Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter 109. The Method of Persuasion.
Saint-Sard placed his hand on the ground and let his mana flow.
It was a way to obtain minimal information in a situation with limited visibility.
‘The thickness of the vibration… human.’
The size of the vibration when stepping on the ground.
‘Four, five, six.’
The number of vibrations with different textures.
‘Three people.’
Saint-Sard spread his palm so that the people behind him could see.
Everyone to hold their position.
Do not make a sound.
Saint-Sard, who had informed everyone of both intentions, began to crawl on the ground.
Whoosh.
The sound of the strong wind erased the sound of him sweeping the ground.
Podeuk.
At the small sound of footsteps, Saint-Sard stopped moving.
Beyond the snowstorm, it seemed he could hear something different from the sounds of nature.
Saint-Sard held his breath and raised his hand.
‘Front and left.’
After confirming the direction of the wind, he breathed so that his breath would not go forward.
He once again let his mana flow to confirm the enemy's exact location.
‘Are they about halfway?’
A distance where the enemy could feel a strange presence.
Saint-Sard remained still.
Snow quickly piled up on his body.
Saint-Sard, who judged that a certain amount of weight had been gained, began to move little by little, very little by little.
Podeudeuk.
Podeuk.
Podeudeudeuk.
The enemy's footsteps grew closer.
Through the curtain of snow, a human-sized shadow could be seen moving.
Saint-Sard took short breaths and read the enemy's movements.
“This place would be difficult for a campsite, wouldn't it?”
“It's because not just one, but six are coming, right?”
“They said they were just testing the waters, but is it right for a brigade-level unit to be moving?”
“Hey, don't think about things like that. We just have to do as we're told.”
“Even so. They're against it inside… who's going to take responsibility if we fail?”
“The higher-ups will take care of it. Stop talking nonsense and move quickly. We have to find a campsite before the main force arrives.”
Saint-Sard, who had heard the enemy's conversation, checked his dagger.
‘They're definitely Uresra bastards. It's difficult to deal with three at once. I'll take care of the one farthest away first.’
He approached cautiously, like a snake holding its breath and aiming for its prey.
The sound of their footsteps.
The sound of Saint-Sard crawling.
The two sounds intersected.
Whooosh.
The snowstorm raged like a storm, holding back their steps.
The three of them did not separate.
Saint-Sard stopped moving and let his mana flow to confirm their positions.
It was a situation where they could reach each other with just a few steps.
‘The last one, at least.’
Saint-Sard pictured the situation in his head.
‘I'll rush in at once, cut his ankle, and take him hostage to prevent the next ones from approaching. I'll aim for the gap when they're flustered, kill one, and capture the remaining one. Good.’
He used his heart rate to calculate the exact timing to execute the plan.
One, two, three, four, five.
He slowly exhaled and gathered strength in his toes.
He put tension in his arm muscles so that he could raise his upper body at any time.
‘The wind is dying down.’
He checked the strength of the snowstorm.
The murmuring of the enemy.
The halted movement resumed.
The sound of the piled-up snow being crushed.
The sound of muscles and joints pressing against the ground and moving forward.
The two in front went ahead, and the last one waited for his turn.
‘Now.’
Saint-Sard took a deep breath.
The Mana Circle began to rotate.
Mana moved along the blood vessels, stimulating the muscles.
Paak!
The snow covering Saint-Sard scattered in all directions.
“Huh?”
The man who turned his head at the sound blinked.
Beyond the curtain of snow, a human-sized black shadow appeared.
Soon, the shadow broke through the curtain and rushed at him.
“You son of a bitch!”
He tried to react, but it was too late.
The man's ankle was cut, his thigh was slashed, and his arm muscle was severed.
“Keoheuk, keok.”
Saint-Sard covered the soldier's mouth and held a sword to his neck.
The other bastards, who had noticed the unusual sound from behind, drew their weapons and came running.
“What kind of bastard are you!”
“Green uniforms. You're definitely Uresra bastards.”
“……!”
The two realized that Saint-Sard was from Poinus.
