ch49

Inside a massive tent made of leather.

The man woke up, stroked his disheveled beard, and looked around.

The tent was filled with the dense scent of women’s flesh and traces of the night’s activities were left on the bedding and throughout the tent.

Three women, swept away by his burning passion the previous night, were sprawled out on the bedding like frogs.

The man gazed at the women, who were lying unconscious in an unseemly manner with their plump, bronze and white buttocks raised to the sky, and then looked at his own manhood, which he had proven overnight. He chuckled, his shoulders shaking, as if satisfied with his virility.

Slap-!

“Wake up. The sun must be high in the sky. You dull-witted wenches.”

“Ugh…”

The man, satisfied with the sensation of slapping a young and firm, fair buttock, ignored the groaning women he had forcibly awakened and began to put on his leather pants.

Unlike the women’s skin, the man’s body was filled with rugged scars all over his overly developed muscles.

The man threw on a single outer garment, left the women behind without a second glance, and stepped out of the tent.

As he lifted the tent flap at the entrance, the man squinted briefly at the pouring sunlight, but soon his eyes adjusted to the light.

What unfolded before the man’s eyes was a number of tents too numerous to take in at a single glance.

Warriors who had been busily moving around the tents looked at the man as he stepped out of the tent and paid their respects.

“Did you sleep well, Bayatur?”

He followed the same path as the man who walked the great road of the north, but he didn’t want to imitate even the title of king.

Muktuk, the ruler of the south who now wished to be called Bayatur, smiled with a fierce expression and enjoyed the respect they offered.

Orphan. Sewer rat. Locust swarm. Plague of the plains.

The orphan, who had been the object of hatred and contempt, was now Muktuk, the Bayatur, the king of the south, who had unified 84 villages of humans located in the southern Takla Desert at an unprecedented rate, possessing eight hundred camels, one thousand four hundred horses, seven thousand date palm trees, and over two thousand soldiers under his command.

He killed and burned everything that resisted him or displeased him, and if he wanted a woman, he would take her even if she had a husband.

Even with such atrocities, the humans living south of the Takla Desert could not voice any complaints to him.

Even if they tried to escape from his grasp, the Takla Desert, harsh to humans, blocked their path to the north, making it difficult to flee.

“Are the preparations for wintering here going well? Nomhon.”

“We have sufficient supplies, and the settlement of the residential areas is almost complete. We should be able to get through this winter without any problems.”

“Good. Next spring, Prigos will surely cross this Takla Desert. He is young and ambitious. He won’t be satisfied with the territory he has now. Just like me.”

Muktuk patted the shoulder of his adjutant, who was a head shorter than him.

“I was late in unifying, but the preparations are sufficient. I don’t think I’ll lose. Do you?”

“That is indeed the case.”

Nomhon answered sincerely.

In the south, which had been swept through by the soldiers led by Muktuk for several years, Muktuk and his army were no different from the army of gods.

“The one who wins this war will be the ruler of this world. Did you know that, Nomhon? Unlike the plains, the north is abundant in food and good to live in, and the women are said to be chaste. Wouldn’t you like to see those delicately raised girls lying beneath you, whimpering?”

“…Indeed.”

Nomhon, imagining Muktuk’s vulgar words, smiled slyly and replied.

“Hmm? The sage has arrived. You may return and properly prepare for the winter. It’s fine to frolic with women in the tent this winter, but don’t let your belly get too full. You know I hate dullards, right?”

“Of course. I won’t disappoint you. Leave it to me.”

Muktuk sensed the approaching presence, ordered his adjutant back to work, and welcomed the approaching figure with open arms.

“Oh, Sage Algul. How were the women I gave you last night? I picked them quite carefully.”

“I have no interest in mating with human females.”

The man called Algul by Muktuk was a giant three heads taller than Muktuk.

Muktuk also had a large stature compared to other people, but Algul was on a different level.

A large staff and rags covering his head.

What was most surprising was that his face was hidden by the very small shadow created by the rags.

No matter which direction you looked, you couldn’t feel a single ray of light.

But beyond that darkness, a voice could be heard, and a faint, fishy scent of blood stimulated the tip of the nose.

Muktuk clicked his tongue when he realized that the scent of blood continued to the tent where Algul had come from.

‘I gave him pretty girls with great effort… That monster is wasting them.’

But he didn’t express his dissatisfaction outwardly.

