CHAPTER 171

"One day, I wanted to meet you in my full form."

Satisfaction moved Encrid's lips.

If he got any closer, the leader might notice, or perhaps not.

Encrid wanted to reveal his presence.

It wasn't due to competitiveness or a desire for a fair fight. What kind of competition is there with a monster?

It was simply a test.

He wanted to confirm what he had built up through today's repeated efforts.

The leader, who had two mutated creatures with him like guards, snapped his head back at Encrid's voice.

He didn't just turn his head.

He raised two daggers and pointed them forward. All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

'As expected, you're fast.'

Encrid was impressed.

"Guuk!"

The leader shouted. In response, the two mutants who stood like guards reacted.

Guwok!

This shout sounded similar to a ghoul's. One of the mutants leaped forward. At the same time, it swung a club from above.

Encrid raised his sword, smeared with black blood, diagonally.

The heavy club fell with a whoosh from above. Encrid's gaze was blurred.

Just before the club could strike his head, the sword moved.

No, his whole body moved.

Crunch!

He twisted the blade and struck the middle of the club, then pushed forward. The surface of the club was peeled away as if scraped by a chisel.

Encrid's sword surged forward and slashed the mutant's neck.

The attack cut through the mutant's neck, slicing through muscle, bone, and tendons.

As its neck was severed, the mutant let out a sound like air escaping.

As the creature crumpled to its knees, its yellow eyes began to dim, and it fell forward.

Regardless of the first mutant's fate, the second one charged at Encrid. Encrid feinted with his sword and then dodged to the left, evading the club and performing a horizontal slash.

With a twist of his wrist, he swung his sword in a semi-circle, cutting through the middle of the mutant's head.

The combination of brute strength and technique produced this result.

The mutant's head was sliced in half, like a pumpkin with its lid removed.

But instead of seeds and flesh, its head was filled with brain matter and black blood.

The severed top of the mutant's head fell to the ground.

"If you run, you'll die with this in the back of your head."

Encrid said, flicking his hand. A whistling knife flew out, embedding itself deep in the head of a normal mutant who hesitated to charge.

The knife was buried so deep that it was almost invisible, but blood spurted out.

The mutant fell backward, bleeding profusely from its head.

Gooosshh!

Sensing their leader's danger, the remaining mutants reacted, and Encrid hoped the leader would confront him.

He had never come this far before.

So today was a new experience.

He didn't know what would happen. The leader might retreat.

What then? He'd just chase him down and decorate his head with a throwing knife.

On the other hand, if he attacked?

'Can I survive today?'

He asked himself. The answer was still uncertain.

He was hopeful, prepared, and had assessed his opponent.

But the outcome of a fight is always uncertain.

Moreover, the leader wouldn't show himself unless Encrid was significantly injured, like having a hole in his thigh or a severe wound near his navel.

The leader only appeared when his opponent's mobility was restricted or they were gravely injured.

'What a cunning bastard.'

It was a compliment of sorts. Only stepping in when the victory was certain—how clever.

And the mutant leader didn't retreat. He moved as Encrid had hoped.

"Gruuuk!"

There was a sudden sound, almost like a burst. That's how fast he was.

Even though Encrid had prepared, the speed was incredible.

As the leader kicked off the ground, his body stretched out like a shadow in the sun.

The stretched shadow was visible to Encrid. His eyes never lost track of the opponent.

Seeing was always possible.

The problem was defending against something so fast.

The glinting daggers in the knoll leader's hands couldn't be allowed to even graze him.

They were poisoned. One touch and it would be over. Then it would be a repeat of 'today'.

Ssk, sst!

The first slash grazed Encrid's shoulder. It only grazed.

It didn't even touch the skin. Encrid's armor wasn't something that a mere dagger could easily pierce.

Only a cut on the outer leather showed any evidence of the attack.

He completely dodged the second slash.

The knoll leader slashed with his right hand and stabbed with his left, but Encrid twisted his body, causing the stab to hit empty air.

It was an impressive reaction speed.

The moment he saw it, his body moved.

It was an attack similar to the Valen Dual Sword Technique, but despite the different rhythm, it was incredibly, extraordinarily fast.

'It works.'

As expected, he could avoid it. While he couldn't avoid being grazed, he could prevent being cut or stabbed.

'The Sense of Evasion.'

It felt more like training to increase reaction speed than just a sense.

That's how it felt.

It seemed the name didn't do it justice. These fleeting thoughts quickly vanished.

In any case, if he focused entirely on dodging, maybe he could avoid even being grazed.

But was there a need for that? Probably not. It was time to move forward.

The day had come to survive 'today' and see tomorrow's sunrise.

"Krruk!"

The leader of the mutants was furious. His reddening eyes reflected that. It seemed like red light flickered in his yellow pupils. He rushed past Encrid, then turned to charge again.

This time, he lowered his stance and aimed for Encrid's thighs. It was a difficult trajectory to dodge. One dagger even seemed to target the inside of the hip joint, with the two daggers crossing in rhythm.

A wrong move, and he could be castrated.

Encrid didn't wait to react after seeing and recognizing the attack. He moved immediately upon seeing and perceiving it.

That was a small, but significant difference.

It was almost the first time he used this in an actual sword fight.

His reaction speed, changed with a foundation of coordination, was key.

It was a new world.

A step into a new world.

At least, that's how Encrid felt.

The difference in reaction speed brought a difference in reflexes.

The body, continuously trained in the Isolation Technique, expressed this difference in perception.

The moment he saw it, he swung his sword down.

Whoosh, crack, snap!

As the mutant leader charged, the blade cut through the air vertically, like a flash.

Of course, it didn't just cut through the air.

Crack!

From the knoll leader's head down to the middle of his back, the blade split him.

