Chapter 438 - Foolish and Stupid Actions
The bandits had recently been making a fortune by robbing caravans that traveled this way.
They didn't even have a name for their group.
At the center of it all was the swordsman Jack.
He was a former mercenary who specialized in swinging a broad blade without recoil.
Technically, he was a deserter, but there was no need to talk about his past while engaging in robbery.
Jack stepped forward, brushing past the one who had spoken up.
'Just because he can swing a sword, he lost his nerve?
Or does he trust the Frog?
'
In situations like this, you just need to break the pride of the one who steps up first.
After that, the rest will start groveling on their own.
And so,
Clink.
Jack drew his sword and swung it downward without a word.
A nearly perfect trajectory was drawn, something he had never experienced before in his life.
As Jack swung his sword, he felt it.
Sometimes, luck would bless you, and you'd experience moments like this, where a strike sharper than skill itself would come through.
It was a gap in time.
He targeted the man with black hair who stood at the forefront.
He was clearly the leader of the group.
If he killed the leader, the rest would be easy.
Even though the Frog was a nuisance, Jack was confident.
He was a capable fighter, close to reaching the level of a knight with just a bit more effort.
'Damn knight order bastards.
'
The thought of them briefly crossed his mind.
But why did time seem to slow down so much?
Everything around him seemed to slow.
In the meantime, something rushed past.
It was faster than the raccoons he had seen in the mountains when he was a child.
Back then, they only saw shadows, so they claimed the friend was a rabbit and he, a raccoon.
That was the raccoon, after all.
While Jack was lost in thought, he suddenly saw the world around him flip.
Huh?
Before he had time to feel dizzy, he saw his own body standing dumbfounded on the ground.
He saw a person whose neck had been severed while still holding his sword.
Strangely, it looked like he was wearing the same clothes as Jack.
That was the end of his musings.
Enkrid, having decapitated him with one strike, flicked the blood off his sword in a horizontal motion.
The blood from the bandit Jack stained the ground as it dripped down.
Jack had been a well-known mercenary recently.
He had fought in the borderlands and deserted from the army.
He knew the structure of the area well and was planning to leave after making a good haul.
But less than a month into his life as a bandit, he met Enkrid.
Jack was no ordinary man who would die with one strike.
Yet that's exactly what happened.
"Run!"
The remaining bandits scattered immediately.
The one holding a bow didn't even dare draw it.
It was only natural.
Jack had been the reason the bandits had held their ground until now.
If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have been involved in such things.
But now, the fear of having their leader decapitated in one strike made the rest scatter instinctively.
Enkrid didn't bother chasing them.
"Let them be.
They'll die on their own."
Rem said, wiping his nose.
Why not?
In a land filled with monsters, they were essentially praying to the sky for death.
They had already encountered several monsters and beast packs along the way.
It was unusual for bandits to attack, but it wasn't strange for monsters or beasts to do so.
At first glance, it didn't seem like they were more than four.
Some of them seemed to be trying something like an ambush, but none of them were foolish enough to be caught by the monsters who were known to outsmart others.
After all, it wasn't easy for a monster or beast to get past Dunbakel's sense of smell.
"That was dull."
Dunbakel remarked.
"Looks like it's the season for these kinds of guys to be out."
Luargarne added, noticing something.
Curious, Enkrid asked,
"Do you know something?"
"The monsters come in waves sometimes.
A lot of troublesome ones appear, and when that happens, there's no time to sleep, and the pay is low.
Some even run away when it gets too dangerous.
But even so, they're quite a large group."
Jack's group had been more than twenty strong, all deserters, perhaps?
Hearing Luargarne's words, Enkrid was reminded of something from the past.
It was a memory of a colleague's words.
"Foolish and stupid actions."
Enkrid had replied at the time,
"I know."
"You should run."
His colleague had said so.
A man-eating bear had attacked a village.
It was a village that had just begun gathering people.
It wasn't a commission.
It was something that happened while they were passing through.
His colleague's words had been right.
Enkrid knew it well.
"Is it foolish or stupid?
With our skills, holding out here would be suicidal!"
His colleague had been angry.
Back then, Enkrid knew it was a foolish act, yet he still did it.
