Across the sea……
The general’s word immediately reminded Shaar of the archer units hiding behind the hill when he rode north with Kevin, which didn’t seem like Odins.
From each individual equipment’s point of view, those archers had obvious differences in appearance compared to the Odins. They didn’t have the usual tall, burly stature of Odins, and although they had lean figures, there was a difference in their height that they couldn’t hide.
It didn’t mean that Odin’s didn’t have natives with short statures – However the equipment used by those archers appeared rather “sophisticated” compare to the ones that Odins normally used.
Each one of them were equipped with a light, but well-crafted metal armor, which was a standard that clearly Odins did not have – It wasn’t like the Odin archers didn’t wear any metal armor, but rather the Odin Empire’s forging and crafting proficiency was fairly lacking compared to the Byzantine Empire’s proficiency. In general, an Odin warrior’s weapon focused only on two characteristics: Thick and heavy.
The Odins, who were trailing behind in metal production technology, did not provide their huge armies with strong armor. Only their elite Legions were given superior metal armor to strengthen their defenses. The majority of Odin soldiers primarily wore leather equipment.
Furthermore, the weapons of the archers that Shaar ran into each had superior Eaglehorn Bows. This type of bow was equipped with a bowstring that could be adjusted to provide the user with additional strength, which would require less arm strength from the archer. This kind of fine craftsmanship was impossible for the Odins. Although they could have bought these kinds of weapons, the individual quality of Odin archers was not that outstanding. It would have been a waste of resources to spend so much money to buy such rare equipment for an average Odin unit.
Most importantly, these archers used a uniform, double-edged dagger with a length of about one meter for close combat, which was both light and sharp. However, very few Odins fought with this kind of dagger. The naturally tall and strong Odins always liked to flaunt their own weapons. They preferred using axes, greatswords, hammers, or other two-handed heavy weapons. The majority of Odins disdained other kinds of weaponry.
Finally, there was the skill of those archers. In order to hit a target that was riding on horseback was not something that could be achieved after casually training for 1-2 months! An archer’s training was much more difficult than that of an ordinary soldier’s training and the Odins never excelled at archery……
“Hmpf, it seems that they were our neighbours from the others side of the sea.”Adrick’s face darkened, which made it seem like his scar was twisting, while his eyes were radiating murderous intent: “Every time we’ve fought with the Odins, those pirates always played a part in it.”
Shaar was not unfamiliar with the word “pirate” that Adrick said – just the opposite, he was very familiar with it!
In Primal Wildfire Town, when Shaar was still young, he was in love with Aunt Sofia for many years, and her husband, that one-eyed guy from the tavern, came from across the sea.
Across the western sea of the continent, there was a country made of a various islands and it had only the size of one to two of Byzantine’s provinces. However, because of their unique geographical position, they could often sell their services towards those two fighting empires.
The Byzantine’s mocked them and called their land a country of pirates. In fact, this country was not a pirate nest and their level of civilization was actually not below the Byzantine’s. However, as a maritime country, they were weak at ground warfare, while their navy was famous around the world. With their huge naval force, which consisted of countless fleets of warships, they represented their might on the continent and simultaneously expanded their trading between the two empires. They avoided the majority of the continent’s wars for hegemony that would only produced losses in wealth and resources. They instead profited from those wars and amassed a massive amount of wealth, which in turn, made their country known for being as cunning as they were adventurous.
Of course ……The people from the continent were not fools and knew that this maritime country always played a fuel-adding role during the wars of both empires. They even sometimes played the role of weapon providers during wars……They used the blood of the continent’s soldiers to nurture their own country.
“Hmpf, during the last war, those pirates stood on our side. Now, they are unexpectedly directly dispatching their troops to help the Odins.”Adrick frowned.
Seeing the gloomy look on the general’s face, Shaar immediately understood that this general seemed troubled about something important. However, since Shaar wasn’t a Byzantine, he was unable to understand Adrick’s position and worry that an outside country added to this infighting.
After a while, Adrick regained his composure and smiled freely: “Alright, you get some rest. Boy, you did very well this time and your next task is to recover. If you are able to heal quickly, perhaps you might even catch another piece of this war.”
※※※
Shaar was lifted away from the big tent and he did not have to worry about the issue from “across the sea” – these kinds of matters were only for the general to worry about.
Sarbar, Kato, and him were all receiving treatment for their wounds and their injuries were all quite serious, so they temporarily lost the ability to participate in the upcoming battles. In the evening, they left together with the remnants of the defeated third legion and walked towards the south. They would return to the camp near Primal Wildfire to recover from their injuries.
Since the centurion of the third legion, Butler, was also injured; he went south along with them to heal. Although this silver-haired, stubborn man was very unwilling, the two arrows in his chest made it extremely difficult for him to ride a horse, and by Adrick’s order, he could only withdraw.
