Make the Barbarians Great Again

Chapter 4: The Life of a Warrior (2)

Right after Duar concealed himself, a group of people appeared.

There were six of them in total, and upon seeing them from his hiding spot, Duar’s face turned pale.

‘Th-Those bastards, no way…….’

Meanwhile, even Hindir, who knew nothing, had already sensed that something was off about them.

The disgusting stench coming from them.

“Is that blood?”

Hindir asked, looking at the dirty, dried red stains smeared across their facial skin and outer garments.

It wasn’t something that got on them during a hunt or a fight.

It was blood they smeared on themselves after killing.

“Hehehe… Today’s a good day. We’ve caught three of them.”

The burly man standing at the front licked his lips and let out a repulsive laugh.

He was the one emitting the powerful presence Hindir had sensed.

“Good thing we came out after all!”

“Exactly. Come out, you hiding rats! You’re not getting away anyway!”

As if he already knew Duar was there, he shouted in a voice that echoed through the mountains.

Duar, who had covered his ears in shock, shouted back in fury.

“You bastards! Why the hell are you here?!”

At Duar’s outburst, they all burst into laughter.

Hindir, who had been silently watching, asked Duar,

“You know them?”

“They’re the Snow Fiends. Among all the bad guys I told you about, they’re the worst. They eat people!”

“They eat people?”

When Hindir turned back, the other man grinned broadly.

“Ahh― Don’t speak if you haven’t tried it. Do you know how good it tastes? Besides, since you people pushed us into a place like this, what can we do? We’ve got to eat whatever we can. Hehehe.”

“Shut up! What’s a bastard who should be rotting away in Snow Dragon Valley doing all the way out here?! You got the guts to enter the Snowy King's territory?!”

“What are you talking about? You’re the ones who entered our territory.”

At those words, Hindir glanced at Duar.

“Ahem… Sorry. I did think it looked unfamiliar.”

Hindir turned back and sized up the ones called Snow Fiends.

The madness in their eyes suggested they were likely infamous criminals even on the continent.

“But what’s that blood-red thing you’ve got on?”

One of them belatedly asked about the leather Hindir was wearing.

“Did you bring something like a Blood Bear with you? Mind telling me? I’d like to get one myself.”

“Hehe, why don’t we all match outfits? I think it’d suit us.”

“That’s a great idea!”

“Wahahaha!”

They clutched their bellies laughing at their own nonsense, clearly out of their minds.

Facing them, Hindir got to the point.

“Which direction do we take to get to Hurakche?”

“Anyway, you both look like you’d give a lot of meat. You, maybe a bit tough, and the one behind you looks fatty—chewy.”

Instead of answering, they eyed Hindir and Duar, calculating how much meat they could get.

It wasn’t the first time Hindir saw someone crave human flesh, but for such a thing to happen in the land of Parno was still shocking.

“Crush both their heads! Let’s see how hard they twitch!”

At what seemed like the leader’s command, they all charged at once.

Wielding all sorts of weapons—greatswords, maces, axes—they rushed at Hindir, and to Duar watching from behind, it looked just like they were charging at the Blood Bear.

And he desperately prayed that Hindir was even stronger than he thought.

Because that was the only way he’d survive too.

Thud―!

Hindir’s fist landed squarely on the face of the axeman who came at him first.

No, it passed through.

“Gasp?”

Duar gasped in horror at the unbelievable sight.

Even having bones crushed and deformed was unrealistic enough, but watching an entire skull explode and vanish left his jaw hanging.

Only now did Duar realize just how generous Hindir had been the day before.

The attackers, too, were shocked to see their comrade’s head burst in an instant.

But perhaps out of habit, they quickly collected themselves and charged again.

Their movements had become more cautious though—it seemed they weren’t completely unafraid of death.

Hindir snatched up the axe dropped by the headless one and swung it sideways at the nearest foe.

Crash―!

