The Abandoned City (2)

Zone 14, Bifron Prison Camp

Originally designated as a city district of Ravigion, it’s now classified as a restricted area, with its dimensional plaza completely gone.

Bifron was also one of the candidates for our escape route, as we could reach District Four by going through Bifron first.

“Bifron’s defensive barrier is still active. There’s no way to scale the walls through normal means.”

“That’s not a problem. There’s a secret passage in the sewers that bypasses the barrier.”

“There’s something like that…?”

“Yes, I was exiled here once for twenty days and accidentally discovered it.”

“Ah! That time! I remember now! I was so worried back then…”

Although we had secured a passage into Bifron, it wasn’t our final route. There were too many soldiers crawling around in the sewers. So, aiming for the walls directly seemed like the better option.

Besides, if we were going through the sewers anyway, there was no need to go through Bifron, we could have just headed straight into the city.

And most of all, there was the issue of Bifron itself.

“Bi—Bifron?”

“…I don’t feel great about going there.”

“We don’t even have antidotes right now!”

To execute our escape plan, we needed manpower, but most explorers were extremely reluctant to enter Bifron.

Well, I’d probably feel the same if I had to enter a radioactive zone without protective gear.

‘……I can’t exactly say there’s no witch’s poison either.’

Even though I knew the world outside the walls was safe,  as a noble, I can’t just say that.

There’s a big difference between a rumor and a noble publicly confirming it.

‘…Well, it’s not like it’s completely false, either.’

The outside is fine.

But inside Bifron, people get sick and die every day from the so-called Witch’s Poison.

So what’s really happening?

‘The royal family must’ve been feeding it to them. Or spraying it.’

Whatever the case, for that and other reasons, the plan to pass through Bifron was rejected.

But now, the situation was different.

***

“BETHEL—RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

With a battle cry, I charged through the sewers.

The low ceiling prevented me from using [Gigantification], so I couldn’t go all out, but it wasn’t too much of a problem. I wasn’t the only one held back by the terrain, after all.

Like us, our enemies had to worry about the tunnels collapsing, preventing them from using destructive magic or abilities.

The cramped space also meant that I didn’t have to fend off dozens of attacks at once.

For someone like me, who had built up considerable defensive stats, it was manageable.

Still, it was a little frustrating.

‘They said they wouldn’t stop us if we went to Bifron…’

Maybe that promise only applied to the soldiers stationed at the walls. Or maybe communication broke down somewhere along the chain of command.

Either way, the sewer troops attacked us relentlessly the moment we descended into the sewers.

“Don’t block them! Fall back and maintain distance!”

“Aaargh!”

I personally cleared the path to the secret passage, but casualties were unavoidable.

The layout was similar to the 1st-floor Crystal Cave.

The sewers were a labyrinth of twisting tunnels, and with enemies attacking from the sides and rear, those following me were bound to get hit.

And unlike the elite group from the Ice Rock incident, our current members weren’t top-tier.

For adventurers from the lower 3rd floors, surviving a battle of this scale on their own was next to impossible.

Badump—

I suddenly craved a cigarette, though I had never smoked in my life.

‘…How many died?’

Sacrifices are inevitable.

That’s the nature of this brutal world.

Even though I knew that, decisions like this always weighed heavily on me.

‘It’s all those Noark bastards’ fault.’

‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’

I kept telling myself that, but part of me still wondered—

‘…‘…If we had just taken the wall when they let us, maybe some of them would’ve lived.’

Not that I regretted my decision.

It just makes me want to live even harder going forward.

I just needed to be stronger. Then I wouldn’t have had to give anything up in this place.

So…

Crunch—

I pushed forward, ramming my shield into enemies.

I’d done this countless times before, but this time, it felt different.

Too easy. Almost too easy.

“W-What is this?!”

“Fall back! Get away…!!”

With Aegis’s wall active, there was no stopping me in a narrow hallway like this.

What could they possibly do against a barbarian who took zero damage while charging at full force?

“Jandel! Stop!”

I finally stopped after hearing Amelia’s shout.

“We’re here.”

I was so focused on breaking through that I didn’t even realize we’d arrived.

***

After reaching the entrance to the secret passage leading to Bifron, things got easier. There were no waiting troops inside, and the pursuers seemed to have given up entirely.

So, we slowed our pace and moved more comfortably.

“Casualty report?”

I asked Versil, who was overseeing personnel management.

She didn’t know the exact numbers, but…

“The lower-ranking explorers, Rank 7 and below, took the biggest hit. I tried to assign them to safer positions, but…”

“I see.”

“Still, thanks to you breaking through the front, we were able to keep the damage to this level.”

Even the rough estimates brought a bitter feeling.

I should be numb to it by now. But maybe it’s my age catching up to me, those numbers don’t feel like just numbers anymore.

“…What are you thinking, Jandel?”

“Nothing.”

“……”

After traveling through the secret passage for a while, we finally entered Bifron’s sewer system.

And then…

“Jandel, people.”

The moment we arrived, we ran into unfamiliar faces.

Fortunately, they weren’t Noark soldiers, but…

“B-Boss?

Surprisingly, I recognized them.

“B-Boss? How on earth..”

I immediately grabbed one by the scalp and yanked, revealing the man with the familiar jellyfish haircut as his wig came off.

His name was…

“…Jingjing?”

“…Y-Yes! It’s me! Jingkasar Feljain! Your loyal right-hand man, boss!”

Right-hand man? I barely remembered his full name.

He was just some guy who used to serve me when I was in Bifron a few years back.

But pleasant surprises aside…

“So what the hell are you doing here alone?” I asked Jingjing

“Ah… The atmosphere felt off. I was trying to find a way out of Bifron.”

