Chapter 355 - Reprimand and Tease

Chapter 355 - Reprimand and Tease

"Do not stop fighting."

Rem judged that Enkrid grew stronger through real battles.

It was clear to anyone that Enkrid's talent had limitations. Even Rem could see it.

It seemed natural that he would stop growing at some point.

How many times have we seen people rise through the ranks and then stop?

The limit of talent quietly comes, stays, and slowly eats away at the person.

Then, is there a way to break the limit?

Yes, there is.

In Rem's view, the best way is to risk one's life.

A limit is nothing more than complacency.

One of the best ways to avoid complacency is to put your life on the line, no matter what you're doing.

It's not just about swinging a sword.

Even writing poetry or singing, if you put your life into it, you grow. This was Rem's philosophy.

"Put your life on the line, and fight on the battlefield."

That was the best advice Rem could give to a man trying to keep moving forward.

Enkrid reflected on their conversation.

This wasn't a battlefield.

Still, Enkrid could see someone putting their life on the line and struggling.

It seemed like Krang was doing that.

He appeared to be putting his life on the line, rolling in the fight.

That gave Enkrid some kind of realization.

Above all, it made him want to watch him even more.

"Why don't you just look around the palace?"

Marcus said.

"Wouldn't it seem too much like I'm a highwayman if I make a request here?"

He joked, but Enkrid ignored him completely.

He was too busy watching Krang.

Esther narrowed her eyes and observed the interior of the palace.

As a mage, her instincts sensed the magical tools and spell objects scattered around the palace.

Something felt off.

Of course, a palace of a nation would have plenty of spell objects and artifacts. That was to be expected.

But it wasn't just about the artifacts.

A mage wouldn't be surprised by things within their prediction range.

'Then?'

There was something sinister. Something on the opposite side of order.

Magic itself doesn't always follow order, but there was an ominous presence.

"Grhrng."

Esther muttered softly.

The shape was a bit unusual, catching her interest.

More than that, the palace, on the surface, was full of danger. But from the perspective of a mage who had reached a certain level, it felt strangely insecure.

She couldn't explain why, but there seemed to be a lack of defenses in some areas.

It looked as though someone had intentionally left gaps.

"Have you come to find your death?"

A guard in an ash-gray helmet spoke. They were heading toward the palace.

They didn't pass through the center of the capital but headed to one of its corners.

His words seemed like a threat, matching the narrowing path ahead.

The number of people around them kept dwindling.

Matthew reacted to the words.

"Do you know who is standing in front of you?"

"One who believes in their bloodline and acts recklessly.Do not anger me."

Clear enough, Enkrid thought inwardly, realizing that this man was no easy opponent.

Instead of openly sizing him up like before, he was now carefully observing the royal guards.

There were twenty soldiers in total.

Some of them appeared to be well-trained elites.

They looked capable of thrusting their spears at anything surprising.

However, some were terrible. They couldn't even march in sync.

Military formation is the basic discipline of an army.

If they couldn't even do that, they couldn't be called elites.

Was this the standard of the royal guards guarding the royal family?

Even so, the man in the ash-gray helmet walked before them, maintaining a perfect balance.

Enkrid admired his posture highly.

Regardless of skill, it was an attitude that took responsibility for everyone.

'It would be nice if they challenged us.'

Looking at his posture, Enkrid could tell that would never happen.

Some people's movements are so telling.

This man didn't seemed to be the type to prefer direct confrontation.

He spoke plainly and, even if given the chance, would wait for his opponent to turn around before striking.

His steps, posture, speech, and attitude all hinted at this.

He wouldn't fight without a justified cause.

'The opposite of Jaxen.'

Enkrid thought as his eyes met Jaxen's.

"You seem to be thinking something unpleasant," Jaxen said.

"No, not at all."

Enkrid denied it. He was good at this.

It wasn't really a lie. It wasn't harming his beliefs.

It was simply a courtesy, choosing to hold back words for the sake of the other person.

"No, really."

"I can see it in your eyes," Jaxen responded.

Enkrid tilted his head slightly, denying Jaxen's words, then turned to Rem and Ragna, who said something.

"Do you think they'll feed us?"

Dunbakel added another comment on top of that. Enkrid quickly responded to her words.

"They'll probably take care of it."

"Are we not going to fight now?"

"No, I don't think so."

Surely, their conversation would be heard by those surrounding them. And of course, it was heard—quite clearly.

"Arrogant."

