Chapter 200

Encrid lifted his head and recognized the enemy. In that brief moment—

“Kill them all!”

The one presumed to be the leader of the gift bundle gang shouted. His eyes were slit like a snake’s.

Encrid was bothered by the one who shouted to kill them all and then ran away like a coward, so he gave chase.

“Handle the rest yourselves.”

He tossed the words behind him and dashed forward. By activating the [Heart of Monstrous Strength], he could mimic the dash a Junior Knight had demonstrated.

And just as he saw earlier, if he added some finesse to it, he might be able to run longer and faster.

He executed what he imagined in his mind with his body. That process was different than before.

It started out rough, but soon stuck to him like a second skin.

He couldn’t say it was familiar, but it wasn’t exactly awkward either.

Encrid continued to chase after the fleeing man.

Naturally, catching up was an easy task. The man was forcing his way through bushes, trees, and thorny thickets.

When caught, the man resisted. He was quite adept with a single arming sword.

His swordsmanship focused on technique.

If one were to categorize it, it might fall under the swift and elegant school of flashy swordplay.

‘It’s worse than the Valen-Style mercenary swordsmanship.’

He mixed in multiple feints and aimed to finish with a thrust.

In that case, a double draw technique would be more effective.

In terms of technique, the beastkin Dunbakel was more skilled.

That didn’t mean this man was weak.

Dunbakel’s style was crude, lacking form and meaning in its technique, relying on tricky moves and brute force.

In contrast, this opponent showed no hesitation in his strikes, indicating he hadn’t slacked in his training.

That said, he still wasn’t a match for Encrid.

Ting, crack, snap!

Before the flying sword could pull any tricks, Encrid stepped in first and swung his blade to strike down.

Having already seen this move, there was no need to see it again.

Encrid’s upward diagonal slash caught the man’s blade and opened up his chest.

Then, he rammed his shoulder into the man’s solar plexus, making a wheezing sound escape his mouth.

Even in that moment, the man’s eyes gleamed. He grabbed a knife from his waist.

Encrid, still pressing forward with his shoulder, thrust the drawn [Guard Sword] up into the man’s chin.

Several movements in one breath—an imitation of Ragna’s technique.

When Encrid came to a stop, the man gasped in pain and breath.

His left arm was twisted awkwardly behind him, still clutching the knife.

“Who are you?”

When there was no reply, Encrid slowly pressed the blade forward. A drop of blood welled beneath the man’s throat. Pretending it was a mistake, Encrid pushed in harder, making the blood pour out.

“I’m from the main unit of the Black Sword bandits!”

The man spoke hurriedly.

“The main unit? Why?”

“A patrol!”

Lies. His instinct told him so. Encrid neither narrowed his eyes nor glared at the man.

“Just in case—are you planning to answer honestly?”

“…What?”

Of course not.

Encrid slashed the [Guard Sword] with a harsh stroke.

A new mouth opened beneath the man’s throat. His death was inevitable.

There was no time or leeway to interrogate.

Even if he did, the information would be worthless.

The situation was already clear. What did it matter if they were from the main unit of the Black Sword bandits?

Avoiding the gushing blood, Encrid shoved the corpse away and turned around.

Upon returning from the kill, the situation was plain to see.

They had fought—and won.

Naturally, victory came with corpses strewn about. Bodies lay everywhere.

Three had survived. They were set aside.

Encrid rummaged through the dead bandit’s belongings. Rem and Ragna did the same.

If there was something worth taking, leaving it here would be a waste.

They collected a wrist-mounted arrow shooter, poison sand, half-eaten bread, several silver coins, a few copper coins, and various small blades.

The weapons the bandits had been holding could all be turned into Kronng.

However, taking them all would be a burden.

Shoving everything into one backpack and carrying it home would make the return trip grueling. The weight would be no joke.

Not everything would even fit.

“You carry it.”

“Do you want to die?”

The bickering of Ragna and Rem, having grasped the situation, could be heard.

“Enough.”

After stopping the two, Encrid looked at the three bandits he had deliberately left alive.

He casually asked one of them,

“So, the main force is wiped out?”

Of the three bandits, one was crying, seemingly clueless.

The other two had sharp, darting eyes and looked like they were trying to read the mood.

There were three mouths. More than enough to get answers.

“Yes, sir. It’s all over. We saw it burning from behind. Looked like they set fire to it.”

The man spoke, sweating profusely.

The weather was damp, and it seemed like it might rain within a day or two.

‘Doesn’t seem like it’ll spread into a large fire.’

They hadn’t expected a full-on assault, but they knew whose blades they were.

The Border Guards. If it was them, they wouldn’t have used fire carelessly and made a mess.

“And you guys?”

“Someone from the main unit said this was the end, and some of us had to survive to deliver the message…”

His voice trailed off. It sounded like he was admitting they ran without fighting. Their weapons weren’t bloodied, and they were drenched only in sweat—it was obvious.

Another guess: these were likely the only survivors. The few others who scattered deeper into the forest would probably end up as monster feed.

“You made it pretty far, huh?”

“There’s a shortcut!”

The two sharp-eyed ones spoke quickly without even breathing.

The Black Sword bandits made their home in the mountains, enduring monster attacks.

If they went to the wilderness with horses, they became marauders; if they took to the seas on boats, they became pirates.

Though there were more infamous groups on the seas,

And in the vast plains of the east, no clumsy bandit group could survive—

In truth, the Black Sword was the largest bandit group in the interior.

If they had been active here for long, they would certainly know the routes well.

“I know the roads like the back of my hand!”

