“Are you saying we're going further in? This is madness.”
A soldier with a grim face, sticking close behind Enkrid, said. After the success of the initial ambush, the reconnaissance team, which had gone from being Andrew’s squad to Enkrid’s squad, attempted two more ambushes. The second battle was against a group of five soldiers, and in the third, they met a group of over fifteen.
Both were arduous. In the second battle, there was a skilled one among the enemy soldiers. And in the third battle, the enemy's numbers were large.
Amidst all that, the number of surviving soldiers was seven. They had lost two more.
‘I can't save any more.’
No matter what he did, some things were just impossible. Enkrid knew he was no saint or anything of the sort. Repeating today just to save the three who died here was an absurd notion.
This result was only possible thanks to Enkrid's performance. Of course, his own soldiers had also fought until they bled. Though they survived, one of them lost an eye.
Andrew also got a knife scar on his face. His left cheek was wrapped in a linen bandage, a wound that would become a fine medal if he survived. Despite this situation, Enkrid headed deeper inside.
It was like an ignorant charge, with no thought for an escape route. From a normal perspective, it was indeed madness. The grim-faced soldier was not lacking in skill or experience.
Even in this situation, he hadn't completely lost his sense of direction. He noticed that Enkrid was heading toward enemy territory. Seeing this, Enkrid inwardly nodded.
‘Not bad.’
Compared to Rem or the other squad members, he was still far lacking, but he was quite a useful talent nonetheless. A talent who could at least become a Platoon Leader if he put his mind to it.
“From now on, we'll be able to catch our breath a bit.”
As Enkrid spoke, the grim-faced soldier furrowed his brow.
“That's not what I'm talking about, is it?”
“Like I said before, insubordination is…”
“Insubordination or not, if this is the path to death, I'll find a way to live, even if it means stabbing an ally in the back, whether it's the Squad Leader or anyone else. I will.”
This bastard, he's spouting such dangerous words so freely. If we make it back alive, how is he going to face me? Even when stared at, he didn't flinch.
He was shameless. It was understandable. A person's life comes first, not the mission.
Especially for a guy like him, serving in the army for a special purpose, it goes without saying. His and Andrew's lives would be his top priority. Enkrid looked up to check the sun's position, then stopped walking.
Naturally, his allies also stopped. Everyone was listening intently to the words of Enkrid and the grim-faced soldier. Amidst the group of soldiers catching their breath, their shoulders heaving, Enkrid opened his mouth.
“If we go back now, we'll die anyway. Behind us are only enemies, clustered together like a pack of mad dogs.”
As he spoke, Enkrid loosened the guards on his hands. The leather-padded guards were certainly useful, but wearing them for too long made his hand muscles feel compressed. But if he wore them loosely, it would surely be dangerous during combat.
“How do you know that? They shouldn't even know we exist, so how could they have already blocked our retreat route?”
The grim-faced soldier glanced at Enkrid loosening his hand guards and scowled deeply as he spoke. He seemed thoroughly displeased with Enkrid’s relaxed attitude. Enkrid had already faced this moment dozens of times.
It was a today that had been repeated dozens of times. The enemy's numbers were large, and the moment they confirmed an ambush, they would cut off the retreat route. And they did so with great persistence.
He didn't know who their commander was, but it seemed they really didn't want to reveal their ambush here. That was always the same. Between the tall-grass field, the allied group, crouched low, looked anxious.
They were blindly following, but listening to the two of them talk, it felt like they were standing in the middle of a dangerous battlefield. Despite that, no one stepped forward easily. They just perked up their ears.
Enkrid glanced up again, calculating the time in his head. In three or four hours, darkness would fall. Then, a path to survival would open.
But before that, he had to persuade them right here. It would be nice if he could just overpower them with force, but this wasn't an opponent he could do that to. Nor was it a problem that could be solved with coercion.
Driving them forward with coercion and violence had reached its limit. Ambush, escape, ambush. He had driven the squad members relentlessly to get here, but now it was time to wait.
And while waiting, questions like this arose. There was no need to go through the trouble of persuading them.
“Don't you know it's too late, now that we've come this far?”
He was right. Too much time had already passed. Turning back from here would be even more insane.
The grim-faced soldier chewed on his lips. He looked like he wanted to say, 'What kind of crazy bastard is this?' But instead of saying that, he rolled his eyes and asked, “You do have a plan, right?”
Enkrid looked the man in the eye and then met the eyes of the surrounding allies one by one. Enri, Andrew, all of them. Their eyes were filled with doubt and anxiety.
As they caught their breath, they regained some composure. And that composure made them start to think. They would know it was already too late.
Enkrid had no intention of explaining with rational reasons. In fact, he couldn't explain with a proper reason. How could he say it?
That he saw the future by repeating today? That to end this repeated today, to move on to tomorrow, they had to listen to him unconditionally? As if they would believe that.
Therefore, there was only one thing he could say.
“I want to live, too.”
It was a short sentence, but it contained everything. That he wasn't struggling just to die. A craving for life.
Was that something only they had? He was making everyone aware that he was the same. Of course, if Enkrid died, he could just repeat today again, but.
‘I will not stagnate.’
Whoever the ferryman of that river is. No matter how high and hard the wall built before me is. He had no intention of stopping.
To Enkrid, the repeated today was a mountain to be overcome and a target to be conquered.
Therefore.
“Trust me. This isn't the path to death.”
He would skip the explanations and earn everyone's trust. Based on their trust, he would twist this day, escape today, and face tomorrow. A craving for life, repeated battles, the anxiety that comes after the excitement fades—in a situation like this, it's human nature to want to grasp at straws.
