The messenger, meeting Enkrid's gaze, shook his head.
There was no such content in the letter.
The reason the messenger remained here was to convey something verbally rather than in writing.
It was a message that everyone around had prevented from being put into words on paper.
Even though someone from the church was present and could potentially relay the message, the messenger felt a fiery surge rising within him.
Say it if you must.
Enkrid's attitude stirred his boldness.
Whether it concerned the church or anyone else, wasn't it fine to walk the path one believed to be righteous?
What did it matter what others thought?
Wasn't that what the man sitting at the center of the assembly appeared to say?
Who was the person speaking from that position now?
A hero of the nation.
A close friend of the king.
Whether it was right or wrong to obstruct the path he walked, he would remove any obstacle in his way.
Feeling the urge to bellow at anyone blocking the hero's way, the messenger finally spoke.
"To strike the Unyielding is to strike me. Do as you wish and say it's my will."
This was Krang's message.
It was a statement promising unconditional support, no matter what action was taken.
"Oh, and if things get dangerous, let them know I'll come to help," he added.
Enkrid responded immediately.
He didn't think meetings were unnecessary, but he had no intention of wasting time on formalities or on matters that didn't warrant deliberation.
"There have been unsettling movements of monsters, beasts, bandits, and cultists. Especially in the southern regions..." Krais reported.
Since the civil war, the areas surrounding the Border Guard had stabilized.
The vicinity of the capital was much the same, but the southern kingdom still had many unresolved issues.
Recently, rumors had spread about a new, infamous bandit group.
"Send troops for live combat training," Enkrid decided without hesitation.
Krais stared at Enkrid.
This was a topic that hadn't been discussed beforehand, yet the response matched his own thoughts.
"Do you think such a hole in security is likely?"
When Enkrid's gaze turned toward Vengeance, the latter saluted and answered resolutely, "Not at all."
Krais immediately followed up.
"We'll strategize and dispatch them accordingly."
"If there's a problem, I'll handle it myself," Enkrid declared earnestly.
If the new bandit group caught wind of this meeting, they'd probably disband and return to civilian life.
"Well, I've got free hands. So do the ones I've trained," Rem added casually.
"I can handle it alone," Ragna chimed in.
"I could drop by myself," Jaxen remarked.
"Next."
Enkrid nodded and moved on.
Though nodding didn't mean he'd let Ragna go alone, it wasn't the time to nitpick.
Problems abounded, but none were insurmountable.
That was Enkrid's stance, unchanging from his days as a squad leader to now.
Krais understood that all the answers were already apparent, yet he couldn't shake his unease and had called the meeting.
As always, Enkrid didn't fault him for it.
Instead, he made his position clear for everyone to hear and see.
"I will be the sword in the king's path, and anyone who obstructs the path I walk will be cut down. The church exploited children, so I rescued them. If it happens again, I'll act as I did before."
Children called saints or holy ones within the Abundance Church were rare.
The church's desperation to capture Seiki showed just how urgent their need was.
Enkrid's actions had already dealt a significant blow to the church.
While the priests of the Abundance Church fumed at Enkrid's audacity, Overdier and Audin were undoubtedly executing their plans in the background.
Though Enkrid's actions ultimately benefited them, he didn't dwell on such details.
But Krais did.
Krais knew what Audin was plotting.
Through conversations and unfolding events, he had pieced together the strategy at play.
It was an attack, plain and simple.
"To strike the church," he thought grimly.
More accurately, this was a move against the Holy Kingdom itself.
If Audin failed, it would mean facing a formidable enemy.
Judging by the flow of events, success seemed more likely than failure.
Still, the stakes were high, and Krais wrestled with the implications of failure, driving himself to think of solutions.
"But what if they succeed?"
In that case, they'd gain an extraordinary ally.
Even if the church didn't become an outright enemy, that alone would be a victory.
What role did the Border Guard need to play until then?
No matter what the church attempted, they had to endure.
Open conflict or war with the church was the worst possible outcome, and Krais was determined to avoid it.
"We must endure. If direct clashes or religious wars erupt, winning or losing won't matter; the cultists will only benefit," Krais concluded.
Next to him, Abnaier, the genius strategist of Aspen, spoke.
"We must endure and act as though nothing is amiss," Abnaier added.
"Precisely. But behind the scenes, everything must be prepared," Krais agreed.
"What's the greatest threat here?"
"Any direct harm to neighboring territories or allied domains."
The rampages of monsters, beasts, bandits, and cultists fell into this category.
Preventing damage entirely would be a great success, but how feasible was that?
"You might think it's not easy. I see it differently. Even if the forces are spread thin, it will be sufficient," Abnaier stated confidently.
Abnaier's superior assessment of troop capabilities and his confidence in success set him apart from Krais.
He saw a bright and promising future, and his conviction eased Krais's unease somewhat.
"They've all been worked to the bone," Krais thought wryly.
These two geniuses exchanged remarks that few others could grasp.
Thud.
Enkrid lightly struck the table, the sound silencing the room.
The conversations subsided as everyone turned their gaze to the one who defended this land.
In the center of their attention, Enkrid spoke with a casual air.
"Then I'm off."
It was a succinct farewell and a declaration that the meeting was over.
He had said what he needed to and rose to leave.
