Chapter 217 - An Offer, and Then

The instant Zimmer sprang forward, his body blurred into an afterimage. His speed was frightening enough to call a proto knight's charge to mind. But he was no proto knight. That much was certain.

Encrid raised his sword at an angle. Bracing his wrist and forearm, he stood firm as a solid wall. The defensive form lay somewhere between the Righteous Sword and the Heavy Sword Technique.

CLANG!

The estoc's point struck the flat of the sword Encrid had twisted into its path. Sparks flew, and Zimmer's sword bounced sideways. He immediately pulled it back.

Naturally, Encrid had not been overpowered. He had not budged. Retracting his sword, Zimmer retreated.

'A naturally light body.'

A body honed to its limits, coupled with a lunging stab. He had forgone even armor for that single strike. His sword was thin and narrow, too. It appeared to have been modified to reduce its weight, and even his boots looked light.

Encrid had grasped all of this from one sword strike. The moment he saw and understood Zimmer's tactics, he knew this was not a fight to draw out.

Having seen what Zimmer had just done, Encrid knew he could do something similar. He could manage it without that equipment or those tricks. Then all he had to do was do it.

He drove his left foot back and thrust his body forward. The stab was different from his opponent's, though it would look much the same. He unleashed the Heart of the Superhuman, channeling strength from his toes through his ankle and thigh, then added the stab he had learned on his first battlefield.

BANG!

He kicked off the ground. The air tore apart, and in his concentration, everything else vanished from Encrid's sight. All he could see was the sword and its wielder.

Zimmer tried to stab at him in return. To Encrid, it all looked slow: the sword coming forward, the weight shifting toward him. He knew his own sword would reach his opponent first.

Even so, his opponent would not stop his blade. Knowing that, Encrid stabbed Zimmer's shoulder with the sword in his right hand while drawing his second sword with his left and striking the estoc squarely around its midpoint.

A defensive move with razor-sharp timing. What Encrid saw as a sequential exchange of moves looked like an outright feat of acrobatics to the watching soldiers.

THUNK! CLANG!

No sooner had Zimmer lunged and retreated than Encrid charged, and the sounds of piercing flesh and striking steel rang out in succession. That was the end of it.

The soldiers had not even properly seen their exchange. All they saw was a hole in Zimmer's shoulder and the man crumpling to the ground.

"Ngh."

Zimmer stifled a groan. He was a man who knew how to endure pain.

Struck through the middle, half of the broken blade spun through the air before embedding itself in the ground. It had been a thin, straight sword designed for a single stab. Naturally, it was weak against force applied from the side.

Weapon Shatter was one of the Heavy Sword Technique's moves. Encrid had performed it with his left hand.

He did not congratulate himself on winning the duel. He merely raised his gaze and asked, "More?"

General Olf answered quickly. "I surrender."

It was as good as the surrender of all Martai. It was also a battle that could not help but make Encrid's name widely known.

WAAAAAH!

Belated cheers erupted. At the sound of the allied cheers, Martai's troops turned pale. Their commander had surrendered. Some among them would surely be unable to escape having their heads put on display.

The aftermath was Marcus's responsibility.

"Everyone, lay down your weapons!"

The commander shouted in all directions. His words marked the end of the war.

PITTER-PATTER.

Rain began to fall through the late-summer heat. Rain from a clear sky. The summer god's mischief.

Sunlight shone through the rain, and Encrid stood with his sword in hand. Not only Martai's soldiers, but the soldiers of Border Guard's standing army, too—all eyes rested on the man standing amid the summer god's mischief.

He was the man who had led this battle, torn through it, and ended it. His name was Encrid.

* * *

"Death or imprisonment?"

Marcus left the choice to Olf. The man of the East chose life.

"Imprisonment."

Killing him would have burdened Marcus in several ways as well. There was still much to squeeze out of the man.

'Well, it does feel as though I got this for next to nothing.'

Marcus handled the rest of the aftermath just as decisively.

"I was the captain of the guards."

He looked at the man who had surrendered at once without even stepping forward to fight.

"Kill him."

"... What? I surrender. I surrender!"

"You call yourself a guard, and you bow your head without resisting even once?"

Marcus was cold. Not even his customary smile appeared. He condemned the man, yet his words did not seem intended for him alone. Only then did he calmly pronounce the death sentence.

"You can't..."

THWACK! CRUNCH!

The First Company Commander did it himself. He struck the man's neck with his mace, killing him in a single blow.

The man's head bounced against the ground with a thump. His neck bent at an unnatural angle, its muscles stretched, leaving a corpse with its head flopped to one side.

