Red Ocean (3)

Treasure invites disaster.

It was a saying that held true in everyday life, and even more so within the labyrinth. Even back in my rookie days, I had seen people turn into scavengers over a single dimensional bag. Such incidents were so common that I once seriously contemplated removing the workshop seals from my gear or smearing charcoal on my litinium breastplate to dull its shine.

‘I thought those days were long over.’

As I gained fame, formed a team, built it into a clan, became a noble, and eventually rose to the position of chieftain, the more I had, the less I felt the need to hide. In fact, I started revealing everything, judging that it was now more beneficial to do so.

So what exactly was this?

The air turned tense as the head of the clan posed that probing question.

Neither of us said a word. But one by one, my allies drew their weapons, bracing for combat, and the opposing side did the same.

In the sharp silence, we locked eyes with each other.

He was weighing his options.

I could read it plainly on his face. Just imagine what he could gain if he managed to kill me. It was well known that I possessed several numbered items, even some with single-digit rankings, and he had likely guessed there were others I kept hidden.

Humans are creatures driven by imagination.

Especially when it benefits them.

At last, he broke the silence. “……How is the chemistry with your new team members? Do they work well with you?”

Our team composition likely fueled his growing greed as well. Erwin and Aynar, both among the Seven Powerful, weren’t present. On top of that, Beleg had been retired for some time, and Misha wasn’t known for her combat ability either.

‘Raven and Kaislan are somewhat famous, but…’

From their perspective, it probably looked doable. After all, they had over forty members, while we were only six.

“I have no reason to report internal clan affairs to you. So, what is it you want to say?”

“Haha, why so aggressive? I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

When I shot him a skeptical look, he elaborated, “Those stories about you taking on twenty members of Orcules alone, or defeating the Demon Eye in a single blow… maybe fools would buy into that, but there’s no one in the labyrinth right now who’d believe such nonsense.”

Ah… so that was it.

Now it made sense.

I had wondered why he was so tempted, but he simply believed that all my strength was exaggerated rumour.

“We’re gentlemen, so we’ll just let this pass.”

Yeah, right. You’re just a coward who can’t take the risk.

“Meiruta Clan.”

I cut him off and continued.

“Total strength 121, but only 48 entered this expedition. You seem to have an agreement with the Dvoard Clan, who are of similar size, but since you’re still separate, I assume you planned to merge on the 6th floor.”

“How do you…?”

“When you reach my position, there are things you just come to know. For instance, the fact that your clan has been suspected of looting several times, even if you were acquitted at trial.”

“Do you crave what I have?”

He didn’t answer.

It was almost laughable.

When I stayed quiet, he saw me as easy prey, but the moment I pushed back, he froze.

“…Haha, what are you saying? I was only giving advice—”

“Prepare for battle.”

I cut him off and addressed my team.

“As of now, the leader of the Meiruta Clan is deemed a plunderer and a murderer of nobility. He is to be executed on the spot.”

“……W-what are you talking about!”

“Anyone who attempts to aid the leader will be treated as an accomplice and disposed of accordingly.”

“W wait!”

As I ignored him and stepped forward, he staggered back the same distance, mirroring my movement.

“A-are you really going to attack me?”

“I am simply executing a criminal.”

“W-what did I do? Think carefully! Even if it’s you, acting like this will—”

“Will what?”

“Do you really think I can’t handle the aftermath?”

The guy couldn’t muster a single response to my question and just gaped at me like a fish out of water.

He knew it, too. Even if they were technically innocent and I slaughtered them all, I had the power to make the consequences disappear.

“Ilya Adnus.”

“…Ha. So it comes to this.”

I had only called his name, but the Guild Leader understood my intent and took off his helmet.

“G-guild master…?”

“Why is the guild master with the Anabada Clan…?”

They were all shocked, but the real question they should have been asking wasn’t why the guild master was here.

“You are currently participating in an act of plunder.”

“W-we never did such a—”

“From where I stand, it clearly looked like an attempt at plundering. So you’re saying that isn’t the case? Then will you involve yourselves in your captain’s crime?”

The members of the Meiruta Clan answered with actions rather than words. One by one, they took a step back, some without even realizing it.

‘Alright. That settles it.’

When making a move, it’s important not to give the opponent time to think. The moment the members stepped back, I rushed forward.

And……

I grabbed the Meiruta Clan leader by the head with one hand.

BOOOOM—!

I slammed him straight into the ground.

Naturally, none of his clan members made a move. No, more precisely, they couldn’t. It might have been different if their captain had possessed enough charisma to rally them, but there was no one left among them capable of making such a decisive call.

With that, another hush fell over the labyrinth.

But this silence was different.

Before, it had been the tense stillness of a clash about to erupt.

