Chapter 179 - Enc-Enc-Encrid

The nobles of the Kingdom of Naurilia all tended to name their troops after themselves. And so Viscount Vantra's army arrived outside the Pioneer Village. Part of the cavalry had galloped ahead after receiving the urgent dispatch. What they found was... “I thought they were under attack?”

The cavalry captain had come out to reconnoiter in person, and this was what greeted him. What were those people doing? Why were they burying corpses? Despite appearances, the black blood of monsters and demonic beasts could enrich the soil. Even the poison in Ghoul nails was mild enough to be neutralized and disappear once buried. For that reason, the Pioneer Village's residents were putting all their strength into burying the monster carcasses. The earth of the wasteland had become a mass of bumps and hollows. Most of the villagers were sweating, swinging shovels and pickaxes. Soldiers and residents alike worked as one. “Yes. The message was marked urgent,” the adjutant said. It had been more than merely urgent.

- Large colony. Knoll horde. Request immediate reinforcements.

That was all it had said. Whoever wrote it had been in such a hurry that they had not even included an approximate count. That was indeed what had happened. Deutsch had been in a rush when he sent the dispatch, and in his haste had left out the number of monsters. The wording only suggested a large colony numbering at least in the hundreds, with mention of Cultists thrown in as well. It was enough to spur anyone who recognized the danger into action. “Looks to me like they're trying some sort of slash-and-burn farming with monsters,” the cavalry captain said. There really didn't seem to be any threat. Aside from the monster corpses, it was an utterly pastoral scene. In fact, the cleanup was nearly finished, so there didn't even appear to be that many monsters. “Whoooosh, crash and bang, five hundred fell to him alone.”

“We shall name the castle wall.”

“Enc-Enc-Encrid.”

They were even singing some ridiculous work song to an equally ridiculous tune. “Find out what's going on.”

He had raced here and gotten covered in dust, only to find this nonsense. At his order, one of his men rode off. CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP! The rider investigated the situation, then returned to report. “What? He cut down five hundred Knolls by himself?”

The villagers had told the truth. “What, is he the legendary free knight? Or did they say the Mercenary King came here?”

“Neither, sir. They say he's a Platoon Commander from Border Guard.” A mere Platoon Commander had cut down five hundred Knolls alone. They did say it hadn't all happened in a single day, of course. Apparently, he had killed a Cultist too. No, the man had died. They had tricked the wily bastard and ambushed him, and he'd clutched his heart and dropped dead? Were Cultists some common bandits roaming the hills out back? Were they spineless idiots? 'What a joke.'

The captain snorted. What mere Platoon Commander could do such a thing? “Is that so? Then let's have a look at the bastard's face.”

With that, the captain and his men entered the village. “He's already left,” the headman said, stepping forward on behalf of the village. “Already?”

“He said his mission was to deal with the colony.”

And then he had simply up and left. Well, wasn't he unassuming? The cavalry captain snorted a second time. Given the circumstances, the only witnesses were mercenaries and villagers. It was unlikely that every last one of them was lying, but it was just as hard to believe everything they said was true. 'People exaggerate when they're driven to the edge.'

The captain understood the principle well. A man standing at a cliff's edge could have more than five paces to spare and still be gripped by the terror of falling at any moment. These people would be no different. Five hundred? More like fifty. A hundred at the absolute most? If a supposed former mercenary admitted he couldn't handle a monster colony that size, he'd only be confessing his own incompetence. 'He must have exaggerated.'

That was the captain's verdict. He had no intention of digging up the buried corpses. “Enough.”

As long as the village was intact, that was all that mattered. He heard stray bits of nonsense about Encrid's Wall or some such, but that wasn't for him to criticize. 'Whether it was fifty or five.'

It was probably true that this Platoon Commander had saved the village. Still, he didn't like how the fellow had gone off and left them to inflate his reputation. 'If I ever meet him...'

He would take him down a peg. Cutting off half that boastful tongue might be a good idea too. With that thought, the captain turned his horse around.

