Chapter 98 - Smuggler's Hole

This ghoul was fast despite its hunched back. Its nails were also longer than the ones he had seen before.

Even so, it wasn't faster than a harpy.

Nor were they sharper than Rem's axes.

'Point to point.'

He connected the lines. He brought every surrounding movement into the realm of his Sixth Sense.

Watching the approaching ghoul, there was only one thing to do.

To draw his sword and swing.

SHING.

The blade did its job as it left the scabbard.

KAAK!

Encrid instinctively calculated the approaching steps of the ghoul reeking of rot, and his sword dropped downward.

CRACK. SPLIT!

It was a crown strike.

From a stance with his left foot forward, the sword striking from top to bottom perfectly split the ghoul's crown.

Pulling back and recovering the sword that had plunged down to its forehead was all one motion.

He repeated it three times.

With the tip of the sword pointing diagonally toward the sky, he struck downward from above.

In an instant, three ghouls lay flat on the ground. All of them had their crowns split open.

In the meantime, Torres threw a dagger from the side.

The dagger flew through the air and lodged into a ghoul's head.

It was the one trying to flank to the left.

Encrid's feet grew busy.

He stepped forward and slashed the nape of an approaching one.

He punched the head of a ghoul that had closed the distance.

He thrust the sword held in one hand, piercing another's head.

Desperation? There was none of that.

Thirteen ghouls died in an instant.

And as he killed them all, Encrid felt something strange.

'There's a pattern.'

The ghouls attacked in a consistent formation, as if they had learned how to fight.

Which also made them easier to deal with.

If one didn't have overwhelming skill, they could have been surrounded and killed in an instant.

'What is this?'

They were different from the ghouls he had seen in the sewers before, or the ghouls by the river he had dispatched on the way here.

Man-eating demons that were the most commonly seen among monsters, those were ghouls.

They were monsters that used their heads even less than beasts.

'Can these things use tactics?'

They couldn't. It was impossible. Unless they had formed a colony.

A group of monsters with a leader to guide the pack was called a swarm, a colony.

And there were no signs of that either.

So there was no need to pay it any more mind. It was just that his Sixth Sense had caught onto something odd.

Should he wash the ghoul blood off his blade in the stream?

The moment he thought that and turned around to say he was finished.

Pin strode over.

"What are you?"

Pin stared intently at Encrid.

The question carried many implications, but right now, she had to be asking about his ability to handle the ghouls.

Encrid opened his mouth.

"I told you I'm in charge of an Independent Platoon, and that platoon is an extreme combat platoon."

It wasn't a lie. He had expected the Company Commander's intention was for them to play that exact role in the first place.

Who would believe a platoon consisted of a mere nine people?

Yet it could be maintained.

Because the skill of each and every member surpassed standard criteria.

Since the Border Guard existed prominently, it was natural to be overshadowed by their prestige.

But in Encrid's personal opinion, that wasn't the case at all.

'There's no comparison.'

Rem and Ragna, Audin, Jaxon.

The skills of those four were still difficult to match even now. Even though he possessed the ability to slice up ghouls like this.

'I'm far from it.'

Even though he had seen the direction the signpost pointed.

Those four still felt like they were beyond it.

In contrast, what about Torres of the Border Guard?

He was catchable. If they actually fought with their lives on the line, he might die, but the thought of losing didn't come easily either.

"You fight really well."

"That was amazing."

Pin's words were followed by the soldier who had been on night watch at dawn.

Several members approached and looked at Encrid. Encrid wondered if this was something that warranted such treatment.

Because this sort of thing was so uncommon, it felt awkward.

That was why he spoke up.

"I guess we don't need to move the encampment."

"That's right."

Pin replied.

After that, they decided to return to the encampment, and midway, a member with drooping eyes pointed out the direction to the stream.

It wasn't that far from the place they were using as a temporary encampment and dining area.

"Hey, I killed three too."

On the way back, Torres grumbled from the side, but no one paid him any attention.

No, Encrid was the only one who reacted to him.

He lightly tapped Torres's shoulder.

"It was easy thanks to you."

In truth, Torres knew as well.

That what he had done was merely to relieve an inconvenience.

