A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 531

Chapter 531: Chapter 526

Starting with the poisoned sand, multiple hidden tricks shot out from the hands of the Aspen’s charge leader.

Poisoned darts, throwing knives, and even caltrops cleverly scattered on the ground.

Caltrops made of spiked iron rolled toward Pel’s feet just as he was about to step.

Pel avoided them by landing only on the tips of his toes instead of his soles.

Dodging the poisoned sand, darts, knives, and caltrops made Pel lose his balance. The moment his foot touched the ground, his body tilted slightly to the left.

‘Got you!’

The charge leader, who had been waiting for this moment, drew a short sword and aimed its tip at Pel.

One strike, but it was a technique that could even work against a Junior-Knight.

It was an enchanted sword inscribed with spells. As the spell engraved on the pommel exploded, the short sword blade in his hand shot out from the hilt, tearing through the air.

Boom!

It was accompanied by a thunderous noise.

Just as the sword decoration seemed like it would attach itself to Pel’s body, his body floated in the air, parallel to the ground.

If Jaxon had been present, he would have known that the sound of Pel pushing off the ground came just before the boom from the sword. But no one here had such sensitive hearing.

Crack!

The blade fired by the spell grazed Pel’s side, but it did not touch his skin, only tearing through the light brown gambeson.

The layers of cloth and cotton stuffed inside the gambeson fell to the ground instead of entrails.

Coincidentally, the fallen clumps of cotton and cloth covered the guts of the Aspen Junior-Knight who had died just moments earlier.

Gray fur with a dull hue became the blanket of the dead.

Tap.

Pel landed on the ground again and stood up straight, holding his sword in front of his eyes.

Had he pretended to lose his balance from the beginning?

The charge leader, seeing his final trump card blocked, thought that his opponent was far more skilled than he was.

Why did he think that?

‘I can’t dodge that.’

Whether it was reflex or calculation, Pel had done something he couldn’t.

Of course, skill in a life-or-death battle is just one factor, not the whole.

The charge leader lowered his stance and grabbed the axe hanging from his waist.

“Hah.”

Pel sighed, looking up at the sky.

His gaze was not on the charge leader. He sighed once at the sky, once at the ground.

“Hah.”

The charge leader was ready to counter if his opponent rushed in, but Pel’s next words were absurd.

“Do you know?”

Know what?

“I understand everything now, but breaking the vessel and shell of the past isn’t always enjoyable.”

Pel’s gaze once again turned toward the sky as he spoke.

Pel had made a decision about how he would live from now on as he came to this battlefield. Born in the wilderness and raised as a shepherd, why was he here?

For what purpose did he stand on the battlefield?

This was the process of answering such questions.

‘It’s to move forward.’

He had seen those who pressed forward, not just with stubbornness but with blind determination.

There’s a saying: “When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”

Pel had seen Encrid and had passed through frustration and despair to reach where he was now.

There had been a time when he thought he would quickly catch up just with his talent.

“There are so many things in this world. And sometimes, as we live, we face things we never imagined.”

Though it wasn’t moonlit or a scorching noon, nor was it dawn, sometimes people get intoxicated by something.

Pel had found his answer, but he was drunk on sentiment. He sighed once more,

“Hah.”

Now, he had to forget the past and embrace tomorrow’s self.

Though his resolve was firm, he knew the process would not be easy, even without thinking deeply.

“…Did he eat something wrong?”

The Aspen’s charge leader mumbled to himself, subtly shifting his hips back. The guy seemed insane, no matter how he looked at it.

Pel lowered his head and looked at the charge leader.

The words he had just said struck a chord in Pel’s chest.

“That seems to be the case.”

So, he agreed.

“What?”

“Hmm, it’s the air. I must have eaten the air wrong.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The charge leader felt an unexpected terror.

It was better to be stabbed than to deal with a lunatic who fought well and spouted nonsense.

Pel thought about Encrid and the strange difference in this place.

‘The atmosphere was different.’

How?

There was an aura flowing through the air around Encrid.

What changed the aura that flowed through the air? It was the air itself.

“Ah.”

Pel let out a short gasp of realization.

“…Don’t spout nonsense! I won’t die to some crazy bastard!”

The Aspen’s charge leader threw the axe he had been holding.

It was a weapon he had used for years. Pel twisted his body and caught the axe.

And then he thought.

Was it really the air?

The clarity of his realization quickly faded. It didn’t seem to be the case.

In any case, his opponent stopped fighting and fled like his pants were on fire.

He sprinted toward the horse he had ridden in on, grabbed what seemed to be a secondary weapon from the saddle, and threw it before fleeing.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The horse’s hooves pounded the ground, kicking up clouds of dust that obscured his view.

