Chapter 414

“A banquet? Instead of wasting time on that nonsense, tell them to process one more document.”

What kind of seat is a throne?

What is a crown?

Krang could answer firmly now.

‘It’s the perfect place to work yourself to death.’

There was work. Too much. Enough to make his head explode if he tried to handle it alone.

But it had to be done because it was his duty. Krang cut down his sleep and, as a result, began troubling the royal chef.

“You should eat properly, shouldn’t you?”

Marcus said from beside him.

Chewing on a sandwich, Krang widened his eyes at Marcus.

He spoke with his eyes instead of his mouth.

‘With work piled up like this, are you telling me to leisurely light candles, slice meat with a knife and fork, and chatter with nobles while wasting time?’

“…Never mind.”

Marcus saw a new side of Krang. This man was a workaholic. Of course, he had his reasons.

Still, he had to say what needed to be said.

“Several nobles are trying to approach Encrid.”

Krang, buried in documents with a sandwich in hand, lifted his head again.

Marcus continued calmly.

“They probably want to get the Hero of the Nation’s Salvation on their side.”

Even after weeding out as many as possible, how many nobles remained in the capital?

Roughly estimating, over a hundred.

And if you add nobles with bases in other regions?

Not all of them were quick-witted and intelligent.

It was plausible that some, while loyal, now that the civil war was over, sought to secure their share.

Among them, what was the best way to secure the biggest share?

The man the King personally called a friend.

The Hero of the Nation’s Salvation to whom the King yielded the stage at the memorial coronation.

What if such a person could be kept on one’s estate? What about bringing him under one’s command, especially since his affiliation was notoriously ambiguous?

He was just a mere commanderq
in the Border Guards.

So they would try everything, from honey traps to all sorts of schemes.

“People tend to change.”

Marcus said.

Krang swallowed his sandwich, then briefly met Marcus’s eyes.

The two, dark circles under their eyes, looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter at the same time.

“Hahaha.”

“Pfft-hahaha.”

Some humans do change.

But not Encrid.

“Let them suffer a bit. He’ll handle it himself.”

Krang didn’t bother with nobles pestering Encrid. He had something else he wanted to ask Marcus.

“But are you really okay with it?”

“Huh? Ah, you mean the title? Yes, that’s fine.”

“Hmm.”

Krang nodded.

“It seems Marquess Vaisar also went to see Encrid.”

“That one’s senses have dulled a bit too.”

Krang truly didn’t care. And he had reason to. Anyone who had rolled with Encrid would feel the same.

“Then about the nobles wanting to hold a banquet…”

As Marcus spoke, Krang cut him off.

“Can I seize some of those bastards’ assets?”

“By force?”

“Yeah.”

“Was becoming a tyrant your closest goal?”

Would it really matter if he became a tyrant? Krang was briefly tempted.

‘Why is the royal family so poor?’

The Queen, upon relinquishing the throne, bid farewell and departed gracefully. And she took the court mage with her.

Krang had decided some time ago to consider her as good as gone.

Recently, his biggest worry was how to earn Krong.

If he knew Krys well, he’d make him Minister of Finance immediately.

Of course, this was also a pit he had dug himself.

Krang had been a bit too enthusiastic in implementing policies.

The most critical among them was the issue of the King’s guard.

Krang replaced the King’s guard knights from the start.

“I heard you maintain your knightly rank on the condition of never stepping outside the royal palace for life. Is that something you do because you want to?”

The guard knight, who maintained his knightly rank through some magical power and the mystery of [Will], had to grasp what the King was truly asking.

Because he couldn’t understand what this man was saying now.

He had guarded the King’s side for three generations. His grandfather and father had walked the same path. The spell on his bloodline was both shackles and bondage.

“Are you asking sincerely?”

In response to the guard knight’s question, Krang released the shackles. He granted him the freedom to do what he wanted and go where he wanted.

For the guard, he employed the former Royal Guard. The man who wore the gray helmet knelt and shed tears.

“I will guard with my life. I will guard even in death.”

Including Matthew and those who had guarded Krang’s side, it was essentially reestablishing the King’s personal guard.

Thus, he increased their numbers and raised their salaries.

And to patch the palace’s defenses, which were full of holes…

‘No wonder gold coins are lacking.’

