The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 229



Only Krnovel

Episode 229 Golden Lord (2)

A variety of guests came to the golden city, Delutana.

The first guests were gentlemen dressed neatly in formal attire.

He was dressed in a neat mortarboard and a high-quality silk coat. He rode his horse with dignity, not caring about the cold. In contrast, his escorts were roughly holding their spears and spitting phlegm. Above the flagpole held by the rider, a tree symbolizing the ‘City of Knowledge’ was fluttering.

They were a group of university members from Galentana, and a group of gladiators who had suddenly become unemployed due to the collapse of the arena.

Crowds gathered to see the unexpected guests. The reactions from the citizens were largely mixed.

“What, are they from Galentana? What suddenly happened to Delutana… … .”

“Is the City of Knowledge now trying to help in the war?”

“Tsk, how can that be? Those cowardly bookworms… … . At least they came to protect their city in some way, and to negotiate with the empire or encourage them… … .”

“No, didn’t rumors spread over there that the ‘stars’ of the El family were dead? Considering they even brought gladiators like that, maybe they really came to help us… … .”

I’m here to help with the war, no, I’m here to recommend negotiations… … . Two sharply conflicting opinions.

If I were to be honest, it was the latter that was closest to the correct answer. However, the prediction was not completely correct. The visitors’ primary goal was to meet the mercenary who destroyed the arena… … .

And the second guests were wizards wearing colorful robes.

―――― Kuuuuuung – !!

A magic circle measuring ten meters in diameter appeared in the air. There was a flash of light, and spirits appeared one after another beneath it. Wizards, many wearing blue robes and a few wearing red robes, marched with pride.

They were council members from Vestana and magicians of the Magic Tower.

This time, a larger crowd gathered than before. The citizens’ reactions were generally similar.

“Oh, no! “Aren’t those people all wizards from the Magic Tower?”

“Huh, I heard that even those wearing blue are top-level wizards, and those wearing red are rare high-level wizards… … . Why are there so many wizards… … ”

“My goodness, Remillion! So they could not have… …moved from Vestana to here in an instant using magic?”

It wasn’t. Traveling such a long distance with this many people is difficult even for an archmage. They just rode a horse right in front of the city and barely managed to teleport into the city.

The appearance of a very intentional display. Nevertheless, its impact was powerful. Citizens who witnessed a grand mystery that had never been reported in their lives were busy talking in hopes that the mystery seekers might become their allies.

Unfortunately, the citizens’ expectations were dashed. The wizards’ purpose in coming here was to interrogate a certain mercenary who was involved in the incident that occurred at the Magic Tower…

Guests from Galentana, and guests from Vestana. Their behavior was very different, but both had the same goal. With a determined look on their faces, they headed to the location they had been notified of in advance.

And then, one of the mercenaries who had finished preparing walked slowly along with the host of the meeting.

*

Currently, the front line of the empire’s ‘holy war’ is the border area in the center of the continent.

Today, the front line of the ‘civil war’ that the alliance will wage was right here, at Delutana’s conference hall.

The atmosphere was no different from a battlefield, except that no swords were raised. There was a sense of imminent war in the hall, which was divided into representatives of three sides: Delutana, the ‘City of Gold’, Galentana, the ‘City of Knowledge’, and Vestana, the ‘City of Miracles’.

Even though no one said anything, everyone knew it. From now on, each of them would be a fighter protecting the city’s interests, their skillful three-inch tongues would be the sword and shield against the enemy’s attacks, and the abundant data they had gathered would be the battering rams that would bring down the fortress…

“From now on, we will continue the legacy of the great Golden Leader, Lord Remillion… … and hold a ‘Great Dialogue’ to strengthen the bonds of the Free Cities Alliance and discuss the future.”

The meeting began with a declaration by Enrico, the acting chairman and host of Delutana.

The superficial agenda of this meeting is to discuss support for damage suffered by Delutana and measures to deal with the empire’s invasion.

At first, a moment of silence was held for the victims of the Gospel incident, and the discussion began in a somewhat reserved atmosphere. Anyway, Delutana is also an axis of the alliance. Other cities could not just ignore foreign invasions as if they were nothing else. Afterwards, formal condolences and promises of support were exchanged for Delutana.

However, after a while, a key figure appeared and the Yuhan atmosphere was immediately erased.

“Lord Kadim, savior of Delutana, enters! “Everyone, please stand up and greet us!”

“… … .”

Kadim calmly enters the conference room.

