Chapter 73
A Beast of a Barbarian
Erin was staring at her opponent while holding her throbbing right hand. While she couldn’t tell how badly she had just injured herself, she could guess that the bones in her hand had fractured at least in a couple of places. While she could still somewhat use it, it hurt like hell and wasn’t an idea she liked to think about.
However, the opponent before her was someone that was going to take a lot to beat. Her hand was most likely not going to be the only thing broken in the end, provided that she survived.
“You just had to go and do that, didn’t you?” Goldiana said with a sigh. “You just had to ruin my fun.”
“Fun? Is that how you see killing people?” Erin asked as she grit her teeth in anger. “Is every single on of Golorath’s people a sick murderer that just takes pleasure in hurting others?”
“Well, I can’t speak for all of them, but there are quite a few people like me,” the barbarian woman replied with a shrug. “I mean, what’s the harm with loving your job? My job is to kill those that oppose Lord Golorath and I happen to find that fun. I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.”
“...How did you find us?” the redhead decided to ask, hoping to give her friends more time and possibly obtain some valuable information. “The last person was able to track us by following us from Moonstone City and by using wild beasts. How did you know we were here?”
“Just a lucky coincidence. That’s all,” Goldiana answered with a smirk. “You see, life can get pretty boring, when you don’t have much to do. These days those who would ever dare oppose any of the Five Overlords are very few and rare, so people like me are left with very little to do. I just happened to learn about some crazy deadly game show that some gang here was holding and decided to check it out. I haven’t had this much fun in quite a while.”
“You came here for fun?” Erin asked, shocked by the response she had gotten. “So you never knew we were anywhere near at all?”
“Pretty much. But you can imagine how surprised I was, when I heard about you guys,” the barbarian woman explained. “I was just minding my own business, when one of our spies came to visit me. He told me that Lord Golorath’s most wanted targets had not only gotten into the same town I was in, but that they would be taking part in these games as well! Man, I had a good laugh at that! I mean, what are the odds!?”
The redhead thought back to what Durge had told her in regards to Goldiana. She recalled the story about someone with a lot of money coming over to meet the blonde barbarian and how the orc had suspected them to be working for one of the Five Overlords.
“Dryzal wanted to take alive, though. Are you sure you’re doing your job properly?” Erin asked in a slightly mocking tone. “If your boss wants me alive, should you really have just allowed me to come here and risk losing my life? Seems to me that you’re doing a pretty shitty job.”
“Meh. The guy who gave me the mission seemed to understand at least somewhat what kind of a place this was. Had you died by your own lack of skill, it wouldn’t have been blamed on me,” Goldiana said. “We might call him Lord Golorath, but we only work for him in order to get paid. We couldn’t care less if he or his friends were to drop dead.”
“So when you were waiting for me at the top of that tower you were just waiting to see if I had actually survived or not?” the redhead asked.
“Pretty much. If I’m gonna do a job, I might as well do it well,” the barbarian woman said. “Now, I think we’ve wasted enough time talking. It’s time to get to work. Just as a heads up, I’ll be breaking your arms and legs. If you don’t resist, that will be all. But do try to make this at least a little fun for me.”
Erin prepared herself by getting into a stance. While she was nowhere near Ryle’s level of skill, she still knew how to somewhat handle herself in a hand-to-hand fight. Unarmed combat was one of the things that had been taught to her in her training to become an assassin.
She knew just by looking that her opponent was far stronger than her and was most likely specialized in unarmed combat as well. This wasn’t an ideal fight for her, but the redhead knew that even in situations like these there existed a chance for victory. It was all about using what you had to your advantage in the best possible way.
Erin’s plan was to be on the defense, doing her best to avoid Goldiana’s attacks and using the openings created by them to launch counter attacks. If her assessment of the barbarian was correct, then her fighting style was most likely something that utilized her physical strength, which was something the redhead could counter with her own skills.
However, Erin was taken by surprise, when Goldiana suddenly appeared right before her and delivered a powerful punch to her gut. The redhead’s body was sent flying backwards before it collided with the floor. The pain was so horrible that she was unable to get up right away. She could only hold her stomach and cough up blood.
