A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Lack of Skill

The third today.

Enkrid continued his grip training and battle review as usual. He didn’t waste any time. It was the same day, with nothing unusual during the day. At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.

‘I just didn’t notice.’

Today was different. Crang skipped breakfast and only returned after lunch. The medic from the medical tent was also absent for a long time. Normally, the medic’s job was to always stay at the tent.

Other than that, everything was the same. There were a few patients in other nearby medical tents.

Enkrid sat in front of the tent, observing the soldiers passing by. Since this was the rear, there were fewer combat troops compared to the front lines.

One of the wheels on a handcart broke, causing it to tip over. Groans from the patients could be heard from all around. A soldier complained loudly as the strong wind blew. Overall, it wasn’t a highly vigilant situation.

‘But it’s not enough to miss a few assassins.’

His goal remained unchanged.

To cause a commotion when facing the assassin, and that would be the end. He steeled his resolve. He spent the rest of the day as usual.

“Aren’t you tired of that?”

Crang asked his usual question.

“When we get back, you guys are dead meat.”

Vengeance mumbled his usual meaningless grumble. Night fell. Enkrid lay down and then got up, sitting with his hips half off the bed. He went over the information he knew.

The assassin’s arrival time was:

‘After the third guard change.’

The weapons used were poisoned needles and blades. The figure appeared to be a woman or a child. The prime suspect was the newly assigned company commander. The target was likely Crang.

That was all he knew.

But it was enough.

The target wasn’t him, and all he needed to do was cause a ruckus. Watching the changing of the guards, Enkrid stood up.

“Yawn, going to take a leak?”

The soldier on guard yawned as he asked.

“No, just can’t sleep.”

“Aren’t you supposed to return to the main unit tomorrow?”

The soldier smiled slightly. He had freckles and droopy eyes, giving him a gentle look. Enkrid, as a squad leader, outranked a regular soldier.

“Yeah.”

“Are you too nervous to sleep?”

“No, the moon is too bright.”

At Enkrid’s words, the freckled soldier looked up. It was a pitch-black night. The clouds obscured the moonlight in the night sky. Far away, a few stars twinkled, but the darkness was so deep that you couldn’t see a thing without a torch.

“The moon?”

“I’m joking.”

Enkrid glanced at the guard of the neighboring tent. No matter how strict the military discipline, there would always be soldiers like that. He saw a guard leaning against a tent pole, dozing off.

“Haha.”

The freckled soldier laughed awkwardly.

“Actually, the torchlight is too bright for me to sleep.”

“You’re sensitive.”

“I’ve been like that since I was a kid.”

It wasn’t an empty remark. Enkrid was more sensitive than most people. He could hear well, smell well, and distinguish tastes well. His senses were sharp.

‘Yet, I’ve been caught off guard twice already.’

The opponent was highly skilled at stealth. After all, if an assassin wasn’t confident in stealth and infiltration, what else would they be confident in?

It was dark. Looking at the stars in the night sky and the burning torch, Enkrid made some trivial conversation. Where was his hometown, and how did he join the military? The freckled soldier talked about himself without hesitation. Enkrid didn’t listen closely. While talking, he kept his senses alert to the back. He also kept touching his neck.

‘Because it hit my neck, the poison took effect immediately.’

If it had hit his arm instead, he would’ve had time to respond.

Preparedness.

If he stayed awake, he would have enough time to shout……

“Laura said she’s waiting for me……”

The freckled soldier was talking about his girlfriend back home. At that moment, something pierced through the freckled soldier’s neck with a swoosh.

‘A blade!’

A blade as long as a finger protruded from his neck.No blood gushed out. As long as the blade remained, it acted as a tool to stop the bleeding. The freckled soldier staggered to the side, his mouth covered as he silently collapsed.

Ping- something flew towards Enkrid. It all happened in a single breath. Enkrid reacted. Instinctively, he covered his neck with his hand. A poisoned needle stuck into the back of his hand with a flick. Now it was time to shout.

An assassin was here!

It’s an attack!

Or at least.

Aaaaah!

Such meaningless screams would suffice.

But then.

