CHAPTER 112

For just a moment.

'It was visible.'

The method to capture Frog, the way to kill, the path to victory.

As words were carved on the milestone and the path appeared before his eyes.

Could today be another satisfying day?

He had rested well, maintaining a perfect state in preparation for the repetitive day.

Now, all he had to do was die and start the day again.

But Frog's sword did not fall.

The killing intent and aura were still there.

Yet the blade did not move. It stopped abruptly in the air, as if someone had grabbed it.

Rumble.

Frog puffed up and deflated his cheeks repeatedly.

"Why?"

In Encrid's gaze, Frog's unseen gaze, behind the human who had cut off his arm.

There was a panther with eyes like a blue lake.

Lake Panther.

In some regions, they were considered sacred beings and were sometimes revered as guardian spirits.

But Frog wasn't the type to care about such things.

To them, a beast was just a beast.

In other words, it wasn't the mere gaze of the Lake Panther that had stopped him.

"Damn it."

Frog cursed inwardly. Instead of sweating, his smooth skin secreted a mucus-like substance.

This was a physical change in Frog's body due to tension.

Frog, with a white scar on his neck, had a lot of experience, including dealing with wizards.

Wizards, those strange beings who bring the world of spells into reality.

They were always troublesome to deal with.

From the Lake Panther's black skin and eyes, such an aura could be felt.

Countless experiences, the marks of mana visible through the eyes of a talent detector.

That panther itself was either using magic or was at least connected to it somehow.

Frog had an intuition.

If he struck now, he could kill this man.

'But I would also have to risk my life.'

The magical panther wasn't the only problem.

The human sitting in front of him wasn't easy either.

Constantly aiming for the heart, swinging his sword towards the arm?

The last move.

The sword, blade, will, and aura running along his broad blade.

It wasn't a simple action. He moved his feet to add weight and momentarily showed strength similar to his own.

Compared to himself, he was of smaller stature. The conclusion: the quality of his muscles was exceptional.

And then.

'Those eyes.'

The gaze wasn't dead. Even now, the eyes directed at him were full of aura.

How could he be like that with no chance of winning?

It felt like looking at something forged from sheer willpower.

Not relying on the magical panther behind him.

Just burning with pure aura.

'Crazy bastard.'

Rumble.

Frog's cheeks puffed up even more.

He didn't like this situation at all.

In his mind, he pulled out a scale to weigh the options. Should he risk his life to kill this man here?

Or should he leave it for another day?

He desperately wanted to kill. This was the kind of person who needed to die. But if his own life was at stake on the other side of the scale?

He had to reconsider.

The gaze of the talent detector scrutinized Encrid.

He calculated carefully. Fighting when he wanted to fight, eating when he wanted to eat, and loving when he wanted to love was Frog's specialty.

But his life was at stake, and he was bound by obligations in this place.

Was it worth risking his life and ignoring his duties to kill?

The weight on the scale tilted to one side.

There wasn't much to reconsider.

The importance of this city, the border fortress city called Border Guard, wasn't that high.

Soon, Frog's puffed cheeks deflated.

The blade, poised to strike, was lowered.

The aura faded.

'Limit.'

Frog judged. It would be difficult for the human in front of him to become more skilled than he was now.

Good muscle quality, momentary strength comparable to Frog's own.

The swordsmanship and individual tactics were excellent, and an unyielding spirit felt like something he had never seen before.

Despite this.

Frog instinctively knew.

'Half of it was luck.'

Though his arm had been cut in the last move, he had also shattered the opponent's right wrist.

It meant the opponent's maneuver was reliant on luck.

He would kill him the next time they met. If they met again, he could do it.

"Don't forget. Human, my name is Maelrun."

That was the end.

The aura vanished completely, and Frog retreated.

Maelrun met eyes with Esther behind Encrid.

'I'm just leaving, so you should step back too.'

He shot a look with that meaning. Esther did not react, just gazing with eyes like a calm lake.

Maelrun picked up his cloak from the ground and retreated.

Frog walked leisurely out of the mansion, and no one stopped him.

Some guild members looked uncertain.

"Don't just stand there, everyone move aside. Our guest is leaving."

Krais intervened. Even with one arm unusable, Frog was still Frog.

And so, Frog left.

* * *

Esther, thanks to the grimoire that Encrid had brought, found a trick to release the shackles on her body.

While she couldn't return to being human immediately, she could still manifest parts of the magical world even in her panther form.

'Of course, it would be a bit of a struggle each time.'

She would have to use up the mana she had stored.

And a part of the magical world could be contaminated.

It was a method from the grimoire of that madman who built his magical world using corpses.

It was a trick among tricks.

Still.

'Someday I'll use it.'

It would be useful to know, so she had familiarized herself with it.

And that time could be now.

Esther feigned calmness, revealing her presence. She made Frog aware that she was a wizard.

If you strike that blade, I'll pierce something into your heart as well.

What is will? Will can also become mana.

For a moment, Esther made herself appear not as a panther but as wizard Esther.

That was the result.

The guy named Maelrun, or whatever he was called, retreated.

Had Esther's body been intact, things might have been different.

In her current state, even if she and Encrid both went all out, the odds were only fifty-fifty.

It was a conclusion reached after weighing all factors.

So why did the opponent retreat now?

'Lucky.'

That was the only judgment she could make.