The bear, now a monster, had eaten people, and Enkrid had seen a child crying over their eaten parent.
The child, barely surviving, would likely not live much longer.
Such children would become more numerous, it was easy to predict.
Children who lost their mothers.
Mothers who lost their children.
People who lost their lovers.
People who lost their friends.
People who lost their comrades.
Such things were common in the continent.
The threat of monsters was like a knife constantly looming over you.
People were dying, and it was obvious.
But should they turn a blind eye to the danger just because it was approaching them?
Knowing that those struggling to live were there?
Enkrid snapped out of his thoughts and briefly looked at his own hand.
The palms, scarred from years of gripping swords, were now cracked and full of calluses.
With these hands, he had once raised a sword.
What had he been trying to do?
He had taken up the sword to protect those behind him.
And that was why he was here now.
So, it was only natural that he wouldn't stop.
"Let's go."
Enkrid spoke.
The difference now was that, back then, he had only colleagues who had turned their backs on him, but now…
"Let's do it."
The barbarian agreed casually.
"We'll go."
The beastkin with golden eyes blinked, and even the Frog nodded.
'A splendid group, if I do say so.
'
Enkrid thought briefly.
Honestly, they could wipe out most monsters they met in an instant.
They had done so up until now.
The group immediately headed to the borderlands.
They stayed in any villages they encountered, and if there were none, they camped out.
They weren't uncomfortable with camping.
It was something they had gotten used to.
And so, today, they were camping.
There didn't seem to be any small villages, given the proximity of a large city.
Soon, they would be able to see the city that guarded the borderlands.
Before sunset, they found a spot where two large rocks formed a barrier and began to prepare their campfire.
Dunbakel caught a rabbit, and Rem made a stew with it.
"Why don't you cook like this in the barracks instead of messing around?"
Dunbakel asked curiously.
Rem grinned and replied.
"This is field cooking, that's proper cooking."
"How about only doing field cooking from now on?"
Enkrid thought to himself that Dunbakel was fearless.
Though, it didn't seem like she was doing it on purpose.
"Been a while since I last beat you, huh?"
Rem asked as he slurped the stew.
A drop of broth spilled down the edge of the wooden bowl.
"What?"
"The sparring."
"It hasn't been long."
It had been some time since.
Rem had been quiet for some reason, probably because he was unafraid.
But now, it seemed like he had returned to his old self.
"Finish eating and come out.
Even if a beastman loses a leg, it can regenerate, right?"
"I can't!"
"Oh, was that a Frog thing?"
Rem knew how to torment others.
In moments like this, he was honestly quite talkative.
It would have been nice if he had been like that when teaching.
Thinking so, Enkrid was observing when Luagarne, who was sitting next to him, spoke.
"The atmosphere seems worse than before."
"What do you mean?"
"Just a feeling."
"Really?"
"That's it.
Do you want to learn Frog's steps?"
The words didn't really make sense in context, but Enkrid didn't dwell on it.
It was a process of learning.
He was someone who could set aside minor awkwardness.
Enkrid set down his finished bowl.
He could do the dishes later at the stream he had prepared for.
If Dunbakel didn't faint, he'd just ask her to do it.
As expected, Luagarne's teaching was enjoyable.
"You bend the knee of the leg stretched backward.
From there, you'll use the power to push forward.
Before that, show the opponent your front legs to reduce distance without them realizing.
It's called the frog step."
It was less about swordsmanship and more about a charging step.
In a way, it resembled the techniques of the Valen mercenary swordsmanship.
It was a trick with the front legs to deceive and then striking with the back.
Aside from that, the Frog taught him several more steps.
On the way, she explained how to jump off a cart, fight while riding a horse, fight against someone mounted under a horse, fight monsters you've never seen before, and eleven different ways to block arrows.
The best way to block arrows was with a shield.
However, practicing with a sword wasn't bad either.
She was truly an excellent teacher.
"That's good."
Rem, who had been listening from the side, nodded in agreement.
Enkrid was the type who would work hard to master what he was taught.
Luagarne broke down every process for him to understand.
He even learned how to jump off a rock with a sword in both hands and maintain balance.
