novelraw Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Chapter 139
The Horse Tribe said they wanted to contribute to the front against the Empire.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they were going to fight the Imperial bastards without any calculation.
It was now the season when the Horse Tribe would begin their southern migration.
The northern winter was brutally harsh, and they needed to move down to warmer lands to raise their horses more easily.
When the tribe moved south in large numbers, they would no longer share a border with the Orcs, which meant more warriors would be free.
Sure, this land was also full of monsters, but dealing with them was far easier than dealing with Orcs.
So, they planned to send those idle warriors south to fight the Empire bastards.
“If there’s going to be a war, there’ll be spoils, right? The Horse Tribe lacks many things, so we plan to raid the Imperial bastards to make up for what we need.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. All Beastmen will unite for this war. Of course, the Johnson Territory will also take part.”
“Good. I heard you brought plenty of salt this time too?”
“We figured this would be the most necessary thing. But from now on, you won’t need to worry about things like salt anymore.”
Their nomadic nature seemed to fill them with the intent to plunder the Empire to restock their supplies.
‘Once trade properly starts, we shouldn’t have any material shortages anyway. But there’s no need to deflate their spirits by pointing that out.’
If even Leisha had praised them, saying they fought like beasts possessed, then these were truly a warrior race.
When we began our assault on the Empire, their strength would surely be a great help.
Of course, knowing the Beastmen’s temperament, they would likely fight the Empire bastards regardless of supplies—but rather than simply receiving goods, fighting to seize them suited their nature far better.
‘Perhaps this war is necessary to strengthen the unity of the Beastmen.’
At first, I wondered if there was any need to provoke the Empire bastards. But the more I met these Beastmen, the more I realized that might not be the case.
For any group, the best way to unite them was to create an external enemy.
“Our mighty Hoof Tribe will march south to fight the Empire bastards!”
“Waaaah!!!”
Once the Horse Tribe’s participation was officially declared, we held a feast with the horned rabbits we’d brought.
“Ohhh, this meat…”
“Truly incredible.”
“It’s incomparable to the stuff human merchants bring. And this is all rabbit meat? As expected of the Guide of the Rabbit Tribe.”
“Indeed, the Guide. You raise rabbits perfectly.”
As expected, the horned rabbit was a hit even here.
Those who ate meat daily could tell just how high-quality this meat was.
It was leagues above the meat the merchant groups had brought.
“So, if we safely pick up the Rabbit Tribe on the way down, that’ll complete all our objectives, right?”
The Horse Tribe was more enthusiastic about trade than we were.
They even promised to send their warriors as escorts.
Everything was going far smoother than I had expected.
After feasting on horned rabbit meat with the Horse Tribe, the next day we planned to head south.
The Horse Tribe would take their time dismantling their yurts before moving down, but we were in a bit more of a hurry.
We still had to find the Rabbit Tribe, who lived in hiding, and we were also worried about the Mouse Tribe gathering in the Johnson Territory.
Above all, I needed to return to my territory soon to oversee the war preparations personally.
“Damn it! That thing has appeared!”
“What! Why now, of all times, during the migration…”
“Calm down first! Calm the horses!”
Something strange happened around dawn.
There was a huge commotion outside, and when I went out, the Horse Tribe was in panic.
They were in an uproar, saying that thing had appeared, but as outsiders, we had no idea what was going on.
“What’s going on? What has appeared?”
“The Flame Horse. Damn, of all times, why did it have to show up now?”
When I went to find the chieftain, he sighed and told me the Flame Horse had appeared nearby.
Flame Horse?
Just from the name, it sounded like some kind of burning horse, but I couldn’t imagine what it actually was.
Was it a monster?
‘If the whole tribe’s this agitated, then it must be something beyond standard class monsters… but their reaction seems oddly calm.’
“Lord Iron! Look over there!”
It was Sir Irene who urged me to come and see.
Our Irene, who admired the Horse Tribe, had gone out at dawn to run with them in the plains—and thanks to that, she had witnessed the Flame Horse with her own eyes.
Now, she was rushing to me, passionately explaining what she had seen.
Her words came fast, her face flushed with excitement.
“It was amazing! The horse was actually burning!”
“Alright, alright. I understand, just calm down first.”
The Flame Horse—
It was a type of horse beast that occasionally appeared in this region.
It looked like a slightly larger wild horse, but when it ran across the plains, its whole body would ignite in flames.
Hence its nickname: the Burning Horse, the Flame Horse.
“Fascinating, sure, but is that really worth this much panic?”
It wasn’t as if a whole herd had appeared—just one, apparently.
I couldn’t understand why they were so alarmed.
“Because if we’re not careful, the grasslands could burn down.”
So I asked what the problem was.
And that was the answer.
The grasslands.
‘Right, of course. For nomads, grasslands are life itself.’
This land was naturally dry and windy.
If a Flame Horse ran through it, scattering sparks, a wildfire could easily start.
That meant the Horse Tribe’s precious pastures—their lifeline—could all go up in flames.
In fact, it had happened before, and even afterward, fires occasionally broke out, forcing the entire tribe to rush to extinguish them.
“It was truly a horrible memory.”
