CHAPTER 141

"We need to move the position forward. We can't just leave it as it is. We'll take control of the bush area and hit them from behind."

"What are you talking about? How do you plan to retreat if you go in like that? Do you even know how many troops Aspen has guarding their rear?"

"So, you're saying we should just let that guerrilla unit run wild?"

"Because of that, morale is dropping again."

It was a strategy meeting. Various Company Commanders and lieutenants gathered around a table in the center, talking.

1st Company Commander Graham was in favor of attacking.

Palto brought up another point. 3rd Company Commander Rayon was killed by a Fairy assassin in the last battle, leaving the position vacant, so the 1st Platoon leader of the 3rd Company had immediately filled the spot.

He had nothing to say and kept his mouth shut.

The rest were filled by Marcus's lieutenants.

They brought up necessary opinions, confirmed them, and cross-verified. Watching this, the Fairy Company Commander thought it was all pointless.

The problem was clear.

'There's someone clever on the other side.'

And there's no one like that on this side.

Battalion Commander Marcus had the nickname 'Warmonger'.

Despite the nickname, he wasn't stupid. You could tell from how he handled Encrid.

He knew how to lift the morale of his subordinates.

He could adjust morale and set the tone.

Compared to the previous Battalion Commander, this one was an archangel.

However, Marcus wasn't a strategist.

When Marcus needed to turn the tide and change the atmosphere, what did he do?

A brilliant strategy? No. He either took action himself or used a powerful armed group.

You could see this from the previous battles.

So, what was the sword Marcus drew?

He brought out two swords.

One was the heavy infantry of the 1st Company.

The other was the Royal Guard Border Patrol.

This meant Marcus was a commander who prioritized brute force in his tactics.

On the other hand, the enemy.

'No matter how you look at it, they're the ones using their brains.'

The Fairy Company Commander had lived a long time and was experienced.

Usually, in these cases, the clumsy response of allies often led them into traps.

What if this was just a temptation to lure us in deeper?

What if the main force advanced further only to find a trap waiting?

Even if they wanted to gather information, they were in the enemy's backyard.

Should they send scouts deeper? Judging by the movements of the enemy's guerrilla unit, it would be a cat-and-mouse chase along the ridges.

Ignoring them and attacking the enemy's rear? That might not be a bad idea.

If they moved west, they would face the Cross Guard.

If they moved northeast, they would encounter the enemy's main force.

The allies couldn't decide on a direction.

If they couldn't figure it out, holding the position was the best they could do.

In reality, this unit's mere presence threatened the entire main force.

The enemy's tricks could simply be ignored.

Thud.

Marcus slammed his fist on the strategy map spread out on the table.

A couple of pieces and pins on the map toppled over.

"To put it bluntly, we're saying we can't move forward or retreat as things stand, right? We need to talk about what we can do!"

He was just as frustrated.

In a normal situation, the main force should have already hit the enemy's main force and retreated, but the battle was dragging on.

Meanwhile, the enemy guerrilla unit kept poking at them, which was really annoying, so they tried to come up with a plan to catch them, but everyone was just talking nonsense.

In the end, the strategy meeting ended inconclusively.

There were no useful opinions.

As the meeting ended and the Fairy Company Commander returned to her tent.

Thud.

A Platoon leader with bizarre armaments and swords on both sides of his waist blocked her path.

Pressing down on the swords with his left hand, he bowed his head. After the salute, Platoon leader Encrid spoke.

"Requesting permission to present a tactical suggestion and request temporary command."

The Fairy Commander, staring at Encrid, thought he had a rather handsome face and wondered what his suggestion was.

To her, Encrid didn't seem like the type to strategize. He was more of a straightforward fighter.

"If you've come to propose an engagement, this isn't the right time,Platoon leader."

The Fairy Commander made a joke in her own way, casually.

Encrid, seemingly used to such jokes by now, responded just as casually.

"This is about military strategy."

Could they ignore the opinion of a mere Platoon leader?

No, they couldn't.

Setting aside her personal liking for him, Encrid had been proving himself on every battlefield.

"Speak."

Encrid, not wanting to take credit for someone else's idea, kept it brief.

"Grant me a temporary command to disrupt the enemy lines."

"And?"

"I request the support of one soldier skilled in pathfinding."

"Is that all?"

"Additionally, how about the main force moving westward now?"

The Fairy Commander tilted her head to the side.

Encrid explained as he had heard it.

Where was this unit currently positioned?

What impact would their movements have on the enemy?

What effect would that impact bring about?

It was a matter of observation and prediction.

"What if things don't go as expected?"

"Then we retreat."

In that case, they would retreat. In fact, this plan was focused on retreating from the start. The Fairy Company Commander was not a fool. As she listened, her mind started working rapidly.

"That's useful."

