1053. Contempt and Mockery
“Where?”
Dunbakel asked back. It was an answer that would never have come if he had read the context of the conversation.
Then why would such an answer be given?
Encreed recognized the emotion Dunbakel had shown earlier—expressed by fragments of sentiment and the subtle trembling of his muscles, though he wasn’t twisting his whole body.
It was rejection. Hadn’t he said he had drifted here after being shunned by the very place that could be called his roots?
He had heard he was expelled because his Golden Eyes and his transformation into a beast were different from others.
Encreed had no intention of forcing this upon Dunbakel. He simply thought that since the situation had changed, and both he and Dunbakel had changed, he deserved to say something like this.
To get revenge?
The name of the god Suin serves is Kriemhart, a goddess who presides over struggle and reproduction, and occasionally discusses revenge.
Only when she spoke of her purpose rather than her position did Dunbakel’s gaze finally settle.
“plural?”
She murmurs with a vacant gaze. What meaning did that word hold for her?
No matter how perceptive one is, it is impossible to read someone’s true intentions. Even the mind-reading Yongin could not do that.
Dunbakel used the strength of his abdominal muscles to quickly sit up, then scratched his head vigorously.
Crumbs fell through his hair. “
I guess I’ll have to wash him first and take him away,” Encred thought, before Dunbakel spoke again.
I don’t think there is any need to antagonize the Beastmen before even fighting the Demon Realm.
Even this mindless beastman worries about the battle between himself and the Demon Realm. It had become a foregone conclusion.
To borrow Crys’s words, they had to strike the Demon Realm immediately once preparations were complete, but there was no telling when those preparations would actually be finished.
From what I heard, they even had to hold a national council, excluding the Empire, right?
I had heard the picture Wang-nuni had drawn and the plan he had laid out, but I couldn’t know the details of the process. However, one thing was certain:
time was needed. During that spare time, Enkrid’s only task was training.
Rolling, jumping, rolling again, and beating.
In this way, he would raise the skills of the entire Knights and Border Guard expeditionary force. No war ends without anyone dying. But he knew what kind of desperate struggle was required to end it with the fewest possible casualties. It
was a fact he knew well, having spent his entire life crawling up from the bottom and struggling desperately.
Taking Dunbakel to the beastman city now was a form of training. It was an opportunity to face a fresh opponent, and furthermore, he still had lingering curiosity about the holy war Primahild had told him to visit.
“Well, we’ll have to see. It would be fine even if I just went to the temple, stole the treasure, and came out.”
Encred spoke, revealing intentions and a heart like a clean lake.
“Is that something a knight of knights, who is currently shaking the world and making a name for himself, should say?”
Rem scolded me from behind for when I had arrived. His tone was serious and heavy.
“Wake up. The whole world is watching. Your steps, Commander, are being watched by our King, by kings of other nations, and even by the Emperor of my Western Empire and the demons of that Demon Realm.”
It was scathing, yet legitimate logic. Rem’s eyes burned brighter than ever.
Was it a sense of justice that filled his eyes? Well, that wasn’t it.
“So, when are we leaving? You said it was treasure, right? Can’t I pick up a few too?”
Right. This is Rem, no, this bastard Rem.
“That’s terrible. We shouldn’t take something like that. No matter how messed up the City of Beastmen is.”
Dunbakel muttered.
“I’ll cut off its two legs and carry them on my back. Isn’t that enough guidance?”
“Do you need guidance?”
Ragnar joins in on this.
“Where is everyone going? Even if we pushed back the Demon Realm’s army once, we must not leave our posts now.”
Kreis was startled and tried to stop the two. Coming to the training grounds whenever he felt anxious, and starting his day after finding peace of mind by watching them train, had been Kreis’s daily routine lately.
But where were they all going?
Rem and Ragnar, in particular, absolutely not. It was obvious, but they weren’t the type to listen to anything Kreis said.
Audin approached, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.
