A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 269

Chapter 269: CHAPTER 267
As soon as he opened his eyes, what he saw was a ceiling made of stones covered in mold.

Maelrun recalled the moment before he lost his memory, and the strong will of the Frog clearly remembered everything.

That’s why he realized he was in a situation as dire as being in a ‘Horse’s phallus-like’ situation.

“Give me some water. And while you’re at it, bring me some food. I like fruit.”

Maelrun said, raising himself halfway up.

His arms had regenerated, and shackles were attached to both his arms and legs, which were connected to a pillar by chains.

Even for a Frog, it was impossible to break free with sheer strength.

So, what was left?

All he could do was wait. Perhaps it was because of the last-ditch drug he took, but his head was splitting with pain, and his heart ached.

‘Can I get out of here?’

Like most Frogs, he regretted being off the path of his desires and ambitions more than the idea of dying.

‘Weird bastard.’

Naturally, he couldn’t help but think of the person who had beaten him down.

‘He looked easy enough.’

Why wasn’t he? He was clearly someone weaker, someone he could handle. He looked that way to his eyes.

‘Why?’

The Frog’s combat senses quickly judged the advantages and disadvantages of a situation.

He fought based on the instincts that came from his combat senses.

At the very least, it should have been an even fight. Why was he beaten down so one-sidedly?

Their combat senses were an extension of the ability to discern talent.

In that sense, Encrid was the most incomprehensible type of person to a Frog.

A man with no discernible talent who climbed upward through sheer tenacity.

This was the result of not giving up through countless repetitions.

Encrid was a person that the Frog’s combat senses could not read.

Especially Maelrun, who wasn’t very confident in his ability to see talent.

Even among Frogs, there were naturally different specializations. Some were specialized in reading talent, while others were specialized in combat.

Maelrun was particularly skilled at walking.

‘He ruthlessly targeted my joints.’

His regenerated arm still ached slightly.

He’d lost an arm before, and this time, he lost it again.

No, this time, even his eye had been stabbed.

‘He knows how to fight.’

Simply wielding a sword well and actually being good in a fight were two different things.

The noble idiots who practiced swordsmanship in their manors always swung their swords with elegance.

On the continent, such people were often dismissed as practicing noble swordsmanship.

The opponent who had laid him out was nothing like that.

He had accurately targeted the weak spots of a Frog’s slippery skin.

He stabbed and cut at his eyes and joints.

Was he like this before? Could he always fight this well?

Honestly, he couldn’t quite remember. He was a decent fighter, but Maelrun thought he would easily overpower him the next time they met.

‘What a letdown.’

He was out of energy, and he was hungry.

“Water and dried fruit. It’s winter now, so fresh fruit is hard to come by.”

The guard obediently brought him food. Surprisingly considerate, Maelrun thought as he drank the water and chewed the dried fruit. There was also well-baked bread and marmalade.

“Hey, this is good.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

The guard replied without a hint of a smile. There was a slight tension visible, but his limbs weren’t frozen.

‘Well-trained.’

Being a Frog, he could tell just by looking.

Of course, his talent for discerning wasn’t that great.

‘No matter what, that guy is a bit peculiar.’

It was no different from what countless talent discerners had said after seeing Encrid.

Two days passed like that.

Maelrun realized he couldn’t escape with force, so he tried to bribe the guard, but that too failed.

“If I lose you, I’ll be dead.”

“I don’t think they’d kill a soldier just for a mistake.”

As Maelrun gradually began to try and seduce the guard, the soldier’s expression turned self-deprecating, almost like a lamentation.

Of course, it wasn’t as if Maelrun recognized it outright. It was only when the soldier continued speaking that he wondered what was going on.

“I’ll probably get dismissed from guard duty and thrown into eternal training hell. It might be better to die.”

What kind of talk was that?

In any case, the guard didn’t seem too strict, but he also didn’t seem likely to be bribed. Even if Maelrun offered him gold, he seemed the type to refuse.

“If I get caught, I really will die. And I’m not unhappy with what I’m earning now. I don’t want to be greedy, only to die and leave my bunny-like kids behind.”

“Are you married?”

“Not yet.”

“… Then what’s this about bunny-like kids?”

“I’m talking about future kids, future kids.”

Even the soldiers in this land have sharp tongues?

With that thought, another day passed, and Maelrun began to wonder if they had forgotten about him.

Trapped underground, unable to tell day from night, he started to feel a little melancholic.

‘Why did I get myself mixed up in this cursed situation?’

Another two days passed.

Maelrun became anxious.

If things continued like this, he might be trapped here for the rest of his life.

Cut off his limbs and try to escape?

While he might be able to deal with the shackles by tearing off his own limbs with sheer strength, no matter how strong a Frog was, it seemed impossible to break through the iron bars in front of him while bleeding profusely with his limbs cut off.

‘What the hell is this?’

Anxiety engulfed Maelrun. Each passing day made him more desperate. Frogs, who live to fulfill their desires and ambitions, are left with nothing when they die.

When do they die? When their head is cut off? When they catch an incurable disease? When an arrow pierces their heart?

