A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Is He Really Okay?

They arrived at the campsite just as night fell. Thanks to the moonlight, it wasn’t all that dark.

At some point, the gravel path had turned into a grassy field. The ground was beginning to show hints of green. It was proof that winter was coming to an end.

Of course, since it was night, that green shimmered like violet.

‘The moon is bright.’

Enkrid glanced up at the moon and shoved the stone he’d been holding into his pants pocket.

His right arm trembled slightly.

They had walked for over half a day to get here, and Enkrid had spent the entire time practicing Torres’ hidden knife technique. His forearm was sore from the repetitive motion.

After clenching and unclenching his hand a few times, Enkrid knew he’d be fine by tomorrow.

Having pushed his body to the limit through the Isolation Technique, he had a good sense of how quickly his muscles could recover. In fact, he might even be fine after a short rest.

“You’ve been playing with stones all day. What a weirdo.”

Finn remarked as soon as they arrived. Enkrid had felt her gaze on him several times during the journey.

“My hands get restless. It’s a habit.”

Enkrid gave a vague reply and began scanning the campsite. It wasn’t a typical campsite with a fire and tents set up. To be more precise, it wasn’t really a campsite— it was more of a cave.

There were several holes in the ground, dug to create small shelters.

“Pick a hole you like and cover it with a camouflage tarp. If you want to sleep comfortably, you’d better have a thermal hide, but those are rare, so we don’t have any to share.”

One of the soldiers brought over a wide piece of fabric. It was yellowish-brown and was nearly indistinguishable from the ground unless you looked closely.

‘Thermal hide, huh.’

Enkrid happened to have one in his pack.

‘I wonder if Esther’s doing alright.’

She had hissed at him for quite some time when he left her behind. She clearly wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t like he could bring her along.

“It’s cold, so share a hole with someone. Since you’re new, you can sleep with me.”

Finn said, pointing at Enkrid. Enkrid’s pack contained a thermal hide, and the caves didn’t seem particularly large.

If it were someone as small as Esther, it wouldn’t be a problem to share, but while Enkrid wasn’t as large as Audin, he was still far from small.

It would be uncomfortable, to say the least. Especially since his partner was a woman. It would be even more awkward.

‘If anyone hears about this, they’ll raise hell.’

Judging by how quickly rumors spread through the unit, it felt like someone was always watching him, ready to gossip. Sure enough, Torres was staring at him from the side.

“It’s fine. I’m prepared.”

Finn looked slightly disappointed.

“What about me? Am I supposed to sleep alone?”

Torres raised his hand, taking advantage of the moment.

“A platoon leader from the Frontier Slaughterers came all this way without anyone to watch his back? Someone should be assigned to you.”

“Why am I the one being assigned to people?”

“The cave’s small.”

At that, Torres glanced at Enkrid and then lowered his gaze to his own body. No matter how he looked at it, he was the smaller of the two.

“What the hell.”

In the end, Torres just muttered to himself.

As Finn busied herself organizing her things in the cave she’d chosen, Torres approached Enkrid.

“Why do I feel pissed off?”

Why was he asking here?

“Because you’re tired?”

“Do you think it’s just because I’m tired? Huh? The Alluring Squad Leader, no— Platoon Leader now. Do you really think that’s all it is?”

“Yes.”

“Bastard.”

Torres jokingly cursed and turned away.

The caves weren’t that cramped after all. They were dug at a slight incline from the ground, and a tarp was laid inside to keep moisture out.

When Enkrid covered the entrance with the camouflage tarp and went inside, it felt surprisingly cozy. After stepping out again, he retrieved his thermal hide, wrapped it around himself, and went back in. It wasn’t bad at all.

“You’re well-prepared. Would you like something to eat?”

One of the recon soldiers approached and handed him some jerky.

“No, I’ve got my own.”

The jerky he’d eaten before had been so delicious that he had tracked down the supplier and gotten more.

“It’s my mother’s secret recipe.”

The soldier smiled modestly as he spoke. His mother ran a small restaurant behind an inn. The food there was excellent.

Their specialty was grilled skewers of marinated meat, and the seasoning was fantastic. The place had a good reputation for its skewers.

‘I’ll have to get more when I go back.’

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to regularly buy jerky from there, so Enkrid had already asked Kraiss to handle it for him.

He pulled some jerky from his pack and bit into it. The sweet and spicy seasoning filled his mouth, and the texture was tender, thanks to whatever secret method they used.

