Chapter 29 - I Want to Live, Too

"You're saying we should go further forward? This is madness."

The tough-looking soldier trailing closely behind Encrid spoke.

After succeeding in the first ambush, the Recon Squad—which had gone from being Andrew's squad to Encrid's squad—attempted two more ambushes.

The second battle was against a group of five soldiers, and in the third battle, they encountered a group of over fifteen.

Both were grueling.

In the second battle, there was a highly skilled bastard among the enemy soldiers.

And in the third battle, the enemy had superior numbers.

Amidst all that, the number of surviving soldiers was seven.

They had lost two more.

'I can't save any more.'

What couldn't be done couldn't be done, no matter what.

Encrid knew he was no saint.

Repeating today just to save the three who had died here was pure nonsense.

Even this much was only possible thanks to Encrid's performance.

Of course, the allied soldiers had fought bloodily as well.

They survived, but one of them had lost an eye.

Andrew, too, was left with a knife wound on his face.

His left cheek was wrapped in a linen bandage; it was the kind of wound that would make a fine medal if he survived.

Despite this situation, Encrid headed further inward.

It was like an ignorant charge with no thought of retreat.

From a normal perspective, it really was madness.

The tough-looking soldier's skills and experience were not to be underestimated.

Even in this situation, he hadn't completely lost his sense of direction.

He had noticed that Encrid was heading toward enemy territory.

Seeing that, Encrid inwardly nodded.

'Not bad.'

Compared to Rem or his other squad members, he would be severely lacking, but he was still a quite useful talent.

The kind of talent who could at least be a Platoon Commander if he put his mind to it.

"We should be able to catch our breath from here on out."

At Encrid's words, the tough-looking soldier furrowed his brow.

"That's not what I'm talking about, is it?"

"I said this earlier, but insubordination is..."

"Insubordination or not, if this is a path to our deaths, I'll find a way to live even if I have to stab an ally in the back, whether you're the Squad Leader or whatever."

This bastard was spouting dangerous words way too recklessly.

How was he planning to face him if they made it back alive?

He didn't even flinch when stared at. He was brazen.

And understandably so.

A person's life came first; the mission came second.

Especially for a guy like him, who was serving in the military for a specific purpose, it went without saying.

Andrew's life and his own would be his top priorities.

Encrid raised his head to check the position of the sun, then stopped in his tracks.

Naturally, the allies stopped as well. Everyone listened closely to the words of Encrid and the tough-looking soldier.

Amidst the group of soldiers whose shoulders heaved as they caught their breath, Encrid opened his mouth.

"If we turn back now, we die anyway. Behind us are only enemy forces clumped together like a pack of wild dogs."

As he spoke, Encrid loosely undid his hand guards.

The leather-padded guards were certainly useful items, but wearing them for too long made it feel like his hand muscles were being crushed.

But wearing them loosely would definitely be dangerous in combat.

"How do you know that? They shouldn't even know we exist, so how could they have already blocked our retreat?"

The tough-looking soldier glanced at Encrid undoing his hand guards, then spoke with a deep scowl.

He clearly didn't like Encrid's relaxed attitude at all.

Encrid had already faced this moment dozens of times.

It was a today he had repeated dozens of times.

The enemy had numbers, and the moment they confirmed the ambush, they always cut off the retreat. And they did so incredibly tenaciously.

He didn't know who their commander was, but it seemed they really didn't want to reveal their ambush here.

That was always the same.

Among the Tall Grass Fields, the allied group keeping low to the ground looked anxious.

They were following him blindly, but listening to the conversation between the two made it feel like they were standing in the middle of a perilous battlefield.

Even so, no one easily stepped forward.

They merely pricked up their ears.

Encrid glanced up again and calculated the time in his head.

Darkness would fall in three or four hours.

Then a path to survival would open up.

But first, he had to convince them right here.

It would be great to just crush them with force, but they weren't opponents he could do that to.

