Chapter 99 - Just Because Luck Isn't on Your Side (1)

Encrid woke around dawn and once again faced the same today.

He would train his body with the isolation technique.

Today was beginning again.

Most of it was the same as the previous today.

Training his body, with Pin and the Recon Party members watching.

Encrid, who had been moving since dawn, finished his sword training and checked his gear.

After the battle with the ghouls, he had forgotten to check his equipment in the morning.

'From here again.'

It meant the start of a new today.

And it was also the moment to decide his direction.

Would he go to the Smuggler's Hole again?

Or would he choose another path?

He lifted his sword until it was parallel to the ground, tilted it at an angle, and held it at eye level.

He ran his eyes along the blade.

There were no chips.

Encrid kept thinking as he looked at the blade.

The thing he had to prioritize most in this repeating today.

'Grasp the situation first.'

If there were three paths to break through and move forward, he wanted to know first what lay at the end of those three paths.

As if they had been waiting, three paths were laid before his eyes.

He could organize his thoughts afterward on "how" he would walk toward tomorrow.

He wiped the blade once with the leather he had prepared, checked the rest of his gear one by one, then untied the leather cord wrapped around the hilt and wound it again.

This was a kind of marker, an act that meant he was beginning a different today.

Since he could not count each growing number of todays one by one, it was a method he had made while repeating the first today.

Re-tying the leather cord on the sword grip meant the second today, Encrid remembered.

"If we're going in the morning, shouldn't we be getting a move on?"

Torres said it while making do with jerky for breakfast.

After tasting the seasoned jerky, he had started clinging to Encrid every morning.

Encrid had been about to open his mouth anyway.

Just then, he saw Pin approaching too.

A hand axe at her left waist, thick-soled boots, and a shortsword again at her right waist.

She wore thin, well-tanned leather armor over her body.

He had seen before how the armor bent well with the movement of her body.

'It must be light.'

That was how her armament looked.

It was possible because the Recon Party, even among light armored infantry, moved with only the minimum equipment.

"Rangers go first."

That was their slogan.

Because they walked at the very front, they were the ones who walked the lightest.

Compared to heavy armored infantry, Encrid also belonged among light armored infantry, but compared to them, he could be said to be relatively heavily equipped.

Even a single longsword would get in the way.

Then, if they fought properly, how skilled would they be?

Truthfully, he had been curious for several days.

Judging from the level of physical training he had learned through the isolation technique, he did not seem as if he would fall behind Torres.

And today, as it happened, there would be time left over.

The first step toward facing a today different from yesterday.

He would eliminate the option of sticking his head into a hole first thing in the morning.

"How about climbing over the wall at night?"

Encrid said abruptly, looking at Pin as she approached.

If he tried to speak indirectly, it would only make the conversation longer.

Sometimes, openly revealing one's purpose and intention was advantageous when leading a conversation.

Encrid was very skilled in that respect.

"All of a sudden?"

"I've got a bad feeling."

When Pin tilted her head after approaching, he answered without even taking a breath.

Encrid knew well the nicknames people in the unit used for him.

Excluding Devilish Squad Leader or Spellbreaker, the phrase most often used to refer to him.

'The bastard loved by the goddess of fortune.'

That was it.

If another soldier or commander said they had an ominous feeling, it would be easy to ignore.

But when he did it, it was taken a little differently.

"A bad feeling?"

Of course, Pin did not know such nicknames, so her reaction could be like that, but Torres was different.

Torres looked at Encrid's face for a moment, then stroked his chin and said,

"If all three methods are fine anyway, isn't climbing over the wall all right?"

He agreed out of nowhere.

He did not even ask why.

Even though Encrid had only said it was a feeling.

What kind of situation was this?

Pin tilted her head, then opened her mouth.

"You do know climbing a wall isn't easy, right?"

"There is no such thing as an easy job in this world."

Encrid answered that.

If two out of three people traveling together were on the same side, did the answer not come easily?

In truth, Pin did not care which way they went either.

Was that not why she had told them all three paths?

Pin nodded.

"Fine, then."

There was no need for a battle of wills.

Pin also had a subtle liking for Encrid.

"How about a round?"

Encrid said it as he tied the sword, its leather cord fully bound, to his waist along with the scabbard.

"Oh-ho."

Torres responded from the side.

The target was naturally Pin.

"You want to do it with me? Combat isn't my specialty."

No way.

Someone like that could not possibly have such a trained body.

"Swordsmanship isn't my specialty either."

As she spoke, Pin shrugged and showed her palms.

Seeing that, Encrid opened his mouth again.

"Doing it barehanded wouldn't be bad either. We shouldn't get hurt before an important mission."

