Eternally Regressing Knight

It wasn’t bad either.

There was determination in his words and actions.

Because that will was visible, Enkrid’s words were backed by conviction.

The message was clear: everyone had retreated.

He had said he would protect, and if he said so, then he would be the kind of person to follow through.

What if he failed? That was a problem for later.

The last to leave was Ragna.

Before leaving, he quietly watched Jebikal for a while, muttered a parting word, and then turned away.

“We’ll meet again later.”

Jevikal ignored him.

Enkrid thought it was unwise to disregard that.

‘It’s rare for Ragna to say something like that.’

It wasn’t a common sight.

With that, everyone moved away and distanced themselves from the line of sight.

Once Enkrid was left alone, Jebikal spoke again in a tone without any hint of a smile.

“Impressive, really.”

The smile had vanished from Jevikal’s face. He seemed rather indifferent.

Up until that moment, Enkrid stood silently, his sword drawn, watching quietly.

“Let’s begin.”

Jevikal said. For a moment, silence fell.

Nothing happened yet.

It would have been awkward, but Jebikal twisted his lips into a smile again.

Enkrid, watching the expression, thought it was a smile that seemed to squeeze something out.

The original plan had been for the hybrid giant to charge first, followed by Jevikal seizing an opening to attack.

But the hybrid giant didn’t move.

“Talking?”

Enkrid asked lightly, intending to relieve the awkwardness, but his attempt was futile.

“Shut the hell up,” Jevikal snapped, glaring at the hybrid giant. The giant, wearing a helmet, stood still, not turning to look.

If the two of them teamed up, they could probably kill it, so why was she doing this?

Of course, Jevikal didn’t think the hybrid giant would attack just because he was charging in.

He had prepared dangerous tools for such a moment.

‘If used wrong, I’d be dead, though.’

But if used properly, it would be a lethal weapon, as dangerous tools often were.

When Jevikal said “Let’s start,” and the hybrid giant still didn’t move, Jevikal spoke again.

“Let’s go.”

It was an urging tone. Only after hearing that did the hybrid giant silently raise her shield.

Enkrid looked at the hybrid giant.

The helmet concealed her face. The visor was a single horizontal slit, so only her eyes were barely visible, but her eyes were so narrow and small that her gaze couldn’t be discerned.

That said, it didn’t mean she couldn’t feel the atmosphere.

People often revealed their feelings through their posture, even without saying anything.

“Don’t want to fight?” Enkrid asked, facing her.

During their previous sparring sessions, Enkrid could tell that the hybrid giant had been getting more excited without realizing it, and he had sensed it.

It had been a long time ago, but that memory remained vivid. Some memories didn’t fade easily.

It was different from forgetting Edin Molsan’s name.

“I’m just doing my duty.”

The hybrid giant replied. Her husky voice echoed through the helmet. It was clear she was a woman, but her voice had a rough edge to it.

She raised her shield. A gray iron wall.

At the same time, she bent her body and slammed it into the ground. Her massive thigh muscles and ankle strength sent dirt flying, propelling her forward.

Boom!

The sound of her impact reverberated through the air.

And then, the hybrid giant charged at Enkrid with all her might.

It felt like a massive mountain was rushing toward him.

The hybrid giant had also given this move a name — “Landslide.”

The tilted shield came crashing down on Enkrid.

It was aimed to strike from above.

Enkrid instantly activated a focus that made everything slow down around him, a technique he had long since grown accustomed to, despite its drain on his concentration.

Even in his concentrated state, the speed of the shield’s approach was exceptional, formidable.

He quickly judged that merely attempting to deflect it with a slight tilt of the shield wouldn’t be enough.

So, what should he do?

If he couldn’t deflect it, maybe he could deflect it by redirecting?

Though his opponent had lost some enthusiasm, Enkrid had not. As the shield surged toward him, he was poised to act.

That’s when he felt a sudden surge of intent targeting his back. His instincts kicked in, and he immediately began preparing to evade.

Jevikal had schemed something.

