Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 272

Hans Aulock.

From now on, he will be remembered by me as Hans J.

“Ha, Hans…?!”

“Hans, you say…?”

The moment he revealed his name, Raven and Ainar next to me flinched and fixed their gazes on him.

They both know.

What Hans means to me.

“…Is, is there something wrong?”

Hans J looked flustered as the attention suddenly focused on him.

I clenched my thigh with force.

‘Not now. Hold it in.’

I want to smash his head in right now and turn him into a nameless corpse.

That desire dominates my mind.

But…

Clench-

There’s still no proof that he’s the traitor.

All I have is a hunch.

Even if I were to express the ominousness of the name Hans, Partsran or Ershina wouldn’t understand.

They would still think of him as a comrade.

Therefore…

“No, there’s no problem.”

I won’t take any action for now.

Even if he is the traitor, if he has any sense, he’ll just keep his mouth shut and try to return to the city.

Deciding that watching him is the priority.

“Huh? It didn’t seem like that though…”

“I said there’s no problem.”

“Hmm, if you say so…”

Hans J stroked his chin with a troubled expression.

I feel a little sorry for making him feel like an outcast, but…

“So, are you going to keep your hand hanging there awkwardly—”

Still, a handshake is crossing the line.

“Ah, Partsran! Are you done talking?”

I turned my gaze away from Hans J and changed the subject.

It seemed like the two of them had finished their conversation at the same time.

“More or less. From what I heard, it seems Drowz really was from that place… I thought he was a bit odd, but still.”

“I see.”

“So, what are we going to do with this one?”

“We’ll keep him with us for now.”

“Understood.”

Surprisingly, Partsran had no objections to Nevarche’s treatment.

He almost died because of these guys too.

Does he think of him as my spoils and not cross the line?

“Anyway, can everyone gather around?”

Anyway, after the brief reunion, Raven called everyone together.

And together with me, she summarized the situation.

“The sea route is blocked by waves, so we can’t escape the island. For some reason, monsters keep appearing.”

“Speaking of those monsters, they seem to be getting stronger. Just now, even a Siren Queen appeared.”

“Yes. I don’t know what’s happening on this island today, but it seems we’ve been caught up in something unusual. So, Partsran, do you know anything about this phenomenon?”

Partsran paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“…Since you seem to have some idea, I’ll be honest. The reason we visited the island was because of this.”

Even if the other team members didn’t know, at least he had heard various things from Drowz, the leader?

“I don’t know the details either… but I heard that we just need to hold out until the sun rises in two days.”

“Fortunately, this state won’t continue indefinitely.”

After that, Raven presented two options.

“First, we find a place that’s easy to defend and hold out until two days later.”

“What’s the second?”

“We search the island for our companions. Our team hasn’t found Misha, and Partsran’s team hasn’t found their archer yet, right? If both of them are stranded alone, it will become more dangerous as time passes.”

I chuckled at Raven’s words.

If that’s the case, why did she say there were two options?

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Of course, we’ll go look for our companions.”

I answered without a moment’s hesitation, and Partsran was no different.

“I escaped safely, so Helga must have escaped well too. We have to go save her.”

Let’s search the island and find our companions first.

It was around the time when the direction of our future actions was almost decided.

Hans J rolled his eyes and joined the conversation.

“A vote! How about we decide by voting?”

It was hard to believe.

Even if his name is Hans, still.

To say something like that in this atmosphere?

“Ahem, maybe there are those who don’t want to but haven’t spoken up.”

“If that’s the case, let’s vote. Those who think we should go look for our companions, raise your hand.”

Without wasting any time, we immediately proceeded with the vote, and when everyone raised their hands, Hans J also raised his hand at the end, looking around.

“Then it’s settled.”

Barbarian-style democracy is invincible.

***

Thud, thud.

I’m walking at a slightly fast pace, clearing the way.

Behind me, eight people are following.

Everyone from our clan except for Misha.

Partsran, Ershina, and Hans J, who formed a temporary alliance.

Even the strategic prisoner, Nevarche Greenhop.

‘For now, we’ve gathered eight people.’

If we assume that Misha and the female archer from Partsran’s team join us, we might be able to clear this.

The presence of the priest was significant.

If we didn’t have a priest, it would have been truly hopeless.

“Misha! If you can hear me, please answer! Misha!”

“Heyina!”

After leaving the coast, we focused on finding our companions somewhere on the island.

