Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 761

761. Black Lightning

The eroded ones, the residents of the Demon Realm, were terrified.
Judging from the reaction of Zoraslav, who had first come out, there was no such expression at all, and I thought it was probably because he had expected that Encred and his party would all die.
In any case, it would not have been easy to expect that all of their lives would change because of a stranger who suddenly came one day.
Perhaps, all the residents had been kind to all the wanderers and adventurers who had stopped by.
They had no reason to treat them badly, and they had neither the strength nor the will to do so. They
had even less reason to hold a blade in front of their noses. They might swing their
swords if they were to make a fuss.
Furthermore, they knew that if they left it alone, the cleaners would come and kill the people who had stopped by.
However, the cleaners had died, the symbol of the demon god had been cut off, and the corpses of the monsters and beasts that had gathered had been buried and thrown away by the villagers themselves.
In this situation, it was not easy to hear deep stories from the villagers.
Even children were so scared that their faces were turning blue.
There is some room for debate as to whether the face originally had a purple tint and turned blue or black.

“Look carefully, in times like this, someone with a good impression should step forward.”

Rem showed confidence in dealing with such residents. She said that she just had to smile and encourage them. Although, to that extent, it was close to arrogance.

Tiring.

Hearing that, Ragnar pulled out his sword by a finger joint. The words “good impression” must have ticked and bothered him. Encred was the same.
Ragnar looked at Encred.
His eyes seemed to ask if it was okay to cut down someone who said something like that.

“It’s not a bad idea to try. Anyone can try.”

Even if everyone here didn’t admit it, Rem was quite handsome. He was a man with bold lines and a unique atmosphere, but that actually made him attractive.
But that didn’t mean he had a good impression. Absolutely not.

“Save, save, I have nowhere to eat.”

The woman with the sharp teeth bowed her head and spoke. She was holding her child in her arms.
Rem’s mood cooled. It was only natural that her expression began to turn grim. Instead of a smile, an evil spirit took hold of her face.

“Cannibalism? It was my duty to kill those kinds of people, and now you’re telling me to be a cannibal?

Rem was excited and Encred stopped her. Ragnar shook his head and Sachsen snickered for once.
Rem was having another fit when he saw that, but Encred roughly stopped him and asked instead. Funny enough, they answered obediently.
In the meantime, some of the women’s faces turned red, but Encred just calmly asked and answered from the side.
I could clearly see them glancing at Encred’s face, even though they were terrified.
Well, that wasn’t the only reason. It was also the time when Zoraslav, who was presumed to be the village leader, was gently calming the people.
To be exact, Encred saw that and stepped forward.
In the meantime, the gazes looking at Encred were strange, but there was no bad feeling in them. On the contrary, they were filled with one-sided favor and respect.
Well, anyway, they were ready to talk now.

“discrimination?”

But Rem, who was already in a bad mood, muttered when he saw that.

“Face difference.”

Saxony corrected.

earth!

Sparks flew between them. Rem swung his axe at Saxen, who was standing three steps behind, and Saxen took out his stiletto and deflected it, creating sparks.
Was it called the Sword of Chance? Saxen naturally used the swordsmanship he had learned from Encred.
To be honest, he had learned the principles long ago and practiced them countless times. He
trained himself by placing first-class assassins all around him and telling them to stab him indiscriminately, reacting to every movement.
That had now reached a state of perfection.
Rem glared at Saxen, who was dropping his axe.

“Do you really want to die?”
“There’s no way you’ll die.”

Saxon corrected Rem again, and the two argued a little more seriously.

Land! Ting! Tata! Tata!

Sparks flew between the two. If they got close, they would turn into minced meat. Pell and Lawford looked at the two and bit the people around them.

“It’s normal. That’s how it is.”

Lawford spoke calmly to ease their worries, but it was only natural that some of the villagers were even more frightened by it.
Well, he still answered Encred’s questions faithfully.
Luagarne was impressed when she saw that.

“As expected, the nickname ‘Ma-seong’ is not lacking.”

Those words were received by Sinar.

“Yes. It’s a magic that even fairies are charmed by.”

It was just a joke.
Encred let their conversation go in one ear and out the other, and calmly gathered information in this situation and relayed it to everyone that evening.

“If you come near, you will be struck by lightning.”
“There is a wizard who can summon black lightning.”
“They say that if you step inside by mistake, you will be locked in a crystal prison for the rest of your life and your soul will be tormented by slavery. You will not be able to leave even after death.”

