While Jaxon was causing chaos, Encrid shoved Marcus aside as if tossing him.
"The Grand Duke is at the Royal Palace."
Marcus said as he rolled to the side. He was quick-witted. He found a place to hide, crushed against one side.
He didn't have the strength to mobilize any force at the moment, so there was nothing else he could do but hide well.
Although he had once served as Battalion Commander, he didn't have any soldiers under his command now.
"Damn Visar."
His family didn't side with either faction.
Marcus resented that. But that didn't mean he could just sit by and do nothing.
If Encrid went to the Royal Palace, he would be able to do what he had to.
First, he had to survive.
He regretted dismounting from his horse. He shouldn't have done that.
Encrid nodded slightly, and Odd-Eyes's one good eye scanned the area. The same intense energy as before was emanating from Odd-Eyes's skin.
A fierce determination.
'I'm fast.'
Pure strength meant solely for running.
However, he didn't want to recklessly wield his strength or will. Despite that, he kept running.
'It's because of my request.'
Odd-Eyes accepted Encrid's request fully.
The half-transformed horse pounded the ground with its hooves and began to move.
Comparing its movements to a normal mount was an insult.
Odd-Eyes smoothly kicked off the ground and lowered its body.
He bent his knees halfway, pushing off the ground as he ran straight through the mansion's front gate. He was both stealthy and swift. In a flash, the black shadow disappeared.
At that moment, Jaxon was drawing attention, slaughtering a few assassins.
No one guarded the front gate, even though the walls were well protected. Was this some kind of assassin's habit?
Encrid thought as he spoke.
"That way."
He lowered his body, gripping the mane. At his whispered words, Odd-Eyes moved.
They headed toward the outer road leading to the Royal Palace.
The Capital was in disarray. The citizens who had sharp instincts quickly went home and locked their doors.
A few shops were hastily closing, and some of the guards roamed with spears, their eyes gleaming with hostility.
Encrid ignored them all. Odd-Eyes lightly tapped the ground and stopped before the outer road leading to the Royal Palace.
This wasn't a road for regular traffic.
It was a direct route to the Royal Palace, bordered by a wall on the left.
"Let's go."
Neigh!
Odd-Eyes responded, launching off the ground with a powerful kick. The objects around them turned into lines and disappeared behind them.
Was this what happened when you continuously activated Focus Point?
It was that fast.
Before long, an obstacle appeared. No, it was right in front of them the moment it appeared.
Focus Point activated, and they recognized what lay ahead.
It was a wooden barricade, pointed at the front and firmly embedded into the ground, slanting upwards. If any horse, carriage, or person ran into it without thinking, they'd end up with a few fresh holes in their body.
Even most warhorses wouldn't be able to charge through it easily.
It was only natural to prepare such a defense for a direct route to the Royal Palace.
"Stop…ahhh…?"
The soldier standing in front of the barricade tried to say something but couldn't finish his sentence.
Something black seemed to fly toward him. The speed was unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him. He tried to shout for them to stop.
But before he could even get the words out, the black shape had already soared over his head.
Thud.
With the sound of hooves hitting the ground, a gust of wind swept past his ears. Something heavy had leaped over his head.
It passed through the barricade with the same speed it had when it was running.
Odd-Eyes kicked off the ground and jumped cleanly over the wooden barricade. To Odd-Eyes, it wasn't even that high.
Encrid didn't need to say anything. Odd-Eyes handled it on his own.
"…Wow."
Several stunned soldiers turned their heads.
A well-trained horse might be able to leap over a certain width, but this seemed more like flying.
They had blocked the path to the Royal Palace with dozens of soldiers and barricades, but Odd-Eyes had cleared it in a single bound.
"H-h-hey, shoot!"
The Commander spoke belatedly.
But that order was meaningless.
The horse had already leaped far ahead.
It was faster than any horse they had ever seen.
This was only the second time Encrid had ridden Odd-Eyes.
But it seemed even faster now than it had before.
The Royal Palace, which had seemed so far away, was now looming right in front of them.
They had leaped over sharp spears and wooden barricades, sprinting straight ahead, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived.
As soon as Odd-Eyes reached the front of the Royal Palace, he slammed his front hooves into the ground, twisting his body to a stop.