“Haha, Brother. It is certainly not a good thing to resolve everything through fighting and violence. Isn’t it the right thing to do for someone like me to step forward and resolve things through dialogue? Furthermore, wouldn’t it be more useful to be accompanied by someone who has experience fighting off demons, no matter what happens?”
Perhaps the name of the gauntlets Audin wears on both hands should be changed to ‘Contempt and Mockery.’ For
there is no trace of love or mercy in him right now.
“……Fine, let’s die today.”
Rem couldn’t wait any longer and drew his axe. He lifted his foot with a soft snap and swung it straight at Audin. Every movement was executed in an instant, making him seem more than just agile; it looked as if he had cast some kind of teleportation spell. Rem suddenly vanished and reappeared right in front of Audin’s nose. Naturally, Audin didn’t just sit there and take it.
Even though he wasn’t wielding the weapons of contempt and mockery—or rather, love and mercy—in his hands, he pushed away the axe blade with his bare hands and raised his knee to cut off the flow of the follow-up attack.
Whether one admits it or not, Audin was certainly the best when it came to utilizing technique.
Regardless of his appearance, that is. Rem snorted dismissively and threw a throwing axe right in front of him.
Once again, Audin dodged it by simply tilting his head to the side. Theresa, who was standing behind him, blocked the disc made of the throwing axe, which flew parallel to the ground, with her training circular shield.
pop!
The shield, heavily greased and dried in the shade, shattered, and the iron rim burst open as if torn. It was
a throwing axe tossed lightly, with no real intention to kill, yet it was this powerful. Moreover, it was thrown from such close range that it couldn’t even put proper force into it.
My skills have improved.
Encred thought to himself, “Has Rem the only one increased?” No. Everyone, including Ragnar, instantly pressed right up to his back. They were chasing him menacingly.
That’s fun.
That is precisely why it is simply enjoyable.
Audin was also one who was called a genius among geniuses within the Legion. A yellow holy light enveloped his entire body and coalesced in his hands. Just then, the two departed into a world of their own.
“Directions?”
In the meantime, Ragnar asked. He insisted that no matter what Audin said, since he had been excluded before, he absolutely had to be included this time. His reasoning wasn’t particularly impressive.
“I was left out before, and since it makes sense for me to follow if guidance is needed, we can go together.”
Saxen, who had arrived at some point, walked past to one side and shook his head. Then, when his eyes met Enkrid’s, he opened his mouth.
“I can’t go. It seems there are more henchmen than I thought.”
It wasn’t a long explanation, but it was sufficient.
Of course, that’s right.
Crys agreed.
The Border Guards, who had previously faced the army of the Mirror World, had fought very well. They won and defended well, and the infantry even responded on behalf of the bats sent by the Father of the Dead.
But should we be satisfied with this? It felt like they had only been taking damage.
“I’ll distinguish and catch the devil’s minions.”
Crys opened his mouth not with a sense of solemnity, but as if saying that breakfast that morning was well-baked bread.
It was the day after defeating the army sent by the demon. One
must certainly say that he was a different human being in his head. He was filled with the thought of counterattacking immediately after being defeated.
Well, this was one of the strategies Encred had devised the moment it was decided that he would fight the demon. Dealing with the minions is the first task to be handled in the fight against the Demon Realm.
To be precise, it is to eliminate the demon’s minions so they cannot pull shady tricks from behind.
It starts with Martai. That is the weakest point.
Next is Greenpearl, then Lockfried, and finally the Border Guard.
The four major cities supporting the territory given to the madman are geographically close, and this ensures that the minions will gather at the Border Guard.
Finish them off in one fell swoop before they can pull any threatening stunts. That is the core of the strategy.
To do so, those moving under the cover of the unseen night must run with sweat on their feet and their hands must never rest.
Saxony has to stay.
That is the calculation of Kreis.
Audin needs to stay behind too, just in case something happens.
Although he mostly speaks to tease those around him, he is actually a paladin who single-handedly beat a demon to death. Such experience and achievements are precisely one of the weapons the city needs most right now.
