Chapter 68: Chapter 68 Barbarian Hero (1)

Barbarian Hero (1)

[Crack of Evil]

It’s a field-wide instant-kill skill that Riakis uses when he absorbs 10 or more orbs.

If you don’t escape within the time limit, your character dies no matter how much you’ve leveled them up.

In-game time, it was about 45 minutes.

And one of its characteristics is…

That everyone is pulled towards the center, regardless of their location.

Whoosh!

Before I can even adjust to the darkness that has descended before my eyes, I feel a pulling sensation throughout my body.

“Bjo, rn…!! Wh, at, is, this—!”

For some reason, Misha’s voice sounds like it’s in slow motion.

So I speak in fast motion.

“Don’t worry, we won’t die right away.”

“Wh, at, do, yo, u, me, an—!”

Misha shouts slowly, but her shout is cut off before it’s finished.

It’s a perfect silence, as if my hearing itself has disappeared.

Of course, it doesn’t last long.

「All characters within the radius are being transported to the center of evil.」

When I open my eyes, there’s light.

“Bjorn!”

I can hear sounds normally again, and I see many people besides Misha.

“Where the hell is this…?”

“Wh, what! I was clearly running away…”

There are about 200 explorers.

Leaving behind Misha, who is clinging to me with a worried expression, I check one spot.

Those with the Dzarwi Clan’s emblem are quickly gathering and forming a formation.

‘So this is how many are left out of 50…’

A little over 20 people.

There were 11 casualties during the 3 hours of fighting Riakis, and now more than that number have disappeared in less than 5 minutes.

What the hell happened in that short time?

Well, it’s not hard to guess.

“Excuse me! If you know what’s going on—”

“Shut up, trash.”

A voice filled with anger responds to one explorer’s question.

“Because of you pieces of trash… do you know how many people have died!”

“If you come any closer, we’ll attack immediately.”

In fact, the Dzarwi Clan is huddled together, on guard to prevent anyone from approaching.

The explorers are flustered by this.

“Wh, why is it our fault!”

“In the first place, if you guys hadn’t taken away our equipment, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“I heard that large clans swear to the guild and the royal family that they’ll fulfill their duties in emergency situations. Let’s put aside the blame for now and work together…”

“Pl, please let me in! I didn’t even participate. I’ll pay more protection fees if you ask…”

The explorers, who don’t even seem to understand the situation they’re in, start shouting their own complaints.

Well, they know it too, right?

That there’s no chance of survival if they’re abandoned by them.

But what a shame.

“Be grateful that we’re not killing you on the spot, trash.”

The Dzarwi Clan’s intention is firm.

“Wh, what kind of selfish bullshit is that! You’re basically telling us to go out and die!”

“You understand correctly.”

“…Wh, what? These bastards! Do you think we’ll just stand here and take it?”

The man who stirred up the crowd on the front lines.

Jack Reacher’s shout is met with agreement from numerous explorers, but the clan just laughs as if it’s ridiculous.

“What are you going to do if you don’t just stand there?”

“We’ll join forces and—”

“Let me tell you something, don’t expect to be able to resist us like before. If we wanted to, we could burn you all to ashes right here.”

It’s not an empty threat.

Because the situation is different now.

Unlike when they were spread out to deal with Riakis, they’re now in a proper, tight formation.

It seems like they’re ready to unleash magic at any moment.

“Damn it!”

“Do you think we’ll die without you!”

Just as the explorers realize their situation…

“I, I know about this phenomenon.”

A human man about 160 centimeters tall speaks up in front of the crowd.

“You know about this phenomenon?”

“I, I don’t know the details. But if we don’t escape from here within the time limit, we’ll all die. That’s what it said in an old book.”

“…Is that true?”

When Jack Reacher looks at him with suspicion, a woman steps forward to vouch for the seemingly simple-minded man.

“I can guarantee it!”

“Fairy?”

“I’ve been on a team with this man for over a year. And we’ve experienced many unbelievable things. He’s a mysterious person. He really knows everything. I believe without a doubt that his words will save us.”

