Barbarian Quest

The establishment of the empire happened over five decades ago, and its founding was practically a mythology to the citizens of the empire, especially significant for the citizens of Hamel.

The empire originally was a mere city-state the size of the duchies nearby. Back then, such city-states and small kingdoms ruled the world. Border conflicts were incessant, and small countries repeatedly appeared and disappeared.

The first emperor, Xarkaman Hamelon, was the ruler of Hamelon during that tumultuous era and was praised as a perfect man in all aspects: mind, body, and spirit.

It was a well-known fact that even the leaders of rival nations admired and respected Xarkaman Hamelon as a hero.

"…A great man, indeed. He was a hero who stabilized the chaos and built the empire within a single generation."

Yanchinus, who had returned to the imperial capital of Hamel, muttered as he looked at the statues of the former emperors. Upon his return, he summoned the city's officials to prepare for the upcoming battles.

"But even my grandfather wouldn’t have become a legendary hero without a bit of luck."

Yanchinus walked through the imperial palace to the industrial district where the air was stifling, unlike the well-maintained palace. It was the autonomous district of blacksmiths known as the imperial smithy, and the blacksmiths working here were not only highly skilled but also dedicated their lives to the empire.

Clank! Clank!

The imperial blacksmiths, despite being commoners, enjoyed wealth comparable to that of nobles. However, they were never allowed to leave Hamel and were always under surveillance wherever they went.

"Imperial steel," Yanchinus muttered as he twisted his lips.

Even now, the iron weapons forged by the kingdoms were far inferior to that of the empire. There was simply no comparison to imperial steel.

‘The imperial steel weaponry was essentially a divine gift in my grandfather’s era.’

The city of Hamel wasn't just any city. Even back then, it was a center of industry and commerce and one of the continent's most renowned iron ore deposits, making Hamel's weaponry famously known for its excellence.

Creak, creak.

Imperial steel was the result of the high-purity iron of Hamel and the dedication of its blacksmiths. To this day, the kingdoms could not match the empire's metallurgy.

The first emperor, Xarkaman, was a man who was educated in history. He knew that eras changed according to the development of metallurgy, and the successive emperors shed countless amounts of blood to protect the secret of imperial steel.

Clank!

The hammering ceased as Yanchinus entered the workshop, and the blacksmiths removed their sweat-soaked headscarves to bow their heads in respect for the emperor. Their faces were filled with pride knowing that they were handling the empire's most precious secrets.

‘I might end up being the scoundrel who squanders the legacies of my grandfather and father.’

Yanchinus looked at the proud men and bitterly smiled. The empire did not have many means left for negotiations.

Yanchinus called the overseer of the imperial smithy and whispered something.

"I-is that really your will, Your Majesty?"

The overseer of the imperial smithy opened his eyes wide in shock. Although it was disrespectful to the emperor, Yanchinus fully understood the overseer's feelings.

It was a secret that had been guarded for over five decades, and the blood of countless men had been shed just to keep the imperial steel in the empire, including those of the innocent.

"Do I look like I’m joking?" Yanchinus spoke calmly. He looked around the imperial smithy as the hot air touched his skin. Pieces of iron, still black on the surface, hung here and there.

"B-but…"

The overseer stuttered at the command, which was difficult to comply with, even if it was directly from the emperor himself.

"Inform the heads of each workshop."

"Your Majesty!"

"Feel free to criticize and curse me all you want, but it must be done."

Yanchinus was firm.

Although the imperial army had succeeded in stabilizing the northern front, it was merely a temporary measure. In a situation where the kingdoms could declare independence and invade the empire's territory at any time, the empire had nothing certain to rely on.

‘If you divided our frontlines and defeated us piece by piece, we have no choice but to do the same.’

Yanchinus selected two kingdoms to form a joint front moving forward. The Kammus Kingdom, located in the southwest, and the Aralto Kingdom, Porcana’s neighboring country.

‘The Kammus Kingdom will keep Yailrud in check, and the Aralto Kingdom will attack Porcana.’

These were the two kingdoms with forces capable of effectively checking the west and Porcana.

Knowing that there was no chance that these two forces would easily comply with his orders, Yanchinus proposed conditions that were exceptionally bold, offering to release the secrets of the imperial metallurgy to kingdoms Kammus and Aralto.

"Even if we give them our technology, it won't be easy to establish a production system right away."

Moreover, the empire's military technology was already advancing to the next stage.

‘By the time they master steel, we will already have numerous weapons made from flame oil deployed.’

It wasn’t that the future was certain, and it was possible that flame oil was not the next generation of weapons. If so, it would mean that the empire was giving other kingdoms a chance to catch up with their military technology.

‘Even with such a risk, we need to borrow their strength.’

Messengers were already on their way to the respective kingdoms, and once the empire's blacksmiths arrived in the Kammus and Aralto kingdoms, military actions would commence.

If things went according to Yanchinus' plans, the Porcana-Alliance army would have two more fronts to worry about and would not be able to focus on besieging Hamel. In the meantime, the empire could reorganize internally and also have the leisure to assemble its legions.

"Your Majesty, the barbarian army has crossed the Johan River," a messenger reported to Yanchinus.

"They're moving faster than expected."

"It seems only the vanguard has arrived first."

Yanchinus nodded and urged the other commanders to attend the meeting. If only a small vanguard had arrived quickly, it was worth trying to intercept them.

‘Knowing Urich, he wouldn’t have left himself out of the vanguard.’

Yanchinus repeatedly reviewed whether he had taken all possible measures.

‘Now, all that remains is to fight.’

