Badge in Azure

Chapter 293: Barbarian (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nailisi ripped off a drumstick from the chicken and passed it to Saleen. The hot oil dripped down as the aroma wafted in the chilly weather. The magic wolves did not dare approach, and Nailisi threw over a few pieces of jerky before they started fighting over them.

Saleen took the chicken drumstick and had opened his mouth to bite down when suddenly, a piercing noise sounded and a weapon flew over, right for Saleen’s hand.

Once he and Nailisi had set up the bonfire, they had neglected their surroundings and Saleen had not used his focus to scan around. In this snowy weather with magic wolves patrolling around, how could Saleen have considered that people would try to ambush them?

However, he was no longer the low-grade mage that he had once been. As the weapon flew over and the air around them exploded with a piercing noise, Saleen calmly released an ice arrow with a finger and it smashed headfirst into the oncoming weapon.

Saleen’s control over magic was excellent as the ice arrow accurately struck the back of the weapon, causing it to be knocked off course. With a thud, it landed right into a large tree.

“Nailisi, you realized there was somebody there earlier, didn’t you?” Saleen was not angry. Even if he had not taken action earlier, with Nailisi’s abilities, she would have been able to intercept the weapon.

Nailisi giggled. She had realized that the person lying in ambush was not that dangerous, and hence, she had not reminded Saleen. She wanted to see how his skills were at the moment.

The weapon had been struck aside by the ice arrow and landed deeply in the tree. It was a shabbily made stone axe.

“Come out!” Saleen used his finger and pointed in the direction that the stone axe had flown from. It was full of holes that had been filled with snow. The person that had ambushed them had thrown the axe from within the pile of snow, and it was impossible for them to hide now.

“He…”

A low voice sounded as a barbarian climbed out from the trough. He was dressed shabbily in leather clothes, had a muscular body, and had a two-meter-long bow on his back. Looking at his beard, he had likely not managed it in months, as it was covering his entire face.

“Barbarian? Do you speak the common language?” Saleen changed to speaking the common language.

“Are you a mage?” The barbarian stood up, not removing the bow from his back. He had replied in the Myers language.

Saleen pointed to the magic robe he was wearing and asked, “Why did you attack me?”

Barbarian was a broad term. They had complicated bloodlines, unlike the ones of the Caucasus people. This group of people stayed far away from human cities and lived incredibly primitive lives. They did not deal with merchants from any country, and only the occasional explorers would encounter them. Although they were not as big of a group as the Caucasus people, they were an intelligent group of people nonetheless and could speak many languages. After the barbarian priests had died off during the Third Dynasty, they had not had much power left and had slowly declined.

A barbarian would not dare attack a mage. Hence, Saleen had to ask.

“You guys… aren’t from the Holy See?”

“Holy See?” Saleen became agitated. Whatever feelings of pride he had felt before disappeared in an instant. The people from the Holy See have appeared here!

“I am a mage from the Bitter Water Prefecture. Barbarian, you need to apologize for your actions earlier.” Saleen looked at this muscular figure. He had managed to produce such incredible energy with his axe using his physical strength alone. If the stone axe had been reinforced with a magic shield, any mage below grade-3 would die in a single hit.

The tree that the axe had buried itself into was tougher than steel, and for an object that had been struck off course to be able to pierce through it, the object must have possessed an enormous amount of inertia.

The barbarian looked at the man and woman in front of him and hesitated. They had obviously not cared that he had just attacked them. He wanted to try again, but the older generations had warned him not to mess with mages.

The young mage was very strong indeed, and with a flick of his finger, had been able to push aside his stone axe.

He did not know that this was an ability that Saleen had trained for years. Saleen and Lex had always used low-level magic to avert each other’s attacks. As the stone axe had flown towards Saleen, he had already calculated its trajectory and had merely given a light push to the back of its center of gravity with his ice arrow. This was purely done through skill. If not, he would not have been able to knock away the stone axe that easily.

The stone axe from the barbarian was not very exquisite regardless. The material, however, left Saleen shocked. It was fashioned out from obsidian and its handle was wound with the tendons of a magic beast, with only a hexagonal hole visible. An axe like this had not been used by anyone in the empire for over tens of thousands of years. They could only be found in certain ruins.

Due to its material, this shabbily made axe was sufficient for countering most low-level magic shields.

“You have to prove that you aren’t with the Holy See,” the barbarian said stubbornly after thinking for a while.

Saleen was relieved as he asked in return, “How do I prove it to you?”

The barbarian was shocked as well. He had no idea what Saleen could do to prove he was not with the Holy See.

“Master, why are you arguing with him? Capture him and question him.” Nailisi was a little frustrated. This barbarian might have been strong, but he was still not as good as Sika. In regards to combat techniques, a barbarian would not be able to hold a candle to a Caucasian.

