Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 69: Rebellion (2)

“Tsk… What an absurd command. To inspect every wagon that comes through.”

“There’s nothing we can do. We have to do what we’re told from above. Let’s just drink our sorrows away when it’s all over.”

“Damn it… Barbarians, what nonsense. Where in the kingdom would you find barbarian? And what’s this ridiculous talk of a rebellion?”

Despite his grumbling, Daniel did not shirk his duties.

He meticulously inspected the wagons of a merchant group that had gone to a neighboring city for trade to transport food, and thoroughly reviewed the identities of refugees who had come to the city in search of shelter.

‘This will never end at this rate.’

But even that had its limits.

Much time had passed since the usual duration for inspections, yet the line of wagons awaiting inspection had hardly halved.

“Hey, Daniel. Shouldn’t we be a bit more flexible here?”

“Shut it. Do you want to get chewed out for that? I’d rather die than be dragged in front of the captain again. If I get dragged there this time, I’ll have to endure a three-hour lecture.”

“For me, it’d be four hours. Sigh… Nothing we can do, I guess.”

Daniel resolutely refused his colleague’s suggestion, though he couldn’t help being tempted internally.

Even under normal circumstances, the city saw a considerable amount of traffic, but now, with either the count or the duke’s declaration of independence, the flow of goods had become exceedingly vibrant.

The amount of wagons had more than doubled than usual.

Rumor had it that the city’s market had joined the cause of independence and had received support, and, at any rate, the citizens were pleased with the influx of food.

After all, those who have never received the kingdom’s aid wouldn’t have any loyalty to speak of.

It didn’t help that the north had been tumultuous recently, making some even happier to see the rebels providing food.

Moreover, rumors that the king had been bedark mageed by a demon had begun circulating in the city. It was likely the doings of the market…

“It’s clear. Pass…”

‘Damn it. Was it said that the king is kind or that he’s utterly mad? At any rate, we’re screwed.’

While Daniel was inspecting with his eyes and mouth, his mind was frantically searching for a way to survive.

In this cursed world, one had to be crafty to live, or so was Daniel’s philosophy.

After all, rebellion was rebellion. The kingdom wouldn’t just sit idly by, an invasion of the north was inevitable. And what about me?

‘A guard of a city that joined the rebellion?’

Just perfect to get stabbed and die, damn it. Daniel grimaced as he received the next person in line. A particularly shabby-looking wagon caught his eye.

“What brings you here?”

“A bit of food and some necessities for travel.”

“Planning a long journey? Just stopping by here?”

“That’s right. Planning to go through Ro-Elpellan to Al-Lorenze. The situation in the north is a mess, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, it is.”

It was an exceptional mess. Daniel squinted his eyes in agreement with the wagon driver, who appeared to be a mercenary.

“What’s inside?”

“What do you mean? Some food, change of clothes, protective weapons, a few people… Nothing much.”

“Everyone out, and let’s check the cargo.”

At Daniel’s sign, his colleague yawned as he made his way to the wagon’s cargo area.

“Get out. I need to check your faces.”

“God, so troublesome. Do you really have to do all that?”

“……”

Intimidated by Daniel’s stern look, the man sighed heavily.

Following a knock on the cargo area, four individuals emerged from the inside.

‘A woman mercenary, a young girl, a frail-looking youngster, and… a hunchback?’

Daniel frowned at the sight of the diverse group that had alighted from the wagon.

They were too odd a mix to call a mercenary group and too ambiguous to consider a merchant convoy.

And then there was the hunchback.

Their face was hidden by the wide robes that covered their entire body, but the grotesquely curved back and deeply hunched shoulders induced a sense of revulsion at first glance.

Daniel instinctively stepped back at the sight of a hunchback for the first time.

It wasn’t for no reason that whispers circulated about the monster born of a dark mage. There were even rumors that if one got too close to the hunchback, the dark mage’s curse might transfer to them.

“Damn it all. They’re actually considering letting that thing into the city?”

“Are you being too sensitive? It’s just passing through and plans to leave immediately. We can’t just bypass the city and take the long way around, especially with the chaos up north.”

Daniel thought the man had a point.

If they didn’t pass through this city, they would have to navigate around the mountains, a perilous journey given the current turmoil in the north.

Above all, Daniel had no desire to verify the hunchback’s face up close. What if he caught some disease from merely approaching?

‘Shit, just let him in?’

Torn between superstition and a sense of personal responsibility, Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.

“Take off that hood for a moment….”

“Stay right there.”

Daniel snapped his head around. A voice he should not have heard made itself known.

‘Why is he here of all people?’

“One young girl. One woman who seems to be a mercenary. One scrawny man and one foolish-looking mercenary. As I heard.”

“What? A foolish-looking mercenary? Don’t tell me that refers to me?”

The coachman’s nonsense didn’t register with Daniel. His attention was fixed on his direct superior who had unexpectedly shown up – Sir Fetel, the guard captain and the city’s solitary knight.

“What, Sir. Why are you… here all of a sudden?”

“Am I somewhere I shouldn’t be?”

“That’s not what I meant but….”

“Enough dawdling. You there, under the robe. Take it off now.”

Why is he acting like this? Daniel looked with confusion at the back of Sir Fetel.

“Can’t you hear me? The robe. Are you waiting for me to force it off you?”

‘Damn it…!’

Daniel felt dismayed. Sir Fetel, being the city’s lone knight and relying on his blood relation to the mayor, was notoriously lawless.

He was rumored to sometimes randomly assault townspeople or take their property.

Luckily, he hadn’t neglected his duties at the guard post, so there hadn’t been trouble before…

But today of all days, Sir Fetel had decided to make his appearance.

