A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 294

Chapter 294: CHAPTER 292 Chapter 294: CHAPTER 292 ‘What the hell is that guy?’ Laikanos had heard the name Encrid and was somewhat aware of his abilities.

Or so he thought.

That’s why he hadn’t revealed his hidden move.

It was supposed to be an easy win.

But he dodged it.

He only managed to take one of his arms.

And even then, he didn’t severe it-he just rendered it useless for a while.

‘Hah.’ Laikanos was simply baffled.

It was the first time he had drawn his sword and failed to achieve his goal.

It was a swordsmanship technique known to only two people in the world.

A thrust based on speed, a blade hidden inside a mace-how did he dodge it when he wasn’t even a Knight?

But it wasn’t just the swordplay.

Laikanos, even after losing one of his eyes, sent a signal.

It was the second blade he had prepared, just in case.

“Kill him.” The platoon he had personally trained charged at him, but they, too, failed to kill him.

‘And I’ve lost an eye.’ Half the world was now shrouded in darkness.

He had crushed some herbs and placed them over his eye, but they didn’t alleviate the pain.

It hurt.

Unless a high-ranking priest appeared out of nowhere, it was a given that he would lose the eye, which only added to his frustration.

Failure and injury.

With these two misfortunes piling up, his anger surged, but- “This situation is really fucked up.

Damn it.” Laikanos managed to control his emotions with a single curse and a deep breath.

“Have the others moved?” He then asked.

“Yes.” The answer came immediately.

Laikanos calmed himself by recalling the orders he had given.

There was no point in getting worked up.

Just because his hidden technique and personally trained platoon had failed didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a next time.

Of course, there would be.

Laikanos wasn’t a simple human being nor a genius strategist, but he had learned something during his time surviving in this land.

‘Humans are creatures with weaknesses.’ There’s no such thing as a being without a weakness.

No matter how great someone is, even those who are called geniuses have their vulnerabilities.

And how do you find out what they are?

You probe them in various ways.

You use every means at your disposal.

You try this and try that.

If one of them works, then you’ve succeeded.

There isn’t a person who can’t be pierced by a blade.

That goes for Knights too.

If they let their guard down, a blade can pierce their flesh, dig into their muscles, and stab their internal organs.

“Stab him.

Do whatever it takes to find out what that guy’s deal is.” Even before stepping onto the battlefield, the Black Blade Bandits were gathering information.

The hands of the thieves’ guild, rooted deeply in the Kingdom, were both discreet and relentless.

They eliminated Marcus, lured in Aspen, stood beside the Rebirth Cult, and uncovered the secrets of those who were called the elite of the Border Guard.

It was then that they had investigated the man named Encrid.

‘Just because you’re good with a sword doesn’t mean that’s all there is to you.’ At first, they tried to win him over.

The Black Blade Bandits could offer anything.

Beautiful women, gold coins, power.

It was all about taming him.

If he were to submit, he would become a slave to the Black Blade Bandits.

But he didn’t even listen.

It wasn’t even remotely successful.

‘It didn’t work?’ Laikanos couldn’t believe it.

If persuasion didn’t work, they would just eliminate him.

The easiest method.

It was a shame, but he thought it would be nothing to shove a piece of steel above his navel.

But the result was another failure.

‘That didn’t work either?’ The assassin’s blade, poison, and even persuasion all failed.

Does he have no weakness then?

The leader of the Black Blade Bandits stepped forward.

He investigated and analyzed Encrid’s past, his current behavior, the emotions he displayed, and his peculiarities, then mentally constructed a profile of the man, which he presented to Laikanos.

“Is he insane?” Laikanos was dumbfounded.

This guy was a romantic fool.

He’s the kind of person who picks up a sword to save others.

Truly a madman.

No wonder people called him crazy.

He also heard about the final act of the Swift Blade.

There were plenty of mouths willing to share what they saw for a few coins.

Many would quickly spill their stories if they thought they were talking to a bard in disguise.

“Does he really think he can just comply because a few hostages were taken?” Was he so confident in his abilities?

Or maybe, he genuinely thought he could save people.

Using every means at his disposal, he gathered this information.

With it, they formed a judgment about the man.

‘Will this work?’ Laikanos wasn’t sure.

He was just trying it out.

He didn’t even consider it a solution.

If Encrid had died by his or his subordinates’ swords, this strategy wouldn’t have been necessary.

It was nothing complicated.

Infiltrate the Border Guard, kidnap a few kids, wrap them in scrolls, and send them back.

The scrolls wrapped around their bodies contained a portable explosive spell.

It was a tactic from a now-ruined old Kingdom.

The power was impressive, but it only worked at close range.

There was a blinding explosive spell that was notorious for causing extreme damage to the caster at close range.

Even the wizard who created it called it a failure.

If the caster didn’t protect themselves before chanting, they’d be the first to die.

