Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 319: The Ashen Barbarians of the White Snowfield (1)

The barbarians advanced with great enthusiasm, their light steps trampling the ground beneath them.

Ahead of them loomed a massive outpost.

“What’s this?”

The barbarians tilted their heads in confusion.

Unbeknownst to them, the shoreline they had reached was near the frontlines.

Following the path, they had stumbled upon a demonic outpost.

Located at a crucial passage to another continent, demons fiercely defended the outpost.

Powerful demons with names, and even hierarchical demons, were stationed there.

“W-who’s there?”

A demon standing guard rushed out, his expression stiffening as he saw the barbarians.

“…Wh-what?”

“These guys are blocking our path.”

“Would this count as self-defense?”

At their questions, a grizzled barbarian nodded.

“It’s self-defense.”

“Ooooh.”

“Nice. Self-defense.”

With laughter, they raised their axes.

In an instant, murderous intent enveloped the demon.

“Y-you…”

The demon couldn’t finish his sentence.

An axe, already airborne, severed his head before he could react.

* * *

“Hmph.”

Inside the fortress, a man grimaced.

He was a Swordmaster of the Hero class—a legendary swordsman of the western continent.

Leading soldiers, he had come to the eastern continent as reinforcements.

The Swordmaster roamed the fortress.

The morale of the resting soldiers was low.

Under normal circumstances, he would have bellowed commands and kicked them into shape, but there was no room for such measures now.

The situation was dire.

‘…Necronovix.’

Necronovix.

One of the four lords of hell had descended upon the world.

The continent was collapsing under his presence.

Though the Tower Master and a peculiar barbarian known as Ketal were holding the line, key locations across the continent continued to fall.

With Necronovix’s arrival at this outpost uncertain, morale remained low.

The Swordmaster narrowed his eyes.

The frontlines had to be secured quickly, even if sacrifices were necessary.

With a grim face, he readied his troops and marched toward the demonic outpost.

A master swordsman of unparalleled strength, he ranked among the mightiest in the land.

Yet even he could not guarantee victory against the hierarchical demon, Meris, the Demon of Hatred, stationed there.

‘This will require my life on the line.’

Resolute, he approached the outpost.

Before long, its silhouette came into view.

“…Hmm?”

The Swordmaster’s face showed confusion.

The outpost was in ruins.

Not just damaged—reduced to rubble.

“What…?”

“What’s going on?”

The soldiers were equally bewildered.

They hesitated as they approached, but there was no sign of an attack—no demons, no monsters in sight.

“…What is this?”

Baffled, they ventured into the demolished outpost.

The state of the interior was even more astonishing.

The ground had been ripped apart, the solid fortress structures annihilated to their very roots.

A tremendous battle had taken place here.

A colossal, intense battle.

As the Swordmaster advanced cautiously, his eyes fell on something.

“…Corpses.”

Demonic corpses were strewn about.

Their wounds were brutal, as if they had been forcibly torn apart.

But that wasn’t the issue.

“Why are there corpses here?”

When severely injured, Demons are recalled to hell, leaving no trace of their bodies on the mortal plane.

Yet here were the remains of demons, plainly visible.

Inspecting a demon’s face, the Swordmaster realized something.

Every single one of them bore an expression of pure terror.

The Swordmaster’s face hardened.

They delved deeper into the outpost, finally reaching its center.

And there, they found the ones responsible for this destruction.

“Ashen… barbarians?”

At first, the Swordmaster thought it might be Ketal, the infamous barbarian of legend.

But he quickly realized that wasn’t the case.

There were three barbarians.

Two men and one woman.

“S-Swordmaster, sir? What should we do?”

A soldier, his voice trembling, swallowed nervously.

The Swordmaster narrowed his eyes.

These barbarians exuded an unsettling aura.

Despite their tattered, battle-worn clothing, their bodies were unscathed.

His heroic instincts screamed a warning.

These beings were more dangerous than any demon.

Yet the Swordmaster ignored the warning.

It was a logical decision.

The world was under siege by evil.

Even the barbarians of the north were cooperating with the other continents.

In such dire times, there was no need to distrust barbarians who had destroyed a demonic outpost.

It was a perfectly rational judgment.

Lowering his sword, the Swordmaster approached the barbarians.

“Greetings. I am Arcane, the Swordmaster of the Bultoran Kingdom.”

Who are you?

Before he could complete his introduction, Arcane froze.

The barbarians were toying with a round object.

At first, he thought it was a simple ball, but as he drew nearer, its true nature became clear.

It was a demon’s head.

The head of Meris, the hierarchical Demon of Hatred.

They were playing with it.

“What… are you?”

The intelligent-looking barbarian scowled.

“This is our land! Get lost!”

“L-leave? What do you mean?”

Arcane, taken aback, tried to reason, but the barbarian paid him no heed.

Staring at him intently, his eyes glimmered with excitement.

“You’re strong. Hm. This one was fun, but you’ll be even more entertaining.”

The barbarian flung the demon’s head aside, picked up his axe, and bared his teeth.

“Let’s kill and be killed!”

He charged forward.

The ground shattered, and the air cracked.

Arcane hastily drew his sword.

CLAAAANG!

The collision reverberated, splitting the earth.

Staggering back, Arcane shouted urgently.

“Everyone! Fall back! Get out of here now!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The soldiers scrambled out in a panic.

Arcane steadied himself and tried to reason with the barbarian.

