Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 252

Open World (1)

It was a minor earthquake.

The table trembled slightly, but the cup standing on it didn’t topple over, nor was there the sound of anything breaking.

At most, the chips on the table crumbled.

“An earthquake?”

The shock of the sudden natural phenomenon was fleeting.

People were momentarily surprised by the sudden natural phenomenon, but as soon as the shaking stopped, the nobles inside returned to their gambling as usual.

Except for one person.

“Hey, where are you going, sir?”

“I suddenly remembered something to do, I’ll fold this round.”

The man flipped over his cards, took his gambling chips, and stepped outside.

Then, he removed his mask.

The concept of a gambling den where you could enjoy games while hiding your identity with a mask was quite amusing, but…

‘No matter how I look at it, this wasn’t an ordinary earthquake.’

Stepping out into the night, Lee Baek-ho sat on the first bench he saw, organizing his thoughts.

The other nobles probably didn’t hear it due to the noise inside, but he had clearly felt it.

The massive wave of energy transmitted from beneath the ground.

‘It felt like a mix of magical and divine power.’

He wasn’t a mage, but with his high perception stat and some talent with magic, he couldn’t have been wrong.

So then…

‘They kept talking about breaking the protective barrier and invading, and they really did it.’

Baekho soon reached the truth.

They were truly vicious bastards.

It can’t be a coincidence that they chose the time around midnight, when the labyrinth opens, to carry out their plan.

‘An empty house…’

Having left the royal family, he didn’t know the details, but the Noark side had entered the Labyrinth well prepared.

They must have thrown in every available force.

They wouldn’t have imagined that the same method they used would be turned back on them.

‘…If this goes well, all the guys down there might die.’

It wasn’t a positive situation for Lee Baek-ho.

If he had no other choice in the future, he was considering clearing the game with the Noark guys.

‘Since I don’t have anything to do, should I go down and help them?’

Such a thought crossed his mind, but Lee Baek-ho shook his head with a smirk. That didn’t fit his playstyle.

Perhaps this would suit him better.

‘By now, the palace should also be empty, right?’

Soon, a wide smile spread across Lee Baek-ho’s lips.

***

First Royal Knights Captain, Jerome Saintred.

Known as the Protector of the Royal Family and the Knight of Light, his forehead was deeply furrowed.

Because of the news he had just received.

“The royal palace is under attack…?”

At first, he thought it was a counterattack by Noark.

But that didn’t make sense either.

They gathered troops under the pretense that the Labyrinth was their destination, but it was only two hours before departure that they revealed the true objective was a raid on Noark.

The protective barrier was just broken moments ago.

So there wasn’t enough time for a force capable of attacking the royal palace to get out of Noark.

“Has the order to retreat been given?”

“Not yet.”

“Then the plan remains unchanged. We will continue our march.”

Jerome quickly led his troops into the sewers, and as time passed, news about the identity of the group that attacked the royal palace also came through.

‘…To think it was just one person.’

The one who dared attack the royal palace was just one person.

It might have been a solo act by the Ruin Scholar whose threat level had recently been raised, but even this expectation was off the mark.

“Lee Baek-ho.”

Once one of the most promising explorers, he turned out to be an evil spirit responsible for the disaster.

Of course,only very few knew about that disaster.

The royal family, seeing his abilities as valuable, thoroughly concealed the incident, and he also received a new identity.

‘This is troublesome. How did he know? That even I would be away on deployment?’

As far as Jerome knew, Lee Baek-ho had no means of obtaining such information. In the past, he used to contact external collaborators at evil spirit gatherings…

But now he had been expelled from those gatherings.

That too was orchestrated by the royal family.

They subtly leaked Lee Baek-ho’s identity to the GM, the leader of the evil spirits, and when they couldn’t expel him, they forced him to make an enemy of Noark.

‘Did he just deduce it on his own?’

Jerome was deep in thought.

