Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Winning is all that matters, numbers be damned.
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I've never experienced war before.
But I was certain of one thing.
This was war.
A chaotic melee where barbarians and kingdom knights tore into each other like demons in hell.
This place was hell itself.
The hot, sticky malice here was worlds apart from the grim tension of back alleys—it wrapped around my entire body.
The metallic stench of blood pierced my lungs, while screams and clashing metal shredded my eardrums.
'Hell yeah, this is getting me pumped!'
We stormed straight through the heart of the pandemonium like a whirlwind.
My boiling blood had me roaring before I knew it.
"Graaahaha! I am Kel Bark!!"
Now I finally understood why barbarians bellowed at the top of their lungs every time they charged.
It was like some kind of barbarian passive skill.
"Raaargh!!"
Karack's roar cut through the din of battle.
Leading the charge, he was a human tank through and through.
Every time he spun his massive axe like a windmill with those bulging muscles, kingdom soldiers blocking the way scattered like fallen leaves.
Looked like a technique I'd seen somewhere before...
Whatever. Its performance was top-notch.
Kwajik—!
Kwakwakwang—!
"Gaaah! Y-You monster...!"
"Block it! Block it somehow!"
Things were getting interesting.
The Roktoorans, seeing us charge in with our glowing tattoos, mistook us for their allies and focused solely on the knights.
We were barbarians, after all.
Thanks to that, we only had to punch through the knights.
"Out of the way! You worms in the center!"
I deliberately amped up my presence to make it seem like we were on the Roktoorans' side.
A steel shield crumpled like paper, and the shoulder bones of the soldier hiding behind it shattered miserably.
Karack didn't slow down.
Even among seasoned warriors at the third-stage Imprint realm, there were clear gaps in skill.
This guy was a monster who could leap to the fourth stage or higher if he just got the Imprint.
And right now, that monster was paving the way for me—Edel Kel Bark—burning his life in the process.
Then, a chilling slicing sound rang out.
Seogeok—
While Karack smashed through the front, guarding my back was the silent hunter, Batu.
Taking advantage of the battlefield chaos, he erased his presence completely and steadily slit the throats of soldiers amid the confusion Karack created.
But then, in a low, subdued voice unlike his usual self, Batu muttered,
"...I am... Kel Bark's... first shadow..."
"Pft, what?"
I couldn't believe my ears.
That line—it was straight out of Karack's cringey declaration from earlier.
Turns out the usually taciturn guy had been jealous of Karack's hot-blooded line deep down.
A chuckle escaped me even in the heat of battle.
"Batu, you too? Copying that idiot's lines now?"
"...The shadow... exists behind... the chieftain..."
As he gave his curt reply, three arrows aimed at me ricocheted off into the air.
Batu's eyes were more serious than ever.
He too was putting everything on the line to protect me, honoring his vow.
"You small fry, step aside! Clear the path, and you live!"
Finally, overwhelmed by our ferocious momentum, a path opened.
Now it was time for the real showdown.
After cutting through countless soldiers, we reached the center of the battlefield.
The ground there had been gouged out by several meters, where two monsters were locked in a brutal deathmatch, devouring each other's lives.
"Hold position. Wait for an opening. Recover your stamina."
Hart Helm and Arakto.
The clash between the High Sword Expert and the great tribe's elite warrior had already surpassed their limits.
We kept our distance, watching the two monsters fight.
They didn't even register our presence.
Best-case scenario.
Damn, luck's on our side today.
"Haa... haa... You beast...!"
Hart's silver-white aura flickered faintly in places, like missing teeth.
It wasn't even 'Aura Thread' anymore.
Its power had plummeted to the level of an adept's 'Aura Sword.'
His once-splendid armor was long since reduced to tatters.
Arakto on the opposite side was in similar shape.
"The center's... greenhouse flower... you're tougher... than you look...!"
Black blood oozed from Arakto's left side.
Both powerhouses were utterly exhausted, locked in a stalemate fueled only by sheer willpower as they swung their blades.
'Perfect! This is ideal!'
Now!
Like a hyena scenting blood, I shouted,
"Lilian! Batu! Take Hart!"
"Ugh, me using magic against the kingdom's knight commander?!"
Grumbling all the while, Lilian swiftly gathered her mana.
At the same time, Batu shot toward Hart like a shadow.
Only then did Arakto and Hart turn to us with shocked eyes.
"L-Lady Rubien?! Why are you with the barbarians?!"
Hart cried out in alarm, but Lilian bit her lip and raised her staff instead of answering.
"No questions! Flame Spear!"
Nice, very barbaric.
Hwaruruk—!
The spell shot toward Hart.
It was weak magic he'd normally scoff at and deflect, but in his exhausted state, it was different.
Hart hastily pulled back.
Peong—!
"Kuh! What is this, milady?!"
In the moment he lost his balance,
"Body Bind!!"
Lilian's second spell hit home, and Batu relentlessly exploited the gap.
At the same time, Karack and I launched ourselves at Arakto.
"Raaagh! Die, Arakto!!"
Arakto sneered at the charging Karack.
"Hoh... glowing tattoos. You're that mutt from before. Grown a bit, but so what?!"
Arakto roared and swung his serrated greatsword.
Even fatigued, an elite warrior's strike pressed down on space itself with crushing weight.
A spine-chilling pressure.
But I was right beside Karack.
Kwaaang—!
Karack's axe and my Kel Kar crossed, blocking Arakto's greatsword head-on.
