The moment Jaxen grabbed Enkrid, his unsettling instincts kicked in.
"Crazy bastards."
As soon as Lykanos, the thief bastard who didn't even know his own mother, retreated, others rushed to fill the gap and attacked.
It was a trained movement. A promised strike to deal with such a situation.
The sound of blades cutting through the air reached his ears first.
Whoosh!
From when they had been waiting, figures dressed in black lunged forward with spears resembling blades.
Each one of them was a reckless charge, risking their lives in their swift attacks.
They were all aiming for a single point.
Heavy and quick strikes, attacks that burned their lives for a single slash.
Jaxen pulled Enkrid closer with his left hand and swung his sword with his right.
At the same time, a calm judgment flooded his mind.
'I can't block all of them.'
Jaxen's sword danced as if it were alive, reminiscent of the flutter of butterfly wings.
The tip of the blade rose, weaving through the incoming strikes like a butterfly among them.
The wings of the butterfly collided with the long blades, causing unpredictable movements. The butterfly weaved, bouncing, shifting the trajectory of most of the incoming strikes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He couldn't deflect all of them. He missed two of the attacks.
One grazed Enkrid's left shin.
To be more precise, Enkrid twisted his waist to dodge it.
The fabric and leather of his armor ripped and fluttered.
The last strike grazed Enkrid's waist.
With a thud, the blade made no penetration, instead bouncing off.
'Armor.'
It was the strength of the armor he had gained before. He had seen the captain wrap his body in bandages, like a shield.
Jaxen gritted his teeth and added more power to his left arm. He was ready to throw Enkrid behind him and slice through the remaining enemies.
But as soon as he threw Enkrid back, the enemies scattered.
'Damn.'
Fighting to protect someone wasn't Jaxen's strength.
He was used to fighting with enemies at his back, but protecting an ally while fighting was an experience he had rarely had. It was a very rare experience. That was why.
'I've made a Mistake.'
He should've suffered a little damage, positioned Enkrid behind him, or retreated to a place where the enemies couldn't reach him. But he had missed the timing.
The men in black clothes leaped from above, attacked from below, and charged from both sides.
The blind, relentless assault was terrifying.
As he let his attention shift to the back.
"It's fine."
He heard Enkrid's voice. His right arm was injured, and he was exhausted, but it wasn't to the point of death.
But the problem was.
'These crazy bastards...'
The men in black, charging forward without regard for their lives.
They wore thin, elastic leather instead of armor, but their attacks couldn't be ignored.
Whatever their training, their thrusts, aiming for a single point, were exceptionally precise.
Jaxen swung his sword without stopping, shifting his feet.
Slash, thud, clang.
The blade severed half an arm and left a hole in his thigh. Jaxen's sword remained cold and mechanical, striking without emotion, but the men, as long as they weren't dead, twisted their bodies and launched new attacks.
They were a mad, emotionless group, relying only on quick sword strikes to pierce their target.
He dodged with his feet, and a sword flew to the spot where Jaxen had just been standing. Thanks to his instinct, he managed to avoid it just in time. The blade stabbed into the cold earth.
Thud!
The man who had stuck the sword into the ground looked up, his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.
Of course, none of this mattered to Jaxen, who simply stabbed a knife into the failed attacker's forehead.
The simple knife flew through the air like a reaper, taking the life of one man.
Jaxen wasn't someone who liked to reveal himself in battle, but he methodically cut down the opponents one by one.
Enkrid watched Jaxen's battle and took note of the men charging toward him.
'Not good.'
His right arm was injured by Lykanos, and moments ago, a strike had grazed his shin. It wasn't just a scratch.
The leather of his armor had been cleanly cut, and there were clear traces on his skin and muscles.
The blow aimed at his torso was blocked by the armor, but the impact remained.
His insides were trembling. His abdomen had held firm enough to prevent internal rupture. If he were an ordinary person, his organs would have ruptured.
On top of that, Lykanos' final strike had rendered his right arm nearly useless.
He could only move his left arm.
Enkrid did what he could.
He sheathed his Gladius and took his original sword in his left hand, swinging it.
Minimizing the movement of his legs, he gripped the sword smoothly.
It was a style of swordsmanship.
He deflected blow after blow. His breathing was steady. Physically, he was a monster, not lacking in stamina compared to anyone.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
At that moment, after deflecting a few blades, the next one was suddenly right in front of him. It was a blade gleaming with a deadly shine.
'I can't block this.'
The heart of the beast awakened, and a single point of focus ignited in his brain.
No matter what best move he could make, he thought he would lose an eye.
His opponent's trick was skillful.
After failing to kill him using Lykanos, they deployed the sword-wielding unit they had prepared.
This was the result.
He could clearly see the future where he would lose an eye. In the brief gap between strikes, he couldn't dodge, but he could ask and answer himself.
Losing an eye? So what? Would it be a problem?
Losing one eye wouldn't change anything.
Enkrid turned his head. He twisted it and tried to dodge.
There was no option in his mind about dying here and starting again.
If someone would throw their life away for something like this and start over, they would have stopped at the repeating day and been left behind.
The blade loomed larger, like a club with a thickened point.
Thwack!
With a cheerful noise, the club-like object in front of his face vanished.
The sword aimed at him flew through the air. Naturally, the enemy followed.
"Ahhh!"
He screamed, and away he went. For that moment, he didn't envy the guy at all.
Of course, his flight had a limit, and the end was far from auspicious.
The one who had flown fell between the members of the Border Guard, and due to a spear raised by a startled soldier, they were impaled and killed mid-air.
Enkrid was in the process of stumbling backward to avoid death. He fell flat on his rear.
Looking beside him, a wild horse had just sent a human flying with its rear hoof.
Heeheeheehee!
"One-eyed?"
