The Overpowered Barbarian's Transcendent Item Confronts Paewangchammado
“This Geum Taeyang has one additional request regarding the duel with the chieftain.”
Geum Taeyang made the request as though he had already anticipated and prepared for Conan Barbara’s acceptance of the duel for the chieftain’s seat.
“I taught you that if your words drag on, you are disqualified as a warrior, Geum Taeyang.”
The line had been crossed. In response, Conan Barbara’s gaze no longer regarded Geum Taeyang as his adopted son. He looked upon the barbarian male who had challenged the chieftain’s authority, and the greatest warrior of the Mohican tribe, Conan Barbara, immediately moved to seize the initiative.
“I would like you to use Paewangchammado. If we are to fight, I must defeat your greatest combat strength so that my future actions carry even greater authority.”
Yet Geum Taeyang’s request exceeded the expectations of not only Conan Barbara but everyone present in the central tent. Geum Taeyang intended to bring down Conan Barbara while Paewangchammado, his ultimate secret technique, was active.
“Paewangchammado?”
Conan had assumed Geum Taeyang would demand conditions favorable to himself. When the unexpected request came—to face him with his own most powerful finishing move—his eyes widened in genuine surprise.
Conan Barbara had never planned to use Paewangchammado in this duel. Victory under overwhelmingly advantageous conditions would do nothing for his authority. Since Geum Taeyang fought bare-handed, Conan had intended to settle the matter with his own fists. Yet here was Geum Taeyang demanding Paewangchammado be drawn.
“That is recklessness. I do not know what scheme you harbor, but it is meaningless madness, Geum Taeyang.”
Conan’s displeasure was plain. Whether it was petty cunning or sheer bravado, it deviated sharply from what he had taught Geum Taeyang. As both adoptive father and warrior, he found it distasteful. A true barbarian warrior wished to crush a worthy opponent.
“Brother, set aside your doubts and show me your trust.”
Geum Taeyang offered Conan Barbara a supremely confident, almost detached smile.
“Hah…!”
For an instant the irritation vanished and a faint smile touched Conan’s lips. He felt as though he had been struck. Once a duel was accepted, trusting one’s opponent was a barbarian virtue—and Geum Taeyang had just reminded him of it.
“Puhahahat! Very well. I shall use Paewangchammado. Bring every trick you possess, Geum Taeyang!”
Geum Taeyang’s mention of trust and his use of “brother” moved Conan’s heart. He declared he would crush Geum Taeyang with his absolute maximum combat strength.
‘This really is the barbarian world, isn’t it.’
The date of the duel was set. Several days later, Geum Taeyang headed toward the Gaia’s Shield training ground for practice. Along the way he observed the people of the Gaia tribe.
‘No one sees me as an unfilial wretch who raised a blade against his adoptive father.’
When news spread that Geum Taeyang had challenged Conan to a duel, the atmosphere in the Gaia tribe naturally grew heavy. Yet the weight was political rather than ethical; after nearly thirty years of peace, the Gaia tribe was finally experiencing the same power struggles that plagued other tribes.
‘After all, Conan himself seized the Gaia tribe by killing his uncle.’
Not everyone reacted the same way. In general, even among barbarians, a child raising a blade against a parent was considered unfilial. However, when the chieftain’s seat was at stake, the matter was treated differently—as a primal issue of tribal survival rather than simple morality.
—Clang! Clang! Clang!
Before long, the training ground rang with the clamor of clashing metal. The sound came from Geum Taeyang’s sword meeting Athena’s.
“I wondered if you’d lost your mind, but at least your swordsmanship is worth bragging about!”
—Clang! Clang!
—Kaaang!!
Athena had volunteered as Geum Taeyang’s training partner—the man who had pointed a blade at her own father. Her greatest reason was simple: she could not understand why he had chosen to draw Paewangchammado. She had thought bare-handed combat at least offered a chance. After all, Geum Taeyang had already grown stronger than her. Moreover, Conan had not fought bare-handed in a very long time. Yet Paewangchammado was in another league entirely. Still, when she crossed blades with Geum Taeyang, she had to admit his sword skill itself was considerable.