Being unable to ride a horse, Butler, Shaar, and the others lay down together in a carriage. After losing more than half of his men from failing to recognize an ambush, this silver-haired man appeared extremely depressed.
Shaar was actually quite indifferent right now – to be honest, until now, in his heart it didn’t matter who won or lost this war and he didn’t think too much about it. In any case, he was not a Byzantine and as whether Byzantine Empire and Odin Empire won this war, for him it made no difference. The reason he was willing to risk his life and go all out before was because he was amongst the men of the 13th Cavalry army. Unable to abandon his companions, a sudden courage erupted within him.
To be more accurate, right now, Shaar’s heart didn’t have a sense of belonging towards the Byzantine Empire, but his sense of belonging was linked solely to the 13th Cavalry army itself.
The injury he received this time made Shaar suffer considerably. Although the doctors in army camp applied medicine to and treated his wounds, the power of that arrow was just too astonishing – even after experiencing so many different things, only during that short moment of that arrow, Shaar really tasted the flavor of death for the first time in his life.
That arrow easily pierced through the Dragonscale, which Shaar thought was impregnable! Such might had left behind a deep shock in Shaar’s heart! He needed to remind himself now that even the Dragonscale was not omnipotent!
Not only did that mighty shot pierce the Dragonscale, but Shaar also knew very clearly that it also left him seriously injured – in the past, even with his monster-like physique, he had been injured before. However, after each injury, his wounds healed with an astonishing pace: For example, the burns he received in Primal Wildfire were healed in two days.
This time however, the chest wound received from the shot was still open and covered with blood with no traces of healing after one night. He could only apply the drugs to suppress the deterioration of the wound – it was as if his abnormal recovery ability was being suppressed.
Taking the time right now, he recalled the exact details of that arrow: When the shot hit him, a chill completely pierced his chest and the cold immediately spread throughout his body. He could even feel how that cold air was fiercely destroying the defensive ability inside his body! When he came back for treatment, the doctors were forced to cut out a huge frozen piece of flesh and blood with the knife! Furthermore, the flesh was already completely necrotic, and the cold black air couldn’t be treated. Therefore, they could only forcefully cut it off and even then, the black air was faintly spreading – if Shaar had come back a bit later to get treated, he only feared that he would really have died.
Only on the third day on this journey did Shaar finally feel that his bodily recovering functions had slightly returned.
It was as if his tough resilience was suppressed by that strange, cold air that invaded his body. Now that the cold gradually dissipated, his powerful resilience finally reappeared again.
During the night, Shaar stayed up the whole night as he was unable to endure the crazy itching that the wound healing and muscle growth brought. The next morning, he took advantage of the moment where his companions were still sleeping and tore of the bandages to take a look at his wound. The color had already returned to normal, and his muscles gradually healed from this recovery.
Seeing that, he finally breathed out……
This hillbilly was not some kind of broad minded person. Although he would not seek revenge for such a small grievance, but the old man educated him since he was young: If someone is bullying you, you must bully back!
Once, when he was 15 years old, he met a bear in the mountain. At that time, he was slapped by that bear and broke half of his shoulder blade and the young hillbilly only managed to escape with his powerful physique. Afterward, when he recovered from this wound after several days, he started to train hard, perfecting his axe technique for half year. That winter, he ran back into the mountain and spent two days lurking in that bear-infested area, before finally personally cutting off that bear’s head!
After selling that bear’s gall as medicine, both father and son drank a month of liquor from the income.
(No matter who that fellow was, who shot me with that arrow, this uncle will get him back to the fullest!)
※※※
Even though Shaar was forced to keep his activity as low as possible until now, on the sixth day, he was finally able to move freely again. He was unable to endure the torture of lying on that boring wagon, where the smell was heinous and the noise of the wheel cracking was unbearable. Although the casual conversation between him and the nearby duo, Sabar and Kato, was very interesting, the hillbilly felt that his body almost started to rust.
On the sixth day, he insisted that he climb off the horse wagon.
Incidentally, because the hillbilly was wounded in action and was forced to move back to the second line, his squire, Tatara the magician, also received the fortunate opportunity to leave the frontline – As a squire, the magician was quite worried in the beginning. For the intelligent magician, it was very clear that with his meager skill, he would only act as cannon fodder on the battlefield. After seeing the terrifying battle efficiency of an Odin, he would never dream of fighting such an enemy in hand-to-hand combat with his thin physique.
(Moreover, I am a noble magician, and a noble magician was never good at close melee combat.)
Now that the hillbilly was injured, as his squire, Tatara naturally had an excuse to leave the battlefield along with him: He was a squire and a squire had to attend to his master.
