Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 876

876. How a Common Soldier Fights

As a commander, it’s not easy to abandon a high ground position that offers a clear view during an advance. Therefore, it was natural that Lichenstätten’s commander, upon discovering the hilly terrain, decided to ford it.

“Advance.”

We maintained our vigilance, but there was no sign of the Naurilia army. Not a single trace was visible. Naturally, the enemy would have been unprepared.

‘At that time, Lichenstein’s army had already broken through the magic realm.’

The commander believed this single sentence would become the beginning of his autobiography.
The Demon Realm was rugged and dangerous, but not hopeless. The path was twisted and difficult to navigate, but it was bearable.

‘I didn’t know there was such a path.’

The morale of the allied forces was high. Word of the Emperor’s protection spread throughout the unit. Half of it was the commander’s intention, the other half was the soldiers’ own words.

‘Even in hell, the great emperor watches over us!’

The Demon Realm is hell. Even without exaggeration, to some, that statement would be the unadulterated truth.
The monsters I encountered while wandering through that hell opened the way. They didn’t seek red blood in exchange for black blood. The demons and beasts opened the way. If the soldiers who endured this entire process weren’t thrilled, they wouldn’t be human.

“Wow!”

Lichenstein’s proud giant army roared. Despite hearing the roar, the monsters’ colorless black eyes held no murderous intent.
Some ghouls charged without a second thought, but none of the monsters posed a real threat to the army.

“Even in hell!”
“The great emperor!”

This is why this slogan arose. They broke through the demonic realm and began their march.
Even without demons or beasts, the air in the demonic realm was stale and the ground muddy. It wasn’t a conducive environment for humans.
Some races, giants and frogs, managed to hold out, but for humans and fairies, it must have been truly arduous. It had been three days since they broke through the demonic realm and set foot on normal land. The march was smooth. Even with over a thousand troops moving, it felt like a journey.

‘Is this the time to let our guard down?’

The commander didn’t do so. Even though this unit included two knights, he didn’t believe that was the solution. Lichenstätten’s commander was a man of clarity. He understood his role and was faithful to it.
That’s why he carefully observed his surroundings as he advanced.
There was no need to speed up the march. The Emperor had said he had no intention of prolonging this war, but there was no need to rush and incur unnecessary casualties.
The commander cast his gaze broadly.

‘The open space shows us clearly.’

On the other hand, hills and saddles offer a convenient way to hide troops once they’re over them, and conversely, they offer a clearer view. Everything is more visible from a higher vantage point. Since
knights couldn’t be used as a weapon, scouts, including sharp-eyed soldiers, constantly moved ahead.

“There is no sign of it.”

The adjutant who had been compiling the reconnaissance party’s report said:

“What is the route of advance?”

Unlike the map, the terrain had changed in many places. It seemed as if this area had experienced several natural disasters.

‘There were several hills.’

The terrain isn’t rugged. The moderate hills are easy to climb, and once you’ve reached the summit, you gain a high ground, which is a huge advantage. The natural disaster proved beneficial.

“You must take a route that avoids the eastern forest.”
“That area is a good place for enemy ambushes, and even without an ambush, the forest is prone to monsters and evil spirits.”

The commander had five adjutants, all of whom were there to fill in the gaps in his thinking.
They chose the most rational and advantageous route and advanced. They took the most efficient route. Their navigation was so skillful that it would have been unimaginable if they had been led by a knight named Ragnar.
As time went on, supply issues would have become a problem, but that could be resolved with just one city.

‘plunder.’

The number of soldiers wasn’t that large to begin with. Instead, only the swift, elite units were brought in.
Excluding the two knights, the giant unit numbered thirty, the cavalry armed with chainmail fifty, and the scout unit was the horseshoe infantry, the best in the south for small-scale operations and first-class fighting skills. They numbered two hundred, and on top of that, there were the regular infantry. They
were part of the Purple Legion of the Five-Colored Ogi Army. The total number of soldiers here was one thousand, two hundred from the Purple Legion.
Excluding the giant unit, there were two siege units, the Purple Legion’s proud special forces.
Most of them were infantry, but this was more than enough, since the two knights were with them.

“Even though this is a land where no one welcomes me, I feel like I’ve been invited.”

One of the adjutants spoke, his tone soft and sloppy.

match!

The commander swung his sword and struck the air. The leather, attached to the end in multiple strips, made a loud noise as it tore through the air.

“invite?”

That’s not something that needs to be said in an autobiography.

“I will correct it.”