A giant-like figure cast in copper, with bizarre tattoos and vicious muscles, a pressure that suffocated everyone… …. The mere presence of the figure changed the atmosphere in the room. Although it did not radiate any particular hostility, everyone felt a vague sense of threat to their lives for a moment.

After finally gathering their minds and bodies, the Delutana lawmakers stood up and applauded in unison. However, the other cities stiffened their faces and did not move.

The actual agenda of this meeting is to hold accountable the barbarian mercenary, the ‘demon slayer.’

The speaker tried to package the process as a Q&A and explanation session, while Kadim made a remark that bordered on provocation.

“They gathered together like a swarm of flies. “Just state the matter briefly.”

The Galentana lawmakers inevitably gritted their teeth and launched an attack.

“Let’s skip the formalities, Demon Slayer… … . You were a gladiator in Agon for about a month last year. However, there are some very suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of your sponsor, the ‘King of the Arena’, Ubik the Great, and the collapse of the Arena… … .”

“… … Look here! Isn’t there a record of the last match you played just before the arena collapsed? And these are the gladiators who were on the scene at the time… … .”

Vestana council members and wizards also launched attacks one after another.

“Demon Slayer… … Do you remember ‘Black Heat Wave’ Elder Oklamud and ‘Frozen Heart’ Elder Coltran? “You’re not going to say you don’t know, right?”

“… … Look, this is the magic that proves that you have entered the lowest floor of the Magic Tower! Also, coincidentally, the magic tool that is tracking the whereabouts of the Magic Tower Lord is also pointing to the lowest floor… … .”

Numerous witnesses, mountains of data, detection magic and magical tools… …. The evidence of all sorts of suspicions that the members of the National Assembly had been preparing for several nights came rushing in like a flood. It was a situation where they were surrounded and interrogated without any room to escape.

Kadim, who was becoming increasingly annoyed, frowned softly.

“You’re wasting time needlessly. “I’m sure they told me to keep my business brief.”

The lawmakers trembled simultaneously.

It was a very trivial life, almost nothing. Nonetheless, I felt a chill down my spine and my muscles relaxed. I asked, desperately suppressing the urge to immediately turn around and run away.

“Demon Slayer… … You killed the Ubik Grand Master and destroyed Agon’s Arena?”

“Did you kill the two elders and harm the Tower Lord?”

Compared to the previous process, the answer was actually simple.

“Yes.”

““… … .””

Silence where even the sound of breathing is muted.

By the way, who didn’t hear it? Kadim kindly said it again.

“It is true that I did everything, destroying the arena, butchering the fat rich man, killing the magic tower lord and the old magicians.”

““… … .””

When he heard those words a few days ago, Enrico Turis felt his soul leave his body.

This time, the others shared the same feeling. Their complexions went through a similar process. They turned blue, then white, and finally became ashen. In the conference room where a suffocating silence had descended, all the participants were in a state of apocalyptic shock, and only the colorful changes in their facial colors were visible.

After a while, several people who came to their senses appeared.

Most council members have occupational diseases. Instead of taking words at face value, look at numerous nonverbal elements such as context, intonation, facial expressions, and gestures to infer the true meaning.

Yes, that groundbreaking declaration could also have been a highly political maneuver. For example, covering up a bigger crime that was not discovered, hiding the real culprit and taking the blame, or increasing one’s reputation through superhuman evil deeds…

But it was a serious crime that was worthy of a hundred death sentences just for admitting it, the evidence was too clear to say there was another real culprit, and the author had already enjoyed great fame for the sake of raising his name value. I couldn’t guess what he was thinking, so I just stared blankly at his hardened, copper-colored face…

Only then did a very small number of lawmakers realize the true intention.

That wasn’t… there was no ulterior motive.

That was just the literal meaning. It was right to honestly admit what he had done. However, he did not surrender, repent, or give up. Rather, it should be seen as an expression of absolute and unwavering confidence. If the underlying psychology were to be expressed in layman’s terms, it would most likely be as follows.

What can I do if I am like this?

Even if I admit that I did everything, what can you do?

“Oh my god, Remillion… … .”

“Oh my God, Remillion… … .”

This is truly an extraordinary courage that only those who are not coerced by any power can display. The lawmakers who realized the truth were shocked. They just trembled with their lips as if their skulls had been shattered, and only after a while did they finally get up and shout.

“We demand that the Delutana Society immediately arrest and punish that heinous scoundrel! The human and material damage we have suffered because of him is immeasurable, enough to reach the heavens!”

“Our Tower’s opinion is the same! The wisdom and mystery that the Tower Lord and the Elders possessed were more precious than the lives of all the citizens of Delutana! If punishment is not carried out, Delutana will also be considered an accomplice in their deaths!”

