Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 725
Chapter 725: Terminal (4)
After I “requested” that he retrieve Raven for me, Astarota gave an order to a different Order of Guardians member standing outside the audience hall.
So. The order was moving down the chain of command…
“The place where she is staying is not far. You’ll be able to see her soon.”
Well, it wasn’t like I cared that much. No matter how many subordinates of subordinates the order went through, it didn’t concern the person at the very top of that chain.
And that means I’ll have some more time to talk to this guy.
I had no intention of wasting even this short lull in the action, so I immediately began my interview.
“Astarota, what’s your official position?”
We were back to not responding.
“I need to know at least that much to formulate my plans,” I explained. “Surely you wouldn’t go against the order His Majesty gave you to help me to the best of your—”
“I am the knight captain of the Order of Guardians.”
Oh, so I was right. Then I guess this guy was the next generation of the King’s Knight after Knight Gramps.
“If that answered your question…”
Heh, no way I was going to end it there.
“What’s that sword you’re wielding? From what I could tell, it was pretty sharp.”
He went quiet.
Hey, don’t roll your eyes at me.
“I need to know exactly what your abilities are to form my plan—”
“It is the sword given to the Order of Guardians knight captain,” he admitted.
“How does it do?”
“It won’t lose, not even to Genesis Treasures. Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know what Genesis Treasures are even though you’re a chieftain.”
Of course I knew what they were. I had collected all of them countless times, after all, so I knew their capabilities better than anyone.
“Then how many people are in the Order of Guardians?”
With the tide of the conversation established, I began to amp up my questions, digging into his cache of important information about the palace. While Astarota clearly seemed hesitant to respond, he always gave me an answer whenever I brought up the king, although with a sigh each time.
“Do you have any kids?”
“The Order of Guardians cannot have families.”
“Oh, then I guess you need to be pretty diligent with contraception…” Something about his silence this time had me thinking twice. “Wait, you… Have you never had…?”
And so it was that I began to obtain information that even I hadn’t been able to figure out in-game, so much so that enough time passed that Raven could appear at any moment.
With so much time having flown by and having heard all I needed to, a question suddenly appeared in my mind.
It was pure curiosity.
How far can I push the king’s name with this guy?
His excessive loyalty to the king had led to an error that caused him to be so obedient—in other words, a bug of sorts. That was why even as I extracted information from him, I reminded myself not to cross the line.
The life preservation device in the palace underground, the prison even further below that, and even information regarding the king’s remaining life. It was clear that he wouldn’t be answering any questions about those things, even with that bug of his. He would definitely refuse, and once he got a taste for it, he would learn that it wasn’t difficult to refuse to answer any of my questions.
Yeah, abusing a bug is a player-specific skill.
Knowing that, I tried my best to never take it too far. Just like how hitting a broken machine sometimes got it to work again, he would end up correcting himself if I hit him with too much of a shocker, and that would only be my loss.
Still, I’m curious.
He wouldn’t answer any question related to the king, but what about everything else? Would he take off his pants if I told him to?
What a question…
It was both disappointing and fortunate that I never got to explore that particular question of mine.
“M-Mr. Yandel!”
Raven had arrived.
***
From what I heard, Raven had been doing pretty well, even though she was worried and felt trapped. Not to say I was much different, in hindsight. We had probably gotten the best treatment anyone in the city could enjoy considering that we were in the middle of a war.
“You’ve put on some weight,” I greeted.
“Wh-what are you saying?! D-did I?”
“A little.”
“Ugh… What do you expect? I’ve been stuck in that room the entire time!”
After our brief reunion in the audience hall, I gave her a straightforward rundown of our current situation. In true barbarian fashion, I didn’t try to add in any unnecessary details, but thanks to Raven having spent so much time with me, she ended up summarizing it all in just two sentences.
“So, we need to kill him? The prime minister?”
“That’s how things ended up. And it won’t be just us. The palace will be supporting us.”
“I-I guess that’s good to know… But was the prime minister really the main culprit and traitor?”
“So I was told.”
With our simple and clear goal settled, Raven began to ask quite a few questions about the situation. Naturally, there wasn’t a single one I could answer for her. I had been stuck in a room the entire time myself, after all.
“Elizabeth over there will update you on the situation outside. I was waiting for you so we could listen in together.”
Raven eyed the man standing at attention. “Mister… Elizabeth?”
“Astarota Berun,” the knight captain supplied. “Call me Berun.”
“Ah, I see… Mr. Berun. Hello…”
Astarota didn’t acknowledge Raven’s greeting and began to brief us on the situation. At every turn, we became more and more surprised at what had actually been going on.
“What?” Raven cried. “Half the city’s already been taken over?”
“Not taken over. The rebels have illegally occupied them, and it’s a third of the city, not half,” the knight captain corrected. “Within Ravigion, only District Thirteen, District Seven, and District Eight have been occupied, and in Kommelby, it’s just District Four.”
In contrast to the king’s blasé reaction, the situation in the city was beyond dire.
The key players were all already aware that the prime minister was the culprit behind this war. The marquess had even gone over to the enemy camp and was commanding their army against us.
It could just be called a civil war at this point, honestly, and there was even a chance the war would become a long campaign.
“So my allies are in the enemy territory of District Seven…”
“To be exact, they’re in the barbarian holy land. That is, if they haven’t moved since the last exchange of information,” the knight captain asserted.
Still trying to wrap my mind around the new information, I mumbled, “This is much worse than I expected.”
“Mr. Yandel, you’re thinking of regrouping with your allies first, right?” Raven asked.
“Yeah.” However, it wouldn’t be easy to reach them in District Seven. I began to run through the possibilities. “If I want to do that, I’ll need to pass through either District five or District Eight, which shares a border with District Seven…”
According to Astarota’s report, those were the frontlines that saw constant battles every day and night.