Even after selling off part of the national treasury, this was the state.

Krang did not look back. Time for regret was precious. He, too, had learned something from watching Encrid.

‘Let’s focus on what needs to be done now.’

Even if the continent were to be destroyed tomorrow, Encrid would still train his sword.

If emptying the national treasury a bit meant people could eat well and live well, what was the problem?

It was radical thinking and drive.

And there was no one to stop him.

Because of that, the award ceremony to commend achievements and bestow rewards was being delayed. That was also why Encrid was still in the capital.

—

Rem accurately recognized the difference between his past self—when he first became a member of the troublemaker squad—and his present self.

‘How did I end up like this?’

The skills that had stagnated while wandering the continent had improved.

There were several reasons, but three of them were Ragna, Jaxson, and Audin.

Fighting those bastards again and again, refusing to lose, made his skills grow.

‘What a fucked-up situation.’

As he thought that and watched, his eyes met Ragna’s, who was swinging his sword with his shirt off.

“What are you looking at, you crippled barbarian who can’t even walk alone?”

Rem briefly scolded his own brain for thinking he owed those bastards anything.

In truth, it was more accurate to say the biggest reason was the existence called Encrid.

He learned while teaching, and watching Encrid’s growth made it impossible to slack off.

“Keep messing around and you’ll die.”

Rem tossed that at Ragna and began warming up himself.

He thought he’d be bedridden for a month after using such reckless shamanic arts, but he recovered quickly.

It was because his vessel had grown as his skills improved. Shamanic arts are used through the body.

Encrid was checking and repeating what he had while listening to their friendly banter.

Seeing that, Rem approached.

“You said it’s a new [Will]? Let’s try it.”

Since he could move somewhat now, sparring was feasible. Encrid picked up his sword, thinking today was the day.

He had gone to the blacksmith to ask for his broken Silver to be repaired, but was told it was impossible. The heart was completely ruined.

So he had them roughly melt it down, and now he held an ordinary longsword.

He didn’t want to blame his weapon, but he did wish he had a sword like Silver.

“Do it properly.”

Rem said. Encrid did.

Fill the eyes with [Will] and sustain it.

[Eyes That See an Inch Ahead].

It was the manifestation of a [Will] that perfectly harmonized with the Capturing Sword.

Encrid glimpsed the future. Rem’s breathing, shoulders, hands, and feet entered his vision.

Rem would swing the hammer in his left hand as if throwing it, then swing the axe diagonally.

The first hammer at the usual speed, the next axe one and a half times faster.

A feat made possible by perfectly wielding weapons in both hands.

The briefly glimpsed future unfolded exactly as seen.

The hammer in Rem’s hand flew. Encrid stepped forward even though his sword was longer. At the same time, he crossed his sword arm and raised it upward.

This would block the wrist holding the hammer while stepping on his foot, and he intended to drive his knee into the groin.

If he closed in like this, the axe swung with the other hand would become a threat, but at best, Rem would have to throw a punch while still holding the axe.

Encrid would close in so tightly that Rem would have no choice.

‘I’ll endure that punch.’

Give flesh, take bone.

In less time than it took to exhale once, their weapons, hands, and feet crossed.

Thwack! Thud! Crack!

Encrid, after closing in once, stepped back and looked at Rem.

“How did you do that?”

“Hmph, did you think it was invincible?”

It was truly beast-like instinct and countermeasures.

Encrid realized anew. This guy is crazy, but he’s amazing.

The Capturing Sword is a Proper Sword Style. It is a form that drives the exchange into what one desires.

That harmonized with [Eyes That See an Inch Ahead].

But Rem, after moving as predicted, changed his action.

Instead of swinging the axe, he let it go, blocked the knee with his palm, and thrust his forehead forward.

Encrid had no choice but to respond on the fly. The final crack was the sound of their foreheads colliding.

Both had a red mark rising in the middle of their foreheads. A bump looked inevitable.

If the opponent moves on the fly before you can read and grasp it with your eyes, how do you grasp it?

From then on, it was just responding with what was ingrained in the body.

Rem inwardly praised Encrid’s response, which ended in a headbutt, but kept his mouth shut.

He had just found a way to counter the new [Will] Encrid had awakened over the past few days.

He didn’t want to show that he had thought it through.

If he praised him too easily, Encrid might lose his drive for improvement.

