973. No Matter What Anyone Says
“They say that anyone sent as a minion uses a sword, but I am just a messenger. I would appreciate it if you would not kill me. I am half-bewitched right now, so I don’t even know what I am saying.”
Even if he hadn’t said those words, Encred wouldn’t have taken immediate action. Now, he knew just by looking.
Not a henchman.
He is a messenger. Demons certainly possess many talents. A spell that manipulates a person’s intellect to convey only what it wants to say.
Understanding this, I simply sat on a hard wooden chair, gazing at the other person with an indifferent look.
Rem stretched to one side, while Esther buttoned up her fur coat and looked this way.
From a distance, they appeared to have absolutely no interest, but both kept their gaze fixed on this side.
Crys stood right behind Encred.
“I don’t think he’s quite a henchman.”
Crys muttered, and Encred nodded. It meant that even though he was annoyed by the despicable nature of the devil bastard using a child who was barely fifteen, he would not strike him down immediately.
Soon, the messenger’s eyes rolled back, and with only white pupils remaining, he asked.
“Are you really going to fight for those things?”
It was a tone that did not suit the voice of a half-grown child. It was a stiff, flat tone devoid of any emotion.
Even the demons did not know how to give up. Moreover, every action they took was imbued with not just one, but several intentions. This was
what Crys had anticipated. Encred had also realized it as he observed the situation unfolding.
What was the first ploy?
They planted suspicion in Encred. They wanted him to harbor distrust. To be precise, they wanted him to lose the meaning of his work.
By driving the situation to make him realize the inherent malice of the Intellectuals, they tainted the very act of protection. Because
their words came in a form that could not be ignored, Encred, Rem, and Esther faced that malice head-on in this incident.
The henchmen were a part of the Intellectuals’ ugly side.
They were not those who were forcibly captured, but those who sought out the demons for their own gain and greed.
Some of those lacking Crona turn to loan sharks, even knowing better. While there may be some who fail because they refuse to repay borrowed money and are told to do something else, there are also those who do not. In fact, there are more people who harm others for their own sake.
The world is not inhabited only by good people.
“What do you think when you see those who sold their children and killed their parents for their own gain?”
The devil whispered through the messenger’s mouth. “It wasn’t us who ordered this; it was you, the Intelligent Tribe, who chose it. Isn’t that right?
Look at this, I can hear the voices in your hearts.”
Encred thoughtfully replied.
I think it’s pitiful.
Upon hearing the answer, the demon thought. “This bastard… why does he seem completely unaffected?”
It was exactly as he said. Enkrid was unaffected. Those who have become henchmen live for such small gains, so they will not feel the greater joy they will later experience.
The joy derived from an altruistic attitude is greater than the joy of living for one’s own benefit. That is how Enkrid sees it. Therefore, he is pitiful. That is it.
“Are you going to protect even people like that?”
The demon still refused to give up. He thrust a dagger into Encred’s heart once again.
He asked if the very people Encred was trying to protect weren’t all like that. He
asked if it was right to wield a sword for such things.
Encred remained unfazed once again.
The world experienced by the blonde swordsman who had pierced two holes in his own stomach must have been similar.
At first, he was simply captivated by the joy of holding a sword.
Then, he must have pondered what he could do with his exceptional talent.
After much thought and deliberation.
He must have fought for the sake of others, and he must have fought driven by his own emotions.
After killing people over and over again like that, when he looked back on what he had protected,
that place would have been filled with intellectuals far more hideous, vile, wicked, and wretched than those called demons.
Suddenly, Encred deduced a change in the blonde swordsman’s state of mind and met the demon’s gaze.
They were two people meeting eyes through the body of a child.
Which of the five could the one over there be?
Whoever it was, it wouldn’t matter.
Would I protect even someone like that?
Encred answered.
“No, if there is someone I don’t like, I’ll beat them up, and if I dislike them even more, I’ll cut them down.”
“Then you are no different from us! If you kill people to get what you want, how is that different from us? We, too, are merely moving forward toward what we desire; we do not kill people blindly!”
He does not do anything that does not align with the purpose. This is a characteristic of the Lord of the Demon Realm. It was a statement acknowledging this, an assertion, and a passionate speech. It was a heart-stirring remark. It was an appeal demonstrating an influence comparable to that of Krang.
As one continued to listen to his words, the demon seemed like a noble seeker. With his next words, Enkrid shattered the mental image that the seeker had formed through his persuasive power.
“Right now, you guys are the ones I dislike the most.”
“Did you even listen to me? If what you want and what we want are the same.……”
“You damn bastards.”
“Listen, you lunatic. The world you want……”
“Everything you do is truly disgusting.”