Nor was this a problem that could be solved with coercion.

Driving them forward with coercion and violence had reached its limit here.

Ambush, flee, ambush.

He had driven his squad members frantically to get to this point, but now it was time to wait.

And since they had to wait, these doubts naturally arose.

There was no need to go out of his way to persuade them.

"Don't you know it's already too late now that we've come this far?"

Those words were true. They had already lost too much time.

Turning back here would be an even crazier move.

The tough-looking soldier mumbled under his breath.

'What kind of crazy bastard is this?'

He looked as if he wanted to say exactly that.

But instead of saying that, he rolled his eyes and asked.

"You have a plan, right?"

Encrid looked the man in the eyes and then made eye contact with the surrounding allies one by one.

Even Henri and Andrew.

Doubt and anxiety filled their eyes.

As their breath returned, they found room to think.

And that room made them start having thoughts.

They probably knew it was already too late.

Encrid had no intention of explaining a logical reason.

In truth, he couldn't even give a proper reason.

How could he say it?

That he had seen the future by repeating today?

That they absolutely had to listen to him in order to end this repeated today and move on to tomorrow?

As if they would believe that.

Therefore, there was only one thing he could say.

"I want to live, too."

It was short, but it was a single sentence that contained everything.

It meant he wasn't desperately trying to die.

A craving for life.

Were they the only ones who had it?

He reminded everyone that it was the same for him.

Of course, Encrid could just repeat today again if he died.

'I will not stagnate.'

No matter who the ferryman of that river was.

No matter how high and solid the wall built before his eyes was.

He had no intention of stopping.

To Encrid, the repeated today was a mountain to climb and a target to conquer.

Therefore.

"Trust me. We're not walking into our deaths."

Skipping any explanations, he would buy everyone's trust.

He would use their trust as a foundation to twist the day itself, escape today, and greet tomorrow.

The craving for life, the repeated battles, the anxiety that settled after the adrenaline faded—in such a situation, it was human nature to want to grasp at even straws.

To such people, Encrid's brief two phrases gave them an indescribably deep sense of trust.

He said he wanted to live too, and therefore told them to trust him.

Moreover, they instinctively knew there was no other way.

What could they even do right now?

The enemy was swarming all over, poking around the Tall Grass Fields.

There was absolutely no way to see an escape route from here.

In times like this, trusting someone was the only option.

"I, I really want to live."

Henri muttered.

Starting with those words, everyone looked at Encrid and nodded.

The tough-looking soldier was at least somewhat level-headed, but even he had no other option.

Andrew, among all of them, was the most deeply shocked.

Setting aside his skills, Encrid seemed like a perfect person in character.

Wasn't Encrid right now exactly like the future version of himself he had always dreamed of being?

'Resolute even in this kind of situation.'

He never knew the meaning of giving up and had earned everyone's trust.

What a magnificent thing that was.

"I, I trust you, too."

And so, Andrew spoke as well. He had even switched to a respectful tone. And it didn't feel awkward at all.

A burning heat seemed to rise from the allies and reach Encrid.

"Then, everyone."

Under everyone's gaze, Encrid opened his mouth.

"From now until you get my signal, lie flat like moles and don't make a sound."

If he had earned their trust, it was time to use it.

He led by example first.

He lay completely flat on the ground and held his breath.

Everyone followed Encrid.

They might have wondered what on earth they were doing not running away immediately, but what could they do? They had just shared a burning sentiment moments ago.

It was the timing to give him their trust, even if just for five minutes.

The tough-looking soldier was utterly dumbfounded as he watched a grass bug hop right over his nose and disappear.

'This bastard is an incredible operator.'

His skill in handling people was no ordinary feat.

Was this the skill he used to lead that troublemaker squad?

It was a natural thought to have.

RUSTLE.

Right then, the sound of stepping on grass was heard.

Everyone started to breathe carefully.

