Chapter 864

Chapter 864

“My name is Aurelia.”
She held herself with a newfound rigidity as she introduced herself.
“Enkrid.”
Their gazes locked. Enkrid offered his name without much ceremony, and at his side, Shinar took up the introduction.
“I am his fiancé, the ruler of the spirit city Kirheis, partner to the Border Guard, commander of flames, the Golden Witch, Shinar Kirheis.”
“…A lengthy title. I am Aurelia Everhold, Lady Kirheis.”
Enkrid considered how to address her—she was a variety of woman he hadn’t encountered until now.
If he had to find a point of reference, it was as if Kin Baisar had adopted an even more frigid demeanor than usual.
She possessed less of the “noble grace” and more the sharp aura of a swordsman, making her energy distinct from Kin’s; there wasn’t a single shared trait.
To compare her further, she felt somewhat like Aisia when her ki was sharpened to a razor edge.
Yet while Aisia, for all her martial discipline, retained a certain gentleness and fluidity, the woman standing there seemed far more unyielding.
Everhold was the territory of Cypress, and he was a knight of high lineage.
He possessed his own lands and had left his relatives there—his spouse and children, and so on. Only his granddaughter stayed by his side.
“She is a granddaughter of exceptional gift.”
As he spoke, Cypress sounded like a grandfather blinded by affection. He was clearly proud to brag about his lineage.
“So it appears.”
Enkrid gave his response.
Their conversation was casual, but the underlying significance was far from simple.
Aurelia herself twitched an eyebrow in a flash of irritation.
It wasn’t false flattery—she truly was a warrior of immense talent. Her posture, her presence, and her speech—everything served as evidence of what she had achieved.
By now, Enkrid’s perception was on par with the “talent appraisal” of the Frokk. Seen through that lens, Aurelia wasn’t here simply because of a sharp intellect.
She harbored a great deal of personal vexation over her lack of brute strength, though Enkrid couldn’t perceive that internal struggle.
Temares was aware, but it didn’t interest him, so he remained silent; Enkrid simply noted the look on Aurelia’s face, seeing she was bothered by the mention of her “talent.”
“Their goal isn’t the knights. To put it another way, the objective is to disable the unit as a whole.”
She finished her point, and everyone returned their attention to the strategy session.
“Not suitable for use as decoys, then.”
Lua Gharne repeated the thought.
“The primary assaults were being repelled by the Order remaining on watch through the night.”
One of the officers chimed in.
“Was it a strategy to wear us down by exhausting our energy?”
When Lua Gharne sought clarification,
“That is my assessment.”
Aurelia responded without pausing for breath.
Ingis possessed a quick wit as well, but he found the momentum of the discussion to be incredibly rapid.
‘She’s quite fearless.’
He could follow because he recognized the problems he had seen on the battlefield being identified; otherwise, he would have struggled to keep pace with the rapid-fire exchange across the table.
“So they had a diversionary group ready from the beginning.”
Glorp, with puffed cheeks, let out a single sentence—the deduction was reached quickly.
Even among the Frokk, Lua Gharne’s mind was remarkably sharp. She directed all of it toward the satisfaction of her own curiosity.
And because she was curious to see those present demonstrate their skills, she put her mind to work. Her cheeks expanded, and her eyes darted from side to side.
It was a classic Frokk look.
Enkrid was accustomed to it. There were two other Frokk on the Southern Front, and the rest were also used to waiting for her to speak.
Even if they weren’t, they would have stayed quiet.
Cypress, while watching the meeting, cultivated that exact environment.
Perhaps it was only possible because he was present.
Every eye was fixed on Lua Gharne’s face.
The Frokk are a strange race. Though they are physically more powerful than humans and possessed of an innate combat instinct—so much so they are labeled a warrior race—the way they use their skills is very specific.
One could say they act only out of self-interest.
Their motivations and targets are always restricted to their own curiosity and whims. For those things, they live to complete whatever goals they set. That is the nature of the Frokk.
A Frokk who had integrated this deeply with humans was a rarity.
