Chapter 163

Day one, while Encrid was engrossed in training, the village chief offered dinner.

He brought various foods to the hut.

“Please eat.”

The person who brought the food was a red-haired woman, perhaps a couple of years younger than Encrid.

“He’s not doing this with bad intentions.”

She defended the village chief.

“It’s fine.”

Encrid replied indifferently, and the woman’s face brightened.

“My name is Shai.”

“Okay.”

After a brief introduction, Shai blushed and left, and from behind, Krais muttered.

“See, it’s that charm again. I told you, we should open a salon together.”

Should I tell him that if his salon becomes a knightly order with a name like Swallow Knights or Host Knights, then we can think about it?

Encrid kept silent.

The word ‘charm’ was best left unanswered.

The table wasn’t lavish, but there was white bread, thin stew, roasted beans, and corn—enough to fill a meal.

It would be greedy to expect meat here.

Frog’s meal couldn’t be separate, so Luagarne ate raw vegetables.

Crunch.

“Vegetables with bugs are good, you know, because there’s a special treat mixed in.”

She said this while chewing on a dandelion leaf with holes in it.

She seemed to enjoy the bugs in the vegetables.

Encrid wasn’t bothered by it.

What’s this much?

Finn and Krais were the same.

One was a ranger, she thought that anything from the ground or that moves could be eaten, as a scout.

Krais had also endured hardships that weren’t to be envied.

What’s wrong with eating a few bugs?

Would Encrid be any different?

After finishing dinner, they trained again until it was time to sleep.

“Do you ever get tired of it?”

Krais remarked as they trained again.

There was no bathroom, so they had to wash at the well. The water was cool, but it felt refreshing.

After washing, they inspected the equipment that had worn out during their journey.

Since only the sword had been swung intensely, it only needed sharpening.

He polished the blade with prepared animal fat oil, then rubbed it with leather, and finally finished with a clean cloth.

There was a bit of a fishy smell left, but it was better than letting the blade deteriorate.

He checked for any missing teeth, it was fine.

‘Excellent.’

Encrid admired the skill of the blacksmith from the Border Guard.

Not just anyone could make such a sword, even with Valyrian steel and Noir Mountain wrought iron.

Not that a lot of those expensive metals were used.

The next day, after another day had passed.

As always, Encrid got up at dawn and continued with the Isolation Technique and training.

Finn, who had napped too much to sleep, went out to scout the area. The moon was still visible, but she said she was just going to look around.

It must be a ranger’s habit—to memorize the surrounding terrain.

“Deutsche Pullman.”

During another round of green training, as dawn broke, a man with rough-looking short hair approached Encrid.

He was a one-eyed man holding a broad-bladed glaive in one hand.

His eye patch and scar across his face made his appearance rather rough.

“You’re from Zaltembock, aren’t you?”

Deutsche stared blankly and spoke.

Where was Zaltembock again?

It seemed to be in the central region.

“Platoon Leader of the Border Guard, Encrid.”

It was a brief introduction. Afterward, Encrid continued with his training.

Whatever the purpose of the visit was, he didn’t feel the need to stop.

* * *

Deutsche stared blankly at the other man and then spoke.

“I heard you came as the commander.”

“That’s right.”

Encrid’s response was curt, delivered while swinging his sword.

Deutsche continued to watch him blankly.

What was he doing?

He was swinging a wooden sword in the air—slowly and precisely.

Here once, there once.

Does that even help?

“Are you busy?”

“Not particularly.”

Is he mocking me?

Deutsche frowned. Why was he responding like this to someone who came to talk?

He had come to test if Encrid might be eyeing his position as the captain of the guard in this frontier village.

But his attitude…

Deutsche didn’t want to start an unnecessary argument or give Encrid any room for advantage.

‘Hold back.’

So, he had to hold back.

“The palisade here is coated with a lot of resin. It can easily hold off most monsters and beasts.”

“I see.”