Enkrid had no talent for cooking. So, when he ate something like this, he couldn’t help but be amazed. The only talent Enkrid had was swinging a sword.

During his time as a mercenary, he had learned various skills, but he hadn’t mastered any of them. It had always been the sword, and he had only ever dreamed of becoming a knight.

After chewing and swallowing a few pieces of jerky, Enkrid lay down, and sleep quickly overtook him.

The land of monsters and beasts.

As he drifted off, he recalled Enri’s warning, but nothing happened on their first night near Cross Guard. He thought he might die in his sleep, but nothing happened at all.

Since it was their first day, he didn’t even have to take a night watch. Before dawn, Enkrid instinctively woke up. He stepped outside and stripped off his shirt. The cold air enveloped him, waking his mind.

That sharp chill became the driving force that got his body moving. Wearing only his pants, Enkrid began practicing the Isolation Technique.

He started by placing his hands on the ground, lifting his legs, and bringing his knees up to his chest like he was kicking. Then he moved into a variety of other exercises.

“…What are you doing?”

The last soldier on night watch, who was leaning against a tree between the caves, asked as he watched.

“Morning training.”

“You know where we are, right?”

“Cross Guard’s front yard.”

“And you’re doing this knowing that?”

None of the recon soldiers knew who Enkrid was. So their confusion was understandable. After pushing his body to the limit, Enkrid pulled out his sword and started swinging. Finn woke up and watched him, as did the rest of the unit— except for Torres.

Everyone was staring at him, wondering, What the hell is he doing?

“Is he really okay?”

Finn muttered to herself.

Torres, who had walked over with a thick cloak instead of a blanket, replied.

“That’s just his routine.”

“He does that every day?”

Finn, recalling the sight of Enkrid’s body from the day before, couldn’t help but remember. It was still fresh in her mind.

The chiseled muscles, the massive legs, and… that thing between them.

‘Ah, that’s not something you can train for.’

Ignoring the “thing,” Finn thought back to Enkrid’s body. She now understood why his physique was the way it was. Living in this land pushed people to their limits, so it was no wonder everyone had well-trained bodies.

But how could someone stand out even more than the rest? By working twice as hard as everyone else.

Like that.

But just because you understood didn’t mean you could do it yourself.

“If we run into some monsters this afternoon, will he even have the strength to fight?”

She asked, thinking his muscles might cramp up from the way he was working himself.

“He did that and then sparred with me more than ten times. Plus, he marched all day yesterday.”

Torres added casually, hinting that he had pushed himself similarly. But Finn’s eyes didn’t leave Enkrid.

Why?

Because every swing of his sword seemed to burn with his very soul.

“He looks insane.”

That’s what she said, but there wasn’t a hint of malice in her tone, at least not to Torres’ ears. It was filled with admiration and maybe even a touch of affection.

What did he do, exactly?

Torres felt like he was witnessing the power of the Alluring Platoon Leader firsthand. All Enkrid had done so far was bathe, walk, sleep, and wake up to train in the morning.

And yet, it felt like he’d already won over a recon unit leader in this harsh land. Is this how he seduced the Company Commander too?

But no. Maybe it wasn’t all about physicality. Perhaps it was the impression he’d left back by the river.

Torres’ stray thoughts quickly dissipated.

Everyone’s curiosity about Enkrid only lasted a moment.

“Let’s go get something to eat.”

The sun had just risen. Finn’s recon squad couldn’t start fires carelessly. However, that didn’t mean they lived off jerky and dried fruit every day.

From their campsite, it would take half a day to reach Cross Guard if they headed east. A short walk to the northwest would take them to a small forest.

That was their kitchen.

“Aren’t you going to eat? If we’re lucky, we might even catch a rabbit.”

Including Finn, there were eight soldiers in the recon unit. It wasn’t a large group. They ate like hunters, sourcing food locally.

Now that Enkrid and Torres had joined them, their routine didn’t change.

“There’s also a stream inside, so you can wash up there.”

Finn said, glancing at Enkrid.

“Can I wash my clothes too?”

Enkrid asked casually.

Though he was now an Independent Platoon Leader, meaning he and Finn were of equal rank, it wasn’t quite the same in reality.

In terms of the army’s ranking system, recon platoon leaders who bore the Ranger title were positioned between company commanders and platoon leaders.

That put Finn on par with Torres.

It was similar to how a platoon leader of the Frontier Slaughterers held a unique position.

