Chương 54: Chapter 47

Not everyone liked the plan. Honestly, even Hakon would have loved to come up with something better. A strategy that allowed them to fight Pearot head-on. Unfortunately, that was simply not feasible. All he could do was to adjust the plan so that nobody felt like they had to abandon the way of the Barbarian. While not perfect, revealing some of the Skills the Ancestors had granted him, was enough to convince everyone to follow him.

Once that was taken care of, the group focused on recovering until the sun disappeared beyond the mountains. The moons rose high up into the starry sky, their brilliant light illuminating the eerie forest dimly. That was when the young warriors moved out. Hakon half-expected his peers to run into deadly plants, to thunder through the forest, waking all those trying to sleep, or to charge straight at the enemy camp as soon as they saw it, but his expectations were shattered.

Everything went down as he had secretly hoped, despite expecting the worst. It took a while to find their way back to the small camp, prompting [Tracking] and [Scent of Lifelight] to improve by yet another level, but he found several suitable locations and positioned his people. Once Hakon made sure that everyone understood what they were supposed to do, he checked out the camp again and found a group of no less than four Barbarians guarding it.

While the group was a little bit larger than he had hoped for, it didn't change much. Adjusting the variables a little, Hakon retreated back into the dimly lit forest, his attention lingering on the sleeping figures beside the campfire. He could have thrown his hand axes and bone daggers, imbued with mana, to kill several sleeping threats in an instant. If the others joined him, they could have killed most of them long before they could react. That, however, would betray all they stood for.

It would be an insult to the Ancestors and dishonorable. Neither Hakon nor his peers were willing to stoop that low. The least they could do was wake them up. And that was the plan: to wake their enemies with the guttural, pained screams of their comrades. Back in position, Hakon looked down at his chest. The intricate design of his Runeskin glowed with an abundance of power. Enough to make this work, hopefully. Dispelling the doubts lingering in his mind, he motioned to Eren.

A light conjured not too far from the camp a moment later. It was neither too close to the camp nor too far, and it wasn't too bright either. Just enough to attract some attention. Gruff voices rang out from the camp. An exchange, a verbal spat that ended with two disgruntled figures moving through the forest, carrying longswords in their large, paw-like hands. They were towering figures, their muscles tense and ready to leap right into battle at the first sign of danger.

But as they approached the light levitating several trees away from the camp, nothing happened. No fight was waiting for them. The glowing enemy they must have expected to appear was nowhere to be seen. Only a light made of mana that levitated before them. The taller Barbarian slashed at the mote without any real effort. It floated to the side, smoothly evading the incoming strike.

"Monster?" he asked, turning to his comrade. The other Barbarian stepped forward, head tilted.

"A Wisp?" He poked the light, only for his fingers to pass through. Eyes narrowed, he punched through the light, making it dissipate. Eren didn't bother maintaining the Skill, knowing it would be too draining. When they turned their attention back to the clearing, they looked at each other, shrugged, and turned around to return to the camp. That was when the light flickered to life again. The taller Barbarian let out a grunt but spun around to crush it anyway.

"Annoying light!" he growled, turning back to his grimacing comrade, who walked ahead even when the light materialized for the third time. Letting out a curse, the tall Barbarian spun around, his red face shimmering faintly in the moons' dim light. His hand was already lunging toward the light when the ground around him started to shake. A moment later, a massive frame peeled from the shadows around him. It charged straight at him with a perfectly executed [Crushing Advance].

Distracted by the light and his emotions, the Pearot Barbarian was too slow to react in time. Björn was already upon him when he finally regained his senses. His body showed signs of erupting in power, but it was too late. Björn crashed into the target, stunning him momentarily. Taking advantage of that moment, a bone dagger whistled through the air, finding purchase in the stunned Barbarian's left eye. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Next up was Björn with his war axes.

One lodged itself in the Barbarian's shoulder without much difficulty, but by the time he struck out again, [Crushing Advance]'s stunning effect had already faded. The Barbarian did not retreat, nor did he scream out in pain. He advanced toward Björn, head-butted him with a manic smile even with a bone dagger still stuck in his left eye socket, and punched the Blessed warrior in the gut when he refused to collapse to the ground. No words were exchanged, but blood flowed.

Hakon's second bone dagger was already ready, and [Reinforcement] shrouded its blade, but he didn't throw it. He saw Teraq attack the Barbarian from his blind spot and knew that they were going to be fine. Their opponent was stronger and more experienced, but he was also wounded. Hakon watched the Barbarian spin toward Teraq, intercepting his massive sword and leaving a deep cut on Teraq's chest when his leg caved in.

Pearot's warriors were strong, but an axe to the calf could force them to the ground just like any other Barbarian. Björn's foe was not yet dead. He fought valiantly, but Teraq and Björn soon found a way to shove the bone dagger stuck in the eye socket even deeper. In the meantime, Hakon turned to the dazzling light to his left. The smile on the other Barbarian's lips was nowhere to be seen.

