This ghoul was fast despite its hunched back. Its nails were longer than the last one I saw. Still, it wasn't faster than a harpy.
Nor was it sharper than Rem's axe.
‘Dot to dot.’
Connecting the lines. Bringing all surrounding movements into the realm of my Sixth Sense. Facing the approaching ghoul, there was only one thing to do.
Draw my sword and swing.
Shing.
The blade, freed from its sheath, did its job.
Kaaah!
Enkrid's sword, having calculated the steps of the approaching, foul-smelling ghoul by instinct, fell downward.
Clack. Crack!
A crown cut. With his left foot forward, the sword swung down from above, precisely splitting the ghoul's crown. Retrieving the blade after it plunged down to its forehead was all one motion.
He repeated it three times. With the tip of his sword angled toward the sky, he brought it down from above. In an instant, three ghouls lay on the ground, all with their crowns split open.
Meanwhile, Torres threw a dagger from the side.
Whizz.
The flying dagger embedded itself in a ghoul's head. It was the one trying to flank from the left. Enkrid's feet grew busy.
He stepped forward and slashed the neck of an approaching one. He punched a ghoul in the head as it closed the distance. With the sword in one hand, he pierced another one's skull.
Desperation?
There was none of that. Thirteen ghouls died in an instant. And as he killed them all, Enkrid felt something strange.
‘A pattern.’
The ghouls attacked in a set formation, as if they had learned how to fight. That actually made them easier to deal with. But if he hadn't possessed overwhelming skill, he could have been instantly surrounded and killed.
‘What is this?’
They were different from the ghouls he had seen in the sewers before, or the ones he had killed by the river on his way here. Among monsters, the most common is the ghoul. They were beasts that used their heads less than animals.
‘Can creatures like these use tactics?’
No. Impossible.
Unless they had formed a colony. A group of monsters with a leader is called a colony. But there was no sign of that.
So there was no need to worry about it further. It was just something strange that had caught his Sixth Sense.
‘Should I wash the ghoul's blood off my blade in the stream?’
Just as he thought this and turned to say the cleanup was done, Finn strode over.
“What are you?”
Finn stared intently at Enkrid. The question held many meanings, but right now, it must be about his ability to handle the ghouls. Enkrid's mouth opened.
“I told you I was in charge of an Independent Platoon. That platoon is an extreme combat squad.”
It wasn't a lie. He had expected the company commander's intention was for such a role anyway. Who would believe the platoon had only nine members?
Yet it could be maintained. It meant each and every member's skill surpassed the general standard. With the frontier garrison's clear presence, their fame might have been overshadowed, but…
In Enkrid's personal opinion, it wasn't like that at all.
‘They're no match.’
Rem, Ragna, Audin, Jacksen. The skills of those four were still hard to fathom. Even though he now possessed the ability to carve up ghouls like this.
‘Still a long way to go.’
Even though he could see the direction the signpost was pointing. Those four still felt like they were far beyond him. On the other hand, what about Torres of the frontier garrison?
He was beatable. If they fought for their lives, he himself might die, but the thought of losing didn't easily come to mind either.
“You fight really well.”
“That was amazing.”
A soldier who had been on night watch at dawn chimed in after Finn's words. A few squad members approached and looked at Enkrid. Enkrid wondered if this was something deserving of such praise.
It was quite a rare occurrence for him, so it felt awkward. Thanks to that, he blurted out.
“We won't have to move the camp, then.”
“That's right,” Finn replied.
They decided to return to the camp, and on the way, a squad member with droopy eyes pointed them toward the stream. It wasn't far from the place they were using as a temporary camp and dining area.
“Hey, I killed three of them too,” Torres muttered from the side on the way back, but no one paid him any mind.
No, only Enkrid reacted to it. He lightly tapped Torres on the shoulder.
“It was easier thanks to you.”
In truth, Torres knew it too. What he had done was merely to alleviate an inconvenience.
‘He would've gotten them all by himself.’
He realized it anew.
‘He hid his skills.’
No, Torres reconsidered. It wasn't that Enkrid had hidden his skills, but that the temperature of sparring and real combat was different. If they fought for real, if they fought for their lives, what would happen?
‘I think I'd lose.’
Even within the rank of special-grade soldier, the frontier garrison had its own internal standards. In terms of combat power alone, Torres was about mid-level among the special-grade soldiers. Enkrid seemed to be higher than that.
Once his thoughts reached this point, he regretted teaching him the Hide Knife.
“Hey, don't practice that.”
Torres said, seeing Enkrid habitually fidgeting with a thin stone after retrieving his sword post-battle.
“After going through all the trouble of teaching me?”
“... I was just saying.”
Of course, Enkrid had no way of knowing Torres's inner thoughts. The feeling of being surpassed by someone you thought was far beneath you. It couldn't possibly feel good.
Of course, this was a feeling Enkrid truly couldn't understand. For him, that was his daily life. Due to his lack of talent, everyone had overtaken him, passed him by, and never looked back.
Even so, he never gave up on his dream and swung his sword until his palms burst. That was the man named Enkrid.
“Let's go wash our swords.”
