Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 071: Rebellion (3)

Khan muttered under his breath as he split an unarmored rider daring to attack Jan in two with a single swing of his axe.

“Aim for that wench and the sickly ones first!”

“They’re wearing out! Just keep pressing them!”

“This is why dealing with mercenaries is such a hassle…” Khan thought, barely having a moment to wipe the blood splattering across his chest from the cut. He lunged forward again, swinging his axe at the men charging towards Elena.

“I’m fine!” Elena protested.

“No, don’t just charge in recklessly.” Although it was true that Elena could handle an average mercenary easily, the sheer difference in size was an absolute disadvantage. And it was even more so since they were on horseback.

Though Ron and Maya were holding their own quite well, the burden inevitably concentrated on Khan.

“Or perhaps not,” he reconsidered. Being alone would have been even harder. The role of his companions in getting this far was significant. So, it was time—.

“They’re coming.”

Khan sensed it was his moment to exert strength, especially seeing the grotesque figures coming forward, one donning an extremely ugly helmet and another, with teeth like a shark’s, wielding a great sword, and yet another lavished with jewel-encrusted ornaments.

“A big shot’s making an appearance?”

“Heh, they put up a good fight,” replied the man with an orc-like helmet, known as Iron Teeth, his sinister laugh indicating their amusement.

“You have no idea how much it cost to raise those bastards, you damn barbarian.”

How would I know that? Khan snorted. It was the overly adorned one, known amongst them as the Gem Enthusiast.

“A barbarian who can’t even speak properly wouldn’t understand, right? Must be bliss not knowing about money, creature.”

“I seem to be speaking fine? Maybe the devil taught me how, just like he taught orcs.”

The banter among them, Hekel with a saw-toothed sword, the Executioner, and the one called the Red Wolf, was interesting. According to Ron, they were heavy hitters in the mercenary world, far beyond his own price tag.

“The standard here is definitely high.” Even their underlings knew how to fight. The capability of their leader, without even seeing him in action, was somewhat predictable.

“Still, it’s manageable.” Khan breathed deeply.

He was a bit depleted but not enough to diminish his battle prowess. Thankful for this, he stepped forward.

“Scatter!” Too sharp. Khan clicked his tongue at their swift response.

The group dispersed in all directions, leaving only Hekel, the fish-like man with the peculiar great sword, in his place.

“What’s he so confident about?” wondering briefly. Then, Khan’s axe clashed with Hekel’s saw-toothed sword.

A deafening noise erupted, and just as Khan was about to snap Hekel’s neck, his head jerked sideways. A swishing sound and a sensation of part of his shaggy hair being sliced off came from the thin rapier, identifying its wielder without looking.

But he couldn’t reach back.

“Going somewhere?”

Clink—

Hekel’s saw-toothed sword gripped onto Khan’s axe.

Astonishing. To think a mere mercenary, not a knight nor a paladin, could withstand Khan’s strike and still move was preposterous.

“Fabulous! This sword…!”

“Don’t get distracted!”

In front, Hekel’s laughter filled the air while from behind, came the Executioner’s voice, presumably the owner of the rapier, perplexing Khan’s thoughts.

Conversely, his body reacted with agility, shaking off the rapier with a spin, making Hekel’s body follow the motion.

The rapier stabbed again from behind, Khan evaded on the spot with a spin. The delayed sound of the rapier cutting through the air was followed by a stunned exclamation from the Executioner, evidently not expecting Khan to dodge without seeing.

“This, a magical tool, I see.”

“Damn it…!”

Khan kicked Hekel, who was floating in the air as if swung by a cogwheel sword. The impact felt faint. Was Hekel also wearing protective magical tools?

The sound of something breaking indicated that, although disposable, the magical tool indeed provided substantial defense. It saved his life.

However, if he wasn’t out of his mind, he would withdraw on his own. The cogwheel sword, which enabled him to fight Khan, was now lying at Khan’s feet.

Khan withdrew his attention from Hekel.

‘One down.’

“Next.”

As he turned, he saw a muscular figure running away, its back turned. It was like an orc holding a toothpick.

Remembering the ominous aura he felt from the orc’s rapier, Khan swung Draupnir, still in its sheath.

[It’s hot, I tell you!]

What’s it to me? Khan swiped aside a fireball, squinting his eyes.

Bright light burst from the hands of a jewel enthusiast, raising a sparkling ring. The trinkets he wore all over his body were all magical tools.

“You deflect magic?!”

“What can’t the devil’s minion do!”

Iron Tooth Ericson, donning an orc-faced helmet, charged. On the opposite, an executioner with a rapier cautiously closed the distance.

A mace, a rapier, and an axe bestowed with divine sanctity tangled in chaos. Even knights would retreat from a direct clash with Khan, but these foes eagerly engaged.

Moreover, the intermittent attacks they couldn’t ignore posed a problem.

Between knocking away the jewel enthusiast’s spells with the sheath and dodging the incoming rapier, to then deal with the downward slam of the battle mace required wasted movements.

‘Thought they were slackers, but their coordination is damn good.’

What was more irritating was someone standing afar, watching, his face as red as his nickname, ‘Red Wolf’. Not even Guan Yu would…

The issue was that this man lived up to his red-faced reputation.

“Hmm.”

If there was a clear opening during the fight, he twitched his limbs so blatantly as if ready to throw the spear he held.

Naturally, Khan couldn’t help but focus on those movements, which exactly was the man’s strategy.

“You’re not as great as I thought!”

“Yeah, relying on items to show off.”

Iron Tooth’s battle mace pushed back Khan’s axe. Or more accurately, Khan allowed it to be pushed back.