“I’m the one surprised. I never knew you were this good with a sword, Athena.”
“The chieftain once taught me, saying I might one day inherit Paewangchammado.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Apparently so?”
“To answer your curiosity, I was actually a swordsman back at the academy.”
“Then you never learned bare-handed combat, yet you reached that level?”
“Genius, right?”
“Yeah.”
The original Geum Taeyang had already received ample sword training before the possession. Combined with the activation of his Peerless Martial Body, his swordsmanship had reached dazzling heights.
—Kaaang!
“Still, what does it matter? The weapon gap is too large.”
“True. A sword like this will break after three clashes with Paewangchammado.”
“How can you say something so grim so calmly?”
Geum Taeyang’s sword and Athena’s clashed with a resounding crash. In terms of refined swordsmanship, Geum Taeyang seemed to hold the edge over Conan. Yet Conan’s raw physical ability was superior, and the weapon disparity was simply overwhelming. Geum Taeyang understood this perfectly, and his unnervingly calm demeanor left Athena exasperated.
“You have to win. Don’t make me a widow at this age. And if you lose, I’ll have to leave the Gaia tribe too. I’ll be separated from Mother forever.”
She pressed no further. Athena, who had witnessed many duels, knew this was entirely Geum Taeyang’s burden. As his wife, all she could do was believe in him.
“How is the Great Mother?”
After training, Geum Taeyang sat on a rock beside Athena, sipping water, and brought up Sophia.
She was undoubtedly the one whose heart was breaking the most. Athena was now married, so her husband came first, but Sophia did not wish to lose her husband the chieftain, her daughter, or the adopted son she loved like her own child.
“Same as always. She looks after the tribe’s children, helps in the fields, gathers herbs. But… it seems she’s spending more time praying in the evenings.”
Sophia held the position of Great Mother. If she wavered, the tribe’s hearts would grow uneasy, so she forced herself to act as though nothing were wrong. Only when she was truly alone did she cling to the gods, desperately praying for a miracle—the pitiful sight of Sophia.
“I must show her a result worthy of those prayers.”
Geum Taeyang’s previously relaxed expression turned serious. He could feel the Great Mother’s sorrow. He would produce the best possible outcome.
“The chieftain of the Mohican tribe is bestowed by the Goddess Gaia!”
The day of Geum Taeyang and Conan’s duel dawned. The arena had been prepared in the central square of the Gaia village, and nearly every member of the tribe—save the children—surrounded it. Priest Gandalf stood in the center of the arena and delivered a solemn speech to the grave-faced crowd.
“The battle that unfolds upon this arena is a sacred one! It is the pride of the Mohican tribe that none may defile! I declare that the Goddess Gaia is with us here and now!”
It was undeniably a coup. Yet even as barbarian society had grown somewhat more civilized, it remained a savage world where the strong survived. To minimize the side effects of such upheaval, the barbarians had developed this public method of conducting coups. By staking the chieftain’s authority on an official duel, any coup attempted through ambush without a duel tended to lose the tribe’s recognition.
‘Because lives are on the line, the atmosphere is far heavier than before. There’s almost no chatter.’
Geum Taeyang had already taken his place at one end of the arena. Dressed not in traditional garb but in his usual white shirt and black pants, he felt every gaze of the Gaia tribespeople upon him. The previous duel with Athena had carried a festive, boisterous air. Today’s battle was different; a life could be lost, and the very fate of the Gaia tribe might shift. Even the air entering his nostrils felt heavier.
‘Athena is beside me, and the Great Mother is on the opposite side.’
