Barbarian in a Failed Game

Beep—!

Regardless of how much time passed, Khan’s senses showed no sign of returning, and his body was in complete disarray.

‘Bones are already broken in several places, and my hand feels like it’s turned to charcoal.’

In his Spirit Manifestation state, Uruz fought with lightning and storm spirits clad over his entire body like armor. Naturally, spirits that had gained physical form through Spirit Manifestation bore the attributes of their nature.

For Uruz, one of these features was that the attacker suffered damage. In gaming terms, it could be described as damage reflection. The accumulated injuries from touching the lightning wrapped around his body were substantial.

In addition to punching through it, Khan took a direct hit from an attack similar to a suicide bombing, so expecting his body to be in good shape would be unrealistic.

“Khuok. Krrrugh…!”

Fortunately, Uruz wasn’t in good condition either. The Spirit Manifestation had long since been dispelled. The giant ox that once protected him had shrunk down to the size of a small wind spirit, bleeding dark red blood profusely.

He wouldn’t be able to use Spirit Manifestation for quite some time.

“Serves you right.”

“You short-lived species…!”

Using the reversed grip on the Giant Slayer as a support, Khan stood up with a smirk. Through the Karyan’s Eyes, he could see Uruz’s mind filled with rage and murderous intent.

As infuriating as Uruz’s arrogance was, still uttering the term ‘short-lived species’ in the present condition, the balance of the fight had shifted.

‘Considering the level difference, it’s almost unbelievable…’

Khan managed to seize the upper hand thanks to his overwhelmingly high strength stat, the synergy between the Karyan’s Eyes and Combat Foresight, and the strong defense provided by the Mortalia’s Disguise Robe.

Of course, it should also be noted that elves, like mages, tend to have higher levels relative to their actual combat strength.

‘Still, taking down a named character of Uruz’s caliber alone is incredibly significant.’

Khan’s power had risen to a level where he could achieve victory through favorable matchups and psychological warfare against top-tier superhumans. Considering he hadn’t even used his A-rank skills, it was feasible to aim for even greater heights depending on the situation.

“It’s not over yet…!”

Seeing the confident look of victory on Khan’s face, Uruz gritted his teeth and shot out a bolt of lightning. However, the movement was so slow that Khan could dodge it with sluggish motions.

“How can this be…?!”

“Well chewed, little chick.”

Mocking Uruz’s confusion with a sneer, Khan smacked him across the face. Unlike before, it was a sound of flesh colliding with flesh, and Uruz’s head snapped to the side.

“What exactly does your paradise want with the dwarves?”

“You… lowborn short-lived…!”

“There’s no point talking to you.”

Thump.

In the face of skull-crushing agony, thousand-year-old elves and others were all equally vulnerable. Watching the dimming green eyes of Uruz, Khan grasped the elf’s collar.

“Then, we’ll keep ‘talking’ until you understand.”

***

When Dwarf William Leonora Alexandros III regained consciousness, he found himself being dragged somewhere, suspended by an unseen force.

“You damn pointy-eared bastards! Let me go—!”

Of course, this wasn’t the first time he had regained consciousness. The stout dwarven body would come to its senses in just a few hours, no matter how often he blacked out; he would thrash and holler until he went hoarse every time.

And this time too, he was destined to be knocked out by the elf hunters again—if not for the heavy vibrations that should not be audible.

“The footsteps are heavy. Heavily armored, it seems.”

“The elders should have held off the pursuers.”

“It seems they’ve come from another direction.”

The number of hunters was over ten, half of them spirit masters. In particular, the Eiwass family, which had recently suffered considerable losses, came fully prepared, including powerful forces besides Uruz.

Three leading hunters, who had both contracted with mid-tier spirits and refined their elf swordsmanship, were from this family.

“The horse’s stamina doesn’t seem depleted. We’ll catch him soon.”

“Return fire?”

“A preemptive strike would be best.”

The three at the front nodded simultaneously.

A group of monsters, the equivalent of high-ranking knights, accompanied by several other knights and rushing forward, was nothing short of a disaster. Unless it was Uruz, an elder of the Eiwass family himself, a charge by knights, including high-ranking ones, would inevitably be a burden to them.

In this situation, the best strategy was to utilize the advantages of spirit magic and ambush them before being fully detected.

Thinking as one mind, they coordinated their plan and stopped to prepare their spirit magic. The Eiwass family’s spirit masters, who were not part of this trio, lent their power, and those who were not spirit masters, the elf swordsmen, found their own places to ambush and concealed themselves.

“It’s right here! The roots here are faintly trampled!”