Had Encrid's skills improved dramatically? It surprised Esther, she was quite amazed too.

But it wasn't enough of a reason for Frog to retreat.

Of course, the situation had twisted before she could attribute it to luck.

That situation had been created by the man who stayed by her side out of necessity.

'Left arm.'

Not the heart, but the arm.

Had he kept aiming for the heart and then retreated, that guy might have continued to endure.

But he had half-severed the left arm.

At that point, it might be faster to cut it off and let it regrow than to reattach it.

A swordsman with one arm gone.

He became a more manageable opponent.

'Damn it.'

How did it come to this?

Esther sighed and gave a light pat on the back of the guy who had nearly wasted all the mana she had accumulated.

Why wasn't he waking up?

"Encrid, ugh!"

Encrid, barely holding on, began to retch.

Esther quickly jumped back, and Krais approached.

"Are you okay? No, but, what's going on with finding Ragna? Did you understand what I was saying?"

After vomiting once, Encrid seemed to feel a bit better and raised his upper body, speaking.

"You've been cooped up here for six days without even going on a mission, and you don't know where your squad is? Are you the guy handling the information? You?"

It wasn't a scolding tone, just a matter-of-fact statement.

"Huh?"

Krais then realized what he had missed.

Thinking back, the squad members were faces he would see every day.

He had heard about the deployment, but who would take the squad without Encrid?

Unless it was a commander who wanted a hole in the back of their head.

A superior killer, a lazy navigator, a soldier who disappears without a word, and a religious fanatic who can't fight without divine permission.

Who would take such an unusual bunch?

He had assumed they'd stay behind waiting for their Platoon leader.

That was a mistake.

"They're not here. They've all been deployed."

"That's unexpected. So, it's just you and the Platoon leader, Esther?"

"Yeah."

Krais put his hand under Encrid's arm to help him up.

"Are you badly injured?"

"Other than my right hand, it's manageable."

As he spoke, Encrid realized he was in better shape than he thought.

Then a question arose.

'Why did he just leave?'

He could have killed both him and Krais with a single slash.

'Why?'

Encrid's gaze turned to the panther, Esther.

'What did you do? Really? The opponent was Frog?'

He was acutely aware of the weight the name Frog carried. What could that small, young panther have done?

He didn't know. It was all a mystery.

"Meow."

Esther, sensing his gaze, spoke as if scolding him.

It seemed like she was saying, "Is that all it takes to bring you down?"

Encrid took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts.

'I don't know.'

Dwelling on the unknown wouldn't provide answers.

Of course not.

Encrid knew from experience that some things just remain unknown. Instead, he decided to be satisfied with the experience gained and the drive to continue forward.

'It worked.'

What could he call it?

For a moment, he felt like he had overwhelmed Frog.

He had drawn Frog into the situation he orchestrated and struck.

He had cut the arm, not the heart— it would regenerate, it would surely regenerate.

But not while fighting him.

If he had avoided targeting the right wrist at the last moment...

'If that had happened.'

The outcome of the fight could have been different. There would be much to learn from this encounter.

With these thoughts, Encrid made his way back to his quarters.

Krais supported him, and Esther, rather than jumping into his arms, glanced back and then walked alongside him.

Just as they were about to rest after arriving at the quarters,

"Where have you been?"

It was the Company Commander, the superior officer of Platoon Leader Vengeance.

Sweat was dripping from the Commander's forehead as if he had been looking for Encrid himself. It wasn't typical for a Company Commander to be running around like a messenger.

As Encrid thought about this and was about to salute,

"Immediately! Prepare for deployment."

The Commander spoke first.

"I've been slightly injured."

Encrid wanted to rest for a day or two if possible. His presence or absence on the battlefield wouldn't make much difference, he thought.

After all, he was just a recently returned Platoon leader-level soldier.

He thought perhaps they might show him some leniency.

"What? How did that happen?"

The Commander likely already knew he had returned unharmed from the operation.

"I got into a scuffle with a thug."

"In such times, what were you thinking?"

The Commander scolded him but shook his head as if understanding the situation couldn't be helped.

"We don't need your swordsmanship right now, so if you can move, we would appreciate it if you could go immediately."

The Commander wasn't forcing him. It was more of a request.

To Encrid, it sounded like something urgent had happened at the front.

'Why?'

Encrid still hadn't been briefed on the current situation on the battlefield.

He had done nothing but rest for a day after returning.

And today, he had been returning from a sword fight with Frog.

"Ranger Finn is set to accompany you, can you depart immediately?"

"What situation is so urgent?"

Krais, who had been listening quietly, expressed his confusion. The Company Commander, who seemed familiar, spoke more openly.

"Well, if we don't bring their Platoon leader, they won't continue fighting..."

The Commander trailed off, but Encrid quickly understood.

"You mean my platoon members?"

"It's essentially a deployment to persuade them. They've requested that you just stay at the battlefield, even if you rest at the rear. It's a request from your direct Company Commander."

It seemed like he had to go. There wasn't time to rest just because his wrist was a bit sore.

He could still hold a sword.

'Rem.'

Encrid felt concerned as soon as he heard the explanation.

He figured he could learn about the battlefield situation on the way.

A few scratches could be treated with some ointment, and then he could go.

"Understood."

Encrid saluted, indicating that he would depart immediately.

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