Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 712

Special Force (4)

Let’s see, one, two, three, four, five, six….

‘Seventeen.’

A special force of 17 members belonging to Noark.

I only know the names and faces of three of them, but thanks to those three, I can gauge the level of the remaining 14.

No, I didn’t even need to go as far as three.

The vice-commander of Orculius.

The Evil Eye, Roland Banosant.

Just knowing that this guy is the commander is enough to guess the level of the other members.

Each one is a top-tier elite of Noark, capable of taking on a hundred men.

It goes without saying, but there’s no chance of winning if we clash head-on here.

Unless I had all of our clan members with me.

The only reliable ally among the current members is Raven at best.

Moreover, five out of the 20 are special personnel specialized in ‘exploration’ rather than combat.

But….

Tap, tap.

The reason I didn’t immediately think of running away is very simple.

Isn’t that right?

It’s already been quite a while since we entered this marquisate [territory ruled by a marquis].

‘At this point, they should be arriving soon….’

I was thinking that to myself while looking at the corpse collector being handcuffed.

“Bjorn Yandel…! You damn bastard…!”

Then, he glares at me with eyes full of hatred.

Is he trying to prove his innocence by cursing at me?

Since there was a possibility of that, I didn’t react much to the sudden barrage of curses.

“Someday, I’ll personally gouge out your eyeballs and chew them to bits, grind all your guts and throw them to the goblins as food! And in that state, I’ll spray you with preservatives so you can’t even rot—.”

“Understood, it seems there’s more work for you to do on that side.”

“……Huh?”

“Did you hear that, Banosant? As you just saw, the corpse collector was not in league with me, Bjorn Yandel. He is truly innocent. So, release him.”

Of course, the vice-commander didn’t release him after hearing my words.

He might not have completely fallen for my trick, but the commander is in a position of responsibility.

It seemed like he wanted to eliminate variables in preparation for any eventuality.

And as a result.

“Y, y, y, y…!!”

The corpse collector, now seemingly suffering from some kind of language impairment, just trembled without being able to complete his words properly.

It was at that moment.

Rat-tat-tat-!

The distinct sound of armed soldiers rushing from outside the door was heard.

“This is… a bit troublesome. Vice-commander.”

The bespectacled man, who seemed to be the brains, muttered, and the vice-commander stared at me.

“…Was it a stalling tactic?”

However, there was no particular emotion in Banosant’s eyes as he said that.

Not resentment, not annoyance, not panic.

He was just looking at me.

So, at first, I couldn’t figure out what the single strand of unusualness in those emotionless eyes was, but soon I was able to realize it.

‘Curiosity.’

It was like he was purely gathering data before understanding who I was.

In fact, judging from his subsequent reaction, it seemed like he had gathered some data about me.

“A truly difficult opponent.”

“…….”

“Release Abet Necrapeto.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The variable has disappeared.”

It was a statement without any explanation, but the bespectacled man carried out the order without any questions.

As if he had absolute trust in the vice-commander’s judgment.

“B, but I told you I wasn’t!”

The corpse collector, now released from his comrades’ hands, expressed his pent-up frustration.

But still, was he happy to be released?

“Ha… really! To be played by the tongue of such a barbarian… I can’t understand it at all!”

The conceited tone that had disappeared in his panic returned to normal.

Seeing his pompous attitude, I wanted to go and give him a good smack on the head, but….

Thud-!

At that moment, the closed door was roughly opened, and a white-haired old knight entered with his subordinates.

“This is the end, Baron Yandel! The Commander-in-Chief has ordered your dismissal and punishment for overstepping your authority—.”

The old knight, who had come with a warrant like a police officer, shouted as soon as he entered the room.

The old knight then checked the situation in the room and froze.

“……Huh?”

Looking at his slightly dazed expression, I somehow had a thought.

“Why are they here… ?”

I must have had that same face a while ago, right?

