Barbarian’s Dark Fantasy Strategy Guide

Chapter 6: The Frenzy of Stoneberry （1）

One hour ago.

Melissa ran with all her might.

Clutching a blacksmith’s hammer tightly in one hand.

She dashed through the forest like a squirrel.

The sound of zombies chasing her from behind made her feel like her legs would give out at any moment, but

‘It’s okay! I can do it.’

She encouraged herself and shook off her fear.

‘I haven’t been hammering away all this time to die so pointlessly.’

She had not yet achieved anything.

The only thing supporting the girl was her determination to surpass her grandfather someday.

She summoned her courage to survive rather than thinking about saving the villagers. If she had stayed trapped in the village hall, something terrible would have happened by now.

Fortunately, she was confident in her stamina.

She also knew the geography of the forest and the mine perfectly.

The escape route was already drawn in her mind.

Melissa dodged obstacles and shook off the zombies chasing her one by one.

‘If I keep going like this, I’ll be able to get rid of all the monsters and return to the village.’

The zombies were no longer visible.

Now all that was left was to hide in the cabin near the mine, catch her breath, and return to the village without being caught.

“So the zombies found this place first.”

“Yes.”

Melissa nodded.

『Well, with the candles lit like this……』

“They must have found their way here by the light, just like me.”

“I couldn’t help it because they say demons come out when it’s dark. I was scared too.”

“Yes, you did well.”

Actually, Vampire Bats are blind, so the light doesn’t matter.

They are simply nocturnal, appearing only at night.

Anyway, it was a good thing in the end because Khalid found it first thanks to that.

『What are you going to do now? He’s probably already wandering around outside.』

‘I have to deal with it.’

『Deal with it? What are you going to deal with?! Have you already forgotten how many zombies were in the village? It’s truly horrifying to think that the villagers’ blood is all inside him. Attacking him now is suicide.』

The source of the Vampire Bat’s power is, of course, blood.

It’s only natural that the more blood it sucks, the stronger it becomes.

Unlike the Thirst state, where stealth is its weapon, in the Satiated state, its appearance changes in proportion to the amount of blood it consumes.

Its ragged leather skin swells up like a balloon, and its limbs, which were like dry branches, become as thick as logs.

『I don’t know if you know this, but it’s not just that its body gets bigger, its whole body becomes as hard as a rock. And its strength increases accordingly. But what’s scary is that its movements don’t become slower, they actually become faster.』

Becky had experienced it through the game.

Once it enters the Satiated state, there is no chance of winning in a head-on fight.

Either weaken it with magic or tools,

or focus solely on defense and recovery and wait for the Satiated state to end.

It was one of the two.

（If only we had at least a mage companion.）

Unfortunately, Khalid was a barbarian warrior who had nothing to do with magic.

All he had were two white common axes and a blue magic dagger that he didn’t even use.

（Wait, a magic dagger?）

A spark flashed in Becky’s mind.

Suddenly, she came up with a brilliant idea to get out of this crisis.

『Hey! I have a good idea. You have that Soundproof Dagger, right?』

‘Soundproof Dagger? I have it.’

『You carry Melissa on your back with that. He only identifies the location of his opponent through sound, so he won’t even notice us. With this, we can solve the request safely without fighting! How about it, isn’t it a brilliant idea?』

‘Hmm. That’s a good idea.’

Khalid also agreed with Becky’s opinion.

He had confirmed the effect of the Soundproof Dagger through a tool merchant before.

‘I was wondering how to fight while protecting this child, but I didn’t know that dagger would be helpful. It’s great.’

『Right?! They say there’s a way to survive even if the sky falls. I guess I’m a genius after all.』

Becky sounded like she was jumping up and down excitedly.

Khalid took out the dagger from his waist and handed it to Melissa.

Melissa tilted her head.

“What is this dagger?”

“From now on, hold onto the hilt of this dagger and never let go. That way, the demon won’t be able to find you.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“And just like before, lock the door and wait here until I come back. Even if you’re scared, keep the candles off.”

“You’ll definitely come back, right?”

“Yes. It won’t take that long.”

Khalid went out of the cabin alone and closed the door.

The latch was locked from inside, and the light from the window disappeared.

『Hey! W-wait! What are you doing right now?』

‘Thanks to you, I can fight him without worry.’

『Hey, you crazy bastard! I gave you a good idea, why are you doing something insane?!』

‘Becky. You’re knowledgeable in many ways, but…… it seems you don’t know me well yet.’

『What?』

‘I told you a few days ago. I never run away from demons.’

『Hey! Show some guts according to your opponent! Don’t you know that you can’t even scratch him with that crappy axe?!』

Becky exploded in frustration.

