Chapter 231: Barbarians (2)
RnemJsmA dozen or so female warriors appeared to stand between Korin and the heated crowd.6d7
qNHBNEach of them were carrying a unique shield and a spear, and wearing feathered ornaments. Korin immediately realized these were the great warriors of the gods, the Valkyries.9C8X
z9mbLFemale warriors of the God King possessing eternal beauty and youth. They were top commanders of warriors, who each had the right to open one of the 540 gates to Valhalla.sl6
1PlRHSince there were 17 of them in total, it meant that they could open 17 gates.aYAD
b4sEYrX“So…”veBfTi
B1zOne of them walked forth from the line of Valkyries. The giant woman as tall as 2.5 meters carrying an enormous warhammer that could crush a mammoth’s skull to smithereens was none other than Thrud of Strength.bV2zoja
Za3vpiShe was the daughter of Thor, the God of Lightning, and the strongest of valkyries.YP9S
bS9uQZ“Is it you who dares to see Brunhild?”Us4yi8N
U3wXHer voice turned the surrounding air into layers of steel that came crashing down at everyone nearby.wTJa
958CtZKorin knew how strong she was. Thrud was one of the few who could swing the hammer left behind by Thor, the God of Lightning, but he remained composed.WWItE
P7jr“Yeah. For a negotiation between the leaders of the two factions.”NoRX7Fy
p4rLXq“How insolent for a mere mortal. If you wish to see her, you must defeat me first as well as my sisters. Only then will you be able to witness the leader of the shield maidens, the keeper of the final divinity ever since the fall of gods.”v1Xl8
t6u“Isn’t it more of a curse from the God King than divinity?”Eppte
BiuwIa“You dare…!”Mam6Yp
9xgAbB“I will challenge Brunhild’s ‘Wall of Flame’.”L085G
F3jw“…!!”IBKAaKa
JSCHaHe watched on with a confident smile as their faces crumpled in real time.nKC
0ZBvv****seGY
1HKBrunhild, the leader of Valkyries, had a curse cast upon her for a long time.T6oX3d
hyVWZAs a consequence for disobeying the God King in the past, she had to be walled off by a ring of inextinguishable flames and put to eternal sleep.Two
yk6jWOne had to pass through the wall of flame and take off her byrnie to lift the curse but… the issue was that the King of Gods, who had cast that very curse, had been devoured by the Wolf of Apocalypse.Ww7Vuk
zosYThe fall of gods.FnAfa
3g884JxWith the death of the King of Gods, the curse cast upon Brunhild had also been lifted albeit by only half.l5E8P
jNNNHWhen the gods fell, Brunhild woke up from her sleep but the curse of flames was still there.13LTx
TkUF4KN[Only the one who passes the wall of flame and takes off Brunhild’s vest of mail shall lift her curse.]tVkNJcf
Az2P9fHBecause of that prophecy, countless citizens had attempted to lift her curse by challenging the divine flames. The half-giant wearing the hide of a great bear, the sorcerer widely revered as the wisest, as well as the great warrior who won the most number of battles… They tried but none of them were able to cross the divine flames protecting the byrnie.oLPmM6x
m8883oThere was no-one left who wished to challenge it anymore, at least until this man showed up.E7R
3cLCU“So… Did you want to challenge the ‘Wall of Flame’?”mJhxwc
N757b5tBrunhild, the leader of Valkyries, who was now a symbol of eternal chastity due to the god’s curse, asked the man in front of him.gVa8
5xa“Will you become mine if I pass the wall?”Bzed
U37The silver beauty nodded with a vacant gaze in spite of that arrogant question.EedhLJW
rpQd“But that will be only possible if you pass the flames of the King of Gods.”gJDwNW
SuX9That was when all of a sudden, flames started to soar up with Brunhild at the center.gzbBKa
wzDUmouIt was the leftover curse of the god – flames which scorched every man that touched it. The flames appeared so divine, that even non-believers, who would normally refuse to believe such things were possible in real life, wouldn’t be able to refute the divinity of it.dES
GQx9d6– KWAAAAAAAAAA!OmW
xWUiJsThe surging pillar of flames melted both the falling snow above and the fallen snow on the ground.D4d
DFsNo-one could pass it; no-one could jump over it alive; and no-one could overcome it. That was the power of Odin’s curse.99RKl
S3h‘No warrior was able to withstand those flames.’XK9m
