Chapter 437 - Those Lacking Intelligence

Chapter 437 - Those Lacking Intelligence

The request was simple.

In Naurilia, there was a soldier mercenary system, and this was a request based on that.

[Go to the border region of the Demon Realm and help the knight order.]

It was even added that this request came directly from Knight Oara.

The letter was written by Marcus, but Enkrid felt as if he could hear Krang' voice.

"Knight, don't you want to meet them?"

He did want to meet them. There were many rewards mentioned as part of the request as well.

"What's this? A horse, huh? Oh, a decent one? With this, it might be possible to establish proper sewer systems in Border Guard, just like in the capital."

Thanks to monsters and magical beasts, the world had become accustomed to living in castles. Many conveniences had been developed, but most of those were only in the capital.

Some of that technology would be passed on.

The knights would show what they knew, share the technology, and in the end, they would give everything.

'Aker was given to me, but is this really okay?'

Enkrid placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, tucked into his sword belt.

He didn't understand politics, but for a moment, he worried that the surrounding nobles might oppose it, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

The ones passing on the technology were nobles.

'They must have been persuaded well.'

Enkrid's persuasion involved hands, feet, and blades, while Krang' persuasion was through words and atmosphere.

The concern was brief. These things were important, but right now, they didn't catch his attention.

The only thing that stayed clear in his mind was the name Knight Oara.

'Knight.'

Without realizing it, his hand tightened around the hilt. The strap binding his right arm during training began to snap, with a distinct crack. It seemed it would break with just a little more force.

The knights of Aspen, the mercenary king, Ragna, and Shinar.

Enkrid had fought them all, and through that, he understood what being a knight meant.

Among them, the swords of Ragna and Shinar were still constantly being blocked by him.

But that wasn't the end.

Enkrid had swum across the lake of experience guided by Luargarne. In doing so, his true nature had been revealed.

Yet, despite all that experience, he still felt something lacking. There was still an unquenched thirst inside him.

Perhaps this task would satisfy that thirst.

Knight Oara.

Out of pure curiosity, he wanted to meet them. Naturally, refusal never crossed his mind.

However, not all of the unit could go. He had been told it wasn't necessary for everyone to join.

Beneath the letter, there was a note mentioning that Aspen's forces needed to be suppressed as well.

It wasn't a serious matter that would require all the madmen of the unit to go.

Krais folded the letter neatly and spoke first.

"Please leave Audin behind. We need someone to be responsible for the overall training."

Training the standing army at Border Guard was arduous and difficult. It was essential to have someone to lead the entire process without complaint.

Though anyone, including Enkrid, could technically do it, Audin had been filling that role for now.

Anyone who had been near Audin's fists knew better than to desert—rebellion wasn't even an option.

Of course, Audin believed it was all done with a heart full of compassion.

The soldiers believed Audin's compassion was found in his fists.

"I don't mind not going, Brother."

The knights had requested support, but it wasn't a serious matter, according to them.

There was a mention of a monster ambush that needed to be stopped due to insufficient numbers.

"There's still a lot to teach. I must go."

Luagarne, who had been listening, spoke up. Enkrid nodded in agreement.

"I've got plenty to do."

The beautiful blue-eyed woman with long hair, Esther, spoke. She was in her human form today.

As she swept her hair back, several soldiers guarding the barracks in front of the training ground couldn't take their eyes off her.

Enkrid subtly shifted his body to block their gaze.

If they stared longer, he was sure Esther would start saying something about pulling out their eyeballs.

"I'm busy."

Ragna complained lazily.

He wasn't exactly the one who should be speaking about being busy.

It wasn't that Enkrid couldn't guess his inner thoughts.

Since it wasn't a dangerous task, Ragna probably didn't want to take part. He also seemed to want to hone his own skills further.

If he was frustrated and wanted to exert his energy, he could always deal with the recent issue near the Pen-Hanil Mountains or patrol around the five walled cities near the areas Krais had mentioned.

He'd heard the monsters had been quite active lately.

"Go ahead."

Enkrid nodded again. He wasn't sure how diligently he would move if he weren't confident, but that was another matter.

