Chapter 56
Zakan slowly looked over the unfamiliar female barbarian growling at him.
Then...
As though he wasn’t particularly interested in her warning...
He pressed his greatsword harder against the strange man’s neck.
“Stop...!”
The woman’s expression changed.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
Then...
“If you kill him, all of you will die!”
The sharp blade bit into the stranger’s skin.
A thin line of blood ran down his neck.
The woman hurriedly shouted.
Yet...
The man didn’t even react to the sword cutting into him.
His gaze remained fixed solely on his pregnant wife.
Zakan’s flat voice rang out.
“The mark of an exile.”
Then...
“Those who abandoned tribal law and were cast out...”
His eyes sharpened.
“Broke through the wall of my tribe and entered.”
Then...
“Why should I listen to anything you say?”
The strange man bit his lip.
Then quietly said,
“We didn’t destroy the wall.”
His wife immediately continued.
“We were being chased!”
Then...
“We ran without knowing where we were going until we found this village.”
She pointed toward the lizard corpses.
“But those monsters had already gathered here.”
Then...
“My husband saw them break through a weak section of your wall!”
Her voice rose.
“So he threw himself into the opening and protected your village!”
As I expected.
They were husband and wife.
The heavily pregnant woman kept glancing worriedly toward her husband.
Still...
Her voice never lost its strength.
Zakan didn’t lower his greatsword.
Instead...
He looked toward me.
I had become curious about this man who had held off an entire pack of lizards alone.
So...
I activated my skill.
“BARBARIAN!”
[Skill ‘Peeking’ activated.]
The man and woman both flinched violently at my sudden Warrior’s Roar.
They stared at me like I was insane.
Ignore them.
==========
【Target Information】
• Name: Tark
• Race: Barbarian (Exile)
【Basic Stats】
• Strength: 55 / Agility: 22
• Constitution: 89 / Intelligence: 9
【Potential】
• Overall Grade: B (Perfect Meat Shield)
• Growth: 92%
==========
Oh...?
I already assumed he wasn’t ordinary.
But...
His stats were even better than expected.
That absurd Constitution!
What the hell is “Perfect Meat Shield”...?
Anyway...
Considering the average intelligence of these muscle-brained barbarians hovered around five...
He was surprisingly smart too.
An Intelligence of 9 meant he could properly read terrain and understand a battlefield.
Unlike ordinary barbarians who mindlessly charged across open ground and got torn apart...
This guy knew how to fight defensively with a narrow opening at his back.
That explained how he had held his ground against dozens of lizards without being pushed back even one step.
That overwhelming toughness...
I kind of want him.
Someone with this much durability and persistence would be perfect for our village, which was desperately lacking experienced combat personnel.
But...
Only if he was trustworthy.
First, I needed to understand exactly what was going on.
I pushed my personal interest aside.
Then examined the pair again.
Exiles.
A heavily pregnant wife and her husband.
Whether they had accidentally fled here...
Or whether the man had defended our wall...
Those facts were secondary.
What I truly needed to know was...
What were they running from?
“Who was chasing you?”
I asked beside Zakan.
The man turned toward me.
Then slowly opened his mouth.
“...The group I belonged to.”
His voice was heavy.
“They’re starving.”
Then...
“They wander across the barren land...”
His expression darkened.
“Raiding every village they encounter and taking everything.”
He lowered his head.
“I served as a scout for them.”
I asked,
“Then why did you run?”
The man looked toward the woman in front of him.
Sadness entered his eyes.
“...To save my wife and child.”
He clenched his fist.
“The leader of the exile group I belonged to is Kalgo.”
Then...
“He is worse than a beast.”
His voice became bitter.
“Anyone useless to him gets thrown to hunting beasts as bait.”
Then...
“He commits every kind of evil imaginable.”
The man lowered his gaze.
“I have no excuse for being part of that group.”
Then...
He looked at his wife.
“But I’m not alone anymore.”
