NOVEL NEXT Chapter 402: The final Act: Emerging Victorious
?Peace!
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/CLANG!/
/SWISH!/
/CRACK!/
/CRUMBLE.../
The ground was scorched, burning with incandescent oils, flames rising to the skies, bloating the sun and darkening the clouds…
The smell of burnt flesh rose to the blue sea... It was sickening even to stand next to the walls.
Piles of corpses everywhere, tall enough to cover a mountain…
By this point, the Barbarians began using the bodies of their fallen brethren to climb higher, and the soldiers could do little to prevent them from doing so, as their means to defend themselves were already nearing their end.
And the Barbarians knew that, so they pressed on, their charge fueled by the rage of their fallen compatriots.
Meanwhile, as the minutes rolled by, the Knights on the ground floor fought valiantly, their screaming had already long ceased, and by now they had banded together to survive.
Around half of them had already perished, and the rest were soon to fall. They only needed to commit a single mistake to be overrun, so the Barbarians built a line around them, preventing them from moving too far from their place. This was perfect for Dale as he feared the Knights retaliating by bursting through the gates.
He was on his edge already as he saw multiple strong Barbarians use Prime Force to try and break their defenses, he did everything in his power to try and stop them, buying them enough time to last this long.
The Knights tried to beckon the Barbarians, to tell them they weren't here to help, but no one knew how to speak their language, and even if they did, not only would the Barbarians laugh and scorn at them, it was far too late already…
They had already spilled their blood, there was no reconciliation from this fact.
"..."
Dale gazed at the soldiers; the barbarians' relentless onslaught began to take its toll on their stamina.
The defenders grew weary, their numbers dwindling by the minute, but they refused to abandon their post, something worthy of respect.
Meanwhile, the barbarians showed no signs of slowing, their sheer force of will driving them forward; as for each Barbarian killed, another rose to take their post, one with far greater energy and motivation than the previous one.
'Even by rotating three groups of soldiers, it's still not enough to cope…'
He looked at the battlefield, his expression heavy.
'It's time.'
…
Dale left his post, going to the side where a tower stood.
He found a table with several documents and weapons inside, but he grabbed a bow and an arrow instead.
With careful handcraft, he tied a small wooden cylinder around the tip of an arrow, making sure it wouldn't fall off before climbing to the top of the tower and gazing at the battlefield before him.
/Pull…/
Finding his target, he aimed his arrow up high, gathering energy around its tip.
'I've never done this before… I saw it… Experienced it in Maltur's memories.'
'Hopefully, it works. Otherwise, it would be pretty embarrassing.'
/Release!/
/SHOOSH!/
The arrow flew to the skies above the marching army, cutting through the smoke clouds before hitting the ground just a few paces before the Barbarian Commander.
From his high-rise view, Dale observed how one of the people next to him got off his mount and grabbed the arrow before presenting it to the Commander.
He seemed to consider the object momentarily before moving to the side, grabbing a large horn strapped at the side of his gorgeous and oppressive mount.
/BLOW…/
/HORNNNN!!/
A powerful sound echoed throughout the fields, shaking everyone's chest as it threw the battlefield to a complete and sudden halt.
/RETREAT!/
The Barbarians screamed a strange word in their language before turning around and returning in order.
But when the soldiers tried to attack them, Dale ordered them to cease fire and recover; it was best that they returned to their prime condition in case trouble brewed again.
The Fortress was also in dire need of repairs, especially its gates.
/Step step…/
At that moment, the old Knight appeared before him, and he had a knowledgeable look in his eyes as if he knew what Dale had just done.
/Nod/
Dale nodded to him, and the old man let out a sigh of relief; it was weak but honest.
The war had ended for now, but it would be left to be seen if things would remain as they were.
…
"... Do you have a plan?" The old knight asked as they walked on the battlefield
The bodies around them didn't seem to bother the old soul. Instead, he focused on not tripping as they were everywhere.
"I do, talk."
"This could be a trap for all we know. It's preposterous to charge into enemy territory like that." The old man's voice was full of concern, but there was little fear
"It's a fear as old as time itself… But I need to make a stance. Someone has."
"If I don't, they won't take us seriously. They may even be insulted." Dale added in a calm and collected tone
"For everyone's sake, I must step up and end this War; only then can we consider the rest." He said resolutely
"... Very well… Our time together may have been short… But you've earned some of my respect, young man." He said with a light smile as he looked down slightly
"We'll live through this, so don't say like it's our last. We still have to deal with those knights we captured and we can't waste too much time here either; who knows what they can do once they recover?"
"Hoo… One can never be too careful… Alright, let's see this to its end."
They walked towards the hill like two chicks stepping onto a tiger's den…
Fearless and ignorant, but with a great desire to live.
