A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 270

Chapter 270: CHAPTER 268
“You’re going to leave me behind? Then you’ll have to step over me first!”

At Rem’s words, Encrid moved swiftly. He pushed his body forward smoothly, extending his left foot.

For a moment, it seemed as if his body had disappeared.

Of course, no one in the quarters missed Encrid’s movement.

But

‘My steps?’

Jaxon was a little surprised when he saw Encrid’s step.

‘Snake Step?’

Audin felt the same way.

He had combined the two steps and made them his own.

What is a sword, and what is swordsmanship?

Through continuous realization, Encrid created a swordsmanship that utilized his entire body, and of course, this included the use of his feet.

In fact, in all things that involve the body—whether it’s dance or martial arts—the feet are crucial.

Footwork accounts for more than half of it.

Naturally, Encrid paid as much attention to his steps as to his swordsmanship.

And now, that effort was clearly evident.

The step where his bent left knee extended to push off with uniform force was similar to Jaxon’s silent step, and the smooth bending of the right leg’s joint resembled the Snake Step Audin had taught him.

In truth, he had mixed the two styles quite well.

To an untrained eye, it would seem like something completely different.

As he attempted to step over Rem, the barbarian snorted and rolled his body.

Whatever trick he used, his body spun sideways, narrowly avoiding the attack.

With a thud, Encrid’s right foot struck the ground, and he asked,

“In situations like this, isn’t it usual not to dodge?”

“Who said I’d let you step on me? Want to learn this too? It’s a secret technique called the ‘Unstompable Dung Beetle’.”

It was obvious he had just made it up.

“No.”

Encrid refused, and though Rem threw a few more tantrums, they couldn’t take him along.

After all, they couldn’t just lead a battalion to attack a village simply because medicine had been found there.

“Not to bring this up after saying we’d destroy them, but we’re in the Kingdom’s territory. You know? Lately, the eyes on us haven’t been too friendly.”

Who wouldn’t understand?

Count Molsen is already playing tricks if things go wrong.

And it’s not just Count Molsen.

They knew other nobles were eyeing this place, drooling with greed.

Encrid had heard that while Martai was away, a certain noble had deserted.

“He probably went to seek refuge with another noble. He’s planning to make a profit by selling information about this place. Foolish bastard.”

Marcus spat and cursed, but Krais, having heard the rumors, added,

“They say they really roughed him up over there? If you don’t handle things properly, it doesn’t matter if you’re a noble—you’ll still get beaten.”

If you slack off, you get caught and beaten, but if you do things properly, you’re buried under a mountain of work. Some nobles used their cunning to flee.

To leave behind everything they had built and flee like that, they must have been tormented terribly.

Of course, Marcus’s words had some merit, so it’s likely a combination of reasons.

And Krais speculated,

“If it were up to Marcus, he’d wish for all the nobles to run away. It’s possible he’s tormenting them under the pretense of lack of manpower, but he might also be trying to replace all the personnel in the territory with his own people. But then, hmm, I wonder if that’s okay.”

“What is?”

“Nothing, just thinking.”

Krais was a worrywart. Encrid didn’t ask further. The task at hand took priority.

To get straight to the point, you can’t just stab someone because you’re suspicious.

Sure, the enemy might send assassins and knife-wielders to ambush them, but the Border Guard Reserve Unit couldn’t do the same. Well, they could if done secretly, but not this time.

First, they needed to gather evidence to prove the village’s guilt.

At the very least, they needed some fabricated evidence, and above all,

“There are probably innocent people in the village, aren’t there?”

Marcus’s words made sense. Just because some had caused trouble didn’t mean they could arrest and punish all the innocent villagers.

There might be people there who were innocently making medicine, completely unaware of the situation.

So,

“It’ll just be me, Company Commander Sinar, Finn, and Jaxon.”

They decided that gathering intelligence through infiltration was the first step.

The Fairy Company Commander had also been investigating this matter for quite some time.

Hadn’t she been tracking it for nearly a year?

“For all that, you didn’t even know the location of one village. Were you sneaking off to a gambling den while claiming to work?”

Krais tilted his head upon hearing this.

A Fairy in a gambling den? That didn’t seem to fit. But Krais’s words weren’t entirely off the mark.

It seemed almost like neglect.

Of course, Maelrun, that Frog, might have some unusual talent, but if the place was so loose that travelers passing through knew about it, they should’ve figured it out sooner.

“Good at fighting, but not so good at tracking. That’s why they brought Finn along.”

