<h4>Chapter 158</h4>


    The warriors shooting arrows from atop the fence were taken aback. As the raiders lifted their shields tightly and advanced toward their fortress, the warriors didn’t know how to respond.


    "Look for the gaps and aim for them!"


    It was easier said than done; from above, those gaps were invisible.


    <i>Ting!</i>


    Drawing the bowstring was futile. The raiders with shields raised high were approaching right below the fence.


    The warriors had driven off numerous raiders until now. By building a dense wooden fence and shooting arrows and throwing stones from above, any raider group was quick to flee. It felt rewarding to repel the raiders, justifying the hard work put into fortifying the vige.


    "Shit, could they be the raiders from the east?"


    Rumors had been making their way around the area. A massive group of warriors from the east was heading toward the west. It was said their numbers could cover the vast wastnd.


    "It''s the eastern raiders!"


    "It really is them!"


    The warriors on top of the wooden fence shouted in terror-stricken voices. They looked toward the horizon. A stampede of warriors, seemingly around five thousand, were advancing with loud battle cries. If these ruthless warriors attacked all at once, they could easily demolish even a fortified vige like theirs with ease.


    ''But why are they sending only a small group to do this?''


    The goal of the alliance didn’t stop at plundering only this vige. They nned to continue advancing west as much as their forces allowed. The alliance employed efficient strategies and tactics to conserve their forces as much as possible.


    <i>Thunk!</i>


    Urich noticed the sound of arrows hitting the shield had grown less frequent. He slightly lifted his shield to look up at the fence. The warriors on the fence had lost half their fighting spirit upon seeing the alliance’s forces appear on the horizon.


    <i>‘I need to teach our warriors about the tactics used by the empire. They must admire but not fear the battle techniques of the imperial army. We fear things because we don’t understand or know it, but once we do both, nothing can scare us.''</i>


    This was Urich’s one goal. To teach the warriors the strategies and tactics utilized by the imperial army.


    When the imperial army crosses the mountains, presumably in the near future, the warriors will have to face them. The imperial army has developed strategies and tactics from its long history of national wars. If the warriors had to confront them without knowing those, they stood no chance.


    "Urich! The hill is too steep to climb up like this!"


    The warriors shouted. It was difficult to ascend the hill in front of the fence. Even if they managed to get their feet on the hill, the soft soil caused them to slide straight back down.


    <i>''Maintaining the Turtle Formation and climbing the hill at the same time isn’t going to work.''</i>


    Urich took a deep breath, locking eyes with the warriors.


    "I''ll go up the hill and ce the hook in between the fences. Wait here."


    The warriors'' eyes widened. Urich had volunteered to do the most dangerous task.


    Urich received the hook from a warrior behind him. It was a hook connected to a well-oiled rope.


    <i>‘It’s as expected. The fence is tall, but it’s not really sturdy. I guess a fence like this was enough to keep them safe around here.''</i>


    Urich surveyed the fence.


    To build walls like those of the empire, specialized skills and massivebor were required. Compared to that, this wooden fence was pitiful. And that was the gap between the uncivilized and civilized worlds.


    "Hmph!"


    Urich inhaled deeply and dashed forward. He held a shield above him as he quickly climbed the hill. Climbing the hill required using both hands, making it difficult to hold the shield.


    <i>Thump!</i>


    Urich chucked his shield in front of him and under the fence. He climbed the hill using his hands to support himself.


    <i>Thwip!</i>


    Arrows flew. Urich twisted his head to dodge the arrows.


    <i>''Quickly.''</i>


    The warriors on the fence aimed at Urich.


    "I got him!"


    One of the warriors who shot the arrow eximed. But then, he widened his eyes in shock. The arrow that hit Urich''s belly powerlessly bounced off. Underneath Urich''s leather armor, a steel breastte glinted.


    "Heh."


    Urich scoffed and leaped. He reached the top of the hill in the blink of an eye and quickly grabbed the shield lying below the fence.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Urich wedged the hook into a gap in the shabby fence. He held the shield behind him and jumped down the hill.


    "Pull!"


    Urichmanded as he ran back down the hill. The warriors, maintaining the Turtle Formation, held the shield with one hand and the rope connected to the hook with the other. Their bronzed forearms bulged with tension.


    "Ooooh!"


    The warriors screamed as they pulled the rope. The fence trembled under their force.


    "One more time!"


    Urich joined the formation and shouted. He entered the center of the formation, protected by other shields. He grabbed the rope with both hands and roared nearly to the point of screaming.


    "Gaaaargh!"


    Urich pulled the rope with all his might. The sound of the fence splitting echoed.


    "Ooh!"


    The warriors leaned in unison, causing their formation to be slightly disrupted as arrows fell between them. A warrior was hit in the legs and thighs.


    "We''re almost there!"


    The warriors'' faces turned red. They gritted their teeth as they exerted themselves.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    The sound of the fence breaking was audible even from a distance. The fence was about to copse.


    "The horn!"


    Upon hearing Urich''smand, a warrior blew the horn.


    <i>Buuuuup!</i>


    The horn''s signal reached the main force. The army of the alliance, nearly numbering five thousand, started their movement.


    The warriors pulled the ropes tighter, drooling with effort.


    "Oooooh!"


    The sensation of palms scraping against the rope and shoulders barely holding up was intense.


    <i>Craaaaack!</i>


    The wooden fence broke, and its surroundings crumbled. The fence, which was built to support each other, was flimsy once one side fell.


    "Chaaaaarge!"


