CHAPTER 102

"What is more enjoyable?"

Being shot with an arrow and dying skewered?

Being strangled by a wizard's vine and pricked by thorns?

Being torn apart by a pack of lycanthropes?

The ferryman appeared and spoke with a laugh.

It was a laugh that could be perceived only because he allowed it.

It was strangely fascinating. How should one describe this?

It was as if someone was telling them that the ferryman laughed.

They knew the ferryman was laughing, but they neither saw the laughing face nor heard the sound of laughter.

They only perceived in their mind that the ferryman laughed.

Having heard the question, Encrid answered.

Towards the black river, the boat, and the ferryman.

He couldn't tell whether his answer was directed at the ferryman, the boat, or the black river.

Yet, he could still open his mouth to speak.

"An arrow is the best option."

Being torn apart by a pack of lycanthropes or being strangled by a wizard's vine was worse.

"Go mad... In such madness, you must entertain me."

Did the ferryman's words falter for a moment, or was it just an illusion?

Encrid wasn't mad. Not at all. He just answered because there was no need to hesitate.

"I answered coldly."

"Crazy bastard."

The ferryman began with laughter and ended with anger.

Of course, this also seemed as if someone was telling him. Whether the ferryman was truly angry was unknown. He just perceived that the ferryman was irritated.

And that was the end of it.

The black darkness spread over the black river.

He closed and opened his eyes.

It was dawn, before the sunrise.

Still the same today.

Encrid stood up lightly. There was no heaviness in his body or mind.

Of course, there was still the pain from being torn apart and having his insides ripped by a werewolf's claws.

"Sigh."

He decided to forget it with a sigh.

Even if he couldn't truly forget, moving his body and swinging his sword would make it okay.

Encrid was calm. Both in attitude and mind.

'Relax your shoulders.'

Normally, he would be scrambling, almost desperately, to survive and escape today.

But Encrid was serene. Like a quiet lake.

Hadn't he realized something new?

'Is desperation the only answer?'

No, it wasn't. Walking towards tomorrow remained the same. However, running at full speed wasn't necessarily the fastest path.

And there was no absolute need to get there the fastest.

'There are three paths...'

He got up and moved his body as usual, starting to organize his thoughts.

The beginning was the lycanthropes.

'Those guys too.'

It was strange. They seemed to be acting under someone's command or had experienced such a situation before.

'It must be the wizard's doing.'

This wizard was on a different level from the one he had encountered before.

'Lesha of the Rose Vines.'

The name he had heard stood out clearly in his mind.

Could he catch them?

There was no need to ask such a question.

Because he had to catch them.

His thoughts then shifted to the pack of lycanthropes. He was reviewing what he had experienced in reverse order.

'It's a scheme by the wizard.'

It was a certainty.

When he tried to scale the wall, the wizard was there to greet him.

When he aimed for the gap, a unit blocked him from front and back.

In front, there were elite soldiers armed with broad shields and long spears, while the back was blocked by an archer unit.

Perfectly prepared.

'They couldn't have known without prior information.'

He didn't know how it all worked out, but the conclusion was that the enemy had already read his movements.

So, was there a spy?

If there was, there would have been some indication during the lycanthrope attack.

Information might have been leaked in another way.

It was a situation the ferryman could laugh at.

All three paths seemed like walls.

These were not walls that could simply be overcome through training.

'Should I call it bad luck?'

How is it that there are always situations that could lead to death?

However,does bad luck change anything?

No.

Encrid was the same. Unchanged. His mind remained steady.

Clink.

Encrid re-tied the grip of his sword.

It was a sign that he was starting a new day.

Encrid mentally divided his morning schedule.

He moved according to that plan.

After practicing the Isolation Technique, he trained in swordsmanship.

Then he practiced with the hidden knife again.

"Up for a sparring match?"

He asked Finn to train in Valaf-Style Martial Arts.

"Is someone after you? You seem in a hurry today."

Torres said while checking his equipment. How many knives did he have hidden on his body?

Encrid watched Torres strap on a belt with eight knives and responded.

"Just doing my best every day."

"You'll wear yourself out like that."

A body like his wouldn't be worn out by such things.

"Shall we go, then?"

Finn, who had been sparring with him all morning, said.

