The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 18



Only Krnovel

Episode 18. The Devil Baron (4)

A night when thick darkness runs across the land.

The moon, which had been dreaming pitch-black dreams with its eyes closed, slowly opened its eyelids as if nothing had happened. Its hazy eyes, shining like fingernails. A halo of the moon spread out along the broken clouds, and a clumped shadow slowly climbed the stairs leading to the castle.

While dozing off, he felt a noise. The soldier was startled and raised his spear.

“Who are you? Identify yourself!”

‘… … It’s me, Delton. Lower your voice.’

“Oh, no, Baron!”

‘Shh!’

Baron Malden put his index finger to his lips.

The Baron was not alone. A huge barbarian spirit followed behind him. The baron was wearing quilted armor with chains and holding a spear knife, while the barbarian had weapons hanging from his belt and was carrying a thick rope.

Are they going out to hunt monsters on this moonlit night? The sight was so unrealistic that Delton wondered for a moment if he was dreaming. The other soldiers who heard the sound and looked in this direction were also in the same mood.

The Baron scolded Delton, who was stunned.

‘Wake up, Delton. You’re the one in charge here. You have to set an example for the other soldiers.’

‘I’m sorry, Baron. But what else is going on here at this time of night? … .’

Instead of explaining, the Baron gave instructions.

‘Tie this rope tightly to the castle rampart. No matter what happens, never come out of the castle.’

The tone of voice was not as soft as usual, but extremely solemn. Even more so than when he left the castle alone, saying he would come to negotiate with Viscount Adlen.

Delton swallowed. I couldn’t bring myself to ask more about the situation. He simply decided to remain silent and carry out his baron’s instructions.

The savage almost fell, holding onto the rope and descending. Strangely enough, he descended so quickly, yet he made almost no sound when he landed. The Baron pulled his chainmail gloves on tightly and followed, holding onto the rope.

The Baron finally called out the soldiers’ names one by one.

‘Delton, Sgelon, Odik, Creon, Benin, Cherod, Donephine.’

‘… … yes.’

‘… Yes, Baron.’

‘I entrust you with my most precious treasure.’

‘… … ?’

‘Please, protect Malden well.’

With those words, the Baron grabbed the rope and slid down.

‘… … .’

The atmosphere was sinking into silence. An incomprehensible sense of sadness and tension filled my chest. The soldiers of Molden looked at each other for a moment and did not take their eyes off the Baron’s back until he completely disappeared into the darkness.

*

Kadim’s proposal was simple.

‘Kill your enemies until you die, Baron.’

‘… … ‘What did you say?’

‘When the sun sets, the two of you will attack the camp. A sword and a spear are sufficient as weapons. Your body will be sluggish, so wear light armor.’

‘No, just the two of us, let’s jump into the enemy’s camp? ‘Isn’t that suicidal?’

‘Isn’t that what you were originally going to do?’

‘… … .’

Regardless of how he dies, if the ‘Devil Baron’ dies, Count Adlen will lose his justification for raising an army. He will either surrender to the enemy and be executed, or fight the enemy to the end and die.

However, there were concerns.

‘If I am overpowered while killing soldiers, won’t Viscount Adlen try to retaliate by attacking Malden until the end?’

‘Don’t worry about that. I plan to take the bastard out in a surprise attack today.’

‘… … .’

‘If I can’t kill the Viscount today, I will help you with the defense battle as you requested.’

An arrogant answer that doesn’t even consider the possibility that he might die.

However, in the Baron’s view, that confidence was not unfounded. It certainly seemed like even if he were to die surrounded by enemy forces, that barbarian would easily escape through the retreat route.

In any case, it was a proposal that the Baron had nothing to lose. His sacrifice was no different, and it was also a chance to eliminate the ringleader of the division.

That wasn’t the real reason Kadim had brought the Baron, but… …it was impossible for the Baron to realize that.

Before we knew it, we had reached the entrance to the camp. Kadim made a brief gesture to bow down. The Baron quietly bent his knees, taking care not to make any metallic sounds.

The breathtaking silence of the night. Not a single torch was burning in the enemy camp. The only sources of light were the faint moonlight and the stars twinkling like grains of sand.

Even with a deep frown, the Baron could not easily look ahead. On the other hand, the sharp barbarian’s eyes quickly penetrated the darkness and captured the outline of the sentry.

“Let’s start.”

Without a moment’s delay, Kadim pulled the dagger from his belt and threw it.

Wedge!