Among those present were Shinar, the Golden Flower, and Esther, the Black Witch.
Yet no one spared them a glance, their focus solely on Enkrid.
They had seen the path shown by Enkrid, accepted the intentions revealed, and listened only to the future he spoke of.
When Enkrid and his group withdrew, only those captivated by his spirit and momentum remained in the room.
"Very well. Vengeance, summon a platoon leader meeting, excluding the minimum number of troops required to guard the city. Lord Graham?"
Krais began addressing minor details.
With the grand direction decided, it was now time to handle the finer aspects.
"Speak."
"We request full armament by distributing proper equipment."
This was not about training gear but about preparing the troops as if for war.
"Inform the merchants and all others. To the neighboring nobles, say that the Border Guard's forces will be mobilized upon request, with costs to be settled afterward."
If help was to be offered, it would be done properly.
Deploying forces between territories was a sensitive matter, but the Border Guard's involvement carried a different weight.
Enkrid's reputation ensured that no one would misunderstand their intent as territorial ambition.
And if they did?
If that misunderstanding led them not to ask for aid?
That would be their choice.
But those who sought help would be saved, without exception.
That was Enkrid's will as well.
"This will work. It must work."
Beside him, Abnaier spoke again.
'Not bad.'
Krais finished several calculations in an instant.
All of this was, in fact, an act of expanding influence in the region.
If Krang, the king of Naurilia, had tried to check Enkrid's movements, this plan wouldn't have even started.
Instead, Krang officially supported and pledged to assist it.
Thus, there were no obstacles to the Border Guard's actions.
That didn't mean all anxiety had vanished.
'I'm trembling.'
If things went wrong, the troop losses would be staggering.
This single decision could send people to their deaths.
Krais had a weakness for this kind of responsibility.
The thought of people dying in droves because of a single gesture unsettled him.
It wasn't something he wanted to do.
But if it had to be done, he would do it.
He had learned that from observing Enkrid.
'I'd rather run a salon, relax, and live peacefully.'
In truth, Krais's aspirations were only possible in an era of peace.
Hosting revelry for people across the continent in a city of indulgence—a far-fetched dream.
But ultimately, his dream wasn't so different from Enkrid's.
Krais steeled his resolve.
A gesture might cause death, but it was an unavoidable reality.
And everyone involved was making their own choices.
"Those who remain in the military without understanding that are risking their lives for nothing."
That was what Enkrid always said.
If one raised a weapon with the intent to kill, one must be prepared to die as well.
Without that resolve, even the basic training of the Border Guard was unbearable.
"Now, let's get moving."
Krais, having braced himself, gave the order.
For the time being, everyone would be relentlessly busy.
This all happened before the church could properly begin their schemes.
In the southern kingdom, Viscount Harrison was shouting with his face flushed red to the scalp.
"Absolutely not!"
"But at this rate, we could all die. I propose implementing a scorched-earth strategy and holding out."
The scorched-earth strategy involved destroying resources and food supplies to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
The suggestion was to burn all the fields the viscount had cultivated so far.
The proposal came from the leader of the vigilante corps, a former mercenary now serving under the viscount.
The viscount knew it was the right call.
Yet surrendering the land meant sacrificing the future as well.
Losing land and crops, burning and ruining everything—it would make recovering the land an insurmountable task.
And the aftermath?
Likely a lifetime of exploitation on a small parcel of land.
The enemy was a newly formed bandit group, and somehow, they were summoning monstrous boars.
Hundreds of these beasts, over a hundred bandits, dozens of skilled archers—such were their numbers.
The viscount's vigilante force consisted of fifty spearmen and thirteen archers.
Even with considerable investment in military funding, this was all they had.
The bandits' numbers were more than double.
Viscount Harrison was left with two choices.
One, abandon the land, hold out, and fight the bandits.
Two, stay and protect the land, risking death.
Both options were unacceptable to him.
Sweat dripped from his brow as his temperature rose, winter approaching notwithstanding.
He felt as though he might collapse from the stress.
Suddenly, a member of the vigilante corps who had been standing guard outside came rushing in.
"Uh, reinforcements have arrived."
"...Reinforcements?"
The corps leader asked, bewildered.
No reinforcements were expected.
The entire southern region was in chaos with monsters and beasts.
There were even rumors of heretics appearing.
"What reinforcements?"
"Let them in!"
Reinforcements, no matter who they were, were a glimmer of hope for the viscount.
"Greetings."
A soldier entered, unfamiliar in appearance.
But the soldier revealed his cloak, displaying a distinct city emblem.
The emblem—a thick horizontal line symbolizing walls with staggered lines below—was unmistakable.
It was the new insignia bestowed upon the Border Guard by the king of Naurilia.
Even without being a herald, the emblem was widely recognized.
The Border Guard—the indomitable force that had consumed the enemy nation of Aspen—was here.
"Reporting the arrival of a platoon under the standing forces of the Border Guard."
The soldier spoke calmly.
The numbers weren't vast, but to Viscount Harrison, it was a spark of hope.
What happened afterward was entirely unexpected.
"Boars? Excellent. We'll handle them. Keep your vigilante force guarding against any potential ambushes."
The reinforcements, after confirming the monstrous boars, declared they'd fight alone.
The viscount was dumbfounded.
But after witnessing their battle, he was left speechless.

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