Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 787

787. Reflection, reflection again

Encred, inwardly agreeing with Balrog’s words, sank into himself and pulled Will out. It was only natural to continue doing what one was doing, regardless of whether one agreed or not.
He held Will back so he wouldn’t move on his own.

‘Control.’

First came control, then pause. Next came explosion. He
blended the explosion of goodness with the explosion of point, as demonstrated by the head of House Zaun. He mastered the two Will techniques and shook them off.
He was prepared to die after a single swing of the sword. A knight’s Will grows stronger through oaths and restrictions.
Encred threw aside all mental preparation and charged. He had already prepared himself by the time he got here.
The moment his still body stirred, he entered a world of silence. It was a time when the air surrounding him felt like mud, crushing his body. And Balrog entered effortlessly at the same time. It was expected.
However, he hadn’t folded his wings yet. That was probably the reason. Encred was just a little faster.
The position of his feet, the grip on his sword, everything became one as he swung his sword. The movement was a simple diagonal slash, but it happened before Balrog’s sword—Urt—caught him, and the fire serpent—Salamandra—pounced.
The timing was right. A vortex of lightning mixed with a blade scratched one of his crystals.

Pfft! Kak! Thud! Tsk!

A belated sound erupted, and Encred’s body was thrown backward. As they moved at high speed, Balrog once again released a mental wave.

-Endure.

Encred, flying backwards, rolled once on the ground, regaining his balance, and came to a stop. In the process, the Dawn Forge he’d planted in the ground cracked, leaving a long scar.

“Ugh!”

As soon as he stopped, he vomited blood. His internal organs were damaged from the kick Balrog had received in the previous skirmish.
The moment his diagonal slash was properly applied, Balrog didn’t flinch. Instead of absorbing the resistance of his wings and the wind and using his strength to swing his sword, he used his feet. His right foot struck Encred’s abdomen as swiftly as his sword.

‘The body itself is a weapon.’

It was something I already knew, but now it felt different. The force of the kick, the speed.
Bright red blood stained his chin and dripped onto the floor.
Encred looked ahead, one knee on the ground, using the Dawn Forge planted in the ground as support.
Then he reacted to Balrog’s last words.

“what?”

A few more drops of blood splattered onto the black dirt with the sound of a voice.
It was called Endure. Every knight learns it, and it’s a skill they’re currently learning called Ironclad.
It’s basically a pain-tolerance technique.

– Excellent.

Balrog simply said what he had to say, regardless of what Encred said.
Encred looked at Balrog’s chest. My sword had clearly cut through one of the crystals. But the crystal was unscathed. The Dawn Forge hadn’t cut through the crystal itself, but the membrane surrounding it.
That sly bastard.
Balrog had revealed my weakness earlier today: the three crystals embedded in my chest.
However, he hadn’t mentioned the thick protective membrane surrounding those crystals.

‘No, I expected that much.’

However, I didn’t know it would be this strong.
Endure, the Will that began with the power to endure pain, was another piece of armor for Balrog. It was wrapped around the crystal.

‘This isn’t something that can be easily achieved either.’

Encred stared into Balrog’s dark, yellow pupils. It felt as if his insides were boiling hot.
At the last moment, the fairy’s cloak stretched, wrapping itself around his abdomen. If it hadn’t been for that, he wouldn’t have been able to hold out.

-It was impressive to see such a person again in such a short time.

He said.
I wondered what he meant by “seen again,” but there was no opportunity to discuss further.
A fire serpent flew, and a sword of black fire slashed at Encred. Balrog lost interest in his shattered toy.
He died in the pitch-black flames. It wasn’t the first time, but it was just as painful.
Still, I learned something: the membrane surrounding the crystal was stronger than I thought.

‘If I had hit with more weight, I could have cut it.’

I can intuitively tell. However, if I cut that one crystal, I will die.

-Your observation skills are also good. Very good.

Balrog was constantly amazed, and the sight Encred was looking at changed.

swaying-

You see the black river, the ferry, and the boatman, the owner of the purple lamp.

“It’s sad to see.”

