Eternally Regressing Knight - Chapter 163
On the first evening, while Encrid was immersed in training, the village chief sent dinner to their hut.
A red-haired woman delivered the meal. She looked to be a couple of years younger than Encrid.
“Please, enjoy your meal.”
She was quick to defend the village chief.
“He doesn’t mean any harm by it.”
“It’s fine,” Encrid replied indifferently.
At that, the woman’s face brightened.
“I’m Shai.”
“Alright.”
With that brief exchange, Shai blushed and hurried away.
Behind him, Krys murmured,
“As expected, a natural-born charmer. You and I should really open a salon together.”
If Krys ever founded an order of knights, it would probably end up with a name like Swallow Knights or Host Knights.
Maybe then Encrid would consider it.
For now, he ignored him.
When it came to talks of charisma, silence was the best response.
The meal wasn’t extravagant—just plain bread, a watery stew, roasted beans, and corn.
It was enough to fill their stomachs.
Expecting meat would be greedy at this point.
As for Frok, no special meals were provided, so Ruagarne ate raw vegetables instead.
Crunch.
“Vegetables with worm holes are the best—there’s a little extra flavor inside,” she remarked while chewing on a dandelion leaf full of holes.
She had an odd affection for insects when they appeared in her food.
Encrid wasn’t disgusted.
It took more than that to faze him.
Neither Finn nor Krys were bothered either.
Finn, as a Ranger, believed that if it came from the earth and moved, it could be eaten.
And Krys had endured plenty of hardships in his life.
What were a few bugs in the grand scheme of things?
Encrid was no different.
After finishing their meal, they rested until nightfall.
And then, as usual—more training.
“Do you never get tired of this?” Krys muttered.
Encrid ignored him and continued training.
Since there was no proper bathhouse, they washed at the village well.
With the weather warming up, a cold rinse felt refreshing.
Afterward, Encrid checked his equipment.
His sword had been worn down from excessive practice, so he focused on sharpening the blade.
Using animal fat, he wiped down the blade, then polished it with leather and a clean cloth.
There was still a faint metallic scent, but that was better than letting the blade rust.
Checking for nicks or dents, he found none.
‘Impressive.’
Once again, he appreciated the craftsmanship of the Border Guard’s blacksmiths.
Just because Valerian steel and Noir iron were available didn’t mean just anyone could forge a good sword.
Even if those materials weren’t used in large amounts, a well-made blade was a rare thing.
Thus, the first day passed.
—
The next morning, as always, Encrid was up at dawn, practicing Isolation Technique and training.
Finn, unable to sleep due to too many naps, went out for scouting patrol.
The moon was still visible, but she only planned to survey the area.
A typical Ranger habit—mapping out the terrain in her mind.
By the time sunrise approached, a man with short, rough hair approached Encrid.
His left eye was missing, and a scar ran across his face.
He carried a broad-bladed glaive in one hand.
“My name is Deutsch Pullman.”
The one-eyed mercenary spoke in a slow, deliberate manner.
Encrid continued his training.
Deutsch studied him briefly before saying,
“Heard you’re the commander sent here.”
“I am.”
Encrid responded without stopping his swings.
Deutsch kept watching.
What the hell was he even doing?
Slow, deliberate strikes.
A wooden sword cutting through the air at a measured pace.
Over and over.
“Are you busy?”
“Not particularly.”
Is this guy mocking me?
Deutsch frowned.
Why was this man so indifferent?
He had approached to see if this commander from the Border Guard was here to interfere with the village’s affairs.
But this reaction—
‘Just endure it.’
There was no reason to pick a fight yet.
—
“The outer palisade is coated in beast repellent. Strong enough to keep most monsters out.”
“Noted.”
“We organize raiding squads regularly to cull the beasts. So far, we’ve handled it without issue.”
“Noted.”
“I personally recruited over thirty men and expanded the militia through rigorous training.”
“Noted.”
“I also oversee the quarry operations.”
“Noted.”
“We have watchtowers where my men stand guard in shifts, day and night.”
“Noted.”
…What the hell is wrong with this guy?
At this point, Deutsch couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
He had expected this Border Guard commander to poke around, look for weaknesses, and assert control.
But instead, this man seemed…
Completely uninterested.
This wasn’t arrogance.
It wasn’t a show of superiority.
He just didn’t care.
No push for authority.
No attempt to interrogate the village’s defenses.
If Encrid had been here to pressure them, he should’ve been challenging their preparations.
But instead—
‘This guy’s strange.’
Maybe it was his eyes.
They were too calm—or maybe just vacant.
Even now, he seemed half-lost in thought, swinging his wooden sword at nothing.
So this was the guy who had been dueling a Frok for fun?
If that was true—
Then why the hell was he even here?
Deutsch’s mind raced, searching for a hidden agenda.
Eventually, he spoke again.
“You’re here to train, aren’t you?”
“Half of my purpose, yes.”
This time, Encrid actually looked at him before responding.
Deutsch had only asked on a whim, yet the answer had been entirely sincere.
“You know, we already took care of the beast colony.”
“Noted.”
Let it be.
Something about this wasn’t normal.
At the very least, Deutsch now understood that Encrid hadn’t come here to seize control.
Whatever his true intentions were, time would reveal them.
“Captain, we’ve got monsters.”
One of his subordinates called out.
A recent recruit, sharp and quick-witted—one who paid attention to every detail.
“Oh, got it.”
Deutsch turned and left.
Meanwhile, Encrid kept training, and Deutsch returned to his duties, tightening the village’s defenses and maintaining constant vigilance over the surrounding area.
The beast colony had already been cleared before their arrival.
What was left?
‘A bunch of mutts.’
A mere pack of twenty hyena beasts—hardly anything worth worrying about.