Noticing Encrid’s interest in the route, another bandit quickly spoke up.

“That beastkin bitch doesn’t know anything! She still thinks she’s a mercenary or something, that stupid—”

He kept rambling uselessly.

“Let’s talk in the city.”

They were handed over to the city just like that. Execution, imprisonment, or beatings would follow, depending on how things were handled.

“Ah.”

One of the bandits let out a short moan—a sigh born from realizing his end wouldn’t be a comedy if he were dragged along like this.

“P-please.”

Spoken with desperation, it made Encrid consider showing mercy.

“Want me to end it here?”

The bandit’s eyes shook violently.

“No, sir.”

After that, they finished gathering the loot. With no extra backpacks, they tore up clothes from the dead and tied them together, stuffing them with weapons and anything else they had picked up.

Next came the digging.

“You dig too.”

In the middle of it all, Ragna cut the string tied to Dunbakel’s wrist.

That was the deal from the beginning—once the job was done, she’d be released.

Encrid didn’t pay the beastkin much attention.

As the remaining three bandits dug graves and buried the bodies, the sun eventually set.

Should they camp? No, it didn’t seem necessary.

“Let’s march through the night.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Yes.”

With Rem and Ragna’s agreement, they immediately set off on the return journey.

They loaded the loot onto a wagon they found along the way. Since there were no horses, the three criminals had to pull it themselves.

At this point, it wasn’t a wagon—it was practically a man-cart.

Clatter, clatter.

Dragging the wagon over the rough roads at night, the three criminals panted heavily.

Dunbakel pushed from behind.

Encrid figured the beastkin woman could probably be released soon.

She didn’t have the sinister aura the other bandits did.

Her pure desire to live—that attitude was honestly quite striking.

Not that it changed anything.

He’d promised to release her, so he would. That was all.

He wasn’t concerned with Dunbakel beyond that.

What was more pressing—

He needed to report to Marcus.

The return to the city took twice as long as the journey out. They had no horses, and the luggage had grown.

When they reached the city gate—

“Who goes there!”

A soldier atop the gallery shouted. Along with him, three archers had their arrows drawn.

They were far more alert than usual.

“Captain Encrid of the Independent Company.”

As he stated his affiliation, a torch flickered above and a voice followed.

“That you?”

It was Benzense’s voice. Soon, the side gate next to the main gate opened. Since the wagon couldn’t fit, they began unloading the goods, and Benzense came down.

“What the hell is all this? Where did you loot? Did you turn to robbery?”

“Not robbery—just struck back at robbers.”

To the victor go the spoils. A basic fact.

Though it seemed like a lot for spoils, it wasn’t wrong.

Benzense tilted his head at Encrid’s response.

It wasn’t the time to explain everything.

“Why are you all so jumpy?”

Encrid asked.

They had only been away from the city for a full day. Dawn was about to break, meaning just one day had passed. Yet a strange tension filled the city.

“You’re going straight to the battalion commander, right? You’ll hear everything inside.”

Benzense didn’t explain further.

Since Encrid hadn’t explained himself, Benzense didn’t feel the need to return the favor.

“Petty bastard.”

Encrid chuckled and walked inside.

After he entered, Rem and Ragna followed.

As they entered, Rem handed over the three bandits.

“Do what you will.”

“Who are they?”

“Black Sword bandits.”

Why is that name coming up here?

While Benzense blinked in surprise, the white-haired beastkin trailed silently behind Rem and Ragna.

Should she be left alone?

No one said anything, so it must be fine.

After sending off Encrid’s group, Benzense turned to his subordinate with a cautious, deliberate tone.

“Am I petty?”

The subordinate gulped. Honesty was a virtue, but sometimes a little white lie was the greater one.

“No, sir. You’re… bold—no, average.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say “bold.” That was the last bit of honesty he had left.

From the moment he started envying Captain Encrid just because women didn’t like him, it had been clear—Benzense was narrow-minded and petty.

“Right? I’m not that petty, right?”

The subordinate nodded. A wise response.

* * *

In front of the battalion commander, Encrid asked the question on his chest.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Even if he knew, nothing would’ve changed. If anything, he could’ve responded more proactively.

That’s what drove him to ask.

Marcus opened his eyes wide. His expression said, “Didn’t you realize?” Then he replied.

“Captain Encrid, you’re terrible at acting.”

Had he been watching Encrid’s acting this whole time?

Probably not. More likely, he was judging by Encrid’s usual speech and behavior. As soon as Encrid heard that, he couldn’t help but admit it inwardly.

‘To deceive, you start with your allies.’

It was a basic strategy.

“What if I’d been put in danger?”

“You took Rem and Ragna with you, didn’t you?”

A short silence followed. Right—there was no real danger.

“What’s with the city’s atmosphere?”

Encrid gently changed the subject, and the one who answered was the elf company commander who had joined them at some point.

“There were two scouting parties. Four attempts by suspected spies to scale the walls. Three more tried to pass through the gates in disguise.”

It hadn’t all happened in a day. This was a summary of recent incidents.

“Who?”

“You really need me to say it?”

At the elf company commander’s retort, Encrid stopped playing dumb and answered.

“Martai.”

It was Marcus who reacted to the answer.

“Yes. Martai has declared war.”

Was it perfect timing?

No—it was likely they made their move before their window of opportunity closed.

In the span of one day, the city faced its greatest crisis.

It was war again.

This time, not between nations—but between cities.

It was a battle between Martai and the Border Guards.

Even if the central government had the capacity to send reinforcements, now they might not be able to.