Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 699

699. Sword of Chance

Clouds covered his head again. The sunlight that had been shining softly disappeared without a trace.
The outskirts of Zawoon were steep cliffs, and behind them were cliffs that stood like walls.
If the weather had been good, the scenery would have been spectacular, but because of the dark and hazy sky, it looked like a part of someone’s nightmare had been torn off.
Encred, with the fragments of that nightmare in the background, looked at Hescal with his sword in his hand.
Hescal stood in a somewhat peculiar posture, with a gauntlet with a small shield attached in front of him, and the sword in his right hand hidden behind the shield. He
did not leave coincidences as coincidences.
Why did he think that?
It was the beginning of a question that arose as he listened to the boatman speak. He always talked about the future.

‘Does the captain know the future?’

What he showed was sometimes realized in reality and sometimes not.
No one can confirm the future. If you talk about the future, the present changes. It is the prophet’s dilemma.
If you don’t say it, you can’t prove it, and if you write it down and look at it after it happens, it’s not a prophecy, it’s just a record.
But if you open your mouth and say it, does it become a prophecy? Those who hear the prophecy do not act according to the prophecy because they know the future. Therefore, the future changes, so the prophecy is not true.
This is the prophet’s dilemma, and the boatman cannot escape from that dilemma.

‘Even the captain does not know the future.’

Yet he speaks as if he can see the future. How can he do that? If you
wear a mask, you can hide your face and pretend to be someone else.
Masquerades are fun because you don’t know the face behind the mask.
That’s why masquerades are full of people who dress up. Some people appear in ways that were previously unimaginable through their dress up.
The boatman doesn’t see the future, but he dresses up to look like it. He must have changed his mask as needed.

‘What if you say something appropriately depending on the situation?’

It is not to leave coincidence as coincidence.
That is what Encred understood.
However, since it is impossible to do so with a narrow field of vision, a broad field of vision is essential.

‘You have to know the circumstances of the return to turn coincidence into intention.’

My thoughts opened up a path of their own and continued on, reaching the swordsmanship I was currently unfolding. My thoughts, tangled like a spider web, were running toward a single conclusion.
Why did I fix my instinctive swordsmanship in the form of a counterattack?
Because it was natural. There was no other way. That’s why I did it.

‘So why?’

A clearer path is needed. A more detailed examination of the process is needed.
Ask repeatedly and ponder the answer. I had to find the reason. A genius would do it naturally without knowing, but Encred is not a genius.
Therefore, I have to know each and every one. Doing
something without knowing and doing it knowing are as different as the distance between heaven and earth. At least for Encred, that was the case.
The answer came without much difficulty. It was also the result of several days of pondering.
In other words, I already knew the answer.
That’s because I had to accept the situation first and then react. That’s why I only used it as a counterattack.

‘A sword that exploits coincidence.’

This is the third sword technique after the wave barrier and flash.
It is the same as before.
If the meaning, implementation method, and training method are established, it can become a sword technique.
Is it easier this time because you have done it twice?
That is nonsense. Creating a sword technique is like opening a new world.
Nevertheless, the goddess of luck visited me today. So is this purely luck? No. It is intentional.

‘I accept even that luck as part of my intention.’

This is the meaning contained in swordsmanship. Let’s establish it.

‘Making it seem like all the luck is flowing towards me.’

The way to implement it is to use everything that happens by chance, and the way to train is to fight and fight again hundreds and thousands of times to experience various situations and learn how to respond in all situations.

‘But is experience the only answer?’

A small doubt came to mind. This part would be where swordsmanship could develop. It wasn’t something to discuss now.
Learning through experience was something Encred had done countless times. The training method was already internalized, so all that was needed was to establish the implementation and training method.
Encred used the coincidence of Hescal to do so.
Without warning, Hescal held out the shield in his left hand and blocked Encred’s vision. At the same time as covering his eyes, he showed signs of moving his body to the left.
Encred reflexively swung his sword. The three-iron blade struck the shield in a short trajectory. It would be difficult to push it away with the shield. Hescal was as strong as a giant. Not to mention, his skill in using techniques was excellent.

earth!

The moment he hit the shield, Encred felt the direction of the power flow to one side. The shield drained the power contained in his sword.
Hescal, who had shown a deceptive tactic that made him think he had moved to the left, appeared on the right.
He pushed his shield in to block his vision, pretended to fall to the left, and stabbed him with his sword from the right.
The movement was simple and the tactic was even simpler, but it was a fatal move because he had a brilliant wit that drove the situation this way and had excellent skills that could confuse Encred’s senses.
The three irons that hit the shield flowed to the left from Hescal’s perspective and to the right from Encred’s perspective, so the return path was too long. It would have been difficult to block by pulling the sword, so it was okay to see that he had shown an opening.
The blade flew. And Encred pulled the sword that had fallen back as if he had been waiting for this moment, and hit the tip of the sword that Hescal had struck with the pommel as if he had been waiting.
If the blade has difficulty returning, you can block it with another part.