Athena stood just behind and to the side of Geum Taeyang, watching him. Barbarian society operated under a near-universal system of collective punishment. Regardless of personal will, if a husband or chieftain committed an act, those beneath them were dragged into it as well. In short, Athena would be tied to Geum Taeyang’s fate, while Sophia would be tied to Conan’s. Thus the Great Mother Sophia, Geum Taeyang’s adoptive mother, stood on Conan’s side of the arena, hands clasped, eyes closed.
“The chieftain ascends the arena!”
At that moment, Darius Barbara, commander of Gaia’s Shield, announced Conan Barbara’s entrance. At his cry the tribespeople on Geum Taeyang’s side parted like the Red Sea, and through the gap walked Conan Barbara, chieftain of the Gaia tribe. Once he stood upon the arena, Conan spoke.
“Son, there is something I must say even though it should never be spoken upon this sacred arena.”
Conan gazed straight at Geum Taeyang, his voice low. His expression suggested his fighting spirit had not yet fully ignited.
“Withdraw your intent even now. If you do, I will treat you once more as the beloved adopted son I have always cherished, as though nothing happened. And I will sever my left arm to take responsibility for breaking this duel.”
Conan Barbara had genuinely cherished Geum Taeyang. He loved Sophia, and Geum Taeyang had restored her smile. If Geum Taeyang died, Sophia would drown in sorrow. Conan wished to prevent that even at the cost of his own arm.
“I learned that the giant tiger of Galatea, Siakan, never retreats from battle.”
Yet Geum Taeyang continued.
“And I heard that the one who most resembled that temperament was the white-haired Siakan, Conan Barbara.”
He would not allow the future in which the Great Mother and Athena were killed or enslaved by the Memphis Kingdom to come to pass.
“Now that we have both stepped onto this arena, our battle has begun. Summon Paewangchammado and point it at me, O King of the Mohicans.”
—Shhhhhh…!
Therefore Geum Taeyang drew his sword without hesitation.
“Our son has truly grown into a magnificent warrior.”
Conan smiled with heartfelt approval. Then he thrust his right arm forward.
—Fssssssssss…!!!
A blue barrier formed beneath his arm. At its center, a massive Paewangchammado slowly rose, brimming with blue mana energy.
“Uoooooh!!!”
The sword radiated an overwhelming presence and aura. The sheer majesty forced cries of awe from the crowd that had remained silent under the duel’s grim atmosphere.
—Shhhk!
Using the cheers as his backdrop, Conan Barbara gripped the hilt of the enormous greatsword and drew Paewangchammado from the mystical mana barrier.
“Geum Taeyang, today in this place I shall take the life of the son I bore in my heart.”
—Thud!!
He leveled the tip of Paewangchammado at Geum Taeyang on the opposite side.
“Gulp…!”
Athena swallowed hard, finally realizing there was no turning back. Sophia opened the eyes she had closed, wishing to see her beloved son one last time.
‘Paewangchammado, a heroic-tier treasure. Even with such an item, they still fell to Memphis time and again.’
Paewangchammado was a heroic-tier special item—a heroic-tier weapon. In the strategy simulation Otherworld Conquest Record, heroic-tier weapons possessed inventory barriers like this. Having learned through his Transcendent Eye that Conan wielded Paewangchammado, Geum Taeyang had searched his existing knowledge. That knowledge, combined with his cheat trait Thousand-Mile Insight, allowed him to fully analyze the weapon. Heroic items were typically overpowered treasures held by the protagonists of each conquest mode.
“What will you do, warrior Geum Taeyang, before this overwhelming power? I taught you that an excessive gap cannot be overcome by spirit alone.”
In other words, Geum Taeyang was now facing someone on the level of an actual protagonist. Moreover, his opponent’s base combat level was higher than his own.
“I learned this from you as well, Conan. A battle is not over until one’s breath has ceased.”
—Clang!
There was one more thing: Geum Taeyang did not falter. He simply dropped the sword he had been holding to the ground.
“Do not become too intoxicated with your own power, O King.”
—Fwoooosh!!!
Immediately afterward, a mana barrier began to form in front of him as well.