CHAPTER 97

They arrived at the campsite just as night was falling.

Thanks to the moonlight, it wasn't too dark.

The gravel path had turned into a grassy field.

The ground, showing signs of emerging green, indicated that winter was coming to an end.

Of course, at night, it merely glistened with a purplish hue.

'The moon is bright.'

Encrid looked at the moon overhead and stuffed the stone he was holding into his pants pocket.

His right arm muscle trembled slightly.

They had walked for more than half a day to get here, and practicing Torres' Hide Knife technique the whole way had taken its toll.

His forearm muscles were sore and aching.

Encrid clenched and unclenched his hand a few times, knowing it would feel better by tomorrow.

Having pushed his body to the limit with The Isolation Technique, he naturally understood how quickly his muscles would recover.

In fact, it might not even take until tomorrow, a little rest might be enough.

"All day playing with rocks. You're a strange one, really."

That was the first thing Finn said upon arrival. Encrid had noticed her glancing at him throughout the journey.

"My hands get fidgety. It's a habit."

Encrid replied casually, surveying the campsite.

It wasn't a typical campsite with a fire and tents set up.

To be precise, it seemed more appropriate to call it a burrow rather than a campsite.

There were several holes dug into the ground in various places.

"Pick any hole you like and cover it with a camouflage net. It would be nice to have some heated leather to keep warm, but that's too rare to share."

One of the members brought out a large cloth, its earthy color blending so well with the ground that it was hard to tell there were holes there.

'Heated leather, huh.'

Encrid had one in his backpack.

'Hope Esther is doing well.'

She had hissed quite a bit when he left her behind.

She didn't seem pleased, but he couldn't bring her along, so he had to leave her.

"It's cold, so you two can share a hole. The newbie can stay with me."

Finn said.

She pointed at Encrid with her finger.

Encrid's backpack contained heated leather, and the holes didn't seem that spacious.

It might be fine for two smaller people.

Someone like Esther, for instance, would fit perfectly.

But while Encrid wasn't as big as Audin, he wasn't exactly small either.

In other words, it would be uncomfortable.

Moreover, the other person was a woman. It would be even more uncomfortable.

'If anyone finds out about this, there will be an uproar.'

Seeing how quickly rumors spread within the unit, it felt as if someone was always watching and talking about him.

Sure enough, Torres was staring at him from the side.

"It's fine. I have something prepared."

Finn looked disappointed.

"What about me? Do I sleep alone?"

Torres raised his hand and spoke up.

"A PlatoonLeader from the Border Guard Reserve Unit came empty-handed? Assign one of the soldiers to him."

"Why am I the one assigned?"

"The burrows are small."

At that, Torres looked at Encrid and then down at himself.

No matter how he looked at it, his own frame seemed smaller.

"What the..."

Regardless, Torres was being scolded.

Finn roughly organized the unit and started pulling out various things from the burrow she had claimed.

Torres approached Encrid.

"Why do I feel so annoyed?"

Why ask that here?

"Because you're tired?"

"Is it because I'm tired? Really? The Squad Leader of Enchantment, who even captured a Company Commander, now a Platoon Leader, really thinks that?"

"Yes."

"Jerk."

Torres said jokingly and turned away.

The burrow wasn't that small.

It slanted downward from the ground, and they had lined it with cloth to prevent moisture from seeping in.

Covering the entrance with a camouflage net made it feel surprisingly cozy inside.

He stepped out again, took out his heated leather, wrapped himself in it, and went back in. It was livable.

"You're well-prepared. Would you like some?"

One of the scouts approached and offered him some jerky.

"No, I have my own provisions."

The jerky he had eaten before had such a perfect taste that he ended up finding out where it was from and got some more.

"It's my mother's secret recipe."

The soldier had said this with a modest smile.

His mother ran a small restaurant located behind an inn, and the food was excellent.

Their main dish was grilled meat marinated in a fantastic sauce, and the flavor was superb.

The restaurant, known for its skewers, had a good reputation in the area.

'I should get more when I go back.'

Encrid thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy that jerky regularly, so he had asked Krais for a similar favor.

Anyway, he took the jerky out of his backpack and put it in his mouth.