“……So you aren’t listening.”
The devil gave up on persuasion. He could communicate better with a passing rock than this. At least a rock would listen silently, listening again and again, without spewing curses.
Encred’s stance was clear.
“Nope, I won’t listen. No matter what you say, I won’t listen; I’ll just say what I have to say.”
Why wasn’t he swayed by the devil’s words? There were likely many reasons, but if he had to pick one, it was that he hadn’t forgotten the things he had gone through or the people he had met. The
boastful, legless mercenary who looked after an orphaned child; the apple seller who shared his rotten apples; the old waitress who roasted potatoes for him despite having nothing for herself; the old woman who cooked stew for all the village children.
The female mercenary who hid him out of concern for her younger sibling; the swordsmanship teacher who had settled in the coastal city; and Ger and Pit, whom he had met in the mercenary group.
What benefit did they have in reaching out to him?
‘nothing.’
He had acted solely out of compassion for others and according to what he believed to be honorable and right.
The helping hands and kindness extended by those who remained in his heart were still vivid.
Although the warmth they offered may not have been hotter than the sun, it was a bonfire that would never go out, no matter how cold the winter night.
The world was not so dark. When the dark clouds pass, the sun rises. It was a natural order of things.
Just then, the falling rain stopped. As if by magic, the sky cleared. The bright sun peeked out over the wet ground.
“Wait. I will definitely come find you.”
Encred simply expresses his will, regardless of what they say. Although he had been saying only what he wanted to say since earlier, it was as if they had engaged in the conversation solely to convey this message. The demon clicked his tongue. The messenger fainted, letting out a sigh as he did so.
You really are pulling some serious stunts.
Rem took the messenger’s body, laid him down to one side, and spoke. Esther merely scoffed.
Did he want his heart to waver at the sight of malice? A human like Encred certainly wouldn’t.
He had not.
The demon’s first ploy was to instill distrust and suspicion in the entire race of intelligence, rendering his own actions meaningless, but it was futile.
Encred believed that if he wiped those things out with his sword, Krang would look after the world from behind alongside the righteous and upright, rather than those steeped in such malice.
Well, he wasn’t asking him to look after the whole world from the start; it would begin with family and home, then his city, and finally his country.
It would be a world where everyone could at least smile as it spreads from the small to the big.
At the very least, a world without war. He
was deep in thought. Kreis opened his mouth with vacant eyes. His unfocused gaze was a sign that he was concentrating on his thoughts.
That’s devious.
Crys, muttering quietly, gathered his thoughts while staring blankly into the void with his mouth half-open. The recent operation to wipe out the minions, the messenger fallen ahead, and the wizard he had just faced. As
all these things tangled and intertwined in his mind, he caught a glimpse of the demons’ intentions.
With this, it seems we have gained one more enemy.
It was his argument, spoken once again. Crys took a deep breath and continued.
“It seems like that was what he was aiming for from the start. After all, he has become an enemy of the magical society known as Astrail.”
The demon’s minion cunningly lured the Master of Astrail into the fray. With that, the mad knights of the Border Guard gained an enemy.
Astrail is a secret magical society. If they pull a stunt, the headache will be several times worse than it is now. And the Empire still remains.
Kill all the minions? Is that the end of it? No. A method of profiting even from failure—that was the way the Lord of the Demon Realm acted.
Of course, to Encred, none of that mattered.
If Astrail were the kind of bastards who habitually committed such acts, they were people who had to be gotten rid of anyway.
“Don’t worry. Once they see the traces of this fight, they won’t dare to challenge you.”
Esther spoke with conviction. She bore the moniker of the Witch of Struggle, the Fighting Witch, a title given to her because she looked down on ordinary warlocks.
I taught them how to deal with it, though.
With this fight, Encred has easily crossed a certain line. Now, even the most seasoned spellcaster wouldn’t dare speak carelessly in front of that man.
Encred’s sword strikes render the majority of spells used by mages meaningless. Even shield spells lost their power in the face of his sword. If
a mage reveals their magical energy to reinforce the exterior of a shield, Encred simply cuts through it; if a mage hides the flow of magic within, Encred shatters the thinned shield with sheer force.
I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.
That is the conclusion.
So you’re saying there’s nothing to worry about right now?
Crys spoke and caught his breath. Right, what could I do even if I worried?
First bandits, then cultists, followed by a civil war. Monsters of such power attack like ceaseless waves.
Our only job is to face and overcome every single one of those waves, overcoming them again and again.
Envoy of the Empire.
Kreis shifted his thinking. He couldn’t eliminate all anxiety, but he put aside useless worries by focusing on other beneficial things. It was something he learned while hanging out with Enkrid.
