Barbarian and Witch

The barbarians from the northern wilderness of Rashemen, as rough as polar bears and as hard as steel, have as their greatest hobbies strong liquor and fighting. To outsiders, this group of muscle-brained fellows could never understand emotions.

But! Even iron men have tender hearts. Beneath the rough exterior of these hardy men lies a delicate inner world. What they yearn for, this romance and beauty, perhaps something like a white moonlight, is their Witch.

Just as knightly novels often depict, knights always find a beautiful princess to be their object of protection. The barbarians of Rashemen are also dedicated to finding the Witch they vow to protect.

The difference is that most knights are merely outwardly cultured rapists. After all, those with true virtue have all become Paladins, while the barbarians are often simple-minded, only giving their Witches headaches.

And this Witch before Minsc's eyes almost fulfilled all his imaginations and yearnings for a Witch. Her beautiful, tall figure, her soft golden hair cascading over her shoulders, her blue mage robe, and the staff in her hand. She arrived just like that, with the spiritual energy of the northern ice and snow, crashing into his heart.

Seeing Minsc's foolish expression, Zhang Yuan truly felt a headache coming on. What was this, love at first sight? The problem was, this Ice Maiden was just a puppet pawn.

Before he could say more, Minsc suddenly ran in front of the Crystal Maiden and knelt on one knee: "Beautiful and noble Witch, would you be willing to accept the allegiance of a Rashemen warrior? I swear, my sword is yours to command. From this day forward, no one shall harm you before I fall."

The few onlookers were so engrossed in this grand drama that their eyeballs almost popped out. Good heavens, he usually seemed like an honest person, but the moment he saw a beautiful woman, he transformed?

Helpless, Zhang Yuan could only go up and try to dissuade Minsc: "Don't ask, she can't be your guardian Witch."

Minsc, who had received no response, nervously turned back to look at the Mage: "Why? She refuses? Or does she already have a guardian?"

Zhang Yuan put his hand to his forehead and shook his head repeatedly: "Don't you see she's a summoned creature? Like a Stone Elemental."

"But she's not an elemental or a monster, she... she's a living person, a Witch!" Minsc completely refused to accept it.

"She's actually a puppet that looks like a person, an alchemical product. If you don't believe me, touch her hand. It's cold." Someone was truly speechless.

Who knew that the usually carefree barbarian would be exceptionally shy at this moment? He kept shaking his head, refusing to touch the Crystal Maiden's delicate hand, muttering something about disrespect, not agreeing, and her getting angry.

Completely at a loss, Zhang Yuan could only have the Ice Maiden perform a few actions like a robot according to his instructions, then pointed to her eyes: "Look at her eyes, do you really think she's alive?"

The persistent barbarian said: "I don't care. Even if she's a summoned creature, I want to protect her. Please, can you let her join our team?"

"You can forget about it. She's not a real woman, you can't marry her."

"I'm not trying to marry her, I just want to stay by her side. I don't mind."

The atmosphere in the newly departed team was extremely awkward. Kagan was curious while hiding from Little Stone like a startled quail. The barbarian circled the Crystal Maiden, grinning foolishly. Bard was indifferent, treating it as entertainment. The remaining Mage hurried along, massaging his temples to avoid an explosion of blood vessels and death.

It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with an Ice Maiden. The existing card pool with over 20 Energy could recruit several more identical pawns. Moreover, Minsc's feelings for the Crystal Maiden were not possessive, but rather a simple admiration and desire to protect.

Honestly, Zhang Yuan could hardly believe that the northern barbarians could do something like this. When had their level of thought become so high? They had even comprehended Plato.

But thinking about Minsc's feelings for Ai Li in the game, it wasn't that difficult to understand.

But falling in love with a puppet and vowing to protect it... Wait, wasn't this similar to those otaku fans? Brilliant!

Thinking this way, someone's spirits instantly lifted, and a sense of smugness like "Your wife is in my hands" arose.

The team had already traveled more than halfway, and the towering spires of High Hedge Castle were already visible. However, they encountered trouble again.

This time, the obstacle came from a group of not-so-unfamiliar old friends. Unlike the scattered skeletons and gnolls from before, the enemies this time consisted of nearly thirty Skeleton Soldiers and seven or eight Gnolls.

Even with Little Stone as a summoned creature, a direct confrontation would have little chance of victory. And the only spell Zhang Yuan had left, Sleep, had no effect on the undead.

Did they have to take a detour?

As he began to consider this reluctant option, Zhang Yuan looked around and saw a small hill nearby.

The hill was not very high, but the slope was a bit steep. A sparse forest grew at the foot of the hill, and most of the path leading to the summit was occupied by trees.

With a thoughtful expression, Zhang Yuan called everyone over to discuss the plan, and then they acted accordingly. To be precise, Minsc acted according to the plan.

The Mage, with his two dwarf bodyguards, ascended the summit step by step. Behind them, Little Stone slowly pushed a large round stone found from somewhere.

And their barbarian? He was seen jogging towards the Skeleton Soldiers and Gnolls in a flanking maneuver. After completing an arc, Minsc, drawing as much attention from the monsters as possible, sprinted towards the hill.

Yes, the barbarian was responsible for this monster-luring task. After all, the others were short-legged or Mages.

Seeing the Skeleton Soldiers and Gnolls gather and pursue Minsc, and then, due to the terrain and the forest, they could only climb the shaded side of the hill.

When Minsc reached the summit, the fastest Gnolls had only reached the halfway point. Most of the monsters were still crowded at the foot of the hill, climbing up.

After saying "Well done" to his barbarian teammate, it was time for the protagonist of the show – Tiny – to make his appearance.

Empowered by the Crystal Maiden's arcane aura, Tiny's mana bar was refilled. He raised the large round stone and activated the skill: Throw.

Whoosh~ A millstone-sized boulder cut through the air in a parabolic trajectory, directly falling into the center of the Gnoll pack. While taking down an unlucky victim, the shockwave knocked down all the monsters in the area.

After releasing the skill, Tiny, under Zhang Yuan's command, curled into a ball like a turtle listening to thunder, and then everyone pushed from behind.

The Gnolls, who had just managed to get up, still seeing stars, heard strange sounds.

Rumble~ A rock ball more than a meter in diameter charged down like a full-throttle war chariot. Its unstoppable momentum gave these amateur mountain-climbing Gnolls the illusion of facing a whistling war hammer swung by a giant.

How dare they linger? The members of the amateur mountaineering association lost all courage to challenge the peak; they turned 180 degrees and wanted to retreat.

What happened next filled the Gnolls with despair. The Skeleton Soldiers behind them, a step slower, advanced toward the rolling rock as if blind.

Blocked by the fearless Skeleton Soldiers and surrounded, the Gnolls could only desperately try to push down the mountain or push aside the Skeleton Soldiers and escape to the sides.

However, it was too late. They had little reaction time after recovering from their dizziness, and with the delay caused by the skeletons, except for a few quick-thinking individuals who jumped off the sides and suffered broken bones, the rest were crushed into a meat paste and bone soup by the rolling stones.

The Skeleton Soldiers at the foot of the hill continued to advance toward the rolling stones without any awareness, then scattered like bowling pins being hit, as if it were raining bones.