Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 799

799. That swordsmanship

He spoke with a thick arm and a smile that revealed his front teeth.

“I have never lost.”

Whoa-!

Across from the blond man stood a line of giants, so large they had to tilt their heads even on horseback.
The roar of the first one reverberated through the air, making the hairs on my skin stand on end.
Giants? No, similar, yet different. They had yellow or red skin, and they wielded spiked clubs as weapons.
The one who roared was covered entirely in iron. It resembled a knight’s heavy armor, but its construction was crude.
Despite its crude armor, the force emanating from the mass within was real.
It was dizzying to look at. Yet the man remained calm. He even snorted and opened his mouth.

“I told you I won’t lose.”

Their numbers are small. Their individual strength is also inadequate. That’s the situation. But the man was always confident. He had to be.
As the leader of a group, he had to possess an unwavering will. If his heart crumbles, he can do nothing.

“Look.”

He stepped forward and fought the mutated giant. Unknown to Encrid, it was one of the giant-like monsters called Jotuns.
While it resembled a giant in appearance, it was a completely different species from the intelligent giants.
Some scholars question whether giants can be considered intelligent, but that doesn’t mean they should be compared to giant-like monsters.
This wasn’t a nickname for a red-blooded demon, but a true monster.
The man fought fiercely and won. His blond hair was drenched in blood, his arm broke, and he struck the giant’s neck.

“I said I won’t lose.”

Confidence, or rather, the anxiety hidden within, is evident. He plunges his sword into the giant’s heart and roars toward the sky.

Aaaah-

Shouts of victory echoed throughout the battlefield.

“You’re the first person I’ve seen who improves so quickly.”
“Because you’re a genius.”

The man possessed extraordinary talent, and to others, his life was a shining star.
At least, that’s how it seemed to everyone. No matter how steep the cliff, he could climb each day, over and over again.
When others gave up, he alone swung his sword and turned the tide of battle.
He fought against a giant wolf beast, fought against a horde of draugr transformed into a monstrous mass, and fought on, winning another day.
He persevered, persevered.
And then, one by one, those who had stood by his side departed. On the outside, the man appeared fine.
Each day, he repeated, was spent protecting someone. Some days, he achieved his goal, others, he failed.
Encred witnessed it all.

‘Let’s fight, like it’s the first time.’

The man reaffirmed his resolve. He brainwashed himself like this every day. And then his lover died.
She made love to him during the day and died in the evening. While he was out fighting, the rear was ambushed. The man broke down there.
He decided to stay in that day.
He repeated this day, always embracing and loving her as if it were the first time, whispering sweet nothings to her.

“Don’t you have to go to the battlefield?”
“No, what’s important to me is this moment.”

If you only had one day to live, what would you do?
Even if it meant being tied down to today for the rest of your life, if it meant being with this woman, I’d give up anything.
That’s why I pushed forward, even with the curse of today.
My dream wasn’t to save the world, but to live with this woman.

“Elena.”

The man was locked inside with his lover today. That was the last time.

“Go forward, as if you had never fallen.”

That was the life this man dreamed of. His attitude toward life. It was the image he ultimately hoped for.
He doesn’t regret repeating this day with his lover. However, what he hoped for on the battlefield was something else.
That lingering longing, regret, remorse, and disappointment came together to speak.
Encred knew what he heard during the fight wasn’t a hallucination.

“Fight like it’s your first time.”

The man, struggling in his dream, suddenly stared intently at Encred.
Everything in the city was tinged with gray, and purple covered the man’s blue eyes.

“It was exactly what I wanted and hoped for.”

He said. Then a black robe flowed over his shoulders, wrapping around his body.
He was part of the boatman.

“It may be difficult to see you again, but go forward. Encrid.”

Part of the boatman cheered for Encred. Even in his dreams, his heart was deeply felt.
Trapped on the ferry, the moth, trapped after the repetitive day, yearned to find the flame and burn itself.
Thus, he, like Elena, wished to disappear from this world. Without her, he wished to die.
Yet, all he had remained was trapped on the ferry.

“But I’ll see you again.”

With those words, spray from all directions surged, filling the surroundings with black river water. A boat formed beneath his feet, and he floated aboard. Atop
the boat, he saw the boatman, standing blankly, holding a lamp. Black holes replaced his eyes, and the backs of his hands, visible beyond his robes, resembled a gray wasteland.
Encred focused his gaze on those dark pupils.
No words were spoken. However, he knew the boatman was not alone. Well, he had already sensed it.
If the boatman wasn’t alone, he was a prisoner, a guard, who had surrendered to this day.
Encred awoke from his dream. And fell into deep thought.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Rem asked when he woke up. Encred didn’t answer. He seemed preoccupied with something.

“Did you have a crazy dream?”
“No, it wasn’t that.”

Only then did the answer come.
Had the story of the blond knight and his lover resonated with me?
Was it like the feeling of melancholy that comes when you wake from a gloomy dream?
No.

‘That swordsmanship.’

Encred was immersed in the swordsmanship the blond man demonstrated in his dream. He often fought opponents larger than himself.
A historian would have described it as the age of giant beasts, but Encred, not being a historian, didn’t know that.
However, he did know one thing.

‘Swordsmanship acquired through fighting opponents several times larger than the average human.’

He focused on swordsmanship. He memorized every single skill the blond man had demonstrated.
Aside from his talent for physical use, his memory was exceptional. Now, he had ascended to the rank of knight and was even creating swordsmanship.
Encred immediately grasped the essence of the blond man’s techniques and how to implement them.
With repeated reflection, he could refine them into a truly impressive swordsmanship.
If the ferryman had been able to read his every thought, especially if the blond ferryman had been aware of this, he would have felt strangely uneasy.

