Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 564
Chapter 564: Destination (4)
If he wanted to know how I noticed, the answer was simple.
Firstly, the terms of their relationship were settled too quickly.
“Then try it. That execution of yours.”
“Annihilate them! You can kill all of them other than their leader!”
We moved straight into battle after the meeting, and the village chief had run with the monsters.
And then, the chase sequence happened.
“He’s heading that way? All forces, change direction!”
Oddly enough, as soon as I changed course, the main force chased after me. It was as if Jerome was aware of my movements. That was only a feeling I had, of course. However, even if he just happened to notice I was moving away, it didn’t change the fact that it was odd he chased after me.
Because if this was the Jerome who gave his all to the mission, if he was the one who outwardly showed his hostility against this so-called “traitor” of a village chief…
Then he wouldn’t have stopped chasing the chief until the mission was over.
…Well, this is all just because I got a weird feeling about the situation.
The thing that put the nail in the coffin was when Jerome made that request of me.
“Could you perhaps lead from the front?”
This was the guy who had put my safety above the success of the battle when I collapsed during the fight against the Wolf of Prophecy Kashan. The guy who would discard the precious lives of his subordinates for the mission.
Yet this very same guy tried to throw me into the path of unknown danger?
After sensing that something was quite wrong and going through all the possibilities in my mind, I could only reach one conclusion. The real problem with that was that I ended up being correct.
“You and your people shouldn’t have had reason to know that. It seems there are more rats than expected among these ranks.”
Jerome looked at his subordinates with cold eyes. He seemed to suspect that the reason I noticed the oddity of the situation was because I had a spy among his troops. Well, that would make it easier to explain why I tried to run away during the chase, at least.
In any case, by “your people,” he’s probably talking about Raven and Kaislan as well…
My suspicion was now proven.
With that, I began to think about what the conversation between the village chief and Jerome could have entailed. It must have taken place on this island, timed when everyone except the night patrol was asleep.
If my hypothesis was correct, those two had met to converse in secret, and the chief had used the opportunity to make Jerome an offer. Something that Jerome Saintred then decided was worth more than his mission.
“Just what was it? What did the village chief promise you that you changed sides in just a day?” I demanded outright.
Jerome, however, wasn’t so inclined to be so forthcoming. “This is where our conversation ends, Your Lordship. Now that I have given you your answer, take the lead and walk underground.”
It wasn’t a request or a suggestion. With nothing more to hide, he dictated, “I order you as your commander.”
“And what if I say I don’t want to?” I countered.
“I will take that as willful defiance of the royal decree.”
To be honest, I was a little surprised. There were close to two hundred witnesses here, and he was still acting this brazenly.
He’s confident he can control the flow of this information…
He probably did have many methods available to him. Money, fame, honor, and authority. The number of tricks the palace could use was close to infinite, and if he so happened to stumble across someone on whom none of those tricks worked, it didn’t matter that much anyway.
In the end, his will would be done, even if he had to resort to extremes.
I bit my lip, shooting a glance at my allies. They seemed to immediately sense where my attention had turned.
“Yandel, don’t waste your time thinking about us. We’re all already prepared.” Cold determination laced Amelia’s words from where she stood just beside me as she spat out, “Even if you don’t want to, you still need to fight when the situation calls for it. You were the one who said that, didn’t you Bjorn?”
Even Ainar with her tanked Aggression drew her weapon and stepped up behind me.
“I hadn’t expected this to take place so soon…” Versyl admitted. Still, her resolve to take necessary action, no matter the consequences, made itself clear. “But it was inevitable that we would need to face it at some point.”
The one that I was most surprised about, however, was Armin.
“We will also fight beside you, Lord Baron. That will allow us to repay our debt to you,” he declared boldly, seemingly unafraid to be branded as treasonous to the crown.
“Uhh…w-we… just…I don’t know, so l-let’s try and solve this through words first…”
On the other hand, Wyatt Hektz didn’t seem all that loyal to me. Although to be fair, that should have been the normal reaction.
Even those on the palace’s side seemed to waver once they realized they were now in opposition to me.
“If what the baron said is true…did the count scheme together with that monster…?”
“He probably has his reasons… but to send the baron into danger like that, is this what we should do?”
“Wasn’t it our mission to retrieve the baron and return with him alive? This goes against that.”
The achievements I had accrued. My fame as a hero and my position as a noble. And even the favorable impression I nurtured among the soldiers.
Although those three factors combined wouldn’t be enough for them to go against their commander, they drove a wedge between the party, creating a schism between the members. I could see it from here—if Jerome gave the order to kill me right now, their hesitation would stay their weapons.
That would be my opening.
It was an opening as small as the head of a needle for now, but from here on out, its size would be dependent on how I chose to proceed.
“I, Baron Bjorn Yandel, will say this!” I let down the shield I had raised in defense and shouted, “As a proud noble who supports the Rafdonia Royal House, and as a warrior, I swear this! If it is for the good of the palace, I am not afraid of anything! Even if I have to give my life!”
While shouting, I held Misplaced Trust gripped firmly in hand. I deactivated it for a moment every time I spoke, but if I hid it well enough, they wouldn’t be able to notice at this distance.
“I am always ready to throw myself into danger for the glorious future of the royal house!”
I roared out my loyalties made solely of lies as I finished my declaration.