ZU2Ujk‘No hero could overcome it.’0Wv9
tfrsTThe leftover trace of gods was now nothing but a source of grief for the sisters watching from the side. Among the sisters who walked a different path to Brunhild, some had made their decisions due to that very curse of the God King.H3pDee
FokAll of the valkyries hated that curse which they couldn’t resolve no matter what they did.MNg
a6OXuqz“Flames of a god, huh.”Gw42xJ
ZS3Korin took a step towards the flames that no-one dared to overcome.XcB3KwN
eLnt“You fool… You’re killing yourself.”kOzO
4n49Y“No-one has been able to pass it for over a millennium!”infe
HqdgyThey could tell that Korin Lork was indeed a courageous warrior. However, there were few in the past 1,000 years that were on a comparable level.13Qj5
w4ACountless warriors challenged those flames to obtain the leader of Valkyries for themselves.oo9Y
zDcgHowever, none of them was able to overcome it.zzmFBd
SIT31That was how intense and strong of a curse it was, that the God King had cast for the disobeying shield maiden.Ih295d
LkN8m“Flames like this can’t burn me.”LV7kLA
LEP1But Korin strided into the wall of flame without a sliver of hesitation. Everyone watching thought he would scream out in pain and be reduced to ashes but the result was the exact opposite.BYVF1aI
5bCuv5h“What…?!”rp1V2WJ
IW1gu“This can’t be!”iny
Qrdd1QqThe barbarians were appalled by the sight. Korin Lork had walked beyond the wall of flame.J0Pmnp
1ANRFdEven the divine flames weren’t an exception from the absolute ability of Claiomh Solais – full resistance to heat and flames.KiL
b2xS4QWhile the crowd was baffled by him crossing the uncrossable barrier of flame that no man had been able to overcome, Korin stood face to face with Brunhild. Taking off the glittering byrnie of the beautiful silver-haired valkyrie was his rightful privilege, but he didn’t.HHWXRa
QOV“I have an offer to make.”jES3n
BddtHe did not wield his rightful privilege. Despite overcoming the god’s curse, he made an offer instead of desiring the result.Tr0a
hyf4eY“Can you please follow what I say for some time? I will save you guys in return as well.”e89Cm4y
2ePZgh8“…”cV9InvX
IS1Brunhild couldn’t understand the man in front of her, nor the reason behind the offer.rI2R
HGAf“Why are you not simply taking off my armor as permitted by the King of Gods, and commanding me as you wish?”kadZWAe
TD5That was supposed to be the right and privilege of the hero.j2weeN0
cm77xAlthough she was a valkyrie and a great warrior of the god, because the God King had prophesied that he would hand the leader of valkyries over to the great hero, she had no choice and had to follow the prophecy.nkR
f5sjl“That’s too old-fashioned,” jested Korin. “That only happens in old mythologies and fairy tales. If you kiss a sleeping beauty these days, you’ll be arrested.”zMr3K
TfxvHe refused to do so with a smile.8E6dI2
uslW“What is it that you are after?” she asked.TzNC6Ty
jg6vg“A win-win for us.”El2OOLM
s14FwSInstead, he showed his respect for Brunhild and raised a fair offer.0JxwSE9
N7a“We will accept the northerners into the walls, but they too must participate in the war.”Cj8Lcy
64lwAk“Are you… aware of what’s happening in the Northern Kingdom?”wvG7oV
aDvv“There’s probably an uninvited guest called Valtazar that’s doing crazy stuff here and there. That man happens to be my martial brother, you see. His puberty has hit quite hard.”uSQCWch
45Nba4“…”gP8RF
ipItYvBrunhild turned to the spear in Korin’s hand, and came to a realization.uUFT8X
ckzoSoIt was that the ‘spearman’, who would change the destiny of the valkyries, prophesied by Skuld the prophet could have been about this man, Korin Lork.K1VFa
WlywW“Would you please lend us a hand?” he asked.aEFn0G2
8AC0“…Why?”si03s
o8pKg8“Sorry?”n6Q
tLd“For a long time, you have called our free citizens ‘barbarians’ and have disdained them and ostracized them. And the free citizens had been plundering your kingdom for a long time.”gKLSUO
d4oFShe was asking him why they were offering their help.88wnv
Nvs“Hmm… it’s not because of something grandiose but…”s7SLPF
8WVPAnd in response to such a question, there was only one kind of answer he could return.YHI7gE