One of the Frokk remaining in this group had made it their life’s work to plant trees. The Frokk who set down saplings right next to the war zone was the unit’s main curiosity.
If you didn’t mess with their apple tree, they wouldn’t even step out to join the fray. That was a Frokk.
If you asked why a Frokk, rather than a fairy, was busy planting greenery, that Frokk would simply reply, “My aim is to establish an orchard on this spot.”
They were not a people who sought the validation of others or different races. Yet if you paid attention, they moved for reasons that made sense—though, naturally, it only made sense by their own standards.
“Deploy a portion of a swift scouting party where the gryphon riders can spot them. Which implies—the gryphon riders do not have total control over the beasts they ride, even if I am the one holding the reins, correct?”
She hit the mark once more. She had looked at the situation and unearthed the principle behind it.
Frokk are born with the trait “Able Decider,” a talent for appraisal. Among them, Lua Gharne had perfected this way of thinking. She would observe the exterior and extract the root cause.
“That is how I see it. To be more direct, it feels as though they are using us for trial runs.”
Aurelia looked Lua Gharne in the eye as she spoke.
That was one reason they had managed to survive at all. The gryphon riders hadn’t just charged the main force.
Instead of driving a blade straight into a gap, they pursued the units sent out as lures. That bought time, and the knights deployed to intercept them, allowing them to hold out.
This was another of the patterns Aurelia had figured out by studying the movement of the gryphon swarms.
As for why they didn’t show up in the rain—was it because they couldn’t override the gryphons’ natural distaste for falling water?
Aurelia considered this and decided it was a very likely theory.
She kept her mind working. By her nature, she had also assisted in creating the battle plans for the Red Cloaks.
A formation is the preparation for conflict, the stance taken just before the fight starts. You have to anticipate the hole the enemy will try to exploit. If you fail, people perish. She had performed her duties under that weight.
Her personality had become rigid, understandably, and she had long ago discarded the idea of emotional connection.
She spent her entire day predicting her rivals. If Cypress was the heart of the Southern Front, she was the foundation that kept that heart steady.
In truth, there were several such foundations.
Enkrid listened to the conversation, understood this much, and kept quiet.
He allowed Lua Gharne and Aurelia to map out the way forward. When he stood up from his chair, all eyes turned to him.
“I don’t believe there is any reason for me to stay here any longer.”
Enkrid spoke flatly.
“Suits me. Shall I join you?”
Crang stood up as well. The king who had acted like a bystander between the two military groups. None of the Royal Guard questioned the king’s behavior.
They, too, had become accustomed to the king’s eccentricities. The current monarch lived having discarded about half of his royal dignity—going beyond mere humility. But to that same extent, he was a king who would do anything for his subjects.
He took action, and he genuinely cared. His authority came from that. He was a man who made the throne nothing more than scenery. How could it be a waste to give one’s life to defend such a person?
“I think I need to spend some moments with a different friend.”
Enkrid remarked. His tone was so casual that the two leaders, engrossed in the meeting, looked over, but when no one from the Royal Guard objected, they kept their mouths shut.
“I’ll just tag along for the show.”
Crang replied as if it were trivial. As Enkrid and Crang headed for the exit, five members of the Royal Guard followed behind. Just before leaving, Enkrid gave Lua Gharne a parting look. It was a silent request. The Frokk replied by puffing her cheeks once.
“Then we will proceed with the decoys as they are.”
“We won’t place restrictions on how the knights move.”
The voices of Lua Gharne, Aurelia, and the two commanders echoed inside the tent. Enkrid walked out. Odd-Eye was there waiting for him.
“Going for a charge?”
Rem tossed out a joke. He was smart enough to use his head, but what he truly loved was being at the front of the battle.
It was in his blood. Within the Order, Rem moved faster than anyone else. He was, therefore, the field leader.
Above all, he was a master of split-second decisions and was born to find the optimal path in a heartbeat. That was why he asked now.
Enkrid found it interesting all over again. He could now perceive the hidden meaning in a single sentence without needing to analyze it.
“No.”
