Chapter 260 - On Dealing with Fools (5)
It was a conversation they had before leaving Martai.
"You trick them and beat them."
When it ca to dealing with fools, whether it was the Black Blades or the priest, Krais had a firm belief.
Enkrid agreed.
"Let's do that."
"Aye!"
With an energetic response, Wide-Eyes had prepared a great deal.
And this was the result.
"Quickly, kill them all!"
The rotund priest, who had secretly delivered information about Enkrid's group, shouted.
Where did that priest get his information about Enkrid's group?
'Hmm, he was really stupid.'
The priest had trusted a cunning brat who sold out the information for just a few coins. Too easily, far too easily.
After that, Krais anticipated the Black Blades' assault. Specifically, he scouted the best locations for ambushes and sneak attacks along their path, choosing them in advance. He also predicted overcast days by simply observing the sky.
Snow would be ideal, but a heavily clouded day would suffice.
Through several thoughts and adjustnts, Krais ensured the Black Blades would find the conditions favorable for an ambush.
'These people really do seem stupid.'
Krais doubted if the Black Blades were truly a renowned bandit group.
Do such people resort to these tactics? Sending a few rcenaries and hoping this group dies?
Of course, this stemd from a lack of information.
No one from the ones already sent, had survived to report anything. Relying solely on rumors to gauge Enkrid's party's strength was a challenge.
Especially when it ca to understanding the capabilities of those under his command.
Rem leaped forward with a light push off the ground, disappearing from Krais's sight.
Boom!
The ground he had kicked tore apart with a thunderous sound.
At the sa ti, a streak was left behind, and that streak sliced through the neck of the man wielding the mace.
"Goddamn, this thing cuts beautifully!"
Rem's voice followed soon after. Though Krais hadn't fully caught Rem's movents, he could deduce everything from the results.
His sharp mind made that possible.
'The mace was swung downward, and before it could fully descend, the axe cleaved the neck.'
Rem's hands and feet were far faster than the mace's swing, making such a result inevitable.
The reason Rem remarked on the sharpness of the axe was that it had split through the enemy rcenary's face-covering helt with ease.
Crimson blood sprayed across the thinly spread snow beneath the rcenary's body. The white snow lted into the vibrant red.
Above it, new snowflakes began to fall.
Enkrid scanned the battlefield. Krais deduced the process from the outco, but Enkrid saw everything clearly.
"Don't surrender!"
Rem charged ahead with excitent, and alongside him, Dunbakel and Teresa also advanced.
One of the rcenaries, seemingly familiar with Dunbakel, greeted her with angry words.
"You damn mutt! Traitor!"
He lunged at Dunbakel with a long spear. His skills weren't bad.
At least, he surpassed Dunbakel's previous self.
But that was all.
Dunbakel was no longer the foolish beast-woman she once was.
Her body seed to ripple, appearing to multiply into three faint images.
This feat was possible due to her exceptional athletic ability. The afterimages were created by her quick sidesteps.
Simultaneously, her scimitar was drawn, slicing through the falling snow and air to strike her opponent's head.
To Enkrid's sensitive perception, every mont unfolded as though ti had slowed down.
Thud!
The scimitar shattered the enemy's skull and withdrew.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?"
Only after killing her opponent did Dunbakel respond.
'She's becoming more like Rem,' Enkrid thought, though he chose not to interfere.
After all, she was finding her own path, no matter how it looked. It wasn't his place to criticize.
As he stood with arms crossed, more rcenaries charged, and Teresa intercepted two of them.
"Shit! Where the hell did this monster co from?"
One of the rcenaries scread. It was the tall, lanky female rcenary who had been throwing daggers.
Teresa blocked all the daggers with her shield.
One dagger, enchanted or otherwise, changed direction midair, but Teresa deflected it with her shoulder guard by twisting her body.
Using the armor on her body as a defensive tool was Teresa's specialty.
Adding to that, she wielded her shield to pressure opponents and a thick-bladed sword to crush them to death.
And that's exactly what she did.
"Ahhh!"
When she struck the female rcenary's head with the flat of her blade, the skull fractured inside her helt. Brain matter and blood spilled out.
A crushed eye socket burst, leaking a clear fluid mixed with blood.
"I'm Teresa the Wanderer. If you want to die, co at ."
She spoke. With just those few words, so enemies froze in place.
No matter how experienced, fear in the face of overwhelming violence was a natural reaction.
The rcenaries fell quickly.
Above, the ambush should have been starting, but those stationed on the hill saw their leaders being annihilated.
Naturally, their morale plumted.