What they didn’t know—
Was how many monsters Encrid had already slaughtered on his way here.
They were also unaware of the trail of beast corpses leading toward the village.
Or that one of the Black Blade Bandit factions had been completely wiped out.
Deutsch had been expecting bandits.
Day after day, he had received reports, waiting for raiders to show up.
Pioneer villages were prime targets—opportunists always lurked, hoping for hidden treasures.
But there had been no movement.
Everything was proceeding too smoothly.
‘Guess I’m lucky.’
Maybe the goddess of fortune had smiled upon him without him realizing.
But on the third day of the Border Guard’s arrival—
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!
The alarm bells shattered the morning mist.
‘Bandits?’
Deutsch shot up, gripping his weapon.
The One-Eyed Glaive was about to prove its worth.
He kicked the door open and stepped outside.
“Everyone—urk!”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence before instinctively raising his weapon.
CLANG!
Steel clashed against steel.
A battle axe struck his glaive, sending a shuddering vibration down its wooden shaft.
“Hrah!”
With a roar, he swung the glaive, smashing his opponent aside.
THUD!
The monster tumbled sideways.
What the hell?
Deutsch was momentarily stunned.
He hadn’t even put his armor on yet—but the village was already swarming with monsters.
“Guooooooook!”
A creature groaned in pain.
A long-bodied, spotted-skinned humanoid writhed on the ground.
A gnoll.
If it had been just one, there wouldn’t have been an issue.
He would have cracked its skull, reported it, and gone back to bed.
Even if there were five or six gnolls along with a few hyena beasts, that would have warranted ringing the alarm—but nothing more.
But this—
“Aaaaagh!”
“Fight back! Don’t retreat!”
“Shoot, shoot, shoot!”
“Help! Please, help!”
“Guhhh!”
“Kugh!”
The air was filled with desperate screams and death cries.
In the chaos, Deutsch caught glimpses of his men—but couldn’t even tell what state they were in.
Too many.
A wave of hyena beasts and gnolls was pouring in like a tidal surge.
“Guooooook!”
The gnoll in front of Deutsch howled.
Five more appeared.
Gnolls hunted in packs—that cry had been a summoning call.
“Hrah!”
Deutsch fought furiously.
Four gnolls wielding hand axes, and one armed with a spear.
He cleaved through two of them, splitting their skulls.
But—
“Guooooooooooook!”
Another howl.
More were coming.
“This is insane.”
This wasn’t just a dangerous fight.
This was death.
There was no escape.
This was the edge of the cliff—and he knew he wouldn’t survive.
—
Encrid had always woken at dawn.
‘Not enough time.’
For a genius, one swing of the sword was enough.
For someone with ordinary talent, it took ten swings.
For Encrid—if ten wasn’t enough, then he would swing a hundred.
If a hundred wasn’t enough, then a thousand.
No matter how much effort he put in, he had never felt like it was rewarded—
Until now.
‘Ah.’
Small revelations.
Hidden traces of Ruagarne’s guidance embedded in his training.
He dissected them, absorbed them, and understood the flavor of learning.
His sword moved accordingly.
Every day felt new.
It had always been like that, but even more so recently.
Most of all—
Even during Isolation Technique practice, realization struck.
‘Coordination.’
The moment one sees and feels—the body reacts.
A difference in reaction speed.
Perception of Evasion was based on that concept.
But ordinary training wasn’t enough to ingrain it into the body.
So what did he need?
‘Even if I die, I’ll do it.’
A kill-or-be-killed mindset.
If Heart of the Beast gave him boldness instead of composure—
Then Encrid had reached a realization.
All he needed was a small push.
Right at that moment—
“Guooooooook!”
An ominous presence spread through the air.
Just as the morning blue light faded—
Screams.
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!
The emergency alarm bells rang.
“Attack! Monsters! MONSTERS!”
…Huh?
Encrid had focused on training, but Krys had been surveying the village in the meantime.
“The palisade is pretty sturdy. If something happens, the village should be able to hold out.”
“No siege weapons like trebuchets or mangonels, but the palisade was clearly built to endure. In other words—”
When asked if the village could survive a major threat, Krys had answered:
“It’s fine. If things go south, reinforcements will arrive from another city. They could hold out for over a month if they really had to.”
The implication was that even a beast colony wouldn’t break through.
But—
“No, big eyes.”
Encrid muttered.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“Guooooooook!”
The sound of pounding feet, the cloud of dust—the monstrous charge.
They weren’t even breathing—just sprinting forward.
There were too many to count.
A flood of beasts and monsters.
“Grrrrrr!”
“Kaaaaaah!”
Their cries intertwined, their howls exchanged—as they trampled the roads built by humans.
A gnoll’s axe came crashing down onto a market stall.
CRACK!
Splinters of shattered wood flew through the air.
“Aaaaaah!”
A human scream overlapped with the destruction.
Gnolls and hyena beasts.
The danger of gnoll monsters—several key points flashed through Encrid’s mind.
First, they hunted in packs. Even a single gnoll usually led a group of hyena beasts.
That made them a nightmare to deal with.
Second, each individual gnoll was incredibly dangerous.
Third, gnolls formed pairs—but only with hyena beasts.
Thoughts were thoughts.
The body had its own priorities.
Encrid drew his sword and stepped forward.
Behind him—
The village workers who had been laboring behind his hut.
The militia, including Deutsch, were stationed closer to the village center.
That meant there were hardly any fighters here.
“Uhh… uh, uhhhhh?!”
Behind him, a quarry worker who had come out to relieve himself stumbled backward, falling flat on his rear in terror.
“Rua!”
Encrid shouted half of Ruagarne’s name in urgency as he swung his sword.