Eternally Regressing Knight - Chapter 30: The Moment Darkness Becomes a Friend

When does darkness become your friend?

The answer was simple.

When you’re in a place you know well.

A place where you have a clear grasp of the terrain, as if it were your own backyard.

Ideally, a place where you’ve spent a lot of time recently.

Even being able to vaguely see your surroundings can help you orient yourself.

It’s even better if it’s a place you’ve used for night training, like up until yesterday.

That’s where Encrid found himself now.

Ordinarily, it would be an unfamiliar place.

“This is…”

Ordinarily, you would be surprised at this sight.

“Damn it.”

Ordinarily, you would despair at the sight of the enemy’s scale.

But none of this applied to Encrid.

He had been here many times already.

He hadn’t just been here; he had rolled around and fought here repeatedly.

Each time, the team accompanying him varied slightly.

But the core group was similar.

Andrew and the rough-looking soldier, Enri, and the other squad members.

Among them, the two thuggish soldiers had been particularly helpful.

They had emerged from the tall grass, and an unexpected scene lay before them.

Some squad members thought the blocked retreat route to the headquarters meant this way was the real escape route.

Enri was one of those who thought this.

He had as good a sense of direction as the rough-looking soldier.

He hadn’t been a plains hunter for nothing.

Enri assumed that since the enemy was ambushed in the grass, this side might be empty.

He was wrong.

And that made it all the more despairing.

Enri felt his legs giving way.

Fwoosh.

The first thing he saw was a burning torch stand.

Then he saw a wide, thick tent partially illuminated by the firelight.

The moment he saw it, Enri stepped back.

As he looked around, more structures came into view.

Tents.

Why are there tents here?

He turned his head, following the dim light, and saw more torches alongside the tents.

He counted at least ten torch stands.

The gaps between the torches were wide enough that they could barely see their surroundings.

With the moonlight and torchlight intertwined, their vision cleared further.

What they saw were tents.

At least twenty tents stretched along the side of the tall grass.

This was the enemy’s camp.

Opposite their own headquarters, it was the camp of the Duchy of Azpen.

“What the hell is this?”

One of the thuggish soldiers instinctively whispered.

“Damn, where did we end up?”

Enri spoke in a defeated tone.

“Shh, quiet.”

At that moment, the rough-looking soldier reacted the quickest.

If they were discovered by sentries, they would be engaged in battle immediately.

Which meant instant death.

They could see not just the torchlight but also the flicker of moving lights further away.

Everyone knew those were the torches carried by sentries.

“Shut your mouths.”

The rough-looking soldier said, surveying their surroundings.

If they made a wrong move, they’d die. In a moment of crisis, a veteran’s experience shines through.

He acted based on his experience.

Lowering his stance, he tried to detect the sentries.

He tried to hide as much as possible, assess the situation, and find an escape route. With luck, it might be possible.

It was nighttime, and although it wasn’t his intention, they had moved in a direction far from what the enemy expected.

They were deep within enemy territory, close enough to touch the tents, but if they didn’t get caught, there was a chance to escape.

That was his assessment.

If you kept your wits about you, you could survive even in the middle of a horde of monsters.

“Don’t draw your weapons, and stay low.”

He acted as if he were the leader.

Most of the squad followed his instructions.

Except for two.

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

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

It must have been beneficial to have been beaten up.

The guy who got beaten and lost his squad leader position was the only one siding with Encrid.

“Now isn’t the time for jokes.”

The rough-looking soldier turned back with a hunched posture.

His voice was low, but it had the force of a growling beast.

He was in a hurry.

This was deep in enemy territory.

It was a far more dangerous situation than meeting the ambushed enemy in the tall grass.

Right now, if a spearhead popped out from behind this tent, it would make sense.

Thinking in this situation was pointless.

The rough-looking soldier’s reaction was reasonable.

In fact, Encrid had looked at this soldier many times and thought the same thing.

‘He’s no ordinary soldier.’

His skill, experience, judgment, and actions.

None of them were on the level of a mere soldier.

If Encrid weren’t here, if he hadn’t repeated today,

he would have let this man lead the squad and fight tooth and nail.

But now there was no need.

The other squad members didn’t know, but the route here was entirely intentional by Encrid.

The timing, location, and everything.

He had already spent several nights here.

He had sacrificed many lives.

He had repeated today countless times.

In the tent in front of them were three dull soldiers fast asleep.

There was still time before they would encounter a patrolling soldier.

Knowing all this, Encrid acted.

Swish.

He drew his sword and sliced the tent wall.

The blade reflected the moonlight as it cut from bottom to top.

“You crazy bastard.”

The rough-looking soldier was startled.

At this moment, Andrew reacted to Encrid’s actions.

He swiftly entered the tent and drove his short sword into the neck of a startled enemy soldier.

Thud!

Encrid followed him inside.

He pressed his blade to the neck of a soldier trying to get up, causing the soldier to gasp and grasp at the blade in shock.

Encrid pressed down with his strength, slicing the neck.

