Chapter 173 – 17. The Way of the Far North (3)
Starlight from blue wolves and white deer embroidered the evening sky. It aroused a shudder in front of the splendid glory of Mother Nature and made everyone kneel. Indeed, it felt like a revelation from the ancestors and spirits to the warriors who overcame the perilous ordeal with unity and unity.
“It’s over, Nergui.”
The unknown sorcerer vomited blood. The energy of the spirit that was wrapped around the bony body was torn apart and disappeared. The moment when the great general of the empire, who was like a thousand horses, admitted defeated and retreated, he had no chance of winning anymore.
“Accept defeat.”
The reason why there are so few shamans on the continent who make contracts with spirits as a business is because the cost is high. Particularly capricious spirits of death require a tightrope walk in return for using their powers.
“Accept the unacceptable?”
Nergui smiled bitterly and took the soul of the great warrior. The existence that borrowed only its status and skills without an ego disappeared leaving, behind an afterimage of a faint smile, proud of its child’s growth.
“If it’s death, I don’t know.”
Crying, he staggered as he vomited blood again. The battlefield under the snowy mountain was chaotic for a long time even after Ruth had retreated. This is because there were more than one or two places to focus on, such as arresting enemies who surrendered and became prisoners of war or treating wounded soldiers who could not join the main unit.
“Huh!”
Swinging his skinny arm, he let out a spirit. He screamed the regime as it was, and he touched Temur’s face. In the eyes of the young and strong warchief, it was an attack that was not worth avoiding even if he wasn’t necessarily himself.
“I’m sorry.”
Thud! Temur put down his two axes and murmured.
“Very much.”
His forearm, as thick as the base of an old tree, carefully grasped the thread-thin wansu. He added briefly, implying that the unknown man’s outbursts that hit my face were a meaningless attempt. A man who, like the son of a great warrior, mastered the secrets of his tribe, he could understand.
“Tamir told me and my sister every night the story of our past history. Among them were warnings of death, the most capricious and intriguing of all spirits. They said that the reason the spirit sorcerers who served death in this land disappeared into the depths of time was because of the price.”
“Yes, the great commander was a great man to respect unlike you…”
Nergui chuckled and mocked. However, the man who had risen to the position of chieftain of the 12 tribes did not move, as if he had learned a lot from him. However, he noticed that the life of the enemy who challenged his authority was gradually fading away, and he only asked back.
“What is the cost of a cruel death to you?”
“I risked my life. It’s the same as everyone else. There is nothing grandiose to be called a price. Death is more benevolent than your prejudice. It’s just that you’re so strict. It was a risky contract, like walking on thin ice, but it doesn’t matter anymore. My vengeance is stranded and this life has reached the end of a dream.”
The one who had been called anonymous for not having a given name threw back his head. He looked up at the moon and the starry sky alternately with the sunset, and shed tears of blood. And while his feelings continued, the person who tried to settle all these fights approached.
“Did you want a seat?”
Hoelun, who appeared with heavy steps like a mountain, asked. Standing next to the man who promised to marry his couple, he wanted to hear the reason. Until now, Mukhali’s unknown person had been a person who unsparingly devoted himself to the woman who chased the moon.
“I just wanted power.”
Nergui answered politely. Even at this moment when everything was over, the ringleader of the rebellion still used honorifics as if serving his chieftain. Unlike the situation where it was an obvious betrayal for anyone to see, it was proof that his intentions were truly close to loyalty.
“Are you drunk with power?”
“I just wanted revenge.”
Hoelun’s eyes were stained sadly. After looking around her for a while, she confirmed that many things had not yet been sorted out, and opened her mouth. I sympathized with everyone except her husband, her who couldn’t pay attention to this place because they were busy with the problem they were facing.
“Neither did I.”
“But why?”
“It was a choice. It was a choice between an enemy who could have been a friend and a hit who might have to serve as a master. It was also a decision between personal feelings and national feelings.”
It was only then that Nergui, who had lost his will to fight, nodded. I didn’t want to admit it, but the warriors of that frozen land actually joined the war against Ruth’s 50,000-strong army. As Hoelun acknowledged earlier, Temur’s perspective was right in both process and result.
“Hoelun, then, are you saying you can forgive?”
“If you ask about the meaning of emotion, I am the same as you. However, if you ask the meaning of reason, it is.”
However, even in the face of all these consequences, the nameless man could not tolerate it.
‘If you are going to trade, deal with only those who are able to use their muscles and bones. At the very least, bring in things that have your own talents. That’s what commodity value is. Shouldn’t you show sincerity to supply them in large quantities if you’re going to spend money to raise them?’
‘Ha, Haona, poor duke…’
‘Do I have any more excuses?’
‘Please consider the hard work of the little ones. Buying and selling slaves is a very delicate and demanding business. No matter how easy the barbarians in the north are, if they recklessly mobilize mercenaries and kidnap them, they will surely explode no matter what happens.’