“However! I do not know for sure if this is an action in service of the palace! Or if you are making the wrong decision because you believe in something you shouldn’t!”
This was a type of poison. A poison that would seep into everyone here and lead them to destruction.
“You dare…suspect my loyalty to the royal house?” Jerome seethed.
“How can I not when you aren’t giving me a proper explanation? Explain it so I can understand! Then I—Bjorn, son of Yandel—will go down there immediately! Even if you are doing it to get rid of me!”
I was going to hold onto him like a leech and drag him down with me if I had to.
The silence stretched on as Jerome Saintred stayed quiet, and suspicion began to rise among the other members of the expedition group.
However, it seemed he noticed that as well.
“Speak, Jerome Saintred!” I commanded. “What is down there, and what deal did you make with the village chief?”
His answer came slowly, but indignation heated his voice into a shout as he said, “…I cannot reveal military secrets to you. However, know this. All this is for the good of the royal house!”
“I can’t trust that!”
He reared back. “Why can’t you? Isn’t Misplaced Trust active? You should know that everything I have said is the truth—”
“You might think this is for the good of the royal house and be wrong!”
That got him quiet again.
Alright. Judging by his expression, he would probably start spilling some information if I kept pushing. If I could get in one more strong rebuttal, swaying public opinion to my side might not be impossible here.
“Then talk! Explain how me going down there is for the royal house!”
With my assessment of the situation concluded, I put my loyalty on full display as I shouted.
However, without warning, I heard a voice in my head.
[…You’re wrong. Opposing him here will only lead to a worse outcome.]
It was a gentle voice that seemed to sigh a little while talking.
[You could have run away immediately. Why did you have to make everything so difficult…?]
Flash!
Just as I began to wonder whose voice this was, a flash of silver blinded me as my consciousness began to fade.
***
[Bystander of Destiny has intervened.]
[With Sven Parav’s stigma as a medium, Star’s Authority was cast on the character.]
[Mark of the Star is inscribed deeply in your body. Divine Resistance stat has permanently increased by +100. All healing and positive effects from the authority of the Reatlas Church are reduced by half.]
[Be warned. If you receive the authority of a god one more time, your fragile mortal body will disintegrate…]
***
When I woke up, I was still standing in the same place.
No, to be precise, I was somehow looking at the place I had been from a short distance away.
“Then talk! Explain how me going down there is for the royal house!”
I was still shouting while Jerome’s face flushed red like a hot kettle.
What the hell…?
For some reason, I was looking at this from a third-person perspective.
Watch closely. You will find your answer. The voice I had heard before spoke to me in my mind again the moment I questioned this phenomenon.
My mind whirred, growing foggy as if I were drunk. Maybe that was why, but somehow, the question faded from my mind until only the thought of listening to that order filled my head.
“Why can’t you answer me? Maybe it’s because you already know it too! That this action you are trying to take isn’t for the good of the royal house at all!”
The longer I watched the scene play out, the worse the situation became.
I didn’t stop talking, and the commander ended up shouting back in the end.
“How long do you plan on showing contempt to the palace?! You traitor!”
“Hah! Traitor! I am not going against the command of the king. I am only questioning your decision—”
“Hah! Do you really think I wouldn’t know? You’re nothing but a traitor acting like Bjorn, son of Yandel!”
“…What?”
When Jerome said that, “my” eyes that I could see from here went wide with surprise. Since I was looking at myself, it wasn’t difficult for me to guess what I was thinking. I was probably scared that I got caught for being an evil spirit.
“I was suspicious of you the moment we met, but I became certain after coming here. You are the one who acted under the name of Iron Mask decades ago in Noark.”
“Uh…”
“You must’ve received orders from Noark to become a spy to continue your activity as a barbarian who just became an adult. I bet you returned to them during the two years and six months you disappeared for the ‘special mission’ as well.”
“Uhhh…”
“Yet still, you stand there and dare to speak lies toward the palace? I don’t know how you’re suppressing the effects of Misplaced Trust…”
“Suppressing? I didn’t—”
“Then hold it so we can see it! There, look! You stop every time you talk!”
It was game over from there.
“If it means handing over a traitor like you and bringing prosperity to the palace, then
I would do it a hundred times, no, a thousand times over. What are you all doing? Arrest this wicked traitor! If anyone tries to help him, treat them as traitors as well and kill them! I, Jerome Saintred, will take full responsibility for what happens here!”
The lies I was spreading through Misplaced Trust were sounded out, and before I could give anything resembling a proper explanation, Jerome immediately gave the attack order.
“Everyone hide behind me!”
With the Hektz Clan and Armin Adventurer Group out of the picture, the members of Clan Anabada took a final stand as this world came to an end.
Without realizing it, I mumbled, “What happens after this…?”
That mysterious voice answered me again. [Among your precious allies, three of them die. And then it goes on to lead to the future I showed that child.]
Only then did I realize whose voice this was. This was the goddess of the stars who oversees fate—Reatlas. I was an atheist meeting with a real god in a faraway world, but it didn’t impact me as much as I thought. There was only one important thing at hand.
“Then what should I have done? It was obvious that he was scheming something. Should I have just gone down without protesting?”
An answer.
Just as humans looked to god when they were thrust into a corner, I also looked for an answer from this god.
[I told you. Watch until the end.]
And then, the time in the frozen world began to go backward.
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