23. Wildebeest footprints
“You hear sounds that are more unnatural than usual.”
The departure of the scouting party was in the blue dawn, before dawn.
As I was packing up my luggage alone, Saxony, who was my last watchdog, blurted out something.
“suddenly?”
Encred asked what he was talking about.
“You asked how to avoid getting hit by a sword on the battlefield, right?”
Encred searched his memory.
Duty Barracks, Assassin’s Raid, Elf Company Commander, Kraang, Fire.
When all the commotion was over, the troublemaker squad was fighting.
It was almost like I was distracted.
Thanks to that, it only occurred to me after hearing it.
Before all that happened, on the last day before the last dance with the assassin, I asked in passing.
“I know how to listen well, but I can’t concentrate and listen to avoid getting hit on the battlefield, right? “How do you avoid it without even looking back?”
Hearing training, yes, it’s good.
But this is something that requires a high degree of concentration.
Is it possible to be listening like this in the middle of a battlefield?
‘difficult.’
I know because I tried it. If you get used to it, you may be able to perform moves that are close to stunts against multiple people.
What is certain is that just listening well is not enough.
Saxony was sincere.
I did not ignore passing questions and answered them faithfully.
And Encred was more sincere.
He never missed an opportunity to learn.
“You mean to feel a sense of alienation?”
“It would be nice to awaken different senses than usual, but that isn’t easy. So, if it’s a grass field, listen carefully to the sound of grass blades rustling and look for different types of sounds.”
The scouting area is grass. A place full of grass that grows up to calf level if short and eye level if long.
It seemed like he knew that and said it.
While listening to the kind answer, Encred suddenly became curious and asked.
“That’s pretty detailed, huh?”
Saxony looked into Encred’s eyes after hearing those words.
It was as if those eyes knew everything and asked what to ask.
When Encred tilted his head, only then did Saxony speak.
“Because the squad leader is terrible.”
“… … what?”
Where did the conversation take a wrong turn?
Why is it suddenly being said that it is terrible?
Saxony knows the tenacity of the squad leader. I know your passion for swords. That’s why I said it.
Encred didn’t notice at all.
Encred was about to ask more, but closed his mouth.
Do reasons matter?
The whims of a troublemaker squad member don’t just happen in a day or two.
Then the reason didn’t matter.
There are people here to learn and people to teach.
As long as the content is valuable, that’s it.
Since I’m being dragged into a scouting party call right now, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to think about this and train as I go.
Therefore, I ignored things that did not need to be questioned or questioned.
“How do we distinguish between different types of sounds?”
Encred quickly erased his expression of embarrassment and returned to the main topic.
The look in Saxony’s eyes when he saw that was strange.
It was like seeing a three-headed dragon.
“why?”
“no.”
The explanation continued. What is an alien sound?
How should you use your hearing?
It was great. Learning is a pleasure. Encred set out on the road feeling extremely satisfied.
“Yeah, it was like that.”
Saxony still looked at Encred with strange eyes.
Encred didn’t feel it and turned around.
“Then I will go and come back.”
He walked out to the outskirts of the barracks for a reconnaissance mission.
Saxony thought while looking at that.
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
Recently, I saw a squad leader listening intently to hear footsteps.
It reacted from quite a distance away.
Hearing and hearing range were quite wide.
Even if it was someone else, he couldn’t fool his eyes.
However, it’s just a little strange.
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Consider all the training methods he knows and all the people who have received the same training.
Listening to sounds and training your ears means continuously listening to different sounds and distinguishing them.
Then, you will be able to understand the type of sound.
But what is the squad leader like now?
‘He has a high-level listening ear, but he is a beginner at distinguishing things.’
It’s like someone who has trained only the act of listening intensively in a short period of time.
But does that mean training?
If you have dozens of spare lives, you can train like that.
‘It’s strange.’
The squad leader is a very strange person. Anyway, thanks to that, he told me at least one more thing he knew.
And the squad leader will quickly absorb what he just learned.
It’s hard to train your listening ears.
Distinguishing and classifying sounds is additional.
As soon as he entered the barracks after completing his watch duty, he saw Rem looking at him with dark eyes.
He was lying down with his hands on his back and looking at himself with a smiling face, which was very unpleasant.
“I have unlucky eyes?”
Saxony said good morning.
Rem smiled softly and answered.
“Have you fallen for the squad leader’s charm now? “When you see it, you want to teach it, right?”
“It’s a fair exchange. “I am indebted to you, so I will receive the corresponding value later.”
Saxony of equivalent exchange.