* * *
“The Mad Knight Commander is going to take care of it himself?”
Learvan nodded at his comrade’s question. Learvan had met Encred before he joined the Border Guard.
During the Civil War, he had watched him and inwardly murmured that he was his hero, and later, he had even learned a thing or two from him. Every detail of that process remained vivid in his mind. If he were to name a moment he would never forget until the day he died, meeting Encred would undoubtedly be on the list.
I guess I can’t miss out.
A colleague spoke. At these words, my head did not easily move up or down. Hadn’t we trained together once before?
Back then, I had been told that I needed to strengthen my wrists more. What kind of swordsmanship is it that makes your wrists ache and strains your forearm muscles the more you clash?
It felt like striking a castle wall with a single steel sword. And because we clashed at such cunning angles, it felt like I was swinging the sword like a club rather than a blade.
I thought I was half-dead sparring with him and keeping up with his training like that. Even after seeing that, Encred taught me training methods to do when I was in pain with a nonchalant tone. He
even told me things like how to rest with all my might to help my body heal faster by thinking things through.
He showed sincerity, and although he didn’t have to, he did his best. It was because I knew that attitude of giving his all that I was afraid now.
Learvan knows a fact that isn’t exactly a secret, but isn’t well-known to the world. Encred is a training-crazed pervert.
I wanted to see how you train even during normal times.
Meanwhile, several colleagues displayed a competitive spirit.
The Royal Guard is a group of those who wish to walk the same path as the Knights, even though they are not a knightly order.
They took great pride in their membership, as they were selected only after passing through a grueling process.
It was not that they intended to challenge the reputation of the Mad Knights, but rather that they were certainly worthy of recognition in their own right. Hearing
such words revealing confidence, Learvan considered whether he should decline today’s invitation.
If the other party is proactive, I’ll be even more proactive, right?
That’s right. Encred is that kind of person.
Are they acting like that because they want to die today?
Aesia of the Red Cloak Knights muttered beside her. Right beside her was Viscount Andrew Gardner, said to be the foremost of the rising young nobles. He chimed in, responding to Aesia’s words.
My stomach suddenly hurts.
Learban felt a sense of kinship with the two of them in their conversation. Moreover, those two didn’t even care whether anyone was listening or not.
Are you trying to seize the opportunity first with words like that?
It was the head of the Royal Guard who stepped forward to speak. He, too, had no experience training with Encred.
The orange-haired knight laughed at the words spoken to Aisia. With a broad smile on her face, she replied.
Why don’t you go first?
The captain nodded at her words. As he removed the dark gray helmet that was usually his symbol, a strand of brown hair fell loosely over his eyebrows. He entered the Royal Training Grounds.
Aside from those on duty, the majority of the Royal Guard had gathered here.
Encred caught their eye. Beside him, Rem, the noble slayer of the Mad Knights, was sweating as he swung his axe, while on one side, a witch known by the alias “Black Flower” sat idly drinking tea.
A handsome man with large eyes sitting opposite the witch looked at him and spoke.
You’re here.
There are twenty Royal Guards in total, plus Asia and Andrew.
A total of twenty-two, these are the people gathered because Encred called them to train.
“then.”
The head of the Royal Guard stepped forward first. There is something to be learned just from sparring with someone like this.
I’ve learned a thing or two.
He removes his helmet, picks up a training spear with an iron bar at the tip, and aims forward. The basics of spear fighting are blocking, pressing, and thrusting.
By using the long shaft to deflect an attack and pressing down on the opponent’s weapon, there is no opportunity to defend against a subsequent thrust.
How will I get in?
While the head of the Royal Guard was considering dozens of possibilities, Encred strode forward.
Just come?
The captain of the Royal Guard was flustered. Yet, he could not retreat. He chose to attack. The spearhead was extended straight forward, and Encreed grabbed the shaft with his bare hands. His thrust struck Encreed’s left shoulder and stopped.
Encreed gripped the shaft with his right hand, pulling it back as he raised his knee. A knight
‘s strength is several times that of an ordinary soldier. It is comparable to that of a prok. That knee struck the Royal Guard captain’s abdomen with force, sending his leg flying into the air.
Bang!
“……100 million!”
A scream burst out a little late. It was because he had caught his breath. Encrid rotated his pelvis with the man still resting on his knees and threw him to the side using only the strength of his lower back.
thud.
The sound of an adult male’s weight hitting the floor echoed.
“Lack of muscle strength, strength training course added.”
Enkrid said.
I confirmed it.
Rem, who had been swinging an axe, answered while wiping his face with a towel.