Saleen was speaking in Myers language. She had learned more languages and would not have a problem passing off as a person from any country. Upon hearing Nailisi’s words, the barbarian became agitated and took his long bow from his back.

This was a compound bow, and even though it was not as strong as an alchemy crossbow, its short-range piercing abilities were incredibly powerful. Moreover, the arrowhead held by the barbarian was a black key and it would be difficult for any magic shield or divine spell to defend against it.

“That won’t do.” Saleen threw down the chicken drumstick, and the pile of snow under the barbarian’s feet started forming a large whirlpool, restraining his body. The long bow left his hand as he screamed, scaring away a few magic wolves. Around this area, the barbarians were at the top of the food chain. The magic wolves were afraid of them.

Saleen’s restraining spell did not last for long and he had no intentions of killing the barbarian either. Hence, he nodded at Nailisi, and she understood as she took out a rope and went over to tie the bound barbarian.

Saleen came over to him as Nailisi pinned him down to the ground, and he immediately lowered his guard. He realized that the women in the snow white fur coat had enormous strength, as pressing down on his shoulders was enough for him to turn limp. It took hardly a second for him to be pinned onto the ground.

“You are my prisoner now. There is no need for an apology. Let me ask you some things. If you do not reply, I will feed you to the magic wolves.” Saleen looked down at the barbarian. His skin was not too rough, but his beard was incredibly long. He had a handsome face, almost like a high-grade professional.

“Firstly, were the people from the Holy See here?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me, who are they?”

“I have no idea.” The barbarian answered instantly. Evidently, he had not thought his answer through.

“Master, why don’t I try?” Nailisi licked her lips, almost as though she were looking at prey.

Saleen quickly raised his hand in objection. Those who had been questioned by Nailisi could not even be saved by the gods. The people of the Holy See appearing nearby could not be a good thing. He had not set up any infrastructure, and if the people from the Holy See were to realize this, it could attract more holy masters and holy knights.

The Holy See would not send people to a barren land for no reason. Aside from the barbarians, there would not be any intelligent life here. If they wanted to spread their teachings, it would be better to go to Sikeqinya. Even though the people in Sikeqinya only believed in wealth, some of them could still embrace the God of Light.

If they were not here to spread their teachings, then why have they taken a liking to this plot of land?

Saleen had already regarded the land in the north as his. Obviously, he would not share it with the Holy See.

“What did the people from the Holy See do?” Saleen wanted to ask a more understandable question for the barbarian to answer.

“They were catching slaves,” he answered quickly this time.

“Slaves?”

“Many of the people from the clan have been captured away,” the barbarian answered Saleen, a little despondent. He was a slave now too. Being captured by a mage could not be any different from being captured by the people of the Holy See.

“How many barbarians are here?”

“There used to be thousands. The numbers have been reduced in the past two years, and there are probably hundreds of us left now.”

Barbarians were different from the Caucasians. All of them were warriors, regardless of whether they were male or female, young or old. A barbarian was considered to be an adult when they were fourteen, as they could fight against low-grade magic beasts by then. What is the Holy See capturing barbarians for? To spread their teachings?

“What is your name?”

“Conan.”

“Conan, I am a mage. I don’t need a slave. However, you have offended me and you will need to pay for it. Do you agree?’

The barbarian named Conan nodded. He had only tried to attack Saleen as he was dressed in a long robe like someone from the Holy See. Now that he had been captured, no matter who the other party was, he could only blame it on his luck. Barbarians did not believe in any gods and did not have many beliefs. Once captured, many would willingly become slaves.

“Alright Conan, let’s sign a contract,” Saleen said as he took out an empty scroll. This barbarian had fairly good combat skills. Even though he was not as skilled as Nailisi or Sika, if he used higher-grade equipment, he would be much stronger than the pirates. Having a simple-minded follower like him would not be a bad thing.

After expertly writing on the scroll, Saleen skipped the formalities and had Conan write his name in blood upon it. He burned the contract into ashes, and this indicated that the magic was effective and that the barbarian could not do anything funny.

“Nailisi, let him go. Get your weapon. Let’s go back.” Saleen did not want to stay here much longer. The people of the Holy See were active around here and if he bumped into them, he was not confident he could win. If there was a deacon like Picasso and another ascetic, it would be a brutal fight.

Having witnessed the eerie skills of the black deacon, Saleen did not dare to look down on them. They quickly returned to camp. The death kings were still there, and even if the oracles themselves came, it was possible that they would be unable to do anything against them.

Originally, Saleen had been worried about the three kings and had wanted them gone. Now that he knew that there were people from the Holy See, Saleen immediately changed his opinion. Before his teacher arrived, he would have to count on the three of them to protect his life.