Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: From Primitive Era Chieftain to Space Age Emperor
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Thud thud thud thud!
One hundred cavalrymen thundered across the earth, shaking the ground beneath them.
It was truly a spectacle.
Even the elite warriors had never seen cavalry charge like this before, and for the green recruits experiencing their first battle, something seemed to boil up in their chests.
"Wooah!"
Hearing the cry, the riders gripped their reins shorter and spurred their horses even faster.
There was no real need for it, though.
The enemy was utterly bewildered by the sight.
They had no armor to speak of, armed only with crude spears, stone maces, and stone knives. Cavalry charging at them?
Even if I had been in their place, I wouldn't have known what to do.
On top of that, the Whirlwind Tribe's cavalry were all horse archers.
As the horse archers circled the enemy's rear, firing arrows in volleys, the foes had no choice but to push toward the shield wall up front.
At this point, their morale was already shattered.
The horse archers kept circling and striking, screams rising as bodies rolled across the ground. Some even broke formation entirely to flee.
Those became instant prey for the cavalry.
As the enemy entered bow range, three hundred infantry loosed their arrows.
A rain of death that darkened the sky.
With enough practice, even with bows, you could gauge the angle for how far they'd fly.
More than half the enemy were already tumbling to the ground before they even reached us.
"Gaaah!"
"They're not human!"
"Tigers have come!"
With cavalry pursuing from the rear, retreat was impossible.
Terror of death seeped into the enemy's ranks.
Now it was time to test the crossbowmen.
When I gave the advance order, I could see the female warriors hesitate.
It was clear victory ahead, but throwing them into a massive battle like this was bound to be frightening.
Even for women forged in this savage world.
White Flame calmed the fearful women.
"We can do this too! Is the battlefield only for men? We're the ones who'll change that from now on."
"Wooah!"
A high-pitched cheer.
As the enemy entered crossbow range, they fired in unison.
Crossbows had shorter range than bows and were harder to reload, but their power was exceptional.
And these had iron-tipped bolts, no less.
The enemy panicked at the sight of women stepping forward, then collapsed entirely under the indiscriminate barrage.
A few spears flew their way, but they bounced harmlessly off the shield wall.
At this point, I almost felt sorry for the enemy.
They must have been confident they could sweep aside ten times as many primitives charging in. But with equal numbers clashing, it was a slaughter.
Truly overwhelming force.
I could feel just how disastrously powerful I'd become on this land.
Would any force capable of surpassing our army ever appear?
I didn't think so.
The enemy was surrounded in an instant.
"We won!"
The women rejoiced even more.
The male warriors, on the other hand, smacked their lips, disappointed it had ended too quickly.
The chieftain of the Fertile Land Tribe, Swift Wind, had seen this as his chance and started the war.
A chance to absorb the enemy's unique strengths.
When word came that they had reappeared, he mobilized every warrior to capture them.
But as the battle began, he sensed something was wrong.
Innumerable riders on incredibly fast horses had appeared, slipping behind them and pounding their rear with small spears from launching devices. They had no choice but to press forward—only to face a wall of shields.
Impossible to breach. Then death rained down, and they were surrounded in moments.
Could a battle end this quickly?
His greed to seize their techniques, even if it meant sleepless nights, had been a fool's dream.
'Even their women have that kind of power!?'
An astonishing idea.
Only possible because of those weapons.
Wasn't the reason they couldn't field more warriors because there weren't enough men?
Women were always plentiful. If they joined the battlefield?
He realized a ruler had emerged who would dominate this land completely.
Defeated and kneeling, he trembled as a clear voice rang out.
"Who's the leader here!?"
"M-Me."
A massive man appeared and dragged him away like a rag.
He was forced to kneel before the enemy leader.
Death's terror washed over him at the sight.
A being of superhuman strength.
Smart enough to craft such weapons and train elite warriors.
The figure before him didn't seem human at all.
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"I want to live!"
"……."
His whole body shook; no other words came to mind.