The attendants opened the doors to the sides as Yanchinus entered the imperial council hall.

Creak.

The gazes of nobles and knights who were waiting for the emperor focused on one spot. Yanchinus paused for a moment and looked at them intently.

"I, Yanchinus Hamelon…"

He began quietly.

"…am a man of many sins."

The eyes of those in the room widened at Yanchinus’ words.

* * *

Obtaining intel on one’s enemy before them was the most important thing in war. Civilized countries sent spies disguised as merchants to investigate defensive facilities and supplies before declaring war.

There was a big difference between fighting with knowledge and fighting without it.

Georg was the first to infiltrate Hamel with another civilized mercenary. He gathered the loot the Alliance had stocked and disguised himself as a jewelry merchant.

He set up a stall in the square and observed the situation in Hamel.

"Georg, do you think the Alliance's luck has run out?" The civilized mercenary next to him suddenly said.

"What? We're the ones who are winning right now."

"But we failed to capture the emperor, and he made it back here alive. No matter how I look at it, I don't think we can take down Hamel. Even if Urich's words are true…" The mercenary showed his skepticism.

"If we came this far, Urich must have a plan," Georg defended Urich.

"Yeah, but it’s the plan of a barbarian."

"He’s different from other barbarians."

At those words, the civilized mercenary looked at Georg curiously.

"You’re pretty loyal to him, you know that?"

"Loyal, my ass. Shut up and go pretend like you’re trying to sell some of this stuff to that lady over there. The guards are watching us,” Georg said, pointing with his chin. The civilized mercenary smiled genially like a merchant and approached the woman with jewelry in his hands.

‘The atmosphere inside Hamel is not as bad as I expected; maybe it’s the psychological stability that the emperor brings. They probably believe that as long as the emperor is here, the city won't fall.’

Georg watched the people passing through the square of the city that was still bustling despite the news of the approaching barbarians.

‘Urich must have set up the encampment by now. It’s only a matter of time before Hamel’s isolated.’

Georg moved the jewelry stand around the city, observing every corner of Hamel. The high walls looked impregnable to any siege weapon and there were no low or weak points in the walls anywhere.

‘It will be impossible to attack and break through a wall like this.’

During his time in the Alliance, Georg had gained some military knowledge. He could tell whether a wall could be breached just by looking at it.

‘If we have the resources, surrounding them would be the best option. Even Hamel will suffer from disease and hunger if isolated for a long time.’

However, the problem was that the Alliance didn't have the luxury to do that.

While Georg was rolling his eyes, a guard approached.

"Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Don't you know we're at war?"

"Oh, good sir, do you think the barbarians would dare to scale the walls of Hamel? If anything, this is the time to get ahead of those who are too scared to do business. Turning a crisis into an opportunity—is that not a great saying?"

Georg had already been questioned by guards several times, but he easily disguised his identity with his silver tongue.

It was the third day since Georg had entered Hamel. He cautiously prepared something as the city prepared for battle with many carts carrying military supplies coming and going. That night, he and three other civilized mercenaries equipped themselves as if they were about to enter a cave and moved cautiously through the night streets.

"If we actually pull this off, we'll get a chest full of gold coins, right?"

"We can live like rich men when we go back home."

"Keke, war really is an opportunity for men."

"Should we just switch to the emperor's side? I feel like they might give us a lot of money too."

The mercenaries chuckled, but despite their words, they were tight-lipped and loyal. Georg wouldn’t have brought them along if they were easy to betray.

"Shh. Sounds travel further at night," a mercenary who was a former hunter said, pressing his finger to his lips.

As the mercenaries entered the sewer one by one, Georg kept his eyes open for any possible witnesses until the last one was in.

‘How does Urich know about the empire's sewers…?’

Even if he had been to Hamel, it wasn’t normal for him to know about the sewage network of the city. Georg had only heard from Urich about the wide underground waterways that people could walk in.

Creak.

Georg and the mercenaries climbed down the ladder into the underground. The mercenary who went down first lit a torch and inspected the dingy interior.

"That’s a pretty heavy smell, but this place really is wide. How did they think of digging an underground waterway wide enough for multiple people to pass through…"

"You’d expect no less from the city called the center of the world."

The mercenaries were also impressed by the depth and width of the sewer which was an enormous civil engineering project that other kingdoms couldn't even dream of.

—Georg, I'm not entirely sure of this, but since it's a place where waste is discharged, it must be connected to the outside. Find that place.

Georg recalled Urich's words. It was a critical mission as there was no other way to attack Hamel, and the plan to infiltrate through the sewer would fail if Georg were caught.

‘Whatever the situation is, what’s important is that Urich trusts me and believes I'm the right person for this job.’

Georg twitched his lips. The fact that wealth that could last for generations was within reach even erased the rancid smell of the sewers.

‘I don't even want to be a hero remembered in history. I just want to live comfortably and well-fed while I'm alive and fall asleep to the whispers of a beautiful woman without any worries.’

Georg thought about the women in his future before briefly closing his eyes. The feeling that had been gripping his heart still remained in one corner.

The mercenaries tapped Georg's shoulder, urging him to move.

"C’mon, let’s get moving. Did you bring the parchment and graphite?"

"Don’t worry. Just light the way properly and make sure you don't burn anything."

Georg pulled out the parchment and graphite. They needed to draw a map as they moved to find the route as wandering the sewers blindly wouldn't get them anywhere.

"We pull this off, and we’ll become heroes. We'll get money and maybe even land."

Georg said to the mercenaries who nodded and walked through the dim underground passage with their torches.

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