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Chapter 284: The Vile Rat That Pollutes the Seas (1)

Shortly before Ketal became certain of the existence of the Forbidden Lands invading the North, Bayern also saw it — the land, tainted and filled with poisonous energy.

"Hmm,"

Bayern grimaced at the intense miasma.

The poison was overwhelming, strong enough that even a superhuman would struggle to withstand it.

Without enveloping himself with mystery, survival here was impossible.

And that poisonous aura spread throughout the land, all the way to the distant horizon, where everything was tinged with green.

"..."

Bayern stepped onto the poisoned ground, frowning.

The miasma tried to climb up his body, but it couldn\'t touch the flesh of such a mighty hero.

\'Is this the work of a poison demon?\'

A demon strong enough to corrupt all things, possessing near-superhuman power.

But he rejected the thought—not because it seemed too extreme, but because, compared to this land, even a poison demon would be too weak.

This was not the aura of a poison demon.

It was something far more terrifying and foreign.

Bayern scraped up some of the miasma from the ground.

He thought about collecting it for study.

Then, at that moment, the earth began to rise.

Hideously disfigured creatures, their bodies barely held together and on the verge of collapse, staggered out of the corrupted land.

They wobbled toward Bayern.

With a look of irritation, Bayern gripped his axe.

Crack!

The approaching monsters were pulverized instantly, but they did not fall easily.

Even with their limbs severed, they relentlessly crawled toward Bayern.

He pressed down harder with his axe.

Squelch.

The monsters hit by his axe shattered into pieces, never to rise again.

\'Strong,\'

Bayern thought, his face tightening.

The monsters weren\'t weak.

It was only because he was Bayern that they were being dispatched so easily.

Each one of them possessed power beyond that of a first-rate fighter.

There were dozens of them, easily more than enough to destroy a small kingdom.

"Hmph."

But Bayern was a hero.

He gripped his axe tighter and charged forward.

The creatures that collided with him were blown apart, their bodies utterly obliterated.

[Uooohh!]

More monsters staggered up from the poisoned land, dozens of them, each possessing the strength of an elite warrior.

"So many,"

Bayern muttered, continuing to mow them down.

His eyes narrowed as he saw one of the monsters\' faces.

"...You."

[Uooohh.]

The monster, with eyes lost to reason, stretched its mangled hand toward Bayern.

He recognized that face, though it was collapsing beyond recognition.

Bayern\'s face stiffened as he dredged up his memory.

It was the face of a barbarian he had once trained, now turned into a grotesque creature.

Bayern realized that every one of these monsters was once a barbarian he had known.

"...So you\'ve been desecrating the corpses of those who have already died. I\'ll free you from this abomination."

With a hardened expression, Bayern felled the monsters, his face twisted with fury.

\'What kind of devil would do this?\'

To defile the bodies of brave barbarians who deserved peace after their courageous battles—it was something he could not forgive.

As he vented his anger on the monsters, Bayern noticed something strange.

There were faces among the creatures that he didn\'t recognize.

That wasn’t so unusual—he didn’t know every barbarian.

But something was unnerving about them.

These monsters looked less like humans and more like something else entirely.

His face stiffened once again as realization dawned on him.

"...Demons?"

Amid the decaying creatures, he spotted demons.

And among them was one particularly strong monster.

[Uooohh!]

It was incredibly fast and powerful.

With strange abilities, it wasn\'t easy to defeat.

Even Bayern had to get serious.

Though he ultimately won, the battle was not simple.

And then, Bayern realized something.

The monster he had just fought was a demon.

The very demon he had initially thought responsible for the poisoned land.

He recognized its face from old texts.

Barbarians, demons, and even monsters were all rotting and decaying.

"Wait a minute."

What on earth was going on?

Bayern stood still, his mind in chaos, over the monsters\' corpses.

But this was Bayern\'s mistake.

Because at that moment, a beast’s claw burst out from beneath the green earth and grabbed him.

Crash!

"Argh!"

For the first time, Bayern let out a groan of pain.

The claw that gripped him was infused with deadly poison, trying to invade his body.

Bayern gritted his teeth.

"Urghhh!"

With a tremendous effort, he fortified his body with mystery and broke free from the claw\'s grasp, quickly creating distance between himself and the creature.

"Ugh."

The poison began to invade his limbs.

He tried to expel it with his mystery, but it clung stubbornly, corroding his skin and damaging his body.

Bayern frowned.

Something incredibly strong had been lurking beneath the ground, something powerful enough to hurt even him.

The ground trembled as the creature, hidden by the poisonous aura, began to emerge.

Bayern gasped.

\'What is this?\'

The creature’s limbs were decaying, with parts of its legs rotting away to reveal bones, and filthy pus oozing from its entire body.

It was hideous.

Utterly repulsive.

And powerful.

As it appeared, the poisonous air became so thick that even a superhuman would struggle to breathe.

Thud.

And finally, it fully revealed itself on the surface.

