Heike had given a waiting order to the commander of the Knights. She had taken along one squad leader so that they could be summoned with the artifact in case of an emergency.
“It’s the first time we’re bringing outsiders. Lars, you’re my friend, but the others are friends of friends. The number can be up to five.”
Though permission to enter the Thunder Tribe’s base had been granted, it was only natural to be under watch.
Inside were myself, Tanya, Bruno, Hugo, and one squad leader.
“Big guy, Tara.”
A member of the Thunder Tribe gestured to get on the bear, and Hugo politely extended his palm.
“It’s alright. I’m not sure I can call that beast… a beast, but it looks unstable. I’ll walk on my own, thank you very much.”
As Hugo’s speech got lengthy, one of the tribesmen, perhaps bored, picked him up by the waist and placed him onto the bear.
“Lars, you should get on too. It’s a bit of a distance.”
Gishta spat out the seed of the wooden fruit she had been chewing on and struck my back vigorously.
“I can’t reach the saddle even if I wanted to.”
Barely had my words finished when Gishta grabbed my waist belt and threw me up high. I really messed up there.
Before I could even stabilize myself on the mammoth’s back, I felt a thud from behind and the weight settled in. Gishta had jumped up to this high spot.
“Ah— Laralarara!!”
Suddenly, Gishta screeched at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed wildly throughout the ravine.
Our mammoth, despite its immense size, thrust its front legs forward and went bang!
Its blue breath billowed as it began to dash between the ravines.
The strong wind slapped my face, scattering the snow piled on the ridge to greet us.
The sensation of speed on the jolting saddle felt like nothing less than an F1 race.
“Haha.”
By the time I would negotiate with them in the future, I was already affected by the Demon’s Blood, and the marquisate had been invaded.
Entering the Thunder Tribe’s territory was something completely new for me.
This was land untouched by civilization, a thoroughly undeveloped area.
After only being in the Imperial Family, coming out into nature felt oddly liberating.
“Refreshing, right, Lars!”
“Aren’t you cold? You’ll freeze your butt off!”
The fur draped over her barely covered her arms and back, flapping like a cape.
Even though her lower half was decorated with all sorts of bone trinkets fitting for a chieftain, her upper half was no more than a simple cloth.
“For one who rumbles thunder, this level of spirit is essential! Our tribe, descended from the Heavenly Dragon, has skin as tough as steel!”
“Descendant of a dragon, huh?”
The Thunder Tribe was indeed no ordinary humans.
Especially for Gishta, the blood of the dragon in her ancestry was evident.
A pure human could not survive in such land.
Gishta bit into the fruit, beaming with joy.
“Is this fruit from Valhalla, Lars? It’s my first time tasting such a delicacy.”
“The Empire has a vast land, you know. It gets hotter down south, making the fruits ripen. I worked hard just to bring them here. You have to give the best gift to a friend.”
“I like it! I’ll throw a feast to welcome our guests; you all prepare!”
Gishta stood up, brandishing a huge iron axe, as the rushing Thunder Tribe members raised their weapons and roared.
After about thirty minutes of traveling, an open terrain appeared among the mountains.
“Wow.”
A sigh of admiration escaped my lips. I never thought such terrain existed at the northernmost part of the continent, in an undeveloped area.
Inside was a basin. It seemed this massive crater was formed long ago by a meteorite impact.
The freezing temperatures had preserved the terrain, stretching an unbelievable ice plain.
I couldn’t even gauge the horizon. To the west, it appeared to extend beyond the territory of the counts to the kingdoms.
Is all this just the realm of the barbarians?
The farther north was dark, and nothing could be seen; it seemed to be the end of the continent.
“Aralarara!!”
With Gishta’s shout, we surged down into the basin with great momentum.
The speed of the mammoth and the bear increased, creating a thrilling urgency that made me wonder if we’d topple at any moment.
‘I won’t get to experience this again even if I revert.’
With our hearts racing, we entered the village of the Thunder Tribe.
*
“They built their homes with iron and wood. They can use language and have a minimal level of civilization. Quite different from the rock tribe.”
“They’re all women.”
Hugo and Bruno shared their impressions as we walked along.
It was definitely unsettling how all the tribe members came out to see us, making monkey sounds.
One tribeswoman approached us confidently and proudly displayed her latissimus dorsi to Bruno.
“Man, solid behind, stomping!”
Gishta flashed her teeth and made a threatening gesture towards her.
“No stomping! You’re a friend of a friend! Spread the word to the others. Touching our guests will earn you a cracked skull!”
“Ah, got it. I’ll behave.”
The tribeswoman shrank back, licking her lips nervously.
Even though Gishta wasn’t exceptionally large or muscular compared to the other tribespeople, they seemed to thoroughly follow her. She probably had a natural aura.
“What does ‘stomping’ mean?”
Bruno asked me, curious.
“These are a female combat tribe, so they bring in any outside men they fancy to leave offspring. They supposedly only give birth to girls.”
“That Thunder Tribe just liked me?”
“Not quite.”
“Hmm, that’s alright with me.”
Bruno’s reaction elicited horror from Tanya, the squad leader, and me.
“It’s not that kind of thing you’re thinking. Their physical abilities are not like ordinary humans. You’d be exploited until your pelvis crushes.”