A dagger flew like a poisonous wasp. It slid between the armor and helmet and hit the neck accurately. The sentry on the left stumbled and fell over, losing his balance like a drunk. Another sentry slowly turned his head toward that side.

However, even after seeing his colleague’s body, the sentry did not react at all.

“… … .”

A calm attitude, as if he had just seen a stone.

In the meantime, Kadim, who had run in in an instant, swung the hilt of his sword. The blade rose toward the sentry’s chin.

Tsk – Tsk!

The unimaginable force shattered the jaw and teeth and pushed up, severing the skull. Blood and brain matter flowed under the crushed flesh. The sentry shrugged and collapsed. A faint sound of air escaping came out through the crack.

“Huh… … .”

Kadim narrowed his eyebrows and studied the fallen soldier’s body for a moment.

Deep furrowed cheeks, sunken eyes, and limbs as bony as tree branches. I was so distracted during the day that I couldn’t see them clearly, but now that I see them, both of them have their skin and bones close to each other. It was definitely not like he had starved for a day or two.

‘Even though his comrades died right before his eyes, he didn’t react at all, and even though he was starving like this, he didn’t desert, ra… ra… .’

This would be impossible for a normal human being. However, these people were not like some kind of monsters wearing a cloak. The flowing blood was definitely warm, and when I touched their hearts, I could feel the pulse slowly subsiding.

The current observation confirms the guess.

Kadim glanced at the Baron, glared at him, and made a brief gesture.

“Get serious.”

The Baron followed his instructions without a word.

And as soon as I stepped inside, I couldn’t help but let out a low moan.

‘Uh, um… … .’

Even with eyes that had not yet fully adapted to the dark, I could see the phantom shadows that were wandering around the camp. The sleepless soldiers who walked around without taking off their armor or putting down their weapons, without sleeping.

Swish, swish –

Strangely, the soldiers made no sound. Only the sounds of insects naturally mingled with the footsteps dragging on the dirt floor. The scenery was so far from common sense that it felt like I had stepped into someone’s unrealistic nightmare.

At that moment, the wandering eyes all focused on the two people.

A gaze filled with emptiness but persistence. Soldiers slowly approaching.

“… … .”

The Baron’s breathing became heavy. However, after understanding the situation, Kadim unwaveringly instructed what to do.

“Kill as many soldiers as you can here. I’ll search inside the camp.”

“… … What are you looking for?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Viscount Adlen. Since he is the commander, it seems that the devil’s thoughts are strongest in him.”

“… … !”

The Baron was startled and his shoulders shook. The gaze looking at Kadim wavered slightly. His eyes were asking how on earth he knew that.

Instead of answering, Kadim shoots back sarcastically.

“Rampage as much as you want until your life is gone, Baron. “Aren’t these soldiers the enemies who destroyed your most precious treasure?”

“… … .”

These are just innocent puppets, and you can’t die anyway.

There was no need to leave any comments. Kadim turned away from the Baron and ran towards his soldiers.

Wedge, Wedge!

He took out a dagger from his waist and threw it away one after another. The short blade was placed precisely between the soldiers’ eyes.

Thud, thud!

The pupils turned in different directions. The two bodies fell backwards stiffly without a single scream.

Crunch!

It fired like a flash and cut down the soldier in front of it. The blade reflected the moonlight, creating a hazy afterimage. The neck lining cracked and fresh, fishy blood gushed out. Not wanting to miss, the sword spirit quickly swallowed the enemy’s blood.

“… … .”

The soldiers looked at Kadim with wide eyes at the sight.

Until just now, they had been watching their colleagues die as if it were someone else’s business, but now they began to approach them one by one, lifting the sergeant’s flags they were holding.

Chang, Chi Leung –

There were a lot of people and the space was tight. In order to move forward, a path had to be cleared. Slaughter all those soldiers who look like living corpses.

Kadim took out the battle axe that was as big as his forearm and brought it from the castle. He held it in his other hand that wasn’t holding the ‘mosquito’. Then he charged at the crowd with a fierce momentum.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

I intentionally made the trajectory of the weapon swing longer so that I could maximize the power even when there were many openings. Thanks to this, the already powerful barbarian strike gained even more power.

Crack! Fur – Wow!!

A merciless swing of the axe. Although the blade was dull and could not tear through the quilted armor, the devastating impact was fully conveyed. There were soldiers who had their clavicle bones and internal organs crushed and their spines shattered.

Puuuk, tsu – keuk!

A knife aimed at a vital point. Even during a melee with little visibility, like a ghost, I only aimed at the gaps in the armor and the neck. Bodies with pierced carotid arteries, split joints, broken limbs, and sunken faces were rolling around on the floor like meat puppets.