***

The special forces of Noark, who couldn’t be found anywhere despite searching everywhere, were discovered in the marquisate.

And they were confronting me, Bjorn Yandel, who I was sure was ‘overstepping his authority’.

‘Since I’ve achieved this much, there won’t be any punishment.’

It was like catching a rat by backing into it, but the world only looks at the results.

Now, I don’t have to worry about the aftermath at all.

Therefore, the only remaining problem is to wipe out these guys here with those knights….

“It’s been a while, Morgan Caritumore.”

“You are… the Evil Eye?”

It seemed that the vice-commander and the knight were acquaintances, and the surroundings buzzed at the name the vice-commander uttered.

“Caritumore, you mean….”

“The commander of the 2nd Royal Knights… ?”

“So, that person is the famous ‘King’s Knight’… ?”

I thought that the person the marquis sent to capture me wouldn’t be a nobody, but a much bigger figure than expected had come.

‘Morgan Caritumore.’

The former bodyguard and right-hand man of the Founding King, more famous by the alias ‘King’s Knight’.

After the Founding King fell ill and was bedridden, he retired due to political issues, but recently he was appointed as the commander of the vacant 2nd Royal Knights….

“…Tsk, it’s rare to see such a person here.”

It was natural that everyone was surprised by his appearance.

The vice-commander of Orculius was a big figure, but the old monster was definitely not inferior in terms of reputation.

Before his retirement, nine out of ten people in the city would have called him the ‘strongest’.

“Evil Eye, Banosant. The fact that you are here means… Baron Yandel has truly succeeded in his mission.”

Uh….

“…That’s how it is.”

“I heard that you went to the marquisate without any plan, but it seems that wasn’t the case. I thought it was strange that someone like you would do such a thing.”

“…….”

“How did you do it? It was information that even the Royal Intelligence Department couldn’t grasp.”

“The secret is… rational reasoning and suspicion.”

“Huhu, does that mean you can’t reveal your informant?”

Uh….

“…….”

I felt a strange sense of pressure from his gaze, as if he were looking at a very capable junior, so I just kept my mouth shut.

As always, that gets me halfway there.

“Anyway, the situation is urgent, so let’s talk later. The story can wait until after we’ve captured all these lawless rebels.”

“I’ll help too.”

With that conversation, the King’s Knight.

No, it’s inconvenient to call him that, so let’s shorten it….

‘It’s a relief he’s not a Holy Knight.’

The old King’s Knight drew his sword, and I also got into a battle stance.

The number of troops was overwhelmingly in our favor, and even the terrain was advantageous to us.

That’s because there are no windows in the marquis’s office.

‘They probably didn’t put them in to prevent external intrusion.’

Moreover, the marquis’s mansion is famous for its ‘durability’.

It was said to have been built in the exact same way as the king’s residence, right?

The outer walls themselves are not made of ordinary materials, and they are plastered with all sorts of magic, so it’s said that they would last for a minute even if the world were to end….

“Surrender your weapons and beg for mercy.”

The only escape route, the entrance, was blocked by the King’s Knight.

“That’s the only choice you have today.”

However, Vice-commander Banosant didn’t show any reaction as he looked at the old King’s Knight, who was brandishing his sword with dignity.

He just quietly said this.

“Alright. I surrender.”

…Huh?

“…What did you just say?”

The old King’s Knight, who seemed more bewildered than I was, asked again.

To that, the vice-commander said again with a blank expression.

“I said I would surrender.”

…It was a completely unexpected turn of events.

***

The special forces of Orculius, who must have infiltrated this place for some purpose.

But these guys are surrendering so easily?

Instead of fighting to the very end?

It was a suspicious and unpleasant situation for anyone to see.

And knowing that, the old King’s Knight personally took command and meticulously arrested them.

But….

“…….”

“…….”

Really, until the very end, they surrendered without any resistance, and that was the end of the situation.

“…Y, you’ve done a great job. Congratulations, Baron.”

