The beginning of any strategy lies in understanding the weapons at one's disposal.

In this regard, both Enkrid and Kraiss adhered to the basics of strategy.

Audin, being a massive figure, stood out on any battlefield.

If Audin were to unleash chaos on the battlefield, could the enemy ignore him?

A visible foe, someone capable of smashing siege weapons—wouldn’t they be desperate to hunt him down?

It was the perfect scenario to draw attention: a massive target at the right moment.

“Audin.”

“Yes, Brother. Leave it to me.”

Enkrid left the detailed explanations to Kraiss.

The essence of the plan was simple.

When Audin appeared in broad daylight, all eyes would inevitably be drawn to him.

While he shouted and threatened from the east, the real attack would strike from the west.

“Hahaha, this sounds entertaining, Brother Big-Eyes!”

Having heard the plan, Audin laughed heartily. Sure, there was a chance they could end up surrounded and beaten to death, but if he feared that, he wouldn’t have joined the Mad Squad in the first place.

On the third day of the battle, Enkrid intended to once again execute a 'tap' within his plan.

Although, to be fair, the "tap" from his sword was more likely to feel like a "thud."

When he shared his strategy with Kraiss, the latter tilted his head and responded bluntly:

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Enkrid smacked the back of Kraiss’s head in response.

Smack.

The force was enough to make Kraiss’s head wobble, but like a bobblehead, it quickly returned to position.

“I get it now. Tap and thud.”

“Exactly. Tap and thud.”

Listening to their exchange from nearby, Dunbakel couldn’t help but doubt their sanity.

What kind of nonsense is this?

Still, it wasn’t her place to intervene, so she kept her mouth shut.

After all, wasn’t she an uninvited guest here?

She simply stood awkwardly, keeping a low profile. She wasn’t even the one they relied on when something important happened—they brought that little leopard instead.

It could’ve been humiliating, but instead—

“Grrr.”

The leopard wasn’t even looking at her, busy grooming its front claws.

The indifference, oddly enough, put her at ease.

More than that—

Is this a flower garden?

Each of them was a maddened lunatic, but their appearances were equally maddening.

From Enkrid to Rem, Ragna, Audin, and Kraiss, they were like a bouquet arranged to suit every possible taste.

Dunbakel didn’t care much for appearances, but it was true—good food looks better when it’s presented nicely.

They were pleasing to the eye.

And she had no intention of leaving this garden of flowers. She wanted to stay.

To do that, she had to prove her worth, push herself harder, and survive.

“I’ll go with him.”

Dunbakel declared her resolve. She would accompany Audin.

“You will? Fine.”

Enkrid responded nonchalantly. As long as she didn’t interfere with Audin’s rampage, there was no problem with her tagging along.

Soon, the operation began.

Sneaking out of the city wasn’t difficult.

“Do you think the Gilpin Guild is a joke? We’ve secretly built at least three escape tunnels.”

With the enemy having surrounded the walls, leaving through the main gates was nearly impossible.

The area swarmed with scouts, some of them mounted, making them even harder to evade.

Thus, sneaking out was the only option.

By removing a few stones near the southern gate, they revealed a half-dug tunnel.

The only problem—

“It’s too narrow, Brother.”

Audin’s size was, as always, too large. This hulking fanatic could barely fit through side doors by tilting himself sideways.

“Huh, didn’t see that coming,” said the bald guide from the Gilpin Guild.

“Make it wider,” Enkrid replied bluntly.

If it was too narrow, the solution was simple: widen it.

“But then it won’t be a secret tunnel anymore... It could become a convenient route for the enemy to infiltrate.”

The bald guide muttered to himself, making valid points.

“Then just make sure they never get near the walls,” Enkrid said.

It wasn’t part of any grand plan, but Kraiss, overhearing this, nodded in agreement.

Yes, as long as they executed it properly, the enemy wouldn’t even get close to the walls.

That was the nature of this battle.

While Border Guard was a fortress city, it didn’t have a moat, so its walls weren’t particularly defensible.

Although its many watchtowers allowed for a barrage of arrows, that alone wasn’t enough.

What if the enemy charged with shields? What if they brought siege towers?

Kraiss imagined the worst-case scenarios, as he always did. It was second nature to him, much like how Enkrid instinctively gripped his sword.

Eventually, Kraiss shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts.

For now, keeping the enemy away from the walls would suffice.

“Will you bring back bread again this time?”

