CHAPTER 190

Roar!

The wounded manticore let out a scream. It appeared to retreat but then suddenly leaped forward again, propelling itself off the ground.

With a heavy body, it sliced through the air like the wind, charging in.

Whoosh!

Its claws tore through the air.

Audin quickly shifted his stance, changing the position of his feet, and swung his hand. To be precise, he slapped the manticore across the face with his palm.

The front claws slashed through the air, and the slap landed almost simultaneously.

The exchange was that fast.

Audin's palm itself was a formidable weapon, but the manticore was a high-level monster.

Despite being slapped and its head snapping to the side, it steadied itself and swung its front claws again.

Audin dodged the attack by stepping back slightly.

Roar!

The manticore's furious roar ripped through the air.

"Urgh."

The soldiers once again groaned under the pressure of the high-level monster's presence.

And then, the monster that had overwhelmed its surroundings roared.

Clang.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Audin slapped the manticore again.

This time, he struck harder. Dark blue blood trickled from the creature's mouth, dripping onto the ground.

"Uh."

"Ugh."

The soldiers unintentionally voiced their reactions. The scene was shocking enough to make them forget their fear.

Who slaps a monster like that? It's absurd!

Had its pride been wounded?

The manticore, ignoring the pain in its face, crouched low.

And then it charged again, faster than before.

Its attack wasn't simple this time.

As it swung its front claws, it also whipped its tail. The tail, resembling a scorpion's, struck down like lightning.

Audin's movements also became fast enough to leave afterimages.

Whoosh!

The front claws missed again.

The tail, like a scorpion's stinger, struck only air.

In that moment, Audin swung his hand once more, with a simple yet precise motion.

Clang!

What is that sound?

Encrid found himself clicking his tongue. He had seen the entire exchange, missing nothing.

At first, it seemed like some kind of sword technique, but it quickly devolved into nothing more than slapping the monster.

The manticore had likely never encountered an opponent who exceeded its physical capabilities and speed.

'If I were the manticore, I'd be confused too.'

The creature tilted its head, perhaps dazed from the repeated blows. Its eyes glinted with a menacing aura once more.

"As with any monster, it should act accordingly. The holy scriptures say that holding different beliefs is not the same as following the wrong path."

Muttering to himself, Audin beckoned with his hand. The man, as massive as a bear, toyed with the manticore.

Roar!

The manticore charged again.

Clang!

It got slapped.

When the slap was moderate, its head turned to the side.

When the slap was harder, its whole body was flung to the side.

Thud, thud!

Seeing the mighty beast tossed around like a ragdoll, who could call this creature a high-level monster, a terror for soldiers, or a monster among monsters?

As Audin swung his hand, memories of old times resurfaced—of battling monsters, beasts, and cultists.

The days of subduing monsters like these were numerous for him.

He had a wealth of experience, especially in fighting high-level monsters.

The manticore's face began to swell after repeated slaps, and a few of its teeth were scattered on the ground.

Just as one might start to pity the creature, Encrid noticed a small commotion below. He heard a faint groan and saw shadows shifting.

"It seems we have guests below. I'll head down first." 

Encrid said.

"Please do, brother." 

Audin replied with a smile.

Seeing an opening, the manticore attacked again.

This time, it launched a triple assault.

Audin dodged the front claws by twisting his body, deflected the tail with the back of his hand, and ignored the snake-like tongue that attempted to coil around his neck.

"The Lord said there are sins that cannot be forgiven." 

Audin muttered, ignoring the tongue as he swung his hand.

In close combat, monsters typically had the upper hand. 

The soldiers watching had learned this in their training. 

So what were they witnessing now?

Clang!

A sharp, loud sound echoed. The manticore's face caved in from the slap.

This feat was accomplished solely with a palm strike.

The soldiers watching felt a chill down their spines. 

The monster was terrifying, the manticore was terrifying, but the most terrifying thing now was the man smiling with false compassion.

"Turn to the divine, cleanse the sins that stain your body, and purify the corrupted soul. Seek forgiveness for your sins, again and again." 

Audin preached with a gentle tone and a kind smile. But his actions?

"I think I wet myself." 

A soldier mumbled beside him, reflecting the general sentiment among those watching.

Encrid, about to head down, patted a soldier on the shoulder after witnessing the manticore's face cave in.

