"Esther, let’s go. Kraiss, you go and find the village chief immediately."

"Huh?"

Kraiss asked again, a look of disbelief on his face. Well, the awkward acting was over. It was unnecessary and meaningless now.

"Go and tell him. From now on, I’ll be in command of all the forces in the city."

"Suddenly?"

"Yes, suddenly. If he doesn’t follow, show him this. Tell him disobedience will result in an immediate execution."

After handing over the order, Enkrid turned away.

"Where are you going, commander?"

Kraiss, quick to pick up on things, sensed something from Enkrid's attitude.

"By the gate, if the village chief tries to resist, hold him hostage or do something to keep him in place."

"...Eh?"

The last part was a half-joke.

Enkrid immediately ran. The clinking of the armor he wore echoed with every step, making it quite uncomfortable to run.

It was not easy to run with this gear.

But he couldn’t take it off.

Esther, running beside him with a much lighter step, glanced at Enkrid.

"Don’t ask, just follow me. We don’t have time."

When Enkrid told her this, the leopard-like creature nodded. It really did look like a person.

They arrived at the main gate. It wasn’t too late since dawn hadn’t broken yet.

‘Not late.’

At least, he had kept to the time.

Normally, five members of the militia were stationed by the gate.

Two were in the watchtower, two below, and the chief of the squad was in a small outpost by the gate.

If we excluded the chief, there were four others, and when a fight broke out, these four would usually hold the watchtower, shooting arrows at their own comrades trying to climb the tower and join them, taking the side of the monsters.

Enkrid was all too familiar with their faces.

"Huh? What’s going on?"

One of the men with a mild expression asked.

Enkrid opened his mouth as he stood facing the two who were guarding the gate.

"From now on, the command of this place is transferred to the squad leader."

"...Huh?"

Seeing the shocked expression on one of the men, Enkrid continued.

"I’m now in charge of the village's defense."

Had Deutsch Pullman expected this kind of behavior?

That expectation had become reality.

The expression of the man who was pretending to be one of Deutsch Pullman’s subordinates hardened.

"Did you get permission from our commander?"

At that moment, a man holding a spear stepped out of the outpost and peered around.

He was a mercenary, one of Deutsch Pullman’s subordinates, and a squad leader.

Of course, that wasn’t important.

"Do you have a problem with that? It’s only natural that I’m the one in charge now that I’ve brought the orders."

"When did this happen? And how long do you plan to play commander?"

"From now on, and until the colony issue is resolved."

When he answered so readily, the man frowned. His face twisted in a menacing way.

"Damn, are you joking? Hey, are you serious? You think I’m easy to deal with?"

It seemed like the response was expected, so Enkrid spoke the words he had prepared.

"If you have a problem, you don’t need to use your tongue instead of a proper punch."

"Are you out of your mind?"

The man advanced toward him. Though he didn’t immediately draw his weapon, it was clear he intended to land a hit.

The man threw a punch.

The fist came flying toward Enkrid, and it seemed like he wasn’t going to move at all.

But just before the punch landed, Enkrid tilted his head to dodge it, then extended his left foot to kick the man’s ankle.

The movement was smooth, almost as if it was a single fluid motion.

Unexpectedly, the man lost his balance, tripping over his own feet and stumbling forward.

Enkrid swiftly pushed the man’s body with his left hand.

"Uh, uh."

Thud.

The man fell to the side.

As he tried to rise, using his spear as a crutch, Enkrid heard the sound of a sword being drawn.

Cling.

The sound of the blade unsheathing.

At the same time, the blade was at the man’s neck.

"Don’t get up. Don’t resist. Disobedience is punishable by immediate execution."

With the blade at his neck, especially with its edge glowing cold and blue, it was hard for the man to say anything.

He gulped, swallowing hard before finally speaking.

"Do you know how many people are in the militia here? You can’t handle this."

It was a threat, but it didn’t sound much like one.

His voice was full of fear.

Enkrid had no intention of killing him.

He simply expected a reaction from this.

It was a simple principle.

‘How did the gnolls and hyenas get in?’

How did the thick wooden walls become the prison of humans?

Why had this place turned into a banquet hall for the monsters?

The answer was simple. The door had been opened.

So, why hadn’t there been any reaction until such a large number of monsters arrived?

At first, he had formed a hypothesis, and he confirmed it over several repetitions of today.

The one who opened the door—guilty.

The ones in the watchtower who saw it but didn’t speak up—guilty.

With his sword still in hand, Enkrid’s eyes found the bell.

It was next to the door.

Now that the bell had rung, the only innocent person here was the one currently lying on the ground.

