Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 495
Chapter 495: Declaration of War (6)
War had been declared after over ten years of suffering.
Everyone—the wizards, the citizens who filled the square, and the knights of Mozlan—watched with eyes wide open and jaws dropped to the floor. Each one of them carried that same dumbfounded expression like they couldn’t believe what they’d just heard.
The old wizard, who looked equally gobsmacked, barely managed to regain his composure. “…That word is much too heavy for a joke.”
A joke… Well, it’s only natural to deny something that’s such a shock to the system.
I didn’t even bother responding to him as I stood there silently. Even the barbarians needed some time to think as well, specifically about three seconds.
“…W-war!”
The moment a warrior from behind shouted out, a strong chanting rippled through the warriors.
“It’s waaaaaaaaar!”
“Everyone grab your weapons!”
“Behell—aaaaaaaaah!”
As more than a thousand barbarian warriors began to chant, the wizards guarding the tower began to visibly panic, and I was not ignorant as to why. Comparing a barbarian’s strength to the sheer combat power of a wizard and their magic was absurd, but…
Visual marketing was a beast of its own.
“Raaaaaaah!”
“Wooh! Wooh! Wooh!”
It would be stranger if they weren’t scared of seeing massive, muscular barbarians stirring up a ruckus and threatening to charge them at any given moment.
“Old man.” I took a lengthy step forward, toward the hundred-plus group of wizards. “Does it still sound like a joke to you?”
He couldn’t respond, his expression now shuttered and blank.
He was only human, after all.
Step.
When I took one more large step forward, the Mozlan knights came running. “B-Baron Yandel! You can’t do this!”
So they belatedly remembered their role after getting caught up in the immense passion wafting off the barbarian warriors.
“H-how could you demand war?! F-for now, how about we talk this through? For the sake of the royal family…!”
Despite being flustered, the captain’s choice of words wasn’t bad. If he had used the royal family’s name to threaten us to not make a disturbance, the atmosphere would have taken a turn for the worse.
“Talk…”
“Yes! I’m sure we can reach an agreement if we talk it through! After all, both the magic tower and barbarians are pillars that help protect this city, right…?”
At the knight’s plea to attempt to delay any war from breaking out, I pretended to consider his suggestion and nodded my head. “Okay!”
“R-really?!”
Yeah, I think that was enough for a show of force.
I didn’t have any intention of fighting the magic tower like this in the first place.
Garnering the attention of everyone here in the city was enough. If we were to fight them now, it would make us look like the villains.
“Lewin Pastolm of the Egatil School!” I started calling out names one by one.
“Lurendel Lungonerde of the Hulbunt School! Odwick Berthev of the Ulters School!
Elenel Dwaynaine of the Galatir School!” After agreeing to diplomatic negotiations, called out names of magicians associated with the magic tower. The citizens carefully listened to what I said, wondering what was happening. “Toles Elin from the Ebound School! Ukla Tragic from the Ornstalt School!”
I continued until I mentioned the names of twenty-one wizards, one by one. When I finished, I asked the old wizard, “Old man, do you know who they are?”
“Of course. Most of them are young and incredible wizards that will lead the next generation.”
“No, you’re wrong.” I shook my head and asserted, “These people! They are wizards who made illegal commissions through the black market for the heart of a barbarian!”
In any war, justification was what mattered the most.
“I see! So that’s why the barbarians stormed to the magic tower!”
“I heard he rescued slaves from the black market. That must have been when he got that information!”
The bystanders finally began to nod their heads in agreement, realizing why we had come. Most of them agreed that we were in the right and that they would have done the same in our position.
I wouldn’t have gone this far if I was just going to end things here.
An appetizer was only an appetizer. It could never be a main dish.
“Lurendel Garlinbarret, Master of the Tritten School.” I mentioned one final name as I asked the old wizard, “Do you know who that is?”
He didn’t answer, acting as if his lawyer had advised him to stay silent. Well, that wouldn’t change the truth.
“He is another traitor who made a commission through the black market. But this person is different. He asked for my heart.”
I dropped that bomb without a second of hesitation. Commissioning the heart of a particular person was on a completely different scale than simply trying to buy any barbarian’s heart. It was practically no different than an assassination request.
“…Mr. Gwollen, if this is true, not only will that man be hanged, but the magic tower will also be held responsible.”
The knights, who had been trying to stop me this entire time, suddenly changed their tune as they began to question the old man. These were knights who worked for Mozlan, not the wizards, and Mozlan was a group that was made to protect the authority of nobles.
“…Nothing has been confirmed yet. But I promise you that if it is true, the magic tower will investigate the issue under our own strict guidelines.”
The old wizard tried to weasel his way out of this mess by making a vague promise that acknowledged the seriousness of the matter while also declaring his stance that Mozlan didn’t have the authority to push the issue any further.