It was also the point when Encrid's training, which had started at dawn, ended.

He couldn't go drenched in sweat, so he quickly changed clothes and headed out.

On the way, Finn mentioned that the Aspen scouting party was hard to spot.

It was something Encrid had already heard.

Pushing through the bushes, Finn commented on the seemingly edible berries.

"Those are poisonous."

"Better be careful, then."

Encrid immediately replied.

"You're quite interesting."

"In what way?"

Torres, who was cutting through the bushes with a dagger, chimed in.

"You act like you know things, as if you've been here before."

Was this a woman's intuition or a ranger's instinct?

"It's my first time."

"Speak comfortably."

"Alright."

Would he say the same small talk again?

In the first 'today', he did.

Fortunately or not, Finn didn't bring it up.

Instead, he just gave Encrid a peculiar look.

Even if today repeated, not everything happened the same way.

A few small things would change.

And so, they arrived at the entrance of the gap.

"How deep is it here?"

Just before entering, Encrid asked.

"Hmm? If we walk diligently, it won't even take an hour."

"I see."

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Are you scared of the dark? Don't worry, big sister will hold your hand."

"It's not that."

Finn chuckled and spoke up.

"The ranger goes first."

They descended the path, using the slope as a shield.

The same thing as before happened.

Encrid didn't give the two any specific warnings or preparations.

Instead, he remembered everything that happened.

"What should we do if we get surrounded?"

He had never asked such a question to any of his squad members. This means he hadn't learned from them.

But he did know one thing from experience.

Avoiding such a situation was key.

If it could be avoided, then that was the right course of action.

But what if it couldn't be avoided?

That was something to ponder from now on.

Encrid was searching for an answer.

"Come on!"

The enemy appeared, a unit armed with spears and shields.

At least two squads, by the looks of it.

Several torches lit up the scene ahead.

Creeeak.

As if waiting for this moment, a group of enemy soldiers armed with short bows blocked the rear.

'Looks like there are about twenty here as well.'

He turned his gaze back to the front and saw someone who appeared to be the commander.

This person had their head poking out between shields, wearing a steel helmet that covered their forehead, leaving only their eyes visible.

Though faint, there was a hint of exhilaration in their eyes.

They seemed to be relishing the situation.

"Wildcat woman."

The commander spoke.

"Damn it."

Finn muttered, turning her head back and forth, then drew a dagger, gripping it in reverse and lowering her stance.

Her left hand was angled in front of her face, while her right hand was pulled back, hiding the knife from the enemy's view.

She indeed looked like a wildcat hiding its claws.

Torres moved quietly alongside the shadow cast by the torches.

Some of the soldiers with short bows had their eyes on Torres.

'They have sharp eyes.'

It showed they were well-trained soldiers.

As expected.

Once caught in the trap, there was no escape.

It was the kind of trap that even knights couldn't escape from.

Finn and Torres were both excellent fighters.

If only they weren't in a cave.

If only they weren't blocked from both sides.

'Then we might stand a chance.'

But no, resisting would only lead to death.

Just as the commander was about to shout something.

"Wait."

Encrid stepped forward, showing his left palm.

He hadn't drawn his sword, signaling that he had no intention of fighting.

"They don't seem like the kind who can be reasoned with."

Torres muttered.

Finn, meanwhile, continued to glare fiercely ahead.

"What is it?"

The commander's relaxed demeanor came from his certainty of having them caught. He asked, "What is it?"

Encrid needed to close the distance with the enemy.

As Torres had said, they were not the kind to be reasoned with.

He just needed a moment's respite.

Before the fight began, and before the enemy moved violently, there was something to confirm.

Step by step.

Encrid walked forward with his hands raised, signaling that he had no intention of fighting.

His eyes scrutinized the enemy's armor and clothing, now clearly visible in the torchlight.

'Dust.'

It had accumulated quite a bit.

This gap was just over an hour's walk.

The dust on the enemy soldiers didn't seem to have accumulated just today.

'They didn't just wait today.'

So, his question was meant to confirm something.

"How many days have you been waiting?"

"...What?"

The commander's voice had a note of surprise, as if struck by the unexpected question.

That was a confirmation.

'They weren't just waiting in certainty.'

What could it be that kept them waiting here?

