Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 353

The lakeside where the garrison was located was one of the few safe zones in the Dark Continent. However, just because monsters don’t naturally spawn there doesn’t mean it’s absolutely safe. The dangers in the labyrinth aren’t just monsters. Just like this. Beeeep-! Beeeep-! Beeeep-! The alarm magic blared like an emergency siren, detecting the enemy. It was obvious who the enemy was. Even if a monster had accidentally wandered in, monsters don’t fire magic cannons. “It’s the Noark!” “They’ve invaded!” But here’s another problem. We know who the enemy is, but how did they get here? The main force that went ahead should have thoroughly searched the area as they advanced. ‘First of all, the main force couldn’t have been defeated.’ I started with that premise. How many soldiers are in the main force? There’s no way that many troops could have been defeated in such a short time. If the situation were that dire, we would have received a message, and if we had received a message, our 3rd Corps would have immediately gone to support them. Therefore… ‘They bypassed the main force and attacked this place.’ That possibility is the most plausible, and if this premise is correct, the attackers likely have a small force. It’s much more reasonable to move with a small elite force to avoid the main force’s eyes. Of course, I don’t know what it’s actually like… “Mister…! What are you doing! Why aren’t you going out!” It’s Riehen, I tell you. Anyway, Raven misunderstood, so there’s no need to correct him, right? “Okay, let’s go out for now.” I finished my brief thought process and quickly went outside the barracks. And at that moment. “Oh, oh…!” A cannonball made of pure magic was coming straight at us. Well, it’s a good thing I came out first. KWA-AAANG-! I blocked it with my shield, and the remnants of magic scattered in all directions. The impact was quite significant, but not enough to push me back. The Guardian Corps emblem absorbs 50% of it, after all. “A-Are you alright?” Scaredy-cat. Is it because they’re always in the rear as a magic unit? “I’m fine.” I reassured Raven’s aide, who was startled by the magic bullet that exploded right in front of him, and quickly gave orders. “Alex, right? Stick close behind me.” “Y-Yes, sir!” “Emily, Erwen, you two follow behind and protect this man.” “Yes!” The formation was quickly set up. Originally, Alex, the leader of our team, should have been doing this… Well, looking at him, he’s the type who’s good at doing only what he’s told. He doesn’t seem to have any resentment about me giving orders either. “Alex, where is the vice-commander’s barracks?” “T-That way!” “Then, let’s head there first. Follow me closely.” “Yes, sir!” While other explorers who had rushed out of the barracks were gathering in groups and heading outside, we moved inside the garrison. Our team’s goal is to guard the VIP, after all. …That’s just an excuse, to be honest. I figured that if we went to the command center, we could get more detailed information about the current situation. ‘And maybe Raven is in danger…’ With that thought, I hurried to the barracks where Raven was. Just in time, Raven was standing in front of the barracks. There were many mages from the Magic Corps wearing uniforms around him. They had drawn magic circles on the ground and seemed to be performing some kind of ritual… “Vice-Commander Raven, what exactly is going on right now?” When I quickly stepped forward and asked, Raven frowned. “Why are you here…?” “Of course, it’s an emergency, so we came to carry out our assigned mission.” “Ah…” Raven nodded, looking convinced. It seemed he remembered that our team’s mission had been changed to escort him. However, one thing still bothered him. “Alex Hale, Deputy Officer, why is this man doing the reporting that you should be doing? Aren’t you the leader of this team?” Alex couldn’t hide his embarrassment as Raven glared at him, and he froze. “T-That’s right…” It seemed like he had just realized that I was naturally leading the group. Well, that’s not an excuse. “That’s right…?” “N-No, I… I’ll correct it!” “What are you going to correct… Haa, never mind. We don’t have time for this right now.” “Vice-Commander, the magic charge is complete!” At the shout of a mage, Raven ended the conversation and went among them. And… 「Arua Raven has cast the 2nd-grade defense magic [Thousand Gold Wall].」 A huge iron wall covered the entire lakeside in the form of a dome. *** To be honest, my jaw dropped the moment I saw it. ‘Wow… he’s using 2nd-grade magic now?’ 2nd-grade defense magic, Thousand Gold Wall. Although dozens of mages poured in their magic power, Raven was the one who cast it at the center. In other words, it meant that he had grown to the point where he could use 2nd-grade magic if he had enough magic power. ‘It feels strange…’ The vice-commander of the Magic Corps. With the nickname ‘Golden Mage’ attached to him, I expected him to have become quite strong… Will I be able to bring someone like him back as a comrade? If he’s the vice-commander of a corps, he won’t need to live as an explorer anymore and will have a smooth path ahead. “Well, this has bought us some time. Good work, everyone.” “It’s nothing, Vice-Commander!” “Everyone, follow me.” After that, Raven walked with a boss-like aura, and the mages of the corps followed behind him. I quickly sped up and stood next to Raven. “Where are you going now?” I asked, feeling a little worried, but thankfully, Raven glanced at me once and answered with an annoyed expression. “…The 3rd Corps command center contacted me. They told me to activate the defense magic first and then join them at the central headquarters. If that answers your question, don’t ask any more questions. I have a lot to think about.” I fully understand how annoying it is to have your thoughts interrupted, so I just shut up and followed him. Soon, we arrived at the central headquarters, and Raven went inside alone. I tried to follow him quickly, but… “…Why are you following me here?” “Our team’s mission is to guard you—” “Don’t talk nonsense and stay outside. That’s an order.” Raven’s firm line this time forced me to step back. Haa, I was curious about the conversation the higher-ups would have inside. Is there any way to eavesdrop? I asked Erwen and Amelia, but it seemed like they didn’t have any ideas either. How long had we been waiting like that? “Vice-Commander!” About 30 minutes later, Raven came out of the barracks. I took the opportunity to quickly go next to him and ask what happened, but I only received a cold reply that he couldn’t tell me. ‘Haa… he’s really unforgiving to people he’s not close to.’ I miss the old Raven. Even though he would make a disgusted face, he would actually do everything I asked him to do… “Emily, can you find out what’s going on?” “I was planning to do that anyway.” Information is more valuable than gold in times like these, so I gathered information through Amelia. She didn’t take long, probably because she had a lot of experience in this area. “First of all, communication with the main force is cut off.” “Does that mean we can’t get support from the main force?” “Well, not exactly. They usually contact us on a regular basis. If that’s cut off, they’ll realize that something has happened here.” “Then, the key is whether we can hold out until the main force returns.” It’s been almost 10 hours since the main force departed. Even if they turn back due to the communication breakdown, it will take a considerable amount of time for them to return. “How are the explorers reacting?” “Not too bad. Everyone tends to trust the Golden Mage. They believe that nothing will happen this time, just like last time.” “Last time?” “Ah, I know about that!” Erwen jumped into the conversation, seeing an opportunity. There was an incident where the garrison was attacked once before, right? It was in the early days when they didn’t have information about each other. “Back then, that woman poured magic power into the magic circle she had set up in advance and summoned this wall. The Noark tried to break through it for several hours, but eventually failed and ran away.” For reference, this was the incident that earned Raven the nickname ‘Golden Mage,’ and after that, the Noark realized that Raven was always guarding the garrison and never tried such a thing again. Well, until today, that is. “Something’s strange.” “Definitely…” Unlike Amelia, who agreed with my muttering, Erwen tilted her head. “What’s strange?” “Well, they failed back then and never repeated the same mistake, right?” If they used a strategy that failed once, it’s more likely that they have a way to break through it. The Noark guys aren’t idiots. Those guys who even prepared a large-scale explosion magic, anticipating that the main force would escape through the dimensional gate, just tried it again? That makes even less sense. ‘The problem is, how do they plan to break through it…’ I thought about the ‘Thousand Gold Wall’ magic. It was a high-level spell that could only be used if one’s mastery of earth and lightning magic was at its peak. For reference, its characteristic is… ‘It’s not a channeling skill.’ Unlike other magic that requires a continuous flow of magic power to maintain its form, this magic’s duration is determined by the amount of magic power used during the initial activation. ‘And if it’s damaged, it’s possible to repair it by pouring in more magic power.’ I can see why the explorers don’t see the current situation as desperate. After all, a unit of mages has gathered. If it breaks, they can just fix it, and beyond fixing it, they can reactivate the magic at least twice. But… ‘No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like it’ll end like this.’ I even met Hans just a while ago. I racked my brain, assuming that the other side had some kind of hidden card. “Um… Mister?” “Leave him alone. It looks like he’s thinking about something.” How are they planning to break through this wall? Did they bring a high-ranking mage like a Ruin Scholar? No, in the first place… ‘…Is there even a need to break through it?’ If I were them, I wouldn’t fire magic cannons from afar, but rather, I would try to close the distance and induce a melee battle. But they didn’t do that. They launched long-range attacks from afar and gave us time to use the ‘Thousand Gold Wall.’ It was as if they were waiting for that moment. ‘In other words, they wanted us to use the Thousand Gold Wall.’ Then, what’s the reason? Thinking from the other side’s perspective, the answer came quickly. “Because they’ve already sneaked inside.” There’s nothing easier than collapsing a complacent enemy from the inside. But did they not understand what I was saying? “…What does that mean?” Instead of answering Amelia’s question, I looked at the Thousand Gold Wall that covered the area around the lake and asked. “Do you happen to know how long this wall lasted before?” “It was about 8 hours… I heard it didn’t collapse for a long time even after the main force arrived.” Okay, that’s what it is. ‘8 hours, huh…’ That was the time we would be trapped inside this wall. *** The moment the Noark’s plan was drawn in my head, I immediately went into Raven’s barracks. “I have something to say.” “I told you to wait in front of the barracks. Did that woman tell you to imitate even my rudeness?” Raven frowned, but how many times have I seen that expression? Without paying attention, I told him all the information. At first, Raven was confused about what was going on, but as the story progressed, his expression changed. “Why the Noark repeated meaningless attempts. That’s definitely something we were curious about too. And, what you’re saying makes sense. I’ll organize this opinion and immediately report it to the higher-ups—” “Not report, you need to prepare countermeasures right away.” “…I’ll take care of that, so go out.” Even though I cut him off and spoke firmly once more, unfortunately, it didn’t work well. Haa, is it because I’m not using a barbarian’s tone? “It doesn’t seem to have worked out well.” “We have no choice but to hope that Raven will properly report it to the higher-ups.” That’s how we came out of the barracks and were spending time guarding the front. Thud-! Suddenly, something dark and murky drew an arc and landed in front of us. And it slowly stood up. [Ggrrrroooaaan-!] It was a corpse with slimy skin.