Chapter 156  

Three more days passed.

The warriors walked without a word. Only a fierce silence lingered among them. The dry, hot weather and the endless wasteland seemed like a powder keg, ready to erupt into a mass brawl at the slightest touch.

"I got one!"

A clear voice rang out. Belrua, who was searching through a rotten tree, lifted a snake in the air.

Belrua swiftly cut off the snake's head and peeled off its skin. The pink-fleshed snake, even after having its head cut off, wriggled its tail.

"This one's quite hefty."

Belrua laughed, looking at the lively snake meat. She squeezed the snake’s blood from the severed end of its body and drank it. Her throat gulped down the blood.

"Grr."

Belrua cringed as she wiped her mouth, drinking the snake’s blood as if it were liquor. The surrounding warriors swallowed hard, watching her thoroughly enjoy the snake blood.

"What a loud way to get your fill. If you cut off its head, make sure you bury it in the ground."

Urich said as he approached Belrua, tapping the snake's head with a knife. The severed head still tried to bite the blade.

A snake's head could move for a while even after being separated from the body. It was best to bury the head to prevent it from biting any innocent passerby.

"Anyone who gets bitten by a headless snake would be better off just dying here."

Belrua chewed on the snake's body like a snack. The munching sound echoed in the distance.

"We still have enough food, yet you go to the trouble of hunting snakes. Do you like snakes that much?"

Urich said as he buried the snake's head.

"I just wanted some fresh blood. The best thing you can do after losing blood is replenish it right away."

Urich scanned Belrua for any injuries.

"Oh..."

Urich chuckled, realizing late what she meant. She ate half of the snake and then wrapped the rest to hang at her side.

Urich stared at Belrua's back. Her back was as broad as any man’s. To attain such muscles and size in a woman's body, she must have worked incredibly hard.

"The barren wasteland seems endless, Urich. Some of the warriors are anxious that we might end up as white bones here."

Kirungka approached Urich, voicing the concerns of the warriors of the Stone Axe.

"Are the great warriors of Stone Axe scared?"

Urich teased, and Kirungka shrugged.

"They’re afraid of dying a meaningless death from all this heat and hunger. If you were to order them to charge into an enemy, they’d all gladly do it right now."

Kirungka's words were true. Anxiety was spreading among the warriors.

The shamans, despite their discontent with the fake omens, had to admit that Samikan was right in the end.

"If we’re going to turn back, it should be now while we still have water and food."

"We're not turning back. We should reach the end of the split wastelands soon."

Urich gestured for Kirungka to return. Kirungka sighed and nodded.

That night at the camp, Urich gathered the tribal chiefs. They too seemed to have received similar grievances from their men.

"When will this empty wasteland end, Chief of the Red Sand? We haven’t seen anyone other than ourselves so far."

The chief of the Ash Wind Tribe asked Belrua. Other minor tribal chiefs nodded and urged her as well.

"According to the guides, there used to be a village around here. We should start seeing people soon, but they've probably moved because of the dry season. Crossing the wasteland in the dry season is new to everyone, remember that."

Belrua spoke as she roasted the snake caught earlier. The smell of the cooking snake meat was fragrant.

"You and your tribe are responsible for finding the way. If not..."

Belrua interrupted the chief of the Ash Wind.

"I'm already irritated by all this blood running down my thighs. If you talk to me like that, I might bury you right here myself."

The relationship between tribes was not an equal one. It was the survival of the fittest. Weaker tribes had no say, and stronger tribes could disregard the weaker ones all they wanted.

Urich, who had been watching idly, spoke up.

"If what the guides said is true and the original village already moved, it's best to look for traces. It'll reassure the warriors that they haven't walked all this way for nothing."

"That's right! That's what I meant to say!"

The chief of the Ash Wind hastily agreed with Urich.

"Hmm, it might not be a bad idea to send out some scouts with quick feet. Maybe we can track them down by their trails."

Samikan nodded. The chiefs decided to select swift warriors from their tribes to send out on a scout.

The chiefs all picked other warriors from their tribes to go, but Urich volunteered himself.

"Is there anyone faster than me? I don't think so."

Urich picked four warriors while gearing up. Other tribe warriors also set out for scouting.

"Stone Axe, head north."

Belrua directed the departing warriors in their scouting direction. She was frowning more than the day before as if her menstrual pain was worse.

Urich led the warriors lightly jogging northward. The warriors followed Urich, continually checking their direction by the sun's position.

"Ha, I knew it. It is here."

Urich, running at the front, caught his breath and murmured. He waved his hand to the warriors following behind.

‘He really is a monster...'

The warriors trailing Urich gasped for air, looking at him. They started at a similar pace, but gradually the gap widened. Urich even had to slow down to match the pace of the other warriors.

"How do you think he crossed the Sky Mountains? Now you know."

Vald encouraged the tired warriors and moved ahead. Urich had found something and was calling the warriors.

"It's the remains of a village."

Vald stood next to Urich and said. Urich squinted, gazing at the horizon. A few abandoned tents were visible.