As for the reaction from the others here?

That’s what he had been waiting for.

It came from above.

A female soldier, holding a bow, quietly raised it, aimed, and shot.

Enkrid, aware of his surroundings, quickly stomped his foot.

Thud!

At the same time, the bowstring was released. An arrow thudded into the spot where Enkrid had been standing.

"...You crazy! Don’t shoot!"

The squad leader, who had been struck by Enkrid, screamed in horror, but did anyone care to listen to him?

"Kill them."

One of the men who had been standing by the gate with a mild expression said.

Hearing this, the two in the watchtower drew their arrows once more.

The two on the watchtower, one a female soldier, the other a male soldier, with the female being more skilled with the bow—this was something Enkrid knew from experience.

They, too, were cultists.

They didn’t have the luxury to hesitate or think it through.

Screech! Screech!

Two arrows flew in unison, whistling through the air.

The arrows sliced through the air, striking the two soldiers on the watchtower with a series of pained grunts.

"Crack."

"Ugh."

It was their final breaths.

With holes pierced in their necks, neither of them would survive.

The male archer fell forward with a thud, and the female soldier collapsed, clutching her neck.

From the watchtower where the female soldier had been, blood began dripping, falling to the ground.

The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.

"Madman!"

The squad leader screamed in disbelief.

Enkrid ignored him completely, raised his sword, and aimed it forward, speaking calmly.

"Both of you are guilty of insubordination and attempted murder. You’re both subject to immediate execution, but if you drop your weapons and surrender, I will spare you."

It was a line that would be ignored.

"Ridiculous."

The two cultists, disguised as members of the militia, glared at him with strange eyes. It was a look that sent chills down his spine.

Above all, both of them were more than capable.

They were fast, and their coordination was flawless.

Clang.

Both wielded short swords, splitting up and attacking from both sides with the same speed.

They came at him, slicing through the cool morning air.

Enkrid had endured hundreds of these days.

Countless repetitions, continuous training.

The feeling of evasion, the development of coordination.

His sensory abilities, including dynamic vision, had sharpened, leading to this moment.

What did it mean for his reflex speed to change?

It was a new world.

He could now move much faster than the average person.

Rem, Ragna, Jaxon, Audin.

Even Enkrid could now pull off the stunts they performed.

So...

Thud!

The result was not surprising.

Deflecting the swords coming at him from both sides, Enkrid swung his sword once to the right and then to the left, deflecting the attacks with ease.

It was easy. One swing to the right, another to the left, and it was done.

Of course, the two attacking him were stunned.

The two short-sword wielders widened their eyes.

What was this? How did he block that?

The blades seemed to disappear.

Enkrid did not stop.

As a commemoration of entering the new world, he swung his sword with full force.

What he had gained through all these days was not just the feeling of evasion and coordination.

With a single breath, he awakened the Heart of Might, amplifying his speed.

Seeing and feeling the moment, his body instinctively moved, reacting.

Whoosh. Crack! Crack!

Enkrid swung his sword two more times.

The first swing from the bottom up to the right, the second from above to below.

Both were wrist slashes.

And the result was the same.

"Ugh, aaargh!"

"Arrgh!"

The wrist holding the sword was slashed, and the two hands holding the short swords fell to the floor.

Amidst the blood gushing from the two, Enkrid stood calmly with his sword raised.

"...What is this? Why the hell are you suddenly acting like a madman with the sword?"

The squad leader, who had been sitting by himself, spoke in utter disbelief.

Enkrid looked at him and then spoke.

“I think there’s a stench in the air. Is that door really shut tight?”

When they first entered, Enkrid saw the pulley mechanism that opened the door. It must have been the locking mechanism.

“Huh?”

“Check it. If you don’t get up and check right now, I’ll treat you as an accomplice and deal with you the same way.”

It was a light threat, the kind of words from someone whose actions spoke louder than anything.

The squad leader sprang up immediately. It would have been a problem if he collapsed in such a moment, his legs shaking.

The man moved swiftly and checked the pulley.

“Why is this loose?!”

He exclaimed in surprise and immediately secured the pulley.

If the lock was loose, the door was no longer an effective barrier. It would open if pushed.

The man, using his arm muscles to tighten the lock, was breathing heavily.

“Whew, whew, but, what’s this stench?”

It was then that he finally repeated the words Enkrid had spoken earlier.

Boom!

Something outside slammed against the wall, and the ground vibrated with a loud noise.

The stench—now all too familiar to Enkrid—flowed thickly between the heavy doors. It was a stench he had grown sick of.

“Guuuuuh!”

