Ch.10Chapter 10: Overwhelming.

The leader of the masked men couldn’t understand what had happened.

Though his subordinate, the man was a powerful fighter from the early part of Floor 4, not much different from himself who was mid-level Floor 4.

How could such a superhuman die from internal damage after being hit by a single stone?

No matter how barbaric these people were, this was just…

There were five operation zones in total, and the masked leader thought he had drawn a good assignment even if it turned out to be the worst.

Moreover, that barbarian wasn’t even drawing the greatsword strapped to his back.

He was thoroughly underestimating them.

Although they were attacking the caravan on orders, it felt like their pride as warriors was being trampled.

“Attack! Attack! Kill that barbarian first!”

The masked men all rushed toward Valt upon hearing the command.

Seizing the opportunity, the guard captain shouted to his troops.

“Help the barbarian!”

In the end, three masked men stepped forward to block the guard captain and his troops, while the remaining six confronted Valt.

“Draw your sword.”

At the masked man’s words, Valt thought to himself.

‘I want to draw it more than anyone, you bastard!’

But what came out of his mouth was different.

“I’d like to, but that would be difficult.”

If he drew his sword, one hand wouldn’t be free.

Valt thought it better not to draw his sword since stones and throwing were his main attacks.

But the masked leader interpreted those words as saying they weren’t even worth drawing a sword against.

“You damn barbarian! Is this what you call a warrior’s courtesy?!”

But what came back was mockery.

“You talk a lot for someone who won’t show his face. You ceased being warriors the moment you hid behind masks.”

As he spoke, Valt gathered all his mana and deployed enhancement magic throughout his body.

When you cast enhancement magic on your body? That’s strengthening magic.

He wasn’t sure if this would be enough to withstand a Floor 4 aura, but he wouldn’t go down easily.

And just as his eyes scanned the ground looking for stones again!

“Don’t let him pick up stones! Attack!”

The masked men rushed toward Valt like arrows.

‘These bastards? Fighting dirty?’

But then a thought flashed through his mind.

‘No stones? Then I’ll make some!’

He channeled magical power into his right foot and stomped the ground hard.

Boom!

The ground beneath Valt’s foot cracked, sending fragments of hard earth flying upward.

Being in the mountains with plenty of rocks, there were even more solid stones beneath the surface.

Valt quickly slapped the flying stones with his palm, sending them toward the approaching masked men.

“Hup!”

Swish! Crack!

Having witnessed the power of the stones earlier, the masked men desperately concentrated their auras to block the stones.

Clang!

Clang!

Though the stones were solid, those without magical power infused in them broke apart too easily.

Just as the masked men were wondering why there was no impact…

Thump!

With a heavy sensation, Valt grabbed the wrist of the masked man who had rushed in front.

“Got you.”

In that moment, the masked man whose wrist was caught saw Valt’s grinning face and felt chills run down his spine.

Strangely, his wrist, which should have been crushed, was intact.

But the very next moment.

Whoosh!

The masked man was flying through the air.

“Aaaaaahhhhh!!”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight.

Seeing his subordinate disappear as a tiny dot beyond the cliff, the masked leader shouted once more.

“G-guh! Don’t let him grab you! Keep your distance and attack!”

The masked men launched another attack upon hearing their leader’s order.

“Kuh! Haap!”

But the tide had already turned.

They were intimidated by the insane strength of this barbarian who could throw a person until they became a mere dot.

A fearful blade cannot be sharp.

‘Let’s see if it can cut me slightly?’

Valt deliberately extended his arm slightly toward the masked men’s blades.

Clang!

‘Good! It’s holding up!’

Simply surrounding the body with magical power and using magic to enhance it are naturally different.

Valt was now using magic for primary enhancement and magical power for secondary enhancement, partially offsetting the Floor 4 aura and withstanding the rest with his sturdy body.

Twenty-five days of consistent magic practice had made Valt somewhat accustomed to manipulating mana.

The masked man who attacked Valt’s arm exclaimed in shock.

“I-it won’t cut?!”

This couldn’t be happening.

Even if he was a barbarian…

Watching this, the masked leader remembered something and shouted.

“Y-you!! You’re of Kwan’s bloodline!!”

He had heard rumors.

The Barbarian Unification War.

The barbarian now called Kwan who achieved legendary feats.

Valrok.

It was said he had a body harder than steel.

There were unbelievable stories that he could withstand even a Floor 7 aura sword with just his pure physical body.

