Chapter 169
Erich slowly scanned the facility's interior. There was nothing he could just glance over carelessly, not a single detail to be skipped.
He surmised that what was here depicted the process by which humans evolved into barbarians.
Faced with that shocking truth, everyone was left speechless.
Of course, Hrung-ga and a few of his subordinates, who couldn't understand the significance of the facility and the preserved specimens, were exceptions.
[... Hm, this one is a human, and that one is one of our kind. What about those in the middle? Are they hybrids? Gulan, do you know what this is?]
[... Hmm, have they gathered great warriors here?]
[That could be the case.]
With that, they nodded among themselves. Aung-ga, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up.
[Hrung-ga. O guardian warrior of the Great Wolf. This is the place where we were born.]
[... Born here? I was born in the Wolf Tribe.]
Of course, Aung-ga did not give up and began to explain the significance of this facility to Hrung-ga.
It took a long time to make him understand, but even Hrung-ga, who finally did grasp it, could not hide his shock.
[... We are... children of the Goddess...]
The children of the Goddess—the very belief that barbarians had held so firmly shattered in that moment.
Ceres and the mages examined the facility that had created the barbarians, ever more fascinated.
There were many things here, but in their assessment, it was all beyond their knowledge.
Erich walked through the facility. Here and there, he could see barbarians still floating in tanks.
But most of them were cracked, with the liquid inside rotted and the remains reduced to skeletons.
Erich asked Ceres,
"Ceres, is it possible, at least, to revive any of the barbarians that seem more intact?"
"... That sounds like you're asking me to perform necromancy."
That was a no. It seemed that these were as good as dead. Ceres added an explanation.
"The preservation fluid inside definitely kept the barbarians viable for a long time. There are even magical devices intertwined. But it seems the creators never expected this place to have to withstand hundreds of years—no, close to a thousand."
"... What could have been the purpose behind making the barbarians?"
"To create a new race several times bigger, faster, and stronger than ordinary humans? Who knows?"
Ceres replied with a faint smile. Erich slowly nodded in response.
'They tried to create powerful humans. Though they're both human, the barbarians and the people of the Empire are quite different in many respects.'
Perhaps there was a clear purpose when they first made the barbarians.
And what flickered through Erich's mind were the Watchmen he had seen in his past recollections.
If the Watch turned people into barbarians out of necessity, and the origin of the barbarians was the Watch, that explained it all.
'It may be a stretch, but still...'
But as Erich's thoughts trailed on, he suddenly stopped. He had come across a tank, not one old or broken from external force, but one clearly smashed from the inside.
Then, Erich's gaze locked onto the nameplate in front of it.
"Ungrim Ironhide."
The barbarian named Ungrim was created here. And he had broken out of the tank, escaping outside.
What was the relationship between this name and Ungrim, the current leader of the barbarians?
Breaking off his musings, Erich glanced at Balmung, who had been dragged in, bound.
[... I know nothing of this.]
[I didn't expect you to. Still, I want to hear it. About Ungrim.]
Normally, Balmung would not reveal anything about Ungrim.
How could a loyal retainer, regarded as one of his right hands, betray him?
But Erich noticed Balmung's disconcerted mien. Clearly, Balmung had not anticipated any of this.
In front of the tight-lipped Balmung, Erich produced something—a research journal he had found hanging nearby.
[Year 3 of experimentation: The volunteers have gained physical strength and stamina far surpassing others. Also, they seem to have some degree of immunity to the power of the dead. There is a high probability they will prove useful in the war against the dead.]
[Year 4 of experimentation: The volunteers have fully integrated with their new bodies. They have become strong enough to shatter the corpses of the dead with bare hands. They also appear to have gained some resistance to the frost of the dead.]
Erich continued to read from the research journal.
Though some parts were obscured or illegible, it was enough to pique Balmung's interest.
The meaning behind the research journal was crystal clear.
The reason these barbarians were created—the answer was the dead, referenced again and again.
