The Barbarian's Resolve
High above the Great Wall, the group from the Academy, currently on a field trip, walked along the ramparts alongside the Northern Grand Duke. The biting cold of the North slipped through the gaps in their hoods, scratching at Scarlett’s cheeks. She quietly raised her hand, sharing the warmth of her fire with those around her.
"Whoa! Scarlett, what is this... wait? It’s warm?"
"It’s not that the fire itself isn't hot, but she’s calibrated it to emit heat at a constant, controlled level..."
The others walked along the Great Wall, feeling the gentle warmth radiating from the flames Scarlett had provided. A man clad in heavy armor, who appeared to be in charge of the wall’s defense, began handing out bars made of compressed meat and grains.
"This is the combat ration our soldiers eat during operations on the Great Wall. It may not taste like much, but it’s guaranteed to keep you full."
"Ugh! How are we supposed to eat this!"
Ellie, who had taken a bite of the rock-hard, solidified ration, scrunched up her face in disgust.
"Hahaha!!! That’s part of the experience! Don’t you dare leave any behind!"
The armored man let out a booming laugh, clearly amused by her reaction. The 2nd Prince frowned but silently chewed on his calorie bar, while the Northern Grand Duke and his heir finished their meals without a second thought. Scarlett carefully picked up her own bar and took a bite. It had a slightly unpleasant, gamey smell, and a sour, salty taste followed, but she found it surprisingly edible and swallowed the rest. Despite the small size, she felt a profound sense of satiety. She quietly approached the armored man.
"Excuse me, is it possible to buy these somewhere?"
"Hm? These are military-grade; you’d have to request them through the military department... Why do you ask?"
"I think they’re great for finishing a meal quickly. Do the Central Imperial troops eat these too?"
"Uh... well, the taste might differ slightly depending on where you are, but they’ll have something similar... Is the Academy food really that bad...?"
Unintentionally, she had created a monster at the Academy who would now be known for snacking on military rations.
"Wait, student! If you keep eating those, it won't be good for your health!"
"I’ll manage my intake. Thank you."
The man, realizing the truth too late, tried to stop her, but it was already far too late.
"We’ll be heading back in two hours. Everyone, get used to the cold."
"What?! That long? Scarlett, please, make me some more fire!"
Ignoring Ellie’s whining, Scarlett tightened her robe and looked out beyond the Great Wall. In the distance, she could see a massive blizzard moving. It didn't spread out; instead, it moved in one direction as if the snow had been gathered there artificially.
"There is a massive army of monsters inside that blizzard. The Great Wall’s patrol confirmed it yesterday."
As Scarlett watched the blizzard in silence, the Northern Grand Duke’s voice reached her ears. He had informed her of Eric’s survival, but he had refused to tell her exactly where Eric was. *One day, when I become a Great Mage, I’ll be able to create flames on the scale of that blizzard. And then, I’ll be able to burn that disgusting Archdemon to ashes.* Scarlett stared at the blizzard for a long time.
"Draw your weapons! We’re moving in!"
The Great Chief’s voice echoed out. Visibility dropped, and the blizzard obscured everything. Through the swirling snow, countless monsters appeared. Snow Orcs, Cyclopes, Snow Wolves, Yetis... a sea of monsters were sent flying by the Great Chief’s hands. At a glance, they looked like ordinary monsters, but having faced the Black Wolves in the dungeon, I could see the truth. The monsters before us felt inherently wrong, as if colors had been forced onto black entities. When the Great Chief tore a Cyclops apart, it sprayed black liquid.
'That... is the power of the one who opposed the Northern Grand Duke.'
The Great Chief’s massive axe cleaved through the air. He had swung it at empty space, yet the upper and lower bodies of the approaching monsters separated and rolled across the ground. When the Great Chief stomped his foot, the monsters rushing toward him collapsed. As if it were a routine, the Barbarians following behind finished off the fallen monsters.
'Have we moved about 1km...?'
The blizzard I had seen from the outside was about 20km wide. If the giant octopus was at the center, we had to push forward at least 8km. As all 5,000 Barbarians entered the blizzard, monsters began pouring out from every direction, as if the real battle had just begun. Countless Barbarians swung a variety of weapons. The Great Chief was still opening the path at the very front, but the speed had slowed because the rest of the Barbarians couldn't keep up. My eyes, scanning ahead, caught sight of Wulfric, who had stepped slightly away from the front line.
'Is he rotating with the Great Chief?'
Wulfric stepped onto the shoulders of another hulking Barbarian. The five tattoos etched onto Wulfric’s body began to glow. Immediately, a red light washed over the others, and their speed increased. 'He can use buffs, too?' I felt my own body grow lighter. Looking around, I saw others standing on top of fellow Barbarians throughout the wedge formation, just like Wulfric. The buffed Barbarians regained their strength and began to pick up the pace.
The monsters in the blizzard were undoubtedly strong, but the Barbarians gathered here were the same warriors who had fought against the indomitable North just twenty years ago. As countless Barbarians had fallen, the strongest had naturally survived, and the force gathered here was not inferior to the Northern Grand Duke’s army that had explored the dungeons. Of course, if they were to fight the North now, they would lose due to the overwhelming difference in numbers, but... 'If it’s just a breakthrough...' They might even be able to breach the walls of the Northern Grand Duchy.
After some time, the Barbarians on the outermost edge began to rotate out, likely exhausted. These were Barbarians who had spent their entire lives hunting monsters. They were experts in monster hunting, professionals who knew their own limits clearly. We had pushed 2km into the blizzard, and there hadn't been a single casualty yet. 'This might actually be possible...' In the original story, these were the people who had reached the giant octopus as a small, elite force. Perhaps they hadn't died because they lacked the strength, but because they had no way to escape after detonating the bomb.
