Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 838

838. Astrail

Ten days had passed since the encounter with the Salamander and the natural fit between them and Temares.
Was Yongin adaptable?
He was surprisingly unfazed. He wasn’t picky about what he ate or where he slept.
He ate as much as the Knights did and slept as much as they did. No, to be precise, he slept as much as Encred did and ate when he did. In other words, he never left Encred’s side, and it felt completely natural.

“Is Yongin after my position?”

Even though Shinar was joking around like this, no one seemed to care.
To borrow Rem’s words:

“You’ll figure it out. Are you my friend?”

That’s what I should say.
So, everyone just went back to their daily routines. The only difference from usual was that neither sparring nor training were overexerting themselves.
It was a sunny noon. Perhaps due to the Salamanders, the surrounding temperature remained as hot as before for a while. A few rain showers and the humid air added to the discomfort.
Of course, the humidity was quite satisfactory for Luagarne.
She also showed a brief interest in the dragon, but didn’t make an overly fuss. As always, Frock’s attention remained focused on Encred. Her curiosity hadn’t shifted.
Frock had also briefly left to immerse himself in his own training.
On the tenth day, during the countless sparring sessions, Encred decapitated Temares. Red blood gushed into the space where dawn passed. With his head half-cut, Temares stabbed Encred in the heart with his sword.
Even with his throat cut, the speed and power of the stabbing blade remained undiminished.
With a thud, the pure white blade pierced Will’s armored body, slicing through his muscles and slicing through his heart.
Normally, one side would have been protected by the dragon’s scales, the other by the balrog’s hide, but that wasn’t the case.
It was a purely physical fight, without dragon’s scales or armor.
Victory? It was impossible to gauge. It was purely for fun.
Naturally, the decapitation and stabbing of each other’s hearts were imaginary. They were fake.
If it were real, they’d both die. Just because they’re knights doesn’t mean they’ll survive a stab to the heart, and just because they’re dragons doesn’t mean they’ll survive a beheading.
They fought in their minds, repeatedly revealing and concealing their intentions with flinching hand and foot gestures, glances, and sword grips.
It was a virtual duel, you could call it. To fight with more precision, he mixed hand and foot gestures in the air, and even shifted his weight enough for his opponent to notice.
Encred’s back was covered in sweat. At first, he’d been easy, but now he wasn’t an easy opponent.
Could he actually win in a fight? Could he kill him?
Only by trying would he know. Yong-in had narrowed the gap in skill in just two weeks. Encred had learned a lot, too.

“amazing.”

Temares blinked as he spoke. The kindness in his vertically slit eyes, known as dragon eyes, remained the same.

“I agree. It’s unusual. Is it a special kind of insight? A racial trait? The last technique must have been done with the will imbued into his entire body, making the stab seem like an automatic reflex.”

Was Yongin’s insight remarkable? Yes, indeed. And Encred was remarkable, too. He grasped the essence of the technique Yongin demonstrated in the image. He
wasn’t just eager to teach, he was also eager to learn, always observing and accepting everything with an open mind.
Didn’t this trait blossom into a knight?
His discernment rivaled Yongin’s. Yet, Yongin’s insight was truly remarkable.
Becoming a knight gives one a gift called foresight, a power of foresight. Yongin possesses this ability from birth. That’s why lies don’t work on them.
By reading their wills, they possess a talent bordering on mind-reading. Needless to say, this was incredibly useful in battle.

‘Orthodox swordsmanship doesn’t work.’

Temares’s eyes see through deception, so to speak. Conversely, Encred’s orthodox swordsmanship was a deceptive art based on solid fundamentals.

‘A technique that digs into and stabs the weak points based on the flowing sword.’

While he possessed a solid foundation in swordsmanship, he had pioneered his own unique style. His innate insight allowed him to discern his opponent’s weaknesses.
Their duels were half swordplay and half conversation. Meanwhile, Encred also learned why Yongin had remained.

“My intuition is exceptionally good. It tells me that if I’m with you, I’ll meet you.”

