Even for a second floor, it wasn't that high. Still, for a grown man of his weight, plus his gear, to fall from that height was indeed a suicidal act. Enkrid pushed off, having taken the opponent's stomach with the crown of his head.
He balanced himself as he fell. Caught by the sudden tackle, the opponent was utterly defeated. With a thud, they crashed to the floor, one on top of the other.
Enkrid was on top, the assassin below.
“Cough!”
The fallen assassin spat out blood. Shoving the opponent aside, Enkrid stood up, let out a breath, and checked his condition.
‘No injuries.’
No damaged joints or ligaments. That was all that mattered. Putting distance between the assassin and the person he was protecting.
That was the first priority of an escort. Jacksen was blocking the way to the second floor. The Elf Company Commander would handle the other minor issues.
As he checked his body, he also noted that there were no particular wounds on his back. Blocking the opponent’s blade with his body had been a calculated move to some extent.
‘The armor.’
The armor he’d gotten when he raided the Gilfin Guild. It was Rem who had properly recognized its value.
“It seems like it wouldn't be cut by any ordinary sword strike. Hmm, it’s a precious monster hide, so use it well. The materials that go into tanning this are no joke, what kind of fool died leaving this behind without wearing it?”
Originally, the box it was in had been cursed. The dead guild master couldn’t break the curse, so he had just kept it. For some reason, that curse didn't affect Enkrid.
So now, he had accomplished the splendid feat of taking the opponent’s blade with his body without shedding a single drop of blood. However, while it could block a sharp piece of metal, it couldn't do anything about the impact, which was why he was grateful to Audin. The Technique of Isolation built the body.
To learn how to use that body, he had learned wrestling. With the skills he had learned and mastered, Enkrid protected his own body. It was only possible because he had trained and trained every single moment.
Dodging the blade, subduing the opponent, all of it. If he had wasted even a single one of those days, would this today even exist? No. He could say that with certainty.
“You’re a madman.”
He could see blood flowing from the corner of the man's mouth, soaking his mask. The man, as if finding it suffocating, ripped the mask off. It was an unfamiliar face.
Naturally.
The population of the Border Guard alone exceeded five thousand, how could he possibly know every single face? However, he did feel a slight sense of familiarity. A strange feeling, as if he had passed him by somewhere.
“Cough.”
The man coughed again. It was a cough mixed with blood. The bloody water soaked his beard and dripped to the floor.
Even so, the man glared at Enkrid. His eyes were filled with killing intent. The will to kill him at all costs radiated outwards.
With a soft ring, Enkrid drew his longsword. His opponent drew a gladius in one hand and a shortsword in the other.
‘Two weapons.’
His balance was unwavering, and though he was coughing up blood, which surely meant his internal organs were damaged, his eyes were still alive. A man who had experienced the battlefield. That was the signal Enkrid's instincts were sending.
His age was visible on his face. He was well past thirty. If he was a man who had survived that long, he was bound to have a hidden trick or two up his sleeve.
‘He seems like he would use a technical sword.’
An attack of a stranger form than ordinary swordsmanship would come. It was a prediction based on what he could see.
“Gurgle, ptoo.”
The opponent, as if his nose was filled with blood, sniffed loudly with a sound like a pig’s squeal and spat out a bloody glob of phlegm before asking Enkrid.
“What unit are you from?”
“What’s it to you?”
“If you’re from the standing army, then you’re my junior.”
Junior?
He showed his question with his expression. Even so, Enkrid’s eyes continuously scanned his opponent’s entire body. There were fewer openings than he expected.
His stance was clean.
“I even made it to Platoon Leader.” the man said.
Enkrid believed his words. Not that it changed anything. There were plenty of men who served in the army and were then discharged.
Those who left crippled. Those whose names left after they died. Those who were physically fine but left after causing trouble.
Countless.
Among them, there were also those who were discharged honorably. For instance, if one had chosen to serve in the army instead of going to prison, they could choose to be discharged when their mandatory service period ended.
“From the Butchers of the Frontier?” the opponent asked again.
Enkrid lightly shook his head. There was only one reason he was answering. To find an opening in his opponent.
But it was still the same. He didn't easily show any gaps. He's pretty good.
Enkrid thought as he subtly lowered the tip of his sword. As the position of his sword changed slightly, his opponent also changed the position of the swords in his hands. He was a formidable foe.
Both instinct and reason told him so.
“Hoo, that’s better. I was feeling dizzy because my stomach was churning, but I’ll just kill you and then go kill that bitch upstairs.”
The opponent spoke as if it were as easy as picking up a bronze coin that had fallen to the floor. This time, he didn't answer. There was no time for it.
The moment the words were spoken, his opponent charged. He was fast. The gladius and shortsword danced through the empty air.
Left and right, his two hands moved to a different rhythm.
