Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 748
Chapter 748: Guide (5)
Rotmiller’s navigation skills were excellent. It was natural since the Sixth Sense stat is more sensitive to misfortune than the Luck stat is. In fact, soon after we dashed in a direction Rotmiller felt was dangerous, enemies appeared.
‘About 70 of them…’
The enemy forces numbered around 70, significantly fewer than us. And the one we needed to be particularly cautious of……
“Red Axe Jack! He’s a notorious criminal known to have joined Orcules over ten years ago, so be careful—.”
Sadly, he wasn’t there.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Rupture.]
Booooom-!
Rotmiller’s words suggested that Jack was a notorious figure, but his head was blown off with a single arrow from Erwen.
“Did I do well?”
“Yes, you did well.”
“H-how can it be so easy……”
Rotmiller muttered in a hollow voice. It wasn’t hard to understand. After all, it was the battle against the Dragon Slayer that had led to Rotmiller’s retirement. We fought tooth and nail there, barely surviving despite sacrifices.
But……
‘That was years ago.’
There’s no reason to be intimidated by the name ‘Orcules’ now. Considering that the Corpse Collector and Dragon Slayer are among the highest ranks within Orcules, there’s no need to worry about someone like Red Axe Jack, whom I never even heard of before.
“I’ve only heard stories, but… you really have gotten stronger.”
Well, we have been fighting tooth and nail since then, crying out the name of our ancestral god.
“Behell–ahhhhhhhhh!!!”
As we charged in like tanks, the enemy, having lost their commander, couldn’t even put up a proper resistance.
“…Jack! Jack has fallen!”
“Run away!”
As I smashed the heads of every visible enemy in our frontal assault, the remaining enemies fled in panic, each trying to save themselves. It seemed chasing them all down and killing them would be difficult……
“Hey.”
I decided to capture a few of the fleeing enemies who looked like they held some rank for interrogation.
“What were you doing here with such a small force?”
“That, that’s…”
“You won’t speak, huh!”
Crunch!
After smashing one guy’s head as an example, I turned to the next one. Before I could even ask again, he started spilling information.
“We, we are a reconnaissance unit!”
“Reconnaissance unit?”
“Yes! Our mission is to roam the battlefield in small groups, gather information, and report it to our superiors!”
In simple terms, they were human radars. They spread out to detect enemies or potential threats and quickly relay that information back to their main force.
“Oh, so you must know the current state of the battlefield well?”
“…Yes! Of course!”
The captive who answered clearly was as knowledgeable as his confidence suggested, allowing me to quickly grasp the current situation. The royal army in District 5 had advanced to District 7, where they were engaged in full-scale battle with them.
Of course, this information wasn’t surprising. After all, I was the one who requested the mobilization of the army in the morning in the first place. The most crucial information was this.
“Your leader is still in District 7?”
“Yes! I don’t know exactly what he’s doing, but it’s certain that he’s in District 7!”
“Have you heard any news about Arua Raven?”
“Arua Raven… you mean the Golden Wizard?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know……”
Tsk, I see… Where on earth have Raven and Astarota disappeared to? I asked the same question to the other interrogation candidates, but only received similar answers. Therefore, the interrogation was over. Time to quickly deal with them and move on to the next task.
“Um……”
Then, suddenly, the guy cautiously opened his mouth.
“Could you perhaps spare my life, if it’s not too much trouble?”
Well, what’s this guy trying to say now? His quick wit was somewhat amusing.
“If you just let me go, I’ll hide in the sewers and won’t make a sound until everything is over. Really. Please believe me.”
Was this one a new type? There were many who begged for their lives, but none had been this polite. However……
“No.”
Still, no means no. As I drew a firm line, the guy, despite the fear in his eyes, awkwardly smiled.
“…Ahaha, is that so? Then, please kill me painlessly!”
Well, he had provided us with useful information. I could at least do that……
‘…No, something feels off.’
Sensing something odd, I set down the hammer I was holding.
Swish.
It was more instinctual than logical. The countless times I’d been double-crossed in my life had taught me something was amiss.
“Versyl, use a verification spell.”
“Even if it may not work on someone his level?”
“Just try it anyway.”
Following my order, Versyl quietly cast the spell.
And……
“It didn’t work.”
The verification spell failed, but I wasn’t disappointed. I had anticipated it might not work.
Tap, tap……
I quietly tapped my thigh with my index finger. I had been watching him closely. I was observing what expression he would make when the verification spell was mentioned and cast.
“…Interesting guy.”
“…W-what do you mean? I swear I didn’t lie or anything!”
Well, we’ll see about that.
“You’ll know soon enough.”
I took out “Misplaced Trust” from my subspace. It only had one use left… but this felt too suspicious to let go.
‘Yeah, I can just find another one later…’
Right, no need to hold back. Let’s use it. Just as I decided and was about to activate Misplaced Trust.
“Hahaha……”
Suddenly, the guy bent over, bursting into laughter as if everything up to now had been an act.
“What are you doing?”
“Khehe, Bjorn Yandel……”
“I asked, what are you doing?”
“This will be your grave!”
