Chapter 47: Reunion
When he saw this group of people, Hikigaya felt that these must be the Franks, the ones who historically nearly unified Western Europe.
These people sported strange hairstyles, with a bundle of hair tied into a topknot. They carried weapons such as spears, swords, axes, and shields. They were tall, most of them had golden-blonde hair, and their eyes were quite fierce. Particularly eye-catching were the axes they universally carried at their waists, which had very slender heads and handles.
In history, this type of axe was called a Francisca, and it was believed to be one of the origins of the Frankish tribal name.
"Oh, aren't those the Frankish people?" Uldin, standing to the side, confirmed Hikigaya's suspicion.
The Huns were familiar with almost all the larger Germanic ethnic groups. Chronologically, when the Huns entered Europe, they first thrashed the Ostrogoths; then, while fleeing for their lives, the Ostrogoths thrashed the Visigoths. Subsequently, the Visigoths, following suit while they also fled, thrashed whatever Germanic relatives they encountered. The result was that the Huns caused a Great Migration of all Germanic peoples, including the later-famous Vandals, Burgundians, Franks, and Saxons.
The ancestral lands of the Franks were relatively far from the Huns, but they were initially victims of the Huns' entry into Europe nonetheless. The ancestors of the Franks were the "Rhine-Weser Germanic Group" formed in the first year AD, which was one of the five major Germanic tribal groups at the time. The Roman Germania referred to them as the "Istvaeones." After the 3rd century AD, this group blended into the Frankish tribal confederation, becoming the ancestors of the later Western Germans, Southern Dutch, and Northern Belgians.
In fact, 95% of the Franks ultimately chose to remain in their homeland; only a very small minority entered France to integrate into the French people as nobility.
"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"
At the foot of the hill, the Franks blocking the bear pack let out one final roar, unsheathed their weapons, and charged the legion of bears. This was a group of incredibly gutsy fellows. They seemed to have given absolutely no thought to whether a single bear-swipe to the body would be fatal.
The moment the bear pack lunged forward, these Franks unfastened the throwing axes from their waists and hurled them in unison. They were clearly experts at throwing axes; their accuracy was a hundred percent, with not a single axe missing its mark. Then, amidst the roars of rage and cries of pain from the bears, this group charged straight in.
The giant bears didn't back down either. Some immediately reared up on their hind legs to strike the nearest Frank with their forelimbs; others tackled men directly to the ground,
opening their massive maws to bite savagely. In an instant, the battlefield was splattered with blood and filled with the cries of the fallen.
However, amidst the bears' onslaught, most of the Franks managed to narrowly dodge the attacks and counter-attacked with longswords and battle-axes. Others used spears or bows to wound the great bears from a distance. For a while, the battle actually reached a stalemate.
Unfortunately, as creations of a deity, these giant bears were no pushovers. Several among them were of extraordinary size—giant bears four or five meters long, as sturdy as small hills. There were six such giant bears in total, and before them, the Franks were like tissue paper; before long, several more unlucky souls were added to the ground.
Neither Hikigaya nor Uldin had any intention of helping these people, but Aisha's "bleeding heart" flared up. She lifted her skirt, preparing to go down and save the day.
"Wait, hold on." Hikigaya quickly pulled her back. "Madame, what do you think you're doing?"
"Mr. Hikigaya, we must stop them quickly. This is a suicide mission!"
"No need." Hikigaya pointed toward the direction behind the Franks. "Look."
Several Frankish warriors guarding a carriage stopped at the edge of the battlefield. A young man hopped down from the carriage and slowly walked toward the area where the fighting was fiercest.
On the way, several bears attacked him. He leisurely bypassed the attacks of these beasts and continued to stride forward. His objective was those six particularly formidable giant bears.
The moment the struggling Franks saw him arrive, they retreated to the rear. Their expressions, which had been deadly fierce, turned into ones of extreme reverence. He casually unsheathed the longsword at his waist and approached one of the giant bears. A bear four or five meters long is nearly as tall as a single-story house when standing on its hind legs.
Then, a flash of sword-light passed in an instant, and the giant bear was sliced in two. The bear did not spray blood; instead, it turned into mud. The young man didn't care and swung five more times, cutting down the remaining giant bears in sequence.
Madame Aisha gasped, Uldin's gaze turned grave, and as for Hikigaya... he had seen it so many times he was accustomed to it.
Back in the field, after the six giant bears were slain, the other bears suddenly became very docile. Their bodies began to shrink, returning to normal size, and they stopped fighting the Franks, each sauntering away slowly. The surviving Franks erupted in shouts of joy and encouragement.
"Mr. Hikigaya, is it him?" Aisha asked, looking at the young man being surrounded by the Franks with expressions of worship and longing.
"Yeah. A kinsman from our era. A martial idiot whose head is filled with nothing but swords." Hikigaya looked at Aisha and teased, "Are you sure you still want to persuade him?"
Personally, he felt that "sleeping" him into submission might be more realistic.
At that moment, Doni noticed the three people on the hill. Both Hikigaya and Uldin were familiar faces. He broke away from the Franks and ascended the hill in an instant.
"Aha! Hachiman, you're here!"
Having been in ancient times for several months, Doni was now dressed in Frankish attire, wearing a simple brownish-tan coat. However, he was still wearing modern leather boots. The clothes and pants were fine, but ancient shoes were truly nothing to write home about for a modern person.
"Having fun?" Hikigaya asked him.
"It's alright, so-so." Doni then looked at Uldin. "We meet again, King of the Forest."
"I have no such title," Uldin retorted with some dissatisfaction. He regretted it almost immediately.
"Oh, then how about King of All Beasts? See, I use a sword, so they call me Sword King. You raise so many animals, so you could be called Animal King."
Hikigaya stepped away slightly upon hearing this. Doni was as loose-lipped as ever, but that put him at ease—it meant Doni was normal. However, Uldin's reaction caught Hikigaya by surprise; he actually didn't get angry. On the contrary, he looked at Doni with an eager gaze.
"Your technique is quite impressive. Well? You said before you wanted to get used to the environment here. How about now?"
"I feel quite familiar with it now too. I can challenge you at any time." Doni's eyes also lit up with a predatory glint.
"Are you two sure you don't want to wait a bit longer?" Hikigaya suddenly spoke up from the side.
The modern sword-maniac and the ancient lecher both turned their heads to look at Hikigaya with reproaching eyes.
"Don't look at me," Hikigaya pointed toward the plain below. "Look down there."
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