The adjutant lowered his head.
They had advanced so easily. That planted a flower in their minds. Softness breeds complacency. The commander didn’t want that. He was a tough man. A
true soldier, one who knew how to minimize losses and gain advantages repeatedly.
No matter what the commander said, the atmosphere in the unit was bound to become a little lax.
They passed through the forest and three small ponds, each with water in a suitable location. A relatively high hill, higher than the one they had crossed so far, blocked their path.

“It’s over.”

The knight wouldn’t allow himself to waste time. The commander couldn’t ignore the knight’s opinion.
Above all, he needed to waste time to circumvent the hills before him.

A war that doesn’t need to be dragged out.

Their goal is not the fall of the capital, but its destruction. That alone would devastate Naurilia, a chaotic mess, like a stew cooked by a greedy, novice cook, with various ingredients floating around.

“Send the Horseshoe Infantry.”

Still, the commander remained cautious. The two knights didn’t even bother to scold him for that.

“There is nothing.”

They crossed a hill. There were no signs of enemy forces nearby. The two knights remained silent. They continued on. Another hill blocked their path. Should they turn back? No, there was no need.
Their eyes met briefly, and the knight’s brow furrowed. He seemed displeased with something. The commander ordered the reconnaissance party to move again. That delayed them for a bit, but there were no enemies.

“We advance.”

Aside from the hills, the road was well-paved and comfortable to walk on. There were no swamps or rough terrain to be seen. The ground, covered in dark dirt, looked as if someone had personally leveled it. But who would do such a thing?
There was no need to expend manpower and krona on civil engineering in a place like this, with no cities or anything else nearby. Therefore, the commander had no doubts.
After that, they crossed four small hills and two large ones.

“There is no detour.”

Suddenly, a narrow path appeared, blocked on both sides. It was a valley. A ridge, which would require considerable time to circumvent, blocked their path as if it had been waiting for them. The commander’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Send me a horseshoe.”

The Horseshoe Infantry moved forward again. The slope was too steep to climb through the canyon. Should we take a detour and check for hidden objects?
The Horseshoe Infantry 100 passed through the canyon. Nothing happened.

“We can’t afford to lose time here.”

One of the knights spoke. The commander agreed. They continued walking through the valley. One of the knights looked left and right.

“There is no ambush.”

It’s the knight’s keen eye. It’s difficult to deceive that. Of course, it wasn’t impossible. Difficulty also means there are those who can do it.
How long did it take? The main force was completely submerged in the canyon.

Kurur.

There was no one on the cliff, but there were enough enemies to hide their presence from the knight.

“……The rock!”

The commander’s eyes widened. With a gurgle, a boulder that could easily crush ten people in the valley yawned, shaking off the dust.
It was a landslide. The boulder tumbled down, and the mound of dirt collapsed. But that wasn’t the end. The path curved, obscuring the view ahead, and thus beyond the knight’s sight or hearing, as something large flew in with a deafening thud! Thud!

“joy!”

One of the knights snorted.

“Whoa!”

At the same time, thirty giants called the Red Blood Demons formed a phalanx.

“Prepare all troops!”

The commander shouted, his voice breaking. A rock rolled down, separating the scouts from the main force.

Kurrururur! Kwajijik.

“What the heck!”

The cavalry couldn’t find a way around the rocks. Some ran forward, but the rolling rocks were faster than the horses.

Crunch, crunch.

The soldier who was trapped under the rock that rolled down was unable to scream.

“Ahhh!”
“You fucking dogs!”

Only the soldiers whose legs or arms were trapped had the opportunity to scream. Dust rose. A cloud of dust filled all directions, obscuring vision. Even as visibility narrowed to the point where only the person standing next to him could be identified, the commander continued to scream, then coughed violently. The dust had entered his throat.

* * *

‘If you see an easy path, it’s the right commander to take it.’

It wouldn’t be easy to turn back after being lured into a place.
It would be even harder with a knight in tow.
It was the result of years of hard work. Marcus prepared for a war that would never happen, imagining the existence of a commander he knew nothing about.
Even if it all ended in a vain and empty waste of krona, he prepared. He
filled in the swamp to pave a path, and he gathered and piled dirt, sand, and stones next to the original hill to lure his opponents. It was a trap built over time. Even a knight would have struggled to sense the sense of déjà vu. And so, in this valley called “Serpent’s Caprice,” he faced the enemy.
It wasn’t an easy task. He had spent a considerable amount of the royal family’s wealth on this, and poured in enough krona to make the Marquis of Vaissar stagger.

‘If I hadn’t set foot on the western trade route, my family would have perished.’

All this preparation, which was destined to end in vain, has finally paid off. If you weren’t happy, you weren’t human. It’s hard to cheer right away, but things have turned out just the way you wanted.
Of course, things aren’t always positive. This operation required those prepared to die. In chess terms, they’re bait to lure the opponent.

