Chapter 18 Conflict (4)
All matches in the round of 16 got over.
Except for the battle between Cloud and Chasty in the first round, there was nothing of a big variable to call off.
Not only the candidates for the championship, but also some well-known people made it to the quarterfinals.
And for gamblers, the real game starts now.
The finals of the Battleground Championship are all held within one day. The only time to recuperate the stamina or to heal the wounds procured in the previous match is the brief rest period given after the match. Even then, healing is all in the individual domain.
The management team does not provide anything to the participants other than a simple room to rest.
“In the previous match, Tania suffered more injuries than I expected. She might struggle in the next game.”
“Anyway, Tania’s next opponent is Grexxus. I don't think he can even beat Tania, even if she doesn't have one of her arms, right?"
The break before the quarterfinals begins.
Gamblers gathered around the betting counter and exchanged information with each other.
Who is stronger than another?
Who has learned what skills?
Who is seriously injured and who is not?
With the information they obtained, they ran simulations in their heads to predict the outcome of the next match.
And among those gamblers was Annie. She pretended to go to the bathroom but was secretly listening to snitch some precious informative tit-bits.
‘Tania. Falik. Cloud. Danate.’
Characters that Annie thought would make it to the quarterfinals. She grinned and betted her over 200,000 gold from the first round.
Stanley tried to stopped her, but the old man's admonition could not stop Annie, who had already tasted the sweetness of easy money.
‘Maybe my predictions are all right. Huhu, I may have a talent for gambling…'
She was full with unfounded confidence.
* * *
The third match of the quarterfinals was over.
In the first match, Grexxus won the match, exceeding everyone's expectations. This is because the injury Tania suffered in the previous match was bigger than anyone expected.
In the second match, Taru won.
Due to his sharp spear, Falik could not even approach him and eventually surrendered.
In the third match, Cloud won.
As expected by the gamblers who watched the round of 16, he was a hidden talent. No matter how hard it was to hide until the quarterfinals, he showed his skills and defeated his opponent.
All what was left was the last match of quarterfinals, the fourth round.
The Savage Barbarian, Gallid and the Blue Rose, Danate stood face to face.
‘Gallid… a barbarian who lives up to his nickname.'
Scattered hair and a face full of blaze.
The only thing he wore on his body was a piece of clothing that covered around his waist.
He was truly a barbarian with no signs of civility.
Danate thought as he looked at Gallid.
‘I’m different from this guy.’
Unlike such a savage beast, he has a noble bloodline, albeit only half. The decoration on the tip of his sword is proof of that.
‘My mother told me to go see them right away, but…’
Danate had a different idea.
They had never visited him and mother in his whole life. He wouldn't be treated well just because of his father's hilt that he left behind.
Maybe he will be killed, as if he was a disgrace to the family
So he did not visit his father's house immediately after his mother died. Instead, he focused on training his sword and making a name for himself as he roamed the continent.
If one day, he becomes a hero, famous in the entire continent, even his father's family will not be able to deny him.
They would rather eagerly welcome him.
‘Gallid. You are just the cornerstone for that.’
Duwoong-! Duwoong-!
The match started.
Danate sprinted towards Gallid and drew out his sword. Gallid also swung his fist at Danate.
A fight between the two began.
‘There's no skill in that guy's fist.'
A simplistic brute force can be ravaged by skill. As Danate thought, Gallid couldn't keep up with Danate's sword skills.
In front of his flamboyant swordsmanship, Gallid rushed to defend himself from being fatally wounded.
However, that didn't last long either.
—his neck was exposed as he tried to avoid Danate's attack from the side.
“It’s over, barbarian.”
Danate spun around his left foot and stabbed his sword.
The final blow that will take the Savage Barbarian's breath.
-Crak!
The blow was caught between a thick palm, the barbarian's thick palm.
Danate's eyes widened.
"How…"
Thak-!
Gallid's fist slammed straight onto Danate's face. The body of the Blue Rose reclined backwards. But he didn't fall.
Because he couldn't let go of his sword.
This is mother's memento, and his life's meaning.
Nothing can separate him from his sword.
Ppak! Ppak! Ppak! Ppak! Ppak!
—except death.
With the sound of breaking bones, the Blue Rose glided over in the air.
The body was thrown to the ground and rolled dozens of laps, but his eyes looked upwards, as if enjoying the rays of sunlight. Gallid walked over to Danate's corpse and stomped on his neck, completing a confirmed kill.
“Foolish bastard, could have lived if he abandoned the sword, cheh."
Gallid, who spat on the Blue Rose's ruined face, leisurely left the venue amid the boos and cheers of the audience.
And there was a girl who booed the most…
“You sun of a gun…!!! Why do you had to win!”
It was Annie.
In the quarterfinals, she got all the results wrong except for Cloud. Thanks to that, her assets, which had exceeded 200,000 gold, fell to 50,000 gold. It was also the money that was saved because Cloud won.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay… I just need to pick the main game changer in the next match. I can do it.'
