Unification of the Tribes
The biting night wind across the harsh plains tore at my ears like claws.
It had been quite some time since Sarnai had pressed herself tightly against my back.
The ride had been far more brutal than I expected, and my head spun with dizziness as I gritted my teeth and refused to complain.
“You know, it’s truly surprising. You weren’t always like this, were you?”
From the reins ahead, Sarnai turned her head just slightly and asked.
“It’s a guy who used to stand there grinning like an idiot just to keep the lords happy, and now he’s suddenly doing this scary warrior act—what kind of wind blew through him?”
“Ugh… just look straight ahead and keep running.”
I swallowed the surging vertigo and barely managed a reply.
Truth be told, part of me wanted to dump the whole messy truth on the only woman here who might actually listen—Sarnai.
The injustice of waking up as nothing but a backwater nomad in a romance-fantasy novel I barely knew half the plot of.
No smartphone, not even warm water whenever I wanted it, just suffering under a merciless sun in this cursed land.
All those frustrations and stress had finally boiled over into one explosive mess.
But I couldn’t lay something that absurd on a resident of this world.
I pressed two fingers lightly to my temple to ease the dizziness, then forced my mouth open again.
“I could barely watch anymore… and after holding it in this long, I started thinking it was time a hero showed up somewhere in these western plains.”
“… A hero. Even back then, I suppose you wished for one.”
“Everyone has one hidden in their heart as a child. I just thought that was my destiny.”
“….”
Saying it out loud made my face burn, but the effect was clear.
Sarnai rode in silence for a moment, staring straight ahead, then let out a tiny snort.
“Still full of hot air… but strangely convincing. Fine. Since you’ve decided you’re the hero, I’ll stick with you till the end and watch your back.”
“You’re not my partner… no.”
The conversation died and we ran in silence again for a while.
Then my eyes drifted to the horse that had been galloping at a mad speed since the very start.
‘There really aren’t any monsters like this.’
We’d been riding all night—twelve hours or more—and the horse carrying both of us hadn’t so much as foam at the mouth or a rough breath.
Even my knowledge of Mongol horses from the old world said they had incredible stamina, but this was on another level.
‘This is the power of a romance-fantasy horse…?’
I savored the impossible speed and endurance while the dust began to rise in the distance.
A massive camp of tents appeared on the horizon.
This was the territory of the Irayte tribe, the second-strongest force in the western plains after the Ir-en.
At the entrance we were greeted by light checks from the outpost guards.
Thanks to Sarnai’s identity as the eldest daughter of the Ir-en chief and my position as the next chief of the Ibin tribe, we were led straight to the heart of the camp without further fuss.
Once inside the largest leather tent, the scent hit me like something burned and soaked in sweat.
I unconsciously wrinkled my nose as the familiar odor rolled over.
Looking straight ahead, I saw an old man seated on a rather ornate chair in the center of the tent.
His shoulders draped with the finest tiger skin, every inch of him decorated with the bones of various beasts.
“Oh? When I heard the report I thought it was just some rumor… but here you are, fearless little brats walking straight into a tiger’s den.”
“….”
The old man’s hair was snow-white from the roots of his hair all the way to his beard, yet the aura rolling off him was more than enough to make any great warrior seem small.
Deep scars crisscrossed his thick arms like medals, and his gaze burned with the promise of prey.
Instinctive fear wrapped around my whole body, but I forced a smile and stepped forward.
“I am Toghrul, chief of the Irayte. I knew this was a tiger’s den, but the tiger looked too cramped, so I came to open the door for you.”
“….”
One of Toghrul’s eyebrows twitched.
Sarnai unconsciously took a half-step back behind me despite the crushing pressure radiating from his massive frame.
But I knew that if I backed down here, it was over.
I put extra force into my voice.
“I already know you’ve received the message, so I won’t waste your time. Old man, take my hand and carve my name boldly into the history of this continent. Are you really going to be satisfied with just sticking one name into a well named Irayte?”
An arrogant, no-holds-barred provocation.
If this had been any ordinary chief, he would have cut off my head on the spot.
But the old tiger before me was different.
“Hahahaha!”
Toghrul clutched his belly and roared with laughter that shook the tent as though it might fly away.
The lantern hanging from the top swung wildly.
He wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, then slowly stood.
The sheer bulk of him made it look like a bear rising.
“Good! I like the ambition to walk the hero’s path in my stead, and I also like this nonsense that comes out of a mere child’s mouth.”
Toghrul clenched his fists until the tendons looked ready to snap and continued.
“But the sincerity of a man is shown when two fists meet.”
“… What?”
Before I could react, the massive fist was suddenly right in front of my face, the excited beast breathing hard as he looked down at me.