The villagers told us this.
It was a series of strange and scary stories. That’s what it was to the villagers.
There were many parts that sounded absurd to Encred.
Suffering from lifelong labor? Despite being afraid of such things, the lives of the villagers themselves didn’t seem easy.
This was an independent village, so it wasn’t like that, right? That’s what it was like, in terms of labor. Life here couldn’t be sustained without labor either.
They had to cultivate land where crops didn’t grow abundantly, and if any weeds grew in the field while they were there, they would steal the nutrients from the crops that were still there, so they had to pull them out one by one.
But can those weeds just be pulled out? If you don’t manage them properly, they’ll bloom into flowers that suck human blood. Since you had to find these things in advance and kill them, it wouldn’t usually be hard.
A few people who were good at hunting might catch some healthy animals or beasts, but there wasn’t anyone they regularly traded with.
In other words, they were self-sufficient, but self-sufficiency requires a lot more labor than you might think.
You have to work the land, go hunting sometimes, and repair and make things, build houses, preserve food, and so on. Labor and skills are needed in many areas.
If you don’t have skills, you have to put in the effort and time.
Producing what you need yourself means moving your body.

‘There must have been some technology developed in the meantime.’

From that perspective, there was one thing that stood out. The leather they were wearing was all neat and in an unusual state.
They had used the various sizes of tough beast or monster leather, which they had been treated in some way.
There were many people in the Border Guard or the villages on the border of the demon realm who used beast leather in that way, but this was the first time I saw them wearing it as neatly as clothing.
Some wore it like a vest, and others made it into a wide skirt. Judging from the way it flapped in the wind, it was thin, but it looked sturdy enough that even a crude knife wouldn’t leave a mark.
Although not as much as the merchant, Encred could tell the condition of the fabric or leather. How could he not know that after working as a merchant’s bodyguard for several years?
It was easy to recognize something so clearly excellent.
Even an inexperienced person could see the quality of an excellent product.

‘I caught the devil and took off his skin and wrote it.’

It must not have been easy to handle the leather of a horse. I believe there was a long period of research and practice on tanning.
That must have led to a great leap in leather handling technology.

‘Sometimes, they would sell some of those leathers to people who got lost or came here.’

Even if there were no regular traders, there would be the occasional brave and adventurous peddler.
In any case, in this sense, living here would be the same as suffering from labor all your life.
Many people had blunt fingertips and thin, sharp, blue-colored nails. These were hands that were dyed separately from their skin color. It was the price paid for using special fruits and grasses that grew in the Demon Realm.
Of course, Encred could not know all the details of their lives. He could only guess based on the information he could see.
He never said anything out loud.
This was the last story of such a resident.

“If I die in there, I will have to wear a shroud of thorns.”

This is roughly all the story that was passed down orally. The rest are all derived from this.

“To sum it up, it’s like being trapped in a black lightning bolt and crystal prison, and the last one is about the number of thorns.”

Lawford summarized what Encred had said. Luagarne’s cheeks puffed up slightly and then sank repeatedly.
The mystery called the unknown always makes Frock’s heart flutter.
Of course, those who explore the unknown knowing that they will die are just like fleas who can’t control their own desires.
Rem, who had become calm after hanging out with Saxon during the day, asked.

“So what is this?”

It’s hard to know anything just by hearing this. Are there really wizards? Maybe, maybe not.
In Rem’s view, the stories they told were all just a patchwork of stories.
And if there were gaps in the stories, they would use their imagination to fill them in.
The only thing the people of the Demon Realm knew for sure was that no one who went inside had ever returned.

“Do you know what it is?”

Fel asked, looking at Encred.
They had occupied a moderately large piece of land in the corner of the city and were sitting roughly. It was a bright moonlit night, even though there was no bonfire.
The light from the two moons cast shadows on Encred’s face. The two blue eyes shining between them seemed to reveal their color even in the night.
Fel was certain that she would show such a look.
Soon, everyone’s eyes were focused on Encred. Were they all thinking the same thing? Did the captain notice something?
Encred was quietly looking up and looking toward the magic.
There must be something different from him in that gaze. Lawford had the same thoughts as Fel.

‘The captain is different.’

As soon as I heard about entering the Demon Realm, I felt a sense of rejection, but when I looked at Encred’s back, that rejection faded. And then Encred answered.

“no.”

It is the answer to the question of whether you know something. The moonlight carried a brief silence.

“……You don’t know?”

Pel asked back. Pel had developed a habit of speaking concisely when he was embarrassed, perhaps because he was influenced by Saxon.