His mother his, from the Keshikten tribe, was a woman kidnapped to Gaul. Sold to the Gallic capital in her pregnant state, she suffered and died shortly after giving birth to her child, as if to follow in the footsteps of her husband her, who had changed her life her to protect her her temple her .
‘I don’t know how I became a slave trader with that head. It’s really deplorable that you’re the only one who knows how to look straight at realistic values among idiots swayed by petty morality.’
‘So, I’m sorry…’
Nergui was born that way. He grew up being raised by slaves who passed by until he was old enough to talk and walk. His body his was frail, but his brain his was extraordinary, and at the age of ten he took the position of secretary to his master his.
‘Conciliate the lords of the north. If possible, it would be better to start with the vassals. Show them the taste of money and tame them when they are in need. I mean, teach them that bringing animals that roam the snowfields and offering them is a good thing.’
‘Will Gerard Lemoang really stay still?’
‘If it’s the leash that holds him, don’t worry. Above all, he is not a person who would betray the master who taught me the sword. Be careful of your fiery temper, but decorate the situation so that you can close your eyes in moderation. One day, when I’m in a position to be questioned about it, help me to say I didn’t know. If that happens, he will stand by.’
It’s not that there wasn’t anyone to envy. However, Nergui, who had a tragic birth, was a boy who refused to obey and longed for freedom. As a result, after his fairly large head, he often rebelled against his master’s will, and in return he had to endure numerous punishments and restrictions.
‘Then, how should I quell the resistance of the barbarians?’
‘I want you to tell me everything from one to ten.’
‘I’m sorry. There is no way to guess with my inexperienced head, so if you don’t mind, please let me know your opinion…’
Then, in the end, it became an example. He glered at the man who had built this huge business of human trafficking and struggled at the same time as lamenting his gagged self.
‘Select.’
‘Yes… ?’
‘Choose and kill those who have the same eyes as this boy. It doesn’t help to use low-level beatings like whipping for punishment. In order to break their hearts, I have to make them aware of a reality that is more brutal than I imagined.’
He was the Duke of Gaul. He was an outstanding swordsman, politician, and a tycoon of his time who had influence throughout the continent.
‘Starve the slaves just barely alive. And point out those who have been selected, and display them, and cut off their bodies one by one every day. Don’t kill me easily Slowly, as if torturing yourself, pay close attention. After that, I’m teaching them that you can eat your fill only when they die.’
‘Th-Would they really fall for that number?’
‘The dead do not speak. Those who survive will be followed like stains for the rest of their lives by the meals they have eaten at the cost of the painful deaths of their own people. It would be nice if this epilepsy worked, but if not, it doesn’t really matter. The important thing is to engrave fear into their souls.’
Even now, many years later, Nergui still remembers everything from the way the Duke spoke to the way he behaved. Under the elegance of the upper class, he had a wicked nature and was feared like a monster. In the light of my long life, it was a fleeting existence, but it was a monster that was the source of my grudge.
‘The guilt of the culprit does not go away no matter how much you wash it. Those who have succumbed would rather be grateful to have been sold, recalling their memories of being under you. Those who do not break even then will try to return to their hometown by any means, but it doesn’t matter. I will spread my painful memories there and cause everyone’s anger.’
‘What role does it play in this business… ?’
‘Ask the mercenaries you hire. I wonder if there is any other prey that is as easy as attacking with a clumsy vengeance. It means to make the vicious cycle of those beasts into your virtuous cycle. The more the grudge is deeply imprinted, the more new products there will be.’
‘I really have an excellent insight!’
The current Nergui, recalling the cold gaze of his, shuddered involuntarily. The boy, who was decided to be the last example because of his dedication his, watched his own people die. I had to see my friends shouting at the previous example, asking me to die quickly because it was a request because I was so hungry.
‘Run away, don’t look back…’
The duke’s son, who took pity on me, helped me escape before my turn, but what’s the point? From then on, Nergui was already a ruined man. He was relatively well off as the king’s bastard, but he would have killed himself in despair had he not met Ho Elune, who also had painful memories.
“I still have vivid memories of meeting you as a young girl in the slums of Lumiere, Gaul. You have given me hope when I thought only of death despite the favors bestowed by the son of the enemy.”
“You were born with a weaker body than anyone else but boasted a strong spirit. I respected my fellow countryman named Nergu as a warrior. I thought that if you were there, I would be able to resolve the grudges deeply embedded in Mukhali’s name and move forward to a better future.”
“You are a great man. You are our true hope. Therefore, I dare to say that the unknown who has turned into a failure will pay for the sin of disappointing the person I will serve with death.”
“Can’t we choose life over death?”
“Yes, never.”
Nergui pulled out the dagger from his belt and held it close to his heart her with determined eyes. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if he was inevitably afraid of brainwashing himself that he had already died a long time ago, and then he shook his head and committed suicide.
“A body that goes against the will of the spirit and dies anyway…”
Phew, as if he would rather face a miserable end than forgive his enemies his, he plunged the knife deep into his chest his.
“Even if I meet you in hell, I will not forgive you.”
He recited a short poem with a ghostly smile.
“Cruel Dior’s millennial Alexandre…”
