Barbarian in a Failed Game

‘A paladin?!’

Even as the floor beneath him crumbled, Cain remained acutely aware, quickly deducing that the assailant was a paladin. The radiant white glow was a hallmark of paladins.

But he was utterly stunned to find that the paladin was a small girl, someone he had only heard of through rumors—the prospective apostle now standing before him as an adversary.

“Thurisaz!”

Proving that he was far from a mere desk-bound deputy manager, Roun, having leapt upwards as the floor collapsed, extended his hand downwards. An incantation in ancient language enveloped him in a shield of elemental magic.

Realizing he was the target of the ambush, he quickly deployed the defensive barrier. Aries, the platinum-blonde paladin who had broken through the floor, clashed her sword against the illusory barrier, producing a deafening noise.

The elemental magic dispersed after deflecting Aries’ sword strike, but it served its purpose. Without the ability to fly, Aries plummeted back onto the shattered terrace.

“Stand back.”

The moment Aries’ feet touched the ground, a sword strike grazed just past her neck with a chilling screech.

“Prospective apostle of the Pantheon Church. If you continue to attack, I won’t hold back….”

“So you’re one of them, too.”

Cain’s eyes widened in surprise. Despite his warning strike, Aries was charging straight at him.

“Paladins… what a troublesome lot…!”

For a swordmaster, paladins were merely straightforward targets—beasts relying on their unique defensive and regenerative abilities to launch monotonous attacks. Especially for someone of Cain Leichtahp’s skill, unless she was a captain-level paladin, he could be confident in a fatal strike.

However, he had not yet fully committed to his decision. Even contemplating an alliance with Paradise, the thought of directly killing a prospective apostle weighed heavily on him.

“Tch…!”

But there was no time for hesitation. Aries had already closed the distance, ready to engage in direct combat. Caught in indecision, Cain’s only remaining option was to subdue Aries without killing her.

“Sacrifice an arm if you must!”

The distinctive segmented sword technique of the Volatus school engulfed Aries. Even a paladin could not simply charge through the dozens of sword phantoms before her.

“Too naive.”

But Aries did just that. Recognizing Cain’s intent to subdue rather than kill, she plunged herself straight into the heart of his sword technique. With extraordinary courage, she executed a reckless charge that few could emulate.

Her white dress quickly soaked with blood. But the injuries she sustained were a small price to pay for neutralizing Cain’s attack. Minor cuts were hardly considered injuries for a high-ranking paladin like her.

“This crazy…!”

Cain had not anticipated that Aries would charge straight into his sword technique—a suicidal move—forcing him to adjust the trajectory to avoid killing her. As a consequence, Aries’ armored foot slammed into Cain’s abdomen.

Boom!

The sound, more reminiscent of a drum than human flesh, echoed as Cain’s body was flung backwards.

Aries had no intention of losing the momentum of the battle. Using the immense strength of a paladin, she quickly stomped forward to close the distance between them once more.

Swish!

A sword strike targeted her forehead. With quick reflexes, Aries tilted her head, narrowly avoiding a fatal wound. However, the opportunity for a follow-up attack was lost.

“You insolent…!”

Cain grimaced as he pushed the debris aside and stood up. He had managed to minimize the impact by jumping back just in time, but the blow was still powerful enough to cause severe internal injuries.

Realizing that Aries had no hesitation in her attacks, unlike him, Cain’s resolve hardened.

“I won’t hold back any longer. Apostle or not, I’ll shred you to pieces—!”

“Blessing.”

Aries’ response was a prayer to her God. The blessing of the Goddess of Justice, intended for the future apostle, infused her body. She became faster and stronger, her senses sharpened to a razor’s edge, allowing her to react instantaneously to sudden shocks.

Crack!

As she felt the sensation of her holy armor being pierced from behind, Aries darted to the side. However, she couldn’t completely evade the attack, and an invisible claw raked her right arm, staining it with blood.

“Whatever possessed you to undertake this assault, you’ll regret it. Short-lived apostle.”

Glancing briefly at her tattered arm, Aries turned her head to the left. Cain, wiping blood from his mouth, glared at her with murderous intent. He hadn’t mitigated all the impact and was visibly injured.

Meanwhile, numerous figures gathered in the garden below the shattered terrace.

“Protect the master!”

“Spread out and prevent the assailant from escaping—!”

The sound of approaching Genswein family soldiers grew louder. Among them were knights clad in full-body armor inscribed with enchantments, including two high-ranking knights of immense presence.

“Is that the prospective apostle being discussed for dismissal?”

“Looks like it.”

Two high-ranking knights from the Genswein family had arrived, along with seven lower-ranking knights, considered elite even by frontier kingdom standards.

In addition, the garden was quickly surrounded by nearly a hundred soldiers, indicating the high level of the Genswein family’s private army.

“…….”

Unless one was a hero-class combatant, considered among the finest even in the empire, overcoming the sheer disparity of power was nearly impossible. Paladins may have the highest combat endurance among knights, mages, and swordsmen, but even someone like Aries would find it difficult to escape from such overwhelming odds.