It wasn’t an easy task.

The island itself isn’t that large, but…

Crunch, crunch-!

Whoosh-!

Now, no matter where we go, dozens of monsters appear, slowing us down.

Right now, we’re practically stopped and just fighting.

「You have defeated a Sea Giant. EXP +5.」

「You have defeated a Naga Archer. EXP +5.」

「You have defeated a Palpus Snake…」

「…」

This is a change that happened 30 minutes ago.

The rank of the monsters appearing has increased significantly.

Even with a party of eight, it’s difficult to break through.

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere has actually become darker than before.

No one has said it out loud, but…

The reason for this gloom is obvious without even hearing it.

“With so many monsters…”

It means that the companions who were separated from the group are unlikely to be okay. Even if Misha and the female archer had the luck to meet and join forces, the two of them alone couldn’t withstand this monster wave.

But so what?

“Behel—raaaaaaaaa!”

Ignoring the adverse conditions, I put in more effort to clear the way. Even if I have to swing my mace dozens of times to move just a few steps.

That’s not a reason to stop.

I haven’t confirmed anything yet.

So…

Crunch, crunch, crunch-!

I keep moving forward.

Bang-!

Blood splatters.

“…”

The rough breathing of my exhausted companions.

Swoosh-! Thud.

The gruesome sound of tearing through the monster’s hide and piercing its insides. Amidst that noise, someone’s muttering was heard.

“…Isn’t, isn’t it time to stop?”

It was Hans J’s voice.

“Why isn’t anyone saying anything? I, I don’t want to be the bad guy, you know? But, but everyone knows!”

Unknowingly, I stopped walking.

Even in this situation, monsters were drooling and rushing towards me from the front, but…

“Knows what?”

I turned around to face him.

“Speak clearly. Before I misunderstand.”

“Think logically! Don’t you know it’s already too late?”

Yeah, you’re a smart mage, right?

It’s good that things turned out this way.

Actually, I wanted to snap his neck from the moment we met. He’s spouting such nonsense in front of a barbarian, so it’ll be justified.

Therefore…

“Cough!”

I grabbed his neck.

“Hey, Yandel!”

Raven, who was next to me, screamed at my actions.

Also, Partsran, who was fighting with me at the front, left the monsters and rushed towards me.

“What are you doing!”

Perhaps because I touched his comrade, Partsran no longer used honorifics with me.

And at that sight.

“You, go any further and I’ll kill you.”

Ainar also entered combat stance and blocked Partsran.

Erwen was similar.

Swoosh.

There were no words, and she was still shooting arrows at the monsters. But at some point, Erwen was positioned behind the priest.

It must be to kill the priest first if a fight breaks out.

“E-everyone, stop it!”

Raven was in a state of panic and shouted.

“Yandel, get a grip.”

The bear uncle pushed back the monsters with his large crossbow and tried to stop me. It all happened within 3 seconds after I grabbed the mage’s neck.

‘Damn it.’

What am I doing right now?

This isn’t like me.

Thud.

I released the hand that was grabbing his neck and threw Hans J to the ground. My sudden action had already broken the front line, and monsters were starting to swarm.

“I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.”

“…Let’s talk about this later.”

When I returned to the front line, Partsran also stood next to me and fought the monsters without saying anything.

“Whew…”

That’s how the atmosphere, which seemed like it was about to erupt into internal conflict, ended.

However, it was different from before, and it could never be the same.

“…”

“…”

We fight together, but we are wary of each other.

Thanks to that, the speed of our progress has become even slower.

Well, at least Hans’s mouth is quiet now.

‘Misha…’

As someone who needs to find Misha as soon as possible, this is not good news.

‘Damn it.’

It was when we were searching the island at a snail’s pace like this.

“Ah, mister! It’s a corpse!”

We encountered the corpse of the person we were looking for.

***

My heart sank the moment I faced the corpse.

My vision blurred, and my mind was filled with darkness. But soon, that feeling turned into relief.

Because it wasn’t Misha.

“Heyina…!”

The woman in the archer position who belonged to Partsran’s team.

Partsran, who was clearing the way with us, rushed towards her, who had fallen in a terrible state.

And…

“Damn it!”

After checking her breathing, he slammed his fist into the ground.

At that moment, a pure white wave spread from the center of the formation.

「Lylin Ershina has cast [Declaration of Evil].」

[Declaration of Evil], one of the core skills of a priest.

