CHAPTER 34

"Is the scouting I know different from the scouting the squad leader knows?"

Rem said, twirling the axe in his hand.

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like you came back half dead."

"A little scratch on the side, that's all."

"If that's a scratch, would a cut kill you immediately?"

Rem said and laughed.

This guy hasn't changed at all.

Well, how could he change in just a few days?

For Encrid, it's been months, but for them, it's only been less than a week.

"I almost died."

Encrid said, feeling the wound on his side.

In reality, he had experienced death countless times, but he couldn't say that outright.

"Let me see."

Jaxon approached and examined the side wound. Encrid turned his body and lifted his shirt to make it easier to see.

"What do you know by looking?"

Rem grumbled, but Jaxon ignored him and inspected Encrid's wound.

"It's nothing."

Encrid said.

"The bone isn't damaged, but if you underestimate a minor wound, you'll suffer."

That was true.

"I've applied ointment."

"That's a relief."

Jaxon nodded.

"Did you encounter an enemy while scouting?"

Big Eyes said, looking at Encrid's shabby appearance.

His hair was greasy, and he had dark circles under his eyes from not resting after the battle and continuing on foot.

Throughout the mission, he barely washed, ate, or drank, so it was natural for him to look shabby.

'Was it just an encounter? I stirred up the enemy camp.'

He nodded slightly, not needing to explain everything.

Having watched the battle between Rem and Ragna right after arriving, he was drenched in sweat and exhausted.

So now,

"Is there anything to eat? Water too."

It was time to eat and rest.

To be honest, he wanted to swing his sword right away, but there were limits to what he could do in his current condition.

Moreover, after seeing the enemy gathered in the tall grass, it didn't seem like this battle would end here.

Therefore, since he would likely have to head back to the battlefield, he needed to get his body in shape.

"Go wash up. We'll prepare a royal feast for you," Rem said with a smile.

Encrid nodded and headed to a nearby stream.

They didn't place the infantry camp here for no reason. The stream in the back made it easy to get drinking water and wash up.

When he put his hand in the water, a chill quickly rose up.

'It's getting cold.'

It was the time of year when the temperature dropped.

Encrid washed his face roughly and took off his clothes to wash off the blood, oil, sweat, and dirt from his body.

'That guy.'

As he washed, memories of the recent events filled his mind.

The tall grass, the ambush, passing the flag, and finally, the guy holding the sword and torch.

'I feel like I'll see him again.'

It was a premonition that they would meet in an unavoidable situation.

'Is this the wall?'

Hadn't the faceless ferryman said that the wall would endlessly block his path?

He wasn't worried. If there was a wall, he would just have to climb over it.

To be honest, he was rather looking forward to it.

He regretted not having a showdown with that guy. 

Of course, if they fought, he would probably die, but he didn't want to avoid it.

He wanted to fight him once.

Seeing that guy stirred a strange competitive spirit in him.

Sometimes, you meet someone like that. It's similar to falling in love at first sight, but instead, you want to fight and win against them.

When he finished cleaning up and returned, there was warm soup, bread, and even roasted meat skewers that someone had managed to find.

It couldn't be called a royal feast, but it was a rare treat in the midst battlefield.

"Rabbit?" Encrid asked, and Rem proudly stepped forward.

"I personally prepared it."

"No, it wasn't Rem, it was me who found it," Jaxon said.

Then Big Eyes glared.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Encrid devoured the food as if it was the last meal on earth.

"Every time I see you eat, squad leader, you really have a hearty appetite."

"One needs to eat well to gain strength."

"You are the most unique person I've ever seen."

Rem, standing with his arms crossed, spouted nonsense while watching Encrid eat.

Here was a squad full of troublemakers, and among them, he was being called unique by someone whose hobby was assaulting allies.

"You're the last person I want to hear that from."

At this remark, Rem laughed again.

After that, the squad members dispersed.

Jaxon said he had something to do and left, Krais went out claiming it was time to do business.

The religious squad member began praying in a corner while Rem idly spent time outside the tent, probably making silly jokes with passing soldiers.

And Ragna kept staring at Encrid. He could feel the gaze.

"What?"

Annoyed by the persistent stare, Encrid turned his head and asked.

"Just looking."

Half-lying down, Ragna answered.

When Encrid tilted his head in confusion, Ragna turned away, indicating it was nothing.

It seemed like he had something to say, but Encrid didn't press further.

From leading this troublesome squad, he knew that asking now wouldn't get a response. In such cases, waiting often led to them bringing it up later.

If nothing was said later, then it would just be let go.

Since they had just returned from a mission, they were exempt from guard duty and meal duty.

Encrid ate well and slept soundly.

Jaxon's ointment was effective. The wound on his side healed quickly.

At this rate, two days of rest should be sufficient.

Even though Encrid lay down to rest, he wasn't just idling away his time.

'Even if I fight ten times, I feel like I'll lose all ten.'

Encrid sat and repeatedly swung his sword in his mind.

The first opponent was Rem, then Ragna, and after that, the enemy he encountered in hostile territory.

He pondered and pondered again.

The old sword master who taught him in the quiet coastal town had said:

"If you don't want to die by a blind blade, you have two options. One is to pray and pray again to the goddess of luck."

One was to rely on luck.

"The second is to think and think endlessly."

If you survived a fight where you risked half your life, that fight would become your asset.

It was something the old sword master of the coastal town often said.

So, how do you fight risking half your life and survive?

Pondering. Thinking. Deliberation.

He said to think of ways endlessly.

If you faced an enemy without any thought, you would have to rely entirely on the first method at that time.

