Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 678

678. Virtue and Respect

“Jaun is to the north. If you face the Pen-Hanil Mountains and go northeast, you will come across a small cave. If you go through that cave, you will come across the ‘Stargazing Hill.’ If you look at that hill and go around it, you will come across a large detour to the east. It is near the Imperial Territory.”

Magrun said this with a normal face, as if he had vomited blood. Encred had been a guide and traveled the continent. Compared to Ragna, his sense of direction was like that of the continent’s strongest knight. Compared to a regular guide, he was able to eat moderately without skipping a meal. Even
with this level of sense, he was able to draw a picture to some extent after listening to Magrun.
It wasn’t as complicated a path as he had thought. Now that I think about it, it’s a new thought.

‘The reason why Jawoon is unknown is not because it is difficult to find.’

To be honest, the city and village where Encred was born and raised was better hidden than Zaun.

‘It’s not that I’m hiding the path, it’s that I’m not raising my reputation.’

Jawoon does not stand out and does not put his name first. He has no intention of spreading or making his name known.

‘No, there could have been someone who thought that way. Someone must have stopped them.’

The thoughts continued to branch out on their own. Sometimes, the thoughts would draw the aftermath, the pattern, and the dynamics of an event. This was the part where Kreis said Encred was truly talented. It
is a talent to infer the back of a picture by looking at its front.
Encred continued his thoughts with a question.

‘Why did you stop it?’

If you ask this question to Christ or Abnayer, the answer will come right away. Even without having to get detailed information, the two of them would have guessed to some extent what direction the Zawoon family was pursuing.
And now, Encred also had no difficulty guessing the reason.

“Imperial territory?”

Encred put the sweet potato he had airlifted from Azpen and baked in the oven into his mouth and asked.
It had a texture that crumbled as his molars moved. All he felt was a slight resistance, but sweetness and savory flavors spread in his mouth.
Ugh! When he ate it with pickled radish, the two flavors mixed together in his mouth and he cheered. It was delicious.

“I said it was nearby. Although Zawoon is adjacent to the Imperial Territory, it is a separate independent city.”

There was an answer to what Magrun was saying just now. Magrun also peeled a sweet potato and put it in his mouth.
Looking at him eating while blowing on it and saying “whoooo,” I wondered if he was really the guy who had collapsed a few days ago after vomiting blood.
What’s more, he had even sparred with himself in the early morning. He said he looked fine on the outside, so I had no choice but to believe him. This was Anne’s area, not my strong point, but Anne nodded that she was fine now.

‘It’s an independent city.’

There are groups around me with the same power. If Encred himself were in power, how would they look?

‘threat.’

Or it is an opportunity.
They will either embrace it or destroy it. But they did not. The Empire left them alone.
The Zawoon are not people who live in hiding. Those who know know their existence and location.

‘And yet I leave it alone.’

It would be because you created a reason to let it go.
To use a strategic thinking analogy, it’s like not giving the opponent a reason to cut you down.

‘I would have told you that if you rush in there wrongly, it won’t end with just a scratch.’

If we were to eliminate them, we would have to pour all of the nation’s power into them. We would have to lose at least one arm to eliminate them. So let’s leave them alone.
I remembered what I had heard from Krang.

“The Empire has many shields, interestingly enough. First of all, the Pen-Hanil Mountains, which are adjacent to the central continent, are a shield, and to the west, the Great Forest, where the King of the Beasts lives, is like a shield. There are also shields on the way back to the east. What are those shields…?”

I didn’t listen to the end because I wasn’t interested, but I think I knew what that shield to the east was.

‘Jaun.’

These must be one of those shields.
“Druk,” said Grida, pulling a chair over and coming over to the side.

“They say they have no relationship with the Empire, but some people who can’t adapt to their families become knights of the Empire, so you can’t say they have no relationship at all. Strictly speaking, they are friendly. That’s the kind of relationship they have. And it’s a relationship that can’t be anything but friendly.”

What happens when you don’t get along with your neighbors?
Naurilia and Azpen were a great example of what would happen soon.
You have to fight and fight again.

“We’ll start riding horses, but later we’ll have to go on foot.”

