Barbarian in a Failed Game

In the Empire, lords wield considerable power.

Unlike the Argon Kingdom, where governors merely ruled in place of the king under the title of ‘mayor’, lords were the true rulers and kings of their lands. They invested heavily in their domains, and the fruits of this labor were the knights of the Empire.

The Imperial Intelligence Agency even used the strength of a noble’s knights as a measure of their power. The formidable knights significantly influenced political clout.

“Koeltz’s forces consist of five high-ranking knights and eleven low-ranking knights.”

Several high-ranking knights together could slaughter even superhumans; having five such monsters along with over ten low-ranking knights of unparalleled skill compared to border kingdom knights made the Koeltz lord’s manor akin to a small impregnable fortress.

“Of course, not all those knights are deployed for guarding the manor. But even with just two high-ranking knights, our current force would be no match. Plus, with the cardinals’ blessings, the place would truly become impregnable…”

“I’ve heard that the elves’ elemental magic is unbeatable in direct combat. Human senses can’t detect it, so it would be challenging without ambushing them first, right?”

“Hmm, it sounds like there’s no solution.”

A moment of silence followed.

Having rented an entire empty house as a temporary base, they encountered a significant hurdle right at the beginning of their plan to infiltrate the lord’s manor.

“In terms of sheer force, we are significantly outmatched. To an insurmountable degree.”

Their group was certainly not weak.

Leonir, as a Paladin, could boast impenetrable defense even against high-ranking knights if he put his mind to it. Jan’s magic, having grown immensely, was now close to his master’s level.

Combining this with Ron’s instincts, they should have had a winning formula in most situations. But their opponent was formidable.

Koeltz Archdiocese had been a stronghold of the church for a long time, producing numerous high-ranking priests and paladins. In terms of power alone, the Istantil family of Count Leonir could not compare.

“I really miss him.”

Ron muttered absentmindedly, deepening the already heavy atmosphere.

They had set out with great momentum, but now that they faced the actual task, there seemed to be no solution. The sense of futility was something they rarely experienced when Khan was around.

Even in seemingly impossible situations, Khan had always broken through with his extraordinary abilities.

“Is there a particular reason we have to strike during the meeting? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until after it’s over and catch them when they disperse?”

Breaking the silence, Jan posed this question, to which Leonir shook his head.

“The meeting between the bank and the cardinals will likely result in distributing whatever benefits they negotiate on the spot. If we strike after the meeting, we’ll only be chasing shadows. We need to intercept and expose them during the transaction to get concrete evidence.”

Ron nodded, understanding the gravity.

“So, we need to catch them red-handed.”

Leonir confirmed.

“Exactly. It’s risky, but it’s our best chance to reveal their corruption and bring justice.”

The group exchanged determined glances, realizing the enormity of their task but also the importance of their mission.

“If we merely claim that it was a coincidental overlap of their movements, it won’t stir any repercussions and will be buried quietly. That’s why Sir Khan provided us with the details of the secret meeting—to launch a decisive raid.”

“Hmm… That’s not entirely off the mark.”

It’s plausible, given the power wielded by the Triumvirate. If the secret meeting details were shared to prompt a raid, as speculated, it’s an understandable assumption. But—

“Even if Khan could easily execute such a risky plan, he wouldn’t necessarily expect us to do the same. He always takes on the dangerous roles himself. And if the sole objective were to ambush the meeting, why would the Paladin lady and Elena stage such an elaborate act?”

“Well…”

“It means there’s something more. Something Elena is hiding. It’s likely part of Khan’s plan too, isn’t it?”

Had Elena been deliberately withholding information from them? Leonir found Ron’s reasoning fairly convincing. At the same time, he pondered why that would be necessary. What if they made a mistake and jeopardized the plan?

“Anyway, it won’t do us any good to mull over it endlessly. Let’s each try to find out something today. The meeting will surely take place after the deliberations at the cathedral conclude, right? We have some time until then.”

As the dilemma deepened, Ron declared a temporary break, realizing that immediate worry wouldn’t yield an answer.

Ron and Jan, being relatively free to move around, went out to gather useful information, while Leonir, mindful of the paladins’ watchful eyes, stayed put at the temporary base.

With no significant movements, Leonir sat idly by the window, observing the outside until something caught his attention around sunset.

‘A nun…?’

An elderly woman and a beautiful young woman dressed in nun habits, which covered every part of their skin except their faces, were walking down the streets of Koeltz.

Ordinarily, Leonir wouldn’t have been intrigued just by the sight of two nuns. It wasn’t unusual for nuns from Koeltz Cathedral to stroll through the city, was it?

The young woman’s face alone, visible through her headpiece, was stunning enough to turn heads. However, Leonir wasn’t someone who showed interest solely based on looks.

