Ch.20Chapter 20. The Female Knight Captured by Barbarians (3)

Chapter 20. The Female Knight Captured by Barbarians (3)

Kanto stood before Hannah and snorted.

“So it was you. The one who damaged the precious handcuffs and restraints of our Blue Moss tribe…”

No, that was Lakye.

“Ha… mister. You won’t understand me, but that wasn’t me, it was that woman.”

Hannah glanced sideways at Lakye.

“What are you muttering about! You shameless civilized person! You’ll pay for your crimes! With your body!”

Kanto shouted words that could be interpreted differently and charged forward.

It was like a wild boar rushing in. His intimidating presence was the greatest among all the warriors I’d seen so far.

Thinking this time might be different, Hannah chose to dodge the attack rather than blocking it with her shield.

Whoosh-!

Hannah narrowly avoided the double-bladed axe and tried to regain her posture, but Kanto was faster.

Instead of retrieving his swung axe, he gripped it with both hands and swung it sideways, jabbing Hannah with the pole end of the axe.

A quick and powerful transition. Even I was surprised watching it.

As expected of Malak, the lumberjack with crazy stamina.

Thud!

Though it bounced off her light-wrapped armor, Hannah’s slight body tremor suggested she definitely took damage.

This might be the first effective hit on Hannah today.

After several more exchanges, Kanto clearly had the upper hand.

The chief of the great Blue Moss tribe overwhelmed Hannah with his innate strength and speed.

“Tsk.”

Hannah clicked her tongue, created distance between herself and Kanto, then raised her sword into the air.

Light gathered at the tip of her sword, then spread in all directions like fireworks.

“Hmm?”

Just as Kanto sensed danger and slowed down, the seemingly chaotic bursts of light shot toward him.

Ah, I think I know this skill.

Among paladin skills… right, Light Explosion.

It’s a skill that fires energy bullets made of light. I remember it wasn’t particularly lethal but effective against multiple enemies.

Clang! Clang!

Kanto desperately deflected the light missiles with his double-bladed axe, but he gradually retreated as his strength waned.

This time, Hannah took the offensive.

“Ugh!”

Kanto defended against Hannah’s sword with his axe but took a Light Explosion to his side as a consequence.

As Hannah’s assault continued, Kanto gradually retreated.

Despite his struggle, the battle had already turned. After being struck several times by Hannah’s shield bash, Kanto took another Light Explosion and collapsed.

It was the expected outcome, but seeing it firsthand was disheartening. He could overwhelm briefly, but in the long run, it was inevitable.

Just as I was about to withdraw my divine possession since the sun was setting and the day was ending:

“Yaaaaaaaaaah-!”

Kanto let out a battle cry worthy of a hot-blooded hero and jumped to his feet.

His bloodshot eyes looked genuinely enraged.

“Come at me, civilized one! I can still fight!”

The barbarian warriors watching responded to Kanto’s words.

“Such incredible fighting spirit! He’s already a great warrior!”

“Woooah! That’s our chief! He’s still fine!”

“You’re a hero, Kanto!”

Perhaps empowered by the countless cheers and shouts, Kanto charged at Hannah again with another scream-like battle cry.

Hannah hesitated momentarily, overwhelmed by his momentum.

I understand. Anyone would feel weak in the knees seeing Kanto charging like a madman with bloodshot eyes.

We call that berse—wait. I just realized something.

Barbarians. Also called barbarians. A race that appears in many games, usually portrayed as strong and combative.

There’s a common trait among barbarians. They possess a skill called berserker rage or berserk.

Perhaps Kanto has entered a berserker-like state? A new barbarian power I haven’t seen before…

Clang! Clang! Clang! Thud!

“Argh!”

His judgment clouded by rage, he gets thoroughly beaten without properly defending himself.

Barbarian berserker. Barbarian rage. There was no such thing.

“…”

The barbarians who had been cheering for Kanto to the point of tears now scratched their heads awkwardly, avoiding each other’s gazes. Some even pretended not to notice.

I feel embarrassed for them.

“Oh, that’s it for today! The duel is now over!”

The barbarian woman who had been momentarily stunned hastily ended the duel.

Una and Denzo struggled to carry the sprawled-out Kanto.

“Pathetic.”

Lakye said coldly.

