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Chapter 278: The Barbarian Tribe (2)
They continued to march forward.
They advanced across the snow-covered plains.
Then, suddenly, the ground trembled.
“Huh, huh?”
“Is it an earthquake?”
But soon they realized it wasn’t an earthquake.
The tremor was coming from one direction.
Boom!
The ground cracked open, revealing a monster.
Its massive body rose high into the sky.
Darkul was shocked.
“A Giant Worm!”
A massive worm-like creature, it was a well-known monster even to Darkul.
It was the boss of an AAA-level dungeon, a monster only a superhuman could face.
“No way, why is something like that just wandering around!”
Darkul screamed in terror.
The Giant Worm slithered across the ground, using its massive body to encircle the barbarians.
Its movements were clearly hostile and full of murderous intent.
“W-wait a minute!”
Darkul’s face turned pale.
The barbarians present were not weak.
Some first-rate fighters were among them, with most being second- or third-rate.
But the Giant Worm was a monster with superhuman strength, far beyond their reach.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely unbeatable.
There was Ketal, who had defeated a first-rate fighter in a single blow.
With his power, he could face the Giant Worm.
However, the battle’s aftermath would likely kill most of the others.
Darkul quickly began thinking.
“We need to form a formation. Everyone…”
“Waaaahhh!”
But Darkul's intentions were not fulfilled.
The barbarians, shouting battle cries, charged at the Giant Worm.
Dumbfounded, Darkul roared in frustration.
“…These idiots!”
“Kill the monster!”
“Kill the enemy blocking our way!”
The barbarians grabbed their weapons and rushed in.
As if mocking them, the Giant Worm roared and charged at them.
[Wooooooo!]
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The plains shook.
The giant worm charged towards the barbarians, and most of them would be crushed.
The barbarians knew that as well.
But they didn’t retreat.
Instead, they welcomed death and charged forward.
“Death is!”
“Let death welcome us!”
And then—
Crack.
Ketal took a step forward, quickly passing by the barbarians.
“I don’t really like this, but I am the leader for now. I can’t let them die.”
He charged at the Giant Worm.
Clenching his fist, he swung it straight at the worm’s open mouth.
Boom!
The Giant Worm, which had been slithering across the ground without stopping, suddenly halted.
The earth shook, and the charging barbarians fell over.
“H-huh?”
“…Huh?”
And so, they saw it.
The body of the Giant Worm, which had been struck by Ketal’s fist, began to swell.
Like pus expanding in a decaying corpse, it grew larger.
Finally, unable to withstand the pressure, it exploded.
Boom!
Blood and flesh rained down.
The Giant Worm, large enough to fill a mountain, a monster with superhuman strength, had burst in a single blow.
Amidst the rain of flesh, Ketal lightly dusted off his hands.
“It’s over. Keep moving.”
“……”
The barbarians stared blankly at Ketal.
And similar incidents continued to occur.
Huge obstacles appeared before the advancing group.
“A mountain is lying in our way?”
“It looks like a landslide happened.”
It wasn’t an ordinary landslide.
Half the mountain had collapsed.
It would take years to clear the debris and restore the path.
The barbarians were strong and believed in their own strength without doubt, but even they acknowledged one thing.
Nature.
The power of nature was beyond human reach.
Because of this, the barbarians revered and worshipped nature.
If they believed in anything, it was nature itself.
Thus, the barbarians were about to seek an alternate path.
It wasn’t a big problem, as they only needed to take a small detour.
Then, Ketal noticed people digging at the foot of the collapsed mountain.
“Ahh. Ahhh. Please. Please…”
They were frantically clearing the debris with faces on the verge of tears.
Darkul muttered knowingly.
“Judging by their attire, they’re merchants.”
“Are there merchants even in the North?”
“Actually, it's because it’s the North that they can make a big profit. Some people risk their lives for that kind of trade. It looks like they barely survived, but their goods are all buried under the landslide.”
