A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Setting Things on Fire, a Bad Habit

Enkrid locked eyes with Ressa, the sorcerer.

‘Sorcerers have eyes too, huh.’

They also have noses and mouths. Meaning, they’re human.

“All humans have reflexive actions.”

Jaxon’s teachings came to mind. That’s what he had prepared for. All Enkrid had to do was briefly halt the viciously raging thorny vines.

To do that, what he needed was—

A hidden trick.

One he had practiced several times—even earlier today. He had rehearsed enough.

The key was timing.

Which was now.

Swinging his sword with his left hand alone, parrying and dodging, one of the thorny vines hit him on the left wrist.

The outer layer of his leather gauntlet, acquired from the sewer corpse enthusiast, was shredded to pieces. At that moment, Enkrid raised his right hand high into the air.

Ressa’s eyebrow twitched at that gesture. He had shown her enough times that he liked throwing things. A natural reaction.

Ressa judged that whatever he threw wouldn’t be a problem. After all, wasn’t she surrounded by a magical barrier that blocked most physical attacks?

But instead of a dagger, a stone flew toward her. A thin, crystal-like orb.

Flash!

A sudden burst of light. Far brighter than any torch. For a brief moment, everyone, including Ressa, instinctively looked at the object Enkrid had thrown—and went blind.

Though it only lasted for a short moment, they lost their sight.

Gasp!

Enkrid moved as he held his breath. This was a trick he had been waiting for, with his eyes on the ground the entire time.

The glowing stone, obtained from the sewers, had been hidden in his sleeve. Figuring out how to activate it had been a struggle.

He hadn’t expected to use it like this. Using the Hidden Knife technique to conceal it, he showed an empty hand, intending to make her drop her guard—and it worked perfectly.

All these circumstances combined created a paper-thin opening. That was all Enkrid needed.

Tap.

A charging technique he had learned while watching an apprentice knight, a squire, one day. He lowered his stance and rushed forward, gripping the sword with both hands and raising it high.

Raising his torso, he stepped forward with his left foot, shifting his weight from back to front, delivering a downward vertical slash. At that moment, Ressa regained her sight and screamed.

“Kyaaah!”

That was her final cry, her last words.

Shwick, clang!

Ressa’s barrier shattered. A heavy sword strike, packed with power. It was a reckless blow, with no thought to the aftermath.

The blade struck Ressa’s head.

Thud. Crack.

Breaking through the barrier, the blade veered off course, stripping the skin from her scalp, slicing off her ear, splitting her collarbone, and then plunging downwards.

Splurt.

Finally, the blade cleaved through part of her intestines and carved out nearly a third of her upper body, before exiting near her waist.

A chunk of flesh, including one of her severed arms, plopped to the ground. Now, she was a half-dead sorcerer, standing there, gushing her entrails and blood all over the floor.

What words could a person say when they were cut up like that?

The light in her eyes faded instantly. In her final moments, it was clear what she had wanted to do. Behind Enkrid, a few vines twitched before losing their strength and collapsing.

“Phew.”

Enkrid exhaled the breath he had been holding. He knew that Ressa’s barrier would break after a certain amount of impact.

For example, a heavy blow could easily shatter it. She had ignored daggers but she had been affected by Finn’s axe, hadn’t she?

In truth, this had been a culmination of everything he had learned today through repetition. He had used the Hidden Knife technique to conceal the glowing stone.

“Aren’t you going to clean up the rest?”

Enkrid asked as he snatched the glowing stone from mid-air. This light would soon alert the city’s inner walls and cause a stir.

They didn’t have much time.

Whoosh.

Finn moved first, and Torres followed right behind. There weren’t many soldiers left.

Screeech!

The soldiers’ final death cries echoed atop the wall. The moonlight still illuminated Enkrid. Even Torres and Finn, along with the enemy soldiers, saw the moonlight shining like a halo from his back.

He gave off an unmistakably different vibe—not that of an ordinary human.

The scent of blood mixed with the fragrance of roses on the wall. It created a very peculiar smell. So unique, one might even believe it was a new perfume.

Once they descended beyond the wall, it became Finn’s world. As if she had prepared beforehand, she clung to the inside of the wall, dug up a portion of the ground, and pulled out a bundle.

“Supplies for emergencies.”

It had likely been prepared by the spy called Cat on the inside. Inside the bundle was a dirty tarp. She immediately threw it to Enkrid and Torres.

As they covered themselves with the tarps at the edge of the slum near the wall, Finn snapped the necks of two nearby beggars, out of curiosity.

Without even making a cracking sound, she silenced them. As expected of Finn. She had done it countless times during all these repeated “todays.”

Finn’s Ael Karaz-style Grappling had ripened like a fruit, on par with a true expert. Most of the slum dwellers had no interest in their surroundings, which meant that there were no more witnesses.

The three of them disappeared into the darkness and filth. Following behind, Enkrid drifted into his own world.