Even while producing corpses, Kadim did not shed a single drop of his own blood. The sluggish weapons without any teeth could never graze the skin of a warrior. His soldiers were not without hostility. However, it was a hostile attitude as thin as water, so it was not something that could harm Kadim.

It must be because controlling that many flesh bodies is a difficult task even for a demon.

However, the deeper we went into the camp, the more things changed.

Most of the soldiers suddenly collapsed like puppets whose strings were cut. Instead, a mysterious light appeared in the eyes of those who remained.

The soldiers’ gestures involuntarily turned hostile. Ferocious spears and swords flew, and even some men appeared who could speak.

“Kueuu, keueuuu… … .”

“Wow! “Gagging, gag!”

The devil focused his scattered thoughts on only a few soldiers.

However, it was still not enough to be Kadim’s opponent.

On the contrary, Kadim was glad to see the soldiers slowly baring their teeth. It was also evidence that the target was getting closer, and the fresher the enemy was, the more enjoyable it was to cut them down.

Per – billion!! Tsk – Tsk!

“Kyaaaaah! Keuk!”

After tearing through dozens more soldiers and advancing, Kadim finally found the largest tent, which had the Adlen family flag planted. The target must be inside.

“Koooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Big, big… … .”

The soldiers’ commotion ended as soon as Khadim entered the tent.

“… … .”

Suddenly, just as the soldiers had collapsed earlier, all the remaining soldiers also fell. As if he were a corpse without a single moan.

Kadim’s gaze was not directed at the soldiers. What he is looking at is the source of all Satan waiting for him with the lantern lit in front.

– You managed to come this far, shameless wild dog of the wilderness.

A sonorous voice that seeps into your bones.

The person in front of me was Viscount Adlen, but he was not Viscount Adlen. The handsome lord who commanded four hundred soldiers was transformed into a strange man with shining eyes and an animal-like venom.

Kadim was not frightened. Instead, he burst out laughing. A shameless wild dog from the wilderness. Then, are there any polite and friendly wild dogs in the world?

As expected, the devils of ‘that kind’ had a different way of choosing words compared to other devils. Perhaps it was because they had experienced so many incarnations.

‘It’s called ‘Possession Bell’… … . A rare guy was caught. Even in the first round, I only managed to cut it a couple of times.’

The demon that had taken possession of the body of Count Adlen was extremely displeased with the human’s laughter in his presence. He furrowed his brow and the bridge of his nose and warned fiercely.

– I know you have so much faith in the power of that insignificant body. But know the point. The power of that mere body is nothing more than an ignorant trick compared to my power to control the immeasurable soul.

“… … .”

– I warn you one last time. Leave Molden, the Baron, my prey, and leave. This is my orchard, which I have cultivated for many years and is finally bearing the sweetest fruits. Now is the time to savor its fruits, and why should you, a lowly dog, interfere with it?

Kadim listened to the devil with one ear and ignored it with the other. Instead, they raised their swords and axes. I am now tired of listening to the devils’ hateful speeches. The answer would be enough with a cutlery of Choncheol.

The viscount’s reflection in the lamp flickered like a blazing flame. The savage demon was stretching out his magic. Kadim felt the oppression pressing down on his chest, the foul smell shaking his nasal passages, and the trembling of his muscles spreading numbly.

I scolded my brain like a devil chewing it up and spitting it out.

– Are you really not going to back down? You are going to give up your own life, no matter what.

“… … .”

– Say goodbye to your petty ego, stray dog. From now on, I will be the master of your body.

The demon reached out. Magi surged into Kadim’s mind like a tidal wave.

The demonic thoughts that twisted the form to infiltrate the ego. They were writhing madly, searching for a hole in the consciousness. Every movement was filled with wicked confidence. They poured all their energy into the thoughts, so if they could find even the smallest crack and sneak in, they could completely take away control of the body… … .

However, the devil soon had no choice but to withdraw his thoughts.

– Huh, huh… … !

The devil flutters back into his viscount body and falls to the floor. His eyes lost their venom and his complexion became pale. The demon was frightened and trembled with his fingertips like a normal human being.

– You, what the hell are you? Why, why can’t I get it even though I’ve tried my best… … .

Kadim was indifferent. It was a scene I had seen before when I met the ‘Possessed Bell’ in the first episode, so it wasn’t that unfamiliar.

Kadim looks down with a sneer.

“It’s a shame. “We are over capacity.”

The man who had taken possession of the body of a barbarian against his will took brisk steps towards the demon.