The name seemed to be rejected, but at this point, the name didn't matter.
Grrrrr.
Before long, Esther had arrived.
She hadn't been able to transform into a human, so she remained in the form of a Lake Panther.
Her black fur, soft like silk, reminded him of the hair she would have in her human form.
Alongside her, a man who could survive anywhere as long as he had his sword, despite losing his way, flew past the assassins in black.
Whoosh, thwack, whoosh, thwip, whoosh, wham, whoosh, crack!
Enkrid's eyes moved rapidly. He was tracking the continuous sword strikes happening in front of him.
Ragna charged from the side, cutting through five attackers with five swift strikes in one step.
'What kind of trick is that?'
He only made one step, but his sword strikes were five.
How was that even possible?
The slashes were beyond comprehension.
It was speed faster than the opponent's, a preemptive strike. Ragna's sword was demonstrating just that.
"I'll kill them all, so go ahead."
His blunt words came while his bangs hung over his eyes.
Through his blonde hair, his dry red eyes silently looked forward.
He cut down those coming at him while swatting away arrows that flew overhead.
Ragna's sword was moving so fast, even Enkrid's eyes couldn't fully keep up with it.
As an arrow fell above Enkrid's head, soldiers with shields came toward him from behind.
"You use that sword well."
This was Dunbakel, who had been watching from the side.
She said this while smashing the skulls of assassins with two daggers.
As soon as she sensed the assassins' movements, she stamped her right foot and drove her left knee into their skulls.
Of course, Enkrid was also reacting, holding up his sword.
Either way, his gaze shifted toward Ragna.
Enkrid saw arrows raining down from above, the horse dashing to save him, and Esther and Dunbakel joining in. Behind them, their allies with large round shields surrounded him, making it seem unlikely he would die.
His gaze automatically turned forward.
'Lykanos.'
Even though Enkrid's sword was fast, at the final moment, Lykanos' sword had been faster.
And now, the swords of those charging at him were similar.
The attackers, having been sliced by Ragna, retreated.
In the meantime, Ragna was grazed on the thigh.
His armor was slashed, and blood stained
At a glance, there seemed to be more than fifty of them left.
Considering the number of dead, and accounting for the hidden assassins' attacks that had been fended off, it wasn't hard to guess the magnitude of the danger.
'This is going to be a headache.'
Enkrid thought to himself, a sentiment shared by Krais.
The battle had been short.
Audin didn't step in because the so-called 'Wolf Bishop' didn't move, and Ragna didn't push forward any further either.
Jaxen returned soon after.
The two army commanders didn't seem interested in ending the fight today.
Before the situation could settle, Graham, pale-faced, rushed to Enkrid's side, quickly bandaging his wounds.
Krais, watching, spoke up.
"I knew from the beginning that one attempt wouldn't be enough. We'll finish it in three. We just need to break their main force. After all, battles are ultimately decided by the elite troops."
His voice was weak.
It couldn't be helped. Krais had put his faith in Enkrid's strength.
Even though it wasn't possible to end it with a single strike, he believed they would eventually win.
But no, the first battle had been nearly as bad as a defeat.
Relocating to the stronghold would be the worst option, so they had to end it here.
And they had to do so in the shortest time possible.
In that limited time, three attempts were needed.
'If we hold on, we lose.'
Behind the Border Guards, Aspen still hadn't drawn their swords.
'Damn it.'
Krais tried to maintain his calm exterior, but in his mind, he was already considering an escape route. He needed to find a way to run away now.
'Maybe through the hole?'
He had made some preparations just in case.
"Looks like the heretics are just watching. A few wolf beasts have charged, but that's it?"
Graham surveyed the battlefield and delayed the deployment of the heavy infantry.
If the enemy was conserving their strength, they had to do the same.
If they recklessly deployed more forces and were pushed back, it would lead to total annihilation.
If the battle was close, the remaining soldiers would have to bear the brunt of it, especially the heavy infantry.
"That's true. I'm not sure if they'll just watch tomorrow."
Krais nodded, glancing at Enkrid.
The leader always remained calm, his face expressionless.
'Damn, this is tough.'
He couldn't just run away. Krais, though a merchant and once a thief, had never turned his back on someone who had saved his life.
It was a matter of character, not just occupation.
Besides, it wasn't as if it was impossible to save himself. He had no reason to throw his life away.
"You'll just have to cut him down next time."
"He was faster."
Ragna replied, and Enkrid responded in his usual calm tone.
"If that's all, just cut him down."
At Ragna's firm words, Enkrid paused for a moment.
He had been fast, indeed.
His right arm was still unusable, and his left shin was also causing discomfort.
Though his armor had protected him, his side still ached. His internal organs weren't damaged, but they throbbed.
The technique of isolation was a skill built on repetition and endurance.
The sustained strength from maintaining and training that technique had kept him going.
So, a few body blows weren't a big deal. With some good rest and food, he'd recover.
But his right arm was a different story.
"For now, we rest. We'll get through tonight. Watch out for night raids, and the scouts should keep moving."
Graham shouted.
The heavy infantry would take over the night watch.
Although the battle had been short, casualties were the highest yet.
The number of dead had surpassed ten.
Enkrid was deep in thought.
Krais, watching, stepped in front of him.
With the torch on his back, his shadow swayed, moving above Enkrid's head.
They were inside a newly built tent, with wild horses outside, and Ragna, Audin, Dunbakel, Teresa, and Esther inside.
Whoosh.
The cold wind swept into the half-open tent, making the torches flicker.
Krais's shadow grew, split into two, then merged back into one as he moved.
"Why?"
Enkrid was leaning back slightly, just after Krais had finished changing his bandages.
Krais swallowed and then spoke.
"Let's run."
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TL here! Thank you for reading!
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