Academy’s Barbarian

Frigg thought that Knut’s reckless actions had too many flaws to succeed. Time was too tight, the number of people they could gather was minimal, and while the will to stop it was desperate, there was no feasible plan. To succeed, they would need nothing short of a miracle from the gods.

Knut had initially planned to gather those who would be angry at this atrocity and directly oppose Ragnar and the royal family’s intentions. But to Frigg, it seemed more like hugging a jar of oil and jumping into a fire.

“…Is that it?”

“Is that what you call a plan? A perfect setup for all of us to be executed together.”

Frigg clenched her teeth, enduring the throbbing headache, and vowed that once they got through this crisis, she would bury this man’s life in a grave someday.

Of course, to send Knut’s life to the grave, surviving was the top priority. So Frigg had to rack her brains to come up with a better plan.

“First, we spread a rumor that the upper echelons have guaranteed their safety by sacrificing half the kingdom’s people to Ka`har, inciting public outrage.”

Perhaps because she was originally from the Intelligence Department, Frigg’s plan leaned more towards espionage than a knight’s. Using agitation and fabrication as weapons.

“In such a situation, withdrawing the troops won’t be easy. If we’re not careful, the mere rumor could turn into reality.”

If the Dane royal family had decided to ignore the people’s resentment, it wouldn’t have much effect… But Frigg didn’t mention that. It was pointless to bring it up.

“At the same time, if we send those who sympathize with us to the east to evacuate the kingdom’s people… Even if we can’t save them all, it would still be better than storming the royal palace.”

Frigg’s plan was more rational and realistic compared to Knut’s reckless frontal assault. Though it still relied on a miracle to succeed.

—

Of course, the heavenly gods did not find Knut’s heart worthy of a miracle.

Perhaps the gods who protect the people of Dane were all asleep. Or maybe they wished for tens of thousands of Dane people to disappear.

—

“You’ve worked hard, Knut.”

As Ragnar appeared, clapping with a smile, Frigg bit her lip, feeling the inevitable had come.

They had just finished detailed instructions with the opposition and were returning to their residence with Knut, but it seemed they had already been tailed. Frigg and Knut were suddenly surrounded by numerous holy warriors.

‘As expected, our movements were being watched from the start…’

Frigg was certain. Teaching Knut the full retreat plan wasn’t to persuade him but to use him as bait to gather the opposition.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been discovered just two days after taking action.

“Ragnar…!”

“It’s Captain Ragnar. I don’t think we’re close enough to drop formalities.”

Ragnar smiled lightly at Knut, who bared his teeth like a cornered beast.

“Well, what does it matter now? I should be thanking you a hundred times over. In such a short time, you’ve gathered so many troublemakers in one place. Now we can root out all the traitors who oppose His Majesty.”

As Ragnar finished speaking, he drew the sword at his waist and pointed it at Knut and Frigg.

The holy warriors surrounding them also drew their weapons, slowly closing in.

‘This is it.’

Twenty-three Einherjar and Captain Ragnar. Knut and Frigg realized there was no chance of winning. But they couldn’t surrender either, so they had no choice but to fight.

– Swish!

Frigg drew her longsword and pointed it at the approaching holy warriors.

The holy warriors laughed at her. To them, who wielded miracles and magic through Rune Engravings, the resistance of a mere female knight was not threatening but rather cute, like a rabbit before a predator.

Some even considered requesting her as a reward after this operation.

Noticing the murderous and lustful gazes of the holy warriors, Knut bitterly turned to Frigg, who had followed him into this mess.

“Sorry. If I knew it would end like this, I shouldn’t have dragged you into it.”

Frigg chuckled, brushing off his nonsense.

“If you’re sorry, take responsibility for my life. My retirement plans are in ruins, and a peaceful future is a million steps away. All because I met the wrong man—no, the wrong superior. What a disaster.”

Laughter is contagious, they say. Seeing Frigg’s calm, almost dignified demeanor, Knut forced a smile and nodded.

“If we survive this, I’ll take responsibility. I swear on my father, Sven Haraldson’s name.”

“If you go back on that, I’ll stab you.”

With the answer she wanted, Frigg grabbed Knut’s arm and leaped in the opposite direction of Ragnar. Her movements, befitting a former intelligence officer, were swift like a leopard.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The holy warriors, who had been watching the drama, narrowed their encirclement and charged at them.

Instead of facing them, Frigg increased her speed, running with all her might. If they started fighting, they would have to stop, and then they would be hunted down.

“Wait, I was going to face Ragnar…!”

“You’ll die if you do. Didn’t you say you’d take responsibility? Are you already backing out?”

Knut, suddenly being dragged along, protested in confusion, but Frigg pressed the tip of her sword to his neck, silencing him as they continued to run.

“Wait, how is she so fast?! I thought she wasn’t at master level?”

“Did she engrave a Rune of Acceleration?”

“If she had, she would’ve joined the Einherjar…!”

As the Einherjar chasing her exclaimed in shock, Frigg felt a slight relief as she ran.

Her speed was on par with a galloping warhorse. Thanks to supporting the massive Knut for months, she had confidence in her leg strength.

She had also prepared an escape plan in case of failure.

“Sir Frigg?! Were we discovered?”

“Those bastards knew from the start! So get out of this city now!”

“It was a trap…! Alright, let’s meet again alive!”

It wasn’t a complex or ingenious plan. She had simply asked her allies to scatter and flee in all directions to distract the enemy if things went south.

If they split up and ran in different directions, the number of pursuers chasing Knut would inevitably decrease.

—

It wasn’t easy, but Frigg and Knut eventually managed to escape the encirclement.

There were several close calls, but thanks to Knut actively using Rune Magic, they managed to shake off the pursuit.

After all, Ragnar was the only holy warrior who could take Knut one-on-one.

Of course, that didn’t mean they escaped unscathed.

Knut’s left arm was burned by the Rune Flames shot by the pursuers, and with not just holy warriors but regular soldiers chasing them, the two had to run for days without rest.

[ᛜ] [ᛒ]

Using Runes of Vitality and Healing to recover from fatal wounds.

“It seems we’ve shaken off the pursuers, so we can rest here for a bit. Not for long, though.”

“Somehow, we made it out… But I wonder what happened to the others…”

“Bølberg will protect them, so they probably escaped like us.”

Frigg comforted Knut by invoking Bølberg’s name, though she didn’t believe in him. Inside, she thought differently.

‘Most of them were probably captured and executed.’

Given that it was a suppression operation after identifying the opposition, Ragnar must have prepared enough forces to capture them all.

Yet, the fact that Frigg and Knut escaped meant the others had successfully drawn the enemy’s attention.

But once they drew that attention, they couldn’t have escaped unscathed.

‘Now’s not the time to mourn their sacrifice. As traitors, if we don’t leave Dane as soon as possible, we’ll be caught too.’

Frigg racked her brains, using all the knowledge and experience she had gained from the Intelligence Department, to figure out how she and Knut could survive.

No matter how much she thought about it, only one answer came to mind.

“Now, the only one we can trust is the Empire. We have to go to the Empire and reveal what this country is plotting.”

“The Empire… I had a feeling we’d return there someday, but not like this.”

Knut sighed and nodded.

That moment, their destination was decided: the Empire’s border.

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