Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

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Chapter 323: The Ashen Barbarians of the White Snowfield (5)

[The blades of shadow surged, tearing my enemies apart.]

The blades of death pierced the earth, consuming the space around them.

This was different from before—an attack purely intended to kill the barbarians.

For this reason, the barbarians grinned brightly.

"That's more like it!"

"Stop hiding like a coward and fight!"

The barbarians planted their feet firmly and charged.

They collided with the blades of shadow.

BOOM!

Power erupted, and an explosion followed.

Shards scattered in all directions, clawing and tearing into the barbarians' bodies.

In an instant, their forms began to deteriorate.

From the beginning, there had always been a clear disparity in power.

While the barbarians were incredibly strong as heroic warriors, Necronovix was one of the four lords of hell—a being who had stood at the forefront of sealing away the oldest entities and played a key role in the War of Gods and Demons.

The fact that the fight even seemed even was merely because Necronovix had been restraining his power, wary of the abilities of the monstrosity.

The barbarians had little chance of victory.

But the barbarians understood this fully.

And that knowledge only made them laugh louder as they charged.

BOOM!

Darkness clashed with axes.

The ground collapsed and crumbled.

Scars so deep they would require redrawing the map were etched into the earth.

BOOM!

The darkness exploded.

The intelligent barbarian, Thomas, lost his left wrist.

Necronovix’s attacks carried the power of death itself—a force that annihilated all it touched.

Of course, the barbarians were beings of anomaly.

They could resist the power of death.

But losing limbs was a different matter entirely.

If part of their body was destroyed by that power, it would never recover.

It would become a permanent handicap.

Even so, Thomas laughed.

BOOM!

Darkness erupted and scattered.

The barbarians' bodies were ravaged, but they did not fall.

They stubbornly inched closer to Necronovix.

Surprised by this unexpected sight, Necronovix frowned.

[They are more resilient than I thought.]

He had assumed he could kill them easily if he truly tried.

But the barbarians twisted their bodies just enough to avoid fatal blows.

Wounds that would have killed ordinary humans several times over were mere inconveniences to them.

[I’ll need to exert more effort.]

Necronovix drew upon even more of his power.

The darkness he wielded grew fiercer.

Yet, despite this, the barbarians pressed forward.

Even as their limbs were severed, they stitched their bodies together with sheer will.

Finally.

“Hah! Hahaha!”

CLANG!

Breaking through all attacks, Thomas reached Necronovix.

He raised his massive axe high.

"I’m here! Die!"

[Congratulations.]

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THUMP!

Necronovix grabbed the wrist holding the descending axe.

The axe halted with a dull clunk.

Thomas’s eyes widened.

“Oh?”

[Your strength itself is not particularly threatening. It is the anomaly within it that poses the real threat.]

Necronovix extended his other hand.

A sword of darkness materialized.

STAB.

The blade of darkness pierced Thomas’s heart.

But Necronovix did not stop there.

[Detonate.]

THUD!

Thomas’s body trembled violently.

With the sword still lodged in his heart, Necronovix caused an internal explosion.

Even for a barbarian, this was a fatal wound.

Yet Thomas grinned, even as the sword remained embedded in his chest.

He lunged forward and embraced Necronovix tightly.

“Greta! Anna! Now!”

CLANK!

Having broken through the dark attacks, Greta and Anna charged forward.

They gripped their axes with all their might, aiming to sever Necronovix’s neck as he was held by Thomas.

Necronovix did not bother to block their attack.

He simply shifted his position slightly, using Thomas as a shield.

To strike Necronovix, the two would have to cut down their own comrade.

Even as reckless as they were, their sense of camaraderie would make that unthinkable.

That was Necronovix’s calculation.

And it was a miscalculation.

Greta and Anna did not hesitate.

Instead, they accelerated.

They raised their axes and swung.

Their aim was to sever Necronovix’s neck—along with Thomas.

Necronovix’s face hardened.

BOOM!

Darkness exploded.

The air surged violently, toppling trees kilometers away.

The earth trembled.

“Guh!”

“Argh!”

Exposed to the explosion without protection, the barbarians were hurled to the ground.

They coughed up blood, unable to rise.

[…Hm.]

Necronovix let out a low groan.

The two barbarians had tried to kill their own comrade without hesitation.

There was not a shred of doubt in their actions.

Reflexively, he had expended more power than necessary.

[To think I would be pushed this far, despite the disparity in power... You are truly remarkable—]

Necronovix stopped mid-sentence.

His pupils quivered.

The shattered earth.

Upon it lay the three barbarians, all gravely injured.

Their wounds were horrifying—any normal human would have died a hundred times over.

Yet even so, they were not dead.

They didn’t even lose consciousness.

They gripped their broken axes and struggled to stand.

Thomas was no exception.

He coughed up blood, his vomit laced with bits of internal organs.

He was on the verge of death.

But he still gripped his axe and crawled toward Necronovix.

“I... can still fight!”

Thomas dragged himself forward, inching closer to attack.

[You...]

The trembling in Necronovix’s eyes settled.

He spoke solemnly.

[I offer you my reverence.]

This was a being who had forsaken the world and sided with the oldest of entities.

