Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 320

Memory (5)

Clatter, clatter.

On a rapidly moving 10-seater carriage, there was an odd presence among the serious-looking adult men. 

A 14-year-old girl, staring blankly into space with an expressionless face. 

At a glance, her calm demeanor hid the fact that she was actually anxious—something only her older sister, Laura Rainweilz, noticed.

Slide.

Amelia, who had been sitting stiffly with her hands on her lap, flinched. Her sister’s hand had covered hers.

“What’s wrong? Are you really worried?”

Amelia, introverted by nature, nodded. There was no point in lying to her sister, who knew her as well as their parents did….

“…It’s okay. Nothing bad will happen.”

Feeling her sister’s warmth on her skin, Amelia began to feel her tension ease, even though they were practically being dragged onto a battlefield.

As she closed her eyes, the conversations of the men reached her ears.

“What about Iron Mask and Emily?”

“I heard the lord sent someone to their lodgings, but who knows if the message will be delivered in this chaos.”

“Ugh, this is driving me crazy. If they were planning something like this, they could’ve at least given us a heads-up. What’s with this in the middle of the night?”

“That just shows how secretive it is. Who would’ve thought the lord would join forces with the royal family to attack Orcules?”

The sisters were working at their adoptive father’s pub when they were urgently summoned by Felix Barker. 

He didn’t explain anything, just told them to get ready to fight. Before they could even grasp the situation, they were armed and thrown into a military carriage with their clan members.

“Wait, attacking Orcules? I didn’t hear anything about that. I thought we were going to assist with a rebellion in the east… And what’s this nonsense about the royal family? How could the lord join forces with them?”

“I heard that the royal family recently contacted the lord. I don’t know what was discussed, but… given the circumstances, it’s not hard to figure out.”

“Right, the royal family must see Orcules as a thorn in their side too. Their interests must have aligned with the lord’s.”

“Exactly, otherwise why would the royal knights be fighting Orcules?”

“That explains why the lord kept us in the dark until the last minute.”

“Right. The core forces are the royal ones anyway. We just need to focus on surviving.”

“Ha, if I had known this, I would’ve slept outside the castle like Iron Mask instead of getting dragged out of bed.”

“Derborn, watch your mouth.”

“Ah… I misspoke.”

“And the rest of you, stop complaining. The lord will surely reward us properly once this is all over.”

Felix Barker, the leader of the clan, calmed the heated atmosphere.

After a while, the carriage finally stopped at the entrance to the eastern part of Noark.

“We’ll have to walk from here.”

The eastern area, where several battles had already taken place, reeked of blood from the border.

Collapsed buildings and ragged corpses littered the area. Explosions echoed from time to time, and the air was filled with the screams of humans, more desperate than any banshee’s wail.

“What are you all doing? How long are you going to block the way? Get off quickly! Can’t you see more carriages coming?”

Amelia followed behind the others. Her body, which had calmed down during the ride, began trembling again. Her sister warmly grasped her hand.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll protect you…”

Her sister’s reliable words, backed by a history of never breaking a promise, should have been reassuring. Despite this, Amelia couldn’t calm down easily. In fact…

Squeeze.

The tighter her sister held her hand, the stronger the sense of foreboding grew within Amelia.

****

Amelia, having finished her recollection, slowly opened her eyes. She knew where she needed to go.

The eastern part of Noark, which had gradually gained independence from the Lord’s influence after Orcules made it their base.

“Fire! There’s a fire!!”

People might think that a simple fire had broken out there, but in reality, a war was taking place. And in the past…

‘I would be on my way to the east in a carriage right about now.’

It was a memory from 20 years ago. At the time, it was her first large-scale battle, and she was overwhelmed, but Amelia remembered every move she made back then.

It wasn’t a memory that could be forgotten, no matter how much she wished to forget it. For the past 20 years, her life had been filled with days of replaying and regretting this very day.

Thud.

Amelia quickened her pace, heading toward her destination.

When she finally arrived in the eastern area, hundreds of explorers, summoned that day without knowing anything, were camped out on the lord’s orders. As she scanned the area, she soon found the person she was looking for.

“So, here you are.”

“Who… Oh, Emily?”

Felix Barker, who had been on standby for battle, widened his eyes in surprise when Amelia approached him.

“How are you here?”

Although happy to see her, he seemed a bit puzzled.

“It was noisy, so I went to the castle and was sent here. I heard the situation from the others on the way.”