The boatman taunted him. It was also a way to encourage despair and frustration.
Just when he thought he’d woken up on the boat, the boatman pushed him out. It was reality again, another day repeating itself.
And Encred woke up.

“Wait a minute, wait.”

Before the other person could even say, “You’re a guest,” I’d show them my palm and speak—of course, with a hint of intimidation—and slowly nod. ”
Okay, this is it. If this method doesn’t work, we can just move on to the next one.”

“……Am I a dog?”

The opponent broke free from the pressure and burst into anger.
A single-edged sword gets angry when ignored, and this author always opens his mouth before taking action, trying to shake the opponent’s mind. If that doesn’t work, he’ll panic.
It was an obvious tactic.
He asks if he’s a dog, trying to lull the opponent into a state of alertness. He doesn’t actually roll his eyes, but he must be desperately thinking about what to say to make the opponent let down their guard.

“Wasn’t it?”

Encred calmly accepted it and thought of another method.

“Balrogs enjoy fighting. Can’t we make them let their guard down?”

No. Encred, who had resorted to deception, had lost once again.
The fight to hold on with the unyielding Will? That had long since been broken.
He had realized something along the way, but the boatman simply laughed.

“Why, do you think we’d be happier if we all died together?”

If the fight drags on, the Mad Knights will come from behind. Encred didn’t face them directly.
He only heard their voices and sensed their presence from afar.

“fiance!”

With a fairy who makes loud noises that don’t match.

“They’re having fun without me again!”
“If you get lost, just shout. I’ll come to you.”

Rem and Ragna.

“Lord, is there a prisoner in there that you want?”
“Wait, he’ll be gone soon.”

It was Audin and Saxon.
They were on the verge of death. That is, while holding on with all their might, they failed to avoid the Balrog’s final swing.
And as they lay dying, Encred saw the Balrog’s eyes gleam. A flame swirled within them. Their eyes seemed to be a mixture of murderous intent and excitement.
That was the conclusion he’d drawn. When
the Balrog is at full strength, simply holding on isn’t easy. Even when focused solely on defense, it’s the same.
Once again, he spends the day in the pitch-black cave.

‘If you fight without hesitation.’

Encred’s next step was to fight, abandoning his own body. He didn’t hesitate to commit the violence that would shatter his own body. Balrog responded in kind.

-good night.

And he even cheered. Urth slashed his left arm, and Encred’s Dawn Forge finally struck a crystal.
It was a blow he threw himself into. And in the process, Encred felt a slight change in his will.

‘It’s different again.’

Every time he crossed a certain line, I noticed a subtle shift in Balrog’s temperament. It was similar to what Ragna displayed when he swung his sword with full force.
In fact, Rem and others had glimpsed it, but when asked, they simply tilted their heads in confusion.

‘Because you cannot observe what others have, you do not know the difference between what is yours and what is another’s.’

Encred was able to add to his experience of dying and re-dying, observing his own and others’ experiences.
That doesn’t mean the Knights simply ignored my words. They added their own experiences to their words.

“So, the captain’s will is a bit bland, but it’s not ours, right?”

Rem’s words flash through my mind.

“I like to hide sharpness within monotony. It’s my taste.”

Saxony also said.

“I’m adding that because it’s going to ring.”

This was Ragna’s words, and while I thought it was an explanation, it was something only he could understand.
I was the one who spoke and nodded to myself. The expression on my face, as if I’d realized something, only made it more absurd.
Audin laughed. “Didn you say divinity originally had a slightly different direction?”

“Would you like me to inject you with fairy energy? Come back tonight and I’ll do it.”

In the meantime, the fairy’s joke came to mind and I chuckled.
It was reality again.

“Are you laughing?”

The man pulling his sword from his sleeve frowned. It was an act of anger at being ignored.
That was the author’s specialty. It was the seventy-sixth day of the week. He’d only broken a crystal once.
Encred, in turn, took advantage of his opponent’s inattention and extended his sword. The beam of light, extending like a flash, would appear as a single point of light if seen head-on.
It was a rapid, accelerated thrust using the explosion of the point.
The basics of this thrust were learned during the first day, but it was now ridiculous to compare it to that time.
And then, he was on the verge of killing his opponent. The man crossed his swords in both hands and fell backward.
In Encred’s calculations, his opponent should have turned sideways to dodge and prepare for a counterattack.
Instead, he laid back and extended his leg. It was a move bordering on a stunt. The evidence of years of training was evident.
He supported himself with one foot and extended his right. A thin blade protruded from the tip of his boot, threatening to slice through his throat. Encred drew back his sword.

earth!

