Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 719

719. Just two swordsmen

Encred had been forcibly controlling and restraining Will up until now, but he had been working his brain hard for that. Because of that, his head seemed to be clogged with impurities. Controlling and
restraining his overflowing Will consumed more mental power than just using it. It was natural that more strength was needed to move stones that were larger in volume and weight.
Encred was a case like this.
His head and body were both clogged with impurities. He kept fighting while soaking wet, and he forcibly controlled Will. Of course, his current state was not the best.
But that wasn’t the problem.

Kyaak!

Several monsters blocked his path, so he swung his penna and split their heads.
Ragna also swung his greatsword next to him without hesitation.
The greatsword, which he swung lightly without any break, pierced Owlbear’s torso. It was a precise stab.
Aside from his heavy swordsmanship, Ragna’s natural talent was enough to surprise a master of the swordsmanship style.

‘Anyway, he’s a guy who surprises me every time I see him.’

In Encred’s view, Ragnar swings his sword based on instinct and intuition. However, those instincts and intuition end up working to his advantage.

‘It’s literally talent.’

The Owlbear that had rushed in a moment ago was actually aware of Ragna’s slaughter. This can be inferred just by looking at its movements.
It was a rare, unique entity with excellent fighting instincts instead of supernatural abilities.

‘Just as there are exceptional beings among humans, there are also such beings among monsters.’

Owlbear did not hide his presence, but rather showed it, preparing for Ragnar’s slaughter.
When there is only a short gap where one has time to think and needs to make a split-second judgment, people tend to make familiar movements out of habit.
That is why Ragnar should have swung his sword a little while ago. Just as Owlbear had instinctively anticipated it, Encrid looked similar, but Ragnar stabbed him instead of cutting him. He didn’t even hesitate. He
didn’t change his mind in the middle, he attacked as he had planned from the beginning.
That must have driven Owlbear’s fighting instinct into a dead end.
Originally, even if his torso was cut off, he would have tried to scratch Ragnar anywhere with his claws.
If he was lucky,
he might have tried to save an eyeball. The way he stretched his arm out as he was stabbed by the greatsword was impressive. If Ragnar had cut him instead of stabbing him, those extended claws would have touched Ragnar’s body.

‘Well, I guess it wouldn’t have hurt you even if you did that.’

It is obvious that this is the better way.
The result is also evident.
Owlbear, who was stabbed by the greatsword, was pushed back and fell. His stomach was punctured, and his head was crushed by the subsequent greatsword strike.

“Why did you stab me?”
“I stabbed you because I wanted to stab you.”

When I asked, the answers I got were amazing.

‘It’s only natural that Hescal gets hurt.’

He pretended to be the one who specialized in deceiving swords, but that wasn’t the case. In fact
, it’s something that makes you admire him over and over again when you see him. Hescal pretended to be the one who deceived swords as if they were his hidden fangs, but everyone knew that was an open secret.
His real skill was in the swordsmanship, the individual tactics that drove the opponents away.

‘With his countless experiences and clever mind, Hascal created several layers of deception, covered them with a curtain, and used them as weapons.’

It’s a double trick. He even uses the deceptive sword as a tactical tool. If you get caught up in his tactical calculations like that, you’ll end up struggling like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web and die.
But what if the opponent is Ragna?
Ragna always pushes his opponents into a dead end. He uses the heavy sword next. His sword was like that.
Thinking back now, the basis of the wave-blocking sword was taken from Ragna’s swordsmanship.
The process is different, but the result is the same. He blocks with calculations.
Ragna blocks with innate talent, not calculations.
He knows which way the sword should go without anyone telling him. It’s like finding a path he hasn’t taken before.
So it’s a gift from heaven, a genius.
It was a talent that was completely different from Rem’s spontaneous judgment.

“You monster.”

Encred said. But he didn’t stop walking. Ragnar had his head half-down. It was right to avoid Medusa’s gaze unless he had any Will left.
However, Ragnar raised his head after hearing Encred’s words.
It was a waste of Will, but he couldn’t bear to hear such words.

“Let me take back what I said earlier. It’s just as unpleasant to hear someone call you a brat like Rem, Captain.”

The lazy bum who had been talking pointlessly lowered his head again.

“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m serious.”