Magrun finished speaking. Encred nodded.
Then he turned his gaze to one side. The door of the Knights’ Dining Hall was large enough for five Audins to stand and pass through at once.
To borrow Kreis’s words, the door had to be large for ingredients to come and go easily.
Well, the Knights were eating a lot. They really did eat like crazy. They
didn’t even have ten in number, but the food they put in was at least a company-level. That’s why they even made a separate Knights’ Meal for use in wartime.
Ragnar could be seen outside the large door. And Lawford, who was standing next to him.
Encred listened to their conversation as he cleaned up the breakfast that was almost finished. He did
n’t really eavesdrop, but he could hear it well even when he was still.

“Roford, don’t insist on being efficient.”

They were holding wooden swords, not real ones. Ragnar spoke and swung what he had in his hand.
If a knight swings a wooden sword, even a rotten tree branch can be fatal. If he can break a log with his bare fist, what else can he do?
Ragnar raised his wooden sword toward the sky. He was in a ceiling stance. From that stance, he slashed his sword down with a cut, and when it became parallel to the ground, he changed the direction of his force. In terms of movement, he crossed his feet and stabbed his sword.
It was easy to say, but it was a technique that required physical control on the level of a human.
Here, Encred also read the meaning contained in the technique.

‘Valentine’s sword.’

Deceive and gain. That is the sea that the Valen-style mercenary sword pursues. The path of swordsmanship that Ragnar showed just now was like that.
Lawford suddenly saw the changed path of the sword and tried to bring his sword to it. Lawford was also clearly a skilled swordsman.
He barely managed to block the stab. The sound of two wooden swords clashing was loud, and the two wooden swords met in midair and stuck together.

‘Bind.’

It is a technique of attaching and weaving weapons.
Ragna attached his wooden sword and crossed his crossed feet once more, moving forward to close the distance.
If they were directly facing each other, it was an unusual attack that would have startled them.
Ragna pushed the sword attached in a bound state and hit Lawford’s cheek with the hand holding the sword.

Talk.

There will be no shock. To be exact, there will be no shock left on the body, but there will be a shock left in the mind.
So easily? It is not because of strength or speed, but because he can’t read the numbers? What is the reason?
Lawford’s mind will be complicated. While Encred, who was watching, was thinking like this, Ragnar spoke to Lawford.

“Don’t limit your movements.”

It was exactly what he needed at the moment. Lawford’s eyes lit up. He was pushing his limits. Anyone could see it.
He was steadily moving forward, whether it was one step or half a step a day. Ragnar was telling Lawford what he needed most right now.
And it didn’t end there.
There was a man there who seemed to have forgotten his usual laziness.

“This time, I’ll teach you how to swing it by squeezing your muscles for a moment. It’s a spinning slash using the Chuken style.”

The pace was so fast that it was hard for Lawford to keep up. It was something a lazy person would never do.

“You’ve changed so much.”

Then he said this while looking at the scene. Perhaps he had changed under the influence of Encred next to him? That was what he thought to himself.
This man had that much influence on those around him.
If he was around, he might change.
Even he felt that the work of warming up his body was really enjoyable after a few months.
Encred had the talent of making his body move in a way that made him happy just by looking at it.

“Didn’t you say you left because you were tired of swords?”

Magrun added a word. Then he glanced at Encred. The person who caused the genius who was disillusioned with everything to change like that was right here.
How on earth did he change someone like that? Of course, he had an inkling of it. It was rare to see someone so serious about training and life. No, it was the first time I saw it.
That sincerity must be the reason for the change now. Magrun concluded that.
While the two were thinking about it, Encred opened his mouth.

“Why is it like that?”

It was a very surprised tone.
Grida and Magrun turned their heads to Encred.
Why are you surprised too? That was their look in their eyes. Encred read the look in their eyes and answered.

“I don’t know, me either. It’s scary to look at it like this.”

To be honest, this is not the kind of appearance that you would expect to see from Ragnar.
The two from Zawoon look at him in amazement.
Ragnar wipes his sweat with a towel after teaching him swordsmanship and enters the restaurant.
It really is an unbecoming sight. Sweating and devoting himself to training, he teaches Lawford in his spare time.
It is not just Lawford.
On his way in, he meets Squire and the fallen Clemen, and Ragnar says.

“Try holding the sword.”
“……Yes?”