I shifted my gaze to the center of the wedge and saw familiar faces. The young Barbarians who had undergone the coming-of-age ceremony with me yesterday. Their fight would be at the very last moment, and as long as the front line didn't collapse, they would simply keep running until the battle ended. I felt the weight of the magic bomb in my hand and looked forward. The monsters had stopped trying to hide the laws of the world; their entire bodies were dyed black. Monsters that should have possessed the traits of Snow Trolls or Snow Orcs were attacking in ways that had never existed in this world. Spikes sprouted from an Orc’s arms, and tentacles grew from a wolf’s back. It was a pattern the Barbarians, who hunted monsters the same way every time, had never seen before. The front line, which had been stable, began to waver.
Suddenly, spikes shot out from the knees of a shadow monster that resembled a troll.
"Argh!"
"Fall back to the center!"
A Barbarian with two tattoos who hadn't reacted in time was pulled from the front line. It was the first serious injury on the left flank. The young Barbarians running in the center hoisted the injured warrior onto their backs.
'3km now...'
There was still a long way to go. Casualties were starting to appear here and there. But this was exactly why all the Barbarian warriors had gathered. A warrior waiting in the center quickly filled the gap in the line.
"The protruding spikes are weak to impact!"
"The tentacles are easily severed! Just cut them!"
The warriors gathered here were veterans who had experienced hundreds of real battles. Before long, they grasped the patterns of the shadow monsters and found ways to counter them. The speed that had been slowing began to pick up again.
'If this is all there is...'
We could reach it without significant losses. The Kraken I had confirmed last time stood 100m tall. No matter how strong it was, it would be helpless against a magic bomb thrown from 2km away. Perhaps it was because I had such complacent thoughts. A massive tremor shook the earth. It was a vibration so great that it could be felt even with thousands of Barbarians running. Soon, the ground split, and a massive black tentacle erupted from within the wedge formation.
"Dodge!"
The Great Chief at the front couldn't deal with a tentacle that had appeared from the rear. The best course of action was to quickly dodge the tentacle and keep running. The massive tentacle coiled around the Barbarians.
"Kuaaack!"
The Barbarian caught in the tentacle swung his axe with all his might, but it didn't cut through; it just got stuck. A moment later, the body of the Barbarian held by the tentacle went limp. The ground split again, and new tentacles appeared. Another Barbarian was snatched up. This time, it was a face I knew. The Barbarian who had carried me on his shoulders at the festival yesterday. A young Barbarian who had been in my group during the coming-of-age ceremony. I regretted not asking his name.
"Eric, look ahead."
Wulfric’s words pierced my ears. The tentacles rising from the ground ignored the front line. The vanguard, where the strongest forces were concentrated, was relatively safe from the tentacles' attacks. The tentacles that appeared weren't invincible; they were severed when Barbarians with multiple tattoos rushed them. But the center, where the relatively weaker Barbarians were gathered, suffered heavy losses.
"There isn't a single Barbarian who became a warrior without being prepared for death."
Wulfric was suddenly right beside me. "This is the way we live. Do not insult our lives, and fulfill your duty." Perhaps as a side effect of activating his tattoos, blood tears were streaming from Wulfric’s eyes.
Many thoughts raced through my head. Originally, this was an operation that had succeeded with a small group of fewer than ten people. If I kept running like this, the mission would surely succeed. My resurrection was an act that violated the laws of the world. Naturally, there was no way there would be no cost. The world was undoubtedly paying a heavy price to keep me alive. Not everyone was dying. It only felt that way because people I knew were dying; the number of dead Barbarians hadn't even reached ten yet. Even the Goddess, the master of this world, had told me to cherish my life. But... but...
The moment I couldn't find a clear excuse to throw my life away, the words of the old shaman flashed through my mind.
"Do as you wish. A choice without regrets—that is the answer."
Only then did I realize. Since when did I start weighing the gains and losses of saving people? The day I died as a firefighter in my previous life. After saving two patients, I had ignored the official’s warning that it was dangerous and re-entered the hospital. Perhaps if I hadn't gone in that day and had lived, I would have continued working as a firefighter until my body gave out, and I might have saved more people later. But I had rushed into the fire without a moment’s hesitation. What was different this time? Yes, nothing had changed. Only I had changed. Perhaps I had been too far removed from the field and had forgotten my duty.
I immediately spurred my horse and approached the Great Chief.
"Get rid of the blizzard!"
"We’re not there yet!"
"It’s fine, just do it quickly!"
The Great Chief didn't ask again; he put down his massive axe and threw a punch. A tremendous wind surged forward, and in an instant, the blizzard vanished, revealing the blue sky.
"What are you going to do now!"
"Great Chief."
Even in this moment, someone could be dying. I didn't hesitate and poured out my words.
"I will return. Whether it takes a month, two months, or a year, I will definitely return."
I stood on the running horse and created a foothold in the air. "So, keep the seat of Great Chief warm and wait for me. When we meet again, I’ll be the Great Chief."
It wasn't a statement meant for a reply, so I stepped onto the foothold and ascended into the sky. Once I reached a high altitude, I could see the giant octopus, the Kraken, in the distance. It was a skill I had performed hundreds of times. It was now the magic I could use most proficiently, second only to my space magic. I moved toward the Kraken’s head, clutching the magic bomb. I could see a gate shimmering in black. What could possibly be beyond that gate? That was my final thought. The moment I moved, I had already ignited the bomb, and a massive light filled my vision. This time, it didn't hurt at all.