(Ah, God bless, I hope this hillbilly is injured more frequently ……)
Tatara’s started to pray devoutly while sitting on his horse.
※※※
“Tatara!”
Taking advantage of the caravan’s resting time, Shaar climbed down from the horse wagon and reluctantly walked several steps. Although his wounds were still aching, it was already not a problem to walk slowly for him and he immediately summoned his “loyal” squire.
A respectful smile, filled with humility, immediately appeared on Tatara’s wretched face: “Yes, my master.”
Shaar looked at this fellow with squinted eyes: “You always claimed that you were a magician and I have a problem that I need someone to help me with……”
Tatara immediately put out his chest: “Of course, each magician is learned and knowledgeable!”
Shaar took a deep breath and leaned against the horse. Reminding himself of every details of that arrow, he said with a lowered voice:”You also have seen that dragon! The toughness of that Dragonscale should be known to you, but that guy with that sneak attack unexpectedly pierced through the scale! The most irritating thing was, I didn’t even see the arrow! I need someone to explain to me how that is possible, was it magic?”
Tatara blinked both his eyes and thought for a short moment, and only when Shaar showed an impatient expression, the magician quickly searched his brain for some knowledge of this aspect.
Yes, honored master, according to your story, I think that bastard who used a sneak attack on you was perhaps a high-ranked warrior. I’ve heard that once a warrior managed to step into the high-rank, he could condense a mass into an entity to cause damage. This is not a legend, but reality since I personally witnessed such a master in Osgiliath……however, to materialize the battle qi, the warrior has at least to step into the eighth-level of the high-rank. However ……”
“What?” Shaar frowned.
The magician swallowed and his complexion became somewhat ugly: “However, even an eighth-level warrior, who could materialize their ki and use it to attack, has a distance limitation. I saw high-ranked warriors dueling in Osgiliath and their materialized their ki to form a pure sword out of their ki. However, once it left their hand, for example like throwing or using it as a long-distance attack, they could only use it up to ten steps away, or else it would dissipate……”
Shaar touched his chin and while his complexion did not change much, a strange light flashed in his eyes: “Ten steps……You mean that arrow was actually not a real arrow, but rather condensed battle ki? However that shot came from a place that was definitely from a distance that was more than only ten steps ……Could it be that that guy, who shot that arrow, was even stronger?”
Tatara’s face suddenly showed a rarely seen serious expression as he shook his head while saying:”Not necessarily, after all, the master warriors normally excelled at close combat. Let alone eighth-level warriors, even if they were ninth-level warriors, they would have great difficulties to materialize the ki so that it could injure somebody dozens of meters away – maybe he could do it, since I have never seen a ninth-level warrior yet. However, thinking about it, even if a ninth-level warrior could harm someone from dozens of meters away, his battle ki control would inevitably weaken and the ki would dissipate after dozens of meters. With a weakened battle ki, it would be impossible to pierce the Dragonscale.”
The magician thought for a while and said in a low voice: “On the continent, perhaps only those warriors from the legend, who reached the saint-level and could be compared to an army of tens of thousands, could achieve it.”
“Saint-level?”This hillbilly obviously lacked knowledge in this kind of aspect: “That bastard who used a sneak attack was at the Saint-level?”
Tatara had some disdain in his heart: If it really was a Saint-level warrior, killing you would be like killing a chicken. Why would he need a sneak attack to do so? However, Tatara did not dare to say those words to his face. The expression on his face was getting more and more respectful: “There are only a handful of Saint-level masters on the continent and thinking about it, that bastard you met could not be a Saint-level. Moreover, each person who reached the Saint-level were extremely proud people, probably, uh, ……Probably ……”
“They would probably not do such a cowardly thing.” Shaar laughed and patted the shoulder of Tatara: “If you have something to say, say it with no fear.”
Then he frowned: “According to what you said, how would you explain that attack of that guy?”
“This ……” Tatara hurriedly explain: “What I talked about was a strong warrior. Since all warriors excel at close combat, they could not have shot an arrow from dozens of meters away and still be able to pierce through a Dragonscale. It seems as if that guy, who used a sneak attack, was not a pure warrior. After all the consideration, I think he was mostly is a master of magic.”
“The difference between a magician and a warrior is, magicians mostly excel at long-distance combat. Using a condensed battle ki to produce an arrow that flies for a dozen of meters is regarded as very difficult for a warrior. However, for a magician, it could be achieved with magic. Yes, according to you story and the injury that you received, which had a strange freezing effect, I can affirm that the opposite party was a magician. This attack had an additional ice effect, which was obviously a magic attribute.”