vBY“It’s best if there are as few casualties as possible. Human lives are the most expensive, after all.”Jd4
CkZs1He had only been hoping for one thing this whole time, and one thing alone.wQql
nJDA happy ending.QVyCy
ITG****lfjw2
VUyfzCGThe treaty was signed in a breeze.1liSL
9NMhk6As compensation for accepting the 230,000 free citizens of the Northern Kingdom into the south, the able warriors had to cooperate with defending the walls.A7lRjP
57JFOf course, there were quite a few people that were against it.UXe
SbJ3rhSome of the barbarians themselves refused to follow because they couldn’t trust us; the guards and the soldiers, as well as the guardians that came here under my lead were all concerned about the idea.BIF3vJn
uk7Although they didn’t explicitly say anything rude, they looked at me like I was a madman.Da9
ckWRBut soon, the northerners were persuaded by their psychological leaders, the valkyries, and I persuaded everyone in the city as one of the few nobles present.5lMyXJ
zGf3N“If something goes wrong, we will take responsibility for it.”EYOEtG
dCzMWe weren’t some random people either.sr4
LWEFDWe had Lady Josephine who was a hero written in the history books, the successor of the Dunareff Dukedom, a successor candidate of the Arden Household as well as utmost support from Saintess Estelle.zmFm
spkbNPUNone of us were people that would be immediately stabbed for bringing the barbarians into this side of the wall.yR64bE
2kf“Will this be okay?” Brunhild asked.paFOsz
X4hWQ“What do you mean?”VkQ3r8
qNPHu9D“This is close to a political suicide. It went through for now because there is no-one here that is higher than you, but it will become a problem in the future.”VWLhcE
RrdGQmT“Well… if it turns out well, they will let it be.”jmsGj1
5FVjyC8The player was a superhuman; the protagonist and the center of the world. But even so, it was impossible for the player to do anything he wanted by brute forcing everything.RqV
1j5bGFThere were too many things to consider in real life.wdZzeW
wuqN7Political issues, harmony, racism and other discriminations… in that sense, this world was no different from Earth.qGJB
Rzvc“Trying to live a virtuous life allowed me to get a lot of people willing to help me.”RXJax
LmP0LQo“…I can see that.”5hmO7xx
EbsBrunhild said while looking at my comrades who were settling the situation.3UQJMn
yYb“In any case, can you please allocate the valkyries equidistant along the walls? They’re the only ones that can control the barbarians after all. Let’s join forces and fight through this.”HuLD
5dkIt was right as she was about to nod with a smile.6wU
V6I— KWAAAANG!!gRcG
o7U6XThe wall we were standing on came crumbling down.s2pTtD
4FkKpMB****Kve
ef7TNW“Damn it…”s4BP
3GZaI waved away the dust that filled the air due to the crumbling wall, and stood back up.FL5
3qh“Brunhild? Are you okay?”VntxT
KfKQIQ“Something like this can’t hurt me, but…”AKz9
OWVR0She looked around. The soldiers and northerners who had fallen along with the wall were crying out in pain.3rR
8pjd“M, my legs…!”YzY
EoK“I, I’m stuck! Somebody help me!”WNi8j6
xHS84GOThe knights and mages were able to protect themselves in the fall, but the rest were in miserable states.pvXIL
2tWKI was wondering what destroyed the wall until my eyes found the very proof of an attack.tV8eJo
GcTYZl“…A rock?”BFW
YDnQj9UIt was a massive rock that looked like it was carved out from an entire mountain. That enormous rock had flown into the wall, destroying a portion of it.BPhy
aACu‘Who in the world threw this?’6ZUGiO
k0lF46First priority was to identify what was happening. I jumped onto the adjacent wall that was still standing strong.1QO8uOH
VsbxNySeeing that, Hua Ran walked up and asked with a worried tone.xQhKE
Cz4“Korin. Are you okay?”R2zLypK
orxkRY“I’m fine,” I replied. “But there are a lot of people buried in debris. Can you go help them?”XyZ
G2ll“…Okay.”XDcR
KVPXAfter sending her down, I turned towards the horizon.bJO
O0V“They’re here already.”wcm6Q8
v5vb7CIt was a shocking spectacle even when I witnessed the 230,000 barbarians, but the scene in front of me couldn’t even be compared to that. Anyone seeing it could only think of one thing.JlHn4p
qhxKSBBThe end of the world.M6BY7TA
nnC9– KAAHK! KAAAAAK!krp
NWxM– GUWOOOOO!FQ7
