A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Luck Isn’t Always on Your Side (1)

At the crack of dawn, Enkrid woke up to face yet another identical day. It was time to train his body through the Isolation Technique.

A new day had begun, once again. Most of it was the same as the previous days. Training his body while being observed by the reconnaissance squad members and Finn.

After finishing his swordsmanship training at dawn, Enkrid inspected his equipment. He had forgotten to check his gear in the morning after the battle with the Ghouls.

‘Starting again from here.’

It marked the beginning of yet another day. It was also the moment to decide his course of action.

Should he go back to the doghole? Or should he choose another path?

He raised his sword to a horizontal position, tilting it slightly to match his eye level. He examined the blade. There were no chips.

While looking at the blade, Enkrid continued to ponder. The most important task in this endlessly repeating day,

‘First, assess the situation.’

If there were three paths to break through, he wanted to know what lay at the end of each. It was as if three paths had been waiting for him to choose right in front of his eyes.

‘How’ he would walk towards tomorrow was a thought to sort out later.

He wiped the blade with the prepared leather, checked his other equipment once again, and rewrapped the leather strap around the handle.

This was his way of marking the beginning of a new day.

There was no way to count the increasing number of days one by one, so he repeated this act as a ritual, a method he created during his second day.

Rewrapping the leather strap on his sword’s grip was the second day, Enkrid remembered.

“If we’re heading out by morning, shouldn’t we hurry up?”

Torres spoke while munching on some jerky for breakfast.

After tasting the seasoned jerky, he had developed a habit of sticking close to Enkrid every morning.

Enkrid was about to speak when he noticed Finn approaching. An axe on her left hip, thick-soled boots, and a shortsword on her right hip.

She wore a thin, well-tanned leather armor. Enkrid had once noticed how it flexed well with her movements.

‘It must be light.’

That was how her equipment appeared.

It was the kind of gear only scouts, the light infantry, could carry, as they moved with the bare minimum.

“The Ranger moves ahead.”

That was their motto. They walked the lightest, as they always led the way.

Although Enkrid himself was classified as light infantry compared to the heavy infantry, his gear was relatively bulkier when compared to theirs. Even a longsword was cumbersome enough.

Then, what about their skills in actual combat?

For days now, he had been curious. Judging by the extent to which his body was honed through the Isolation Technique, he felt he wouldn’t fall behind even compared to Torres.

Besides, there was still time today.

The first task when greeting a different day than yesterday. He dismissed the option of sticking his head into the hole from the morning.

“How about we climb over the wall at night?”

Enkrid said abruptly, looking at Finn as she approached. There was no need for roundabout words— they only wasted time.

Sometimes, laying out your purpose and intent clearly helped steer the conversation. In this, Enkrid was quite skilled.

“Suddenly?”

“My gut feels off.”

Finn tilted her head at his sudden remark, but Enkrid responded without a pause. He was well aware of the nickname they called him within the unit.

Setting aside “The Alluring Squad Leader” or “Sorcery Breaker,” the phrase used most often to describe him was,

‘The one loved by the Goddess of Fortune.’

That was it.

When another soldier or commander said something felt ominous, it was easy to brush it off. But when he said it, people took it more seriously.

“Something feels off?”

Of course, Finn, not knowing such a nickname, reacted as she did. But Torres was different. After glancing at Enkrid’s face for a moment, Torres stroked his chin and spoke.

“If all three methods are equally valid, crossing the wall should be fine, right?”

He agreed without hesitation. He didn’t even ask for a reason. It was just a gut feeling.

What kind of logic was that? Finn, still tilting her head, eventually opened her mouth.

“Climbing a wall isn’t easy, you know?”

“There’s nothing in this world that’s easy.”

To that, Enkrid answered. When two out of three people agree on a path, the decision comes quickly, doesn’t it?

In truth, Finn didn’t really care which path they took. That’s why she had shown him all three options in the first place.

Finn nodded.

“Alright then.”

There was no need for a power struggle. Finn had a slight liking for Enkrid anyway.

“How about a bout?”

Enkrid said as he finished tying the leather strap on his sword and secured it to his waist.

“Oh ho.”

Torres chimed in from the side. Naturally, the challenge was aimed at him.

“Me? You want to spar with me? I’m not exactly specialized in combat, you know?”