“Surrender now. I don’t know why you assaulted this estate, but this is a grave offense….”

“So, you all knew your lord was in league with the elves.”

Aries muttered quietly. It was almost inaudible unless one stood right next to her. Yet, everyone present heard her clearly.

“The Genswein family has been long-time friends of the church, but that doesn’t mean we can interfere in local governance. It’s not unusual for the Lord of Koeltz to collaborate with a business entity like Paradise Bank.” responded another high-ranking knight, sternly.

“I am here as a deputy of Count Vigo Genswein, the Lord of Koeltz and head of the Genswein family. If you surrender now, we’ll consider merely detaining you, understanding this as a mistake committed by a young apostle on the verge of dismissal.” the knight reiterated.

“Hm… What is your take on this, acting master of Sword Mountain?”

Roun asked, dusting off his clothes and seemingly finding the situation amusing.

“…Tch.”

From Cain’s perspective, who had yet to make a definitive decision, Aries posed a significant problem. As a witness who had seen him with a representative of the Paradise Bank, she compromised his position.

Rejecting Roun’s proposal would leave him entangled due to Aries’ testimony, while accepting it would leave him with a bothersome loose end.

‘Would it be better to kill her here…?’

Naturally, the thought of silencing Aries surfaced in Cain’s mind.

“Paladin, over here─!”

A loud man’s voice echoed from the outskirts of the mansion where the Genswein family soldiers were setting up a perimeter. Moments later—

Several burly men rolled through the broken garden wall. Recognizing these men as soldiers of the Genswein family, the two high-ranking knights realized Aries had not infiltrated the premises alone.

“She has reinforcements! Given the disturbance, there must be a mage…!”

“I’ll handle this, senior.” one of the high-ranking knights said, leaping through the opening created by the magical explosion. However, an unseen force enveloped him mid-air, interfering with his movement.

As if gravity itself were altered around him, his body began to levitate.

“Gray!”

The high-ranking knight emitted a wave of aura to dispel the magic, shouting the incantation’s nature as he pounded the ground once more to secure an ally. It was a reckless charge, paying no heed to any magical bombardments.

At that moment, a war hammer struck the knight’s armor from beyond the breach.

Bang!

However, the force was far too weak to halt his charge, and the knight scoffed as he clearly saw his attacker—a middle-aged man with a slightly dazed look.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a mercenary, an unworthy ally for a prospective apostle in the knight’s eyes. He extended his hand towards the man.

“Figured as much. Have a taste of this!”

“…!”

Just then, the war hammer, unable to penetrate the aura barrier moments before, suddenly gleamed.

Bang—!

The knight was hurled back far, crashing into the lord’s mansion due to the explosion of repulsive force from the inscribed gray magic on the war hammer. Though the shock wasn’t massive, the sudden expulsion of force made any form of resistance impossible.

The middle-aged mercenary, Ron, who had repelled the high-ranking knight with quick wits, swung the heated war hammer over his shoulder and shouted, “Miss! Over here, quickly!”

“How did you get here?”

“That can be explained later! Jan has cleared a path, so hurry…!”

Ron’s tone was urgent as he urged Aries.

And it was understandable. Jan’s magic had momentarily breached the perimeter, but the situation was still dire given the enemy’s strength. This was likely their last chance as the opposition hesitated.

“No, we don’t need to escape.”

“What do you mean…? Could it be, is he coming?!”

Ron asked with a skeptical look.

Given his intuition, the situation didn’t seem favorable. Yet Aries remained remarkably unperturbed, suggesting there was no danger at all. This led Ron to suspect that perhaps Khan himself would intervene directly.

“No.”

Aries shook her head in response.

“Khan is elsewhere, dealing with something else.”

“Then how are you going to handle all of them…?”

“Paladins.”

“Paladins…?”

Not just a single paladin?

Ron’s face twisted in confusion, uncertain if he had heard correctly. Suddenly, his instincts began to sound an urgent alarm!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…!

With sudden thunderous crashes, the ground trembled. The tremors spread throughout Koeltz and rapidly approached the vicinity of the lord’s mansion.

And then—

Bang—!

With a massive cloud of dust, dozens of paladins clad in pristine white armor appeared. Their formation seemed to encircle those who had surrounded Aries, effectively turning the tables.

“Praga Grobel and the entire contingent of twenty-seven paladins!”

Boom! Boom!

The synchronized stomping of the paladins filled the area with a commanding presence. They were a formidable force, willing to go to any lengths, including sacrificing their own lives, to eradicate heretics and the corrupt. Here they had gathered in full force.

This was their fulfillment of a promise made to Khan—to repay the debt of persuading Aries by deploying the entire paladin contingent for this mission.

“Eliminate the corrupted—!”

TL’s Corner:

There are only a few novels where I lose interest when the MC is not around. And this is one of those novels.