Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 734

734. Semi-basement

“Stop it, stop it.”

It was just after he discovered the village. Encred’s keen hearing heard a human voice.
He couldn’t help but go. He was curious and moved.
Anyway, it was the moment when he remembered where he used to live in the past.
It seemed faster to climb a tree and use the branches as a stepping stone than to cut down bushes or trees, so he did so.
He had a backpack on his back and two swords, so he wasn’t light, but climbing a tree was no easy task.
Encred dug his fingers into a large tree and bounced up.
He dug his fingers and used only the tips of his feet to climb the tree. His movements were faster than a squirrel’s.
This was expected of a knight.
He used the branches as a stepping stone and ran toward the sound. It was a matter of seconds before he closed the distance.
Every time Encred kicked off a branch, the branches fell down, and the mountain birds that were nearby fled in surprise, making a squeaking sound.

“If you get pierced, you die. Stop it here.”

It was a cry mixed with fear.
Encred stopped walking after confirming the source of the sound.
He placed his right foot on a thin branch, and while only his index and middle fingers were planted in the tree, he put strength into the tip of his left foot and lightly dug it into the tree.
He had climbed the tree to move quickly, but somehow he was able to see the situation at a glance from above.
If you attach a sharp piece of iron to the end of a tree, it becomes a spear. There were more than ten people holding the spears they had made.
Behind them, there were those who made slings and swung them, and further behind, there were those who pulled the bowstring.

‘A poor formation.’

The spearmen were in front, the slingers in the middle, and the bowmen behind, but they
were all huddled together to form a formation.
In particular, the gap between those who seemed to be spearmen was too wide.
If they fought like that, they would be cut through by the dogs’ charge as soon as the fight started, and those behind would have to face the pack of demons.
In other words, it was hard to see them as people who had received proper combat training. Their numbers did not exceed fifty at most.
In front of them, the demons were spread out in a similar number.

‘Poor.’

The numbers and those who came out to fight also seem to be like that.
Even if a fight breaks out, not everyone will die. I think the humans have the upper hand.

‘But there will be people who die.’

If you’re unlucky, more than half of them will die.
They must have known that, because many of them clenched their teeth.
Especially those who stood in the front and wielded crudely made spears.
After assessing the situation with their eyes and scanning it. Encred didn’t do that because he didn’t have anything to worry about.
He lifted his foot off the tree with a snap and fell down. A normal person would have jumped from a height where they would have broken somewhere, but of course that didn’t happen.
Before reaching the bottom, Encred pulled out the iron and embedded it into the log.

Knock knock.

Encred, who had left a long scar on the tree, stomped his foot on the ground.
Since his appearance was loud, everyone’s eyes naturally turned to him.
The group of humans and the pack of wild dogs all paid attention to him. Encred deflected everyone’s gaze and ran forward.
It was hard for ordinary people to see a knight’s charge. Even if it wasn’t all out.
Moreover, Encred’s physical training was far superior to that of ordinary knights.
Kang-gak mixed his body and will.
It was not surprising that his appearance seemed to disappear for a moment.

pop!

It was a rush that left no afterimages, along with a loud noise that broke the ground.
Even as he ran, Encred was relaxed.
He could see the abnormally developed shoulder muscles and fangs of the pack of wild dogs one by one and check their reactions. It was okay
to lose himself in thought. If
the opponent was a demon, it was real combat. There was no need to use soft sparring swords.
The pack of wild dogs and Encred walked at different times.
Since there was no scabbard that fit Jawoon, he had secured the Samcheol to a slightly loose scabbard with a leather strap. He pulled it out in one breath and swung it upward.

Knock knock.

The sound of the string breaking was heard only by Encred.

Swish, phew.

The sound of cutting and the sound of blood and intestines pouring out are the same.
He pulls out the three irons and cuts from the chest to the head, repeatedly cutting and striking.

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft.

The sound chased the sword strike. Encred’s sword split the head of the wild dog demon faster than the sound. It
was more skillful and excellent than the woodcutter who had only split firewood all his life.
The things in the demon’s head shot up vertically. Black blood, split skull, brain matter, and even broken pieces of brain that made you wonder if they were thinking, it was like a fountain made by the wild dog demon.
In the eyes of those watching, a person suddenly fell from the tree and disappeared, and all that was left were dirt gushing out and the demon’s head splitting open and dying.
What is this?
Some people lowered the spear tip loosely without realizing it, while others tense up and tense their bodies.

Ting.

There was even a woman who was so surprised that she shot an arrow five steps forward.

“ah.”

A short exclamation came out. It was an impression that could not be expressed in words.
Encred swung the flesh and fat entangled in the three irons and bounced them away.

Knock knock knock.

Flesh and gore were scattered on one side.
Originally, beasts had better body vision and motor skills than humans, and when they were mixed with demon blood, they became demon beasts, which increased their motor skills even more than regular beasts.
Of course, they were still weak compared to knights.
Not all demon beasts were the same. Just as there were some humans who were superior, there were also beasts that were more dangerous than demon beasts, and there were also beasts that were weaker than beasts.
You could tell just by looking at their eyes.
A wild horse overcame the demon blood and established its will.
There was a brave and agile one among the wild dog demon beasts.
The beast reacted after seeing its own kind’s heads explode one after another. It hit the ground with its hind legs and leaped forward.
That human was busy killing another kind.
My position was right where I could see the human’s back.
Its movements were different from other demon beasts. It was a special entity that might have been given a name if it had survived.
Encred kept his torso still and pulled the sword he had been cutting with force to change direction.
The waist rotates around one foot, and the blade draws a horizontal line.

Hook, bang.

The line drawn by Samcheol cut off the demon’s neck. The severed head floated into the air with a dull sound.