“We are not your enemies! Our common enemy is the demons! We’re on the same side!”

“The same side?”

The barbarian burst into derisive laughter.

“Us? With you lot? Don’t make me laugh!”

BOOM!

The axe swung again, forcing Arcane to block.

His face was now etched with shock.

‘Why?!’

Why was he being attacked?

It made no sense.

But there was no time for logic.

They were enemies now.

Arcane quickly assessed the situation.

The barbarian wasn’t alone.

There were three of them, and judging by their aura, their strength was roughly equal.

The only solace was that the other two showed no signs of joining the fight.

“Ah, missed my chance. Is this also self-defense?”

“He came to us. That makes it self-defense.”

“Oooh, that’s how it works. You’re so smart.”

‘Self-defense, my foot!’

Arcane cursed inwardly.

‘Whatever they are!’

For now, he would subdue them.

If he could take one as a hostage and attempt to converse, they\'d have no choice but to listen.

Mystery coursed through Arcane’s body, enhancing his strength for a brute-force approach.

"Hah! Hah! Hah! You’re strong!"

But the opponent was no different.

The barbarian laughed heartily.

"You can come at me even harder!"

The axe and sword clashed.

A deafening roar erupted as Arcane was shoved backward, coughing up blood.

‘Wait!’

Shock flickered in his eyes.

He’d been utterly overpowered in raw strength.

But there was no time to dwell on the impact.

The barbarian lunged again, and Arcane swiftly adjusted his stance.

KA-BOOM!

"Ughh!"

As he was pushed back, Arcane assessed his opponent calmly.

He was a hero-class Swordmaster.

For someone to be putting this kind of pressure on him meant the opponent was also hero-class.

‘...Without even using mystery, how?’

It was common knowledge on the continent that those without mystery could not defeat those who wielded it.

But as Arcane examined his opponent, he realized something.

‘...Something…’

Something was enveloping the barbarian’s body.

It was strange—beyond anything he could understand.

It was as if a twisted creature were imitating the barbarian.

‘Where did these guys suddenly come from?’

As this thought crossed his mind, Arcane’s eyes locked onto the barbarians.

Gray hair and gray eyes, blowing in the wind.

His pupils widened.

‘...No way!’

BOOM!

"Ugh!"

His thoughts were cut off as another powerful impact tore through Arcane’s body.

The barbarian charged again.

Arcane’s eyes turned cold.

He didn’t have the luxury of taking hostages and playing around. He’d have to go all out, even if it meant killing his opponent.

CLANG!

Using the opponent\'s strength to gain distance, Arcane plunged his sword into the ground.

He was a Swordmaster.

One who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

And his swordsmanship was the embodiment of sword aura.

"Unleash it."

CRASH!

The manifested sword aura slashed through space like blades.

The barbarian’s eyes widened as he approached.

"Oho!"

SLASH!

The barbarian swung his axe to shield himself, but he couldn’t withstand the force of the sword aura, and his body was flung into the air.

Arcane immediately poured aura into his sword, launching himself towards the airborne barbarian.

THUNK!

Arcane’s sword pierced the barbarian’s chest.

At least one was taken care of.

Arcane quickly tried to withdraw his sword to respond to the next attack.

"...Huh?"

But the sword wouldn’t budge.

It felt as though someone were holding it tightly, resisting his pull.

And then.

"Ooooo!"

The barbarian with the sword lodged in his chest exclaimed.

"You’re strong! Is that the strange power from outside? Fascinating!"

"...W-What?"

He had definitely pierced his chest.

He was certain he’d skewered the heart.

So why was he still alive?

Why was he, perfectly intact, still speaking?

Arcane could feel the faint pulse throbbing through his sword, sending chills down his spine.

"This is fun! Show me more!"

With the sword still embedded in his chest, the barbarian raised his axe.

The Swordmaster hurriedly let go of the sword and backed away.

* * *

[There’s strange news.]

"Strange news?"

At the words of the Tower Master, Ketal tilted his head in curiosity.

They were currently resting after successfully repelling an attack from Necronovix.

[There’s been trouble on the front lines along the eastern continent’s corridor.]

"Has Necronovix descended there?"

[No, that’s not it. Rather, all the demons that descended there were wiped out.]

"Then isn’t that good news?"

[It is, but… immediately after, even the forces stationed there were attacked.]

"Hmm?"

Ketal looked puzzled.

Currently, the surface was a battleground between demons and earthly beings.

If the demons were defeated, there shouldn’t have been any reason for the earthly forces to be attacked.

"That is indeed strange."

[What’s more, stationed there is a hero-class Swordmaster. For something like this to reach my ears, it means even he couldn’t prevent it.]

Ketal began to respond but then shut his mouth.

[Why do you stop?]

"...No reason."

Ketal shook his head, looking into the empty space with a curious gaze.

[Quest #790]

[Investigate the anomaly in the east.]

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ketal spoke.

"It’s worth going to check it out."

[Hmm? You intend to go?]

"It feels like it could be valuable."

[...It seems you have some inkling of what it might be. Very well. I’ll prepare to join you.]

The Tower Master began preparing for spatial travel.

Ketal folded his arms.

‘What’s popped up now?’

Since no warnings had been issued, he assumed it wasn’t anything too powerful.

Judging by the location, it was likely something in the white snowfield.

‘Maybe it’s something like that ‘White One’ appearing?’

With weakened defenses, such creatures could surface.

That was as much as Ketal thought about it.

At least, for the moment.