“Please tell the Marquis that we worked hard too….”

The members the marquis had assigned to me were happy while also feeling doubtful about the current situation.

Also, they were desperately trying to rationalize the situation, perhaps to erase the anxiety hidden behind their joy.

“At first, I wondered why they were acting like that, but if you think about it, it’s a natural response.”

“Of course, with the King’s Knight himself coming, what else could they do?”

“They must have judged that they had no other choice but to surrender.”

Well, it was certainly a disadvantageous situation for them.

But I just couldn’t believe that they would do that.

Moreover, this time it wasn’t based on intuition, but on evidence.

‘No one… resisted, that’s impossible.’

After the vice-commander declared surrender, no one raised any objections to ‘surrendering’.

Not the corpse collector, not the wailing witch.

Including that bespectacled man who seemed like a loyal right-hand man, and the other members.

‘Vice-commander! What do you mean by surrendering! Let’s fight to the end!’

‘If we get captured like this, we’ll only be tortured to death!’

‘I’d rather die fighting!’

At least one or two people would have shown such a reaction, but the fact that there was none of that was too strange.

Unless they had planned for this situation and discussed it beforehand.

‘…It’s clear that they have some kind of scheme.’

The problem is that I have no idea what that scheme is, and there’s nothing I can do about it right now.

“…Caritumore, what are you going to do with them?”

“It’s not related to your mission, but I’ll answer you since you’ve done a great job in capturing them. From now on, they will be transferred to the royal palace. And they will be imprisoned and forced to reveal everything they know by the intelligence agents.”

Yeah, I guess that’s how it’s going to be….

“…Can’t we just kill them all here?”

After that, I talked about the danger of these guys and even raised the possibility that they might have deliberately allowed themselves to be captured, but the old King’s Knight didn’t listen.

No, to be precise, he listened properly and then refused.

“I know that there’s some truth in what you’re saying. But we are currently at war, and in order to win the war, we need the information they have.”

“That means there’s no justification.”

“That’s right. If we kill those who have surrendered and been captured, who will take responsibility for that?”

“…….”

“I hope you understand that we can’t take such responsibility based solely on intuition.”

The old King’s Knight firmly rejected my request.

But perhaps because he was uneasy, he personally did the dirty work and checked the restraints of the prisoners several times.

And how much time had passed?

“From now on, I will transfer them to the royal palace. As they are the most important figures, if anyone shows a lax attitude before the mission is completed, they will be severely punished.”

After that, the old King’s Knight led them directly to the garden and put the Noark guys one by one into the special carriages for transporting prisoners that had arrived after being contacted in advance.

But… what is this again?

“Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

The vice-commander, who was being dragged to the special carriage by the knights, spoke to me.

“See you again.”

And to top it off, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

It was not the face of a guy being dragged to his death, and that gave me certainty.

I knew I would regret it if I let them go like this.

“…Grinning?”

As I spoke in a dumbfounded tone, the vice-commander looked at me with his characteristic unpleasant eyes.

“What if I was? Would you do something to me? Someone like you who has so much to lose?”

“…….”

“You are a very rational person, unlike what you seem. And it’s not difficult to deal with such people—.”

I cut off his words and replied briefly.

“Yeah.”

“……?”

However, he didn’t seem to understand what I meant by ‘yeah’.

But did he have a hunch?

“Does that mean you’re going to mess with me?”

The vice-commander looked at me with ‘curious’ eyes and asked, and I answered.

Using both my hand, which had already pulled out my hammer, and my mouth at the same time.

“Yeah.”

Crack-!!!

It was clear that this would cause some trouble.

Crack-!!!

Yeah, it’s better than leaving a future threat.

If I miss this chance, I don’t think I’ll get another chance to kill him.

Yeah, so….

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Was it called ‘Evil Eye’?

Crack, crack, crack—!!

He was completely wrong about who he was dealing with.