Chapter 741 - Bold and Audacious Dreams
The Beasts kept changing their approach, launching fresh attacks several times.
Sometimes they'd strike every other day, other times every three days.
A few nimble Fox Beasts even tried sneaking into the village by taking a long detour, hiding themselves along the path to the lake—but none of them could slip past Enkrid's senses.
Most importantly, all of this fell within his predictions.
'If the Beasts were to learn human cunningness...'
All you had to do was factor that in and prepare for it as well.
"How are you able to know and be ready for all of this?"
Eirik asked in the middle of their training.
Enkrid decided to use the opportunity to teach the boy a few things.
When Eirik asked which way was east, Enkrid pointed out, "The sea is over there," and Eirik listened intently to every word.
His ears seemed to perk up, and he blinked less than usual—a picture of focus.
"Even if it doesn't seem necessary right now, it's good to have at least a basic ability to defend yourself. It could become your fangs one day, or your last resort to escape danger."
The Stranger who'd appeared by chance was no ordinary person.
There was something remarkable about him.
The advice Enkrid shared was rooted in Krais's own thinking.
After barely escaping with his life in the past, the very first thing Krais had said was exactly that
"If I happen to get some abs that catch the ladies' attention in the process, that's even better."
There was no need to repeat the words that followed, so he left them out.
"Of course, it's not like you'll be able to kill dozens of Beasts right away, but you'll still get stronger. When you move your body, your mind sharpens up too."
Enkrid tapped his own head with his right index finger as he spoke.
He shared what he'd learned by layering his own experience onto Krais's way of thinking. People would call this teaching or education.
After the initial preparations for the Beasts' raids, he only had the villagers train to hold their formation.
He taught Brunhild how to fight, shared skills, tips, and methods for training; as for Eirik, he mostly engaged him in in-depth conversations.
For Eirik, those talks were like a secret sword manual.
"You're not preparing because you can predict everything—you're preparing for anything you can possibly foresee."
Some might tilt their heads at that, but Eirik wasn't one of them.
"Ah."
A short gasp escaped him, as if he'd had a revelation.
Krais was always anxious and tried to prepare for everything to quell that unease.
If you applied that mindset to the village—
'Narrow the area you need to protect, and gather every resource you can use.'
Ordinarily, they'd have had to defend the food stored in the warehouse, protect the path to the lake, and be ready for Beasts targeting children or the elderly. But that wasn't necessary anymore.
'Reduce what you need, and prepare for everything within those limits.'
That was precisely the kind of tactics Krais would use.
Enkrid simply followed that example and put it into practice They didn't just rely on their instincts—they took proactive, preemptive measures. They didn't shy away from using their heads.
That's how people picked up their spears and fought the Beasts.
Enkrid watched over them from up in a tree as they thrust their spears, staking their lives on survival.
"If we break formation!"
"We die!"
Now they even had their own call-and-response chants, and it hadn't been Enkrid who taught them that.
"If you're struggling, don't try to tough it out—fall back!"
Repetition brings skill. If one out of ten was falling behind, they'd pull them back. Even with nine, the circle would keep turning. Those not fighting were the ones who looked after those who stepped out.
A couple of archers stood firm at the center of the circle. They'd volunteered themselves after nearly getting their shoulders ripped off by an Owl Beast two nights ago.
One woman, her forearms thick and muscular, kept glancing warily up at the sky.
If an Owl Beast showed up, a Crow could swoop in too, so no one let their guard down just because it was daytime.
They weren't trying to predict the Beasts' every move—they were focusing on defending and enduring. Enkrid's teachings had become reality.
"Don't drop out just because you're tired! Hold your ground!"
And with that, they even chose their own ten-chief. There were some Beasts here and there who tried to poke through the gaps in the formation.
"Not so fast."
Brunhild blocked them. Her innate talent shone brilliantly. The tip of her spear split the sunlight as it drove deep into the Beast's skull. It was a simple thrust, but the windup was almost nonexistent. The Wolf Beast facing her died before it could even show off how sharp its fangs were. Using her left foot as a pivot, she twisted her hips and sent the spear piercing straight through the Beast's hide.
'To be more precise, rather than aiming for its hide, she stabbed into the more vulnerable inside of its mouth.'
It was a dynamic sight as she yanked her spear back out, the blade protruding from the back of the Beast's head. Launching herself into the air, Brunhild kicked off the Beast's shoulder with both feet and pulled her spear free. She made up for lack of brute strength with nimble, spring-like movements. Then, landing and stamping her spear into the ground with a sharp motion, she flipped acrobatically through the air and landed on her feet. Every part of it was proof of her remarkable body control.
'Some people just don't need help.'
His heart trembled.
It was a thought he'd had watching the dying in the past.
What if, instead of looking for help, they'd had the strength to protect themselves?
