Wandering Mercenary in an Open World
chapter-117

Time flew by quickly.

Knowing that there was no time to waste, Hengel swiftly led the allied tribes and boldly ordered them to march. Their destination was the ‘Resting Place of the Sacred Tree’, where the divine tree was located.

It was a glorious place where the former chieftains of the north rested beside the divine tree after fulfilling their duties. But it was tainted by Jigor’s ambition, and a horde of barbarians lined up there.

Hengel, who was leading them, approached Ruon and his companions, who were separated from the main force and had their own spot.

“I plan to fight here. As you can see, if we go any further, our vision will be blocked and a normal battle will be impossible.”

He pointed to the blizzard that was raging in front of them.

“The divine tree is inside there. We’ll try to hold back Jigor’s army as much as we can, but in the end, it’s up to you to break through and get past them. Good luck. Charge!”

Hengel immediately urged his own words. Then he ran towards the army that was lined up on the wide plain covered with frost.

Colin, who was staring blankly at him, muttered to himself.

“That guy. Did he just say Jigor? He doesn’t even call him chieftain anymore.”

“There’s no need to show respect when we have to kill each other now.”

Kyle answered and gently stroked the neck of his horse. The horse seemed to feel the warmth of his touch, and its stiff neck muscles relaxed.

Likewise, the companions were all on horseback. The moment the battle began, their task was to reach the Resting Place of the Sacred Tree as quickly as possible.

“It’s an honor to be with you.”

Ruon, who was staring at the front, nodded his head and turned around at the voice of Aslan from the side. He saw the knights wearing lion helmets on their large horses.

The Knights of Valor, who burned their own holy power, expressed their desire to fight with the companions, and Ruon gladly accepted it. It was not because he had a great reason, but because he thought they would not be a hindrance.

Meanwhile, Amela, who was busy casting spells on the horses, finally got on her own horse. She said.

“It’s done. I enhanced their minds temporarily with a spell, so they won’t panic or lose control, or suddenly collapse.”

Ruon was about to thank her for her hard work, but he heard a sinister horn sound from afar.

Boo-oo-oo-oo

At the same time, the horizon that was invisible to the naked eye due to the blizzard crumbled and something revealed itself.

Soon, the ones who took their place opposite the allied tribes were berserkers with blood-red eyes.

Hengel turned his body to face the chieftain’s army that finally showed themselves. There was no great speech. He just raised the axe in his hand.

“Oooooh!”

“Waaaa-aaa!”

But that was enough, and a huge roar erupted. Among them, the roar of the giants who pounded their chests like gorillas made a big contribution.

There was no speech for the other side either.

Ka-ah-ak!

The berserkers, who seemed to be soaked in blood, lit up their red eyes and started to charge without hesitation. There was no rule or plan in their rushing steps.

Soon, the two armies collided head-on.

There was no trickery or ceremony there. Blood and flesh flew wildly in the honest collision that was as brutal as it could be. The swirling blade wind scattered them all over the battlefield.

A hammer smashed a head to pieces, and a long spear pierced an eye and dug into it. A blind arrow that flew from somewhere stuck in the forehead of an unsuspecting person.

The shamans whispered sinister spells without rest and poured powerful magic, and the chieftains summoned the spirits that represented their tribes into their bodies and swung their weapons like crazy.

The warriors of the allied tribes stabbed their weapons at the berserkers who ran from all sides. They naturally became preoccupied with killing the enemies in front of them, as they faced the ones who didn’t care about the blades piercing their bodies. Only the rough breathing of the enemy and themselves was heard in their dull ears. No orders came in.

The savage fight of the two groups that didn’t retreat a step resulted in dozens of people dying every second.

“Let’s go.”

With a short word, Ruon kicked his side and Caliban started to run with an explosive movement. Three of his comrades and Aslan’s knights followed closely behind. Their hearts thumped loudly as they ran towards the bloody battlefield.

Ruon didn’t think that the reason his heart was shaking was because of the berserker’s army. He was calm even when the wall collapsed, so he wouldn’t be scared now.

He was sure that the answer was beyond the white blizzard, and swung his sword.

The head of the berserker who was swept by his trajectory flew in the air, spinning and spinning, and was crushed like butter stepped on by a military boot when it hit Kyle’s shield.

At that moment, Amela stretched out her right hand, which was holding the reins, and shouted something. Her voice was drowned out by the noise around her, but the invisible force that poured out of her palm made the berserkers who were blocking the front lose their balance and fall.

The ones who tried to get up were trampled by the horse’s hooves and died, and the others had their necks or waists cut in half by the ego sword that Ruon swung.

As Ruon, who was the tip of the triangular formation, acted without slowing down, the ones who followed him naturally gained momentum.

Kyle raised his hammer wrapped in lightning and smashed the chest of the opponent, and Colin threw the dagger he received from Ruon to the right place, making a large hole in the jaw of the warriors who tried to stop them with their bodies.

With the tremendous breakthrough power of the knights who followed Aslan, the companions broke through the chieftain’s army in an instant. They were able to enter the blizzard beyond.

Even though the snowflakes that flew around interfered with his vision, Ruon swung his sword and sent the heads of two berserkers flying like bottle caps.

The ego sword, Ruin, stained with blood, burned his body and ignited his will.

At that very moment, Ruon felt a strange sensation that was hard to express in words tearing through his mind. He knew from his long experience that it was a warning sign of a spell. He quickly turned his head to warn his companions.

And he realized that no one was behind him.

