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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 283: Barbarian King (4)
It squeezed through the narrow gap and escaped the prison that had trapped it.
As it set foot upon the world, it rejoiced.
Look, world.
Your master has returned.
It stepped upon the ground, and the earth began to rot.
Pleased with the sight, it continued forward.
Toward the world, something terrible began to appear.
* * *
Ketal and Bayern were drinking, exchanging light-hearted jokes.
The conversation flowed smoothly.
Both were barbarian kings, and both were exceptionally reasonable individuals.
They had suffered much from ignorant barbarians.
With so many shared experiences, they quickly formed a bond.
"Now then, let’s get to the point."
Bayern’s eyes darkened.
The man, once shackled by his past trauma, had vanished.
The only thing left was the ruler of the north, the king of the barbarians.
"You don’t seem to be after the throne. Nor do you appear to hold any goodwill towards the barbarians. And the north isn't your homeland. Why did you come here?"
"Hmm."
Ketal fell into thought.
The surface reason was to face the demons.
But Bayern wouldn’t be satisfied with that answer.
So, Ketal spoke.
"I received information that this place is dangerous."
"Are you talking about the demons?"
"No. There’s something else."
At those words, Bayern's eyebrows twitched.
"…You're talking about things from the Forbidden Lands."
The existence of the Forbidden Lands leaking into the outside world was already widely known.
If there was a threat beyond the demons, it could only be from the Forbidden Lands.
Ketal nodded.
"…Is it information from the gods?"
"It feels like that."
Unable to explain the quest directly, Ketal gave a vague affirmation.
Bayern clicked his tongue.
The gods, observing the world from afar, would pass on information through divine revelation if necessary.
Therefore, places disconnected from divine communication were inherently at a disadvantage in terms of information.
Bayern, knowing this, had tried to establish connections with the Church, but the barbarians were fiercely hostile to the Church, frustrating his efforts every time.
"I always thought a moment like this would come, so I tried to make a connection somehow, but the barbarians resisted with everything they had. Even actions for the sake of the north were obstructed. They're truly unhelpful."
Bayern sighed.
"Still, it's fortunate that you came to relay this. So, what exactly is the information?"
"That’s all. Something is here."
There was no more information.
Bayern nodded in understanding.
"You came to me to gather more detailed information."
"Is there any place that seems suspicious? Or reports of strange sightings?"
The quest had warned that it would be dangerous unless he addressed it directly.
It had not issued such warnings when Nano destroyed an entire country or when the city of the mermaids fell.
This implied that what was coming was an even greater threat.
If such a thing was in the north, there would surely be some impact.
That was the thought behind the question, but Bayern shook his head.
"Nothing. Aside from the battles with the invading demons, I haven't received any reports of other problems."
"What about the demons?"
"I don’t know. They're probably fighting on their own."
The barbarians did not see the need for regular communication.
Bayern had managed to train a few more communicative barbarians to serve as messengers, but even that wasn’t perfect.
At the very least, they had been taught to report when something went wrong.
And so far, no reports had come.
Meaning, no problems had occurred.
Ketal stroked his chin.
"I see."
"Still, since we’ve confirmed that there’s a problem, I’ll do my best to gather information."
"Understood."
The north was vast.
Waiting in this city to gather information was the best option for now.
Ketal awaited information in the king’s city.
In the meantime, he sparred lightly with the king.
Clang! Clang!
Axes clashed.
Though it was a simple spar, neither held back too much.
Bayern, facing Ketal, had a very serious expression.
Clang!
"…I lost."
That day’s spar ended with Bayern’s defeat.
No, to be precise, Bayern had lost every spar over the past three days.
He had never won a single match against Ketal.
"My spirit’s about to break."
"You should take pride. You’re strong enough. Few in the White Snowfields have power on par with yours."
Ketal spoke as he hung his axe at his waist.
Bayern chuckled bitterly.
"…So, there are still a few, huh."
That meant there were others of Bayern's caliber in the White Snowfields, not just one but several.
"Ridiculous."
But he understood.
One would need to be that strong to survive in the White Snowfields, home to monstrous beings like the white bear.
"The barbarian I met before must have been one of them, right?"
"If it’s the one I know, yes."
"…Ketal."
Bayern spoke in a serious tone.
"You fought me. Even though it wasn’t all of my power, you have a good sense of my strength. You should know by now where I stand."
The king asked in a grave tone.
"In your opinion, if I were to face the white bear again, what would happen?"
"Hmm."
Ketal closed his mouth and thought.
The white bear of the White Snowfields.
A monster that caused earthquakes.
If the king were to face the bear again, who would win?
After pondering, Ketal answered.
"You’re strong. Very strong."
Bayern was one of the strongest he had seen outside.
He could probably even defeat High Elf Queen Karin.
But the bear was also incredibly powerful.
"You wouldn’t lose easily."
"…But I wouldn’t win."
"It’s hard to be certain without seeing it firsthand. You haven’t shown everything you have either. But..."
From Ketal’s perspective, Bayern would likely lose.
At that, Bayern smiled.
"That’s enough. Now I have a clear purpose."
They spent the following days training.
And so, a week passed.
And during that time, nothing happened.
"Still no information?"
"None."
Bayern frowned.
"I sent informants, but no news has come in. And… there's something strange."
"What is it?"
"We haven’t heard anything from the frontlines where we’re facing off against the demons."
Of course, the Barbarians didn’t feel the need for regular contact, so if there were no problems, no news would be expected.
But it was the length of time that was the issue.
It had been over two weeks without a single word.
No news is good news, they say, but this was too long.