Encred snickered and lowered his head, maintaining his range of perception.
In the middle, a man who seemed to be from a hunter’s village or something shot a couple of arrows and then threw them away.
Encred caught the arrows out of thin air.
They weren’t very powerful. If he had teleported Will and shot them, it wouldn’t have been a threat to Encred now, but if they were ordinary arrows, they wouldn’t have been a threat.
When Leona Lockfried first came to the city, he had to focus a single point to dodge the flying daggers, but now he could catch arrows even when he was calm.
His dynamic vision, athletic ability, muscle strength, and agility were all at a level that was not comparable to before. He
kept going and narrowed the distance between himself and Medusa. The closer he got, the more he felt the pressure pressing down on his body.
Countless monsters live in the Demon Realm. Among those monsters, the most outstanding ones are given names.
Balrog is one such monster, and Medusa is another.

Saaaaaaaaaaah!

The serpent floating above their heads made the same sound as the scaler.

‘This is not good.’

They had fought well so far, but if time passed like this, it would be Jaun who would lose. The reason was simple.
No matter how long and how fast they flew, if the remaining monsters rushed to Jaun’s base, they would not be able to stop them one by one.

‘Even if the head of the household and those here live, if all the remaining members of Jawoon die, will Jawoon survive?’

If a kingdom has no citizens, can it be called a country?
It can’t be.
That’s why we have to exclude things that affect the entire battlefield.
Even if it wasn’t tactical intuition, anyone would do this if they only recognized the situation.
Encred roughly estimated the distance from Medusa and thought of the demon he had killed earlier.

‘A one-hit kill is a fatal attack that kills the opponent with just a touch.’

Medusa’s fighting style was completely different.
Even when two swordsmen approached, the monster that received its name in the Demon Realm only spread the curse of petrification.

‘A battle that requires endurance.’

Medusa would fight in that form. The scales that covered her body were hard on the outside, and her dark green lips, cracked like the earth that had been cracked by drought, would spit out poison.
She also had a tail hidden behind her body, as if to calmly hide her presence.

‘A monster of maintenance type.’

It was okay to think of it as the knight’s natural enemy. The pressure was overwhelming on the battlefield, and the monster’s physical strength was hard to estimate.
If you try to decide the match in a short period of time, it also has the ability to be eaten up in return.
It was a really bad opponent for a knight who specialized in short-term decisive battles.
Of course, Encred was capable of fighting in a slightly different way. So it was okay to go for a war of attrition according to Medusa’s tactics.

‘If you fight for time, you will win easily.’

If you diligently cut and gnaw, wouldn’t you win after suffering for about two days?
Some parts of Medusa’s body, including her hair, will regenerate if cut off, but that won’t be indefinite. You just
have to endure the occasional petrification curse and avoid her tail or claws.
Then, when it finds an opening, it will cut, stab, and gnaw again to kill her.
It’s a future you can see without having to fight. It’s a tomorrow that insight tells you.
You can decide in three days at the longest. Well, it was a tactic that only Encred could try.
To fight like this, you need Will, which never dries up, and the physical and mental strength to last for three days.
But if you fight like that, you’ll lose.
In the meantime, Riley, who’s holding on from behind, and Anajera, who’s slowly losing strength, and Kato will die.
Then, the side gate protecting Zaun will collapse. Even if the wall holds on, it’s meaningless if the enemy rushes in through the side gate.
It would be more accurate to say that you won’t be able to defend it even if you win.

“Ragnar.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll go with one stroke.”

There is no use explaining tactics. We will move according to the situation at that time.
However, the roles must be clearly defined.

“You open the way.”

I can’t leave the final decision to Ragnar, who has a hole in his shoulder.
Instead of answering, Ragnar raised his greatsword. The tip of the sword pointed to the sky.

Kkwarreung!

At that moment, lightning struck. White light passed overhead.
Jawoon took a position on the basin. If he was unlucky, he would be struck by lightning and die, but it was also a good position to raise his spirits. Encred looked at it, put the three-iron sword in the scabbard, and continued to breathe. He could not bear to say this.

“Just two swordsmen advancing.”

Ragnar agreed with the meaning by repeating his words.

“Just two swordsmen advancing.”

Kill the demons of the Demon Realm with one stroke. It’s different from fighting a one-hit kill. If you fail, you’ll die.
Is this a gamble? Maybe so.
But if you don’t do this, many people will die.
This fight is not easy. It’s dangerous. It’s worth calling it a gamble. That’s probably why.

‘That’s fun.’

It was fun. The elation that rose deep inside Encred burned away all the impurities.
The dregs that had dulled his head and weighed down his limbs were swept away by the flames.
The dregs disappeared and were replaced by blazing flames.
The flames that could vaporize all the raindrops that were falling now were blazing from within.
The preparations were complete. Ragnar stood in front of Encred as if blocking him and started running.