“Until one of us dies, let’s each throw a punch at the other.”
“….”
I almost doubted my ears.
This wasn’t some military salute, was it? What the hell had this old man just said?
Let’s take turns throwing punches until one of us dies?
“Uh… did I mishear? Are you saying we should take turns hitting each other a little at a time?”
I asked carefully, thinking I must have misunderstood.
The white-haired old brute snorted and answered.
“Between men, what do you mean ‘hit’? The chief of Irayte doesn’t speak two ways with his mouth.”
He didn’t wait for my reply and simply walked out of the tent.
Then his thunderous voice shook the night sky of the western plains.
“I’m going to settle this with the Warrior’s Proof for the very first time in a long while!! Anyone who wants to watch, come running right now!!”
The entire camp erupted into chaos at his roar.
“What? The Warrior’s Proof?!”
“Toghrul’s doing the Warrior’s Proof? With who?!”
“With the young chief of the Ibin tribe!!”
Torches flared one after another. The warriors who had jumped out of bed rushed in like a flock of sheep.
When I finally came to my senses, I stood alone in the center of a sand arena packed with hundreds of spectators.
Across from me, the old man Toghrul had stripped off his outer robe and was loosening up his body with all his strength.
A boyish grin full of pure joy filled his face at the sight of the situation.
Sarnai, mingled among the crowd, was not even trying to stop me.
She was smiling as brightly as the chief himself and even waving at me mockingly.
That bastard was just finding the whole insane scene entertaining.
… I was losing my mind.
‘Well, I already decided to go crazy, didn’t I?’
It was only right that I became a complete madman first.
Trying to hold on to some modern man’s reason or common sense wouldn’t reach this battle-crazy old brute.
Besides, I couldn’t just copy the alliance process with Temur and the Kerete tribe.
Once I finished thinking, I lifted my head arrogantly and looked up at the mountain-sized body of the old man with a smile.
“You don’t need to speak of age differences, do you? Mind if I throw the first punch, young warrior?”
The old brute’s eyes curved even further at my bold challenge.
“Ha ha ha!! Yeah, that’s right! Go ahead and hit me with everything you’ve got!”
Toghrul laughed boisterously and spread his arms wide.
The thick scars on his chest and torso, wound like spiderwebs over steel armor, were fully exposed.
A sixty-year-old man’s belly like this? Impossible.
“Hoo… then I’m going.”
I took a deep breath and struck the old man’s solar plexus with the strongest power I could muster.
Thud—!
“Gasp!!”
A surprisingly loud impact echoed as my knuckles throbbed.
But Toghrul only tilted his neck back a single time and didn’t budge even a step.
“Not bad at all. My turn now.”
His bowling-ball fist flew straight at my solar plexus.
Crack.
“Ghh!”
Stars exploded in front of my eyes. My body lifted slightly into the air before crashing face-first onto the sand.
My mouth filled with blood in an instant.
“Ptoo.”
I spat the blood roughly and staggered back to my feet.
At the same time, an uncontrollable smile spread across my face.
“You’ve clearly lived a long life.”
“It’s one of my few proud points.”
After that short exchange, we traded blow after blow.
Thud! Crack—!
Every punch made flesh burst and bones resonate, filling the arena.
I punched Toghrul’s jaw. Toghrul hammered my ribs without mercy.
Every time I breathed, blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.
Yet both of us kept laughing through the blood pouring from our mouths.
My whole body was battered, my vision growing blurry, but strangely, instead of fear, adrenaline surged through my veins like madness.
“Hah… hah… I suppose it’s time to end this.”
Staring at the old man through swollen eyes, I gasped.
Toghrul’s bloody teeth showed as he panted heavily.
“Fine. I’ll enjoy your last desperate struggle, little brat.”
As if it had been decided, we drew on every remaining ounce of strength at the same time.
Crack—!
Toghrul’s fist slammed into my cheekbone while my fist struck the tip of his jaw at the exact same moment.
My vision flashed pitch black.
My head spun. My legs went limp. Our bodies collapsed in a heap on the sand.
… Damn, that hurt like hell.
I forced down the belated pain and blinked, refocusing.
The night sky of the western plains, studded with far too many bright stars tonight, filled my eyes.
“Hah… hah…”
The heavy breathing beside me quieted for a moment.
From the old man lying flat on his back, laughter started to spill out.
“Hah… madman. You’re an unbelievably crazy bastard.”
The contagious laughter made me burst into wild laughter myself.
“Hahaha! Even the old man’s punch wasn’t half bad.”
We lay in the sand with dust plastered to our skin, looking up at the night sky raining stars, and laughed like madmen for a long time.