The whole day passed in a flash, focused on step training.
Before long, the moon had risen, and it was nighttime.
Dunbakel did the dishes.
Though she was limping from getting hit by Rem, it was clear that she was faking it.
"If you limp one more time, I'll cut it off."
At Rem's words, Dunbakel quickly returned to her original stride.
She was pretending.
Her acting was quite impressive.
Enkrid thought about that as he went to the stream to wash the sweat off.
After coming back, tidying up, and resting, he fell asleep.
While lying down, Enkrid continued his training in his dreams.
Starting from basic steps like lunges, passing, gathering, to steps that closed the distance or confused the opponent's steps.
When he woke up, he tidied up, reheated the stew from yesterday, and the group set off again.
Although summer was ending, it was getting hotter, and the air was growing humid as they moved on.
Luagarne liked the weather, Dunbakel didn't care, but it wasn't great for her.
The frog herself was used to such humid weather and didn't mind, while Dunbakel had made it her habit not to wash, so it was fine for her.
After a light rain, the air became even more damp.
Enkrid felt that he had forgotten something.
"I forgot."
He hadn't told Shinar.
He was supposed to tell her that next time he was heading somewhere, but Krais would likely take care of it.
He thought about it vaguely as they walked.
"Smell, monsters."
Dunbakel spoke, and Enkrid felt the killing intent in the air.
This was a road leading to a city.
It wasn't a path made by people but a road with stones laid on it.
Could monsters appear on such a path?
No matter how hungry they were, this wasn't a common occurrence.
Besides, this was the gateway to the border city of the Demon Realm.
"Grrrr!"
Some hunting dogs had become monsters.
They were much bigger than regular dogs.
First thieves, now monsters.
Although there had been monsters on the way, the appearance of these monsters here was a problem.
This was an inner city area.
That meant it was far from the demon border.
If it were a few ghouls, it could make sense, but mutated hunting dogs shouldn't be coming out in this area.
"Is the situation bad?"
Luagarne blinked her big eyes and puffed her cheeks.
She had worked in the royal palace before and knew a bit about these matters.
It seemed that the number of monsters coming from the border area wasn't small.
If that weren't the case, these mutated hunting dogs wouldn't be roaming around here.
Just like the thieves earlier.
Normally, thieves wouldn't be active in this area.
If they made a big move, the knights from the city would cut them down.
No one would rob here unless they were looking for death.
'Is control breaking down?
'
Luagarne began to make some deductions based on the situation.
They were all leaning toward the negative side.
Meanwhile, four mutated dogs recklessly charged.
Dunbakel stepped forward and beheaded two of them with her sickle.
One of the dogs attacked a horse carrying cargo.
The dog circled around and leapt, biting the horse's neck.
The horse let out a loud cry as it was bitten.
The blood poured out of the horse, soaking the dog's fur, which turned dark red.
It was an unexpected ambush.
The dog wasn't targeting Dunbakel, nor the others who were threatening it.
It went for the horse.
'Clever.
'
Had monsters like these ever been this smart?
Even their size was unusual.
Their attempt to lure the horse into an attack made it seem like they had learned some tactics.
Luagarne killed the dog that killed the horse with a powerful kick.
Crack!
Thud!
With a Frog's strength, the dog's stomach split open, and its innards spilled out.
"This is strange."
Luagarne muttered as she withdrew her foot.
This area was under the control of the Red Cloak Order.
Monsters and mutated creatures could appear, but it was happening too frequently and too much.
"There are too many."
"The smell is still there."
Dunbakel added after Luagarne's words.
Rem turned his gaze around.
He also felt the unease.
Though they were near the border of the Demon Realm, this was beneath the city walls, so the path should have been relatively safe.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a well-maintained road.
Enkrid inspected the horse's neck.
It was done for.
If it was bitten by the mutated dog, it was likely to transform into a monster unless it was lucky.
"Sorry."
He had grown fond of the horse during the journey, and he felt he hadn't taken good care of it.
The horse cried out, and Enkrid swiftly cut its neck.
Its blood stained the stone floor, and as it poured out, Enkrid said,
"Let's continue."
If they weren't going back, their only choice was to keep moving forward.
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