No way. Someone who had trained that much wouldn’t be bad in a fight.

“I’m not specialized in swordsmanship either.”

Finn shrugged and showed him her palms. Seeing this, Enkrid spoke again.

“Hand-to-hand combat wouldn’t be bad either. We can’t afford to get injured before an important mission.”

Would it be a valuable experience? He wasn’t sure. But seeing her trained body made him want to try it.

It was pure competitiveness.

Just as Torres, Finn, despite her fondness for Enkrid, suddenly felt the desire to test her skills against him.

‘It’s been a while.’

She, too, had once burned with the passion of training though she stopped after hitting her limit.

Even now, she wasn’t someone to lose easily. Enkrid’s swordsmanship, which had cut down Ghouls, was impressive, but…

‘Without swords in play.’

She didn’t think she would lose easily. Everyone had their specialties, and Finn’s was hand-to-hand combat.

“Oh, it’s been a while since we’ve seen this.”

A scout with a bandit-like appearance but a surprisingly soft voice spoke up. He was the same man who had once dried Enkrid’s clothes on a branch.

Judging by his words, he seemed to be familiar with Finn’s skill.

“Spare me.”

Finn’s eyes gleamed. She already looked ready for combat.

“We still have time before nightfall.”

With Finn’s agreement, the spar began. Her specialty was close-quarters combat, and she didn’t intend to hide it.

Stepping from side to side, she immediately closed the distance. Enkrid, having learned striking techniques from Audin, widened his stance, stepped forward and extended his left hand.

Rather than striking from the sides, he thrust his fist straight forward, a short-range move.

In other words, fast. It was a punch resembling a sword thrust. Seeing this, Finn responded with an almost acrobatic move.

With her eyes wide open, she ducked under the punch. Using the bare minimum movement, Enkrid’s thrust barely grazed her hair.

‘This is…’

It reminded him of a move from when he had protected Leona Locke-Freed. When he had climbed to the second floor to save Leona, Enkrid had dodged a thrown dagger with just a tilt of his head.

This felt similar. Finn dodged his punch in the same manner. His focus sharpened. He could see her movements clearly, and his gaze naturally shifted to her face.

Her eyes seemed to gleam with light. Then she rushed in.

‘A tackle?’

His thoughts were brief, and his judgment quick.

Swoosh.

Instead of the extended left fist, he brought his right elbow down. Had she not dodged, it could have easily left a hole in her back.

Finn evaded that too.

Her movements were like a snake’s. She bent her waist smoothly, and by the time he realized it, she had slipped to Enkrid’s right.

Not only had she repositioned herself, but her hands were already gripping Enkrid’s wrist and forearm. Enkrid reflexively tensed his muscles, pulling his arm out of Finn’s grip.

At the same time, she hooked her calf around Enkrid’s shin.

From here, the fight was a battle of who would seize the other’s joints first.

Blocking, dodging, grappling.

Before they knew it, they had rolled on the ground several times. There was even a moment where Enkrid’s head thudded against the ground.

Without noticing, Finn’s hands or feet had somehow struck his groin in the scuffle.

‘Eil Karaz style.’

Enkrid recognized the technique Finn was using. Audin had told him about it countless times while teaching him.

One of the most notorious prisons across the continent was Eil Karaz. Long ago, one of its prison wardens had developed this fighting technique.

It was a martial art designed to cause prisoners the maximum amount of pain without leaving any visible wounds— Eil Karaz’s grappling techniques.

Its primary techniques involved joint locks rather than strikes, earning it the nickname ‘King of the Dirt.’

It got that name from the warden who had earned the title after wrestling in the dirt of Eil Karaz’s training grounds.

And just like the name, it was a notorious art.

Enkrid countered several times with the Valaf-style grappling techniques he’d learned from Audin under the guise of “bed combat,” but…

His opponent’s skill level was far higher.

So…

“Do you surrender?”

Just when he thought he had held his own, he suddenly found his neck caught between Finn’s legs. If she wanted, she could snap his neck.

Realizing this, Enkrid couldn’t help but admire the firmness of her thigh muscles.

“I surrender.”

With his neck squeezed, Enkrid admitted defeat.

“If we had used swords, it might have been different. But this is my specialty.”

