Chapter 96
The Erich unit set out while it was still the dim light of dawn. Tension spread across the faces of the members.
Even for veterans, a grand battle with the barbarians was something not easily experienced.
Because it was anticipated that Grossnak, who had set out earlier, had probably already crossed the Fuga Gorge, the unit moved through the gorge at the fastest possible speed.
Looking at the snow-covered cliffs ahead, Hrung-ga spoke.
[Once we cross this Fuga Gorge, three paths appear. No matter which direction we go, we will end up passing through the Black Wolf's territory.]
[The Black Wolves won't attack us anyway. They'll just let us pass.]
Hrung-ga nodded, as this was something he had been aware of for a long time. The reason Erich believed they wouldn't attack was simple.
'The Black Wolf tribe will wait for support from the Bear tribe.'
In terms of the situation, Erich's unit had to protect Grossnak's main force from the rear.
For things to go as planned, while Grossnak's main force wiped out Ungrim's warriors in an ambush, Erich had to block the Black Wolves as well as the incoming Bear tribe's attack.
However, the Bear and Black Wolf tribes were, strictly speaking, different tribes. Even if they fought together, they would not want to shed blood by starting battle before their Bear tribe reinforcements had arrived.
Therefore, Erich was certain the Black Wolves would not strike 'first'.
Rather than wasting their forces, it was a better choice to let Erich's group pass and then join forces with the Bear warriors to strike Grossnak's main force when they arrived.
Erich had anticipated they would make this judgment and planned his operation accordingly.
'Now I'm curious to see what you'll do, Grossnak.'
Before long, Erich's unit arrived at the fork in the road. Upon arriving there, just as previously agreed, Erich split up his forces.
This was the very place to identify those collaborating with the dead.
On Path 1, Erich and 500 members.
On Path 2, Mikhail and another 500 members.
On the last path, the remaining 500 were assigned, consisting of Hrung-ga and the barbarian warriors who followed him.
It was estimated to take about half a day to pass through these paths.
Erich had earlier conveyed messages in staggered time slots to the suspected traitors, informing them that his group would be heading this way.
Of course, the Shadows had carried out the delivery deftly.
Erich was the first to enter Path 1, remaining vigilant as he kept an eye on the area above.
Frederick, not removing his grip from his sword, mumbled.
"... Ahem, I wish this wasn't the place."
"Oh? So you mean you'd rather Sir Mikhail was the one caught?"
"Ah, no, what—how could you say that? There are those barbarians too, you know."
"Then I'll just tell the barbarians—Frederick said he wanted you all dead. Like that."
"Ha! I can't say anything around you."
Frederick glared at Erich with slitted eyes. But there was a reason Erich teased Frederick in this way.
If there was an ambush here, the party behind the alliance with the dead was...
'Commander August.'
Because for Erich, an unbelievable conclusion would result.
He wanted to believe, at the very least, that August was not a traitor.
Yet, at the same time, he wanted to confirm quickly so he could shake off his suspicion.
Suddenly, the thoughts from before his return flashed through Erich's mind.
-... I will designate that child as my successor for Commander.
It was a determined look rarely seen on Commander August's face. While everyone else had opposed it, he had appointed Erich as the Commander.
Erich remembered that moment: It had been such an outrageous appointment that even the ordinary members had bad-mouthed him behind his back.
Erich quietly smiled. What had Commander August seen in Erich?
Was there something in him that even he himself didn't know about?
However, suddenly Erich's expression hardened.
'Or was it simply to make me, a greenhorn, commander in order to bring down the Great Wall?'
Either way, it was something he wouldn't know unless he checked for himself.
Unlike usual, each step felt unbelievably heavy for Erich. Even Frederick's pointless chatter.
Even Barnes's indifferent response as he listened.
Even Kurtz's plea for Frederick to be quiet.
None of that reached Erich's ears.
All he felt was a hazy tension.
On top of that, if August was a traitor, the weight of whether he could endure such a reality pressed upon Erich.
And then—
"Boss! Boss!"
"Hm?"
Frederick let out a low sigh. He looked at Erich suspiciously.
"What is it? Suddenly staring off into space like that."
"... Where are we?"
Erich looked around. At some point, his members had already passed through the narrow fork.
Then Barnes spoke.
"Are you feeling unwell, sir?"
"... No."
Feeling tension drain away, a smile crept onto Erich's lips.
Standing there, cracking a smile and lost in thought, Erich said to Frederick,
"... Now, let's go check who was caught in the ambush."
"My goodness, how odd."
"Quiet. I'll be telling whoever got hit the thing you said, so get ready."