The axe easily split the enemy’s greatsword in half.

The man’s eyes bulged in disbelief as his head was cleanly severed.

“You bastard…!”

Losing two allies in an instant, the Snow Fiends were more enraged than afraid now, their eyes rolling back in madness.

But that didn’t change anything.

Those struck by bare fists exploded.

Those who tried to block the axe were split open.

In a flash, five of them were dead, and the area turned thick with warm blood mixing with snow.

And in the middle stood the giant in red leather.

He looked as if he were bathed in blood.

“…Blood Bear……”

The name of the monster slipped from Duar’s lips without thinking.

“……”

The leader, now left alone, stared hard at Hindir with a hardened face.

“Don’t tell me… you’re a general of the Snowy King’s army?”

“Your king has generals now? What a joke.”

“If not from the Snowy King’s army, then we wouldn’t need to fight you like our lives depend on it.”

“Weren’t you just trying to chop my head off?”

“Now that I know you’re not prey, there’s no need to fight.”

“What makes someone prey?”

“Survival of the fittest.”

“Is that so.”

Hindir let out a smirk.

“Then why do you believe you’re the strong one?”

The man’s mouth twisted unpleasantly at that.

“What are you doing in the Snowy King’s army? Come with me and join the Snow Fiends.”

“What?”

“My eyes have never been wrong. You’re the most vicious killer I’ve ever seen. Since you’re here, I assume you came from the continent? Either way, we’re all outcasts now. Let’s enjoy true freedom together in this place!”

“…You’re completely insane.”

“I don’t want to kill you. You’re the first one I’ve ever liked.”

“Are all the Snow Fiends like you?”

Hindir asked Duar.

“How should I know? But… he does seem even crazier than the rumors said.”

“Hahaha! It’s no use pretending otherwise. I can already hear the instincts writhing inside you.”

Then the man suddenly spun around and bolted.

“I’ll give you time! Otherwise, I’ll awaken the beast inside you! I, Loin, will return to find you again! Hahaha―”

Hindir silently watched him disappear into the distance, then raised the axe he had been holding.

“Hm.”

He spread his legs, took a stance, extended one arm toward the fleeing direction, and swung the axe-wielding arm wide.

Whooosh―!

The axe launched forward, tearing through the air like a storm.

Even as it smashed through trees in its path, it didn’t slow down one bit.

Screeeech―!

And soon, a scream rang out from afar.

Hearing it, Hindir turned around and walked through the corpses, calmly wiping off the blood with his clear eyes.

“W-What just happened? Did the one who ran away die too?”

“Someone dying wouldn’t let out a scream that long. I just cut off his arm.”

“I see.”

But Duar realized something odd about Hindir’s response.

“You cut it off? You aimed for that on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to just kill him if you can?”

“Then we wouldn’t find out where their base is. An arm is perfect.”

Duar’s jaw dropped.

“…Don’t tell me you’re planning to follow the trail of blood to where the Snow Fiends are gathered? Why?”

“There’s no reason to let cannibals live.”

“Well, yeah, but how are you planning to face them alone? The Snowy King's men, at least, can be reasoned with. Those guys are completely insane—you saw it yourself.”

“They were swinging blades at me because they could be reasoned with, huh.”

“Uh……”

“And why do you think I’m alone?”

Hindir stared calmly at Duar, and Duar’s face grew even paler.

“I can’t fight, you know?”

“I was just looking at you.”

“I really can’t fight.”

“Let’s go.”

“Damn it……”

Duar followed Hindir with a miserable expression.

He desperately wanted to run away, but the movement he had just seen from Hindir kept replaying in his head.

“Damn it… Damn it all… You son of a bitch!”

Loin ran while desperately clutching the bleeding stump of his severed arm.

His vision spun and his steps faltered repeatedly.

‘How…….’

What he said to that brute-looking man had been sincere.

He had intended to feign retreat and hang around nearby to mess with him little by little.