Of course, if the heart is pierced, death is inevitable, but there’s an even crueler way to go.

Frogs cannot endure being starved to death.

They are a species driven by their curiosity and desires.

“Hey, haven’t they forgotten about me?”

Maelrun, who had just woken up from what might have been a nap or a night’s sleep, asked the guard outside the cell.

As he spoke and turned his gaze to the small table with two chairs, he noticed not the guard but someone else.

To be exact, there were four people.

One was the guy who had knocked him out, another was a human with big eyes and a frail appearance, another was a figure standing half in the shadows, with only half of their face illuminated by the torchlight.

The guard was gone. They had finally come. They hadn’t forgotten him. Maelrun was inwardly pleased, realizing that a change was needed, even if it meant facing death.

“Where did you get the powder?”

Not surprisingly, it was that powder that had nearly killed him, making his insides ache.

Since they weren’t immediately questioning his identity, Maelrun answered obediently. The wait had been long, and he didn’t want to make them leave with unnecessary words.

“I picked it up on the way.”

“Where?”

“In a small village.”

It was the big-eyed one who asked. His expression was cold, and his tone was frosty. Clearly, he wasn’t someone beneath Maelrun.

‘Are there only monsters here?’

What kind of place is this where even the outskirts are filled with people like this?

Maelrun continued speaking. He hadn’t planned to hide anything in the first place.

“If you head west from here, you’ll find it. It would take me two days on foot, and a day and a half on horseback, to reach a small village enclosed by a fence on a plateau. I don’t know its name, but the village chief was a young and beautiful woman. Her name was Kaisela.”

Frogs have an eye for beauty and favor attractive humans.

“Did the Black Blade send you?”

“Bandits? Black Blade? No.”

Maelrun had been locked up for several days, and for a Frog, that was more torturous than having their nails or eyes plucked out.

If he remained imprisoned forever, he would dry up and die, having to suppress his desires until the end.

Ah, for a Frog, there could be no greater torment.

“This is working.”

When Encrid murmured, Krais chattered from behind.

“It’s working better than I expected.”

Encrid, seated in a chair, nodded his head.

Having spent time with Luagarne, Encrid had a rough understanding of what kind of beings Frogs were, but Krais was different.

‘What an intriguing mind.’

Encrid thought.

Krais’s words suddenly came to mind.

“Frogs follow their desires. For a wandering Frog like that, what do you think their desire might be? If you keep them confined, they might spill the answers more easily than you think.”

Krais had said this with only half confidence, but the fact that he even thought of this approach was remarkable.

He suggested that after a few days, interrogation might not even be necessary. So, they did just that.

And that judgment was correct.

However,

“Do you know a merchant named Fromshell? That guy spreads ears across the continent. I was hired by him. To put it simply, he runs an Information Guild.”

Maelrun revealed everything so freely that it was unexpected. Although it was impossible to read a Frog’s expression, it was clear that he wasn’t lying.

The opponent was a Frog.

If a Frog were to lie about something like this, they would just stay silent.

So, it wasn’t connected to the Black Blade.

The powder was something he had stumbled upon by chance, and it was some merchant who had tasked him with this job.

In other words, it was someone running an Information Guild.

It sounded plausible, which made it all the more memorable.

‘Fromshell, Fromshell.’

Encrid repeated the name a couple of times to commit it to memory.

“A noble?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“Is that all?”

“If there’s any lie in what I’ve said, may the Gods of Impulse and Waves punish me.”

“Can you even make a covenant?”

“Of course.”

For a Frog, a covenant is a promise, a vow—something they must uphold.

“I was deceived too. By Fromshell, that bastard.”

Maelrun exhaled through his nose as he spoke. Encrid decided he had heard everything he needed to.

In fact, he had heard more than enough.

At the very least, he had found out the location of the village where the powder was obtained.

“After all that trouble, it turns out they hid it in the village.”

The Fairy muttered.

“Combat-ready personnel?”

The Fairy asked. Since he had already said everything, Maelrun answered without hesitation.

“From what I saw, about half the village.”

“All of them?”

“More than fifty on the continent, I’d say.”

Maelrun spoke, and Encrid nodded.

“So, will you let me go now?”

Encrid nodded again, then got up from his chair and approached the iron bars.

“We’ll see.”

“What?”

“We’ll see about letting you go.”

“You bastard, a promise is a promise!”

He had made no such promise. Of course, Encrid intended to release him, but before they came here, Krais had made a heartfelt request.

“Could you leave him to me?”

Moved by Krais’s earnestness, Encrid agreed.

“Wait, wait, let’s talk for a moment.”

Just as the Frog was about to spit out curses at Encrid with his long tongue, Krais intervened.

His big eyes and appearance were likely to earn some favor with the Frog. However, Maelrun, being a man, wasn’t interested.

Still, the big eyes didn’t seem bad.

Maelrun tended to think the bigger the eyes, the more handsome the face.

“So, Maelrun?”

Krais smiled with pure innocence. Encrid, seeing that smile, sensed that Maelrun was about to get swindled.

Krais only smiled like that when he was about to take someone for a ride.

