Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 597

597. Blue Winter Sky and Flowers, Children and Fools

“I’ll see you later when you find a place to escape to, kid.”

The boatman failed to regain his composure. There was definitely a devil in that bastard’s mouth.

“Get out.”

The boatman spoke again.

Encred opened his mouth to say something, but the shape of his mouth was so round that I couldn’t stand to look at it. His lips were curled up into a circle, and it looked like he was going to say ‘boo’ again.

After sending out that crazy guy named Encred, the boatman sat on the deck and looked at the light of the lamp and saw the day that was to come.

‘Let’s see how we can proceed again.’

The boatman spoke and was a little surprised. It was because of the words he had whispered to himself.

Instead of a clear future where he would be trapped and miserable today, he spoke of an unclear future about how he would move forward.

‘Am I doing something called expectation?’

Is it because that guy Encred has shown me something so far? That might be the case.

Still, I thought the ending wasn’t very good.

Why not, we have seen so many heroes and so many great people.

Some of them went further than what Encred has achieved so far.

But how did it end?

The boatman tried to talk to those inside him. They were all similar.

“It will all be mixed together anyway.”

“Expectations? What expectations? That’s nonsense.”

“Are you still holding on?”

“Convince them that today is not a repetition of today, but eternal life.”

Only a very small number of them offered new ideas.

“Would it be fun to see you gritting your teeth in agony?”

“How do you think you can endure it this time?”

I’m really looking forward to it. Instead of despair and discouragement, I got this lukewarm response.

There was originally more than one boatman.

He was originally a plural. So it was natural that Encred felt that the captain of the day was different every time.

So it is natural that each opinion is not the same. However, they are many but also one.

Originally, what that one captain wanted was a new companion.

That unity was now showing cracks.

This was the result of one man’s extreme madness and obsession.

“What are you trying to do? What do you expect?”

One of the entities speaks. The boatman who currently occupies the body smiles instead of answering.

The lines drawn between the dull gray skin curved and created a grotesque expression.

If Encred were to see his face now, he would say that the smile was the most ominous.

* * *

Even after that, Encred’s work was not over.

In one day, he had destroyed three criminal guilds, killed the evil Evil Eye, a cult experiment that had been controlling them from behind the scenes in the city, and killed three vampires and their sentinels who were only interested in their own pleasure as the lord of the castle, but the city was still stained with soot.

“Die!”

Among them, a group of assassins that were just starting to emerge also attacked.

The three of them moved as one, but their methods of hiding their presence were clumsy, and as you can see from the way the assassin shouted and rushed at them, their mindset was also clumsy.

I didn’t learn it properly.

Why? Ever since Evil Eye took control of the city, he’s turned the entire city into his playground for his pranks.

That was the reason why the criminal guilds and the assassins who pounced on them survived despite their clumsiness.

Why did that guy named Evil Eye make this city? It seemed like he was only for pleasure. He really was a guy with nothing better to do.

Encred shook his head internally as he watched the assassins rushing towards him.

‘If Saxony saw this, he would sigh.’

He draws his sword. With a chiring sound, the blade splits the sunlight and cuts the three assassins apart. Similar events continued after that.

“Oh, my God!”

As I entered the place where the meeting was being held, a group of cultists stabbed me in the heart with a dagger and tried to summon the devil.

Of course, the devil didn’t come. How could the devil living in the devil’s realm be so cheap?

Instead, an evil spirit was born, feeding on the will of the dead. The one who stabbed me in the heart fell, and a black ripple appeared in the air.

It was an incarnation of an evil spirit. It was an amorphous monster that, if left alone, could pose a greater threat to normal people, though not as great as Evil Eye.

Luagarne puffed out her cheeks when she saw that.

“Shit.”

As he said this, he swung his whip and destroyed the evil spirit with one blow.

Crap! Gyaaaah!

The sound of the evil spirit being torn apart spread along with the final words. The final words also contained a curse, but of course, they had no effect.

Encred’s eyes saw a blue mark where the whip had passed.

“Magic weapon?”

When I asked Luagarne, she nodded and answered.

“Are you jealous?”

“at all.”

Encred answered immediately, which was a natural thing for him. Normally, he would covet various weapons, but this time it was really not the case.

After that, I saw another guy holding a similar gathering, but this time Encred showed that he also had a weapon similar to Luagarne’s.

The sword Encred wielded could also be considered a magical weapon, as Esther had personally bestowed magical powers on the longsword mixed with ink.

Kkaaaaaaah.

The evil spirit screams and disappears into smoke.

“I told you I’m not jealous.”

I suddenly remembered the first time I saw the old Whistle Dagger. At that time, I felt like I was desperate to collect them all.

As I searched around the city, I also heard some welcome names in the slums.

“Battle spirit, Balrog, stay here!”

It was a cultist who was wielding a rusty sword and raging. He chanted a spell using Balrog’s name, and with that spell, his eyes lit up and one of his arms turned into a burning, extending whip.

Sometimes Balrog would use human bodies to do things similar to spirits, but this was only to lend a little bit of strength. In other words, it was something far removed from Balrog’s spirits.

Still, looking at the snail, I felt a little upset.

“I hope you heard me, tell him to wait, I’ll be there to get him soon.”

Encred spoke, revealing a part of his inner thoughts. He was sincere. If only he knew Balrog’s location, he would rush over there right away.

The guy, whose reason had already flown away and whose flames were streaming out of the holes in his face, such as his eyes, nose, and mouth, tilted his head.

It wasn’t even a real piece of Balrog, just a trace of the power he had. Of course, one sword would have been enough to defeat him.

He pulled his right foot out and struck with his sword. The blade rubbed against the scabbard and cut his opponent like a flash of light.

Pick, deng.

As the presence of the beheaded creature faded, Balrog’s power also faded.

