Ch.7676. Barbarian Warrior (Illustration Added)

The Lithuanian Domain was a term that encompassed a vast region covering the western border area of the Infractus Empire. To give an idea of its size, it boasted an area much larger than several medium-sized noble domains combined.

However, the Lithuanian Domain wasn’t always this large. When the Infractus Empire was first established, the Lithuanian Domain was about the same size as other lords’ territories.

So why did the Lithuanian Domain grow to such an abnormally large size?

The reason stemmed from an incident during the early days of the Infractus Empire.

In that era when numerous legendary heroes were born, the first Emperor of the Infractus Empire, who possessed an innate imperial temperament, pacified the chaotic continent through military force and established the Infractus Empire.

Although the first Emperor ranked among humanity’s strongest with his personal martial prowess alone, founding a nation was by no means an easy task even for him. He subjugated enemy nations with overwhelming momentum, but governing internal affairs proved more difficult than conquering countries.

Because of this, when the Infractus Empire was first established, it wasn’t an era of absolute imperial authority as it is now.

And enemies always lurk within, waiting for such opportunities.

A group of nobles who had been granted lands near the Lithuanian Domain plotted rebellion, exploiting the vulnerabilities of the still-unstable imperial authority.

The catalyst was that founding contributors of the Infractus Empire, who had been pushed to border regions far from the imperial capital during the rewards ceremony, harbored resentment.

The first Emperor had distributed rewards as fairly as possible according to merit, but when has human greed ever been satisfied with fairness?

Many nobles were dissatisfied with the domains they received, and over time, more and more nobles began to sympathize with the rebellion.

After some time, the scale of the rebel forces grew beyond imagination. What had started with just a few nobles gathering had now become a massive rebel army that even the instigators couldn’t have predicted.

Those who had initially led the rebellion with uncertainty now gained confidence and began sharpening their swords, ready to march on the imperial capital at any moment.

When the situation reached this point, the first Emperor had no choice but to swallow his pride. The rebels had timed their move perfectly, striking when he had expended considerable strength founding the empire, and he had no effective means to stop them.

Of course, the Emperor wasn’t completely powerless against the rebels. Even though he had spent much of his strength establishing the empire, he could certainly defeat them.

However, considering the civil war that would follow, no one could guarantee the extent of the damage. With the land already devastated by long wars and the imperial subjects burdened with bloodshed, civil war had to be prevented at all costs.

While the first Emperor was hesitating between the advancing rebels and the prospect of civil war, unable to make a decision, someone boldly stepped forward.

That person was Carolus Sword Hart, the first head of the Hart family.

He boasted to the first Emperor that he would negotiate with the rebels and requested an order to march.

However, the Emperor couldn’t easily accept this request. As Emperor, he hesitated to issue the marching order, considering the inevitable civil war should Carolus Sword Hart fail.

But there was no time for mere contemplation. News arrived that the rebels, having gathered sufficient strength, had begun advancing toward the capital.

Only after hearing this news did the Emperor finally make his decision. Since the rebels had already decided to march on the capital, avoiding civil war was no longer possible. The choice now was not to avoid battle but to engage in a quick, decisive conflict.

Needing time for minimal preparations, the Emperor summoned Carolus, who had been quietly waiting for the marching order, and issued the command to suppress the rebellion. He added instructions to minimize casualties through swift action.

In reality, he didn’t expect Carolus to succeed. It was too reckless for Carolus to march alone against numerous rebels.

Solemnly accepting the order, Carolus led just a thousand soldiers to face the rebel army that had grown into a large force. Despite having far too few men compared to the rebels’ numbers, he left saying it was sufficient, carrying the weight of people’s anxiety, expectations, and concerns on his shoulders.

A few weeks later, Carolus Sword Hart kept his word.

After completely suppressing the rebel forces that outnumbered his own by two to one, he captured the nobles who had initially plotted the rebellion and returned triumphantly to the capital.

The Emperor, who hadn’t expected Carolus to resolve the entire situation and return, was very surprised but relieved that a prolonged civil war could be avoided.

He held a grand victory celebration for Carolus, who had risked his life to fulfill his duty, and promised to grant him one request. After brief contemplation, Carolus requested the position of Margrave guarding the western border region. Moved by Carolus’s loyalty in choosing such a difficult path, the Emperor combined the western border territories into what is now the Lithuanian Domain and granted it to him.

That was the beginning of the Lithuanian Margraviate and the origin of the venerable Hart family that continues to this day.

***

The Lithuanian Domain was famous for its outstanding natural scenery. Being such a vast area combined into one, it featured everything from plains to mountainous terrain.

Among these, the most beautiful place was Wisbarc, the westernmost gateway that marked the empire’s border and housed the Hart family. Surrounded by the massive Akel mountain range, it was also known as the Fortress of Heaven’s Edge. Being relatively untouched by human hands, it was also counted among the empire’s five scenic wonders.

However, as the empire’s westernmost territory, Wisbarc was located at the edge of the empire. It would take over a month just to travel to the capital. Some connoisseurs said it was unfitting for the empire’s venerable Hart family to reside in this fortress city.

But there was a good reason why the Hart family had settled here.

“Chief. It’s time to make a decision.”

A man with a scar across the bridge of his nose spoke to a large man gazing into the distance at the Akel mountain range.

But the man remained silent, not answering.

The man called “Chief” had forearms as thick as a child and stood well over 2 meters tall. His long hair, spreading in all directions, resembled a lion’s mane, while his firmly closed lips and strong jawline seemed to reflect his unyielding character.

Is he still not going to decide?

The scarred man couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. He understood the chief’s feelings. Crossing the Akel mountains to invade the empire would demand many sacrifices. As a chief who cared for his tribe, it wasn’t an easy choice, but literally, time was running out.

