You had a bunch of chances to change your fate, but you missed them every time."

"If you were me, things would have been different. Definitely different..."

Bilker spoke but suddenly choked. Veins popped on his face. Shadowy figures seemed to move across the dark ceiling.

"Ah, aaaah!"

Bilker had a seizure. Krika waited until it subsided.

"What did you see, Bilker?"

Warriors on the brink of death often became spiritually sensitive. They saw things that were normally unseen. These warriors were no different from shamans.

'Bilker isn't a warrior, but...'

With bloodshot eyes, Bilker raised a finger.

"Ulgaro is still after my soul. He’s waiting outside to take me away. Oh, Lou, please take my soul," Bilker prayed.

Krika looked annoyed. He was still angry with Bilker for denying Ulgaro.

"Just tell me what you called me in for already."

"I need you to do me a favor, Krika."

"A favor?"

"I need you to take my name."

Krika's eyebrows twitched. Bilker reached out and grabbed Krika's arm.

"Piss off with that bullshit," Krika snapped.

"You will be Bilker from now on. Not many people know my face, anyway. You are the one who can truly be the descendant of Mijorn. The descendant of Mijorn that everybody wanted. A brave and strong boy warrior."

"I'm not of Mijorn's bloodline. I would be deceiving everyone."

"It's not deception. It's literally taking over my existence. I'll become nothing, returning to Lou. All the glory of Ulgaro and the halo of Mijorn will be yours. Krika, I know that this is what you've always wanted."

Krika's heart pounded, and it wasn’t because of his fever this time. His future flashed before his excited eyes.

'The king of the north.'

The king of warriors, racing across the land.

Krika had always been jealous of Bilker. He despised the person who had all the conditions to become a great warrior but instead groveled and believed in Lou like an idiot.

"Take my fate, Krika!" Bilker shouted as he coughed up blood. His words pounded Krika's heart.

"M-me, the descendant of Mijorn...?"

"Today, here, it is not Bilker who dies but a nameless coward! The brave Bilker will fulfill Mijorn's will and become the king of the north!"

For the first time, Bilker's fervor overwhelmed Krika. Bilker's desperate desire warmed the room.

Passing on the fate of being Mijorn's descendant. If Bilker gives up being Bilker, even if he doesn't become a warrior and believes in Lou, Ulgaro will not care.

"Please. Do it for me, Krika."

"If I become Bilker, I will not believe in Lou. My soul will always belong to Ulgaro."

"You just have to pretend to believe."

Krika's pupils were starting into a distant future. A shiver ran down his spine.

'I will be the one to carry out Mijorn’s dream. I will erect a kingdom of Ulgaro in the north, not a kingdom of Lou.'

Rattle!

Suddenly, a fierce wind battered the window. The old blinds shattered, letting in a cold gust that swept over Krika and Bilker.

The wind sounded almost like a roar from Ulgaro. Bilker and Krika stared wide-eyed at each other.

'A revelation.'

Krika walked over to close the window. He looked in the direction from which the wind blew. Ulgaro was the god of the north. All things northern were as good as his limbs.

Whoooosh.

The wind brushed through Krika's hair. He stared into the darkness for a long time before closing the window and sitting back down.

"Tell me everything I need to know in order to become Bilker. We don't have too much time."

Krika warmed some honey water and held it to Bilker's lips.

After wetting his lips, Bilker began to speak of his tribe and his mother. Krika listened intently, determined not to forget a single word of Bilker's story.

The night waned.

* * *

Bilker didn’t last much longer. He suffered excruciating pain, yet he still lacked the resolve to ask someone to end his life. Eventually, he died in agony.

"Lou, your son returns to you."

The priest recited a prayer. Bilker's body was consumed by flames along with the firewood. The funeral was attended only by Urich and Krika.

"May this fragile soul not wander but be guided by your hand."

The priest finished speaking and closed his eyes as the smoke soared into the clear sky.

"To the very end, he was not manly at all."

Krika looked up. Bilker had fled from his duties and responsibilities.

"That’s probably true, by the standards of the north."

Urich walked into the swirling smoke. Though only three days had passed, Urich's wounds had significantly healed. The speed of his body’s regeneration was extraordinary.

"You said you’re the plunderer from the west, right? What's your plan now?"

"Fight the empire. I'm not naive enough to be okay with watching my people be enslaved. The emperor won't give up, even if it means the downfall of the empire."

"You talk as if you know the emperor well."

"At least better than you, Krika," Urich spoke nonchalantly.

Krika shook his head and replied, "From now on, call me Bilker, Urich the western plunderer."

Urich laughed heartily. He patted Krika on the shoulder and watched until the nameless corpse was completely consumed by fire.

"I'll help you become the king of the north. But in return, you will also help me, Bilker."

Krika abandoned his name. He swore to live as Bilker from then on.

After the funeral, Urich and Bilker returned to the northerners who believed in Lou. The encampment still had many Sun Warriors and devout followers of Lou.

"That guy doesn’t look like the Bilker we saw last t—"

"Shush. That's not what’s important. What is really important is the fact that the descendant of Mijorn has come to us."