“If you want him alive, drop your weapons.”
At Saint-Sard's words, the remaining two exchanged glances.
At that moment, Saint-Sard felt something strange.
“You son of a bitch!”
He pushed the hostage away.
Puk!
A sharp sword pierced the hostage's chest and aimed for Saint-Sard's neck.
Saint-Sard dodged it by a hair's breadth and swung his dagger.
Kaang!
Kang!
Saint-Sard, who had blocked the two attacks, created distance and regulated his breathing.
“To kill your own comrade.”
“It's better for him to die at our hands than at yours.”
“You're out of your minds.”
Saint-Sard, who had shaken his head, drew a one-handed sword, a gladius.
“I've never seen a bastard who uses two swords fight properly.”
“I know, right. They should just use one properly. The bastards who can't fight are the ones who mess around with two.”
The enemy taunted him and drew out their power.
Terion and Ignia.
Saint-Sard sighed and filled his dagger with the power of Benetuo.
‘O Benetuo. May you guide them with your breath.’
The two Uresra soldiers sensed that Saint-Sard's gaze had changed.
“I'll go before you come!”
With a shout, a wall of stone rose through the snow.
Saint-Sard's vision was blocked in an instant.
Just as Saint-Sard was about to grip his sword and move away, a sharp flame aimed for his shoulder.
Paang!
The flame that met the gladius scattered in all directions.
Saint-Sard's body staggered greatly.
“Push him! Kill him here!”
One of the Uresra soldiers jumped over the stone wall to split Saint-Sard's head.
Saint-Sard turned his body and threw his dagger.
The dagger moved here and there like a living creature.
Seogeok.
Blood gushed from the Uresra soldier's neck.
The burning flames disappeared, and bright red blood took its place.
Saint-Sard moved his body towards the next target.
He broke the stone wall with his gladius and threw his dagger.
Ping.
The dagger aimed for the remaining soldier's neck.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Don't be surprised. I'm not going to kill you.”
“……Kill me.”
“I can't do that. You have a lot to tell me.”
The Uresra soldier's hands trembled.
He bit his lip and glared at Saint-Sard.
Saint-Sard sighed and approached the soldier.
“Don't be afraid of death. I won't kill you. Never. I'll keep you alive somehow until I hear the answers I want. So don't waste your strength and tell me what you know.”
Saint-Sard, who had grabbed the dagger, lightly cut the soldier's cheek.
Red blood slowly trickled out.
The Uresra soldier frowned.
His face was filled with fear and anger.
“Don't think about suicide. If you bite your tongue, I'll pull it out somehow. I promise you this one thing. You'll wish you were dead. If you don't talk and hold out until the end.”
“……Do you think I'll do that?”
Saint-Sard looked into the soldier's eyes.
His will to live had been fading until now, but it was coming back to life.
He could even read a faint smile.
‘There's someone else!’
The moment he thought, "Oh no."
A rough breathing sound came towards him through the wind.
Saint-Sard straightened his gladius and turned his body.
But the shadow that was covering him was one step faster.
“You arrogant bastard!”
Seuk!
A large amount of dark red blood poured over Saint-Sard's face.
The black shadow that had been covering him split into two.
Pulsseok.
The face of the remaining person fell off.
Blood gushed out from the severed neck.
The sword he had been holding pressed against the thick snow.
Tuk.
The faceless body collapsed helplessly.
And a familiar face appeared.
“Always watch your back.”
A purplish-black sword larger than his body.
An indifferent gaze.
Maxim stood there, clicking his tongue.
“Huh? That bastard is running away.”
Saint-Sard quickly turned his head.
The last remaining soldier was flailing and running on the snow.
Peok!
The bastard's ankle was cut off.
In the rough snowstorm, a scream of "Ugh!" rang out.
But the sound did not go far.
***
“How did you know I was in danger?”
Saint-Sard asked. He was pressing down hard on the Uresra soldier's leg to stop the bleeding.
“You can just cauterize it with fire.”
“He might die if you do that while he's conscious.”
“He's unconscious, so what's the problem?”