'He could've killed them all on his own.'

He was realizing it anew.

'He hid his skills.'

No, Torres reconsidered.

It wasn't that Encrid had hid his skills, but rather that the temperature of a spar and a real battle were different.

If they went at it properly, if they fought with their lives on the line, what would happen?

'I think I'd lose.'

Even within the special-grade soldier rank, the Border Guard divided up its own standards.

In terms of combat power alone, Torres was about in the middle of the special-grade.

Encrid seemed to be higher than that.

When his thoughts reached that point.

He suddenly regretted teaching him the hidden knife technique.

"Hey, don't practice that."

Torres said, seeing Encrid absentmindedly fiddling with a thin stone like a habit after the battle ended and he retrieved his sword.

"Why tell me that after you went out of your way to teach me?"

"... I was just saying."

There was no way Encrid would know Torres's inner thoughts.

The feeling of being surpassed by someone you thought was far beneath you.

It couldn't possibly feel good.

Of course, it was a feeling Encrid genuinely couldn't understand.

Because to him, that was everyday life.

Due to his lack of talent, everyone had overtaken him, passed him by, and never looked back.

Even so, he didn't abandon his dream and swung his sword until his palms split open.

That was the human known as Encrid.

"Let's just go wash our swords."

Ghoul blood reeked of rot.

There was no way that smell was pleasant, and the blood inherently contained grease.

Leaving it as is would damage the blade.

"Got it."

For some reason drained of energy, Torres and Encrid were excluded from the hunt.

"We'll prepare the meal, so you two go do some laundry or something."

Thanks to that, they were able to wash their sweat-soaked clothes in the stream.

Drying them was the problem, though.

They said they usually didn't return to the burrow until nightfall.

So leaving them to dry all day by the campfire lit here would do.

He had taken off and washed the leather armor he wore underneath yesterday, so he left that out.

He had sweated again during the march, but even so, he couldn't maintain the same level of cleanliness as when he was in the city.

It was common sense that you'd catch a disease if you didn't wash.

Cleaning and cleanliness were especially fundamental within the military.

The water in the stream was clearer than expected, and the speed at which it carried the filth downstream was also fast.

It was after he filled his leather canteen and took a sip, as Pin had said the water was safe to drink.

GRUMBLE.

His stomach growled.

"You too? Me too."

Torres said after hearing it.

The two cleaned up their spot, gathered their tightly wrung-out clothes, and headed back.

"Give them here."

A member who had become twice as friendly as before they defeated the ghouls brought over a long branch and hung up their clothes.

Right next to the campfire, he saw a member skinning a snake they had caught from who-knew-where.

"A stroke of luck, isn't it?"

The member skinning the snake said.

It did make his mouth water.

It might look gross, but snake meat was a nutrient packed with protein.

Didn't Audin say so, too?

That it was meat you couldn't eat only because there was none, but you'd devour completely if it was there.

"Yeah."

He replied and sat next to them.

Torres sat next to him, and Pin sat opposite them.

The campfire crackled, yet almost no smoke rose from it.

'This is a skill too.'

He had seen hunters and Recon Parties do this skillfully a few times.

They'd first start a small fire with bark and leaves, then chop highly combustible wood into fine pieces to throw in.

Of course, this also required a knack for it.

Whenever Encrid tried it, he failed every time.

Whether this was just daily life to them, the smoke flared up briefly before vanishing.

Soon, one of the members placed charred charcoal and the like under the firewood stacked in a grid.

"Burning firewood produces a lot of smoke."

So they had to be careful when first lighting the fire, and careful not to produce smoke every time they added firewood afterward.

It didn't seem like the smoke would be visible from Crossguard.

But being cautious in everything had to be a habit of the Recon Party.

Soon, two members roasted the snake meat, while the rest roasted things like jerky.

One of them brought out a large pot and boiled water.

They tossed in various berries and the like, then scooped them out a little while later.

"His nickname is the chef."

Pin said, her rear planted firmly on the ground. She was in the middle of sharpening the blade of her handaxe with a whetstone.

Seeing that brought Rem to mind for no reason.

'I wonder if he's staying out of trouble.'

After Encrid gave a rough nod, they began their meal not long after.