The blade bounced off the dawn forge, spinning and rising above their heads.
Encred could have ended the fight before it even landed. No, he hadn’t even bothered to block it a moment ago.

‘It would have just grazed my neck and been over.’

But he didn’t.
Why? Was it just a whim? Or maybe he needed more time to think.
This time, he didn’t use coercion to overwhelm his opponent.

‘no.’

The attack my opponent had just displayed was unexpected, and it seemed to overlap with Balrog’s kick.
He had been bracing himself with his left foot, but he struck the ground with his outstretched leg, stood up, drew his two shortswords, and crossed them in front of his face. He looked at his opponent through the gap between the two diagonally crossed blades.
He observed his “guest.” The previous attack, a move he had truly been saving, was blocked. It held his hands and feet.

‘what?’

As I was staring at him, the blue-eyed guy just stared blankly into space.

‘Inducing carelessness?’

It’s a technique he frequently uses. Those who wield a deceptive sword are suspicious. He was no different.

‘Where did this guy come from?’

I look at him inwardly, surprised.
My blank eyes regain focus.

‘Were you really lost in thought?’

What kind of crazy guy is this?

“We haven’t even exchanged names. But, well, I guess we don’t need to know your name. Did you learn the basics from the Valencian mercenary sword? Let’s finish it.”

Encred’s opponent, Reno, covered his mouth and throat with two swords so he wouldn’t be seen, and swallowed secretly.
The guy who had come in this time seemed like a crazy bastard.

“It’s Reno.”
“I told you, the name doesn’t matter.”

Encred spoke and slashed his sword. Reno reflexively pushed his swords, which had crossed, back. The attack exploited the friction between the two swords, and at the same time, sparks erupted from the blades, which were mixed with a special metal. It
wasn’t a sustained fire, but a flash, more like a spark.
It was a technique to temporarily block an opponent’s vision. Of course, a knight’s five senses are so well-developed that blocking vision isn’t fatal.
However, if you suddenly lose sight of something in the middle of a tense swordslash, you’re bound to hesitate, even if just a little. The two swords, generating fire, were a technique to create that kind of gap. And indeed, Encred was surprised.

‘That knife.’

This kind of thing was possible.
It was something I’d never seen before, as I’d just quickly cut it down and passed by.

‘It was like the kick of a Balrog.’

That’s what I thought.
That’s how it felt when I lay down and stretched my legs earlier. The power, the result, and the movement were different, but the process was similar.

‘Even Balrog uses deception.’

Anything is possible to win. Encred felt the same way. And here’s another thing I realized.

“There is something to be learned even from a farmer who has worked the land all his life.”

This is something the instructor who laid the foundation for me said a long time ago.

“Even though he can’t fight, you must have learned something from watching Eitri handle iron.”

Again, Luagarne’s words overlapped over it.

‘You are a good teacher, Lua.’

She ‘s a wonderful prog.
She does everything for my desires. That “everything” also includes teaching Encred. That teaching is deeply ingrained in my bones.

‘It was complacent.’

It’s time for reflection. The opponents before me, Donapa, and even the One-Edged Sword.
They are knights trapped in Balrog’s labyrinth. There was much to learn from them. I ignored it all.

‘I’m so drunk.’

Was he so excited to meet someone who had overwhelmed him after so long?
Wasn’t that why he unconsciously, subconsciously, was thinking about repeating today?
Even though he promised himself he wouldn’t waste a single day?
It’s a matter of reflection, reflection, reflection.

“good.”

He devoted his whole heart to observing and stealing his opponent’s techniques. Encred truly treated his opponent as his teacher.

“This is good, do you have any more?”

When Encred spoke, Mr. Reno, who heard what he said, just kept saying it in absurd terms.

“This crazy guy?”