If you just toss a beggar a gold coin, once it's spent, they have to go back to begging.
But if you teach that beggar how to work instead of giving them gold, they'll learn to survive by labor, not by begging.
'Even if I leave, the threat of the Beasts will remain.'
The ferryman's whispered words from last night echoed clearly in his ears.
"Think about it. Let's say you help them and then leave—but what happens after that? Sooner or later, these people will die. Can you walk away and ignore their deaths?"
Was this simply an attempt to find and poke at his weaknesses?
Enkrid was unshaken.
He would do what he could.
After that, any choices would be theirs to make.
According to the laws of the Continent, he would give them a means of deterrence.
This was the same principle as establishing a pioneer town.
By repeatedly killing Beasts, marking the place with blood and death, they would stake their claim to the land.
It was marking a territory by force.
'You can't kill every last Beast.'
Now that these people had managed to stand on their own, all they needed was a little more strength.
Most didn't understand Enkrid's intent, but Harkbent seemed to have figured it out, and Eirik had realized it much earlier.
Brunhild and a few others, it seemed, hadn't even thought about such things.
'Some people simply don't need it.'
That thought crossed his mind once again.
He had seen the charred body of a child.
He had seen the corpse of a mercenary who had his head torn off while trying to protect that child.
Surrounded by the dying, Enkrid had wrestled with such thoughts before.
And now, here he was again.
"Ha!"
With a shout, he saw people pushing back a Beast.
Not one of them had died.
'Enduring.'
Eirik had seen it clearly.
Enkrid had helped them endure.
That was enough.
From atop the tree, Enkrid's gaze shifted to one side.
Compared to most knights, Enkrid's senses were remarkably sharp; after days of being watched by a malevolent gaze, there was no way he would miss it.
'They must plan to keep watch until I leave.'
Where there were people like Eirik and Brunhild among the villagers, there was a Beast out there with a similar quality—the kind that knew how to think and fight.
That creature was likely the leader behind all of this.
Even if Enkrid couldn't kill every last Beast at once, he could at least take out a few of the troublesome ones with ease.
A Beast pack was much like several colonies gathered together.
Within each, there would be a core Beast responsible for that colony.
If he could just kill those core creatures, the immediate threat looming before them would be lessened.
Enkrid stepped onto a branch and sprang forward.
He leapt from tree to tree as if he were a flying squirrel, though at least twice as fast.
Then, finding nowhere suitable to land, he dropped to the ground.
The moment he touched down, two Spotted Leopard Beasts lunged out at him from both sides.
They were so stealthy that he hadn't sensed them until they were almost on top of him.
Just before the attack, Enkrid felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
It was a warning from his instincts.
The moment he registered that warning, he shifted his center of gravity. He planted his left foot and stopped cold, bringing all his forward momentum to a halt.
Boom!
With an explosive sound, dirt, stones, and twigs blasted up to eye level.
Through that spray, the claws of the two Leopard Beasts flashed, aiming for Enkrid's head and side.
It wasn't enough that they attacked from both sides—they also came at him from above and below.
These were cunning beasts.
But that was all they had.
Standing his ground, Enkrid thrust his blades out to either side.
The sun was blazing strong directly overhead.
The arc traced by Samcheol behind his back looked as if a new sun had been born, drawing a perfect circle.
Instead of heat, the razor-sharp edge of the blade scattered like sunlight all around him.
Thud.
The next sound was much softer.
There was no need to swing his sword faster than the sound itself.
He simply pressed the blade against the attackers as they lunged in, slicing through with their own momentum.
Samcheol's blade was sharp enough for that.
That's exactly what Enkrid did.
He cut down the one on the right with the True Silver side, and split the one on the left with Black Gold side of the sword.
Stopping dead, cutting, and then launching himself forward again—all of it happened within a single breath.
In the spot he'd just passed through, two Leopard Beasts sprawled on the ground, leaking black blood and entrails.
He kicked off the ground and moved on, trailing what seemed like a long line behind him.
He could have relied on endurance, chasing and fighting for as long as it took, but that would have wasted precious time.
No matter how long he let the others hold out in the rear, there was no guarantee they'd stay safe forever.
That meant he had to catch up to them within a set time limit—but was that really so difficult?
No.
Even explosive force wasn't all the same—some lines are thin and some are thick.
What if he applied the sense he'd gained from explosive swordwork to the Steel Horn technique, which channeled Will into the legs?
When he tried that, his body felt much lighter.
Trees distorted and blurred past him on either side Naturally, the speed of his reflexes adjusted in proportion to his sprinting pace.
So there was no risk of slowing down or getting scratched or jabbed by stray branches as he ran.
Enkrid's dash brought him face to face with a single fox.
