Chapter 28 - Ambush and Blue Eyes

Encrid let out an inward sigh of relief as he watched the staggering Recon Squad Leader.

'Barely managed to pull it off.'

Because the trick of deflecting a sword with the back of his hand only succeeded about five times out of ten.

Well, he had gotten slightly more used to it as he kept doing it.

It was only possible because he had grown accustomed to the peculiar habits this guy had.

Otherwise, it was a stunt he wouldn't have even dared to attempt easily.

But that was purely from Encrid's perspective.

From the sidelines, it just looked like an overwhelming difference in skill.

He deflected the oncoming blade without even blinking an eye, then struck the solar plexus to incapacitate his opponent.

Wasn't it a feat that couldn't be shown unless there was a dominating difference in skill?

"You're a lowest-grade soldier?"

Just how many times had he heard this now?

It was at the point where he was sick of it.

"I didn't take the promotion test. I thought it was unnecessary."

Having perfectly answered the question that was bound to follow, Encrid cracked his stiff wrists from side to side.

There were no issues.

All this time swinging a sword, he had done all the necessary training.

Strength training was a given.

In terms of sheer physical strength, Encrid was well-conditioned enough to rank quite high within the unit.

So, this kind of result was possible.

"From now on, I am the Squad Leader."

Encrid declared.

Now, he had crossed one hurdle.

The Recon Squad Leader didn't even talk back.

He just stared blankly before muttering, "T-That, you, uh," and then shut his mouth.

No one refused to follow.

Because the tough-looking soldier, who held the most influence right after the squad leader, was quietly following Encrid.

It was just as expected.

After that, their journey to find a way out continued.

"Henri, what's your dream?"

After changing the formation and taking the lead, Encrid walked with Henri by his side.

It was right after a whole commotion. Henri felt like he was losing his mind, but quickly pulled himself together at Encrid's words.

"Yes?"

"I asked if there's anything you want to do."

Henri blinked a few times, then, perhaps out of fluster, blurted out quite a specific wish.

"Uh, um, it's to survive and set up house with the widow who runs the flower shop."

That was it. Everyone had their own goals.

"Then you'll need to make it back alive first. What about you?"

Right after that, he turned his head back and asked.

Right behind Encrid was Andrew.

The very first thing Encrid did when he changed the formation was to place Andrew directly behind him.

He even left him fully armed.

Henri thought as he watched that.

This man named Encrid really had no fear.

What if he held a grudge and stabbed him in the back?

Even if Encrid were stabbed, he could just start the day over again, but Henri didn't know that.

Andrew let out a deep breath upon receiving the question.

"Fine. I lost."

He said.

"So I asked what you want to do. Soldier."

It was a demotion from Squad Leader to soldier.

No one raised an objection. The difference in skill had been shown far too clearly.

"The revival of my house."

So he really was from a fallen noble family.

"Then you need to make it back alive first too."

Encrid said.

Everyone stared openly, wondering why their newly appointed Squad Leader was acting like this.

Even after that, he repeated the same question and gave the same answer.

"You have to make it back alive to make money."

It was his answer to a soldier who said his dream was to save money and open a shop.

"Your lover is pregnant? If you don't want your child to grow up without a father, you need to go back too."

One of the thug soldiers was already an expectant father.

"Everyone is of the same opinion."

Encrid continued speaking.

"Then let's make it back alive first."

No one could understand why this guy was acting like this.

But no one argued, either. Encrid met eyes with each of them one by one.

Normally, it would be a meaningless gesture, but didn't he just plant those words?

The allied soldiers, including Andrew, each recalled what they had left behind.

Encrid wanted them to find their own sense of purpose.

He had started with violence and coercion, but now they needed to fight properly on their own.

It was a method he had tried time and time again.

Instilling a thirst for life within their hearts.

This was quite an effective tactic.

It was far more advantageous for ten people to break through as one body than for him to fight his way out alone.

No, at this rate, it might even be worth attempting an ambush instead of just running away.

Because if an ambush was initiated, the situation could change completely.

'I think it'll work.'

As long as he saw a possibility, he could try it again and again.

He could do it as long as he was prepared to die.

Through several trials and errors, Encrid memorized the enemies' locations and numbers.

The today where he beat down the Squad Leader a few more times passed.

"What's your dream?"

The today where he repeated the same words passed as well. All of it could have been exhausting, but Encrid spent the repeating today with equal dedication.

Thus, what he gained came down to two key points.

An ambush and a standard.

'Let's do this.'

He had gone through all those todays to reach this moment. He had practiced enough in the countless repeating todays.

"Let's all make it back alive."

When Encrid looked back, the entire Recon Squad nodded.

Though they all thought this wasn't a very dangerous mission.

Regardless, having him keep saying that did make their hearts stir.

"Then let's go."

What he learned through sparring was roughly ingrained in his body.

To the point where he wouldn't need to repeat today anymore.

Encrid didn't move cautiously.

There was no need to.

He already had a rough memory of the enemies' locations.

