Chapter 134 - A Ripened Heart (1)

Under the command of Battalion Commander Marcus, the infantry built new barracks.

A position slightly further advanced than before.

Encrid thought the position was ambiguous, but he didn't voice it out loud.

Wasn't building the barracks and deciding the position of the base the commander's responsibility?

Above all, it didn't seem like a guy like Marcus would handle things sloppily.

You could tell just by seeing him call him the greatest contributor of the battle.

Meow—

As they moved the base like that, Esther threw a tantrum.

Meow, meow.

She continuously complained.

'Come to think of it, isn't this one a bit weird too?'

She was a spirit beast, but she was a strangely bizarre animal. She seemed almost like a person.

Because at some point, it felt like what Esther said when she opened her snout was getting stuck right in his ears.

In other words, whenever she said something, it sounded like human speech.

Right now.

"This is annoying."

It sounded like she was saying that.

Because she was whining, he hugged her in his arms.

When he first saw her on the battlefield, she was a tiny panther.

When he saw her again, meaning when she stabbed Mitch Hurrier and saved him from the mustachioed swordsman, he thought she had grown a bit.

She hadn't grown since then.

Just enough to hold in his arms, she stopped right there.

Yet this kind of panther had bitten the back of his neck and dragged him as she ran. Incredibly fast.

What kind of power was that?

"Come to think of it, you're a panther of monstrous strength too."

Encrid said as he stroked the head of the panther he was holding.

Hiss!

It didn't seem to be a very pleasant thing to hear.

Esther bit Encrid's finger. It didn't bleed. It only left a mark.

If she had been serious.

'My finger would've been lopped off.'

As he stared closely at her snout out of an idle desire to check Esther's sharp fangs, Esther glared at him sideways.

Because she kept doing things like this, he couldn't help but think she was like a person.

"Let's go."

Krais called from outside.

Constructing a new base was a fairly complex and difficult task.

They had to rebuild the encampment and check the supply routes.

They had to set new guard zones and replan the Recon Party's routes; there wasn't just one or two things to change.

And yet, to insist on establishing a new base.

"But Platoon Commander, I feel like I fought the hardest, so is it just my delusion that only the Platoon Commander is getting all the cheers?"

No, it wasn't a delusion.

The atmosphere had strangely flowed that way.

Long live the lunatic platoon, long live Encrid.

Recalling that moment again, meaning noon just two days ago, made his chest tickle.

It wasn't a bad memory.

"Hmm."

When Encrid saved his words, Audin, who was sticking close by, smiled and said.

"Haha, crazy brother. That's because you only beat a single giant to death."

"A single giant?"

"Brother, I struck dozens of enemy soldiers."

He didn't just strike them. He beat them to death, extremely spectacularly.

Encrid had seen it too.

That ignorant clubbing.

Fear to the enemy, relief to the allies.

It was that kind of feeling. Of course, some allies who watched closely said they felt a strange sense of fear looking at Audin.

It was a story he heard directly from Vengeance.

"Um, you know that guy in your platoon. That friend deeply absorbed in religion, why does he kill people while smiling? Is he a bit weird in the head?"

That was what Vengeance had said while raising his hand and tapping his own head.

Encrid said no and left an appropriate excuse on Audin's behalf.

That he was so devout, he was just so happy to make friends for the god he served.

"I feel like that's even weirder."

Vengeance had muttered.

That was the best Encrid could do. Wasn't it a hundred times better than calling him a crazy religious zealot who loved murder?

"Ten mercenaries drunk on the muderous blade, it would've been fatal if left alone. Mm, it would have been."

As Ragna chimed in too, the atmosphere started to turn vicious.

On top of that.

A single word from Jaxon, who was silently watching the three from one side, pierced their ears.

"Idiots."

The gazes of the three turned.

A vicious air flowed back and forth. A dizzying pressure crushed the surroundings.

It looked like a massive commotion would break out the moment anyone made the first move.

In other words, they were just like the original lunatic platoon.

These guys, who would test the waters with each other and properly keep their boundaries when Encrid wasn't around, opened their mouths without hesitation.

Krais just let it be. He didn't feel anything like a dizzying pressure.

Ah, of course, it would have been troublesome if Encrid wasn't there.

But weren't they moving together right now?

Watching from the side, Andrew agonized.

