Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 740

740. The life I hold in my hands is so precious.

The hermit village did not have private property, but shared what all the residents had.
Also, because they did not know when something would happen, they had hidden a lot of things like squirrels hide their acorns.
Storage holes made of boards and dirt were revealed, either under tree roots or at the entrances.

‘It’s good for storage because it can keep the temperature cold even in summer.’

It is stored by digging a hole in a shaded place where the sun does not shine.
If you cannot afford the luxury of keeping the cold with a magical tool, you have to squeeze out your wisdom.
However, since summer is approaching, things that are relatively easy to spoil are limited.
Although it is not as much as in winter, smoked meats and dried fruits that I have never seen before are abundantly served on the table.

“If we do this, we won’t have anything to eat later.”

One of the villagers muttered. It was because of the strong compulsion not to waste food even in this situation.
I never went hungry. Even if it was half luck, I was able to gather useful fruits and herbs in the places I settled down, and I shaved with passing peddlers.
I hunted animals appropriately, and if there was really nothing to eat, I refined the meat of the demons and ate it.
If you remove the poison and do not consider the taste, the demons meat is enough to survive anyway.

“Do as I say.”

The timid man spoke while keeping his mouth shut.
Harkbent, who was their spokesman, was busy filling the table with his lips tightly shut.
His activity level was several times higher than usual.
He had been eating more in the past, but today was even more so.
The children’s hands were the first to move on the table full of food. Then everyone else was busy eating.
Oh, I don’t know. Let’s just eat first. It wouldn’t be unfair if we eat and die.
Well, he must have thought that way.
He also had a vague hope that things would work out somehow, although he didn’t know why. He
said it was vague, but that was because he didn’t know why.
If you look a little closer, it was all because of Encred’s attitude.
If he wasn’t a guy who thought about filling his own stomach before his children starved, he could have guessed it.
Harkbent put the smoked pork loin in his mouth and chewed and swallowed it. It was so salty that his tongue tingled, so he gulped down water.

‘What we did was training.’

What are you preparing for?

‘Training to fight the devil.’

Of course, if you think about it a little, you might have questions like this.

‘Can I fight the devil like this?’

Will anything change if we stand back to back and stab each other with our spears?
Some people gave up on the idea at some point, but many others did not.
Harkbent had passed the stage where his stomach was throbbing with anxiety, but that did not mean he was at ease.
He was lying under a roughly made roof of dirt.
It would be lucky if it didn’t collapse.
It felt like it would collapse at any moment and bury him alive, but when he saw Encrid chewing something in the distance, some of his anxiety went away.

‘A strange guy.’

That man had a knack for making everyone around him feel safe.
A single word, a single action, and a single attitude could do that.
The reason why he felt a sense of hope was because he was sitting among the villagers, chewing on something while a child sat next to him.

* * *

Encrid put one fruit in his mouth, rolled his tongue around, and spat out the seed.
The saliva-covered seed rolled around on the floor.
The fruit had a wrinkled exterior and chewy flesh, inside of which was a seed the size of a thumbnail. It tasted sour, sweet, and bitter, but once you tasted it, you couldn’t stop reaching for it.
The fruit was ripened in a special way.

“Isn’t it delicious?”

The child sitting next to her asks. Right next to her sits Brunhild, with a bump on her forehead instead of a third eye.

“It’s similar to a plum.”

A clever-looking boy spoke again. As Brunhild fended off her advance with one finger, the boy stepped forward and muttered, “That idiot,” before coming to Brunhild’s defense.

“She is good at using her body, but she is lazy when it comes to using her head. And she is very stubborn, so she cannot change her mind once she has made up her mind. That is the weakness of Brunhild, a genius. So it is all a misunderstanding.”

He must be about thirteen or fourteen years old. He is small in stature and has thin limbs. He doesn’t look like he can fight.

“What’s your name?”
“Eric.”

Encred pushed them into the cave and acted like Crys.
So, it should be said that he prepared for the situation by predicting the future rather than a short-term decisive battle.
It can be said that he rushed like Rem and thought like Crys.