Signs of people could be felt nearby.

They weren't that close.

The Tall Grass Fields were like a dense thicket. Unless someone came right up to them, it wasn't easy to find people.

It was a good place to hide.

The sound of grass being trampled rang out loudly all around them.

The direction of the sound flowed from front to back.

Though the immobilized group couldn't see the situation.

If there were a bird flying above the Tall Grass Fields watching this right now, a truly astonishing sight would be unfolding before its eyes.

Grass thrashed and swayed in every direction around the spot where Encrid's group had stopped. Every single one of them was an enemy soldier.

However, they moved while completely avoiding the very center where Encrid's squad was hiding.

In other words, the spot where Encrid had stopped was currently like an uninhabited island, the only safe zone amidst the enemy soldiers.

Even if luck were on their side, it would be impossible to find such a gap between the enemy's moving trajectories.

It was on the level of the Goddess of Luck not just blowing them a kiss, but pouring out every blessing she had with all her might.

Of course, this wasn't luck at all.

It was a trick he had mastered through repeating today like a madman.

When the sound of trampled grass faded away and they could no longer discern the enemy's location by sound, Encrid spoke again.

"We're moving again. Everyone, advance in single file."

It was time to move.

Encrid straightened his crouched body and walked slowly until his numb legs recovered.

As he did, he thought that the five senses training he had learned from Jaxon was incredibly useful.

Gauging distance and determining direction through sound.

It wasn't a skill that could be acquired through normal training, but Encrid had learned it by offering his neck to an assassin, and he could distinguish the sounds by repeating today in the fields.

'We've passed the second goal, too.'

After repeating ambushes and escapes, letting the enemy soldiers slip past them to the rear here.

That was the second core element of the escape route he had in mind.

Now, only the final, third one remained.

That required the help of time.

After his numb legs loosened up, he slightly increased his pace.

Everyone followed along well without showing any complaints.

Inwardly, everyone was also quite surprised.

Because no matter how they looked at it, the surroundings seemed swarming with enemies, yet they couldn't help but wonder how he was avoiding them so well.

Come to think of it, the aspects of their battles so far had been bizarre as well. It was because they had attacked as if they knew the enemy's exact positions.

Every battle had started with the allies ambushing them.

Thanks to that, they were able to fight while holding the high ground. In all those battles, Encrid had stood at the front and put on a crazy performance.

He looked like a guy who completely disregarded his own life.

Every squad member following behind him knew that Encrid had fought with his life on the line. And that he had taken the most risk at the very front.

Amidst the quiet fields, that strange heat rose once again.

It was the heat of the flames blooming in the chests of the surviving allies.

Encrid couldn't feel that heat.

Instead, he was simply thinking about the next step.

'Up to here.'

It was easy.

To be honest, it wasn't difficult.

And it shouldn't have been difficult, either.

He had already experienced the 'today' leading up to this point over fifty times.

So this was a given result.

Then why did he have to experience this 'today' over fifty times?

It was entirely because of this next operation.

They were the minority, and the enemy was the majority.

Their intentions were also unknown.

The only thing he knew for sure was one thing.

That the enemy commander had no intention of letting a single person who approached this place leave alive.

For the first few times, he had gritted his teeth and tried to break through to secure a retreat path.

Naturally, he failed every time.

Would the result change just because he had his squad's help?

That was completely absurd.

After that, he shifted his thinking.

'What if something even more troublesome than catching us happens?'

The sun was setting. A sunset began to form before his eyes, and the orange light of twilight descended.

As the sunset illuminated the Tall Grass Fields, it felt as though he had entered a lake shining with orange light.

For this moment at least, it seemed they should call this place the Orange Pearl rather than the Green Pearl.

The sky was unusually clear today, and the sunset cast by the falling sunlight was incredibly warm.

The sun quickly disappeared beyond the west.

And darkness fell.

It was time to take the third goal of the escape route Encrid had chosen.