The snake meat was softer than expected and perfectly seasoned with a sprinkle of salt.

To be honest, it was incredibly delicious.

Especially the tail section.

"I'm going to open a restaurant when I go back."

The soldier involved in all the cooking said. The campfire light brightly illuminated his face.

It was a younger face than expected, and upon asking his age, he was twenty-two.

"You punk, you should be thinking about becoming an excellent Ranger."

"I like being a chef better, Captain."

The member nicknamed the chef replied to Pin's words, and Pin burst out laughing, nodding her head in acknowledgment.

A tight-knit atmosphere flowed between them.

Encrid chewed on the snake meat and heated up the jerky to eat.

When he shared a bit of the seasoned jerky, the eyes of the soldier nicknamed the chef sparkled.

"Ah, what is this, why is it so good? Where did you get it?"

"From the city. I'll tell you when we get back."

At Encrid's words, the soldier chef nodded multiple times.

"You have to."

After eating their fill like that, they split into halves and enjoyed an afternoon nap.

"Resting well is also a Ranger's job, especially since this is a land where scouting the perimeter is practically meaningless. Survival is the top priority here. And stamina is essential for survival."

Pin said.

The resting place was also predetermined.

It was a hideout hollowed out from a massive tree.

Some climbed up into the trees to rest.

And others stood guard by the campfire.

After splitting into halves and taking their rest.

Right around the time the sun began setting toward the west, Pin brought up the main topic.

Pin spoke as she stood in front of Torres and Encrid.

"There are three ways to get inside the city walls. Let's discuss it together; the first is the Smuggler's Hole."

Pin's explanation followed.

"Well, it's a route used by the black market dealers in the city, so those in the know know about it, but it's not like they strictly block it off either. As you can tell, there are quite a few guys who know about this passage."

She added that it was easy, but it carried a proportionate amount of risk.

"The next one?"

Torres asked.

Pin rattled off the rest.

The second was scaling and climbing over the walls in the dead of night.

The third was to disguise themselves as a merchant guild moving at dawn and slipping in secretly.

"The fastest is the first, the safest is the second, and the easiest is the third."

It was obvious just from hearing it.

The risk levels were in the order of the third, the first, and the second.

But judging from how Pin spoke, it seemed she didn't consider there to be any major risks.

Her tone wasn't serious at all.

"In truth, getting past the walls isn't that hard; the problem is what comes next, meeting the cat."

Encrid also thought that would be a difficult problem.

What if they were being detained? If they were already caught, they wouldn't have been able to leave any marks.

Then would they have to go all the way to the prison?

"If we can't find any traces inside the city, we return immediately. The entire Recon Party goes back to the main force as well."

"I figured as much."

Torres said as if he had been waiting, and Pin took his words.

Torres seemed to have received a few more instructions from the main force before coming here.

"Only the three of us are going in. Where to?"

Pin said.

"Shouldn't you be the one to choose? You know the situation over here the best, don't you."

At Torres's words, Pin crossed her arms and nodded. It was true. As Encrid also agreed, Pin voiced her suggestion to take the Smuggler's Hole.

"We won't get caught unless we're exceptionally unlucky. We leave tomorrow morning."

"Not at night?"

Torres asked back.

Wasn't infiltration traditionally done at night?

"The morning is better, because they're actually more vigilant at night. Even climbing the walls is better left for tomorrow night."

Encrid simply watched the situation unfold.

After that, eating, training, and practicing slipping the stone in and out of his sleeve all day brought the day to a close.

It was time to head back into the burrow and sleep.

There was less danger than he had anticipated, making the current situation feel almost peaceful.

'Are there no Aspen Recon Parties around here?'

Such a question crossed his mind.

And so the next morning dawned.

"We're going."

With Pin at the lead, the three of them advanced toward Crossguard.

He had thought they would take a massive detour, but that wasn't necessarily the case either.

"For starters, those are the guys who think the monsters and beasts act as a barrier to the west of Crossguard. Recon Parties? They roam around, sure. But if we run into one, it won't just end with us being unlucky. From what I know, they don't even bother sending Recon Parties out here unless they're highly skilled."