But what if it didn’t matter if the caster died?

What if you turned it into a scroll and wrapped it around someone’s body?

And if you could control the activation of the scroll?

It was a resource-intensive task and inefficient when considering the resources required.

But a small, elite force could change the tide of battle.

Even if they couldn’t kill them, if they could just hold them down, it would be a success.

That’s how this tactic came to be.

Laikanos chose to act rather than waste time worrying about whether it would work.

Sometimes, it’s more important to act than to overthink.

Now was one of those times.

Laikanos pulled out the old Kingdom’s strategist’s tactic once again.

“Will this work?”  One of his subordinates expressed doubt.

In a world where life and death are the norm, what could they possibly accomplish with a few familiar kids?

In a world where most people would value their own lives over anything else, even if it meant killing their own mother?

Would Encrid even know the kid?

There were more than a few brats running around the territory.

“Should I wrap it around your body and send you instead?”  Laikanos asked, baring his fangs.

Green liquid from the herbal extract dripped down his mouth.

It looked grotesque.

The subordinate lowered his head and moved.

‘What an idiot.’ Laikanos was disgusted by his subordinate’s half-hearted resolve.

This is what it meant to stop at nothing.

You keep probing until you find a gap in your opponent’s defenses.

That’s what the Black Blade Bandits did.

In the dead of night, a few thieves infiltrated the Border Guard.

Some got caught by some Frog, were beaten up, killed, or fled.

But a few managed to kidnap one of the kids.

And even that, they barely pulled off.

Hearing this, Laikanos felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head.

‘Are these guys really the Black Blade Bandits?’ From the kidnapped child’s perspective, it was like the sky was falling, but would this really shake the battlefield?

Would it have any impact?

Not a chance.

A mother who lost her child might despair, but even she would understand deep down that her child wasn’t coming back.

That’s the kind of world it was.

‘Damn it.

Will this even work?’ One of his subordinates, not even believing it himself, wrapped a scroll around the kid’s body.

A spellcaster with sunken eyes muttered something incomprehensible from behind.

A filthy, creepy guy.

“Ready.” “Send him.” It was an old wizard with a nose full of black spots, a nose that resembled a strawberry.

Following his orders, they pushed the kidnapped child forward.

“P-please, s-spare me.” The thief drew a dagger at the child’s tearful plea, which was mingled with snot.

He lightly grazed the kid’s cheek.

Blood splattered with a faint ‘pff’ sound.

“If you don’t want to die, do as you’re told.

We’ll send you over there.” The kid, legs trembling, ran forward.

The child didn’t cry, he just gritted his teeth and endured, dragging his shaky legs as he moved.

Viscount Tarnin saw the child being brought in but passed by indifferently.

What’s the big deal about a few kids dying?

Even if they were his own people, he wouldn’t have cared, but this was supposedly a rebellious brat captured from the Border Guard.

If sacrificing some of his people meant winning the war and becoming the Great Lord who ruled this area?

Of course, he’d enforce that sacrifice.

Tarnin was full of ambition.

‘Great Lord!’ The vague desire and ambition were on the verge of becoming reality.

His heart boiled with excitement.

So, joining hands with a band of thieves, wrapping scrolls around kids, or adorning them with iron thorns-it didn’t matter to him.

He wouldn’t bat an eye even if they were crowned with thorns, so what’s the big deal?

“Go.” The thief urged.

The child walked forward.

Beyond the range of arrows, heading straight into enemy territory.

Even with trembling legs, the child kept walking, then running.

Towards the land where he had once lived.

Arrows didn’t harm the child.

No one blocked his approach.

Instead, someone stepped forward.

Who it was didn’t matter.

The wizard had connected his spell world to the scroll wrapped around the child’s body.

One small mistake, and his spell world would suffer significant damage.

It was a risky endeavor.

Even if it succeeded, the spell world would bear scars.

It was a foolish act, but that’s what made it effective.

What kind of insane wizard would do something like this?

It was possible only because the wizard was old and sick.

He was a man ruled by greed rather than the pursuit of magic, reduced to a tool for the thieves.

“Detonate.” The wizard muttered.

* * * The ferryman’s eyes are visible.

He shakes a violet lamp and speaks.

His voice still rings in his head.

“Are you enjoying this too?” He hadn’t yet fully grasped what had happened.

Encrid only recognized that he was facing death.

He spoke directly to the being in his dream.

“It’s been a while.” Despite his friendly greeting, the ferryman showed no emotion.

He responded with the same indifferent tone.

“It won’t be pleasant.” The black river receded as he opened his eyes to face another repetitive day.

“Are you really going to go this far?” Hearing Krais’s words, he rose and had breakfast early in the morning.

He ate heartily and checked his physical condition.

The injuries remained unchanged.

He knew he had to endure another day with this body.

He recalled the last situation.

