Barbarian Quest-Chapter 124

Trikee's disciples knew their way around the structure of the sewers. They navigated through the complex network without much difficulty.

'They've left marks at every corner.'

Urich observed the actions of Trikee's disciples closely. They had left their own marks throughout the sewers to help them navigate through the maze.

"I'll go up first."

Disciple Bahan was the first to climb the ladder. After reaching the top, he pushed aside a stone cover and emerged above the ground.

"Trikee the Ark has arrived."

Bahan announced to the Serpentists on the surface. They widened their eyes and hurriedly moved.

"You've managed this place well without me, Bahan."

Trikee came to the surface as he grasped Bahan's hand.

"There is nothing we can do without the Ark."

Bahan humbly replied and guided Trikee and Urich.

Urich rolled his eyes, looking around at his surroundings. They were still in the city, but the atmosphere was grim, with many rag-wearing vagrants wandering about.

'This is where the lower classes live.'

The greater the metropolis, the darker its shadow is. Hamel was no exception. The marginalized lower classes lived like ghosts in the dark corners of the city.

"Follow me, Kylios."

Bahan spoke cautiously to Urich, eyeing him. Bahan was a robust man.

"I know, I know."

They wound through the labyrinth-like streets. The haphazardly built shanty houses made it difficult for outsiders to find their way around them.

'He's also deliberately taking a bunch of detours. Probably because hes wary of me.'

Bahan didn't fully trust Urich. Although he was a benefactor of Trikee, an outsider always had to be treated with caution. That was how the heretics of Serpentism survived this long. freeweb(n)ovel.co(m)

'The problem with Trikee is that he is too trusting. I need to stay alert to make up for that.'

Bahan entered a red-light district. Messy, half-naked women were calling for their potential customers.

"Get your hands off me."

Urich swatted away the hands of the women, showing his annoyance.

Creak.

Bahan quickly turned a corner in an alley and pushed a stone wall. What appeared to be a mere wall slid aside, revealing an interior space.

"Come in, Trikee the Ark."

Bahan allowed Trikee to enter first. Urich was the last to enter.

"The Ark!"

"I knew it wouldn't end like this."

Men who appeared to be Trikees disciples knelt before him with their voices trembling. Trikee embraced them one by one.

"And who might this be?"

The disciples looked at the unfamiliar Urich with rather unfriendly eyes.

"This man saved me from the empires prison. Treat him as well as you would treat me."

"Ahh!"

Upon hearing this, a few disciples looked at Urich with eyes now filled with warmth.

'Serpentism.'

The disciples bore snake tattoos on their bodies, which Urich had seen several times before.

'This is strange.'

Urich stroked his chin, observing the Serpentists gathered here. They were delighted that Trikee had returned safely.

'This is different from the Serpentism I know.'

Urich closed his eyes, deep in thought. The Serpentism he knew was rough and aggressive. Their warriors were as strong as the average mercenaries, and their shamans had a sensual wildness.

'These people are very orderly, almost closer to Solarism than the Serpentism Ive seen. They don't seem like heretics who would kidnap babies.'

Urich slowly opened his eyes. Without the snake tattoos, he wouldn't have believed they were Serpentists.

"A room has been prepared for you, Kylios," Bahan called out to Urich. His gaze was still sharp.

'Bahan seems to be the highest ranked among Trikee's disciples.'

Urich followed Bahan.

"Youre a warrior, arent you?" Urich suddenly asked. Bahan halted.

"I wielded a sword in the past."

"In the past? So, not anymore?"

"I am no longer a warrior."

Bahan answered bluntly. He showed Urich to a shabby room that didnt even have a window.

"It should be better than a prison."

"This is quite enough."

Urich chuckled and sat on the hard bed.

"How long will you stay?"

"I'm also an escaped prisoner. I'll only stay here until things settle down, so don't worry."

Bahan looked at Urich and closed the door. His silent warning was palpable.

I guess things are going as planned for now.'

After being left alone, Urich surveyed the dark room. Without any windows, Urichs vision was relying on a single candle for light.

'Theres two outside.'

Footsteps occasionally sounded near Urich's door. They were keeping watch on him out of caution.

Trikee the Ark and his disciples.'

The atmosphere was different from what he had expected. Urich was intrigued by them.

'Is this their headquarters? It feels like there has to be more than just this.'

Serpentism that unsettled the capital couldn't be just this small in scale.

'Serpentism, known for kidnapping and eating infants.'

Urich had heard countless tales of Serpentism's infamy. They were notorious for kidnapping newborns and eating their flesh after offering them as sacrifices. That's why they were persecuted, not only by civilized people but also by other southerners.

"Hmm."

Urich lay on the bed. He closed his eyes, and sleepiness enveloped him, but he didn't fall deeply asleep. This wasn't a safe place. Even in sleep, he kept his ears open.

Urich observed Trikee for several days. He was revered by the other Serpentists who called him the "Ark."

"This world we live in is no different from hell. It is full of endless pain, and rebirth only leads to more suffering. We discriminate and fight against each other, living in misery. If there is a god who created this world, it must be a god who deeply hates us."

One day, Trikee gathered people for a sermon. Surprisingly, many people came to listen to his teachings, mostly vagrants and prostitutes from the lower classes.

"Is there no god in Serpentism?" Urich murmured, and a disciple nearby responded.

"We don't have a god like Lou."