“You originally grouped people of similar builds together to form a large group, right? The goal is to keep them from dying easily. To make them endure?”

Eric saw right through it. A cool breeze blew for summer. The wind blew the boy’s hair.
Blonde hair that was light in color and reflected white light.
He was a funny boy. Encred chewed on the smoked meat between bread mixed with herbs because it was too salty.

“What about sticking to the circular formation and having them carry spears instead of shields?”
“The idea is to have them confront the demons in the first place to buy time, so they’ll keep their distance. Just have a few strong people holding shields here and there. Let’s name the formation Scared Hedgehogs. Not giving them any distance at all means that no one will die, but if they can’t hold out, they’ll all die.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to use bows or slingshots?”
“No. Once you shoot an arrow, you’ll have a gap when you reload. If they could be repelled with rocks or arrows, it wouldn’t be so dangerous now.”

It was the shining, burning eyes that I had seen from Brunhild. The water-colored eyes looked straight at Encred.
It was like two lakes shining side by side, reflecting the light of the midday sun.
If Encred’s eyes were deep blue, this one was also lighter in color.
Before I could say anything, the child asked.

“Am I wrong?”

She was not among the children led by Brunhild, and was not noticeable even among the adults who were training her.

“That’s right.”
“That’s fortunate.”

I’m glad I asked with confidence.
No, that’s not true.
I’ve known Chris for a long time, so I know that, but this kid must have really doubted what I thought.

‘I was also anxious.’

The stranger’s purpose must have been a concern as well.

‘This is a verification process.’

Brunhild’s stepping forward and defending the child must be part of that process.
It was like looking at Kreis’s childhood. She was a child with a remarkable intelligence.
Talent is biased. It is not fair and can tip the scales.
That’s why coincidences like this happen.
If Brunhild was born with a talent for physical use, this child had an outstanding ability to use her head.

“Memorize the large shape well. If it shakes, we all die.”

The reason I chose the tactic of not giving distance in the first place is because I started from the premise that if I gave distance, it would be the end.

“What are you going to do next?”

No matter how smart a child is, he cannot imagine something beyond the world he knows, so the child could not even imagine what would happen next for Encred.

“Predict and guess. Think with your head. Figure out what you need to do.”
“If you’re thinking of taking us with you.”

The child is trying to gauge Encred’s favor. This reckless attitude may be annoying, but Encred’s capacity was not so small.
Just as she was not jealous of Brunhild, she did not harbor ill will toward Eirik.
The child named Eirik tried to gauge Encred’s favor.
Did he calculate this as well?

‘That’s not it.’

From here on out, I’m going to throw out words like gambling. That is, words I’m going to say for this village even if I have to risk my life.

“It won’t work. We came here because we were willing to die together rather than be under someone else. And we can’t give up what we’ve built up so far.”

They would rather die than live as slaves under the city again.
That is their will.
Land, foundation, foundation, ground, home.
All the same words, but this was their home.
The words I had heard before leaving Jawoon came to mind.

“I’m sorry. I want to follow you, but this is where I belong. That’s for sure.”
“If you tell me to follow you as a slave, I will. But if you tell me to live as Riley Zaun, I won’t leave Zaun.”
“Can I come visit later?”

On the contrary, he told him to stay in Zawoon? They are ridiculous.
I understand this child’s worries, and I also understand that the author Harkbent keeps glancing at him.
It’s not like they’re both in love with him.
Are they trying to make him leave his home? What do they want?
The questions are piling up in my head, but if I could put them at ease with a single word, I would have gathered all the villagers and made a speech a long time ago. Since
that’s not possible, I’m leaving it alone. Even if I could, it’s meaningless and a waste of time.
Encred patted the child’s head and said.

“How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
“……Seventeen?”
“Yes, I’m short for my age. It’s the cause of my inferiority complex. I’ve been weak since I was young, so I have no strength.”
“But you’re smart.”

