Barbarian’s Dark Fantasy Strategy Guide

Chapter 5: The Frenzy of Stoneberry （1）

The strange occurrences in Stoneberry began a month ago.

The first victim was the village woodcutter.

He went into the forest to cut wood and didn’t show up for about a week.

The first to sense something was wrong was Melissa, the blacksmith of Stoneberry.

The woodcutter visited the smithy every week on the same day, at the same time, to sharpen his axe. Since he had never missed his schedule, Melissa asked the villagers about his whereabouts.

Only then did the villagers realize he was missing and started a search. The search continued until sunset, and all they found was the woodcutter’s axe, without its owner.

Thump, thump.

At that moment, they heard footsteps from deep within the forest.

Human footsteps.

They called out the woodcutter’s name, but there was no answer.

As it grew dark, one of the villagers lit a torch……

Kyaak!

The woodcutter, with his eyes rolled back, pounced on one of the villagers.

“Uwaack!”

Rip.

The sound of flesh tearing and the villager’s scream.

The woodcutter, having lost his mind, bit into the villager’s neck with his teeth. Then, he frantically sucked the gushing blood into his mouth.

Like a man who found an oasis in the desert.

The villagers were petrified by the sudden situation.

“He, Help me!”

Soon, hearing the victim’s cries, they hurriedly pushed the woodcutter away. The woodcutter was originally a man of great strength, but now, in his frenzied state, it was difficult for even three strong men to hold him back.

Realizing he was out of his mind, the villagers subdued him with the weapons they were carrying.

They struck his head with clubs.

They stabbed his chest with spears.

But the woodcutter didn’t care.

He struggled incessantly until they finally struck his neck with his favorite woodcutter’s axe.

“This…… This isn’t human.”

The villagers trembled in fear as they looked at the woodcutter’s corpse.

Pale skin devoid of blood.

Despite being stabbed and having his neck severed, not a single drop of blood fell from his body.

“This is the work of a monster…… No, a demon.”

A demon that sucks all the blood out of a human and drives them mad.

The villagers, terrified, tried to escape the forest as quickly as possible. About ten people were supporting the injured and making their way out when the merchant holding the torch didn’t move from his spot.

“What are you doing there? Hurry up and lead the way.”

“Uh, uh, uh……”

The merchant let his arm hang limply.

The torch fell to the ground, and he stood there blankly with a vacant expression.

His eyes stared at the distant sky, and saliva drooled from his parted lips. A thin crack appeared on his thigh, and a thin stream of blood trickled down his neck.

Seeing this, the villagers froze like frogs before a snake.

There was something behind the merchant.

An invisible shadow.

They only saw sharp, white fangs sinking into the merchant’s neck. Soon, the merchant’s eyelids fluttered, and he collapsed.

“Uh, Uwaaaaah!”

Only then did the villagers run for their lives.

They had long since abandoned the thought of saving anyone.

They were busy trying to save their own lives.

They were consumed by the fear that a silent, invisible demon was chasing them. They couldn’t even tell if it was real or just their imagination.

“Huff, huff, huff, huff……”

A woman, running with all her might, felt like her heart was about to explode.

Her legs grew heavier and heavier.

However, her fear-stricken mind gradually cleared, and the tension began to ease.

‘I should be okay if I’ve come this far.’

The woman hid behind a tree and caught her breath.

The cool breeze felt refreshing as it seeped into her body.

“Ha…… Ha……”

She felt a strange excitement at the sound of her own ragged breathing.

Her entire body was drenched in sweat.

Sweat trickled down her skin.

Especially the sweat dripping down her collarbone tickled.

She wiped the sweat with her hand.

“……Huh?”

Instead of sweat, her hand was covered in blood.

From the beginning until now.

Unaware that a Vampire Bat had been clinging to her back all along, she froze with a bewildered expression.

The next day.

Only three villagers returned alive from the forest.

The rest had become prey to the Vampire Bat.

The lord of Stoneberry led his soldiers on a subjugation mission, but due to the Vampire Bat’s nocturnal nature, they lost many soldiers without even putting up a proper fight.

In the end, the lord strengthened the village’s defenses and forbade anyone from entering the forest.

However, the number of victims increased every night, and the villagers turned into bloodthirsty zombies and attacked the village. Many people, including the lord, lost their lives in the process.

Afterward, the soldiers and the remaining villagers fought against the approaching zombie horde, but with more than half of the villagers already turned into zombies, they were helpless.

And now.

A glimmer of hope appeared for the despairing villagers of Stoneberry.

Kyaaaack! Kuhuk!

A barbarian, appearing out of nowhere, began slaughtering the zombies with his gleaming axe.

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The Forbidden Mountains, the northern border of the Karma Empire.

The barbarians were a minority who lived beyond these mountains, in the Volcanus Plateau. They called their homeland the Ancestor’s Land, named after their ancestors.

Hundreds of years ago.

The great hero ‘Volkan’ defeated the Lord of Chaos during the first Great Calamity. Volkan’s descendants lived in the Ancestor’s Land, making demon hunting their clan’s mission.

However, as time passed and the number of demons increased, the warriors, weary of the endless battles, began to defect to the empire one by one, crossing the fences.

Khalid’s Thunder Axe Tribe were the warriors who defended the Ancestor’s Land to the very end, even in such a desperate situation.

Three years ago, the story of the Emperor, returning from the Northern Expedition, paying tribute to a mere barbarian tribe became a hot topic even among the imperial citizens.

The Thunder Axe Tribe, acknowledged even by the Emperor. The villagers of Stoneberry witnessed their prowess with their own eyes, something they had only heard of in rumors.

“Whew.”

