There is a will evident in his words and actions.
Because of this will, Encrid’s words carried weight.
Everyone had retreated.
He said he would protect. If he said so, he would do so.
What if he failed? That was a matter to think about later.
The last to step back was Ragna.
Before leaving, he silently stared at the Swift Blade, and only after uttering a word did he turn away.
“We’ll meet again later.”
The Swift Blade ignored him.
Encrid thought it was not good to ignore that.‘It’s rare for Ragna to say we’ll meet again later.’
It was not a common sight.
As people withdrew and disappeared from view, Encrid was left alone. The Swift Blade spoke again in a tone devoid of laughter.
“Impressive, really.”
The smile vanished from the Swift Blade’s face. He seemed indifferent.
Encrid, still holding his sword, silently observed.
“Let’s begin.”
The Swift Blade said. A brief silence fell.
Nothing happened.
It could have been embarrassing, but the Swift Blade just twisted his mouth into a smile again.
Looking at his opponent’s face, Encrid thought it looked like a forced smile.
The original plan started with the half-blood Giant charging. Then the Swift Blade would attack, exploiting the opening.
But the half-blood Giant didn’t move.
“A conversation?”
Encrid asked casually, intending to alleviate the awkwardness, but the intent was not conveyed.
“Shut up, damn it.”
The Swift Blade glared at the half-blood Giant. The Giant stood still, helmet on. He didn’t look sideways.
They could kill him if they joined forces, so why was she acting like this?
Of course, the Swift Blade didn’t rely solely on the half-blood Giant.
He had something dangerous in his possession for critical moments.
‘If I use it wrong, it could backfire.’
If used properly, dangerous tools are naturally lethal.
When the half-blood Giant didn’t move even after saying to start, the Swift Blade spoke again.
“Let’s go.”
It was an urging remark. Only after hearing this did the half-blood Giant silently lift her shield.
Encrid watched the half-blood Giant.
The helmet covered her face. The visor had a single horizontal slit through which only her eyes were barely visible. Her eyes were so thin and small that even the light in them couldn’t be seen.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t sense the atmosphere.
People often reveal their feelings through their attitude, even without speaking.
“Do you not want to fight?”
Encrid asked, facing her.
During their sparring, the half-blood Giant unknowingly became excited, and Encrid sensed it too.
It was a vivid memory from long ago, before today’s repetition. Some memories are not easily forgotten.
It was different from forgetting Edin Molsen’s name.
“Just fulfilling my duty.”
The half-blood Giant replied. Her husky voice echoed through the helmet. You could tell she was a woman, but her voice was characteristically rough.
She soon raised her shield. A gray iron wall.
Simultaneously setting her shield, she leaned forward and kicked the ground. The massive thigh muscles and ankle strength sent dirt flying as she propelled herself forward.
Bang!
The sound of her foot hitting the ground thundered through the air.
At the same time, the half-blood Giant’s body charged at Encrid.
It was like a giant mountain moving.
The half-blood Giant originally named this technique ‘Avalanche’.
The shield, tilted obliquely, bore down on Encrid.
It was coming down with a crushing force.
Encrid instantly activated Focus Point.
A strange experience of the surroundings slowing down, a technique he was now accustomed to using, consuming his concentration.
Even in this immersed state, the speed of the shield bearing down on him was extraordinary and overwhelming.
He judged that simply tilting his shield towards the sky as he charged would not suffice to deflect it.
So, what should he do?
If deflecting isn’t possible, how about redirecting?
Though his opponent had lost their enthusiasm, Encrid hadn’t. As he tried to move his body in response to the shield charge, the Avalanche, he felt a murderous intent prick the back of his head. His sixth sense was activated, and his Sense of Evasion was naturally on high alert.
The Swift Blade was up to something. Encrid didn’t mind.
‘It seems like it could be fun.’
Because of this, a smile appeared on his face, and seeing this, the Swift Blade felt disgusted, almost to the point of madness.
The previously restrained murderous intent surged in an instant.
‘Die.’
The Swift Blade muttered to himself as he raised his hand to his belt and scattered something forward.