Ghoul blood gave off a rotten stench. The smell wasn't pleasant, and blood was naturally oily. Leaving it on would damage the blade.
“Got it.”
Torres, who seemed to have lost his energy, and Enkrid were excluded from the hunt.
“We'll prepare the meal, so you two go do your laundry.”
Thanks to that, they were able to wash their sweat-soaked clothes in the stream. Drying them was a problem, though. Since they usually returned to the cave at night, drying them all day by the campfire here should work.
He had taken off and washed his inner leather armor yesterday, so he left it. He had sweated again during the march, but he couldn't maintain the same level of cleanliness as in the city. It was common sense that you'd get sick if you didn't wash.
Especially in the army, cleaning and hygiene were basic. The stream water was clearer than expected, and the current carried away the filth downstream quickly. Finn said the water was safe to drink, so after filling his leather waterskin and taking a sip, his stomach rumbled.
“You too? Me too,” Torres said upon hearing it.
The two gathered their things and returned with their tightly wrung-out clothes.
“Here you go.”
A squad member, now twice as friendly as before they dealt with the ghouls, brought a long branch and hung their clothes on it. Right next to the campfire, a squad member was skinning a snake he must have caught somewhere.
“Good haul, right?” said the squad member skinning the snake.
His appetite was whetted. Though it looked grotesque, snake meat was a nutrient-rich source of protein. Hadn't Audin said so too?
It was the kind of meat you devoured if you had it, not something you left behind.
“Indeed,” he replied and sat down next to them.
Torres sat beside him, and Finn sat opposite them. The campfire crackled, but there was almost no smoke.
‘This is a skill too.’
He had seen hunters and scouts do this expertly a few times. You first start a small fire with bark and leaves, then add finely chopped, flammable wood. Of course, this also required a knack.
Whenever Enkrid tried, he failed every time. For them, it seemed to be routine. A wisp of smoke rose for a moment and then disappeared.
Soon, one of the members placed some charred coal under the lattice of firewood.
“Burning logs produces a lot of smoke.”
So you had to be careful when starting the fire and also watch for smoke every time you added more firewood. It probably wasn't enough smoke to be seen from Cross Guard, but… Being cautious in all matters was likely a habit of the reconnaissance team.
Soon, two members were grilling the snake meat, while others grilled jerky. One of them brought a large pot and boiled water. He put some various berries into it, then took them out a little later.
“His nickname is Cook.”
Finn said while sitting on the ground, sharpening her handaxe with a whetstone. Seeing that inexplicably reminded him of Rem.
‘I wonder if he's staying out of trouble.’
Enkrid gave a rough nod, and not long after, they began to eat. The snake meat was softer than expected, and seasoned with salt, it was just right. To be honest, it was delicious.
Especially the tail part.
“I'm going to open a restaurant when I get back,” the soldier involved in all this cooking said.
The campfire light illuminated his face. He had a younger face than expected; when asked, he said he was twenty-two.
“You rascal, you should be thinking about becoming a great ranger.”
“I like being a cook more, Chief.” the soldier nicknamed Cook replied to Finn.
Finn laughed heartily at his words and nodded in acknowledgement. A close-knit atmosphere flowed between them. Enkrid chewed on snake meat and ate warmed jerky.
When he shared some of his seasoned jerky, the soldier called Cook's eyes lit up.
“Ah, what is this, why is it so good? Where did you get it?”
“In the city. I'll tell you when we get back.”
At Enkrid's words, the soldier nicknamed Cook nodded his head several times.
“You must.”
After eating their fill, they split into two groups and took naps.
“Resting well is also part of a ranger's job. After all, scouting the surroundings is meaningless in this land. The top priority here is survival. And stamina is essential for survival,” Finn said.
The resting places were also designated. It was a hideout hollowed out from a large tree. Someone climbed up the tree to rest.
And someone else stayed by the campfire. After resting in two shifts, as the sun began to set in the west, Finn got to the point. Standing before Torres and Enkrid, Finn spoke.
“There are three ways to get inside the walls. Let's discuss them together. The first is the crawl hole.”
Finn continued her explanation.
“Well, it's a route used by black market dealers in the city, so those in the know know about it, but they don't really block it off. As you can probably tell, quite a few guys know about this passage.”
She added that while it was easy, it came with its own risks.
“Next?”
Torres asked.
Finn rattled off the next options. The second was to scale the walls in the dead of night. The third was to sneak in by pretending to be part of a guild moving at dawn.
“The fastest is the first, the safest is the second, and the most comfortable is the third.”
Just hearing it, he understood. The risk level was third, first, then second. But from the way Finn spoke, she seemed to judge that there wasn't a great risk.
Her tone wasn't serious at all.
“In reality, getting over the wall isn't that hard. The problem is what comes next: meeting the cat.”
Enkrid also saw that as a tricky problem. What if he was being held captive? If he was already caught, he wouldn't be able to leave any signs.
Did that mean they had to check the prisons?
“If we can't find any trace within the city, we return immediately. The entire reconnaissance team will also return to the main unit.”
“Figured as much.”