It is a nickname within the unit.
But even as he spoke, Saxony knew.
Teaching the squad leader was not an act to ask for something.
It was an impulsive decision.
Is it because he was impressed by his recent outstanding performance on the battlefield?
Saxony didn’t think much about it.
I know that sometimes it’s not a bad thing to do what you feel like. Therefore, all we have to do is finish this work here.
“Shut up, you idiot. “The boy is shy.”
Rem giggled, then lay back down and closed his eyes.
He pulled the blanket over himself and covered it under his chin, and immediately exhaled evenly, as if intoxicated by the warmth.
Sometimes Saxony felt that way.
What does that crazy barbarian believe and go out like that?
“Go and lie down. “If you attack me because I’m asleep, my head will split.”
Rem, who was pretending to be asleep, said.
Saxony ignored Rem’s words and returned to his place.
He’s the type of person who talks a lot if you talk to him a lot for no reason.
“Anyway, you bastard, you don’t answer often.”
Sure enough, Rem grumbled after I told him.
* * *
The scouting party, which set off early in the morning, was shaky from the start.
“When I meet Azpen bastards, I split their heads. Did you understand?”
These are the words of a reconnaissance squad leader in charge of a small number of commands.
At that moment, Encred almost asked what you thought of reconnaissance without realizing it, but the squad leader spoke faster than that.
“Troublemaker squad leader, you are just a soldier now. If you’re going to disobey orders, tell me now and let’s talk about your skills. Well, I’m confident because unlike others, I didn’t become a squad leader through an asshole.”
The tone of speech was not particularly harsh.
Encred wasn’t angry. I wasn’t that offended.
How many times have you received praise like this before?
Simple criticism from people who didn’t know him was nothing.
And rather than causing unnecessary trouble, I thought it would be better to calmly patrol and reflect on what I learned before heading back.
“No matter how bad it is, endure it. “It seemed like he had a bit of an outgoing personality.”
Another soldier close behind said. He was an older soldier with a loud voice.
“I don’t care.”
“Then I’m glad.”
The soldier next to him smiled plainly, avoiding the squad leader’s eyes.
It wasn’t a bad impression.
“Then let’s go!”
This is the start of the general column, a reconnaissance and patrol unit.
Not all reconnaissance units were meant to spy on enemy territory.
This plain is a large grassland called Green Pearl on the continent.
To the east there are a few gentle ridges along the shallow hills.
It is generally wide and there is nothing blocking the view.
To the west, the Pen-Hanil River, which can be said to be Naurilia’s lifeline, flows, and it is a wide river that is now shared by the enemy, the Principality of Azpen.
Due to the topographical characteristics, surprise attacks are almost impossible in battles on this plain.
So what does the scouting party do?
It is an exploration of enemy territory and patrolling the surrounding area.
I wonder if there are any groups moving around during the day or night.
Are there any signs of the enemy cavalry moving?
Or, my job is to make sure I’m not doing anything else.
In the meantime, it also includes checking major areas.
Of course, scouting parties are dangerous.
You never know when you might encounter the enemy.
There were many cases where skirmishes between scouts immediately led to full-scale war.
But that doesn’t happen often.
I can’t even wake up often.
“Let’s go, to show the greatness of the Naurilian infantry.”
From Encred’s perspective, that young squad leader was a fool drunk on his own skills.
Could it be that he is the illegitimate son of a nobleman?
Otherwise, there might be some trust in the unit command.
Have you just turned nineteen or twenty?
For a Naurilian regular army squad leader, this is a fairly quick promotion.
Well, compared to true geniuses, soldiers like that are widespread.
It seemed like the role of the scout squad was no longer in the mind of the scout squad leader.
Some of the soldiers even agreed with those words.
“of course. “With your skills, you’ll be no match for a few guys.”
“Show me your strength in defeating five mercenaries!”
‘I’m going to tear down the squad leader’s little asshole.’
It was so obvious how this situation came to be, even if no one told me.
Unfortunately, the soldiers in the scouting party were frequently injured, so the number of soldiers was insufficient.
Thanks to that, you and those idiots came here.
Anyway, that’s true.
Aren’t these bastards subpar?
Still, there won’t be any problem.
Anyway, the route of this scouting party is set.
‘Patrol in a circle based on the friendly camp.’
The detailed route is up to the squad leader.
Encred organized the information in his head and thought that the scout squad leader just had to avoid acting like a serious idiot.
“These are wildebeest footprints.”
The squad leader passed by and discovered the footprints of an animal.
