CHAPTER 162

After defeating the hyena beasts, the group found a stream, washed up, and pulled out some jerky to eat.

Eating, drinking, and cleaning are important, especially on a long journey.

Catching a cold could significantly increase the difficulty of the journey.

"This flavor is amazing."

Finn seemed to be feeling a little better, thanks to the seasoned jerky.

Luagarne ate dried fruits and some edible larvae she had prepared. She also caught and ate a few insects resembling cicadas.

It wasn't off-putting.

They were well aware that this was Frog's meal.

"Insects make the body strong." she said, chewing on dried larvae.

There were no facilities at the Border Guard for Frog.

So, that meal was Luagarne's own preparation.

As long as they were satisfied with their food, that was enough.

In that regard, Esther also enjoyed the jerky, chewing it a few times before swallowing, nodding in satisfaction.

Is that really a panther? At this point, you might as well call her a human.

Everyone filled their leather bottles with water and drank.

The stream's water was clear and refreshing.

As they followed the road and crossed a small hill, Encrid caught an unpleasant scent.

'The smell of blood?'

It was the smell of death, of battle.

The smell of blood and metal, the scent of the battlefield.

As they crossed the hill, the source of the smell became visible.

They saw the scattered corpses of beasts.

There were beasts resembling wolves, snakes, and goats.

The numbers weren't small.

The wounds showed signs of being cut, struck, and torn by weapons.

There were many other corpses that were torn to pieces.

They also saw traces of wild dogs that had been eating the bodies.

What are beasts? Beasts are animals that have been transformed by the influence of magic or demonic energy from the magic realm.

Carnivorous and aggressive animals are more easily and deeply influenced and transformed.

Even so...

'There are many.'

Just as Finn had angrily remarked, how could there be so many beasts in a place that wasn't even a magic realm?

They counted about thirty bodies scattered around.

The magic realm is a land where humans cannot trespass.

It's the origin of monsters and beasts.

Several kingdoms had tried to purge it, only to weaken and fall prey to neighboring countries.

It's widely speculated that something in the core of the magic realm is producing these monsters.

Of course, if this were near the magic realm, this number would be considered insignificant.

After this, they did not encounter any more beasts.

"I want to say this is normal." Finn muttered.

She also saw the bodies of beasts lying dead everywhere. They also saw a few ghouls, but mostly it was beasts.

There were significantly more beasts than monsters.

After spending most of twenty days on the road, the group finally sighted the pioneer village.

Their encounters with numerous monsters and beasts delayed them by two days, making it a total of twenty-two days.

They had reached their destination.

High wooden walls.

Strong barriers to prevent enemy invasion.

There were even a couple of structures resembling watchtowers visible.

It wasn't small.

If the kingdom was serious about supporting the village, it could grow to this size. It was a village that almost resembled a fortress.

"It's big, isn't it?"

Krais shared his impressions.

"Indeed."

Finn replied leisurely, looking around. As a ranger, she had been annoyed at times, but they had arrived, and that was enough for her.

Not everything can be perfect.

Encrid, on the other hand, didn't concern himself with such things. He simply headed toward the wooden palisade.

It was a well-made defensive structure, that was his first thought.

It meant that serious military effort had been invested in this pioneer village.

When Encrid identified himself at the gate, the doors of the palisade were soon opened.

A man with a stern gaze was watching from the watchtower, his eyebrows twitching.

He had a particularly unfriendly look.

'He has a face that makes you want to hit him.'

Even though Encrid usually wasn't concerned with others, he felt an urge to punch that face.

Inside, they saw that the palisade and gates were made entirely of thick logs.

It was a very sturdy fence, almost at the level of a city wall, or at least close to it in size and height.

In the center of the village, there was a long flagpole and a platform, which clearly marked the village square.

As they entered, the village headman, the representative of the village, came out to greet them.

The headman was a young man, about the same age as Encrid.

His face was ordinary, but his eyes were full of confidence.

"Welcome."

The headman said. Encrid sensed from his tone, attitude, and gaze that they were not entirely welcome.

Was it due to his keen instincts and intuition?

Despite Frog being part of the group, the headman did not genuinely welcome them.

* * *

"We are sufficient on our own here."

"We've already driven off the large bandit group that was nearby."

"Have you heard of the Black Blade Bandits? Even they didn't dare to come close!"

"We appreciate the Frog coming and your commander's presence, but as you can see, this isn't a small village."

"So you're a Platoon leader? You must be quite skilled with the sword."

"We even have a former mercenary leader among us, known as Glaive the One-Eyed. He's our village guard captain now."