"Have you been here before?"

Henri, the former plains hunter, asked.

He was standing side by side with Encrid at the front.

"A few times."

It would be stranger to say he hadn't.

Because no matter how you looked at it, he was forging ahead without hesitation.

"Ah, I see."

As they walked a bit further, Henri asked again.

"Are you perhaps a former hunter?"

"Not exactly, but I learned a bit from a hunter I know."

It was because he was reading the tracks and the direction the grass was pressed down.

And naturally, the one who taught Encrid all this was Henri.

As he guided the way and looked back, he saw the babysitter soldier sticking closely by Andrew's side.

If he were an actual babysitter with those looks, kids would freak out and run away.

But on the battlefield, he would make for a remarkably excellent bodyguard.

Encrid thought as he looked at Andrew and the babysitter soldier.

'If a battle breaks out, the tough-looking soldier will absolutely follow Andrew.'

Even as he walked, he visualized the way out he had thoroughly pondered over again and again.

The moment they reached their destination, Encrid raised his right fist to halt the squad members.

"Huu."

He took a deep breath to steady himself where he stopped.

Everyone's eyes gathered on him, wondering why they were stopping here. After all, they were just at the entrance to the Tall Grass Fields.

But not a single person opened their mouth first.

Encrid was a coercive Squad Leader.

He never consulted anyone about the direction or the route they took.

He was dogmatic.

That didn't mean it was a bad thing, though.

Since a patrol mission was just about looking around a certain area anyway.

If it were an important reconnaissance mission, the appropriate personnel would have been deployed, but no matter how you looked at it, this unit's role didn't seem very significant.

At any rate, it meant they just needed to do what was necessary and go back.

"Shoot."

Encrid pointed to one side and ordered.

Henri, holding a crossbow, stared blankly at Encrid.

Flustered, Henri asked back, "Huh? At what?"

It was a scene that repeated every time.

It couldn't be helped. They didn't have a repeating today.

"Shoot. I won't say it twice."

Henri wasn't completely clueless.

Encrid's tone was cold, carrying an iron will that wouldn't tolerate any objections.

Where he pointed was beyond the Tall Grass.

Nothing could be seen. There wasn't any particular presence felt, either.

Still, he did as he was told.

He had seen Encrid fight. Unlike the rumors, it was clear he was a formidable man.

As he drew the bowstring and nocked an arrow, the string pulled taut.

Henri glanced around before releasing the string in the direction Encrid's finger was pointing.

Because the Squad Leader ordered it.

*THWIP! * The arrow flew and made a solid thud as it struck something.

And at the same time, a dying groan of, "Urgh!"

"... Huh?"

Henri was bewildered.

In this moment, only two people weren't flustered.

The veteran warrior, the tough-looking soldier, and Encrid.

"Follow me, Andrew."

He had placed Andrew right behind him precisely for this moment.

A soldier whose actual combat experience was awful, but whose skills were quite decent nonetheless.

If his skills weren't bad, shouldn't he be properly utilized?

The mistake he had made in the todays up until now was trying to handle everything by himself.

Now, he knew he didn't need to do that.

As Encrid dashed forward, Andrew reflexively followed behind him, and seeing that, the tough-looking soldier spat out a curse of "Damn it" before following after them.

As the three soldiers reached beyond the brush, they saw a corpse with a bolt stuck dead center in its forehead.

And a group of soldiers milling about nearby as well.

It was Aspen's crossbow unit.

Their numbers were roughly around ten.

From the very start, Encrid pulled out a lethal move.

A thrust.

Planting his left foot into the ground, the tip of his twisted, thrusting sword skewered an enemy soldier's neck.

"Gah!"

Blood streamed down from the spot where the blade pierced.

The man with a hole in his neck raised his hands to grab the sword.

Encrid immediately kicked the dead soldier's stomach with the sole of his foot and yanked his sword out. A black hole appeared where the sword was withdrawn, and fresh blood gushed out in thick spurts.

Meanwhile, right next to him, Andrew brought his short sword down. At a glance, his swordwork was quite clumsy.

The fluster from suddenly being told to follow was evident.

He had merely swung down reflexively at the sight of the enemy.

CLANG!

An enemy soldier, throwing aside his crossbow, drew a dagger and blocked it.

'Clumsy.'

But that was fine.

Because bringing Andrew here was partly for the optional extra trailing behind him.

The tough-looking soldier moved.

He didn't let out a battle cry, nor did he make any drastic movements.

Slipping behind the soldier who had blocked Andrew's short sword, he grabbed the enemy's jaw with his right hand and wrapped his left hand around the back of his head, then violently twisted both hands in opposite directions.

CRACK!

The enemy soldier's neck snapped at an impossible angle.

Naturally, he died.

The tough-looking soldier then drew the short sword from his waist while spinning backward like a top.

SWISH.

His short sword sliced through the dead center of the exposed neck between the helmet and breastplate of the soldier right behind him.

The slashed skin of the neck gaped open in an instant.