Jack Reacher’s expression changes.

“If it’s a fairy’s words… it’s worth listening to. Hey, you, how can we escape from this place?”

“Th, there’s no special method! I, I heard that if we just go in any direction for about 5 kilometers, we can escape from here…”

Surprisingly, what the human man said is true.

The problem is that the moment we leave this place with light, Riakis’s clones will swarm us in the darkness.

“I, I heard there are monsters, but if we all work together, we can definitely do it!”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

Bullshit.

If it were that easy, those clan guys would have run away first, instead of having serious discussions among themselves with constipated expressions.

“Bjorn, what are we going to do?”

“What?”

“But seeing an elf vouch for a human like that, it means he’s someone special, right?”

Hmm, is that so?

He just looks like an idiot to me…

“Don’t be swayed by that and just wait calmly.”

“Alright!”

Anyway, the situation unfolds rapidly after that.

“Although there’s a fairy’s guarantee, there’s a chance that that man’s words are wrong. However! If we’re going to die here anyway, I want to take a gamble on this!”

Jack Reacher, who has made his decision, starts inciting the crowd again, and the public opinion slowly shifts.

“That’s right, whether we die here or there!”

“Those bastards don’t seem like they’re going to help us anyway, so do we have any other choice?”

“With this many people, we can make it somehow!”

“But no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like it will be that easy…”

There are many who are skeptical, but once people start gathering, the fear of being left behind seems to accelerate the momentum.

And now…

“I’ll ask one last time! If anyone wants to join us, come forward now!”

Over 100 explorers have come together.

The remaining people, including Misha and me, are around 40.

Jack Reacher scans us and then speaks to me.

“Hey, you, Bjorn, son of Yandere, was it?”

“…It’s Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

“Hmm, was it? Anyway, you’re not joining us?”

Why is he asking again when it’s obvious just by looking at us?

I shrug my shoulders as an answer.

But…

“As expected of a barbarian, you’re stupid. You’ll regret it.”

What the fuck? What is this again?

He can just go his own way, why is he doing this at the end?

His psychology is beyond my understanding, but since he started it, I return the favor with some well wishes.

“What are you talking about? You’re about to die anyway. Just shut up and get lost so you can die. That would be more helpful to the world.”

“Wh, what?”

“Do you want to fight me? Then come here. I’ll smash that empty head of yours.”

I grab my mace and step forward, ignoring the hundred explorers behind him, and he turns his head away.

And he leaves, muttering to himself.

“Man, I tried to be nice and give him some advice…”

“It seems like there’s no one else who wants to join, so let’s depart! We don’t have time to waste here!”

Anyway, it was just a small incident.

More than half of the people have disappeared into the darkness.

No, should I say they crawled into the jaws of death on their own?

Anyway, as soon as they leave, Misha clings to me as if she’s been waiting.

“Bjorn, what are we going to do?”

“Why do you keep asking me that?”

“Because… your words have always been right until now. I trust you.”

“I see.”

I appreciate the sentiment, but Misha is wrong.

My choices are not the right answers.

How could a mere human know such a thing?

I simply chose what seemed like the most likely option at the moment the problem arose.

And in that sense…

Thud-

…I walk towards the Dzarwi Clan, who are in the middle of a heated discussion.

‘By now, they must have realized just how fucked they are…’

It’s time to gamble.

The gamble with the highest chance of success, based on various factors and my judgment.

“Stop, barbarian. If you come any closer—”

As I approach, someone from the clan tries to stop me.

Coincidentally, the person who shouted is someone we’re acquainted with.

“O, older brother…”

“Half-breed…? Why are you here…”

It’s a sudden reunion.

There’s no way there will be a touching sibling reunion, so I intervene between the two and ask slyly,

“It’s, it’s been a while.”

“…What? A while?”

Misha’s brother frowns.

Well, we’re not exactly on good terms to be greeting each other like this.

Therefore, while he’s flustered, I immediately get to the point.

“So did the Orc Hero essence drop?”

