Surviving the Game as a Barbarian-Chapter 727: Traitor (1)

“He’s saying, ‘Why are you here?’ using only his eyes.”
On one hand, I thought maybe this guy had some talent for acting; on the other, I understood how he felt.
After all, it was me who hadn’t shown my face outside for days, caught by the king against my will.
It must have been totally unexpected.
Well, maybe they got info about me showing up in District 5 before coming here...
“If so, maybe they’d be even more shocked?”
Yeah, probably.
Like, why the hell is the guy who should be in District 5 here instead?
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
I smirked, and he seemed to snap out of it, barely moving his tight mouth muscles to reply.
“...Pshhht. I’ve been getting plenty of reinforcements recently.”
He answered casually as usual, but I could clearly tell he wasn’t that relaxed inside.
Makes sense—summoned creatures at a certain level respond and act according to their summoner’s will without separate commands.
And then...
“P-Pshhht...”
As soon as he let out an awkward laugh, the chimera he was riding retracted its aggressively extended front leg and started backing away.
“Where are you going?”
I asked while smashing the nearby corpse soldiers with a single hammer blow, and he stammered in reply.
“Well... I think ambushing at night and stuff is cowardly... Pshhht... L-Let’s meet again sometime!”
Does he even know what he’s saying right now?
I don’t know, but a warrior’s instinct for seizing opportunities caught something.
The ‘Necromancer,’ who should have been at the very rear, appeared at the frontline.
Honestly, I don’t know why.
Maybe just to show off...
Anyway, that’s not important.
Thump—
If I could smash this bastard’s skull right here.
“Hm, that wouldn’t be bad at all.”
No, let me rephrase.
Not just “not bad” — it’d be the best case.
After all, this guy’s on my kill list too.
“Don’t just leave! Come here for a moment.”
I waved my long hammer, calling him, but the chimera turned its back and started fleeing.
“No, just for a moment! Come here! Just to talk—”
Despite repeated persuasion, the four-legged chimera only accelerated away.
“I- I’m busy, so...!”
I just wanted to talk.
He really has sharp instincts.
“Behel—laaaaaa!!”
He then used [Giant Growth] and charged forward.
Well, since I had left the gate, no one else was blocking the corpse horde...
“They’ll handle it. I’ve bought enough time to prepare.”
Besides, I wasn’t completely useless.
Though [Giant Growth] was meant to increase stride length, it had an unexpected effect.
Boom! Boom!
Just running with heavy footsteps, the combat-modified corpses were trampled and exploded.
Just like that.
Crunch!
Of course, the distance still didn’t close easily.
If I had movement skills like [Leap], it would’ve helped a lot, but sadly my Shield Barbarian’s movement mechanisms weren’t equipped for that.
Boom! Boom!
So I stubbornly followed his big body, and he used every trick to shake me off.
「Abet Nekrafeto cast [Corpse Explosion].」
Blowing up corpses to spray poison.
「Abet Nekrafeto cast [Curse of Stone].」
Applying CC.
Placing a huge corpse monster to block me.
And casting strange smoke to obscure vision.
He did everything he could, but stopping a Shield Barbarian over 70% combat-ready was impossible.
“Damn it...! This isn’t fair!!”
In a way, such praise was inevitable.
Being an unstoppable tank was a disaster for ranged fighters.
“Just {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} give up and stop! If you stop now, we can talk it out! I swear on the honor of a warrior—”
“Don’t lie! You’re just trying to negotiate with your body!”
Huh, how did he know?
Boom! Boom!
Eventually, I gave up on coaxing through talk and silently moved forward.
There was no rush anyway.
Just running like this was slowly closing the gap. Looks like his movement mechanism was as lacking as mine...
“Kinda funny.”
He used to be much more imposing back then.
Now, just seeing my face makes him turn and run.
A lot of time has passed since then.
Boom! Boom!
As the silent chase continued, the distance steadily shortened, and from his mouth came complaints.
“Argh! Bjorn Yandel...! Why the hell are you here in the first place?!”
“...Huh?”
What’s that about?
Doesn’t sound like just being flustered.
“Do something, will you! You’re just letting that monster rampage!”
The corpse collector shouted as if to comrades.
Still, no support magic came, no hero appeared to save him, and his frustration grew.
“Keep ignoring me! This is your fault! Bjorn Yandel was in District 5, so they tried to distract by stirring up District 9!”
Oh, so that was the reason?
A lucky coincidence, but my appearance in District 5 interfered with their plans.
