"Son of a bitch."
Rem spat on the ground, twirling the axe in his hand like he was performing a trick. He had just lost that bastard, Hawk's Claw or Hawk's Eye or whatever he was called. It left a bad taste in his mouth, like taking a dump and not wiping.
'I can't remember the last time a hunt failed.' The archer bastard was quick-witted, and his feet were fast too. The moment he sensed my presence, he just bolted.
The arrows he fired while fleeing were fierce as well. Rem stroked the spot on his left side where an arrow had grazed him. There was no wound.
He had just failed to dodge it perfectly. But that unsettling feeling was just a feeling. He had charged, piercing the enemy formation at an angle.
Rem pulled back and started to return to the main force.
"What is this bastard?"
"Kill him!"
There were barely any allies nearby. It was because he had pushed a little too deep. Not that it was something to be particularly concerned about.
Instead of grumbling, cursing, or letting out a war cry, Rem swung the axes in both his hands. The axe in his right hand was one he had picked up from an enemy, so its balance was terrible. This too was nothing to worry about.
If he wasn't going to use it, he could just throw it.
Hwung, pwakak!
As he split the jaw and neck of the man blocking his path with a single swing of the axe in his left hand, the welling blood gushed out. A fountain of blood sprayed into the air. Deftly avoiding the spray, Rem swung his right hand with all his might.
The axe in his hand cut through the air. Hwung- Though it wasn't a throwing axe, it flew fiercely and struck its target.
Thwack!
The axe lodged itself in the man's head, splitting it in two. Rem continued to rampage through the enemy ranks before returning to the allied formation. 'I wonder if our Squad Leader is still alive and not dead yet.'
He wasn't the kind of man to die easily. It was the first time in his life Rem had ever seen such a tenacious bastard. 'There was no one like that even among my tribesmen.'
He's probably reading the situation and somehow managing to hold on. He's too good a man to die here. Not that he was a man who particularly suited the battlefield.
'He'd be fine if the Heart of the Beast took hold in his body a bit more, but his lack of talent is a real shame.' He was a man Rem pitied so much that he even taught him some of his tribe's secret arts. Not that he was trying to act as a master.
It's just that there are some people like that. People you don't want to see die right in front of you. If they died out of his sight, well, nothing he could do about it.
So he returned to the main force.
"You acted like a ruffian and achieved nothing."
It was Jacksen. One of the biggest characteristics of the 444 Squad. Besides Squad Leader Enkrid, no one got along.
Seeing a squad like that somehow function, maybe the Squad Leader really did have some kind of unexplainable, devilish charm.
"Huh? Are you talking to me because you want to die? You want your head split open by my axe?"
"Thanks to you letting the archer go, the battlefield is a mess."
This was clearly picking a fight. There are things you can feel without needing to see the entire battlefield from afar. This wasn't because of the archer, it was because of the Frokk.
A Frokk warrior had appeared from somewhere and was tearing up the battlefield. Whether it was good luck or bad. It hadn't run into Rem.
"Bullshit. Don't talk to me if you don't wanna die."
"Crazy barbarian."
The two simply ignored each other. They had only run into each other by chance. All they did was criticize each other, as usual.
The 444 Squad doesn't really maintain a formation. They fight on their own. They were the kind of guys who stood out even without a formation, even without sticking together.
'Except for that bastard Big Eyes.' In fact, Rem himself had probably drawn some attention from rampaging through the enemy lines. Jacksen's specialty was appearing silently out of nowhere.
Far away, he could see a few other squad members. They were all distinguishing themselves in their own ways. The one swinging his sword with a languid air.
The one beating people to death while looking stiff. Not a single one of them was ordinary. Of course, the most extraordinary of them all was the Squad Leader.
Look at him, struggling to survive with less-than-ordinary talent. Who would call that 'ordinary'? 'Just in case.'
Rem decided to find the Squad Leader and protect him. He planned to watch his back from a distance, without being noticed. Because he still felt he was a man too good to die.
'Besides, on this continent, he's the first one to learn my secret arts.' He moved, thinking of one reason or another. Soon, Enkrid came into Rem's view.
'Hm?'