“Well, fortunately, thanks to—”

So it was luck.

“Wait, how do you know that?”

I grin at Misha’s brother, who is staring at me with a menacing look.

The gamble was successful.

At least half of it.

__________________________________

The vice-leader of the Dzarwi Clan, Iraz McGrane, thinks to himself,

‘We’re fucked.’

27 deaths in total.

It’s 20% of the entire Dzarwi Clan’s strength. He can’t even imagine how long it will take to recover.

‘Well, there’s no guarantee that we’ll return alive either.’

He opens his eyes and observes the faces of his members.

Currently, 23 clan members are alive.

In terms of numbers, it might seem like about half of their force survived, but that’s not the reality.

He asks his adjutant,

“What’s our exact combat strength right now?”

“Three priests, six mages, twelve ranged support types… and two melee warriors.”

The report is delivered in a dejected voice.

Well, that’s to be expected.

“Only two melee warriors…”

It’s a personnel distribution that’s beyond imbalanced.

When the riot broke out, the warriors who couldn’t receive support suffered near-total casualties.

“Still, it’s fortunate. If it weren’t for your decision, we wouldn’t have been able to buy this much time to regroup—”

“That’s something we can only know after we return alive.”

McGrane silently takes a deep breath.

As soon as he judged that it was impossible to suppress the riot, he gave one order. To let Riakis absorb the Dark Orbs.

Thanks to that, they managed to minimize casualties and buy some time.

‘Right, time… we just bought some time.’

“Hey, McGrane, what are you going to do now? You’re not just giving up on everything, are you?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Then you need to think quickly. If you’ve studied the Lord of Chaos Riakis even a little, you’ll know that we don’t have much time left.”

McGrane sighs as he looks at the mage who speaks in a sharp voice.

“May the star that rises at twilight guide us…”

The priests praying and making the sign of the cross are relatively better, but if he gets on their bad side, even if he survives and returns, it won’t end well.

‘Think, how can we return alive with as many people as possible.’

McGrane contemplates and contemplates.

What’s the best course of action in the current situation.

“Vice-leader, the explorers are forming groups. It seems like they’re trying to escape on their own.”

“That’s good news for once. Leave them be.”

“Yes?”

“They’ll at least serve as bait.”

He decides to make use of any positive variables.

He thinks and thinks about the escape route, personnel placement during movement, and the optimal formation.

There’s no answer.

“As you instructed, I’ve familiarized everyone with the movement formations. We can move at any time.”

He’s done the best he can for now…

‘Assuming we’re lucky, at least half of us will die.’

The lack of warriors is too fatal.

With just two, they can’t even clear a path properly, and those two are a swordsman and a spearman.

There are no specialized defensive warriors.

In other words, there are no explorers in the guardian position.

‘To have to clear a path with just these guys when they’re needed more than ever, it’s driving me crazy.’

Just one.

If there were just one explorer in the guardian position…

“Vice-leader, the explorers have left.”

“Make a decision!”

McGrane closes his eyes as he looks at the clan members staring at him.

“There are over 100 of them. If we don’t move while they’re drawing attention—”

“I know.”

There’s no time.

He needs to make a decision quickly.

Just as McGrane is about to open his tightly shut mouth…

A barbarian shouts,

“That’s why I said I’ll clear the way—!!”

As if he knows his worries.

McGrane asks his adjutant as if possessed,

“Hey, who is that guy and why is he acting like that?”

“I heard he’s the companion of Kaltstein’s younger sister. There’s no need for you to worry—”

“I’ll be the judge of that, just answer me.”

The adjutant then replies,

“I don’t know how he knows, but… he’s demanding the Orc Hero’s essence.”

“Orc Hero’s essence?”

“Yes, he says he can clear the way if he has that.”

McGrane activates one of his abilities, [Survival Instinct], and looks at the barbarian again.

And he mutters,

“It’s the first time I’ve seen such a strong light emanating from a person.”

The ability that saved him from countless crises is telling him…

…that it’s worth listening to what he has to say.