A Dragonslayer's Peerless Regression - Chapter 219

Chapter 219

As Zeke subdued the demon beasts, the barbarians also took up their weapons and charged forward again.

Having suffered significant damage from Zeke, the regenerating demon beasts couldn’t withstand the simultaneous attack of the charging barbarians and were killed.

Before long, the surrounding trees and rocks were covered in the demon beasts’ black fluid.

Keeeeek!

After finishing off the last demon beast, Zeke approached King Fist.

“King Fist, it’s been a while.”

King Fist nodded.

“Zeke, brother, thanks for help.”

King Fist grabbed Zeke and hugged him tightly.

Then, other barbarians approached the two of them.

“King Fist, is that a human?”

King Fist then introduced Zeke to them.

“This is Zeke, brother. Super strong.”

“Looks like it. He’s human?”

Zeke looked at the barbarians, nodded, and said,

“I’m human. Nice to meet you.”

The barbarians were reclusive, but they weren’t a race that would ignore the kindness of those who helped them.

They acknowledged Zeke as one of their warriors.

Zeke said to King Fist,

“Aren’t you from the Rock Tribe? Why are you with the other tribes?”

At Zeke’s words, King Fist’s face darkened.

“Many demon beasts. Allied with other tribes.”

It seemed that the Rock Tribe’s strength alone wasn’t enough to stop the demon beasts, so they had joined forces with other nearby tribes.

Zeke wore a surprised expression at King Fist’s words.

‘Barbarians usually don’t join forces with other tribes unless the situation is serious.’

Just then, Richmond appeared from between the trees.

“Hah… hah… Master. How could you leave me behind… Hiek! B-barbarians…!”

With a dozen barbarians gathered, beings who would chew and eat monsters, Richmond was terrified.

Zeke said to Richmond,

“They’re not enemies, so don’t be scared. More importantly, weren’t you a lich? You’re too easily frightened.”

Richmond wiped away cold sweat and said,

“W-well, I’ve spent most of my life researching monsters, so I don’t have much combat experience.”

“You’re quite unique in many ways.”

“Hehe.”

King Fist, who had been waiting for their conversation to end, told Zeke to go to the village with them.

“Can we go into village?”

“It’s okay. My dad is the chieftain.”

A human being invited to a barbarian village was as rare as an outsider being invited to the Ishtar clan.

‘He’s the chieftain’s son, so it should be alright.’

At King Fist’s suggestion, Zeke and Richmond followed the barbarians towards the village.

“Woah.”

Richmond’s jaw dropped as he saw the entrance to the barbarian village.

A fortress made by stacking massive rocks, enormous in weight and size, like a city wall, was built on the mountain.

At this level, it seemed that not only high-risk monsters but even demon beasts wouldn’t be able to enter.

In fact, when enemies attacked the fortress, the barbarians would counter by throwing rocks from above.

Indeed, more terrifying than any weapon were the stones thrown by the barbarians’ strength.

This was why even the strongest human knights couldn’t encroach on the barbarian territory.

Zeke, who had surveyed the surroundings with his Dragon Eyes, realized something surprising.

‘Magic is installed all over the fortress?’

Ancient magic, not modern magic, was installed throughout the fortress.

Even if a magic unit came here and used large-scale siege magic, the fortress wouldn’t collapse; rather, it would reflect the magic, causing damage to the enemies.

Zeke could see that the barbarians’ civilization was more advanced than he had thought.

“Zeke, brother. Wait for a moment.”

King Fist and the other barbarian warriors approached the fortress entrance and worked together to push a massive rock to the side.

Krrrrrrrumble!

A rock the size of a house slid to the side with a loud noise.

As the group entered, the barbarians pushed the rock back to its original position.

Zeke and Richmond’s jaws dropped at the absurd way of opening and closing it.

King Fist and the barbarians led the two inside the gate. Going into the village, an amazing sight unfolded.

The barbarian city, which he had never seen before, was spread out inside the fortress.

Houses made by carving and stacking small rocks lined the mountain, and the wide roads and plazas paved with flat stones, as well as stalls also made of stone, were impressive.

