Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 74: Rebellion (6)

Indeed, the knights of the high nobility were formidable. Their well-trained bodies, enhanced by aura, exuded a monstrous strength, the sheer weight of the aura itself, and the skill of the knights handling it — none of the knights Argon Kingdom had faced until now were as strong as these.

‘…But they’re not beyond handling.’

In reality, Khan had succeeded in killing four of the Duke’s knights on his own. Although he benefited from his combat foresight skill in the process, he was confident that even without acquiring the skill, he would have ultimately survived and killed them all.

However…

“The grand warrior of the Black Wing Duke was just like you. He dared to challenge me without knowing his place, full of confidence that he would win. Such a barbaric, worthless race…”

The way the veteran knight looked at him with a smile torn wide across his face, as if glaring with anger, gave Khan the intuition that this fight would not be easy.

“I should have exchanged swords with him even if it was just lightly at that time. It’s inevitable that we would collide with the Black Wing Duke in the process of pursuing our lord’s great cause. I would have liked to compare the gap between the grand warrior that the Black Wing Duke always leads and you.”

“Talkative, aren’t you? Don’t feel like fighting?”

“Haha- Don’t be so impatient. After facing four opponents who could even match the empire’s lower-ranking knights and still standing to face me, you deserve at least a brief moment of rest.”

Madman. Khan regulated his breathing while rolling these words in his mind.

Although the unexpected kindness was unsettling, he indeed needed time to rest.

‘I’m too drained.’

He was about to face the real deal now, but his stamina was already scraping the bottom.

After being chased for days without proper rest and engaging in fight after fight… It was almost only thanks to the ‘Vessel of Greed’ that his stamina recovered enough to keep standing.

“…If I’m to rest anyway, might as well ask something.”

“Whether I’ll answer or not is another matter. But go ahead, ask.”

“Your orders. Was killing me here everything?”

“Did you think that all the knights moved just to catch you? Don’t overestimate yourself. Though, it did prove to be worth moving everyone in the end. Your case was just a side task.”

“Did that mission also include burying all the former knights?”

The veteran knight replied with a ‘What do you think?’ instead of a direct answer.

Khan could not fathom why the Duke, who could be toppled by a rebellion at any moment, would bury the precious asymmetric force of knights alive.

“Even so, let me tell you one thing, the hounds you killed dared to form a military faction in the north, collecting taxes and other audacious acts.”

“So, they were disposed of?”

“Disposed of? They dared to claim themselves as military factions within the Grand Duchy’s territory. And then, shaking their tails when the Duke gave them tasks. That’s why they died. Because they were stupid…”

‘What’s the Duke’s intention?’

Even in this brief conversation, the cunning loyalist did not reveal his intentions easily. Unlike other knights, it was clear that he was quite skilled in political rhetoric.

‘It doesn’t make sense to dispose of all the knights when they’re in desperate need of forces.’

Actually, if Khan were to talk common sense, the Duke’s declaration of independence was the issue.

To impulsively begin a grand plan that not even an abundance of preparation could fulfill? This was not confidence, but the act of a madman.

“The sound of your brain working is almost audible to me. I’ll take that as a signal that it might be time to start the fight.”

The sword slid out of the veteran knight’s sheath smoothly, its familiar shape making Khan furrow his brow.

“Let’s see if my sword can be received like those others’.”

Despite his words, the old man started walking toward him very slowly, his movements suggesting he wanted Khan to attack first.

Under normal circumstances, this would seem like an opportunity not to be missed. However, Khan could not rashly make the first move, deterred by the dark red aura emanating from the old man’s sword.

“Is that something you picked up in a market…?”

[You insane human! As if that could be the case!]

Regardless of Draupnir’s raving, Khan’s attention was entirely focused on the replica in the old knight’s hand.

While Khan’s Draupnir was a replica, it inherited some of the original sword’s resentful spirit, partially retaining the magic sword’s original performance. Effects such as soul consumption, wound aggravation, and blood curses were examples.

In contrast, the effect was merely like the remnants of true blood curses.

‘The mercenaries, and now this old man’s replica, it’s entirely different.’

The effect of the blood curse to harden the body was the same, yet without any sign of blood being drained. A power that turns even ordinary people into superhumans without any drawbacks.

Furthermore, the replica wielded by the old man in front of him dripped dark red energy continuously.

“Have you exchanged your aura for something else, old man?”

Khan taunted, and the old man replied with a leisurely attitude.

“Do I look like I need to use aura?”

He was indeed invisible. Khan muttered under his breath before gripping his magic sword and axe as usual. The distance between him and the veteran knight had quickly reduced to ten steps—a range at which both a knight and a barbarian warrior could swiftly close in for the first strike.

‘This should do…!’

He was faster. He would utilize the leap-based lateral movement, a technique proven effective in a border town, to confront the strongest knight of the north.

Boom─.

Khan’s advance, crushing the ground beneath his heel, evoked the force of an armored cavalryman, though his speed far outmatched that of the horseman.

Any ordinary knight would be caught off guard and lose the momentum, undoubtedly.

However.

“You’re quite fast.”

The veteran knight effortlessly parried Khan’s strike. Despite his body being fortified with blood magic, he grimaced from the effort but did not retreat.

The knight’s muscular physique and the weight of his armor, coupled with his superior martial skills, allowed him to stand firm like a great tree.

Then came a fierce counterattack.

Whoosh!

A single motion produced three overlapping sword strikes. Khan stepped back as the swift thrusts, rapid enough to blur the tip of the sword, left a faint line of a cut on his skin.

Immediately, Khan’s axe aimed for the knight’s shoulder. Without even retracting his sword, the knight twisted his wrist to deflect the axe and then kicked at Khan’s abdomen with the tip of his boot.

