Chapter 206
The beginning of a tactic starts with knowing what weapons you have.
In that regard, both Encrid and Krys adhered to the basics of strategy.
Audin had a large build, so when he entered the battlefield, he naturally stood out.
If someone like Audin caused chaos on the battlefield, would the enemy be able to ignore him?
A visible threat. A figure known for destroying siege engines. Wouldn’t they be dying to take him down?
He was the perfect kind of decoy, at the perfect time.
“Audin.”
“Yes, brother. Leave it to me.”
Encrid left the detailed explanation to Krys.
The operation’s premise was simple.
If Audin moved out in broad daylight, everyone would be too busy watching him.
The plan was to shout and threaten from the east, then strike from the west.
“Hahaha, sounds fun, big-eyed brother.”
Audin burst into laughter after hearing the full explanation. Sure, there was a chance he’d get surrounded and beaten to death if things went wrong, but if he were afraid of that, he wouldn’t be in the Madman Platoon in the first place.
On the third day of the battle, Encrid once again aimed to deliver a ‘tap’ with this tactic.
Ah, though the knife he stabbed with would probably go ‘thud’ instead of ‘tap.’
When he explained his strategy to Krys, Krys tilted his head and said,
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
The tone was so rude that Encrid smacked the back of Krys’s head.
Thwack.
Maybe he put in a bit too much strength, as Krys’s head jerked forward dramatically.
Like a weeble, Krys brought his head right back into place and immediately opened his mouth.
“I got the gist of it. Tap and thud.”
“Yeah, tap and thud.”
Dunbakel, who had been listening to the two, quietly questioned their mental state.
‘What nonsense is that?’
Still, it wasn’t her place to jump in and say anything.
She was just an uninvited guest.
All she could do was quietly watch and stay alert.
Even when something happened, they’d take that little panther over her.
That should’ve felt humiliating, but—
“Growl.”
The panther didn’t even look at her. It was busy trimming its front claws.
That indifference actually put her at ease.
More importantly—
‘Is this a flower garden?’
Every single one of them had a screw loose in the head, but their looks were insane too.
Starting from Encrid, then Rem, Ragna, Audin, and Krys—like a garden of flowers arranged by preference.
Dunbakel didn’t particularly care about appearances, but good-looking food is more appetizing, right?
It was a good view.
She didn’t want to leave this garden of flowers. She wanted to stay.
Which meant she had to survive, and prove her worth with even more effort.
“I’ll go with him.”
Dunbakel stepped forward with resolve. She meant she would accompany Audin.
“You want to? Go ahead.”
Encrid responded casually. As long as she stuck around Audin without getting in the way, there wouldn’t be any problem.
Right after that, the operation began.
Sneaking out of the city was nothing.
“What do you take the Gilpin Guild for? We’ve got at least three secret crawlspaces.”
Because the enemy had completely surrounded the city walls, it wasn’t easy to go out through the opposite gate.
There were always scouts patrolling that area too.
Mounted scouts, no less.
Because they were on horseback, they were hard to catch and easy to spot.
So, the only option was to sneak out.
By removing a few stones along the path beside the south gate, a half-tunnel-like hole appeared.
The only issue—
“It’s too narrow, brother.”
Audin’s build was just too massive.
This lunatic religious soldier had to angle himself just to get through side doors.
“Huh, didn’t expect that.”
Gilpin, who had taken the lead, answered.
“Widen it.”
Encrid responded clearly and simply. If it’s too narrow, then widen it.
“Then it won’t be much of a crawlspace… could become an easy access route for the enemy instead.”
The bald-headed Gilpin muttered nearby. Every word was valid.
“Then make sure the enemy doesn’t get near the wall.”
Encrid replied. It wasn’t because he had some great plan, but Krys, who had been listening, nodded instinctively.
True. As long as it was executed properly, the enemy wouldn’t even get near the wall.
That was the flow of this battle.
Border Guards was a fortress city, but it didn’t have a moat, so you couldn’t say the walls themselves had high defensive strength.
There were plenty of watchtowers, so they could rain down arrows, sure—
‘But that’s not enough.’
What if they charged with shields?
Arrows alone wouldn’t stop them.
Pouring oil overhead, dumping boiling water, or throwing rocks all had their limits.
If ladders started going up everywhere? If the numbers overwhelmed them? The advantage of having walls would collapse in an instant.
They were also vulnerable to siege weapons like mangonels and trebuchets.
If the enemy brought siege towers, they had no way to stop them.
That’s why moats were important.
There’s a reason they dig trenches and fill them with water in front of the gate.
Even if it smells from poor maintenance, a moat alone makes defending a castle so much easier.