…
What came next was a bone-chilling encounter.
Atop the hill, a group of twenty distinctive barbarians awaited their arrival.
Men and women, old and young, holding all kinds of armaments as they stood still in silent wonder.
Mixed emotions were displayed as they observed their newcomers, wondering about many things… Their courage, their foolishness, their bravery.
All of the above and beyond were needed to describe their actions to stand before them.
/Step…/
Once Dale arrived before the Barbarian, a monster of a man with a height of around two and a half meters, he stood silent, raising his head to face the giant, his mere presence putting pressure on him.
An amusing thought passed through his mind as he saw him…
'I feel as if I'm facing Kuddan again… Is he an ancestor to the Karkavan or something?'
But in the end, he said nothing.
/Raise…/
Instead, he raised a small horn to the Commander, saying:
"I wish to end this bloodshed, nothing else."
The Barbarian looked down at the horn, the source of his desires, but he did not reach to grab it, saying instead in a somewhat broken pronunciation:
"My people need food to survive Winter."
"I'll grant you the grains needed for that."
"For what price?" The giant asked, his voice heavy and his eyes sharp
Their words were short but meaningful, as both were men of short words; this conversation quickly moved through the bases without much effort.
Not that it was a good thing to skip through so many steps…
"..."
This was when Dale was supposed to say "peace", but something deep down thought otherwise.
He knew if he said something wrong, this Barbarian would swing down his axe almost his height and cut him down like a woodcutter splitting firewood…
So he said what he felt was right:
"The lives of those that are playing with ours." Dale declared coldly
"Hm…"
/Move…/
The Barbarian raised his hand… And grabbed the relic.
He inspected it for a moment, his eyes brimming with reddish light.
/Shine…/
For a moment, the horn shone also, surprising Dale.
He first believed it to be an ordinary item, but it was an artifact that reacted to Prime Origin? He had only seen such a thing with Tina during her classes.
Her knife, which she used to carve so many things in his skin, was like that. Could this horn possess a similar principle in its confection?
/Turn…/
The Barbarian Commander turned around, raising his horn to his army waiting at the opposite side of the Hill.
/Raise!/
He raised the horn high and it shone with powerful red light, bloating that of the sun, almost blinding Dale's and the Old Knight's eyes!
/ROAARRR!!/
He roared loudly, and his soldiers roared back as they screamed something in a tongue he could barely recognize.
Their voices were filled with Vitality, shaking their eardrums with its power.
"They… They're welcoming the birth of a new Monarch, their ruler, the Clan of the Qurbo, the great beast." Said the Old Knight as he could understand their language, albeit with great difficulty
"Urg…"
Dale tried his hardest to maintain his composure, but it was difficult under the resonance of their voices.
/Turn…/
Once the voices calmed down, the Barbarian turned to Dale; his expression eased yet still cynical.
"Your word… Has been fulfilled."
"So I shall fulfill mine."
"My soldiers will retreat by my order… But a matter remains to be settled."
He looked at the bodies on the battlefield, and darkness engulfed his vision for a moment, like red clouds in the sky...
Red thunderstorms filled his eyes, a phenomenon Dale was well aware of. Something that commonly occurred in those with immense Vitality to a point they couldn't contain it well.
Despite his powers, he never suffered from this, as he received proper training and improvement of his Vessel to accommodate his powers.
"This blood debt… Must be repaid." He said as he reached for his mount, a massive lizard that had a strange resemblance to a Dragon
This was a Qurbo, the image of this new Clan.
"As a ruler, I must fulfill the needs of those beneath me and lead them to prosperity."
"A Commander you have proven to be, as you lead your warriors to victory… But a Warrior you have yet to be."
"My people beckon for blood, for repayment for which has been spilled."
"..."
Dale didn't like where that was going…
"Per our traditions, you shall represent your people and face me in combat."
""?!""
Both Dale and the Old Knight immediately cringed as they heard those words.
'It's over.' Dale thought as a million thoughts passed through his head
'Right now, I barely have the Stats of an ordinary person. Even if I push myself to the limit, this man is likely no weaker than Kuddan, maybe a bit weaker since he's considerably smaller than him.'
'What differs them would be how proficient each is in their respective techniques and the quality of their Artifacts…'
'There's no way I can bridge this gap… If I had my vision, there was a chance, but it would be like having a 9mm loaded with a single bullet versus the Herculean Lion.'
'The odds aren't so great when there's a gap of hundreds of levels between us…'
Just when Dale thought about how he wasted this memory, the Barbarian ruler said:
"Fear not. I am benevolent, and I shall rule fairly, be you a $!@#6 or not."
"This shall be my first enactment of my vision." He said deeply as he looked at Dale
"&!&^!@%#"
He turned to look at a warrior around 2.3 meters tall, another giant, but less than a monster compared to the ruler.