The leader's futile hand movements continued. He reached out with both hands, not even realizing he was dead.

The left hand uselessly stabbed at the air, but the right hand targeted Encrid's hip area as intended.

Encrid bent his knees and used his armor to absorb the thrust from the dead mutant.

Thud.

A dead man's hand loses its strength.

The dagger fell helplessly from the leather armor.

Even though the knoll leader's body had been split in two, he continued to move, then finally fell apart to the sides.

His guts and blood spilled onto the ground. The slash was so fast that blood splattered in a straight line behind him.

He intended to split the head, but the leader reflexively dodged.

So instead, he cut diagonally from the shoulder, splitting him in half.

"Hooah."

Exhaling, Encrid felt a surge of exhilaration.

'I am advancing.'

It was the joy of growth, a moment proven by the result.

Using the Sense of Evasion, he dodged the poisoned dagger and cut through the enemy with a single, well-coordinated strike, thanks to his training in reaction speed.

Before that, he had tracked the enemy's movements with his eyes, and The Heart of the Beast gave him the courage.

"Grruuuuk!"

Of course, this wasn't the end. The area was still filled with knolls and monsters.

Now, the problem was finding a way out.

"Hah!"

With a shout, Encrid swung his sword powerfully at the two knolls blocking his path.

The Correct Sword Technique? He had no time for such precision.

He had learned the best swordsmanship for slaying monsters.

Northern Swordsmanship.

The North was said to be a harsh land where monsters and beasts roamed freely.

Their swords had evolved into the best form for slaying monsters.

Encrid had learned that style.

Whoosh, slash! Crack!

With a perfect centrifugal force, the two knolls were split into upper and lower halves.

There would be no reunion for them.

Having split the two knolls, Encrid started to run.

'Can I make it out?'

Avoiding them all day? That was possible.

But escaping after exhausting himself in battle?

That was difficult. Through this experience, he learned that conserving energy was crucial in long fights.

But now, he had crawled to kill the knoll leader and engaged in a brief but intense battle.

And now he had to carve a path back to the original village? That was a different issue than just dodging and holding his ground.

"Can't we just meet again tomorrow?"

Encrid muttered while dodging, knowing it was a pointless question. Naturally, the knolls didn't respond.

The answer came from a hyena monster attacking from behind, jaws wide open, aiming for his back. Encrid reacted instantly, striking the monster's head with his elbow.

Thud.

The monster, hit squarely, fell to the ground.

In one fluid motion, Encrid drove his sword into the monster's head.

In that moment, two more monsters and a knoll lunged at him, but he swung his sword horizontally with his left hand.

The knoll, wearing something like leather armor, stumbled back a few steps after being hit.

He couldn't cut them down in one go.

He was short of breath, and couldn't put enough strength into his swing.

His stance was off, but it was also due to using The Heart of Great Strength in the fight.

'This is tough.'

If he overexerted himself, his hands would tremble.

Of course, a short rest would suffice.

It was time to dance once more with the Sense of Evasion.

"Guuugu!"

The knolls' cries seemed to shout, 'Kill him, kill that human!'

Encrid calmly retrieved his sword and moved his feet.

Dodging what needed to be dodged, parrying what needed to be parried.

He seemed like a master of offense and defense.

If anyone saw this, they might think so, but such movements were imperceptible from afar.

Encrid felt a sense of satisfaction from killing the leader.

Along with the exhilaration, it felt like he was overturning the plan laid out by the ferryman.

How could this be possible?

What was the original obstacle?

In Encrid's mind, the obstacle was fighting a monster with the head of a hyena wielding a poisoned dagger while risking injury.

No, it was winning the fight without even getting scratched by the poisoned dagger.

Encrid had twisted that path.

Was it impossible to catch the leader without getting injured? No, it was possible. That path was also available.

But he didn't want to go that way.

Even if that was the predetermined obstacle.

'He has such an annoying laugh.'

He didn't like the knoll's laughter. Even though he praised the leader for being cunning enough not to show up without confirming a critical injury, he didn't like it.

So, what should he do?

He thought a bit. He didn't need Krais's help.

It was too simple a task.

Block the entrance, hold the barricade, and fight the leader. It was all intentional. That was the result.

The leader was dead, and none of the pioneer villagers were killed by the knolls or hyena monsters.

If anyone had died from a thrown stone, that couldn't be helped.

At least from his perspective, no one had died that way.

This wasn't about protecting the people of the pioneer village.

It just happened to turn out this way.

If he had to give a reason, it was simply that he really didn't like the knoll's laughter.

More than anything, this was more efficient than fighting with injuries.

Of course, to finish this beautifully, he needed to wrap things up properly here.

In other words, he had to survive.

He conserved his breath and strength.

After failing to clear a path with a few Northern Swordsmanship techniques, he reverted to simpler attacks, but the way was still blocked.

It was a moment of decision. Should he hold out and wait for another opportunity?

Or should he use all his remaining strength and unleash The Heart of Great Strength to break through?

Neither seemed like a high-probability option. Encrid felt this instinctively.

But there didn't seem to be another way.

In the midst of his brief contemplation,

"Clear the way!"

What was this?

It came from the direction of the village entrance. The heavy wooden gate of the village swung open, creating a path.

Thanks to the commotion caused by Esther and Encrid, the knoll horde had turned their attention away, leaving the area in front of the gate clear.

Unable to contain himself after watching everything unfold, Deutsche Pullman stepped outside.

"Anyone who wants to follow, come out! But if you're going to bail out, leave your gear and get lost!"

It was a proposal fitting of a mercenary captain. Why would someone who fears for their life become a mercenary?

Deutsche's subordinates rushed out in droves.

Deutsche Pullman, having come out of the village, swung his glaive forcefully.

Behind him followed ten vigilantes who had been with him since his mercenary days.

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