The question was directed at Enkrid as he ducked through the widened tunnel, thanks to Audin’s help. He turned his head while still crouched.

Kraiss, usually anxious, was smiling at him with an uncharacteristically fresh expression.

“We’ll see.”

That was his farewell. Emerging from the tunnel, Enkrid looked off into the distance. Smoke rose in thin trails across the sky.

The enemy, for some reason, was still fueling their furnaces. Confidence, perhaps?

“The Lord said, in times of solitude, I shall make my presence known.”

Audin murmured a prayer, its meaning clear: he was ready to send souls to heaven with his fists.

“Don’t overdo it. Standing out too much is a problem.”

“Do not worry, Brother. I’ve always been known for my balance, never too much nor too little.”

Really?

Coming from someone who constantly demanded excessive training, that was hard to believe.

“Your eyes are disrespectful, Brother.”

This hulking fanatic could read the room. Enkrid nodded and said, “Let’s move.”

Jaxon followed close behind Enkrid, while Audin moved with Dunbakel.

Rem and Ragna sat this one out—fewer people were better for this mission.

“Going without me? Leaving me behind? Just me?!”

Rem’s protests were dramatic, but Jaxon was the clear choice for stealth.

Esther, as always, followed without hesitation.

“Kyarr.”

The leopard let out a small cry, hiding under the bushes at the base of the wall. It seemed more energetic than ever after disappearing for a few days.

“Jaxon.”

“Stick with me. Silence your steps, quiet your presence. We’ll walk to the target.”

Nicknamed “Stealthy Cat” by Rem and the others, Jaxon lived up to the name.

Even Rem admitted that Jaxon’s presence was imperceptible when he wanted it to be.

Jaxon demonstrated his skill, moving silently through bushes and uneven terrain, crouching behind rocks when necessary.

At one point, an enemy scouting party passed within twenty paces of their position, but they remained undetected.

Enkrid watched in admiration. An assassin would pale in comparison.

From his perch in a tree, he observed the enemy supply base with Esther and Jaxon beside him.

Now, they simply had to wait for the chaos to begin.

***

Commander Greg, under Olf's command, was a man deserving of his reputation as a fierce warrior.

Known for his overwhelming physical prowess, Greg led his troops as a vanguard commander—a role that meant standing at the very front of the battle.

“The bear who smashed the siege engine has appeared!”

The cry of a messenger reached Greg's ears.

A massive figure that destroyed a mangon

el.

It was an impressive feat. That kind of strength didn’t seem human.

But what of it? Does raw strength alone decide the course of battle?

Not a chance.

Victory isn’t determined so easily.

Still, how had they managed to get out?

Had the gates been opened? Unlikely.

The city was surrounded, with scouts patrolling relentlessly. If the gates had opened, Greg would have known immediately.

Did they sneak out?

A siege doesn’t mean there are no ways out.

Being brave doesn’t mean being foolish. Greg quickly deduced the enemy’s intent.

They must have snuck out and been discovered.

They're after the supply lines again, aren't they?

After all, attacking supply routes was their only option for survival.

Zimmer, the commander of the second battalion, had already pointed this out:

“If we maintain the siege and hold out, victory is ours. The war-crazed fools only have one move, and we won’t fall for it twice.”

Zimmer had ground his teeth as he spoke, emphasizing his disdain.

Now, a massive figure had been spotted moving stealthily, likely part of a small strike force sent out of desperation. Someone with such abilities wouldn’t normally be spared for small raids.

With certainty in his interpretation, Greg mobilized his troops.

Of course, he was wrong.

Audin wasn’t sneaking around—he was moving openly, creating a spectacle.

“Brothers, are you on your way to meet the Lord?”

Audin bellowed nonsensically, throwing punches at the approaching enemy soldiers.

His strikes seemed slow and heavy, so much so that the enemy assumed they’d be easy to dodge.

They underestimated him.

Next to him, Dunbakel swung her scimitar with deadly precision, her white hair streaming as she moved. Her presence was far more threatening than Audin’s sluggish attacks.

Still, without being a knight, reversing such a numerical disadvantage was nearly impossible.

Soon, the first company of Greg’s assault battalion mobilized.

These were Martai’s elite: lightly armored infantry equipped with large shields covering half their bodies and long spears designed for charging.

A unit specialized for frontal assaults.

“Too many!”

Dunbakel shouted, and Audin quickly estimated their numbers:

Forty to fifty men.