“Aesia, do you have any regrets?”
“It’s better for me to do it than for someone else to fail. Marquis Baisar.”

It was a brief conversation just before all this began. Asia, cloaked in red, headed toward the canyon alone.
The core of this entire operation was to roll down rocks hidden in a mound of dirt. Hiding a unit on the cliff would be enough to catch them. But with just one or two, even a knight would have a hard time spotting them.
No one could replace someone who could outwit dozens of soldiers while avoiding the knight’s gaze.
Asia took on that role. She cut the rope where the rockfall began and ran. She
had calculated the distance and hidden three catapults. They had even been installed here, covered with yellow cloth for camouflage. She loaded the catapults with rocks and hurled them.

‘Can you stop a rock from falling from the sky in a chaotic situation?’

Even if I can’t kill the knight, I might be able to land a hit on that unit here. If I’m lucky, even if it’s a knight…

Bang!

A roar interrupted my thoughts. Boulders of rock splintered through a cloud of dust, hurling in all directions. One, wrapped in a cloud of yellow mist, struck the catapult.

Bang!

“Eww!”

The impact blasted the head of the soldier standing near the catapult, sending his limbs flying through the air. Marcus rode his horse to the edge of the curved ravine and watched it all unfold.

“Retreat!”

He shouted. All the soldiers near the catapult retreated. Every movement was swift and seamless, a testament to years of training.

“Back! Back!”
“Back off!”

A bang, a boom, and two more rocks flew through the yellow clouds. They struck the catapult without fail, shattering it.

‘Bravely, in a place where no one can see.’

That’s why knights are such disasters. They often do things that surpass human imagination. They
split rolling rocks, bounce them off, and destroy catapults. They perform acts that are difficult to explain even when witnessed firsthand, but they do it with such aplomb.

“Pour it.”

Marcus ordered the next operation. Now was the real fight. This was how ordinary soldiers fight.

Gulp gulp gulp.

Oil is spreading on the ground. This is where the enemy forces must pass through the canyon. Rolling a few rocks would kill them all.
No way. The number of casualties wouldn’t even be a hundred. And the knights immediately came forward and destroyed the catapults.

“Archer.”

Marcus ordered again.

Hwaruk.

The prepared flaming arrows flew from the demonstrators. The fallen arrows ignited a wall of flames from the ground.

Kwaaaaah!

The crackling sound of flames pierced the air, almost deafening. A firestorm was brewing. It felt as if a god, enraged, was about to scorch all who lived on this earth. Crimson flames shot up, staining Marcus’s face crimson. This was accomplished not only with the help of oil, but also with the magical tools laid out on the ground.
After the rocks, flames. Was this the end? No.

“Roll it!”

Next was the poison fog.

Kururur.

The carts rolled forward, bouncing off the rocks. Each cart was tightly packed with six oak barrels. If they contained any alcohol, it would be enough to feed over a thousand soldiers.

“Blast it.”

As Marcus spoke, two adjutants shouted.

“Shoot! Shoot!”
“Now! Blow it up!”

A rolling cart toppled over, an oak barrel shattered, and a purple and green mist rose above it, filling the surroundings.
Marcus sought out the former queen and enlisted the help of a witch who had previously served as court sorceress, a woman who was adept at handling poisons.

“Even if they’re knights, a few sips can cause health problems. It’s hard to say for sure if it’ll kill them, but they’re human, too.”

These were the words of a former court magician. Contrary to her words, she expressed confidence that even a knight wouldn’t dare ignore her poison.

‘Come on.’

Marcus stepped back and watched the enemy’s movements.

bang!

A deafening roar, like a wall collapsing, erupted. Here, something unexpected, something far beyond Marcus’s expectations, occurred. The canyon was narrow. The entrance could be blocked by ten horses standing side by side. So, they had built a wall of fire and placed a smokescreen in front of the entrance.
And the deafening roar didn’t come from directly in front.

Crunch!

Before the dust has even cleared after the rockfall, another cloud of dust is added.

‘What are you doing?’

Marcus squinted his eyes, observing the situation.
The enemy knight didn’t insist on facing straight ahead. He breached the flanking wall, the canyon wall.
The wall may separate one side from the other, but without it, what separates them? Nothing.
People divide space and create entrances with just a wall. What should they do if the entrance is blocked?

‘Just make a new door.’

It’s a simple principle, yet difficult to recall. The enemy knights followed suit. After ignoring the wall of flames and the moat of poisonous dance, they opened a new gate.

Kwakwakwang!

The sound of the door opening was so loud that no one could ignore it.