* * *

They were heading toward Marcus’s office after leaving the underground prison.

They planned to report everything at once, having finished even the Frog’s interrogation.

Battalion Commander Marcus was that busy.

Judging by how the territory was managed, even if he had three or four bodies, it still wouldn’t be enough.

And amidst all this, apparently some Cultist had been captured?

Encrid had heard that various things had happened in the territory while he wasn’t around.

The underground prison was located in a corner of the barracks, and as soon as they stepped out, Encrid spoke up.

“I’d like to hear an explanation.”

The Fairy Company Commander was connected to this matter. Hadn’t she given enough clues all along?

She had even mentioned something about finding the village.

At the time, Encrid had let it pass, but now there was no Frog listening.

So, when he asked,

“It was a secret mission.”

The Fairy turned her head, her green eyes locking onto Encrid.

That meant he’d have to hear it from Marcus, then.

Just as Encrid was thinking that, the Fairy spoke again.

“But what meaning could secrets have between us?”

“They have plenty of meaning. Let’s keep it a secret.”

Encrid said quickly.

“No, it’s fine. It’s related to those Black Blade bastards who have taken root in the Kingdom.”

The Fairy replied.

“Let’s keep it a secret.”

Encrid repeated, but the Fairy didn’t seem to hear him.

“They kidnapped an alchemist and made a drug.”

“Are you not hearing what I’m saying?”

“Naturally, it’s no ordinary drug. It’s a substance forbidden by the Kingdom and opposed by the Alchemist Guild. Of course, while they may pretend to oppose it publicly, they could still be using the research results behind the scenes.”

Encrid gave up.

From the explanation, it was clear that it was no ordinary drug. The Frog had taken it and his eyes had rolled back.

For an ordinary person, it would make them fight like a berserker for a brief time, but once the drug’s effect wore off, the backlash would kill them.

The Fairy explained that she had been on many external missions to find the base of this operation. Recently, she had taken Finn with her for a similar reason.

He had heard there was a job suitable for Finn.

Encrid listened quietly and then asked Jaxon.

Jaxon also seemed to know something.

“What about you?”

“I needed something, so I started searching and found that it seemed connected to the Black Blade. While looking around, I found traces of alchemy in a drug used by a Black Blade courier I met in Martai.”

Jaxon answered, aligning perfectly with what Encrid had expected.

So,

‘There’s something they’re hiding.’

It was an intuition that told Encrid they were only telling him what they wanted him to hear.

He didn’t press the issue, though.

He just let it go. They weren’t likely to answer if he asked anyway.

If they intended to betray him later, Encrid was prepared to take a hit for once.

Even if he didn’t fully trust them, he owed Jaxon enough for that.

Especially since the foundation of the Fluid Sword Technique he had recently acquired was based on sensory skills he had gained.

“Fine, let’s say that’s the case.”

“You don’t seem to believe me.”

Jaxon replied with a blank expression.

“I do.”

Encrid responded, thinking of Audin. In other words, he answered with sincerity.

“Is that true?”

Jaxon asked again.

“It’s true.”

By then, they had reached Marcus’s office, and the three of them went inside. The guards outside saluted them.

Two Company Commanders, one of whom was an Fairy, and the other the Commander of the Independent Company.

Marcus’s guards stiffened and stepped aside with a rigid posture.

As they entered, Marcus looked up from the piles of documents and parchment and asked,

“How does it feel to be nearly assassinated in the middle of your own domain?”

Encrid answered with calm and sincerity.

“It feels like shit.”

“Same here.”

Marcus replied.

It felt like there was something unspoken, a connection between them, even though they hadn’t exchanged many words.

As Encrid dealt with the assassins, searched their belongings, and interrogated the Frog over a few days, he kept thinking to himself.

‘Why should we always be the ones on the receiving end?’

So he asked Krais,

“If you were the leader of the Black Blade, where would it hurt the most if someone hit you?”

“It would hurt if someone took away the coin purse.”

Encrid retorted that it wouldn’t be much of a blow unless you were someone like Krais.

“Any group would be in pain if their purse was empty.”

Krais replied.

It made sense.

Then, there must be a way to do just that, right?

Half of his visit was to report, and the other half was to discuss this matter with Battalion Commander Marcus.

“This isn’t just a mission or revenge. As the person responsible for this domain, I’m giving you this task.”

Marcus said after Encrid’s brief report, his eyes gleaming.

As the person in charge of the territory, Marcus then issued his command.

“Crush them.”

Encrid decided to follow that command to the letter.

In other words, it was time to crush the Black Blade Bandits.

‘Why should we always be the ones getting hit?’

That thought kept circling in his mind.

“For the time being, you’ll have independent operational authority. Sinar, you too.”

“Understood.”

The Fairy Company Commander responded in a cold tone, quite different from how he spoke to Encrid.

That coldness felt odd to Encrid.

A sudden thought crossed his mind.

‘Why only me?’

It was a mystery. Maybe he just looked easy to mess with. He had heard similar comments sometimes when he was part of a mercenary group.

Regardless, Encrid planned to send a clear message to the Black Blade Bandits.

That they weren’t the only ones who could strike.