“Sir. There are rumors that eye contact with the hunchback can curse you… If they’re just finishing up their supply run and leaving, maybe we could just let them go….”

“What nonsense is that? Do you think I’d fall for such a curse? And their descriptions match those whom the mayor has ordered to be caught. I must verify it myself.”

“Are you referring to that barbarian rumored to be spreading curses in the north…? But this individual isn’t a barbarian, he’s a hunchback….”

“That’s why. We need to check for ourselves! Hurry up and verify it!”

Damn Fetel! Daniel bit his lip.

“Alright, since it’s come to this, pull back your hood and show us your face….”

Daniel spoke to the hunchback with a reluctant look on his face, maintaining a cautious distance as he didn’t want to touch or get too close.

“Oh dear, here we go.”

“What?”

Daniel’s eyes flared at the coachman’s comment, which sounded somewhat pitiful.

“Shit. This is the second time already….”

What in the world is he rambling about? It was the moment Daniel was about to question the coachman. Creep- Crack! A chilling sound came from in front of Daniel. It was coming from the direction where the hunchback stood.

‘What’s that noise?’

Not quite the sound of breaking bones, but rather an eerie friction. As Daniel turned his head back, his eyes widened in horror.

The hunchback’s body was gradually enlarging.

From a size similar to Daniel’s to one reminiscent of an orc’s imposing figure. It all happened in the blink of an eye, leaving no opportunity for Daniel to wield his spear.

“This is going exactly like before.”

“Damn it. All hands on deck!”

Tear- Rip! With that sound, the hunchback’s robe tore apart, revealing a gray beast… no, a frost-white barbarian.

“Just as I thought─!”

Sir Fetel’s voice, laced with laughter, and a flash of aura, whipped past Daniel towards the barbarian.

“If we catch you, the duke will surely hold our family in high esteem─!”

Thump! The aura hit the barbarian, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Taken aback, Daniel fell on his behind. Sir Fetel sped past him, incredibly fast, a result of his body being enhanced by the aura.The dust cloud cleared.

The barbarian seemed unharmed by the aura, as if it hadn’t affected him at all.

Witnessing this, Sir Fetel traced a huge semicircle in the air. To Daniel, who was watching from behind, the strike was so swift it was hard to follow the movement of the sword.

“Die─!”

The aura enveloped the barbarian completely like a giant noose, surrounding him from all directions.

Daniel, with his limited understanding, couldn’t grasp how remarkable the technique was, but he knew it was incredibly menacing.

The aura, a privilege of knights. Its unique and diverse mode of attack was fully unleashed.

Remarkably, Fetel was as skilled as he was arrogant.

“Tch.”

The barbarian clicked his tongue. Even in a situation where his neck could be cut off at any moment, he remained eerily calm.

Daniel thought the barbarian must be foolish, not knowing what aura was. Otherwise, his calmness made no sense.

But that was simply a mistake on Daniel’s part.

Crraaack─!!

The aura shattered. There was no other way to describe the scene. The barbarian’s black axe had scattered the aura’s brilliance into pieces.

“What…!”

Fetel’s eyes widened in disbelief. The common knowledge was that to block an aura, one needed to use an aura of their own or, like a paladin, wrap themselves in divine power.

It was supposed to be common sense. But to shatter an aura with a mere axe?

“You─! You wield a cursed weapon!”

Whether he felt ashamed that his aura had been countered in front of so many onlookers or not, Fetel’s voice trembled with rage.

Vrooom─!

“Die! Servant of the evil demon─!”

As if responding to his rage, Fetel’s sword glowed even more fiercely.

The eyes visible through his helmet’s visor were bloodshot, as if he was squeezing out his aura to its limit. And then-.

“A cursed weapon, you say…”

Khan let out a smirk as if he were making a comment that the Goddess of Justice would love. Lifting his axe, blessed by the goddess, above his head, it somehow felt heavier, as if embodying the will of the goddess.

‘Are you watching? How sly.’

Khan’s forearms, gripping the axe, bulged momentarily.

Feeling the pulsations of blood about to burst, he swung down his arm, charged with a strength not permitted to humans.

“……!”

Fetel, who had been attempting to strike with his sword, shouted something. Whether he was cursing Khan with murderous intent or it was a cry of instinctive realization of his impending death, no one could tell.

Zzzzakkk! Boom─!!

“Uh, uhuh……”

Daniel, who had been watching the fight, let out a bewildered noise.

Just one strike with the axe had split the knight in his plate armor in two. Could this even make sense? The situation felt like a horrific nightmare to Daniel.

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes!”

“The naive ones like you die first. Understand?”

“I, I am……”

“Just blindly following orders—what good does that bring? In life, you’re supposed to flexibly maneuver through situations. Back in my day, if something was ordered from above, we’d find a way to……”

“Boss! We need to break through, get on quickly!”

“Anyway.”

Daniel gulped.

It felt like his brain was malfunctioning, being given advice by the monster who had just split a knight in two like a log.

Khan clicked his tongue, looking at the dumbfounded guard.

Reminiscing about the old days, he rambled on, unable to shake off the modern sensibilities despite years living as a barbarian.

“Anyway, just doing as you’re told is a loss for yourself.”

With those final words, Khan jumped onto a carriage that began to race away.

Daniel watched the carriage, unobstructed, enter the city, muttering to himself, “A loss for yourself…”

Following that, the carriage carrying the so-called servant of the demon pierced straight through the city.

And right behind it, a pursuit squad composed of a renowned mercenary group from the north followed. Along with the banner of Elphellan, the ruler of the north.