Given the choice between fleeing only to be caught from behind, or turning to face his pursuer, the fox chose to stand its ground.
It was just as clever as he was.
The moment he faced it, more than a hundred Fox Beasts circled around, surrounding him.
Hiding in the shadows, their eyes gleamed, but they kept their presence carefully concealed.
"A skill learned in the wild."
They say a knight's Assimilation is learned by watching fairies, but looking at the Beasts' tactics now, he had to wonder if that was really true.
If fairies had learned their agile footwork by observing predators, wouldn't it be just as accurate to say they learned from the Beasts in the first place?
He recalled the stories Valfir Balmung had told him.
Humans—
"Learned intimidation by watching Monsters."
So if Assimilation was learned from Beasts—
Didn't that mean Monsters and Beasts were now learning from humans in turn?
"What else could be inside the Demonic Domains?"
He found himself newly curious about the Demonic Domains.
The battles fought there, the others who fought not as fragments, but in their true forms.
The Fox Beasts hid blades in their tails and could extend their claws, but compared to everything he had been through today, this was an easy fight.
Enkrid's Samcheol and Penna joined the dance.
With the sun as their chandelier and the Beasts' black blood as their carpet, only two swords played the lead at this masquerade ball.
He slashed, stabbed, burst, and killed.
Then, returning to the Village—
A mix of cheers, relief, and astonishment spread across the faces of the villagers as they stared wide-eyed at Enkrid.
"...Bring some water for washing," said Harkbent as he saw the scene.
Perhaps Enkrid looked grim, his whole body soaked in black blood.
Still, nobody scolded him for it.
Enkrid could feel it—he was the focus of more than one gaze.
Among the Beasts eyeing the Village, three dangerous ones remained.
He hadn't changed his tactics: kill the key Beasts while the villagers held the line.
You'd think the Beasts would give up at this point, but they stubbornly refused to withdraw.
'That must mean they're after something,' he thought, though it wasn't hard to guess.
He didn't bother questioning it.
Enkrid then killed a small but extraordinarily fast Bear after another similar pursuit, and, caught between a pack of wolves and wild dogs moving as one body, he sliced the head off a black wild dog.
The last was a tiger, its hide hardened tougher than steel.
So far, he'd always been chasing them down, but this final Beast was different—it met Enkrid as if to greet him.
Grrrrng
"Did you dream of becoming the Beast King?"
Enkrid asked, following his intuition. Naturally, Beasts can't answer in human language, but the tiger's deep growl almost sounded like a yes.
To perceive the true nature of something without passing through processes like feeling, experience, association, judgment, or reasoning—this is what is called intuition.
Enkrid's intuition had already surpassed not only that of ordinary people, but even most knights.
His answer was the product of everything he had experienced up to that day, the knowledge he had gained fighting inhuman monsters and demons, all layered atop one another.
'Beast King.'
He didn't know its actual name.
But the tiger truly did dream of becoming the king of beasts.
Even in the Pen-Hanil Mountains, a Beast could not rest easy at the top of the food chain.
This tiger, having become a Beast, dreamed his dream: To claim the mountain range as his domain, to race across the entire Continent, to devour human flesh in the morning, and drink fairy blood at night.
Grrrrng.
A daring, brazen dream.
And it almost could have come true.
The reason this tiger Beast targeted this place was because of the ore hidden behind the Village.
If he could bite down and swallow that, he would become something entirely new.
If only not for the human standing before him.
No—if only it hadn't been for the others who had interfered until now.
The only reason the human village had survived until now was because a few Monsters attacking from the opposite front were being dealt with.
Enkrid did not underestimate his opponent. This was a creature that had transcended species, formed a pack of Beasts, risen to their pinnacle, and even changed the territory of the Mountain Range.
Just as there are Knights among intelligent beings like humans, so too could unique individuals be born among Beasts.
'The truly exceptional ones among the Monsters.'
Such beings gather within the Demonic Domain.
The one standing before him now must be similar.
The muscles in the tiger's shoulders contracted.
Though nothing changed outwardly, a sixth sense—beyond the five—picked it up.
The moment Enkrid sensed power concentrating in the beast's hind legs, the tiger's front paw came crashing down from above his head.
When it was crouched, he hadn't noticed, but now that it stood, he saw its body was even larger than a bear the size of a house—and yet its movements were nimbler than the quick-handed bear he'd fought before.
All sound vanished, and the heavy air pressed down on his shoulders.
It felt as if he was fighting while mired in a swamp, the pressure tangible.
This was a change brought on by the stretching of perceived time.
What was needed to throw off that crushing pressure was power—strength that exceeded human limits.
Enkrid squeezed every muscle, poured in his Will, and swung Samcheol.
Then, just as the tiger pulled back its front paw, it opened its jaws and spewed fire.
An unexpected move.
***
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