Zzz!

It was so accurate that it didn’t even miss and there was a loud noise as we met.

“Are you planning to hurt the tip of my sword?”

“That’s what Hescal said as he stepped back.
Encred also clenched and unclenched his fists, which were shaking in shock, and answered.

“The edge of a engraved weapon can’t be damaged that easily.”
“Was that intentional?”

Nod.

Encred nodded to the question that came without even taking a breath.
All coincidences are intentional.
Of course, it wasn’t intentional. I was caught off guard.

‘This is a canine.’

The fangs hidden by Hescal were lethal.

‘The sword of deception.’

He has hidden fangs. He puts forward calculating and pushing his opponents, and kills them with just one deception.
The winner is the winner, and the loser dies. This is the world of those who hold swords. Hescal is strong. That was for sure.
And although it wasn’t intentional, the sword of coincidence that Encred had just shown was the polar opposite of Hescal.
He uses deception to find an opening, but the sword of coincidence changes even that opening into intention.
Of course, it wasn’t something that just anyone could do.

‘You can do something so easily that you would only be able to do it after experiencing it at least thousands of times.’

Hescal had a keen eye for detail, so he had figured out and understood the trick Encred had shown earlier.
That was why he had this thought.
It was something that could only be done after accumulating countless experiences.
Taking coincidence as an intention? That’s easy to say. However, it was something that could not be done without countless combat experiences, having been stabbed and cut by a sword.
It seemed like something that could only be done after fighting tirelessly for a hundred years, looking for suitable opponents at each time.

“Is that a great talent?”

Hescal muttered.
Encred put down his sword, caught his breath, and half-closed his eyes.
While he was thinking about swordsmanship and practicing, another thought flashed through his mind.
It was a thought that suddenly came together like a piece of a puzzle.
It was a knot that naturally unraveled because the swordsmanship he was thinking about was connected to the current situation.
He looked back on what had happened so far in his head.
He looked at the complicated situation simply, and he also looked at it by unraveling it. It wasn’t difficult. There were things that were clearer because he was looking at it from the outside.

‘If it was intentional, disguised as coincidence.’

One assumption is possible.

‘What if it wasn’t your intention to target Anne?’

Why did you target Anne? Why did you stall for time? Was Anne a threat? How did you know Anne and target her?
What if the guy who stalled for time and the guy who targeted Anne were different?
Not all of the questions were answered.
But I thought I knew the answers to a few.

‘I saw Anne by chance. But she looked familiar, and I thought she was a nuisance. So I tried to kill her, but I failed.’

The opponent’s malice was clear, but it could not be said to be persistent.

‘Just a random thought.’

That’s the answer we have now.

“Were you watching?”

In the meantime, Hescal opened his mouth. It wasn’t something he had said to Encred.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you swing a sword so seriously.”

It was Gaju. Those were the words he spat out while standing blankly next to Anajera.

“Is that so? It was fun. Encrid of the Border Guard.”

Hescal nodded to Encred after exchanging a few words with the gaju he was watching.
He had learned a lot from him. Encred nodded as well. It was a gesture of gratitude.
He had learned a lot here.

“How about the body?”

Hescal asked the master again.

“Don’t worry about it. I can take care of my own body.”

Hescal was worried about Gaju’s body, and Gaju still maintained an emotionless attitude.
That was the end. Gaju left, and Anajera rushed in, saying it was her turn.
She was only a quasi-knight, but her strength was comparable to a knight’s.
The giants were originally a species that could beat and kill hundreds of humans.
The nickname of the red-blooded monster wasn’t given to her for nothing, so she should have caused accidents one after another with her boiling fighting spirit, and even those that were at the level of beating or beating people to death, but she had adapted to Zawoon.
When I asked why.

“Because it’s fun.”

Humans are not all the same, nor are fairies and frogs all the same. Even giants are not the same. It must be curiosity and a desire to improve that have helped me overcome the fighting spirit that runs in my blood.

“I will become a knight.”

As Anajera declares:

“It’s not easy.”

Encred said and made a bump on her head.
He made it by hitting her with a black cloth. If it had been Jin or Mukgeum, Jawoon would have lost one of the giant beauties.