The masked men fell into panic at the insane situation where an aura sword honed for over a decade couldn’t penetrate a body made of mere flesh.

“W-we can’t win! The aura doesn’t work!”

Watching the masked men retreat hesitantly, Valt leisurely picked up several stones.

“As expected, nothing special.”

He kept calling them stones, but from an ordinary person’s perspective, they were more like boulders.

“Here I go. Stone Bullet!”

Somehow excited, Valt shouted as he threw the stone.

Judging by its power, Rock Cannon would be a more fitting name than Stone Bullet.

It was a larger stone than before. Naturally, it contained more magical power and physical force.

Whoosh!

Crack!

“Arrrggghhhh!”

The boulder that hit the shoulder of a demoralized masked man easily crushed it.

The masked leader had no choice but to shout to his subordinates.

Though not certain, the fact that he didn’t deny it suggested he was likely the son of the fearsome Kwan.

If so, it was natural that they couldn’t match him.

“Failure! Mission failed! Everyone retreat!”

It was a wise decision.

Everyone had already lost their fighting spirit, and even their auras weren’t working.

It was right to retreat now, even if they had to pay the price for mission failure.

Besides, Kwan’s son? This was something that needed to be reported.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Valt naturally threw stones at the fleeing masked men.

“Aaaaargh!”

Crack!

Thud!

Crunch!

The sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh could be heard.

One unfortunate enough to be hit in the waist became instantly paralyzed.

“Hmm… a few got away.”

Still, proving his worth as a leader, the masked leader barely managed to block the boulder and disappeared into the distance with the recoil.

The guard captain, coming to his senses, muttered with a dazed expression.

“I-is it over?”

Although several mercenaries and caravan guards had died, surviving against such opponents was a miracle.

Despite its size, this caravan wasn’t influential enough across the continent to be targeted by such skilled fighters.

“What on earth is going on…”

Valt approached the caravan master and said.

“You’ve been hiding something. Speak.”

The caravan master trembled, unable to even meet Valt’s eyes.

He was terrified of the barbarian who could pulverize people with stones and turn them into dots in the sky, even though they were on the same side.

“I-I don’t know what you mean…”

No need to mention the artifact beforehand.

If he did, these people would likely suspect Valt instead.

“Such men wouldn’t target us without reason. You must be carrying something dangerous.”

The caravan master just rolled his eyes nervously and sweated profusely.

“If you won’t speak, I’m done here. I’ll take ten times the payment. Any objections?”

The caravan master was startled by those words.

“N-no, Valt! I-if you leave like that, you’re telling us to die!”

Valt looked at the caravan master with cold eyes.

“That’s your problem. You know why the payment is ten times, right?”

Valt then looked for Lisa.

“Lisa!”

Lisa ran to Valt at an incredible speed, as if she had used the wind enhancement magic Haste.

“Yes!! Sir Valt!!”

Judging by her salute, she seemed quite impressed by Valt’s performance.

Plus, Lisa had also heard it. That Valt was of the bloodline of Kwan, the king of the barbarians.

That meant Valt was essentially a prince of another country.

Thinking of him as a prince, even his rugged face somehow looked handsome.

Though Lisa was unusually casual for a noble lady, Valt actually liked that un-noble-like behavior.

And she was cute too.

“Let’s collect our payment and go. Staying here will only cost innocent lives.”

Lisa responded cheerfully.

“Yes! Prince—I mean, Sir Valt!”

Acting like some kind of attendant, Lisa approached the caravan master to extort money with threats.

“You heard the prince, right? Quickly hand over the payment and let’s go. Release everyone too! How dare you carry dangerous items and pay so little?”

The caravan master had reason to feel wronged.

If you need to transport items secretly, hiring many skilled mercenaries and offering enormous compensation would be like advertising, “I have important items!”

But that’s only if everything goes smoothly.

If they didn’t know about the danger, it wouldn’t be an issue, but now that it’s known, the caravan master has become the villain.

Moreover, now that it’s been revealed that the caravan master was transporting dangerous items cheaply, everyone present will try to leave like Valt.

Nothing is more precious than life, so it’s a natural choice.

With Valt taking the lead, people swarmed around the caravan master, pressuring him.

“Me too! I’ll take my payment and leave! Such frightening opponents! I heard they’re Floor 4!!”

“Money is good, but living is better! This doesn’t make sense!”

As people gathered in crowds to protest, the caravan master shouted.

“V-Valt! I-I’ll tell you!! Just please don’t abandon the caravan!”