It can be seen as a kind of barrier.

It can’t stop people, but while it’s maintained, monsters can never invade the barrier.

[Kieeeeeeeek!]

In short, we’re safe for the time being.

So, I also lowered my shield and approached the corpse.

It wasn’t the female archer’s corpse.

Because there was one more corpse.

“Who is this?”

After dragging the bewildered Nevarche and asking, the answer came back that he was a comrade.

Thanks to that, my head went blank.

‘What… what happened?’

I can understand that the female archer died.

But I don’t understand why this guy’s corpse is right next to her.

“Raven, what’s the cause of death?”

“There are too many bite marks, so it’s hard to be sure. But… no matter how I look at it, the stab wound in the abdomen seems to be fatal.”

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

“A stab wound from a sword…”

Heyina is an archer.

But she was stabbed to death with a sword?

This doesn’t make sense.

“What about that woman? Can you tell exactly what killed her?”

“I don’t know. That side is even more gruesome…”

“But still, if you had to say?”

“…First of all, there are wounds from being torn by a huge claw. But this is also a bit strange. I haven’t seen any monsters that could leave such marks so far. It’s as if a large monster tore her apart…”

“Any monsters that are suspected?”

“There’s a commonality that the claws are three and the wounds at the end are deep. It’s a pattern that usually appears when attacked by avian monsters like wyverns.”

“I see.”

The situation is getting more complicated.

“So, it means it couldn’t have been a monster.”

“Yes… I guess so.”

Raven nodded as if agreeing.

That’s because the corpses were completely stripped of their equipment.

“Partsran, does that woman have any remaining subspace?”

“No, she doesn’t. Someone took it.”

Now there are two possibilities.

There was another explorer on this island that we didn’t know about.

Or else…

‘There was internal strife within Noark.’

Slap-!

I slapped Nevarche, who seemed to have lost his mind.

“Get a grip. I have something to ask you.”

“…”

“Do you have any idea who did this?”

“Carmilla and Belverson. Those two lovers did it.”

“Tell me more.”

After that, Nevarche told us that a man named Belverson used a sword, and a woman named Carmilla used a drake summon.

“But then why did they even harm your comrade?”

“I, I don’t know. Maybe they were greedy for treasure. Maybe even Lord Rainwales is with those guys…”

No, I don’t have the time to take care of your mental state.

“Tell me about the treasure.”

I grabbed his hair, fixed his head, and listened again to the part I had glossed over earlier.

It wasn’t particularly substantial.

“I don’t know anything other than that it’s been passed down in the Noark lord’s family for a long time. Ah, ah! There’s also a legend that the one who obtains it can change history!”

Change history?

Is it an item with that much power?

Since it’s a legend, I should take it with a grain of salt.

‘Anyway, it’s definitely an item worth sending a woman like Amelia to retrieve.’

The motive seems sufficient.

Noark has also left for the outside world, right?

It wouldn’t be a bad choice to make a big score, launder their identities, and live in the city.

“Aulock, please take care of Heyina.”

“Ah, leave it to me…”

Soon, Hans J cast a preservation spell on the female archer’s corpse. And with that, the recovery of the corpse was over.

“…Yandel, so what are we going to do now?”

Like an explorer, Partsran quickly shook off his emotions and asked me about our future plans.

However, I couldn’t say anything.

“Are we going to keep looking for our companions?”

I know we shouldn’t, but I can’t seem to say it?

“We still have some energy left, but the situation will get worse and worse.”

Of course, I know it in my head.

Our stamina is being depleted by the unreasonable movement.

In the meantime, we also have to be wary of those two, Carmilla and Belverson.

It’s a hundred times better to find a defense point and save our stamina at this point.

But…

‘Then what about Misha, what about her…’

I keep being unable to make rational decisions.

‘Maybe it’s because of this…’

That thought suddenly occurred to me.

Maybe Misha knew this and pushed me away that day.

If our relationship had deepened that day.

I wouldn’t even be thinking like this right now. I would definitely be swept away by my emotions and going crazy right now.

Just like when I suddenly lost it earlier.

“Yandel…”

I took a deep breath in and out.

And slowly looked around.

Raven, Erwen, Ainar, Bear Uncle.

My precious companions, besides Misha, were looking at me with worried eyes.

It’s time to make a decision as a leader.

“Everyone, put down your weapons. We’ll rest until the barrier is maintained.”

It felt like my stomach was rotting away.