He was curious, but curiosity wasn't the priority right now. The outcome was.

The fact that these soldiers had been waiting here for days.

"You've hidden your presence well."

Encrid spoke again, testing the enemy with every word.

The commander didn't seem to grasp this.

"You bastard. Who are you? Are you a wizard too?"

Was there another wizard involved here?

What exactly was that woman Lesha of the Rose Vines up to?

"Lesha, is it?"

He decided to push a bit further.

"...Damn it, I don't know what you're on about, but die."

That was as far as the conversation went.

Soon, the enemy soldiers charged, and arrows and spears targeted Encrid, Finn, and Torres.

The commander gestured commands to his troops and retreated.

Finn looked as if she wanted to kill that commander, but she didn't have the skill to break through the soldiers with shields and long spears blocking the way.

Her skills were not suited for this kind of situation, making her seem only as capable as an ordinary soldier.

Torres was different.

He kicked off a wall, performing unexpected maneuvers, and flicked his hand in mid-air.

Four throwing knives flew from his hand.

Even Encrid couldn't clearly see where they were headed.

It was a hidden move from Torres, but...

Thud.

It wasn't enough.

Even the archers and those blocking the front were fully covered with thick leather shields.

'If you're going to aim, you might as well target their toes or something.'

That was it.

Putting aside the solution to get over the wall, Encrid decided to execute what he had planned.

Facing well-trained elite soldiers.

And many of them, at that.

This moment was a very unfamiliar experience for Encrid.

There had never been a time when a group of fighters less skilled than himself targeted him in such numbers.

Because they simply wouldn't have had the skill.

Over time, he had increased his swordsmanship.

He had killed the perverted stabber and cut down Mitch Hurrier.

Assassins had targeted him as well.

But this was truly a first.

Fighting as a minority against a group, a unit, a force.

On a battlefield, he might have been able to use allies around him.

But here, there was no such opportunity.

'In that case...'

Could this not actually be a chance to improve his skills?

Thinking this way,

"Interesting."

He muttered to himself.

"This crazy bastard."

A spearman, looking appalled, thrust his spear at the smiling Encrid.

Seeing someone muttering that it was interesting and laughing with blood dripping from their mouth just before death would not have seemed normal.

Of course, Encrid didn't care about that.

He was only full of thoughts about trying various things.

'Focus Point and Sense of the Blade alone won't work.'

Narrowing his vision against multiple enemies would lead to a dead end.

Could he cut and crush them like he did with groups of ghouls, packs of wolf beasts, or human-faced hounds?

'No, it won't work.'

The enemy was not a wild beast but a unit capable of employing strategy and tactics.

Encrid used his head and thought things through.

It was as usual. The only difference was that he was a bit more relaxed than before.

For several days, he tried to enter through the gap, but when that didn't work, he went to meet the wizard on the wall.

When he was blocked while grappling with Lesha's vines, he danced with the werewolves under the moonlight.

Of course, the end of that dance was always death.

Encrid had resolved himself, so he did not feel impatient.

He simply gave his best effort in every moment.

Just because he was more relaxed didn't mean he would waste a day.

After forty-two repetitions of the same day, he mastered the Hidden Knife technique.

"How... How did you do that?"

Naturally, Torres looked at him with wide eyes.

To him, it seemed as if Encrid had mimicked his secret technique in just one day.

"Just lucky, I guess."

It was a poor excuse, but Torres had nothing more to say.

"In just one day?"

He could only mutter such words.

Since showing it off to Torres wouldn't further his mastery of the Hidden Knife, Encrid continued to practice on his own beyond the forty-second repetition, even beyond seventy times.

He spared Torres the discomfort of watching him demonstrate the Hidden Knife's technique anymore.

He just kept practicing it alone.

Day by day, he also improved in Valaf-Style Martial Arts.

This was thanks to sparring with Finn, who was skilled in Ail Caraz-Style Martial Arts.

And so, after repeating today over and over again,Encrid felt that he no longer needed to repeat the Hidden Knife, Valaf-Style Martial Arts, dealing with the wizard on the wall, building grip strength by climbing the wall, or training his swordsmanship against the pack of lycanthropes.

'Everything.'

There was no need to repeat it anymore.

So, what was next?

It was time to move beyond today and head towards tomorrow.

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