Bayern muttered.

"A rat…"

A massive, filthy, and hideous rat appeared on the continent.

Boom!

The rat stomped on the land, already tainted with poison.

The ground, which was already rotten and decayed, crumbled further.

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Bayern gripped his axe tighter.

The rat in front of him was strong.

Monstrously strong.

He would need to fight with all his might.

He cautiously measured the distance between himself and the rat.

And the rat, too, was staring at him.

The rat, silently observing him, opened its mouth.

[You are strong.]

Bayern\'s eyes widened.

A monster that could speak?

The rat continued, ignoring his shock.

[I was disappointed with the weaklings outside, but you... You are worthy enough to corrupt. Coming outside was worth the effort.]

“…Who are you?”

Bayern asked.

This was the first time he\'d seen such an abominable creature.

“Are you a demon?”

Bayern suspected his question was wrong, and the rat responded, clearly displeased.

[How insulting. Do not compare me to those infantile beings. I am a rat born from the swamp of filth.]

The rat stood tall and surveyed its surroundings.

[I existed before you.]

In the rat’s view, a vast, green land and a blue sky stretched out before it.

[The world was originally ours. Your petty territorial disputes—nothing more than childish games.]

Shhhhhh.

Toxic fumes spread intensely.

The air grew foul, the atmosphere corrupted.

[At last, I have returned to where I belong. I will taint and defile everything, turning it into my domain.]

* * *

The rat lowered its body and then suddenly charged.

Bayern had no intention of dodging or blocking the charge.

He was the King of Barbarians.

He was confident that no one could match his strength.

He planned to use the rat\'s charge against it and launch an attack.

But before he could act, Bayern\'s instincts screamed at him.

Danger.

Instinctively, he raised his axe to defend himself.

And that decision was the right one.

Without it, the powerful impact would have crushed his insides.

Boom!

“Grrrr!”

Bayern\'s body was pushed back as the rat crashed into him.

A groan escaped his lips.

‘What is this?!’

It was an unimaginable force.

What shocked him even more was that the rat didn’t seem to be using any mystery.

It was pure physical strength that created such an impact.

‘…This is…’

It felt similar to when he fought Ketal.

The rat, seeing Bayern withstand the charge, spoke with satisfaction.

[I was disappointed by the weaklings outside, but you… You satisfy me.]

“Grrr!”

Bayern steadied himself and quickly enveloped his entire body with mystery.

This power, which could intervene in the world, strengthened his body.

Clang!

Now, he could counter the rat\'s attacks.

But that was all.

He wasn’t being overwhelmed, but he wasn’t dominating either.

Shock lingered in Bayern\'s eyes.

‘What is this…’

Even with his body enhanced by mystery, he couldn’t overpower this monster.

How could such a thing exist?

[Screeeech!]

The rat swung its massive front paw wildly.

A chill ran down Bayern’s spine.

He instinctively leaped out of the range of the attack.

Slash!

The space where the paw had swung literally tore apart, slowly corroding and collapsing.

[Keeaaah!]

The rat didn’t stop.

It kept swinging its front paws as it charged forward.

“Hup!”

Bayern put all his strength into his body.

Like when he faced Ketal, he poured all his power into each strike.

Clang!

The front paw and the axe collided repeatedly.

After one intense clash, the rat’s body was pushed back.

[Scree! You’re strong. Very strong.]

The rat chuckled softly.

Even though it had been pushed back, it showed no signs of distress.

That was only natural.

The rat\'s power wasn’t merely physical strength.

Bayern gritted his teeth.

‘A long battle will be disadvantageous.’

The poison seeping from the rat was tainting Bayern’s lungs.

For now, he was protected by mystery, but once that energy ran out, the poison would invade his body.

Even a "Hero-class" physique could be corrupted by the rat’s venom.

Moreover, the ground itself was already filled with poison.

It didn’t affect him much, but it gave his opponent an advantage.

He couldn’t fight for long.

‘In that case!’

Determination filled Bayern’s eyes.

[Screech!]

The rat charged again, thrusting out its grotesque front paw.

Bayern didn’t dodge.

Crunch.

The rat\'s claws pierced Bayern\'s left arm.

The rat\'s eyes widened in surprise.

[Screech?]

Sacrificing flesh to gain an advantage.

Bayern gripped his axe tighter in his right hand and swung it down.

It was a strike powerful enough to split the earth in two.

BOOM!

The axe struck the rat’s shoulder, and the force of the blow shook the surrounding area.

“……”

Bayern\'s face hardened.

His axe hadn’t injured the rat.

The decay and poison surrounding the rat’s body had completely blocked his attack.

[You aim to wound and take life. I am pleased.]

The rat smiled in satisfaction.

[I’ve decided. I will personally corrupt you. Receive the blessing of filth.]

With those words, pillars of poisonous fumes rose from the ground.

Bayern\'s body was engulfed in green mist, disappearing from sight.

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