The north is commonly known as the land of barbarians.
It is a wilderness where various immigrant tribes live by their own traditions!
However, not all tribes have the same temperament.
Some are truly barbarians and aggressive, while others are peaceful and quiet.
Moreover, they do not usually form alliances with each other.
The northern part of the empire, which is surrounded by mountains, is a vast area in itself, and there are many tribes that are hostile to each other.
Therefore, there are not many cases of large-scale invasions throughout the history of the empire.
"Hmm, even so, the frequency is too high."
Count Anderson was reviewing the reports with his subordinates.
"Isn't it too often that the barbarians come down to the plains these days?"
The subordinates answer Count Anderson's question.
"That's true. It is the time when winter is coming and food is scarce, but the invasions are too frequent."
"Besides, we have to deploy more knights to deal with them."
A slight worry appears on Count's face.
"No matter how barbaric they are, the ones who are skilled usually don't come down to the plain areas. I don't know what's going on?"
Count Anderson had many worries.
One of them was the problem of the invaders themselves, but another was the increasing frequency of barbarians who could use force among them.
This was closely related to the reason why the Empire spent a huge amount of military resources on the north.
"Hmm…"
He scratched his head and continued to groan.
Unfortunately, the Count's troubles had no easy solution.
'How on earth do these uncivilized barbarians, who don't even have a systematic force training method, have so many formidable warriors who can match a decent knight?'
That's right.
In fact, the northern tribes did not form alliances with each other, and there were many tribes that lived quietly, and their population was not large either. But strangely enough, there were many force users among them.
Among them, the so-called [warriors] were a class of people who had skills that surpassed ordinary knights.
These elite groups used the mountainous terrain to repeatedly raid and plunder, making it difficult for all regions to defend themselves.
The first person to introduce a systematic force training method and divide it into stages on this continent was said to be Emperor Scharnos, the Sword God.
There were also rumors that he brought it from the east, where his fellow player and reliable ally Lee Cheongmun came from, and there were various opinions, but the important thing was that after that, the average level of the continental knights improved significantly.
But those barbarians had nothing to do with training methods or anything.
They just trained their bodies stupidly to survive in nature and swung their weapons around.
There was nothing else revealed about them. But sometimes they produced such incredible masters that it was hard to understand logically!
"Anyway, I have to request additional support from the central knight corps."
"That seems necessary."
"Actually, support also has a clear limit. In the worst case scenario, it would be better to mobilize a large-scale force and sweep them all away."
"That would be a very unprofitable business."
Count Anderson dismissed the words of his hawkish adviser.
…
Meanwhile, this was Eurius's current situation.
"Push back the barbarians!"
Bang!
The wooden palisade, which was solidly built with logs, shook as if it was about to collapse.
The soldiers who were in charge of defending the palisade desperately stabbed their spears through the holes they had made between the logs and tried to stop the ones who were trying to jump over the palisade.
"Drive out all the foreigners and loot them!"
The ones who were trying to jump over the palisade were equally fierce.
They did not wear any armor, but they had a peculiar outfit of thick animal skins and crude iron weapons.
They were the northern immigrants. They were launching an offensive to break through the palisade with a ferocious momentum.
"Shoot the arrows!"
Whoosh!
More than a hundred arrows rained down on the immigrants who were trying to approach the palisade.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
The immigrants might have worn thick skins, but they had no way of blocking the arrows without any proper armor.
The approach noticeably decreased after the archers started shooting.
'Phew, if we do well, we can stop this invasion without much damage.'
The commander who was in charge of defending this settlement sighed with relief.
The invasions had become more frequent lately, so he had requested support, but the north was a very vast place.
At this rate, it would be quite difficult to hold on until the reinforcements arrived.
"I'll make a way! Move aside!"
"…!?"
The commander's face turned pale in an instant.
"This is bad. A force user has arrived."
The voice belonged to the leader of the immigrants.
Unlike the other immigrants, he wore a well-polished armor and wielded a huge hammer that he swung like a windmill, deflecting the arrows.