While he was distracted for a moment, an enemy soldier charged at him. He reflexively tripped the charging enemy and struck his jaw with the handle of his axe. The man he hit spat out broken teeth.
Without stopping, he spun his body halfway around and drove his elbow sideways.
Crack. Crunch!
When he struck the top of the helmet, there was a sound like a thick log snapping. His neck bone had broken in one hit. Rem rotated the arm he had swung, but his gaze remained fixed.
No, even while dealing with the attacker, his eyes had been on the Squad Leader the whole time.
'Skillful?'
It was a side of him he hadn't seen before. That skillfulness made him watch instead of stepping in to help. It didn't look like he would lose.
Moreover, wasn't that gut feeling becoming reality? He was in the middle of a fight against a pretty skilled enemy soldier. An unprecedented calmness and boldness could be seen.
'How?'
Can a person change like that overnight?
"I find it strange too."
Beside him, it was Jacksen again. He had wondered why their paths kept crossing. Did this bastard come to watch the Squad Leader's back too?
"I've been watching him all day. While you were off doing useless things."
"And?"
"I thought he was living with the Goddess of Fortune or something."
"What?"
"I'm saying luck was on his side."
Just luck?
Looking at him now, it didn't seem like it was just luck.
"His skill has improved beyond recognition too."
Jacksen got along cheerfully with the other squads, but he and Rem were on bad terms. Well, everyone in this squad was pretty much like that. For instance, the conversation they were having now was the longest, most normal one they'd had since joining this squad.
That must be how surprised he was. Rem was just as surprised as Jacksen. Furthermore, Rem then saw two things that were even more surprising.
One was Enkrid, after dodging an enemy's thrust, delivering a strike with a near-perfect posture.
"Nice!"
Rem said it without realizing. Jacksen also gave a slight nod.
Relentless effort.
Knowing how the Squad Leader practically coughed up blood just to hold a sword, a feeling of support rose in him automatically. Talent is a funny thing. Sometimes, you can leap over several steps in an instant.
Both Rem and Jacksen had experienced that, so they didn't feel a sense of dissonance looking at the Squad Leader now. It seemed that man, too, had just leaped over several steps in one go.
'He won.'
The opponent was tough. Of course, if Rem had fought him, a few swings of his axe would have been enough. He was an opponent the Squad Leader would have lost to ten times out of ten.
But he won. It didn't look like an easy victory. Minor wounds were visible.
The shield in his left hand was a splintered wreck. On top of that, the leather guards on the back of his hands and his knees were torn and tattered. Judging by his rough breathing, he was out of breath too.
'Heart of the Beast.' Rem assessed the Squad Leader's condition at a glance. The boldness and calmness.
The foundation for it must have been the secret art he had taught him. 'He's mastered it this much?' He looked surprisingly proficient.
Rem decided to put everything aside and just throw a joke his way.
"Frokk!"
Just then, someone shouted. It was another soldier right behind the Squad Leader. What was his name again?
Bell?
He remembered it because it sounded similar to his own name. Just as he said, a Frokk could be seen dashing forward like a black shadow. Frokk, the frog people.
Their faces resemble that of a frog. Their skin as well. Their skin is so slippery, as if coated in oil, that both blades and blunt weapons slide right off.
To kill them, you had to pierce their heart or burn them with magic or sorcery. That wasn't an easy task. Because the Frokk are a natural warrior race, possessing superior strength and combat senses than humans.
A species specialized in combat that could master any weapon in their hands within a few days. The Frokk ran as if flying, its body parallel to the ground, then kicked the Squad Leader in the side with the sole of its foot. It didn't look like it intended to end it with that one blow.
After watching the Squad Leader fly sideways from its kick, it landed with a thud and took a stance. It seemed to reach its arm back, and in its hand was the shaft of a spear. If he was left alone, he would die.
He would definitely die. The moment Rem saw the black shadow, he kicked off the ground.
Boom.
The ground caved in with an explosive sound. Because he had put so much force into his stomp, the dirt floor shot up like a small fountain. In that brief moment, Rem's body reached the Frokk's side.
Hwung!