The man’s strength had been clearly greater than expected.

But the mana level exposed during battle was low, so he had felt confident.

And yet……

‘He broke through my mana shield with just a thrown axe?’

Mana shields couldn’t be pierced by brute strength alone.

But even up to the moment the axe struck his arm, he hadn’t sensed any mana.

‘Shit! Get a grip!’

He didn’t know how it was possible, but first, he needed to return.

Having lost an arm would cause countless problems, but if he wanted to survive, he had to get back.

Though his vision blurred, his instincts carried him along the complex and perilous cliff path until he finally reached the only passage leading to the Snow Fiends’s hideout.

“Huh? Lord Loin?”

A patroller at the perimeter recognized him and rushed over.

“W-What happened? Where are the others…?”

“Huff… Huff… Can’t you tell? We were attacked! Go report it inside!”

“W-What? Is someone chasing you?”

“No……”

Loin suddenly hesitated.

There was no way that guy didn’t know he had hit him with an axe.

No—if he was skilled enough to land an axe throw from that far, he surely knew Loin’s current condition.

In that case, chasing him would be easy. So why wasn’t there any sense of pursuit?

Was it because he couldn’t sense it?

Or maybe the pursuer just wasn’t good at tracking?

Sss―

Loin looked back down the path he had come from.

Snow Dragon Valley was a place of heavy snowfall, but even without fresh snow, the ever-blowing wind kept the snow swirling constantly.

Because of that, the landscape changed every moment, and tracking someone by footprints alone wasn’t easy.

However……

“Heh… Damn it.”

The bright red trail soaked in blood had not disappeared.

“Alert them right now! A Snowy King bastard has invaded! One of their generals!”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you out of your mind?! The Snowy King’s army, I said!”

“Oh! Y-Yes, sir!”

Loin didn’t know whether the man was truly part of the Snowy King’s forces.

That man had said he wasn’t.

But if Loin didn’t want to look like a fool, he had to be.

The Snow Fiends’s hideout wasn’t very large.

They weren’t an organized group to begin with—just fugitives who had ended up hiding together.

Still, there was a hierarchy, and it was based entirely on strength.

Loin was considered the third-strongest among them.

So when he returned near death, missing an arm, chaos erupted.

Moreover, before passing out, he had reportedly said he was attacked by a general of the Snowy King’s army.

“Why would those lazy bastards suddenly raid this place? That doesn’t make sense.”

“What’s the point in questioning it? Loin came back with a missing arm. At the very least, it means someone dangerous is lurking nearby.”

The two strongest in the group—Artez and Krian.

Both of them agreed that the Snowy King’s army wouldn’t act this suddenly, but they also admitted something was happening.

“Could it be someone from Parno? I saw Loin myself, but there were no signs of a fight. He was taken down one-sidedly. I don’t think even a general of the Snowy King could be that overwhelming.”

To Krian’s question, Artez shook his head.

“If it were someone from Parno, we’d have seen traces of the power they use. No, Loin wouldn’t have made it this far to begin with.”

“Ah, right. You did say you barely survived an encounter with Parno once.”

“……”

Artez narrowed his eyes and glared at Krian.

Krian, unfazed, kept a blank face—but there was clear amusement in his eyes.

That was what the Snow Fiends were like.

People gathered purely to survive, with not a shred of camaraderie between them.

They cooperated only as long as it helped them live.

“There’s no point wasting your energy on pointless things. Shaking a mage’s mind won’t benefit you.”

“Hehehe. You and your mage talk. Just don’t be a burden on my―”

Then Artez suddenly raised a hand and shut Krian up.

When a mage extends a hand toward someone, it’s always considered a threat.

Krian did not hide his displeasure.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“He’s here.”

Artez, his face rigid, stepped outside and stared down the only path through the canyon.

It was too far to make out a human figure, but an unnaturally bright red column stood out clearly.