A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 532

Chapter 532: Chapter 527

Finn discovered traces of the enemy and realized that they had split into three groups.

She decided to pursue the group that seemed to have the largest number.

The distance from Encrid’s Mad Company was more than half a day.

It was a vague distance, neither too far nor too close, but Finn could narrow the gap quickly if she decided to run.

If only this wasn’t the Pen-Hanil mountain range, she could do so.

But this place was more like a cradle of monsters, similar to the Demon Realm.

Unless someone could hide their presence like a ghost while sprinting, half a day’s distance was indeed half a day’s distance.

‘This is bad. Really bad.’

Was it bad luck, or had she been careless?

She had to assume so.

If Commander Sinar saw this, she’d probably tell her to just drop dead.

But Finn couldn’t help it.

Once she spotted the tracks, she had to watch and follow them.

She couldn’t risk the enemy taking a different path and them missing each other.

Her mission was to ensure that the allies and enemies met, and she was dutifully performing that task.

Now, looking back, it seemed the enemy had left those traces on purpose, to be discovered.

‘I got played.’

Though she didn’t want to think that way, looking at the situation, that seemed to be the case.

The enemy had left subtle traces, and Finn thought she could avoid detection by the enemy scouts.

‘We were trained by the Fairies.’

It was brutal training. Run without a smile, they said, and roll on the ground until you had no confidence left.

Above all, every scout, including Finn, had passed Audin’s basic endurance training.

‘Audin.’

‘Argh!’

There was a time when just hearing those three syllables would make her jump up.

After surviving that, they could run around the Pen-Hanil mountain range, getting hurt but not too badly.

It was already an achievement that they weren’t dead.

Did this confidence affect the current situation? It might have.

Whatever it was, she didn’t want to think of it as a mistake. It was just the task she had to do, and it happened because her skills weren’t enough.

It wasn’t even that she lost due to lack of skill.

The enemy had numbers, and unless you were among the chosen few, having more people could easily become an overwhelming advantage.

Being near Encrid didn’t mean everyone surpassed their limits. In that regard, Finn was a very ordinary person.

At least, that’s how she viewed herself.

Of course, by normal standards, she was an excellent soldier, a skilled ranger, and a formidable warrior.

‘I thought I was being careful…’

She felt like clicking her tongue.

Knowing her limits, Finn didn’t do reckless things like Encrid. She was a regular person, she wouldn’t rush at the enemy with just a sword, claiming she had their backs.

Behind her was a sloping hill, in front, a small clearing, to the left and right, tall trees, and above her, coniferous forest.

There were a few broad-leaved trees mingled with the sharp leaves, sunlight filtering through, illuminating the clearing and surroundings.

It was early morning. The deep blue dawn had passed, and the sunrise brightened the area.

Despite the curses surrounding the Pen-Hanil mountain range, there was life here. Trees grew, insects buzzed, and mountain birds chirped.

If you walked around this place, you’d hear the sounds of insects and birds singing.

Those sounds suddenly stopped.

That’s when Finn knew the situation was similar to that of a beast. She crouched low in the shadow of the trees, contrasting with the sunlight.

Unless someone looked closely, her concealment wouldn’t be discovered.

‘Is this where I’m going to die?’

Finn thought, pulling her chin in and repeating slow, controlled breaths.

Since she hadn’t been running but walking, she wasn’t out of breath. Thanks to training, she knew instinctively how fast she could walk without getting winded.

Her breath felt a little hot, but unless the enemy had a Fairy with heat-sensing eyes, they shouldn’t have noticed her position.

She wore padded boots, so her footsteps made almost no sound.

With only ten people in her group, there wasn’t much noise or bustle.

Of the ten, three had been left behind to cover the rear.

Three at the front, four in the middle, and three at the back.

The line was spread out, so in reality, only the three at the front were advancing.

Finn, who was at the front, raised her fist, and the two behind her saw the signal, quietly catching their breath and halting.

This was what had happened just before. She had halted her subordinates and was lost in thought.

Finn considered two possible scenarios.

One, they would part ways without a fight.

If the enemy didn’t want to provoke them and alert the main force following behind, that might happen.

The second was that a battle would break out suddenly.

Neither side expected to meet here, and after probing each other, the fight would begin.

But both of Finn’s assumptions were wrong.

The enemy had already finished their preparations.

Avnair didn’t just send Knights to this place. The Empire’s integration policy hadn’t only gained them one genius beastman.