'Should I step in?'

Wasn't he the Squad Leader?

Should he try to sort out the atmosphere before the Platoon Commander stepped in?

Andrew only agonized over it. The memories of getting beaten up while stepping in like this held his feet back.

Just then, Mac grabbed his sleeve and shook his head.

It was a shake of the head that seemed to have read Andrew's mind.

Encrid looked up at the sky for a moment.

It was a sky with a changed temperature.

It was blue. A sky without even a single cloud. It was spring. The weather was truly nice.

Therefore.

"Stop."

He decided to consider it a good day to break up a fight.

There was no need to force his body in between them like before.

Instead, he swung his sword.

Shing.

One with his right hand.

Following that.

Shiing!

One with his left hand.

The sword drawn with his right hand slashed downwards from top to bottom, in the form of a crown strike.

The sword drawn with his left hand swung broadly in a middle horizontal slash.

His step was pushing his left foot forward and letting his right foot follow.

This was, in other words, the sword draw he had been pondering over for days.

It was a modification of one of the techniques from the Valen Mercenary Sword Technique.

Originally, it was a technique called the dual sword draw where the first draw served as a feint, but by handling two swords, he made it so both slashes had meaning.

The sword in his right hand aimed for Rem.

The sword in his left hand cut towards Jaxon.

Clang!

The reactions of the two sharply diverged. Rem pulled out his axe to block, and Jaxon had already stepped back to dodge.

One sword was blocked and stopped.

The other vainly sliced through empty air.

Encrid recovered the sword that sliced through empty air and pulled it back.

"What are you doing?"

Jaxon asked.

"You wanna have a go? Sounds fun."

Rem snorted. It was accompanied by an extremely amused-sounding voice.

Because he suddenly twisted his body and moved, Esther, who was in his arms, smacked his chest with a *thump*.

"Let's go somewhere else and do it."

Encrid said, still holding his swords.

Wasn't it ridiculous to fight like this?

Since his chest was bulging from having tucked Esther inside.

Rem withdrew his axe and nodded, agreeing to do so.

It could be said that today was another peaceful day.

Encrid sheathed his swords, soothed Esther again, and walked.

'I guess this is somewhat fortunate.'

If he had been told to carry luggage or something, she would have grown even fiercer out of annoyance.

The luggage of all the platoon members, including Encrid, was incredibly light compared to the other soldiers.

"Aren't you the heroes of this battle? Even providing a carriage wouldn't be enough."

Battalion Commander Marcus was bold. He told them to walk empty-handed, carrying only their own armaments.

The other units shouldered the parts necessary for the tents in addition to their own gear.

Naturally, their pace was bound to slow down, but Marcus acted as if there was no rush.

The gazes of the surrounding soldiers gathered at the commotion caused by Encrid and his platoon members, but they quickly returned to normal.

Was them arguing a matter of just a day or two?

As he walked, Encrid roughly pictured what would happen next.

Would they strike the enemy's rear like this?

When he let out that thought and spoke to Krais.

Big-eyes shook his head.

"They won't do that."

"Why?"

If they had seized the chance for victory, wasn't it advantageous to strike the enemy's rear?

"Because taking over the enemy's base and holding out can make the battlefield much more advantageous."

Tilt.

Why would they not fight?

Why was that an advantage?

If you caught their rear, striking them was the advantage.

When Encrid stared blankly at Krais, he opened his mouth.

It was in an indifferent tone.

"If we strike the enemy's rear right now, it will reveal our allies' exact location and level of military strength, and the enemy will respond accordingly. They will send at least enough forces to deal with this level of troops. If their prepared measures of using a giant, fairy assassins, and mercenary groups were all blocked, what means do you think they have left to pull out? Not to mention the independent company known as the Gray Dog is already half-destroyed."

What was left? The question wasn't difficult.

It was just that bringing it up out loud gave him a strange feeling.

But it wasn't a word to turn away from or avoid either.

"Knights."

"At the very least, Squire-class, or they'll come in with increased numbers. Well, I do think there's a high probability they'll send a small elite force."

Krais's eyes sparkled as he spoke.

After that, he chattered on without waiting for Encrid's answer.