“Sounds even better.”
The squad leader was particularly shaken after hearing my explanation. He seemed solely intent on escaping safely.
Tanya patted his back to ease his tension. Hugo looked unfazed.
As we strolled through what resembled a plaza, I sensed a strange atmosphere.
The enthusiastic Thunder Tribe members comprised mostly Gishta and her direct subordinates, with just a few others from outside the village.
The tribal members watching us from inside their wooden trench-like homes looked oddly lifeless.
“Gishta, how many live here?”
“Ah, over a hundred! We manage several villages of over a hundred each.”
The Thunder Tribe numbered approximately five to six hundred. It was about the size of a single battalion.
While around a hundred and twenty resided in this village, only about fifty seemed to be out.
“What about the tribespeople inside?”
“Don’t worry about them. They’re injured ones from a recent battle. They’ll get up after some time.”
“Injured, huh.”
Since Gishta had started our relationship on a positive note, she had a sense of loyalty. It wouldn’t hurt to build a few more debts.
“I’m a doctor. I help sick people.”
“Lars, the healer. Does it mean you heal people, not items?”
“Exactly. If you let me see the injured, I’ll heal them.”
“Hmmm.”
From Gishta’s perspective, it seemed like a rather suspicious offer.
A sudden outsider arose, offering a peculiar gift, and asked to be shown the sick.
She couldn’t be sure what my ulterior motives were.
But—
“Lars, you’re a good friend! Come, come! There’s a patient you absolutely need to see!”
Gishta, without a hint of doubt, took hold of my arm and strode with excitement.
This was both her strength and weakness, I suppose.
Once an enemy is perceived as an ally, they remain an ally forever. If they betray her, she’ll just chop them up with her axe.
You could say she was simple, or perhaps pure-hearted.
I felt I’d fastened the first button well.
Entering the makeshift hut with Gishta inside, I found two tribespeople semi-conscious and lying down.
“Not looking good. High fever. Shows signs of dehydration.”
That was Hugo’s take.
“I concur. Diagnosis.”
[Injury: Laceration]
[Injury: Viral Infection]
[Injury: Poisoning]
[Location: Right Calf]
“Where did they get injured?”
I asked, and Gishta replied.
“Two days ago, we had a battle. The Glacier Tribe intruded into our territory.”
“Glacier Tribe, huh.”
“Are they also barbarians?”
Hugo questioned me.
“Barbarians, perhaps, a slightly more intelligent group of yetis.”
“Aren’t yetis monsters?”
“They’re evolved ones, so don’t underestimate them. They can use tools too.”
In the future, they were one of the tribes that randomly appeared in the barbarian raid event along with the rock and thunder tribes.
“I don’t know how the poisoning and infection happened. In this environment, viruses shouldn’t be able to survive.”
I first prescribed painkillers and antibiotics, treated the wounds, and bandaged them up, leaving the other patient in Hugo’s care.
Soon, the groaning tribesmen visibly relaxed.
“Oh, you really healed them! Is this the magic they speak of, Lars?”
“It’s not magic. If it’s alright, could you let me take care of these patients for a few more days? Then I can heal them faster.”
“I feel terrible causing trouble for a friend, but what’s a friend for! You can do whatever you like!”
Gishta laughed heartily and slapped my back. Thanks to that, I nearly threw my spine out of place.
‘This virus feels suspicious.’
I still hadn’t treated the infection.
I wondered if it was not a regular virus, but rather, the Demon King’s army was already meddling with the barbarians.
This basin could essentially be a gigantic experiment. The plan might be to infect all the barbarians with Demon’s Blood and unleash the strongest survivors on the Empire when the time came.
The surviving barbarians whose tribe would randomly appear might have been put in here.
The rock tribe was probably also meant to be funneled in here, but they had already been wiped out in the count’s territory.
If that was true, I had come at quite a good time.
‘If I can just get rid of the Demon’s Blood here…’
I could eliminate more than ten bad endings all at once, and if all went well, I could take the Thunder Tribe as allies to prepare for the future.
‘Of course, that can wait later.’
After all, my main goal is to return with the Storm Stone and heal Acella.
I wouldn’t forget that priority.
“Lars, I’ll throw an even bigger feast than planned!”
My thoughts were interrupted by Gishta’s booming voice.
“As a healer, that’s quite a wonderful thing. My friends who left for Valhalla first will surely be envious!”
Gishta cracked a terrible joke and laughed heartily as she linked arms with me and stepped out of the hut together.
“Friend, I will repay you as well. Just say it. I’ll smash anything you desire!”
She swung the massive axe on her back and brought it down to the ground.
—Krrrung!!
Thunder clapped from the clear sky, and a lightning bolt struck.
The lightning that was embedded in the ground split the Earth like a sharp blade.
Huh, I didn’t ask for this kind of repayment.
I wasn’t looking for destructive behavior like smashing the ground. A single stone would suffice.
While I pondered how to bring up the topic of the Storm Stone.
The numbers on my status window began to move.
——————
· Good Ending
· ■■■ ■, Again ■■ at 21%
· ■■■■, ■■■, ■■Lose 0% → 5%
· ■■■ ■■ 0%
——————
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