Their treatment could be summarized as:

"We can handle things ourselves, you can just watch and leave. Just say we did a good job on the mission. We've already dealt with the colony."

This was the sentiment from the headman and the village's core leadership.

There were no old people among them, mostly middle-aged or younger.

They made it clear that they didn't want interference, and most of the villagers seemed to support this sentiment.

Especially the village guard or militia, who seemed almost hostile.

"Let's do that."

Encrid didn't insist on asserting his command authority.

It was a futile effort.

A mission is a mission, work is work, and people are people.

Since they said they'd handle it, Encrid decided to leave them to it.

However, they decided to stay in the village for a while. A week at most, or five days at the least, to ensure everything was truly safe before reporting back.

Encrid didn't take their attitude seriously.

They were given a hastily built shack as accommodation.

Krais had gone out to explore the village, and Luagarne asked,

"Are we just going to stay here? Just sightseeing?"

"Let's spend the time training."

"Even here? Well, that makes sense."

Now, Luagarne was getting used to Encrid. This guy could swing his sword anywhere, even here.

There were plenty of open spaces near the hut, still many places where houses had yet to be built.

In one such open space, Encrid swung his sword. He had never cared whether anyone was watching.

He practiced the basics of the Correct Sword Technique, along with the Sense of Evasion, things he had recently become deeply engrossed in.

As he continued to swing his sword, everything he had learned began to flow through his body naturally.

Swinging and swinging again, he stepped into a world where he lost himself and only the sword remained.

In this state, Encrid reflected on what he had learned from Luagarne during their journey.

Encrid began to swing his sword more vigorously.

Meanwhile, Krais was busy exploring the village.

He expected to be shunned as an outsider, but surprisingly, he blended in well.

'That's a skill in itself.' 

Luagarne thought.

Krais was adept at reading people and knowing how to appeal to them.

While wandering around, he would say things like, "Would you like a cigarette?" offering a hand-rolled cigarette to gain favor.

In doing so, he struck up a friendship with a bearded man near the quarry.

"You've done a great job. It's risky to come all the way here, isn't it? To a pioneer village, wow. A real man, aren't you?"

With just a few words, he won the man's goodwill.

'He's got a good way with words.' Luagarne noted.

Such people were quite common in the kingdom: politicians, nobles living on state stipends, and administrators.

'Will he fit in?' 

Given the usual understanding, the journey here had been harsh and dangerous.

Though the group's strength meant they hadn't faced significant threats, it was still remarkable to see Krais immediately engaging with the community so actively.

Frog's gaze wandered, searching for the rest of the group.

Esther, the panther, rested its paws on the windowsill of the hut, staring intently at its master.

Finn was inside, catching up on much-needed sleep.

Luagarne had nothing in particular to do. When there was free time, assisting Encrid with his training was the natural choice, so she did that.

As she watched, memories of past connections began to surface.

Specifically, the so-called geniuses who had passed through her hands.

Every single one of them had been like the offspring of dogs.

Yes, that's right. The offspring of dogs, indeed.

"That seems to be enough for now."

"Do I need to learn more?"

"I have an appointment at the salon this evening."

"Do you like me? Because I have no intention of engaging in some kind of spiritual love with Frog, so it would be nice if you could leave me alone."

"This is my limit. I can't do more."

Talented people were all similar.

Even with minimal effort, their bodies would absorb the skills, making intense, bone-crushing training unnecessary. Spitting blood from hard training was difficult for them. They merely rushed to complete the training hours.

Born with bodies that were incredibly efficient, they became like wells dried up of willpower.

In the end, mastering the sword means controlling the body and making it move as intended.

That is the basic requirement.

Those born with such talent quickly absorbed skills after a few tries, but they weren't used to hard work.

Pffff.

Thinking about this made her cheeks puff out involuntarily.

So, if they had the basic requirements, what should they do next?

'Well, what should they do?'

They should swing their swords diligently, run, and roll. But were there really such people? They were extremely rare. Very rare.

Even though most were like that, there were exceptions.

'God isn't fair.'

The memories that surfaced weren't melancholic but weren't particularly happy either.

Her first lover, a man who always gave his best without thinking about tomorrow.

"Training is fun."

The words he had said came to mind.

Luagarne reminisced.

She had been young then, much more passionate than she was now.

Of course, just because Frog was aging didn't mean his desires would wane.

They were hedonists.

A combat race that lived according to their own desires and wants.

As her thoughts drifted, another man filled her vision. Seeing him, she spoke involuntarily.