Enkrid didn’t mind it.

‘It might be interesting.’

A smile appeared on his face, and upon seeing it, Jevikal seemed about to lose his temper.

The repressed malice within Jevikal surged in an instant.

‘Die.’

Jevikal muttered silently, reaching for his belt and unleashing his weapon.

It was the very weapon that had earned him his current nickname.

A slender, bendable blade made of soft steel—his “thin sword.”

It wrapped around his waist, and what had appeared to be his belt transformed into a long blade, extending forward.

It was nearly twice the length of a regular longsword, looking like a pointed iron whip.

Swish!

The thin blade sliced through the air, its tip targeting Enkrid’s neck like a viper’s strike.

Enkrid had just raised his left hand to deflect the incoming landslide-like shield.

***

“This feels like it’s my fault,” Krais muttered, and Rem glanced at him.

“Why?”

“The guide map. I sold it carelessly, even though I knew better.”

Krais had drawn and sold a map of the territory’s inner areas.

The map had been a means to guide them through the area, and had they used the Gilpin Guild to monitor things, it could have been avoided.

They had avoided making it a larger issue because they couldn’t afford to lose too many guild members to a skilled adversary.

Krais was expressing his discomfort over this lapse.

“If you look at it that way, the commander should take responsibility,” Finn interjected from behind. Dunbakel was by her side, seemingly lacking in thought, only curious.

“Can we just leave it as is?”

Rem responded, “What, are you going to secretly help if we don’t? Think you can do it without getting caught?”

While some beasts were born with hunting instincts, Dunbakel was not one of them. She was a warrior, not a hunter.

“I’d probably get caught,” she admitted.

“Then why even bring it up?”

“If that person dies, there’s no reason for me to stay here.”

It was strange how openly Dunbakel spoke like that.

She was staying only because of Enkrid.

Rem kicked Dunbakel’s calf with a lower leg strike, which was easily blocked by Dunbakel, thanks to her training.

Thud!

It had impact, but no real pain—after all, she had faced far worse violence before.

“Good job, beast girl. But you can stop worrying now. Is this really your concern?”

Then Rem harshly criticized Dunbakel’s skills.

“You’re a beast who can’t even protect yourself, yet you’re worried about someone else? Who, the commander? Huh? Are you worried about that commander, the one who recently ‘discovered his will’? Think you can beat that weird guy with the strange sword? Oh, you can’t? But you still want to charge him? Maybe your head’s been knocked too much; why are you still walking around with a helmet that’s useless as a helmet hook?”

It wasn’t the perfect rhythm, but the insults came together in a surprisingly poetic form.

“Four and a half stars,” Krais evaluated Rem’s impromptu work.

Though Krais felt responsible for what had happened, he also trusted in the situation. He had regrets, sure, but regrets were fleeting.

The reality was in front of them, and it had to be faced.

Since things had already transpired, Krais chose to believe in the leader.

Who else would have stepped forward if not him?

Krais still hadn’t forgotten the commander’s back—the one who had saved him.

‘That commander…’

In recent times, Enkrid’s skills had grown to an incredible level. He had improved, progressing upward.

So, Krais believed.

More than that, just before retreating, when Krais saw the man with the black hair standing under the blue sky, he instinctively thought of two words.

‘A knight.’

What did it mean to be a knight?

It wasn’t just about superior strength.

‘A knight is someone who protects.’

It was a phrase Enkrid had once spoken. If he had said he would protect, Krais believed he would.

“Damn it,” Rem muttered, then stopped walking. He had gotten quite far.

Worrying and watching were two different things, and he regretted not being able to see things properly from such a distance.

Especially with the lazy bastard next to him.

It was rare to see him so full of energy—truly, a sight as rare as a mad lazybones being so eager.

Ragna stopped and turned around, preparing.

To Rem, it seemed like he was getting ready.

He hadn’t drawn his sword and simply stood still, facing Enkrid.

“That’s preparation,” Rem thought, watching as Ragna poised himself. If things went wrong, he would charge straight ahead. It seemed unlikely that things would escalate, though.