Then you add traps on top of that.
‘Collapse the outer wall strategically, too.’
It was instinctual. Just as Encrid lost half his mind when he saw a sword, Krys had a habit of imagining the worst-case scenario and thinking up the best way to stop it.
Before he knew it, Krys was going over fortification layout and overall defensive facilities in his head and shook his head.
Anyway, this time, they would prevent the enemy from even approaching the walls.
That was enough.
“Are you bringing bread again this time?”
The question was aimed at Encrid, who was slipping through the widened crawlspace.
Thanks to Audin, he only had to duck his head to get through. In that posture, he turned back to look.
Krys, who was usually so anxious, was looking at him with a fresh, relaxed expression.
“We’ll see.”
That was his farewell. As he emerged, he cast his gaze far into the distance—and saw smoke trailing across the sky.
For some reason, the enemy kept lighting fires in their ovens. What was that about? Confidence, perhaps?
“The Lord hath said, ‘At times, the path beside Him is desolate and lonely.’”
Audin recited a prayer. A prayer with a very clear meaning.
He meant to send a few souls to the Lord. In other words, he was going to beat a few people to death and send them knocking on heaven’s gate.
“Don’t overdo it. Drawing too much attention is a problem too.”
Encrid reminded him of their objective.
“Do not worry, brother. I was once recognized as someone neither excessive nor lacking.”
Was that true?
Didn’t seem like the kind of thing that should come out of the mouth of someone who always demanded over-the-top training.
“Your eyes are impertinent, brother.”
Even with that hulking frame, he had a sense for social cues. Encrid nodded and said,
“Let’s go.”
Jaxson followed Encrid, and Audin moved out with Dunbakel.
Today, Rem and Ragna were left out.
A small team was enough for this.
“You’re going without me? Without me? Just me? Leaving me?”
Rem had a fit, but when it came to stealth, Jaxson was the best.
Esther followed without hesitation.
“Kyarr.”
As they lay hidden in the bushes beneath the wall, the panther let out a small cry.
It hadn’t shown itself for a few days, and now it seemed more energetic than ever.
“Jaxson.”
“I’ll sync up with him. I’ll suppress sound and presence. We’ll walk to the target location.”
“Creeping alleycat” was the nickname Rem and the others often used for Jaxson.
And not without reason.
Even Rem once said you couldn’t read his presence unless you really paid attention.
Jaxson demonstrated exactly why.
He suppressed his steps, used the terrain of bushes and uneven ground, and when rocks were around, he sat behind them.
There was even a moment when a group of Martai scouts passed by less than twenty paces away while he crouched behind a rock, but as planned, no one noticed, and they reached a vantage point overlooking the rear supply base.
After fully assessing the terrain and anticipating the scouts’ movements, and walking with total silence—
‘An assassin’s got nothing on this guy.’
Encrid thought so as he settled into a tree.
To either side, Esther and Jaxson stared toward the supply base.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the commotion.
* * *
Greg, commander of the 1st Battalion under Olf, was a man worthy of being called a fierce warrior.
He led the assault force with sheer strength.
An assault force—meaning the unit that stood at the front lines.
“A bear bastard who smashed a siege engine has appeared!”
That was the report Greg heard from the messenger.
A giant who had destroyed a mangonel.
Impressive. That brute strength didn’t seem human.
But so what? Does sheer strength decide the tide of battle?
What nonsense!
Victory in battle isn’t determined so easily.
How did he even get out?
Was the gate opened? No.
They were still surrounding the city. The scouts never stopped moving. If that had happened, they’d have known immediately.
‘He must’ve slipped out.’
Just because they surrounded the city didn’t mean there were no holes.
Bravery didn’t equate to stupidity. Greg saw through their intention.
They snuck out and got caught.
‘Going after the supply base again!’
Attacking the supply line was likely their only path to survival.
Hadn’t the 2nd Battalion Commander, Zimmer, said as much?
“If we keep the siege and hold out, we win. That so-called warmonger only has a few tricks. I won’t fall for the same one twice.”
Zimmer had ground his teeth saying that.
That big guy they’d caught sneaking out must be all they could spare. If they had more to send, they wouldn’t use someone so talented for a small strike team.
With that certainty, Greg moved into action.
Of course, he was wrong.
Audin was simply moving in plain sight, drawing all the attention.
“Brothers, are you all on your way to meet the Lord?”
He spouted nonsense while swinging his fists at the incoming enemy soldiers.
His punches looked heavy and sluggish. From the enemy’s point of view, as long as you didn’t get hit, you were fine.
That’s how slow it looked.
The beastkin wielding a scimitar beside him seemed far more threatening.