Raven seemed to share my concern. “This will be difficult. Even if we pass through District Five or District Eight, District Seven is squarely in the middle of their battle line.”
“That’s true…”
“Bjorn Yandel,” Astarota suddenly interjected. “Allow me to advise you on one thing.”
Warily, I said, “Go on.”
“Think about your priorities.”
Wow, and I was wondering what the advice was going to be.
As if to really hammer home that he was the king’s lapdog, he advised me to carry out the king’s command first rather than take care of my allies.
With that cognitive dissonance he had going on back then too, does this guy have something wrong with his head?
There was no point in me even entertaining his words. If I was going to do as he said, I would have stayed in the audience hall for a week. Why else would I have accepted that condition?
With that, I ignored his advice.
“More importantly…” I said, turning back to Raven. “I’ll need to have a look around outside first.”
Since there were some things I couldn’t learn through words alone, I immediately made plans to go out. However, Astarota interrupted us again.
“You’ll be exposed if you go out in that condition. I didn’t say this before, but most people think you suffered great injuries due to the collapse.”
Oh, I see.
“How about you hide yourself with armor?” he suggested.
Although this one seemed more like genuine advice, my answer was no yet again. For one, I couldn’t hide this enormous body of mine with armor in the first place, and I didn’t need a rerun of my helmet phase.
“I’ll just go like this,” I decided.
“Why?”
“The news that I’m fine might get back to my allies.”
Astarota didn’t seem to understand my decision, if his expression was anything to go by. In fact, he was looking at me like I was a moron. However, in the end, he settled for saying, “His Majesty has told you to act freely, so I will not comment on this.”
“So don’t comment on it.”
“But do you truly believe that you can kill the prime minister with so little resolve?”
His voice was neutral, containing not a single hint of worry. However, it didn’t take much to understand the true meaning behind that question.
If I failed to carry out the king’s command, would I be able to handle the consequences if it meant the worst-case scenario for me?
That was what was truly asking. However, I shook my head and sternly made my position known.
“Don’t worry about that.”
After encountering Fragments of the Records Stone, time travel into the past, and many other phenomena, I now believed in fate.
“The prime minister is a dead man walking.”
His fate had been sealed since the Ice Rock Expedition.
***
How funny.
That was the first thought I had after leaving the Palace of the New World. After all, only now as I made my way to the front gate was I able to see how it looked from the outside.
“Wow…” Raven breathed. “I’ve heard rumors about it, but it really is grand…”
We were perhaps the first people in all of history to enter through the underground passage and leave through the main gate.
“Stay quiet with the windows down when you leave the palace. It must not be known that you left from the Palace of the New World,” the knight captain commanded.
“Got it…”
Then Raven, Astarota, and I were off in a carriage that left the Palace of the New World, with one of the knights from the Order of Guardians as our horseman.
“Is it okay for you to leave the palace like this, though?” I questioned.
“Wasn’t it you who requested that I accompany you?”
Hmm, well, that was true. Technically, I asked if I could mobilize all the members of the Order of Guardians in the palace, but he said only he could go.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s by the order of His Majesty.”
“Hmm… But is it alright for the Order of Guardians knight captain to leave his post when we’re at war?”
He gave a cool smile at my question. “The palace isn’t so easily breached that traitors can step foot wherever they please.”
“Well, that’s good to hear…”
To be honest, I still couldn’t decide if going around with him was the right choice or not. He was pretty good at fighting, but I got the feeling that everything I did would be relayed to the king. I might even be prevented from making a crucial decision at some point.
But there are still many things I don’t know. It’ll be more effective if he’s with us.
Soon enough, the carriage had passed the twelve palaces situated around the Palace of the New World and entered the royal capital, allowing me to see what had taken place for myself.
“Now it actually feels like we’re at war,” I muttered.
Of the twelve palaces, I was most familiar with the Palace of Glory, having visited it for my title and ennoblement ceremonies, among many other events.
“Th-this is Thunder…”
But that massive and grand palace was nowhere to be seen, and only a mountain of debris was in its place. Every time one of the countless soldiers moved a piece of rubble away, a corpse would appear from beneath it.
“Who is it?”
“We’ll need a detailed investigation, but we’ve found the insignia of Count Nartuyl on their clothes!”
“It could be Count Nartuyl, so move the body as carefully as you can!”
“Understood!”
The conversation from the field rang loud and clear as we rode through the narrow paths someone had made through the rubble.
“Did a lot of nobles die in this incident?”
“Many nobles were gathered here due to military command and whatnot,” the knight captain said in response to my question. “There is also a rumor going around among the civilians that half the nobles have died due to this.”
Half the nobles…
It was probably more like half the titled nobles. However, that alone was enough to show just how dire the situation was.
“Maybe the marquess thought about all this when he gathered everyone here,” I mused.
“Not just maybe—the Department of Intelligence is certain that was his plan.”
Hmm, if that was the case, I had another question. I understood that the marquess was behind all this, but then why did he tell me to stay in prison for two days? From his perspective, wouldn’t it have been better if I died after getting swept up in this?
Astarota gave me this answer in response.
“Well, perhaps the prime minister thought you wouldn’t die even after everything collapsed on you.”
Uh, well… I couldn’t imagine myself dying just because of something like that either, honestly.
With how many titled nobles died, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned into a major issue. There might even be a few noble houses that straight up disappeared because of this… Maybe there’ll be a succession ceremony after the war? The median age will get much younger.
I stared at the palace through the slight gap in the window, lost in thought. Raven then mumbled to herself, “…be nothing.”
“Hmm? What did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
“No, it’s just… No matter how this war ends, the world will change from how we know it.”
Hearing the fear dripping from her voice, I ended up nodding in agreement.
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