Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 131: The Sanctuary of Kalosia (2)

They, of course, ignored Ketal’s words.

The dark magician shrieked and backed away, and the Holy Knight did the same.

The battle reached a standstill.

‘What a pity.’

Ketal clicked his tongue.

A superhuman-level Holy Knight and a dark magician—it would have been a fascinating spectacle.

He intended to quietly observe, but unfortunately, he was discovered.

‘I should have kept more distance.’

His heart pounded, he must have made a mistake without realizing it.

The dark magician narrowed his eyes.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

Their battle was intense, the impact reaching even the distant Naplas and Heize.

It was difficult to even be nearby unless one possessed a significant level of strength.

Yet, Ketal stood confidently beside them.

In fact, until they visually confirmed his presence, they hadn’t even noticed him.

There were only two possibilities: he was strong enough to hide his presence from them, or he approached so quickly that they couldn’t detect him.

‘…His mystical energy is not that abundant.’

The amount of mystical energy emanating from Ketal was at best third-rate.

Compared to them, it was pathetically insignificant.

‘Does he have some special trick?’

The dark magician’s mind raced.

The Holy Knight was also taken aback by Ketal’s sudden appearance, his eyes trembling.

The dark magician spoke up.

“Who are you?”

“A helper.”

Ketal replied leisurely.

“As you might guess, I’m not here to help you.”

“I see.”

The dark magician grinned knowingly.

“You’re a hired mercenary. Judging by your appearance, you must be carrying some sort of artifact.”

“When people see me, they often say that. Do I look like it?”

“Do you think I’d fall for such a shallow lie?”

The dark magician cackled.

There was no way he could endure their battle with that level of mystical energy.

He must be hiding an artifact.

The Kalosian Church had brought in an external mercenary.

That was all there was to it.

The dark magician had assessed the situation.

“Well, whatever. You’re just a bug interfering in the fight.”

Despite the impact of the battle, Ketal stood confidently, indicating he was wearing a high-level artifact.

However, he was facing a superhuman-level dark magician.

Mere artifacts couldn’t match such power.

The dark magician swiftly swung his staff.

From the darkness, a pitch-black serpent shot out.

The Holy Knight’s face changed dramatically.

“Hup!”

The Holy Knight dashed forward and plunged his sword into the ground.

A shield of light materialized, deflecting the serpent.

“Ooh!”

And Ketal exclaimed in awe.

The shield of light—it was evident even to an outsider like him that it was much denser and stronger than the holy light of Aquaz.

It was a clear disparity in power.

“Impressive.”

“Are you the one who came to help us?”

“Yes. I came here through Naplas.”

“Is that so…”

Despite being someone who had come to help them, the Holy Knight’s expression was ambiguous.

The mystical energy emanating from Ketal was very weak.

Even with an artifact, there were clear limits when relying on tools.

Frankly speaking, Ketal was of no help in this battle.

The Holy Knight quickly spoke.

“While I appreciate your cooperation, this place is dangerous. You should retreat to the sanctuary…”

“Do you think I’ll let you do that?”

The dark magician swiftly struck his staff down.

From the darkness, dwarves emerged, laughing maniacally.

[Kakakakak!]

The dwarves charged forward, their bodies slowly swelling.

Self-destructing dwarves—their power was considerable.

Normally, one would avoid them by dodging.

However, Ketal stood behind the Holy Knight.

If he dodged, Ketal would be caught in the explosion.

Ultimately, the Holy Knight chose to defend.

Bang!

The dwarves exploded.

The shield of light shook violently, causing the Holy Knight to stagger momentarily.

“Did you think I’d miss that?”

The dark magician mocked, continuing to summon monsters.

The shield of light kept trembling.

‘Damn it.’

The Holy Knight gritted his teeth.

In this battle, Ketal was merely a hindrance.

To protect him, he had to endure losses.

He had tried to make him retreat, but the dark magician, knowing this, had launched a quick attack.

“Surely, the great Holy Knight wouldn’t abandon the one who came to help, right?”

Boom!

With taunts, the attacks continued relentlessly.

Unlike before, the Holy Knight could only defend.

It was all because of Ketal.

“Do dark magicians always use magic to control monsters?”

Despite the situation, Ketal muttered with interest.

The Holy Knight almost cursed at Ketal’s extremely leisurely attitude.

Bang!

The shield shook violently.

The Holy Knight gritted his teeth.

This couldn’t go on.

He would be defeated if he only defended.

Determined, the Holy Knight spoke up.

“What is your name?”

“Ketal.”

“Ketal, this place is dangerous. You must retreat to the sanctuary.”

The Holy Knight gripped his sword tightly.

“I will drive the monsters away and create an opening. Please take that chance to escape quickly.”

It would be quite a burden, but it was better than just defending continuously.

The Holy Knight quickly decided and concentrated power into his sword.

Light began to condense slowly.

“Kalosia!”

The Holy Knight shouted loudly and swung his sword.

A wave of light surged forth, illuminating part of the darkened plains.

The monsters were swept away in an instant.

An opening had been created.

This should give Ketal enough time to escape.

The Holy Knight lunged forward and steadied himself.