She, Annie, has become a professional gambler.
However, there was no way for the girl to regain her true strength in the quarterfinals. Even in quarterfinals, the only money she had was not hit on Cloud and Gallid, as both had low return rates due to high winning chances.
Rather, she betted more on other participants and lost her money.
Now, the money left with her was just 10,000 gold.
And the only remaining match left now is the finals.
Annie looked at the odds of Gallid and Cloud.
Gallid: 33
Cloud: 1
No matter how you look at it, it is a rate that certained—Cloud had no chance of winning. Looking at his performance she had seen so far, Cloud indeed had no chance of winning.
This was a predetermined match from the start.
She can quit even now and go back with her 10,000 gold. That way, she can go back to lead a normal life.
So…
“Yo, little girl, you are going to bet or not? If not, get going quickly. The game will start soon.”
“Hold on a sec! Cloud. 10,000 gold on Cloud!”
She handed her 10,000 gold with trembling hands.
A while ago she was a girl who tasted the honey of 200,000 gold and a happy future. She didn't even notice when it became 10,000 gold and her road to inn work again.
-Woh… She just threw away some 10,000 gold.
-Aigo, no matter how high the dividend rate is, there are some money tyrants…
-You can see it just by looking at it. There's nowhere to turn back. Unfortunately…
As they watched her hand over her 10,000 gold, the gamblers around her smiled and felt sorry for her.
Old man Stanley sighed and shook his head but said nothing.
* * *
I acted.
Mimicking above the common pranksters told by the old man, who hid their skills but were later forced to reveal their skills.
The result is this.
‘33 to 1’
It's not that much of a big hit, but couldn't this also be considered a success?
Categorically, putting in my 100,000 gold that I earned from betting so far, it would be about 3.3 million gold. No, after deducting the fee, it will be a little less than that.
Anyway, coming all the way from the mid-game, it's definitely a huge sum of money.
-Clak.
-Drooo.
The sound of the pulley iron door opening that I have heard several times today.
As I headed towards the stadium, I felt a different level of heat than ever before. Even at the nearing end of this competition, the crowd did not show any signs of fatigue.
They cried out as one.
– Gallid! Gallid! Gallid! Gallid!
The name of the barbarian standing 20 meters away before my eyes.
‘Are barbarians the same wherever one goes?’
When I saw the barbarian who covered only the important parts with a piece of cloth, I burst into laughter. It's because I suddenly remembered the face of a friend whom I missed.
A guy who was crazy about fighting, alcohol, and meat for the fear as if someone wouldn't recognize that he is a barbarian.
A thief who always secretly drank alcohol from his colleagues at night.
Someone who said that armor is a warrior's disgrace, a ferocious warrior who went to the battlefield wearing only one piece of clothing.
A sleepy bastard who secretly started wearing mithril armor after tasting the 7th Corps Commander's spear.
A real man who rushed to the enemy even while everyone was retreating, saying that a real warrior did not know how to retreat.
A piece of luggage who was always knocked out in the end and made us carry him and run when retreating. The bastard who after gaining his consciousness insisted that he only fainted during the battle, so it didn't count as a retreat.
And a cherished friend who stood with us in every fight.
An unforgettable colleague who valued his honor as a warrior more than anyone else, but eventually forsaken his honor for the sake of his colleagues.
A great warrior who laughed out loud until the moment he died, and our vanguard recognized by me and my colleagues.
King of Barbarians, Asgat.
My eternal friend.
‘…Should I try it? It sure has been a long time.'
I had asked Asgat in the past. How can I fight fearlessly like you barbarians?
Then the chap gave me a serious, an uncharacteristically serious answer.
-Take off your clothes first. Feel the nature with bare skin.
I took off my coat along with my armor. Feeling the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the wind. And no, I couldn't and didn't take off my pants.
‘Cause I'm not a true savage. The guy also acknowledged this.
-Cut it or pull it up, get rid of those sissy bangs first. And put some blood on your face. It doesn't matter if it's your enemy's blood or yours.
I slashed the palm of my hand with a dagger.
I washed my face with the flowing blood and raised my bangs upwards.
The smell of blood stung my nostrils, straining my body. My loosened muscles tightened, and tightened again.
– Breathe hard. Make your head feel dizzy with just breathing. Make yourself can't think of anything else other than fighting.
I breathed through my mouth, not by my nose.
Shortening the breathing interval made my head dizzy and made conscious thinking more difficult. It forced me to only focus on what was in front of me.
– This is the last thing. And also the most important. Shout out the Holy Warrior's name aloud to the sky. He will recognize your valor and give you strength.
I squeezed my breath and shouted loudly.
“Carnock—-!!!!!!!”
Only the enemy can be seen in the narrowed field of vision.
Only the words battle and victory linger in my head.
A heart that beats wildly, spoke to me.
Run right now and smash that bastard's head.
This moment right now.
I am a Barbarian.
My temporary motto—
—jump on everyone and f*ck them up!!!
