A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 533

Chapter 533: Chapter 528

Sacrifice is inevitable in war.

It’s something that cannot be avoided.

Like in chess, where you give up a Knight to capture a bishop, give up a bishop to capture a rook, and give up a rook to capture a Queen.

Victory without sacrifice was always a distant dream.

Therefore, Finn had accepted her own sacrifice as part of the mission. That was her role in this battle.

No, she believed that, and she thought it was only natural.

‘If a wandering bard were to turn this into a story, what would I become?’

Several soldiers died, but the victory of the battle belonged to their side.

Would she be one of those nameless dead soldiers mentioned in that one sentence?

A skilled storyteller might be able to depict the accomplishments of the Ranger unit in more detail, but the fact remained that Finn had accepted her death.

Sacrifice is inevitable, so someone has to take on that role, and this time it was her turn.

She resolved herself, understanding that this would be the last time.

‘Huh?’

For a moment, she was speechless. Finn blinked in confusion. Even if an attack came, she would’ve reacted. After all, her body had been trained.

But her mind had frozen.

What is this?

Something impossible had happened within her understanding.

Was it a dream?

No, it wasn’t a dream.

The pain from the wounds all over her body reminded her that this was reality.

The cut on her shoulder sent blood trickling down her arm, stinging and burning.

The sense of reality was vivid.

So, what is this guy?

Naturally, her gaze turned toward Jaxon. The other soldiers were the same.

At some point, the group of Fairies they were fighting had disappeared, and in their place stood a lone madman.

‘Reinforcements?’

She didn’t think it was just one person.

But still, does this make any sense? This is the Pen-Hanil mountain range.

To run at full speed for half a day to get here would have attracted all kinds of monsters and beasts, drooling like lovesick fools.

And that’s not even the end. The faint murderous aura the Fairies had been exuding was completely gone.

Unless they had suddenly found peace and love and decided to retreat, they were undoubtedly meeting with the reaper.

‘Did this guy kill them all in this short time?

The enemies that were too tough for us?

And Finn hadn’t even realized this was happening.

It wasn’t just about the ability to kill the Fairies. It was the fact that all of this had been done without a trace.

It should’ve been noisy, chaotic, messy. That would be normal. At least, according to Finn’s calculations and her abilities.

But this guy appeared as if he had fallen from the sky or risen from the ground, and he quietly cleaned everything up.

He suddenly showed up, and immediately sorted everything out.

New things had been happening beyond Finn’s awareness. She was gasping for breath, her limbs trembling as she had swung her sword until exhaustion forced her to stop.

If she had kept moving, she wouldn’t have had the luxury to think.

But since she had stopped, her eyes took in the visual information, and her mind began to process it.

Finn felt cognitive dissonance. But even then, she overcame it.

Well-trained soldiers always know what to do in any situation.

If that weren’t the case, how could they lead a charge, knowing they’d die at the front?

Years of training, more precisely, the hellish training from Audin and Sinar, had conditioned Finn’s mind to accept reality as it was and extract what was needed for the current situation.

So, is this bad?

Of course not.

“The enemy leader used a bow, and the Fairies fought in a way I’ve never seen before. I don’t think this group is all of them.”

That’s what Finn said. Jaxon didn’t reply. He just stood there silently.

His breathing was so faint it couldn’t be heard, and though his eyes faced forward, it strangely felt like he was looking right at her.

Even though all she could see was the back of his head.

* * *

“I hope none of our allies die.”

Encrid said, and Jaxon didn’t think it would be too difficult to grant that request.

If it doesn’t work, it can’t be helped, but he could at least try.

If the battle could be won without a full frontal assault, by using an elite group, it was possible.

If the fighting was done methodically, at the right moments, they could minimize their casualties. At least, that was the calculation. But thinking they wouldn’t lose a single life was perhaps a bit much.

“This is war.”

It was an ambitious goal, so he had to ask.

“Well, if it can’t be helped.”

Encrid answered lightly.

Though his tone was casual, the resolve behind it wasn’t light.

He wished for a war where none of their soldiers would die.

How insane is that?

But he was determined to do it. Even if it wasn’t him, Encrid would do it.

That willpower was clear in his words.

‘This guy’s always pulled off insane stunts to get this far.’

For Encrid, this situation was no different.

