Chapter 94: Punishment or Opportunity?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: Punishment or Opportunity?
Soft moonlight bathed the night. Encrid had just finished washing up and was returning to the barracks after pushing his body through his usual grueling training routine.
Even though the weather was warming up, the nights remained biting. Steam rose from Encrid’s shoulders as he stepped inside.
Though he knew they were scheduled to cross the river in two days for a reconnaissance mission to map the terrain, his training intensity hadn't wavered. In truth, there was no reason for it to change. No matter what lay ahead, the fact remained that he had to build upon today to face tomorrow.
Encrid’s daily routine was unwavering. He was exactly as the Ferryman had described him: a tedious bastard.
When he entered the barracks, Enri, who had been talking with Krais in a corner, started to approach but hesitated. His eyes fell upon Encrid’s bed.
Esther had already claimed her spot. Even after spending her time playing with magic books, she always settled there when it was time to sleep, as if it were her designated territory.
Esther lay prone on the bed, resting her head on her forepaws. Her gaze drifted toward Enri for a moment before returning to her paws. It was a clear sign she didn't have the slightest interest in him.
Enri treated the Lake Panther with extreme caution. He wouldn't even dare walk carelessly past her. After all, wasn't the Lake Panther revered as a guardian spirit on the Greenpearl Plains?
With the bed between them, Enri raised his voice slightly and asked, "Have you ever received separate training as a pathfinder? From what I saw before, you seemed to know a bit about it."
Encrid hadn't. He could barely manage to find his way. However, he knew why Enri was misunderstanding, and he understood the irony.
‘I learned it all from you, after all.’
There was no need to feel awkward. The other man couldn't possibly remember it. Once, in the tall grass fields of Greenpearl, he had relied on Enri’s knowledge. During that time, repeating the day over and over, he had picked up a few things, and that was the extent of it.
Encrid scratched his forehead and replied, "Not at all."
"Then, do you know the path upriver?"
The upper reaches of the Pen-Hanil were close to the northern regions. Even during his time as a mercenary, Encrid had never been there.
"Even though it's spring and the ground is starting to thaw, it will still be difficult terrain. I've traveled that path a few times. Would you like me to share what I know?"
Enri was a thoughtful person. Was it this personality that had made him a hunter, or had living as a hunter shaped him this way? He was the type to weigh pros and cons and do what was most necessary in the moment. Because of that, he had blended into the unit naturally.
Even just now, he had stood up after a long conversation with Krais. Rem didn't particularly hassle Enri, either. Aside from Rem, the others might ignore him, but they weren't the type to pick fights without reason.
"You said you were a hunter, but it looks like you've been around," Rem said, sitting on the edge of his bed. He held an axe in his hand, scraping a whetstone against the blade. As he spoke, he cast his gaze toward the corner where Andrew and Mac were sitting.
Andrew flinched under that gaze, his shoulders tensing before he forced them to relax.
"Stop it," Encrid warned Rem.
"What, are you discriminating against me again? Trying to look after the newcomer? If you bring in a new wife and neglect your ex-wife like that, you'll end up with a knife in your back."
His words made absolutely no sense. And who was the ex-wife and who was the new wife?
"Crazy bastard."
Dismissing Rem’s personality and life in a single phrase, Encrid walked toward Enri. Enri still hadn't dared to approach Encrid’s bed because of Esther.
"Churr."
As he passed the bed, Esther tapped Encrid’s thigh with her paw and let out a soft churr. The nudge seemed to tell him to finish up quickly and get to bed.
‘Are you jealous too?’
It seemed Rem wasn't the only problem. A strange tension hung in the air of the barracks—a vibe that had developed after Enri, Andrew, and Mac joined. They weren't called the Troublemaker Squad for nothing. The atmosphere was far from welcoming to newcomers.
Encrid didn't force them to mingle. He knew that wasn't something that could be forced. Besides, he didn't think they necessarily needed to act as one mind and one body. Once they stepped onto the battlefield, they were individuals who fought on their own. If they tried to force coordination and followed each other around blindly, it would be the perfect way to die an early death.
Take care of your own life.