Darkul muttered with a pitying expression, but there was nothing they could do.
Clearing the collapsed mountain was impossible.
The merchants were desperately trying to clear the rubble, but it was futile.
“Hm.”
Ketal, watching them for a moment, took a step forward.
“Huh? Ketal?”
The merchants, still unaware of Ketal’s approach, continued to dig desperately.
“No, no. No, please. If we lose this, we’re ruined. We’ll all starve to death.”
“Move aside.”
“Huh?”
Ketal pushed the tearful merchants aside.
The barbarians were puzzled.
“Leader? What are you doing?”
“There’s quite a lot here. Sorry, but some of your goods might fly away. I ask for your understanding.”
“H-huh? What?”
The merchants were bewildered.
From their perspective, a barbarian had suddenly pushed them aside and was now standing in front of the mountain.
‘What, what is this?’
Were they about to be hit for crying too much?
The merchants unknowingly flinched.
Ignoring them, Ketal clenched his fist and took a step.
The ground cracked with just that movement.
He gathered his strength and swung his fist.
Boom!
“Waaah!”
“Aaah!”
The merchants were thrown to the ground.
Even the barbarians couldn’t withstand the impact and rolled on the ground.
As they staggered to their feet, they couldn’t believe their eyes.
The mountain, which had been half-collapsed and blocking the path, had disappeared without a trace.
“…W-what.”
“What… is this…”
The mighty force of nature had been erased by the hand of a single human.
Darkul’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
Amidst the gasps and awe, Ketal calmly walked forward.
He pulled out the goods that had been buried under the mountain.
“Here you go. I cleared most of it, so you should be able to find the rest.”
“……”
Everyone except Ketal stared at him, dumbfounded.
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* * *
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Really, thank you!”
The merchants, their voices full of tears, kept thanking Ketal over and over.
Although they had only recovered half of their goods, that itself was a miracle.
The merchants, who had been on the brink of hanging themselves with their families, kept expressing their gratitude until Ketal’s group disappeared from sight.
The barbarian group continued walking along the path that Ketal had cleared by destroying the mountain.
“You… You’re really strong, aren’t you?”
Finally recovering from the shock, Darkul muttered with a groan.
The Holy Sword boasted.
[How is it? This is the power of the one who wields me. Impressive, isn’t it? Astonishing, isn’t it?]
“Quiet.”
[Yes.]
“Huh? Were you talking to me?”
“No. Just talking to myself.”
Ketal quietly responded while holding the Holy Sword.
"Not exactly weak."
"You seem far beyond that level..."
The half-collapsed mountain had disappeared.
Darkul had never seen a hero-class warrior before.
But instinctively, he could tell.
Ketal possessed that level of power.
Darkul let out a hollow laugh.
"Hah, ha... Wow. To think I'm acquainted with someone like this. It's the luck of a lifetime."
Though he was astonished by Ketal’s strength, Darkul wasn’t afraid, knowing what kind of person Ketal was.
Ketal smiled softly.
"Take care of me from now on."
"Same here. When I return, I'll have something to boast about."
In front of them was a half-frozen lake blocking their path.
Launching a boat was impossible, but crossing with such a large group was also dangerous.
Then, Ketal stepped onto the lake.
Thoom!
Ripples spread across the entire lake.
The ice shattered all at once, breaking into tiny pieces, creating a state where boats could pass through.
"Launch the boat. Let's cross."
"...Oh. O-Okay..."
* * *
"Oh, oh..."
"Ketal, the mighty warrior..."
The barbarians muttered to themselves.
Ketal had previously displayed the strength to take down a first-rate warrior in a single blow.
But that was within their realm of understanding.
It was impressive, but not beyond comprehension.
The barbarians followed Ketal as a leader, but that was it.
No more emotions beyond that.
However, the power he had shown afterward was different.
Shattering a giant worm in a single strike, blowing away a collapsed mountain, and breaking a frozen lake.