    Urich, who had fallen over backward while pulling the ropes, stood up and shouted. The warriors rushed toward the breached fence.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Several warriors grabbed the weakly leaning fence and threw it aside. Soon, the main force of five thousand more warriors joined and rushed into the vige like a tidal wave.


    The fortified vige, which was expected to require a rather significant sacrifice of strength, was conquered much more easily by breaking down part of the fence.


    The looters entered, killing the resisting warriors. Soon, the vige chief knelt and bowed down.


    "ept our protection and pay tribute."


    Samikan sat on a chair and spoke. The message was conveyed through a double trantion. But the situation was clear even without words.


    "If you join the expedition and contribute, you will share in the spoils equally."


    Samikan said this and waited patiently for a response. The dialogue and negotiation were slow due to the necessity of a double trantion, but Samikan was a patient man who didn''t rush people.


    Urich looked at Samikan.


    <i>''Samikan might as well be called a king already.''</i>


    The tribes had no concept of a king. However, considering the number of other chiefs under Samikan and the territories he controlled, he could easily be called a king by the standards of the civilized.


    <i>Swish.</i>


    Urich wiped the blood off his body. They had conquered a vige fortress with over five hundred warriors, yet the casualties of the alliance were only in the dozens. That was all thanks to Urich''smand in battle.


    "Do not rape the women even if you want to. Their chief here will soon offer them to you himself."


    The warriors did not act recklessly. Their desire for blood and sexual satisfaction had been somewhat satisfied earlier. They followed their chief’s orders without making a fuss.


    On one side, the sound of moaning was in full swing. There were many women brought as ves, not just from the looted area. The warriors, excited by battle and blood, roughly manhandled the female ves.


    <i>''This is my people and my homnd.''</i>


    Urich passed by the rough men and climbed onto the fence that was still intact. As the day darkened, the heated ground cooled.


    The federation grew day by day. Even the Stone Axe warriors and the Blue Mist warriors, who once hated each other, began to mingle. Tribal warriors who grew up in differentnds started calling each other brothers under the alliance’s bond.


    The battlefield was where the warriors shared their deepest friendships. There was no deeper bond than sharing each other''s lives and swinging weapons in the same direction, at the same enemy.


    "Urich! Why don’t youe down and drink with us?"


    The other warriors called out to Urich. Everyone in the alliance knew him. Not just because he was one of the three major chiefs, but also because Urich''s feats in their looting and conquest stood out.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Urich heard someone climbing up the fence.


    "Greetings, Chief Urich."


    "This is the first time you''re speaking to me first, Six-Fingered."


    Urich looked at Six-Fingered. Six-Fingered''s face was painted ck, highlighting only his eyes and lips. He approached Urich, shaking a staff adorned with numerous fish bones.


    "I watched the battle quite well. It was a fight worthy of gaining other warriors'' respect, indeed."


    "It''s been a while since I''ve received praise from a shaman. My tribe’s shamans never really liked me."


    Six-Fingeredughed with a voice mixed with phlegm.


    "Crossing the Sky Mountains is indeed an unforgivable taboo. It''s an act of challenging the sanctity of the Mountains."


    The tribes'' shamans only passed down knowledge orally. They didn''t have a sophisticated system of faith. Instead, there were just a few taboos, which varied from tribe to tribe. However, crossing the Sky Mountains was a universally acknowledged taboo.


    "But the Blue Mist Tribe epted the foreigner Noah Arten, even though he crossed the Sky Mountains."


    Urich chuckled.


    "If we didn’t, Samikan would have had our heads. We had no choice."


    "Are youining about that?"


    "No, not at all. Our Chief Samikan is a great warrior. He has achieved tremendous feats even now. But you, who have crossed the Sky Mountains twice, have also achieved great feats. You are quiteparable to Samikan."


    Urich narrowed his eyes. Six-Fingered''s words were chilling, but Urich couldn’t point out why.


    <i>''What does he gain by ttering me?''</i>


    Urich stared at Six-Fingered with suspicion. Six-Fingered observed Urich''s reaction andughed.


    "You challenged the sanctity of the Sky Mountains and still lived tomand the warriors. I heard that the former chief of the Stone Axe Tribe died trying to cross the mountains."


    "He died because he climbed without the proper preparation."


    "That''s not really important. The point is that multiple attempted it with the same approach, yet one died, and one didn’t. That’s what’s important. Even Noah Arten lost his legs as a price for crossing. What did you lose for crossing the Sky Mountains?"


    "I lost the afterlife and gained knowledge. I learned that we have nowhere to go after we die."


    Six-Fingered widened his eyes and shook his staff. The fish bones ttered.


    "We ascend to the Sky Mountains when we die. We believed there was a world beyond for the souls to live in. But you''ve proven such a ce doesn''t exist. So, where did the souls that climbed the mountains go? We''re seeking answers to that question."


    "I don’t think those are the words that should being out of the mouth of someone who deceives the heavenly omens."


    "That''s one thing, and this is another."


    Six-Fingered coughed and spread his six fingers. He used each of his six fingers freely.


    Urich watched the moving six fingers. The movement reminded him of insect legs, and it disgusted him.


    "After this expedition, just as the chiefs have gathered... the shamans will also gather under the Sky Mountains to seek the answer from the heavens."


    "Oh yeah? I hope you guys get some good results."


    "Chief Urich, remember. I can be of help to you."


    Six-Fingered said this and disappeared. Urich made sure that Six-Fingered was gone andughed.


    "What a cunning man."