The soldiers from the Viscount Ventra's army finally arrived at the frontier village.
Having received an urgent dispatch, a portion of the cavalry had galloped ahead for reconnaissance. Upon arrival, their captain surveyed the scene before him.
"Wasn't this place supposed to be under attack?"
The cavalry captain asked, confusion evident in his voice. He had taken it upon himself to scout ahead, and what he found was far from the chaos he expected.
What in the world are they doing? Why are they burying corpses?
Rather than scenes of devastation, the villagers were hard at work digging trenches and burying the carcasses of monsters and beasts. The black blood of the creatures, oddly enough, was known to enrich the soil, making it more fertile. Even the poison coating the ghouls' claws would neutralize and dissipate when buried properly.
For these reasons, the villagers were toiling away with shovels and pickaxes, striving to inter the bodies. The once-uneven land surrounding the settlement had been transformed into an even rougher patchwork of turned soil. Sweat glistened on the faces of the settlers, who moved as one, both villagers and soldiers united in their efforts.
"Yes, sir. The dispatch was marked 'urgent,'" the adjutant replied, holding up the crumpled message.
But the situation before them hardly seemed to warrant the haste.
- Large Colony. Swarm of Gnolls. Immediate support required.
That was all the note had said.
The urgency had been clear in its brevity, leaving no room for speculation. However, there had been no specifics on the numbers or scale of the enemy.
Indeed, when Doich sent that desperate message, he hadn't bothered with such details. He had simply conveyed the bare minimum, which was enough to spur reinforcements into action.
"Well, from where I'm standing, it looks more like they're trying to farm monster corpses," the captain muttered.
The sight before them was almost picturesque, apart from the occasional grotesque monster carcass dotting the landscape. The situation looked far too peaceful for a place that was supposed to have been under dire threat.
To make matters more surreal, snippets of a crude labor song floated over to the captain's ears:
"Whistle and swing, he struck them all down!
Name the wall in his honor!
Enk-Enk-Enkrid~!"
A ridiculous tune, sung to even more ridiculous lyrics.
"Find out what's going on," the captain snapped.
They had raced here in a frenzy, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake, only to find this.
At his command, one of his men spurred his horse and galloped off toward the village.
Da-da-dak! Da-da-dak!
The sound of hooves echoed through the clearing.
The subordinate who had ridden off to assess the situation returned and reported the findings.
"What? One man single-handedly cut down five hundred gnolls?"
The villagers were honest in their explanation.
"Apparently, he's some legendary free knight... or maybe a mercenary king or something?"
"No, that's not it. He's a squad leader from Border Guard," the subordinate clarified.
A squad leader had single-handedly taken down five hundred gnolls. Of course, it wasn't something he'd done in a single day, or so they said.
They also mentioned that he had dealt with a cultist. No, actually, the cultist had died. He had tricked the devious opponent and struck from behind, seizing the cultist's heart before he died himself.
Cultist? Was he some lowly thief lurking in the hills? Or maybe a weakling with a small brain?
'This is ridiculous.'
The captain let out a scoff. How could a mere squad leader do something like that?
"Is that so? Well, let's see the face of this guy."
The captain ordered, and they entered the village.
"He already left," the village chief said, stepping forward as the representative.
"Already?"
"His mission was to deal with the colony."
And just like that, he had left.
How straightforward was this guy? The captain scoffed again, this time more audibly.
The situation they were facing was curious, to say the least. The only witnesses were the mercenaries and the villagers, all of whom had spoken of the same story. While it was hard to imagine them all lying, it was equally difficult to believe everything they said was entirely true.
'When cornered, people tend to exaggerate.'
The captain knew this principle well. Those on the edge, no matter how much space they had left, would always feel as though they were about to fall.
The villagers and mercenaries were likely the same.
Five hundred gnolls? At most, maybe fifty? Maybe a hundred at most?
If this so-called mercenary really couldn't handle even that small of a colony, it would only prove his lack of ability.
'They probably exaggerated,' the captain decided, unconvinced. He wasn't planning to dig up the buried corpses to investigate further.
"It's fine."
In the end, as long as the village was safe, that was all that mattered.
There had been some talk about Enkrid's wall or whatever, but the captain didn't feel the need to intervene.
'Fifty or five hundred, it doesn't matter.'
The squad leader had saved the village, and that was the truth.
However, the fact that he had left, leaving his reputation inflated, didn't sit well with the captain.