“Father will protect us,” Audin murmured beside him, offering a usual prayer. Saxon had already disappeared from sight.

Once out of range, he had become like a wild cat.

Esther hadn’t followed either. In fact, the mage, who had just turned human today, had said:

“I’m busy. Don’t bother me.”

That was all. The blue-eyed beauty’s words came with no concern. There was a mystical aura about her that made it obvious she was a mage, yet she still pretended to be a leopard to the outside world.

‘Pretending not to care, but never leaving the commander’s side.’

As Rem chuckled to himself, he saw someone hurriedly approaching from the opposite side.

“Is it true? Did they take hostages?” It was Commander Marcus, with a swift group of soldiers, mostly archers. Sergeant Vengeance was also with them.

Once the situation had unfolded, Rem and the others had moved, and Marcus had arrived with the archers after receiving the report.

“Yes, but don’t worry. Once we get closer, they said they’ll kill the hostages, so we need to stay here and wait.” Krais answered.

Marcus himself had come directly to handle this? Rem thought to himself, considering that if he had “awakened his will,” he must now be seen as a high-ranking individual.

Rem observed Krais as he spoke, glancing at the back of his head.

“Are you saying that we should trade hostages for commanders?” Edin Molsan, who had followed Marcus, raised his voice. With faded blonde hair, he scolded them as if furious.

“Guide me now! I’ll personally deal with them!”

Since when had he been this worried about the commander?

Edin Molsan snorted, visibly agitated. His usual brash attitude was on display, but now, it seemed to be directed towards Enkrid. That made it all the more surprising.

“Let it go,” Rem said reluctantly.

“What?” Edin Molsan raised his eyebrows sharply. The guy knew how to show his anger.

Though it was troublesome, he couldn’t afford to kill a noble son.

That would be a real disaster.

Rem chose to exercise patience and spoke again.

“Let it go. Nothing will happen.”

His tone was firm, almost certain.

What kind of nonsense was that? Edin silently fumed.

Rem, again exercising restraint, spoke up.

“It’s fine.”

Enkrid’s last sparring partner had been Rem himself.

During that fight, he lost an axe but also came to realize something.

‘He’s not a threat.’

The hybrid giant’s skills weren’t bad, but Jevikal was not a match for him.

And with Enkrid now?

‘Fighting that hybrid giant and removing Jevikal’s sneaky head would be no problem.’

Plus, the sneaky wildcat had likely already moved.

“We just need to watch and wait for the show,” Rem added, though Edin didn’t seem to see the need to back down.

“Step aside. Insolent barbarian,” Edin spat, and as he moved forward, a sharp, chilling intent wrapped around his neck. Edin thought he was going to die, feeling as though death was imminent.

What stopped it was Edin’s guards.

“Enough,” one of the guards said.

“Listen to me, would you? Do you really think you can just cross the line?” Rem grumbled.

What had happened just now?

Edin rubbed his neck, still processing the oppressive force he’d just felt. Was it pressure? Or something else?

“Did you know how to use that?” one of the guards asked.

It was a question only Rem understood. Even Audin caught on.

Ragna seemed uninterested, still facing Enkrid, oblivious to anyone approaching from behind.

“I tried it out just now,” Rem answered.

Did observing someone make it something you could mimic?

The guard thought Rem was mocking him, but he didn’t draw his sword immediately. It wasn’t the time for internal strife.

“The commander said he would protect and save us, so we should wait.” Rem spoke again, and with that intense energy, Marcus didn’t argue.

Being a commander and having to speak now would only bring shame. Marcus knew it was better to keep silent, displaying the political acumen he was known for.

“Wait,” Marcus finally said, bringing an end to the discussion. Edin Molsan huffed a few more times, but that was all.

They waited.

There was no need to wait long for news from the front. Though they had moved out of sight, Rem had no problem gauging the situation from a distance.

He could already get a sense of what was going on with just a glimpse of movement.

“Let’s go,” Rem said, seeing the situation was nearing its end.

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