As the young nun, navigating through the bustling crowd, accidentally bumped into someone, her veil slipped slightly, revealing a sharp, pointed contour underneath. In that instant, Leonir couldn’t contain his urgency and jumped up, knocking over his chair.

Bang!

Despite the chair’s leg breaking, sending it tumbling, Leonir had no time to worry about such trifles.

‘If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, the sharp outline under the veil is unmistakable…!’

With the two clues: a stunningly beautiful face and the sharp contour hidden under the veil, it was enough to guess her identity.

‘An elf!’

Leonir was about to dash out from the base to pursue the elf but hesitated.

What if, in his hasty pursuit, he was caught? Or what if Ron and Jan returned to the base in his absence, causing unnecessary confusion and problems? Caution suggested he remain still.

But—.

‘I can’t let such a valuable clue slip away right before my eyes!’

The fruit was too tempting to let pass by.

Leaving ‘Demon Crusher’ at the base to avoid drawing attention, Leonir strapped on a sword he had bought from a blacksmith along the way and headed out.

As he turned his head, the fake nun was nearly engulfed by the crowd. Leonir pushed through the people, closing the distance.

“What the hell, man!”

“Ah! Who’s this brute…?”

Leonir’s formidable physique as a Paladin allowed him to move through the crowd with ease. After passing several people, the fake nuns came into clear view.

‘Where are they going?’

Leonir, blending into the crowd, began to follow them, curious about their destination.

To his surprise, the nuns were moving in the opposite direction of Koeltz Cathedral. Initially, he thought they were disguised as nuns to enter the cathedral, but that wasn’t the case.

Then why the need for the disguise? Anyone from the cathedral would find their behavior suspicious.

‘Let’s follow them and see.’

Leonir decided to follow them without engaging directly. A premature confrontation could derail their entire plan. Discovering where they were staying would be a significant find in itself…

Leonir’s tracking continued until the setting sun completely disappeared. By then, any ordinary nun would have been exhausted from walking so much. However, the two showed no signs of fatigue.

Additionally—

Even though Leonir wasn’t familiar with Koeltz, it was clear that the fake nuns’ route was aimless and erratic. They seemed to be wandering around the entire city.

‘More importantly, it’s getting dangerous…’

Even a large city like Koeltz would naturally see a reduction in the crowd as night fell. With fewer people around, the risk and difficulty of tailing them would increase.

Despite this, Leonir continued his pursuit, maintaining a safe distance and blending into the diminishing crowd.

Leonir had to make a decision.

Should he take the risk to gather more information, or retreat and plan for another time?

‘Do I have any other choice?’

His decision was swift.

For now, he would retreat. Even though he hadn’t confirmed the elf’s presence definitively, witnessing it firsthand was valuable enough.

As Leonir quietly turned to head back to the temporary base, he halted abruptly.

‘Disappeared…?’

The old woman among the two fake nuns had vanished without a trace. She hadn’t sunk into the ground, yet within moments, she had seemingly disappeared.

“Young man, your tailing skills are quite amateurish.”

“……!”

Leonir had no time to react to the voice that resounded right beside his ear. The next instant, a strong hand gripped his nape, followed by a heavy blow to his temple.

The impact was severe enough to render an ordinary person unconscious, possibly even causing a concussion. However, Leonir’s hardy Paladin physique only caused him slight dizziness.

The assailant seemed to have anticipated this, as they continued to force him down by striking his hamstring, making him kneel, and increasing the pressure on his nape.

‘Divine Armor…!’

A faint glow began to envelop Leonir’s body. It was a sign that he was summoning his Divine Armor, which he had withdrawn to avoid attracting attention.

But before the Divine Armor could fully manifest—

Thud─.

Leonir’s consciousness faded.

***

‘So far, nothing seems out of place.’

In a private room at Koeltz Cathedral, specially reserved for the prospective apostle Elena, she was organizing her thoughts. Her ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps beyond the door.

Tap-tap-tap.

The steps didn’t pass by her room but stopped, followed by a polite knock and a voice she had become familiar with lately.

“It’s Georg Melchus.”

The visitor’s identity was somewhat unexpected, yet not entirely unwelcome.

“Come in…”

As she was about to invite him in, her gaze landed on the flail propped in the corner of the room.

‘Better to be safe.’

Elena opened the door a moment later.

“Apologies for the delay. I was straightening my attire after waking from a nap…”

“No need to apologize; it’s my fault for coming at such a late hour.”

“But what brings you here at this hour, Cardinal Georg?”

“Ah… well, the meeting you were so curious about has been moved up to tonight. Originally, cardinal Clemens was meant to accompany me, but she had an unexpected issue and couldn’t make it. So…”

Georg smiled warmly.

“They also seem eager to meet the prospective apostle… Would you be willing to accompany me? It appears they’ve received an unexpected visitor as well.”

TL’s Corner:
Did Elena get caught?