"It smells like urine." 

He remarked, before descending below the gallery.

He descended quickly, almost kicking the steps, and saw a soldier loitering near a small door by the castle gate. 

Though he didn't recognize the face, the uniform identified him as part of the Border Guard Reserve Unit. The soldier had his hand on the door's latch.

Near the door, a soldier lay slumped against the castle wall, dark red liquid seeping from his half-collapsed body.

As Encrid approached, the soldier with his hand on the latch turned his head sharply.

Encrid ignored his gaze and examined the fallen soldier.

He quickly assessed the soldier's condition, showing such nonchalance that it would have been easy for someone to attack him from behind. This confidence came from his experience.

Upon inspecting the soldier's wound:

'Not too deep.'

It wasn't fatal. With some grit, the soldier might even be able to walk.

Of course, this assessment was from Encrid's high standards.

The soldier felt as if he was dying. The pain was unbearable. Having a hole in your stomach and feeling fine would indeed be strange.

"You look like you could walk." 

Encrid spoke, crouched down, with his back exposed.

The soldier with his hand on the latch hesitated. Should he open the door? Or maybe, now was the time to strike?

His demeanor was confusing. The soldier knew he was facing the infamous Squad Leader of Enchantment.

Meanwhile, Encrid helped the fallen soldier to his feet.

"Ouch, it hurts. It hurts! I got stabbed in the stomach! It hurts!"

"This seems like something you can walk off."

"No, I can't walk. If I die, tell my sister there's a pouch under the bed..."

"You're not going to die." 

Encrid interrupted. This soldier was exaggerating. He had faced worse injuries in the past.

It wasn't a minor wound, but it wasn't fatal either.

Tearing a piece of the soldier's sleeve, Encrid bandaged the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Ugh!"

As Encrid pressed on the wound, the soldier winced in pain. Encrid pushed him against the wall to lean on for support.

"If you can't walk, use the whistle, right? Watch the situation and blow it if things go south."

Encrid said this and turned away. The soldier holding the latch and gripping a knife hesitated.

He was still deliberating.

The stories about the deeds of the Squad Leader of Enchantment made him pause.

He was almost like a hero of the battlefield, wasn't he?

Even if he didn't know the details of the recent knoll colony incident, the Company Commander's reputation alone marked him as a dangerous man.

Yet, he couldn't just handle the ten members of the Black Blade Bandits waiting outside.

It wasn't reasonable to expect one person to take on ten.

The men outside were seasoned killers.

It was understandable. The Black Blade Bandits were summoned by Vancento, and their purpose was clear.

Proper battles in this land were fought by small elite forces.

This small elite force was meant to intimidate and exert pressure. The fact that only ten men were sent showed their confidence in their skills.

Of course, it wouldn't be revealed that this was the work of the Black Blade Bandits.

It had to be kept secret.

If the guards were to claim they lacked the manpower to defend after a commotion?

Adding to this, if they received intel suggesting that the neighboring, quite menacing, Martai was on the verge of starting a city war?

They would have no choice but to turn to the Black Blade Bandits.

There would be no reinforcements from the central kingdom, and the southern regions were preoccupied with dealing with monsters.

Though the Black Blade Bandits were bandits, Martai wasn't much different. It was a city founded by eastern mercenaries.

Mercenaries were generally looked down upon, but eastern mercenaries were especially so.

It was like bringing in a tiger to get rid of a wolf, but the situation would force them to act this way.

The preparations were underway.

They had already secretly turned some internal personnel to their side.

This was Vancento's plan.

The first step was to let the people waiting outside in, which was what this soldier's mission was.

"What are you doing?" 

Encrid asked.

The soldier, or rather, the spy posing as a soldier, was sweating from the complexity of the situation.

His mission was to open the door and let the Black Blade Bandits inside.

He had just stabbed a soldier in the stomach and was about to open the door when Encrid arrived.

He wasn't supposed to be on patrol, yet here he was.

The spy knew Encrid.

He gulped and froze in place.

If things went wrong, he would be dead. The spy knew he couldn't take Encrid on with his skills.

There was no need for any heroic sacrifice just to open a door.

'I should have opened the door and run earlier.'

He hesitated, realizing too late that he had missed the moment to act, perhaps suspecting that Encrid was trying to lull him into a false sense of security.