"We've also secured the advantage of the hard-to-enter terrain, and since they already clashed with a small special force and were crushed, it must have affected their main army's morale too, so they'll try to pay us back in the same way. Of course, it's not that we aren't striking their rear because we're afraid of knights or a similar force coming. Like I said earlier, it's a matter of advantage. If you look at the battlefield broadly, I mean, from a commander's eyes, it's a battle of gains and losses. If you take a loss on one side but gain a massive advantage on the other? You might lose the battle, but you can win the war. Looking at it from that perspective, holding out instead of striking the enemy's rear right now is the answer. We simply let them recognize we're behind them without necessarily depleting our own forces here. Then, what will the enemy forces think? I can't say for sure, but their heads will definitely be a mess. Our main army will push forward while they're in that mess. That means we don't even need to fight. Let alone the fact that Aspen, who has to face the main army, won't have the luxury to divert troops this way. That's why. Why there's no need to necessarily fight. Constructing the base in an ambiguous spot is for the same reason. There's no need to get any closer just to strike the enemy's rear. What if the enemy forces try something tricky? Then, we just run away immediately. We step back, and then a day or two later, we occupy the same spot again. The current base construction is laying the groundwork for that."

Encrid made honesty his strong point. He had treated his squad members that way up until now.

"Keep it short and simple."

He understood about half of it, and the other half hadn't properly stuck in his head.

Krais, whose eyes had been sparkling, caught his breath a few times.

Right, you were running your mouth without even breathing.

After catching his breath, Krais opened his mouth again.

There was no need to carefully pick and choose his words.

"Someone has their hand raised like they're going to smack you in the back of the head from behind, while someone in front is grabbing both of your arms, Captain. How is it?"

"Sounds like shit."

"Yes, the enemy is in that situation."

What happens if you shake off the person holding your wrists in front and block the rear?

If the guys in front and back swing their hands at the same time, you'd just have to quickly block both the front and the back, but.

If they just hold their ground, this becomes a situation that makes the enemy uncomfortable just by their existence alone.

Sometimes, very rarely, Krais didn't seem like a normal soldier with just big eyes and modest ambitions.

He wondered how a guy whose dream was to open a salon for noblewomen had a head that spun this well.

Could it be that he was actually the hidden son of some strategist?

Or a hidden disciple.

Predicting the inside of the enemy commander's head from the events happening right in front of him.

Seeing him predict the movements of the allied commander and the main army naturally brought about these kinds of thoughts.

"Well, this is only an expectation, to the very end. It's a guess, and if the enemy goes, 'Ah, fuck, I don't care, I'm killing those guys first,' then whether it's knights or whatever, they'll come to strike us here."

That wouldn't happen. Krais said that with his mouth, but his eyes said the opposite.

He was a strange guy.

Encrid nodded.

Then that meant there would be no reason to fight.

Knowing that was enough.

Not that being here would be boring, anyway.

Constructing the new base was the job of the other units.

While they set up tents, lit fires, and hung up pots.

Encrid's lunatic platoon settled down on one side.

It was right after they had settled down like that.

"Rem."

Encrid called Rem.

It probably didn't matter who was first.

But anyway, implicitly, the first was Rem.

Otherwise, there was no telling what that plain crazy barbarian would do.

Ragna, who was sitting with his rear perched on a suitably heated rock, turned his gaze.

Jaxon, Audin, Andrew, and even Mac all looked at Encrid.

"Let's begin."

Encrid spoke, and Rem grinned, baring his pointed fangs.

That's right, this is my Platoon Commander.

It was that kind of smile.

Rem was still satisfied.

And at the same time, the thought that came to his mind was.

He hoped this guy wouldn't die here.

"I'll tell you in advance. You might die."

"By all means."

Death was not an obstacle for Encrid.

Since he was living a life that repeated today over again.

The dream that had been torn, rolled, faded, and vanished was right in front of his eyes.

Encrid's eyes shone. Eyes that were still passionate and full of desire.

In front of him, Rem showed similar eyes.

When had he ever seen a human like this?

Never.

This human, this mainlander.

Was an absolute crazy bastard.

Rem chuckled.

"Sounds good. Let's do it. Let's fight to the death."

Rem said and nodded.

It was time to learn something new, meaning what Rem had shown against the giant.

While Encrid felt a thrilling euphoria, he actually became calmer.

It was a strange state where excitement and composure occurred at the same time.

This was a sign that the heart of the beast had properly ripened.