– For someone to last this long against a paladin of that strength is admirable.

I defended Kanto who always gets criticized, because I felt sorry for him.

“Your judgment is amateur. If it were me, I wouldn’t have retreated when the paladin burst light but would have forced close combat.”

No, that’s only possible because you’re strong. Normally, people would cower just seeing the light.

– Chief Lakye. How strong was that paladin compared to others you’ve faced? Was it difficult to subdue her?

I suddenly became curious. I’d seen Lakye’s skills before, but I hadn’t seen her fighting at full strength.

“Are you curious? Shall I show you?”

Lakye gently drew the curved sword at her waist.

Why does she mix formal military honorifics with softer polite speech?

Is it to maintain distance from me? Not too far, not too close?

Perhaps because we should formally be keeping proper etiquette, but she wants to form intimacy, yet can’t cross certain lines?

Well, I’m just guessing based on her usual attitude.

“No. This won’t do. It’s too late.”

Lakye smiled slightly and returned the curved sword to its place with practiced movement.

She’s quite good at putting things in and taking them out.

“That paladin is still unrefined. She relies heavily on blessings from a foreign god. She needs more experience.”

I see. So she’s saying Hannah isn’t at her level.

– I’ll be going now. Sleep well.

“Have a peaceful night.”

I ended the divine possession.

***

The next morning. I searched for “skills” in the community.

[Hellbrown: Skill Information for Levels 1-4

Hello! It’s time for George Raid Group’s information post.

Our raid group shared information about the skills we have. We’ve excluded level 5 and above due to insufficient samples.

On average, each level offers 3 skills to choose from.

They’re broadly categorized into support, healing, and attack skills.

Most are support skills by classification. Particularly, many skills are designed for group combat.

That’s why a paladin’s strength comes from being in a group. It’s the biggest reason we need to form groups.

There are also hidden skills or skills obtainable only through specific methods, not just from level-up rewards, but I won’t include those in this post as they’re not common.

* Paladin Level-up Skills Summary

#Level 1

– Light Protection (Support): Wraps the body in light to increase defense. Affects all allies in the vicinity.

Quick review: Available from the start but extremely effective. If you choose this, definitely upgrade it to the highest level. Very good.

– Healing Touch (Healing): Heals yourself and allies.

Quick review: The healing effect is mediocre, but I’m not sure how it will turn out when upgraded to the highest level. It can be used on allies too, so it’s versatile.

– Divine Strike (Attack): Surrounds your hand with light for a strike.

Quick review: The most useful skill for early combat, but typically becomes obsolete later on—a classic low-level skill.

#Level 2

– Light Imbuing (Support): Infuses your equipment with sacred light to increase durability and attack power.

Quick review: A single-target buff skill. Very efficient at low levels.

– Magic Barrier (Support): Blocks magic within a certain range.

Quick review: This skill exists more for the native inhabitants of the game world than for us. Not particularly recommended.

– Sacred Flame (Attack): Attaches light-based flames to enemies, causing continuous damage.

Quick review: Total damage is quite high, but it’s delivered in small increments, so practical effectiveness is low.

#Level 3

– Light’s Blessing (Healing): Continuously heals yourself and allies.

Quick review: Less instant healing than Healing Touch, but the total healing amount is higher due to continuous effect. Good for prolonged battles.

– Sacred Barrier (Support): Deploys a powerful hemispherical barrier that absorbs damage above a certain threshold.

Quick review: Can’t adjust the size and even blocks your own attacks. Still, protection is guaranteed.

– Master of Combat (Support): Forcibly corrects your actions during combat.

Quick review: A pretty good skill. It feels like someone better at fighting than you is remotely controlling you for a short time.

#Level 4

– Light Explosion (Attack): Shoots light at enemies. Particularly lethal against demons.

Quick review: Useful for facing multiple opponents or a powerful individual. Can also be used to obstruct enemy vision. The best attack skill so far.

– Purification (Support): Removes various status ailments.

Quick review: As the game progresses, enemies that cause status ailments become more common. A skill usable until late game. We recommend choosing this skill.

– Stamina Recovery (Support): Restores vitality.

Quick review: This vitality refers to stamina, not HP. If you choose this skill and upgrade it, you can maintain normal condition for over two days without eating.

That’s all for the information!

Now, let’s do our best today too~!]