Pel didn’t draw his sword, as he had no intention of chasing after him.

And this scene was witnessed by the soldiers from both sides.

“Without even drawing his sword?”

Soldiers at the forefront of both the Border Guard and Aspen muttered the same words, but of course, they couldn’t hear each other.

As Pel re-entered after dealing with the Aspen’s charge leader, Krais, who had rushed from the rear, asked,

“It’s better if you don’t kill them, but did you do that on purpose?”

“It just sort of happened.”

The previous hollow look in Pel’s eyes had changed slightly. He had broken his shell and was born anew. His eyes shone with a playful glint, just like when he had first met Encrid. Pure, bright, and straight.

That playful glint in his eyes moved Pel’s tongue.

“Lawford, if you lose out there, call me big brother for the rest of your life.”

“I’d rather die on the battlefield.”

When Pel teased his rival, the rival stepped forward with his armor.

He was the third among the four.

“Anyone come at me! This is Lawford of the Red, no, the Mad Company!”

Seeing this, Krais felt a bit reassured.

What they were doing now was indeed aligned with Avnair’s prediction, but it was purely a desperate attempt to eliminate the unease.

Krais had two choices.

One path was relatively safe, with fewer threats and variables, but it required accepting sacrifices.

The other path was dangerous, full of anxiety. If things went wrong, they might all end up dead. At least, that’s how Krais saw it.

Even so, he chose the second path.

‘Captain, are you sure about this?’

Krais wondered inwardly. The decision wasn’t his to make.

If it were up to him, he would have chosen the third path.

Surrender the city without fighting, seek exile, and maybe survive. He didn’t know about those who fought to the end, but he would have fled with his men.

Well, at least that’s what he told himself.

Nurat had assessed the situation correctly. Krais had no more room to retreat.

There were too many familiar faces and attachments. Could he abandon them all? Krais couldn’t easily answer.

Before Encrid had left, Krais had asked his Captain after presenting two paths.

“Is it okay to be greedy?”

That’s what Krais had asked.

“When have you not been?”

Encrid had replied.

In a situation where smiling was impossible, Krais had smiled and said,

“Not that I’m one to say, but bring everyone back alive.”

Encrid had smiled broadly and replied with a playful salute,

“Sure.”

It was a joke of a salute.

Because he trusted his Captain, Krais left Audin, Teresa, Lawford, and Pel here.

Otherwise, he would have chosen the first path.

He would have sent all the rangers down the enemy’s path to weaken their strength before starting the battle.

That would have been the best option.

It’s probably the strategy the enemy had chosen.

Beyond Krais’ vision, Lawford had just knocked his opponent down.

“I’m the older brother!”

Lawford roared in victory.

“You crazy bastard, just because you won doesn’t mean I’m your younger brother!”

Pel shouted from the friendly ranks. Krais wondered why these crazy bastards were acting like this.

Next in line was Teresa.

“Brothers, it’s my turn now.”

The half-blood Giant woman’s urge to fight surged. Though her faith restrained it, such opportunities were hard for Teresa to resist.

Especially after watching Encrid recently, she was even more stimulated.

As the massive female warrior, nearly as big as Audin, stepped out, the Aspen camp murmured.

Had they finally run out of people?

No, that wasn’t the case.

If they were to let this continue, it wouldn’t just lower morale, it would look like they were losing before the fight even began.

In response, Aspen sent out a Junior-Knight.

He was the real deal, kept in reserve in case the battlefield turned chaotic.

Far more skilled than the one Audin had fought.

“A mercenary, bound by contract? How pitiful. Looks like you have Giant blood in you. Well, it’s better for you to die here.”

Within Aspen, he was known by the nickname ‘Emel the Sentence’.

He pronounced his opponents’ fates, though only when he was sure of victory, which is how he had earned the nickname.

Teresa was the fourth, following Audin.

This fourth battle was the second shortest, after Audin’s.

Teresa took Emel’s sword blow to her body and struck him with her shield.

Though she had learned how to deflect sword blows with her body from Audin, her opponent’s strikes were sharp, and blood sprayed from Teresa’s body.

Her flesh was cut. Though the wound wasn’t deep enough to damage bone, it wasn’t a minor injury either.

Even so, Teresa didn’t stop.

Red droplets of blood splattered into the air. In the three exchanges, only Teresa had bled, and thanks to that, she seized the opportunity to strike with her shield.

Emel quickly reacted, planting his foot on the shield and trying to jump back to create distance.

He needed space, this wasn’t his preferred range.

