Surviving The Game As A Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 728

Orculius’s commander, Ricardo Lühnfraha.

The holder of a layered essence with the unique ability called [Unspoken Command].

His performance in PVP is so broken that even I consider facing him a huge burden.

Of course, I’ve become much stronger than back then, but…

‘Back then, it was mostly because my tricks worked.’

He’s such a difficult opponent that the thought of having to fight him with all my might if we meet again immediately comes to mind.

‘But…’

That guy is with Amelia right now…?

No, even…

[Brett Chi, El, Dies Detran]

“What did you just say?”

“Point 4-7… El… battle started…”

A battle has started…?

Thump-!

The muscles around my heart tightened, and for a moment, I felt breathless. I felt like I wanted to rush to District 4 on a military elevator right now.

But on the other hand, I was calculating the realistic aspects in my head.

‘If I take the military elevator to District 3, and then go to District 4 from there…’

It would take at least 3 hours.

That’s the minimum time, assuming I just ran without any battles.

Of course, if I think optimistically, there’s a possibility that Amelia might be able to escape and hold out until then, but…

Thump-!

I already know.

That’s just wishful thinking.

Realistically, it’s close to impossible to endure that long while fighting such a monster in the middle of enemy territory.

That’s why I made a quick decision.

‘I can’t go directly.’

Even if I leave now, it’ll be too late anyway.

It’s not that I’m giving up; that’s just the reality.

Right, so…

“Point 4-7… 2 intruders, starting to flee.”

Let’s think.

“Point 4-7, request for pursuit support.”

What can I do to help without going there myself?

“Astarotta.”

“Speak.”

“Can you request the 5th Wall Garrison? Tell them we can’t wait until morning, and to start as soon as possible.”

“…I’ll pass it on, but it’s unlikely you’ll get a positive response.”

“It’s okay, just tell them to start as early as possible.”

“I will.”

With those words, Astarotta left the building for a moment to contact the 5th District garrison.

And…

“What are you going to do…?”

Raven asked cautiously, noticing my stiff expression.

I wasn’t sure if this would work, but I stated what I was thinking briefly and clearly.

“I’m going to draw their attention.”

“How?”

“In a Barbarian way.”

“…I guess I need to prepare myself properly.”

It was such an abstract explanation, but Raven seemed to have a rough idea of what I was going to do just from that.

“Yeah, get ready. It might be harder than ever.”

“…Haa.”

Raven sighed at my warning, but his eyes were filled with determination.

After that, I anxiously listened to the communications, and after Astarotta returned, I told him what I was planning to do.

“It bothers me that it seems far from the plan to kill the chancellor… but… that’s not my concern. The responsibility is yours.”

“Does that mean you’ll help?”

“I’m just following orders.”

He’s neither a friend nor a colleague, but those short words gave me a great sense of psychological stability.

Well, I guess the Calamity King did leave a big gift.

“So, what are you going to do with this woman?”

“Hmm…”

What should I do with this?

“…Hey, oppa! Not again! You don’t have to scare me like that; I’d never think of anything weird. Okay?”

Seeing Vivian maintain that tone even in this situation, I chuckled.

“…I’m taking her with me. I need to keep hearing about the situation.”

“Then, can we at least put some safety measures in place?”

“Huh…? Unnie…?”

“I told you I’m not your unnie, stop calling me that?”

“Ah! R-Raven-ssi! Safety measures? Hehehe… I-I really don’t need anything like that!”

“Don’t worry. It’s not dangerous. As long as you don’t think of anything else.”

With those words, Raven took out a pill about the size of a thumb from subspace.

“Here, swallow it with water.”

“I need to know what this is…”

“I’ll tell you once you eat it.”

“N-No, still, it’s something a person is eating… I need to know what it—”

“Yandel-ssi, I think this person is thinking of something else?”

Raven’s wink was perfectly timed for some backup.

“It seems like it to me too.”

“Ah! I got it! I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!”

Vivian, panicking as I approached her menacingly, swallowed the pill Raven gave her.

Gulp-!

It was a good thing, but something felt off.

‘Why is she so scared of me?’

I don’t think I scared her that much.

“P-Please put the hammer down! Please! I’m scared to death!”

Ah, now that I think about it, I did smash the head of that ‘Lighthouse Keeper’ or whatever in front of her.

Swoosh.

As I lowered the hammer, Vivian seemed to calm down a bit, and her voice regained its original tone.

“…Okay, right? I ate it, so tell me now. What is this? Is it some kind of poison?”

“Ehh, no way. Do you think I’d give you something as old-fashioned as poison?”

Well, I thought it would definitely be poison.

Isn’t that a cliché?

Evil groups using poison to brainwash and control martial arts masters.

“It’s just a normal magic device.”

“A magic device…?”

“You know magic engineers? It’s something they made and supplied to the military, so you don’t have to worry about safety.”

“…No, I mean, what kind of magic device is it…?”

Perhaps because the power dynamic was so clear, Vivian’s voice was much more subdued than before.

However, Raven, without changing his expression, took out something like a remote control and said.

