Chapter 24 - Three

"The wind is blowing this way right now, right? But do you see how these short blades of grass are lying in the opposite direction and form a circular shape?"

Henri stepped on the base of the tall grass. He pushed the tall grass aside, revealing a patch of ground covered in shorter grass.

Looking at the tracks in the grass, Henri spoke fluently.

"You're right."

Encrid replied, carefully examining the ground.

Now that it was pointed out to him, he could see it, but if he had been asked to find it on his own, well, it wouldn't have been easy.

This place was the Tall Grass Fields.

Looking around, it was a feast of green.

A wandering minstrel traveling the continent once saw this plain in the middle of summer and gave it the name Green Pearl.

It meant the green pearl.

It was said that the patches of tall grass looked darker, like the deep sea with high water levels.

It made sense.

This damn grass field was not a very pleasant place for a human to come in and trudge through.

If you let your guard down, the wind-blown grass would ruthlessly smack against your cheeks and eyes.

Grass bugs clung to your body from all directions.

Crickets and katydids would suddenly jump out and hop around, and frogs could occasionally be seen in the puddles of water.

Looking at the frogs reminded him of the Frog that had kicked him.

Of course, he knew the Frogs claimed they were entirely different creatures from actual frogs.

In fact, even if you killed a frog right in front of them, they wouldn't react. But if you threatened to burst their hearts, their eyes would light up and they would lunge at you.

'One hit to the side.'

He had blocked it reflexively, but he had been knocked out in just a single hit.

How much time would he need to match the Frog's strength?

It was impossible right now.

Would he be able to fight that Frog someday?

Doubt crept in. It couldn't be helped. Just because he didn't give up didn't mean he didn't have doubts.

But he also didn't have the time to doubt.

He would rather swing his sword one more time than waste time on that.

Encrid brushed away the negative thoughts as soon as they arose.

He had no time to worry about such things.

Because it was foolish to waste mental energy on things that couldn't be solved right away.

With that thought, he listened closely to Henri's explanation again.

This soldier, who used to be a plains hunter, was quite positive.

No matter what idiotic things the Squad Leader did, he just let it slide.

He even told Encrid to endure it instead.

Of course, Encrid didn't need to endure anything in the first place.

He was used to just letting things slide, too.

Even in this situation, Henri utilized his skills as a hunter to continuously examine this and that.

It was an interesting thing to listen to.

"There's barely any animal droppings. Why is that?"

Henri tilted his head in confusion.

"Is that a problem?"

Encrid asked as he pushed away the long, thick blades of grass that kept drooping over his head.

"This grass field might look like a useless patch of weeds to people, but that's not the case. It's like a natural treasure trove for creatures that feed on this grass, so there are usually a lot of animal tracks left behind, but they're rare right now."

Fewer animals. Why? Encrid, who had been half-listening, pinched off a grass bug clinging to his cheek.

It wasn't even a leech, yet he could see it sticking out something sharp from its mouth to suck his blood.

Looking at the bugs and the grass blocking his view, a sudden urge surged within him to bring a sharply honed sickle and chop it all down.

"Shh, you talk too much. You."

The Recon Squad Leader said, looking back.

He frowned as he watched a cricket or something similar brush past his eyes.

But there were no complaints.

'This is surprising.'

He had expected the man to get heavily annoyed and complain about the situation since he was the one who suggested they come.

They called it a feast of green, but upon closer inspection, there were plenty of pale brown, faded patches of grass scattered throughout.

It was a sign that autumn was approaching.

When winter came, this lush grass field would disappear as if falling asleep, leaving only traces behind.

And when the weather warmed up again, the tall grass would grow back, using the dead grass as nourishment.

It was something that repeated every year, year after year.

'Dying, and growing back.'

Was it the providence of nature?

Then what was the thing happening to him?

The repetition of today.

Even if he tried not to think about it, it kept wandering through his mind. It couldn't be helped.

Because he couldn't just brush off a repeating day as no big deal.

However, Encrid had firmly decided on his course of action.

'Use everything that can be used.'

If so, this was the same.

He didn't think of it as a blessing.

Even if it was a curse, nothing would change.

As they trudged through the grass for quite a long time, someone tapped Encrid on the shoulder.

It wasn't Henri.

It was the soldier who had been sticking closely beside the Squad Leader.

"Our Squad Leader might seem too immature, but please understand. He has his reasons. He needs to earn merit, but they keep sending him to places like the Reconnaissance Squad, so he's frustrated."

