When is the moment you make the darkness your friend? If this were the question, the answer was simple. A place you know well.
A place where you grasp the terrain as if it were your own front yard. It would be even better if it was a place you had lived in until recently. Because just by seeing the surroundings dimly, you could grasp your general location.
It would be even better if it was an extremely familiar place, for example, a place used as a night training ground until just yesterday. The place Enkrid had now reached was just like that. Normally, it should have been an unfamiliar place, but…
“This is…”
Normally, he should have been surprised to see this, but…
“Damn it.”
Normally, he should have despaired the moment the scale of the enemy came into view, but… None of that applied to Enkrid. Because he had already been here several times.
And he hadn't just come here. He had rolled and rolled again. He had fought and fought again.
The members who came with him changed slightly each time. Still, the basic composition was similar. Andrew, the grim-faced soldier, Enri, and the other squad members.
Among them, the two squad members who were former thugs had also been a great help. The place where they exited the tall-grass field by going in reverse. An unexpected scene unfolded before them.
Some of the squad members, thinking the escape route to the main unit was blocked, thought this way might be a path to survival instead. To be precise, Enri thought so. He had as good a sense of direction as the grim-faced soldier.
He hadn't been a prairie hunter for nothing, after all. Enri thought that since the enemy was ambushing them in the tall grass, this side might be empty. His prediction was wrong.
That's why it was even more desperate. Enri felt his legs give way.
Whoosh.
The first thing they saw was a burning torch stand. And then they saw a wide, thick cloth half-blocking the light. As soon as he saw it, Enri took a step back.
Lifting his head and widening his view, the shape of the structure that came into sight was revealed. It was a tent. Why is there a tent here?
Relying on the dim light, he turned his head to the side and saw a burning torch stand next to the tent. Lined up torch stands, stretching far into the distance. A rough count showed there were more than ten.
The distance between the torch stands was wide, just enough to barely see the surroundings. The moonlight and torchlight intertwined, clearing their vision further. What they saw were tents.
At least twenty tents stretched out alongside the tall-grass field. This was the opposite side based on the allied camp's position. In other words, the tents before them were the camp of the enemy, the Azpen Dukedom.
“Shit, what is this?”
The former thug soldier muttered, instinctively lowering his voice.
“Ha, of all the places to end up.”
Enri opened his mouth, his voice hollow.
“Shh, quiet.”
In that moment, the grim-faced soldier reacted the fastest. If a sentry were to spot them right now, a battle would break out. If that happened, they would be killed in an instant.
In everyone's eyes, besides the light from the torch stands, a few moving lights could be seen in the distance. Everyone knew without being told that they were torches held by sentries.
“Shut your mouths.”
The grim-faced soldier said, looking around. One wrong move and you die. In moments of crisis, a veteran's experience was bound to shine.
He acted based on his own experience. He lowered his posture and tried to sense the presence of sentries. Hide as much as possible, grasp the situation, then find a hole to escape through.
With luck, it might be possible. It was night, and although it wasn't his intention, they had moved in a direction far different from what the enemy would expect.
They had entered the heart of the enemy camp, so close they could reach out and touch a tent, but nevertheless, as long as they weren't caught, there was a chance to escape. He made that judgment.
He believed that as long as you kept your wits, you could survive even if you fell into the middle of a monster horde.
“Don't draw your blades, keep your heads down.”
He acted as if he were the leader. Most of the squad members moved according to his words. With the exception of only two.
Naturally, one was Enkrid, and the other was Andrew.
“He must have a plan. Enkrid is the Squad Leader.”
Perhaps the beating was good medicine. The guy who got beaten to a pulp this morning and had the squad leader position taken from him was the only one to side with Enkrid.
“This is not the time for games.”
The grim-faced soldier turned his head back while stooping over. His voice was quiet, but it carried the intensity of a beast's growl. He was in a hurry.
This was the heart of the enemy camp. It was a situation several times more dangerous than facing the enemy ambush in the tall-grass field. It was a moment where they would have no complaints if an enemy spearhead suddenly burst through the tent.
What plan could there be in a situation like this? The grim-faced soldier's reaction was reasonable. In fact, Enkrid had thought the same thing while watching this soldier many times.
‘He's no ordinary guy.’
His skill, experience, judgment, and decisiveness. None of it was at the level of a clumsy soldier. If it weren't for him, if he hadn't repeated today.
It would have been right to make this man the squad leader and struggle desperately. But there was no need for that now. The other squad members didn't know, but the path here was entirely according to Enkrid's intentions.
The time, location, place, everything. How many nights had he already spent here? How many lives had he thrown away?
How many times had he repeated today? In the tent right before his eyes, three sluggish soldiers were sound asleep. There was still some time before they would encounter the soldiers patrolling the camp.
Knowing all that, Enkrid acted.
Shiiing.
He drew his sword and tore the wall of the tent. From bottom to top, the blade reflected the moonlight.
“This crazy bastard.”
The grim-faced soldier was appalled. And here, Andrew reacted to Enkrid's action. He rushed into the torn tent and plunged the tip of his shortsword into the neck of an enemy soldier who had opened his eyes in surprise.
Thud!
After him, Enkrid also jumped in. He thrust his blade at the neck of a guy who was trying to get up; the man, woken from his sleep, gasped in surprise and tried to grab the blade with his hands. Enkrid pressed the blade down with force and slit his throat.
Riiip.