A force user above a certain level could easily block the arrows of ordinary soldiers.
'I have to go down before the fence breaks.'
The commander hurriedly started to run.
He had anticipated this situation to some extent and had a few knights stationed here, but the difference in military strength was too great.
They were barely holding on with the wooden fence that surrounded the settlement, but if the fence broke, they would be immediately pushed back by the numerical advantage in this plain-like area.
Clang!
The hammer, filled with force, struck the fence's gate with a terrifying momentum, and cracks began to appear between the fence.
The immigrant warrior also smiled triumphantly.
'I have earned another glory for the great chief.'
He was one of the best warriors in his tribe.
If he broke this fence, it would be easy to capture the village.
"This is the end!"
He was sure that one more hit would shatter this wooden structure.
He saw some warriors with outstanding skills running towards him, but his troops would break through faster.
Crack!
"Waaaaah!!!"
The fence's gate finally broke, and the immigrants cheered.
'It's over!'
The immigrant warrior was about to jump into the fence. If he held his ground here, his subordinates would follow him easily.
"Hmm?"
Whoosh!
But before he could finish his thought, his mind was cut off. He flew dozens of meters away and crashed into the ground with a dull thud.
"Kuaaak!"
At the same time as someone entered and blew away the commander, the immigrants who tried to enter through the fence also fell down with one arm or leg missing.
'Reinforcements have arrived!'
The commander who was running sighed in relief.
Judging by how he easily knocked out a force user, he was one of the skilled knights who were dispatched here.
'I should thank him… Huh?'
"Your highness!"
The commander changed his expression and quickly stood next to Eurius, blocking the immigrants who were pouring in through the fence.
"You did well to hold on. We will take care of the rest. Just prevent them from entering the village."
"Yes, sir!"
The commander finally relaxed and looked at the situation outside again.
"The barbarians have reinforcements. Retreat!"
"Ack!"
Outside the fence, the reinforcements led by Eurius were slaughtering the immigrants in a neat formation.
The first prince's unit was composed of the elite of the elite, who were assigned to protect him.
The reason why the commander was relieved earlier was because he was confident that this defense was a success.
There were also rumors about Eurius that contributed to his reputation.
"They say that His highness the First Prince does not spare his body and leads from the front line."
"His ability as a commander is impressive, but his personal strength is also remarkable."
Eurius had never failed to achieve his goals in any of the missions he had taken in the north.
"Kueeuk."
The immigrant warrior struggled to get up.
'I was caught off guard by the sudden attack.'
But the situation looked very bad.
'I have to retreat with the warriors.'
He had brought five force users with him this time. He had to save them at least.
But before he could give that order, a figure blocked his way again.
Shiver!
The immigrant warrior felt a chill. The figure was a young blue-blooded brat. But he could tell that he was no ordinary opponent, as a warrior of high caliber himself.
"Are you the leader of these barbarians?"
"So what?"
Eurius answered casually, observing the situation.
On the other hand, the immigrant warrior tensed up.
'Then if I kill him, I can retreat successfully!'
He carefully assumed his stance. This guy must be confident in his skills, since he made a one-on-one duel with him without any guards.
"Ah! Wait a minute."
'Huh?'
The immigrant warrior was waiting for a chance to strike with all his might, but he wondered what this guy was saying all of a sudden.
"I heard that in the north, warriors announce their tribe name and their own name before a duel. Don't you do that?"
'This foreigner knows that too. He respects the pride of a warrior.'
He raised his voice and shouted loudly.
"I am Denika, a warrior of the Moon Tribe. I ask for a fair and honorable duel…"
"Oh, really?"
Slash.
As soon as his shout ended, Denika saw his own body separated from his neck.
"…!?"
With a face that did not understand until the end, he died with his eyes wide open. Eurius sighed as he looked at the corpse.
He could have easily taken his life with the first strike, but he spared him to ask him that question.
"This one was also a bust."