It sounded like Aspen's Recon Parties wouldn't move without a clear objective.

Pin's pace was fast.

She wasn't a Ranger for nothing.

In particular, her skill at identifying and avoiding the tracks of monsters and beasts was absolutely phenomenal.

Her gait was especially unique. The way she walked by pressing down firmly on the ground starting from her heels caught Encrid's eye.

"We'll have to detour a bit here."

There was a path that involved pushing their way through a small mound covered in thickets.

Pin cleared a path with the axe at her waist.

Encrid also swung his sword to cut the thickets blocking their way.

'I didn't inspect my blade.'

He should have inspected his gear in the morning, but he was lost in thought and skipped the task.

It was because he had been too absorbed in his training.

'A mistake.'

It wasn't a massive mistake. Nor would it heavily impact their current situation.

As he slashed away at the thickets with a *SWISH, SWISH*, he saw red berries inside.

"They're poisonous. Don't eat them."

Pin said playfully.

"I'll be careful."

"Why don't you drop the formalities with me too?"

Pin said.

"I will."

He never explicitly refused a suggestion. Except for her offer to sleep together in the burrow.

Looking at Encrid, Pin couldn't hold her tongue and asked.

"Wanna sleep with me when this is over?"

"No."

"Tch."

"Hey, I'm walking right next to you guys."

Torres's final interjection.

"Yeah. I know."

Pin was unabashed. It was likely due to her inherently bold personality.

The place they arrived at was a small mound where the city walls were visible.

If they passed the mound and headed west, there should be a town gate.

The walls were visible in the distance, but there was no moat.

"Would they even need a moat? Unless someone has exceptional skills, dodging monsters and beasts just to reach here is practically impossible."

Which meant that Pin was no ordinary Ranger.

Then again, she wouldn't be in charge of this region if she wasn't at least this good.

Encrid thought to himself as they entered through the hole.

"Rangers go first."

Standing in front of it, Pin spat out a Ranger's slogan and went in.

It was similar to the saying that the infantry was the flower of the battlefield.

Pin glanced back.

Encrid's eyes caught Pin's smile, the thin leather helmet wrapping her head, and the orange hair sticking out from the gaps in her helmet.

Encrid and Torres followed behind her.

What followed was a series of unimaginable events.

"Stupid bastards."

After going in for a long while, what welcomed them was a unit holding shields and pointing long spears.

It was a fairly wide passage, wide enough for three people to stand side by side.

It was perfectly suited for a unit with shields and longspears to hold position.

And behind them.

CREAK.

The sound of drawing bowstrings rang out.

Looking back, they saw a unit armed with shortbows.

It wasn't even half an hour since they had entered the Smuggler's Hole.

It was a trap.

A shield and longspear unit in the front.

And dozens of nocked arrows blocking the rear.

It was a perfect trap that no one below the level of a knight could escape.

"Oh, fuck this."

Torres's voice, full of despair, and.

"I really wanted to catch you, you wildcat bitch."

The enemy commander's words.

Pin's complexion changed at hearing that.

"Son of a bitch!"

Pin's words were the last.

Arrows flew, and longspears thrust forward. Encrid also put up something resembling resistance.

He swung his sword while holding his buckler in his left hand, but.

What could he do when they were overwhelmingly outnumbered and stripped of a good position?

SHUK-SHUK-SHUK.

Starting with a spear blade piercing his thigh, he died with his head impaled.

Feeling it vividly caused agonizing pain to surge, but.

It was an unavoidable death.

Of course, he didn't just die easily.

"Vicious bastard."

Even in this situation, his sword and Whistle Dagger managed to take several down to the grave with him.

Though he wouldn't actually be traveling the same path with them.

Along with the pain, darkness veiled his vision, and.

HEHEHE.

With the Boatswain's laughter as the end, Encrid opened his eyes.

At dawn, the start of a day where death awaited, the repetition of today.

Today had begun once again.

The actual mission was confirming the life or death of the spy, but the hurdle started even before they crossed the city walls.

'Didn't she say there were three ways to cross the walls?'

First, he knew the Smuggler's Hole was a blocked path.

Then, what about the rest?

Encrid raised his body as he welcomed the restarted today.