The chieftain said he still couldn’t sleep well whenever he remembered that day.
‘In that case, wouldn’t it be better to just hunt the damn thing?’
Rather than risk such trouble, I figured it’d be best to just take it down.
But when I asked why they hadn’t done that already, the answer I got was absurd.
“Wouldn’t that be wrong? That creature only wants to run.”
Horses were meant to run, and since the Flame Horse didn’t attack them, they said they couldn’t bring themselves to kill a perfectly fine horse.
‘And this is why people call them damn stubborn. Unbelievable.’
As an outsider, all I could do was click my tongue at their eccentric logic.
But since they insisted that horses couldn’t harm other horses, there was no way to force them.
Strictly speaking, this was their problem anyway.
However, it didn’t take long before their problem became my problem too.
“So, about that… it seems we’ll need to delay our southern migration for a bit.”
“…Is that so?”
“We can’t decide to migrate recklessly now that that creature has appeared.”
The Flame Horse, which loved to run, had the tendency to follow when other horses began to gallop.
If the Horse Tribe were to migrate south now, that Flame Horse would follow them all the way down.
And then it would likely linger near the tribe’s village, setting fire to all the surrounding pastures.
“In fact, when we came down from the far north to here, we moved quietly during a time when that creature wasn’t around. So for now, we have no choice but to wait until it retreats north again.”
“Then… even sending warriors south is…”
“Impossible for the moment.”
“I see.”
From what I’d seen, most Beastmen always seemed to have a screw or two loose.
The Lion Tribe lost their minds whenever meat was involved, and the Rabbit Tribe had recently become obsessed with Mana Crystal Bombs.
The Cow Tribe was the same—so stubborn that it bordered on idiotic.
But the strangest of them all were undoubtedly the Fox Tribe.
They could transform into humans and dreamed of passionate romances with them. Yet, after hearing about my “Irene is mine!” declaration in Haken, they immediately decided to settle in the Johnson Territory.
I didn’t mind, of course, but anyone could see they weren’t in their right minds.
With all Beastmen being like this, it was hardly surprising that the Horse Tribe turned out to be horse fanatics.
Still, prioritizing the safety of the Flame Horse even in this situation was a bit too much.
‘Honestly, I’d love to just take that horse down right now…’
—But doing that might start a war with the Horse Tribe.
‘Right. No need to make enemies over something this trivial.’
“Lord Iron, I have something to tell you.”
As I was struggling to figure out what to do, Irene came to find me.
She said she had something important to discuss.
And once I heard what it was, I realized it might actually solve my problem perfectly.
“So, you’re saying… you want that horse?”
“Yes. I really want it.”
Irene wanted to claim the Flame Horse for herself.
As expected of Irene, the mount enthusiast.
She was like one of those luxury sports car collectors whose eyes light up at every new model—never satisfied until they owned more.
“Well, I can’t deny it’s tempting. But can you actually tame that thing?”
If Irene could tame the Flame Horse, then we could simply take it with us.
The main problem with the creature was that it could start fires—but the Johnson Territory was far more humid than this region.
Besides, the vast basin in the northern part of the territory was filled with Evil Spirit Grass. It didn’t catch fire easily, and even if it did, there’d be little damage.
The Evil Spirit Grass had such incredible vitality that even Legion-class Horned Rabbits could barely keep up with its growth. Even if it burned down, it would regrow in no time—truly a terrifying plant.
In other words, we could just release the Flame Horse into the northern basin.
That area was enormous anyway.
The real question was whether taming the Flame Horse was even possible.
“There’s no reason not to try.”
“You’re right, Lord Iron. Trust me.”
As a user of Fire-attribute Aura, Irene was naturally immune to fire attacks, and her armor, the Phoenix, could even absorb flames.
No matter how much the Flame Horse burned, it couldn’t harm her.
‘Wait, no… this could actually make her stronger.’
The longer a battle went on, the more heat Irene generated.
That was why mounted combat wasn’t ideal for her before.
But with the Flame Horse, Irene could fight freely.
After all, a horse that breathed fire wouldn’t be harmed by heat.
When Irene declared that she would tame the Flame Horse, all the Horse Tribe members gathered.
Once she mounted it, the Flame Horse would no doubt begin a frenzy of galloping, scattering sparks in every direction.
Seeing the Horse Tribe transform into centaurs and spread out across the plains, carrying sand and soil to extinguish any fires—it was quite the spectacle.
“Phew~ Female warrior! Do your best!”
“Make that damn colt submit!”
“I’m tired of chasing fires around already!”
Even as they jeered like that, not a single one of them suggested killing the Flame Horse.
Their love for horses clearly wasn’t some simple fondness for pets.
“Then what do you do with warhorses in battle? Surely you don’t spare them?”
“That’s different. If they attack us, even a horse is an enemy. But this one has no will to harm us—that’s the problem.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Their reasoning wasn’t entirely illogical.
I could roughly understand their mindset—though understanding it didn’t mean I agreed with it.
“Alright. I’ll begin!”
At that moment—
Mounted on her Mountain Goat, Irene slowly approached the Flame Horse.
Countless Horse Tribe warriors swallowed nervously, waiting to see her success.