The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 59



Only Krnovel

Episode 59. Sons of the Wilderness (2)

The punitive force consisted of 15 infantrymen, 10 crossbowmen, 12 Atalan warriors, and 1 Atalan mercenary.

“You remain in this position, Duncan.”

“yep.”

… … As it was unknown how many demons would lurk around here, the peddler was excluded from the group.

The infantry’s role was closer to combat assistance than actual combat. They stood at the rear of the line, carrying extra weapons and groceries like porters. The crossbowmen in the center also only played a supporting role and were not the core force. The amount of arrows I brought was insufficient to engage in a long battle.

The core force of the punitive force is the 12 people at the front, Atalain warriors directly subordinate to the Galentana Council.

Some soldiers even had doubts until they saw the real thing. How can you deal with powerful demons with only a dozen or so people? However, those doubts disappeared after seeing the warriors up close and personal.

Angry muscles, sharp facial expressions, and a strange sense of intimidation that was almost lifelike. In addition, the supply of numerous demons brought as trophies. Although they were different from ordinary mercenaries, there was something quite different about them. It makes me wonder if the ‘demon slayer’ is not the story of one person, but rather the misrepresentation of the achievements of that group of people.

But they say there is another sky above the sky.

The intimidation of the fierce warriors was laughable compared to the Atalain mercenaries who joined late.

Ever since they were dispatched, the eyes of the soldiers never left the large mercenary at the forefront. Even the gazes of other Atalan warriors.

“Your strength is great, brother! Thundal is the greatest warrior among us! “This is the first time I’ve seen him stumble like that!”

“Plus, your sword-handling skills are like a ghost! “The owner of that faraway place, where wars and banquets never cease, must have admired it!”

“Brother, how did you get here? How many demons have you killed so far? Where do you plan to go after you finish subduing them?”

“… … .”

After the incident in the tent, the warriors approached Khadim with infinite interest. On the other hand, Kadim continued to ignore it. I was lost in thought, listening to the words through one ear and hearing them out of the other.

Excluding the clay warriors I met in the ruins, this was my first time meeting Atalain in the second round. However, I was not very impressed. Since he was originally a modern man, he had little sense of kinship with this warrior race.

Besides, Kadim had already met quite a few Atalains in the game and in the first round. According to his experience, they were the type that was not worth getting close to.

The Atalans who escaped the wilderness were largely divided into two categories. Those who travel alone and those who travel together.

‘Those who travel alone’ were people who were vaguely similar to Khadim.

Warriors who set their own rules and wander and struggle in solitude. There was a strong culture of rejecting barbarians across the continent, so the words of these people were usually not good. Still, they were honest and trustworthy people, so when I met them, I received help and rarely suffered harm.

‘Those who move together’ were completely different.

A group of people who are tightly united under the precepts of the wilderness and seek blood and fight. Since their belligerence and fighting ability are far superior to other mercenaries, they are a group that is highly favored by kings and lords who are about to engage in a conflict. However, they are naturally self-willed and obsessed with fighting, so if you get close to them, you will most likely get tired or annoyed.

Therefore, Kadim never showed his power carelessly or revealed his identity as the ‘Great Warrior of Atala’ in front of the ‘those who are gathered together’.

I’m sure they’ll make a fuss about showing loyalty they don’t want, or make a fuss about wanting to fight.

But it seemed like it was already too late now.

“Brother, if you get the chance, would you mind challenging me to a duel?”

“No, teach me a lesson first! “I will do my best to prevent you from being disappointed!”

“… … .”

Kadim glanced into the eyes of the warriors. Beyond the thin layer of goodwill, a fierce spirit of victory blazed. Three hundred years had passed, so he had hoped that something would have changed, but it seemed that the Atalains’ nature of wanting to fight the strong had not changed.

Fortunately, there was no need to bother trying. The man who had swung his spear at Khadim came forward and gave orders to the other warriors.

“Everyone, return to your seats! This brother has already proven himself as a warrior by receiving my spear. Now is the time to focus on subduing the devil rather than competing with each other. In the future, if there is anyone who causes internal strife, I will deal with it strictly according to the rules of the wilderness!”

A loud and powerful voice filled with spirit. The warriors obeyed immediately without showing any complaint. Fortunately, the group was still disciplined.

Kadim glanced at the man left alone beside him. He smiled faintly, the long scar on his face distorting.

“I’m late in introducing myself. I am Tundal, the leader of this expedition. I apologize for swinging my spear at you the moment I saw you. However, since you are also an Atalain, I believe you will fully understand the significance of this test.”