Thud, thud.
As he scraped the ground with his hind hooves, a cloud of dust rose from the ground.
Running at that incredible speed was one thing, but being able to control his body and come to a perfect stop was an art. Encrid straightened his body, which had leaned to one side, and spoke.
"Thank you."
He then immediately jumped down. Now wasn't the time to marvel at Odd-Eyes's performance.
Encrid dashed into the Royal Palace. There were no guards at the entrance of the inner castle. Instead, there was the clashing of metal and the stench of blood coming from inside.
Encrid ran, following the sounds and the smell.
"There, that bastard!"
Someone had noticed him. It was a group of people clustered together.
Was this a chance brought by coincidence?
Or perhaps the Goddess of luck was on his side.
Or maybe it was something he had secretly hoped for.
It was hard to say.
The face was familiar—someone who used to spread false rumors. It was an old acquaintance, a former instructor known for his trash talk.
"Hey, bring that maid over here."
He still remembered the time when the guy used to run his mouth like that. Afterward, he got beaten up to a pulp.
"Say you lost. Apologize and admit you were wrong."
The man had forced him, but Encrid had quietly responded.
"What did you say? Did you bark like a dog?"
There were so many times he had nearly died. Some of those memories were useful, but many of them were bad.
This was one of the latter.
The former trash-talking instructor was now a soldier under Viscount Mernes.
He was wearing a gambeson with the family's crest embroidered on it.
Grinning, he opened his mouth.
"Hey, be honest. You sold your body to get to where you are now, didn't you?"
It had been a long time since he had heard such trash talk.
The former instructor knew the old Encrid.
A guy with no talent, who swung his sword until his hands bled.
A fool who kept swinging his sword until his grip gave out.
A loser. How could such a person be called a hero of the Border Guard?
It made no sense.
There must have been someone backing him.
That was how it had been before.
There had been people secretly looking out for him back then, too.
"By the way, do you know where Krang is?"
"What?"
"Seems like you don't."
"What are you talking about, you idiot?"
"Still barking around, huh? Woof woof?"
As Encrid dredged up their past, the man's face turned red.
"I'll kill you."
The man said, brimming with murderous intent, as he raised his sword and took a stance.
There were some things the guy had said back then that were actually useful.
"If you get cocky thinking you're strong, you'll die. Even when hunting a rabbit, you have to give it your all. If you don't, you'll end up dead in this business."
Encrid agreed. That's why he showed some of his best effort.
Among the columns that looked like a hallway, the former instructor and his group numbered thirteen.
Their grins and the way they held their swords suggested that they had been acting like scum under the banner of the Viscount Mernes' army.
Behind them, there was a maid with her clothes half-torn. Her eyes were filled with terror, her arms scratched and bruised, and her body trembling.
Encrid stepped forward with his left foot. He tightened his muscles. He bent his knees and straightened them as he grasped the ember in his gaze and looked ahead.
He saw his enemies and kicked off the ground.
Thud!
His feet pushed off the stone floor.
In an instant, he accelerated.
The Ember in his view became a point, and his speed left everything else in the past as he brought a definitive end to their previous connection.
Ting. Thud.
With a sound, a body fell to the ground. Blood spurted from the wound, trailing after the Ember-like blade that was withdrawn as quickly as it had pierced.
The man had been unable to react to Encrid's thrust.
The gap in skill was obvious.
The one holding the sword crumbled downward. With a dull thud, his knees hit the ground, and then he collapsed forward.
There was a resounding thud as his head kissed the ground.
Seeing their comrade fall, the rest held their breath. They were too shocked to respond.
Encrid silently drew the Gladius from his left hip. A sharp sound rang out as the short sword came free of its sheath.
In his right hand was the Gladius, and in his left, the Ember.
With a sword in each hand, Encrid became a wolf among sheep.
Two of the sheep extended their wool-covered hands, but the wolf easily slashed and sliced them apart.
With a combination of broad, sweeping strikes from the thick blade and precise thrusts from the narrow one, the twelve remaining sheep were all on the verge of slaughter.
After killing them all, Encrid swung both swords through the air, flicking the blood off their blades.
"Ugh..."
The maid had been saved, but she was even more terrified now.
