"Yawn."
Ragna opened his mouth wide and exhaled loudly, expressing that he was sleepy and bored.
Encrid looked at Ragna and thought.
‘Should I be surprised that he can walk while sleeping?’
‘Or should I admire the fact that he's completely relaxed, even before a battle. One that holds significant danger?’
‘Or should I perhaps learn from how he treats the Pen-Hanil Mountains like a casual stroll?’
Even in this situation, yawning and nodding off while walking. Should he see it as a strength, or is it just plain madness?
Let’s call it a strength.
After all, he’s not shaking in fear either, so it's better for his mental health to view everything as a positive.
"The air feels heavy, the mountains aren’t filled with vitality."
Sinar spoke from the side.
Encrid nodded and continued walking.
It felt like a casual walk, as if they were strolling through a backyard, but in reality, they were in the Pen-Hanil Mountains.
They were walking to intercept the enemy, but first, they had to meet them for that to happen, right?
They were walking for that very reason. In military terms, you could call it a march.
If you told an ordinary person, "March through the Pen-Hanil Mountains", they would probably ask if you'd swapped your brain with a ghoul's.
But not for these people.
Of course, this wasn't a casual stroll either.
Perhaps it's better to say they were advancing while keeping an eye on the enemy's movements?
Of course, they weren’t directly spotting the enemy themselves.
There was a scouting unit ahead of them, led by Finn and her ten Rangers.
"Been a while, hasn’t it?"
As soon as they entered the mountains, Finn approached with a grin.
Finn was once the leader of the scouts during the battle against the Cross Guard.
She had temporarily joined the Madmen Platoon but was now under Sinar's command.
There was a deep scar on her left cheek, but she was smiling brightly.
"Seems like you've been doing well."
"It’s not too bad."
"Don’t die."
"Captain."
"I’d like to ask for help if it gets dangerous, but I've practically lived here in these mountains. You can trust me."
With those words, she saluted. Encrid nodded in response.
Finn moved her unit far ahead, out of sight and eventually out of earshot.
Sinar, who had been watching Encrid and Finn's conversation, approached.
"A ladies' man, isn’t he?"
"Who are you talking about?"
Sinar stared at Encrid with emotionless eyes for a moment before speaking suddenly.
"Could I be talking about the family man who isn’t here? Or perhaps the fighter who claims to be devoted to his wife? Or maybe the swordsman who could get lost in the maze of the continent? Lastly, that friend Jaxon might be able to become a ladies' man, but he seems diligent, only visiting one lover. Did you know she runs a shop in the middle of the city?"
Though Sinar spoke gently, her words came swiftly, leaving no room for Encrid to dodge.
Caught off guard, Encrid realized just how well Sinar knew the peculiarities of each member of the company.
Well, these were all individuals with distinct traits, after all.
"Lost in the maze of the continent? One should at least be able to navigate by the stars."
Ragna, half-awake, scolded Rem.
"…Captain. Seriously, do we really need him?"
Rem asked, one hand resting on his axe and the other pointing at the maze-addicted swordsman, his eyes narrowing.
From Encrid's perspective, it looked like Ragna knew exactly what he was doing with his words.
"Jaxon’s lover runs a shop?"
Sensing the conversation was veering into more dangerous territory, Encrid shifted the topic.
His question successfully derailed both Sinar’s comment about the ladies’ man and the back-and-forth between Rem and Ragna.
"A tea shop. It’s small."
The explanation was strangely detailed, giving rise to several follow-up questions, but Encrid decided not to ask any more.
That wasn’t the important part.
It was just surprising that Jaxon had a lover and showed such devotion.
While it was partly a front for his organization, it was true that Jaxon’s lover really did run the shop. No lies there.
After that, silence fell.
Rem hummed a little tune but soon stopped, and Ragna kept trying to push ahead, though Encrid held him back.
Jaxon and Sinar walked quietly, their footsteps almost silent.
Even with Encrid’s heightened hearing, which had become much more sensitive after opening his Will, he could barely hear them.
‘If they were trying to be truly silent, I wouldn’t hear a thing.’
One of them had clearly trained in the art of stealth, while the other seemed to possess a natural talent.
Fairies are typically light on their feet.
Of course, not all Fairies are like that. But Sinar certainly seemed that way.
Up ahead, Finn's scouts had left a marker.
"White."
Jaxon was the first to notice it.
It was a thin cloth tied to a branch.
Blue meant an encounter with the enemy. White meant they had found traces.
If it had been red, that would have signified combat and casualties, but if there had been a battle, they would have sensed a change in the air.
Their sharpened senses would have picked up on signs of a fight.
And now, with his enhanced instincts, Encrid felt a whisper of caution.
The enemy seems to be moving faster than expected.