Khalid just smiled quietly.

‘Even when you defeated the zombies in the village earlier, you weren’t that satisfied.’

『That’s because zombies and Vampire Bats are incomparable opponents.』

‘Right. Then I’m curious to see what kind of reaction you’ll show this time.’

（Is this guy really thinking of winning?）

He looked so confident.

Becky was also starting to get curious.

About how strong Khalid was.

Where that confidence came from.

On the other hand, she also wanted to see it for herself.

Kiheeeaaak!

Just then, the Vampire Bat’s roar was heard from afar.

The sound of calling back the zombies that had finished their harvest.

Seeing it flaunting its presence so boldly without hiding anymore, it became even more certain that it was in the Satiated state.

Khalid gripped his axes in both hands.

‘The full moon is bright tonight.’

It was perfect weather for hunting demons.

◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈

Swish.

As the Vampire Bat swung its blood-red wings, the zombies’ heads were severed.

Only ten zombies responded to their master’s call.

And they were just empty shells that had failed to drink a single drop of blood after chasing Melissa.

Krrr……

The Vampire Bat growled, expressing its displeasure. No matter how much it called, the hundreds of minions it had painstakingly created over the past month did not appear.

The Vampire Bat, which had been harvesting blood without going to the village itself, planned to move its dwelling place this time. Of course, after devouring all the remaining humans.

Thump, thump.

Just as the Vampire Bat was about to head to the village, it heard human footsteps from somewhere.

Lively footsteps. It wasn’t a minion, but a living human. The human fearlessly approached the Vampire Bat.

The Satiated Bat stood openly in the middle of the forest without hiding in the darkness. It didn’t need to hide anymore.

Its stiff, fan-shaped wings became sharp blades, and the membrane covering its entire body became a sturdy shield that even arrows couldn’t pierce.

The invigorated Vampire Bat had nothing more to fear. Yet, the human walked steadily and stopped right in front of it.

It was grateful that the prey had come to it on its own, but it was offended that the human didn’t seem to fear it at all.

The fearless human spoke.

“Where are you going? Are you going to look for your subordinates because they haven’t returned? I’m sorry, but that will be difficult. They’re already dead, by my hand.”

“……!”

The Vampire Bat hissed and threatened, as if it understood Khalid’s provocation.

『Hey! Why are you provoking it for no reason?! You made it furious. By the way, damn, it’s eaten so much that its size is freaking huge.』

It crawled like a quadruped, but its size was three or four times that of a human. If it stood up, it would probably be bigger than an ogre.

It had grown enough to single-handedly annihilate Stoneberry and Windfall without any zombies.

“It certainly seems to be the biggest one I’ve ever seen. Let’s see how strong it is.”

Kyaak!

The Vampire Bat spun like a top with one foot as its axis. Its membrane wings aimed for Khalid’s neck.

Clang!

Khalid swung his hand axe and countered. The impact traveled from his fingertips to his shoulders. As Becky said, it felt like hitting a rock.

It certainly had the power befitting the blood of hundreds of people it had stolen. It was a wide-range attack that could cut down all the surrounding trees, and it was also fast, but it was a simple attack that only slashed left and right.

Khalid lightly jumped up and landed on the Bat’s back.

『Eek! What are you doing now?! Get down quickly! Its back is even more dangerous!』

The worst move.

What was it in that cartoon?

A wound on the back is a swordsman’s shame.

For the Vampire Bat, which lived by targeting the backs of humans, giving up its own back was the ultimate humiliation. The so-called seizure button.

There are two things you should never do when fighting a Vampire Bat.

One is to not let it enter the Satiated state.

The other is to not climb on the back of a Satiated Bat.

Right now, both of these applied.

Yet, Khalid was still calm.

Becky just kept repeating that he should run away quickly.

Crack, crackle.

The Vampire Bat, which had stopped spinning, made an unpleasant sound and gradually stretched its neck longer.

The Vampire Bat looked down at its own back with its neck stretched out like a snake emerging from a jar. It looked hideous with its huge open maw, no eyes, and no nose.

It pulled its neck back like a bowstring, ready to pounce at any moment.

The problem wasn’t just the head.

The Vampire Bat, lying flat on the ground, stretched its limbs out in all directions.

It grabbed the fallen trees one by one and hammered them into the ground, as if surrounding Khalid.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Vampire Bat’s blood flowed into the four trees driven into the ground.

Countless mucus-like tentacles sprouted from the trees, rapidly being consumed from the roots. The tentacles filled the spaces between the trees, forming walls.

A large cage was created, surrounded by membrane on the floor and tentacles on the ceiling and all sides.