She managed to break out of her shock just in time, when foot came from above and almost shattered one of her legs. Rolling out of the way of the attack, Erin stood up with shaky legs and stared down at her opponent, who was grinning like a lunatic.
“Hey, not bad! I was worried you might end up dead from that single punch, but it seems you’re way better than I thought!” Goldiana said. “Let’s see just how long you can last!”
The barbarian woman laughed loudly as she rushed towards Erin, both hands ready for breaking her opponent’s bones. Now that she knew the difference in strength between them, the redhead was forced to back away, as she had no way to actually handle her opponent. Any attempt to block an attack or even strike back would simply result in her breaking her own body.
Seeing as she needed something more than just her bare hands, Erin made a desperate dash towards the place where the crates full of weapons had dropped. Goldiana quickly realized what the redhead was planning, but wasn’t the least bit threatened. In fact, she seemed to be only mildly amused by this.
“Trying to arm yourself, huh?” the barbarian woman said with a chuckle. “Alright. I might as well see what you can come up with. I doubt it will matter all that much in the end.”
Once she reached the crates, Erin began to feverishly search the scattered weaponry for anything that could be useful. In her desperation, she grabbed a sword and turned to face her opponent, only to find her standing before her in a relaxed manner.
“A sword? I figured you would go for something like that,” Goldiana said, not the least bit bothered by the weapon that was now pointed at her. “Go ahead and use it to your hearts content. I’ willing to bet you won’t even put a scratch on me.”
“What!? What the hell are you saying!? You’re letting me attack you!? Have you lost your mind!?” Erin asked angrily. “Besides, judging by the scars on your body, you’ve already had this done to you before you even met me!”
“Oh, you mean these?” the barbarian woman asked while looking over the scars covering her body. “Lady, I got these marks from things far above your level. Upper level beasts and master fighters. All of whom I ended up killing easily. Don’t even compare yourself to any of them. To me, you’re nothing.”
“We’ll see about that!” the redhead yelled as she charged towards her opponent with her sword raised high for a downwards slash. As soon as she was in range, she brought down the blade, connecting it with Goldiana’s shoulder.
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However, instead of blood being spilled to the ground, pieces of metal flew into the air, as the sword was shattered to pieces while the barbarian woman remained completely unharmed.
Erin could only stare at her broken weapon in utter shock and disbelief, unable to comprehend how it had simply shattered the way it did. Only the sound of Goldiana chuckling broke her out of her daze.
“See what I mean?” the blonde barbarian said in a cocky tone. “I’ll let you have that one for free. You have now three chances to lay just one scratch on me. Fail that and I will take my time breaking your limbs.”
Deciding not to waste any time, Erin quickly went to look through the remaining weapons. For the most part, it didn’t seem like there was anything that could do the job of even harming Goldiana, as most of them were basic blades, spears and other melee weapons. These were only meant for providing the bare minimum of a fighting chance in the arena and not something that the Laughing Ogre was expecting the contestants to use in order to actually win. It was only thanks to Lexton’s knowledge that they were able to utilize any of them.
Finally deciding on a weapon that was worth using, the redhead grabbed a rifle she found among the scattered weaponry and took aim. She pulled the trigger and the bullet flew at Goldiana, landing right in the middle of her forehead.
But before Erin could even consider celebrating a victory, she was horrified to see her opponent simply shrug of the bullet, letting it fall to the floor.
“Okay, I’ll admit that hurt a bit. Had it been a better rifle, I might even have a headache now,” Goldiana said, still smirking. “Still you gotta do better than that to beat me.”
Dropping the useless firearm, Erin went to desperately look for something else. Anything that might prove to be useful, even if it just meant harming the barbarian woman. The problem was that there seemed to be nothing around that was worth even trying out.
In her desperation, the redhead’s hands grabbed the handle of a large warhammer, despite knowing well enough that she lacked the strength to wield such a weapon. It was only through sheer willpower that she was able to lift the massive weapon and swing it at Goldiana. The attack itself was slow and lacked any true strength behind it. In all honesty, only a complete amateur would have been hit by such a swing. It was only thanks to the barbarian woman standing completely still that the weapon ever struck its target.
