Eternally Regressing Knight - Chapter 34: Why Go That Far?

“Is your idea of reconnaissance different from the one I know?”

Rem asked, twirling the axe in his hand.

“What do you mean?”

“You look like you came back half-dead.”

“It’s just a scratch on my side.”

“If that’s a scratch, then a cut means you’re dead?”

Rem chuckled as he spoke.

This guy hadn’t changed at all.

Then again, how much could someone change in just a few days?

While it felt like months for Encrid, for them, not even a week had passed.

“I almost died, I guess.”

Encrid replied, feeling the wound on his side with his hand.

In truth, he had experienced death countless times, but he couldn’t exactly say that.

“Let me see.”

Jaxson approached and lifted Encrid’s shirt to examine the wound. Encrid turned his body to make it easier for him to take a look.

“What do you know about wounds?”

Rem grumbled, but Jaxson ignored him and inspected the injury.

“It’s nothing serious.”

Encrid said.

“The bone isn’t damaged, but if you underestimate a light wound, it could cause problems.”

Jaxson’s words were accurate.

“I’ve already applied some ointment.”

“That’s good.”

Jaxson nodded approvingly.

“So, you got into a fight during the reconnaissance?”

Big Eyes Krys asked, eyeing Encrid’s disheveled appearance.

His hair was greasy, and dark circles had formed under his eyes from marching right after the battle without any rest.

During the mission, he hadn’t had a proper chance to wash, eat, or drink enough, so it was only natural that he looked worse for wear.

‘A fight? I practically stirred up a hornet’s nest in the enemy camp.’

Encrid didn’t see the need to explain everything, so he just nodded vaguely.

Having immediately stumbled upon Rem and Ragna’s fight upon returning, his body was now drenched in sweat again and felt heavy.

So now was the time to—

“Got anything to eat? And some water?”

—eat and rest.

He wanted to practice with his sword immediately, but his current physical state limited what he could do.

Besides, after seeing the enemy forces gathered in the tall grass, it seemed unlikely that this battle would end just yet.

In other words, he’d probably have to return to the battlefield soon, so he needed to recover.

“Go wash up. I’ll prepare a royal feast for you.”

Rem said with a grin.

Encrid nodded and headed toward the nearby stream.

It wasn’t for nothing that the infantry camp had been set up here. The stream behind the camp made it easy to get drinking water and to wash.

As soon as he dipped his hand into the water, a chill ran up his arm.

‘It’s getting colder.’

It was that time of year.

Encrid quickly washed his face, then stripped down to clean the blood, sweat, and grime off his body.

‘That guy…’

As he washed, his mind naturally wandered back to the events of the recent mission.

The tall grass, the ambush, the flagpole, and finally, the man with the sword and torch.

‘I feel like I’ll run into him again.’

It was the kind of gut feeling that he couldn’t avoid facing that guy again.

‘Is this the wall he mentioned?’

Hadn’t the ferryman with no eyes said it? That an endless wall would stand before him.

But he wasn’t worried. If a wall blocked his path, he would just climb over it.

To be honest, he was almost looking forward to it.

He was still disappointed he hadn’t had a proper showdown with that guy.

Of course, he knew he’d be the one to die if it came down to a fight, but he didn’t want to avoid it.

He wanted to face him.

The moment he saw that guy, an intense desire to fight and win had flared up inside him.

Sometimes, you meet someone like that.

It’s like falling in love at first sight, except instead of wanting to be with them, you want to defeat them.

When he finished cleaning up and returned, a warm bowl of soup, some bread, and even some grilled meat skewers were waiting for him.

This wasn’t exactly a royal feast, but it was a rare treat on the battlefield.

“Rabbit?”

Encrid asked, and Rem puffed out his chest and spoke up.

“Personally prepared by yours truly.”

“No, I’m the one who caught it.”

Big Eyes shot him a glare.

“Right. Thanks.”

Encrid sat down and devoured the food as if he were starving.

“Every time I see you eat, I’m reminded of how much you love food.”