“That’s what makes it fun. I want to fight better. I want to fight stronger guys.”

Is it a combination of fighting spirit and desire for improvement?
I also understand why it can be like that. As I trained and spent time in Zaun, I learned more than what I learned from Grida, Magrun, and Odinkar in the Border Guard.
It’s because they don’t really hide it, and Encred is opening up a world right now, so my perspective has broadened.
Zaun is based on this premise.
It’s the premise that you can’t fit everyone into one category.
It respects individuality and helps them achieve what they want. It teaches them, trains them, teaches them training methods, and teaches them techniques.

‘A system for geniuses.’

That’s the swordsmanship that Jawoon draws.
And Encred was establishing a system for the common people.

‘The paths are different.’

If I were to pick apart the system here, I would say I learned everything I could. Whether it’s technology or anything else, they all base it on talented people.
That’s the point.
If you know the point, you can figure out the small skills or training methods by following the logic.

‘This isn’t the right path for me.’

Of course, talent is the standard.

‘Those who are worse off should also be able to rise.’

That is the way swordsmanship should go. By Encred’s standards, that is.
Although he didn’t shout that he had defeated Anahera and defeated Zaun, everyone secretly acknowledged Encred’s skills.
Hescal, who had been watching from a distance, approached and asked.

“How about Jawoon?”
“Good.”

Hescal is old. It’s just that it’s not obvious because he’s a high-ranking knight who can swing Will all over his body.
It’s definitely an age where strength and agility decline and decline. Just
because you’ve become a knight doesn’t mean you can hold back the time you have to leave.

‘Growing old, albeit slowly.’

Everyone has a time when they are at their peak.
The peak of a knight is long. Even when he becomes old, his strength does not easily decline.
However, it does not mean that he will last forever.
Hescal seemed to be older than expected.
However, he still lived energetically, going back and forth between the surrounding villages. Everyone said that he was a man who would do anything for Jawoon.

“Yeah, it’s a good place. But don’t you think the owner’s attitude is a bit disappointing?”
“Are you saying that he doesn’t spar with you often?”
“That’s not it.”

Encred couldn’t figure out what Hescal meant by saying this to him.
Was he going to curse behind his back as soon as they became close enough and their speech became more comfortable? Or was he?

“Jawoon has a system for training skills, but it doesn’t have a system for dealing with external pressure. It’s the head of the household who should step forward, but he doesn’t.”
“Is that necessary?”

Encred asked back.

“If you came from the Border Guard, wouldn’t you know better? Would you be able to stay if you wanted to stay, and settle if you wanted to settle? The power of Zawoon is great. You must know why Schmidt keeps trying to persuade you to come into the Imperial Territory.”

They even exchanged words while facing each other. Hescal also knew that the man in front of him was not stupid.
Well, what Hescal said was similar to what had once been said in the Kingdom of Naurilia.
It was right after the Mad Knights were founded.
The Border Guard had too much power. Therefore, there were arguments that the Mad Knights should be dispersed or sent to the battlefield.
There were also arguments that they should be incorporated into the Kingdom’s knights, following the Red Cloak Knights.
Encred heard about this later.
Every time such arguments were made, Krang would cut them down with a single stroke.

“Did Lord Encred even wipe off a sweat while training you in swordsmanship? Then how can he force you to be loyal to the crown?”

You said this to the nobles?
It was a time when some nobles thought that the Mad Knights were still not that crazy.
Of course, those who met them in person thought nothing of it.
Anyway, that was Hescal’s argument.

“Jawoon must change. She must change somehow before a bigger wave comes. When it rains, don’t you have to take shelter under a roof?”

That was his argument.
It wasn’t all like Hescal.

“Zaun is powerful. Yes, it is powerful. So it should establish its own defense system. It would be better if the method were a bit more radical. I’m talking about bringing in talented people from outside. The Empire saw us bring in talented children and teach them, so why shouldn’t we follow suit? The Empire brings in talented people from all over the continent, and it spares no effort in training its military. It would be better if we were a bit more proactive.”

This is Rhinox’s opinion. It’s a bit disorganized, but it’s because he lived a life where the sword was stronger than words.
Hescal was definitely better at talking.
It is said that Gaju was still silent after hearing the opinions of the two. He just nodded silently.
I don’t know what he means.
Alexandra looked at the two.

“We both love Jawoon. And so do I.”

All he could say was this.
Encred looked at the sky covered with dark clouds. Looking at that sky, he saw something strangely similar to the current situation.

“It looks like a storm is coming soon.”

Just as Alexandra once said,
the calm before the storm seemed to surround Zawoon.