However, much like before, the attack didn’t do anything, as the warhammer seemed to just bounce off from Goldiana. The recoil from her desperate attack caused Erin to lose her grip on her weapon and drop it, not that she would have been able to wield it for much longer anyways.
“Okay, are you trying to kill me by making me laugh?” Goldiana asked while laughing loudly, finding her opponent’s latest attempt highly amusing. “That was just pathetic. I doubt you could even kill a child with such a lousy attack. You better use your last chance well or you’re going to find out what life is like without working limbs.”
Instead of rushing to find a new weapon, Erin just stood still in fear, looking around her in a vain attempt at finding something to help her out. Yet no matter how much she looked and tried to think of something, nothing came to mind. She was now facing a monster she truly had no idea on how to beat.
“What’s the matter? Not feeling like trying your luck anymore?” Goldiana asked, noticing the redhead’s lack of movement. “That’s boring. I was hoping you’d at least amuse me a bit more. Guess it can’t be helped…”
Before Erin could even blink, she felt a powerful fist hit her in the gut. She could feel her bones crack and her organs get pressed down by the weight of the blow. The redhead threw up blood as she was once again sent flying backwards. Once she landed, all Erin could do was cough up blood as she held her stomach in pain.
“What a disappointment you are,” Goldiana said with a sigh. “When I heard that there was someone willing to go after one of the generals, I was sure that I’d find at least some fun out of this whole thing. I mean, you obviously didn’t have much in terms of brains, but you sure had guts pulling off something like that! Yet here you are practically dead from a simple tap from me! Could you be more pathetic!?”
Hearing the barbarian woman’s insults lit something within Erin. It wasn’t necessarily because she had just been called weak, but because of Goldiana’s overall attitude. This whole thing was nothing more than a game to her and that greatly angered the redhead, who had been struggling with her life on the line ever since she came to this world. For someone to look down on the things she and her friends had accomplished and all the horrible things going on was something she couldn’t forgive.
While gritting her teeth in pain, Erin looked around herself for a new weapon. However, this time she wasn’t going to be satisfied with just anything. This time she was going to find something that would put Goldiana in her place.
The redhead suddenly spotted her weapon at the corpse of the dragon. Despite the her desperate situation and the agonizing pain her body was in, Erin managed to actually grin over what she had found.
Goldiana had been expecting the fight to be over now. All she needed to do was make sure her target wouldn’t be able to run away and then just take her to Golorath. If she was lucky, she might even be able to find her target’s companions and kill them as well. She was certain that she would be rewarded handsomely.
However, what she hadn’t expected was for the redhead to start furiously crawling towards the dragon corpse in the middle of the arena. One might have assumed that she was trying to escape, but the blonde barbarian knew better. She had seen plenty of people crawl away from her in fear, desperately hanging onto their lives. This wasn’t that type of desperate and panicked escape, but a determined move by someone with a goal in mind.
Goldiana grinned as she realized her target still had some fight left in her.
“Oh, so you’re not completely dead yet?” the barbarian asked with a chuckle. “That’s good. Maybe I’ll get to have at least a bit more fun before this is all over.”
Goldiana followed after Erin, who was now leaning against the dragon’s corpse, specifically its head. While the barbarian couldn’t figure out what the redhead was planning as there seemed to be nothing around that she could use as a weapon, there was still a fire burning behind the strong gaze of Erin’s lone eye. She clearly hadn’t given up or lost her mind, but was instead still planning to fight to win.
“So what exactly are you going to use here?” Goldiana asked with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t see what good can a dead dragon do for you.”
“Why don’t you come a bit closer and see for yourself? Or are you too lazy to walk the last couple of steps?” Erin asked as she smiled despite the pain her body was in. “You were so polite before, when you stood still and let me take a shot at wounding you.”
“...You’re lucky I’m curious to see what you’re planning, little lady,” the barbarian said as she walked up to her target, now standing right in front of her. “So? What is this new weapon you found to use against me?”