Rip.

The sound of leather tearing, and the tent filled with the smell of blood.

The last enemy soldier was finished off by a thug soldier with a dagger to the heart.

“Gurgle, gurgle.”

The soldier with a dagger in his heart crawled and reached out.

He had a tenacious will to live.

The light from the tent entrance illuminated his reaching hand.

A shadow fell over it.

The rough-looking soldier.

He pinned the enemy soldier’s back with his knee, grabbed his neck, and twisted.

Crack.

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

“Hey, you.”

In the darkness, the rough-looking soldier’s eyes glowed.

He glared at Encrid.

They were lucky. Otherwise, they would have been surrounded and annihilated in the middle of enemy territory.

To him, this was a gamble.

“Move to the side.”

Encrid ignored his glare.

Before he could say anything, Encrid pointed with his sword.

“Hey, you crazy bastard.”

The rough-looking soldier spoke in a low voice.

His words were filled with desperate frustration and anger.

From his perspective, this was pure madness.

Encrid sliced and slashed the tent wall, turning his head slightly.

He showed no concern about being attacked from behind.

Despite the murderous aura emanating from the soldier.

Even in the middle of enemy territory with only a patrol team, the tension between them was electric.

Everyone watched the two with bated breath.

“Your name?”

“What?”

“Your name.”

Perhaps it was Encrid’s calm demeanor.

Or his unflinching response to the killing intent.

As Encrid continued slicing the tent, the rough-looking soldier answered.

“Call me Mac.”

He still didn’t lower his guard. Encrid averted his gaze and spoke.

“Mac, I won’t tolerate insubordination.”

“What?”

Rip.

Encrid finished slicing the tent wall and stepped out.

The others had no choice but to follow.

“Ugh, this is madness.”

Mac muttered to himself, locking eyes with Andrew.

“Yes, let’s go.”

Mac responded to Andrew’s look.

For now, they had to follow.

The next tent was empty.

All the soldiers seemed to be out on night guard duty.

‘Is that even possible?’

The tent was large enough to hold at least ten soldiers.

It could accommodate a squad, or even two if packed tightly.

The interior showed signs of more than ten soldiers.

“Forward.”

After passing the tent, the troublemaking squad leader didn’t even bother cutting the tent wall.

He peeked out from the tent entrance, looked around, and moved forward.

The squad followed.

By now, clouds had covered the moonlight.

The torchlight alone wasn’t enough to see the surroundings clearly.

They blinked several times, trying to adapt to the dark, but it remained pitch black.

Even in such darkness, Encrid moved without hesitation.

All they could hear was the sound of their breathing as they followed.

“This way.”

A voice echoed in the darkness. It wasn’t a whisper.

If there were enemies nearby, they could hear it.

Mac felt chills down his spine.

‘Is he really—’

But there was no sign of the enemy. No movements they hadn’t detected.

If they had been found, they would have heard someone shouting.

Encrid moved again.

By now, even Mac was losing his sense of direction.

In the tall grass, the sun had been up, so navigation was easy. But now, it was dark all around.

‘Does he know where he’s going?’

It seemed so. Encrid’s steps showed no hesitation.

He moved until he saw two torch stands by a tent in the distance and stopped.

Encrid used a nearby tree as cover and gestured towards the squad.

In the dim light, his hand signals were barely visible.

Mac felt as if they were being guided by a ghost.

‘How far have we walked?’

He didn’t know exactly. But judging by the number of tents, they had covered a significant distance through the enemy camp.

‘We’ve penetrated this far?’

It seemed they had indeed infiltrated the enemy camp.

And yet, no one had noticed them? How could that be?

It was only natural for Mac to feel like they were under some sort of supernatural spell.

“Wait here.”

Encrid turned back and whispered.

It was a soft, barely audible command.

Glancing towards the tent Encrid pointed out, Mac saw four soldiers guarding it.

The enemy camp was eerily quiet for nighttime, but that tent seemed bustling.

Whoosh.

The wind blew, causing the torchlight to flicker and the shadows of the soldiers to dance.

Someone emerged from the tent, talking to the guards. Though the words were inaudible from the distance, the guards’ nodding indicated they were receiving instructions.

‘What are they guarding?’

So, this troublemaking squad leader had come for this?

Mac finally understood the situation, or at least he thought he did. A sudden realization struck him like lightning.

‘A secret mission.’

A mission known only to the troublemaking squad leader, excluding himself and the other squad members.

It must have earned him the commander’s trust.

Mac recalled what Andrew had mentioned.

The company commander had ordered the troublemaking squad leader to join them.

Now everything made sense.

Encrid, the squad leader, was on a secret mission.

‘So that’s what it was?’

It was a misunderstanding.

Mac felt a small epiphany but didn’t voice it.

Even if Encrid knew there was a misunderstanding, he wouldn’t have bothered to explain.

There was something more urgent to attend to.

“We’re going to set that tent on fire.”

Encrid pointed.

The tent guarded by four soldiers.