A recurring thought. As always, it was a review of the day. When repeating today, there were three paths laid before Enkrid.

Would choosing one and breaking through be enough?

‘Do I really need to choose just one?’

When he relaxed his shoulders, he saw something. Instead of choosing just one of the three paths, why not use all three walls?

It seemed possible.

In the doghole where Gray Hounds waited, he could experience being surrounded by an elite force.

When fighting the Lycanthropes, he could learn to battle in chaos and escape.

When facing Ressa of the Thorned Vines—what an excellent training dummy she was.

Enkrid saw Gray Hounds, Lycanthropes, and Ressa. He viewed all three as training tools. Excellent teaching aids. And with them, Enkrid created his “today.”

‘Not bad at all.’

His wrist ached from the blow against the gauntlet on his left hand. Unstoppable attacks? He trusted the leather armor draped over his body to absorb them.

But there were no fatal wounds.

“Shh, lower your head. It’s a patrol.”

At Finn’s words, Enkrid lowered his head and pretended to sleep. With part of their gear hidden and a dirty tarp draped over them, their disguise was complete.

“This smell is driving me insane.”

“Endure it. Don’t you know the commotion on the wall? There’s a chance they fled this way.”

“Then sweep the place!”

“Shh, what’ll you do if the beggars here all swarm us?”

Listening to the patrolling soldiers’ conversation, Enkrid squinted his eyes.

“All clear. Let’s move.”

With a practiced ease, Finn led Enkrid and Torres through familiar paths. As they walked, Enkrid looked up and saw parts of the city.

The distant, towering bell tower, the dirt road, and the dim lights leaking out from inside. Most of the alleyways remained dark.

As Enkrid followed Finn, she sidled up to Torres, who was right behind her. Seeing the look in Torres’s eyes, like he was wondering if she had anything useful to do, she asked,

“Is everyone in the Frontier Slaughterers like that?”

“Huh?”

“Are they all like that?”

Finn pointed backward with her thumb. Behind them—Enkrid. Torres pondered Finn’s question.

A swordsman like that? Meaning, someone who could deflect the bizarre thorny vines of a sorcerer with a sword, not a shield, create an opening, and slice her down?

Someone who, after being shown a few moves, could turn their specialty, Hidden Knife, into some strange form of attack?

Who could survive by dodging and holding out between Lycanthropes and elite enemy soldiers, risking half their life?

And in the end, cut down Lycanthropes and elite soldiers alike, slicing them up like they were nothing?

Torres recalled the best and brightest of the Frontier Slaughterers.

Let’s see.

Eisen? Bunny? Hyowoon?

No way!

Even judging purely by skill, it felt like he had crossed some line.

“Doesn’t exist.”

“Huh?”

“Doesn’t exist. You think monsters like him are just crawling around?”

It was a strange feeling. Not too long ago, Enkrid had been under his command. When they sparred after arriving here, it felt like they were on par.

But somehow, he had changed. His skill level had risen, and the way he wielded his sword had evolved.

Sigh.

Finn let out an exasperated sigh at Torres’s response. Look at what Enkrid, a mere Platoon Leader, had accomplished.

‘This is a platoon leader? Just a platoon leader?’

What would happen if she went back and reported all of this? While she was scanning the area for any cryptic marks left by Cat, she wondered if anyone would believe what Enkrid had done.

As they relied on the moonlight and slipped through the darkness, avoiding patrols, the commotion on the wall quieted down rather quickly.

Enkrid thought that the sudden silence was more ominous than reassuring. After taking down the sorcerer, his instincts seemed to be sharper than usual.

However, if he trusted them too much, he might end up in trouble. He had gone through all the trouble of using the three different “walls” to scale over the battlements.

He didn’t want to face tomorrow the same way as today. Which is why he stayed alert. He was on edge, ready to react at the slightest sign of trouble.

Finn wandered aimlessly until dawn. The three of them felt fatigue setting in, but nothing happened. The disturbance that had started atop the wall didn’t extend to the city.

Instead, it felt like the matter was being covered up.

As they hid in the alleyways, they overheard two patrolmen passing through the main street, chatting. It confirmed Enkrid’s suspicions.

“Did something happen last night? I heard someone breached the walls?”

“Shh, orders are to keep quiet about it. Don’t go flapping your mouth and get yourself demoted.”

As the patrolmen’s voices faded into the distance, Finn muttered under her breath from behind.

“This is bad.”

“Why?”

“It’s cut off. Cat is dead.”

“Does that mean this was all for nothing?”

Torres asked again, but Finn shook her head.

“Not exactly. There’s a message left behind, but it’s a little problematic.”

“What’s the problem?”

In a corner of the alleyway, Finn grunted as she spoke.

“There’s a designated spot near the city gate. That’s where the information was buried.”

“Why the city gate of all places?”