“But ……for a magician to be able to pierce through my Dragonscale from dozens of meters away, wouldn’t it mean that magicians are a lot stronger than warriors?”
Tatara wanted to nod out of reflex, since with his status, he was always proud of magicians. In his mind, it was natural to consider that magicians were far stronger than warriors – at least from their noble status and point of view.
However, just when he was about to nod, he suddenly saw that this hillbilly had a faint smile on his face and the magician’s mind immediately changed: This master was a pure warrior! If he dared to say such a thing, wouldn’t it mean that the squire was above the master? If he really dared to say that, he only feared that he would suffer from it.
Tatara quickly shook his head. Thinking for a moment, he forced a smile and said: “That, I didn’t mean it that way. Your Dragonscale’s defense capability was perhaps relatively simple. Although it is very tough, it might only be the physical defense that is very strong and a sword wouldn’t able to pierce it. However, it probably only had average defence against magic. With a living dragon, the Dragonscale were naturally supplemented with magic resistance. A Dragonscale that was peeled off could only maintain the hardness itself, but doesn’t have the magic resistance. After all, you are not a dragon ……Perhaps ordinary battle ki would not be able to cut through your Dragonscale, but it’s very possible that a medium-ranked magician could directly penetrate it, since it doesn’t have a lot of magic defense capabilities right now.”
“In other words, you think that the guy who injured we was an Odin magician?” Shaar touched his chin.
“Uh……the magicians in Odin Empire, were called gothi……” Tatara sigh.
Thinking for a moment, Shaar took another look at Tatara again, but this time in a more amicable way.
(Yes, It seems as if this fellow is good for something. At least he wasn’t a rice-wasting, useless fellow.)
※※※
On the afternoon of the seventh day, they finally returned to the camp north of Primal Wildfire Town. However, the men of this camp were mostly gone and there were only some auxiliary soldiers protecting guard camp and logistical convoys left behind.
The main force of the 13th Army set out heading north four days ago, which also included the 13th Cavalry Army’s second legion with the highest battle efficiency – this was a unit with 2000 heavy armored cavalry!
Of course, there was another important personage that remained behind in this big camp – that was the special observer envoy who came from Osgiliath, the handsome knight Bonfret.
It was said that his special observer envoy suddenly received an acute disease a day prior to when the main force marched north. Naturally, he remained to hold the post and take care of the remaining work here.
However, it was said that on the second day the army set out north, this Sir Knight suddenly bursted with energy and led his bodyguards, who he brought from the Royal Capital, to go hunting in the surroundings……
Of course, these matters had temporarily little to do with Shaar. After he returned to the camp, the only thing in his peaceful mind was training. The frontline, which was hundreds of miles away from here, made it seem that the war was very far away from this hillbilly……
The bald man didn’t come back, so Shaar lived alone in his tent. After experiencing a life and death struggle, this hillbilly started to rack his brain.
The first problem that needed to solve in his mind was, that powerful “crimson rage ki”!
No matter what, the two times he accidentally unleashed the crimson rage ki showed such an amazing power that it deeply shocked Shaar’s mind! With such a strong unique skill, if he could gain full control if it, then his own strength……
Next time he met that magician who did that sneak attack, he would cut that bastard in two!
Sitting alone in the tent, Shaar took the crystal and was lost in his thoughts……
It had to be said that this hillbilly was not stupid, although he didn’t know the correct way of using this magical crystal; at least, he …… listened to many stories.
The tavern of Primal Wildfire Town was often visited by travellers and some minstrel-like fellows. These guys didn’t seem to have any skill, but would always tell other people luxuriant legends to deceive them and get some liquor to drink with this.
In those stories, those legendary heroes would unintentionally obtain some strange treasures, like magical artifacts, equipment, heavenly swords, magic gems, and so on.
Even if you haven’t eaten pork, did you never see a pig running around?
At least, those legendary heroes in those stories gave Shaar some valuable references.
Staring intensive that this grayish stone, Shaar finally got an idea after half a day……
Could it be……I have to eat this thing?
Fuck! Maybe I am unable to digest it or I’ll choke to death?
After pinching this stone for half a day, Shaar finally gave up on this extremely dangerous idea.
“Uh……maybe I should drop my blood on it?” Shaar pierced a hole on his finger without hesitation and let his blood drop one the stone ……
A moment later…..
A little more time passed by……
Then another little while passed by again……
Shaar angrily wrapped up his finger……
(Fuck, all the legends are lies!! If this goes on, this uncle will first die from excessive loss of blood!!)
※※※
Staring at this stone until his eyes started to hurt; he suddenly drew his fire pitchfork.
(There is no other way, lets open it and have a look?)
Exactly at that time, suddenly a dry, emotionless voice appeared in his mind.
“Idiot!”
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