Krais had predicted many things, but he wasn’t a God. He couldn’t foresee the presence of a completely unknown unit.

And he certainly couldn’t predict everything that happened on the battlefield.

In such cases, decisions had to be made and handled on the spot.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound came from the bushes, starting beyond the clearing and spreading left and right.

The bushes, which had been hiding the allied troops, now seemed to be the path the enemy was taking.

The rustling could have unsettled Finn.

‘There are too many.’

It was hard to estimate the enemy’s numbers. There were more than expected.

‘We’re going to be surrounded.’

Now, Finn had to make a choice. If she stalled for time, the seven left behind would survive.

But she would die. She would definitely die. And if they fought? They would all die.

Finn was a soldier, and she lived by the sword.

She had always been prepared for a death like this.

When she was a scout leader for the Cross Guard mission, weren’t there times when people died?

Of course, there were.

This time, it was just her turn.

Finn signaled with her hand.

She would buy time, and they should retreat.

Like any disciplined unit, they followed orders to the letter.

That was how Finn thought it should be.

Tweet.

But then a signal from the allies echoed. It was a sound like a mountain bird’s cry.

Her adjutant could imitate such sounds so well that even real birds were fooled.

As if in response, a whistle rang out from behind.

“Are you insane?”

Finn muttered.

Since the whistle had already given them away, adding a few words wouldn’t make a difference.

Their exact location had been revealed to the enemy.

Rustle.

The enemy approaching through the bushes lifted their heads.

Finn frowned but then relaxed.

She recalled something Sinar had once said.

“You can fight anyone, but never fight a group of Fairies in the forest. It’s a sure death.”

That thought popped into her head.

No wonder their ability to hide their presence wasn’t normal.

“Is this a pointless death?”

Finn muttered as she glanced left and right. Judging by the numbers, there were at least twenty. Maybe more than twenty-five?

“There’s nothing we can do, right?”

Her adjutant commented from behind. He was probably thinking about how they couldn’t just leave their leader behind.

“Shut up. Mutiny means immediate execution.”

“We’re going to die anyway.”

These two subordinates were always so cheeky. They were full of talk even in normal times.

“I won’t go down without a fight.”

Finn said, dropping her left hand. The scouts who had gathered did the same, lowering their left hands.

“If the enemy was going all out, we had to do the same.”

Shouldn’t they have brought the entire force, not just ten scouts?

It was a fleeting thought, but just that. Dead men don’t eat bread. You had to leave the past in the past.

Lamenting about jumping into the water as the waves came was a fool’s errand.

The Fairies emerging from the bushes had blue skin, and their hair shimmered with a blue hue.

Just as humans had white and black skin, Fairies had different tribes as well.

This was one of them. They were of the Moonlight Fairy tribe.

“Can you speak?”

“No, they can’t.”

The voice came from above. Finn looked up slightly and saw a human perched in the trees.

A woman with a leather quiver slung on her back, sitting in the tree with incredible balance, as if standing on the ground.

She was small, holding a longbow that didn’t match her size. Clearly, she was no ordinary person.

In the time it took to exchange those few words, the Fairies wielding crescent-shaped swords began to rise and approach.

Finn and her subordinates, who could laugh while facing ghouls, found this scene

unsettling.

The Fairies’ eyes showed no emotion, and their footsteps made no sound. It was like watching ghosts come to life.

Though Finn wasn’t terrified, since showing fear in battle was pointless, she still felt a chill.

‘I left the markers behind.’

At least, she had done her duty.

Even if she died, the enemy’s location was marked. After a silent sigh, she knew she had completed her task.

Finn understood the importance of striking first.

Whether the enemy was a ghost or not, whoever struck first had the upper hand. An unchanging truth passed down for generations.

“You can speak, huh?”

Finn said as she extended her left hand. The scouts around her spread out to her sides, extending their left hands as well.

“You came too close, you lost.”

With those words, a twang sounded from inside the armor on Finn’s left hand.

Twip!

All the scouts were equipped with this gear.

It was something they had acquired from bandits in the past, improved by Krais.

A small crossbow was mounted on the back of their hands.

Short bolts flew through the air, striking six Fairies who had been approaching like ghosts.

Although there were ten bolts, they weren’t coordinated, so some targets were hit multiple times.

Even as they died, the Fairies made no screams. Just a faint groan, which was eerie, but the battle had begun nonetheless.

“A desperate move.”