Now, it was the silence that followed the decision of victory and defeat.

The defeated had no choices left. All they could do was wait for the victor’s mercy.

“What’s your take on this?” I asked, and the guild master clicked his tongue as he made his way over.

“There would be no issue executing him here. He has a bad reputation; if we dig through his affairs back in the city, something will turn up. Besides, they were the ones who broke the unwritten rule by approaching us first.”

“S-spare me… Please… I was wrong.”

“So, what’s the call?”

As if the desperate pleas hadn’t reached him, the guild master turned to me and asked, “So, what will you do?”

I ignored them as well. “I’ll execute him.”

“What? No, you can’t!” the clan leader cried. “I-I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Technically, he wasn’t wrong. The problem was that he had even entertained the thought.

What if they had been ambushed while climbing the floors and someone had died as a result? I had no intention of letting that happen, only to later console myself by saying there was nothing I could do.

So—

I needed to make it clear.

What kind of man Bjorn Jandel is, and what kind of end awaits those who dare to mess with us.

CRACK—!

No more words were needed. I brought the hammer down, and with that, everything was over.

Having seen my judgment through, the Guild Master approached.

“Well done. These types are like cockroaches. If you leave them be, they’ll multiply without end.”

I didn’t particularly care for his praise and simply glanced over my companions.

With her military background, Raven kept her emotions completely hidden, and Beleg was no different. Kaislan, on the other hand, seemed quietly satisfied with my decision. Only Misha, who had been by my side the longest, looked at me with a trace of concern, though she said nothing.

“W-what… will happen to us?”

“Are you the vice-captain?”

“Y-yes… Baron—no, Viscount…”

The vice-captain trembled, unable to even meet my eyes.

Well, they had just lost their captain in a place they never expected. To them, I must have looked like some kind of demon. In fact, from their perspective, it probably seemed like I killed him on impulse.

“I have a few things to ask.”

“W-we really had no intention of doing that! Even when we sensed your presence, I—I suggested we turn back, but the leader just—”

“That’s not what I’m asking about.”

“Huh? Then…”

“I understand you chose to regroup on the fifth floor, but how did you manage to get here so fast?”

It was honestly one of the first things I wondered when I saw them. We’d been moving at a fast pace ourselves, yet they still managed to get here ahead of us—all forty-eight of them.

“Well… the leader assigned six members with the [Flag of Swiftness] skill to the expedition. It’s a—”

“Spare me the explanation. I know it.”

The [Flag of Swiftness] is an aura-type skill that significantly increases movement speed proportional to the number of people receiving the buff. However, it consumes a lot of MP, but this can be managed by having multiple people take turns to use it.

But is this strategy even worth it?

As I was deep in thought, the guild master stepped in and voiced the very doubts I had.

“You used an outdated expedition strategy.”

“It’s a strategy that only reaches maximum efficiency once everyone gathers on the 5th floor. Sure, you can breeze through the 5th floor, but it’s meaningless from the 6th floor onwards since you’ll be on boats. And from the 7th floor, stability becomes more important than speed. It was briefly popular in the past, then abandoned.”

“…A-ah, is that so? I had no idea. I heard the leader paid a lot of money to learn this strategy…”

“Then he wasted his money.”

Regardless, the mystery was solved. Honestly, I had been a bit surprised myself when we suddenly ran into such a large group on the fifth floor.

“Then we…”

“Let’s move together. You’re going to the 6th floor anyway, right?”

“Huh…?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“N-no, sir…”

Since things turned out this way, we might as well get to the 6th floor quickly and rest.

[There are 53 characters within range.]

[The effect of [Flag of Swiftness] increases by 315%.]

[All movement-related stats increase significantly, and stamina consumption during movement is greatly reduced.]

[You have entered the Sixth Floor: The Great Sea.]

After we began moving alongside the Meiruta Clan under the buff, we managed to reach the sixth floor before the sixteenth day was over, even with the detours we had taken along the way.

The Island of Beginnings, Limia.

Along the shoreline, quite a few clans were either preparing to set sail or waiting for companions who hadn’t arrived yet.

“Looks like not many ships have finished setting out yet.”

“That’s a relief. It looks like Team 2 hasn’t arrived either, so let’s head to the mountain first.”

“Excuse me…”

“You guys come along, too.”

Upon reaching the 6th floor, we took the Meiruta Clan with us and climbed the mountain located in the center of the island.

And then…

“I could see it from below, but… I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many trees growing here before.”

“Everyone, grab your axes.”

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com

Please join here, I need supporters to help me continue translating Surviving game as a barbarian and Lee Gwak
If it doesn’t work support me here buymeacoffee.com/hennoveltranslations. There are advanced chapters for supporters as well.