“You’ve got to eat well to have strength.”

“You’re the most unique person I’ve ever met.”

Rem crossed his arms, watching Encrid eat and making absurd remarks.

Here he was, in the troublemaker squad, being called unique by a guy whose hobby was beating up his comrades.

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from.”

Rem laughed heartily at that.

Afterward, the squad members dispersed to do their own things.

Jaxson went out saying he had some business to take care of, and Krys left to tend to his trading.

The religious fanatic began his prayers in one corner, while Rem, still laughing, loitered outside the tent with nothing better to do.

He was probably making some silly jokes to passing soldiers.

Meanwhile, Ragna stared silently at Encrid. Encrid could feel his gaze.

“What?”

Encrid asked, turning his head to look.

“Just looking.”

Ragna replied, lying on his side.

When Encrid tilted his head in confusion, Ragna shrugged it off and turned away.

He seemed like he had something to say, but Encrid didn’t press him.

From his experience leading the troublemaker squad, he knew that even if he asked now, Ragna wouldn’t say anything.

In cases like this, it was better to wait; Ragna would bring it up later if it was important.

And if he didn’t, then it was something to be ignored.

After returning from a mission, Encrid was exempt from sentry duty and meal preparation.

He ate well and slept deeply.

Jaxson’s ointment worked wonders, and the wound on his side healed quickly.

At this rate, two days of rest would be enough.

Even while resting, Encrid didn’t just sit idle.

‘I’ll lose ten times out of ten, but still…’

Encrid sat and mentally rehearsed sword strikes in his head.

First, he imagined fighting Rem, then Ragna, and finally, the enemy he encountered in the camp.

He pondered and pondered again.

An old swordmaster from a quiet coastal town had once told him:

“If you don’t want to die by a blind blade, there are two ways for you. One is to pray and pray again to the goddess of fortune.”

One way was to rely on luck.

“The second is to think and think again, endlessly.”

He said that if you fought with half your life on the line and survived, that fight became your asset.

That was something the old swordmaster often said.

So how do you survive a fight where half your life is at stake?

By thinking. By pondering. By considering every possible method.

If you face an enemy without a single thought in your head, then all you can do is rely on the first method.

And if you don’t want that, then you should be constantly thinking.

‘He was a good teacher.’

It was advice that had been perfect for the Encrid of that time.

And it was advice that still served him well today.

Encrid kept pondering.

How could he win?

At the very least, how could he avoid losing?

His desperate search for an answer led him to Valen-style mercenary swordsmanship.

Some called it a crude set of tricks, but this was the core of Encrid’s skill.

The Three Sword Technique, with its feints and headbutts, the quick-draw knife techniques, and even the use of thrown stones.

In practice, the techniques seemed absurd and underwhelming, but they were effective against an unprepared or less skilled opponent.

In his mind, Encrid swung his sword.

He took a stance, threw a stone.

He pretended to draw his sword, only to throw a knife instead.

Rem would block everything with his axe, and Ragna would dodge everything with his footwork.

The enemy with the sword and torch would ignore the flying stone and charge forward, piercing Encrid’s heart with his blade.

In reality, things might not go exactly as imagined, but at least in his mind, that’s how it played out.

‘Again.’

He pondered endlessly. Encrid spent an entire day lost in thought before finally falling asleep.

When he did fall asleep, he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He was exhausted after the grueling mission.

The next morning, Krys brought breakfast rations. A watery soup, salty dried jerky, and stale bread.

“You were on duty?”

“Yeah, you were sleeping like a log.”

“I was tired.”

Krys rolled his large eyes and asked.

“What happened? Tell me.”

Krys, or Big Eyes, was the information hub of the battlefield.

Encrid was about to explain but paused to think for a moment.

Then he decided there was no need to keep it a secret.

After all, it would become common knowledge soon enough, and no one had said it was classified.

Still, he didn’t go into too much detail and only mentioned that the enemy

was lying in ambush in the tall grass.

He didn’t feel like giving a lengthy explanation.