Even so, he wasn’t concerned. Fifty infantrymen weren’t a problem for him.

Dodging their long spears and closing the distance was all it would take. Once he claimed the space for himself, a single powerful strike would break their formation.

After that, diving into their ranks would make their spears more of a hindrance than a help.

Even if they tried to press him down with their shields, his raw strength would overpower them one by one.

But Audin didn’t do any of that.

Instead, he deflected incoming spears with the back of his hand, dodged with ease, and swung his heavy fists deliberately slowly. Occasionally, he picked up rocks from the ground and hurled them.

Whoosh!

Thud!

A rock struck a shield, shattering into fragments that scattered in every direction.

“He’s just a brute with strength!”

An enemy soldier shouted, playing right into Audin’s hands. He had worked hard to appear exactly like that.

This should do it.

He had drawn their attention and lulled them into a false sense of security.

Before leaving, Kraiss had stressed this point no fewer than sixteen times:

“Don’t kill them all. Play along just enough and come back.”

I’m not some barbarian, Brother.

Audin followed Kraiss’s instructions.

The intent was obvious. The enemy underestimated them, and that underestimation was a weapon to be exploited.

Audin’s years of combat experience made it easy to understand Enkrid’s plan.

“Hiding behind your shields to fight, brothers?”

Audin taunted them, his face deliberately angry.

“Look at this brute, relying on nothing but strength!”

One of Greg’s lieutenants shouted. He believed tightening the formation and slowly pressing in would suffice to crush this foe.

The chaos began.

The rocks Audin occasionally threw were enough to cause some damage.

More than that, the prospect of being caught by his monstrous strength deterred the enemy from closing the gap. They hesitated, relying on their spears to keep their distance.

Audin fulfilled his role perfectly: a spectacle at the forefront, drawing all eyes to himself.

That was all they needed.

***

Enkrid struck the supply base once more.

While doing so, he wanted to confirm something that had been nagging at him.

“Jaxon, scout behind the supply lines. Check for any concentrated enemy forces or their formations.”

Jaxon blinked in response, his expression asking plainly:
Me? Really? Do I have to?

It was a talent to convey so much with just a look.

“Just do it.”

Enkrid pressed on, as he always did once he made up his mind. His companions, after all, were surprisingly obedient to his orders.

“Fine, as you wish.”

Jaxon’s face remained indifferent, but he moved as instructed. Meanwhile, Enkrid scratched behind Esther’s ears and spoke to her.

“Want some bread?”

The raid on the supply base was their mission, just the two of them. The enemy had prepared an ambush, but with his keen senses, Enkrid had detected it and used brute force to break through.

Rather than slaughter everyone, he used his agility to dodge around them, setting fire to tents and stealing bread again.

With Audin causing chaos at the front, the enemy’s defenses were tighter than before—but that was all.

Audin’s rampage kept the enemy’s focus forward. Their vigilance subtly shifted, their attention caught by the giant causing mayhem at the frontlines.

This made Enkrid’s work that much easier.

Jaxon, meanwhile, had started his silent mission of scouting behind the enemy forces.

“Well, since we’re already here…”

“Esther, let’s go.”

Enkrid toppled a few of the supply base’s furnaces as he moved.

“You bastard!”

An enraged voice roared—likely the base’s commander.

Should I kill him?

The thought crossed Enkrid’s mind for a moment, but he dismissed it. A direct confrontation would only alert the enemy to the full scope of his plans.

Instead, he vanished again—hit and run tactics. He’d perfected them through previous skirmishes with the Nol, but this was even easier.

Audin’s distraction drew attention.

Enkrid’s own skills had grown since then.

And Esther, his ever-reliable companion, was in top form.

The leopard’s performance was remarkable.

“Grrr!”

Esther’s chilling growl accompanied the sound of her claws raking through enemy flesh or the snap of their shinbones breaking. Despite her ferocity, her movements were unbelievably quick and fluid.

She’s gotten stronger too, Enkrid thought to himself with a sense of pride.

On the way back, Enkrid naturally observed the movements of the soldiers they had faced. He memorized, analyzed, and reviewed them in his mind.

There was always something to learn.

No, learning was the expectation.

Jaxon would confirm the parts that lingered in Enkrid’s thoughts.

For now, though—

I have breathing room.

Enkrid felt himself returning to his usual mindset, the calm focus that guided him.

With sword in hand, training ahead, and a clear sense of direction, this was the path of discipline and growth he followed.