Exactly, exactly.

The beast’s mouth, unaware of my death, chewed air without saying a word.
Encred’s blade could cut even the most monstrous of beasts. No matter how special the beast was, compared to him, it was no different from a chick that had just hatched.
The beast had two choices when facing death. Either
scatter and run away, or attack intoxicated by demonic power.
And they chose neither.
After the initial charge, Encred didn’t move much from that spot, just cutting and bursting the beasts.
In the meantime, several of the wild dog beasts turned around instead of facing Encred. They were the ones who were going around and targeting the group of humans instead of him.
Encred swung his sword, took out the javelin he had received from Rhinox, and swung it downward.

Ta-ang!

The sound of the blade popping out was incredibly refreshing, as if he had swung it so hard.
He threw the extended javelin as is.

Ss …

The flying spear shattered the head of the demon beast that had returned secretly and slanted into the ground.
The shattered head scattered brain matter and bone fragments in all directions.
The demon beasts continued to do ridiculous things. It is understandable that they dispersed and ran away.

‘Rear guard? Delay battle?’

Even if he planned his tactics based on intuition, Encred also studied basic strategies.
He learned it during a time when he had to do everything to survive.
Some of the demon beasts ran away, while others stayed behind and attacked.
Even though the corpses of his own kind were everywhere, there was no hesitation in his black eyes.
Encred’s sword also showed no hesitation.
The three iron strokes from below to above, stabbing, and slashing turned all the demon beasts that approached him into inedible pieces of meat.
The meat of demon beasts was tough and poisonous, making it difficult to eat.
Encred watched the remaining wild dog beasts scatter and then cast his gaze far away. His pupils, which had been capturing close range, contracted and then widened. This is what happens when you swing your Will to see something far away.
A spotted wild dog from a long distance away? No, a leopard.
Anyway, he saw something three times larger than a normal wild dog beast looking this way.

‘The range that is not affected by the senses.’

Another group of demons came into view from afar, but they were too far to chase.
There was also a reason why he had not chased the wild dog demons
that had run away earlier. If he had moved away to deal with the demons far away, those behind him would have had to deal with the group of demons, which could have caused unnecessary damage.
Those who were surprised and dumbfounded by seeing him would have reacted too late.

‘In contrast, the demon horde was already ready to fight.’

There were several strange things.
The last pack of wild dogs seemed to be delaying the retreat.
The ones who ran away did not scatter all at once, but rather fell in a sequence.

‘While running the retreat sacrifice unit?’

The troops for the delaying battle are often called the retreat sacrifice troops.
Was it a coincidence? No. It probably wasn’t.
It was intuition.
Of course, all of this was not something to think about now.
Encred shook off the fat and blood stuck to the three irons and roughly wiped off a handful of dirt.
He had swung it quite violently, so he would have to oil it well later.
He had received a barrel of good-quality flaxseed oil when he left Zawoon, so he could use that.

“Who are you?”

Only then did he hear the question addressed to him. Even if he said that he was Encred of the Border Guard, it seemed that no one would understand.

“Let’s say I’m a passerby with a knife.”
“……Thank you for your help.”

The one holding the spear spoke first, his nervousness evident. It was understandable.
If a knight suddenly came to a village run by those who were living in hiding, anyone would be scared.
Isn’t this a world where the weak are always nervous?
Even if the strong suddenly had bad intentions, there wouldn’t be much they could do.
Not a single person among those gathered even blinked comfortably.
They all just stared wide-eyed at the warrior who had fought the demon.
Encred put away his three-steel sword and stored it in a spacious scabbard, re-tying the broken leather strap.
Normally, he would have left right away, but he was worried about many things.
No, to be honest,
he thought of countless people he had failed to protect in the past. Among them was a village.
This place was similar to where he had lived.

‘Let’s consider it a bit of a turnaround.’

Judging from the situation just now, if he leaves, everyone in front of him will die.
That’s what people who live in hiding usually say.
I heard somewhere that there’s an underground city made up of these people.
Usually, hermit villages become a meal for monsters or beasts and disappear.
Some people say that these people are the ones who cause monsters or beasts to create colonies.
They say that when they gather together, they become food for monsters or beasts, and their numbers increase.
Whatever it was, Encred couldn’t ignore them.

“Since I saved you, can I take a break?”

So I asked.
No one spoke easily. The spearman who had stepped forward did not raise his spear, but his expression was clearly wary.
It seemed to be a place where those who rejected outsiders gathered among the hermit villages.
The spearman with thick eyebrows standing in front opened his mouth after biting his lip a few times.

“……Come here.”

He seemed to have been mulling it over.
Encred put his sword away and slowly stepped away. He didn’t want to be a threat to them.
The entrance to the village was nowhere to be seen. They were not pioneers. Their goal was not to clear the surrounding area.
They were just gathered together to survive.
That was why they had created a special form of housing.
They dug a hole in the ground and covered it with bushes. They made a lid similar to a hut and then crushed and sprinkled nightmare plant berries that were hated by demons and beasts.
Encred himself had used this trick when he came.

‘The usage is correct.’

If you handle the nightmare plant fruit wrong, your fingertips will rot. Even if you are lucky, if you smell it wrong, you will hallucinate for a week at most.
It is not called nightmare plant for nothing.
And it has a scent that monsters, evil spirits, and beasts hate, but to use it properly, you have to mix nightmare plant and fruit appropriately.
Just like they did now.

“It’s Harkbent.”

The man in front spoke. It was a southern name.

“Encred.”
“Nice to meet you.”

He spoke in a completely unwelcoming tone and invited me to his half-oyster, half-above ground place.

‘Should I call this a ring?’

That seemed like it would work.