He shook his head, turned around, and scanned for his other friend.
What was fascinating wasn’t just that he didn’t have to overthink implications. Within his Order, a creature had now mastered the skill of flight.
That was the heart of this entire plan. So his gut told him, and so the events were unfolding.
“Odd-Eye—no, Indomitable, I’m going to need your assistance.”
Neigh.
Odd-Eye now had a look of annoyance whenever the name Indomitable was mentioned.
“Ridiculous. Stop trying to rename me.”
That was Temares. Even without a Dragonkin’s translation, Enkrid more or less got the gist.
When Enkrid started moving, Shinar naturally followed. If Crang had his Royal Guard, this group had a spirit and a Dragonkin together.
Two flyers would be more effective than one.
“Can you really not transform into a dragon?”
Enkrid inquired.
“I only transform into a woman.”
“Don’t change. I prefer you exactly as you are.”
Shinar interrupted.
Enkrid climbed onto Odd-Eye’s back.
“Can you carry me and keep flying the whole day?”
Neigh.
“For as long as required.”
When Temares spoke for the horse, Odd-Eye swung a back hoof at him.
Bang!
A strike that tore through the air. The Dragonkin tilted his blade, Baika, and let the force slide away. That technique of letting go was impressive every time. He released the energy and the sound perfectly.
Because of that, even though the hoof had struck Baika, there was only a soft thumping noise.
“I’ll take that as ‘stop talking for me.’ Pegasus.”
The Dragonkin responded to the horse’s internal thoughts. He had replied with a gesture, but genuine emotion is always understood.
Neigh.
Odd-Eye tilted his head up and down.
“Correct. Dragonkin.”
This time Enkrid spoke what was in Odd-Eye’s heart.
Shinar let out a snort of laughter. It wasn’t a common sight, but it was something you occasionally saw when she was with Enkrid.
There was a saying on the continent that the person who steals a spirit’s smile is the greatest thief alive.
If that were true, Enkrid was a master thief. He stole smiles not only from the spirit’s face but from the witch’s as well.
“Let’s take to the sky.”
Enkrid understood his objective. They had to take control of the air from those gryphon-riders; which meant he had to get comfortable up there first.
That was why the soldiers in the camp spent their day observing a man riding a horse that soared through the clouds.

—

“You truly haven’t changed a bit.”
Burnion gazed up at the sky and spoke with wonder.
“The God of War is watching over us.”
Lapild admitted he felt the deity’s favor once again.
Many other soldiers felt a sense of relief they hadn’t known even before the rains had ceased.
“A truly entertaining friend, without a doubt.”
Cypress whispered as he watched Enkrid.
“I just hope he doesn’t fall on the first collision.”
Normally, Ingis would be by his side, but today Aurelia was accompanying him.
“You can see it at a glance. He won’t fall. This is truly something to anticipate. In seventy years of living, it has been a long time since I felt this way. I want to see the face of the enemy leader.”
The back of a knight rose up to meet the arrival of the gryphon riders. Cypress had been amazed by Rem, then amazed again by Enkrid, and when he looked over the entire Mad Order of Knights, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘Where did these monsters come from?’
Who could say. What was even more miraculous was that they were on his side.
A king who stayed on the front lines was unusual, and so was the man who was the king’s companion.
“Grandfather is not fifty—if I recall correctly, you are past seventy.”
Cypress lamented his granddaughter’s rigid precision. Was this really the moment to bring that up?
“Carry a bit of softness with you. That is the route you need to follow.”
Personality influences the body. This is even more true at the level of a squire.
Her flaw was a lack of flexibility. Knowing that, Cypress spoke as if he were giving a lesson.
“I am working on it.”
His granddaughter’s reply was still clipped.
Of course, Enkrid wasn’t just riding for the thrill of it. That was merely a part of his routine.
Practice and conditioning were the priorities of his day. If this was the line that held the South, if one considered the risk and decided to stay still, that wouldn’t be Enkrid. He did what he always did.
And the impact of those endlessly repeated movements spread through the military camp much further than anyone would have guessed.