The sweet and spicy marinade filled his mouth. Whatever the secret recipe was, it made the meat tender.

Encrid had no talent for cooking.

So, when he ate something like this, he was always amazed.

His modest skill was solely in wielding a sword.

Since his days as a mercenary, he had picked up various skills, but none he could do properly.

It was only the sword, and he had dreamed of becoming a knight.

After chewing and swallowing a few pieces of jerky, he lay down, and sleep soon overtook him.

In the land of beasts and monsters.

As he was falling asleep, Enri's warning came to mind, but the first night in the Cross Guard's courtyard passed without incident.

He had thought he might die in the middle of the night.

But nothing happened.

Since it was the first night, he was excused from the night watch.

Encrid woke up instinctively before dawn.

He soon got out and took off his top. The cold air wrapped around his body, the chill waking him up.

The awakened mind then propelled his body into motion.

Wearing only his pants, Encrid began to perform The Isolation Technique.

Starting with movements where he touched the ground with his hands and lifted his knees to his abdomen, he continued with various exercises.

"...What are you doing?"

The last night watchman, leaning against a tree between the camping burrows, asked while watching him.

"Morning training."

"Do you know where you are?"

"The courtyard of the Cross Guard."

"And you still do this?"

No one in this scouting unit knew Encrid, so their confusion was understandable.

When Encrid, after putting his body through such strenuous exercises, started swinging his sword, Finn woke up and watched him. So did all the other members, except for Torres.

They all looked at him with expressions that said, "What on earth is he doing?"

"Is he really crazy?" Finn asked to herself.

Torres, who had draped a thick cloak over himself instead of a blanket, replied, "That's just his daily routine."

"He does that every day?"

As she spoke, Finn recalled Encrid's body. Wasn't it just yesterday? The image was still vivid in her memory: his sculpted muscles, sturdy legs, and that heavy thing in between.

"Oh, that's not something you can train." she thought, shifting her memory back to Encrid's body rather than the heavy thing.

She seemed to understand why his body was built the way it was.

Life in this land was physically demanding, naturally leading everyone to develop a higher level of physical fitness. To stand out among them, one had to work twice as hard.

Like he did.

But knowing it and being able to do it are two different things.

"If we encounter monsters this afternoon, will he have any strength left to fight?"

She asked, thinking he might get muscle cramps from his antics.

"Even after all that, he sparred with me over ten times, and then we marched yesterday."

Torres mentioned, subtly implying he had also expended a similar amount of energy.

But Finn's eyes remained fixed on Encrid.

Why?

Because each swing of his sword seemed to ignite his soul.

"He seems like a madman."

She said, but Torres didn't detect any malice in her tone. Only admiration and affection.

'What did he do?' Torres thought, feeling a sense of awe at the might of the Squad Leader of Enchantment.

All he had done was bathe, walk, sleep, wake up, and train in the morning.

And yet, it seemed like he had already won over a commander-level soldier in this harsh land.

"Is this how he charmed the Company Commander too?"

But was it really about physical appearance?

Or was it the impression he left by the river?

Torres' random thoughts were soon interrupted.

Everyone's curiosity about Encrid only lasted a moment.

"Let's go eat."

The sun was rising. Finn's scouting unit couldn't just light a fire carelessly.

However, they didn't survive on jerky and dried fruit every day either.

Half a day's journey east from their campsite would bring them to the Cross Guard.

A short walk to the northwest led to a small forest.

That forest was their dining area.

"Aren't you going to fill your belly? If we're lucky, we might even catch a rabbit."

Including Finn, there were eight members in the scouting unit.

Not a large number.

They sustained themselves like hunters.

Living off the land.

With two more joining, their eating patterns hadn't changed.

"There's a stream inside where you can wash up too."

Finn said, looking at Encrid.

"Can I wash my clothes as well?"

Encrid asked casually.

As an independent Platoon leader, they were technically on the same level.

But in practice, it was slightly different.

Regardless of soldier ranks, a Scouting Squad leader with the Ranger title was considered a rank between a Company Commander and a Platoon leader.

Similar to Torres.

Just as the rank of a Border Guard squad leader was exceptional.

"It's a soldier's duty to wash, eat, and take care of personal maintenance when they have time."