'I'll make sure to see him again sometime.'
He was tempted to knock him down a peg. Cutting off the arrogance from his tongue would be a satisfying task.
With that thought, the captain turned his horse around.
"It would be fine to stay a bit longer."
The village chief expressed his disappointment at the news of Enkrid leaving.
It was the morning, two days after the festival-like night had passed.
As Enkrid washed up after a long, sweaty day, a few of the village women had gathered to watch him.
"He's in great shape."
"Handsome too."
"He's good at fighting."
"He's got a good personality."
"Strong, too... definitely down there..."
The last comment was perhaps a bit too forward, but it was more of a mix of admiration, respect, and perhaps even a bit of reverence.
It wasn't a bad feeling.
Enkrid simply enjoyed the attention in moderation.
As he was about to leave, Doitch Fulman came over and immediately thrust his glaive forward.
"Would you spar with me?"
Though the weapon was thrust at him, Doitch's tone was full of respect, and his posture showed admiration.
What stood out most, however, was the look in his eyes.
'Those eyes...'
Enkrid liked eyes like that. They were fierce and burning with intensity.
"Sure."
It was a simple spar.
Thwack.
Once with a vertical swing, once with a horizontal, easily deflecting the glaive. Enkrid quickly closed the distance and landed a solid punch to the spot just beneath Doitch's ribcage.
With a thud, Doitch gasped and crumpled to the ground.
Gkk, gghhh, huuu.
He struggled to catch his breath, and after a moment, he slowly lifted his head and spoke.
"Such power."
He stood up and bowed his head deeply.
"Thank you."
Enkrid simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Enkrid casually nodded in response.
There was no reason to linger, so he decided to move right away.
"I'll come with you."
Despite being told to rest in the village and recover, Finn insisted on following him.
"I'm a ranger."
There was a lot packed into those words. Rangers go ahead first—that was the motto of their group.
"I don't like falling behind."
It wasn't exactly stubbornness. Finn wasn't seriously wounded—her injuries weren't fatal, and the treatment had been excellent. It had been Krais's skill at work, after all. A versatile guy, Krais. He was good for almost everything, except combat. Especially when it came to using his head.
More importantly, there wasn't much danger on this journey anyway.
At most, they'd encounter some monsters.
'Probably just monsters and beasts.'
When a colony is established, most of the surrounding monsters lose their territory. It was a natural phenomenon.
A colony meant a group was being formed.
So, the nearby monsters, who had banded together into a colony, were now defeated, and it would be hard to find another group of monsters anytime soon.
'It'll be fine.'
"Treasure! Treasure!"
Krais chanted, his voice filled with excitement. From what Enkrid had heard, the treasure map Krais had pointed to was only about a day's journey away.
"It's nothing. Back in the day, we'd have to deal with traps and complications, but now... Well, if you've read the 'Christraun Dungeon Breakthrough Method,' it's a piece of cake."
Confidence was evident in his tone.
And in truth, it wasn't a big deal.
After packing some provisions and a few bottles of apple cinder, they set out.
"Come back again, definitely."
The village chief bowed his head as they left. It wasn't just him—the entire village came out to bow their heads.
Enkrid nodded as well.
"If the opportunity arises."
His farewell was a bit rough around the edges, but it carried sincerity and made the sentiment stand out even more.
With that, the journey began, and it would end just as simply when they found a treasure along the way.
"Let's go find some treasure! Treasure!"
Krais cheered with enthusiasm.
Enkrid, amused, nodded.
"I'll go that far with you."
However, Lua didn't leave right away. He didn't rush to go back, though it wasn't clear if it was because he didn't need to or if there was something he was still lingering on. Enkrid didn't feel the need to ask.
Instead, Enkrid responded casually.
"Duel?"
He treated her just like he always did. The comment about falling for him was something to be left for later. Time would tell if it meant anything.
For Enkrid, the most important thing wasn't some fleeting future, but learning from her in the present.
In terms of sheer strength, if it came down to it—if he wanted to kill—Enkrid was confident that he could surpass Lua. However, her experience and skill were far from fake.
When it came to combat prowess, she was more than capable. Before reaching the peak, one cannot see the full scope of the surrounding landscape; it's only when you stand atop the summit that the view changes. Now, Enkrid could see it clearly.
He had gained perspective. What he could see now was the path to surpass Lua.
'Are all Frogs like this?'
