A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

Running and laughing, this time the opponent was not a magic mirror but a monster active at the base of the Pen-Hanil Mountain Range.

Including this monster, wasn’t it called the three great disasters of Border Guard?

In reality, it was a serious problem not only for the royal palace but even for Border Guard itself. However, it was not seen as a disaster.

It was a nickname given by the local villagers and merchants, whispered amongst themselves.

To them, it was indeed a disaster.

If you included breaks, it would take two days to reach the location.

“Shall we run?”

Enkrid asked, though it was a question with an obvious answer.

What’s the point of wasting time?

If it takes two days to walk, we can run and get there.

That would cut the time in half.

“Let’s do it.”

Leading the charge, Rem nodded, and the entire party followed suit.

Enkrid ran at a moderate pace, not full speed, but enough to get them there swiftly.

Behind him, everyone followed.

Shinar marveled at the man's drive.

'To run like that.'

It was an unconventional approach that would not even cross most people’s minds.

They had the stamina and recklessness to shorten a two-day journey to half a day, and they actually did it.

In training his soldiers, making them run relentlessly was no vain task.

Quick marching was the most essential task in any army.

It was only natural that those giving the orders should be able to run better than anyone else.

Who would follow someone who hasn’t proven their abilities?

They continued to run, quickly reaching the base of the mountain range where Green Pearl was visible to the northeast of Border Guard.

The third low-grade magic mirror was controlled by five trolls.

These creatures had made the Pen-Hanil Mountain Range their base of operations.

In reality, it wasn’t a magic mirror, but the real issue was that these five trolls used the vast mountain range as their hideout, roaming freely.

Though it was called a low-grade magic mirror, the five monsters acted as if the entire area was their domain.

They would watch merchant caravans, waiting for an opportunity to strike and pillage, and at night, they’d raid nearby villages.

Even last year, three merchant caravans had been wiped out by them.

If the guards escorting the merchants were just a little short in number, these creatures would spot them in an instant.

On the other hand, if the merchants were well-prepared and chased them, the trolls would vanish like smoke.

They were a pack of monsters with the hunting instincts of a predator.

According to those who had seen them, they were armed with sturdy wooden clubs and would blend into the brush to remain hidden.

They were intelligent and knew how to hunt.

These kinds of monsters were the hardest to deal with.

The first challenge was finding them.

Enkrid recalled Kraiss’ advice.

It was about how to deal with the Troll Brothers.

“We’ll bait them out somehow.”

Naturally, Kraiss had a plan, but Enkrid found it rather tedious.

‘Too much trouble.’

Enkrid thought.

“Can you track them?”

He asked, choosing a simpler method.

He directed the question at Dunbakel.

“Not by scent. There’s a foul stench mixed in.”

The beastmen were natural trackers. Their sense of smell was even more precise than that of fairies.

However, Dunbakel shook his head.

The Troll Brothers had made sure to eliminate any trace of their scent, using the mountains as a cover and covering themselves in sap to mask their smell.

“If we keep chasing, I can distinguish the scent, but…”

“How long would it take?”

“Well, maybe a month?”

Dunbakel wasn’t sure.

It could take longer than a month.

“I’ll chase them.”

Rem stepped forward.

He scratched his ear, casually surveying the mountain's edge.

Enkrid didn’t know much about Rem’s past.

He knew a bit, but not in detail.

However, when Rem said he would do something, it meant he could do it.

Enkrid himself had done some tracking in the past, and had even worked as a bounty hunter, but that didn’t mean he was exceptional at it compared to others.

He had just done the basics.

Learning tracking techniques from the hunter Enkrid back in Green Pearl had been more helpful, but even then, it wouldn’t be easy to track down five trolls who had been running around.

These five monsters weren’t ordinary creatures.

Just as not all humans were the same, monsters were all different.

Ghouls weren’t the same.

The bugs called Bell weren’t the same either.

What about the Werewolf Men?

There was variation even within species.

Among these, the five trolls were particularly specialized in hunting and hiding.

“If I chase them, we’ll catch them, so just kill them.”

Though it sounded easy and casual, it wasn’t a simple task.

“I’ll help too.”

Shinar readily volunteered.

Fairies were beings adapted to their natural environments.

For her, forests and mountains were an easy environment to navigate.

For instance, if she had met that knight from earlier in the forest, she wouldn’t have been easily overwhelmed.