“You’ll see soon,” the redhead said as she grinned while the hand hidden behind her back took hold of something. “But you won’t be seeing anything for long after that!”
Before Goldiana could react, Erin threw something at her face, causing her to scream in agony. She had no idea what it was, only that it was some kind of liquid and that it burned her terribly. To make it worse for the barbarian, it had gotten into her eye as well.
What Erin had done was reach inside the dragon’s mouth, as it still held the flammable liquid it used for its flame breath. She had seen it burn the floor of the arena, so she could only imagine what it would do to the flesh of anyone unlucky enough to have it spilled on them. The redhead did end up burning her hand as well in the process, but she considered it a small price at this point.
While she may have burned her hand, Erin had managed to not just wound her opponent, but also blind her. This was something that the barbarian wasn’t going to easily recover from.
image [https://i.ibb.co/KmpNvng/Ch-73-Pic-1.jpg]
“YOU BASTARD! I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!” Goldiana roared in rage and agony, as she held her burning face. “WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH! AND THEN I’LL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND FEED YOU TO THE GHOULS, YOU LITTLE SHIT!”
“Come and get me then, sucker!” Erin shouted mockingly, as she ran away from the barbarian. “By the way, I guess you’re not all that great, considering how I blinded your ass!”
“You… I’ll freaking kill you! Definitely kill you!” Goldiana said as she gritted her teeth in anger and held the side of her face that was burnt. “Screw Golorath and his orders! I won’t rest until you die!”
The blonde barbarian charged after the redhead, fully intent on making good on her threat. Her left eye was now completely useless due to corrosive liquid that was thrown on it. Her right eye still worked, but either her sight was somewhat hazy from the pain or her rage was blinding her so badly that she didn’t realize what Erin was planning.
Only when it was too late did Goldiana realize the trap she had been lured into. Just as she was about to reach and grab Erin, the redhead ducked down, causing the barbarian woman to trip and fall forward. While this normally would have only been an annoyance to her, she had failed to notice where Erin was, which was the edge of the arena.
image [https://i.ibb.co/ZdfsWWh/Ch-73-Pic-2.jpg]
Only as she was falling down did Goldiana realize her mistake. She had not taken Erin as a threat at all, which had allowed the redhead to lure her into a trap. The barbarian woman could only blame herself for what had happened.
Landing on the floor of the area below the arena, Goldiana quickly got up, knowing that she wasn’t safe at all. She was now completely surrounded by ghouls and she would have to fight her way through them in order to get out alive.
As soon as she had dropped there, the undead creatures immediately charged towards their new prey. What followed was a bloodbath, as Goldiana used her martial arts prowess to defend herself from the numerous monsters.
The barbarian woman wasn’t just a simple brawler with an impressive physique. She was actually a martial artist with a high level of using ki to her advantage. The reason Erin’s attacks hadn’t worked was because she had mastered a technique that strengthened her body to the point no normal weapon could harm it. Because of this, ghouls weren’t that much of a threat for her and why she had passed the tower game so easily. The undead monsters couldn’t break her skin, so there wasn’t any way for their venom to get into her body through their bites.
However, this wasn’t an ability that could last forever and constant attacks would eventually drain it. So when Goldiana was getting swarmed by an army of ghouls, it was only a matter of time until she became vulnerable and would get bitten. Once this happened, it wouldn’t take long for the undead monsters to finish her off.
Despite the odds being completely against her, the barbarian put up a valiant struggle, crushing as many ghouls as she could, creating a scene of pure carnage. Only after having exhausted all of her strength did she even allow herself to fall on her knees, as the venom from the ghouls was coursing through her veins. Combined with the loss of blood from her numerous injuries, it was impossible to save her life anymore.
With the very last bits of strength left within her, Goldiana managed to look up and see two familiar faces within the army of ghouls advancing towards her. These were her two companions that she had abandoned during the game.
“You gotta be kidding me…” the barbarian said with a weak chuckle. “This has got to be the lamest joke ever…”
The last thing she saw was the hungry mouths of ghouls coming towards her.