“Aside from the love story between me and Elena, fencing? Fencing at that moment? Fencing again? Isn’t this guy crazy?”

Well, maybe you should have said something like this?

“No training allowed. No. Stop, stop.”

Rem was chattering beside him.
Even if he was a training nut, his body needed rest first. Encred had no intention of training either.
But his quiet, focused gaze seemed to indicate to Rem that he was contemplating whether to go.
And somehow, it was hard to stop him.

“Am I a dog?”
“A dog in heat and a leader who is crazy about training are synonymous.”

Encred didn’t think it would be too difficult to smash Rem’s skull with just his feet, but he didn’t.
After all, he wasn’t in a position to push himself too hard.
Rem was coughing up blood even from the slightest impact.
When asked what he had done, Rem gave a strange answer.

“I was going to kill that horned idiot who had a wandering spirit. That’s all.”

He spoke with a smile, but it was a smile trying to hide something. Encred spoke, recalling Elena and the blond man he’d seen in his dream.

“Don’t do anything that will make Ayul sad.”
“Hey, don’t meddle in other people’s family affairs.”

After that, the group slept and ate like they were dead, but two days later, two full days after the battle, a group of soldiers appeared in the distance.
If they were the enemy, they must have been quite exhausted.
Encred still couldn’t use his arms, and Audin couldn’t comfortably use his divine powers.
Luagarne only had his right arm left, and the rest was regenerating, so he was out of the question. Roman was also seriously injured in the fight. He
was recovering from a deep cut on his thigh, but if anything went wrong, he could end up limping for the rest of his life.

“Just because you can walk a little doesn’t mean you can’t become a knight, right?”

Roman blurted out something, as if he’d realized something.
Encred simply nodded, knowing it was the right answer.
In any case, the only ones left to fight were Lawford, Fel, Teresa, and Encred.
In reality, Encred shouldn’t have stepped forward either, but he insisted he could just fight with his feet.
The group approaching wasn’t the only one. A subtle boundary had been drawn between them.
The clear weather continued, and the rising sunlight pierced that boundary, as if splitting it. They approached with their backs to the light. Two people emerged from the group and approached.
The residents of the Demon Realm, though anxious, now simply trusted the Mad Knights.
Two men approached with their backs to the light, riding horses, and both spoke simultaneously.

“Captain?”
“Brother?”

I knew both of them.
One was a man who had once ruled a fallen family, now a nobleman who had revived it. His name was Andrew Gardner.
I’d seen the other before. He was the leader of the cult-killing priests of the Holy Nation.

“If Krang sent you to attack me, you’d be out of your mind, so that’s not likely. And I assume it’s not Noah who ordered the attack and sent you there, either?”

In response to Encred’s question, the two dismounted and nodded as if it were obvious.

“The King has called for your assistance. He said to let me know if you need anything.”
“The Legion has said it will always be on your side. And I’ve come half on the Pope’s orders, half because I’m moved by my own heart.”

The priest-chief spoke with a gentle smile. Neither of them were enemies.
I was already worried about leaving them, the inhabitants of the Demon Realm, behind. After causing such a ruckus, claiming to protect and rescue, I couldn’t just clean up the area and leave.
It was a given that, as time passed, demons and beasts would once again rear their heads in this area.

‘Unless the magic disappears.’

That would be the case forever.
Leaving Roman here was partly a plan to protect this city alongside his training.
Encred recited to Andrew what he had said before: Some of the city of Oara’s forces would be transferred here, and this land would become Border Guard territory.

“It’s too far from the Border Guard. And I’m not even sure I’d be interested in the land. His Majesty has said he’d take Naurilia territory for protection.”

My country, my people.
In Krang’s speech, which I’d always heard, there was something he was trying to protect.
Making this land Naurilia meant accepting them as part of the nation, regardless of their appearance.
It was all Encred’s will. Of course, Krang’s thoughts were deeper. Taking over a portion of the Demon Realm and placing pressure on the south was his goal
for this village .
Therefore, he also agreed to relocating some of the city of Oara’s troops.

“I will help you.”

And in the process, the Legion intervened, and Andrew showed his aristocratic side here. That is, he engaged in politics.

“Yes, that’s right.”

By maintaining a moderately good relationship with the Cult of Extermination Priests, they created something akin to an alliance with the Legion.
Both Krang and Noah were wary of each other.
Internally, there were issues, so they couldn’t openly declare, “We’re friends now!”
However, they both felt close to each other thanks to Encrid, their central figure. They
planned to start their relationship by protecting this small village together.
Andrew, too, was now a nobleman.

“He asked if he could stop by on the way here.”
“Crangi?”
“Yes.”

Encred nodded indifferently at Andrew’s words.
They didn’t speak separately about whether they had killed Balrog or not. Thanks to this, Balrog’s death remained unknown anywhere on the continent.
However, it was a different story for the demons entangled within the demonic realm.
Furthermore, Balrog had been performing a role in the southern part of the continent, whether he wanted it or not, and that role had now vanished.
Well, Encred didn’t care about such matters. That was for later, and there were plenty of other people to think about.
That’s when Andrew and the head priest joined them.

“How was it?”

Roman asked. It was a quiet afternoon, a time dedicated to relaxation.

“He still smiles a lot.”

He relayed Oara’s end once more.
Roman, her last squire, smiled, and then nodded. The resolve etched in layers upon layers of her face was unlikely to waver.
Well, if it wavered, they could just beat him up again.
Encred and his party rested for another fortnight, and just before leaving, the village chief, Zoraslav, arrived carrying an object wrapped in a clean cloth.

“please.”

He bowed his head and held out a lump wrapped in cloth as a gesture for acceptance.