But.
The faces of his surviving warriors twisted in disgust.
Their leader begging the enemy for his life.
In this brutal world, no warrior was foolish enough to follow a coward.
The enemy chieftain was begging for his life right before my eyes.
A rare sight indeed.
"Why should I spare you?"
The kneeling man's body trembled violently.
He bit his lip, veins bulging in his neck.
"I'll be useful!"
"Useful how?"
"I... I can make food grow from the ground!"
"We do that too."
"What!?"
"How do you think we built an army this size? You've felt the need for population growth yourself. But there's a condition. Without that method of yours for getting food from the land, we couldn't sustain a large tribe."
The enemy chieftain, Swift Wind, stared blankly, speechless.
Black Bear hefted a club made from reworked mammoth bone.
One command, and the man's skull would cave in, brains splattering.
Swift Wind's neck veins bulged again.
"I'll learn anything!"
Silence.
Now contempt flickered in the eyes of his own warriors.
The look that says, is that even human?
In this era of macho men, even our own side sighed and muttered to just kill him.
"What kind of coward is that!?"
"Wooo!?"
"Even our tribe's women aren't like that!"
Black Bear tapped the man's head with his club.
"Chieftain. Shall I kill him?"
"It's true! I lack knowledge, but if I learn, I can advance us further!"
"Advance, huh."
He deserved death for his actions, but in primitive times, absorbing tech and innovating was creative thinking.
Humanity advanced because of guys like him.
I glanced around.
He'd lost all trust from his warriors.
In this era, power came from strength. Without limbs, he was no threat.
I raised my hand, signaling Black Bear to stand down.
"Prove your usefulness, and I'll spare you."
"I-I will! I'll prove it!"
Subjugation began.
The Fertile Land Tribe folk were thrown into utter chaos.
Even now, three tribes had merged into a disorganized mess.
For one tribe to swoop in and swallow them whole was lightning-fast change for primitive times.
But hesitate, and heads would roll.
Black Bear's booming voice echoed.
"All of you, kneel!"
The field filled with the sound of knees hitting dirt.
Obey and live. Resist and die.
"Why aren't you kneeling?"
"I won't be dragged off to slave labor again!"
"Is that so?"
Crack!
"Gaaah!"
Our warriors casually smashed the heads of resistors.
Brains and blood sprayed everywhere.
A terrifying scene.
It looked brutal, but I'd ordered it that way on purpose.
Absorbing hundreds into hundreds was one thing; thousands into thousands was another level.
From here on, rebellions had to be nipped. Swallowing a near-equal tribe whole demanded total dominance in every way.
Ruthless cruelty when needed.
If they rebelled after absorption, it'd be a nightmare.
The most defiant were executed by arrow as examples.
"Any more?"
"……."
Under Black Bear's glare, the subjugated bowed their heads.
With a blood-soaked giant smashing skulls with a club, no one could meet his eyes.
The subjugated prepared to move.
They emptied huts of grain and tools, loading kids and elders onto wagons first.
I toured their settlement with my officers.
Nothing surprised me.
'Disorganized mess, as expected.'
Filthy huts, no roads, no drainage.
Their "palisade" was barely vines strung up, hygiene abysmal.
A miracle no plagues had hit.
Summer probably would've been a sight.
"Chieftain. Was there need to spare their chieftain?"
Black Stone asked.
I shrugged.
"He begged for life and lost all authority. Even if he rebels, we won't lose."
"Hm. True, but."
"Think about it. We're advancing through knowledge transfer, deepening our thoughts. But their chieftain independently conceived tech fusion. He learned farming somewhere too."
"Still too cowardly."
"Humans come in all types. Can't make him an officer, but verify his skills and work him to death under you all. Something'll come of it."
Black Stone's head snapped up.
"Chieftain, you're so smart!"
Talented people shine when pushed.
Emulate King Sejong: grind the brilliant ones, and they'll pay off eventually.
I wondered if Black Stone realized he'd work till death too.