Yongin possesses insight. He is capable of vague foresight. He possesses such a mystery. It’s not like he can change genders at will and become a hermaphrodite for no reason.

“Who?”

Encred asked.

“The one who interfered with my duty.”

There’s no chillingness in Yong-in’s answer. Nor does he reveal any resolve. He simply carries the impression of a scholar listing facts, speaking of something that must be protected. Perhaps that’s why it’s even more ominous.
He states established facts so casually, but the underlying truth is chilling.
Of course, Encred was unfazed. He’s a man who wants to destroy all of the Demon Realm. “Armistice” means ending the war, and “end” means the end of the Demon Realm.
That’s what he desires. Because he’s that kind of man, Yong-in’s words about meeting a single demon and destroying it can be taken lightly.

“You have sharp intuition.”

Encred nodded. Considering the demonic minions who had come for him, they would come again.
Or else, he would find them.

“We will not forget those who interfered with our duty.”

Yongin finished speaking.
For them, duty was the reason for living. It was surprising that he found interest and enjoyment in humans, but Temares still needed duty.
He needed a place to find a new duty, as he had always done. But before that, Yongin would exact a price from anyone who interfered with his duty.
This was above all else.
Beyond that reason, Temares had been moved to leave this place. Even Yongin found it quite surprising.
Of course, no one else thought it was special.

“Isn’t he a devil for nothing?”
“He’s a person who even charms the goddess of fortune.”

“To borrow Rem and Audin’s words, Encrid is this kind of person,”
Chrys asked, watching the sparring session sometime in the afternoon.

“You’re not planning on gathering all the species, are you?”

The Knights, a mixed-blooded order of giants, frogs, watermen, dragons, fairies, and humans. While dragons aren’t officially members of the Knights, to Chrys, they seem to permeate the Order like rain on dry ground.

‘I hope it will permeate the salon as well.’

Well, otherwise it’s just a matter of time.

“Shouldn’t we change our name to the Knights of the Cross-Race?”

It was a joke.

“And I heard from Esther….”

Christ was busy. He had no reason to stop by so often without any business.

“say.”

Esther discussed the crisis. She even accurately predicted the timing of the visitor’s arrival.
Kreis lost three nights of sleep because of it.
No matter how hard he tried to suppress this anxiety, it kept creeping back. When he opened his eyes, the suppressed anxiety resurfaced in a dream.
The city was burning, and several black-robed wizards were capturing the townspeople and imprisoning them in underground laboratories. The specificity of the details made it all the more unsettling.
In the dream, Kreis learned the reason for the experiment and saw fifty years into the future.
The Border Guard had become the womb of a second demon, and from there, a new demon was born.

‘The devil’s devil.’

It was an evolved version of the succubus, a dream demon who could captivate people with just a glance. It was a beggarly dream.
That’s why. Cris, gripped by anxiety, was trying to do everything. The message he was conveying to Encred now was also about him.

“I’ve informed each of you of your location and what to do. Esther spoke with confidence, but if anything goes wrong, you’ll have to figure it out on your own.”

Kryss shook off his anxious heart—he’d actually punched himself in the chest before being caught by Luagarne and reprimanded—and went about his business.
Three days had passed. A pitch-black shadow loomed over the Border Guard once again.
Naturally, most of the citizens and soldiers were oblivious to what was happening, but the shadow had come to the city anyway.
In some ways, it was a more troublesome opponent than the salamander.
Encred hadn’t trained at full strength since returning to the city. Even sparring with the dragons, though it might have crossed the line, he usually kept his guard up. The others were the same.
Of course, to the average person, it might have seemed crazy, but from Encred’s perspective, it was.
He stopped scratching his scabbed cheek from the Baek-a—the dragons’ sword—and greeted the members of Ester’s magic unit who had come to find him.

“I’m here.”

Although the tone was not urgent, the meaning behind the missing subject was clear.

“Saxony?”
“Lord Saxony has already moved.”
“Let’s go.”