“… … .”

Kadim barely resisted the urge to swing his axe and reply, ‘I don’t know, brat.’

“Oh, by the way, I haven’t even asked your name yet. “What is your name?”

“… … “Kadim.”

“Yes, Kadim! It’s nice to welcome you back to the punitive force. Now that you’re on board with us, you need to know how the operation is carried out.”

Tundal then gave a rough explanation of the subjugation operation.

The first point of attack is ‘Borden’, the nearest village. As the operation is carried out by a small number of elites, engagement with large quantities of monsters is avoided as much as possible. Instead, focus on defeating the evil that is its source. The ultimate goal is to find and subdue the ‘central demon’ who is presumed to have brought together other demons… … .

Although he had guessed the content, Kadim listened silently. However, he almost burst out laughing when he heard the last request.

“I know very well that you have extraordinary skills. However, this subjugation will be more dangerous than you can imagine. “You may face more monsters than you’ve ever seen in your life, and demons more powerful than you can even fathom.”

“… … .”

“In such a situation, if someone acts arbitrarily, everyone could be in danger. For now, think of yourself as one of us and cooperate with us. You may be more powerful, but I probably have more experience leading warriors and dealing with demons.”

“… … .”

“Can you swear on Atala’s name that you will follow my orders during this expedition?”

Tundal waits for an answer with a solemn look in his eyes.

The great warrior of Atala, who had killed thousands of demons so far, fought day and night against the army of great demons that covered the horizon black, and finally cut off the head of the great demon with his axe, did not look down on the warrior whose experience was comparable to that of a child in sword fighting.

I just barely suppressed my laughter and said this.

“If it’s the right order, let’s do it.”

*

The punitive force faced the devil less than an hour after they set out.

– Kirruruk, kirrururuk… … .

– Krrrr, woof woof, woof woof woof!!

“Oh, devil! There are devils and monsters over there!”

Two hornless demons, and the blade wolves with glowing red eyes. The soldiers of the Calamity Army were flustered, but the Atalains were different. Under the captain’s instructions, they skillfully prepared for battle.

“Sons of the Wilderness, take up your weapons! Let the spearmen take the front lines and the other warriors stand behind them! Let us throw our spears first, then close in and destroy the remaining enemies!”

Wedge – Liquid! Wedge – Liquid!

The sharp spear flew through the wind. The spear point pierced the wolf’s belly and intestines, cracked its skull, and tore through the meninges. The bleeding bodies collapsed, and the remaining wolves and demons rushed over the corpses.

– Kirrrrrrr, murmur!

– Woof woof woof woof!!!

At the same time, Kadim also kicked the ground. He had smelled the devil and had already prepared to fight. The other warriors were also afraid to lose and ran after him fiercely.

“For Atala!!”

“Atalaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Crunch, crunch – crunch!

– Kkaegang, kkaegang!

– Crumbling, rumbling!

A clash of sharp, shining teeth and metal, blood and screams flying.

The battle was short. The bladewolves were all but wiped out by the Atalain warriors, and the two demons were each killed by salmon and mosquitoes.

The warriors beat their chests in tribute to Khadim, who had single-handedly slain two demons. Then they raised their weapons high and called out Atala’s name.

“Glory to the brother who bravely cut off the demons’ breath!

“Glory to Atala, who has prepared a battlefield for us to shed blood and sweat!”

“… … .”

Kadim was soaked in the devil’s blood and watched the fun.

They were not crazy barbarians, but their skills were not bad. Each combatant’s skills were good, and their coordination and breathing were natural. They were incomparable to the soldiers of the disaster army who couldn’t keep up with the devil.

But I just had a feeling that something was off.

While the movement of wielding a weapon was strangely large, the range of movement and range of expansion was strangely narrow. A method that is not very suitable for battles in open plains. Kadim narrowed his eyes and thought about the reason.

Tundal’s public affairs officer interrupted his thoughts.

“Great work! Whoa, I didn’t expect you to defeat two demons by yourself… … . I guess you have much better skills than I expected. I’ll make the price of those demons’ heads yours.”

“… … .”

“But where did you get that knife and axe? Looking at it, it doesn’t seem to be an ordinary weapon… … .”

Kadim shook off his idle thoughts. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t the time for her to be wasting time like this.

Among the other turbidly entangled energies, a single ray of magic still pierced the skin like an awl. The owner of this magic must be the ‘central demon’ who gathered the other demons. They had to hurry before the magicians of the magic tower or other groups took possession of this demon’s corpse.