e0tdK3IMonsters were covering both the sky and the ground. Footsteps were quivering the ground and their roars were becoming more audible despite the distance.eK0Tki
tpBHundreds of thousands… A stunning number that couldn’t even be counted were marching towards the walls.Te0xg
g7uThe question still remained of who destroyed the wall, but… the answer to that was turning out to be quite obvious.YpNa50
n2wT“T, titans…”Q0yORB
wGCp5“Titans! There are titans!”KnYj
aEFfjN7Barely visible on the horizon were dozens of titans walking towards the wall with each carrying an enormous rock.9HzWSWG
eDEX0DY“How…”TMYty
lwV9NiTIt didn’t make sense – the titan resurrection plan was supposed to have failed. We destroyed the Tower of Magic and their knowledge shouldn’t have reached Valtazar.tx2
PgJdJXy“T, they’re throwing the rocks!”d3fyR
JPPiX“Run away!”Qfk
QYJN3And yet here they were, and the titans all lifted their rocks at the same time. If those landed on the wall all at once… the border city would be destroyed in the blink of an eye!99sc
Zk7“Professor Josephine!”0DC
pgrLeaving the hands of the titans, the rocks began flying towards the wall in a parabola. In response, Lady Josephine activated her spell – she calculated the angle of the parabola and opened up an alternate dimension at the exact location of their fall.tjBYbv
m4NZ0Thanks to the strongest dimensional witch, Josephine Clara, the rocks were all swallowed into the other dimension.QLt
bqg5“Ohhh…!”NnqJiNz
LqqWADv“Dimensional Witch!”luKvXa
CXV1TitThe soldiers cheered, but this wasn’t the end.9om
Arv9‘We got rid of the rocks, but there could be more. Besides, it’s hard to stop the titans themselves just with the wall.’8A26
8BkBack in the original game, each of them were always as tanky as a mid-boss. We needed large-scale, deadly spells to wipe them all out at once, and fortunately, I had a skill that met the criteria.IvD
mhR“Sun Manifestation.”HdelSBI
omyThe power of Claiomh Solais to manifest the Sun was certainly the world’s biggest and deadliest ability in existence.UkPyyUg
nDZO5jb“Let’s start off by burning half of them down.”wzC58
qkkAnd wipe out some of that never-ending wave of demonic beasts in the process as well.PBeL5x
dFqojfM“It’s Sir Korin’s Sun!”26eDz
NLmZA“Right! With that, even the titans will…!”vXwJ0ej
WkEzXTheir eyes were shining with expectation. With every strand of hope they conveyed, the stronger I became through [Battlefront Flag Bearer].dy0
CilVLRight when I was about to drop the manifested Sun towards the titans in response to that hope…JItM
qSx95N8“Look! What is that!?”gzY
xNcHThe Sun, Claiomh Solais brightened up the sky and everything nearby. It also revealed a large ‘wolf’ that was leaping towards the Sun.j3Nl
EiIbzC“Huh?”lSmIDs
8n3YI naturally knew what that wolf was. The Wolves of Apocalypse that were accepted by the golden wolves, Ren and Ron, in the final battle of the last iteration…Wti
iBHd0lCOne who devours the Sun, Skoll.MHY8
FokOne who devours the Moon, Hati.DEYlBtP
R2YovIn other words,qLDsw
zf95Claiomh Solais’ ability to manifest the Sun was—2BV
8aL7– Kajik!nI0A
ibbyf— meaningless before them.OvJ57
6dL“The Sun…”hqiik0t
asJ5IU“…It ate the Sun.”dkU9
7SMtQOpThe unbelievable sight of the Sun being eaten was not the only problem. As soon as the Sun disappeared, a harsh and frosty wind replaced it and this wind… was clearly abnormal.RLuQ1
3e1oi“Don’t tell me…”23O5zV
O65vBeyond the horizon, something of an unbelievable size appeared behind the titans.RkRkGx
VH0LIt was as sublime and grand as the snowy mountains itself.ptEY
KwRLGA giant on the same level as the Sky Titan that I met at the secret lands of druids to obtain Claiomh Solais—mAPSVp
lSOQ“…Frost Giant.”EmGb5Y
lEx2oThe one behind this eternal winter – the one who hopes to destroy the world hand-in-hand with Tates Valtazar.TyvD91
l97MQThe Frost Giant, which was supposed to be waiting for the player at Nastrond, the world of corpses, was walking towards the walls instead.aPjs63
wbiFd76“…Hah.”QQIGeN
Fzr3I made plenty of preparations.yGnA9F
pGdxattBecause I was aware of the future, I made tweaks to it.AO1I
gaZqaujBut it turned out that that ‘tweak’… didn’t always lead to a favorable outcome.AnUO
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