"Is it fun?"

Lost in her memories, Luagarne asked.

Encrid glanced at Luagarne and nodded slightly.

"Yes, it's fun."

Luagarne saw a man drenched in sweat. He had black hair and blue eyes, different from her former lover. He was also remarkably talented.

If he had lived, if the unfairness of the Gods hadn't burdened him, he might have become a Knight.

But the man before her wasn't him. Yet, why did they seem to overlap?

It was just a memory, a faded past, a memory that had become pain instead of pleasure.

Being a Frog, Luagarne discarded the unpleasant memory.

Living in the present, giving in to desires, and keeping promises was enough for her.

"Captain, Captain."

Krais approached, calling out to Encrid, breaking Luagarne's brief reverie.

Krais spoke up as he arrived.

"It's quite serious here, isn't it? They're planning a quarry, a training ground, and even barracks. There's talk of some noble backing them."

Not even half a day had passed, and he had gathered a lot of information.

Krais raised a finger towards the sky, indicating that a higher power was involved in the village.

Indeed, without such support, such scale would be difficult to achieve.

"What about the defenses?"

Encrid, nodding, asked.

What would happen if a large horde of beasts attacked?

The original mission was to deal with a colony of beasts. The granted command meant to use the village militia, but if that wasn't possible?

Could the village handle the colony on its own?

Would they be safe if more trouble arose? Given the responsibility, he had to be thorough.

Krais wasn't just wandering aimlessly. He seemed to have good synergy with Encrid.

Just a look from Encrid, and Krais knew what to find out.

"They're well-prepared. The former mercenary leader seems to have trained them well. I'm not an expert, but they have discipline, which means they won't easily fall apart. The guys in the watchtower, their eyes are sharp, they speak kindly but have a fierce look."

The watchtower, those eyes, that face—he didn't particularly like it. It felt like they might have been mercenaries who also did some banditry.

Maybe they were.

Anyway, it seemed there was nothing to worry about.

So, what should they do?

"In that case, Captain, maybe we should look for treasure..."

"Luagarne."

Encrid interrupted Krais before he could finish and called for Frog.

Freed from her reverie, Frog rolled her bulging eyes.

"Let's spar."

Sparring and training, just as usual.

People were already gathering to watch Encrid, intrigued by this unusual sight.

He seemed like he would swing his sword all day, even here.

"Shall we use wooden swords?" Frog asked.

"Krais?"

Encrid called out the name of his resourceful subordinate instead of answering.

Even as unwelcome guests, they could probably find two wooden swords.

"We're not really going treasure hunting, are we?"

Krais asked in response to Encrid's request. There was genuine concern in his tone, which was understandable, given the risk involved.

"We're leaning toward going." Encrid replied.

"...I'll get the wooden swords."

Though Encrid had a sly side, Krais wasn't unaware of it.

But Encrid was known to keep his word.

And he said he was leaning towards it.

So it was half-decided.

As Krais headed off to get the swords, a peculiar sound came from behind.

Turning around, Encrid saw Esther, the panther, laughing.

Her laughter was quite unique.

"Did you always laugh like that?" 

Encrid asked, curious.

Esther pretended to be serious, elongating her neck and turning her head to rest on her front paws.

It seemed she wasn't going to answer.

Soon, Krais returned with the wooden swords, and the sparring began.

There was a reason Luagarne had asked for wooden swords.

"It's a strategy game." she explained.

It was a method she once used to teach her talented lover, though Encrid didn't know that.

He was just busy enjoying it.

It was a new training, a new form of swordplay.

It was enjoyable. It was training to polish the basics of the Correct Sword Technique, beyond just physical ability.

How to block and deflect the opponent's sword for the next move.

All of it was setting up traps for the next step.

Slowly, they clashed wooden swords, developing their strategies.

"What's that?"

"Are they just playing around?"

"What? Reinforcements from the Kingdom? Not on vacation?"

People began to talk as they watched.

The rumor that there was a guy playing sword games with Frog started to spread.

Despite its size, this was a pioneer village, with no more than two hundred residents, excluding the militia.

Rumors spread that the Platoon leader from the Border Guard was a slacker who brought along a woman and a Frog as a bodyguard and guide, and even brought a big-eyed servant and a pet.

Encrid didn't care.

He had dealt with worse rumors when he was a Troublemaking Squad leader and had never been bothered by them.

"Ah, you're training with swords even here?"

Finn, waking up from a nap, stuck out her tongue in disbelief when she saw Encrid drenched in sweat.

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