Urich, holding his axe, whistled and walked into the deserted village. The pots that were scattered throughout the village grounds were empty. The ground in what seemed like the village center was blackened from long-term fire use. It appeared they had taken everything valuable, leaving nothing useful behind.

"Just a few empty tents, that's all."

Vald scratched his belly and walked into an abandoned tent.

"Urich!"

Vald called out from inside the tent. Urich and the warriors gathered around where Vald was.

"Grrrr."

A growling sound was heard. A few emancipated old men staggered out from the seemingly abandoned tent.

"Hah, look at these sick wolves abandoned by their pack."

Urich looked at the old men. Their ribs were visible, and their skin was clinging to their bones. The men waiting for their deaths glared at Urich and the warriors.

Vald raised his spear, patting Urich's shoulder.

"These old men don't seem to like us much, do they?"

Moving an entire village meant they had exhausted all the resources nearby. Smaller tribes who couldn’t secure good land often moved their settlements. Typically, while moving, they would leave their elderly behind with some food. There was no luxury to care for those who couldn't contribute.

The abandoned old men also accepted their fate. There was no room for the logic of good and evil, morality. It was simply the law of nature...

"Kaaak!"

An old man let out a dry scream. He rushed at them with a crude bone knife.

"That’s dangerous, old man."

Urich tripped the attacking old man. The attack seemed as sluggish as ever to Urich.

"It’s hard to communicate with them, but maybe we can understand each other with gestures and signs?"

A warrior who had already captured an old man said. Their language was difficult to understand, but a few words were familiar.

"Ask them which direction the tribe moved to."

Even if abandoned, no old man would betray his children and grandchildren.

"They're not talking that easily. Should we torture them?"

"I'll handle it. Step aside."

Urich drew a sharp knife. The old man looked defiantly at Urich as if he was daring him to try.

"When the body weakens, so does your mind, old man."

Urich slid the tip of his knife under the old man's fingernail. Using the theory of leverage, he twisted the knife, flipping the nail clean off.

"Keeaaagh!"

The old man shrieked in horror, shaking and wetting himself.

"I’m sure you didn’t have too much water to drink here, and you still go wetting yourself like that."

Urich didn't give the old man a chance to catch his breath. He flipped off each fingernail one by one. Even the old man, who was once a warrior, couldn't bear the intense pain and screamed.

"Phew, doing the work makes the water taste even better."

Urich took out a water pouch and drank. He pretended like he was going to offer some to the old men, demanding their answers.

The old men kneeled, overwhelmed by thirst and pain. Some lay on their stomach, indicating they would tell everything.

Urich and the warriors cross-referenced the directions given by the old men and found out where the original tribe had moved to.

"It’s northwest of here."

"They must have gone that way because that’s where the food is."

"What should we do with these old men?"

"Just leave them. The corpse cleaners are waiting patiently."

Urich looked at the eagles circling in the sky and said. The warriors chuckled and left the village. The old men, waiting only for death, crawled back into the tents.

Urich and his warriors rejoined the alliance group. Other scouts were also returning one by one. Some had been unsuccessful, but some brought back information like Urich.

"Where's Belrua?"

Urich looked for Belrua. A Red Sand warrior pointed to a tent.

"Hey, Belrua. I think I found the location of the tribe you talked about..."

Urich stopped talking as he entered the tent. He looked at Belrua lying face down.

"God. Fucking. Dammit. I want to cut out my lower belly myself."

Belrua groaned, clutching her abdomen. Urich sniffed sensitively. The tent smelled of women's blood.

"Should I call a shaman to make some medicine?"

"Quack doctors' medicines are useless."

"Must be terribly painful, huh?"

Urich said in a half-teasing tone.

"It feels like someone is dancing with a knife inside my belly. Continue what you were saying. My issues are my concern. Work is still work."

Belrua sat up forcibly. She was sweating profusely.

"There was an abandoned village. We tortured an old man there, and he told us the direction the tribe moved to."

"It’s probably the Scorpion Spear Tribe. They crossed the wastelands during the rainy season to trade with us."

Urich nodded and left Belrua's tent. Outside, warriors were gathering in small groups, chatting away.

They were going to spend the night at the current campsite and move on tomorrow.

Urich looked at the ground, searching for a suitable-sized rock.

"What are you doing, Urich? You gonna cook some rocks? Is that a thing from beyond the mountains?"

A warrior watched Urich curiously.

Urich shrugged and heated a rock he found in the campfire. He took it out when it was hot enough and wrapped it in leather.

"Belrua, this is a heated rock. Put it on your belly; it might help."

Urich tossed the wrapped rock into Belrua's tent, not bothering to enter.

The next day, the warriors woke up before dawn to set off while it was still relatively cooler.

Urich yawned and packed his belongings. He glanced at Belrua's tent. As she dismantled the tent, their eyes met.

Belrua nodded slightly in greeting. Urich nodded back.

"Let's move!"

Samikan shouted. The warriors set off again.