Swoosh. The rapier pierced the air where Khan stood. At that moment, Khan’s eyes gleamed like a predator’s. An opening…

Ssss──!!

A scream erupted from the executioner’s mouth. His arm holding the rapier flew into the air, and Iron Tooth widened his eyes within his helmet.

‘Two.’

As he counted, Khan swung Draupnir down, immediately facing a gray flash striking against the blade. The hefty impact instinctively made him grit his teeth.

‘Guan Yu’s got nothing on him.’

The throwing spear’s power was beyond imagination, considering the slender build of its wielder. It was clear that it, too, was a magical tool.

No need for a museum of magical tools. Muttering complaints, he swung his axe towards the incoming battle mace. Bang-.

From the beginning until now, it was Khan’s psychological warfare without full exertion that shone. As Iron Tooth stumbled back in surprise, Khan thrust his fist towards the orc-faced helmet.

Ting…!

Though the punch missed due to the foe’s evasion attempt, it was enough. The ringing impact was practically fatal. But Khan didn’t let his guard down.

He punched the orc-faced helmet again, and the prideful teeth inside shattered. The sound of magical tools breaking was heard.

The barrier was so brittle it shattered upon impact.

“Now you’re just iron.”

Three. Internally counting, Khan turned towards the remaining foes.

“Next.”

Forcing out the words despite feeling drained elicited a response in the form of a cavalry charge.

“I didn’t call for you.”

Channeling otherworldly strength into Draupnir and swinging it sliced two pairs of rider and mount cleanly in half. Their lack of armor made them easy targets without needing sophisticated sword skills.

‘They’re holding up well.’

Taking a brief moment to glance at his comrades, to his surprise, they were faring better than expected.”Left! Next, break through to the front!”

Ron directed their positions with frequent changes, effectively navigating their assault, and his directions were remarkably accurate.

Unlike before, where he used his skills unconsciously, he now seemed to handle them with considerable proficiency.

It was the same in the game. As time passed, NPCs also grew alongside players, awakening to new skills, and Ron had started with a guiding skill.

Having traversed numerous battlefields with Khan, it was only natural for his growth curve to be steep.

“I’ll block them with a spell!”

With Jan, having recovered, joining in, the situation seemed to have gotten more comfortable. At least, there seemed no immediate need for Khan’s assistance.

Swoosh.

In the meantime, Khan, who had nonchalantly dealt with an attacking rider with a swat like shooing away a bug, flashed a grin.

“The other two. Not coming at me?”

His smirk, like that of a wolf in front of its prey, sent shivers down the spines of those who had mistaken themselves for hunters, making them tremble.

*

*

*

“Well, is that all?”

“A monster…”

“Do you have a set phrase to say before dying? Is that it for you guys?”

Khan, having severed the life threads of the remaining two – the executioner and red wolf – shook off his axe.

‘The loot’s not bad.’

Though he couldn’t check everything due to the lack of leisure, just looting the equipment dropped by the mercenary leaders promised significant gains.

Especially, the gem aficionado was practically a walking museum of magical artifacts, and finding the right buyer could easily net dozens of gold coins.

Above all, among their equipment. Hekel’s sawtooth sword, Ironfang’s hammer, and the Executioner’s rapier were not ordinary magical artifacts.

‘All these, they are not your replicas?’

[A replica? Such shoddy fakes can’t even pass as my imitations!]

Contrary to Draupnir’s furious clamor, there was no doubt that these weapons of the mercenary leaders were replicas of the cursed sword.

However, one aspect was concerning.

‘There are no signs of blood draining.’

Both Draupnir and its replicas showed similar signs of use – causing frenzy and draining blood from their wielders.

But that wasn’t the case with these men.

They were coherent enough to perform intricate combined attacks, and their corpses showed no signs of blood drainage.

‘The Followers of Truth… did the puppeteer gain something new?’

It wasn’t an unreasonable thought.

After all, the puppeteer wasn’t killed in the previous battle. The less-than-satisfactory rise in experience points proved that.

“Hey, boss. Mostly cleared up here. Left about three horses alive…”

“We don’t need horses. We’re going to counterattack from here. Well… maybe one could be useful.”

“…Seriously? If what they said is true, it’d be better to increase our distance. It’s not far to our destination from here.”

“If they tail us, they won’t show themselves. Better to set the stage so they have to appear.”

Ron looked puzzled but seemed to agree with Khan’s plan. He decided to trust and follow Khan based on his actions thus far.

And Khan quietly revised the plan.

‘Assuming the puppeteer is with the duke, they would’ve sent someone capable of inflicting a severe injury on me…’

The mercenary band was initially sent as hounds to pin him down, indicating the real threat lay elsewhere.

It could be the elite troops who had been with the duke on various battlefields, or knights protecting the duke’s side. Or even both.

“Jan. How many spells can you use?”

“Big ones, about three… With enough time, possibly more. Though, I’d have to use magic stones…”

“We have some from these guys, use those. And Elena, let me know what blessings you can use. Maya, take this and…”

Recently, though he tended to solve problems by sheer force, Khan originally preferred a more thoughtful approach.

Blocking variables, dissecting the enemy’s algorithms and patterns to select the optimal move…

‘It’s been a while.’

Feeling as if he had returned to the days when he played ‘Midland Quest’ on the computer, Khan unwittingly wore a smile on his lips.

And when the duke’s flag and six figures revealed themselves, it was just as Khan and his group had finished preparing.

“This, it seems it’s going to be closer than thought.”

TL’s Corner:

The adventure is getting harder that Khan is about to use some brain cells.