I, of course, didn’t have to care about that. “The magic tower is already under suspicion of working with those traitors in the black market. Doing your own investigation isn’t credible at all.”
“…But those suspicions were derived from your account of the incident, Your Lordship. That has nothing to do with the way we run things here. It’s not like there’s any evidence, now, is there?”
“Evidence…”
Yeah, I expected him to respond like that.
It was time to whip out the biggest card I could play as a barbarian.
“I swear. As the chieftain of the barbarians, a baron of Rafdonia, and on my name of Bjorn, son of Yandel! That everything I have said here today is the truth!”
It was an oath of empty words, but it was more than enough to convince the crowd here.
“He must be quite confident to make such a declaration with everyone watching.”
“Just listen to all that. There’s no way the baron would have lied?”
“Dirty wizards! How dare they try to hurt Baron Yandel!”
“Bring out the criminals and punish them!”
My heroic achievements added to the value of my name, which was only bolstered further by the favorable impression I left on the city. Most important of all, however, was that my actions were backed by a just cause. That was more than enough to sway public opinion in my favor.
“Mr. Gwollen, given the baron’s words, you are going to have to explain the situation to us as well.”
“Didn’t I already tell you? We will be conducting the investigation on our own.”
“That is your choice to make, but are you sure that is how you want to go about this? If you just call the relevant parties over, we can end things without further escalation.”
The old wizard didn’t respond.
“My guess is that come evening, the higher-ups will approve an investigation by us, Mozlan, into the wizards of the magic tower. As you know, the assassination of a noble is a serious matter. Is that what you really want?”
Once Mozlan had the right to conduct an investigation, the magic tower would be thoroughly inspected and left without any ability to deny whatever might be found in the process. There were surely other illegal activities hiding in the corners of that tower.
However, the old wizard simply rejected the offer. “I thank you for your consideration, but you needn’t worry. We will take care of this issue on our own.”
“You’re treading a thorny path. All you have to do is call them out here so we can investigate them. Wouldn’t that be much easier?”
Despite the convincing words of the knight, the old wizard exercised his right to remain silent. That alone was enough to seal the opinion of the public. Sometimes, silence acted as a clear answer.
“Dirty wizards! I knew it!”
“How dare you try and cover for those who have tried to harm the baron?!”
Now, public opinion was clearly in our favor. The magic tower was inherently evil and the barbarian’s rage was justified. If that old man had simply ordered the wizards I mentioned earlier to step forward and be interrogated, things would have never gotten to this point.
If nothing happens today, then they’ll bribe their way out of this mess or cover the tracks that were left behind one way or another.
Thanks to the old wizard’s pigheadedness, I was able to take things a step further.
“Listen to the upstanding citizens of this city who believe in fair opportunities and seek justice!” The crowd, who had been criticizing and swearing at the magic tower, suddenly went quiet as I spoke. It was the time to use their opinion to my utmost advantage. “The wizards of the magic tower, who have fallen to shame, have no intention of admitting their sins! They’re desperate to protect their own kind! The wizards I named only need to be called out from their labs and checked to see if they are truly innocent! But since they reject such an easy task, it’s proof that they have done wrong! Isn’t that right?!”
“That’s right!”
I pushed the idea that we were on the side of justice once more. “They will probably destroy the evidence as soon as we leave or brazenly fabricate the results of the investigation. It’s obvious. It’s something we have seen countless times before, haven’t we?”
“That’s right!”
I continued to ignite the anger that the citizens of the city held buried within.
“However, I no longer intend to sit helplessly on the sidelines as these criminals walk away free.”
That’s why I’ll let them know that I’ll take responsibility and extinguish the flames of pent-up anger that they kept burning inside them for years.
“I am Bjorn, son of Yandel!”
I swore on my name.
“I promise you. The justice within this city, the justice established by the royal laws of the mighty Rafodnia, will be set right again today!”
As soon as I made an oath, the citizens burst into a fervent roar.
“Waaaaaaaaaaah!”
The atmosphere’s perfect now. Since the civilians are in our camp now, the wizards won’t be able to attack us. Alright, since the board has been set, it’s time…
I let out a heavy exhale as I let out a scream with all my strength. “Ready your weapooooons!”
Ever since the war with the elves, the barbarians had endured. It was time to remind this city once again just what type of people the barbarian race was.
“Behell—aaaaaaaaah!”
We were a race that didn’t use words.
***
Alex Halo was the deputy archivist of the Third Magic Corps. After finishing his regular report, he snuck a glance at his superior before leaving the office. Even though she was swamped with work, her uniform was neatly ironed. Her blue eyes were filled with fatigue yet intellect. In her small hand, she held a pen.
“What are you doing? Are you not leaving?”
At his superior’s sudden remark, he flinched, then quickly fumbled for an excuse.
