The Nature of Possession

373 – EP.13 The Second Day

***

The sun rose on the second day the Emperor had promised.

The cries of the rooster in the capital city, which used to wake them up, were not heard.

Instead, the damp forest air licked the cavalrymen’s faces, and the chill of the overnight ground sent a chill down their spines.

Although the team members were no strangers to camping, it wasn’t that they didn’t care, they were just used to it.

The faces of those who got out of their sleeping bags were filled with relief at having barely escaped fatigue and a desire to rest a little more.

“Ouch… my back hurts.”

Someone’s voice was heard. It was something everyone would agree on, even without saying it out loud.

“My mouth feels dry.”

Agnes, who had been short on sleep due to being on duty at number three, muttered with a sullen face.

“…I ate a bug while I was sleeping!!”

As soon as John got up, he started talking nonsense and got hit in the face with a lute.

A day at the campsite began with the sound of the lute’s body cheerfully shattering Johan’s nose.

The team members, who had skillfully tidied up their place, shook their bodies from side to side to shake off the cold air that clung to them.

Anna, who was on dinner duty and had cleared the table early, added more water and meat to the remaining stew and started boiling it again.

Soon, a foul odor began to emanate from the air, and the atmosphere became noisy with the chatter of the loose-lipped agents.

“Wow, it smells terrible.”

Humilla, who was lining up early, whetted her appetite.

“Oh, why is my throat so sore?”

Gilbert rubbing his neck with his thick hands.

“Eww, eww?”

“Hey, this kid’s mouth is open. Judas! Should I give him a break?”

“How did you sleep so well that your mouth is turning?”

Dorian, Tommy, and Judas put on a comedy show.

“Oh, your skin is all damaged. This is why I hate staying at the dormitory.”

“If you care about your skin, why are you in the cavalry?”

“If you want to marry the captain, you have to stay in the cavalry.”

“…This one is just as good as Anna.”

Kane with a dumbfounded expression and Layla concerned about the pimples on her skin.

As was their usual routine, their faces were filled with serenity.

Whether it was the training grounds in the capital or the forests near the border, they always felt the same.

“Hey! Eat some food.”

As the person on duty calls out, people begin to line up one by one.

It was just a plain stew, but they thought it was good enough.

If lack, hardship, and crisis are walking on their left,

Contentment, cooperation and optimism accompany them on their right.

The cavalry always felt like this.

***

The incident occurred while breakfast was in full swing.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the scream of a member eating stew at the edge of the Ayeongji River.

“what?”

A chaotic, chaotic atmosphere.

To find the source of the scream, they get up one by one and head towards the direction from which the sound came.

“Huh?”

Those who arrived at the frozen unit reacted to something huge that was visible between the bushes.

A sturdy body, rough fur, slightly protruding fangs, and brown stripes on the body.

-Huh?

No matter how you looked at it, an enlarged version of the pig Anna had caught yesterday was right there in front of them.

One of the men rubbed his eyes.

“Hey… that….”

“Don’t turn your back, or I’ll chase after you.”

“Miss, aren’t these the parents of the child that Anna brought here?”

“Well, judging by their size, they look exactly like their parents. …But, is it the mother? Or the father?”

“Well, would it be more gentle if it were my mom?”

“No, there’s a difference between being in pain and being really, really sick.”

The agents who had rushed in began to slowly back away.

“Should I hand Anna over? I think I’ll go back then.”

“A legal deal? Not bad. So, who’s going to do business with him?”

“I gave my opinion, so I’d like someone else to execute it.”

“This is fucking crazy.”

The members’ banter didn’t last long.

– Kkweeeeeeek!!!

The boar, snorting, began to charge towards them.

“Hey fucking shit get out!!!”

The men fled in panic as a huge brown tank charged toward them.

But what they did wrong was that they set their escape route through the center of the camp.

“What? What?”

The crew members were so absorbed in their meal that they didn’t know what was going on.

“Whoa!! What is that!!”

A scream from a member of the team who was combing his hair.

The fleeing agents and excited wild boars turned the camp into a mess.

“It’s better to fight the Imperial Army. Damn it. Engage!!!”

Someone was flying by, their buttocks braced against a boar’s, and they screamed.

The boar, realizing that there was no one to stop him at the campsite, became even more excited and started to run wild.

-Quieeeeek

It was crying so loudly that it was hard to even describe it as pleasant to hear, and now it was even drooling.

While the wild boar was left to its own devices, the united forces confronted the boar.

“Hey, you wimps. And you’re still cavalry?”

A voice was heard from between the gathered members.

The one who took the lead, pushing through the crowd, was Johann Sievert. He was a veteran of the cavalry who always took the lead.

“John!”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief at his appearance.

Although his usual conduct was unsatisfactory, he performed admirably on the battlefield.

The situation was no different from a battlefield. It was clear that he would come up with a good way to defeat that boar in one blow.

John, who had everyone’s attention, began to explain in a calm voice.

“Now, listen carefully. Wild boars are scared of animals bigger than themselves. Hugo, get to Dorian!”

When John called out their names, the two people who were called came out hesitantly from the crowd.

“me?”

“Why me?”

The two large men had no idea why John had called them.

“I don’t have time to go and get the words, so you guys become the words.”

“We’re talking?”

When Dorian asked again, John frowned as if he was frustrated.

“Oh, come here. You two, cross your arms. Oh, right. You can put your legs in here. Oh, right. Okay. Sit down.”

As Hugo and Dorian held each other’s arms to make a lattice pattern, Johann put his leg between them.

“Come on, get up!”

With John’s words, Hugo and Dorian stood up.

A giant human tower. A posture commonly seen in cavalry battles.

“oh….”

A cheer came from somewhere.

At first glance, John, riding on two people who could be counted on one hand as large as any other, looked like a huge animal.

The glowing boar’s head turned towards John.

John looked down at the boar and made an X with his arms.

“Now this is the fusion of courage. The form of repelling the wild boar. The heart of the cavalry galloping through the wilderness. Saint Great John… Whew!!!”

A wild boar rushed at John, who was about to deliver a prepared speech. Contrary to his gigantic appearance, Saint Great John collapsed, and Dorian and Hugo, who were entangled with John, were also crushed by the boar.

“Ugh, kaaak! Kkeuk!! Se, Saint G, Great John…!!”

“help!”

“Save me!!”

With three men thoroughly outnumbered by the wild boar, none of the cavalry stepped forward.

“John you idiot!!!!”

Only Anna criticized John.

Kwiieeek!!!-

The boar raised its head and let out a long cry in elation at having defeated the strong one.

And then, with the crying and the commotion in the campsite, someone opened their tent and came out.

“It’s noisy, what’s going on?”

The captain’s face still had a sleepy look, as if he had just woken up.

Was it because everyone’s eyes were focused on the captain?

The boar’s head turned towards the captain. Before running away, it stepped on Hugo’s stomach one last time and then leapt straight at the captain.

“Captain! Get out of here!”

Despite Anna’s urgent cries, the captain did not even flinch.

“no!!!”

Anna ran out late as if she was going to catch the boar, but the boar and the leader were already on the verge of a collision.

“…….”

The captain looked indifferently at the wild boar coming towards him, drooling.

Then he slowly raised his fist and struck the running boar between the eyebrows with his fist.

Knock!

The boar’s body tilted and fell over to the side.

It was a single scream.

“…….”

“…….”

Only silence remained in the campsite.

“Hey, captain?”

As the men looked at him with blank expressions, the captain turned his gaze away and muttered.

“I’ll use this for lunch.”

It was a somewhat special cavalry morning.