A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 112

Chapter 112: March Out Immediately

For just one moment,

‘It was clear.’

The way to defeat Frog, kill him, and emerge victorious. The signpost had revealed the path before his eyes.

Would this become another fulfilling “today”?

Enkrid had taken a day of complete rest, preparing to maintain his perfect condition, ready to die and restart today if necessary.

But Frog’s sword didn’t fall.

The killing intent and aura were still there, but the blade didn’t move. It stopped abruptly in midair, as if someone had seized it.

Bruruk.

Frog’s cheeks swelled and deflated repeatedly.

‘Why?’

In Enkrid’s field of vision, he couldn’t see what Frog was staring at—behind the man who had cut his arm.

There stood the panther with eyes as blue as a serene lake.

The Lake Panther.

In some regions, such creatures were revered as sacred beings or even worshiped as guardian spirits.

But Frog was not the type to care about such things. To him, a beast was just a beast. In other words, a mere Lake Panther glaring at him wasn’t enough to stop him.

‘This is so annoying.’

Frog cursed internally. His slick skin didn’t sweat; instead, it secreted a mucus-like substance. This was how his body reacted to stress.

Frog, with his white scarred neck, had plenty of experience. Among those experiences, he had fought sorcerers before—those strange beings who could manifest a magical realm into reality.

They were always a pain to deal with. He sensed a similar aura surrounding the black skin and bright blue eyes of the Lake Panther.

With his experience and his keen eye for talent, Frog knew this was no ordinary beast. There were traces of mana in its presence.

Whether the panther itself could wield magic, or if it was connected to something magical, Frog wasn’t sure.

But he realized one thing; if he swung his sword now, he could kill this man.

‘But I’d have to stake my life on it.’

The panther casting magic wasn’t the only issue. The man before him wasn’t easy prey either. He kept aiming for the heart and had even swung for the arm.

That last move.

The way his sword had traveled up Frog’s blade, carrying intent, aura, and purpose. It wasn’t a simple action. He had shifted his weight, momentarily displaying strength almost on par with Frog’s.

Though smaller in stature, the man’s muscle quality was exceptional.

And there were those eyes.

His gaze hadn’t faltered. Even now, the man stared back at him, full of killing intent.

How could someone look at him like that without having any chance of winning? Willpower. This man was made of nothing but unbreakable will.

It was as if he had been forged from iron, never to bend.

He wasn’t relying on the magic-wielding panther behind him. He was burning with nothing but his own resolve.

‘This bastard’s crazy.’

Bruruk.

Frog’s cheeks puffed up again, full of frustration. He didn’t like this situation one bit.

In his mind, he weighed his options. Was this someone he should kill, even at the risk of his life? Or should he bide his time and deal with him later?

He wanted to kill him. He needed to kill this kind of person. But was it worth risking his own life?

His mind quickly calculated.

Though Frog liked to fight, eat, and indulge in life, he wasn’t about to risk everything—especially when he had other obligations tied to his mission.

Was it necessary to forsake his duty and risk his life to kill this man?

The scales tipped. There was no reason to. This frontier city, Border Guard, wasn’t of great importance anyway.

Frog’s cheeks finally deflated, and his sword, which had been poised to strike, lowered. The killing intent faded.

‘He’s reached his limit.’

Frog concluded that the man before him wouldn’t grow much stronger than this.

His muscle quality was impressive, and he had shown brief moments of strength on par with Frog’s.

His swordsmanship and tactical skills were excellent, and his unyielding spirit was unlike anything Frog had seen before.

But still—

Frog knew instinctively.

‘Half of this was luck.’

Yes, the man had cut his arm, but he had also crushed the human’s right wrist in return.

The technique his opponent used had been backed by a bit of luck. Next time they met, Frog would kill him. He was certain of that.

“If we meet again, human, remember my name—Maelrun.”

With that, it ended. Frog’s killing intent evaporated, and he retreated. Maelrun met eyes with Esther, who stood behind Enkrid.

His gaze said, I’m leaving, so you should back down too. Esther didn’t react, only stared back with her calm, lake-like eyes.

Maelrun gathered his cloak from the floor and walked out of the mansion without a word.

No one tried to stop him.

Some of the guild members hesitated, but—

“Don’t just stand there gawking. Let the guest leave.”

Kraiss intervened. Even with one arm injured, Frog was still Frog.

And with that, Frog left.

Thanks to the magic tome that Enkrid had brought back, Esther had found a way to partially free herself from the restraints on her body.

While she couldn’t fully return to her human form just yet, she could at least manifest some of the Magic World while in the form of a panther.

‘Of course, it’s going to be rough every time I use it.’

She would have to expend a significant amount of mana. There was also the risk that part of the Magic World might become tainted.

It was a method she’d found in that madman’s magic tome—the one who built his Magic World using corpses.

A trick among tricks.

Still—

‘Someday, it’ll be useful.’

It was good to know. That’s why she had mastered it. Today, she was able to use it.

Esther had masked herself with stillness, making her presence known only when needed. She had made sure Frog knew she was a sorcerer.

If he struck that final blow, she would have driven something into his heart.

Willpower was magic in its own way. For a brief moment, Esther had appeared not as a panther but as Esther the Sorcerer.

And that had done the trick.

Whether his name was Maelrun or Meron, that bastard had backed off. Had she been in perfect condition, it might have been different.

But as things stood, even if she and Enkrid had both fought with everything they had, their chances of winning were only fifty-fifty.

Her decision was calculated, weighed from every angle.

So why had their enemy backed down?

‘Luck.’

That’s the only explanation.