His eyes darted around, searching for a way to escape.

Encrid glanced at him casually, quickly assessing the situation.

More than anything, he sensed the presence of people outside. His keen senses, combined with intuition, gave him a clear picture.

'Open the door. Let the enemy in.'

The goal? Chaos? Or something more?

That would only become clear upon meeting them.

The soldier who was stabbed didn't seem to have a fatal wound.

After quickly calculating and considering the situation, Encrid spoke.

"Open it."

The spy visibly panicked at these words. He blinked and his hands trembled slightly, clearly shocked.

"...What?"

"Open the door."

It was a judgment call, based on intuition and years of experience.

Even if the ones outside were left alone, they would find another way in. It would be more troublesome to chase them down.

The alarm might sound, and if they wanted chaos, they might act accordingly.

For now, the situation was quiet, and it was happening during a patrol, so it could be handled appropriately.

Besides, if things went south, they could always blow the whistle.

This was the Border Guard, and Encrid was with Audin.

If the whistle blew?

'Rem would probably come running, eager for action.'

He seemed particularly restless lately.

Above all, Encrid had some confidence in himself. Whoever the opponent was, whatever they might do, he believed he could at least hold his ground.

Was this overconfidence?

No. It was confidence built from countless encounters and dances with demons, honed alongside his instinct for evasion.

"...What?"

The spy repeated his bewildered question, deeply startled. Encrid took a bold step forward, so confidently that the spy couldn't react.

Instinctively, the spy lifted the latch. Then, pushing the door open, he flung himself to the side. The small door swung open with a thud. The spy tried to escape.

As he turned to flee, Encrid's hand moved in the air. It seemed like a meaningless gesture.

To the spy, it appeared as such, but a throwing knife flew through the air and embedded itself in the back of his thigh.

"Agh!"

A short scream—enough to alert other guards nearby.

Peering through the slightly opened door, eyes watched from the outside. There were quite a few of them, but not enough to call it an army.

Encrid approached the door and drew his sword, thrusting it forward.

As the blade pierced through, the figures standing firm retreated, and he stepped outside.

Encrid counted the numbers as he stepped out. Ten of them.

"...What a madman." 

One of the figures dressed entirely in black muttered. He studied their faces in the moonlight.

He didn't recognize any of them.

One of them, a woman with strikingly white hair, raised her eyes. Her ears resembled those of an animal, suggesting she was a beastkin.

"You knew we were here, waiting, and you still came out?" she asked.

Encrid shrugged his shoulders.

'Figure it out yourself.' he seemed to say.

"Crazy bastard."

The first speaker muttered again.

There was a sound of swords being drawn.

One of the men in black drew a short sword and rushed forward. The attack was nearly silent, executed with swift precision.

The movement and the drawn blade approached almost simultaneously, very quickly.

The blade sliced through the once peaceful night's air with a sharp ping sound.

It was fast, but brimming with killing intent.

It was fast, but the trajectory was simple.

Encrid brought his drawn sword upward in a blocking motion.

Clang.

He deflected the short sword and then quickly brought his sword down into a diagonal slashing stance, causing his opponent to step to the side.

Instead of continuing the upward slash, Encrid casually swung his sword, creating the illusion of two circles intertwining in the air.

After repositioning his sword, he shifted into a downward slash with a slightly faster tempo.

This was a technique called the 'Spiral Slash', one of the strikes he had recently learned.

"Ugh!"

The surprised attacker tried to block with his short sword, but the weight difference between their weapons was too great.

Crack, crunch!

Encrid overpowered the man's sword with sheer force, driving the blade into his chest.

"Ugh!"

The opposite edge of the man's short sword dug into his own chest.

'One down.'

After swiftly reducing their numbers with a single move, Encrid raised his sword towards the moon and took a defensive stance.

"All together. If we go one by one, we'll die in turn." 

The beastkin woman, who seemed to be the leader, said. Her tone revealed a clear tension.

It was obvious to anyone that Encrid was a formidable opponent.

Encrid assessed his opponents. Then, he realized something.

'I don't have to hold back.'

In the past, he might not have taken such a bold stance, instead trying to find a way to survive by outsmarting his enemies.

But now?

The aura and intent of those standing before him were nothing to be underestimated.

However, he didn't feel like this was an unwinnable fight.

With that realization, Encrid did not step back.

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