With a creepy glint in his eyes, he spat out a threat. His body then suddenly slumped forward.
Thud.
Missha, startled, rushed over to check his pulse.
“Bjorn……? This guy is dead……?”
Oh, come on, what now? This is making me anxious.
***
Bright lights beamed down on a vast stone chamber. Below it lay a mountain of corpses.
One, two, three, four…
There were so many that counting was pointless. At a glance, the number of bodies easily exceeded thousands. They all shared one common feature: they were shriveled up like vegetables that had lost all their moisture.
Clunk-!
Suddenly, the ceiling opened, and dozens of bodies tumbled down.
Bang!
The ceiling closed again, leaving a peculiar silence in the stone chamber.
And……
“……”
The man standing at the entrance did not look away. He frowned as if in pain, but he observed the scene resolutely. How much time had passed?
“Ah, here you are! I’ve come to inform you that the charging is complete once more, Marquess Tercerion.”
“Is that so… Let us go up.”
The Marquess left the underground stone chamber and ascended to the surface. In a clearing surrounded by high walls, a massive magic weapon connected to dozens of pipes stood.
Its official name was Thunder. It was one of three ancient magic weapons possessed by the royal family.
“Isn’t it quite an amazing device? Just by processing these useless corpses, it can generate enough power to blow up an entire palace.”
The Marquess turned his head to look at the man standing beside him.
“It’s all thanks to you, Marquess. If this had fallen into the royal family’s hands, this war wouldn’t have even started.”
Despite his age, he had a robust build and eyes filled with more fervor than any young man. He was the lord of Noark.
“I know it’s a bit late to ask, but what made you decide to rebel against the royal family, Marquess?”
“……”
“Let’s be candid now that we’re on the same side. You suddenly contacted us, offering to seize Thunder first and stand with us when the war started. But you claim you have no desire for the throne, which makes me doubt your true intentions.”
“Hatred……”
“……What?”
“Let’s just say it’s hatred.”
As the Marquess finished speaking briefly, the lord wore an awkward expression but forced a laugh.
“…Ahaha! King New World must have truly angered you, Marquess.”
The Marquess responded with a bitter smile.
And……
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence ensued. The lord, uncomfortable with the silence, opened his mouth again to ask another question.
“But why do you keep charging it? You have control over Thunder, and I assumed you had your reasons, so I didn’t ask. But if you had used it earlier, we could have already taken over more than half of Rafdonia.”
To this question, the Marquess let out a long sigh.
“I am waiting for the right moment. A time when it will be of even greater use.”
“Is there something more important than gaining half of Rafdonia?”
“At least, I believe so.”
“I see…”
The lord, perhaps bored, lingered by the Marquess for a while, engaging in trivial conversation before leaving, claiming he had matters to attend to. Time passed again.
Thud, thud.
A man in knight’s armor entered the building and bowed to the Marquess. The Marquess spoke without any preamble.
“Have you found him?”
He asked plainly, and the man nodded in response.
“Yes, Marquess. We have finally pinpointed the location of Bjorn Yandel.”
The time had come.
***
Every event has its signals. For example, if your hair suddenly stands on end, it means lightning is about to strike, and if rats or insects start fleeing in groups, it usually signals an impending earthquake. So, what does this current situation signify?
“Are they still following us?”
“Yes, they’re still trailing and monitoring us.”
After the captive we were interrogating suddenly laughed maniacally and committed suicide, it wasn’t long before these stalkers appeared. It was a very cunning and malicious kind of stalking.
“What about catching them?”
“That might be difficult. Even Erwen’s sniping couldn’t reach them due to the distance.”
The stalkers hadn’t harmed us yet. They just kept their distance and followed us. The problem was……
Thump.
That made me even more anxious. The ominous last words of that dead bastard, followed immediately by these stalkers, it all felt like a harbinger of something.
“Increase the your speed as much as possible.”
Despite increasing our pace, not a single enemy appeared.
“Rotmiller.”
“…I’m not sure where to go. I have a bad feeling about this……”
Even Rotmiller’s usually reliable navigation skills seemed to be failing. And the final nail in the coffin was…
“……Bjorn? They’ve suddenly stopped following us?”
The stalkers suddenly disappeared. No, to be precise……
“Not only are they no longer following us.”
“……”
“Rather, they’re putting more distance between us.”
The ones who had been following us had abruptly moved away and widened the distance. What could this mean? It’s a bit unexpected, but a sudden piece of advice came to mind. If you see water receding rapidly at the shore, you should run away quickly.
Pshwoooooooong-!
Just then, a loud roar like a jet engine echoed from the distance, causing everyone to crouch down in alarm. Well, everyone except me.
‘What is that?’
As the tank responsible for everyone’s safety, I kept my head up, scanning the surroundings.
And……
“……?”
I doubted my eyes for a moment. Something massive was flying in a parabolic arc from the direction of the Noark occupied District 4. At first, I couldn’t make out what it was, but……
“Thunder… it’s Thunder!!”
Unlike me, who had been underground when Thunder was fired, my companions instantly recognized it. Hearing that, I couldn’t help but curse.
“What the fuck……”
A missile bombardment was definitely cheating.
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