"Hey, surrender. There's a labor shortage in the domain these days. Prove your identity, work diligently, and you'll be reinstated within two years."
Torres attempted to coax them. After all, they were rcenaries motivated by coin. Since they planned to clear out monsters and beasts anyway, using these captives as cannon fodder would be an advantage.
They could sift through and select only the competent ones to accept.
His offer was calculated.
"I s-surrender."
One soldier lowered his longbow and spoke.
In the end, none of the soldiers stationed on the hill fired a single arrow.
Watching the rcenaries die one by one, the rotund priest turned and fled.
He moved with desperation, running faster than anyone could imagine for a man of his size.
A thick forearm blocked the way.
"Ugh!"
Startled, the priest fell on his backside. The jolt traveled from his rear to his head. Propping himself up on the dirt, he craned his neck upward.
What he saw was a soldier with the bulk of a bear.
'This bastard.'
Although Zimr had been accused of hitting him, the priest had his own n within the territory.
They had told him the truth.
The real culprit who had struck him was this brute.
Yet, Zimr's nacing glare and threats had cowed him into submission, leaving him unable to voice even the slightest protest.
The humiliation was unbearable.
Later, those he thought were his allies egged him on.
Of course, all of it was Krais's doing.
Being a contemptible wretch beyond redemption, Krais had hired a few scoundrels who thrived on scraps from his table.
It was through such machinations that the corpulent priest had been manipulated to arrive at this point.
Why? The reason was simple. Eliminating potential threats was far better than letting them linger.
The priest's level of corruption wasn't the issue.
His status as a priest was.
The best solution was to kill him and bury the evidence.
That's why they had let him in on purpose.
When it cos to dealing with fools, the best thod is to ignore them. The next best? Bury them.
From the mont Audin had slapped him, Krais had envisioned the current outco.
After all, wasn't the Black Blade and a greedy priest a match made in hell?
Things had gone even smoother than expected, though. The opponent had been too foolish.
"The Lord of Radiance commands us to reveal and reveal again. Have you done so?"
Audin questioned, his voice calm but heavy.
The rotund priest stamred, trembling with fear.
"Of-of course I-I-I have!"
His voice quivered, and his tongue stumbled over the words.
"You were supposed to illuminate the world, not just gather Krona."
Audin muttered quietly. The priest tried to protest, claiming he had always aided the unfortunate and cared for orphaned children in the temple.
But Audin already knew the truth, thanks to Krais.
The priest had not only hoarded wealth but had also defiled won.
It was said he had taken so of the orphaned girls as his concubines.
Smack.
Audin raised his hand and brought it down hard on the priest's crown.
The blow caused the priest's eyes and tongue to bulge forward.
Blood gushed from every orifice, including his ears.
Audin despised those who used their faith as a guise for committing heinous acts.
There had been tis in the past when his own doubts had stopped him from delivering justice.
He had turned away from such individuals before.
'No more. Never again.'
With soone by his side who overca their own limits, Audin could no longer turn away from truth, life, conviction, faith, and belief.
'I will live, Father.'
He would not forsake the life granted to him by God.
By divine permission, he would strike down his enemies and live.
And in so doing, he would also punish those who shattered his faith.
It would not be an easy task. If he faltered, it could simply result in a aningless death.
But he wouldn't die so easily.
Every day was a lesson.
Audin learned not only from teachings but also from Enkrid and Krais.
"By the light you've shown , I too will shine brightly."
Audin prayed silently, not to God but to his commander.
Praying to a human rather than a deity felt awkward, yet strangely natural.
Enkrid, observing from the sidelines, released a sigh.
'Lunatics.'
He muttered a curse inwardly.
Shouldn't they at least leave an opponent for him to deal with?
Why were they so excited?
Even Audin had rushed forward, smashing the priest's head, and then turned to look at him.
In Audin's eyes burned a fervent longing—a gaze filled with fiery intensity.
'A bear desperate for a fight.'
Unable to grasp the full aning from afar, Enkrid misinterpreted.
Rem, of course, was rampaging.
Even Ragna, who usually stood back and watched, didn't hold back. He suddenly stepped forward and swung his blade.
The strike was unlike anything before.
A diagonal slash from above, cutting downward—a strike reminiscent of an eagle diving toward its prey.
Naturally, it was faster than an eagle, yet it evoked the sa imagery.
As the blade completed its descent, it imdiately rose again.
The foe preparing his own sword was reduced to three pieces scattered on the ground.
After the swing, Ragna looked at his blade with rare admiration.
"Ho."
The weapon seed to satisfy him more than he had anticipated.
It was, after all, a masterpiece crafted by dwarves.