“That’s probably how desperate they were. It’s the last place they’d stop by if they were attempting an escape and failed.”

Things had just gotten more complicated. Torres nudged Enkrid and asked,

“Got any bright ideas?”

“Retrieve the item near the city gate and head back. That’s all there is to it, right?”

“It won’t be that easy, will it?”

‘Is this something to even worry about?’

Enkrid thought, looking at the two of them.

‘Their minds have gone stiff.’

It made sense after everything they had been through in the dead of night. Although Enkrid didn’t realize it himself, his earlier performance had shocked both of them.

His swordsmanship and his decisiveness in turning the situation in his favor—That was what Enkrid had demonstrated yesterday.

“Let’s set a fire.”

“……What?”

“Under the cover of night, we set fires and slip out amidst the chaos. Grab the item on our way out. From the way they’re trying to keep what happened on the wall under wraps, it sounds like they’re waiting for those who snuck in to make a move—so let’s give them what they want.”

Finn’s eyes gleamed. It was an excellent idea. And at the same time, she thought,

‘I should’ve come up with that first.’

She realized her mind had indeed gone stiff. Well, that was fine. Finn was a superb ranger. A superb ranger could also be a major troublemaker.

In the eyes of the enemy, at least. The three of them hid until nightfall and then set fire to the hay piles in front of an inn.

Fwoosh.

In total, they caused fires across six different locations simultaneously.

Finn was in her element, her feet swift and her hands nimble, and she was the first to shout that a fire had broken out, her voice gleeful as she stirred up the panic.

That alone was enough to sow chaos. As the flames roared behind him and they moved through the shadows, Enkrid couldn’t help but think,

‘Why do I feel like I keep setting things on fire?’

At this rate, he was going to be branded as an arsonist rather than a knight. Setting things on fire was becoming a bad habit.

Of course, it wasn’t something to worry about right now. Grabbing a torch, he ran up to the hay and threw it on top. On top of that, he added a jar of oil stolen from the inn.

Whoosh.

It caught fire beautifully. At this rate, he wasn’t just an arsonist—he was becoming an expert at it, but the results were undeniable.

“Fire! There’s a fire!”

The sky had been cloudy since the afternoon, and it looked like spring rain was on its way.

But today, it wasn’t coming. So, the hay and straw caught fire easily. The wooden buildings nearby also caught fire easily.

When they knocked over a few wooden stands, the flames blazed even higher. While everyone’s attention was drawn to the flames, Finn, Torres, and Enkrid slipped away unnoticed.

It was just before the city gate closed. Naturally, Finn dug up the buried message.

“Now we just have to head back, right?”

Torres asked.

Finn and Enkrid both nodded. It was time to return.

“How did you know the sorcerer’s name?”

On the way back from the city gate, Torres finally asked the question that had been bothering him. Enkrid had a prepared answer.

“It was luck. Back when I was a mercenary, the woman sorcerer named Ressa killed a lot of my comrades, so I just threw her name out there.”

Does he really expect me to believe that? It was so ridiculous that it almost sounded believable. Torres’s mind grew cloudy, and soon, he dismissed the thought.

‘Who cares?’

Everything had gone well in the end. That’s all that mattered. The mindset of a true soldier.

Abnair let out a bitter chuckle. Sitting inside his office in the heart of Cross Guard, he couldn’t stop laughing in disbelief.

“Ha.”

‘They broke through? In just one night?’

They had captured the enemy spy and extracted the information. Using that, they had set a trap. They had also leaked false information, posing as the spy.

If anyone dared to enter, they would’ve killed them for sure. Even so, he hadn’t thought anyone would actually infiltrate Cross Guard.

But then,

‘The elite troops stationed at the doghole were almost entirely wiped out, and—’

Ressa was dead. She wasn’t someone who should have died here. Ressa of the Thorned Vines was a renowned sorcerer.

“If it had been a knight, I might’ve understood.”

But it wasn’t.

They had silenced the commotion and waited for the intruders, planning to capture or kill them.

Abnair had even used his own personal troops for that. But while they waited, a fire broke out.

Despite being prepared for assassination attempts and all other possibilities, all that happened was a fire. No trace of the infiltrators remained after that.

‘They just set a fire and left?’

Abnair kept laughing. It was so absurd, so ridiculous. He laughed, but his eyes weren’t smiling.

Abnair, the genius strategist of Azpen. That’s how he was known. Yet here he was, completely outmaneuvered.

How could he not laugh?

Achoo!

On the way back to the Border Guard, Finn thought Enkrid was truly insane when he casually suggested another sparring session.

Torres politely declined.

“Aren’t you tired? I’m exhausted.”

When they finally arrived at the Border Guard, Enkrid witnessed an odd scene in front of the barracks.

A bald man, looking ragged and dirty enough to pass for a beggar, was complaining to a soldier.

It was enough to make Enkrid tilt his head in confusion.