It was an instinctual judgment, but it came from a rapid mental calculation.
His intuition had merely delivered the answer before his mind completed the process.
Encrid and his group had just passed the entrance of the Pen-Hanil Mountains, and by Krais’s estimate, they should have encountered the enemy midway through, about two to three days later.
Yet, meeting them now meant the enemy had moved quicker.
Just because both sides had revealed their plans didn’t mean they had to follow them exactly.
The enemy had made the first move.
If this side wasn’t fully prepared, attacking early would be advantageous for the enemy. They could seize the initiative and gain a geographical advantage by arriving first.
In that scenario, Finn's scouts could have spotted the enemy.
So was it’s a coincidence they found the traces at this point? Encrid wasn’t sure it was pure chance.
If the enemy wasn’t foolish, they wouldn’t leave such obvious signs.
His complex calculations distilled into intuition, providing him with several facts. His mind processed both what had just happened and what was about to occur.
Finn’s role was to scout for any signs the enemy had changed direction. She would fulfill her duty, even at the cost of her life.
"There’s more than one."
They had found not just a cloth tied to a branch, but also another one on the ground, folded into the shape of a bird. One bird facing right, another facing left.
This meant the enemy was moving along at least three different paths.
This was something Krais had not predicted.
But there was no need to panic. Encrid’s calculations were complete, and his intuition had kicked in, leading him to speak.
"Jaxon, join Finn's scouting unit. Ragna and Sinar, take the rear vanguard. Rem, head left, and I’ll take the right."
There was no reason to hesitate, so Encrid spoke as he began to move.
"Then."
By that point, Jaxon had already climbed the tree. Leaping from branch to branch, almost like a bird, he moved with barely a sound, more silent than the flapping of wings.
Encrid’s eyes followed Jaxon until he disappeared.
At the same time, Encrid reconsidered his decision.
Should they really split up if the enemy was divided? Could it be a trap?
Even if things went awry, they could always retreat after confirming the situation.
They had expected to meet the enemy a few days later, but they were already close.
Did the enemy hope they would panic and make mistakes? Or perhaps they thought the command structure would falter under the pressure of a sudden encounter?
It wouldn’t be surprising if that were their plan. In situations where multiple Knights were gathered, it was common for differing opinions to arise.
But Encrid’s Mad Company strictly followed the orders of one leader.
"Don’t push yourself too hard. We’ll clean this up quickly."
Rem moved, and Encrid turned his body to the right.
Ragna and Sinar walked silently ahead, now moving at a much faster pace.
* * *
"Could this be a trick?"
Krais still felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety rising from deep within, like a fountain, but outwardly, he appeared calm.
Drinking tea, laughing, joking—he went about his duties as usual. Showing anxiety would only have negative effects.
So he couldn’t let his fear show.
Even if he trembled alone in private, when others were watching, he had to act like everything was fine.
"Don’t fight too hard."
That was what Encrid had said at the departure ceremony. My goodness, is that really something you say to soldiers about to go into battle?
Krais had internally screamed but had skillfully used Encrid’s words to his advantage.
"It means we’ll win even if we take it easy."
Of course, he didn’t say it himself, but had the Commander relay the message.
It was spoken by the Demon Slayer, the Master of the Border Guard, the King’s Friend, the Savior of the Western City, and the one who silenced the Gray Forest.
In fact, even if Encrid had just barked out ‘Woof’, the morale of the troops would have soared.
Because when Encrid spoke, people believed there was meaning, even in the sound of barking.
"We will!"
"Win!"
"Even if we ease up!"
"We win!"
The chant echoed loudly.
Krais watched as the Commanders and the troops prepared to leave and continued to attend to various matters.
But the anxiety kept growing, pressing against his brain, forcing him to think.
‘Could it be that those Aspen bastards haven’t done anything?’
No full-scale war, just a show of force, so we won’t actually fight? That was the agreement, right? Right?
But what if they don’t keep it?
What then? One word could end it all. The victor’s word would be the truth, after all.
Implicit agreements don’t need to be kept.
So Krais took a few precautions.
Of course, he considered it just a small thing, but the enemy might have thought otherwise.
* * *
The two armies gathered, facing off over the Green Pearl. Though they arrived at similar times, the Aspen troops had finished forming ranks first.
They numbered over five thousand. The Border Guard had at most around three thousand troops.
But it wasn’t just any three thousand.
Krais had poured everything he had into building up the military.
This was the result.
A full force of elite troops.
"Advance the troops."
Leading the front was the Heavy Infantry. They numbered five hundred.
Not many, but not too few either.
They were all uniformly equipped.
Iron breastplates over chainmail, and beneath that, gambesons.
It was rare in most wars for soldiers to be uniformly equipped, especially in the case of Heavy Infantry, many of whom typically had to buy their own gear.
