Hans Ifreia, or the man who borrowed his name and face to attend the decoration ceremony, washed his face with cold water.
¡Splash!
Every time the water touched his skin, pieces of meat fell down the drain. It made him want to vomit when he saw it.
...It's been a while since I felt so offended.
Since he fell into this familiar but unknown world, he had experienced many worse things at first, but those days had long passed.
Instead of getting closer, I should just watch from afar.
After returning to the banquet hall, the man looked towards the table where he had previously spoken to the barbarian. For some reason it was empty. When he approached the manager and exchanged a few words, he learned that the barbarian had already left in a carriage.
I don't feel like going back to the magic tower like this...
The man pondered for a moment and left the palace. Then, using invisibility magic and flotation magic, he flew over the city in Stealth Flight Mode.
There is.
Looking down from a distance of several meters into the air, he soon spotted the carriage carrying Bjorn Yandel. Judging by the knights on horseback surrounding him, he couldn't go wrong.
It seems like he's coming home.
Inferring fate through the direction of the carriage, the man began to follow him. Although his expectation that this barbarian was the person he was looking for had largely faded, it was still possible that it was a performance. He was the first barbarian to act this mindless. Rather, there were parts that were more suspicious.
With his understanding of the game, he would have figured out how to act in this world before anyone else and would have started acting perfectly.
Affirmative or negative, it could be interpreted in any way, and that is why I needed more information. What kind of person was Bjorn Yandel?
They say he lives with three women...
Ignoring a growing envy, the man impatiently pursued the carriage. If they lived together, it wouldn't be a normal relationship. If he took a look at the barbarian's life in his house, he could find more definitive clues.
¡Kabooommmm!
As the carriage followed with that thought, the carriage exploded.
***
An explosion reminiscent of the columns of fire that day, but its strength was nothing compared to that time, fortunately.
[Your HP is below 50%. All stamina and resilience stats have increased due to the Path of Heroes passive ability].
My vision was blurry, apparently due to retinal damage caused by heat. Also, the reddened skin came off and my whole body was itchy and throbbing. There also seemed to be a lot of muscle damage.
«Murderer! The murderer is here!»
I didn't die from a blow, and my body moved too.
Damn everything.
Suppressing the curses, I quickly grabbed the ground and stood up. Then I activated the subspace ring that I recovered when leaving the palace.
Ugh, I should have put on the equipment sooner.
Regrets always came too late. First I took out my shield and attached it to my forearm. Then something exploded and emitted black smoke.
Is it a smoke bomb?
Since my vision had been blocked several times before, I hurriedly focused on my ear without panic.
«¡Kyahhhhh!»
Suitable for an incident occurring in the middle of the city, civilian screams could be heard here and there.
«¡Estos irrelevant ...!»
«Down with the evil rebels!»
The knights responded and gun sounds were heard, but I had to focus on something else. Through the noise, I had to distinguish the one who threatened my life.
Dash.
For example, this one. As soon as I heard the sound, I turned my body in that direction and lowered my posture. At that time, a discharge was transmitted to the shield.
¡Bang!
Ugh, so you can see where I am even through the smoke.
I no longer had reason to remain silent. «Keplow! You're alive?» Screaming at the top of my lungs, I tried to confirm the safety of Keplow, who was next to me just before the explosion. I got no response. Was dead? Or just unconscious?
Deslick.
I quickly slid a hand into the subspace and pulled out my mace. Just then, another sound of torn air was heard.
¡Whooom!
In my experience, this type of sound used to come from a cut. Relying on my subconscious's judgment, I twisted the shield diagonally.
¡Bum!
Before long, there was a collision on the left side of the shield. If this was the case, being blinded was not a problem.
¡Bum!
I waved the mace with all my strength in the direction I thought the enemy was.
¡Crujido!
It felt good in my hand.
Hmm, can't it be helped? I thought an assassin would be an agility character.
«Kurgh!» Something in the smoke let out a death-like scream and lodged somewhere far away.
¡Saaaaaaaaaa!
A clearly artificial blast blew and pushed back the black smoke.
Magic? Who is?
There were no magicians on our side. That said, the killer would not have cleared the smoke. So who used magic? Leaving behind a fleeting question, I checked my surroundings.
«Lord Yandel! He's fine?»
The number of knights standing was only four. On the other hand, the number of masked men surrounding the destroyed car was more than thirty.
Amelia... not here?
I examined the masked men to see if there was anyone with a physique similar to Amelia's. There were about three candidates, but I wasn't sure.
«There was no mention of wizards!».
«Why do you doubt? Kill him now!»
Briefly bewildered by the smoke-driving magic, the assassins resumed their assault. They knew it too. Since it was a surprise attack in the middle of the street, the longer it took to finish, the more problematic it would be.
«¡Proteged a Lord Yandel!»
The knights fighting battles confirmed my location before approaching me and placing themselves in protective formation around me. I understood why nobles were so obsessed with training knights. How loyal and trustworthy were they?
I guess I can't afford to put on armor.
Understanding the situation, I erased my regrets and manifested a special ability, the one I had planned to use tomorrow at training camp. Bayon's ability, Transcendence, was a unique ability that was both passive and active. When disabled, the performance of all passive skills increased by 1.5 times. Acid Fluid became more powerful, Path of Heroes and Iron Skin's stats increased in value, and Manticora's Inheritance was applied in a similar way. This alone was a good enough skill.
[You have launched Transcendence.]
However, the true value of this skill came when it was actively used.
[The skill used below will be reinforced.]
