When is the moment to make friends with the darkness?
If this were the question, the answer would be simple.
A place you know well.
A place where you understand the terrain as clearly as your own front yard.
It would be even better if it was a place where you’ve lived until recently.
Just being able to vaguely see the surroundings would help you grasp the general location.
It would be best if it was a place you were extremely familiar with, like a location you used for night training until just yesterday.
That was the kind of place Encrid had reached now.
Originally, it should have been an unfamiliar place.
“This is…”Originally, he should have been surprised to see it.
“Damn it.”
Originally, he should have despaired at the sight of the enemy’s size.
But that didn’t apply to Encrid.
He had already come here several times.
And not just come here.
He had rolled and rolled again.
He had fought and fought again.
Each time, the people who came with him changed a little.
But the basic composition was similar.
Andrew and a rough-looking soldier, Enri, and the other squad members.
Among them, the two squad members who used to be thugs were particularly helpful.
They had just escaped from the tall grass.
An unexpected scene unfolded before them.
Some of the squad members thought this way was now the only way out since the retreat to the headquarters was blocked.
Specifically, Enri thought that way.
He had a good sense of direction, just like the rough-looking soldier.
He hadn’t played the plains hunter for nothing.
Enri thought the enemy was ambushed in the grass, so this side might actually be empty.
His guess was wrong.
That made it even more despairing.
Enri felt his legs give out.
Whoosh.
The first thing they saw was a burning torch.
Then they saw a wide, thick cloth partially blocking the firelight.
As soon as Enri saw it, he took a step back.
When he raised his head and widened his view, the shape of the structure came into focus.
It was a tent.
Why is there a tent here?
Relying on the faint light, he turned his head to the side and saw the burning torch next to the tent.
Torches lined up, stretching far into the distance.
Even a rough count showed there were more than ten.
The gaps between the torches were wide enough to barely see the surroundings.
The interwoven light of the moon and the torches widened their view.
What they saw were tents.
At least more than twenty tents stretched along the side of the tall grass.
This was the opposite side from their base.
So the tents in front of them were the encampment of the enemy, the Duchy of Aspen.
“Damn, what is this?”
The ex-thug soldier instinctively lowered his voice and muttered.
“Ha, this is where we ended up.”
Enri spoke in a voice filled with despair.
“Shh, quiet.”
At this moment, the rough-looking soldier reacted the fastest.
If they were discovered by a sentry now, a battle would break out.
And if that happened, they would be killed instantly.
Besides the torchlight, everyone could see several moving lights in the distance.
No one needed to tell them that those were the torches carried by sentries.
“Shut your mouths.”
The rough-looking soldier said as he looked around.
If things went wrong, they would die. In moments of crisis, a veteran’s experience shines.
He acted based on his experience.
He lowered his posture and tried to sense the presence of the sentries.
He aimed to hide himself as much as possible, assess the situation, and find a way to escape. If they were lucky, it might be possible.
It was night, and although it wasn’t his intention, they had moved in a direction far from what the enemy expected.
Even though they were in the heart of the enemy camp, close enough to touch the enemy’s tents, as long as they weren’t discovered, there was a chance to escape.
He made that judgment.
As long as they kept their wits about them, they could survive even if they fell into the middle of a horde of monsters.
“Don’t draw your weapons and keep low.”
He acted as if he were the leader.
Most of the squad members followed his words.
Except for two.
One was Encrid, and the other was Andrew.
“He must have a plan. Encrid is the squad leader.”
Was the beating good for him?
The only one who supported Encrid was the guy who had been beaten up and lost his position as squad leader this morning.
“This is not the time to be joking around.”
The rough-looking soldier turned his head back while crouching.
His voice was low, but it carried the force of a growling beast.
He was in a hurry.
They were in the heart of enemy territory.
This situation was several times more dangerous than facing the ambush in the tall grass.
They were at a point where an enemy spear could thrust out from beyond the tent at any moment.
In such a situation, what use were thoughts?
The rough-looking soldier’s reaction was reasonable.
In fact, Encrid had often thought the same thing about this soldier.
‘He’s no ordinary guy.’
His skills, experience, judgment, and decisiveness were all far above average soldier level.
If Encrid hadn’t been here, if today hadn’t been repeated, it would have been right to make this man the squad leader and follow his lead.
But there was no need for that now.
Though the other squad members didn’t know, everything up to this point had gone according to Encrid’s plan.
The timing, location, everything.
How many nights had he spent here already?
How many times had he thrown his life away?
How many times had he repeated today?
He knew that in the tent before them, there were three soldiers fast asleep.
And there was still some time before they would encounter the patrolling sentries.
Knowing all this, Encrid acted.
Swish.
He drew his sword and slashed through the wall of the tent.
The blade reflected the moonlight as it moved from bottom to top.
“You crazy bastard.”
The rough-looking soldier was startled.
At this moment, Andrew reacted to Encrid’s actions.
He swiftly entered the torn tent and plunged his shortsword into the neck of the enemy soldier, who woke up in surprise.
Thud!
Following that, Encrid also rushed in.
He pressed his blade against the neck of another soldier who was trying to get up. The startled enemy, waking from sleep, gasped and reached for the blade.
Encrid pressed down with his strength and slit his throat.
Slash.