The Black Blade Bandits had kidnapped a child and given them something to hold.

More precisely, they had wrapped something around the child’s body and sent them off.

He had at least confirmed the source of the light.

‘A scroll?’ It had to be, or it didn’t make sense.

Just before the child’s body exploded, a chilling sense of foreboding struck his mind.

Light, a flash, the searing pain that burned his entire body.

It felt like his body was being torn apart, piece by piece.

He had experienced this ominous feeling before.

It was something he had encountered when awakening the Gate of Sixth Sense, a trap crafted by magic.

The problem this time was that he had no choice but to confront it head-on.

How absurd-what if he had just dodged it?

What if he had shot the child with an arrow before they approached?

But using a scroll for something like this?

And an obviously expensive scroll at that?

Infiltrating the Border Guard to kidnap a child?

None of it could have been easy.

“Ridiculous.” “Pardon?” “Nothing.” “This is more ridiculous for me.”  Krais sighed.

“Yeah, right.” He ignored it and continued thinking.

As absurd as it was, Encrid wasn’t planning on looking the other way.

‘A solution.’ If something was presented in front of him, he would face it head-on and push through.

Same as always.

Encrid deliberately focused his thoughts in one direction.

How to face an explosive spell, how to overcome it, how to get past it.

And, in the midst of all that, how to save the child as well.

What should he do?

Facing a repetitive day was something he was used to.

The first thing that came to mind was Esther.

A wizard embodies mystery.

Since that scroll was a spell, it seemed like half the problem would be solved if Esther were involved.

The problem was that the panther needed to transform into a person to use magic.

That’s what she had said herself.

Encrid’s gaze lowered to his thigh.

A Lake Panther lay quietly on the ground beside him.

He placed his hand on her back and gently stroked her, eliciting a purring sound that indicated she was pleased.

‘Isn’t it about time you turned back into a person?’ Encrid stroked Esther’s head and back, speaking as he did so.

“Turn into a person, abracadabra.” He said it just to try it out, without much meaning.

But everyone seemed to have heard it, and their gazes turned towards him.

Dunbachel approached and placed a hand on Encrid’s forehead, muttering to himself.

“…Does he have a fever?” Krais, watching from the front, quietly shook his head.

“Sigh, I must be losing it.” He then lamented.

Esther, with sleepy eyes, just looked at him.

What are you doing?

That’s what her expression seemed to ask.

“Nothing.” Encrid pressed Esther’s head down again.

With the soft pressure, she lowered her head and returned to her original position.

He didn’t have high expectations for it.

Esther still spent more time as a panther than as a person.

When she was human, Esther had mentioned that she could only stay in that form for a very short time.

‘Not even once a week, it seemed.’ It would be so much better if she could turn into a person now rather than just when giving a speech.

‘Wishful thinking.’ In the past, when they raided a village operated by the Black Blade Bandits, Esther had beaten up a wizard who could cast lightning without hesitation.

But setting aside her help for now… Since when did he rely on someone else’s help to get through the day?

‘This is something I need to handle.’ He spent the entire day thinking.

Once that spell activates, the kid will explode.

He pulled a chair, sat down, bent over, and rested his chin in his hands, deep in thought.

Dunbachel, muttering for Esther to turn into a person, got her hand bitten.

“Ouch!” Teresa remained quiet, as did Ragna and Audin.

In the short silence, lost in thought, Krais asked in a tired voice, “What are you thinking so hard about?” Encrid knew Krais had a sharp mind.

He lifted his eyes to look at Krais and began to speak, explaining the situation roughly.

He asked what to do if someone rushed at him with a scroll wrapped around their body.

“What else can you do?

If you know in advance, dodge or shoot them with an arrow.” “That won’t work.” “What?” “Never mind.” “Why do you keep saying no?

Seriously, what’s going on?” Krais grew frustrated, but Encrid ignored him.

The cold-blooded Big Eyes was right.

It would be easy just to dodge.

But that wasn’t an option.

He had wielded his sword, slashed, and killed people.

He had slain monsters, and even magical beasts.

It was all for responsibility and duty.

He couldn’t say there was no enjoyment, but if he had only wanted to indulge in pure slaughter, he would never have dreamed of becoming a Knight.

‘They swore to protect my back.’ That’s why he wielded his sword.

It was the reason for his people, the source of his desire to become a Knight.

If he had to sacrifice a child-if there was no other choice, if he absolutely had to- Encrid would do it as well.

But if abandoning a child was the only way to escape today… That was something he could not accept.

The beginning of an oath is conviction, and conviction comes from the heart.

Encrid couldn’t achieve his dream by turning away from and betraying his own heart.

The dream he wished for, the Knight he wanted to be, wasn’t like that.

And so, there were things he couldn’t give up.

The trick his opponent had played was utterly absurd, but… It was effective against him.

A perfectly tailored scheme.