Barbarian in a Failed Game

“What on earth is going on?!” Ron and Jan had suddenly burst out of the lord’s mansion due to a series of complicated circumstances.

It all started when they wandered through Koeltz for a simple reconnaissance and returned to their temporary base, only to find Leonir missing. Leonir, who was already a ticking time bomb, had vanished without a word.

Naturally, they searched everywhere Leonir might have gone around the temporary base, but found no trace. The only place left was the lord’s mansion, and that’s when Ron’s instincts began to buzz.

‘Could Leonir be inside that mansion?’

Initially, it seemed like the only plausible explanation. Leonir, unable to suppress his temper, must have charged into the lord’s mansion alone—it made sense.

The problem was that they had no reasonable means of infiltrating the heavily guarded mansion. Even if they managed to sneak in, dodging the knights’ keen senses to find Leonir seemed highly improbable.

“Maybe it’ll work if we avoid direct combat.”

Jan suggested. Jan had an answer for that.

“Remember that thing we borrowed from the mercenary guild at Marquis Deillon’s estate? It can drastically reduce our presence and muffle our footsteps.”

Combining Jan’s spell with Ron’s instincts made infiltrating the lord’s mansion surprisingly straightforward.

Furthermore, as a testament to the prosperity of the city, part of the mansion’s security relied on the latest magi-tech devices, which made the job even easier.

The research and commercialization of magi-tech were conducted at the Magus Tower, and Jan was a promising genius from that very tower.

Just like that, they swiftly neutralized the magi-tech devices and, following Ron’s instincts, managed to sneak all the way to the threshold of the lord’s mansion without being detected.

However, they could only get so far without engaging in direct confrontation, so they decided to temporarily hide and observe the situation. It didn’t take long before all hell broke loose.

“Is that… the paladin girl…? Oh, no!”

As they followed the route where Jan had disabled the magi-tech devices, they saw a small figure rapidly approaching. In the blink of an eye, what had been a dot in the distance turned into the clear form of a person moving at an incredible speed.

Kwah-kah-kah-kang—!!

What happened next was a blur of chaotic events.

Aries had stormed the lord’s mansion and seemingly been cornered. They intervened to aid her, only for the sudden arrival of a contingent of paladins from all directions.

Without any discussion, the paladins began to decimate the lord’s troops. The whole situation left Ron and Jan utterly bewildered.

“As rumored, the paladins are truly formidable.”

“Well… rather than formidable, aren’t they kind of brute-force simpletons? Just charging in without a word, swinging their fists first….”

“Is that so?”

Jan tilted his head, looking perplexed. Ron sighed at Jan’s pure and innocent admiration for the paladins’ destructive power. Jan often blurted out astonishing comments without a second thought, making Ron wonder if he would ever fit in normally with other people.

‘Yeah, they are formidable….’

Ron had mixed feelings as he watched the battle between the paladins and the lord’s forces. He now understood why the swordmage had spoken so humbly about his own abilities.

‘These are no ordinary troops; they are armed with Imperial-grade weaponry….’

Less than thirty paladins were overpowering hundreds of soldiers. Regular troops’ spears and swords couldn’t inflict fatal injuries on the paladins. Even when magic devices managed to penetrate their holy armor and cause injuries, unless it was a critical wound, it was quickly healed with holy magic.

The paladins’ already robust bodies were further enhanced by mutual blessings, making their relentless assault break any formation.

This overwhelming might of less than thirty paladins was the reason why the Pantheon Church could occupy one of the three highest seats of power.

It’s not just because the Pantheon faith is the empire’s state religion. These monsters can replace entire legions and conduct strategic destruction missions by themselves.

‘Sister Berta was incredibly powerful too….’

Even when Sister Berta kidnapped Count Lebron from Al-Ranzas, she hadn’t been at half her peak strength.

Yet she still managed to crush knights. If current paladin captains and vice-captains were that strong, then just how terrifying would the paladin contingent be with them added in?

Moreover.

Though short in stature, the sturdy paladin and sword instructor, Praga Grobel, was single-handedly overwhelming two high-ranking knights.

Ignoring the aura scratching at his holy armor with the unique resilience of a paladin, he relentlessly attacked. Even high-ranking knights had no means to counter such one-sided aggression. This was a fighting style Ron had never seen from Aries or Leonir, leaving him astounded.

“They’re just on a completely different level….”

But even these paladins paled in comparison to the platinum-haired girl.

Boom! Bang! Crack!

Each clash sent shockwaves that reached Ron’s face from afar. The ruins of the terrace had become unrecognizable, and the beautiful garden had been transformed into an unidentifiable wasteland due to the craters dotting it.

“The lady paladin seems even stronger now.”

Jan remarked.

“Indeed…”

Understanding the underlying meaning in Jan’s words, Ron’s expression grew serious.

It was expected that Aries, as the apostle-in-training of the Goddess, would become stronger. Ordinarily, Ron would not have questioned Aries’s growth. This changed when Jan, returning from the Magus Tower, raised an unusual concern.

“She’s suddenly achieving growth beyond her original talent.”

Jan had noted.

At first, Ron was skeptical, but he soon had to admit the growing strength of his instincts. He realized that something unusual was indeed happening.

‘What is going on…?’

It might have been a simple coincidence, but Jan was a mage. As a race second only to elves in self-assurance, mages were not known for expressing such concerns lightly.