Of course, that wouldn’t happen, but after rationalizing it to himself, Rem spoke.

“See, it can be broken like this too. So don’t use it recklessly.”

Next was Audin.

“Hehe, Brother. Any technique has its gaps.”

He broke Encrid’s [Will] with a simpler, more brutish method.

He closed in abruptly and initiated extreme close combat. The brute strength of the bear-like man was fiercer than Encrid’s, even with the Heart of Monstrous Strength.

He smoothly applied a joint lock, trying to dislocate the shoulder, and Encrid responded with what he had learned, bending his fingers and striking upward with his palm to break free.

After that, their spar followed a similar pattern. Both ended up on the ground, covered in dust.

Encrid ultimately lost.

“What will you do if I close in like this?”

Audin said, one eye swollen from a hit to the cheekbone. Encrid’s caught knee was also on the verge of breaking. If Audin applied more force, it would go. So Encrid lost. In return, he left Audin with a blue bruise around one eye and cheek.

“Hm.”

Encrid nodded. There was still much to learn.

Ragna stepped forward as well.

He used an even simpler method.

It was a slash you couldn’t block even after seeing and knowing it.

Frankly speaking, it was more vicious than the swordplay Lierbart had shown.

“Are you trying to send him to the Lord’s side?”

Audin marveled as he watched.

“I told you that bastard is a real crazy bastard.”

Rem gave him the disgrace of being more broken in the head than himself.

“As long as he didn’t die, it’s fine.”

Ragna said it calmly. Encrid wiped his neck, which was slick with cold sweat.

He almost had to repeat today by mistake.

He raised his sword to block, but the sword instead dug halfway into his own chest. If it weren’t for the bandage-type armor he wore, he might have seen blood.

Not that he had complaints.

Because he felt he understood what they were saying.

‘Any technique has to be used constantly until it becomes part of the body.’

In truth, the three were busy proving they weren’t falling behind, but Encrid accepted it that way.

Originally, if the interpretation is better than the dream, all is well.

As he immersed himself in training, a young boy, looking hesitant, entered.

“Are you perhaps the Demon Slayer, Hero of the Nation’s Salvation, Guardian of the Border Guards, Friend of the King, Dreamer of a Free Knight, Sir Encrid?”

Encrid doubted his ears for a moment. Didn’t something seem off with all those strange titles mixed together?

He had heard many praises circulating after the battle, but it was better to focus on training than to pay attention to each one, so that’s what he had been doing.

“I was only ever called the Immortal Axe, why…?”

For Rem, the nickname ‘Noble Slayer’ also circulated. It was because he spoke so viciously to nobles who pestered him.

The Shadow-Treading Guard, that was Jaxson.

There was also the White Lion Monster, Dunbakel.

Though she was Beastkin, the nickname came from her appearance resembling a lion, and Dunbakel surprisingly liked it.

Ragna was called the Merciless Sword.

Of course, he didn’t care.

“Wouldn’t ‘Guide Ragna’ suit you better?”

However, by asking that, he sometimes made one wonder if he was crazier than Rem.

A nickname similar to before was attached to Audin.

Was it Giant Bear?

He heard it looked that way from a distance.

Audin only smiled, but he didn’t look pleased.

Encrid looked at the page boy who had called him.

“Just Encrid or Mad Captain would probably be more accurate.”

Border Guards Independent Combat Squad was the official name, but now even Encrid called his unit the Mad Squad.

Weren’t all those under his command madmen?

It was an unavoidable problem, claiming only he was sane.

The boy stepped closer with a very nervous expression.

“My master wishes to see you, if you have time… Ah, if it’s inconvenient, I can come back when you have time, ah, or if you could tell me when you might have time…”

Encrid didn’t want to trouble him. He gently placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, as he made huffing sounds, and said.

“Who is your master?”

“Ah, it is Baron Somerset.”

It was a name he had never heard before. Wondering what it was about, Encrid nodded.

He sincerely didn’t want to trouble the boy further.

The boy moved off on trembling legs, admiration and tension filling his eyes.

Encrid followed behind him.

“Another noble bastard?”

Rem said from behind. Encrid gestured for him to back off.

It would be better to persuade them calmly and send them away than to watch Rem cause trouble.

Besides, the person had come to see him.