It was unlikely. Lua had often mentioned that she was a scholar.
"That's not a bad suggestion. I've gotten a bit rusty myself. I'll need to spend some time honing my skills again."
It seemed that she had also learned something while fighting the cultists.
With the wooden swords clashing, she focused on walking her path—reflecting on what she had gained, learned, and perfected.
"You're a fascinating person," Lua said after the sparring, when the sound of the wooden swords clashing had faded. "No talent is quite like yours."
"Really?"
Enkrid dismissed it casually. His dream was still to become a knight, and there were many mountains yet to climb, many paths still ahead of him.
Taking a single step forward wasn't enough. It couldn't be. Even if the step was large, it couldn't reach the faded and torn dreams that lay ahead.
Even if he did reach that point, would he be satisfied with it? He wasn't sure. Becoming a knight wouldn't be the end of everything.
The dream remained, and the reasons behind it—the journey across the continent—kept adding layers of meaning to his heart. Some of it was resentment, some lingering attachment.
"The most surprising thing is your attitude right now," Lua continued. "I've never seen anyone like you."
Enkrid remained unchanged.
Learning and mastering new things quenched the thirst inside him, and for now, he was focused on quenching that thirst and following the signposts toward his goal.
"Again?"
Still the same.
After the next sparring session, they both sweat and refreshed themselves with a mix of water and apple cider.
They walked along the path, which had no streams in sight.
Leading the way was Finn, with Krais chattering by his side.
"According to the map, this should be the area. What do you think, Finn?"
"Looks right to me."
Krais's talent was something to behold.
When his life or Krona was at stake, that's when his true ability shone.
He was able to find the path by just looking at a small part of the map. Finn helped him along, of course.
'That's even more impressive, isn't it?'
Big eyes, then Rem, Ragna, and Audin... Jaxen.
'Hmm.'
The mad squad.
They really suited that name. Compared to them, was Enkrid not the "normal" one?
His dreams were big, and as long as he didn't spare any effort, that level of ambition was acceptable within his bounds.
Of course, that was only Enkrid's own way of thinking.
Was it only Lua who was shocked by Enkrid after his battle with the horde?
Even Esther was taken aback.
'Crazy bastard.'
He'd seen someone change in a single night many times before, but this time felt different.
Slaughtering hundreds of monsters without using any spells?
Did he have some magical weapon?
Maybe he had picked up a cursed sword or something?
No. It was just the same as always. His sword, his armor.
It was just that the person himself had changed.
This could truly be considered the strength of a semi-knight, could it not? The strength itself wasn't entirely clear, but in the end, that's what the result pointed to.
Krais was also surprised. But he didn't overthink it.
'He's a squad leader after all.'
He was already crazy and obsessed with swords, so this could be expected.
Wasting time thinking about things that didn't make sense was pointless. Krais didn't waste his mental energy on such things and simply accepted it.
Among them all, the one most surprised was Finn.
'How is he doing this?'
When he first met him, Finn didn't think it would be like this.
He had been surprised when he saw him fighting among werewolves, and he was surprised again when Enkrid killed a wizard.
But those were things Finn could understand within the bounds of reason.
'Now...'
It was like he had crossed some boundary of human limitations.
Most of all, it was the resilience.
'It's like he could slap a Frug across the face.'
He fought like he was going to die, and then the next day, he was revived and ready to fight again.
It wasn't as if there was a priest nearby pouring holy power into him. How could he even do that?
Finn tried to figure it out, but eventually gave up.
In reality, those who had seen Enkrid had mostly given up trying to understand him.
It was inevitable.
"A really strange guy."
Lua's mutterings perfectly summed up everyone's feelings.
"Really?"
Enkrid responded, still unfazed.
After a short journey, they hadn't encountered any monsters or beasts.
The place they arrived at was the area behind the rocky mountain.
It had taken a day to get here after taking a detour, but if they had rushed, it would have only taken half a day.
They'd sparred, eaten, and rested enough during the trip.
There was no rush. As Krais had said, there was a treasure to be found on the way, and that was the real goal.
Behind the rocky mountain, the land was covered in scattered stones, short grass, and a few trees poking through.
It wasn't exactly a plain, nor was it wasteland, but it was a rocky terrain of sorts.
"Captain, do you know about this?"
"What?"
Krais suddenly spoke up in the midst of this desolate landscape.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
In case I've missed something, point out any kind of mistake you can find please.
Make the reading experience better for future readers.