He had heard that an earthquake had occurred due to the destruction of Noark’s protective barrier…

There was one part he couldn’t understand.

Inferring this situation through an earthquake?

That’s entirely possible.

However, acting on it is another matter entirely.

If his prediction were wrong, he could end up getting caught again. Would he really take such a gamble?

‘…He would, if it’s him.’

Though it hurt his pride, Jerome had to accept it.

Lee Baek-ho was like a beast.

If he had the chance, he would definitely attack his enemy, and he wouldn’t shy away from the risk of being attacked himself.

‘Just when the position of Commander of the Rose Knights is vacant…’

Though he was worried about the situation on the surface, no retreat order had been given to them yet.

Therefore, there was only one thing he needed to do right now.

To fulfill his duty as a knight and carry out the royal command.

“We have arrived.”

The army that had passed through the underground labyrinth had finally reached the last gate leading to Noark.

A stone gate imbued with dozens of ancient magics.

Last time, it took several hours just to break through this gate.

“Fortunately, it seems they haven’t fully repaired it yet. Begin.”

At Jerome’s command, the mage squad began drawing a huge octagram on the ground.

How much time had passed?

Kwaahhhhhhhhh!

The magic circle emitted a bright light and shot a wave of pure magic at the stone gate.

And then…

Swish.

Beyond the dust cloud, the view of the underground city reappeared.

“Now, let’s go. It’s time to eradicate the wicked rebels and restore stability and peace to this city.”

Jerome drew the sword bestowed upon him by the king.

And he was the first to step beyond.

“For the eternal prosperity of Raphdonia.”

His steps showed no hesitation.

***

The portal closed in the dimensional square.

However, I lingered there for a long time after.

I thought there might be some useful information to glean from those knights.

But…

‘Tsk, what a waste of time.’

The knights didn’t engage in any trivial chatter, and they disappeared somewhere as soon as the plaza was cleared.

So, I left the plaza as well.

Instead of heading straight to my lodging, I planned to drop by a pub to hear what other explorers thought about this event.

‘Should I go to Mr. Bear’s place?’

Yeah, that seems like a good idea.

Firstly, it’s a pub that explorers frequent.

Secondly, It’s not one of those trendy places with partitions or rooms, making it perfect for eavesdropping on conversations.

He’d probably get angry if I said it in front of him.

“Oh, Jandel. What brings you here at this hour? No Misha?”

“Just came out because I was a bit bored. You seem quite busy today. Don’t mind me. I’ll just drink quietly in the corner.”

“…Can’t you just call me? My wife would surely understand if it’s for you.”

When I arrived at the pub, Mr Bear saw the opportunity to slack off and made the request.

Doesn’t he feel sorry for his pregnant wife?

“I just want to be alone and quiet today.”

“…Alright then. I’ll bring some snacks and drinks over.”

“That’d be great, thanks.”

Soon I was seated at an empty table and Mr Bear served me a platter of meat and the tavern’s signature salt-honey wine.

‘It tasted really strange at first, but after a while it went down surprisingly well.’

Anyway, that wasn’t the main reason I came here.

As I sipped my drink, I kept my ears open to listen to the conversations of the nearby explorers and city folk.

Given the pub’s reputation for spreading rumors quickly, most of the talk was about the army organized by the royal family.

There’s nothing worthwhile to pick up.

Rumors that the royal family is spreading false information because they are afraid of Noirark.

Most of the information seemed to originate from the speakers’ imaginations rather than any solid source.

Well, I didn’t expect roundtable information from a pub, so I wasn’t disappointed.

After all, my primary purpose was to gauge public opinion.

‘Lately, not only explorers but also city dwellers don’t think highly of the royal family.’

After that, I closed my ears and continued drinking, organizing my thoughts alone.

How much time had passed?

As things got quieter, Mr. Bear approached and sat down in front of me.

“Jandel, what do you think?”

“About the army?”

“Yes, you’ve got a knack for this kind of thing.”