Enkrid also wanted to test his newly developed swordsmanship in battle and wield the blade he'd received from the dwarves, but—
"It's over already."
Krais's words, laced with disappointnt, sumd it up. It had ended almost instantly.
Rem had cleaved through five or six opponents in a flash, not even giving his flaming axe a chance to ignite.
The disparity between the two groups was glaring.
Krais, prone to overestimating dangers, had prepared excessively.
Even if there had been archers, the outco of this battle was predetermined.
In the midst of the chaos, Jaxen had also captured a rcenary.
A handso young man, at that.
The man, who turned out to be a known figure, begged as blood poured from a wound in his thigh.
"Spare , and I'll do anything."
Whatever proposal Jaxen had made, the man's desperate plea followed.
"This one's mine."
Jaxen rarely made requests. Enkrid owed him plenty.
"Take him."
Enkrid didn't question or probe further.
Frankly, no one cared.
Dunbakel felt the changes in her abilities clearly.
Teresa, on the other hand—
"Let's have a match when we return."
She spoke with uncharacteristic fervor, her eyes ablaze as she looked at Enkrid. Her blood was boiling.
"Gladly."
It was a welco suggestion, and Enkrid nodded, surveying the group as he thought to himself.
'Lunatics.'
It was a grumble aid at those who had left him nothing to fight.
The Black Blade's first ambush and strike were anticlimactic.
Krais blad it all on them.
"Too considerate."
Of course, from now on, such kindness would be a distant mory.
When even one of their tactics landed, soone's life would inevitably be at risk.
As ominous scenarios played out in his mind, Krais devised corresponding counterasures.
What choice did he have? Following a man like Enkrid into the battlefield ca with unavoidable complications.
At the sa ti, Krais resolved to himself:
"I won't allow any losses."
His goal remained the sa: the noblewon's salon.
Even a short-term contract with Enkrid would be enough if he could get him to visit the salon.
To make him host guests there.
The thought alone thrilled him.
The group busied themselves cleaning up the aftermath of the battle.
Torres and Zimr, who had previously greeted them, returned to exchange farewells.
"Well done."
Enkrid spoke, and Torres nodded in acknowledgnt.
"Safe travels."
The rain had stopped, and the group walked on briskly. When they reached the border guard post, the wild horse nudged Enkrid's shoulder.
"What is it?"
"Ah, just let you roam around a bit?"
"Fine, do as you please. It's dangerous to enter the territory on your own, so co back when I call you."
"Go. Explore and have fun."
Enkrid muttered to the horse, as if speaking to himself.
Watching this, Rem murmured:
"That thing is definitely going to transform into a person. Let's have Esther check."
No one responded.
After entering the border guard's territory, the group headed straight for the barracks.
It was already evening.
Rather than spending another night camping, they decided to walk a little longer and rest inside. It was late when they arrived.
Predictably, there was no trouble at the castle gates.
"You've arrived!"
A soldier who had grown familiar with their faces during training opened the side gate.
Although they were glad to see Enkrid, their expressions weren't entirely cheerful.
They knew training would resu, and their faces darkened.
"I trust you haven't been slacking. I'll check tomorrow morning."
Enkrid, ever dutiful to his role within the unit, hadn't forgotten his obligations as the training officer.
"...Yes, sir."
The soldier was sure to spread the joyous news to everyone. The trembling of his cheeks betrayed how overwhelming this "joy" was.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted! Let's rest!"
Krais exclaid as he headed toward the barracks.
anwhile, Teresa's fiery gaze hadn't left Enkrid.
"Want to spar before we wash up?" Enkrid asked.
Teresa nodded eagerly.
The two engaged in a duel, and though Teresa lost, she was satisfied.
Fighting soone like him made her feel it was worth following him.
Battling him brought a strange sense of fulfillnt she couldn't quite explain.
After delivering a brief report to the battalion commander, Enkrid spent the night with Esther curled up in his arms.
The leopard—sotis human—had little to say, choosing instead to sleep soundly.
"Let's begin training."
The day started with his duties as the training officer.
It was after lunch when a soldier approached him.
"Soone nad Gilpin is here to see you. He seems to be in a hurry."
Enkrid tilted his head. It wasn't often that Gilpin would co looking for him at this hour.
But as soon as he heard the na, a past incident ca to mind.
Specifically, the ti when a certain frog had visited.
When Enkrid went to et this friend nad Gilpin, he spotted the fairy Company Commander standing next to him.
"Where are you going, fiancé? No greetings for ?"
The Commander teased.
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TL here! Thank you for reading!
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