Wildebeests are one of the animals that run in groups in the grasslands, resembling cows.
They are animals that migrate in groups of fifty at most or twenty at most.
“If I chase this, I’ll feast on it today. “Let’s all have a barbecue.”
… … Let’s chase twenty wildebeests?
What’s even more absurd is that those footprints aren’t anyone’s.
The footprints belonged to a gazelle, not someone else.
“Good.”
The handsome soldier behind him muttered.
He too laughed and looked at the back of the squad leader’s head, as if he was dumbfounded.
On the first day, the scouting party moved forward, looking for wildebeest that were not there.
Naturally, there were no animals captured by the group that openly glared at them with evil eyes.
“Ac.”
The squad leader lost his temper for no reason.
If he had caught the wildebeest, would he really have tried to start a fire?
If so, it would have been really worth seeing.
Since moving secretly wasn’t enough, a scouting party even lit a bonfire.
‘I’m such a complete asshole!’
What is the difference between saying this?
Perhaps it was fortunate that no animals were caught.
Before the sun set, we found a place with a hill and four large trees and were ready to camp there.
“Where are you from, troublemaker squad leader?”
This was the soldier who gave a good first impression, and above all, looked with disdain at the idiot leading the reconnaissance squad.
“Border Guard.”
“Professional soldier?”
Encred nodded.
Border Guard is a fortress city that protects the frontier.
Although there were farmland and merchants there, it was basically a military town.
It is a city full of training facilities and professional soldiers.
“I come from a mountain village and am confident when it comes to hunting, but I was shocked when they saw the footprints and asked me to hunt. “It was the traces of a gazelle.”
Encred was also shocked.
A consensus emerged between the two.
The name of the soldier who was a hunter is Enri.
Although he had a laid-back personality, he didn’t really like his current squad leader.
“I’ll tell you something fun tomorrow. “Even though it may seem like there is no path in the grassland, there is a path for animals to follow.”
Enri, who chatted a few more words, quickly closed her eyes.
As he stood watch for the third time that day, Encred pondered what Saxony had taught him.
Although I didn’t actually hold the sword, I waved my hand in the air and reflected on what I had learned.
Before going on a reconnaissance mission, sparring with Ragnar and Rem was quite helpful.
‘I told you to thrust from any position.’
This is what Rem said. He was training for that too. Rem also showed us how.
He told me to train my lower body.
Scouts do a lot of walking. Unless you are a cavalryman, there is nothing you can do.
‘Walking is good too.’
It’s not a bad idea to train your legs.
I felt empty after filling my stomach with only beef jerky.
But Encred didn’t even have time to think about such things.
All that was going through his mind were the training he needed to do now, the training and swordsmanship he had to do in the future, the hearing he had learned from Saxony, and the hunter’s skills that Enri had taught him.
He purely enjoyed learning and learning.
Of course, I enjoyed writing it as much as I learned it.
‘Let’s spar again when we get back.’
Encred continued his thoughts while training his hearing, which felt foreign throughout his watch.
I soon woke up the next watchman and fell asleep.
After dawn began on the second day, the scouting party set out again.
In the morning, I learned roughly how to see the way of animals from Enri.
I heard the sound of footsteps grazing the calf-deep grass.
‘There’s a lot to learn.’
Encred truly thought so.
Enri’s knowledge about hunters was also quite interesting.
Until now, there was no time to accumulate knowledge in this area.
“Come this way.”
The scout squad leader takes the lead and sets out on the road. The destination is a weed field full of tall weeds.
‘It’s okay.’
It was a trouble-free route, considering that I would meet the enemy and split my hair.
It was also a point that had to be assigned and confirmed.
Of course, the scout squad leader easily broke Encred’s common sense.
“We’re going to go through the grass like this and follow the traces of the scouting party. how is it?”
Is this guy really crazy?
Those words almost came out of my mouth, but I suppressed them.
What will you see and how will you get your bearings in the tall weeds?
If we go like this, what guarantee is there that we will meet an enemy scouting party?
All you have to do is check if there is an enemy ambush inside the river or if something unusual has occurred.
“Don’t interfere. Well, not all squad leaders are the same.”
I tried to comfort him by talking back to him, but a soldier under his command came forward and said this.
haha.
Encred still wasn’t angry.
I just wondered if I could leave it like this.
The worry was short-lived.
I decided to leave it as is.
What if I mess up and die?
I decided to think again the next day.
Unless it is.
‘You’re just going back without making a mistake.’
Whatever it was, it wasn’t a loss to him.
fantasy,