Come to think of it, he knew about the secret passage thanks to me.

I taught it to him, saying I might come back at any moment, but I got so busy that I never did.

Seems like he remembered that when things went south and started looking for it.

“You abandoned your underlings and came alone?”

When I narrowed my eyes in disgust, Jingjing frantically waved his hands.

“N-No, no! I’ve changed a lot since then!”

Hmm, had he? He does look balder than before.

“It’s not like I could survive alone. I just wanted to get out and confirm what was happening outside!”

“So that’s how you’ve changed, huh…”

“Eh? Then what kind of change did you think I meant…?”

“Whatever. I’ve got some questions, so just answer them.”

Since I had found a local, I immediately started checking the city’s status.

Maybe the Noark forces had already invaded this place too.

But…

“Noark…? You mean they caused all this?”

Jingjing hadn’t even realized the current chaos was because of Noark.

Had the royal family not told the citizens anything?

“Well… all of a sudden, chaos broke out and the soldiers locked the checkpoint gates, then just told us to stay put. Haven’t heard a word since. But there’s constant fighting near the walls… The residents were terrified.”

Even for Bifron, this was outrageous.

They could have at least told people that war had broken out.

“So that’s why you said you were trying to get out to learn more.”

“Yes… I had no idea things were this bad. Noark actually invaded…? H-How bad is it?”

“Zones 7 and 13 have been taken. We just barely escaped from Zone 7 ourselves.”

“Wh-What…?!”

Jingjing’s mouth dropped open at the news that two city districts had fallen, but there was no time to wait for him to recover from his shock.

“Just follow me. We’ll talk as we go.”

After that, I walked while gathering information from Jingjing.

I started with whether any suspicious figures had appeared recently and how the city had changed since I left.

“Bifron?” Ah! As you requested, boss, we made sure that the food supplies from the depot were shared equally. There’s no discrimination between adults and children.”

“Good.”

“And the atmosphere changed too. If any goods were left over, people would even ask the guards to exchange them for books…”

“Books?”

“Yes. Or if someone had a skill, they’d willingly teach it to the children.”

“Why?”

“…So at least the kids might have a shot at living in the city someday. People like us don’t have much time left, after all…”

I stopped walking and looked at him.

“What’s your name again?”

“Jingkassar Felzain, boss.”

“You really have changed.”

He flinched when I called his name for the first time, then gave a self-deprecating smile. “Many years have passed, y’know…”

“Yeah.”

“And look at you, Boss. You became a baron recently…? Oh, this way leads straight to the dimensional square!”

We followed a shortcut he knew and emerged to the surface, a seemingly different yet familiar Bifron greeted me.

“…This place has changed too.”

It looked so much cleaner.

When I last came here, even the closed-off dimensional square was so neglected it was practically in ruins.

“Everyone worked hard to make it happen…”

Though Jingjing said that, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was the one who had worked the hardest.

“Mr. Feljain!”

“Wow! It’s Uncle Felzain!”

“Uncle!! …Huh?”

The children playing in the square immediately greeted Jingjing warmly the moment they saw him.

“Don’t be scared! This is Jandel’s son, Bjorn, that Giant Baron himself!”

…Huh?

“Wooooow, really?!”

“It’s the Giant Baron! Giant Baron!!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

For some reason, the moment they heard my name, the children grew even more excited and rushed toward me.

Honestly, this wasn’t an unfamiliar situation.

Kids in the city loved anything “big” and “explorers.” Ever since I gained fame, I’d been met with these kinds of stares wherever I went in the city.

But…

“Giant Baron! Thank you!”

I think this was the first time I’d ever heard words like that.

“Why are you thanking… me?”

Hearing my mutter, Jingjing smiled sheepishly.

“I told the kids a lot about you. I told them that you’re the hero who saved the city.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

“Kids need hope. Besides, it’s not like it’s a lie, is it?”

“…?”

“Bifron only changed because of you, Boss.”

“…Ahem.”

So he changed, huh? He sure got better at flattery.

He used to suck at that.

“All forces, stop!”

Now that we’d arrived at our destination, I started with reorganizing.

I had the wounded lie down in the square to be treated by the priests, and those who still had energy were assigned to scout the area.

And then…

“Feljain, you’re coming with me.”

Taking only Jingjing with me, I headed toward the 4th District checkpoint.

Since the 13th and 7th Districts were occupied, I judged that we might be able to make contact with the city through here.

But…

“…No one’s here.”

What’s going on?

No matter how much I shouted or banged on the walls, there was no response.

Even when I announced my name and status, thinking they might be ignoring us because we were locals, it was the same.

“This checkpoint has been closed for a long time…”

“I know it’s usually closed.”

“Then why is it like this…?”

Well, given the situation…

Even though the fourth district checkpoint was usually closed, I thought they might have stationed someone here under these circumstances.

“Sigh…”

This was becoming a real headache.

I had come to Bifron hoping to either exit safely into the city through this checkpoint or at least establish communication.

But all of those expectations had been completely off the mark.

‘There are just too many things that don’t make sense.’

Why has the royal family completely neglected this area?

If I were the commander, I would’ve reactivated the Zone 4 checkpoint and immediately deployed troops through Bifron to expand the front line around Zones 7 and 13 as much as possible.

‘…And what about those Noarc bastards?’

They’re just as baffling.

Even after seizing control of Zone 7, they didn’t station a single soldier near Bifron.

As if they were completely confident that the royal family wouldn’t attack from this direction.

“……”

But the more questions I had, the clearer one thing became.

There’s a secret here in Bifron that I don’t know about yet.

Yes, that’s why…

Tap. Tap.

From here on, I need to find out what it is.

 

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