A sound like tearing leather was heard, and soon the smell of blood filled the tent. The last enemy soldier was stabbed in the heart with a dagger by the former thug squad member.
“Gurgle, gurgle-guk.”
The one stabbed in the heart crawled on the floor, reaching out his hand. He was a tenacious one. The light shining in from the tent entrance illuminated the head of the reaching enemy soldier.
And over him, a black shadow appeared. It was the grim-faced soldier. He pressed his knee into the enemy soldier's back, grabbed his neck with his hands, and twisted.
Crack.
The enemy soldier with the broken neck stuck out his tongue and died.
“Hey, you.”
In the darkness, the grim-faced soldier's eyes shone fiercely. He glared at Enkrid. It was a relief they got lucky; otherwise, they would have been surrounded and annihilated in the middle of the enemy camp.
This was truly a gamble. That's how it looked to him.
“We move to the side.”
Enkrid ignored his glare. Before the man could say anything, he extended his sword.
“Hey, you crazy bastard.”
The grim-faced soldier said, his voice low and threatening. A desperate irritation and anger could be felt. Because in his eyes, it was an endlessly crazy act.
Enkrid sliced open the side of the tent with his sword and turned only his head back. He showed no hint of worry that someone might do something to him from behind. Even though he was radiating such killing intent?
Even though they had charged into enemy territory with only the strength of a patrol team, a deadly atmosphere, like sparks flying between the two, made everyone watch them cautiously.
“Name?”
“What?”
“Your name.”
Was it because of Enkrid's calm demeanor? Was it because of his boldness in not reacting to the killing intent? To Enkrid's question, asked while holding his sword and slashing downwards, the grim-faced soldier meekly opened his mouth.
“Call me Mac.”
He didn't retract his killing intent even as he spoke. Enkrid averted his gaze from the soldier and said.
“Mac, I will not accept insubordination.”
“What?”
Riiip.
Enkrid finished tearing the tent wall and went out. The remaining members had only one choice. They had no choice but to follow him.
“Hoo, I really don't know what's what.”
Mac muttered as if to himself and met Andrew's eyes.
“Yes, I'm coming.”
Mac replied to his gaze. For now, it seemed he had to follow. The next tent was empty.
It seemed all the soldiers in the tent had gone out for night watch duty.
‘Does that make sense?’
The tent was large enough to accommodate at least ten men. At least a squad's worth. If you pushed it, two squads could probably stay there.
In fact, looking at the traces inside the tent, there were signs of more than ten people.
“Forward.”
After passing that tent, the troublemaker squad leader didn't even bother tearing the tent wall. He poked his head out of the tent entrance, looked left and right, then shot forward. The squad members followed him.
Before they knew it, clouds had gathered, hiding the moonlight. Then, it became difficult to see the surroundings with only the light from the torch stands. Even blinking several times to adjust to the night, it was pitch dark.
Enkrid moved through such a place without hesitation. Besides the breathing of the squad members following him, no other sound could be heard.
“This way.”
A voice echoed in the darkness. It was not a quiet voice. It was a noise loud enough for any nearby enemy soldiers to hear.
Mac felt a chill run down his spine.
‘That bastard, really.’
But there was no presence. No movement from enemies he had failed to detect. If they had been discovered, they would have immediately heard words like 'Who goes there?'.
Enkrid moved again. Now, even Mac found it difficult to tell the direction. In the tall-grass field, the sun was clearly in the sky, so there was no problem checking the direction, but now, wasn't it dark all around?
‘Does he know where he's going?’
It seemed so. There appeared to be no hesitation in Enkrid's steps. He moved, and only stopped when a tent with two torch stands attached to it came into view in the distance.
Enkrid, using a suitable tree in front as cover, gestured to the rear. His gesture was barely visible to their eyes, which had adjusted to the darkness. Mac felt as if he were possessed by a ghost.
‘How far have we walked?’
He didn't know exactly. But gauging the size of the camp based on the number of tents.
‘I think we've passed through it?’
It seemed they had walked far enough to cross the enemy territory. But nobody knows? Why haven't we been caught?
It was only natural to feel like he was possessed by a ghost.
“Wait here.”
Enkrid turned around and said. It was a whispering voice. Glancing at the tent he mentioned, there were four soldiers guarding it.
The enemy camp was strangely quiet for nighttime, but that tent alone looked crowded.
Whoosh.
As the wind blew and the light from the torch stands flickered, the soldiers' shadows moved here and there. Then, someone came out from inside the tent and was seen saying something. Due to the distance, the voice couldn't be heard properly, but the soldier who heard it could be seen nodding his head.
‘What are they guarding?’
So the troublemaker squad leader came here aiming for that? Only then did Mac understand this situation. No, he guessed.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind and took root.
‘It was a secret mission.’
A mission given solely to the troublemaker squad leader, excluding himself and the other squad members. He must have earned the commander's trust that much. Mac recalled what Andrew had said.
He had said the troublemaker squad leader joined on the company commander's orders. Now, everything fell into place. Enkrid, the Squad Leader, was carrying out a secret mission.
‘So that's what it was?’
It was a misunderstanding. Mac had a small realization, but he didn't say it out loud. And even if Enkrid knew this misunderstanding had arisen, he wouldn't have bothered to give a detailed explanation.
Because the task at hand was more urgent.
“We will set that tent on fire.”
Enkrid raised a finger. It was a tent guarded by four soldiers at the front alone.