"Too much talk."

Just as that began to unsettle the enemy soldiers, Marcus spoke.

"Zimmer, was it?"

He called to Zimmer, who was bleeding freely from his pierced shoulder. Glancing at Encrid, the battalion commander spoke in a near whisper, loud enough for only Encrid and Zimmer to hear. Of course, Jaxon or the Fairy Company Commander could have heard if they listened with their keen ears. That was simply how quietly he spoke.

"What do you think? Seems a waste to kill a man like him."

The question was directed not at Zimmer but at his own man, Encrid. Encrid wondered what Marcus was after.

"I don't think there's any need to kill him."

Since Marcus had lowered his voice, Encrid answered quietly as well. Marcus gave an emphatic nod at his reply, then raised his voice. He shouted very loudly indeed.

"You truly know how to recognize a worthy opponent! Such generosity! To plead for the life of a man you crossed swords with."

'Plead? When did I do that?'

Encrid was dumbfounded. Unlike when he had asked the question, Marcus continued speaking loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"I will grant your request! As if leading us to victory were not enough, you show mercy to an enemy commander. You are the finest soldier I have ever seen. Is he not? What do you men think?"

That last question was directed at the allied soldiers. In short, he was building Encrid up.

Despite their victory, some allied soldiers had missed their chance to cheer, caught up in that overwhelming might, the pattering rain, and the hazy sunlight filtering through it. Only now did they shout.

"We won!"

It took no time for that short, bold cry to become a cheer from the entire army.

"The pride of the battlefield!"

"The infantry!"

"The pride of Border Guard!"

"The lunatics!"

Encrid let out a chuckle.

'Isn't that ridiculous chant getting even stranger?'

There did seem to be a certain consistency to it, though.

"We've lost."

Zimmer murmured from below him and gestured behind himself. The enemy soldiers gathered to one side.

"Do not resist. Do not die meaninglessly."

Usually, a conflict between cities amounted, at best, to capturing the enemy commander and collecting Krona, or exchanging some other compensation. This time was different. It was a crushing, total defeat. A city had fallen. This war would go down in the history books.

"My name is!"

"Encrid!"

"Waaaaaah!"

As the soldiers' cheers rose, the anxious townspeople watched warily. They had all locked their doors and stayed inside, peering through cracks in windows and doorways. Those with less courage did not look outside at all.

It was common for soldiers to turn into bandits after a city fell. If they looted the entire city now, who would stop them? And if the looting truly began, would the people lose only their property? Rape and robbery would erupt everywhere.

Anxiety seemed to grip the whole city. Some citizens wondered whether to grab even a poker and fight, but that would be nothing more than throwing their lives away.

"Zimmer, I ask this of your honor. From this day forward, this city is subject to Border Guard. Do you foresee any problems if I withdraw the standing army and leave only some troops behind?"

Even among the central nobility, Marcus was a politician's politician. He knew how to win people over.

"If you give me your word, we intend to march home today."

Zimmer blinked. On what basis could he trust them? If he left only some troops, Martai's forces would outnumber them. Honor? He was asking on his honor?

"If you ever entertain other ideas, look over there."

Marcus approached and whispered. The black-haired man had stepped back a few paces and stood alone. His name was Encrid, the bastard with a hobby of announcing his name on the battlefield.

Zimmer thoroughly disliked his looks. Pretty was not quite the word, but he was far more handsome than necessary.

"He's the Lunatic Company Commander. If you take your anger out on our troops, his men will take theirs out on every citizen this time."

Trust normally required faith, but where faith was absent, one could simply create the conditions for it. Corner someone and leave them no choice, and faith and trust would come naturally.

"Yes. On my honor."

Zimmer gave his word.

"We're marching home."

Marcus spoke, then dealt briskly with the remaining matters. Encrid fell back. On the return journey, he heard that the entire Border Guard defense force would remain in the city.

"Hey, I guess we won't be seeing each other much now."

Torres came over and rambled on. A few others considered the defense force's main fighters came to speak to him as well. Among them was a fellow named Hyoun, who exchanged a few pointless words with Encrid. Namely:

"I'll defeat you next time, so don't neglect your training."

After spouting that nonsense, he would go over and say something to Ragna. Encrid did answer that he would—that he would keep working and improving.

Hyoun had not been serious either. The bastard was as terrible at joking as the Fairy.

"Anyway, the battalion commander says he's handing this city over to our captain now."

Listening beside them, Krais nodded.

"It seems he intends to use the Border Guard defense force as the core to fully integrate this city, too. I must say, I like the scope of his ambition. This fellow Marcus didn't settle for the city's cooperation. He swallowed the city itself."