Khalid caught his breath.

He wiped the flesh from his axe and hung it on his waist.

The battle was over in the blink of an eye.

The village was littered with the corpses of zombies.

“Who on earth is that man?”

“A, A barbarian……?”

“No way. To think he defeated all of them alone……”

Moreover, there wasn’t a single scratch on Khalid’s body.

The villagers couldn’t easily accept what they had just witnessed.

They even wondered if he was human.

In any case, they had escaped a major crisis thanks to him. It was a moment to rejoice, but the villagers were still lost in thought, staring at Khalid.

They wanted to at least express their gratitude, but Khalid’s chilling expression made them shrink back, unable to utter a word.

He seemed to be smiling for some reason.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been surrounded by so many monsters.’

A familiar sight back home.

The Thunder Axe Tribe grow stronger when cornered. It couldn’t be said that he was cornered by mere zombies, but it brought back old memories for a moment.

『……Is this for real?』

Becky’s reaction wasn’t much different from the villagers of Stoneberry.

The spectacle of the battle still lingered before her eyes.

Every time the axe blade flashed, the zombies’ limbs were torn apart. Even when five or ten attacked at once, it was the same. They withered away like moths drawn to a flame.

It was a natural disaster for the monsters.

‘Are you feeling a little relieved now?’

『Uh, uh…… No?! No way! Don’t get cocky just because you killed a few zombies! I told you the real danger is something else.』

‘Hmm. The Vampire Bat, huh.’

He didn’t know how she knew, but Becky’s prediction was accurate. Although it hadn’t shown itself yet, there was no denying that a Vampire Bat was nearby since they had confirmed the presence of zombies.

The sun had already half-set over the horizon.

It was almost time for the Vampire Bat to become active.

『Yeah, it’s better this way. Let’s quickly find the blacksmith named Melissa and get back to Windfall.』

Becky urged Khalid.

Their mission was to rescue the blacksmith, not necessarily to hunt the Vampire Bat.

Khalid approached a villager.

“I believe there’s a blacksmith named Melissa in this village……”

“Yes? Ah, yes, yes. There is.”

“Do you know where she is now?”

“The women and elderly are hiding in the basement of the village hall. Melissa is probably there too. If you’re going, I’ll guide you.”

“Please do.”

Khalid followed the villager to the village hall.

However, on their way, a woman came running towards them, her face pale with fear.

“So, Something terrible has happened!”

“What is it?”

The male villager stopped the woman.

“Please save Melissa…… Save that child!”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Wasn’t she with you?”

“The monsters found our location, and Melissa ran outside alone, saying she would save us. The monsters all chased after her.”

“What?!”

“……!”

Khalid frowned at their conversation.

“Where did she go?”

“North, towards the mine.”

“The mine? Why the forest of all places……!”

“She said she had to lure the monsters as far away from the village as possible……”

The male villager sighed deeply, and the woman’s eyes welled up with tears.

A demon lived in the forest.

Even if they could somehow evade the zombies, encountering the demon meant there was no turning back.

Khalid asked them for the location of the mine and immediately set out to find Melissa.

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Vampire Bat.

Unlike monsters like goblins or ogres, they are treated as ordinary animals before they become demons.

They are small and mostly suck the blood of animals or livestock, so they are not a major threat to humans.

However, once they are empowered by a demon, they transform into dangerous beings that even ogres would be wary of.

Their appearance is initially insignificant.

They grow from the size of a palm to the size of an adult male, but their weight remains as light as a feather.

Their eyes are covered by a membrane, so they cannot see, and even with wings, they cannot fly. Seeing them sprawled on the ground, they are nothing but black rags.

But surprisingly, they are fast and make very little noise.

Furthermore, when they blend into the darkness, they do not reflect any light, making it virtually impossible to spot them with the naked eye at night.

Before feeding, in their ‘Thirst’ state, they use this stealth as a weapon to hunt humans and turn them into zombies.

（The early game’s insurmountable wall…… I was certainly surprised when he defeated the zombies earlier, but no matter how I think about it, we can’t win against this opponent right now.）

Judging by the number of zombies he killed in the village, it’s likely that it has already entered the ‘Satiated’ state.

（Its skin, strengthened by the absorbed blood, won’t even get scratched by this ordinary axe!）

While Becky fretted inwardly, Khalid continued to search the forest relentlessly.

Kyaak! Kekgek!

He encountered zombies here and there on the way to the mine, but he dealt with them easily.

‘Are these the ones that were chasing Melissa?’

Khalid used the zombies as guides and moved forward.

He was getting closer and closer to the mine.

Given the Vampire Bat’s preference for deep caves, its nest is probably inside the mine. If Melissa went towards the mine, the chances of her encountering it increase.

The sun had already set.

It was now time for the Vampire Bat to be active.

There was no time to hesitate.

Khalid quickened his pace.

『Oh! There’s a light over there…… Is that a cabin?』

A faint light seeped out from the cabin’s window.

A few zombies were scratching at the walls around the cabin. Judging by the fact that they didn’t turn around even when Khalid approached from behind, there was definitely someone inside.

Crack!

The zombies were knocked down by Khalid’s axe.

He had killed so many zombies today that he couldn’t even count them. After clearing the area around the cabin, Khalid approached the door.

The door was locked from the inside.

Knock, knock.

“Is anyone in there?”

There was no answer.

He waited for a moment and was about to knock again when he heard rustling sounds from inside.

“Wh, Who…… Is it?”

It was the voice of a young girl.

Her voice trembled, as if she was terrified.

“It’s a mercenary. I’ve come to get you.”

Then, the latch on the door slid open, and the door creaked open.