Barbarian in a Failed Game

011. Dark Mages (5)

Ah, this is life. Khan’s face relaxed as he eased his body into a makeshift bathtub, a large orc barrel filled with boiling water that had been carried over.

“Huuuuh-.”

Leaning back comfortably, the orc barrel creaked under Khan’s weight, as if screaming in protest.

Just endure a little longer, you old thing. Despite the old orc barrel’s plea to withstand the weight of an elderly, Khan mercilessly leaned on it.

Even with all the money in the world, opportunities for a bath were rare in this damn medieval era. Hot water in a bathtub and fragrant soap were luxuries not readily available unless one was of noble birth.

‘Why should one even bathe in the first place, they hardly know….’

Fortunately, the situation regarding hygiene was somewhat better on the side of Midland, where magic had advanced, compared to Earth’s Middle Ages.

“Huh. Nice-.”

What would have been scalding hot water for an ordinary person was just the right temperature for this barbarian.

As Khan washed away the filth that had caked on after rolling around with rotting corpses for so long and indulged in leisure, his serene expression twisted due to a sudden scream.

“……!”

“……!”

The scream was distant, and he couldn’t make out the words.

However, he understood from the urgent high-pitched shouts that there was a desperate situation unfolding.

Khan’s face twisted as he quickly got up and carelessly threw on his undergarments that were laid aside.

‘Damn, why now….’

He grabbed the axe he always carried with him and left the monastery’s garden. The sight that greeted him was akin to that of a war-torn estate.

‘There are too many… How many mages have swarmed here? And how did they even find this place in the first place?’

He would have noticed if they were tracking him. Hence, it must be the work of some spell. And their target was not Khan but…

Whoosh───!

A streak of light illuminating the night sky cleared his mind of worries.

‘Right. I can worry about it later; it’s enough.’

The situation was visibly dire. The estate’s inhabitants were putting up a valiant resistance, but against such foes, their efforts hardly counted as meaningful resistance.

It was impossible to cover such an extensive front with just one paladin.

‘Aries is tied down, and the casualties continue to rise.’

Ultimately, to turn the tide, he had to take down the mage controlling the minions from the rear.

Fortunately, it seemed the mages had not considered a rear assault, focusing all their forces at the front.

Well, with their numbers, they probably felt secure enough.

But-

‘They became complacent.’

Crrrack.

Lowering his center of gravity, Khan bent his legs, his muscles bulging even more formidable than the heads of average men.

[Leaping (C) – 97.1%]

─C Grade Effect, Pounce :: Jumping with a strong step increases the effect based on strength.

─D Grade Effect, Safe Landing :: Greatly reduces fall damage.

Thump!

A heavy step, followed by another.

Khan’s hefty body launched high into the air.

In the blink of an eye, his body rocketed across the battlefield sky, reaching the rear where the mages were positioned.

Just before touching the ground.

His body spun in mid-air with a twist at the waist.

Crrrack!

Pouring all the speed from the leap and the power gained from the fall into the rotation, he swung his axe. Two mages, unable to dodge in time, were literally cleaved in half.

“Just when I thought I’d get a good wash, these damn pests appear.”

“Mon, monster……!”

He had no intention of holding back. He needed to finish the fight before the water cooled if he wanted to bathe again.

“Stop him──!”

A middle-aged man, who looked more suited for a lectern, pointed at Khan and erupted in hysteria.

Ah, that’s a face that could give someone PTSD. Reminded of a teacher who had relentlessly tormented him during his school days, Khan winced and curled his feet in disgust.

“Why……!”

Fuming with outrage at being targeted first, the middle-aged man exploded in fury as Khan smirked. Why, indeed.

“Didn’t like your face.”

With considerable speed, the middle-aged man deployed a barrier and began to chant another spell.

Cling-!

However, before he could complete the spell, Khan’s axe shattered the black magic barrier in a single blow. Panicking, the middle-aged man ceased his chanting and spread his hands wide.

“Scutum, refléxĭo-!”

‘The incantation!’

An opaque shield floated between Khan and the middle-aged man, isolating them.

Khan hurried to retrieve his axe, but realizing he was too late, he braced for the impact.

Boom───!

A terrible shock battered Khan’s entire body, churning his innards and loosening his grip on his weapon. Damn, this hurts!

“What are you doing! Attack him!”

Being a necromancer didn’t mean he was completely clueless about other types of magic.

Weakness, exhaustion, paralysis, sensory deprivation… More than a handful of curse spells surged towards Khan, who lay helplessly on the ground.

The continuous layering of curses was excessive for just one person.

However, the necromancers indiscriminately firing these spells lacked this awareness.

The initial powerful appearance. The fear ingrained at that moment snatched away the mages’ rational minds instantly.

“Make him unable to move─!”

“It doesn’t matter if there’s nothing left of him! Just kill him somehow!”

Nevertheless.

The face of the middle-aged man commanding the attack remained unsmiling, twisting as if he had received a major shock.

‘The artifact…!’

The opaque shield he deployed wasn’t an item inscribed with a mage’s spell but a real artifact containing ancient technology.

A monstrous relic that could definitely save one’s life while facing a monster and provide an opportunity for a counterattack, something that couldn’t be damaged by ordinary means.

‘Just one blow?!’

That such an artifact could be overloaded by a mere axe strike… If one had tried to block it carelessly, they would have undoubtedly blown to pieces.

The reflected shock would harm the attacher as well, but-.