“Uh, I don’t know.”

Encred was calm.
What could he possibly know from just hearing that story?
Black lightning? If lightning really struck, how could he stop it? No, would he be able to react?
He would probably rely on his intuition.

‘I guess it can stop lightning?’

The question I asked in my mind was directed at the Dawn Forge. The sword did not answer. It was natural, since it was not a sword with an ego. However, the Dawn Forge was also a weapon engraved with Encred’s will. The sword trembled faintly, following its master’s will.

yes-

The answer is yes.
It is a quiet night.
Everyone heard the sword tremble. Along with the trembling. Encred looked at the group and smiled like a boy who had fallen in love for the first time. To be exact, he smiled like a boy on his way to meet his first love.
Encred’s voice was filled with more anticipation than not only Luagarne, but also everyone else present.

“I know one thing. There must be several colonies inside.”
“And?”

Ragna took the backseat and asked back.
Just around here, there were a few roaming monsters that could easily devour a colony or a colony.
There must be more inside.

“If you break it, the area of ​​the demon realm will shrink.”

Whatever is inside me, I will fight. I am looking forward to what will come out of that fight. That was clearly shown in the way I spoke
and my attitude. It could be said that it was an expression of a fighting spirit that was on par with a desire to improve .
Even if I were to say that I was half crazy, I would have nothing to say.
However, it was also a sword I picked up in the first place to fight this unknown opponent. Training is fun, but the moment I take it out and use it is even more fun.

“indeed.”

Only then did Pell express his admiration.

“You are not ashamed of the name ‘Knights of Madness’.”

Teresa also nodded twice and added. The blood of a giant called Masu, who has red blood, flows inside her. In other words, the instinct to fight is inherent in her blood.
Does she have to endure it? Is enduring the only way?

“That sounds fun.”

Teresa nodded once more in agreement.
None of these people are normal. If there were, they are now crazy.
Everyone nods in agreement to Teresa’s words.

Booooooo-

An owl hooted in the distance. It wasn’t an ordinary owl. As soon as I heard the hoot, I felt an instinctive sense of rejection inside me.
Why not enjoy even that unpleasant feeling?
Encred said with a smile.
Even Roman was intoxicated by the atmosphere. It was regrettable that he couldn’t join them right away.
The next day, the entire group entered the magic realm.

* * *

Between the trees that were densely packed with a color that did not seem to belong to this world, a path that could fit three or four people was visible.
That was the entrance to the Demon Realm.
To be more precise, it was the only entrance that the residents of the Demon Realm knew of.
The group woke up in the morning and walked inside as the sun rose.

“The air is thick. Very thick.”

Shinar said. Everyone agreed, but that wasn’t the problem.
Walking along the moderately curved path of the magic realm, he couldn’t see behind him and only saw red-colored trees in front, behind, and to the left and right.
No, when he looked closely, the trees had a subtle red tint to them. It was a red so dark that it looked like red.
How long had he walked like that
? Was there a boundary? There wasn’t.
There wasn’t anything blocking it.
But it was different from when he entered the gray forest from the beginning.
With every step he took toward the magic realm, Encred felt as if something was grabbing his ankles.
Then, the moment he stepped forward again, Encred knew that he had crossed some boundary.
He could feel it even without anyone telling him. The air up until now was so heavy and unfamiliar that it could be said to be simply warm.
It was so uncomfortable to breathe, as if someone had mixed iron powder into the air .
Anyone, or more precisely, anyone who wasn’t a knight, would feel suffocated the moment they entered.

“This is really unpleasant.”

Sinar said. She was even more displeased than before.
Encred just stared ahead indifferently.
Then, the moment she looked ahead, she saw a black dot. The moment she realized it, her thoughts slowed down.
Intuition and instinct warned her. If she couldn’t avoid it, she would die. A small black dot flew in, and a sound could be heard from far away.

Swaaaang!

The sound was split from something flying. This is because the projectile is so fast.
Compared to lightning, it was a small noise, but my sensitive hearing picked up even the split sound.
Then, the dot approached, stretched out, and turned into a black lightning bolt.

‘The thunderbolt that rolls through the waves.’

It was not a straight line, but a wave-like motion. The thought split and I took in the shape. It was a long arrow.

‘What is the goal?’

It was a lightning bolt aimed exactly at my forehead.
In the gap of time split, accelerated thoughts drew the fastest path and line. Encred moved along that line. His body rotated around his waist. The dark green cloak wrapped around his body in the rapid movement and the dawn skyrocketed.