“Damn it. If they’re lying in ambush, they’re not planning on letting this go. But what’s the point of an ambush there?”

Big Eyes was clueless about strategy, but he sometimes hit the nail on the head.

‘It’s pointless.’

If the reconnaissance route hadn’t led them through there, they would have passed by unnoticed.

And if Encrid didn’t have the ability to repeat today, the reconnaissance team would have been wiped out.

Ambushes are a tactic used to prepare for an attack.

But the friendly forces weren’t advancing toward the tall grass.

So it was pointless.

That was exactly what Big Eyes was getting at.

“We don’t know yet.”

And that was the truth.

Encrid figured the higher-ups had some plan in the works.

One thing was certain: something was up.

The flagpole, the man guarding it…

Even the way the troops were positioned made it clear they were determined to annihilate any approaching enemy.

Normally, they wouldn’t deploy troops in that manner. So the conclusion was that the enemy was preparing for something.

“Damn, I thought this would be over soon.”

“Orders will probably come down within a day or two.”

Not long after their idle chatter, someone’s voice rang out from outside.

“Move out! 4th Company, we’re moving out!”

It was the voice of the 4th Platoon leader.

“Didn’t hurt your legs, did you?”

He popped his head into Encrid’s tent.

“Heard you had a hell of a time?”

“Where did you hear that?”

“The rumor’s everywhere. Something about you being the goddess of fortune’s hidden child.”

Encrid had attributed everything to luck, so it was only natural for people to react this way.

“Then who’s my dad?”

“Beats me.”

The lieutenant chuckled at Encrid’s joke.

“You must be tired, but we’re moving out. We’re heading east from the base, so let’s go.”

At that, Encrid dusted himself off and stood up.

If they were heading east, it meant toward the tall grass.

Since they knew about the ambush, they wouldn’t be entering the grass.

“Looks like there’s going to be a fight. The air feels different.”

Rem had snuck up beside him and spoke.

“Does it?”

“If you act cocky just because you’ve gotten better, you’ll end up dead, so be careful.”

Was that a warning or a curse?

It wasn’t just the 4th Company; the entire infantry battalion was on the move.

In other words, most of the infantry force deployed for this battle was now on the move.

With about forty soldiers per platoon, that meant approximately 600 infantrymen were moving out.

With a synchronized rhythm, the infantry began their march.

No battle took place that day.

After the move, they set up a temporary camp.

They lit fires and each took their positions.

No sane commander would order a charge into the tall grass, so it seemed like they were relocating the troops to be prepared for any situation.

After spending the day like that, the wound on Encrid’s side hardly bothered him anymore.

The next day, the order came for each squad to prepare their own meals.

The six squad members gathered and cooked a stew in a single pot.

“I caught a lizard on the way.”

Jaxson added the blood-drained lizard meat to the stew.

“That’s surprisingly thoughtful of you.”

Rem was genuinely pleased to see it.

Of course, Jaxson didn’t respond.

Rem grumbled about being ignored again, but Jaxson also ignored that.

‘They actually get along pretty well.’

One talks, and the other ignores him—they somehow make it work.

In the military, even just moving, eating, and resting was a job.

And as they moved and ate, Encrid couldn’t shake the feeling of a strange gaze on him.

Someone was watching him.

It was Ragna.

“You’re going to wear out my face.”

Encrid said casually, and Ragna looked away.

“No, it’s nothing.”

It was clear that Ragna had something on his mind.

Despite the tense atmosphere, as if a battle could break out any moment, another day passed.

In the meantime, Encrid tried to physically practice what he had been visualizing.

Some things were easier than expected, while others were more difficult.

He had been swinging his sword in a secluded corner since morning when Ragna approached and asked.

“Why go that far?”

It was a vague question.

But Encrid understood it perfectly.

It wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with someone who struggled to express themselves.

Ragna wasn’t exactly eloquent.

He had his own way of speaking.

So the listener had to be attentive.

In that sense, Encrid was well-suited to the task. He could roughly understand what Ragna was getting at.

Scratching his forehead, Encrid replied.