As soon as the voice from the tree finished, the Fairies began to charge. The sound of metal rang out.

The ones who looked like blue ghosts were swinging their swords. The crescent moons in the sky became full and rained down.

The sharply curved blades aimed for Finn’s head as if falling from above.

Finn, wearing an open-helm helmet to hear better, had no reason to test which was stronger: the helmet or the enemy’s weapon.

She threw herself backward, rolling to avoid the strike.

“Each for their own survival!”

“Ugh!”

Her subordinates responded with a chant they had learned during basic endurance training.

Even in the chaos of the battle, Finn didn’t hold back. Though she told her subordinates to focus on surviving, she jumped in to save them whenever they were in danger.

‘I’m just an ordinary person.’

This was too much for her.

‘I’m not Encrid.’

But even as she thought that, her body moved on its own.

Clang!

She parried a blade with her short sword, then struck back with force. Finn was physically stronger. The problem was the curved blade.

It was designed to deflect and absorb attacks, making most strikes ineffective.

Even though Encrid was behind them, he was at least half a day away. Even if he was coming, it wasn’t now.

This was the Pen-Hanil mountain range. Not even Sinar could shorten the distance in an instant here.

If her subordinates had retreated when she told them, they would have survived.

‘So, is this it?’

She imagined Encrid asking her that.

‘Damn it, no.’

Finn answered inwardly, charging at the Fairy who had just grazed her shoulder and stabbing her sword into his abdomen.

Crunch.

The Fairies were all wearing armor made of wood, though the designs varied. The wooden armor was stiff, making it hard to thrust and withdraw her sword.

But she had managed to pierce his abdomen. He was as good as dead.

As blood gushed from the hole in his belly, the light faded from the Fairy’s eyes. He collapsed forward like a bundle of sticks, and Finn raised her sword again.

Killing one had cost her dearly. Her shoulder had been half-severed, and she could feel a burning sensation.

‘Did it cut deep?’

When she moved her left arm, she felt a sharp pain, but at least her arm still moved.

‘Good enough.’

Finn adjusted her stance. The sword she held was called a guard sword, with a wide blade but a bit shorter in length.

She had barely killed one of them in a sword fight. They were all formidable opponents.

“Come on, come at me.”

As she stepped back, preparing to press her back against a tree, Finn sensed a murderous intent behind her and immediately rolled forward.

Whoosh!

‘These crazy Fairy bastards.’

Blue lights flickered between the trees. Even in a straight fight, the odds weren’t good, and these Fairies were moving like real ghosts, disappearing and reappearing.

Losing track of them meant blades would come flying from nowhere.

“I told you, it’s not going to work.”

The small woman in the tree spoke again.

“Just you wait, after I’m done with these bastards, you’re next.”

Finn bluffed.

Nobody believed it, not even herself.

“Do as you please.”

The woman replied, and the battle between the Fairies and Finn’s squad continued.

Clang!

They swung their swords, parried blows, and threw daggers at any Fairy that showed an opening.

Finn rolled across the ground, catching a glimpse of her surviving subordinates.

How lucky could they be?

Not a single one of them had died. They were all bleeding and exhausted, but alive.

Then, she found herself thinking how bright the sunlight was.

Why was the sky so clear, and why did the sun feel so warm?

Was this a perfect day to die?

“I’m not dying.”

Finn spoke again, words that no one would believe.

“That’s an obvious statement.”

The reply came, but it wasn’t from one of her subordinates.

It was a voice without any presence, without any sound. Finn looked up. The voice came from above her.

But the speaker was now standing behind her on her right.

The man had red-brown hair, and in his hands were two short swords dripping with blood.

Whether it was human or Fairy, blood was always red, and the blood on his swords was bright crimson.

It wasn’t luck that had kept Finn and her subordinates alive.

While Finn had been desperately fighting, someone had ambushed the Fairies from behind.

Without a sound or any sign of approach.

“To fight Fairies, you need to be at least a first-rate assassin to even have a chance. But even then, it’s hard to fight against a group of them.”

That’s what Sinar had once said, and then she had added one more thing.

“But there are some who defy everything as I’ve said.”

Jaxon Vensino.

The master of the Dagger of Geor.

A top assassin who could stand against anyone on the continent.

He had received the order from the Captain to join Finn, and he also carried out the pre-mission orders.

“No one dies in this battle.”

That’s what Encrid had said, and Jaxon intended to make sure of it.

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