She might not have been able to knock him down or overpower him with strength, but she was sure she wouldn’t have been an easy target.

All battles are understood only when the sword meets the enemy’s.

Shinar had come to realize that from observing Enkrid.

He didn’t give up, even if the outcome was already clear.

Looking back, she liked that about him, which was probably why she had suggested the sparring match from the beginning.

“Fine.”

Rem shook his head.

The approach was different.

That would require time to synchronize their movements.

A waste of time.

Shinar nodded in agreement.

It would be enough for her to handle it alone.

Even if the trolls were extraordinary, they were up against a group of extraordinary individuals.

“How long?”

Enkrid began to feel a musty odor on himself.

Spring had come, but mornings and evenings were still cold.

He had washed his face and hands but hadn’t bathed.

It was uncomfortable.

So he wanted to wrap things up quickly and head back.

Though he could endure the discomfort, not washing would make him vulnerable to disease.

Therefore, washing was important.

The rest seemed to share the same sentiment.

Except for Dunbakel.

She was a beastwoman with a keen sense of smell, but she didn’t like to bathe.

The two traits coexisted, which was absurd to Enkrid, but he couldn’t force her to bathe if she didn’t want to.

He could only make her do it through force.

The others all agreed with Enkrid’s request.

“Let’s start a fire and mess around.”

Rem said, walking toward the mountain range.

Though he seemed to be walking slowly, he suddenly disappeared into the woods.

“Let’s grill some jerky.”

Enkrid said after seeing Rem disappear.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

One should make good use of their rest time.

“Indeed.”

Audin and the others set up camp, and Shinar dug a hole beneath a large tree, gathering dry leaves like twigs.

Thanks to gathering dry branches in her pockets along the way, she didn’t need to gather them separately.

Travel required diligence and preparation.

In that sense, they were all prepared travelers.

Even after the squad that had greeted them left, no one faced any discomfort during the camping.

None of them had wandered the continent without gaining experience.

Everyone did their part.

Audin brought back long branches and carefully stripped the bark off with his palms.

It was always a fascinating skill.

Rather than washing them with water, he made clean skewers.

Meanwhile, Dunbakel came back, her nose twitching as she entered the forest at the edge of the mountain range, returning with a few squirrels.

At this point, Enkrid took the lead.

He took out a small pot from his backpack, and while Dunbakel skinned the squirrels and drained their blood, Shinar made a fire.

It was a smokeless campfire made by digging a hole.

She, too, was a skilled fairy.

“Fire is mystical.”

She commented while working.

Though it was a strange thing to say after warning about the stove every time.

Enkrid placed the squirrels with drained blood into the pot, took out a clean cloth, and smashed them completely.

After crushing the brain and innards, he sprinkled a little salt and pepper and shaped them into meatballs.

Then, he took out a water flask, poured just enough water into the pot, and placed it over the fire to boil.

Once the broth was simmering, he added the meatballs and some seasoned jerky.

The seasoned jerky itself acted as a seasoning.

As the broth simmered, a savory aroma spread.

It was a cooking method he had learned from Rem.

The western people claimed they could eat animals from head to tail.

“Delicious.”

Audin flashed a smile that was deeper than usual.

No matter how inhumanly powerful one is, they still need to eat well.

Enkrid thought to himself.

Does being a knight mean you don’t get hungry?

Willpower is mysterious, but it doesn’t solve hunger.

As training added more muscle to the body, the hunger only grew stronger.

“Let’s eat.”

The well-cooked squirrel meatballs, jerky, and seasoned broth were excellent.

Taking a bite, the rich flavor quickly filled his mouth.

There was no fishy taste, only umami.

The soft meatball and warm broth comforted him, while the soaked jerky provided a delightful chew.

It was essentially a stew made on the spot.

“It sticks to the tongue nicely,” Dunbakel commented.

Everyone agreed.

Enkrid drank the broth and chewed on the meatball.

The umami and meaty flavor of the meatball combined with the jerky to reveal its true essence.

It was really not bad.

Enkrid wasn’t particularly skilled at cooking, but he had eaten a lot of delicious food.

Naturally, this had helped him develop a knack for making things himself.

After everyone had eaten their fill, they spent the rest of the time keeping warm by the fire.

Enkrid took out his sword and repeated the motion of gripping and releasing, reflecting on what he had learned.

He was contemplating the cutting technique Audin had just shown him.

‘The key is in the grip strength.’

Hold loosely, then apply force when striking.