The sound of tearing flesh echoed, and soon the tent was filled with the smell of blood.
The last enemy soldier was taken down by the ex-thug squad member, who stabbed a dagger into his heart.
“Gurgle, gurgle.”
The soldier, hit in the heart, crawled on the floor, reaching out his hand.
He was a tough one.
The light streaming in from the tent entrance illuminated the head of the soldier reaching out.
And over it, a dark shadow fell.
It was the rough-looking soldier.
He pressed his knee on the enemy’s back, grabbed his neck, and twisted.
Crack.
The enemy soldier’s neck snapped, and he died with his tongue sticking out.
“Hey, you.”
In the darkness, the rough-looking soldier’s eyes shone brightly.
He glared at Encrid.
It was sheer luck that saved them; otherwise, they would have been surrounded and annihilated in the heart of the enemy camp.
This was nothing short of a gamble.
From his perspective, that’s what it was.
“We’re moving sideways.”
Encrid ignored his gaze.
Before the soldier could say anything, Encrid extended his sword.
“Hey, you crazy bastard.”
The rough-looking soldier spoke in a low voice.
One could feel the deep annoyance and anger.
From his perspective, it was an utterly insane act.
Encrid slashed and made a cut through the side of the tent with his sword, only turning his head back slightly.
He showed no sign of concern that anyone would try to harm him from behind.
Even with such a murderous aura?
Despite charging into enemy territory with only a patrol unit, creating a tense and deadly atmosphere between them, everyone else watched the two nervously.
“Name?”
“What?”
“Your name.”
Was it because of Encrid’s calm demeanor?
Or his boldness in not reacting to the murderous aura?
In response to Encrid’s question, asked while lowering his sword, the rough-looking soldier replied reluctantly.
“Call me Mac.”
Even while speaking, he didn’t let go of his murderous intent. Encrid, looking away from the soldier, said,
“Mac, I won’t tolerate insubordination.”
“What?”
Rip.
Encrid finished tearing through the tent wall and stepped out.
The rest had only one choice.
They had to follow him.
“Phew, I really don’t know what’s what.”
Mac muttered to himself, making eye contact with Andrew.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Mac responded to that look.
For now, they had to follow.
The adjacent barracks were empty.
It seemed all the soldiers in the barracks had gone out for night guard duty or something.
‘Does that even make sense?’
The tent was large enough to accommodate at least ten people.
At a minimum, it could house a squad.
If they pushed it, it could even hold two squads.
Judging by the traces inside the tent, more than ten people had been there.
“Forward.”
After passing by that tent, the troublesome squad leader didn’t even bother to tear through the tent walls.
He peeked out from the tent entrance, looked left and right, and then moved forward swiftly.
The squad members followed him.
By now, clouds had covered the moon, making it harder to see with just the torchlight.
Even though they blinked several times to adjust to the night, it was still dark.
In such darkness, Encrid moved forward without hesitation.
Except for the breathing of the squad members following him, there was no other sound.
“This way.”
A voice echoed in the darkness. It wasn’t a particularly quiet voice.
If there were enemies nearby, it was loud enough for them to hear.
Mac felt a chill down his spine.
‘This guy is really…’
But there was no sign of the enemy. There was no movement they hadn’t detected.
If they had been discovered, they would have heard shouts demanding who they were by now.
Encrid moved again.
By now, even Mac found it hard to tell direction.
In the tall grass, the sun above made it easy to navigate, but now it was dark all around.
‘Does he know where he’s going?’
It seemed so. Encrid’s steps showed no hesitation.
He moved forward, stopping only when he saw two torches together by a tent in the distance.
Encrid used a suitable tree in front of him as cover and gestured behind him.
In the darkness, they could barely see his gesture.
Mac felt like he was possessed by a ghost.
‘How long have we been walking?’
He didn’t know exactly. But based on the number of tents and the size of the camp,
‘Did we penetrate it?’
It seemed like they had walked through the enemy camp.
But no one noticed? Why haven’t we been caught?
It was no wonder he felt like he was possessed by a ghost.
“Wait here.”
Encrid turned around and whispered.
Glancing at the tent he mentioned, there were four soldiers guarding it.
Even though the enemy camp was unusually quiet for the night, that particular tent seemed busy.
Whoosh.
A breeze blew, causing the torch light to flicker, and the soldiers’ shadows moved around.
Then someone came out of the tent and said something.
They were too far away to hear the voice clearly, but they saw the soldiers nodding in response.
‘What are they guarding?’
So the troublesome squad leader targeted that?
Only then did Mac understand the situation. Or rather, he guessed. A sudden thought crossed his mind and settled in his brain.
‘It’s a secret mission.’
A mission given solely to the troublesome squad leader, excluding himself and the other squad members.
This indicated the commander’s trust in him.
Mac recalled what Andrew had mentioned.
He had said that the troublesome squad leader had joined under the company commander’s orders.
Now everything made sense.
Encrid, the squad leader, was on a secret mission.
‘So that’s what it was?’
It had been a misunderstanding.
Mac had a small realization but didn’t voice it.
Even if Encrid knew about this misunderstanding, he wouldn’t bother to explain it further.
There were more urgent matters at hand.
“We’re going to set fire to that barrack.”
Encrid pointed with his finger.
It was a barrack guarded by four soldiers at the front.
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