After a moment’s thought, I shared my suspicion that the army might be engaged in a ‘subjugation’ mission.

It was still uncertain, so I wanted to hear the opinion of a veteran explorer like Mr. Bear.

“…So, was that earthquake earlier because of this?”

“You believe it?”

“Doesn’t it make more sense? More than that nonsense about the royal family being afraid of Noark.”

Perhaps because he had once heard the royal family’s report, Mr. Bear was quick to understand. He knew that the royal family’s strength was much greater than he had imagined.

“…Maybe we’ll be able to enter the labyrinth next time.”

Soon, Mr Bear expressed the hope that this Cold War might end much sooner than expected.

And he also worried about the city’s economic issues.

“Jandel, shouldn’t we be spending our cash now instead of hoarding it? Once the Labyrinth is stabilized, prices will return to normal.”

I was somewhat touched by his words.

As a veteran explorer with a family to protect, he had such thoughts.

Aynar and Misha tended not to think about these things at all.

“Just keep an eye on things for now. By tomorrow, we should have a clearer picture.”

“Yeah, I was too impatient.”

After that, we strayed from this topic and chatted about various things while drinking.

Then it happened.

Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!

An alarm bell rang from outside.

It was the first time this had happened in over a year of living in this city. Even when my carriage exploded and the GM and Lee Baek-ho caused chaos, the alarm never went off.

But now it was ringing?

Click, click, click.

I hurried outside to find guards from the security office running towards one place, the sound of their boots echoing.

I grabbed one of them to ask what was going on.

At first, the guard refused to tell a civilian, but upon revealing my identity, his attitude changed instantly.

“My name is Bjorn, son of Jandel. I am a full nobleman, titled by the royal family. So answer me now. How did this happen?”

“…Sir, we don’t know much ourselves. We were just ordered to head towards Carnon. From what I’ve heard from my colleagues, it seems there’s been a major fire.”

A large fire in Carnon, the capital city, at this time…

‘It can’t be a coincidence.’

Could it be that the Noark people have invaded?

I wasn’t sure, but it was possible.

If they’d known about the royal family’s plans to invade their city, they could have used this kind of diversion as a strategy.

‘Ha, those royal bastards never do anything right.’

As I sighed softly, Mr Bear, who was standing next to me, suddenly spoke.

“A fire in the capital… This doesn’t seem like an ordinary situation. I hope Raven is alright.”

Huh? Raven?

Why mention her suddenly?

‘Oh, she’s staying near the royal palace to learn magic.’

…Damn it.

I was fine until now, but the moment I realized this, my heart started pounding.

A sudden, ominous premonition washed over me.

Such premonitions rarely missed the mark, which made the anxiety even worse.

“I hope it’s just a simple fire—”

“Abman, I have to go.”

“Where are you going in this chaos? Jandel, listen to me. Staying home is the best thing to do in times like this.”

As I stood up, Mr. Bear tried to hold me back.

But…

“Don’t worry. I’ll find her and quickly bring her back.”

“Then let me come with—”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You need to stay with your wife.”

I told Mr Bear to close his pub and go stay at our house with his wife.

Misha would be worried about me too.

I should at least inform her.

It’s also reassuring to have all the team members gathered.

“…Be careful.”

After parting ways with Mr. Bear, I climbed onto the roof of a military wagon heading to Carnon.

The soldiers made a fuss, but quieted down once I revealed my identity.

How much time passed?

“Baron Jandel! We’re arriving in Carnon soon!”

Finally, the wagon reached its destination.

I tensed up without realizing it.

“…”

Despite it being the middle of the night, the sky was ablaze with a crimson glow.

The tall, well-maintained city walls were stained with black soot, and a choking haze of smoke filled the air like a fog.

Furthermore.

Beyond the blazing flames, or rather, outside of the flames, I could hear the mingled sounds of screams and shrieks.

‘Damn it, what on earth happened here.’

The city of nobles, Carnon, was burning.

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