A cry rang out from outside. The howl of a gnoll. It was a heavy, forceful sound, with an unseen momentum, and it could be felt beyond the door.

The squad leader, who had been standing by the door, staggered back.

Was he about to piss himself?

Fortunately, the squad leader wasn’t so weak-hearted.

Enkrid glanced at him, then turned his head toward the two whose wrists had been severed.

“Are they cultists?”

The eyes of the two widened. They didn’t need to answer verbally.

Should he spare them? No, it didn’t really matter. While actual cultists were known for performing strange rituals, these two didn’t seem capable of that, so they probably weren’t of any importance.

But leaving them alive would be like leaving a dagger in his back.

Stab. Stab.

With two quick thrusts, he pierced their necks, creating two corpses.

Enkrid climbed up to the watchtower.

He needed to get a sense of the numbers and survey the situation. A high vantage point was always the right choice.

Dawn was breaking, which made it easier to see. In the sunlight, hundreds of beasts and monsters could be seen.

It was a horrifyingly large number.

Enkrid was momentarily surprised at the fact that he had survived in there.

‘I only survived by holding on.’

It was just too many.

Looking from above, they were disgustingly numerous.

They were ramming against the barricades and the door.

Enkrid had swiftly cut through them from the watchtower.

But the guards who should have been stationed atop the barricade were nowhere to be seen.

Enkrid’s eyes caught sight of several militia men who should have been holding the barricade, now lying dead on the ground.

It must have been the cultists' doing—or rather, those he had killed.

"Shit, what is this?"

The voice came from below the watchtower. It was Kraiss.

The joke had become reality.

Kraiss had a knife pressed against the village chief’s throat and was shouting. Several militia members, looking ominous, stood behind him.

“What is this really?”

Kraiss was grimacing.

It was hard not to laugh at seeing him like that.

“Esther.”

Enkrid called to Esther, instructing her to guard the door.

“Grrr.”

Esther responded with a growl, a sound that suggested she understood. The leopard seemed to be more human than most people.

“I’ll have to ask what this is all about.”

Behind the village chief, Deutsch Pullman and his subordinates followed. Most of them looked confused.

Outside there were monsters, and inside, the village chief had a knife pressed to his neck, with dead comrades surrounding them.

Deutsch Pullman’s eyes were shaking. It was understandable, but Enkrid didn’t care about that.

Enkrid spoke nonchalantly.

“I’m in charge of the orders now. I’ll be taking command. I will not tolerate any objections. We stop the monsters. The remaining militia forces, send them to the barricades. Those who can shoot arrows, get up there.”

No one moved.

Deutsch Pullman was a man of strong will.

Despite the booming sounds outside, he glared at Enkrid fiercely.

Enkrid knew what needed to be said here.

“Kraiss, cut it.”

He was holding the village chief’s life in his hands.

“Don’t do it! What are you all doing? Put arrows in the monsters’ heads right now!”

Deutsch screamed. Kraiss, of course, did not follow the order to cut.

Enkrid shrugged.

“You’ll have to explain this later!”

Deutsch screamed again.

Enkrid ignored him.

This was a workaround.

The goal was to prevent everything from happening in the first place.

Act swiftly and stop the invasion of the gnolls.

If he could prevent this, how would the cycle of today unfold?

He had thought about a way to overcome today, but whether it would work or not was uncertain. This was his first time trying this.

Still, he couldn’t find any sign of where Lua had gone.

And of course, neither could Deutsch’s subordinates.

“Damn, Enki.”

As Enkrid began wrapping things up, using the village chief’s life as leverage, it seemed that some chaos would unfold. At that moment, Finn emerged.

Finn, who had been out on patrol, had returned with a hole in her abdomen.

Was this it?

She must have fought someone and gotten injured. It wasn’t a light injury. If you have a hole in your stomach, it’s painful and hard to walk.

In any case, Finn had been unable to alert them about the monsters' ambush because of her injury.

Otherwise, there was no way she would have missed such a large colony's movement.

“Kraiss, release the village chief and treat Finn first.”

Enkrid said. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but it wasn’t an injury that could be ignored either. She needed medical attention.

“The colony of monsters and beasts is nearly a thousand strong.”

Finn, though pale, managed to speak despite her injury. Enkrid simply nodded.

“Can you explain more?”

Meanwhile, the village chief, whose face had gone pale, spoke.

As expected, a village chief from a frontier settlement would have such a resolve.

“Let’s stop them first.”

Enkrid spoke as he headed toward the barricades.

Even with some rudimentary skills, it was still time to shoot as many arrows as possible.

And the wall, to get through today, would have to be broken down.

Today had only just begun.