It’s not about speed but about transferring power effectively.

Thinking about it again, it was a technique that was hard to share with others.

Not everything in the world can be described as straight, heavy, deceptive, fast, or smooth.

The swordsmanship perfected by the genius Leonecis Oniac from the past had now branched out in different directions.

Some even developed their own ways of practicing the sword.

This technique seemed to be something derived from that.

‘Focus the power of the strike into one point.’

Was that all?

Then how do you focus the power?

What does the striking power mean?

As he pondered, questions arose.

Rather than seeking answers from others, Enkrid lost himself in the study.

It was difficult, but he was beginning to grasp it.

It was different from before.

He had already reached the level where he could create sword techniques based on his own experience.

He had even grasped the fragments of Will.

Now, Enkrid had reached a point where he could no longer discuss past talents.

But that didn’t mean he knew all the principles.

He had received the knight’s sword, but he hadn’t understood everything about it.

Did that make it a problem?

No, it wasn’t.

‘You don’t need to know everything.’

You just need to realize part of it and move forward from there.

He had walked a path without anything before.

Now, he was walking a well-paved road with signposts.

Enkrid swung his sword through the air again and again, trying to comprehend the technique.

It wasn’t just the grip strength that mattered.

It was about exploding the muscles in an instant.

How to do that?

First, relax the muscles, then tighten them.

How do you transfer that to the weapon in hand?

You channel the tension into the muscles and move it into the grip with a gentle yet firm motion.

‘Without the technique of isolation, I couldn’t learn this.’

That was the conclusion.

Therefore, he could learn it.

He already had the “body” built through the technique of isolation.

“Impressive.”

Audin muttered, watching from the side.

Enkrid looked up and met his eyes.

The soldier, who usually greeted him with a smile like that of a bear, now had a straight line for his mouth.

He was genuinely surprised.

The technique Enkrid was learning was part of the academy’s martial arts training.

In the war academy, different factions’ techniques were mixed, and Enkrid had revived one of them.

The technique was called "Moar Turtling."

It was a modified version of an old technique, and Enkrid had thought it would be difficult to grasp the principles behind it, but from the way Audin watched, it seemed like Enkrid had figured it out.

“Is it possible?”

Audin asked.

“Repetition is necessary.”

Enkrid answered.

Knowing something and being able to implement it with your body are two different things.

Even so, knowing it was surprising.

Audin thought he would never be surprised again, but this really caught him off guard.

He had seen Enkrid learning martial arts from Rem.

His talent was imbalanced.

It was the extreme of irrationality.

A strange inconsistency.

When learning, he seemed poor at it, but at the most unreasonable moments, he surpassed the next level.

He couldn’t explain the process in words.

It literally made no sense.

Was he exceptionally talented?

No, it couldn’t be said that way.

What he had was strange and unique.

It was close to something mystical.

But this time, it was different.

Enkrid was grunting and delving deeper into it, learning.

He could see the process.

He didn’t stop once he understood the principle, thinking it through continuously.

It was the power of persistence.

From the moment he showed the “Moar Turtling” technique, Enkrid had likely kept it in his mind ever since.

He had said he would learn everything, but his focus was on his own version of the technique.

Learning was impressive, and prioritizing his own technique was a wise and commendable choice.

“Hehehe.”

Audin laughed.

“Still a long way to go.”

Enkrid answered.

The sun was beginning to set, and it was the time when they might stay another night.

Before Enkrid could answer, a distant growl echoed faintly in the distance.

It was the troll’s beastly roar.

Shinar, who had been poking at the fire with small branches, muttered as the flames scattered.

“Be careful with the fire.”

Why was this fairy so particular?

Enkrid stood up slowly, but before him, someone else had already dashed out like the wind.

“I’ll go ahead, brother.”

The voice was unusually cheerful and bright.

Hmm?

Before Enkrid could speak, Audin burst into laughter.

“What’s going on, you crazy guy?”

From the opposite side, Rem’s voice echoed.

Before long, the sound of footsteps grew louder as they approached.

The trolls were visible in the distance.

Two of them wielding clubs, while the other three gripped spears, holding them in reverse.

It seemed that Rem, as if to give his back, was luring them, preparing to throw the spear the moment they found an opening.

Audin, laughing as he came, stopped in his tracks, and the two trolls, seeing that, threw their spears.

The spears cut through the air, using full body tension to launch.

The sound of them slicing through the air followed.