Thud.

Something covered his mouth. There was no sound, no warning. Enkrid felt someone grab his neck and twist.

Crack.

Then, he felt a sharp pain behind his neck as a blade was thrust in. He had been stabbed so many times that he could roughly gauge the depth and severity of the wound. He wouldn’t last long with this. Enkrid collapsed to the ground, the blade still in his neck. Warm blood flowed from his neck, soaking his chest. The opponent didn’t deliver the final blow. Enkrid didn’t have the energy to check on their situation.

‘Crang? What about Platoon Leader Vengeance?’

Coughing up blood, Enkrid checked on the two lying in front of him. One was the freckled soldier. His neck had been pierced, and blood pooled on the tent floor.

‘What was that guy’s name?’

He had talked about many things but hadn’t paid attention to any of them. Inside the tent, Platoon Leader Vengeance was also visible. He had been strangled and lay with his eyes wide open, but Crang was nowhere to be seen. Enkrid used his last bit of strength to lift his head and look inside the tent. As he moved, the blade shifted, bringing excruciating pain.

“Grrh.”

A groan escaped his lips. Nevertheless, he stubbornly lifted his body and looked.

He saw a slender woman. Behind a torn part of the tent, blocking the way, was the elf woman.

‘It was you.’

The newly assigned company commander. No matter how poor his eyesight was, he couldn’t fail to recognize this.

“Already taken out……”

Another voice mixed in. That was the end of his memory.

“Cyprus! Cyprus!”

Today started again.

‘Damn.’

A hollow laugh escaped. The opponent was an assassin. The Heart of the Beast, Vallen Style Mercenary Swordsmanship, none of it mattered; there was nothing he could do.

First, he had to face and fight the assassin to do anything, but they stabbed and poisoned him without a word.

He kicked off his blanket and got up.

“Are you going crazy this early in the morning?”

Platoon Leader Vengeance, half-covered by the thrown blanket, asked.

“No, sir.”

That wasn’t the important part.

“Fine, come at me. This is mutiny, isn’t it?”

Enkrid ignored the limping Vengeance and stepped outside.

“Hey! Are you running away? You’re dead if I catch you!”

Behind him, Vengeance yelled.

“What’s all the noise so early in the morning?”

Crang’s voice, just waking up, followed. The same day repeated again.

‘Let’s try again, assassin.’

Enkrid prepared for the fourth night. This time, he armed himself with several daggers. He also coaxed the freckled soldier into coming inside the tent.

“There are people to guard here, too, right?”

Persuasion was easy. This naïve country boy quickly fell for Enkrid’s words. He brought a torch stand inside and set it up. The tent was now brightly lit.

‘Let’s see if the assassins can work in this light.’

They could. He didn’t know when they snuck in. Or how they got close. A shadow fell from the top of the tent. The shadow stuck poisoned needles into both Enkrid and the freckled soldier. Just before dying, Enkrid saw the tent being cut.

A white blade.

A dark figure beyond.

The torch inside cast light on their face.

It was the newly assigned company commander.

“Cyprus! Cyprus!”

The fifth today dawned.

“Okay.”

He knew it was coming but still got caught. It was the fourth time. He was getting stubborn. He tried similar methods again, focusing all his senses. The result wasn’t much different. The beds in this tent were elevated off the ground. A shadow jumped out from beneath and threw a short arrow. It was a throwing arrow. The arrowhead was coated with poison. It was a deadly poison. The pain from being stabbed was on a different level. It felt like ants were biting his heart. He couldn’t breathe, and he died without doing anything.

The sixth today was similar. There were slight variations. Just before dying, he heard the assassins talking.

“You, ho……”

“You……”

“This is a……”

“Fair……”

Of course, hearing this didn’t change anything. He couldn’t make out anything. At best, he caught a few words. No matter how hard he tried to piece them together, there was no answer. Determined, Enkrid tried various methods. Not giving up was a strength, but it could be a weakness in this situation. The truth of all times was that stupidity causes physical suffering. Endless attempts were not always the answer.

Fortunately, Enkrid was no fool.

After twenty attempts, he realized,

‘Shouting is pointless.’