He looked around, disoriented and unable to see, but that didn't seem to unsettle him as much as their initial plan had suggested. The Barbarian lowered his body and focused on his other senses. However, that did not help him much against Astrid. She evaded an incoming sword strike, one of her blades pressing against the descending longsword, altering its trajectory just enough to close in. The Barbarian shifted and tried to evade the attack he knew was coming, but all Astrid needed was to cut him.

And that she did. Her second blade scraped across the Barbarian's arm and erupted with the power of Blood Fury. [River of Blood] did all it was supposed to, and Astrid leaned into the sensation. Shedding blood was all she needed to fuel Blood Fury, creating a faint crimson hue, which she used to empower her Runeskin, consuming the hue in an instant. She accelerated further and slashed her target several more times before stepping back, throwing knives already in her hand.

Coated with Blood Fury's energy, Astrid hurled the daggers at the target, hitting his chest and abdomen with deadly precision. Hakon was ready to help, but by the time the Barbarian regained a semblance of vision, he bled badly from several wounds. Astrid occupied his full attention, and Hakon didn't doubt that she'd manage her foe alone, but Eren had always been part of the plan. He waited impatiently and struck the moment the Barbarian charged at Astrid, his body expanding.

Dazzling lights exploded in the Barbarian's face once again. Not even a full heartbeat later, Eren stood behind the Barbarian, ramming his sword into his back before he could unleash his Bloodbearer power to the fullest. Shouts rang out from the camp, but that had been within the range of expectations. Hakon pumped mana through his body and spread his presence into the surroundings. [Intimidation] triggered as he stomped toward the camp.

He stepped into the open, his bare body basking in the luminescent light from above, his sudden appearance catching the attention of the other two Barbarians watching the camp. Their shouts and curses reverberated, waking the sleeping warriors, but they didn't bother waiting for their brethren. As expected. The corner of his lips curled upward as the two Barbarians rushed ahead the moment he revealed himself.

They didn't seem to notice anything amiss even when Hakon retracted the pressure of [Intimidation] and triggered [Pack Coordination]. The Barbarian pair only realized that something was amiss when the shrubs to their left and right parted simultaneously, revealing the remaining young warriors lying in hiding. Unable to contain their excitement any longer, Hakon's people rushed toward the two Barbarians. Four shifted to the side and closed the encirclement when their targets slowed and tried to back away.

Faced with foes to their left, right, and back, they changed their tactic immediately and focused on the weakest link. They pushed toward the sole warrior towering before them. Hakon struggled to contain his smug smile at that. Their reaction was expected, yet it was also the best-case scenario. Being the primary target would ensure his people's survival, and, even better, it would allow him to go all out as well.

He braced for their charge while his allies came at them from the sides, executing coordinated attacks that were too hard to counter. They took nicks and deeper cuts to their arms and backs, but the wounds were not noteworthy. The Barbarian pair twisted out of the way of the worst attacks, and their senses even picked up danger coming from behind as a pair of axes came flying at them. Regardless, they didn't stop, their focus still on Hakon, until they realized that he too was part of the pack.

Moving alongside his people, in a coordinated pack, Hakon evaded the first strike by a hair's breadth, powering [Circulation] to its fullest. Any less, and he would have been struck. But it worked, and he continued evading, weaving through the incoming attacks, studying his opponents' movements, be they physical or mana-based. One attacked with herculean strength, his axe certain to cleave through Hakon in one strike as long as he hit him just once, but he was not fast enough.

[Combat Awareness], [Flow Observation], and [Evasion] made sure Hakon knew what was about to happen right before it happened. It may only have been a heartbeat or two early; however, that was all he needed. Then, as if to prove it was not enough, a burst of power erupted from the Barbarian. He accelerated, closed in, and struck, forcing Hakon to pump mana into his legs. [Dash] triggered alongside [Evasion] as he shot to the side, which was rewarded by a gray hand axe coming for his head.

The other Barbarian had used the distraction to conjure an axe, be it a conjuration of his Ancient Power or Runeskin, and would have struck Hakon if he hadn't noticed the odd mana fluctuations. He barely escaped an axe to the head with an overexerted twist of his upper body. The Barbarian with herculean strength worked in tandem with the axe thrower and closed in again, his axe coming down.

Hakon let out a low growl and released a surge of mana, forming it into a shield, which he augmented with [Reinforcement] and [Mana Infusion] at the last moment. While not enough to block the attack just yet, the herculean Barbarian's axe ended up being disrupted and slowed as it passed through the mana shield. Clicking his tongue at the failed defense, Hakon used [Mote of Light] right before stabbing through it with his sword. In the same instance, his peers were finally done.

Their Ancient Powers came to life as their blades descended into their foes, writing the first passage of their Saga in the blood of the nemesis.