Would it become a valuable experience?

He did not know.

But seeing her trained body, he did want to test himself against her.

It was competitive spirit.

Just as Torres had, Pin, apart from her fondness, suddenly felt the desire to match herself against Encrid.

'It has been a while.'

She, too, had once burned with passion for training.

She had stopped when she experienced her limit.

Even now, however, she was not at a level where just anyone could take her down easily.

For instance, even if Encrid's swordsmanship when he cut down the ghouls had been impressive.

'If we're doing it without swords.'

She did not think she would lose easily.

Everyone had their specialties, and Pin's specialty was one-on-one barehanded combat.

"Oh, we'll be seeing this for the first time in a while."

It was the words of one of the Recon Party members.

He was a kind member with a bandit-like appearance and, unlike that, a gentle way of speaking.

He was also the member who had dried Encrid's clothes for him on a tree branch.

Judging by the fact that he said it had been a while.

He seemed to already know Pin's skills.

"Enough useless talk."

Pin's eyes gleamed as she spoke.

She already looked ready for combat.

"We do have until night."

Permission fell from Pin's mouth.

Encrid untied his scabbard again.

He also took off his gambeson and leather armor, leaving only a thin shirt fastened tight across the chest with leather, and stood facing her.

Before he knew it, the Recon Party and Torres had drawn a large circle and made space.

Torres, standing around the center, smirked and said,

"Somehow, this feels like a scene I've seen before."

He must have been talking about the promotion spar.

Torres recalled Encrid from that time.

Encrid when Torres had faced him.

'He's changed a lot.'

Compared to back then, there had been a dramatic improvement.

At least, that was how Torres saw it.

"Let's begin."

Soon, the spar between the two began.

Pin's specialty was close combat.

She had no intention of hiding that.

She moved her feet left and right, then immediately closed the distance.

Encrid had also learned striking techniques through Audin.

He spread his feet front and back, stepped, and thrust his left hand straight out.

A fist that extended in a straight line instead of rotating left and right had a short path of movement.

In other words, it was fast.

It was a punch that resembled a sword thrust.

Seeing it, Pin showed a movement close to a feat of acrobatics.

With both eyes wide open, she lowered her body and dodged the incoming fist.

Only as much movement as necessary.

Encrid's thrusting fist grazed her hair.

'This is.'

It was a movement that reminded him of Leona Roquefried's escort mission.

Back then, when he climbed to the second floor to save Leona, Encrid had dodged the dagger his opponent threw with only a movement of his head.

It was a charge that brought that motion to mind.

Pin dodged his fist that way.

His concentration deepened.

He could see the line drawn by his opponent's body, and his gaze naturally moved toward Pin's face.

It seemed as though light was bursting from her eyes.

Just like that, they entered close-quarters combat.

'A tackle?'

His hesitation was brief, and his judgment was fast.

WHOOSH.

Instead of his extended left fist, he drove his right elbow downward.

It was an aggressive attack that seemed as if it would punch a hole somewhere in her back if she did not dodge.

Pin dodged even that.

Her movement was like a snake.

Her waist bent flexibly, and somehow, with whatever steps she took, she had seized Encrid's right side before he knew it.

She had not only seized the position; both her hands had somehow grabbed Encrid's wrist and forearm.

Encrid reflexively put strength into it and pulled his arm out of Pin's grip.

At the same time, Pin hooked Encrid's shin with the inside of her calf.

The fight that followed was a battle over who would seize the other's joints first.

They dodged, blocked, grappled, and rolled.

Before long, the two were rolling across the ground again and again.

He even struck his head with a thud.

Though he did not notice it, Pin's foot or hand also struck Encrid's groin.

'Ail Karaz style.'

Encrid knew the technique Pin was using.

It was one of the things Audin had taught him countless times while explaining.

Among the prisons infamous across the continent, there was Ail Karaz.

A very long time ago, it was a technique created by one of that Ail Karaz's prison guards.

A technique that inflicted unbearable pain on prisoners and subdued them without leaving wounds.

It was the Ail Karaz style combat art.

Its main focus was joint locks rather than striking, and its nickname was "the King of the Dirt."

It earned that nickname by rolling across the training yard floor of Ail Karaz and winning the title of king.

And it was a skill as infamous as that name.

Encrid countered again and again with the Balaf-style joint locks he had learned from Audin as "bed combat," but.

His opponent's proficiency was several times higher.

So.

"Admit defeat?"

The moment he thought he had defended well, his neck was somehow caught between Pin's legs.

If things went wrong, his neck could be broken.

Now that he had been caught like this, he could tell one thing.

The muscles in Pin's thighs were incredibly firm.