Jaxon decided to play along, even though it felt odd for someone who had specialized in killing to now be trying to save lives.

But then again, hadn’t he already decided to live that way when he reworked Geor’s Dagger?

“Can’t we be greedy? Win without killing? Why? Why not?”

That was what Encrid had said before the battle. His playful mood had kicked in, and he kept asking with a smirk, while Jaxon simply shook his head in response. Internally, though, he had already agreed.

“How about ‘Knight of the Mad Skull’? It seems like a fitting nickname.”

A rare moment when the barbarian beside him actually said something Jaxon liked.

In any case, Jaxon was doing as Encrid wished.

When he saw the Moonlight Fairies, he stealthily killed them all and was now searching for the archer who had vanished as soon as he started his work.

The archer was skilled at hiding her presence, making no noise and leaving no trace, so Jaxon intentionally exposed himself.

Otherwise, the allied Ranger unit would be in danger.

‘Spell?’

No, it was pure skill, honed through effort just like his own.

Jaxon intentionally let more of his presence slip.

It was the first time he had done this, but just because it felt unfamiliar didn’t mean it was clumsy.

He had never tried to protect someone by exposing himself, though he had used bait to reverse-kill targets many times.

Meanwhile, Finn had spoken, but Jaxon didn’t respond.

He had already assessed the situation.

He wasn’t some brute who fought based on instinct.

Nor was he someone who charged in blindly, regardless of direction.

He wasn’t a dependent soul who constantly sought divine guidance either.

And he certainly wasn’t the type to recklessly charge forward, trying to protect someone without a plan.

Jaxon had listened as he approached, analyzing the situation based on the sounds he had heard, then securing the most advantageous position for fighting.

The Moonlight Fairies were targeting their allies, so he struck from behind and revealed himself afterward.

He chose the most favorable position to achieve his goal.

It was a position to protect Finn and the Rangers.

“Don’t move.”

Jaxon’s voice broke the silence.

Following his command, Finn and the scouts didn’t even dare breathe too loudly.

If he could, he’d tell them to hold their breath, but that wasn’t necessary.

Their opponent, the archer, was skilled, but she wasn’t a Knight.

Still, she was a tricky foe.

There was something familiar about her, though.

Perhaps it was because most skilled hunters had a similar vibe?

No, it was something different.

‘Hawk’s Claw?’

The name popped into Jaxon’s head.

Wasn’t it in that battle, when their leader Frog had kicked the Captain?

There had been an archer by that name.

Was it her? No, it’s someone above her. His instincts told him so.

Jaxon didn’t know, but Hawk’s Claw had already crossed the Black River, struck down by Rem’s axe long ago.

The woman now hiding from Jaxon, cloaked in stealth, was Hawk’s Claw’s mentor.

Half of her blood was Fairy, but her appearance was entirely human. A mixed-blood Fairy.

She had used her innate talents, honed over the years, to blend into the shadows and disappear.

None of this mattered to Jaxon.

The method didn’t matter. If his opponent hid, he just had to find them.

That’s the essence of assassination.

You just have to stick a piece of metal into someone’s body. Finding the target is the tricky part.

Of course, if Frog were the target, one stab wouldn’t be enough.

Those guys wear chest armor even while they sleep. They’re a safety-first species.

Frog, in particular, is overly sensitive about the heart, so it’s only natural.

If it’s not Frog, the most annoying part of an assassination is finding the target.

Some dig holes and hide like moles, while others sleep in a different room of their mansion every night.

Geor’s Dagger excelled at gathering information, so they could sometimes pinpoint a location through intel, but when things like this happened, Jaxon would cover the gaps with his own abilities.

He used his natural talents to compensate, which led his former mentor, the previous master, to say:

“Damn, that’s a cheat.”

It wasn’t cheating.

A cheat is when you look at someone like their Captain.

‘An unbreakable will? That’s the cheat.’

Was Pel the only one who was shocked when Encrid awakened?

Jaxon was also stimulated by it.

Perhaps that’s why he had agreed to the absurd request to save all his allies.

‘Even if the heavens turn their backs and talent abandons you, you can still become a Knight.’

“Why can’t we go through a battle without losing any allies?”

Encrid’s words echoed in his ears.

Small thoughts layered on top of each other, creating a firm resolve,that was willpower.

For someone like Jaxon, who had been born with sensitive senses, even willpower was something he could perceive.

