Barbarian in a Failed Game

The gray wave cutting across the battlefield left both allies and enemies uncertain of its allegiance, mainly due to its sheer, brute-force charge that hardly seemed human.

‘Oh, an orc?’

No human would dare to physically confront a beastmen member. It would be more feasible to brawl with greenskins rather than with these interspecies beings whose claws could effortlessly shred armor with a mere touch.

Yet, there was a human, devoid of armor or even clothing, crashing into the beastmen and breaking them upon impact? It wasn’t unreasonable to think it was a new variant of gray-skinned orc. No, even orcs would be easily crushed by this gray orc.

“It’s a barbarian! Commander! It’s a barbarian from Hoarfrost Gorge!”

“What…? That inferior race? But don’t they stay secluded in the farthest reaches of the Northlands?”

“Does that matter right now!”

Indeed.

What mattered was that this barbarian was an enemy of the beastmen. And the enemy of their enemy could become a friend, at least temporarily.

“All units──!!”

Banner Lord Kamarun, commander of the frontline and bearer of the Emperor’s banner, roared with aura-infused shouts, bringing order to the chaotic front. Thanking Baron Petrov for alerting him, he devised the optimal strategy to support the barbarian’s direct assault.

‘The gods have blessed us.’

The barbarian’s onslaught created a gap in the beastmen’s lines. Normally, even a top-tier knight would struggle to charge through the beastmen, but since they were already wounded, charging across their wounds minimized troop losses.

“Break through!”

The lance charge led by Kamarun and his knights crushed the disordered ranks of the beastmen. Their formation, now beyond recovery, was further decimated by the devastating spells of the battle mages. With precise timing, the elite troops of the Empire began pushing back the front.

It wasn’t only Kamarun’s central army. As the central forces pushed back the beastmen, the left and right flanks of the beastmen had to retreat to avoid isolation, and the rest followed swiftly.

“… Unbelievable.”

Uwaaah!!

Amidst the soldiers celebrating their unequivocal victory and the knights quietly rejoicing, Kamarun muttered while staring blankly at the savage remnants left by the barbarian.

“The entire continent has been deluded.”

“Pardon? Commander, what do you mean suddenly….”

“The delusion that barbarian are an inferior race.”

What kind of inferior race can, with just about a hundred, decimate an army and overturn the tide of a war? With a hollow smile, Kamarun put his helmet back on.

“Let’s postpone the celebration. We head to the fortress of Canuta Borderland Marquis’s domain.”

***

When the Imperial forces led by Kamarun arrived at the fortress, they were greeted by a sight that left everyone slack-jawed.

“Oh my… What kind of magic is this?”

Haran, who appeared to be a simple old woman but was actually a Royal War Mage capable of obliterating hundreds with a single spell bombardment, wiped the wrinkles around her eyes with her robe sleeve. Unbelievably, she was shedding tears of awe.

“Sir Haran, what kind of magic is that?”

“Oh, Kamarun. Can’t you feel it? That’s no longer just magic. Yes, it’s a miracle… a miracle!”

“She’s lost her mind…”

Battle Mages, after all, were still mages, and communicating with them in such moments was as futile as ever. Kamarun had no choice but to dismount and walk directly towards the fortress.

The forward fortress of the Canuta Borderland Marquis’s domain was designed to house up to five thousand troops. This was considered quite large, and many things about it had changed from the Canuta forward fortress he knew.

“As expected, a fortress housing different races.”

The walls, which had been rebuilt taller and stronger after being destroyed by a beastmen invasion, now had thick vines growing on the outer surface, clearly the work of elves.

A small city and fortress where dwarves, elves, and dragons resided.

The sky above this forward fortress was filled with a dazzling array of magic circles. Dozens of magic circles, in the colors representing the five magic towers, overlapped and intertwined to create new ones, making it an overwhelmingly complex sight.

‘What are they planning to do with that…’

As a knight, Kamarun couldn’t discern the outcome of the magic circles, but he knew it would be used for something significant, so he had to approach the fortress.

“Halt. Are you Sir Kamarun?”

“…Yes, I am.”

Kamarun suppressed his shock at the sudden presence that had approached without a sound. It was as if this man had appeared out of thin air, positioning himself at Kamarun’s side with exceptionally long arms.

“I am Alejandro, a subordinate of the Borderland Marquis.”

“…! You, you’re the Borderland Marquis’s shadow?”

“Uh, yes, that’s correct.”

“As expected.”

Kamarun couldn’t hide his admiration upon recognizing Alejandro, the man with arms as long as a monkey’s.

A legendary assassin who had successfully eliminated the beastmen’s commander-level figures without ever being detected. The shadow of the Borderland Marquis, who had been nothing more than a rumor, stood before him.

‘To approach me undetected and within striking distance…’

Indeed, the rumors were true. No, considering that someone of Kamarun’s caliber hadn’t noticed, the rumors were even understated.

“But, what about that magic circle…?”

“Ah, it is the magic that the lord is preparing. She intends to disrupt the plans of the Great Forest with it.”

“Hmm, I see. A magic of the great dragon, it makes sense for it to be that spectacular. So? We plan to push the frontlines all the way to the Great Forest. What about the lord?”

“Of course, she intends to assist. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? The barbarian swarming in. It was the request of the Arch Mage of the fortress. And inside the Great Forest, the special forces are eliminating the chiefs. If all goes well, we might be able to end the war this time.”

“That makes sense. Ah, and before we head to the Great Forest, we need to get some supplies. Can we use the facilities of the fortress?”

The claws of the beast troops greatly damaged the equipment. Just a scratch would turn armor into rags, and even the high-quality weapons from the Empire’s armory would become unusable after a few clashes.