What was this all of a sudden?

"You're a Squad Leader too. I'd appreciate it if you could forget about that asshole comment."

What an odd timing.

Even as he thought so, Encrid casually accepted the apology.

What good would it do to blush with anger while carrying out a mission together?

And it wasn't like there was a need to be angry anyway.

Encrid's thoughts remained the same.

He would rather invest a little more time in training than waste his mental energy on things like this.

"I will."

"You're very generous. Squad Leader."

The soldier who said that smiled. He had faded blonde hair and a face that looked good at fighting.

So he was the exact opposite type of Big-eyes.

Simply put, it meant he was ugly.

Encrid nodded and turned his body back around.

Like a habit, he focused his hearing.

Right at that moment, a heterogeneous sound pierced his ears.

RUSTLE. HISS! CRUNCH.

The consistent training he had done after learning from Jaxon was paying off.

'The sound is different?'

The ten members of the Reconnaissance Squad weren't walking close enough to brush shoulders, but they were close enough to see each other's backs.

The sound of them pushing through the tall grass was familiar to him now.

But the sound he just heard was different.

It was a sound coming from further away.

It was definitely the sound of a person pushing through the grass.

And mixed in between was the hissing cry of a beast and the sound of grass being trampled.

It was people.

There was no way they were allies.

The Tall Grass Fields themselves were a piece of land with no great utility value.

The only significance was that enemy territory lay beyond this damn grass field.

However, once you exited the Tall Grass Fields, it was immediately a plain, leaving nowhere to hide.

Therefore, moving through here was not a very smart action.

Did that mean the opposing side also had a Squad Leader as stupid as theirs who sent out a Reconnaissance Squad?

"There's someone else here besides us."

Encrid said. At that, the tough-looking soldier standing in front of him blinked.

"What?"

He had an expression that asked what on earth he was talking about. He frowned and tilted his head to the side.

"I think I heard it too."

Henri chimed in from the right.

"What did you say?"

When Encrid completely stopped in his tracks, the Recon Squad Leader standing at the front stepped back, approached them, and asked.

"It's the enemy."

He had spoken as soon as he heard it, but recognizing it was another matter entirely.

TWANG! THWACK!

Before they could even register that it was the enemy, the enemy's attack landed first.

"Argh!"

A short arrow pierced the head of the soldier who had taken the lead when the Squad Leader stepped back.

He pinpointed the direction it was fired from by the sound.

His eyes scanned the shape of the arrow.

'A bolt.'

A short arrow, a thing perfect for close range. It wasn't meant to be fired from a longbow.

'Crossbows.'

The conclusion was immediate. Encrid shouted as soon as a hole opened up in the lead soldier's head.

"Get down!"

At the same time, he grabbed the Squad Leader by the collar and yanked him down.

"Urgh!"

The Squad Leader let out a brief groan.

As they flattened themselves against the ground, the death throes of "Urgh," "Guh," and the like could soon be heard.

'Front, right, and left.'

Even if they avoided the first volley by lowering their stances, death was a foregone conclusion.

Then what did he need to do?

He had to dash out. He had to pick a direction and break through. So he couldn't afford to stop.

Encrid threw himself in one direction, with his body lowered so much that his stomach was touching the ground.

RUSTLE RUSTLE!

The bushes brushed aside, alerting the enemy of his movements.

Naturally, countless crossbow bolts flew toward him.

"You fool!"

Henri cried out in shock. It looked like a suicidal act.

THUD THUD THUD!

It was half luck, but Encrid dodged most of the bolts.

One bolt struck his left shoulder, but he still caught sight of the enemy.

The enemy had appropriately cut down the tall grass to secure space to move.

Between the bushes, he saw a guy wearing green clothes and holding a crossbow in his hands.

He drew his sword the moment he saw him.

'At any time, in any stance.'

Unleash the best attack.

He acted just as he had been taught.

He kicked off the ground and closed the distance. The enemy tried to reload the crossbow.

It was a flawed judgment.

As soon as he secured the distance his sword could reach, Encrid planted his left foot on the ground and launched a one-handed thrust.

The tip of the arming sword in his hand pierced through the air and swept across the enemy's nape.

The sharp blade slit the thin skin of his neck.

Blood spurted out from where the sword had passed, and soon began to gush thick, crimson blood in gulps.

