Chapter 7: The Barbar Mercenary Forces
Chapter 7: The Barbar Mercenary Forces
So, we, the Blumund tribe, ended up getting hired as mercenaries by none other than our enemy, the Vaffancrow Empire.
Uncle Athos handled all the negotiations, and the terms were surprisingly good.
Athos and the other members of the Blumund tribe were just happy to have work.
「Hell yeah! Sweet, sweet coin!」
Seriously? We’re getting hired by the same Empire we were just at war with? Aren’t they the enemy who killed our chief?
It’s not just the Vaffancrow Empire that’s weird for hiring us, the fact that Uncle Athos took the job without batting an eye is also baffling.
As someone reincarnated from modern Japan, I couldn’t wrap my head around this.
So I decided to empty my mind and enter a Zen-like state.
This is another world.
Overthinking gets you nowhere.
Just go with the flow.
Uncle Athos sent messengers in all directions, not just to the Blumund tribe, but to the neighboring Barbar tribes too.
『Care to do some mercenary work with us? Let’s make a fortune off this war!』
That’s some crazy work!
If some internet moralist got wind of this, they totally would’ve doxxed Uncle Athos online with photos and everything.
＊
Five days later.
Our village was packed with warriors from various Barbar tribes.
The Anglaw, the Vandals, the Flatt tribe…
Some of them had fur draped over their bodies or carried nothing more than sharpened sticks. Truly Barbars. Literal savage barbarians!
Even so, since they were all human tribes like the Blumund, they were still somewhat relatable.
What really caught me off guard were the non-human tribes.
For example, from the deep forest came the Elves.
They had long ears, were all beautiful men and women, and perfectly matched the elf image from anime and manga.
「××××××××××」
Seems the Elves speak a different language than we do.
The tone had a refined, birdsong-like ring to it, very elegant.
「Whoa!」
Just as I was thinking, I wish I could understand what they’re saying, a sudden 『Information Download』kicked in.
And along with it, the headache.
After a while, the download ended, and just like that, I could understand Elvish.
「Got your magic recovery potions? Anything can happen on an expedition! Young ones, don’t stray from the unit!」
A tall, handsome Elf was giving instructions to his people.
He must be their leader.
I stepped forward and spoke in Elvish.
「May I introduce myself? I am Gaia, chief of the Blumund tribe, having inherited the position from my late father. We are honored to have the Elves join our ranks!」
I’d mashed together bits of Gaia’s memories with some period drama lines from Japanese TV, so the result was a bit overly dramatic.
Kind of embarrassing, honestly.
But this kind of formality probably wasn’t wrong by this world’s etiquette standards.
The fact that I greeted them in Elvish seemed to startle the handsome Elf.
「I am Elranief, chief of the Elf tribe. I’m relieved someone here speaks Elvish.」
「If you run into any trouble, don’t hesitate to tell me! Let’s work well together!」
「Sure! I look forward to it!」
With greetings exchanged, I wandered through the gathering, introducing myself to each tribal chief.
Some were friendly, having known my father. Others clearly looked down on me, 『Still just a brat!』, their faces said.
Inside, I’m a 42-year-old Japanese man, but on the outside, I’m just a 13-year-old kid.
I didn’t appreciate being treated like a child, but that’s just how it is.
I’ll earn their respect by building up real accomplishments, and maybe growing a bit taller too.
Last up was a rather unusual tribe.
The Great Lizard Tribe.
They looked terrifying, like upright, bipedal reptiles straight out of a video game.
Flipping through Gaia’s memories, I found some info on them.
They were classified not as monsters, but as beastfolk.
They spoke the same language as the Blumund tribe.
I figured the largest one was the chief and approached a lizardman well over two meters tall.
「May I introduce myself? I am Gaia, chief of the Blumund tribe, having inherited the position from my late father. We are honored to have the Great Lizard Tribe join us!」
Whoa, up close, those guys are huge…!
The towering lizardman looked down at me and spoke.
「Yo! I’m Rosso! The chief!」
「Glad to have you!」
「Yea.」
And then… silence.
Rosso stared at me, his big, round eyes darting around.
Is he… studying me?
「I probably wouldn’t taste very good if you ate me…」
「Hm. Guess I’ll pass, then.」
You were planning to?!
He actually was thinking about eating me!?
