A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 428

Chapter 428: CHAPTER 426
The Eastern King, Anu, came to the Border Guard ostensibly because of Martai, but, of course, there were other intentions.

“Is Naurillia insane, or is the newly crowned king mad? We need to figure that out. But first, let’s meet this so-called Demon Slayer.”

Anu had made a name for himself by hunting lions on the eastern plains at the age of eighteen, and before he turned fifty, he had gathered his people and founded a nation in the eastern lands, becoming a hero.

However, he had one bad habit.

Whenever he met someone exceptional, he wanted to bring them back to the East. It was a desire for talent.

But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for those people.

“Do you regret becoming my brother? Then feel free to leave!”

He was a man whose bold personality could be said to be the best on the continent.

Once he brought someone to the East and they experienced many things, they would often become an Eastern person.

They would be captivated by his charm, and intoxicated by his ambition and dreams.

His dreams were grand, lofty, and even absurd, but he was in the process of realizing them.

So far, all the Eastern territories were places where Anu’s hands and feet had reached.

From the age of eighteen until now, he had dedicated his entire life to pioneering the East.

Anyone who knew his life and saw him would acknowledge his charisma.

‘A bit stubborn and headstrong, though.’

His brown-skinned adjutant, Asaluhi, adjusted his turban and thought.

No matter what anyone said, he respected his bold and straightforward King.

Asaluhi believed it was his duty to fill in the gaps that the King might show.

“Let’s go. Let’s meet this guy who dreams of slaying demons.”

The rumors about Encrid had been slightly twisted as they spread, but the Eastern King held no prejudice.

A guy who’s obsessed with killing demons, huh?

Well, that could be true, sure.

Martai was just an excuse. It was clear that he was after new talent.

Recently, the King had been incredibly busy due to several events in the East, but this was a time of rest. The timing was perfect.

Arriving at the Border Guard and making up an excuse to enter the city to find this Encrid fellow wasn’t difficult.

Getting inside the training grounds within the barracks wasn’t hard either.

“Will he accept a duel request? From anyone?”

When adjutant Asaluhi asked, the soldier looked them over, but he didn’t seem inclined to stop them with force.

Anyone who had made it this far couldn’t be stopped by a mere soldier, so there was a direct order from the General.

Let them through, without interference.

Whether it was an assassin or a duel request, if the soldier couldn’t stop them, there was no point in provoking a fight.

Of course, there was an added condition that they wouldn’t stop anyone who was eager to fight, but soldiers who were itching for a fight were very rare.

The soldier opened his mouth, ready to let them pass.

“That’s correct.”

Anu chuckled and entered first. The soldier did not stop him. If it were a new recruit, maybe, but he was a veteran soldier after all.

Hadn’t they already passed through the Frog and Maelrun, who protected the city?

The General had also said that if you couldn’t knock down Maelrun, it was better not to pick a fight.

“He’s a bold one, isn’t he?”

The King muttered to himself as he passed by the soldier. He moved forward without any special restrictions.

The soldier thought, for some reason, that the man looked excited.

The King entered the training grounds.

‘Interesting.’

The King felt a sense of joy.

As he looked at the Demon Slayer, he momentarily revealed his presence, and the other showed a fighting spirit.

It had been a long time since he had felt this kind of competitive spirit.

And such a pure, straightforward fighting spirit at that.

Normally, he wouldn’t jump in so abruptly, but the other’s aura stirred something in the King.

“I don’t know. Even I don’t know.”

To be precise, he liked the other’s stubbornness, which made him want to take action.

* * *

And that’s how the Mercenary King of the East came to stay with the unit.

‘Well, let’s see.’

The King repeatedly revealed his desire as he observed the group of soldiers.

First, Rem.

‘He has a natural talent.’

He wielded two axes with an impressive level of skill.

The King referred to those he acknowledged as his brothers, a tradition that began when his group first entered the East under the name ‘The Ochre Hood Brotherhood’.

