The interior of the cave was dark. The only source of illumination was weak candles lining against the wall. Even then, it still couldn't help much due to the terrain and rugged wall that covered some corners.
Barely able to see in the dark, Max walked carefully, hugging the wall before turning on the corner. Even if he planned to storm in from the front, it would be bad if many barbarians surrounded him at once.
Max also couldn't turn around and leave to report to Hutch anymore, not after killing the two guards who could alert the barbarians inside if they checked.
"The cave is longer than I thought." He muttered to himself.
But as the VR capsule caught every movement and voice, no matter how small it was, the viewers were able to hear him.
— It's loong loooonnggg
— And dark!
— Someone, turn the light on!
"Hahaha, there is no electricity here." Max laughed at the chat as he kept walking. He passed through a smaller entrance and found a light. "Oh, look at this. The light is turned on."
Somehow, the viewer's words came true. The area around the corner was bright, and Max was able to hear some laughter from that direction.
He carefully peeked and found a large room.
From what he could see, there were at least 10 barbarians, and one of them looked stronger than the others. He had a large body and held two axes, laughing as he showed off his juggling skill.
The others were drinking booze straight from the bottle, laughing merrily without any care of the world.
A stench of booze hit his nostrils, causing him to frown slightly.
Unable to bear the smell, Max retracted his head and pinched his nose.
"The smell of alcohol… It's so bad I almost puked." He growled in a low voice. "But at least I found how many of them there are."
Having a plan in his mind, he moved a bit away from the large room as he smirked. His eyes flashed a dangerous glint as he picked up the candle on the wall.
— There are at least 10 people. Even if you're a good player, it will be hard to take care of them.
— Blood! Kill them all!
— Let him cook, guys! Let him cook!
— I am curious about what he will do.
— Candle? What can he do with that?
"Stay calm, guys. I do have a plan in mind." Max spoke to his viewer as he returned to the large room. He pulled down his hood and hid his face. "I promise there will be blood."
— Wohoo!
— Blood! Blood! Blood!
— My right arm is aching. I need blood!
The viewers really got excited with the promise of blood. Max did his best to make them stay interested for a long time.
'But it can't hold on like this. I should show them my real specialty.'
It wouldn't be good for me in the long run if they only sought violence.
Max wasn't a Knight's Journey streamer but a variety streamer. Not only games, he planned to make an IRL stream when he got the equipment ready.
So, he needed to show his viewers what he was truly good at. And what he was most confident with was the movement he trained as someone who dabbled in parkour in the past. He was confident in using the terrain to his advantage.
'1 vs 10, and I only have a crude axe. The large room has many obstacles, which I can use. This is the perfect time to show what I am capable of.'
Holding a candle in his left hand and a crude axe in his right, Max entered the large room confidently.
— Holy shit, no plan!?
— This guy is nuts!
Indeed, it was strange from the viewers' perspective. In fact, more barbarians should be hidden as the notification hadn't notified Max of the mission's completion yet.
'It's safe to assume there are 2 or 3 more barbarians hidden in that door.' Max looked at the wooden door at the end of the large hall as he strode forward casually.
The barbarians noticed him and stopped laughing.
"Aah? Who are you? What the fuck are those two doing?"
One of the barbarians spoke harshly, followed by the largest guy.
"Is this guy one of us? I can't seem–"
Swoosh!
An axe was embedded deeply in the biggest guy's head before he finished speaking, killing him instantly. No blood gushed out because Max turned off the gore content, something that the viewers appreciated.
The barbarians instantly realized the man who had just entered the large room was an enemy and drew their weapon, throwing the alcohol bottle on the ground and spilling the remaining liquid inside.
"You are dead!"
A grin crept into Max's face as he ran forward and threw the candle.
'Idiot.' He thought.
The candle flew in an arch before hitting the puddle of alcohol on the ground. A combination of fire and alcohol. It didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen when the two met.
Fire burst and spread at a fast speed, covering the large room almost immediately.
Woosh!
Black clouds of smoke rose, filling the area and disturbing one's sight. Being here for too long would be bad, as the oxygen would get thinner and thinned.
Max needed to end this soon unless he wanted to die from the lack of oxygen.
"What?!"
"Fire! Put that off, idiot!"
The 9 barbarians panicked, running away to the corner where it was safe.
— He's cooking them!
— Damn! He literally cooked those barbarians!
— What did I say? Let him cook!
"Don't you understand that alcohol can burn easily?" Max commented casually as he took a sword from the ground and ran to the side of the room.
Due to the game mechanics, the players were able to use everything in the area, including the enemies' weapons.
The choice Max made in the beginning only affected his gameplay in the future and the choice of a weapon he would get in the main story.
Other than that… There was no limit to how to play Knight's Journey.
Max ran toward the barbarians. They were surprised by the fire; some were burnt because alcohol spilled on their bodies.
None of them died yet, however, and they were still dangerous.
And when he reached the fiery pit, Max suddenly jumped and ran on the slightly smooth wall, throwing the sword in his hand.
— Fuck!
— Cheating! That's cheating!
— Wall run… He's wall running!!
— POG POG POG!
— Breeze has turned this hard fight into a breeze!
The chat immediately burst into excitement as a row of texts ran. The wall run made them crazy.
— How the fuck?!
— Is that humanly possible?
— The wall is almost smooth, unlike the outside. This guy's nuts!
Max kept his concentration in dealing with the barbarians and had no time to read them yet.
One barbarian got killed by the sword piercing his heart. The others began angrily running toward Max, brandishing their swords and axes.
"8 more." He counted and jumped away to the other side of the fire.
It should be doable.