No, it wasn't just useful, it seemed like the best option in the current situation.

They weren't doing anything significant, but what would happen if these small actions accumulated?

With a bit of luck, and if Encrid moved with his platoon members directly...

"Is this your plan?"

The Fairy Commander asked.

"No."

Encrid shook his head. He had no intention of taking credit for another soldier's merits.

"This was the idea of a soldier named Krais."

Krais had suggested it, not wanting to risk their current position. It was a casual suggestion, hoping it would be considered, and if not, the command would have some other plan in mind.

But, as it turned out, this was the most needed idea at the moment.

"Good."

The Fairy Company Commander left it at that and swiftly turned away, heading toward the Battalion Commander's tent where the strategy meeting had been held just a while ago.

Soon after, the allied forces began to move differently. They started preparing to vacate the position and march.

Meanwhile, Encrid was arming his platoon members and addressing them.

There was no need for a speech, as they weren't the kind to require one for a mission.

"Rem."

"Yes?"

"Shall we go catch that archer?"

Encrid asked Rem simply.

Rem's eyebrow twitched. It was a sign of satisfaction.

"Sounds good."

Rem's smile seemed to carry a scent of blood.

"I'm just suggesting we warm up a bit, anyone want to sit this one out?"

He looked at each of them: Ragna, Audin, Jaxon, Andrew, and Mac.

Although he was willing to let anyone opt out, there were no such volunteers.

Then there was.

"This is Finn, who joined the platoon today."

"Nice to meet you."

Finn's inclusion was another development.

After requesting support, they had sent over a ranger who used to be with the light armored archery unit.

Now that the archery unit had been integrated back into the 2nd Company, Finn's position became somewhat ambiguous.

Thus, she ended up joining the platoon as a Squad leader.

It was an odd setup, considering there were less than ten people in this independent platoon, yet it had two Squad leaders.

It was a peculiar situation, but what could they do?

The crazy platoon was always like this.

Finn had transferred because of Encrid. He was someone Finn wanted to observe closely, even if it meant lowering her rank to Squad leader.

She also had a personal interest in getting to know Encrid better.

Additionally, there were people she wanted to meet.

"I'm Finn. I don't intend to throw my weight around as a Squad leader, so let's just get along. So, you're Audin, right?"

Finn was straightforward. She said what she wanted and acted as she pleased.

She then revealed one of her intentions.

Audin, the one who taught Encrid the Valaf-Style Martial Arts.

Finn licked her lips as she looked at Audin.

She was intrigued just by his physique.

"Enki is great, but..."

Audin seemed promising too. Was he all form and no substance?

She had already confirmed Encrid's substance during their first meeting by the stream.

It was unforgettable, especially below the abs.

"Well."

Finn set aside her thoughts. This wasn't the time for such musings.

"Yes, Sister. I was given the name Audin by the Lord."

They shook hands and greeted each other.

Rem, Ragna, and Jaxon acted nonchalantly.

Andrew approached and mentioned they were both Squad leaders.

Mac just nodded in acknowledgment.

This was the group.

"Alright, let's start with the operation overview."

Encrid spoke, looking at Krais.

It's your turn now, isn't it?

Understanding the look, Krais cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Uh, since the enemy's guerrilla unit is causing trouble, we're going to do something similar."

Krais knew that if he spoke too complicatedly, no one would understand.

So he kept his explanation as simple and clear as possible.

The gist was this:

The enemy was using the terrain to disrupt their forces, so why couldn't they do the same?

While a part of the Border Patrol had already done something similar, Krais felt it hadn't left a strong enough impression on the enemy.

So, what should they do? Make it unforgettable for them.

"Shall we go, then?"

Did Krais's voice sound lackluster? Rem chuckled and spoke.

"That's not how you go into battle, you sweep them all away!"

Rem spoke to Krais, raising his voice at the end.

Of course, only Encrid responded.

"Sounds good."

The others ignored it. Jaxon started walking as soon as Rem opened his mouth.

"Are you coming?"

He even asked Finn.

Finn observed the hostility among the platoon members and wondered what was going on, but she did her job.

There had been a warning, after all.

"This isn't a normal unit. Are you okay with that?"

Hadn't the Fairy Company Commander already warned her?

Finn nodded.

Her main interest was in Encrid and Audin. The other members, she could just get along with.

And so Encrid's platoon moved out.

Finn found the path.

Following the enemy's traces would just lead them in circles.

So they set a different target, not the guerrilla unit but the enemy's main force.

Finding them wasn't difficult.

"Whew, if there are Knights, won't that be a big deal?"

Andrew spoke, and Krais, who had the worst combat skills in the platoon, responded.

They all walked steadily, ignoring any traces they left behind.

"I don't think so."

"How can you be so sure?"