That tradition had continued to this day.

Even among his brothers, such skill was rare.

It wasn’t that he had never seen anything like it before, but still.

The East is a harsh land. It’s a place not unlike the Demon Realm. Uncharted territories are like that by nature.

Giant monsters appeared frequently, and there were many beasts even more dangerous than them.

If that were the end of it, it would be fortunate. But there were also flying beasts and demons that toyed with people.

In any case, the East was the East, and yet, Rem was a standout. The kind of person who was rare even in the East. And he wasn’t the only one.

What about that man called Audin?

“Let’s test our strength!”

During a sparring session, he suddenly clasped hands and tested his strength against the other.

‘Stronger than a Bloodhide Bear?’

Anu was inwardly impressed. More importantly, this man-shaped bear called Audin didn’t rely solely on his strength.

‘I’ve seen many strong men.’

When Anu tried to subtly twist his wrist, Audin displayed a delicate technique.

Strength aside, had he ever seen someone with such skill?

Among his brothers, Audin was one of the best.

Then there was Ragna, the swordsman.

A person with exceptional talent is called a genius.

This guy was undoubtedly a genius.

A bundle of talent bestowed by the heavens.

He mimicked and copied the core of every technique he saw.

His fundamentals were not lacking either.

The swordsmanship he displayed with a black greatsword was both fast and powerful. A Knight of lesser skill wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

All of this aroused Anu’s desire, but it wasn’t something that surprised him.

Exceptional senses.

A trained body.

Frightening talent.

These were rare. Very rare, but not things he had never seen before.

So there wasn’t much to be surprised about.

Not being surprised didn’t mean he didn’t desire them.

There was even a beastwoman with considerable potential.

Teresa, the half-blood Giant, was equally desirable.

And the others—Lawford and Pel, the shepherd—were no different.

Each one possessed talents that awakened his greed.

‘Interesting.’

Anu felt a sense of joy once again.

There was also an unusual presence among them.

“A wizard, too.”

Esther, in her human form, glanced at the King once and then lost interest. She didn’t seem to care at all.

All of this might have been incredibly intriguing, but there was something else that fascinated Anu even more.

There was someone leading all of these people.

‘Defeat.’

What does it mean to lose?

Those who possess a certain level of skill all share one thing in common: pride.

They were all the same.

Rem, Ragna, and Audin shouldn’t have strayed far from this category.

But what was this?

‘Who is this guy?’

All the negative energy was overturned by one man.

“Can I spar with you?”

Losing means having your skills denied.

The first thing you feel before competitiveness is a sense of defeat. It lingers longer, gnawing at you like the whispers of a demon that eats away at your soul.

Such is the nature of negative emotions.

Especially for those who were thoroughly defeated before his eyes.

Anu accepted the other’s stubbornness, but he wasn’t kind about it.

He shattered every technique that was thrown at him.

And yet.

“Are you busy?”

They kept coming at him, over and over.

Defeat eats away at your existence. The more skilled you are, the more it affects you.

But this person was different.

Anu wasn’t particularly fond of the concept of a Junior-Knight, but even by that standard, this man was of a high level.

Even compared to his brothers, he would likely rank within the top ten.

And yet, despite being so skilled, this man didn’t seem to care about losing.

‘Does he have no pride?’

Or perhaps he had something bigger than pride.

Anu recalled his own past defeats.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

He had to move forward.

The other man was the same.

Anu sensed a kindred spirit, a similar scent.

“Let’s spar.”

King Anu nodded.

His opponent, who didn’t seem to mind the idea of defeat, took up his sword.

Encrid lost, and Anu won.

Even though the outcome was inevitable.

“Thank you.”

These were the words of the man who had lost. Seeing the desire and passion in his eyes, it was clear that losing didn’t bother him.

He was dreaming of something much greater.

“I’m going to pioneer the East.”

Anu said.

Encrid stared at him, trying to understand what he meant.

“We’ll talk more next time.”