The reason was that the greatest contributor to Muktuk’s rise from a mere leader of a band of brigands with only 40 subordinates to where he was now in just a few years was the monster before his eyes.

Moreover, the Takla’s harlots, whom he had thought were just crazy bitches, had become disciples of Algul before him and worshiped him like a god.

His army was now an object of fear, but Algul and the witches were also as well known in the south as his army.

Although he was a troublesome fellow, he was a useful and powerful force, so he tried to maintain a good relationship by praising the existence whose face he didn’t know and who might not even be human as a sage.

“I have united the humans as you wished. Why don’t you head north?”

“It’s not that I’m not heading there. Even if I cross the desert now, a land where winter has arrived awaits me after crossing. I’m already exhausted from crossing the desert, and experiencing winter in a foreign land where I don’t even know the way is suicidal. The same goes for the opponent. In fact, the war cannot begin until after winter has passed. Haven’t I been doing well so far? I know well that what you want is in the north, so please be patient. You will get it soon.”

“…Humans are truly weak.”

Algul ignored Muktuk and stared at the north for a long time, exuding an eerie aura. He shook his head as if he didn’t like it, and then returned to his tent.

As Algul left, it seemed that the lewd laughter of women could be heard from the shadows that moved with their master.

“That unlucky monster. After I become the ruler of this world, I’ll cut off his head along with the harlots and give it to the birds in the fields as food.”

Muktuk spat on the ground and muttered as Algul completely disappeared into the tent.

After huffing and puffing for a while, Muktuk imagined the sweet future ahead to soothe his foul mood.

“I heard that Prigos’s cherished chancellor and the priestess of those who believe in strange things are such beautiful women. I’m really looking forward to the day I can hold them in my arms.”

Muktuk, licking his lips in excitement, never thought about his own defeat, as he always did, and thought about the fruits he would gain at the end of the war with Prigos. He watched his subordinates busily preparing for winter, and then returned to his own tent, where women were waiting to warm his body, which had become chilly outside.

◈ ◈ ◈

“How long has it been since I felt this freedom?”

I lifted the bamboo hat I hadn’t worn in a long time and looked at the unobstructed nature in all directions.

“Even the forest was suffocating, so I ran out, but I don’t know how I was cooped up in the temple for five years.”

I leaned diagonally on Rudolph’s back, which showed a steady riding sensation, and brushed aside the bangs that were ruffled by the cool autumn breeze, smiling contentedly.

All I had were two pouches, one with some travel expenses and the other with snacks.

And a sword at my waist.

With a heart as light as my luggage, I was heading north.

“It reminds me of my first journey.”

Has it already been almost eight years since I left the forest?

I was surprised by the passage of time as I counted the numbers in my mind.

That the time I had spent in the human world was not less than the time in the forest.

Above all.

‘In two years, I’ll catch up with my past life.’

My past life, where I lived in exile, fearing the shadow of the grim reaper who might come at any time in a secluded place where people didn’t visit.

That fearful and lonely short life paradoxically felt long every day, but now, although a long life was promised, every day felt short, and I was catching up with the length of my past life.

‘The past time that felt like a fleeting moment has already been 18 years.’

The reason why it could be felt that way was probably because life was made up of days of expectation and warmth, not fear and pain.

It will continue to be so in the future.

As I was lost in thought, watching the scenery passing by with Rudolph’s steps, a lake came into view. “…Should I go fishing for once in a while?”

I used to do it often in the forest.

The sisters hated it, but I often did it with Pallas or Elmoni.

It was a surprisingly practical hobby that wasn’t bad to enjoy leisurely.

Isn’t this a rare outing?

If I go back, I don’t know when I’ll be able to come out again, so I wanted to enjoy as many experiences as possible.

Kugung-!

The ground shook for a moment, and Rudolph was startled and his body swayed.

I easily maintained my balance in the sway and sighed.

It seems like fishing will be difficult because of this guy.

In order to fish, the surroundings must be quiet above all else, but there was a guy on this land who was the furthest from tranquility.

“Silb, you idiot. Can’t you concentrate properly? How have you been training outside that your Kyungshin Arts keep breaking down just by moving this short distance?”

“Umm. I’m sorry.”

Silb stopped, scratching his head, and Golb stopped following him.

I sighed again, looking at the giant brothers who I had been ignoring to enjoy the travel atmosphere.