Not long after, the voices of the pursuers could be heard in the distance. The faces of the elves were painted with curiosity. What kind of skill could have allowed them to find these traces when even the hunters employed by the Empire’s lords couldn’t do it without intentional clues?

In the forest, elves could move while leaving only the faintest of traces. Even the hunters hired by the Empire’s lords only found traces that were deliberately left behind. So how did the owner of these voices manage to find the traces?

“Prepare.”

Regardless of their curiosity, the elf hunters skillfully prepared their ambush. They even suppressed their breathing to eliminate even the slightest variable and remained as still as if they were one with nature.

Then.

Rumble—!!

A curious mixture of armored knights, a middle-aged man in mercenary attire, and a girl wearing a priest’s robe came into view. The middle-aged man, who had been shouting ever since, raised his voice again.

“Danger—!”

It seemed the middle-aged man had somehow noticed the ambush in advance. The elf spirit masters exchanged glances. Wind element mid-tier spirits suddenly charged at the knights. Even if the ambush had been detected, the fact remained that humans couldn’t see the spirits.

‘Eliminate the short-lived knights first.’

The best strategy in an ambush was to neutralize the most threatening opponents first. The mid-tier spirits, exuding impressive auras, simultaneously lunged at three high-ranking knights.

The elves began summoning lower-tier spirits in staggered intervals to target the lesser knights.

“Ambush!”

The Empire’s knights displayed a commendable reaction, befitting their reputation. The aura whip lashed out with precision.

This was the best possible response to target all the elves who had emerged to attack from all directions. A few of the elves, who were approaching to bring the knights within range of the lower-tier spirits’ attacks, were torn apart or crushed by the whip.

“Die! Filthy elves…!”

Despite this, more elves remained. As the high-ranking knights, swinging the thickest whips, adjusted the direction of their attacks towards the approaching elves just a dozen steps away,

‘Got you.’

The elves, who had remained concealed while commanding the mid-tier spirits, flashed their eyes. To ensure that the mid-tier spirits’ attacks wouldn’t miss and to eliminate even the slightest of responses, they threw their bodies in a self-sacrificial move.

With a desperate determination to secure the former dwarf prince for the Eiwass family, whose position in paradise had recently become unstable, they seized a perfect opportunity.

Hawks, horses, and snakes. The mid-tier spirits, each with different forms, reached the high-ranking knights.

‘Without the high-ranking knights, the remaining forces will surely win.’

Just as the death of the high-ranking knights seemed certain,

“Rise up…!”

Suddenly, ice spikes surged and blocked the path directly in front of the high-ranking knights. The knights turned their horses, and when they glanced to identify the sudden magic, they saw the ice chunks shattering against something invisible.

Seeing this, the high-ranking knights thought, “Could it be?” and thickened the aura around their armor. The realization that they had barely avoided a spirit’s attack sent chills down their spines.

“How…?!”

The elves were equally astonished. It was a precise move targeting the moment the spirits materialized, effectively foiling the ambush. This tactic would be impossible without being able to see the spirits.

“Leave the rest to me.”

One of the two women in black habits, who had an appearance that could be mistaken for an elf, drew a dagger from an unknown source and dashed forward. The remaining young priestess with pigtails clasped her hands and began a prayer, invoking a miracle.

“A high priest…!”

Moreover, this was a miracle that only high priests could normally wield. The knights, already wearing armor inscribed with defensive spells, now had a layer of aura added. With the addition of the holy light, lower-tier spirits couldn’t inflict significant injuries immediately.

“Kill the priest!”

Realizing this, the elf hunters charged at the pigtail-haired priestess in the rear.

“Eek… Not so fast!”

But that too wasn’t easy. Not only did they have to break through the knights’ interference, but when they barely did, a foolish-looking man interrupted with various magical tools.

‘What’s happening here?’

The mid-tier spirit masters found themselves having to confront high-ranking knights now bolstered by the priest’s blessings. Their shock was even greater because they had not anticipated the failure of their spirit-based ambush.

The main culprit behind the current situation, the woman in black habit wielding a dagger incongruous with her appearance as an elf, moved like one despite being a human.

Finally recognizing the woman’s identity, the elf hunters erupted in rage.

“You, you’re a half-blood. How dare you deny your own lineage—!”

A half-elf. A mixture of noble blood and the filthy short-lived species. Even though her lineage was mixed, she still possessed the ability to see spirits.

The addition of just one half-elf had completely altered the tide of battle, effectively exploiting the vulnerability of the elves who relied heavily on the invisibility of spirits.

“I’m human.”

Half-elf Neria smiled brightly as she drove her dagger into the neck of a mid-tier spirit master.

TL’s Corner:
I realize, Ludmilla is nowhere to be seen. Did I miss something? What happened to her after the ‘talk’?