Clemen knew Ragnar. It was hard not to know him since he was so frequenting the Knights’ quarters.
But he was clearly flustered.
To be honest, this was his first time talking to Ragnar. He was usually a person who didn’t even respond properly when called out because he was annoyed.
Clemen did as he was told and grabbed his sword.

“Practice being able to change your grip at any time, but still holding it firmly so you don’t let go.”

It was a short but effective lesson.
Clemen saluted with a bewildered face.
Why are you suddenly doing this? His expression seemed to ask.
Ragnar sat down to eat and spoke to the three people who were looking at him.

“What remains in the place where you leave? That is a question worth pondering.”

Whether he ate the philosopher’s stone or drank the philosopher’s blood, Ragnar acted wisely.
He also looked very unlucky. It was like Rem was acting gentle, and Saxon was acting cheerful and saying that the world was beautiful.
Encred instinctively swung the cup. The water he had filled himself sprinkled and settled on Ragnar’s hair.
Encred felt that he needed to drive away what was possessing Ragnar.
He had heard from Rem that this kind of sorcery sometimes worked. That was why he spoke sincerely.

“Huh, evil spirits be gone.”

A brief silence settled over the restaurant. The trainee who was bringing out another dish backed away. He seemed determined to pretend that he had not seen or heard what he had just seen and heard.

“What are you doing?”

Ragnar didn’t get angry or argue. He didn’t shake his head, just looked at her indifferently and spoke. Encred was deeply hurt by her gaze.
It was the kind of gaze that looked at an immature adult.
If I were to exaggerate a little more, it would seem like looking at Rem.

“When a person suddenly changes…….”

Encrid, provoked, went into a rage.

“Yes, I will die.”

Ragnar even took it. After a short battle, Encred felt defeated.

‘Have you grown up?’

He didn’t even pretend not to understand, but just kept on going with an indifferent attitude. He reminded me of an adult who was clicking his tongue and mumbling, “I know everything” behind Ragnar.

“Captain, everyone needs to be serious sometimes.”

Magrun, who had been seriously discussing swordsmanship with himself, stepped aside.
This bastard?
Encred looked at him and this time Grida opened her mouth.

“You can’t defeat an evil spirit that way. You need a magical sword or something similar… not just water.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t know that. I swallowed what I was going to say. No, I had to swallow it.
Encred thought that if he made any excuses here, he would be pushed back even further.

“Don’t bother my fiancé, you three evil spirits.”

Just then, Shinar came in and spoke. With her fairy hearing, she must have already heard their conversation outside.
Ragnar seemed to be indifferent to all of this, and with deep, nail-like eyes, he simply nodded his head, saying that he understood.
Encred couldn’t say anything after seeing how Ragnar had changed. He really couldn’t figure out why he was acting that way.
But it wasn’t something he could say here.
People change if there’s a trigger. Encred just realized the way of the world once again.

“Yeah. Whatever it is, it’s better than being lazy.”

So I said something roughly and got up from my seat to look for Christ.
When I said I was leaving again, I saw Christ’s eyes widen. I had to do what I had to do before I left.
I was definitely not running away from my current seat.

“Retreat is a good tactic. I will stop you. Fiancé. Go.”

Sinar blocked Encrid’s rear with a solemn attitude.
After that, he roughly took care of the affairs of the territory for two days.

“Please come back safely.”

Chrys coolly handed over Krona and his horse.
They said that the horse training at Green Pearl was a great success, and the few horses that were brought in just now had shiny manes and clear eyes.

“then.”

Anne quickly learned to ride a horse in a matter of days, and Encred set out with the three men from House Jaune, Ragnar, and Anne.

“Please come and leave that little brat behind.”

Rem greeted him with concern, wishing him good health. Ragna looked at Rem intently after hearing the kind words he had heard.
It was a deep, nail-like gaze that he had often seen these days.

“What? You want to fight?”

Rem reacted, but Ragna answered with words instead of killing her.

“Rem, I respect the life of a savage. You must have had to live through struggles like that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to survive.”

Ragnar spoke and turned around.

Step by step.

The horse carrying him left the training ground and moved.

“……Did you get a serious head injury?”

Even Rem was taken aback by the response.

“It’s not there.”

Anne followed Ragnar on horseback.
Strangely, Ragnar’s horse, although very well trained, moved on its own.