It was the weapon that earned him his current nickname.
A flexible sword made of thin wrought iron, called a Ribbon sword.
It had been wrapped around his waist. What looked like a belt became a sword, extending straight forward.
It was one and a half times longer than a typical longsword. It also looked like a pointed iron whip.
Swish!
With the sound of the thin blade slicing through the air, the sword tip flew towards the back of Encrid’s head like a venomous snake.
Encrid was just about to raise his left hand against the shield charging like an avalanche.
“I keep thinking this is my fault.”
Krais muttered, and Rem glanced sideways at him upon hearing this.
“Why?”
“The guidance map. And I left it exposed even though I knew.”
Krais had drawn and sold an internal map of the territory.
The map could have been a means for them to navigate the territory, and he didn’t use the Gilpin Guild to monitor them as he could have.
They didn’t want the guild members to die in droves against a skilled opponent.
He had weighed the practical benefits. That nagging feeling was why he spoke up.
“In that case, the Battalion Commander should take responsibility, right?”
Finn said from behind. Next to her was Dunbachel, who seemed to have no thoughts at all.
She simply asked out of curiosity.
“Should we just leave him?”
Rem reacted to this.
“Well, if we don’t leave him, will you sneak off to help? Are you sure you won’t get caught?”
Some beastmen are instinctively talented hunters, but Dunbachel was not one of them.
She was a warrior, not a hunter.
“I think I’ll get caught.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“If he dies, I have no reason to stay here.”
It was quite surprising to hear her reveal this so openly.
Wasn’t she saying she stayed here only because of Encrid?
Rem thought this as she kicked Dunbachel’s calf with a lower kick. Thanks to her training, Dunbachel instinctively lifted her leg and blocked Rem’s kick.
Thud!
There was impact, but little pain. Hadn’t they been exposed to savage violence all this time?
Now, she could handle this much.
“Well done, beast girl. And drop the worries. Do you even have the time to worry?”
Rem then harshly criticized Dunbachel’s abilities.
“A beast who can’t even protect herself, worrying about someone? Who? The Commander? The Commander who recently gained awareness of Will? You think you can beat that weirdo with the strange sword over there? Oh, you don’t? But you’re still going to fight? Did you leave your brain somewhere, or is it broken? Why are you carrying around a head that can’t even be used as a helmet stand?”
From calling her a beast to a helmet stand, it wasn’t perfect rhythm, but it fit surprisingly well as a piece of poetry.
“Four and a half stars.”
Krais evaluated the poem by the poet Rem.
Although worried, Krais believed. Despite the burden of feeling responsible for the situation, he believed.
If he had realized it sooner, he would have fortified the defenses more thoroughly. It was regret. But regret only needed to last for a moment.
The reality was right before his eyes, and he had to face it.
Since the event had already occurred, Krais decided to believe.
Wasn’t it the Commander himself who stepped in?
Krais still hadn’t forgotten the back of the Commander who saved him.
‘Such a Commander.’
Moreover, Encrid’s skills had recently improved to an unbelievable extent. He had advanced. He was progressing upward.
So he believed.
Most of all, just before retreating, when he saw the man with black hair standing under the blue sky, Krais couldn’t help but think of two words in his mind.
‘Knight.’
What kind of person is called a Knight?
It’s not just a term for those who are superior in martial prowess.
‘A Knight is a protector.’
One day, Encrid had said, and if he said he would protect, then he would.
“Anyway, damn it.”
Rem grumbled as he stopped walking. They had moved quite a distance away.
Worrying and watching are separate matters. It was a shame they were too far away to see properly.
Especially the lazy bastard next to him seemed to think so even more.
Recently, his attitude has been unusually enthusiastic. It was a rare sight for the usually lazy guy.
As soon as Ragna stopped, he turned around and got ready.
To Rem, it looked like preparation.
He didn’t draw his sword, just stood there blankly, facing Encrid’s direction.
‘That’s preparation.’
He looked ready to charge immediately if anything went wrong. Though it seemed unlikely anything would.
“Father will protect him.”