“We must leave Lord Rem and Lord Ragnar behind as well. We need a force of knights to sortie if problems arise not only in the four cities but also in the Viscountries of Felheim and Harrison.”
The Viscountery of Harrison is a land devoted entirely to agriculture, and Felheim is a city born from the defeat of the Gnoll Colony.
What if the surrounding territories fall, in addition to the four major cities under the Madman’s estate? They are targets that must be protected as well.
To be honest, I was uneasy about Encred leaving his post at a time like this. But there was nothing I could do to stop the captain from going.
“Pell, Lawford, and Theresa are certainly necessary for the city’s defense, but if necessary, you may take one of the three with you.”
This is the conclusion of Crys.
I’m busy.
Pell refused. Lawford did the same. They seemed mismatched yet suited each other well, but now their hearts were united. They
said they had learned so much recently that they didn’t have enough time to train. Would it be a good idea to follow the City of the Beastmen? Maybe, but not now. Pell and Lawford shared the same thought.
Good posture.
Encred threw a compliment. Pell and Roford looked at each other.
“If you have nothing to do, just be my scarecrow, you wimp.”
“What are you talking about, you wilderness country bumpkin?”
The atmosphere shifted, and they aimed their swords at each other. In an instant, with a clang, the two clashed their blades. With their swords locked in that position, they sprinted to one side of the training ground.
Should we consider them capable of handling things on their own? That is correct. Theresa listened quietly and then spoke.
As you know, we didn’t even have enough time to set up new equipment and tactics.
She frequently visited Luagarne for that purpose. After all, there was no one better than Prok, the author of the swordsmanship manual, at devising personal tactics and finding blind spots.
“Phew, is there no one here? I can’t do it. I have no intention of leaving this city.”
Meelun, who happened to be rolling around here, spoke up, but no one answered. Wherever they go, a proc of that caliber is nothing but a burden.
“…You’re ignoring me to this extent?”
Did that spark his motivation? Meelun’s cheeks puffed out more than ever.
“Fine. You lunatics. I will definitely catch up to you.”
He had become a Proc who wielded fierceness as his weapon, and the result was ultimately perfect. For him, and for those he had to protect.
Encred said nothing to Meelun. In that state, he would handle it himself.
He was a Proc who had even taken a vow without coercion. Taking care of one’s own interests is a characteristic of the Proc species.
It doesn’t matter if two of us go.
Encred spoke while looking at Crys. Crys did not bother to ask why they were going all the way to the City of Beastmen at a time like this. This was instead.
You must not increase the number of opponents you fight.
That was not Encred’s choice. Dunbakel had already risen from his seat.
“Just the two of you? That’s pretty good.”
Beastmen dream of reproduction. In that sense, a man named Encred is an excellent target.
Of course, she had half-given up on it long ago, but who knows what might happen if a man and a woman go out alone together?
Dunbakel considered washing herself with lavender essential oil. She is a female beastman with a voluptuous figure and an attractive face.
“As for how to fight without transforming, I think I’ll only know as I keep trying.”
Dunbakel, who had been lost in thought, met Encred’s eyes and spoke. “I found something while fighting that bastard Rem.” All she could say with her limited vocabulary was that it seemed only her inner self, not her outward appearance, was changing; however, even if it couldn’t be explained in words, it was enough to learn it through physical experience.
So, if they spent a few days rolling around in the beast city with Encred, it would naturally become second nature to them
. It was the answer naturally revealed by the beast instinct.
Let’s take a look at your skills.
Encred answered without much thought. It was a schedule that didn’t really need to be postponed. He had spent the afternoon riding his one-eyed horse toward Green Pearl and intended to leave immediately at dawn the next day, but before sunrise, two long shadows blocked Encred and Dunbakel’s path.
One was a blonde fairy, and the other was a black-haired witch.
They both looked at Encred with indifferent eyes. Both had just finished packing their backpacks to leave. The fairy opened her mouth and asked.
“Really, you’re going to find the lover you hid in the Beast City?”
Encreed pondered for a moment where to begin if he were to clear up that misunderstanding.