White hair flying, fierce and fast. Clearly not ordinary.
So what? If you’re not a knight, it’s hard to overcome being outnumbered.
Greg’s 1st Assault Company immediately moved.
Heavily armed infantry charged in with spears and shields.
Martai’s pride—the assault unit.
Light armor for mobility, large shields that covered half the body, and spears in hand.
They were built for charges.
“There’s a lot of them!”
Dunbakel shouted. Audin gauged their numbers.
Roughly forty to fifty.
They’d be fine even if they clashed head-on. Just fifty foot soldiers.
Just dodge the long spears and rush in. Once you control the distance, one solid punch with force—
There’s no need for Valaf-style martial arts. A straightforward blow would collapse part of their formation.
Then you dive into the enemy lines. Those long spears would become a liability.
Naturally, they’d try to crush him with shields, but that wouldn’t work.
He’d just overpower them, smashing through one by one.
But Audin didn’t do that.
He parried the incoming spears with the back of his hand, dodged them, and swung his massive fists slowly.
Occasionally, he picked up stones from the ground and hurled them.
Whoosh!
Bang!
A rock smashed into a shield and shattered, sending fragments flying everywhere.
“He’s just a dumb brute with strength!”
An enemy soldier yelled. Exactly what Audin wanted. He worked to appear that way.
‘Just about this much.’
Drawing attention, encouraging underestimation.
Right before they left, Krys had stressed it about sixteen times.
“You absolutely must not kill them all. Just play along a bit and then come back.”
‘I’m not some savage, brother.’
Audin followed Krys’s words.
The plan was obvious. The enemy was underestimating them, so they were going to milk that for all it was worth.
Before coming here, Audin had also gained years of battle experience.
Reading big-eyed brother’s intentions was easy.
“Are you going to keep hiding behind your shields, brothers?”
Audin deliberately spoke with a furious expression.
“Lump of muscle showing off with nothing but strength!”
One of the company commanders under Greg shouted. He thought all he had to do was tighten the pressure and wear the opponent down.
Tension spread.
The rocks Audin occasionally threw, which were about the size of boulders, could be lethal.
Above all, getting caught by that monstrous strength likely meant a bad ending.
So the enemy didn’t recklessly close the distance. They only jabbed their spears at him from afar.
Audin faithfully played his role. He was chaos at the front lines, a visible mountain of muscle. Naturally, all eyes were drawn to him.
That was enough.
* * *
Encrid once again raided the supply base.
At the same time, he wanted to check something that had been bothering him.
“Jaxson. Circle around the rear of the supply unit and check where the soldiers are gathered—see how they’re organized.”
Jaxson didn’t answer. He just blinked slowly.
‘Me? Seriously? Is that really necessary?’
The way he expressed himself with just his eyes was a talent in itself.
“Just do it.”
Encrid pressed him. As always, the moment he realized something—
They listened better than expected.
“Alright, then.”
Still expressionless, Jaxson moved just as he was told. Encrid stroked Esther’s head and said,
“Want some bread?”
The two of them were the ones hitting the supply base directly. The enemy had prepared an ambush, but with his sharpened senses, Encrid caught wind of it and broke through with force.
Rather than slaughtering everyone, they moved their feet just enough—set a few tents on fire and stole bread.
Audin was still making a scene up front. The enemy’s defense was tighter than before, but that was it.
Audin was raising hell out there.
So the guarding soldiers’ attention leaned subtly forward.
Thanks to that, the job became much easier.
Watching that unfold, Jaxson began to circle around behind the enemy soldiers unnoticed.
Since they were already moving—
“Esther, let’s go.”
Encrid, while at it, knocked over a few of the ovens.
“You bastard!”
A soldier shouted in fury. Judging by his posture, he seemed like the commander.
‘Should I kill him?’
Encrid hesitated for a moment, then left him alone. If he got serious, it would only put them on high alert.
So he slipped away again. Hit-and-run tactics. He’d done this before against sparring partners, and this was twice as easy.
Audin had drawn their attention.
He himself had grown stronger.
Esther was in great shape too.
The panther’s contribution was pretty solid.
“Grrr!”
With a chilling growl, she’d either snap a soldier’s shinbone or slash with her claws, all while darting around like lightning.
‘She’s improved too.’
The thought came naturally.
On the way back, Encrid naturally recalled the movements of the soldiers he’d faced. He memorized, recalled, and reviewed them.
There was something to learn from it.
No, it was only natural to learn.
As for anything still nagging him, Jaxson would confirm it.
Which meant—
‘I’ve got some breathing room now.’
Encrid returned to his usual mindset once more.
Alongside swordsmanship and training, gauging his path forward—this was the way of discipline.