And then he was shocked.

Because Ketal was still standing in the same spot as before.

“No. What are you doing…?”

He had taken a risk to give him time to escape, yet the person in question hadn’t moved.

The dark magician laughed mockingly.

“Seems like you’re too scared to move. Capture him.”

A spider-like monster emerged from the darkness and charged toward Ketal.

The Holy Knight hurriedly tried to protect Ketal, but he was too far away to be quick enough.

The spider reached right in front of Ketal.

Both the Holy Knight and the dark magician thought Ketal would be captured.

But then, the spider’s body exploded.

* * *

“…What?”

“Huh?”

Both the Holy Knight and the dark magician paused.

Ketal casually waved his arm.

“Physical attacks work. That’s a relief.”

“You, you bastard!”

The dark magician, flustered, quickly swung his staff.

More monsters appeared.

A one-eyed giant—one of the dark monsters that had terrified Heize on the black plains.

Five giants charged at Ketal.

Ketal leisurely lifted his foot.

Crunch.

The giant’s body caved in from the kick.

The creature flew off into the distance like a ball hit by a bat.

Ketal extended his arm, grabbed the giant’s swinging fist, and twisted.

The massive arm tore off like it was made of cotton.

[Roar!]

He grabbed the giant’s head and smashed it into the ground.

The giant collapsed, never to move again.

“Gasp.”

Ketal stepped forward.

With each step, the giants’ bodies shattered and exploded.

With only light movements, he had killed all five giants.

The dark magician was horrified.

“What, what are you!?”

More monsters emerged from the darkness.

This time, there were various types.

“Oh.”

Ketal smiled broadly.

‘This variety makes it more interesting to watch.’

Ketal continued advancing.

He grabbed a drill-shaped monster and squeezed.

The creature was crushed as if it were being juiced.

A ghostly monster tried to mess with his mind by grabbing his head.

Ketal shook his head dismissively, and the monster vanished without a trace.

Monsters of various forms were being torn apart in different ways.

“Damn it!”

The dark magician was at a loss.

His magic specialized in controlling monsters.

The monsters he summoned were all specially enhanced to withstand holy power.

Even the Holy Knight did not take the dark magician’s monsters lightly.

Yet, those same monsters were being torn apart like paper in front of this barbarian.

“What the hell are you?”

The dark magician shouted.

The Holy Knight was also staring at Ketal in bewilderment.

“Huh?”

Ketal was supposed to be a weakling relying on an artifact.

He shouldn’t have been able to affect their battle at all.

But now he was defeating the monsters?

Even the seasoned Holy Knight couldn’t comprehend it at the moment.

Crunch!

All the monsters were crushed and broken.

Ketal was slowly approaching the dark magician.

The dark magician gritted his teeth.

He had no choice but to admit it now.

For some reason, this barbarian was strong.

He shouted.

“Come forth! Fallen knight tainted by darkness!”

The dark magician shouted loudly.

Darkness condensed violently, forming a passage.

“Death Knight!”

The darkness parted, and a knight shrouded in pitch-black emerged.

Ketal’s eyes lit up.

“A Death Knight, huh.”

Death Knights were among the top-tier monsters.

This one, specially enhanced by the dark magician, was extremely powerful.

Not even a superhuman could easily defeat it.

“Kill him!”

The dark magician snarled.

Clang.

The Death Knight raised its greatsword and charged at Ketal.

Ketal’s response was to dodge.

He bent his body to avoid the swinging blade.

The dark magician smirked.

He judged that the Death Knight’s attack had posed such a threat that Ketal had to dodge.

“Tear him apart and kill him!”

The Death Knight’s attacks grew more intense.

A storm of blades rained down on Ketal.

He continued to dodge, evading each blow.

The dark magician tried to coordinate his attacks with the Death Knight against Ketal.

Just as the Holy Knight, who had belatedly regained his senses, moved to assist Ketal, they realized something.

The Death Knight’s furious onslaught hadn’t even grazed Ketal’s clothes.

Ketal shook his head, moved his arms, lifted his legs, bent his waist, and lightly sidestepped.

He did not retreat.

In fact, even as he advanced towards the Death Knight, the blades didn’t touch him.

Disappointment showed on Ketal’s face.

“I expected more from a Death Knight, but all it does is swing a sword.”

‘It’s not even as good as Maximus,’

He thought with regret, raising his fist.

The Death Knight tried to block with its sword.

Crunch.

Despite the defense, its body was split in half.

The Death Knight collapsed, its form returning to darkness.

The dark magician stood dumbfounded, mouth agape.

“No, this can’t be….”

Ketal looked at the dark magician.

In that instant, the dark magician’s instincts screamed of danger.

Hastily, he gathered the darkness to form a shield.

The powerful darkness condensed and condensed.

It was the dark magician’s full strength.

Ketal took a step forward.

His body appeared before the dark magician.

His fist moved.

The dark magician drew upon the darkness to its utmost limit.

Ketal’s fist struck down.

The darkness exploded outward.

Ketal’s fist connected with the dark magician’s chest.

The magician’s body was driven deep into the earth.

The ground shook.