“Let’s chat later. Rather, it would be better to hurry and finish cleaning up before other things get involved.”

“hmm… … That’s a fair statement. Soldiers, cut off the devil’s head and set fire to the rest of the corpse! “As soon as everything is burned, we must leave without delay!”

The punitive force occasionally encountered small-scale demons and monsters after that. They were all brutally killed under the joint attack of Kadim and the warriors.

There was no need for the remaining infantry and crossbowmen to step forward. Ordinary soldiers would suffer from extreme fatigue after just one battle, but they seemed to have no idea what fatigue was. On the contrary, as if his body had relaxed, the more he fought, the more ferocious he became.

– Krrrrrr, krrrrr!!

“ATLAAAAAAHHH!!”

“Blood and death to the filthy devil and his minions!!”

“The Lord of all diseases is with us!!”

“… … .”

Ugh – Ugh!

The soldiers just let go and watched the warriors’ activities in bewilderment. His stamina and fighting power were unbelievable no matter how you looked at him. Moreover, the inaction of the Atallain mercenary, Kadim, felt almost surreal.

The other warriors’ joint attacks were also excellent, but they were no match for Kadim. The number of demons and monsters he had slaughtered alone was comparable to the number of those killed by everyone else. The soldiers didn’t show it, but they were half-convinced that the rumored ‘demon slayer’ was referring to this person.

The sun was already setting as the earth was dyed red with unclean blood. There was only about an hour left to reach the first attack point, Borden. The ship advanced faster than the guard captain expected.

It is difficult to secure visibility at night, and demons and monsters become more ferocious. Therefore, the punitive force decided to spend the night here and advance towards Borden again in the morning.

Since we couldn’t light a fire in a place teeming with monsters, we had to eat dry food for dinner. While we hid among the bushes and chewed on dried bread and jerky soaked in saliva, all the soldiers and warriors stared intently at Kadim.

“… … .”

“… … .”

The soldiers’ gazes were filled with fear and awe. But warriors had a different meaning. Ho Seung-sik is revealed even more blatantly. Still, my desire to compete at least once grew out of control after seeing Kadim’s performance in slaughtering demons like animals.

But no one came forward right away. Because he did not forget Tundal’s command not to cause internal strife. On the battlefield, the captain’s command is as absolute as the revelation of the fighting spirit. They had no choice but to promise that after the subjugation would be over, they began to decide on the order of who would spar first.

“Perun, you are the strongest among us, so last… … .”

“What are you talking about? So, I have to be the first… … .”

“It’s fair to compete among ourselves first and decide the order… … .”

… … It was absurd for Khadim, who had no intention of competing even for the slightest bit.

After the meal, the soldiers stood guard and the warriors had time for personal grooming. Khadim wiped his axe blade with an oiled rag and sharpened his dull sword with a whetstone. Tundal quietly came over and sat down beside him.

“Brother, today you defeated five demons by yourself. The Council of Councilors said they would pay 10,000 Luden per head for lower-level demons, so the pay has already more than doubled! At this rate, I think I’ll be one of the richest people in the alliance by the time the subjugation is over, haha!”

“… … .”

Kadim narrowed his eyes and searched Tundal’s gaze. The direction is tilted towards the ‘mosquito’ held in hand rather than towards oneself. Somehow, I felt a strange sense of righteousness.

“I didn’t come here to talk about conservatism, right? “If you have something to say, I want you to say it right away.”

Kadim put down the whetstone and took hold of the hilt of his sword. Tundal wiped his smile and tensed his shoulders.

“… … The sword and axe you use are not ordinary. I have seen it all. The sword took the blood of the enemy it cut down, and the axe returned to its owner’s hands. Furthermore, the letters engraved on the body… … No matter how I look at it, they seem to be ‘ancient letters’ used by the priestesses and ancestors of the wilderness.”

He raised the sword that was pointing downwards slightly. The red letters engraved on the blade gave off a soft light. At first glance, it seemed like he had raised the sword to better observe it, but behind that swordsmanship, there was a sharp threat.

Tundal’s face turned cold as if he had put on a copper mask. Kadim stared at the other person with dark pupils of unknown depth.

“I know full well that you have a good eye for detail. So, what are you trying to say?”

Tundal pondered the conflict and suddenly asked in a stern voice.

“I’ll ask you straight. “Where and how did you get that weapon?”

“… … .”

“It seems to me that… … It looks like the weapon used by the ‘Great Warrior of Atala’.”

An unexpected silence seeps into the shadows of the evening.

Kadim was at a loss for words for a long time, not knowing what to say first, and just looked at Tundal.