SQUIRT. SPURT.

Streams of blood sprayed from the severed neck.

Seeing that, Encrid kicked the ankle of the enemy soldier next to him.

The enemy soldier, who had been focused entirely on the sword in Encrid's hand, toppled sideways.

Encrid punted the fallen soldier's head.

THWACK! CRACK.

His neck bones snapped, and the struck man let out a weird groan before fainting.

"A-Ambush!"

"Enemy soldiers!"

Only then were the startled shouts of the enemy soldiers heard.

And only then did everyone from behind Encrid, including the allied ex-thug soldiers who knew how to brawl, join the fight.

"Kill them all."

Encrid said.

THWIP!

As soon as those words ended, Henri's bolt flew.

The flying bolt lodged into the chest of the soldier in front of Encrid.

The bolt pierced the gambeson the enemy soldier wore with a *thud*, causing red blood to seep out.

"You motherf—"

The enemy soldier tried to say something. Encrid couldn't hear the rest of the words he spat out.

Because he immediately thrust his sword to make a hole in the guy's neck.

"Huu."

Exhaling, he let the muscles that had moved violently in a short time rest.

Meanwhile, the clashing sounds of weapons rang out.

There was no need to take them all on by himself.

As he reminded himself of this newly realized fact and turned his body.

HISS!

A grating sound came from three steps away.

It was a sight he had already seen several times.

The cry of a highly wary beast.

He turned his eyes. And confirmed its identity.

Pitch-black fur came into view.

That entity was the reason part of the enemy crossbow unit stationed here let their guard down.

Encrid had scouted a few places for an ambush while repeating today.

He had sacrificed his own life to deliberately choose this spot as the most advantageous place for an ambush.

The reason for that was right there.

That small beast roaming the grass fields must have drawn the attention of this crossbow unit.

It was an entity capable of that.

He already knew this.

It wasn't exactly intentional, but it was a helpful entity.

The owner of the pitch-black fur stared at Encrid with blue eyes.

Encrid's blue eyes also stared back at it.

Their eyes met.

He saw one of the enemy soldiers click his tongue with a *tch* and thrust down an infantry short spear. It was aimed at the black-furred beast.

'Since I owe it a debt.'

He had no intention of letting it die.

Encrid swept a hand over his chest and extended his arm forward.

His extended arm stopped with all fingers pointing up, his hand perpendicular to the ground.

Matching that sequence of movements, the knife sheathed at his chest flew through the air.

The knife flew with a *thwip* and buried itself near the enemy's shoulder.

Thanks to that, the guy holding the short spear faltered.

SSSCREECH!

In that opening, the beast—which was at most the size of half a forearm—let out a terrifying screech and bit into the enemy soldier's calf.

*SPLAT! * Flesh and blood splattered. That wasn't the end.

The beast gouged the spot it had just bitten with its front paws.

The claws and fur that dug into the wound were stained and glistened with blood.

After gouging like that, it swiftly dodged away.

"You son of a bitch!"

The enemy soldier with the torn calf slammed his short spear into the ground, but the black-furred beast had already evaded.

'What a feisty one.'

It was a mystical beast.

It was an incredibly clever and fierce young black panther.

The enemy soldier hit in the shoulder by the knife died at the hands of the tough-looking soldier before he could even struggle.

Appearing from behind the enemy and cleanly slitting his throat wasn't a skill born from doing it just once or twice.

The screaming ceased.

The last remaining enemy soldier was killed by Andrew.

Taking a glance, it seemed he had stabbed the torso several times with his short sword, knocked him to the ground, and gouged his face.

Having killed his enemy like that, Andrew gasped for breath.

It wasn't just him.

Panting breaths could be heard from all around.

"Hah, hah, huu, huu, shit, what is this?"

A startled ally asked. His face was familiar, but his name didn't come to mind.

Instead, Encrid located the corpse of an ally among the dead soldiers with his eyes.

That guy died no matter what. This time, it seemed he had died from getting stabbed in the face by an enemy short spear.

It was a gruesome sight.

He had tried to save that bastard time and time again, but if saved, he would always desert in the middle of it to save his own hide and mess everything up.

It was a fact he knew through the repeating today.

"It's the enemy. Did you not know this kind of situation could happen during a patrol mission? Don't forget. We have to make it back alive."

Encrid once again brought out their thirst for life as he led the squad members.

"This way."

At that, the tough-looking soldier stopped Encrid with a word.

"That's going deeper inside. Squad Leader."

"Are you disobeying? If you were going to commit insubordination, you should have done it earlier."

Encrid crushed the dissenting opinion and silently moved his feet.

As if there were no other option but to follow him.

It was a silent pressure and coercion.

It had to be done.

There was no time to explain every little thing.

As he dashed forward and turned his gaze sideways, he caught sight of the young black panther's eyes.

Eyes like deep blue lakes.

Looking at the eyes that were a similar color to his own, Encrid turned his head away.

Right now was the time to struggle for survival more than anything else.

Not the time to share a connection with a beast.