One of the Royal Guards, who was below average in skill, spoke up. He couldn't even follow proper military posture. He was pretending not to, but that only showed how poor his mental fortitude was.

They were strangers, unfamiliar faces. When encountering people like that, he should be walking properly to uphold his unit's honor. But he wasn't doing that, proving he was incompetent.

The fool spoke as though he was picking a fight, and Enkrid worried about how the others might react. He wondered if they might snap. But before anyone else could, someone else spoke up.

"Are you trying to make a fool of me with just those words?"

Krang raised his voice from the front.

"That wasn't my intention."

The man in the dark gray helmet responded.

"Then shut up."

Before the sentence could even finish, Krang spoke up sharply.

It was direct.

"And anyone talking behind our backs, calling us arrogant or whatever, better keep their tongues in check before they lose them."

The Royal Guards flinched. Was it fear? No, it was anger. They made no attempt to hide it. This man was clearly not someone to be underestimated.

Krang had mentioned he was royalty, but it seemed no one was treating him like it.

"The Royal Guards tasked with protecting the palace have loose tongues and even looser hands. It's disgraceful."

Krang chastised them as he continued.

"You have no right to speak about our posture yet."

The captain replied.

Krang scoffed.

"Don't speak as if you're royalty. You're just a soldier."

"Then shouldn't you prove that you're royalty?"

"That's none of your concern! If you've been given an order, then just follow it!"

Krang suddenly shouted, reprimanding the captain. The words were true, and the captain couldn't reply.

The captain mulled over the words a few times, then fell silent.

Enkrid had to glance back.

"Be."

Rem stuck out his tongue and teased the Royal Guard from earlier.

Ah, that was unexpectedly bold.

And it wasn't just Rem acting this way.

Jaxen clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Ragna, as always, spoke with a hint of wisdom.

"To know where you're going, you must read the stars. To lie down, you must know where to rest."

He gave some advice to the Royal Guard.

Enkrid was dumbfounded, speechless at this turn of events.

Where did the person muttering about looking north while facing south go?

Of course, the advice wasn't wrong.

You must know where to lie down before you stretch your legs.

It was an expression about understanding one's circumstances.

But hearing it from Ragna made it lose some weight.

The Royal Guard ground his teeth. His face was flushed red. If left unchecked, he might turn into a ripe tomato.

'If he turns into a fruit or vegetable, is he still a human or should I call him a "fruit-man"?'

Enkrid muttered to himself, his thoughts drifting.

Of course, he said this in a tone that only the Royal Guard could hear.

"Whoops."

Then, Enkrid tried to cover it up with a light-hearted remark.

The sound of the Royal Guard's grinding teeth grew louder, and his face turned even redder.

Matthew, walking as if on a cliff's edge, couldn't hide his astonishment at the absurdity coming from behind.

These madmen... what are they doing?

Krang suppressed a laugh, and Marcus felt much the same.

He hadn't expected this even when surrounded by Royal Guards in the capital.

They say a leaking water bottle will leak everywhere, and this madness didn't stop at the border guards.

"You."

The leader glanced back for a moment, as though about to say something, but then closed his mouth.

The group reached the outskirts of the city and climbed into the carriage.

More precisely, it was Krang, Matthew, and Marcus who climbed in.

Marcus's guards tried to follow, but he sent them back.

"I'm with the hero who shook both the Royal and Border Guards. Do you think there's any danger? Especially in the middle of the palace?"

His words carried weight, but Enkrid didn't care much about it.

The rest of the group got back on their horses.

If they walked, they would arrive by dusk.

For that reason, the carriage and the cavalry moved at a moderate pace.

The road leading to the palace ran along the outskirts of the city.

Along the way, there were checkpoints set up, with soldiers stationed in them. There were gates and obstacles designed to block the road to the palace, just in case.

But for now, everything was wide open.

On horseback, Enkrid could see the city walls absorbing the light on the left and the cityscape on the right.

It wasn't a market area, but a district full of mansions.

"The capital is huge. Been here before?"

Rem asked, and Enkrid nodded.

When Enkrid had been to the capital before, his situation had been closer to that of a beggar.

A lot had happened since then.

People had looked down on him, and some even tried to kill him.

It would take half a day to explain everything, and it would fill a book if he wrote it.

So he summarized briefly.

"The last time I was here, I was too busy getting beaten to enjoy the sights."

"That sounds like something the captain would say."

Rem chuckled, nodding in understanding. Ragna quietly looked around.

It was his first time in the capital too.

In a big city, it's easy to get lost with just a small mistake.

