NTR: Barbarian Harem Conquest

Blood dripped freely from his torn bicep, pooling on the ancient stone floor.

Kane leaned against the cave wall, gritting his teeth as the freezing wind stung his fresh wounds.

’That could have gone much better,’ Kane admitted to himself, wrapping a spare cloth tightly around the puncture marks.

’Note to self. Do not punch mythical beasts in the nose. They really do not appreciate it.’

Looking out into the blinding white storm, he realized his axe was still lying in the snowbank somewhere below.

Leaving without his weapon was simply not an option. Retreating without the azure fluid meant Griselda would never get her wings back.

Opening his interface with a quick thought, Kane allocated five spare stat points directly into Pain Suppression and Agility.

A warm rush of system energy flooded his veins, numbing the throbbing ache in his arm and sharpening his reflexes.

Extending his uninjured left hand toward the cave entrance, Kane focused his aura.

”Come here,” Kane commanded quietly.

A sharp whistle pierced the howling wind. Mjoldr tore through the blizzard, spinning rapidly until the leather grip slapped firmly into his waiting palm.

’Handy trick,’ Kane smirked, rolling his injured shoulder to test the joint.

’Saves me a lot of walking.’

Instead of retreating down the trail to safety, Kane stepped right back out into the biting frost.

Taking a deep breath, he pivoted and started sprinting straight up the winding mountain path.

”Hey, ugly!” Kane yelled, pushing his newly boosted agility stats to their absolute limit.

”We are not done yet!”

Yellow eyes snapped toward the sound.

The Serpent hissed, sending a chilling vibration straight through the glaciers.

Kane didn’t wait around to chat.

Boot steps crunching rapidly against the ice, he bounded up the steep incline. The winding trail wrapped around the peak like a corkscrew, offering a precarious but direct route to the summit.

Below him, the beast gave chase.

The creature coiled its long body entirely around the mountain, spiraling upward to pursue the arrogant human.

Ice cracked and crumbled wherever its scales scraped the rock, sending showers of frost tumbling into the valley.

’I really hope Misha is not watching this,’ Kane thought, vaulting effortlessly over a jagged boulder.

’She is going to lecture me for a month about basic survival instincts.’

Glancing over his shoulder, Kane saw the fog trying to swallow the beast’s form again. The divine camouflage was returning.

Gripping the brass bell tied to his wrist, Kane channeled a pure burst of raw mana straight into the relic.

The Saintess mentioned it needed an hour to recharge, but system mana bypassed old religious rules completely. The brass warmed dangerously against his skin, glowing with forced energy.

Ding.

Golden light pulsed outward again, stripping the mist away and leaving the creature perfectly exposed.

”There you are,” Kane grinned.

Twisting his hips, he hurled Mjoldr straight down the slope. The crimson axe spun beautifully, clipping the Serpent right on its armored snout before rebounding into the empty air.

Kane simply opened his hand. The axe zipped right back into his grip, ready for another round.

Furious, the Serpent lunged upward, snapping its jaws right where Kane had been standing a fraction of a second prior.

”Missed me,” Kane taunted, already twenty paces higher up the trail.

The chase turned into a bizarre, high-stakes game of tag.

Kane sprinted up the freezing spiral, tossing his weapon repeatedly to chip at the beast’s scales, then recalling it just in time to dodge the retaliatory strikes.

Every time the mist tried to hide the predator, Kane forced another pulse of mana into the brass bell, keeping his target perfectly visible.

’This is actually working,’ Kane realized, his lungs burning from the thin air.

’Keep it angry. Angry fighters always make stupid mistakes.’

Reaching the summit, the terrain suddenly flattened out.

A frozen, glass-like lake stretched across the peak, reflecting the gray sky perfectly.

Kane slid to a halt right in the center of the ice.

Bursting over the ridge a moment later, the Serpent fully revealed itself. The creature towered above him, coiling its body tight like a spring.

It raised its head high into the clouds, preparing to strike downward and swallow him in one unavoidable bite.

’Now or never,’ Kane told himself, slowing his breathing.

He didn’t run. Taking a firm stance on the slippery ice, Kane pulled his arm back and threw Mjoldr with everything he had left.

He didn’t aim for the snake.

The axe sailed right past the beast’s head, missing the target entirely.

It smashed deep into a towering wall of solid glacial ice directly behind the Serpent, lodging itself firmly into the frost.

The snake blinked, seemingly confused by the terrible throw.

”Oops,” Kane said casually.

Sensing an unarmed, helpless prey, the predator dove.

Jaws opened wide enough to swallow a carriage, plunging straight down toward the center of the lake.

Kane dropped flat onto his back. Activating [Berserker’s Slide], he kicked the ice hard, sending himself gliding rapidly forward.

He slipped directly underneath the creature’s descending lower jaw, sliding right past the rows of deadly, frost-coated teeth.

Looking up as he slid beneath the beast’s softer, unprotected underbelly, Kane raised his left hand toward the glacial wall behind the snake.

”Mjoldr. Return.”

Lodged deep in the ice, the axe ripped itself free.

Flying backward at blinding speed to reach its master, the weapon tore straight through the Serpent’s exposed throat from behind.

Steel carved through the softer scales flawlessly.

Azure blood rained down in a glowing waterfall just as Kane slid directly underneath the fresh wound.

Reaching into his pouch, Kane pulled out his spare glass vial. He popped the cork with his thumb and simply held the bottle up as he glided across the frozen lake.

Glowing blue liquid splashed perfectly into the glass.

Slamming the cork back in, Kane jammed the vial safely into his pocket just as Mjoldr snapped back into his waiting hand.

Above him, the Serpent let out a deafening, gurgling shriek.

Thrashing wildly in pain, the beast lost its balance entirely. It crashed onto the frozen lake, sliding uncontrollably toward the far edge of the cliff.

Kane dug his boots into the ice, stopping his own momentum near the center. He watched calmly as the thrashing creature slipped over the precipice, tumbling down the far side of the mountain in a chaotic avalanche of scales and snow.

Silence slowly returned to the summit.

”Checkmate,” Kane breathed out, lying flat on the ice while his heart hammered against his ribs.