That was the sole guideline of the Troublemaker Squad.
"I'm breaking out in a cold sweat," Enri had said, casting wary glances around as soon as he joined.
But did he know that this was actually a relatively good atmosphere? In the past, when new squad members arrived, the atmosphere had been truly savage. Some of them had looked down on Encrid, the squad leader. Those people would invariably end up with broken bones or severe injuries a few days later, carried away on stretchers.
Sometimes it was Rem’s doing. Sometimes it was someone else’s.
‘Though it was almost certainly the work of the squad members.’
Encrid was exceptionally quick-witted in that regard. This time, it was a relief. These were all familiar faces, and for some reason, they seemed to like him. So at least they wouldn't end up leaving with broken bones, right? It was merely a guess, but it seemed plausible.
"There are a few things to watch out for upriver of the Pen-Hanil," Enri continued. "You'll probably handle most of it on your own, but it's better to know than not. Do you happen to know about the flat stone slabs? There are many such stones upriver..."
Everything he heard from Enri after that was practical, lived knowledge—things experienced firsthand, tips passed down through generations of hunters.
He learned that except for the ocher-colored ones, all flat stones would explode if heated by fire. He learned that venomous snakes sometimes hid under those ocher-colored stones. He learned that there were sections where the river grew deep and the current turned rapid.
He couldn't memorize it all in a single day, but there was a massive difference between having a rough idea and knowing nothing at all. As he listened and memorized the tips one by one, it was soon time to sleep.
Without him noticing, Mac had taken a spot beside him. He approached and whispered, "I have a favor to ask."
At those words, the gazes of the rest of the squad members—excluding Ragna, who was out on duty—seemed to pierce into them. It was a warning from his Sixth Sense.
‘Should I tell them to leave him alone?’
What would happen if he just left things be? He felt like he might return from the mission only to find Andrew and Mac withered to death.
"Please request a transfer for us."
Despite the fierce glares, Mac managed to say what he wanted.
"Well, brother. You may enter as you please, but leaving isn't quite so simple."
It was Audin. This was a joke—teasing newcomers based on their reactions was practically a tradition of the Troublemaker Squad. Except, to the one hearing it, it didn't sound like a joke at all.
At those words, Mac muttered, "Were they listening to everything?"
Before Rem could open his mouth, Andrew stepped forward. He sprang up and suddenly shouted, "If you don't like me, then bring it on! No matter what anyone says, I'm going to learn under the squad leader—no, the platoon leader. I'm absolutely not leaving!"
It was sheer bravado. The bravado of a soldier who was so young he could almost be called a boy.
Did that bravado please him?
"Me first."
Rem leaped up, holding the axe he had been sharpening. He stuck out his tongue, mimicking licking the axe blade. "Where should I cut you first?"
Watching this, even Encrid felt a chill. The barbarian’s appearance, his greyish eyes, and his tone carried a sense of absolute sincerity. If Andrew fought him, he would lose at least an arm.
"If you go first, does that mean I have to deal with a cripple? I'm first."
Sachsen shook his head as he spat out those words. This was the very first thing he had said to Andrew since the boy joined.
"Brothers, you know how it is, don't you? I don't kill. I only tenderize. So, I should go first."
All three were overflowing with enthusiasm. Seeing this, Mac grabbed Encrid’s sleeve and shook it.
"Fuck, stop them! What is wrong with them? Lord Andrew, why would you say that?!"
Encrid had to stop them before Mac started crying. He couldn't stand watching a grown man snivel.
"That's enough."
But then again, this was actually a good sign. Rem didn't engage with people he disliked in this manner. "Where should I cut you" was, in reality, his way of offering a sparring match. In other words, it was goodwill.
Sachsen was a man who consistently ignored others, so the very fact that he spoke was a sign of goodwill. Audin was the same. If it weren't goodwill, he would have said something cold like, "Brother, please restrain yourself."
In the first place, if they didn't like the newcomers, they wouldn't have made jokes like that earlier. Good grief, how was he supposed to explain this?