Naturally, additional supplies were being sent from the rear, but it would take considerable time for the supplies to reach the Imperial forces at the forward fortress.

In other words, Kamarun was indirectly stating that he intended to requisition the fortress’s supplies.

“Ah, don’t worry about that part.”

“Hey! Monkey! Unload the supplies!”

“I told you not to call me a monkey…! That damned dwarf!”

As if waiting, a dwarf poked his head over the wall and waved his hand.

Following him, an elf appeared.

Various elves, each stunningly beautiful enough to catch the eye from a distance, slowly transported heavy boxes down from the wall.

Their number reached nearly a hundred, and Kamarun’s mouth fell open as he checked the contents of the boxes.

“This, this is….”

“These are the equipment produced by the dwarves of the fortress. The mages of the Magic Tower have inscribed spells on them, and considerable magitech…? or something like that has been incorporated. The Director of Harmony specifically asked to use them appropriately and return them.”

“Thank you!”

Kamarun firmly grasped Alejandro’s hand.

With this amount of equipment, more than half of the frontline troops could be rearmed. And they were not ordinary mass-produced items, but magitech-crafted by dwarves?

If they had bought them in the name of the imperial family, it would have drained this year’s budget.

“There’s no need for maintenance! We can chase the fleeing beast troops right away. But… where are the warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge who went ahead of us? I’d like to greet them separately.”

“Ah… they are not in the fortress.”

“Not in the fortress? Don’t tell me they lost their way?”

Kamarun sensed a strange foreboding from Alejandro’s deep sigh, and he sent a look that said, ‘It can’t be, right?’ Alejandro shook his head vigorously, confirming his ominous feeling.

***

“Master. Up ahead…”

“Yes, I know.”

The oppressive humidity of the Great Forest felt particularly clingy, a sensation that was no mere illusion.

After encountering the Beast God, the group had diverted from the frontline and headed deeper into the Great Forest. The Beast God had sacrificed the scouts meant to relay information about Khan, thus believing their identity remained concealed.

And finally, they found it.

“Demon contractors… It looks like they’re planning to summon a demon here.”

Before the beast tribes unified under the Beast King, the land, once territory of the beastmen, had long since been transformed by the corruption of dark magic.

Tree branches reached out like the tentacles of grotesque creatures, and flowers grew mouths that emitted horrifying screams.

‘What a twisted taste.’

Not all areas affected by dark magic transformed in this way. It must be due to the preferences of the demon dominating the area.

‘It’s not Calisidus. He’s more of a refined type. So, it must be…’

Behelanokto.

The master of Calisidus and the legitimate heir among the great demons like Esperus. That was the demon about to descend now.

‘This is troublesome.’

Unlike Aecharis, who appeared frequently in history, there was very little information about Behelanokto. His name barely came up occasionally. In hindsight, they should have extracted more information from Esperus….

“Benefactor, what shall we do? Should we move in now?”

“Hmm… It seems we still have some time.”

“They could discover us any moment. Wouldn’t it be better to strike first, boss?”

He was right.

No matter what tricks they planned, it was best to crush them all.

“Then, let’s deal with the demon contractors first─”

Crack! Boom…!

“Ambush!”

“No, it’s the beast troops! But… why are they here instead of at the frontline?”

The demon contractors muttered in bewilderment. At the most unexpected moment, a massive number of beast troops surged forward, overwhelming the view. The beast troops, seemingly chased by something, ran without looking back.

Khan’s group quickly retreated to the higher branches of the trees, exchanging glances.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Could the special unit have been discovered…?’

‘No way, everyone who saw them is dead, right?’

Such thoughts passed between them through their eyes. From behind the beast troops, a strange group appeared, laughing madly while clutching chunks of meat in both hands.

“Ha ha ha! Hunting! This is fun!”

“It reminds me of the warrior’s trial…! Run faster!”

Throwing aside the meat chunks, which had become a mess from being used as weapons, the madmen grabbed new beast troops and swung them like weapons. Their appearance—gray-skinned barbarian massive enough to be mistaken for orcs—made Khan cough awkwardly.

‘Why are those lunatics here…?!’

Weren’t they supposed to be unable to leave because they were guarding the seal? He barely had time to process the situation with his confused mind.

『Insects, how dare you cause such a commotion….』

A demon contractor, covered in an enormous amount of dark magic, blocked the path of the barbarian. His presence was clearly beyond mortal limits.

The demon contractor, who had received a low level of power from Behelanokto, the heir of the great demon, had appeared. No matter how barbaric, it was true that they were powerless against a transcendent being that had begun to shed its mortal limitations.

Khan, who had no choice but to confront the demon contractor directly, saw a massive figure abruptly charge into his line of sight.

Crash─!

“Foul power! Destroyed!”

“Great Warrior?”

“Huh?”

The Great Warrior, who was inexplicably crying, held a huge lion beast in one hand and kicked the demon contractor, causing him to explode. He then looked up upon hearing a familiar voice.

“Khan?”

“Great Warrior. What about the seal… why are you here…?”

At that unexpected reunion between father and son, both were bewildered.

『Found you. The one mixed by the gods. It’s you.』

The voice imbued with transcendent energy came from afar, and by the time it finished speaking, it had drawn alarmingly close. The beast troops fleeing began to fall into madness, invoking the name of the Beast King.

『How dare you! Insect, lay hands on me──!!』

The demon contractor, thought dead at the Great Warrior’s hands, suddenly reappeared from the shadows of the trees, completely unharmed.

In this situation, on the verge of exploding, the reunited father and son exchanged smiles, as if reflecting each other. The Beast King of the Great Forest? Demon contractors? Even with such formidable enemies spewing killing intent at them, they seemed utterly fearless.

“Warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge! It’s a festival─!”

Uooooooh──!!