He possessed the power and conviction befitting such a being.

Necronovix gathered his power, determined to kill them for good.

Even as death loomed, the barbarians' fighting spirit remained unbroken.

[Pierce th—]

[That’s enough.]

Kiiiiiing!

With a voice, a magic circle was drawn in the sky.

It pressed down on Necronovix’s body, and his eyes widened.

[This is...]

[I’ve been waiting for this moment.]

Crack!

The space shattered, revealing the presence of the Tower Master.

Necronovix swung his darkness, shattering the magic circle.

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[Do you think that will be enough?]

But above the magic circle, dozens of other magic circles appeared simultaneously.

Like a barrier, they suppressed Necronovix and drained his strength.

Necronovix grimaced.

Magic of this caliber couldn’t be used without prior preparation.

It meant one thing.

[So you’ve been watching. Quite a good job hiding yourself.]

So well hidden that even Necronovix hadn’t noticed, the Tower Master had perfectly concealed himself, observing their battle.

And when the timing was right, he unleashed the prepared magic all at once.

Necronovix glanced at the barbarians.

[Were they used as bait? How pitiful.]

[No. I never intended to use them as bait.]

The original plan was for the Tower Master to cooperate with the barbarians to fight Necronovix.

But the moment he said that, the barbarians erupted in anger.

“How dare you!”

“You, of all people, dare interfere in our battle! Know your place!”

They rushed at the Tower Master with such fury that, had Ketal not intervened, they would have had to fight the barbarians to the death before even facing Necronovix.

Ketal clicked his tongue and said:

“Leave them be.”

[Are you sure? Necronovix is strong. Of course, the barbarians are strong as well, but... it’s dangerous. They might die.]

It was a natural concern.

But Ketal indifferently asked:

“What do you think would happen if you died in this battle?”

“Hmm?”

“What does it matter to us?”

The barbarians tilted their heads, confused.

The Tower Master was momentarily speechless at their attitude.

The northern barbarians also sought glory, unbothered by death.

However, this was different.

Their response suggested that death itself held no meaning to them.

Ketal spoke up.

“You see? You don’t need to worry about it.”

[…I see.]

For this very reason, the Tower Master had hidden himself, waiting for the right moment.

“You filthy sack of bones!”

“Get lost! Don’t defile our battle!”

[Look at that. Even though I saved them, they’re angry.]

[Indeed.]

Necronovix let out a chuckle.

Though his attitude seemed light, his mind was coldly calculating.

‘I’ve been had.’

He knew the Tower Master’s absence meant something was being planned.

He had intended to quickly finish things or abandon his puppet, but he momentarily forgot amidst the barbarians’ struggle.

Kiiiiiiing!

Dozens of layered magic circles drained Necronovix’s strength.

Under normal circumstances, he could easily break them, but he had already expended much of his power fighting the barbarians.

Maintaining his puppet was becoming difficult.

As the puppet collapsed, its body began to disappear.

And that was exactly what the Tower Master had been aiming for.

[Let’s play a game of tag.]

The Tower Master pursued Necronovix’s retreating consciousness.

Necronovix fought back, driving him away with strength and setting traps.

But the Tower Master countered them all—avoiding bait, smashing traps, and chasing relentlessly.

This time, fully prepared, he could track Necronovix.

And at last—

[Here you are.]

The Tower Master set foot on the remote mountain range where Necronovix had manifested his true body.

[So this is your true form. How savage.]

Now within sight, the truth was clear.

It was powerful.

Terrifyingly so.

The energy radiating from the puppet had been child’s play.

The mere presence of the true form seemed capable of annihilating all life.

Its mastery over such immense power was chilling.

[…Tower Master.]

[Sorry, but I don’t intend to give you time for a conversation.]

The Tower Master waved his hand, activating his prepared magic.

[Imperfect Explosion.]

A mushroom cloud erupted, shaking the mountain range violently.

The Tower Master unleashed all the magic he had prepared.

One spell alone could shake the world—a cascade of Ten-Class magic was unleashed.

It distorted space, the world, and even time itself in an attempt to destroy Necronovix.

Yet—

Crash!

Against overwhelming might, it all shattered and crumbled.

The backlash struck the Tower Master, spreading cracks throughout his bones.

Groaning, he stepped back.

[…Even pouring everything into it, the best I can manage is to make him twitch a few fingers.]

Necronovix’s power shattered all of the Tower Master’s attacks with mere gestures.

Victory wasn’t just slim—it was nonexistent.

But that was fine.

The Tower Master’s goal was to delay Necronovix, preventing his escape.

Boom!

With incredible speed, something landed.

The ground rippled under the impact.

[You’ve arrived.]

“Apologies. I rushed over as soon as I got the location, but it was on the other side of the continent. It took a bit of time.”

[No, it’s fine. I’ll leave the rest to you.]

The Tower Master retreated as Necronovix looked at the newcomer with calm eyes.

[…Barbarian.]

“So this is your true form. The appearance is the same, but the power is entirely different.”

Ketal grinned and raised his axe.

“Well then, this time, let’s truly fight to the death.”

And with that, bloodlust exploded.

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