"But kid, I'm a bit busy right now. Shall we settle this once our platoon leader leaves for his mission? I'll have plenty of free time then. Once that starts, I won't let you leave even if you cry and beg," Rem said, his smile unchanging. It was indeed chilling.
Andrew’s face turned pale, but he didn't back down. Should he praise his mental fortitude, at least?
"Bring it on anytime! I am Andrew of the Gardner family. I will not run!"
It wasn't just Encrid’s imagination that the boy looked prepared to risk his life. Watching this, Krais shook his head. Enri took a step back and watched. Rem created a terrifying atmosphere with his sly grin. Audin merely muttered, "Calm down, brother. It's something you have to go through anyway."
As for Sachsen, he simply scanned the two of them with an expressionless face. He did whisper very softly, though. "Maybe cutting off a few fingers would be fine."
It was even more terrifying because he might actually mean it.
Encrid sighed and spoke up. "Don't injure them. They are fellow squad members. They'll be heading to the battlefield soon."
It was both a warning and a way to extract a promise. Not that he could stop them from doing anything at all; he didn't have the power to do that.
"And make sure you don't make too much noise while sparring."
"Don't worry. I'll cut out his tongue first."
Seriously, stop with that joke.
"Bring it! I said bring it!"
By the time he managed to calm down the panicked Andrew, bedtime had already passed. Once Encrid finally settled the situation and lay down, Esther crawled into his arms and patted his chest. Feeling as though she were scolding him for being late, he stroked her forehead with his finger.
"I'm sorry."
At that, the panther purred softly and snuggled deeper into Encrid’s chest. He felt her warmth.
It wasn't that Encrid had absolutely no worries about the future. Especially when the Ferryman occasionally uttered terrible words in his dreams. Tonight was no exception. When he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he saw the dark, winding river.
"Wail in your confinement, for your cries shall be my nourishment and my pleasure."
Kye-he-he-he!
How on earth did someone laugh to make a sound like that? Being trapped in today was painful and terrifying. What would happen if he could never move forward to tomorrow? Just thinking about it made his chest ache with anxiety.
But so what?
Waking up, Encrid shook off the nightmare. That was the end of it.
‘What will happen will happen anyway.’
What must be done must be done. And his path remained the same.
"Good morning."
Waking up at dawn, Encrid muttered to himself and began the exact same day. Starting with the Isolation Technique, then Valaf-style bed martial arts. Followed by sparring with Rem, and swordsmanship training with Ragna. And finally, practicing releasing killing intent with Sachsen and training his Sixth Sense.
"In some ways, intuition is a dangerous weapon. If your opponent knows how to deceive you skillfully, you will fall for it completely," Sachsen had said.
What must he do to prevent that? It was the same as always. Train, gain experience, and hone it through real combat.
Andrew, Mac, and Enri managed to get along reasonably well as long as Encrid was around. From what Encrid could see, even if their methods were absurd, all the squad members were showing goodwill. Though from the perspective of those receiving it...
‘It must be quite exhausting.’
But wouldn't they gain just as much from it? Just as he had.
Two days passed like that.
"Let's go."
At dawn, he slipped past his sleeping squad members and stepped out of the barracks. Today was the day of the mission to cross the Pen-Hanil River and map the terrain. It was a direct order from the battalion commander. Failure would bring a massive headache, but success would bring a corresponding reward.
Hadn't they said the newly arrived battalion commander was that kind of man? It was something Krais had excitedly babbled about.
"His name is Marcus, and they say he's a warmonger. But in return, he always rewards those with merit and absolutely punishes those with guilt. In a way, he's like a monster created by the military policy of the Kingdom of Naurilia."
To those who achieve merit, a fitting reward. To those who commit crimes, an unforgiving blade. He was a commander who suited the kingdom's army perfectly.
Then, what was this mission they were embarking on now? What was its purpose?
‘Is this a punishment?’
Or was it an opportunity?
Encrid believed it was an opportunity—to prove himself in any task and build his renown. Wasn't that exactly what he desired as well?
"We meet again."
Before passing through the castle gates, he met the personnel who had joined the river-crossing mission. To be precise, it was Encrid who had joined them.
The man appointed as the platoon commander was Torres of the Border Guard.