Just as Emel jumped back to evade, Teresa timed her move and let go of her shield.

She had only been holding it with her hand, not strapped to her arm, so it was possible.

Fighting with such a heavy shield only in her hand was impressive, and it was an unexpected move that caught Emel off guard.

“Ugh!”

With the shield’s recoil lessened, Emel lost some of the force he had planned to use for his escape, managing only two steps back. Teresa followed him, expressionless.

In the air, it looked like their bodies were entwined, and then there was a crackling sound. Not that everyone could hear it.

“Win! Fight!”

The Aspen soldiers were noisy, shouting and cheering as if they were overwhelming Teresa.

On the other hand, the Border Guard soldiers maintained discipline even in their cheering.

Wham!

They shouted in unison with the movement of the flag.

“The Bear Siblings!”

“Teresa!”

“Giant Goddess!”

“Teresa!”

If Teresa had heard this, she would have laughed brightly and asked which of her siblings came up with such a slogan, but she couldn’t wander through her own camp in the middle of a fight.

At close range, Teresa used Valaf-Style Martial Arts, specifically the technique of breaking the neck.

A technique that couldn’t be used without inherent strength bloomed in her hands.

It wasn’t a grand technique. It was simply grabbing the head with one hand and slamming the shoulder with the other to tear it off.

Emel didn’t go down without a fight either. The moment his head was grabbed, he thrust his sword toward Teresa’s neck.

Teresa only twisted her neck to avoid it, but blood still spurted out.

In exchange.

She gained a dangling vertebra as her trophy.

It had been a while since she’d shed blood, felt the heat, and the battlefield had brought a surge of energy into her.

That energy caused her to unleash the Giant’s nature she had long hidden. She roared.

“I’m the biggest sister!”

Though influenced by Pel and Lawford’s banter, that was the content of her shout.

Both armies watching the battle fell silent again.

Additionally, from Aspen’s perspective, these people were all insane.

Winning or losing aside, they kept spouting madness.

The important question now was why they had won so overwhelmingly. Aspen’s Commander couldn’t understand, but Krais nodded inwardly.

Think about it. Their usual opponents included Knights like Rem and Ragna.

So, did the opponents from Aspen regularly fight Knights?

‘Not a chance.’

Thus, this outcome was predictable.

Though Krais had been anxious, he could only feel relieved after seeing it unfold before his eyes.

More importantly, this was the force they had reserved for a possible contingency.

Show the enemy a wall through formation and break their spirit with strength like Audin’s.

Now the enemy could never engage in a full-scale battle.

This was Krais’ true intention.

* * *

‘That bastard.’

Having suffered enough, Avnair couldn’t help but picture the face of the enemy’s strategist. He must be an experienced, middle-aged man based on his actions.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

The enemy was a young-looking man with big eyes who could pass for youthful.

That wasn’t important, though. It was just a natural association.

“Bastard.”

Avnair couldn’t hide his admiration. However, this was only the beginning.

Even in victory, there are things not to be forgotten.

That would be those who sacrificed themselves for the sake of victory.

Avnair focused on the true battle unfolding, beyond the main field.

That’s where the warriors who embraced glory would be.

Everything was for victory. Moreover, Avnair’s strategy had worked as intended.

He had made sure that the enemy encountered his forces at precisely the times he desired.

Encrid began his advance only after the main force had moved.

It wasn’t at a fast pace.

Meanwhile, Varna Hurrier, the wolf beast General, had already crossed the mountain range multiple times when Aspen had declared war.

It was to familiarize himself with the terrain.

Then, before the army even lined up, he departed early.

To secure favorable terrain and fight on their own terms.

If they could also gift the enemy with a sense of confusion, even better.

Lest any spies spot them, Varna and his team even set up decoys to throw them off.

Avnair’s preparations had been thorough. Then he had a thought: Could preparations be considered strategy?

Perhaps they could.

If you win, that’s what they’ll be called.

If you lose, you’re a traitor, if you win, you’re a hero.

That’s the way bold strategies always work.

[🚨 URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Hello readers! I hope all of you guys are well and enjoying the reading. I apologise for all the inconvenience you guys have faced in the last few days. Ko-fi page cracking down on us very hard and blocking accounts left and right. After a long research and some sleepless nights, we have found a platform where we can publish our paid chapters. I ask for your understanding and support here. Please visit our page, and support us to the best of your capabilities. Thank you for all the love and support you guys have shown us. Use the search option to look for your favorite novel in the shop section.

New Platform for paid chapters: https://payhip.com/revengerscans

We appreciate your understanding and support during this temporary setback. Every contribution helps us keep delivering your favorite stories!]