No questions asked, without even a word, he swung his axe in a wide arc. Arching down from above like a whip, transferring power from his shoulder and arm all the way to the axe blade— But then, instead of throwing its spear, the Frokk showed off an incredible feat.
From its throwing stance, it pulled its right foot to the side and flicked the spear shaft upwards as if it were a wooden stick. Changing its stance, swinging the spear shaft, it all happened in an instant.
Clang!
The axe and the spear shaft met. A ringing shockwave spread out from the two of them.
"Gruk, an intruder? Ugly human?"
"You damn frog bastard, that man is our Squad Leader."
"... Is it right for a Squad Leader to be weaker than his squad member?"
The Frokk recognized Rem's skill in an instant. The dash, the axe swing, the judgment. The Frokk are a natural warrior race.
And if there was anything as excellent as their fighting ability, it was their discerning eye. Their bulging, rolling eyes could recognize an opponent's skill at a glance. They were a species born with the talent of talent appraisers.
The Frokk rolled its eyes and soon backed away.
"That's enough. My excitement has calmed down."
"What did you say, you bastard?"
"Ugly human, that man pierced 'that' of a human I know. That's why I got excited for a moment. Still, he was one I taught, tsk, anyway, it's over now. It's a bit much to fight to the death here."
The Frokk's eye isn't limited to seeing a person's talent. Their combat sense allows them to grasp the advantage in an instant. Though Rem didn't think the opponent was necessarily at a disadvantage.
Still, it was good if they didn't have to fight. To fight a Frokk for a pittance. It was a losing battle.
He could fully understand what the opponent was saying. As long as their heart isn't pierced, a Frokk's limbs will regenerate. Perhaps because of that, they are sensitive to the word 'heart'.
They don't even use the word 'heart'. If they see someone next to them die from a pierced heart, they can lose their minds. A Frokk that has become a berserker gives off a truly murderous aura.
A Frokk that hasn't been trained to a certain degree isn't even allowed on the battlefield in the first place. Rem chewed over what he knew. 'Damn it, I guess I'm more used to this place now.'
Seeing how he could recite information about things like the Frokk, life on this continent must have really sunk into his bones. The Frokk tapped its heart protecting armor. An armor made solely to protect the heart, a piece of equipment also called Heart Armor.
Seeing it wearing that, it was clearly a Frokk that had gone through the proper procedures. They say the Frokk cities would rather break an unrefined blade than let it out. The heart protecting armor was like a Frokk's identification tag.
"See you again. Ugly human."
But why the hell did it keep calling him ugly? The Frokk like jewels and have a peculiar aesthetic sense. They preferred good-looking humans.
"He did have a face too good to kill."
The Frokk said, flicking its tongue out. Its long tongue shot out and retracted like it was catching a fly. That must be its smiling face.
He, no, she, glanced toward the Squad Leader and slowly backed away. The females like handsome men. The males like pretty women.
It's a characteristic of the Frokk. They say their standards for mating among themselves are different from how they see humans. For some reason, they like pretty and handsome humans.
Well, that was none of Rem's business.
"Is he alive?"
Jacksen could be seen holding the Squad Leader.
"One blow to the side cracked his ribs. But in that short moment..."
"Yeah, he blocked it with his arms."
Excellent.
It was worth teaching him. The fact that he came to his senses at the moment of impact and blocked. It must have been thanks to the Heart of the Beast.
Rem felt a strange sense of pride.
"The shock from the impact seems to have rattled his brain. He probably won't die, but he might if we leave him like this."
"The heat of the battle has died down a bit. Carry him. Let's take him."
"You carry him. I'll clear the way."
"... You're really going to get your head smashed by my axe one day."
"You should be the one watching for a knife in your back."
Rem snorted, but it didn't escalate into a fight. Right, the Squad Leader had done his part anyway. That was enough.
Rem hoisted Enkrid onto his back. In front of them, Jacksen slowly cleared a path with his sword and shield. On the surface, it didn't look like he had any exceptional skill.
But if you looked closely, you could tell. He was clearing the path without showing even a quarter of his true skill. 'That cunning wildcat of a bastard.'
Rem cursed Jacksen inwardly as he walked. The Squad Leader on his back was just breathing softly, as if he had fallen asleep.