“Bro, why is that our fault? If you’re blaming someone, blame the commander or vice-commander.”
A familiar voice suddenly came, and I looked up to see a woman flying low on a broom.
The Witch of Screams, Liranne Vivian.
“And from the start, we told you to stay back and not show off. But I remember you insisting on leading the charge!”
“...Is that important now? Why are you just showing up? Any magic would do — stop that guy already!”
“Ugh...? No way.”
The Witch of Screams refused with a disgusted expression.
“Don’t you remember? How am I supposed to stop a monster that reflects every spell I cast?”
She must have been talking about the now-vanished ‘Essence of Gacha.’
Though it didn’t matter much.
Because I got a way better defensive skill now.
「Character cast [Scales of Greed].」
So I activated Dragon Mode in advance just in case. This skill doesn’t have a ‘reflection’ mechanic, but that’s fine.
Actually, that didn’t matter.
Because I now had the effect of [Aegis Dragon Armor] that builds stacks proportional to accumulated damage and can explode all at once.
“Too bad.”
She might as well help by hitting and building stacks.
Of course, enemies facing me would find it terrifying.
But so what?
That’s the fact—
“So, let’s join forces, bro.”
Huh?
“Join forces?”
“We’d have to squeeze on one mount, which is a bit much... but this isn’t a time to be picky, right?”
As a Barbarian listening, I wanted to scream.
“Damn it.”
These so-called elite Orculus guys already thinking of running? We’d be like dogs chasing chickens, watching roofs.
Therefore...
“Oh, that’s right.”
I threw a hand axe from the pocket dimension with all my might.
I barely remember using it in practice, but thanks to some practice here and there, it flew strongly to the target spot.
“Kyaa!”
Vivian narrowly dodged the hand axe thrown while reaching out to grab my hand.
And...
“Hurry!”
The corpse collector urged, and Vivian reached out again.
I threw another hand axe, and she instantly activated a shield.
Of course, it didn’t matter much.
Just a normal axe throw without skill help.
Who can tell the difference with my overly developed strength?
Crunch!
As expected, the shield shattered uselessly on the axe.
“Kyaa!”
The axe handle hit Vivian’s temple, making her scream and fall off her broom to the ground.
And...
“Damn it!”
She cursed but kept moving forward without tending to the comrade who fell behind.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?!”
“...I have no choice! Mages can be replaced, but I can’t!”
“Shut up and get over here! Get on! You bastard!”
“Those who will live, live...! Pshhht...!”
Even I was dumbfounded by how pathetic that sounded while chasing.
“Hey! You damn son of a—!!!”
Vivian screamed her resentment, but the corpse collector didn’t turn his chimera’s head.
Should I keep chasing the corpse collector?
Or should I make sure to catch at least this one?
After a moment’s hesitation, I stopped in front of Vivian, who sat down nursing a broken ankle.
“Ha, unbelievable.”
I’d just seen such a shocking scene that my legs went weak.
“...Surrender.”
What are you saying? It’s not surrender but defeat.
Tuk.
Vivian ground her teeth as I silently approached.
Surprisingly, her hatred wasn’t directed at me.
“...Bro, can you just let me go? I’ll definitely kill that bastard... okay?”
Her eyes were 100% sincere.
I thought maybe letting her go would benefit me.
But...
“No. Can’t.”
I refused firmly, raising my hammer.
“No, really...! I’d do whatever you ask... okay?”
Vivian tried to use her looks and gender as a weapon, but unfortunately for her, she picked the wrong opponent.
I was born and raised in South Korea, so I know what true gender equality is, K-Barbarian style.
If I lower my hammer now, wouldn’t all the men who died until now be wronged?
Sssslip.
Men and women are equal.
Proof: if you get hit with a hammer, your skull breaks no matter the gender.
“Your comrades!! You want to get to where your comrades are!!”
Huh?
I paused with my hammer raised, and Vivian slowly opened her tightly shut eyes to look at me.
“...No, it’s nothing.”
Trying to feel me out even now.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly. We don’t have time.”
“I... I can take you safely and comfortably to your comrades! And help in many ways! You don’t need a mage, right?”
We have a mage already.
“Especially if it’s about catching that damn bastard, I’d even give my soul...!”
What do I do with this...
If I quickly smashed the corpse collector’s skull and chased him, I might be able to follow...
“Let me think ten more seconds.”
As I mulled over this, Vivian suddenly shouted.
“...B-Betrayer!”
I tilted my head.
“...Huh?”
“I can tell you which of your comrades is a traitor!”
...Guess I have to hear this first.