The alleys twisted like a maze.

'It must be quite a task to get from the palace to the gates.'

In reality, it was an easy path, just following the road. But to Ragna, the alleyways looked like a maze, and he was already deep in thought about how to navigate them.

Jaxen followed quietly. He had been to the capital before and had even visited the palace.

'Abnaier.'

The name of the Aspen strategist popped into his mind. He couldn't find any lies in what that man had said.

So, his task must be somewhere inside the palace.

Jaxen's eyes landed on the tall spires at the end of the road.

The three tall spires symbolized the three swords of the palace.

Three knights who protected the previous king and wrote the founding myths of the country.

When the next king ascended the throne, a national crisis struck, but a divine beast called the Sun Serpent appeared and saved the country.

Dunbakel began to feel hungry.

Enkrid secretly hoped he might meet a knight inside the palace. He also wondered what he might ask if that were the case.

"We've arrived," the Royal Guard commander said.

Just as he said, they reached the entrance of the palace, where the guards at the inner castle gates were visible.

They were all soldiers in identical uniforms.

The entire unit guarding the inner castle was referred to as the Royal Guard.

There were four guards at the gate, all of whom saluted their commander.

They then surveyed the group with their eyes and exchanged greetings with the Royal Guards who had accompanied them thus far. Enkrid felt an odd sense of unease from this.

'They've split into factions.'

It seemed that some of the guards were friendly with certain members of the group, while others maintained a distance.

It appeared that internal divisions were affecting the Royal Guard as well.

"We'll see about you," one of the guards muttered, grinding his teeth before they parted ways.

"This friend teased them," Enkrid said, pointing at Rem.

"Ah, I'm so wronged here. Come on, tell me, was it just me?"

Rem responded to the Royal Guard, slicing through the thin thread of the guard's composure.

Despite this, the guard endured, possibly due to his deep-rooted patience, earning him a respectful response.

"Enough."

The commander grabbed his subordinate's shoulder, warning him.

"Take it easy."

The commander said, but Enkrid continued to point at Rem as though he were the sole problem.

"I swear, I'm the wronged one here."

The commander, not waiting for a response, turned and led them to another person who would greet them.

"You are called by the Queen to the audience chamber," the new figure announced.

This person was unfamiliar to Enkrid, but he introduced himself.

"I am Baron Bentra."

Enkrid recognized the name.

Bentra was a noble under Count Molsan.

The man had sent troops to erase the Border Guard's insignia.

With neatly combed blonde hair and broad shoulders, Bentra was clearly a well-trained individual.

"Marcus Baisar."

"Long time no see."

Marcus was also a titled noble, officially a baron. His title had been granted under the Baisar family, one of the noble houses that operated with royal permission.

Although Marcus was familiar with Bentra, he was far from the only one.

Enkrid noticed that Bentra didn't even acknowledge the others in the group, only leading them to the chamber.

As they walked, Krang whispered a warning.

"Don't mock the Queen."

Krang, the royal bastard, seemed to consider himself above others in terms of authority.

Mocking the Queen would be a capital offense, yet Krang didn't seem to care.

"You may enter," Bentra said, turning to Enkrid, before the others were told to wait outside.

Enkrid understood that this was more for the display of royal favor.

The Queen herself wished to meet the hero who had saved the Border Guard.

"I fear I may violate etiquette," Enkrid said hesitantly.

"Don't worry, I'll personally guide you," Bentra replied with a lack of emotion that unsettled Enkrid.

The man's demeanor was impassive, which made Enkrid uneasy despite the lack of direct malice.

However, he had no real grounds to refuse.

But then, Enkrid couldn't help but notice a faint, unpleasant odor, one that was slightly more than just a bad smell.

Dunbakel, too, was holding her nose in response to the scent.

For those unaccustomed to the sharpness of trained senses, it might have only been mildly off-putting, but to those with heightened senses, especially beastkin, the odor was more than unpleasant—it was sharp enough to be uncomfortable.

Enkrid momentarily scrunched his nose but said, "Thank you for your consideration."

Soon, they arrived at the audience chamber.

Rem waved a hand from behind, signaling Enkrid to hurry inside.

The rest of the group stood still, waiting.

Enkrid entered the chamber.

The doors with intricate carvings opened on either side.

The guards inside inspected him thoroughly before allowing him in.

He had already removed his weapon.

As the door closed with a grinding sound, Enkrid noted that only six nobles were present in the chamber.

These were the nobles hastily summoned for the occasion, all familiar faces to some degree.

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