* * *

“You could stay a little longer.”

The headman immediately expressed his regret at hearing they were leaving. It was the morning two days after that night of festivities. Encrid had worked up a thorough sweat and was washing when several women from the village came to watch. “What a body.”

“He's handsome.”

“He can fight, too.”

“And he's a good man.”

“Strong and sturdy. I'm sure he's just as well built down...” That last remark seemed to cross a line, but their words were full of admiration, respect, and something close to worship. It didn't feel bad. He simply enjoyed it in moderation. When he announced his departure, Deutsch Fullman also showed up without warning and held out his glaive. “Would you spar with me?”

It was an abrupt question to ask with his weapon thrust forward, but his tone carried respect and his manner admiration. Standing straight and proper, he made a request. No, a plea. Above all...

'That look in his eye.'

Encrid liked eyes like that. Eyes with something fierce and burning in them. “Gladly.”

It was a brief spar. CLANG-CLANG! Once vertically, once horizontally. He knocked the glaive aside twice, slipped inside its reach, and drove his left fist into the area over Deutsch's lungs. The blow thudded into Deutsch's abdomen, and he crumpled to the ground with a retch.

“Ghk, uhhh, huff.”

After barely forcing the air out, he finally caught his breath enough to speak. “What strength...”

Then he rose and bowed his head once more.

“Thank you.” Encrid gave a casual nod. There was no reason to linger, so he decided to set off at once. “I'm coming with you.”

Despite being told to recover in the village before returning, Pin insisted on joining them. “I'm a ranger.”

Those words carried a great deal. She belonged to a group whose motto was “Rangers go first.”

“I don't like being left behind.” It wasn't mere stubbornness. For one thing, it wasn't a fatal wound with her guts spilling out, and the treatment had been excellent. Krais had done it. He really was a versatile fellow. Useful at everything except fighting, especially anything that called for brains. Above all, this journey wasn't likely to be dangerous. At worst...

'Just monsters and demonic beasts.' When a colony formed, most monsters in the surrounding area disappeared. That was only natural. A colony meant a gathering. The monsters nearby had gathered into a group, and that group had been wiped out, so they would be hard-pressed to find another band of monsters. 'It should be fine.' “Treasure. Treasure.”

Krais murmured the words as though singing a merry tune. From what he had told Encrid, the place marked on the treasure map was only a day's journey away. “It's really nothing, you see. In the old days, you'd have had to get past traps and all sorts of complications. But now, if you've read 'Christraun's Guide to Conquering Dungeons,' it's no trouble at all. That's what I'm saying.”

He sounded confident. And it really was nothing much. They stocked up on preserved food and a few bottles of cider, then set out. “Come back. You must.”

The headman bowed behind them. No, not just the headman. Every villager had come out to bow. Encrid dipped his head in return.

“If I get the chance.”

It was a rough sort of farewell, but he meant it, and that sincerity shone through. And so they set off on a journey that required nothing more than picking up a treasure on the way home and turning back. “Let's go find treasure. Treasure!”

Krais kept chattering excitedly, and Encrid readily nodded his agreement. “I'll go with you that far.”

Luagarne did not leave straightaway. Whether she had no need to return immediately or was reluctant to part, Encrid did not press her about it. Instead...

“Spar?”

He simply treated her as he always did. She had said something about falling for him, but that was a matter to let time settle. What he could learn from her now mattered more to him than any day in the future. In terms of sheer force—in other words, if he meant to kill—Encrid was confident he could surpass Luagarne. But her experience and skill were real. Judging purely by fighting ability, she was more manageable an opponent than he had expected. You couldn't see the surrounding landscape until you reached the summit. Only once you stood there did what you saw and felt change. And now he could see. Encrid's view had opened up. You could only see as much as you knew, and now he could see a way to beat Luagarne. 'Are all Frogs at this level?'

Probably not. As she had said many times, she was a scholar. “Not a bad suggestion. I've grown a little rusty myself. I ought to spend some time training again.”