『We’re screwed now…… We’re really screwed!』

Becky screamed.

It had transformed into a bizarre form that couldn’t even be called a bat anymore. It was the demon Vampire Bat’s unique skill, ‘Cage’.

Kiheeeaaak!

The Vampire Bat’s head, which had risen in the middle of the Cage, roared.

Then, suddenly, a human arm popped out from the floor. The arm, covered in membrane, flailed around, trying to grab Khalid’s ankle.

━S…… Save me……

A human voice.

━Don’t leave me behind.

━Please…… Don’t leave me.

━I want to go home.

Not only arms but also the faces of screaming humans appeared. It seemed like the resentment of the villagers who had been devoured by the Vampire Bat. Dozens of arms popped out from everywhere, searching for Khalid.

『Uh, uhh……!』

It was like watching a scene from hell.

It wasn’t like Khalid would be caught by the flailing arms, but the space to avoid them was gradually shrinking.

Crack!

The bat head also relentlessly flew in, tightening Khalid’s breath.

The floor was filled with the touch of resentment.

With no more room to step on, Khalid started to climb the tentacle walls using his axes as hooks. He climbed up quickly with tremendous arm strength, soon reaching a point where even the bat head couldn’t reach him.

But there was nowhere to escape from inside the Cage.

『Eek! Khalid! Look…… Look up!』

Red fruits clustered like grapes on the branches that wrapped around the ceiling. They were ‘Blood Jade’, filled with the Vampire Bat’s blood.

Plop.

A blood orb the size of a human head fell near Khalid.

Bang!

The Blood Jade exploded in front of him with a loud popping sound.

It had a wider explosion radius and a stronger power than it looked.

If Khalid’s reaction had been even a little slower, he would have fallen to the ground.

But that was just a taste.

『Ah…… Uaah…… Crazy!』

Hundreds of Blood Jades hanging from the ceiling started to fall all at once.

A carpet bombing of blood.

Boom, boom…… Boom, boom!

Even Khalid couldn’t completely avoid this. He only managed to avoid falling to the ground by timing the explosions of the Blood Jades and minimizing the damage.

“……Phew.”

Khalid was barely hanging onto the tentacles with one hand axe. He overcame one crisis and immediately resumed climbing.

He finally reached the end of the Cage.

Khalid, who had climbed to the ceiling where the Blood Jades had grown, stared at the bat head on the ground.

Krrruuurrrk……

It sucked the large amount of blood that had spilled from the Blood Jades back into its body. Its long neck gurgled as it filled with blood, swelling up like a balloon.

『Aah, no……』

This time, it was the Vampire Bat’s ultimate skill, ‘Blood Cannon’.

Becky fell into despair as she watched the final blow being prepared. It was planning to blow Khalid to pieces.

It was a fantastic combination that had been calculated since Khalid stepped on its back. It was a skill worthy of decorating the grand finale.

It was impossible for him to dodge a skill that was difficult to avoid even on the ground, let alone in the air.

Creak……

To make matters worse, Blood Jades were already regenerating behind Khalid.

『Damn it, it’s all over now……』

Becky resigned herself.

Regardless, Khalid carried the largest Blood Jade on his back. One hand held onto the stem, and the other raised his axe.

And he spoke to Becky.

‘Becky, you give up too easily.’

『What? Whose fault is it?! You made things this bad!』

‘I didn’t make it worse. This is how we live.’

『Hey, what are you doing now……!』

Snap.

Khalid cut the stem of the Blood Jade himself and fell to the ground. A moment later, the Blood Jade on his back exploded, accelerating his fall.

Kwaaaaaaaa!

The Vampire Bat also fired its Blood Cannon without hesitation.

A vortex of blood shot up into the sky.

At the moment when the red blood was about to engulf Khalid.

“Pandoraaaaaa!”

Along with Khalid’s roar, a dazzling flash of light struck down in front of him.

Crackle!

The sound of the atmosphere splitting.

It truly sounded like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, befitting the Thunder Axe Tribe.

The Blood Cannon was split in two by Khalid’s strike, and his hand axe was now embedded in the top of the Vampire Bat’s head.

Crack.

Cracks appeared on the axe blade.

As the hand axe, which had reached the end of its lifespan, shattered with a clang,

the Vampire Bat’s head also cracked open like an apple.

Blood drained from the Vampire Bat’s rock-hard body as it gradually returned to its original form.

The Cage disappeared, and moonlight seeped into the forest.

The demon, which had turned back into a piece of black rag, soon turned to dust and vanished.

『……』

Becky’s mind went blank.

She couldn’t understand what she had just seen.

‘How about it, are you a little more satisfied this time?’