“I-it’s just that, it seemed like you’ve been reading the newspaper a lot lately.”
“Oh, these?” Several newspapers from various outlets were piled up on her desk.
When he pointed it out, she avoided eye contact and spoke in a soft, almost embarrassed voice. “It’s just…a hobby. It’s frustrating being trapped in here all the time, right? It’s important to know what’s going on out there in the world.”
“…I see.” The newspapers on the supervisor’s desk might have come from different sources, but each one had the exact same story, featuring the same main character. “Everyone’s been talking about it these days. The fact that Baron Yandel’s name has been engraved on the Stone of Honor.”
“So they say. Our first meeting was nothing but a joke. But now he has really become a ‘great warrior.’”
Alex tilted his head in response to the hint of loneliness in her voice. “Aren’t you happy, though? Wasn’t Baron Yandel a former colleague of yours?”
“Former colleague…”
“Ah—”
Belatedly realizing his mistake, Alex quickly shut his mouth. Seeing her look dejectedly down at the newspaper left him with a strange feeling of discomfort. He was just Subordinate A, who couldn’t even do his job right. Someone who should never be capable of putting that expression on her face. His superior looked at the window silently, seemingly lost in memories. Alex stared at her blankly, unsure of what to say.
“D-Deputy Commander! There’s been an emergency deployment order…!” The office door swung open as someone stormed inside. Seeing his superior get a hold of herself and grab her coat, he quickly pulled himself together as well. The Third Magic Corps wasn’t like the Public Peace Agency or Mozlan. They were a military group that worked under the direct control of the royal family. To receive an emergency deployment order meant that something bigger than a riot was taking place in the city.
“Give me the details.” His superior quickly headed outside as she listened to the briefing, asking her subordinate questions about the situation. After hearing the full story, the situation could easily be summarized in one sentence.
Baron Yandel was leading the barbarians toward the magic tower.
“They haven’t arrived yet, but given their path, it’s clear that they are heading to the magic tower.”
“Why? There must be a reason why he’s doing that?”
“We are checking. However, more than a thousand barbarians are heading over there now. It seems that the Public Peace Agency has also requested the support of the military.”
“I see…”
Less than a minute after the emergency order was announced, all the soldiers had gathered in the outside grounds, where they immediately made their way to the carriage.
“Is the situation really that dire, Deputy Commander? I don’t think our corps was the only one that was ordered to go.” Numerous military carriages were heading onto the road, leading to the military base.
However, his superior didn’t respond to him. She simply bit her nails with an unusually anxious look in her eyes. “That guy… What is he going to end up doing this time…?”
He tried to reassure her with positive thoughts. Baron Yandel was a smart man, and since he had a lot of responsibility, he probably went to the magic tower as a mere show of force. There wasn’t much to worry about. They weren’t just words of consolation, but what he truthfully felt from the bottom of his heart. But his superior’s nervous expression wouldn’t disappear.
“…Alex. I think you’ve misinterpreted something here. It’s not Baron Yandel that I’m worried about right now.”
“What…? B-but still, he’s going against the magic tower.” Alex didn’t understand at all. The two of them were both from the magic tower, so they knew well just how powerful the wizards there were. So why was she so concerned?
As he was trying to figure out the reason, his superior suddenly revealed what she was thinking. “Do you remember what happened to the Adventurers’ Guild because of him?”
“Are you talking about the false accusation…?”
“Yes. There was a massive prison break back then, and an entire branch of the guild was destroyed. The district chief was punished because of that incident and lost the next election.”
“Still…the guild and the magic tower are different.” Compared to the magic tower, the guild was like a mom-and-pop shop.
“I agree… That’s what I’ve been thinking… The guild and the magic tower are definitely different. The magic tower won’t be swayed by a single barbarian…”
“Are you saying…it’s different now?”
Raven nodded without hesitation. “Yes. Now, he’s not just a single barbarian. Back then when he completely flipped the guild on its head, he was a barbarian that had only just come of age two months prior. But what about now?”
Alex couldn’t respond. How many years had passed since then? Now, he was a baron of the kingdom and the chieftain of the barbarians.
“More than anything else though… What worries me is the fact that I know what he’s like.”
He tilted his head in question.
“Trust me, Alex. No matter how reckless he seems, if he’s the one doing it, then I can guarantee he’s thought it through.”
Alex still couldn’t understand what she was telling him, of course. However, he kept that thought to himself, as he didn’t want to be rude and refute his own superior’s words of advice.
Thunk, thunk.
The carriage kept up its breakneck pace down the road before arriving at the military platform.
Crackle!
New information arrived through a message stone.
They’ve arrived. Baron Yandel and the barbarian warriors have reached the magic tower! Please hurry and send support!
Even before the shocking report arrived, his superior was taking deep breaths like she was fighting back nausea. It was as if she were preparing herself.