「Chief! We’re allies here! You can’t eat your comrades!」
「Yeah, yeah! I was just a joke! A joke!」
Rosso gave a toothy grin.
Yeah, there’s no way that was a joke.
「I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep soundly around the Great Lizard Tribe…」
「Ha! I won’t eat you, but watch your butt!」
「I’m not into that!」
「Gwahaha!」
Scary as he looked, maybe Rosso was just a good-natured guy.
As we joked around, a slimmer lizardman with bluish scales walked up.
「Hey, Rosso! It’s almost time. Get the squad in formation.」
「Yeah, yeah, I got it!」
The slim lizardman turned his narrow eyes toward me with a skeptical look.
Unable to bear the silence, I took the initiative.
「I’m Gaia, chief of the Blumund tribe. Don’t eat me, alright? Seriously, don’t.」
「I’m not gonna eat you… That was Rosso joking. I’m Drye, vice-chief. I handle hands-on duties.」
「Got it. For the Blumund tribe, my uncle Athos handles day-to-day stuff.」
「Ohh, the round-faced, bearded guy with black hair?」
「That’s him. Let’s work together!」
「Sure thing.」
Drye had an easygoing vibe to him.
I returned to the Blumund gathering and reported to Uncle Athos that I’d finished greeting all the tribes.
「Well done! Sorry I couldn’t tag along, too much to prep before departure.」
Each tribe was sending about 10–20 warriors to this campaign.
As the mediator, Uncle Athos was buried in work.
Our tribe, the Blumund, was the southernmost of the borderland Barbars, making us the closest to the Vaffancrow Empire.
That’s why we’d ended up taking the role of leader among the Barbar mercenaries.
And the more people you lead, the more work you’ve got.
Hang in there, Uncle Athos!
With some time to kill before departure, I looked over the assembled Barbar tribes.
The mood was surprisingly upbeat.
Even though many of them had fought alongside us against the Vaffancrow Empire in the previous war…
They were all giddy, like they were off on a work trip or something.
While I was losing sleep from anxiety just thinking about going to war, but looking at them made me feel silly for having such grave attitude.
「Huh?!」
Suddenly, something clicked.
I’d felt off this whole time… and now I knew why, it was the weapons!
Everyone’s weapons weren’t made of iron.
I reached for the sword hanging at my waist.
Mine wasn’t iron either…
「Uncle Athos, do we not have iron weapons?」
「Well… Iron’s expensive, you see.」
「What’s this made of?」
「Bronze.」
What!?
A bronze sword!?
We’re going to war with that!?
I examined the sword in my hand closely.
Wider and thicker than a Japanese katana, and heavier.
The blade wasn’t even sharpened, no way this thing cuts.
It’s less a sword and more a blunt weapon.
Meant for bashing, not slicing.
「Uncle Athos… what about the Vaffancrow Empire’s weapons?」
「They use iron.」
Uncle Athos looked frustrated as he said it.
Yeah… no wonder we lost.
Iron vs. bronze? That’s not even a contest. History already proved that one.
No surprise they call us Barbars, barbarians, outsiders to civilization.
I started observing the other Barbar tribes’ weapons.
A few had iron, but most carried bronze swords.
Some had wooden spears, and some had nothing at all.
(Maybe the reason we can’t take down those Bloody Bears near the rock salt is because our weapons suck…)
That theory formed in my mind.
If this next war earns us some cash, the first thing I want is iron weapons.
「Alright! Move out!」
At Uncle Athos’s command, our hundred-strong Barbar Mercenary Party set out for the southern battlefield.
For Gaia, this wasn’t his first battlefield.
But for me, the reincarnated soul inside him, it was my first.
Let’s pray for a lasting fortune in war!
NEXT CHAPTER
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Barbarian Reincarnation! World Conquest Starting from Defeat
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More just cuz it’s a common trope that irritates me but iron isn’t necessarily better than bronze unless it has been turned into steel. Bronze is more expensive because it is made of two metals and iron is just one. Plus, iron was easier to find so once people learned to work it, iron was more cost effective for armies. His bronze sword should be just as effective as anything the empire has for its standard troops (unless they have enchanted weapons or something, which I doubt because that would mean the empire either has a massive amount of mages or high level magic technology and is practically unbeatable). There, I’ve had my rant and I feel better now. Thank you for the chapter and I’m enjoying the story so far.