The soldier with the slit throat clutched his neck and toppled over.

Encrid did not stop.

He immediately moved, bounding to the left.

It wasn't the distance to fire bolts. A spear blade flew toward his chest, aiming for a strike.

Encrid pretended to lunge, then stopped in place, letting the enemy's spear thrust into thin air.

He saw an infantry short spear and the eyes of the soldier holding it.

Eyes mixed with strange excitement and surprise.

They were the eyes of a soldier standing on a battlefield.

Crossbows, short spears, green-dyed clothes.

It was an armament intended for an ambush.

He shoved the incoming visual information into his head in an instant, took another step forward, and swung horizontally.

The enemy soldier with the short spear stepped back, dodging the sword's trajectory, and thrust out the recovered short spear once more.

Watching the short spear stabbing toward him, Encrid pivoted on his right foot instead of dodging.

He spun half a turn in place and thrust his sword again.

The act of dodging and stabbing, it was a single strike that combined offense and defense into one.

His sword pierced the enemy's torso. *THWACK. * He felt a heavy repulsion in his grip.

All of the opponent's armor consisted of thick cloth armor.

With an adequate amount of strength, skill, and a sharp blade, it wasn't hard to pierce.

"Gurgle."

The enemy soldier with the sword lodged in his abdomen dropped his short spear and grabbed Encrid's sword with both hands.

The guy's hands were sliced, and blood flowed.

'I can't pull it out right away.'

Keep deliberation short and actions fast.

It was the iron rule for surviving on the battlefield.

He let go of his sword that the opponent had grabbed and picked up the short spear dropped on the ground.

SWOOSH.

In that time, another enemy soldier swung his crossbow like a club.

Thanks to his crouched stance, the crossbow brushed over Encrid's head.

The arming cap he had worn instead of a helmet caught on the edge of the crossbow and was knocked clean off.

As the cold air touched it, his scalp felt cool.

Encrid drove the picked-up short spear into the instep he saw. It was an act that gave a splendid decoration to the foot of the enemy who swung the crossbow.

THWACK!

"Aaaagh!"

Pain calls for a scream. A scream calls for attention.

Therefore, a scream was an appropriate means to lower the morale of the opposing enemy soldiers.

He lunged forward right then, grabbing the opposite knee that didn't have a short spear stuck in it, and snapped it in the reverse direction.

CRACK!

"Guaaaagh!"

It was a technique he learned from his devout squadmate.

It was incredibly clumsy, but this wasn't the time to be picky about such things.

Encrid drew the short sword from the waist of the fallen man.

He then straightened his back, took a stance, and pressed the short sword tightly against the neck of the guy with the short spear stuck in his foot.

"Keugh!"

Before the guy could resist, he smoothly pushed the blade in and yanked it sideways.

SLASH.

He felt resistance in his grip as it sliced cleanly through the flesh.

A gurgling sound of blood bubbling up could be heard.

The soldier with the slit throat grabbed his neck with his hands and flopped onto his knees.

His breath reached the tip of his chin. Encrid awkwardly crouched behind the dying soldier who had fallen to his knees, using the enemy soldier as a shield, and caught his breath.

'First, one side.'

They had been surrounded on three sides.

He had effectively forced one of those sides open.

Now, if things went wrong, there was an opening to escape.

"... Didn't you say you were a lowest-grade soldier?"

Then Henri, who had stuck to his back at some point, spoke.

"I am."

When he replied while catching his breath, Henri shook his head back and forth.

"These are the skills of a lowest-grade soldier?"

"Damn it, I'm the asshole here."

In the midst of that, the Recon Squad Leader spat out an idiotic remark.

What the hell was that guy thinking?

"Get back, don't step out."

The tough-looking soldier blocked the front of that Squad Leader.

These four were the only ones who survived.

The rest of the Reconnaissance Squad was all dead.

Right now, it seemed there were over twenty enemy soldiers glaring at them right in front of their eyes.

"... What the fuck."

An enemy soldier of Aspen spoke. He looked at Encrid once with surprised eyes, and then looked at the cluster of dead soldiers.

There were three dead soldiers.

Encrid didn't care whether the opponent was surprised or not.

As always, he just found the best move he could make in the current situation and executed it.

The crossbows were still threatening.

The number of enemy troops was large.

He had lost his sword.

"Run!"

It was time to use the Valen Mercenary Sword Technique—fleeing.

Encrid didn't hesitate, turning his body and running.