"I lost."

With his neck squeezed, Encrid admitted defeat.

"I don't know how it would go if we fought with swords, but this is my specialty."

As she spoke, Pin released the posture.

Because they had rolled on the ground again and again, both of them were covered in dirt and dust.

Ochre dust scattered and fell from their hair.

"We need to wash, don't we? Want to come with me?"

Pin asked.

"I'll go a bit later."

It was a prompt refusal.

It was an offer no different from telling him to strip together.

"Tch."

Perhaps Pin had been joking too, because she clicked her tongue playfully and stood.

She patted the dust off her backside and said,

"See you in the evening."

After she left that way.

"If you're going to cling to each other like that, why not just claim one burrow together?"

Torres said with a laugh.

Hm?

When Encrid looked at him, wondering what he meant, Torres kept laughing.

"You're the one who lasted the longest among the people who rolled around with our captain."

The member beside him said that.

Hearing those words, he did understand.

'Chest and everything aside, our bodies were pressed together.'

It had been too urgent for him to think that far.

However, there was one thing he realized.

'She's an excellent sparring partner.'

She was not as good as Audin.

Audin would say all kinds of things to him while rendering him completely unable to move.

Still, in the current situation, was she not an ideal sparring partner?

He would be able to polish his Balaf Style Combat Technique.

Of course, that did not mean he intended to waste today.

Naturally, he would also struggle to escape today.

However, how many times had he now faced situations like this?

He knew it instinctively.

It was as though the Boatswain from his dream had appeared and recited to him.

"How will you get out?"

Another wall had appeared.

Could he get out after only a few tries?

He did not know yet, but it would not be easy.

Then would he despair?

That would not happen.

Encrid was calm.

He was neither excited and rampaging nor in pain.

It was true.

He merely thought the first thing to do was properly understand how the situation was unfolding.

In the midst of that, discovering Pin's specialty was only an incidental matter.

After that, during the time that remained, Encrid practiced Torres's hidden knife.

"Are you going to keep doing that? I've taught it a few times, so I know. Kids who can't do it just can't."

Torres offered serious advice from the side.

He had told Encrid before to stop learning, but that had seemed to be more of a joke.

The words he spoke now contained sincerity.

Encrid answered Torres, who was leisurely spending time beneath a tree.

"I see."

As if he had only heard words like that once or twice.

"Fine, do whatever you want."

Torres quickly gave up.

Though it had only been a few days, he too had roughly figured Encrid out.

This bastard was stubborn as hell.

"Why the wall?"

It was a question that came after he had suddenly trusted him.

"I think that side will be better."

"And your gut's been exactly right so far?"

"Most of the time."

In truth, they were things he had achieved by repeating today like a madman.

Would Torres understand if he explained?

"I'll trust you, then."

Torres nodded.

Encrid did not think it would become a problem if Torres did not believe him.

He had simply expected that things would flow this way.

Practice and training continued.

He took time to wash himself and also caught a short nap.

"If we're going to work at night, it's better to get some sleep."

Torres did the same, and Pin seemed to be getting enough rest as well.

When he woke after sleeping briefly, the sun had soon begun to fall.

"You lot go to the contact point. We're abandoning this place."

Considering the worst-case scenario, the remaining Recon Party said they would abandon the current encampment and move.

Thus, the three headed for the wall.

The way there was rougher.

Because instead of bushes, they climbed a rocky mountain in the middle of the night.

"Good thing tonight's a night with two moons, right?"

Pin said from the front.

"We're supposed to call this good luck? It's a rough path."

"I told you. This way is twice as hard as the other paths."

Pin added those words with a laugh and stepped forward again.

Her gait was one thing, but Pin had put something on the soles of her boots, because her footsteps made almost no sound.

Encrid silently followed behind her.

After they crossed the rocky mountain, brush that covered the space above their heads greeted them.

With Pin's guidance, the three crossed even that.

In that way, they reached a place where Crossguard's walls could be seen clearly.

"Lucky."

Pin said, looking at the wall.

Torres, drenched in sweat, raised his head.

"This is lucky?"

"It is. We didn't run into a single beast or monster."

Encrid was also drenched in sweat.

Just keeping up with a ranger's stride was no ordinary hardship.

And this was not the end either.

"Now it begins, gentlemen."

Pin smiled brightly and announced the beginning of hell.

She meant climbing over the wall would be harder than the rocky mountain.

Before that, the problem would be getting right up against the wall first.

Encrid lifted his head, measured the height of the wall visible ahead, and thought.

This would be quite a struggle.

Still, it was not as if there was a way back.

"Let's go."

He simply followed behind Pin in silence.