Torres said as if he had been waiting for it, and Finn acknowledged his words. It seemed Torres had received a few more directives from the main unit.
“Just the three of us are going in. Which way should we go?”
Finn asked.
“You should choose, right? You know the situation here best.”
At Torres's words, Finn crossed her arms and nodded. He was right. Enkrid also agreed, so Finn suggested the crawl hole.
“Unless we have really bad luck, we won't get caught. We leave tomorrow morning.”
“Not at night?”
Torres asked back. Wasn't infiltration traditionally done at night?
“Morning is better. They're actually more vigilant at night. Scaling the wall would also be better tomorrow night.”
Enkrid just watched the situation unfold. After that, the day ended with eating, training, and practicing putting a stone in his sleeve and taking it out all day long. It was time to go back into the cave and sleep.
There was less danger than he had thought; in fact, the current situation felt peaceful.
‘Are there no Azpen reconnaissance teams on this side?’
Such a question crossed his mind. And so, the next morning dawned.
“Let's go.”
With Finn in the lead, the three of them headed for Cross Guard. He thought they would take a wide detour, but that wasn't the case.
“Those guys think the west of Cross Guard is a barrier of monsters. Reconnaissance teams? They do wander around. If we meet them, it won't just end with bad luck. I know they don't send scouts here unless they're pretty skilled.”
It sounded like Azpen's reconnaissance teams wouldn't move without a clear objective. Finn's pace was fast. She wasn't a ranger for nothing.
Her skill at identifying and avoiding traces of monsters was astounding. Her gait was especially unique. The way she stepped, pressing down gently from the heel, caught Enkrid's eye.
“We'll have to detour a bit here.”
There was a path through a small hill thick with bushes. Finn cleared the way with the axe at her waist. Enkrid also swung his sword, cutting down the bushes blocking the path.
‘I didn't check my blade.’
He should have checked his equipment in the morning, but for some reason, he had skipped that task. It was because he was too absorbed in his training.
‘A mistake.’
It wasn't a huge mistake. It wouldn't have a major impact on the current situation. As he cut through the rustling bushes, some red berries came into view.
“Poison. Don't eat it,” Finn said jokingly.
“I'll be careful.”
“Why don't you speak comfortably with me too?”
Finn said.
“Alright.”
He never refused an offer, unless it was about sleeping together in the cave. Finn, looking at Enkrid, couldn't resist the itch to ask.
“Wanna sleep with me after this job is done?”
“No.” “Tch.”
“Hey, I'm walking right here too.”
That last part was Torres.
“Yeah. I know.”
Finn was bold. It was probably thanks to her daring personality. They arrived at a small hill with a view of the city wall.
If they passed the hill and headed west, there would be a gate. He could see the wall in the distance, but there was no moat.
“Would they really need a moat? Unless you're exceptionally skilled, just avoiding the monsters to get this far is next to impossible.”
Which meant Finn was no ordinary ranger. Well, if she wasn't this good, she wouldn't be in charge of this area. Enkrid thought as he followed her into the hole.
“Ranger goes first.”
In front of him, Finn uttered the ranger's motto and went in. It was like saying the flower of the battlefield is the infantry. Finn glanced back slightly.
Enkrid saw Finn's smile, the thin leather helmet on her head, and the orange strands of hair peeking out from the gaps. Enkrid and Torres followed her in. What followed was a series of unexpected events.
“You foolish bastards.”
After walking for a while, they were greeted by a unit with long spears and shields. The passage was quite wide, enough for three people to stand abreast. It was a perfect place for a unit with long spears and shields to stay.
And behind them…
Creeak.
The sound of bowstrings being drawn. Looking back, he saw a unit armed with shortbows. They hadn't even been walking for half an hour after entering the crawl hole.
It was a trap. A unit with shields and long spears in front. Blocking their rear were dozens of arrows nocked on bowstrings.
It was a perfect trap that no one short of the Knights could escape.
“Son of a bitch.”
Torres's voice, full of despair.
“I really wanted to catch you, you wild cat bitch.”
The enemy commander's words. Hearing that, Finn's expression changed.
“You son of a bitch!”
Finn's words were the last. Arrows flew and long spears thrust. Enkrid put up something resembling resistance.
He held a buckler in his left hand and swung his sword, but… what could he do? They were overwhelmingly outnumbered and had lost the advantageous position.
Psh-sh-sh-shk.
Starting with a spearhead piercing his thigh, he died as his head was pierced as well. Feeling it so vividly, the pain surged, but… it was an unavoidable death. Of course, he didn't just die.
“You tenacious bastard.”
Even in this situation, his sword and Whistle Dagger had made several companions for the road. Though he wouldn't be traveling with them. Pain, and then darkness clouded his vision.
Kekekeke.
With the ferryman's laugh as the end, Enkrid opened his eyes. Dawn, the beginning of a day where death awaits, a repeat of today. Today had begun once more.
The mission was to confirm the spy's status, but he was facing an obstacle before even crossing the wall.
‘She said there were three ways to cross the wall.’
He now knew the crawl hole was a blocked path. Then, what about the rest? Enkrid pushed himself up, greeting the start of today once again.