The assassins were just that skilled. Once, he tried shouting for help before they could do anything.

Soldiers from the nearby tents gathered around Enkrid. He even saw Crang waking up, rubbing his eyes. It was just after the third guard change. He timed it perfectly for a preemptive strike.

“An attack? Where?”

In the end, he only got kicked in the shin by the neighboring platoon leader. Nothing happened when he shouted first? Would today just pass like that? If so, getting kicked in the shin was a small price to pay.

After the commotion ended and Enkrid made an excuse that he had a bad dream.

“How did you know?”

For the first time, Enkrid heard the assassin’s voice. A man with a metallic tone. And then he died with a blade to the throat. If there was this attempt, there were others.

“Platoon Leader Vengeance, are you angry because of me?”

“What the hell?”

“Not me, it’s Crang, right? Because Crang keeps talking nonsense?”

Enkrid casually chatted with them, trying to divert their attention and give a warning.

“An assassin will come tonight.”

“…Go mad properly, you crazy bastard.”

Vengeance didn’t believe him.

“Do you have a secret birth? Why would an assassin come for you?”

Crang didn’t believe him either. They lacked trust.

It failed.

He tried various methods, but the reason for failure was the same.

‘Lack of skill.’

It all boiled down to one reason. The assassin was too skilled. He needed to find a method.

The Heart of the Beast, Vallen Style Mercenary Swordsmanship, none of it was helpful now.

‘Should I bring Rem here?’

That could be a solution. If Rem or any other squad members were here, they wouldn’t be easily caught.

‘As long as it’s not big eyes.’

They wouldn’t be caught, but how to bring them here?

There was no way. He was just a squad leader, and they were mere soldiers. Regardless of skill, their ranks were fixed. What if he talked to the platoon leader responsible for the medical platoon?

‘Like they’d listen.’

What excuse could he use?

Some things were possible, others weren’t. Bringing squad members was impossible.

So, was there another way?

There was.

In the repetition of the same day.

Enkrid knew the time and place to find Big Eyes.

‘Should I ask for advice?’

All his squad members were exceptionally skilled.

‘Even if I can’t bring them.’

He could at least get their opinions. It was a better strategy than stubbornly persisting. Enkrid decided to find big eyes.

“Where are you going?”

Platoon Leader Vengeance asked from behind. Crang had left early in the morning. Enkrid figured Vengeance asked because he was also leaving. Enkrid tilted his head and answered the question with a question.

“Are you feeling lonely?”

“What the hell?”

“If not, never mind.”

“Hey, you, damn it…”

Ignoring him, Enkrid walked out.

“Once I recover, just you wait!”

Platoon Leader Vengeance shouted from inside the tent. Enkrid scratched his ear.

Finding big eyes wasn’t hard. His expression was awful, but who cared? This side had repeated today twenty times without even seeing the assassin’s face.

“Big eyes.”

Big eyes, walking hurriedly somewhere, turned at the call. He frowned when he saw Enkrid.

“Squad Leader? You’re all better?”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Oh, I’m busy. If you need someone to talk to, Jaxon is over there.”

Big eyes, apparently busy, pointed his thumb backward and walked quickly. There wasn’t even a chance to stop him. Enkrid had intended to ask big eyes to bring another squad member.

He headed to the tent big eyes had pointed out. It wasn’t a large tent but a small one. A maintenance tent for unused supplies, where broken items were stored, so it wasn’t frequently visited. A small tent between maintenance tents. It looked just big enough for two people.

“Squad Leader?”

Jaxon was inside. Reddish-brown hair and red-tinged brown eyes. A squad member with a bland smile.

And, according to Rem, the most backstabbing guy. He preferred exploiting gaps and stabbing rather than confronting directly. That was Jaxon’s description.

Scratching his head, Enkrid asked. He seemed to have come at an inconvenient time.

“Do you have time?”

Jaxon nodded casually. Behind him, a woman with curly blonde hair peeked out from between the tents, then quickly disappeared.

“I’m done with my business.”

Jaxon stood, throwing a half-unbuttoned shirt over his shoulder.