“This is a painful loss…”

Considering the drastically reduced lifespan of the artifact, he couldn’t help but frown. At the very least, both the paladin and this barbarian must be turned into undead to break even…

“Never let him get close. A mere touch would blast you to pieces. Hunt him down before the paladin reaches us.”

A huge hell serpent, created from dark magic, charged at Khan as he was getting up on one knee.

The black magic that intensified the effects of curses. ‘Fangs of the Hell Serpent’ had been activated.

“O Lord, shine your light──!”

However, the necromancers were reminded all too late that the barbarian wasn’t the only threat on the battlefield.

A sacred wave spread widely around the platinum-haired paladin, instantly suppressing the flow of dark magic. ‘Cry of Radiance,’ a spell that subdued the aura of evil.

For a brief moment, the undead’s advance halted. But Aries had not aimed for the undead.

“You bastards-!”

Her real goal was to temporarily neutralize the curses binding Khan.

Freed from the reflected shock and curses by the artifact, Khan burst into action like an untamed colt.

Using sheer physical power, not a leap skill, Khan rushed at a necromancer persistently casting curses.

With one hand, his axe split open a chest and with the other, his fist shattered a skull.

Crunch. Bang!

To a warrior of his caliber, necromancers unprotected by undead were no more than sturdy punching bags.

From seven necromancers, their number quickly dropped to less than half, all by the hand of a single barbarian.

As a result.

“The undead are falling!”

“Just hold on a bit longer! We just need to survive!”

The most troublesome Death Knight was tied down by Aries, and the rear where the necromancers were was swept away by a single warrior.

It was not just a fight to delay impending death but a battle with a belief that survival was possible.

“Damn it…!”

The face of the middle-aged man leading the necromancers twisted fiercely.

He was certain they would win comfortably.

Believing it impossible for the opposition to mount any significant resistance, he had anticipated a one-sided slaughter.

But what in the world was this situation?

“Please save me! Lord Devin-!”

Another necromancer’s head burst open in the hands of an ashen barbarian, claiming his life. This left only a haughty man and a middle-aged individual alive.

The situation was desperate.

The necromancer’s cold logic concluded that everyone would learn of his death.

‘Can I escape?’

Someone had to inform their master about the existence of the barbarian aiding the paladin, and it was clear that no one but he himself was fit for the task. However, this would require a sacrifice…

“Lord Devin! We must retreat…ugh!”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The ashen barbarian, who had just gruesomely pulled out the axe handle from the top of the retreating man’s head, grinned broadly, showing all his teeth.

“Now it’s just you, wise guy.”

“You’re strong. Unbelievably strong. There are not many barbarian warriors active in the kingdom, but only the most famous among them number three.”

“What are you babbling about?”

The middle-aged necromancer didn’t mind the barbarian’s indifferent response and continued with a carefree laugh.

“One is a warrior from the north cherished by the Black Wing Duke. Another is the Ogre Slayer who took on an ogre head-on in the east. The Executioner from the north… But the Black Wing Duke wouldn’t have handed over his prized great warrior to just any pawn of divinity, and if it were the rumored Executioner, communication would have been impossible. So, you must be the Ogre Slayer, right?”

“So what?”

“Is Eliya dead?”

“Rong ago.”

“I see. That’s regrettable. Such a talented child.”

Despite his words, the middle-aged man’s face was bitterly cold. He was merely stalling for time.

“Being pursued by a divine pawn and the Ogre Slayer joining forces leaves us with no choice. I’ve lost this time.”

“This time?”

Khan, placing his axe on his shoulder, let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“Do you think there will be a next time?”

“Of course…”

Whoosh—!

The axe swung by Khan harmlessly sliced through the air.

[Obviously, there will be.]

The middle-aged man’s voice echoed from every direction as if he vanished into the earth, a phenomenon clearly caused by a spell.

‘Annoying spell: Shadow Concealment.’

Khan shook his head, unable to pinpoint the direction despite concentrating his senses.

The ‘Shadow Concealment’ was one of the more troublesome survival spells of necromancers, difficult to counter for anyone not versed in magic.

Meanwhile, the necromancer’s voice continued to resonate.

[It was a significant loss. But not knowing of your existence, barbarian, would have been a greater loss.]

The dead necromancers began to rise.

Most of them left not even a complete corpse behind, but whatever remained merged together to form a shape.

This was an entity born from the necromancers who sought immortality, burning with a green flame in their hollow eye sockets.

[Although hastily made and hence somewhat crude, it’s capable enough to hinder you. After all, it’s a lich crafted from the corpses of necromancers.]

The middle-aged man had utilized the corpses of his priests to create a lich. This newly revived lich began to raise more undead.

[Then. I’ll come looking for you with my master next time. Barbarian.]

With those final words, the middle-aged man’s voice abruptly stopped, as he had already left the battlefield.

“We must pursue.”

The necromancer holding much information had fled.

Was it unacceptable to let him go? Aries seemed ready to burst out in pursuit at any moment.

“Don’t go. Shouldn’t we deal with the lich first?”

A thick hand reached out to block her path.

“I’ll pursue. Khan will handle the lich.”

It was a fair judgment; Aries could sense traces of necromancy.

Nevertheless, Khan did not retract his hand.

‘She seems unusually emotional. It looked that way even in her fight with the dark knight…’

Was there a story between him and that middle-aged man? But even so, he couldn’t just let her go easily.

“Listen to me. If you wish to catch Darkin, it would be better to postpone it.”

“…?”

At his firm stance, Aries tilted her head in confusion, and Khan responded not with words but with a meaningful smile.

“Well. You’ll see.”