The battlefield was fierce, and there couldn’t have been no issues for two whole weeks.
Something was wrong at the frontline with the demons.
"We might need to go check it out ourselves."
"... Can I see the map?"
"Of course."
Bayern brought out the map and spread it on the table.
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[Translator - Jjescus]
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He pointed in one direction.
"The demons are invading from here."
"The coastline, huh."
The demons were pushing into the continent through the sea.
"The demons have already taken a considerable amount of territory. The frontline has already spread wide. That makes the chances of something going wrong higher."
The Barbarians were strong, but they were also reckless.
There was a high chance they could have fallen into a simple trap set by the demons and suffered heavy losses.
The fact that there was no communication meant one of two things:
Either there was truly no issue.
Or, something so severe had happened that they couldn’t even send word.
At this point, the latter seemed more likely.
Bayern narrowed his eyes.
"We’ll have to go check."
"... May I come along?"
"You can if you want. But you’re not needed. If there’s an issue, I’ll return to bring the Barbarians with me."
"No."
Ketal shook his head.
"I should go as well."
"Hmm?"
Bayern's expression, puzzled for a moment, hardened.
"... Is there a problem?"
"It seems likely."
"Understood. Then we’ll prepare immediately."
Bayern moved quickly.
Ketal stood still for a bit longer, staring at the map.
The demons were pushing through the sea into the continent.
And that sea was connected to the White Snowfields.
Ketal quietly stared at the White Snowfields.
"What was over there again?"
As Ketal recalled, his expression turned strange.
It came to him, what was there.
What kind of monster existed there.
Ketal frowned.
"This could be dangerous."
Ketal realized why the quest had given a warning.
* * *
The next day, Ketal and Bayern set off for the frontlines.
Darkul had said he wanted to come along, but Ketal dissuaded him, warning of the danger. Seeing the seriousness in his face, Darkul didn’t push further.
The frontlines were a fair distance away, but both of them were Hero-class warriors, highly skilled in physical combat.
It took them only a few hours to arrive at the frontlines.
And what they saw was an empty Barbarian outpost.
"... It's quiet."
It was a sizable outpost, housing at least a hundred Barbarians.
But now, there was no one.
There wasn’t even a trace of a person.
"This is why there’s been no word."
Bayern frowned as he stepped into the outpost.
As he looked around, he gathered some information.
"There are signs of battle."
Tents had collapsed, and the ground was torn up.
This meant there had been a fierce fight.
But there were no bodies.
"... It seems they were dragged off."
From what they could gather, the demons had overwhelmed the Barbarians and taken them away.
Bayern, scanning the area, spotted an axe embedded in the ground.
He approached and pulled it out.
Crack.
The axe crumbled into dust as it disintegrated, leaving only the handle in Bayern’s hand.
"Poison?"
There was no way this could have happened naturally.
Something bizarre and powerful had attacked.
"We should try to find any survivors. The battlefield is vast, so we should split up. I’ll head over there."
"Understood."
Bayern leaped away.
As Ketal moved in the opposite direction, he thought to himself.
‘The sea connected to the White Snowfields.’
And the quest’s direct warning to him.
Something had come out of the White Snowfields.
It wasn’t hard to make that guess.
‘If something strong enough to trigger a quest warning came out of there, what would it be?’
Not many creatures immediately came to mind.
The monsters of the White Snowfields were known to be extremely territorial.
They were more concerned with defending their domain than expanding it.
Most of the well-known monsters followed this pattern, except for one.
The white serpent that devours glaciers.
The white bear that causes earthquakes.
And the vile rat that pollutes the seas.
Among them, the serpent sought to expand its domain, but it wasn’t particularly attached to it.
It was more of a hobby for it.
It wouldn't be interested in venturing outside.
‘The bear’s territory is closest to this area, though.’
In the past, Bayern had encountered the bear when he ventured into the White Snowfields, and it had been for that reason.
But the bear only cared about its territory, not expanding it.
It wasn’t the kind to come out.
But the last one was different.
The vile rat that pollutes the seas.
That filthy creature actively sought to expand its domain.
It wanted to corrupt the entire White Snowfields and, eventually, the world.
That's why his people had clashed with it so often.
And its territory wasn’t far from here.
As he moved, Ketal stopped in his tracks.
Before him lay a landscape tainted with a green hue—defiled, ruined land.
[...What is this?]
The Holy Sword groaned.
It was an extremely vile poison.
But it wasn’t an earthly poison.
It was something far worse, something that corrupted the soul and destroyed its essence.
"... As I thought."
Ketal's expression darkened.
"Yes. Of course, it would be the first one to show up."
With its strong desire to expand its domain, it wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to come outside.
If the quest warning was because of a monster from the White Snowfields, it was most likely the rat.
Ketal’s prediction was spot on.
And that stirred something in him.
"I expected this, but I hoped it wouldn’t come out. It should have stayed in there forever. Why does it keep trying to crawl out? Why does it want to defile my world?"
He muttered darkly.
An emotion that had never shown itself before began to take form.
The Holy Sword was alarmed.
[Wait, hold on. You…]
The Holy Sword was taken aback.
To the sword, Ketal was a strange and sometimes frightening figure, but also someone who was reasonable and considerate.
It had grown fond of him.
But now, the Ketal standing here was not the one the sword knew.
He wasn’t the mighty yet human Barbarian anymore—he was something far more mysterious.
And that was to be expected.
The one standing here wasn’t the traveling Barbarian of the world.
He was the Ashen Barbarian of the White Snowfields.
Something had appeared in this world that could stir such a reaction from him.
Ketal murmured grimly.
"The rat has come out."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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