The northerners who had seen Bilker's face kept quiet. Only a few knew the real Bilker.

"I, Bilker, will be baptized."

Bilker was baptized in front of many northerners. With many witnesses to the baptism, the news of Bilker's conversion spread throughout the north.

"Even the descendant of Mijorn has converted to Lou!"

The baptism became a deciding point for the warriors who were hesitant between Lou and Ulgaro.

The Sun Warriors who had joined the north and priests in support of northern independence created a new Northern Solarism, adapting the existing doctrines to fit the north's reality and, most importantly, proclaiming that the freedom of the north was Lou's will.

The northern independence army quickly expanded its forces. Before engaging with the empire, they attacked the warriors of Ulgaro first.

The attack on the warriors of Ulgaro was Bilker's idea.

"They are the hostile ones, and they also know that I am a fake."

Bilker's eyes glinted coldly. He was a warrior, and he knew how to fight.

‘I’ll send you all to Ulgaro.’

Though his faith was officially with Lou, his spirit remained with Ulgaro. Ulgaro was his god, and the conversion was merely superficial. Some Sun Warriors and priests understood Bilker's intentions but still went along with it. Establishing a kingdom for the northerners was the immediate priority.

"Wooooaaah!"

The independence army attacked an encampment of the warriors of Ulgaro. Over five thousand northern warriors charged across the snowy plains. The fewer than a thousand warriors of Ulgaro resisted fiercely but were quickly overwhelmed.

"The descendant of Mijorn! Bilker is with us!"

The warriors shouted as Bilker fought at the forefront to earn their trust. Urich protected him by his side.

"Woah, watch out, Kri... ah, oops, Bilker."

Urich snatched Bilker and tossed him behind himself just as an arrow lodged in the spot where Bilker had been standing.

‘I’ve lost count of how many times Urich saved my life...’

Bilker, having fallen on his backside, looked up at Urich's back.

Bilker quickly gained the support of the northern warriors. Despite always leading their charge, he always returned from the battlefield unscathed. The warriors claimed that Bilker had the protection of a god.

‘The one who actually has the divine protection is Urich.’

Several battles for the unification of the north took place. Throughout these, Bilker returned without a scratch, thanks entirely to Urich's protection.

"Wooooaaah! Come at us!"

Urich bellowed loudly. The warriors who were targeting Bilker hesitated. Urich leaped among them and swung his sword and axe. Blood sprayed in all directions with each turn Urich made.

Urich's bravery was renowned among the northern warriors as well. Seeing Urich, they felt an affinity for the westerners whom they had never even met. If westerners were also great warriors, there was no reason to refuse an alliance. They even had a common enemy.

Bilker also took up a spear and ran to Urich's side. He advanced, killing the warriors of Ulgaro.

"Y-you! You are K-Krika!"

“Nope, it’s actually Bilker.”

Bilker mercilessly killed an enemy who recognized him. The northerners were a people who tore into each other if they didn’t have a common enemy. There was no mercy, even among their own people and religion. Of course, they were fiercer toward their enemies.

The north that was scattered became unified in just two months. The imperial army stationed in the north couldn't hastily attack the independence army that had grown significantly, as the independence army grew faster than the empire could reinforce.

As soon as the northern independence army was stabilized, Urich formalized the alliance between the north and the west with official documents. He had brought Georg all the way to the far north for this reason.

"With this, we are officially allies."

Georg rolled up the parchment marked with a palm print. It was drafted in the style of an alliance between kingdoms.

"I don’t know how much this thing actually means, but I’m sure it’ll be better than nothing."

Urich took the parchment and stored it.

"Many of the key figures in the northern independence army are Sun Warriors. They are men who value honor and promises. Plus, the boy to become the king of the north likes you. He probably admires you. You can tell just by looking into his eyes. It’ll be an alliance that won’t be broken too easily."

Georg smirked. He was pleased to be doing something that was quite scribe-like. Drafting the document and reciting it in front of many felt like he had become a high-ranking official of a kingdom.

"What's the news from the Arten outpost?"

"This is month-old information, but they're still holding out there. I did hear rumors that the imperial army was planning to attack the outpost. They think it would be easier to start by clearing out the west before challenging the swollen north. If they take the Arten outpost, at least they can block off the west."

From the empire's perspective, they had to eliminate one of the two fronts, north or west. The distance between the north and the west was too vast, making it difficult for even the empire to manage both simultaneously.

"We’re going back to the Arten outpost," Urich said as he leaned back in his chair.

The northern independence army sent a hundred northern warriors under Urich as a token of the alliance and friendship. The northerners had volunteered themselves for the journey out of admiration for Urich’s valor.

Creak.

The wooden grains of the chair that Urich was sitting on split. Urich rested his chin in his hand and closed his eyes.

‘Samikan, now it's time for me to see what you are made of.’

Urich had completed a big job. When he returned to the Arten outpost, many brothers would chant his name. Samikan’s jealousy was all but confirmed.

"If you try to undermine me again, I will not let it slide this time."

Urich left the north a week later. Behind him followed around a hundred warriors.