“What?”

Ruon immediately nudged Caliban’s side with his thigh. The sturdy beast slowly reduced its speed and soon came to a halt.

The surroundings were all white. The white snow that reflected all the visible light and the severe blizzard that caused whiteout greeted him coldly.

On the bizarre land that devoured all sense of space and perspective, Ruon sharpened his senses.

In the meantime, he lost his hearing and even his sense of smell. Caliban trembled with anxiety in the overwhelming terror of losing all his senses.

Ruon stroked the black mane of the beast. Fortunately, his sense of touch was intact, and the black horse clung to his master’s touch as if it was salvation.

Was it a shaman’s spell?

Ruon soon dismissed that thought in his mind. It was too high-level for that. He had faced the shaman tribe quite a lot, but none of them had ever cast a spell that suddenly dominated such a vast area. He quietly focused his mind, hoping that those who were swallowed up with him were safe.

Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste.

His superhuman mental power began to mix the five senses that were losing their function and create a sharp edge.

The sharp blades of his senses that stretched out in all directions succeeded in detecting an artificial space in the whitened world.

Ruon stretched out his sword to point out the space he had found for Caliban, who had lost his sense of direction. At that moment, the black horse, who had also lost his sense of touch, realized that he couldn’t miss this opportunity and started to roll his feet with all his strength.

Hee-hee-hee-hee!

He didn’t hear it, but he must have howled like that.

Ruon swung his sword with all his might at the white space that came close to his nose in an instant. The moment his ego sword, filled with his will, cut through the invisible singularity. With the sound of glass shattering, all his senses returned to their place as if they were flowing back.

Ruon, who got off Caliban, who collapsed as if exhausted, stroked the forehead of the black horse who was breathing heavily.

“Good job.”

He watched the space he had smashed heal as if the wound was closing, and turned his body.

“They said no one would come this far. That’s why you can’t trust the pointy ears.”

The giant, who was as big as Ruon or even bigger, stomped his feet nervously. The ground below him cracked like a spider web. He said.

“Who are you? You don’t look like a northerner by your outfit… Did Hengel, that bastard, borrow the hands of outsiders?”

Ruon looked at the red tattoo that covered the giant’s face and opened his mouth.

“So you’re the chieftain.”

At his dry voice, the giant, Jigor, had a vein pop on his forehead. He didn’t seem interested in the feeble argument, and he grabbed the axe on his waist and swung it without hesitation.

Wha-!

Ruon, who expected a throwing attack since they were at least twenty steps apart, bent his waist back reflexively at the eerie coldness he felt from nearby. He looked up and saw the space where his head had been frozen.

The two men were wary of each other at the same time.

Ruon fixed his eyes on the ice axe that showed an unexpected long-range attack, and Jigor glared at the warrior who easily avoided his surprise attack.

“What are you?”

Ruon stomped the ground in response to his question. The time for leisurely conversation was over.

His amazing leg strength made his body faster than an arrow. He narrowed the distance with the warrior, who dropped a red lightning bolt.

Jigor was startled by his overwhelming presence, but he quickly regained his composure and raised his ice axe to block the attack.

With a deafening noise, the ground under their feet shattered as if a huge metal lump had fallen. Ice shards flew up to their eyes, and Jigor’s axe emitted a cold blue light as if he had been waiting for it.

The coldness wrapped around them again. But Ruon swung his fist at the chieftain’s head instead of backing away.

But the ice in the air suddenly swelled and hit his whole body, and his off-target fist grazed the chieftain’s ear and passed by.

Ruon twisted his body to break the ice pillars that zigzagged and hindered his movement and escaped to the side.

Jigor, who had widened the distance, lightly brushed his left ear with his palm. He looked down at the half-torn ear that he had grazed and threw the flesh on the ground.

“Damn pointy ears, they told me to be prepared and didn’t let me participate in the battle… Did they anticipate this situation? Cunning bastards.”

He said that and wiped his blood-stained palm on his face. Five red lines were engraved on his face.

“I’m glad to meet a warrior like you. Let’s dance once. Our ancestors will be satisfied.”

Oh-oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh-oh

As soon as his words were over, a chorus of howls came from somewhere. Ruon, who had no intention of giving time to his opponent, stomped the ground again and narrowed the distance. He jumped into the air with the last boost and swung his sword as if he would cut the chieftain in half.

Then Jigor rolled his eyes and opened his mouth wide.

“Kyaak!”

Ruon didn’t care about the invisible force that emanated from his body and hit his chest, and he swung his sword to the end.

Kwang-!

As if he had been hit by an invisible hammer, Ruon flew back and landed with an amazing sense of balance. He said,

“So you can use magic too?”

“Is it just magic?”

Zigor said that as he picked up his left arm that had fallen to the ground. As soon as he brought the severed arm to the bleeding cut, he uttered some incomprehensible words from his mouth. The arm began to wriggle and reattach itself.

Ruon clenched and unclenched his left hand and smirked as he saw the unknown phantoms behind the chief’s back.

“What are you hanging around with? Are you talking about the dead chiefs as your ancestors?”

At that, Zigor narrowed his eyes.

“…Can you see the ancestors?”

Ruon silently gripped his sword and Zigor laughed viciously.

“Yeah. That doesn’t matter anyway. Think of it as an honor. You are facing the history of the northerners right now!”

As he said that, a powerful wave of force surged from his body like a storm.

Facing that, Ruon spun his sword in his hand and muttered.

“The experience points will be worth it.”