Thump─!

With quick reflexes, Khan managed to block with his magic sword and shield his upper body with the axe. Thud! The heavy impact hammered against the blade of the axe.

There was no time to be astonished by the smooth transition.

A sword wreathed in blood-red energy coiled like a serpent, aiming for his lower body.

‘Insane!’

It was as if the first strike was meant to lure him into this attack. Defense and evasion were impossible.

Sensing this, Khan instead dove towards the knight’s right side.

Screech!

Skin was torn with pain, but thankfully, it didn’t bore a hole through his leg.

That was enough. Gritting his teeth, Khan swung down his magic sword, aiming to cleave the knight in two.

Clang──!

The clash between the magic sword and the knight’s gauntlet rang loudly. The knight’s body swayed under the brute force, capable of smashing a greenskin into mush.

Both withdrew as if by mutual agreement after exchanging strikes. Khan, bleeding from his left leg, and the knight, tearing off his partly crushed gauntlet— it was clear who suffered more damage.

‘It’s like hitting iron, not flesh.’

And the bleeding from the thigh wound wouldn’t stop.

Meanwhile, the knight, surprised by Khan’s unimagusnable strength, stiffened his face but freely moved his arm after discarding the shattered gauntlet.

“This is ridiculous, facing not a person but a greenskin warrior…”

[Throw]

An impromptu throw, as if to say he had no intention of watching him chatter.

With his throwing skill nearly perfected to 99%, the axe, trailed by a spiraling gust, headed straight for the knight.

Just as the knight, checking the condition of his arm, casually attempted to deflect the axe with a blood-red aura around him.

But the force behind the thrown axe exceeded his imagination. Even the unique swordsmanship boasting odd trajectories was useless at this moment.

Crackling……!

The knight involuntarily began to retreat. A strike that turned even an undead, bred from a troll variant, into a mere puddle of blood.

The knight’s eyes blazed.

“Grmph!”

With a shout, his blood-red aura swelled. It looked as if burning flames were about to consume the knight. However, the flames did not consume the old man.

Crack. Boom──!!

With a loud explosion, the blood-red mirage was torn to shreds by the tornado brought by the axe. Yet, the knight remained unharmed.

His eyes still ablaze, but without a scratch on him.

“This barbaric brute…!”

Yet, something was off. The knight, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, now overflowed with rage as if he had transformed into someone else.

“Come hither!”

The charge, in stark contrast to the earlier silence despite his armor, was violent. The old knight, with eyes bloodshot red and leaving footprints with every step, bore a resemblance to a beast-like demon as he ran.

“Phew.”

Clang!

Just then, Khan, having gulped down half of a potion imbued with healing powers and sprinkled the rest on his body, let out a breath. Even a potion blessed by Elena herself showed no signs of healing the bleeding in his thigh and the shallow sword wounds. Nevertheless, feeling slightly rejuvenated, Khan considered it sufficient.

Magic swords and their replicas collided.

Red and dark red energies intermingled chaotically, as if devouring each other, expanding their territory.

“Amateur swordsmanship!”

A slashing move from a diagonal direction suddenly changed its trajectory, aiming for the heart in a stabbing motion. With the flexibility of a creature lacking joints controlling the sword, Khan found himself consistently outmaneuvered.

Till now, Khan had overturned the technical gap with his overwhelming physical abilities. Once his strength stat surpassed 50, he had secured victories against knights using the same fighting style. However, the shortcomings of his approach were now glaringly evident.

“Your lower and upper body move separately! I heard that the great warrior of the Black Wing Duke is the best warrior who can skillfully handle close combat, What is this sorry state?” The opponent was a high-ranking noble’s pride, the strongest knight. Not quite a master of the sword, but certainly reaching a significant height in skill.

Additionally, this individual possessed superhuman physical abilities.

“This time, your left is open—clumsy!” A shallow, passing slice on the left chest—had it been slightly off, it wouldn’t have been surprising if his heart were punctured. It was not a fatal wound, merely by fortune.

Khan’s entire body was already blood-soaked from the shallow cuts. It was strange he hadn’t fainted from excessive blood loss earlier.

Yet, undeterred.

“Phew.” Despite the dizziness from the bleeding and his body burning as though scalded, Khan persevered as always. He even managed to joke, grasping for sanity, as he gripped his magic sword tighter.

“Is this enough, I wonder?”

“Ha. What do you mean ‘enough’? There’s much more pain to come your way!”

“Such poor efficiency. Maybe the replica is better after all?”

The old knight laughed maniacally, tilting his head in confusion.

Their conversation seemed to miss its mark, perhaps confused further by a mix of barbaric terms presumed in the sentence.

“A dying man babbling nonsense…” The old knight thought. Such were the delusions of a barbarian at his limits.

“Is this it? More bland than expected.” He had hoped for more enjoyment.

“Perhaps, I should play with you a bit slower…” His tone was languid, but his face was filled with thrill. Actions and attitude unbefitting of a knight.

‘I’ll slice thinly… With this body, I could exceed past numbers. Heh heh.’

Thinking thus, the old knight moved.

Even then, Khan remained immobile, yet his mind was acutely aware of his surroundings, urging the resentful spirit within him to act quickly.

[Do not rush me.]

The hissing voice of the resentful spirit rang in his ears.

At that moment, Khan sensed an odd delight in the voice.

[It will be a bit hot. Just a bit…]

An indescribable, horrific pain erupted inside him, as if a fireball was violently spinning, causing Khan’s eyes to widen –

“Screaam──!”

[Kehehe.]

For the first time experiencing such pain, Khan screamed as the resentful spirit whispered in his mind.

[Experience for yourself which is better, the replica or me.]