"You shall face my representative, a warrior that carries my name, my blood and kin, Skyseeker Revengar."
"Emerge victorious, and my army shall retreat to the endless plains after you fulfill your part. We'll listen and respect your words as one who confronted us in battle and survived."
"Lose, and your life shall return to the 'Whispers'... And we'll march onwards and take the Fortress."
"Your words have marked me deeply, and you are correct to believe diving onto the plains beyond is foolish… So we shall stop there and recess our situation." He said as he mentioned Dale's letter
"..."
Not that any of his words mattered were he to lose… They would all die regardless.
"... Very well." Dale said as he took a step forward
"Good."
The commander said nothing more. Instead, he merely returned to his mount, sitting on it calmly as he watched his soon slam his axe on the ground before him, challenging Dale to a duel.
He didn't know how to speak their language, so he merely grunted, his meaning in his eyes.
"... Help me take my armor off." Dale said as he turned to the old Knight
"What? You serious?"
"Quickly, before they lose their composure."
"..."
The old man helped him remove his chest plate, stripping him down to his previous clothes.
This seemed to please some of the Barbarians, who were now finally able to see 'Dale's' face.
Now, with only his sword in hand, he had to win against this monster of a man… And at the same time, try to avoid killing him in the process.
If the Barbarians had a rite of 'blood debt', then if he killed the boy, would he incur one with their leader?
That couldn't happen under any circumstances.
/Raise…/
He raised his sword, almost a dagger compared to the man's size, and readied himself for his last confrontation in the memory.
"... Good luck, kid."
"..."
"As per my words, this duel shall determine the end of this confrontation, and regardless of the result, both warriors shall be remembered with praises, as their bravery is a staple to all." The Commander said deeply and slowly before repeating his words in his mother tongue
""...""
On the fortress and the hill's foot, soldiers from both sides watched as the battle was about to commence.
"&!@#^"
The man, someone Dale estimated to be in his early twenties, said something he couldn't understand, but while he couldn't understand, he knew what he was saying.
His name.
"... Balthazar." Dale said as he raised his sword up high
There was no significance to the name as, this time, Dale did not feel a word come to his mind.
He didn't know who he was, so he had to improvise. The biblical name was the first thing that came to his mind as he watched his surroundings.
""...""
/Move…/
With a simple hand gesture, the Barbarian King issued to the start of the Duel.
/ROAR!!/
/DASH!/
Revengar covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye, his entire body brimming with power.
When Dale reacted, his axe was already reaching for his neck.
/CLANG!/
At that moment, something unbelievable happened.
Dale's body exploded with golden light, and the axe was repealed by a golden barrier.
/STEP!/
/CRACK!/
/SLASH!/
He did not hesitate at all, delivering a singular horizontal strike at the boy's stomach, sending him flying back towards his father and his warriors.
"..."
He did not wake up after, but his groans proved he was still alive, albeit barely.
For a man of such Vitality, most injuries could be healed for as long as they were given proper medical care and rest.
/DROP!/
Meanwhile, Dale fell to his knees, clutching his sword as he breathed heavily.
This technique was something he saw at the end of Maltur's life, something he made and turned into a technique years before his natural death.
A technique Similar to Aura burst, it exploded his energy with immeasurable might, momentarily giving him power... If he could channel the force somewhere... And could withstand it.
It was more complex than it sounded; otherwise, it wouldn't have taken Maltur the Conqueror his entire life to devise.
/Cough!/
It was evident, as he bled and coughed blood on the ground, that he wasn't at all fine.
"... ^!@%#8"
The Commander said something in a neutral yet powerful tone, and the Barbarians around him repeated the words like a choir.
A few of them moved to the unconscious boy, tending to him. Meanwhile, the newly crowned King turned to Dale, proclaiming:
"For a young seed, you contain quite the power. You'll become a grand tree one day for as long as you persist on your path."
"The blood debt has been absolved as per my word; those who are to pursue it shall not be recognized by me. They are yours to deal with alone."
"Farewell, young warrior Balthazar." He said as he stirred his mount to turn around, his soldiers soon doing the same, leaving them behind with their thoughts, awe, restlessness, relief, and much more within their minds
"Kid! You okay?" The old man asked as he approached Dale, showing some genuine concern for once
"I'm... Cough... Good. Just... Just need to lie down and forget this ever happened... Arg!... For a few nights."
"Great, you do just that. I'll help you up... Let's go back home."
"We won." He said as he smiled for the first time
[DING]
With the sun high above their heads, the system notification played by his ears, giving him a greater sense of relief and accomplishment as he felt weak in the legs.
He was finally done with this hellish memory.
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Notes