“Ah, I see… But where’s Iron Mask?”

“He passed out drunk, so I left him.”

“Hmm, even so… leaving such a valuable asset behind…”

“What could I do? He was too drunk to even stand.”

Felix Barker looked disappointed, but didn’t find the situation odd, Iron Mask often used heavy drinking as an excuse for being late, which was not out of character for him.

Well, I guess he didn’t expect this to happen today, so I guess I’d better assume he’s not coming.

Afterward, Amelia stood beside her younger self and sister. The sisters awkwardly greeted her.

“Hello…”

Unlike the boisterous barbarian, Amelia had barely spoken to them during the months they had been together. For some reason, words never came out easily when she was around them.

But this time, she forced herself to speak.

“Stay close.”

“…What?”

“That’s the only way I can protect you.”

“Ah, yes…!”

Though they weren’t close, the sisters knew of Amelia’s extraordinary abilities, and their faces lit up at her words. They didn’t know why she was suddenly so friendly, but…

“Prepare for battle!”

Soon, their group was called to the front lines.

The squads rotated, each taking turns at the front while others rested. 

For now, there wasn’t much danger. The royal troops and the lord’s elite soldiers, who had been informed of the plan in advance, were handling the main fighting.

“They’re trying to escape! Kill them!”

Their task was to block any escape attempts. How strong could those fleeing a burning city be? It was a one-sided slaughter.

“It seems the lord is determined this time.”

“By the looks of it, about 70% of them are ordinary citizens. Is it really okay to kill them all?”

“Sigh, how naive. You can’t tell them apart. What if an Orcules member slips out disguised as a civilian?”

“I suppose…”

Some expressed doubts about the one-sided slaughter, but they were few. Most of them had grown accustomed to killing people.

‘Does anyone remember what the commander said earlier, how much did he say per head?’

“I don’t remember exactly, but at this rate, we’re looking at more than a typical raid.”

“Hey! Did you hear that? focus on collecting their ears! And strip anything that looks expensive!”

Most of them were gleefully anticipating a high payout for easy work. But the more excited they got, the more Amelia’s expression hardened.

Even though she had grown up in this city and with these people, she still found their attitude unsettling… And at least she knew one thing.

This festive atmosphere would be short-lived, and soon, hell would break loose.

“What’s that? Someone’s walking towards us alone.”

Amidst the noisy crowd, someone’s muttering stood out.

Amelia quickly turned her head.

“…Is he out of his mind?”

She spotted a man walking toward them from the front. Considering that all previous escape attempts had involved at least hundreds of people, this was an unusual sight.

However…

Step.

As the man drew closer, those watching began to sense something was off.

Step.

He wore black clothes drenched in blood. Yet, despite being soaked in blood, his clothing showed no signs of damage.

Given how much blood he was covered in, it was unlikely that he had simply been lucky on his way here.

Step.

The sword at his waist was also unusual. As plunderers with a keen eye for valuable items, they could tell, even from a distance, that it wasn’t an ordinary sword.

The sword itself was unassuming, but…

The name of the man carrying it was far too famous in this city.

“…Hey, this isn’t who I think it is, right? Please tell me I’m wrong.”

“….”

“Does anyone recognize his face?”

The explorers on standby grew uneasy. Some began to back away, trusting their instincts, while others tried to deny the possibility.

But.

Step-.

When the man closed the distance to 50 meters…

Whoosh!

A flame shot toward him, but it vanished before it could even touch him, plunging the area into silence.

It was a power too well-known.

“Fire Command…”

[Fire Command].

The power wielded by the fifth floor lord, the Lord of Silence.

A mysterious power that nullifies the explorer’s abilities. Throughout history, less than ten people have ever possessed it, and…

In this era, only one person was known to have it.

“Th-The Traitor…”

The only criminal with the alias ‘The Traitor.’ The very founder of Orcules…

And once known as the ‘Sword Master,’ the undefeated swordsman, Ricardo Lühensprache..

His appearance threw the situation into chaos.

“Why is he here…”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be fighting the royal troops?”

The man didn’t answer any of their questions. He simply, and indifferently, raised his sword.

“R-Run!”

That was the cue. All the gathered explorers turned and fled.

But then, as the man swung his sword…

Flash-!

A blinding light flashed in an instant.

And…

Screech-!

The old memory that Amelia had replayed countless times over the past 20 years began to unfold once again.