He said if you didn't want that, you should always ponder.

'He was a good teacher.'

It was advice perfectly suited to Encrid at that time.

And that advice still shone now.

Encrid pondered and thought.

How to win.

At the very least, how not to lose.

The desperate struggle to find that method was Valen Mercenary Sword Technique.

That swordsmanship, which some called crude trickery, was also Encrid's core skill.

Feints, headbutts, the three-sword style, quick-draw techniques to throw daggers or stones.

Though absurd and futile when actually experienced, it worked well against opponents encountering it for the first time or those with mediocre skills.

Encrid in his mind swung his sword.

He took a stabbing stance and threw a stone.

Pretending to draw his sword, he threw a throwing knife.

Rem deflected everything with his axe, and Ragna dodged everything with agile footwork.

The enemy with the sword and torch ignored the flying stone, charged, and pierced Encrid's heart with his sword.

In reality, things might not move as he imagined, but at least in Encrid's mental image, they did.

'Again.'

He pondered endlessly. Encrid spent the entire day this way and then fell asleep.

When he did, he fell into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

It was after a grueling mission. He was utterly exhausted.

The next morning, Krais brought breakfast. It was thin soup, salty dried jerky, and crumbly bread.

"Is it your turn for duty?"

"Yes, you slept really well, didn't you?"

"I was tired."

Krais rolled his big eyes and asked,

"What happened? Tell me."

Krais, Big Eyes, was the information hub of the battlefield.

Encrid started to speak but then paused to think.

He decided there was no need to keep it a secret.

It would be known soon enough, and it wasn't exactly classified information.

Still, he couldn't go into too much detail, so he only mentioned that there was an enemy ambush in the tall grass.

He didn't elaborate much, as he didn't have all the answers himself.

"Damn. If they set up an ambush, they're not planning to just let it slide. But is there any point in making an ambush there?"

Big Eyes sometimes hit the mark despite knowing nothing about strategy.

'There's no point.'

If the scouting route hadn't been set through there, it would have been bypassed unnoticed.

If Encrid didn't have the ability to repeat the day, the scout team would have been wiped out.

An ambush is a tactic to prepare for an attack.

But the allied forces weren't advancing towards the tall grass.

Obviously, it was pointless.

That's what Big Eyes meant.

"We don't know yet."

We don't know. That was the correct answer.

He assumed the higher-ups were planning something.

There was definitely something going on.

The flag, the guy guarding it.

Even from the troop deployment, it felt like they were fully intent on annihilating any approaching enemies.

Normally, troops wouldn't be deployed that way. So the conclusion was that the enemy was preparing something.

"Sigh, I thought this would end here."

"Probably within the next day or two, we'll get orders," Encrid said.

Not long after their idle talk, they heard someone shouting outside.

"Move out. 4th Company, move out!"

It was the voice of the 4th Platoon leader.

"You didn't hurt your leg, did you?"

The one shouting outside poked his head into Encrid's tent.

"I heard you went through a lot?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"The rumor's all over. They're saying you're the hidden child of the goddess of luck."

Since he had chalked up the recent events to luck, this reaction was expected.

"Then who's my dad?"

"How should I know?"

The platoon leader chuckled at Encrid's joke.

"You must be tired, but we're moving out. We're heading east from the camp, so let's get moving."

With that, Encrid got up and dusted himself off.

East meant towards the tall grass.

Knowing about the ambush, they wouldn't enter the grass.

"There's going to be a fight; the air feels different," Rem said, suddenly appearing next to him.

"Does it?"

"If you act up thinking your skills have improved, you'll end up dead. Be careful."

Was he worried or cursing him?

Not only the 4th Company but the entire infantry battalion was moving.

So, most of the infantry forces that were pulled out for this battle were moving.

With each platoon roughly numbering forty soldiers, it was around six hundred infantrymen moving.

With the sound of footsteps, the infantry battalion marched.

There was no battle that day.

After moving, they set up a makeshift camp again.

They lit fires and each found their place.

The commanders wouldn't give orders to charge into the tall grass unless they had arrows stuck in their heads, so it seemed like they were moving the troops here to prepare for any possible situations.

After spending the day like that, the wound on Encrid's side barely bothered him anymore.

The next day, orders were given for each squad to prepare their own meals.

The six squad members gathered and cooked stew in a single pot.

"Caught a lizard on the way," Jaxon said, adding the drained lizard meat to the stew.

"What's gotten into you to do something commendable?" Rem said, clearly pleased.

Of course, Jaxon didn't respond.

Seeing this, Rem growled about being ignored again, but Jaxon also ignored that.

'They weirdly get along,' Encrid thought.

One side talking and the other ignoring seemed to fit together oddly well.

In the army, moving, eating, and resting were work in themselves.

Throughout the move and meals, Encrid felt an odd gaze on him.

Someone was staring at him.

It was Ragna.

"You're going to wear out your eyes," Encrid said casually, causing Ragna to look away.

"It's nothing."

It was clear he had something to say.

The atmosphere became tense as if a battle could break out at any moment, but another day passed without incident.

In his spare time, Encrid tried to practice the techniques he had envisioned.

Some were easier than he thought, while others were harder.

He spent the morning swinging his sword in a corner when Ragna approached and asked,

"Why do you go to such lengths?"

It was a question that came out of nowhere.

But Encrid understood perfectly.

There were always a few people who couldn't express themselves well.

Ragna wasn't one to have a way with words.

He spoke in his own way.

So, the listener had to interpret well.

In that sense, Encrid was the right person. He could roughly understand what Ragna was trying to say.

Scratch.

Encrid scratched his forehead with his finger.