It was power beyond the barbarians' comprehension.
They revered strength.
They believed without a doubt that strength was everything.
And so, their view of Ketal began to change.
"Ooooh!"
"Ketal!"
"Great! Mighty warrior!"
The barbarians roared Ketal's name.
He was no longer just a leader; they began to think of him as the king they should follow.
Naturally, they reached one conclusion.
The law of the North.
The survival of the strongest.
Why is a king a king?
Simple.
Because he has made every barbarian submit.
"Ooooooooh!"
"You are our king! The one who shall become our king!"
Why was Ketal going to meet the king?
To challenge the king!
The rumor spread like wildfire among the barbarians.
Soon, it became an established fact that Ketal was challenging the king to become the new ruler.
Even Darkul was surprised enough to ask.
"Ketal, are you trying to become the king of the barbarians?"
"Not a chance."
Ketal immediately denied it.
"I wouldn’t take that position even if it were offered."
"Ah, I thought so."
"If you're asking, then the rumor must have already spread throughout the group."
"Yeah, yeah. They're all excited, talking about how you're going to challenge our king."
[Are you going to become the king of the barbarians? There's no need for that... Hmm... But if you did become the king, people would be puzzled by me, the broken sword you're carrying around. They would wonder what I am. They would be in awe of me. That's nice. Let's become king!]
"Quiet."
[Yes.]
The Holy Sword fell silent.
Ketal stroked his chin.
"I don’t really want to become king, but..."
‘I do want to fight him.’
The king of the North.
What kind of power did the hero-class barbarian possess?
Ketal was curious, so he had originally planned to challenge him.
But looking at the current situation, that seemed difficult now.
Ketal asked with a vague expression.
"If I refuse, how will they react?"
"Well... they won't take it quietly."
Everyone was convinced that Ketal would fight the king.
If he didn’t, their expectations would turn into disappointment.
And they would express that disappointment through action.
At least from their perspective, things wouldn’t end well.
"I've come up with a good idea."
After pondering for a moment, Ketal smiled.
"You don't need to worry. I'll take care of it."
"...Is it really a good idea?"
"It is."
"Mm, alright."
Darkul backed off with a worried expression.
Ketal then asked the barbarian leader.
"What kind of person is the king of the North?"
"You're interested!"
The barbarian, thinking Ketal was showing interest in his opponent, excitedly explained.
"He possesses the strength worthy of being our king! The king himself declared that he would be our ruler and for one hundred days, all the barbarians of the North came to challenge his strength. And during that time, the king never lost once and proved his power!"
For one hundred days, the king stood in one place, never backing down, and faced all challengers.
"He is incredibly strong. He has more than enough qualifications to be our king."
The barbarian clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"But there is one flaw. He's a coward."
'He’s cautious.'
"He tries to control us. He keeps telling us not to do this or that. Honestly, it's annoying."
'He made you follow rules.'
"He's more like the cowards from outside."
'He's a reasonable person.'
Ketal interpreted the barbarian's words in his own way.
"Honestly, we have a lot of complaints. Since he became king, there have been all kinds of restrictions on our actions. But... despite that, he is the king."
For one reason.
Because he was strong enough to suppress all of their complaints.
"Come to think of it."
The barbarian suddenly remembered something.
"He wasn’t always such a coward. They say he used to be the most fearless warrior. But one day, he left the North to test his limits."
And a few months later.
The king returned, having changed.
From a fierce barbarian to one closer to a reasonable person.
Ketal’s face filled with interest.
"Do you know what happened?"
"No. Even when people asked, he wouldn't talk about it. Whatever it was, it must have been significant for a warrior like him to change so much. I’d like to experience it myself!"
The barbarian's eyes sparkled.
Ketal stroked his chin with a look of intrigue.
"I see."
They continued their journey.
There were more obstacles along the way, but Ketal's strength solved every issue.
And at the end of it all.
They arrived at the city where the king resided.
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