To them, Enkrid's two short sentences gave an indescribably deep sense of trust. I want to live too, so trust me, he says. Also, they instinctively knew there was no other way.
What were they going to do right here, right now? The enemy was swarming, stirring up the tall-grass field here and there. There seemed to be no way out of here.
At times like this, trusting someone would be the only way.
“I... I really want to live.”
Enri muttered.
Starting with those words, everyone looked at Enkrid and nodded. The grim-faced soldier was relatively calm, but he too had no other option. Andrew, among them, was the most shocked.
Beyond just his skill, Enkrid seemed like a person of complete character. Wasn't the current Enkrid similar to the version of himself he dreamed of becoming in the future?
‘Composed, even in a situation like this.’
He doesn't know defeat and has earned everyone's trust. How magnificent is that.
“I... I trust you too.”
And so Andrew also spoke. He had started speaking formally without realizing it. It didn't even feel awkward.
A hot fervor seemed to rise from among the allies and reach Enkrid.
“Then, everyone.”
Receiving everyone's gazes, Enkrid opened his mouth.
“From now on, until you get my signal, lie flat like moles and don't make a sound.”
Now that he had gained their trust, it was time to use it. He took the lead himself. He lay flat on the ground and held his breath.
Everyone followed Enkrid's lead. They might wonder what he was doing instead of running away, but what could they do? They were people who had just shared something heated.
It was the time to give their trust, even if only for five minutes. The grim-faced soldier watched a grasshopper jump off his nose and disappear, feeling dumbfounded.
‘This bastard, he's a phenomenal operator.’
His skill in handling people is extraordinary. Was this how he managed that troublemaker squad? It was a natural thought.
Rustle.
Just then, the sound of footsteps on grass was heard. Everyone began to breathe cautiously. A presence was felt nearby.
It wasn't that close. The tall-grass field was like a dense forest of grass. It wasn't easy to find someone unless you came right up to them.
It was a good place to hide. The sound of grass being trampled could be heard loudly from all around. The direction of the sound flowed from front to back.
Although the situation was not visible to those who had stopped. If there was a bird flying above the tall-grass field that saw the current scene, it would be witnessing something astonishing unfold. Centered on the spot where Enkrid's group had stopped, the grass in all directions was stirring and moving.
All of them were enemy soldiers. However, they moved in a way that avoided the exact spot where Enkrid’s squad was hiding. In other words, the place where Enkrid had stopped was like a deserted island, the only safe zone amidst the enemy soldiers.
Even with luck, it would be impossible to find such a gap between the paths of the moving enemy soldiers. This was a level where the Goddess of Fortune hadn't just given a kiss, but poured out all the blessings she had. Of course, this wasn't anything like luck.
It was a trick learned through the maddeningly repeated today. When the sound of trampling grass grew distant and the enemy's location could no longer be discerned by sound, Enkrid spoke again.
“We're moving again. All troops, advance in a single file.”
It was time to move. Enkrid straightened his crouched body and walked slowly until his numb legs recovered. As he did, he thought about how useful the five senses training he learned from Jacksen was.
Gauging distance and judging direction by sound. It wasn't a skill that could be acquired through ordinary training, but Enkrid had learned it by offering his neck to an assassin, and by repeating today in the grassy fields, he had become able to distinguish sounds.
‘I've passed the second objective as well.’
After repeating ambushes and escapes, letting the enemy soldiers pass them by here. This was the second key to the path of survival he had devised. Now, the third and final part remained.
That one needed the help of time. After his numb legs loosened up, he picked up the pace a little. Instead of showing any complaints, everyone followed well.
Inwardly, everyone was also surprised. Because no matter how they looked at it, the surroundings seemed to be teeming with enemy soldiers, and they wondered how he was able to avoid them so well. Come to think of it, the pattern of battles so far had been strange too.
It was as if he knew the enemy's location before attacking. Every battle started with an ambush from their side. Thanks to that, they could fight from an advantageous position.
In all those battles, Enkrid stood at the front and showed a crazy performance. He looked like someone who disregarded his own life. All the squad members following him knew that Enkrid had fought with his life on the line.
And that he had taken the greatest risks at the very front. Amidst the quiet grassy field, a strange heat rose once again. It was the heat of the flame that had blossomed in the hearts of the surviving allies.
Enkrid didn't feel that heat. Instead, he was just thinking about the next step.
‘Up to this point.’
It's been smooth. To be honest, it wasn't difficult. Nor should it have been.
He had already experienced the ‘today’ leading up to the present over fifty times. So this was a natural result. Then why did he have to experience this ‘today’ over fifty times?
It was all because of the next operation. His side was few, the enemy's was many. Their intentions were also unknown.
There was only one thing he knew. That the enemy commander intended to not let a single person who approached this place leave alive. The first few times, he had tried to break through, gritting his teeth to secure an escape route.
Naturally, he failed every time. Would the result change just because he had the help of his squad members? Not a chance.
After that, he changed his way of thinking.
‘What if something more troublesome than catching us happened?’
The sun was setting. A sunset began to unfold before his eyes, and the orange light of twilight descended. As the sunset light shone on the tall-grass field, it felt like entering a lake glowing with orange light.
For this moment, it seemed this place should be called not Green Pearl, but orange pearl. The sky was particularly clear today, and the sunset cast by the falling sunlight was exceptionally warm. The sun quickly disappeared beyond the west.
And darkness came. It was time to take the third objective of the path of survival that Enkrid had chosen.