Sure, Enkrid’s skills had vastly improved. Even Esther was surprised by how much. But that alone wasn’t enough to make Frog retreat.

Although, calling it luck might be oversimplifying things.

The situation had taken an unexpected turn. The person who had created that situation was the very man who had ended up by her side due to fate.

‘The left arm.’

Not the heart, but the arm.

Had Enkrid kept aiming for the heart, Frog would have endured, but—

He had nearly cut off the left arm.

At this point, it might be faster for Frog to cut it off completely and let it regrow rather than reattach it.

A swordsman who had lost an arm. Suddenly, the playing field had become more even.

‘Damn it.’

How had things ended up like this?

Esther sighed, then lightly smacked the back of the man who had nearly made her waste all her accumulated mana.

Why wasn’t he getting up?

“Es— ugh!”

Enkrid, who had barely been holding himself together, started retching.

Esther quickly leaped back.

Kraiss approached.

“Are you okay? So, uh, did you find Ragna? You understood what I said, right?”

“Whew.”

After throwing up, Enkrid raised his upper body and replied.

“You’ve been hiding here for six days, not even realizing your squad’s gone? You call yourself a handler of information?”

His tone wasn’t accusatory, more matter-of-fact.

“Huh?”

Only then did Kraiss realize what he had overlooked.

Thinking back, the squad members were familiar faces, and even though he had heard rumors about the deployment, he hadn’t considered the possibility of them leaving without Enkrid.

Who would take them? Unless a commander was begging for a hole in the back of his head, who would be crazy enough to take—

A murderer of superiors, a lazy soldier who disappeared without a word, a religious fanatic who wouldn’t fight without divine permission, and more.

Who would willingly lead such a bizarre group?

He had made a mistake.

“They’re gone. All of them deployed.”

“That was unexpected. So, it’s just you and Esther?”

“Yeah.”

Kraiss slid his arm under Enkrid’s to help him stand.

“Are you hurt badly?”

“Except for my right hand, I’d say I’m in decent shape.”

Enkrid spoke, realizing that his body was in better condition than he’d expected. But then a question surfaced in his mind.

‘Why did Frog leave?’

He could have killed both of them with a single stroke. Both him and Kraiss.

‘Why?’

Enkrid glanced at the panther—Esther.

‘What did you do? Really? Against Frog?’

He was just now fully realizing the weight behind the name Frog. What could this small panther possibly have done?

He didn’t know. It was still a mystery.

“Nya.”

Feeling Enkrid’s gaze, Esther let out a soft sound, as if scolding him. She seemed to be saying, Is that all it takes to knock you down?

Enkrid caught his breath and tried to collect his thoughts.

‘I don’t know.’

He understood that there was no use dwelling on things he didn’t know. His experience had taught him that—some things just didn’t have answers.

Instead of wasting time, Enkrid chose to focus on what he had gained today—experience, and the energy to continue forward.

‘It worked.’

How could he describe it?

For a brief moment, he had felt like he’d overwhelmed Frog. He had outplayed him, luring Frog into his game and delivering a decisive blow.

He had cut Frog’s arm. Not his heart, but his arm. It would regenerate, of course, but not during their fight.

If Frog hadn’t crushed his right wrist in the last exchange…

‘If only…’

The outcome of the battle could have been completely different. There was so much to learn from this encounter.

Enkrid thought about all this as they made their way to the barracks.

Kraiss supported him as he walked, while Esther, instead of leaping back into Enkrid’s arms, glanced back briefly before falling into step beside them.

When they finally arrived at the barracks, Enkrid was about to settle in and rest…

“Where have you been?!”

It was the Second Company Commander, the superior officer of Vengeance.

He had been looking for Enkrid, his forehead drenched in sweat. It was unusual for a company commander to run around like this instead of sending a messenger.

Just as Enkrid was about to raise his hand to salute, the commander spoke first.

“Prepare to depart! Immediately!”

“I’m a bit injured,” Enkrid replied, hoping for some leeway. A day or two more of rest would have been ideal. After all, his presence on the battlefield wasn’t going to change the tide of war. He was just one platoon leader.

A single, injured officer wasn’t a critical asset. Surely, they could make an exception for him this time.

“What? How did you get injured?”

The commander already knew that Enkrid had returned safely from his mission.

“I got into a scuffle with some thug.”

“What the hell were you doing, picking fights at a time like this?” The company commander scolded him, shaking his head in frustration.

Still, he understood. “Well, right now, we don’t need your sword skills. But if you can still move, I’m requesting that you leave right away.”

It wasn’t an order, more of a request—a rare show of restraint from the commander. To Enkrid, it sounded like something serious had happened at the front lines.

‘Why?’

He hadn’t even had time to catch up on the situation at the battlefield. He had spent the last day recovering, and today, he had been in a life-or-death struggle with Frog.

“Ranger Pin will be accompanying you. Can you leave right now?”

“What’s going on that’s so urgent?” Kraiss, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. He knew the company commander, and that familiarity made the commander more willing to explain.

“Well… they’re refusing to fight unless we bring back their platoon leader…”

The commander trailed off, but Enkrid understood immediately.

“They mean my squad?”

“You could say this deployment is partly to convince them to stay in the fight. Even if you just stay at the rear and rest, we need you at the front. The request came directly from your immediate commander.”

It looked like he had no choice. Resting his sore wrist would have to wait. After all, he wasn’t completely unable to wield his sword.

‘Rem…’

As soon as Enkrid heard the explanation, he started worrying.

He figured he would catch up on the situation as they traveled. A few minor cuts could be treated with some quick first aid before departure.

“Yes.”

Enkrid gave a salute, signaling his agreement to leave right away.