“Are you defending her because she’s your fiancé?”

Encrid had learned various techniques from Audin, but the core was, of course, the Valaf-Style Martial Arts.

Among those martial arts were several joint techniques that inflicted pain without breaking the opponent’s body.

As part of his training, Encrid demonstrated a joint technique on Krais.

Standing side by side, the key was to interlock hands as if clasping them, so that the opponent’s elbow pressed against his own forearm’s biceps, causing the arms to entangle.

From there, all it took was pulling back.

It wasn’t exactly torture, but with enough force, he could break a wrist.

When Krais absentmindedly gave his hand, Encrid immediately pulled on the interlocked hands.

Crack.

“Does it hurt?”

“Aaaaah!”

Krais screamed.

Encrid nonchalantly pulled a little harder, then released him.

“My arm, I almost lost my arm!”

“Maybe I should have just cut it off?”

Krais quickly fled. Encrid didn’t pursue. It was just a joke, after all.

And he soon regretted it.

‘I just acted like Rem a moment ago.’

That was bad. There wasn’t even a need to think twice about it.

After shaking off the bad thoughts, sensing movement behind him, Encrid half-turned to see Ragna.

“Why can’t I go with you?”

Ragna asked, munching on an apple he had somehow gotten hold of.

Behind him, Audin and Teresa could be seen.

For obvious reasons, the two large figures couldn’t be taken along.

Likewise, Dunbachel, who visibly carried herself as a beastwoman, was out of the question.

And Ragna,

“If things go south, we might have to scatter. If that happens, we need to meet up at the agreed location.”

“Is that a problem?”

Ragna’s lack of self-awareness as a poor navigator was terrifying.

“There’s no need for your sword.”

Instead of a long explanation, Encrid simply patted Ragna on the shoulder.

Ragna accepted it. He wasn’t one to step forward easily. Though he had shown some enthusiasm lately, it wasn’t enough for him to volunteer for something like this.

Encrid realized that the only reason for Ragna’s reaction was that he might be away for nearly a week.

When you think about it, these people only seemed to be so proactive when he was involved.

So what would happen if he wasn’t around?

It was just a fleeting thought in the back of his mind.

“I’m going to be rebellious from now on! Raaah!”

Rem cried out, wrapped in heated furs and clutching a heating stone.

He looked like he should be boiling hot, yet he persisted. It was surprising to see someone who hated the cold so much begging to be taken along.

Of course, Encrid ignored him. If he responded to every outburst, it would just lead to more talking.

Leaving the whining Rem behind, Encrid focused on his task.

He identified the village’s location and checked their equipment.

Two swords, and six Whistle Daggers retrieved from the assassins.

There were also a few vials of poison powder and venom, but poisons that one doesn’t know how to use properly tend to backfire. Encrid was about to discard them without hesitation when Jaxon decided to take them all.

After finishing their personal maintenance and various tasks, they gathered in the Fairy Company Commander’s room for a strategy meeting.

The Fairy Company Commander decided to station part of her company nearby.

It was roughly two platoons’ worth of soldiers, but they needed to stay some distance away to avoid detection.

That said, they couldn’t stay in position for too long.

Since it was winter, they couldn’t keep fighting off the monsters and beasts that prowled during this season indefinitely.

At most, they could hold out for a week outside the village without a fence.

But if they caused too much commotion, the villagers would surely notice.

“Two days should be enough to gather the necessary information once we’re inside, don’t you think?”

Sinar, the Company Commander, said this as she unfolded the military map. Seeing the usually unserious Fairy so focused, Encrid nodded in agreement.

“If we take too long, we might have to retreat, or we could even consider surrounding the village completely.”

Finn, a former ranger with many talents, was also present.

It had been a while since Encrid last saw Finn, and she was the same as ever.

“So, still spreading your charms everywhere, I see?”

They exchanged greetings like that.

Encrid brushed it off without much thought.

“We’ll set off at dawn tomorrow.”

Sinar took the lead in the operation. Encrid nodded in agreement.

As he was about to leave the room after the meeting, Sinar called out to him.

“Oh, my fiancé can sleep here tonight.”

Naturally, Encrid walked straight out. Behind him, he could hear Finn chuckling.

‘Is that really so funny?’

Despite that thought, Encrid found himself smiling faintly as well. Seeing this, Jaxon spoke up.

“About that Fairy.”

“Hmm?”

“Maybe it’s time you just went along with it.”

Was that a joke? Or was he serious?

Encrid didn’t bother to figure it out.