One barbarian was selling monster meat and hides laid out on a stall, and there were also places selling various sundries.

Occasionally, there were also shops dealing in goods from humans or other races.

Zeke was impressed as he looked at the barbarian shops.

In his previous life, he had negotiated with barbarians or fought alongside them, but he had never entered their village like this, so this sight was also novel to him.

Richmond, who was very interested in monster bones, wandered around the shops with wide eyes.

“M-master! My goodness, they’re even selling Caucasus and Wyvern bones and hides!”

Zeke told Richmond to look around the shops, and he decided to go meet the chieftain with King Fist.

It was to ask about the whereabouts of Golin, whom he was looking for.

The Rock Tribe Chieftain resided in a building that, true to his tribe’s name, was carved entirely out of a massive boulder.

King Fist went inside first and shouted,

“Dad! Zeke, brother, came with me!”

Inside the rock, a barbarian even larger and more rugged-looking than King Fist was meditating with his eyes closed.

He slowly opened his eyes and glared at King Fist.

King Fist flinched and stepped back.

“W-what is it?”

Big Fist, King Fist’s father and the chieftain of the Rock Tribe, slowly rose.

He was a massive figure, reminiscent of the giants from legends.

It was understandable why it was said that the barbarians were descendants of ancient giants.

Big Fist opened his mouth towards Zeke.

“You must have been taken aback by my impetuous son.”

The chieftain, with a deep voice, spoke in fluent Common Tongue.

Zeke was surprised and replied to the chieftain’s words.

“You speak the Common Tongue.”

“It’s one of the biggest reasons why other warriors don’t want to become chieftain. Sit over here.”

Big Fist told King Fist to go outside and gestured for Zeke to sit by the fire.

Big Fist brought a large pot filled with water and placed it over the fire, tossing in a few branches.

After a while, when the water boiled, Big Fist scooped the branch-infused water into a huge bowl and handed it to Zeke.

It was a bowl for barbarians, but it was almost the size of a washbasin for Zeke.

“Thank you.”

Curious about the taste of the barbarians’ tea, Zeke held the washbasin with an intrigued expression and took a sip.

There was a slight astringency, but it was refreshing and not bad.

Big Fist silently watched Zeke.

The bowl he had handed over was not a weight that ordinary humans could lift.

Yet, Zeke held the bowl without any difficulty and gulped down the tea.

When Zeke had emptied the tea and put down the bowl, Big Fist opened his mouth.

“You don’t seem like an ordinary human either. Are you a knight?”

Zeke nodded.

“Yes. I am a Draker.”

At Zeke’s words, Big Fist frowned slightly for a moment.

It seemed that the name Draker was also known to the barbarians.

Big Fist soon relaxed his expression and spoke.

“You are a human who helped my son, before being a Draker. I wish to repay that debt.”

Then, Zeke said to Big Fist,

“I am looking for a dwarf. A famous blacksmith. I heard that news from around here has been cut off.”

At Zeke’s words, Big Fist nodded.

“You mean Golin.”

Zeke’s face brightened.

“Do you know him?”

“A master craftsman like Golin deserves to be welcomed. Our tribe is confident in stonework, but our skills in handling metal are lacking.”

“I see. Golin’s skills are highly regarded even among humans.”

Zeke took out the scabbard he had received from Golin and showed it to Big Fist.

“This is a gift I received from Golin’s human disciple.”

Big Fist looked at the scabbard Zeke handed him and nodded.

“I remember. It was Golin’s first work made by mixing the byproducts and minerals of the monsters we caught. I remember his great enthusiasm to create weapons beyond mere weapons.”

Zeke was surprised by Big Fist’s completely unexpected words.

“Was this scabbard made here?”

Zeke asked, looking puzzled at the seemingly impossible story in terms of time.

“It’s been quite a while since our tribe formed a bond with that stubborn dwarf craftsman. When he has trouble with creating a new piece, he often visits this place.”

“You mean Golin has been here before?”

“About ten years ago, he accidentally entered our territory, and we invited him as a guest after seeing his special talent, and that’s how our relationship began.”