Audin murmured beside him. It was a prayer, as usual. Jaxon had already disappeared.
He had turned into a wildcat as soon as they went out of sight.
Esther didn’t follow them.
Today, the wizard who had turned into a human said.
“I’m busy. Don’t bother me.”
That was it. A beautiful woman with blue eyes and an air of mystique that marked her as a wizard said those words without a hint of worry.
Yet she still pretended to be a panther to outsiders.
‘She pretends not to care, but never leaves the Commander’s side.’
Thinking this, Rem chuckled, and then he saw someone approaching hurriedly from the other side.
“Is it true? They took a hostage?”
It was Battalion Commander Marcus and a group of swift soldiers. Most were archers. Platoon leader Vengeance was also visible.
When the incident happened, only a few, including Rem, moved, and then Marcus, after receiving the report, came with the archers.
“Yes, but you don’t need to worry. They said they’ll kill the hostage if we approach, so we need to wait here.”
Krais stepped forward to answer.
But for an issue like this, the Battalion Commander himself came.
Well, since he’s realized ‘Will’, he’s now considered a high-level asset.
Rem thought this as he watched the back of Krais who was stepping forward to speak.
Then.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Are you planning to trade a few hostages for the Commander?”
Edin Molsen, who followed Marcus, stepped up. His hair was faded blonde, almost yellow. He stepped forward and shouted reprimandingly.
“Guide me there immediately! I will go and punish him myself!”
Since when did he care so much about the Commander?
Edin Molsen was so agitated he was snorting. His puffing and panting were no different from usual. The only difference this time was that he was doing it for Encrid, which was surprising.
“Leave it be.”
Rem had no choice but to step forward and speak.
“What?”
Edin Molsen’s eyebrows shot up. He had a knack for expressing anger with his face.
He’s a nuisance, but they couldn’t kill the son of a noble again.
That would be a real disaster.
Rem exercised patience and spoke.
“Leave it be, nothing will happen.”
His tone was nearly certain.
What kind of nonsense is this?
Edin’s face seemed to say. Rem once again exercised patience and spoke.
“Ah, it’s fine.”
Rem was Encrid’s last sparring partner.
While fighting him, he lost an axe, and at the same time, he understood.
‘It’s no threat.’
The half-blood Giant’s skills aren’t bad, but the Swift Blade is no match.
And with the current Encrid.
‘Fighting the half-blood Giant and taking off that cunning guy’s head is no big deal.’
Moreover, hasn’t the sly wildcat already made a move?
“We just need to watch and then go to watch the show.”
Even though Rem repeated this, Edin had no reason to back down.
“Step aside. Insolent barbarian.”
Edin was about to take a step forward when he spat out his sharp words.
A chilling murderous intent slashed at Edin’s neck. Edin thought he was dead. No, he almost died.
It was Edin’s bodyguard who prevented it.
“That’s enough.”
“I told you to listen. Why do you keep pushing it? Crossing the line and all that?”
Rem grumbled as he spoke.
Just now, what was that?
Edin touched his neck. Intimidation? Or something similar?
“Did you always know how to use it?”
The bodyguard asked.
It was a question only Rem could understand. No, Audin understood as well.
Ragna seemed uninterested. He still had his body turned towards Encrid. He didn’t care who came from behind.
“I saw it this time and tried to imitate it.”
Can Intimidation be imitated just by seeing it?
The bodyguard thought the other was mocking him but didn’t draw his sword easily.
It wasn’t the time to cause internal strife.
“The Commander said he’d protect and save. So, we should wait.”
Rem said again. In that deadly atmosphere, Marcus kept his mouth shut.
As a Battalion Commander, it was better to stay silent than to speak and possibly embarrass himself.
It was indeed a shrewd decision.
“Let’s wait.”
Marcus concluded. Edin Molsen threw a few more fits, but that was the extent of it.
They stopped and waited.
They didn’t have to wait long for news from the front. Although they were out of sight, this didn’t apply to Rem.
He could roughly grasp the situation just by watching the movements in the distance.
“Let’s go.”
Rem said afterwards. He could see the situation was coming to an end.
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