‘Vallen-style duet.’
It was a technique he knew. Though he had never attempted it due to the limits of his talent. The two swords, with their different rhythms, both aimed for a fatal blow.
The opponent’s footwork and swordplay were both formidable. As soon as Enkrid saw the opponent’s charge, he gripped the hilt with both hands, lowered the tip of his sword, and let the blade hang behind his left hip. The charging opponent's eyes glinted.
Enkrid did not panic. The Heart of the Beast gave him boldness. He couldn't predict the opponent's movements.
The Vallen-style duet was a skill he couldn't perform with his own body. But that didn't mean he couldn't fight against it. He took a single step, putting his left foot forward.
He moved to his own rhythm, regardless of his opponent’s. The two blades flew in, as if drawing a circle. Before they could reach him, Enkrid moved.
“Your muscular strength is truly amazing.”
Audin had cursed him for being slow in everything else, but he had acknowledged his strength alone. The way to shatter an opponent's technical sword with raw strength and the Heavy Sword Style, Enkrid knew it.
Whoosh.
The longsword cut through the air. The blade, mixed with Valery Mountain steel, sliced horizontally through space. Of course, it wasn't just space that it cut.
Thwack, spleurch!
A mid-level horizontal strike. Meet technique with power. He had sparred dozens of times until now.
His skills, which had grown immensely since he started repeating today, had greatly expanded the scope of what he could gain from sparring. Things he had missed, unable to see or feel, he now perceived through the Heart of the Beast, the Sense of the Blade, and Single Point Focus. He recreated what he perceived with his body and trained.
And the body that wouldn't obey, he had rebuilt with the Technique of Isolation. It was the same as dodging the dagger with just a tilt of his head. The only difference was that this time, he had put his mind to swinging the sword.
Through his crafted body, he twisted his muscles, using his left foot as a pivot, and unleashed the strike. The entire process happened in an instant. The blade that cut through his midsection had nearly sliced the opponent's body in half.
The opponent had attempted to block with one sword and deflect it to get inside, but his technique was crushed by sheer power. It was a complete victory of strength. Enkrid looked at the man, his body nearly severed in two, spilling steaming innards onto the floor.
“Farewell. Senior.”
Even with his body nearly cut in half, he showed a tenacious life force. His eyes were full of regret. He mumbled, his lips trembling.
Enkrid read his lips.
“Glory to the motherland.”
Was all of this an act of loyalty for his country? Did that loyalty lead to assassination? He didn't know.
But it seemed worth investigating. After flicking the blood from his blade and sheathing it with a soft ring, the Elf Company Commander and Jacksen finally came out.
“You fight rather loudly.”
As he spoke, Jacksen’s eyes scanned Enkrid’s body once. He didn’t seem to be particularly injured. Just a few scratches from breaking through the window.
“If you were my lover, you’d have to be at least this capable.”
The Elf Company Commander uttered the deadly words in her usual manner of speaking, that is, in a blunt tone.
“People will misunderstand. If someone else hears.”
He was so flustered that the word ‘misunderstand’ came out first. He had gotten his words backward.
“Is that so?”
The Company Commander brushed it off nonchalantly.
“You captured a few of them alive, right?”
“We did.”
At Jacksen’s words, Enkrid nodded and went inside. When he got to the first floor, he saw those who had already been tied up. Looking around, he saw that few of the guild’s escorts were left.
Some had died.
‘The level of the attackers.’
Was not high. However, that was only by Enkrid’s standards. They would have been quite difficult for the guards of an ordinary merchant guild to handle.
Above all, the opponent he had killed at the end was a retired soldier. He could have cut down one or two clumsy mercenaries in an instant. Where did a group like this come from?
The question arose on its own. Upon entering the first floor, the person he was guarding, the young lady of the guild, had already come down. The surroundings were filled with blood and corpses, among them those of their allies.
It was like being in the middle of a battlefield. There had been at least twenty assailants. More than half of them were killed or captured at the hands of the Company Commander and Jacksen.
He saw three or four of the guild members vomiting. It was understandable. Corpses, blood, and guts were strewn everywhere.
And yet, she only furrowed her brow, appearing composed. She approached, the heels of her boots clicking.
“Your name?”
The woman came closer and asked. Enkrid pointed a finger at himself.
She nodded.
Seeing her nod, Enkrid opened his mouth.
“It’s Enkrid.”
“Are you all right?”
The woman gestured toward his back and asked, and Enkrid nodded. It was thanks to the leather armor. Just as Rem had said, it wouldn’t be cut by any ordinary sword strike.
He had assessed the opponent's level in an instant and judged that he could block with his body, so he did. If that hadn't been the case, how would he have blocked it? He would have used other means.
He might not have tried to block it so foolishly with his body, but at that moment, he thought it was the best option.
“I see. I will compensate you later.”