"Argh. I thought we were done with that."
Leaving the flustered Frederick behind, Erich set off again.
His steps felt much lighter than before.
* * *
"Ugh...."
"Hang in there a little longer. Damn it."
Frederick, with blood smeared across his own face, hastily bandaged a member's wound. As soon as he finished treating one, he rushed to the next.
Erich stood among them, closely observing the wounded members.
Erich's prediction was right.
Someone at the top of the Watch was a traitor.
And the culprit was...
"You were right. I don't think I've ever felt this bitter in my life."
The second path assigned to Mikhail.
That was the time and place sent to Albrecht.
The only saving grace was that there weren't many casualties in the ambush.
But had it not been Mikhail, they would have nearly been annihilated by the scale of this ambush.
A great many of the dead, and hiding Black Wolves, had fiercely assaulted the unit members.
It was an attack launched specifically to let Grossnak pass and then target Erich.
Luckily, Mikhail was there, and no matter how many there were, he could cut them all down. What would have happened otherwise?
'It was only possible because almost no one knew Chief Inspector Mikhail would be here.'
If Albrecht had known Mikhail was here, he would have come up with an even greater scheme. Fortunately, Albrecht underestimated Erich unit's strength.
Nevertheless, a dozen or so members were rolling in pain from their wounds. It was because they couldn't avoid falling rocks.
Erich exhaled a low sigh. In fact, all the evidence pointed to Albrecht being the culprit.
Including his leading of the research team, with Joseph and others. Even before the return, his actions had been suspicious.
'At the time, I didn't think much of it since he'd simply disappeared.'
But now, Erich knew there was a traitor in the Watch who was cooperating with the dead.
If someone was to be suspected, it was most likely the one whose whereabouts were the most ambiguous.
'Albrecht.'
He was the Chief Adjutant of the Black Citadel, the second-in-command of the Watch. The fact that such a man was a traitor was outrageous.
Of course, this could not compare to the sense of betrayal Mikhail, who had spent so much time with him, must have felt.
Erich cautiously spoke to the self-mocking Mikhail.
"Sir Mikhail, we must move quickly. If we do not establish a position first, it will be hard to defend ourselves."
"... Understood."
Mikhail swung his sword dripping with blue blood in the air.
― Paang!
Just a swing, but there was a sound as if the air itself had split. At the same time, the blue blood that had covered the blade disappeared as if it had never been there.
Soon, even Hrung-ga, who had taken the third path, joined them. He seemed quite shocked to learn there was a traitor within the Watch.
[... Crows betraying each other? Does that sort of thing happen?]
[Like you said, people are the same everywhere.]
[Hmm, now that you mention it, that's true.]
Hrung-ga kept glancing at the wounded members. Perhaps he felt sympathy, seeing that they had been hurt by kin's betrayal.
But Erich had no time to spare for such things now.
He ordered the unit to march at double pace. From now on, it was a race against time. What Erich had prepared wasn't over yet.
***
Countless barbarians stood in formation. Wolf pelts were draped over their shoulders.
All eyes were on the man standing on the dais. At a glance, he was an exceptional warrior.
His body was covered with tattoos commemorating the people he had killed. Every warrior there looked at him with admiration.
― Haratan! Haratan! Haratan!
The barbarians chanted in unison. It was because Haratan had grasped the ceremonial dagger on the podium.
He stared coldly at the whimpering direwolf hanging before him.
Haratan raised his empty hand in the air and tightened his fist. The barbarians fell silent and waited with bated breath.
― Chwaaak!
The wolf tied by the ropes staggered. There was a clear, fresh red line on its neck, though it was unclear when it had been made. Haratan closed his eyes as he saw the blood flow into a bowl.
[The power of the wolf will protect us.]
Haratan did not hesitate and gulped down the bowl of blood. Then, he poured the rest of it over his whole body. The barbarians went wild at the sight of the blood-soaked Haratan.
― Haratan! Haratan! Haratan!
Haratan's eyes glowed with madness. Feeling something boiling up inside, he shouted,
[Warriors of the Black Wolf! Deliver judgment to the White Wolves who allied with those accursed crows! Their legacy will be ours!]
― UOOOOOO!
Barbarians raised their weapons in response. Haratan grinned.
Finally, it was time to end the oppression they had suffered.
With Ungrim's strength as well as the crows, it was a chance to wipe out the White Wolf tribe once and for all.
The fired-up barbarians began pouring out of their village.
A wave of wolves draped in black pelts flooded the white snowy plains.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Barbarian civil war!!!
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】