Often, soldiers ended up wearing patchwork armor.
If they were lucky, they might at least match the color of their armor. But the Border Guard’s Heavy Infantry had fully standardized equipment.
Maintaining an army, by its nature, is like feeding a gluttonous pig that constantly devours resources.
They just eat and poop. But the value of those pigs shines brightest on the battlefield.
Knowing that war was inevitable, Krais had spared no expense in preparing the army.
"I poured in my blood and money for this."
Krais muttered to himself, standing at the rear.
Although the weapons varied slightly in material, they were all similar in design, so from a distance, they appeared the same.
It wasn’t the work of a single forge over a short time, but the result of continuous production and stockpiling.
Flanking the Heavy Infantry were spearmen and archers, evenly distributed. Their gear was also standardized.
Blue gambesons and deep-set leather helmets.
This was a force that had undergone brutal training, first under Audin and later passed on to Lawford.
At the center, standing alone on a hastily assembled platform, was Graham, the Lord of the Border Guard and the Supreme Commander, at least publicly. He took a deep breath, swelling his chest, and shouted.
"To arms! Prepare for battle!"
With his shout, the drums began to beat.
Each Commander issued orders, and the formation of the army began.
Drill and discipline are the strength of the military.
If you want to know how well-trained an army is, look at how well they align in formation.
That was a common saying among the continent’s top strategists and historians.
And here, the Border Guard’s elite soldiers proved it.
Step. Stomp!
They took a step forward and aligned. This simple movement was proof of their rigorous training.
Not a single person was out of line, no one was talking, and even after marching, the rows and columns remained perfectly straight.
From a distance, the army appeared as one single living entity.
While the Aspen forces had also formed ranks and gathered by their respective units, the order of the Border Guard was on another level.
They stood tall, forming a wall.
This was the wall that Krais had prepared.
The power of a disciplined army is fully expressed through standardized equipment and formations, becoming a deterrent that makes the enemy gulp in fear.
Can you really fight after seeing an army like this?
Indeed, some of the Aspen Commanders swallowed hard.
What is this? Why are they so perfectly lined up?
Are we really supposed to fight them?
There won’t be an order to charge, right?
Among their troops, there were units eager for battle. Of course, Aspen had such units too.
But even they hesitated.
The Commander of one such charge unit realized he was hesitating and shouted.
"Who cares if they’re in line? Does standing in line mean they fight well? Waaaagh!"
He screamed to swell his courage, which had shrunk momentarily.
His men echoed his cry.
"Waaaagh!"
Hundreds screamed together, and soon others around them joined in.
It grew loud. Their cries spread across the battlefield.
Aspen’s army was shouting to build something resembling morale.
It almost seemed like an energy was gathering above the mass of troops. It could almost be seen as an illusion.
Watching this, Graham raised his left hand without a hint of a smile.
Doom-doom-doom-doom-doom.
The drumbeat sounded five times.
This was the signal to count to five internally and then shout.
While the Aspen army’s shouts and curses filled the air without much order, the Border Guard’s elite soldiers responded in unison, following their Commander’s command.
"Even if we ease up!"
Their Commander shouted.
"Even if we ease up!"
The soldiers roared back.
"We win!"
The Commander called.
"We win!"
The soldiers echoed.
Boom!
It was like a thunderclap.
The chaotic shouting from Aspen’s side was crushed by the precise, unified shout of the Border Guard. Their attempts to build morale evaporated like dust.
The ground shook, and the air trembled.
Krais heard the thunderous chant of his troops and judged that things were off to a good start.
But the anxiety didn’t completely fade.
'Now, Audin. Let’s finish this. I trust you, son of the God of War.’
Krais summoned the faith he only turned to when absolutely necessary.
Audin, Teresa, Lawford, and Pel were all present on this battlefield. He had deliberately left them here.
Even if Aspen had left one or two Knights, they had the strength to hold their ground.
And yet, Krais still couldn’t shake his unease, so he made a small move.
Avnair had made an early start, surprising the enemy by sending a flanking force sooner than expected, and Krais had taken his own measures to prepare for this confrontation.
"Brother who knows how to fight, come out!"
At the forefront, where both armies were lined up, a giant clergyman on a large brown horse stepped forward. His name was Audin.
They had said they’d avoid open conflict, but no one had said they wouldn’t fight.
Surely, it was only fair to kill a few of the enemy to boost morale before things escalated?
That was what Krais thought.
Of course, Avnair would never agree with Krais’s reasoning.
Thanks for the Chapter Bro!!! :DD
Thanks for the Chapter.
Is it updated regularly? Also what is release schedule
Creo que he leído el manhwa, talvez lo esté confundiendo.. 🤔