He hadn't done it hoping for a reward.
“It’s fine. It was my duty.”
At those words, the woman moved her lips a few times before speaking.
“I’m Leona.”
“Yes.”
He already knew her name. After stating her name, she looked around, then took a long breath in and out.
“Compensation for the families of the deceased.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Her nanny replied, approaching with trembling legs. It seemed she was more shaken than Lady Leona herself. Seeing the vomit stained around her mouth, it looked like she had already had a bout of nausea after seeing the scene.
The nanny consciously tried not to look at the floor. On the other hand, Lady Leona.
‘She’s so composed.’
Is she more used to this kind of thing than I thought? No. Her mettle is different. Or perhaps she was prepared for it.
Enkrid looked at the people cleaning up the area and stepped back. Leona didn't try to speak to him further either. Enkrid moved to one side of the inn and saw the innkeeper's dismayed face.
This must be a first for him as well. He was so curious about what kind of madman had caused this that he desperately wanted to know.
‘Glory to the motherland.’
It sounded like there was a spy from Azpen within the Border Guard.
“The one who looked like the ringleader got away.”
Jacksen said from beside him.
“Why didn’t you catch him?”
“Why should I?”
We came to escort, so we will escort. This is the proper attitude of a soldier carrying out a mission. Jacksen conveyed his meaning through his attitude more than his words.
Enkrid didn't blame him for it. Still, it was better than bringing Rem or the other squad members.
“Well done.”
“Two days left.”
It sounded like he was saying they should faithfully carry out their escort duty. Work is work. Jacksen was right, but.
‘I am curious about who’s behind this.’
It had happened in the early evening. As darkness fell, the air was filled with the reek of blood. The few remaining customers checked out of their rooms and left.
Just as the innkeeper’s face began to twist further in despair, Lady Leona spoke.
“Our guild will compensate you for your losses.”
Watching her back as she spoke, she didn’t look like a frightened bird. She was confident. She probably wasn’t just raised delicately in the guild.
Enkrid silently watched her back for a moment before asking.
“Are we staying up all night, Company Commander?”
“Do you want to?”
“No.” “We’ll take turns. You rest first.”
“Yes.”
Without refusing, Enkrid went up to the second floor. As he went up, he clenched and unclenched his hand. What was the level of the opponent he had killed?
He seemed to be at least on par with that perverted enemy lancer he had met on the battlefield during the first 'today'. Because he had used a trick while falling from the second floor, his opponent had to fight while injured.
‘His innards were injured.’
He probably couldn't even put proper strength into his limbs. Even so, it didn't dim the light cast upon the emblem of his victory.
‘Even if he were in perfect condition, I would have won.’
Confidence.
A word he had never truly possessed in his life. A small bit of it blossomed in his chest. He would still walk like a turtle, but his steps would be different from before.
Enkrid felt he had taken a step closer to his dream. It was so faint that it might not even look like he had moved his foot at all. But the fact that he had advanced gave him a sense of fulfillment.
“I’m alive thanks to you.”
One of the escorts met him as she was coming down the stairs.
“If we hadn’t requested an escort from the Border Guard…”
The female escort's face was deathly pale as she spoke. She was the one who had been in charge of Leona's close protection. She was already walking around despite having a hole in her stomach.
Was she crazy and wanted to die?
“It was shallow. It was close. It didn't damage my organs.”
The escort said, as if sensing his gaze.
“That’s a relief.”
After they looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, Enkrid went past her and continued up.
“Thank you.” the female escort said again.
Enkrid took it nonchalantly. It was something he had to do. That was his mission and his assignment.
Enkrid rested for exactly half a day and woke up at dawn.
“Time to switch. Squad Leader.”
It was the company commander’s call. Though his eyes were already open before that. The Company Commander, Enkrid, and Jacksen shared a single room.
There was no problem with taking turns. Before they were men and a woman, they were soldiers. There had been an attack even with an escort from the Border Guard's standing army.
This was the result of that attack. In front of the inn, two squads of soldiers were dispatched. They were from the 2nd Company.
“Whoever that son of a bitch is, I’ll be sure to catch him and kill him.”
One of the platoon leaders under the 2nd Company said confidently. He heard they had taken the captured men with them. Enkrid went downstairs alone.
They had cleaned diligently, but the hall was filled with the faint smell of blood mixed with a few other unpleasant odors. The dim light of the candlesticks illuminated the inside of the hall. There was no one there.
The regular guests, of course, had long since left for another inn. Thanks to that, the main hall was empty. Enkrid took a seat at one of the tables.
And he began to review what had happened. For him, that was a natural thing to do. Even if he wasn't repeating today, it was something he had always done.
As he reviewed and did some training he could do while seated. Just before the morning sun rose, someone came down the stairs.
“You’re up early.”
It was the person he was escorting, Lady Leona.