I did another not-so-cleaning, and searched all over the city for two days.

The lord followed him around and realized Encred’s greatness once again.

‘It’s different.’

I wasn’t surprised by his swordsmanship, agility, or strength. I couldn’t even guess at those things in the first place.

What Seongju thought was truly remarkable about this man was his judgment and execution skills.

What might be a problem that takes some time to resolve for some people was just something that would pass in an instant for him.

Is that because the bowl is different?

Or is it simply because the abilities contained in that body are so great?

Sungju saw it electronically. He was a different vessel. There was no hesitation between decision and judgment. It was simply amazing what kind of person could do this.

Also, even though he came out like this, he didn’t ask what was next for this city.

That was also strange. Don’t you have any greed? Even if you were to swear allegiance to me now, you should just kneel down without saying a word?

Of course, there would be many problems standing in the way of swallowing up the city as it is, but doesn’t human greed make us overlook such aspects?

This is called the blind spot of desire.

But this man really only had ‘problems’ in the city. What was it that was felt from his actions?

I don’t know. The lord himself was of immeasurable size. So naturally I felt respect for him.

That’s why I said what I had to say before it was too late.

“My name is Louis. I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

It wasn’t humility, it was sincerity. For Encred himself, this whole thing was just a one-night exercise.

But it wasn’t like that to other people.

Especially for Louis, a man who finally found his rights and duties.

After he abandoned his leopard-like attitude of seizing an opportunity, he only showed respect towards Encred.

There was no way this attitude could be offensive.

Moreover, I like everything about this man’s attitude and behavior.

Even if he was the ruler of a foreign city, he had no qualms about it.

Anyway, work was work. Encred broadly defined the scope of the commission.

Since I decided to get rid of the cultists, I’m going to find all of them.

Originally, the rotten roots that would not have been pulled out easily were deeply rooted in the city, but the one who took on this task was a knight called Disaster.

He is an author with incredible stamina thanks to his tireless Will.

It had been four days since Encred had arrived in Crossguard. The atmosphere of the city had completely changed from the first day. It was a magical change.

In the meantime, various connections arose.

“What is your name?”

It was a question directed at the innkeeper. He was the one who stayed by my side for a few days when I had a break.

“Delma.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I have to inherit my uncle’s inn.”

The boy who said that was serious. He was not greedy for what was mine, but wanted to take over the inn in the city. The uncle also nodded and said.

“I never thought this day would come.”

An adult who saves a child in a rough, lawless city.

I turned away from Encrid’s danger to protect my child and my life from those who were trying to steal Crona.

‘Do I really have to blame him for that?’

I didn’t want to do that. I had no choice but to do something while pretending not to know about the crime guild’s work.

He tried to protect the child and even gave him poisoned food to signal him.

That was Encred’s mind. He didn’t want to blame anyone. Not everyone in the world can live righteously all the time. But that doesn’t mean he’ll forgive all those who do evil or things that bother him.

“You don’t have to do bad things anymore!”

This was the cry of a fool.

Whether it was a criminal guild or something else, the lord said he would take those who showed potential for improvement and raise them as soldiers.

The fool and his party left, saying they didn’t want to fight.

“I think it would be a good idea to open a border guard and a sailing ship after the situation improves. I’m thinking of building a ship. I think it would be a good idea to operate a shuttle ship across the Pen-Hanil River.”

One of them had a knack for building ships. I don’t know why he came to me and told me that.

“I mean thank you.”

The fool spoke beside him.

Encred nodded nonchalantly.

I later found out that although they were members of a criminal guild, they protected the citizens of the city by taking advantage of their circumstances without knowing it.

Then, since they say that their fingers were cut off, we can’t say that they are all bad.

There were a few people like that.

“Please have this.”

I had been walking around the city for a few days, cleaning up here and there. A familiar face threw me a withered apple.

When I took a bite, a mixture of bitterness and sweetness filled my mouth. It was a taste that I couldn’t even describe as good.

“That’s the final apology.”

The smile of the fruit vendor with one missing front tooth replaced the taste.

This city probably won’t change overnight. The lord will have to struggle to make it a place worth living in, and there will still be people who do bad things in the city.

Even if you’re Encred, you can’t catch and kill all the bad guys.

It was also a matter of distinguishing. You can’t handle everything with intuition alone.

So I decided to just leave it alone. Now it was up to the rest of us to figure it out.

You will die, you will be killed, sometimes you will cry, you will get angry, and sometimes you will be happy.

That’s life. These are the days they have to live, and the responsibilities they must shoulder as they seek to protect their land.

“Should we go tomorrow?”

Encred said as he watched Luagarne, who had been wandering around the city all day.

“okay.”

Encred replied and spent the day. The ambiguous gaze that had left a sense of unease for a while had disappeared. Perhaps Evil Eye had spied on him with some sort of spell.

The next day, after a good night’s sleep, Encred stroked Delma’s head, trained as usual, and leaned against a tree next to the inn, looking up at the sky for a while.

A cool breeze of early winter blew, cooling my sweat. When I raised my head, I saw a clear blue sky without a single cloud.

Ahahahaha!

I could hear the laughter of children running and playing in the distance.

If I sleep like this, will it be a little cold? I thought so, but I closed my eyes, feeling like I wanted to enjoy the moment. I felt sleepy. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

The sound of a child’s laughter, the blue sky, the cool breeze, everything came together to create a sense of peace.

Isn’t it for days like this, moments like this that we take up our swords?

I had that thought too.

Even though it was early morning and not even noon yet, people were busy.

Even the sounds of that hustle and bustle sounded like a lullaby.

That’s probably because a wind of hope is soon blowing through the city.

And from beyond the wind of hope that brought peace, a fire that would burn everything walked in.