“Now, calm down for a moment, Senators! There seems to be some, uh, some serious misunderstanding… … .”

The venue became chaos with the Galentana and Vestana sides exploding and pouring out criticism, and the Delutana side trying to somehow control the situation. Atallain, who had actually triggered the commotion, crossed the river and looked calm and calm as if he was watching a fire.

In fact, the current situation itself clearly proved that Kadim’s confidence was correct. Since they did not want to take the risk of directly confronting such a powerful figure, other cities tried to hold them accountable indirectly through their affiliations.

“I didn’t know that the ‘City of Gold’ was a place where only such shameless people gathered! I’m sure even Remillion is lamenting in heaven!”

“As long as the lives of that vicious mob are at stake, there will never be any damage recovery assistance or military cooperation! No, let’s break ties with Delutana permanently!”

“Ha, it might be better to join hands with the empire and destroy this city rather than cooperate with those who hold up that heinous criminal as a hero… … .”

But as the story progressed, Kadim could no longer sit idly by.

“They are helpless against the powerful enemies who harm them, but they are very brave against our easy allies.”

“… … What?”

“… … what?”

“I knew very well that you were all cowards who deserved to fall into hell, where there was nothing but defeat and submission. So from now on, please blame me directly, not Delutana, who didn’t know anything.”

A nurturing voice that creeps down your spine.

The pressure felt even heavier. The lawmakers, who discovered their shallow intentions, expressed disapproval and only chewed their lips. However, a few lawmakers, whose anger and sense of defeat exceeded their fear, dared to order Kadim to personally punish Sunsun.

Kadim’s answer to that was plain.

“I refuse.”

“what!? I can’t believe you refuse!! What kind of reckless nonsense… … .”

“All my actions were worth doing. I destroyed the Hall of Corruption that insulted the struggle because it was worth destroying, and I killed the two old magicians and the magic tower master because they were worth killing. I would like to ask whether it was right to waste people’s lives for entertainment and make money, or to grind people into stone materials.”

““… … !!””

The representatives of Galentana and Vestana were frozen. The council members who had been pointed out the corruption of the arena and the secret of the magic stone were unable to open their mouths. Only the warrior’s sharp muttering continued unilaterally.

“And none of you here have the right to criticize me. If you belong to any alliance, you owe me a great debt.”

Everyone thought that the debt was ‘defeating the decagram’.

The council members of the other cities who had been staunchly mobilized in unison. They firmly believed that the rumor that the author had killed the Empire’s asymmetrical power and saved Delutana was a lie. They quickly took out the materials they had brought and began to rack their brains, preparing to refute the claims that Khadim was spouting out.

however.

Their predictions were completely wrong.

“I saved the life of Remillion, who founded the alliance.”

““… … .””

Once again, silence came, with even the sound of breathing muted.

*

Today, the guests who came to Delutana were not only representatives from other cities.

The last guest was a man wearing dazzling golden armor.

Phew – yuck, chin!

Unlike the previous ones, this visitor infiltrated the city very quickly and secretly. Therefore, there were not many witnesses, but all the citizens who saw him could not help but be embarrassed.

It appeared out of nowhere, falling from the sky, neither through the gate nor through a magic circle.

“Uh, what, what? you… … “Did it just come down from the sky?”

“… … .”

The man hid his fabric wings behind his back. She looked around at the unfamiliar scenery for a moment, then closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose. She is like a prodigal child who returns to her hometown after a long wandering.

“… … If someone doesn’t tell me, I won’t even recognize it. Is this the ‘Golden City’ Delutana?”

“Oh, that’s true, but… … Who are you? Are you also a wizard from the Magic Tower?”

“Haha, that’s not true… … . What a funny misunderstanding. By the way, do you know where Duncan Wheeled is?”

“Duncan Wheeled… … ? Oh, you mean the ‘Savior of Untana’? His mansion is over there, if you go straight to the right in front of the statue of Remillion in the central square… … .”

“Oh, is that my statue over there?”

“……uh?”

“Hmm, I don’t think we look very similar… … . Well, thank you anyway. “I wish you golden blessings in your future.”

The man turned around. His golden armor gleamed dazzlingly, and through the gaps beneath his helmet, the outline of scales could be seen. With every majestic step, there was a strangely inhuman presence.

Even after the unidentified man left, the citizen who had guided them remained frozen in place, dumbfounded.

“My statue… … ? ‘My statue’… … ?”

… … If I had known the man’s identity, I would not have been dumbfounded but would have fainted.