If the Fairy Sinar talked about willpower as a kind of essence, and Rem accepted it as part of his sorcery, Jaxon simply sensed it.

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Jaxon visualized his senses and infused them with his Will. He drew in the wide circle around him and condensed it, darkening its color.

Some people used willpower to perform slashes that could sever anything.

Others used it to send out invisible blades.

Jaxon didn’t have such skills.

Instead, his talent lay in overlaying his Will onto his five senses.

The sharp leaves of the trees overhead blocking out the sunlight, the dark shadows, the faint shade, the scent in the air, the direction of the wind.

His five senses merged, opening the Gate of Sixth Sense. With his Will layered on top of his sensory technique, Jaxon could perceive everything within the visualized circle.

He could sense the anxiety of his allies behind him.

He could feel the presence of the archer, who had already notched an arrow and drawn the bowstring from up in the tree.

Twang.

Although the archer was out of range for such a sound to be heard, the twang of the bowstring came first.

Next came the arrow, which turned into a beam of light as it flew.

The arrow wasn’t aimed at Jaxon but at Finn. The archer had calculated and tried to exploit the gap created by targeting her.

Jaxon grabbed Finn’s wrist and pulled her aside.

Thud.

The arrow struck the ground, causing a nearby stone to bounce up. The stone hit the ground with a dull thud, and in the brief moment Finn felt the pulling force disappear, Jaxon vanished.

Like smoke dissipating, he slipped out of her perception.

At the same time, the archer lost track of Jaxon.

* * *

Atheroz’s mother was a Fairy, and her father was human.

Though her father had abandoned her and her mother, Atheroz was fortunate to be accepted into Fairy society.

At that time, Fairy society was in need of reform, and she was lucky enough to contribute to the creation of the Moonlight Fairies’ battle unit.

After various experiences and the growth of her strength, she set a goal for herself.

‘I will kill my father.’

Any man who recklessly sowed his seed was her enemy.

After killing her father, she set an even greater goal.

She would kill those who produced illegitimate children.

To do that, she borrowed the power of Aspen, tracked down her father, and killed him.

Along the way, she made several oaths and gathered some of the Moonlight Fairies to form a battle unit.

When some of that unit fell, Atheroz immediately concealed herself and gripped her bow.

Then, she shot an arrow at the woman she assumed to be the leader of the remaining soldiers.

‘A gap.’

What she wanted was a gap, to catch a glimpse of the terrifying monster that had suddenly appeared.

But there was no such gap.

When the arrow she fired missed its target, Atheroz once again erased her presence.

She entrusted herself to the shadows and shade that had always protected her since childhood, but soon she felt the cold touch of a blade against her back.

She reflexively twisted her body and swung her bow to strike, but the blade slipped between her vertebrae first.

Her opponent specialized in killing.

Having spent years killing men who fathered illegitimate children, Atheroz knew this well.

Every death had a story.

This mixed-blood Fairy, who had sided with Aspen, had her own story.

But death is the end.

And so, the mixed-blood Fairy who had once been obsessed with killing men who fathered bastards died. There was no time for sentiment.

‘Was she bait?’

The moment Jaxon killed the archer, he felt eyes on him.

His senses told him this wasn’t over.

Beyond, he could sense the presence of Fairies similar to the one he had just killed.

There were three times as many of them as the previous group. Dozens of Fairy swordsmen.

‘She wasn’t just bait, was she?’

Seeing their comrade fall, they quickly adapted their tactics, turning the dead archer into bait.

Jaxon had revealed his position to kill the archer, showing part of his abilities.

Jaxon flexed his wrist and loosened his joints. The previous fight had only been a warm-up. Now it was time to use his real strength.

The Fairy swordsmen didn’t rush at him. Instead, they broke into groups and began to scatter, but Jaxon could see they were forming an organized formation.

Even though the archer hadn’t been bait, someone had skillfully turned her into one in an instant.

Since the Fairy swordsmen were moving in such a coordinated manner, it meant there was a proper Commander among them.

Jaxon sensed the presence of that Commander and even knew his location, but he judged that charging in head-on would be too difficult.

The Fairy swordsmen were blocking the way, forming a tight barrier.

It was time to use his real power.

It seemed the enemy thought of Jaxon as just another skilled stealth killer.

Of course, they were mistaken.

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