"If there were, we could just gauge the situation and run away. Also, if they had the resources to spare Knights or other units to the rear, they wouldn't be operating a guerrilla unit. In my opinion, that guerrilla unit is a distraction. Because, well..."

"That's enough."

Andrew saw that Krais tended to go on when it came to these topics.

If only half of what he said made sense, what was the point?

Krais was a bit dissatisfied with that.

It seemed like no one was willing to listen.

However, the Platoon leader, at least, listened carefully and showed a sincere attitude.

That was satisfying enough.

In reality, Krais felt a bit anxious about what he was saying.

As he walked quickly to the Platoon leader's side, Krais spoke.

"Captain, I think that guerrilla unit is just a distraction. So why would they distract us? It's simple. They want us to stay put, to keep us from moving elsewhere. If we head to the rear, they'll lay traps. It's something like that. So we should move differently, in a way they don't expect."

Krais continued with his strategy.

Encrid listened carefully and then asked, "Why are you repeating this?"

He had already heard this, this was the third time.

"Uh, well, I just wanted to say it. Never mind."

Was he nervous?

"Does talking make your anxiety go away?"

"Well,Captain, you wouldn't understand."

Krais thought of himself as an ordinary person. So he believed someone like Encrid wouldn't understand him.

To him, the Platoon leader seemed abnormal.

If you lack talent, you should give up. Chasing dreams? How could that be normal?

It's a literal dream, not a feasible goal.

Yet, Encrid pursued it, repeating the same things every day. He constantly showed what bone-grinding training was in front of Krais.

How could that be normal?

Krais stopped talking. When he looked at the Platoon leader, he felt like they could overcome anything, no matter what happened.

His anxiety eased a little.

"This way."

Finn, a skilled ranger and pathfinder, led the way.

Even though she wasn't familiar with the terrain, she was good at finding traces.

The enemy's guerrilla unit had set up various traps to avoid pursuit.

They saw a few of these traps.

It was said that parts of the Border Patrol had encountered these traps several times while chasing the guerrilla unit.

The Madmen Platoon didn't deliberately look for the guerrilla unit's traces.

They went straight ahead.

They moved directly toward the enemy's rear.

After passing through the bushes and ridges, they began to see the enemy's rear guard.

"I'll go first. No, if anyone goes before me, I'll smash the back of their heads, so I'm warning you all to back off."

Rem growled.

They let him.

No one seemed interested in taking the lead.

Krais surveyed the enemy's formation.

The enemy was spread out across a wide terrain from the tall grass to where they stood.

So this would be the rear, specifically the rear right side of the enemy, right?

It should be around that area.

They had spent more than half a day crossing the ridges.

"Are there any Knights?"

Encrid asked. Jaxon, who had sharp eyes, looked around and responded.

"I don't see anyone particularly dangerous."

It was time to begin.

Rem started moving down the ridge, and Encrid followed him.

As they descended, dust rose around them.

Mac, Andrew, Finn, Audin, and Jaxon remained behind.

Krais was under protection, and they were prepared in case something went wrong.

Only Rem, Encrid, and Ragna had descended.

"We'll watch."

Ragna said as he joined Encrid. What had he learned while wielding two swords?

Ragna wanted to see if what he had taught was effective.

'A test.'

For Encrid, it was also an experiment.

Two swords, dual-wielding, fighting with a weapon in each hand.

How effective would it be?

"What's this?"

A guard spotted the three approaching. Kicking the gentle slope as they descended, they stirred up dust, and there was no terrain to hide behind.

They had descended onto a fertile plain, land that the victor of the battle would soon claim.

Rem approached, waving his hand.

It was a gesture and walk that seemed aimed at an old friend.

"Hey!"

The guard looked puzzled by his nonchalance. Are they the enemy? Or not?

As the distance closed,the guard was about to tell them to stop when Rem's hand axe flew from his belt.

His hand moved like lightning.

The throwing axe arced through the air, drawing a long trajectory.

Thud.

The guard's head was adorned with a new ornament, one that ended his life.

The guard with the axe embedded in his head staggered, his feet leaving the ground. As he flailed and fell backward with a thud.

The other guard, witnessing this, hurriedly brought a whistle to his mouth. However, Rem was already upon him.

He charged with explosive force, using his powerful thigh muscles.

Encrid knew Rem's skills. Even so, he was surprised.

It reminded him of the charge he had seen from a Squire, just before they became a full Knight.

'Rem.'

He still had hidden skills.

Rem closed the distance and grabbed the guard's wrist, twisting it.

Crack.

"Ugh."

Then, the axe in Rem's left hand sliced horizontally through the air.

Thud.

The guard fell sideways, his neck half-severed.

Blood gushed from the fallen man's neck, soaking the ground.

"Pathetically weak."

Rem muttered between the two dead soldiers.

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