Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 218
Leader 2
“No! Take me with you…!”
“…I’m sorry.”
The battle ended the moment an explorer closed his eyes tightly and stepped through the dimensional gate.
The reason was simple. There were knights still dotting the passageways, keeping the explorers at bay
“Surrender.” the Knight’s captain ordered
“What? But we haven’t prepared the dimensional gate magic to escape yet…”
“The dimensional gate just now was the last one. I’m sorry to all of you.”
“C-Captain, what are you saying—! Aaaagh!!”
As one of the knights lowered his sword, the explorers rushed in, trampling the knight and pummeling him with their fists.
“Speak! What did you mean by that? The last dimensional gate!!”
The knight endured all the violence.
Even as his teeth were knocked out and blood vessels burst in his eyes, he answered their question.
“It’s exactly as I said.”
“You crazy bastard! So you knew you’d be abandoned, and yet…!”
“Someone had to stay behind. Your anger is justified. So please, vent it on me. I still have enough worth left for that.”
“I’ll kill you!!”
“For Raphdonia’s, sa…ke…”
Some knights surrendered, while others resisted to the end, swinging their swords.
But the result was the same.
The explorers, with their sheer numbers, broke through the knights’ lines and mercilessly unleashed their despair and rage.
Of course, the explorers knew.
They knew that these knights were in the same situation and could become valuable allies.
But they needed someone to vent their immediate emotions on.
This scene was happening all over the central area.
“Aaagh! What’s wrong with you! Don’t push—!”
In one passageway, a barbarian easily pushed through the dense crowd and appeared.
And then…
“Hey, knight.”
Grabbing the wrist of an explorer who was beating a knight, he spoke.
“Killing is not allowed.”
“L-Let go of me?!”
“This is a problem.”
“What! These bastards abandoned us, are you in league with him—!”
At that moment, the barbarian’s fist slammed into the face of the fiercely resisting explorer.
Thud-!
The explorer’s body collapsed powerlessly.
“I told you, this is a problem.”
The barbarian said, exhaling roughly.
Silence fell instantly.
“……”
No explorer approached the knight anymore.
At least not in that vicinity.
****
The situation in the central area was not much different from what I had expected.
Except for one thing.
“I never imagined there would be so many knights left.”
It was a fortunate miscalculation.
Though they wouldn’t take orders from me, they were still valuable assets.
Just having them breathing and wandering around in this cave would serve as good bait from my perspective.
“Mr. Jandel!”
My companions appeared, following the path I had cleared.
“Oh, since you’re here, could you take care of this?”
“What?”
“I mean, keep them alive.”
After entrusting the half-dead knights to my companions, I left the passage and headed towards the central area of the cave.
“Aaagh! Stop…!”
With each step, screams echoed from all directions.
Most were from the knights.
Yes, they are human too.
It hurts like hell to get hit.
“Shitl!!!”
Raging anger erupted.
Meanwhile, some had retreated from the scene of violence, sitting in a daze, overwhelmed by despair.
They were the ones who found even their anger meaningless.
“We’re all going to die.”
“Cecilia… I’m sorry, I…”
They had accepted their deaths as inevitable.
Among them were those wearing the marks of major clans. They were in teams or gathered in groups of one or two.
Well, even a large clan couldn’t make sure everyone got out safely. Even the knights were abandoned.
They must have been the ones with the lowest priority.
Tickets were limited.
“Stop it…! No matter what, it doesn’t change anything! They are in the same situation as us!”
Occasionally, there were voices trying to quell the anger.
These voices fell into two categories.
Those who raised their voices in defense of morality and humanity, relying strictly on emotion.
And…
“Are you all crazy? If this continues, we’re all going to die!”
Those who hadn’t yet given up hope.
They set aside their anger, trying rationally to halt the atrocities being committed.
In a way, I belonged to this latter group.
They were the ones who could be most helpful to me in the current situation.
Step.
I finally stopped walking.
In front of me was a monument I had seen many times before.
The one and only structure in the labyrinth, erected to honor the achievements of the Last Great Sage, Diphlun Graundel Gavrilius.
[In Commemoration of That Great First Step]
This monument held a hidden piece.
It allowed access to the first-floor rift.
However, escaping through the rift was not an option.
Not only did I lack the required level 8 mana stone…
Even if we had one, it would be useless.
The last time the rift opened was a month ago.
I had thought it more beneficial to continue exploring the fifth floor, so I avoided opening it. And, of course, it naturally opened.
Well, there’s no point regretting it now.
“Ahem-ahem.”
I cleared my throat with a cough.
But I wasn’t particularly worried.
Besides their exceptional physical abilities, barbarians have a distinct characteristic: their unique, booming voice.
“STOOOOOOOP—!!!”
A shout amplified by [Gigantification].
Even in the chaotic situation, my voice was loud enough to reach everyone’s ears.
For a moment, everyone stopped and turned their attention to me.
Of course, it didn’t last long.
The explorers looked at me with expressions that said, ‘Who is this guy?’ before losing interest.
‘So, this much isn’t enough.’
Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations.
This isn’t some comic book where things work out perfectly.
“Bjorn, son of Jandel the Little Balkan!”
Whether they ignored me or not, I continued to shout.
Barbarian rule number one.
If your voice doesn’t reach them, it’s because it wasn’t loud enough.
Therefore…
“If there are any of my kin here, repeat my words!!”
I called for support.
I wasn’t the only barbarian here.
“Little Balkan, son of Jandel, Bjorn!”
“Great warrior!”
“This is the directive of the acting tribe chief!! Follow it!”
“Bethel Raa..—!!”
Starting with Caron and Aynar’s cries, barbarians scattered throughout the cave roared in unison.