Fatigue.
Resignation.
Regret.
All of it could be heard in his voice.
“There is no chance my heavily pregnant wife can safely give birth while staying with them.”
His jaw tightened.
“I...”
Then...
“I am a criminal.”
His voice trembled.
“But I want to protect my wife and child.”
Then...
“I’m willing to accept any punishment for that.”
He looked up at Zakan and me desperately.
But...
Zakan still kept his sword pointed at him.
The man continued.
“Once Kalgo realizes we escaped, he will definitely send people after us.”
Then...
“I know too many of their secrets.”
His face became tense.
“They’re already less than half a day away.”
Then...
“If you kill me...”
His voice lowered.
“This village will not survive.”
Zakan frowned.
“...What an arrogant and selfish exile.”
Then...
“You think I’m afraid of a few dozen starving bandits?”
Zakan’s voice remained completely flat.
“The wall can be repaired.”
Then...
“And if they come...”
His fingers tightened around his sword.
“My sword will cut them down.”
The man gave a short, bitter laugh.
It didn’t sound mocking.
If anything...
It sounded like pity for someone who didn’t understand the reality of the situation.
“Young warrior.”
Then...
“I saw you cut down those lizards.”
He looked at Zakan.
“I know you are strong.”
Then...
“But Kalgo’s group is not an ordinary band of exiled thieves.”
His expression became grim.
“If you knew what they captured while wandering through the Frontier...”
Then...
“You wouldn’t be so relaxed.”
Zakan narrowed his eyes.
“What did they capture?”
For an instant...
Fear crossed both the man’s and the pregnant woman’s eyes.
Then...
The man spoke.
“The Blood-Armor Behemoth.”
The instant the name came out...
Zakan’s breathing stopped.
“How...?”
Then...
“Barbarians tamed that monster?”
The man shook his head.
“They didn’t tame it.”
Then...
“They control it.”
He swallowed.
“Kalgo has a strange incense burner.”
Then...
“Whenever the Behemoth inhales its smoke, even that monster falls into a dazed state and obeys his commands.”
He continued grimly.
“If Kalgo attacks this place...”
Then...
“The first thing he’ll do is send that monster charging into your wall.”
His eyes shifted toward the village.
“No matter how strong your defenses are, they won’t survive the charge of a Behemoth.”
Then...
“Once your wall collapses and they release that monster inside...”
He shook his head.
“This village is finished.”
“...”
Zakan’s expression hardened.
The young warriors listening nearby also became uneasy.
But at that moment...
My thoughts were completely different.
Wait.
A Blood-Armor Behemoth...
And a strange incense burner?
It felt as though fanfare exploded inside my head.
Because...
I had already done this quest before!
This is the early L.O.C quest...
The Exile Faction Subjugation Quest!
I remembered it clearly.
The Blood-Armor Behemoth really was a boss-class monster that players with normal early-game stats had absolutely no chance of defeating.
However...
This quest naturally had an easy cheese strategy.
It was incredibly simple.
Destroy the incense burner hanging around the Behemoth’s neck.
The moment it broke...
The sleep effect would disappear.
The restraint debuff affecting the monster would be removed.
Then...
The Behemoth would enter an ultra-enraged state.
And because of the incense burner’s item debuff mechanics...
It would recognize the owner of the incense burner as its highest-priority target.
If that isn’t a free win, what is?
I celebrated internally.
Then looked at the kneeling man.
“What’s your name?”
He answered,
“Tark.”
Then...
“My name is Tark.”
I nodded.
“Good, Tark.”
Then...
“If they really come here with a Behemoth...”
I deliberately asked,
“Do we truly have no chance of winning?”
Tark shook his head.
“None.”
Then...
“The only way to survive is to pack your belongings now, abandon the village, and run.”
Oh?
Is that so?
I crossed my arms.
Then declared firmly,
“No.”
Zakan and Tark both looked at me.