“See this? This button.”

“Yes…”

“If you press this button, what you swallowed will explode. In your stomach.”

Vivian was speechless at the kind and simple explanation, while I nodded in agreement.

There’s a point to saying poison is old-fashioned.

After all, making hostages wear bomb vests is a strategy used in modern times.

It’s much more sophisticated, I guess.

“Um… don’t you understand? That’s weird. So, if you just press this button here—”

“I understand! So, please put that back in subspace quickly!”

I quietly watched Vivian’s reaction.

Her expression didn’t seem like acting, so she seemed to believe Raven 100%…

‘At least I don’t have to worry about betrayal as much…’

Having neatly resolved my worries about being backstabbed, I shared the detailed plan with Raven and Astarotta.

Fortunately, Astarotta’s reaction was moderate.

“You’re just saying you’re going to make a mess in a roundabout way.”

“So, is that permission from the royal family?”

“There was an order from His Majesty. It’s not permission, but I have no intention of stopping you.”

“That’s a relief then.”

I received an OK sign from Astarotta, who I was a bit worried about.

Soon, I left the building with a lighter heart.

And…

Thud, thud.

As I crossed the gate connecting to District 8, I thought.

‘Even I’m a bit nervous about this one.’

If I had more time, I might have come up with a better plan, but this was all I could think of right now.

“Raven, get ready.”

“Yes? Ah, yes…!”

At my command, Raven created a huge fireball in the air, marking the end of the first preparation.

Right, so…

Whoosh-!

Let’s make a proper mess.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Enough to make them all come out here.

***

I’ve seen a medieval city burning twice in my life.

Once a few years ago, in the capital city of Karnon, due to Orculius’s terror.

And…

Whoosh-!!

Now, once again.

Flicker, flicker-!

A burning city.

To be precise, I’m running through the burning streets of District 8.

The speed at which the flames spread was beyond fast.

Whoosh-!

It wasn’t an exaggeration; I was literally pouring oil on a burning house.

「Arue Raven has cast the 4th-grade attack magic [Water Cannon].」

A thick stream of water, like a fire truck spraying.

「Arue Raven has cast the 6th-grade support magic [Property Conversion].」

The water stream was converted into oil due to the linked magic.

And on top of that.

「Arue Raven has cast the 4th-grade support magic [Wind Direction Control].」

With the addition of a suitable wind, the entire street was instantly covered in flames.

Well, because of that, my skin felt like it was burning…

「Fire Orb has been activated.」

「All fire-type continuous damage within a 15m radius is reduced by 50%.」

Come to think of it, I’ve been using this quite effectively since a long time ago.

“Run!!”

Now that the flames were naturally spreading around without needing to be oiled, I increased my movement speed rather than meticulously spreading oil.

‘It seems like a good… choice.’

The plan to set fire to District 8, which was occupied by the Noarks, to draw attention. I don’t know if this plan is working well, but there was one advantage.

[Grrr…]

Because the counter to the corpses is fire.

The corpse collectors, who received concentrated investment from the Noarks for this war, had scattered a legion of corpses throughout District 8, and just by setting a fire, the corpses they had prepared for so long melted away in an instant.

Well, the higher-level entities had resistance to fire, and the Noarks who were stationed in District 8 tried to put out the fire, but…

Crack-! Crack-!

I just had to use physical force to get rid of them.

As the situation unfolded like this, I even started to wonder.

“…Why didn’t the royal family set fire to it earlier?”

“Do you not know why?”

“If I knew, would I have asked?”

“…Any normal person would know that even if they retake it by setting fire to it, there would be nothing left.”

“Ah…”

Well, if you put it that way, it makes sense.

District 8 wasn’t a strategic stronghold, and the royal family wouldn’t want to retake it by burning down an entire city district.

‘Well… I wouldn’t have thought of setting fire to it either if it wasn’t for this situation.’

Even though I got permission from Astarotta, there’s a possibility that I’ll be held responsible for setting fire to the city later.

All things considered, the best option was to quietly pass through enemy territory using Vivian and join my companions.

But…

‘What’s the point of regretting it?’

Has the world ever gone the way I wanted it to?

Crack-!

As I was smashing the burnt corpses and the Noark soldiers who were aspiring to become corpses, Vivian shouted from behind after listening to the radio.

“The troops stationed in District 5 heard the news and are coming to support us! Ah, it seems like the vice-commander oppa isn’t coming because he has to guard the front lines!”

Sigh… I’ve drawn some attention, but not enough to make them drop everything and come, huh?

“Forget that, what’s the news from District 4?”

While assessing the war situation, I also checked the latest news about Amelia from time to time.

“There’s no news that the battle is over; it seems like they’re still chasing her!”

Huh… I see.

But if they’re still chasing her…

‘That means this isn’t enough to draw their attention, right?’

Of course, I’m not too worried.

Drawing attention.

Fortunately, this is the field that I, as a Barbarian warrior, am best at and have done the most.

“Um… Yandel-ssi? Why are you smiling like that?”

At Raven’s question, which sounded somewhat uneasy, I grinned and replied.