A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: When Darkness Becomes Your Friend

When does darkness become your friend?

To this question, the answer is simple. It is when you are in a place you know well, a place where you understand the terrain as clearly as your own front yard.

Even better, if it’s a place you’ve been in recently. Just being able to vaguely see the surroundings can help you grasp your position.

Ideally, it could be a place you used as a nighttime training ground until just yesterday. That’s exactly where Enkrid found himself now. Normally, this would be an unfamiliar place.

“This is…”

Normally, he would have been surprised to see it.

“Damn it.”

Normally, he would have despaired upon realizing the enemy’s scale, but none of this applied to Enkrid. He had been here countless times already.

Not just visiting. He had rolled and fought here repeatedly. Each time, the people with him changed slightly but the basic composition remained the same.

Andrew, the rough-looking soldier, Enri, and the other squad members. Among them, the two thug-like squad members had been a significant help. The place they had exited was the reverse side of the tall grass field. An unexpected scene unfolded before them.

Some of the squad members thought the route back to the main unit was blocked, so this way must be a viable escape route. Enri especially thought so.

He had a good sense of direction, almost as good as the rough-looking soldier. He hadn’t been a plains hunter for nothing. Enri thought that since the enemy was ambushing in the grass, this side might be clear. He was wrong.

Which made it more hopeless.

Enri felt his legs give way.

Whoosh.

The first thing they saw was a burning torch. Then, they saw a large, thick tent partially obscuring the firelight. As soon as Enri saw it, he took a step back. When he lifted his head and widened his view, he could make out the structure.

It was a tent.

Why was there a tent here?

When he turned his head slightly in the faint light, he saw torches burning next to the tent. Lined up all the way down. Even a rough count showed more than ten.

The spacing between the torches was wide enough to barely see the surroundings. With the moonlight and torchlight mingling, their view cleared up. What they saw was tents.

At least more than twenty tents lined up along the tall grass field. This side was the opposite of the allied base.

Which meant the tents in front of them were the enemy, the Azpen Duchy’s camp.

“Shit, what is this?”

One of the thug-like soldiers instinctively lowered his voice as he muttered.

“God, is this where we ended up?”

Enri’s voice was hollow with despair.

“Shh, quiet.”

The rough-looking soldier was the quickest to react. If they were discovered by the guards now, they would be in a fight. And if that happened, they would be killed instantly.

They could see more moving lights beyond the torches, indicating patrolling guards. Everyone knew without being told that the torches were held by sentries.

“Shut your mouths.”

The rough-looking soldier whispered, scanning the surroundings. A veteran’s experience shined in moments of crisis. He acted based on his experience. Lowering his stance, he tried to sense the presence of the sentries. He hid his body as much as possible, assessed the situation, and searched for an escape route. With luck, it could be possible.

It was night, and although not intended, they had moved in a direction far from the enemy’s expectations. They were deep in the enemy camp, close enough to touch the tents, but there was still a chance to escape if they weren’t detected.

He judged it could be done.

If you stay alert, you can survive even if you fall in the middle of a monster horde.

“Don’t draw your weapons. Stay low.”

He acted as if he were the leader. Most of the squad followed his orders except for two.

Naturally, one was Enkrid, and the other was Andrew.

“He must have a plan. Enkrid is the squad leader.”

Whether it was because he had been beaten up this morning and lost his position as squad leader, Andrew was the only one who supported Enkrid.

“This is no time for jokes.”

The rough-looking soldier turned his head while keeping his back bent. His voice was low but carried the force of a growling beast.

He was in a hurry. This was the heart of the enemy camp. Far more dangerous than facing an ambush in the tall grass. At any moment, an enemy spear could emerge from the tent. Thinking about it now was absurd.

The rough-looking soldier’s reaction was reasonable. In fact, Enkrid had often looked at this soldier and thought the same.

‘He’s no ordinary soldier.’

His skill, experience, judgment, and action were not at the level of a mere soldier. If Enkrid weren’t here, if he hadn’t repeated today. It would have been right to make this man the squad leader and struggle to survive.

But now, there was no need for that. The other squad members didn’t know, but everything up to this point had been according to Enkrid’s plan. The time, location, and place— everything.

How many nights had he spent here?

How many lives had he thrown away?

How many times had he repeated today?

In the tent ahead, three sluggish soldiers were fast asleep. There was still time before the patrolling soldiers would come around.

Knowing all this, Enkrid acted.

Shhhk.

He drew his sword and slashed the side of the tent. From bottom to top, the blade reflected the moonlight.

“This crazy bastard.”

The rough-looking soldier gasped and Andrew reacted to Enkrid’s actions.

He immediately dashed into the torn tent and stabbed the awakened enemy soldier in the neck with his shortsword.

Thud!

Enkrid followed him in. He held his sword to the throat of another soldier who was waking up and trying to grab the blade. Enkrid pressed the blade down, slitting the soldier’s throat.

Slice.