“……”
It wasn't like I said something that wasn't true, but he was looking at me like I was a monster.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Still, he was a friend who knew what manners were.
Saint-Sard lifted the unconscious soldier.
I tilted my head.
“Why? Are you going to take him with you?”
“Yes, I am. It's harder to lie when there are many eyes watching.”
“Why go to all that trouble? Just wake him up. We can ask him here. Or call everyone here.”
“It's a waste of a signal flare.”
As expected of someone from the North.
He was stingy with everything.
“Alright, do as you wish.”
“That was my intention. Let's go.”
I followed Saint-Sard back to where we were… but…
“A barracks suddenly appeared?”
Dozens of white tents, which I hadn't even seen a moment ago, were spread out.
I looked at Rodrigo, wondering what had happened. He would tell me the situation.
“It was Battalion Commander Perignon's order. He said everyone was tired and needed to rest a little…”
“That's understandable, but did you put all this up in less than an hour?”
“It's a common thing in the North.”
Perignon walked out of the largest tent.
“It's easier since there's fire and earth.”
“What are you going to do if the enemy suddenly appears?”
“We'll fight better than if we were completely frozen and flustered.”
Perignon smiled gently and looked around.
There was nothing to see because of the snowstorm.
But there was one thing that was certain.
‘There's nowhere to avoid the snowstorm.’
Staying in this spot for over an hour was quite dangerous.
Even though there was a spell on us that generated heat, the opponent was nature.
There were clear limits to fighting against nature, so we needed a place to avoid the snowstorm.
Because there was no way we could fight properly in a completely frozen state.
“You're the commander, so you must have done well.”
“I'm glad you understand. By the way, who's that bastard behind you? He looks like an Uresra bastard.”
Saint-Sard put down the soldier he had brought.
“From now on, we have to feed him and ask him one by one.”
Not torturing him, but filling his stomach?
“You're giving him food? Why? Don't give him water yet. You can give it to him when he answers.”
“He might lie.”
“You can just squeeze it out of him until he tells the truth.”
“He'll die before that.”
Saint-Sard pointed to the soldier's severed ankle.
He had lost a lot of blood.
“If we wake him up and feed him well, he'll say something. Then we can apply pressure.
When he's relaxed and we suddenly tighten the screws, he'll be flustered and spill something. Based on the truth.”
It was an explanation that reeked of familiarity.
It seemed he had his own methodology, so I decided to watch.
“Let's treat his ankle first.”
Inside the tent Perignon had come out of.
Saint-Sard put down the Uresra soldier and applied medicine to his ankle.
And he prepared soft bread and warm soup.
Chalssak!
The Uresra soldier, who had been slapped, opened his eyes groggily.
“Eat.”
“……What? Where am I?”
“You don't want to eat? This is delicious.”
Saint-Sard picked up a piece of bread and dipped it generously in the soup.
The Uresra soldier swallowed dryly, wary of me, Saint-Sard, and Perignon.
“Eat. I'm giving it to you.”
“You Poinus bastards… Do you think I'll fall for this?”
“Yes.”
At Saint-Sard's reaction, which was as if it were the most natural thing, the Uresra soldier was at a loss for words.
Kkoreureuk.
Still, his stomach was honest.
“Eat and if you're still hungry, tell me. I'll grill you some meat.”
“……Take it away! How dare you use such food to… me.”
Saint-Sard didn't care what the bastard was rambling on about.
He started grilling meat right in front of the bastard.
“Looks delicious.”
Perignon picked up a piece of meat that Saint-Sard had grilled and ate it.
‘How natural.’
The two of them must have experienced this kind of thing many times; there was no wasted movement in their actions.
Kkoreureuk.
The Uresra soldier clutched his hungry stomach and repeatedly swallowed the saliva that was flowing.
“Aren't you going to eat the bread and soup? Then give it to me.”
At Perignon's words, the bastard began to ponder.
It was over.
‘It's going to go as planned.’
Saint-Sard smiled as he looked at the Uresra soldier.
Like a cat looking at a mouse caught in a trap.