Anu laughed heartily.

The thought of taking all these people back to the East with him made him feel truly excited.

* * *

A few days later, it became clear to everyone why the Eastern King had come, even without asking.

“You have great skill. How about joining me on an expedition?”

He desired talent. He didn’t even try to hide it.

Rem blinked at those words.

He was in the process of chopping down a thick tree to make a log chair, getting used to his newly made axes.

With each swing of the axe, the fresh wood was cut and shaved away.

Sawdust and wood chips piled up around him.

Anu could tell just from the way Rem was making a simple wooden chair.

‘This guy’s axe-handling skills…’

At first, he thought he had seen similar skills somewhere before, but the more he watched, the more he realized that Rem had a remarkable sense of skill.

“If I’m great, what does that make you?”

Rem asked in a nonchalant tone. He wasn’t the type to care whether he was speaking to a King or a Knight.

“You can’t compare yourself to me.”

Anu shook his head as he replied.

What was the point of comparing himself to Rem?

“You’re even more annoying than our Captain.”

“…Asaluhi, is this an insult? Is this treason against the Royal Family?”

It was a joke.

Even if Anu had made a big deal about being insulted, Rem wouldn’t have cared.

‘I should visit the West.’

Rem decided. Without sorcery, even the Eastern King’s presence made it difficult to simply swing his axe first. That annoyed him.

Sure, if he decided to fight seriously, he probably wouldn’t lose, and he had learned something from their sparring.

But still, something was bothering him.

‘I should go to the West.’

Rem reaffirmed his decision.

The King wasn’t a fool. He knew how to exploit the weaknesses of others.

If he joked with Rem as if in a comedy routine, he spoke to Ragna in a way that addressed his deepest desires.

“Yes, we have many paths to explore in the East. Would you be willing to help?”

“Do you need a guide?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Finding shortcuts and creating new paths is my specialty, but I’m busy right now.”

When Ragna was in a bad mood, he was even worse than Rem.

So, once he made up his mind not to listen, Ragna’s resolve was as strong as Audin’s fists—like steel.

The King didn’t tire. He kept saying similar things to everyone.

When he saw Dunbachel, he made a particularly bold proposal.

“Do you want to be my daughter?”

“Why would I?”

Dunbachel responded in a manner similar to Rem.

“Or do you want to be my wife? Sorry, but I don’t need a partner.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t like old men.”

The Eastern King wasn’t hurt by such words. He just laughed heartily.

Everyone had a similar thought: How could someone like this be the King of the East?

The one who thought this the most was Krais.

“Your Highness, King of the East! Are you serious? Is it true that gold piles up like mountains in the East?”

The King laughed again and replied.

“I don’t need you, though.”

It was clear what kind of person he needed—someone who could fight well.

His adjutant, Asaluhi, seemed unfazed, as if he was used to this sort of thing.

* * *

Ragna watched the two who had just finished sparring in front of him.

‘By changing the tempo, an ordinary thrust can appear to be an incredible technique.’

What is technique?

In the end, it’s simply a means to stab or slash what’s in front of you.

Ragna delved deep into himself.

His talent surpassed excellence, it was superior. One would be hard-pressed to find someone with greater talent than Ragna.

The fights he had experienced so far had stimulated this talent.

Even though he was someone who could progress without any particular catalyst, what happens when a catalyst presents itself?

He reflected on everything he had learned, discarding and then reconsidering it.

Ragna lay on his bed, staring out.

The Madmen Platoon’s training grounds were directly connected to the barracks, making this possible.

Though it kicked up some dust, Encrid liked that it was close, and the one who had anticipated this and designed the structure this way was Krais.

Thanks to this, Ragna could watch the training grounds, lose himself, and immerse himself in his sword.

Due to this structure, from an outsider’s perspective, it looked like Ragna was just lying down, being lazy.

“That guy’s slacking off again, I wondered how long it would take.”

This comment came from Rem, who had finished making the log chair and was now working on a table.