Crack—!

At that moment, Aries withstood an elemental vortex conjured by a spirit, tearing it apart with the ‘Sword of Punishment.’ The resulting shockwave triggered the activation of the enchanted defenses.

The regular soldiers, however, were not as fortunate. The elemental vortex either cleaved them in half or severed their limbs effortlessly. Even knights exhausted from previous battles against the paladins were not spared its effects.

“How can a short-lived apostle, not even officially an apostle yet, be this powerful…?”

Roun, deputy manager of Paradise Bank, was visibly shocked.

When Aries first attacked, his surprise had been similar, but he never thought it would be difficult to subdue her. Roun himself was a spirit mage, and he had the assistance of Cain Leichtahp, a student of the Sword Master, as well as the knights of the Genswein family.

However, the unexpected appearance of the paladin contingent and Aries’s overwhelming strength surpassed Roun’s expectations.

The advantage of spirit magic lay not in its power but in its invisibility to all races except elves. While it could be tremendously powerful with a master like Serenel, the current level should have been sufficient.

‘Still, this should not be lacking in power…!’

But it wasn’t enough to penetrate Aries’s defenses. Roun’s role was reduced to merely supporting Cain. The bigger issue was that Cain also failed to breach Aries’s defenses.

“What are you doing! Why can’t you cut through her?!”

“Shut up…!”

Cain was equally frustrated. He had been confident that he could cut through any opponent, save for his master and foster father, Valken Leichtahp, and the idiot Leniyar. Yet, he couldn’t cut down a young girl who was merely an apostle-in-training.

This was causing him immense self-doubt.

‘The density of her holy power is unreal…!’

It felt like she was wearing an impenetrable fortress, condensed into the size of armor, around her body and weapon. Aries’s strategy relied on utilizing her formidable holy power.

She twisted the trajectory of Cain’s sword strikes during the time it took for them to penetrate her holy power and reach her actual armor. Then, she would close the distance and accumulate damage with close-quarter strikes. Any minor wounds sustained in the process were immediately healed with holy magic.

A staggering amount of holy power, swordsmanship on par with a swordsman, and the courage to face a sword strike that could cut through anything—all these were required for such an outrageous tactic.

“You damn…!”

But if she could manage it, she could exchange blows with a swordsman. And the tides of battle were turning against the lord’s forces.

Cain naturally began to consider the option of retreat. Regardless of the situation, he was confident in preserving his own life, which was why he had embarked on this clandestine mission as the Deputy Lord of the Mountains.

Although his presence at the Lord of Koeltz’ mansion with the deputy manager of Paradise Bank had been witnessed, that alone wouldn’t be enough to severely damage him. He could simply claim that it was a negotiation related to the Sword Mountain.

『Haven’t I told you? The fate of the Sword Demon is in our hands. You’d better not think of backing out now, acting master.』

Flinch.

『The Sword Demon is already semi-conscious, influenced by Paradise’s drugs. If her condition reaches the ears of the Imperial family or the other three high seats, do you think your position will remain secure?』

“You…!”

『So, do your utmost to protect me. If we can make it back to Paradise Bank, we can turn this situation around completely. Rather, those insolent fools will find themselves in even greater trouble. Understand?』

Grind.

Cain ground his teeth hard. Given that so many people had witnessed him here, he realized there was no way he could refuse the proposal.

“Damn it—!”

With a roar that was almost a bellow, Cain unleashed a signature move of the Volatus school. Aries had no choice but to retreat in the face of such unrelenting sword strikes meant to utterly annihilate the opponent.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Cain’s sword strikes did not immediately disappear, leaving trailing afterimages in the air. Following those afterimages, a sword wind arose. Simultaneously, as Roun chanted in the ancient language, both their forms began to levitate into the air.

“Don’t let them escape!”

Seeing the two most crucial targets attempting to flee, Praga Grobel, who had just thoroughly defeated the two high-ranking knights, urgently shouted.

With precise timing, Jan, who had been silently preparing his spells, unleashed hundreds of ‘Lances of Destruction.’ The awe-inspiring spectacle left the paladins with their mouths agape.

『Block them!』

“Do not command me!”

Crack!

Cain, shattering the intangible barriers created by spirit magic, swept away the ‘Lances of Destruction’ in one go. Blood spurted from his mouth, evidence of internal injuries, but pursuing the rapidly retreating figures now reduced to mere dots seemed out of reach.

“Damn it! Pursue them…!”

“No need to chase.”

Aries interrupted Praga’s urgent command with a faint, knowing smirk. It was a smile strangely reminiscent of a certain barbarian.

“They have nowhere to return to, anyway.”

***

“This is my first time seeing it.”

“What nonsense are you spouting now? It’s either your first time seeing it or it isn’t.”

“There’s always an exception, blockhead.”

“Stop calling me a blockhead—!”

“If you’ve got an issue, you should’ve won.”

“You bastard…!”

Ignoring Leniyar’s familiar growl, Khan pulled down his hood.

‘Soon, hiding my identity will be impossible.’

“Time for a level-up.”

“Level-up? What does that even mean?”

“It means we’re about to teach those damn elves some manners.”

The barbarian warrior of Hoarfrost Gorge and the Sword Demon. Two walking calamities had reached Paradise Bank.

TL’s Corner:

Leveling Up = Teaching manners