The sound of tearing leather filled the tent, soon followed by the smell of blood. The last enemy soldier was killed by one of the thug-like squad members who stabbed him in the heart with a dagger.

“Grk, grrrk.”

The soldier, stabbed in the heart, crawled on the ground, reaching out. He was a tenacious one. The torchlight from the tent entrance illuminated his reaching hand and above it cast a shadow.

It was the rough-looking soldier. He knelt on the enemy’s back, grabbed his neck, and twisted it.

Crack.

The soldier’s neck broke, and he died with his tongue hanging out.

“You.”

The rough-looking soldier’s eyes glowed in the dark. He glared at Enkrid. Lucky, otherwise they would have been surrounded and exterminated in the enemy camp. This was a gamble. To him, it looked like that.

“Move to the side.”

Enkrid ignored his glare. Before he could say anything, Enkrid extended his sword.

“You crazy bastard.”

The rough-looking soldier spoke in a low voice. His frustration and anger were evident. To him, this seemed like sheer madness. Enkrid slashed the side of the tent with his sword and turned his head slightly. He showed no concern that the soldier might attack him from behind.

Even with this tension?

Even in a situation where they were charging into an enemy camp with just a patrol unit, the atmosphere was so tense it felt like lightning crackling between them. Everyone watched the two of them cautiously.

“What’s your name?”

“What?”

“Your name.”

Maybe it was Enkrid’s calm demeanor. Maybe it was his boldness in the face of danger. The rough-looking soldier opened his mouth, answering Enkrid’s question while holding his sword and slashing down.

“Call me Mack.”

He didn’t withdraw his hostility. Enkrid turned his gaze from the soldier and said,

“Mack, I won’t accept disobedience.”

“What?”

Sliiiice.

Enkrid finished cutting through the tent and stepped out. The others had no choice but to follow.

“Phew, what the hell is going on?”

Mack muttered to himself and then made eye contact with Andrew.

“Yes, coming.”

Mack answered the look. They had to follow for now.

The next tent was empty. It seemed all the soldiers from the tent were out on night guard duty.

‘Does that make sense?’

The tent could accommodate at least ten soldiers. A minimum of a squad. With some effort, it could hold two squads. Judging by the traces inside, more than ten soldiers had been here.

“Forward.”

After passing through that tent, Enkrid didn’t even bother cutting the next tent. He peeked out the entrance, looked left and right, then dashed out.

The squad followed. By now, clouds had covered the moon. With only the torchlight, it was hard to see around. Even after blinking several times to adjust to the dark, it was pitch black. Enkrid moved forward without hesitation. Other than the sound of the squad’s breathing, there was no other noise.

“This way.”

A voice called out in the dark. It wasn’t a small voice. If there were enemies nearby, they could easily hear it. Mack felt a chill down his spine.

‘This bastard.’

But there was no sign of enemies. No unexpected movements. If there were, they would have already heard someone demanding to know who they were. Enkrid moved again.

By now, even Mack couldn’t tell the direction. In the tall grass field, the sun overhead made it easy to navigate, but now it was dark everywhere.

‘Does he know where he’s going?’

It seemed like he did. Enkrid’s steps showed no hesitation. He moved until he reached a tent with two torches standing close together. Then he stopped. Using a suitable tree as cover, Enkrid gestured to the squad behind him. In the dark, they could barely see his hand signals.

Mack felt like he was being led by a ghost.

‘How far have we walked?’

He wasn’t sure, but judging by the number of tents, it seemed like they had crossed through the entire enemy camp.

‘How haven’t we been caught?’

It felt surreal, like being under a spell.

“Wait here.”

Enkrid whispered as he turned around.

In the faint light, they saw four guards outside the tent. The enemy camp was eerily quiet at night, but this tent seemed busy.

Whoosh.

A breeze made the torchlight flicker, causing the guards’ shadows to dance. Someone from inside the tent came out and spoke to the guards. Though they couldn’t hear the words, the guards nodded in response.

‘What are they guarding?’

Enkrid must have come for this. Finally, Mack began to understand the situation. No, he guessed it. A sudden realization struck him.

‘It’s a secret mission.’

A mission given solely to Enkrid, excluding the rest of the squad. It must have meant he had the commander’s trust. Mack remembered what Andrew had said. The company commander had ordered Enkrid to join them.

It all made sense now. Enkrid was on a secret mission.

‘So that’s what it was?’

It was a misunderstanding. Mack had a small epiphany but didn’t say it out loud. Even if Enkrid knew about this misunderstanding, he wouldn’t bother to explain. He had more urgent matters to attend to.

“We will set that tent on fire.”

Enkrid pointed. The tent had four guards at the front.

“Mack, take care of the guards on the left. Andrew, you handle the right. Enri, be ready with your bow. The rest, prepare to rush in.”

He gave the orders with calm authority. They had no choice but to comply. Mack felt a mix of frustration and reluctant respect. Enkrid was leading them through sheer willpower and competence.

The squad moved into position. Enkrid’s eyes were fixed on the tent.

It was time to execute his plan.