Torres glanced at Krais and asked, "Does he always throw the battalion commander's name around like that?"

"He always checks that none of the commander's adjutants are around first. Don't worry."

Wasn't that beside the point? Well, it was no concern of his. Torres gave a cursory nod and spoke.

"You become a knight. I'll try becoming Martai's next commander."

That meant rising to the very top of the Border Guard defense force. The fact that he could even say such a thing was thanks to Encrid's influence. That was why Torres had wanted to say it.

"Keep at it."

With that offhand remark, their farewells ended. The army marched home, and the Border Guard defense force stayed there for the time being.

As soon as he returned, Encrid washed, rested, ate, and slept. He had not properly rested since returning from the raid on Black Blade.

"What did I say was just as important as training, brother?"

Wasn't that what Audin was always saying? Rest was just as important as training.

The allied troops were still excited. For some reason, quite a few hovered around the Lunatic Company, but Rem was not there for nothing. No one came any closer.

Encrid rested well for two days. Aside from light conditioning and training, he gave his body some rest, too.

For the first time in a while, he slept soundly without dreaming. When he woke, a green-eyed Fairy was right in front of him.

"... A nightmare?" Encrid muttered.

"If I appeared in your dreams, it would be a wet dream."

"Reality, then."

A Fairy joke. He sat up, asking what brought her here so early. She gazed at him for a moment before speaking.

"Go see the battalion commander after you finish training."

"Yes."

Had she really come all this way before dawn just to say that? She was truly an inscrutable Fairy. Seeing her talk about wet dreams with that impassive face reminded him, as it did every time, that she truly had...

'Inhuman beauty, an inhuman personality, and inhuman jokes.'

After the Fairy left, Esther woke and rubbed her eyes. The way she did it with her front paws was cute.

"Good morning."

"Rrr."

After greeting Esther, he went out and began his conditioning. Later, as he was about to leave around sunrise, Rem emerged and spoke through a wide-mouthed yawn.

"I'm going to put that Beastman through her paces."

It was neither a question nor a request for permission. He was announcing it.

"Why?"

"Leave her alone, and she'll turn into a useless parasite who does nothing but eat. Would you rather let her get herself fucking killed on the battlefield? Well, if that's what you want, fine."

"You're not just making excuses because you want to beat her up?"

Rem shut his mouth. Seeing him at a loss for words now and then proved that the bastard was human, too.

"... No, you took her into our unit, Captain, so I'm offering to train her personally, all right? What are you talking about?"

So it was an excuse to beat her up. Encrid knew, but nodded indifferently.

She had looked as though she had nowhere to go, and the fierce desperation in her eyes had reminded him of himself. That was why he had taken her in, but Rem was not wrong. Left as she was, she would get herself stabbed to death somewhere.

"Audin, ask the Beastman what she wants. If she's still willing, leave her to him."

Otherwise, he intended to transfer her to another unit.

"Of course."

Audin had worked up a sweat training beside him that morning. They were accustomed to this. Whether they had been run ragged on the battlefield or fought for their lives the day before, working their bodies hard from the day after their return was simply routine.

With that, Encrid headed for the battalion commander's office. A thought occurred to him as he walked.

'I suppose I really am a company commander, after all.'

Did he have to manage the soldiers under him now, too? What he had done until now could hardly be called management. It would be more accurate to say he had been busy getting dragged along.

And now? He had formed a battle formation and even issued something resembling orders afterward. They had changed as much as he had.

Strategy and tactics. The very thought gave him a headache. He could deal with things as they came.

"Let him know I'm here."

He nodded to the guard outside the office as he spoke. Opening the door, the guard replied, "It was an honor to stand on the battlefield with you."

This fellow must have fought, too. Fighting at the very tip of the advance, Encrid had had no time to look back.

The excitement of battle had yet to fade. The guard's words and the admiring looks of the soldiers he passed made that clear.

Some told stories of their own exploits. One lunatic had even offered to turn Encrid's feats into a song and sing it. If the others had not smacked him over the head and stopped him, Encrid would have done it himself. The soldier was truly a terrible singer.

The victory celebration had not been held yet. They had been told to take a proper rest this time: two days to prepare, and then they would eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. Until then, they could rest as much as they pleased.

"Oh, you're here?"

Marcus greeted him with a smile.

"Yes."

There was no one else around, neither an adjutant nor the Fairy Company Commander.

Still smiling, Marcus spoke.

"Would you be interested in becoming Border Guard's battalion commander?"

That was his question. It was an offer Encrid had never expected.