“Ah, I see. So, is Golin staying in this village?”

At Zeke’s words, Big Fist’s expression darkened.

“No, Golin is in the village beyond that mountain. The problem is… communication between the villages has been cut off for several months now due to the demon beasts.”

Zeke looked at Big Fist and said,

“As I climbed the mountain range, the demon beasts’ reactions were strange. Their regeneration was faster than usual, and they wouldn’t die even after being killed. Are the demon beasts in this area normally like that?”

Then, the chieftain shook his head.

“No. According to the Rock Tribe’s long tradition, we have served as guardians here, preventing demon beasts from going out into the world. This kind of reaction from the demon beasts is a first for us in all these long years.”

Zeke frowned at Big fist’s words.

“It’s clear that some unusual signs have appeared. Do you have any idea what might be causing this?”

Then, Big Fist slowly opened his mouth.

“For several years now, humans have been coming to our land. They’ve been digging up the land where our ancestors’ power resides, destroying the forests and the earth.”

Zeke realized that the ones Big Fist was talking about were the Hounds.

“We tore apart all the ones who came, but they didn’t stop and kept coming. Unlike before, they moved stealthily and dug up our land. And then…”

His expression darkened.

“They touched something they shouldn’t have.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those bastards woke up a sleeping monster.”

Hearing Big Fist’s words, something flashed through Zeke’s mind.

‘Could it be?’

Big Fist said with a serious expression,

“The Nine-Headed Dragon has escaped the sealed area and come out.”

Zeke’s guess was correct.

The hydra he had seen in Kaisir’s resting place had escaped that place and come outside its domain.

‘The hydra is also a corrupted dragonkin. Did that affect the other demon beasts?’

He couldn’t understand how the hydra, which had stayed in the area where Kaisir’s resting place was for so long, had suddenly gone berserk, commanding demon beasts and causing the monsters throughout the mountain range to surge.

Zeke recalled the various experiments the Empire had conducted.

‘Didn’t those bastards do something to the hydra and the demon beasts?’

Since the Empire had carried out all sorts of tests on monsters and demon beasts, they might have done something to provoke the hydra.

Zeke looked at Big Fist and said,

“So, you mean we can’t go to the village where Golin is until we deal with the demon beasts showing these strange signs.”

“That’s the current situation. We gathered the young warriors of each tribe and joined forces, but even with them, taking down the Nine-Headed Dragon is a daunting task. Of course, if the chieftains, including myself, step forward, the chances of a successful hunt will be higher, but…”

Zeke shook his head at Big Fist’s words.

“If that happens, the humans you mentioned might take advantage of the gap and attack the village.”

Big Fist also nodded.

“We also haven’t been able to move carelessly because we were worried about that very thing.”

“Isn’t there anywhere else you can ask for help?”

“We contacted the Hermit of the Forest, but I don’t know when he will arrive.”

As the words “Hermit of the Forest” came out of Big Fist’s mouth, Zeke suddenly felt his body stiffen and cold sweat break out.

Big Fist tilted his head at Zeke’s sudden reaction.

“What’s wrong?”

Zeke shook his head, sweating coldly.

“Ah, nothing.”

Zeke composed himself inwardly.

‘The Hermit of the Forest is my master’s alias. If I delay, I might run into him.’

His master was one of the people he wanted to avoid meeting if possible.

Zeke asked Big Fist again,

“Then, is the safety of the people in that village also uncertain?”

“If they are inside the fortress, even the Nine-Headed Dragon or the demon beasts wouldn’t easily harm them, but knowing Golin’s personality, I can’t guarantee that he would be sitting still inside. He’s the kind of friend who wanders around dangerous places to find rare materials.”

Being the famous eccentric craftsman that he was, Golin was a dwarf who was more than capable of doing that.

‘I just hope he doesn’t grab an axe and charge at the hydra himself to get materials.’

Zeke felt that he needed to resolve this problem quickly and leave this place from various perspectives.

Zeke immediately stood up and said to Big Fist,

“Chieftain, please gather the warriors.”

“Why the warriors…?”

“I will defeat the Nine-Headed Dragon and go get Golin.”

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