“We periodically organize strike teams to go out and deal with the beasts. So far, we’ve had no major issues.”

“I see.”

“I’ve brought over thirty people, and we’ve expanded the militia through training.”

“I see.”

“I also manage the quarry, so most of my people handle that too.”

“I see.”

“We’ve built watchtowers, and my men guard them day and night, two at a time.”

“I see.”

Is this guy weird?

It was natural to start thinking that.

Encrid had been sent as the commander, and Deutsche wanted to check if the Border Guard intended to exert any pressure on the village.

But Encrid seemed completely uninterested.

At the very least, shouldn’t he have some comments about the village’s defenses?

Was he dismissive because he thought the village militia was insignificant?

Usually, people would try to find flaws, point them out, and use them to solidify their command.

Deutsche felt like all his plans discussed with the village chief were unraveling.

‘This guy seems strange.’

His eyes didn’t seem normal, even from the beginning.

He appeared to be staring blankly into space, with a vacant expression, even while swinging his sword.

What’s going through his mind while he’s doing that?

Playing around with Frog and wooden swords, was that really what he was doing?

Or what exactly was he here for?

Complicated thoughts swirled in Deutsche’s head. Finally, he spoke.

“Are you here to train or something?”

“Half and half?”

Finally, Encrid glanced over and replied.

Was he really here to train?

“We’ve already taken care of the monsters forming colonies.”

“I see.”

Forget it. This guy’s not normal. Deutsche realized that at least Encrid wasn’t here to take over his command.

Whatever his plans were, time would reveal them.

“Captain, there’s a monster.”

Just then, a subordinate called out to him. The man was a recent recruit, quick and sharp.

He was an excellent subordinate, attentive to details.

“Oh, right.”

Deutsche turned away.

Encrid continued with his training.

Deutsche resumed his duties, keeping the village’s defenses strong and vigilant against the surroundings.

The monster colony had been dealt with before Encrid’s group arrived.

‘Just a pack of hyenas.’

What was the big deal about twenty hyenas?

They didn’t know.

The number of monsters Encrid had slain on his way here.

The corpses of beasts littered along the path to the village.

Or that an entire band of ‘Black Blade Bandits’ had been wiped out.

Simply put.

‘I expected the bandits to cause trouble.’

Deutsche waited for the bandits, hearing daily reports.

Usually, when there’s a frontier village, bandits swarm in, drooling as if there’s treasure hidden. But there was no sign of them.

It was quiet. Everything was progressing smoothly.

‘Is luck on our side?’

It seemed like the Goddess of luck had winked at them, and they hadn’t even noticed.

On the third day after the Border Guard’s arrival.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The bell rang, piercing the dawn mist with its alarm of an enemy attack.

‘Is it bandits?’

Deutsche leaped up and grabbed his weapon. He was ready to showcase his skills as ‘the One-Eyed Glaive’.

He burst out of the door.

“Everyone…!”

Deutsche couldn’t finish his sentence as he drew his weapon to block the attack.

Clang!

Metal clashed with metal. The impact of an axe blade on his glaive reverberated through the walnut-wood shaft, shaking his hand.

“Ugh!”

With a shout, he struck the axe-wielding creature with the shaft of his glaive.

Thud!

The struck creature was thrown to the side.

What’s going on?

Deutsche was shocked. He hadn’t even put on his armor, and the place was swarming with monsters.

“Grrraaaagh!”

The fallen creature let out a strange cry.

It was a knoll, a monster with a long upper body and spotted patterns all over.

If just one had broken in, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.

He would have simply smashed the head of the one who rang the bell. After dealing with it and reporting, it would have been over. Why cause a fuss?

But if about six knolls and some hyena beasts had broken in?

You could ring the bell, but you’d be angry if they showed up right in front of you.

Can’t handle this?

An ex-mercenary group?

But now, what is happening?

“Argh!”

“Fight! Don’t retreat!”

“Shoot, shoot,

“Just shoot them down!”