With the worst harvest in memory, food supplies within the tribe were critically low. They were still managing with stored food and hunting, but if the situation continued, a food shortage would soon follow.

Other tribes were in the same predicament, so borrowing food from them was out of the question.

That left only one option:

Crossing the border of the Infractus Empire with its fertile lands to raid for food.

Ideally, they could request food from the empire peacefully, but relations between the tribal confederation and the empire had been poor since ancient times.

The imperial people called the tribespeople barbarians and didn’t hesitate to shower them with discrimination and harsh words. For a proud warrior people with high self-esteem, this was an unbearable insult.

But the main cause was the slave traders. The imperial slave traders wouldn’t leave alone the tribespeople, famous for their robust physiques, and sent slave hunters to hunt them like animals. After one tribe was wiped out overnight and enslaved by the empire, the others, sensing danger, united against the empire—forming the tribal confederation that continues to this day.

The valiant tribal confederation waged war against the empire to rescue their brothers and sisters. This marked the beginning of the Akel War, always mentioned in imperial history books. While the empire had overwhelming numerical superiority, the battlefield reality was different.

The confederation’s warriors, who feared no death, were veritable incarnations of war, each worth a hundred men.

Eventually, the war became protracted as the situation swung back and forth. Both the empire and the tribal confederation staggered from deep wounds. Finally, after a long time, the war concluded with a truce, and the tribal confederation returned beyond the Akel mountains to their homeland.

However, emotions had already deepened after the long war. Even now, generations later, it was normal for both sides to point swords at each other’s heads, so requesting food was out of the question.

“Chief.”

“I know. But it’s not a decision to be made lightly, Munkus.”

The man called Chief, Tarhal, knew all too well what concerns Munkus had. Even Tarhal himself knew perfectly well that without raiding the empire for food, there was no future ahead.

But he couldn’t help but wonder if sending his tribespeople to their deaths was the right choice. If he were alone, not a chief, he would have honorably faced Ivaldibark, the god they worshipped, as a warrior.

But the position of chief was entirely different. He was a warrior, but he had become a leader and had to bear that responsibility.

“Aren’t you overthinking this?”

As Tarhal’s worries deepened, a tall woman stood beside him.

With her long hair tightly tied back, she was an extremely tall woman whose height reached about the shoulder of Tarhal, who stood over 2 meters. Wearing a daring outfit that covered less than it revealed, she possessed a solid physique with highly compressed muscles.

Along with her taut muscles, her bronze skin, sharp eyes, and the domineering aura surrounding her clearly showed she was no ordinary person.

But to Tarhal, this was a familiar sight.

“Brynhild.”

Brynhild. Chief Tarhal’s last remaining blood relative and younger sister.

“What are you pondering so deeply? We have only one choice left.”

“It’s not that simple, Brynhild.”

“You know there’s nothing easy about this.”

Like Tarhal moments ago, Brynhild stared intently at the Akel mountain range. Her face showed a certain determination. Instinctively realizing it was not a good determination, Tarhal tried to speak but couldn’t voice his thoughts.

“You’ve made your decision, I see.”

“There’s no time to delay. The food stores are already running low.”

“That’s…”

There was even less time than he thought.

This was why Munkus had come to him and pleaded so earnestly. Soon, the food would run out.

Sighing deeply, Tarhal rubbed his face with both hands and steeled his resolve. As Brynhild said, there had only ever been one choice.

“I will convene a tribal confederation meeting. The agenda is the selection of a Grand Chief. Munkus, become our messenger and spread this news far and wide.”

“Yes, Chief!”

Fearing Tarhal might change his mind, Munkus hurriedly left to deliver the news.

Brynhild, who had chuckled at Munkus’s behavior so unsuited to his mountain-like build, soon hardened her expression and looked at her brother Tarhal.

“I’ll lead the vanguard.”

“Brynhild.”

“You’re planning to become Grand Chief, right? Then it’s only right that our tribe provides the vanguard leader. And since I’m the strongest in our tribe, naturally the vanguard position is mine.”

Tarhal had been able to become chief because of his lineage as the previous chief’s bloodline and his brilliant mind.

Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to become chief. While legitimacy was important even in tribal society, the tribespeople weren’t foolish enough to entrust leadership to someone lacking the qualities to lead the entire tribe.

Tarhal was not only brilliant but also one of the strongest warriors in the entire tribal confederation. Given the confederation’s reverence for powerful warriors, he possessed both the qualities of an excellent warrior and a great leader.

But from a purely warrior’s perspective, Brynhild was even more outstanding than Tarhal.

Could the reincarnation of the female warrior said to protect Ivaldibark be like this?

Since reaching adulthood, the tribe’s greatest warrior was none other than Tarhal’s sister, Brynhild.

As chief, it made sense to place the strongest warrior at the vanguard, but as family, his heart was reluctant. He truly couldn’t bear to lose his only remaining blood relative in this world.

But Tarhal suppressed all these thoughts. From the moment he became chief, he had to live not as Brynhild’s brother Tarhal, but as Chief Tarhal.

He was still Brynhild’s brother, but before that, he was the chief leading the tribe. He couldn’t be a good chief if he only cared for his sister’s safety, even if it meant putting her in danger.

“Very well. But I absolutely forbid you from going out recklessly alone. First, we need to elect a Grand Chief.”

“Don’t worry. I know that much.”

Brynhild replied curtly and glared sharply at the Akel mountain range. Her eyes traveled over the mountains toward the gates of Wisbarc.

This is our only path to survival.

The tribe’s future lies beyond those gates.

Brynhild repeated this thought to herself over and over.