Chapter 467 - Calculating Eyes
Chapter 467 - Calculating Eyes
Since that day, the journey westward had been peaceful.
The vast plains were so wide that it felt almost exhausting to look at, but it was truly a good road to travel.
"Today, the sky is high. On days like this, it's nice to walk while looking at the sky," Rem said.
He was an excellent guide.
Although it had been quite some time since he left the west, he was still very skilled.
"Hasn't anything changed?"
I asked.
"Of course not. This land is the way it is," he replied.
That was the kind of answer I got.
We walked, watching the clouds float by.
The clouds scattered and gathered, then scattered again, repeating the cycle.
A high sky was one that appeared to be especially far away, with almost no clouds visible. Today was such a day.
After drinking a ground squirrel fruit, Enkrid sensed something strange.
It was dawn.
He was on watch when he felt a strange gaze.
It was low and thin, but it was unmistakable, a presence that would have gone unnoticed without intuition, yet still had a subtle and secretive quality.
Enkrid found the source of the gaze.
A small shadow quickly passed over the uneven ground and disappeared.
After that, no other presence was felt.
When he spoke of it in the morning, Rem nodded and smiled.
"It's about time for the pocket snoopers to show up."
"Pocket snoopers? Isn't that a thief?"
He spoke while sharpening Aker's blade and gathering the weapons and bow he had received as gifts.
His breakfast consisted of dry rations.
Well, on a long journey, cooking properly was difficult, so he had filled his stomach with jerky, salted meat, and dried fruit for several days.
Rem said it could last for a few days, but during that time, Enkrid had felt that strange presence in the quiet journey.
"If we steal the fruit, how angry do you think the owner, who has been ripening it, would get?"
"Does the fruit have an owner?"
Of course, I thought it came from the ground.
"It's called a 'word.' Look, there."
Rem raised his hand and pointed at a dry tree with thorn-like branches in the barren plain. I had seen it several times. The branches were like thorns, with long leaves hanging from them, and the leaves seemed to be made of tough material similar to wood.
"That's the ground squirrel fruit."
"What?"
I couldn't see any fruit.
"That one."
Rem pointed at the long leaves. As my gaze followed his finger, I could see it.
"That?"
"Is that it?"
Dunbakel, too, seemed curious and came closer to ask.
After her sparring with Enkrid, she had been called for another round, and her eyes were marked with bruises.
Even though she had taken quite a beating, she had no complaints, and there were no wrinkles in her demeanor.
"That's it."
That was true even for Rem, who had struck her.
The two didn't hold any grudges, nor did they exchange any feelings.
They just trained by striking each other and enduring it.
Watching them, it was quite remarkable.
You'd think that some kind of romantic tension might develop, but Rem was always thorough.
It seemed like women didn't even exist in his world.
"Those fruits are carried by the ground squirrels and buried in the earth.
Then, the fruit absorbs the earth's energy and grows.
The squirrels are the only ones who can find the right land for the fruit to grow in."
The west was full of rare and interesting things.
Enkrid understood that the strange presence he had felt was indeed from a ground squirrel. Everything he saw and heard here was a valuable lesson.
This was also the third reason why he came to this land.
"How do other westerners fight?"
Whether sitting, standing, walking, or stopping, Enkrid was focused on one thing. While that could be an advantage, it could also be a weakness, as it often led to single-minded rushing.
Rem, watching the crazed swordsman, answered.
"There are those who fight like me."
"And?"
"And there are those who fight in different ways."
"Is that all?"
"Do you want to know in advance?"
Enkrid didn't think much about it and shook his head.
"No, don't tell me."
If it had been in the past, when his skills were lacking, he would have wanted to know every detail and understand as much as possible to prepare, even if it meant dying.
But now, he felt like he could afford to be a little more reckless.
This was a path he could walk without fearing death.
'Let's face it and enjoy it.'
It would be more fun to face the opponent without knowing anything.
It wasn't a path to death after all.
Rem grinned.
He had expected this.
Enkrid also smiled, now understanding Rem's intentions.
The two of them bumped their fists together, and it felt like the flower of friendship was about to bloom.
"You'll have fun when you meet them. Ah, you might get angry, but I'm not sure about the chief. That stupid beastwoman will probably have it tough, and the frog might not even bother."
Rem reminisced as he guided the way.
Leaving the plain behind, he said that they would walk a little above the direction the sun was setting, with a small hill on the left.
They would soon reach a small settlement.
There were occasional monster attacks that made things troublesome, but everyone in this settlement was a warrior.
From the continent's perspective, they would be called rangers living on the borders.
However, in the west, they were simply known as the warriors' settlement.
A place where everyone could fight and fight well.
Now, it was time to encounter a familiar face.
'Huh.'
Rem secretly took a breath.
He was a bit nervous.
One of the people he was about to meet would probably resent him a lot, and that resentment would be justified.
'What should I say?'
Should he say "long time no see"? If he had known this would happen, he would have gathered some shiny gems or something.
If Krais had been there, he would have made sure Rem didn't go empty-handed.
He was lost in such trivial thoughts when—
Thunk.
Enkrid raised his arm to block Rem's step.
Looking at Enkrid's arm resting on his chest, Rem raised his head.
The settlement he knew was a bit farther along the road.
Before reaching it, however, three figures appeared, hiding awkwardly behind a short hill.
"Who sent for lunch?"
"What, you idiot? We're the farthest out, so who would send anything?"
"Then what are those?"