It was already unusual for just the two of them to come as reinforcements, and even more so that both were Platoon leader-level.

Finn thought this but didn't delve deeper.

She was just a ranger on the front lines.

Soon, they reached the northwestern forest, set up camp by the stream, and gathered dry twigs and branches.

During this, they encountered two beasts, but Encrid just watched.

"Kieeek!"

The beasts were mutated animals, animals transformed into monsters in some form.

So, this kind of thing could happen.

It was a deer beast.

Its skin looked diseased, peeling in places and tinged blue.

The moment it's unfocused, black eyes—indistinguishable from the irises typical of beasts—stared blankly at Encrid:

Thwip, thwip, thwip.

The sound came from behind.

Three scouts simultaneously drew their short bows and shot arrows. Two arrows pierced the deer beast's forehead, and one struck its neck.

When the head is pierced, whether it's a beast, a monster, or a human, the result is the same: death.

The deer beast collapsed to the ground with a final cry.

The scouts approached the deer beast, kicking it with their toes to ensure it was dead, then retrieved their arrows.

One scout clicked his tongue.

"Damn, it broke."

The arrow shaft in the neck had broken when the deer beast fell.

'They're skilled.'

Encrid thought about how it would be if he had to fight these scouts, excluding close combat and relying solely on life-or-death combat.

It wouldn't be easy to say he would win.

In close combat, he was unbeatable.

'But in a many-against-one scenario?'

It would not be simple.

These weren't just any troops, they had survived in the land of beasts and monsters.

"You're an experienced soldier, right? Have you hunted before?"

"A little."

He had learned some from Enri and more during his mercenary days and wandering the continent.

Though he wasn't particularly skilled at hunting, he excelled in other areas.

In the midst of this, one of the scouts who had gone ahead returned.

"Damn it. It's ghouls. Should we move our camp?"

"How many were there?"

"I counted up to ten, but more were coming from behind, so I withdrew and came back."

The appearance of ghouls was not common, but it wasn't entirely rare either.

They had just set up a campfire and prepared the camp.

Ten ghouls would be a burden for the scouts.

Especially since these ghouls were fast.

If they couldn't be deterred with a few arrows, they would have to engage in close combat.

A quick scan showed that there were three soldiers with short bows.

So what should they do when they encounter a group of ghouls?

Avoiding them would be the best strategy.

"Damn it."

Even Finn was annoyed, and Encrid stepped forward.

"Which direction?"

He asked.

It was an awkward question, but his eyes were fixed on the soldier who had just seen the ghouls.

The soldier blinked, not understanding the intent of the question.

"I mean the ghouls."

Torres stepped in to clarify.

Torres had a rough idea of Encrid's capabilities.

Above all, Encrid's specialty was heavy sword techniques.

Compared to Torres' proficiency with daggers, Encrid's skills were more suited for hunting monsters.

After all, he had seen him take down the human-faced hounds and harpies before.

"The ghouls here aren't exactly tame."

Finn said worriedly, understanding Encrid's intention.

"You don't need to worry."

Torres added, standing beside Encrid.

"I'll just provide support, right?"

To Torres' question, Encrid replied, "Just keep their legs tied up."

It was a statement that he wouldn't let a single one escape.

"Alright then."

Encrid wanted to prove his abilities.

Finn and the remaining scouts exchanged glances.

Combat was a daily routine for them too.

However, ten swift ghouls were a formidable opponent.

If they got hit by the poison from the ghouls' claws, it would already mean a loss of strength.

"Hey."

Finn tried to stop him, but Encrid was already twitching his nose.

'The smell of rot.'

By sharpening his sense of smell, he could roughly tell the direction the ghouls were coming from.

Would this method be useful for hunting too?

He could find prey by smell and sound.

But now, it was time to cut down the ghouls.

Encrid pushed off the ground.

"Hey, wait!"

Finn, Torres, and the scouts hurriedly followed him.

Encrid's attitude and actions had a certain compelling force that made others want to see what he would do next.

So whether he lived or died, whether they helped or not, they wanted to go and see.

To see what that guy, who had been showing off his body since morning, would do.

As expected, Encrid did his job.

And Finn's eyes widened in amazement at what she saw.

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