Encred pulled his hooded cloak back over his cloak and headed out of the city. He
passed the training grounds, emerged from the inner castle, and walked along the well-paved roads to the outer gates without stopping. He concealed his face as he passed, and even those he knew only glanced at him.

“No problem while working, over there.”

Only a select few knew Encred was leaving. The security captain guarding the door today was Vengeance. He was one of the few who knew of Encred’s departure.
His job was to call Encred out under the pretense of observing his work ethic, then expel him.

“Is the child growing up well?”

As he passed by, Encred asked.

“Very.”

A smile naturally spread across Vengeance’s face as he spoke. Encred glanced at Vengeance’s child. What would that child grow up to be?
Protecting that child, that person, and those who stood behind him.
Encred knew his duty. After a brief conversation with Vengeance, he left the castle walls. Yongin followed behind him.

“Your blood seems to be boiling, Enki.”

“I’m going to call him by his nickname after a few days,” said Temares.

“I’ve said it several times, but you don’t need to say everything you see, Temares.”

Yong-in’s social adaptability wasn’t particularly impressive. He said everything he saw.

“The reason that Suin doesn’t wash is because she doesn’t want her body odor, which is fear, to show.”

For example, he poked at Dunbakel’s wounds as if nothing had happened.

“This baby salamander?”

Of course, Dunbakel also responded.

“That fairy has lived quite a long time. Considering the years…”
“Have you ever seen such a rotten potato sprout?”

There was something like this too.

“That witch, despite being human, lived her days….”

He spoke easily to Esther, then displayed a feat of cutting through Demueller’s piercing wind with a single stroke. Esther silenced Yong-in’s mouth with actions, not words.
Well, he was gradually getting used to this.
Where Encred headed, the older Esther was waiting. She wasn’t much older than Sinar, but she was definitely older than him.
Esther spoke as soon as she saw Encred.

“Your eyes are strange.”

Encred shook off his thoughts and asked back, pretending not to know.

“I?”

Rem, who joined almost immediately after, said.

“You said that the captain’s eyes sometimes look strange.”

Encred ignored Esther’s strange gaze and asked Rem.

“The rest to their seats?”

Rem nodded and answered.

“Each to his own seat.”

Chrys believed that, whether in battle or combat, the one who prepares well beforehand wins. Esther agreed. Wizards and witches are, after all, prepared.
Prepared magic is many times more dangerous than unleashing it. Through Esther, the entire Mad Knights knew this.
Chrys had spoken to Encred with bleary eyes.

“If you can strike beyond your opponent’s expectations, the blade you pull out at that moment will become a sharper dagger than ever before.”

Preparation is the realm of prediction and conjecture. The wizard’s inspiration can take it all as a hunch.

“Esther is better than the guys coming now, right? I’m basing this on that premise.”

Christ is a genius. Esther agreed with that statement. He devised a strategy that included Esther’s abilities within the realm of calculation.

“Come out to pick me up?”

It was a wide expanse of land, off the main road, beyond the Border Guard. It was a wasteland, so dust occasionally rose.
Ahead, an old man clad in ornate white robes embroidered with gold spoke.
Behind him, a dozen or so figures in gray robes followed.
Esther anticipated the movements of the wizard targeting her.
Kreis, concerned about the demon’s schemes and retaliation, had heard about the mad spellcaster targeting Esther and prepared for it.

“What can they do?”

Christ asked, and Esther answered as best she could. Having dealt with them in the past, Esther knew a lot. More than Christ wanted.

“colon.”

Chrys immediately summoned Encrid and Abnair to a strategy meeting. He also questioned Esther again.

“What is the wizard’s weakness?”

Astrail, a group that chased stars, was a gathering. ”
Mages are people who don’t know how to get along,”
Esther said.

“They are arrogant.”

”
They wouldn’t think I’d be struck by a mere blade.”
Esther said they would, and upon hearing that, Kreis’s eyes sank like sediment in a glass of water.
The light in his eyes dimmed, and his mind raced with thought. Grimly, the genius recognized the wizard’s weakness.
The first place he sought after was Saxon.