Finn said, releasing her hold. Both of them were covered in dirt after rolling around so much. Their hair scattered dust as they shook it off.

“Looks like we need a wash. Care to join me?”

Finn asked.

“I’ll pass.”

Enkrid declined without hesitation. It was as if she had invited him to strip down and bathe together.

“Tsk.”

Finn made a playful noise, seemingly having asked in jest, and stood up, dusting off her rear.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

With that, she walked away.

“Why not just find a cave and cuddle if you’re going to roll around like that?”

Torres laughed as he spoke.

Huh?

When Enkrid looked at him, Torres kept laughing.

“You lasted the longest among those who have sparred with our captain.”

The scout beside him chimed in. Hearing that, Enkrid understood.

‘We really did end up rubbing against each other.’

Everything had happened too quickly to think about it at the time. However, he did realize one thing.

‘She’s a great sparring partner.’

Not as skilled as Audin— Audin would immobilize him effortlessly while talking his ear off. But for now, Finn was an excellent sparring partner.

He could definitely hone his Valaf-style grappling skills.

Of course, that didn’t mean he would waste the day.

Naturally, he would fight tooth and nail to escape today.

However, how many times had he found himself in such a situation?

He knew instinctively, as if a ferryman from a dream had appeared and murmured to him:

“How will you escape this time?”

Yet another wall had appeared.

Could he break through it in just a few tries? He didn’t know yet, but it wouldn’t be easy. But would he despair?

No.

Enkrid remained calm. He wasn’t overly excited, nor was he miserable. In truth, that’s how he felt.

For now, he believed the first thing to do was to properly grasp the situation. Discovering Finn’s specialty was just an additional bonus.

Later, with the remaining time, Enkrid practiced Torres’ hidden knife techniques.

“Are you going to keep at that? I’ve taught plenty of people, and some just never get it.”

Torres offered some sincere advice from the sidelines. Though he had joked about quitting before, his words now carried a serious tone.

Relaxing under a tree, Torres spoke, and Enkrid replied.

“Is that so?”

It wasn’t the first time he had heard such words.

“Suit yourself.”

Torres quickly gave up. After spending a few days together, he had come to understand Enkrid. This guy was stubborn.

“So, why did you suggest the wall?”

Having accepted the plan without hesitation, Torres circled back to ask.

“It just feels like the better option.”

“Has your gut been right every time?”

“For the most part.”

In truth, it was the result of endlessly repeating today. Would he understand if I explained?

“Guess I’ll trust you then.”

Torres nodded. Enkrid didn’t think it would have been a problem even if Torres hadn’t believed him.

He had merely expected things to flow this way. The training and practice continued. Enkrid took time to clean himself up and caught some sleep.

“If we’re working at night, it’s best to get some rest.”

Torres did the same, and Finn also seemed to be resting well. After a short nap, the sun began to set.

“You guys head to the rendezvous point. We’ll abandon this place.”

Considering the worst-case scenario, the remaining scouts decided to vacate the current encampment and relocate.

Thus, the three of them made their way toward the wall.

The path grew rougher. Instead of bushes, they now had to climb a rocky mountain in the middle of the night.

“Good thing we have two moons out tonight, right?”

Finn said as she led the way.

“Is that something to be happy about? This terrain is rough.”

“I told you, this path is twice as hard as the others.”

Finn laughed as she added, moving her feet again. Her footsteps were almost silent, as if she had something attached to the soles of her boots.

Enkrid followed her silently.

They crossed the rocky mountain, only to be greeted by foliage that obscured the sky above them.

With Finn leading, they pressed forward. Eventually, the walls of Cross Guard came into full view.

“Guess we’re lucky.”

Finn remarked, looking at the walls. A heavily sweating Torres lifted his head.

“You call this lucky?”

“Of course. We didn’t run into any beasts or monsters, did we?”

Enkrid was drenched in sweat as well. Keeping up with the Ranger’s pace was no small task.

However, it wasn’t over yet.

“Now the fun begins, gentlemen.”

Finn smiled as she declared the start of their ordeal. Climbing over the wall would be even harder than crossing the rocky mountain.

First, though, they had to get right up to the wall, which was its own challenge. Enkrid raised his head, gauging the height of the wall ahead.

It looked like quite the ordeal. But there was no turning back now.

“Let’s go.”

He silently followed behind Finn.