Ropord stayed behind, and Fel did too.

Fel's complexion had darkened severely in just a few days.

He had lost confidence, so his strength had waned, but no one comforted him.

After all, wasn't it the proper way to overcome such things alone?

Enkrid and his companions considered it normal.

If someone got left behind? Well, they would think of them as someone the wild shepherds of the wastelands might raise, someone just a little lacking.

Enkrid didn't worry about such things. It was their own responsibility.

Teresa stayed behind to help Audin.

"I want to fight."

Dunbakel said, hiding her true feelings.

Honestly, among everyone here, there was no one worse than her.

Teresa and the new guy, Ropord, were no different.

Dunbakel had grown stronger from the torment she endured at Rem's hands.

'Is this my limit?'

Lately, such thoughts had been creeping into her mind. Every time she thought of her limits, nightmares came. Sometimes, she'd transform in her sleep without even realizing it.

She revisited the nightmares, recalling the day she was chased from the village where she had been born and raised.

"You can't live here."

"Go out and die."

"It'd be wise to throw yourself off the cliff right now."

What had she done wrong?

At the time, she felt a burning hatred and wanted to destroy every living being, but she didn't want to make death her goal in life.

Dunbakel felt the same way then as she did now, and even when she lost to Enkrid.

She wanted to live.

If she had fought back on the day she was expelled, maybe she would have stayed in the village. But Dunbakel didn't.

'I want to run away.'

Her instincts led her to seek a way to escape dangerous situations.

'Should I find a place to settle down and just live a quiet life, serving as a guard and eating the scraps?'

Dunbakel didn't really want to live like this. She didn't even know what she truly wanted to do.

So, whenever the thought of running away crossed her mind, she would look at Enkrid and gather her resolve.

Would escaping and running away lead her to paradise?

It was a saying from Kentaro, the once-respected storyteller, painter, and old saint who had passed away.

He said that there was no paradise in the places you run to.

In other words, when she said she wanted to fight now, it was just a way to hide the desire to escape.

"Fine."

Of course, Enkrid didn't pay much attention to Dunbakel's change of heart, as much as the consideration that a ghoul might have.

Meanwhile, Rem returned, covered in black monster blood, and suggested they go together.

Enkrid told him to go ahead with it.

It wasn't a serious matter. It would be closer to a light journey.

Even if the borderlands were dangerous, it wasn't as dangerous as the actual magic lands or labyrinths further south.

The magic lands bordering Naurilia were dangerous, but it was considered to be less risky than the true magic lands.

"The departure will be in three days."

Enkrid flicked the rope that had been wrapped around his right arm, brushing it off.

It was quite a sturdy rope, but he had cut it with sheer muscle strength.

"That's my secret technique, the rope escape technique."

Audin commented, watching it.

"You mean you just used muscle to snap it?"

Recently quiet, Rem complimented the technique's greatness.

"Why'd you come back to life after being beaten to a pulp?" Ragna remarked to Rem, saying it was nice to see him return to his old self.

It had been a while. Such a warm sight was rare now.

Enkrid had also not seen such a scene in a long time.

Rem laughed and scattered his joy around.

"Heh, yeah. It's about time to stop carrying a head on my neck and start carrying an axe blade. Let's make heads out of axe blades, let's replace heads with axe blades."

Rem started singing some nonsensical melody.

Audin smiled and said, "You two brothers sure love to cause trouble."

Ragna, in a relaxed posture, let his sword dangle.

Rem placed the axe on his shoulder and gave it a little jiggle. It looked like a fight might break out immediately.

If left alone, they might even end up fighting for their lives.

In the tense situation, a bolt of lightning struck between the two.

Zzzzt.

It wasn't real lightning, but a sword's afterimage. It zigzagged and made a sound like a bird's cry as it left a white flash.

The sword's cut in the air caused both to instinctively shift their weight back.

In that moment, Enkrid, who had delivered the sword strike, spoke.

"It's my white lightning."

What crossed between them was Enkrid's sword strike. Ragna's lightning-like sword was a combination of techniques he had learned and developed.

Naturally, it was a technique imbued with Will.

