A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

A few small-scale battles had subtly altered the atmosphere of the battlefield.

"Are they fighting or not?"

The Black Blades and the cultists' army couldn't help but wonder.

They had expected fierce battles, but it felt like all the momentum had been drained. It had happened over a dozen times now.

But charging in recklessly wasn’t an option either.

"The Master of the Demonic Realm has said—never trust thieves."

It was obvious that the Black Blades were up to something behind the scenes. The Tarnin Viscount’s forces were no different.

"Don't engage first. Just hold the line."

"Ah, are they attacking again today? Don’t they ever get tired of this?"

At Lykanos's remark, Tarnin stuffed a piece of jerky into his bread and grumbled.

He was someone who never stopped eating, not even for a moment.

The tension that had existed before was gone.

The Border Guard standing army had been acting so erratically that it was only natural for the enemy to lower their guard.

But Lykanos was different.

"Something's wrong."

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, but years of experience on the battlefield told him that the enemy was up to something unusual.

A deep sense of unease gripped him.@@novelbin@@

An intense, overwhelming dread.

The Fat Viscount beside him was rambling on about something again.

Something along the lines of "We should just attack and finish them off already! We outnumber them!"—nonsense.

"Shut up."

Lykanos wasn't the kind of fool who ignored his instincts.

The viscount screeched something back at him, but he ignored it.

"Prepare for defense."

Lykanos had no choice but to stick to the same strategy.

There was no other way. Neither the cultists nor the Azpen forces could be trusted.

Getting stabbed in the back?

"That wouldn't be very fitting for the Black Blades."

His faction was destined to become the continent’s greatest band of thieves.

A group like that couldn't afford to get caught in an obvious trap.

And so, beneath a cleared sky, with crisp winter sunlight shining down, another day of battle dawned.

***

"Pain stands before me!"

"Kill the pain!"

Bell found the battle cries growing stranger by the day, but before he knew it, he was shouting along with them.

"A pain worth dying for!"

It had gotten even more bizarre, but it wasn’t just the chants that had changed.