Chapter 38: The King of the Huns is a Campione
In front of the gates of Lauriacum, the blood of Earth Dragons was splattered everywhere. The wooden gates were already riddled with scars. The whistle of ballista bolts and the roars of the six Earth Dragons blended together, filling one's ears; to someone with low stress tolerance, it was a piercingly harsh sound.
Ordinarily, no one would ever approach such a place at a time like this.
Thus, when a youth leading a horse walked into this territory, he naturally attracted everyone's attention.
The Roman soldiers noticed him, but none stopped operating the ballistae, nor did anyone spare a shot for the newcomer. After all, by any measure, the threat of the six Earth Dragons below was the immediate priority. As for the Earth Dragons, they were currently locked in a struggle with the gates; they weren't so much uninterested in the human entering their domain as they were completely dismissive of him.
The only person on the scene who gave Hikigaya's presence any respect was the young dragon rider. He watched with great interest as Hikigaya walked step by step into this shura-field.
Hikigaya walked straight toward the gates and encountered his first obstacle: an Earth Dragon that had just been squeezed out of the line. It was simple logic—the gate was only so large, and the Earth Dragons were not small; it was impossible for all six to crowd together and ram the gate side-by-side. They were quite rude about cutting in front of their own kind before charging.
This Earth Dragon was one of the losers of this "line-cutting" attempt. Several bolts were stuck in its body, though they didn't seem to impact its mobility much. But this time, instead of lunging back into the fray to cut in or get poked, it looked at Hikigaya... specifically, his horse.
Hikigaya had fully entered the creature's danger zone. Although it was a species created by an Authority, the Earth Dragon still possessed the basic habits of a living organism, especially under the premise that its setting was that of a predator. However, its creator had clearly not invested much in the "IQ" department, as its small eyes were clearly focused on Hikigaya's horse rather than Hikigaya himself as the priority target.
The horse was indeed larger than Hikigaya.
Normally, Hikigaya's horse was no hero; if anyone else were leading it, it would have bolted long ago. But with Hikigaya as a Campione who wields life force, this horse was not moving by its own will.
The Roman soldiers on the bastion saw the Earth Dragon pivot and pounce toward the horse, while the horse remained perfectly calm, treading lightly without even turning its head. It didn't need to.
With the sound of air tearing apart, the Earth Dragon was sliced in two. Before the bifurcated body could even hit the ground, it reverted into the form of a fang—which was also sliced in two. The Roman bolts that had been stuck in the dragon were not part of the Authority's transformation; they fell uselessly to the ground.
Hikigaya picked up one of the bolts and threw it.
The bolt was covered in flames mid-air. It didn't hit any specific Earth Dragon directly; instead, it landed in the middle of the pack and exploded. In an instant, the five remaining Earth Dragons were vaporized, leaving nothing behind. The stone-paved road was melted by the high temperature, leaving a burning, steaming crater in front of the gate.
The ballistae stopped firing. The Roman soldiers stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
After a moment, a Roman on the bastion—wearing metal armor with feathers in his helmet—broke the silence and shouted down: "Who are you?"
Hikigaya didn't answer him. He looked up at the Wyvern still circling high in the sky. The young dragon rider stood up on the dragon's back, a curved bow in his left hand. He looked down at Hikigaya with piercing eyes and spoke.
"So, brother, you are one of the same kind. What? Are you here to snatch that woman too?"
In terms of content, these words were quite combative, but the youth's expression fully conveyed his true emotions—mainly curiosity, with a hint of happiness.
"Are you Uldin? The 'King of the Huns' they speak of?" Hikigaya asked.
"It is I. Have we met?" The youth's expression was now pure curiosity.
"No, we haven't," Hikigaya said. "Let me give you a warning: if you go to Thrace, be careful of your allies."
In this era, the Huns already had the prototype of the future Hunnic Empire. Aside from their initial allies, the Alans, vast numbers of Germanic, Slavic, and Latin peoples provided armies for the Huns; the most famous among the Germanic tribes were the Goths.
"Brother, your words catch my interest." The massive Wyvern began to descend, but before it fully touched down, Uldin leaped from its back and walked up to Hikigaya. "Or do you possess power like that of a prophet?"
He made a gesture toward Hikigaya that looked very much like a nomadic custom. Hikigaya guessed it was likely a polite gesture similar to a modern handshake, as he sensed friendliness. So, he reached out his hand.
Uldin looked slightly puzzled, but he was easy-going enough to reach out and let Hikigaya shake his hand.
"Brother, which tribe are you from? I've never seen this etiquette before," he laughed. "It's rare to meet my own kind. Want to come to my place for a drink?"
"My name is Seth," Hikigaya said. "I'm looking for a fellow kin. I don't know if it's the woman you mentioned."
"Oh, I wouldn't know. They say she's someone with miraculous power. I haven't seen her in person yet; I just came over because my subordinates said there was some 'top-tier' goods," Uldin expressed his mindset quite casually. "No wonder. Brother, are you going in? Are you interested in that woman too?"
It seemed he couldn't go three sentences without bringing up women. Hikigaya only felt a sense of pity; ancient people had so little entertainment that once the lights went out, this was the only "project" left. Uldin, this ancient Campione, looked bored to the point of exploding.
"There are many things in this world more interesting than snatching someone to be a wife," Hikigaya reminded him. "For example, instead of using your own power directly, training subordinates to conquer other people's countries is also quite good."
"True, I've thought about that too, but my men are too useless. They can't even take a single city. Since they are my people and I have nothing better to do, I just came over to play for a bit."
Hearing Uldin say this, Hikigaya nodded in agreement. In all honesty, compared to the later Mongols, the Huns were really weak; they had an unusual number of flaws. This was also why they missed the feast following the collapse of Western Rome. Had it been otherwise, the Germanic peoples would never have become the synonym for Western Europeans in later generations.
Thus, he said: "Actually, this problem isn't unsolvable. If you don't mind, I can try training them for you, but I'll only know if they're usable after I've seen your men."
Uldin was visibly delighted upon hearing this. As a Hun—an ancient North Asian with a natural talent for "expedition"—his love for war was innate. He warmly invited Hikigaya.
"Brother, let's go to my camp right now! Don't worry, I'll have my men keep attacking this place; that way, the woman will stay here."
Likely fearing Hikigaya wouldn't believe him, he added: "She is very sympathetic toward these weaklings. Ever since my men started attacking this place, she hasn't left."
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