If the giant's strike was about infusing explosive power into a blow,

This technique was about punctuating that strike and distributing the power in small bursts.

It was a technique forged through immense effort and sweat.

For Enkrid, it had been like that. And the technique proved effective.

What used to require a full-body push to force it was now enough with just a single sword strike.

It was a cut that firmly left an impression on everyone present, showing how far Enkrid had progressed.

"Are you borrowing something again?"

Ragna showed interest.

"No, I've made my own version," Enkrid replied.

Though it looked similar on the surface, the elements that composed it were different.

Ragna's dark lightning had originated from a swift and heavy sword.

What about the white lightning from earlier?

Ragna analyzed the sword's characteristics before him.

'It focuses on speed, distributing the force.'

The sword moved quickly, like a flash of light, leaving afterimages and confusing the opponent about where the strike would land.

It was all about breaking and bending the force with raw strength and landing blow after blow.

Ragna's genius talent allowed him to grasp the essence of the technique with just one look.

It wasn't a new form of Will.

It was more of a variation on speed. A mix of that with the giant's strike.

"Yes, I see," Ragna said, agreeing, and Enkrid nodded while giving Rem a light tap on the shoulder.

"We're leaving in three days."

Rem wiped his nose and nodded.

"Got it."

Though he might have had something to add, Rem didn't say anything more.

Three days later, the group set off.

The borderlands of the magic region were to the northwest of Naurilia.

As they walked, they eventually came to a road heading west, and Rem paused for a moment to turn his head in that direction.

It felt as though some nostalgic scent tickled his nose.

"Why?" Enkrid asked.

"Just looking," Rem replied.

"That's the west."

Enkrid spoke, though he didn't really need to.

"Do you think I can't tell direction?" Rem snapped back, clearly irritated. He had probably been compared to Ragna.

"No, I just said it," Enkrid responded, taking a casual step forward.

On their journey, they came across a band of bandits a few times, but only one of them dared to make a move.

Enkrid found it quite strange.

There was a Frog among them, and the group was fully armed.

If they still dared to attack, one would have to seriously question the intelligence of these bandits.

Or maybe they had something they believed in.

Fully armed Enkrid, with his terrifying presence, Rem, the Frog Luagarne, and beastkin Dunbakel, were all there.

They had ridden horses up to this point, but they had sold all but one of the horses at the last village. Now, they were traveling on foot.

The road was slightly off the main highway, with a mound to the left and a few trees to the right.

It was good ground for walking or running, but not suitable for horseback riding.

"Near the magic borderlands, monsters roam, so horses would just be food," they had heard on the way.

The palace had offered to send a ranger squad to guide them, but they had declined.

It was unnecessary; Ragna, after all, was not with them.

Anyway, they had about five days left on foot before reaching the magic borderlands.

That was when a band of bandits blocked their path.

The murderous intent in the eyes of the bandits would have looked quite intimidating to any merchant or regular group.

"Are they crazy?" Dunbakel muttered to herself, her body tensed, ready to spring into action at any moment.

Enkrid observed the bandits closely, ignoring Dunbakel's comment.

The leader had a rough, scruffy beard, and the others had similar rough appearances.

They looked like the type of people Rem might be related to.

Their posture, gripping spears and swords, showed they weren't inexperienced.

Some of them had also taken positions to form a semi-circle, creating a perimeter around them.

While not an extraordinary tactic, it would be difficult for ordinary people to escape from such a formation.

There were a few with bows as well.

So, they seemed to know what they were doing.

Being a bandit wasn't just about swinging swords; you had to survive against monsters and secure safe areas.

As they ventured closer to the magic borderlands, rougher individuals were showing up in the towns.

It wasn't surprising that bandits like this would appear.

One of the bandits seemed to have heard Dunbakel's muttering and spoke up, showing he had keen ears.

"We're risking our lives out here. You think robbing merchants is easy?"

Enkrid thought about how many more of these types of people there could be in this country.

He couldn't even begin to count. It wouldn't even be possible to wipe them all out.

But, of course, he wouldn't let the ones who dared to challenge him get away.

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