The group of men, who had looked like demons moments ago, were now nothing but lumps of meat.
It was a wonder she hadn't fainted.
She seemed in no state to answer any questions, nor was Encrid in a position to take care of her.
"Find a place to hide."
He said, offering her a few words before moving on. As he stepped forward, sheathing his swords, he clenched and unclenched his fists, thinking to himself.
'It's getting easier.'
He had noticed this after countless training sessions with Asia. He was becoming more accustomed to using the Will.
Before, he would overexert himself and sometimes faint, but now, after just one night of rest, he would feel perfectly fine.
Asia had been astonished by this, but Encrid still felt some discomfort.
However, with each repetition, it became clearer that his body was adapting.
It was as if his body naturally transformed in response to using the Will.
Maybe this was what growth felt like.
In any case, it was much more comfortable and controlled than before.
These were just fleeting thoughts, fragments of passing reflections.
Encrid had a feeling that someone else would soon stand in his way.
'It seems like all my bad connections are coming out.'
First, there was the magistrate, mad with jealousy.
Then came the group of assassins.
Now it was the trash-talking instructor.
Following his instincts, Encrid kept moving.
Before long, he came across another group locked in battle.
He had been following the sounds.
It was in the royal garden. Even the guards tasked with protecting the inner walls weren't present, and here they were, fighting.
There, two factions of the Royal Guard were divided, facing off against each other.
"Who goes there?!"
One of the Royal Guards shouted, and Encrid replied.
"Just a passerby. Go about your business."
"…What kind of madman…?"
"If anyone knows where Krang is, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me."
Encrid's gaze settled on one man. He wore a dark gray helmet.
This man wasn't faring too well either, his body was drenched in blood.
"He's in a private chamber inside the Royal Palace. You're too late."
He spoke.
"You madman!"
One of the Royal Guards, wielding a golden spear, rushed toward Encrid.
Encrid pulled his right foot back and then launched it forward with a kick.
It was a Valaf-Style upper back kick.
Using the rotation of his hips, his foot snapped like a whip, striking the hand gripping the spear shaft with precision.
The Royal Guard, focused on his sword, was struck directly on his fingers.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed. Encrid was wearing boots reinforced with hard leather at the instep and toes. They were weapons in themselves.
"Argh!"
The soldier screamed and dropped his spear. With his fingers broken, the pain must have been excruciating.
Now that Encrid saw his face, it was familiar. It was a Royal Guard soldier who had once been mocked and ground his teeth in anger.
To meet him again here.
Encrid struck the soldier's head with the flat of his sword.
Thud!
A sharp crack mixed with the soldier's scream as he collapsed sideways with a heavy thump.
Blood began to seep from under his golden helmet. It seemed his skull was cracked.
Turning his gaze, Encrid asked calmly.
"Need any help?"
Though he had just knocked someone out, he remained completely composed.
The subtle pressure and aura he radiated dominated the surroundings. It was the kind of presence only someone with true skill could exude.
The kind of pressure you'd expect to see from a Junior Knight of the Red Cape Knights.
Everyone fell silent under the weight of his aura.
"Didn't you say I'm too late?"
The man in the dark gray helmet spoke.
It sounded as though he was telling Encrid to stop wasting time here and go to Krang.
"Fine."
Encrid took off running. He didn't know exactly where the private chamber was, but he followed his instincts.
If that didn't work, he could always ask the next person he ran into.
"This is treason!"
A voice shouted from behind him.
"If doing what I believe is right is treason, then yes, I am a traitor."
He could hear the dark gray helmet's voice responding firmly.
Encrid entered the palace, searching for the private chamber. A long corridor stretched out before him, leading him in one direction.
Light streamed in through the windows between the walls.
He wondered if even the Queen herself might be in danger at this rate as he took a few more steps forward.
"That's far enough."
Someone blocked Encrid's path.
A woman with orange hair, wearing leather armor instead of the usual cloak and metal plate armor, stood before him.
Encrid stopped in his tracks. She was the kind of opponent you spoke to before resorting to violence.
"Asia?"
"You've come far enough. I can't allow you to go any further."
Without a hint of a smile, Asia stood firmly in front of Encrid, blocking his way.