They were a powerful means to combat the dead. From that, Erich drew a question to pose to Balmung.
[Balmung, isn't it strange? The very reason you were created was to eradicate the dead. But who are you actually fighting? Whom do you cooperate with?]
[....]
Balmung's eyes trembled.
Indeed, Erich's words struck home.
These beings were born to combat the dead, yet they now allied with the dead to attack the Empire.
That was the greatest irony between the barbarians and the Empire.
― Tak.
Erich closed the research journal and approached Balmung.
[Perhaps you and we need not actually fight. Depending on what you tell me, I might even find a way to avoid battle.]
[No fighting, you say.]
[Yes. If your people don't treat us as enemies, we have no reason to fight either.]
Balmung glanced at him with suspicion. Yet, the great confusion he felt after seeing the laboratory made his lips twitch.
Erich did not miss this opportunity.
[You were made, unquestionably, to resist the dead. But neither of us knew that. Instead, we came to hate each other. Doesn't that seem strange?]
[... Someone must've been pulling strings.]
[If not, the facts as we know them would never have been twisted like this.]
[Ungrim...]
Balmung clammed up, as if realizing he had said too much. But Erich's lips curled up.
[Ungrim was different from the rest of you, wasn't he? He knew everything. He was wiser and more forward-thinking than other warriors. Why? Because he knew all about this background.]
[... That's why we followed Ungrim. He was a man with the farthest sight.]
Erich nodded slowly. If his hunch was correct, Ungrim was a barbarian that came from this facility.
'To have lived that long is impossible. He must have awakened in the middle.'
And Ungrim must have felt betrayed by the Empire.
He and the others volunteered for experiments to fight the dead and became barbarians here.
But what was the reward received by his comrades' descendants after years of peace hard-won over centuries?
Northern savages.
Uncivilized people not even worth associating with. That was all they got for their deeds.
As Erich conversed with the now-open Balmung, he realized even Balmung didn't know everything about Ungrim.
If Balmung had sided with Ungrim knowing the whole truth, he would never have spoken up.
But even he found this situation suspicious.
'He must have grown doubtful after seeing the dead treat his people so cruelly.'
And in the end, that doubt may have opened Balmung's lips. Erich spoke.
[Ungrim is certainly the man you believe him to be. He wished to lead you all to a new fate. But the end of that road is destruction.]
[Destruction, you say.]
Balmung suddenly seemed to recall the Death Lord's might. Erich did not miss his doubt.
[The Lord of the Dead still has his last subordinate, and that one is stronger than the Death Lord. And the Lord of the Dead is more powerful than all of them combined.]
[... Even stronger?]
Balmung's eyes grew wide with shock. Erich's persuasion was working, even the subordinates behind Balmung were murmuring.
[Right, let me ask you: could Ungrim really wipe out the Empire first and then deal with the dead alone? Could your people, who cannot even defeat us, hope to do so?]
[... That...]
[I, too, bear a deep grudge against your people. Not a single member of the Watch here likes you. But is it right for us to bicker and destroy each other, only to bring about our mutual doom?]
Balmung fell into thought. Erich had killed his comrades. He had destroyed countless followers of Ungrim.
But the dead he'd witnessed were hideous and terrifying. It was more than clear whose hand he should take.
Balmung spoke at last.
[... I think you are right. But I don't know if Ungrim feels the same.]
[I don't need to convince Ungrim, as long as I have your support. If I can't even persuade you, how could I ever hope to persuade Ungrim?]
Erich grinned as he spoke. He looked around the facility, where Ceres and the mages were investigating under her guidance.
Erich's members were organizing data about the facility.
'This facility is definitely the key. It will reveal where things went wrong.'
Erich quietly observed his companions, knowing he had to find something here that could convince Ungrim. Otherwise, there would be rivers of blood ahead.
But just then, someone shouted,
"Commander! Please look at this!"
Erich's eyes flashed subtly. What the member was holding was a small key retrieved from a fallen corpse.