“Help! Help me!”

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

The sounds of desperate cries for survival and the final gasps of the dying filled the air.

In the chaos, Deutsche caught glimpses of his subordinates, but it was impossible to tell their condition.

There were many—hyena beasts and knolls were pouring in like a tide.

With a guttural growl, the number of knolls in front of Deutsche grew to five.

Knolls tend to work in groups. The growl was a call for more knolls to engage Deutsche.

“Take this!”

Deutsche fought fiercely. He faced four knolls with hand axes and one with a spear.

His glaive split the heads of two knolls when…

“Grrraaaagh!”

The knolls howled again.

The number of enemies increased once more.

“This is insane.”

Was this even possible?

Deutsche felt, no, he was certain of his impending death. He was at the brink of an inescapable abyss.

* * *

Encrid had a long-standing habit of waking up at dawn.

‘Time is short.’

While others with exceptional or average talent swung their swords once, Encrid had to swing his ten times.

If that wasn’t enough, he’d swing it a hundred times, if that wasn’t enough, a thousand times.

Even though there was no guarantee of reward for such effort.

‘Ah.’

But through small, continuous realizations and the teachings of Luagarne, hints of consideration began to surface.

He sought out and chewed on these insights, savoring the flavors of his understanding.

His sword moved, and for Encrid, every day was a new experience.

It had always been this way, but recently, it was even more so.

Especially since he had experienced sudden insights even while practicing the Isolation Technique.

‘Coordination.’

It refers to the body’s ability to respond the moment it perceives something.

It’s a difference in reaction speed. The Sense of Evasion technique is based on this.

It’s difficult to internalize this skill through regular training.

So, what did he need?

‘Even if I die, I will do it.’

He needed a resolve, a determination to do something even at the risk of death.

When the Heart of the Beast provided not calmness but boldness.

Encrid realized something.

All it would take is a small trigger.

Just as he finished organizing his thoughts.

Grrraaaagh!

A moment of ominous air spread, and as the blue light of dawn faded, screams echoed from the front.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The emergency bell rang.

“An attack! Monsters! Monsters!”

Huh?

Encrid had been focused solely on his training, while Krais spent the spare time exploring the village.

“The palisade is pretty sturdy. If something happens, we could hold out for quite a while inside the village.”

“We don’t have siege weapons like trebuchets or mangonels, but the palisade is quite strong. It seems to have been built with endurance in mind. The conclusion is this.”

This was Krais’s answer to the question of whether the village could be in danger.

“It’s fine. If something happens, reinforcements from another city will arrive soon. If we hold out, we could last over a month here.”

This was despite the presence of a colony of monsters.

“But that’s not right, Big Eyes.”

Encrid muttered.

Thud, thud, thud!

Grrraaaagh!

The sound of footsteps pounding the ground, the dust kicked up by the running monsters and beasts.

There was a horde charging forward without even pausing for breath.

The number of beasts and monsters was so vast it was pointless to count.

Grrraaaaagh!

Kaawoooo!

Exchanging howls, they ran along the paths made by humans.

An axe from a knoll crashed down onto a market stall.

Thud!

The splintered wood shattered and scattered.

“Aaaah!”

A human scream layered over the scene.

It was a horde of knolls and hyenas.

The dangers of the monster knolls flashed through his mind.

First, they operate in groups. Even a single knoll leads packs of hyena beasts.

That’s troublesome.

Second, each individual is formidable and not to be underestimated.

Third, knolls often pair up with hyena beasts.

Thoughts were thoughts.

Actions were actions.

Encrid drew his sword and stepped forward.

Behind the hut where he stayed, there were villagers at work.

The militia, or where Deutsche and his men were, was in the village center, so there were not many available fighters here.

“Huh? Uh-oh?”

From behind Encrid, a quarry worker who had come out to relieve himself fell back in fright.

“Lua!”

In his urgency, Encrid shouted half of Frog’s name as he swung his sword.

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