The last one is Brunhild.

“I know that without you saying it. You should listen to him carefully.”
“Listen carefully. I’m listening carefully.”

Brunhild is not oblivious either. Judging from the situation, the stranger who taught her spearmanship was not doing this out of malice.
The night of predation passes. Someone’s anxiety and fear still linger in a corner of her heart, but the type of fear has changed a little.

“It’s a demon!”

Before the two moons disappeared, before dawn, more than fifty wild dog and wolf beasts entered the village.
They ignored the traps laid out in front and watched with red eyes through the forest, stamping the ground with their thick forepaws.
Those holding spears swallowed their saliva. In the past, the murderous intent and the stinging smell of the beasts would have made their stomachs tingle, but not now.
They were more dangerous than the beasts of the past fortnight.
Encred did not neglect stabbing the backs of those who were tired from training, and swung his sword up to their noses without a care.

“If you fall, you’ll get hurt somewhere. Hang in there.”

To an outsider, it looked like they were trying to harass people, but in the end, all of the victims felt braver.
Even when they faced the devil, their legs didn’t tremble like before.

“start.”

Harkbent shouted at the sight of the demon horde.

“under!”

They gathered in groups of ten, forming a circle with a shout. The large group of humans faced the demonic group with spears in front.
It was a circle that surrounded the outer part, with those who could not fight in the center.
Eric stood in the center and scanned the surroundings.

‘Hold on.’

I understand the stranger’s intentions, but I don’t know the reason.

‘transformation?’

Do you want to see people struggling and dying? Do you want to kill them while tormenting them? Do you want to kill the survivors with your own sword?
You can imagine all sorts of things, but the weak have no choice. They
just struggle to survive.
The stranger has strengthened the power of the group, not the individual.

‘Rather than catering to the outstanding, let’s work together as one based on the inferior.’

Eric saw it clearly. He was right. The power of an army comes when the group comes together as one.

“Go back!”
“Ha!”

Most of them suffered from muscle pain because they were pushed to the limit, but their minds were clearer than ever.

Boom!

Four wild dogs approached the circle.
Those holding spears knew exactly how to stab.
Holding them with both hands, as if occupying the space where the men were approaching.
Brunhild went around and taught them more. Of course, Encred had told them to do it.
Only then did the adults realize that Brunhild had a talent different from other children.
The person next to me would take care of the defense. I swung my spear and blocked the approach of the demons. The spears extended left and right at precise intervals and speeds, becoming thorns like hedgehogs.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Compared to the demons, the hide of the demons is soft. Except for some exceptional ones, they are quite capable of dealing with them.
If it is not about killing them but enduring them, this is enough.

‘Okay, then.’

Encrid admired those who were holding on to the tree. Now, they will not die easily.
The illusion of the boatman appeared in the air and said.

“That weakling.”

This is an excellent tactic, to say that you are weak.
Valencian mercenary sword, a form of tactic of pretending to lose.
Pretending to lose is a unique technique. In reality, while you are being pushed back, your allies strike the back of the enemy’s head in front of you.
Valencian mercenary sword is thinking of the help of others.
Many people look down on Valencian mercenary sword because they only know a few techniques, but if you know the meaning contained in the swordsmanship, you can’t do that.

‘It is no exaggeration to say that the Hwangeom is a tactical sword.’

Encred was already no different from mastering the swordsmanship to an excellent level.
The problem was that any swordsmanship required strength to use it.
An iron object had to be held and swung by someone to be meaningful.
Encred raised his senses on the tree.
After some time had passed, he jumped down and killed the demon beast, driving it away.

“Whoa, hoo, hoo, hoo, woo.”

Everyone was breathing heavily, but no one died. To be exact, not a single wound. They held out well.

“I have the day off today.”

Encred said. It’s like a real fight. Since he’s watching, it’s okay to call it a practice. One real fight was enough.

“Wow!”

When I lived by borrowing the hands of others, I could not help but cheer.
The life I hold in my own hands is so precious.