“Taking the time to wash, eat, and maintain your gear is a soldier’s duty.”

It was odd enough that only the two of them had come as reinforcements, and that they were both platoon leaders made it even stranger.

Finn thought as much but didn’t dwell on it.

She was just a frontline Ranger, after all.

They reached the small forest to the northwest and set up camp by the stream, gathering dry branches as they went. In the process, they encountered two monsters, but Enkrid merely watched.

“Keeek!”

The monsters were mutated animals. Beasts that had transformed into monsters.

So, of course, such things could exist.

A deer monster.

Its skin looked diseased, with patches peeled away, and it had a bluish tint. The moment its unfocused, black eyes, which couldn’t be distinguished from its pupils, locked onto Enkrid.

Thwip, thwip, thwip.

The sound came from behind him.

Three recon soldiers simultaneously raised their shortbows and fired arrows, two of which lodged in the deer monster’s forehead, the other in its neck.

When its skull was pierced, it died instantly— whether it was a monster, a beast, or a human, that much was the same.

The deer monster let out its death rattle and collapsed to the ground. The three soldiers approached it, kicking it with their toes to confirm it was dead, then retrieved their arrows.

One of them clicked his tongue.

“Damn, it broke.”

As the deer monster fell, the arrow in its neck snapped.

‘They’re experienced.’

How would the recon soldiers fare if forced into close combat? It wasn’t guaranteed that they would win. If it was a one-on-one fight, Enkrid would win, but…

‘If it’s one against many.’

It wouldn’t be easy.

This was, after all, a unit that had survived in the land of monsters and beasts.

“You’re a high-ranking soldier, right? Do you have any experience hunting?”

“A little.”

He had learned some things from Enri, as well as from his mercenary work and travels across the continent. Of course, he wasn’t particularly skilled at hunting.

Instead, he was more skilled in other areas.

Just then,

One of the recon soldiers who had gone ahead returned.

“Damn it. Ghouls. Should we move camp?”

“How many?”

“I counted up to ten, but more were coming, so I pulled back.”

Ghouls had appeared. It wasn’t a common occurrence, but it wasn’t unheard of either. They had just set up camp and prepared their defenses.

Ten ghouls would be a burden for the recon soldiers. More so, since the ghouls here were fast.

It wasn’t something a few arrows could stop. If the fight dragged on, they’d have to engage in close combat. Scanning the group, Enkrid noted that three of the soldiers carried shortbows.

So, what should they do when facing a pack of ghouls? The best plan would be to avoid them.

“Shit.”

Even Finn cursed in frustration, but Enkrid stepped forward.

“Which direction?”

He asked.

It was an odd question, but he directed his gaze toward the soldier who had just returned from scouting the ghouls.

The soldier blinked.

He didn’t seem to understand the question.

“I mean the ghouls.”

Torres interjected, offering some clarification. Torres had a rough idea of Enkrid’s capabilities.

His specialty, above all, was his mastery of the Heavy and Fierce Sword technique. Compared to Torres, who mainly used daggers, Enkrid was more suited for hunting monsters.

After all, hadn’t Torres seen him take down both the humanoid hound and the harpies?

“The ghouls around here aren’t exactly tame.”

Finn said, her concern evident as she understood what Enkrid intended.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Torres added, stepping up beside Enkrid.

“I’ll just provide support, right?”

Torres asked.

“Just keep their legs tied up.”

Enkrid replied. He wasn’t planning to let a single one escape.

“Alright then.”

Enkrid was ready to prove himself. Finn and the remaining recon soldiers exchanged glances. For them, combat was routine.

However, ten fast-moving ghouls were not easy opponents. If they were scratched by the poison that seeped from the ghouls’ claws, they would already be at a disadvantage.

“Hey.”

Finn tried to stop him, but Enkrid was already sniffing the air.

‘The stench of rot.’

His keen sense of smell allowed him to determine roughly where the ghouls were coming from.

This might make for good hunting. If he could track his prey by scent and sound, it could be quite useful. But for now, his focus was on cutting down ghouls.

Enkrid pushed off the ground.

“Hey, wait!”

Finn, Torres, and the recon soldiers hurried after him. Enkrid’s actions and demeanor drew people in, making them want to see what he would do next.

Whether he lived or died, whether they helped him or not, they just wanted to see for themselves.

To see what the guy who had been showing off his body all morning would do next. Of course, Enkrid did his part too.

Finn’s eyes widened as she watched.