Serpentism didn't have named gods like Lou or Ulgaro. What they believed in was another world in the afterlife.

"If we don't realize this and keep reincarnating, we'll only face eternal suffering. We shouldn't return to this exact same world but move on to the next."

This present world is a flawed one. That was the core of Serpentism's teachings. They rejected the idea of reincarnation preached by Solarism, labeling it as eternal suffering.

"If suffering is the purpose of this world, we have the freedom to reject it. Like a snake shedding its skin becomes bigger and stronger, we, shedding our physical bodies, will go to a better world."

The people's expressions relaxed. They blamed their suffering and poverty on the world. According to Serpentism, they were mere victims of the world.

"Do those nobles live in peace? Are the kings in their high places happy? They are not. Everyone lives in pain because this world itself is hell. When we all stop reincarnating and move to the next world, this hellish present world will disappear, and everyone will be saved."

Listening, Urich tilted his head.

'Theyre quite hostile to Solarism. They're outright saying reincarnation is wrong.'

A man in the crowd raised his hand, and Trikee paused to listen to his question.

"I am already tainted by the secular world and my soul is heavy. Can I still go to the next world?"

The man pushed back his hood, revealing a face destroyed by burns. The wounds were rotting, oozing pus.

"Come here and hold my hand."

Trikee extended his hand. The man cautiously grasped it.

Shiver.

The man holding Trikee's hand started to tremble. His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites. After shaking for a while, he collapsed to the ground.

"Oooh!"

The crowd gasped, watching the scene. The fallen man staggered to his feet.

"Now, your soul will be with me. Come on, let's go to the next world together."

"Th-thank you, Ark."

The man spoke tearfully. This spurred others to reach out to Trikee, creating chaos as they tried to grab even a piece of his clothing.

"Ahh."

Urich slammed his fist into his palm in realization.

'So, that's why he's called the Ark!'

It clicked. Trikee's role was now clear to Urich. He was the vessel leading countless people to the next world.

"Trikee the Arik is the savior of this world. You've rescued a great man, Kylios."

Bahan said, standing beside Urich as if he was keeping watch.

Trikee led about twenty disciples. They moved between hiding places set up all over the corners of the city, preaching their doctrine. Serpentism was already rooted deeply in the cities. Those dissatisfied with the current world yearned for another.

"Bahan, where to next?" Trikee asked as he adjusted his sleeve.

"It might be best to stop for today, Ark."

"No, there are many waiting for me. Thanks to Kylios, I have more time now. I cannot afford to waste it."

Trikee glanced at Urich and smiled.

"If that is your will..."

Bahan found the way to the sewers, the usual path for the followers of Serpentism. It was dirty and smelly, but it was the safest option.

"Would you like to come with us, Kylios?"

Trikee asked as he extended his hand toward Urich. Urich was intrigued by Trikee.

"Of course."

Urich followed Trikee down into the sewers, along with Bahan and three disciples.

'Serpentism is meticulous. They rule the city's underground.'

Even the emperor, with his absolute power, was troubled by Serpentism.

Whoosh.

Bahan led the way with a torch in his hand. They moved along the edges of the pathway to avoid the filth.

The emperor was right. Im the only one who could have taken up this task.'

If Urich had been a civilized person, he would have been chased away long ago. A Sun Warrior couldnt have tolerated Serpentism's doctrines and would have caused a commotion.

Bahan, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped. He extended the torch forward to illuminate the path.

"Its a corpse."

A body floated in the sewage. In the sewers, finding bodies was common. Bodies dumped in the sewers were hard to find, often resulting in a few floating around at all times.

No one in the group was startled by the sight of the body. They continued walking calmly.

Sssss.

Urich looked back. He felt his hair standing all over his body.

"Hmm?"

Urich narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

Twitch.

Urich grinned. He walked back toward the body that had just floated past.

Crrrrunch!

The sound of a spine breaking echoed throughout the sewer. Urich stepped right on the floating body's waist, crushing the spine. The sewage splashed noisily.

"W-what's wrong?"

Bahan looked back at Urich. Urich lifted the body that everyone thought was a dead one. The man, with his spine shattered, looked at Urich with disbelief, foaming at the mouth.

"G-guuuuuugh."

'How did he know?'

It was a perfect disguise. The man had pretended to be dead, not even breathing. But Urich sensed that the supposed corpse was a living person. It was simply a warrior's intuition built on experience. (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com

Crack.

Urich twisted the man's neck with his bare hands, ending his life.

"There should be more of them. Be on guard."

Urich spoke calmly. His warning was correct. The walls of the sewer rippled. Men holding torches and weapons emerged stealthily.

'They're not Imperial soldiers.'

One of the attackers, shirtless, bore snake tattoos on his body.

'I dont know whats happening, but Serpentists are attacking fellow Serpentists. This is unexpected.'

Urich, dropping the now truly dead body, looked up at the attackers.

Bahan and the disciples positioned themselves protectively around Trikee. They looked perplexed, facing the attackers.

There were six experienced-looking enemies. Unlike them, Trikee and his disciples seemed vulnerable in combat. Only Bahan, who was only physically strong, picked up a club, ready to fight.

'This is serious. We must protect Ark Trikee at all costs.'

Bahan, once a warrior, was not confident against six seasoned fighters.

"This is the end of your lies, charlatan Trikee."

An enemy spoke. Urich, standing at the back, responded instead of the sweating Trikee.

"Maybe if I wasnt here."

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