She seemed to have learned something herself from facing the Cultist. They walked on after crossing their wooden swords with sharp clacks. Encrid reflected as he walked on what he had gained, what he had learned, and what he had mastered. “You truly are a strange human,” Luagarne said just after their game of moves and countermoves with wooden swords ended.

“No amount of talent should make this possible.”

“Is that so?”

Encrid brushed it off. His dream was to become a knight. There were still so many mountains to cross, so much road left to walk. One mere step forward did not satisfy him. No, it could not. However large that step might be, it still could not bring him within reach of his faded, tattered dream. Even if he reached it, would he be satisfied then? Who could say? Would becoming a knight be the end of everything? No. The dream remained unchanged. The reasons he wanted to fulfill it had accumulated as he wandered the continent and stayed in his heart, some as bitterness, others as lingering regrets. “And the strangest thing of all is your attitude right now.”

Luagarne kept talking, but Encrid remained unchanged. He learned and practiced. That quenched the thirst within him, so for now he would simply slake it and follow the signposts ahead. “Again?”

The same as ever. He worked up a sweat in the sparring that followed, then wet his throat with cider diluted with a suitable amount of water. They continued along a route with no streams. Pin led the way, with Krais chattering at her side.

“The terrain should be right around here, according to the map. What do you think, Pin?”

“Looks right to me.” Krais's talents... how best to put it? They truly shone when his life or Krona were at stake. He found the way using only a fragment of the map, though Pin helped him along. 'Isn't that more amazing?'

Big-eyes, Rem, Ragna, Audin, and Jaxon.

'Hmm.'

The Lunatic Platoon. They suited the name remarkably well. Didn't that make him the normal one by comparison? Surely sparing no effort for an ambitious dream fell within acceptable bounds. Of course, that was only Encrid's opinion. Had Luagarne really been the only one astonished by Encrid's fight against the Knolls? Esther had been astonished too. 'Mad human.'

She had already seen him change overnight several times. But this time had been different somehow. Cutting down hundreds of monsters without a spell? Had he been carrying some enchanted weapon? Had he picked up a demon sword? No. Everything was as it had always been, both his swords and his armor. Only the man had changed. Wasn't this truly power on the level of a proto knight? She couldn't speak for the power itself, but in terms of results, that was what it amounted to. Krais had been surprised too. He simply didn't question it.

'He's the Platoon Commander, after all.'

The man was already crazy, and mad about swords. Something like that could happen. There was no use puzzling over something he couldn't understand. Rather than waste his mental energy on a futile exercise, Krais simply accepted it. Of them all, Pin had been the most astonished.

'How is that even possible?'

He hadn't seemed this strong when she'd first met him. He had surprised her then, too. She had been astonished to see him fight among the wolf-men, and to see him kill a mage. Still, back then, he had seemed to fall within the realm of what she could understand. 'But now...'

He seemed to be at the very limit of humanity, or poised on that boundary. Above all, there was his ability to recover. 'He'd put a Frog to shame.'

He fought as though he were about to die, then came back to life the next day and fought again. How could he do that without a priest at his side pouring divine power into him? Pin pondered how it was possible, then soon gave up. In truth, most people who watched Encrid eventually gave up trying to understand him. There was no helping it. “What a strange fellow.”

Luagarne's murmur spoke for all of them.

“Is that so?”

Encrid remained as unruffled as ever. They saw no monsters or demonic beasts on the short journey. Their steady walking brought them to the far side of a rocky mountain. The roundabout route had taken a day, but they could have made it in about half a day if they had hurried. They had sparred, eaten, and taken plenty of rest along the way. There was no rush. As Krais had said, all they needed to do was pick up a treasure on the way. Behind the rocky mountain lay scattered stones, short grass, and the occasional tree poking up. It wasn't quite a plain, or a wasteland, or a field of stones. “Captain, do you know something?”

“What?”

That was when Krais suddenly spoke up.