It was not a simple upgrade, but an additional effect unique to each skill that was added temporarily.
[You have launched Gigantization. By the authority of the transcendental body, the ability inherent in the ability is released].
The reason why the Shield Barbarian's core was rank 5 Gigantization lay in this ability.
[The physique will grow in proportion to strength].
A strength-proportional physique bonus was applied instead of a fixed value.
Will it be about five meters?
This was the Gigantization (Transcendence) Mode.
Yes, at this size... I will be about the same size as during the battle with Riakis.
I calculated my size based on my new level of vision. It was pretty much the same as when I grew up 1.5 times through The Impure that Missha's older brother carried. He also had the essence of the Ogre, but he was not satisfied with it because the adjustments were not finished yet.
«¡Behell-aaaaaahhhhh!»
I couldn't deny that I had become much stronger. Gigantization increased the physique and threat level in proportion to height, in addition to Wild Burst, in which the threat level increased again based on the physicist's statistics. They both applied at the same time, causing the power to boil within me.
Jump.
I kicked the ground as hard as I could and jumped. The planned landing point was the direction of the masked assailant pointing an arrow at me.
¡Bannggg!
The moment I touched the ground, the masked assailant flew high into the air with his bow.
[Its total weight is greater than 498.9516 kg. The special recoil terrain effect is applied to the damage range].
Fortunately, it seemed like the weight limit had been met as my height grew. He was worried since he was not wearing armor.
«Hey?» Unaware of the situation they were in, the masked assailant made a sound of astonishment.
What, you didn't think this side would come first?
When I brandished the mace like a baseball bat, his neck snapped at an odd angle.
Crack.
Vale, I'm keeping one… ¿Hmm?
As I was about to turn my head to look for the next target, a man jumped from the bottom right corner, an exquisite angle that would have been my blind spot. However, I saw it clearly and dodged it thanks to the new essence's basic stats.
[Bayon]
Soul Power +100, Soul Regeneration +30, Strength +25, Pain Resistance +30, Bone Strength +30, Mana Resistance +20, Vision +25
The Vision statistic improves the field of view, not the view. In the game, it came with an additional evasion rate in the detailed statistics.
¡Crunch!
I kicked the bastard flying in the abdomen and prepared another pose for the Jump. But had they finally come to their senses? The knights shouted in fear at my sudden action when I was supposed to be the object of protection.
«Come this way!»
Who protected who? Pretending not to hear it, I jumped towards the next destination. With the same combo as before, I eliminated them one by one. There was still no strong enemy.
¡Crujido!
I felt this when I crushed a guy in the smoke earlier, but his levels were strangely low.
Is there really no one of Amelia's kind?
He had thought about using Leap to the Less Danger, but even that anxiety soon disappeared. Facing them in person, I knew even better that if it hadn't been for that first explosion, they could have been defeated only by the knights. But what was this?
«...I thought we just had to face gentlemen!»
When I began to run rampant and the knights were also fighting individual battles and retreating, an internal division began between the masked raiders.
«You said an explosion would kill him!»
«I'm going back. Nobody said he fought so well!»
When one or two fled the battlefield, all the masked raiders chose to flee. It was ridiculous.
What are these guys?
They didn't seem to serve any purpose.
…¿Eran really sent from Noark?
I even began to doubt it, but I moved vigorously to capture the masked bastards who were escaping for the moment. A total of four were captured. Unfortunately, everyone else escaped.
«...Well done, my lord.» I guessed that this gentleman had never made the nobleman he was escorting handle the situation judging by that clumsy greeting.
«Ah, you did a good job too. Has anyone died?»
The knight responded that there were three dead. Fortunately, Keplow was not one of them. Although it got caught in the explosion with me in the center, I assumed it had enough durability. Since he had taken a potion in time, he would soon come to his senses.
So let's question him.
The battle was over and the guards were probably on their way, so I grabbed one of the captured men and took off his mask. The face hidden behind her was one she had never seen before.
The man trembled as if he sensed that his life was screwed. I reached out and put it in his mouth.
I searched diligently, but there was no poison.
Hmm, I guess reality is different from cartoons. Shouldn't a murderer carry at least one? I guess such determined bastards wouldn't have run away in the first place.
Who the hell were those guys? I wiped the saliva that had been left in my hand from putting it in his mouth on my clothes and asked: «Who sent you?».
The man did not answer. It was not a very significant action. A little beating and that mouth would open by itself.
¡Flash!
Just as he thought that, a white flash of light erupted from the dark sky.
¡Booooom!
Something flew like a meteorite and hit the ground. At first I thought it might be a catapult fired by the escaped assassins.
¡Crack…!
It was a man. Surrounded by a spherical protective shield, his face looked all too familiar. That was because he had met this bastard before. «Hans Ifreia...?»
Seriously, what's going on? Why is it falling from the sky?
While surprised by the unexpected development for a moment, another man jumped from the sky where Hans I fell.
Run, run, run.
Without paying attention to me, he approached Hans I. Neither I nor any of the knights dared to utter a single word in the face of that strange spectacle. As soon as that man arrived, the air in the area changed and he did not allow it.
«Let's not make this difficult, man. Hey?»
«I told you, you confused me with-»
«Ha, I told you those lies wouldn't work on me».
Then the man stretched out his hand and the protective shield surrounding Hans tore helplessly.
Romper.
Hans I's face turned white as a sheet from that overwhelming intimidation. The man grabbed him roughly by the neck and said: «It's you. GM. Lift the ban, now. If you don't, you will die here».