The barbarians had been watching me ever since I shouted.
They didn’t know what I was planning, but as fellow tribesmen, they felt compelled to help.
“I repeat—! Everyone, stop—!!”
When I shouted, they echoed.
“I repeat, everyone stop!”
“I repeat, everyone stop!”
“I repeat, everyone stop!”
Once again, the crowd halted and focused on me.
If I had shouted alone until my throat gave out, it might have been different.
But with the same shout echoing from all directions like a public announcement, curiosity was inevitable.
“Who are you to tell us to stop?!”
“This is all because of these bastards, and you want us to stop?!”
Still, the negative sentiment prevailed.
Many were still engulfed in anger, beating up the knights.
So I kept shouting.
“I repeat—! Everyone, stop—!!”
Like a simple-minded barbarian.
Saying the same thing repeatedly, steadfastly.
Endlessly repeating it until my demand was met.
After about ten shouts.
“I repeat—! Everyone, stop—!!”
“Someone shut that guy up!!”
The never-ending arrows of anger eventually targeted me.
“If you side with the royals, you die too!!”
An explorer charged at me.
“Protect the acting Tribe Chief!!”
The barbarian warriors rushed to defend me.
But I stopped them.
“Stop!!! We must not fight among ourselves!!!”
The straightforward barbarians halted at my shout. But the explorer charging at me didn’t.
Whoosh.
The explorer swung his sword at me as if facing a mortal enemy.
Clang!
Judging by his equipment, I had roughly expected it, but my body didn’t get a single scratch.
Of course, an ordinary iron sword couldn’t penetrate.
“O-oh…”
I didn’t block or dodge; I just stood still and took it with my body.
The difference in skill was apparent from that alone.
Perhaps realizing this too late?
“……”
The excitement faded, and his head cooled as he looked at me with fear, stepping back.
Where do you think you’re going?
I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him close.
Then, I asked.
“Do you want to live?”
“…?”
“I asked if you want to live!!! If you’re going to die anyway, why are you running away!!”
I shouted at him, and the explorer, pale with fear, replied.
“Who… who wouldn’t want to live!”
It was exactly what I wanted to hear.
Especially since everyone was already looking this way due to his outburst.
I let go of his shoulder.
“Then run away. If you think you can survive that way.”
The explorer, now free, didn’t turn and run.
Or rather, he couldn’t.
His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
But he still had some strength left, shouting in frustration.
“Then what should we do?!”
What should you do?
How many times have I said it already?
I took my eyes off him.
And once again, I looked around and shouted.
“I repeat—! Everyone, stop—!!”
My life as a barbarian taught me.
Persistence becomes resilience.
As long as you don’t give up first.
***
For a very brief moment, there was silence.
It was truly a miraculous thing.
All the barbarian did was shout. He didn’t use violence; he just kept shouting.
At first, it seemed like a foolish act.
No matter how many times he shouted, the current chaos wouldn’t subside.
So, he had decided to step back with his clan members, thinking they would regain their senses and come up with a plan after all the knights were dead.
But…
“Astonishing.”
The one-sided violence against the knights had nearly stopped.
This was the result of one barbarian.
How was such a thing possible?
The exact reason was still unclear.
One could only speculate.
As the saying goes, words have power.
Perhaps the barbarian’s words carried even greater power.
Just as one action can leave a deeper impression than a hundred words.
Perhaps people found hope in that seemingly foolish persistence.
He chuckled.
Or maybe, watching that foolishness repeatedly restored their reason.
Like how a serious conversation can be disrupted by a silly joke.
Of course, this was just speculation.
The true reason remained unknown.
Maybe they were just curious about what the barbarian wanted to say.
But one thing was clear.
That barbarian achieved what he could not.
A rank five explorer, the Little Balkan.
Despite his lesser power and influence compared to himself.
He did it.
“Vice-leader”
“Yes, sir.”
“Standing by and watching is over. If anyone near you attacks a knight, stop them.”
The man ordered the Vice Commander.
Then he started walking.
“Captain, where are you going?”
“I want to hear what that barbarian has to say. Whether he’s just a fool, or…”
“…?”
The Vice Commander tilted his head, but the man said nothing more.
He found it amusing himself.
But…
“Everyone, stop! That man is right. Let’s calm down and put our heads together!”
Just as he had done, people who had been standing by began to raise their voices and show themselves from various passages.
Thump!
For some reason, his heart pounded.
The man looked at the monument.
“I repeat—! Everyone, stop—!!”
The barbarian was still shouting.
His tribesmen echoed his call.
“Everyone, stop!”
Even those unrelated to him were now shouting.
Seeing this, the man couldn’t help but think.
“From now on, anyone causing trouble will be considered an enemy!”
It was like a scene from a heroic tale he had read as a child.
***
A person approached.
“I am Melter Pend, the leader of the Nartel Clan. If you have a solution to this situation, I want to hear it.”
Next was a woman.
“I’m Racy Narette of the Heindel Church. I came to thank you for stopping this tragedy.”
The third was a mage.
“I am a battle mage of Raphdonia. For the record, I wasn’t abandoned; I stayed by choice. That commander didn’t sit well with me.”
More people continued to gather.
Priests, mages, clan leaders, vice-commanders, team leaders, or individuals. Those who were abandoned or chose to stay.
“Isn’t it time to stop shouting? Everyone is waiting to hear what you have to say.”
“Tell us. Do you really have a solution? Or were you just saying not to kill the knights out of pity?”
Is the barbarian’s method of ‘just keep doing it’ unbeatable?
Having achieved what I wanted, I stopped my mindless repetitive shouting.
“It’s nice to meet you all. I am Bjorn, son of Jandel.”
Finally, the conditions were right for dialogue.