The three of them spoke loudly, their voices booming like thunder.
If you were close enough, your eardrums would be in agony from the volume.
Their faces were hard to miss—giants.
The three giants had been talking, but they stopped when they saw the group.
All three carried thick black-brown wooden clubs with sharp thorns on them.
"Let's eat."
The three giants turned their bodies.
Enkrid had faced giants before, but this was the first time he encountered such a sight.
What did they mean?
Eat?
What, are they going to eat us?
Are these giants going to treat humans as food?
"Frogs are tasteless, so get lost!"
The one in the middle of the three giants shouted.
His rough shout echoed across the desolate field, bringing with it an overwhelming pressure.
Naturally, Enkrid's "Will" of rejection activated in response.
"Grh!"
Dunbakel's pupils elongated vertically.
Swish, thud.
Even in such a strange situation, Rem spun his axe around and gripped it above his head.
Swoosh!
Luagarne unsheathed her whip, snapping it against the ground.
The sound of the whip hitting the earth was followed by a light cloud of dust rising into the air.
The three giants took long strides forward.
"Frogs are tough."
"Just chew them and toss them aside."
"The beast is mine!"
These were not giants who only ate humans—they seemed to be omnivorous giants.
The three giants closed the distance.
At first glance, they appeared slow, but that was only because of their massive size.
They were definitely not slow.
One of them suddenly accelerated, speeding up and thrusting its club forward.
It was an unexpected move.
It seemed as if it would strike down heavily, but instead, the club was thrust straight at them.
The surprise attack came at an awkward moment.
While Enkrid was shocked, he quickly reacted.
His heightened senses allowed him to instinctively draw the blade from within.
Crack!
Aker met the giant's club with a sharp, explosive sound. The two weapons collided and then separated.
Aker's sharp blade sliced through part of the giant's dark-brown club, sending fragments flying to the side.
The giant staggered and stopped, and the other two giants, standing next to it, pulled back and created space.
The three giants had surrounded the group.
Enkrid lifted his sword, his eyes cast downward.
Was it really the giants' strength?
Even after the hearth of the beast was pumping moments ago, his feet had still been pushed back.
Rem, holding his axe on one side, tilted his head and asked,
"What are you guys?"
Why were man-eating giants showing up here?
Rem was genuinely curious.
"Roar, are you scared, little one?"
The giant spoke in a mocking tone, as if trying to scare a child.
Rem, who had never been treated like this before, lifted his head and thought for a moment.
If they could keep alive just one of them, perhaps they could speak.
Based on how they had attacked earlier, these weren't mindless beasts—they knew how to use their appearance to their advantage.
In other words, they were capable of strategy.
And knowing how to strategize meant they were also familiar with fear.
"Don't kill one of them. Just play around with it," Rem said, lowering his axe.
He pulled his chin back and tilted his head slightly, his eyes glowing with a fierce light.
There should have been someone here to protect this area.
But they were nowhere to be seen, and only these omnivorous giants remained.
This meant something had happened here.
That thought gnawed at Rem's mind.
He planted his feet firmly into the ground.
The heart of the beast moved, sending power to his thigh muscles.
He bent his knees and pushed his ankles forward.
Thud thud thud.
The ground trembled.
"What is that?"
The giant continued to act like a fool, trying to lure Rem.
Rem decided to play along with the giant's tactics.
Boom!
He pushed off the ground.
There were moves he couldn't use while sparring with Enkrid—like fully activating the heart of the beast.
But that didn't mean he could defeat Enkrid, as his captain was just as skilled and had his own secrets.
Whoosh.
At the precise moment Rem moved, the giant's club dropped right above his head.
Rem pushed off with his left foot, sending his body forward as though he were launching himself.
Then, with a second push from his right foot, he propelled himself again.
It wasn't as explosive as the first, but the speed was enough to make a difference.
Bang.
His second step wasn't as explosive as the first, but it was more than enough to gain speed. His axe sliced through the giant's body.
Slash!
"Ugh!"
The giant let out a beast-like roar.
Their blood splattered everywhere.
Normally, giants were known for their red blood, but this particular one had dark purple blood, almost violet.
As the blood spread across the ground, the giant howled and swept his leg across the space where Rem had been standing.
Rather than just kicking, the giant swung his leg widely, indicating he knew how to fight.
Rem struck the giant's leg with his axe, using the rebound to launch himself sideways.
It was a move he had intentionally planned.
As he moved, one of the other giants swung its club at him but missed, reaching out instead. Rem kicked the giant's outstretched hand and dodged sideways.
Enkrid was watching, and before long, one of the giants had closed the distance behind him.
"You!"
The giant swung his club, aiming to block Enkrid's movement, while attempting to grab his shoulder with his left hand.
As the giant shouted, the volume of his voice was so loud that it made Enkrid's ears ring.
The sound had the power to briefly freeze a person's body, but it didn't work on Enkrid.
He had already sensed the movement, and as he turned, spark flew while his other blade, Aker met and deflected the club.
The result was that Aker's blade met the club while spark struck the giant's palm, leaving a small wound. The giant quickly pulled his left hand back, minimizing the damage.
Drip.
The giant's hand now dripped with dark purple blood.
It was definitely not the usual red blood.
"Where did you come from, you freak? I won't forgive you!"
The giant roared in fury.
Enkrid stared coldly at the giant's eyes.
The eyes of the angry giant were as cold as those of Krais when he counted Krona. They were calculating eyes.
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