The massive impact drove Karack's knees into the ground, blood surging from his mouth.
But he bared his teeth in a mad grin.
"Light! Too light!! Graaahaha!"
"Kuhk, a dying mutt still got a mouth on you!"
Karack bluffed, but clashing directly, I knew it was no joke.
This was him weakened?
My arms nearly snapped.
It was clear.
If not today, stealing his Imprint would be impossible.
Time to risk it all.
Saaak—
In that instant, all expression drained from my face.
Back-alley Edel.
The moment I slipped back into that kill-or-be-killed state.
"Karack! Hit him together!"
At my shout, Karack dropped low and swung his axe at Arakto's legs.
I swept my Kel Kar horizontally in a long arc.
Hwooung—!
"Hmph! Cowards without a warrior's pride! Think two changes anything?!"
Arakto easily leaped back, evading the assault.
I clicked my tongue at how effortlessly he parried even my slash.
"Bullshit. Winning is all that matters, numbers be damned."
The moment he was airborne, I hurled the powder pouch from my waistband with perfect timing.
Fine-ground toxic herb powder I'd prepared for a moment like this.
A warrior's pride? Keep that crap when you can afford it.
In a dogfight like this, the winner is the pride.
"Kuh! You cowardly...!!!"
Arakto grimaced and swung his greatsword midair to disperse it.
Chaeng—!
Instead of thrusting, I slid along his blade like silk, closing in.
My target wasn't his life.
Just one thing: that Imprint-etched left forearm.
'Got it!!'
The instant I inwardly cheered,
Chut—!
Tteong—!
'What!?'
My blade grazed his arm but couldn't pierce the skin.
The Imprint's power?
Damn! Missing a chance like this!
His battle spirit generated repulsive force right above his skin.
That's why he could face heavy-armored knights bare-handed.
My mistake.
I hadn't accounted for that.
"How dare you...!"
Arakto twisted midair and kicked out.
Battle spirit-infused strike hurtled at my solar plexus.
Kwaang—!
"Kuhuk...!"
Even blocking with my sword, I heard my ribs crack clearly.
My body flew back.
Vision stained red, bitter blood welled deep in my lungs.
'Kuh...! Strong. Insanely strong.'
This even in his exhausted state.
The elite warrior title was no fluke.
His eyes now held not contempt, but killing intent to crush the annoying pest for good.
"Araktoooo!!"
Karack charged again.
His axe, loaded with all his battle spirit, came crashing down vertically.
"That won't work, mutt."
Kwang—!
Kwakwakwang—!
Every weapon clash split the plain's earth with cracks.
I staggered to my feet.
Wiping blood from my mouth, I regripped my Kel Kar.
I'd blown my one chance.
From here on, it was a brutal slog through the mud.
"Karack! Ignore me! I'll find my own way in!"
My movements couldn't hinder Karack's attacks.
I thoroughly stayed out of Arakto's sight.
Fair coordinated assault? Give me a break.
Stab from the shadows—plunge!—that's it.
That's how I survived my world.
"You worm! Did you feed your warrior's pride to the dogs?!"
It was working.
Him barking like that proved he was rattled.
Arakto roared in fury at movements too petty and sneaky for a barbarian warrior's duel.
"Are you truly a Grom Kel warrior?! Stop hiding like a coward and face me like a man!"
"Yeah, your orc mom. You bald-headed bastard."
"W-What?!"
Seizing his fluster, I thrust my Kel Kar between his legs.
A spot any man would flinch at.
"Kuh!"
Chaeng—!
Arakto twisted his greatsword down to block, but his upper body opened up defenselessly as a result.
"Now!"
Karack yanked his stuck axe free and swung a fist like he'd been waiting.
His punch, battle spirit maxed out, smashed Arakto's face dead-on.
Peok—!
Arakto's head snapped back, a few teeth flying into the air.
"You... filthy worms...!!"
Blood-red battle spirit erupted from Arakto's entire body.
The Imprint pattern on his left arm writhed like a living serpent, spewing crimson light.
The air turned razor-sharp, slicing at our skin.
He slammed his greatsword into the ground.
The earth flipped, a shockwave crashing over us.
Kwaaaaang—!
Kugugugugu—!
What the hell!!
This make any sense!?
A technique from the Imprint?!
"Kruuuugh!!"
Karack and I were blown back simultaneously.
Overwhelming force even third-stage Imprints couldn't withstand.
He was surpassing his limits too.
Of course, so were we.
"Haa... haa..."
My limbs trembled.
Overdrawing battle spirit had my veins burning up.
Lilian and Batu's side looked tapped out too.
Batu was shielding Lilian, but that wouldn't last.
Then, Arakto's eyes flashed.
He marked staggering me as the biggest threat.
Taat—!
He kicked off the ground at invisible speed.
'Shit, too fast...!!'
I couldn't react.
His serrated greatsword slashed diagonally at my neck.
Time slowed in hallucination.
Death.
The moment I'd imagined thousands of times in back alleys was right there.
Not even time to raise my Kel Kar.
My judgment was wrong.
This wasn't a chance—it was my grave.
No wonder my luck felt too good.
I spat my last words with bitter resentment.
"Goddamn it, wrong just once. Fucking unfair. Shit."
The instant I squeezed my eyes shut,
Thukang—!
Puhak—!
Hot, heavy liquid splattered my face.
The metallic blood stench filled the air intensely.
'Huh...?'