Jaxon, realizing what he had just said, quickly dismissed it, telling Encrid not to worry about it as he turned away.

But why would he say something like that?

Normally, he wouldn’t voice such thoughts so easily.

The fact that he was distracted to the point of not controlling his own tongue was strange.

Moreover, Jaxon’s expression seemed heavier than usual.

It was something Encrid could sense only because they had spent so much time together.

It was also thanks to his highly sharpened intuitive skills.

To someone else, Jaxon’s face might seem the same as always, but to Encrid…

‘His focus seems a bit scattered.’

He didn’t seem likely to be careless about the task at hand, but it felt like his attention was on something else.

It was as if he were brought to an open plain to observe the scenery, only to glance at the plain and then look beyond it, searching for something further away.

Yet, there was also a sharp, cutting edge to his demeanor.

He seemed like someone who was preparing for something.

‘Why?’

“It’s just a mission. Do you dislike using medicine?”

That wasn’t it. Jaxon often dabbled with various medicines.

Though he never took any himself, not even smoking, he would help Krais distinguish what he brought back.

So, there had to be another reason.

Encrid didn’t ask further.

Even if he asked, there likely wouldn’t be an answer, and even if he got one, it wouldn’t change anything.

As he returned, he saw Esther.

Beside her, the wild horse was also there. Somehow, the two were together.

The wild horse neighed when it saw Encrid, as if asking where he had been.

Encrid thought it was a silly question for a horse to ask.

The horse that had run wildly around the place as soon as it was brought to the Border Guard.

“That’s my line, odd-eye.”

In the end, he hadn’t given it a proper name and was just calling it whatever came to mind.

At that, Esther let out a small cry beside him.

“Ah, I’m heading out on a mission.”

When he mentioned he might be gone for as long as a week, Esther made a gesture indicating she wanted to go with him.

She pointed her paw at Encrid, then at herself, and then tapped the ground.

“Alright.”

This panther was naturally skilled at hiding. Since she seemed a bit upset from their previous long separation, it wasn’t surprising that she wanted to come along.

Sometimes, Encrid still found it strange that this panther could transform into a woman with long black hair and blue eyes.

Even though he had seen her transform right before his eyes, it was still hard for him to see her as anything but a panther.

The wild horse neighed again.

“Odd-eye, you should rest.”

The wild horse was extremely curious. While it didn’t understand everything, it could grasp some of what humans said.

It was clearly upset by the nickname Encrid had given it.

When it stomped its foot on the ground, Encrid asked if it didn’t like the name, and the horse nodded.

After staring at the wild horse for a moment, Encrid spontaneously came up with a new name.

“Let’s call you Bulgul.”

Bulgul, in the language of the continent, could also be interpreted as ‘Iron Will’.

Esther looked at him intently, surprised that Encrid knew the language of the eastern continent, since she had always thought of him as someone who only lived and breathed swordsmanship.

Encrid had a fondness for ancient tales. If he met a storyteller who knew about chivalry and related stories, he would hand over a few silver coins without hesitation just to listen.

That’s how he had picked up so much knowledge here and there.

“But since your eyes are different colors, Odd-eye suits you perfectly.”

The wild horse neighed loudly. Encrid didn’t really care much about the name, though.

The next morning, at dawn, Encrid and his party set out from the estate.

“I’ll lead the way.”

Finn took the lead. They decided to follow Maelrun’s directions and walk for two days straight.

After two days of walking, they finally saw the village that Frog had mentioned.

They decided to pose as wandering merchants near the village.

Encrid would be the guard, and Jaxon would play the role of the merchant.

Fairy Sinar would also be a guard, and Finn would act as the merchant’s assistant.

“Will this work?”

Finn asked, her voice tinged with concern. It was an unnecessary worry.

As soon as Jaxon set foot in the village, he transformed.

“What village is this? Can we buy and sell goods here? What a fine village!”

What the heck, that’s scary.

Encrid was surprised to see how quickly Jaxon had changed.

Jaxon, now fully in character, turned and continued speaking.

“Isn’t it obvious just by looking? Look around. The people’s faces are bright, and you don’t see many thin folks around, so it must be a good village to live in, right? That means there’s plenty to sell and the people must be generous! Isn’t that right?”

As he spoke, he clapped Encrid on the shoulder. His manner was careless, his gestures bold.

It was a familiar style of speech—a technique known as the ‘magic mouth’, constantly talking and keeping the conversation flowing.

Jaxon was imitating Krais.