* * *

Ragna could feel the pressure of the monsters of the Demon Realm with every step he took.
It felt like he was sinking into a swamp. What’s more, Medusa wasn’t alone.
The moment he took a step forward, two scalers rushed to the left and right like the wind.
Ragna swung his greatsword in a semicircle and split the two scalers apart.

Phew!

Black blood splattered across the floor. Then he quickened his pace.

Thud!

As he kicked the floor, Encred followed him.
Ragnar was dumbfounded by the captain’s call to him that he was a monster.
Who would say such a thing to anyone?

‘No one knows, not even father or mother.’

The cut hair section is sharp while playing with Encred in the bathroom. The winner and loser in that duel were clear.
It was a half-serious duel. Encred had never had a duel like that since he came to Zaun.
A captain who is engaged in a real battle and a captain who is devoted to a duel are completely different. Ragna knew that.

‘The captain gave his all.’

He will surpass his current self. He has been stubborn and seemed to be on par since the Fairy Forest, but if he fights properly, he will lose now.
Ragna enjoyed it so much. Whether it rains heavily, whether lightning strikes in the distance, whether Medusa is in front of him or not, shivers run through his body. Desire raises its head and motivation surges. When he adds it all up, he is filled with only the thought of wanting to see.
Now, what will he show? When he was the troublemaker squad leader, that squeaky author has now surpassed him.
Genius? Talent? Ridiculous. Here is someone who has surpassed all of that. What’s
more, even now, he is always thirsting for something and constantly moving his feet.

‘Did you go one step further?’

I ask myself. I don’t need an answer. Of course Encred would have done so.
He was a craftsman who created the clay of yesterday, baked it in the fire of today, and made the pottery of tomorrow.
What kind of pottery did he bake?
I was curious about that.
Ragnar’s sword was calm. He struck down those who came as if he always knew the answer.

Phew!

When they got a certain distance away, Medusa’s tail finally swept the ground and rushed at them.

Quagagagagagak!

The ground shook and shook. The scales covering the tail raised their pointed heads, and it seemed as if a large pillar of blades was rushing towards it.

‘You can’t avoid it.’

It was not a judgment made after seeing and recognizing it and exercising reasoning. It was instinct.
If you jump up to dodge, the tail will follow. Therefore, you cannot avoid it and must block it.
Once you block it, you will be pushed back into a position you do not want to be in. Ragnar did not need to think about this entire process. He
was only convinced by intuition and instinct that he should not dodge.
He raised his greatsword and stuck it into the ground.

Bam!

It felt like the entire pillar of the palace had been blown up and hit him. And that wasn’t the end of it. The blade-like scales that had poked their heads in scratched the back of Ragnar’s hand that was holding his sword.

Knock knock.

The leather gauntlet was torn and left a wound on the back of his hand. But still, his wrist wasn’t cut.
Then, the tip of Medusa’s tail curved upwards and a sharp needle like a shy bride appeared at the tip, like a bride meeting her groom for the first time in three years.
If he pulled out his greatsword, it would bounce off the flying tail. Then, he would have to close the distance again, using up Will and stamina.
That was what Medusa wanted.
If he stayed still, the bride would surprise kiss him, and it seemed natural that her tongue would be so sharp and pointed that it would leave a big hole in his head.
If he didn’t dodge, he would get hit, and if he didn’t want to get hit, he had to dodge.
Where is the answer? Which path should he take?
This time, Ragna instinctively realized all of this first. Then, he reached behind him. His hand caught the captain’s sidearm. It was the sword Penna. He grabbed it and swung it. He condensed his Will into that simple movement. It was the same as when he cut down Hescal.

‘Will’s Transformation.’

Ragnar succeeded this time too. When practicing alone, he only succeeded six times out of ten.
The Will condensed in Penna burst into a blue-white light.

Fugue, ga-ga-ga-gak!

The tip of Medusa’s tail was cut off and flew into the air in the same trajectory as Ragnar swung it. It seemed as if it was still alive, flapping around, even though it was cut off.
The new bride was hit hard.
And.

‘now.’

Medusa’s head was way up there. Even if three adult men stood on her shoulders, their eye level would be similar.
But because her tail stopped running, a staircase leading to her head appeared.
Ragnar could see the path. Then the captain’s eyes would see it too.
He didn’t have to say anything, like when he reached back a moment ago and put Penna in his hand.
Ragnar half-knelt down, and Encred jumped up from behind him, stepping on Ragnar’s shoulder.
It was a light step. He didn’t use any force, but Encred’s body climbed up Medusa’s body faster than a shot arrow.

Kwak-ang!

A sudden lightning strike struck right next to him. For a moment, a loud noise paralyzed his hearing.