Eternally Regressing Knight

Chapter 267 - Not Only You Can Strike



As soon as he opened his eyes, the first thing that appeared was a ceiling covered with moldy stone.

Meellun recalled the moment before he lost his memory, and Frog’s strong will allowed him to clearly remember everything.

Because of that, he realized, in common terms, that he had ended up in a ridiculous situation.

“Give me some water. And if possible, bring me some food. I like fruits.”

Meellun said, half rising from his body.

His arms had regenerated, and both arms and legs were shackled, connected to a pillar by chains.

Even for a Frog, it was impossible to break free.

So, what was left?

All he could do was wait. Due to the last desperate dose of medicine he had taken, his head was throbbing as if it was about to split open, and his heart ached.

‘Can I get out of this?’

Like most Frog, he regretted not being able to escape his desires and cravings more than fearing death.

‘Weird bastard.’

This led him to naturally think about the one who knocked him out.

‘He seemed weak.’

Why wouldn’t he seem weak? He was clearly someone who could be taken down, someone weaker than himself in his view.

‘Why?’

Frog’s combat instincts made him judge the advantage or disadvantage in an instant.

He fought according to his instincts, which led him to believe that at the very least, it should’ve been a draw. So why did he get overwhelmed and defeated?

Their combat instincts were an extension of their ability to read talent.

In that regard, Enkrid was the most incomprehensible type of person for a Frog.

His talent was negligible, but he climbed to the top no matter what, and his persistence over countless repetitions had caused this phenomenon.

Enkrid was the type of human who could not be read by a Frog’s combat instincts.

Meellun wasn’t particularly confident in his own ability to read talent, either.

Among Frogs, talents varied widely. Some were specialized in reading talent, while others were focused on combat.

Meellun was particularly good at walking.

‘He aimed for my joints mercilessly.’

The regenerated forearm ached subtly.

His arm had been severed before, and now it had been severed again.

No, this time, even his eye had been gouged out.

‘He knows how to fight.’

There was a big difference between being skilled with a sword and actually knowing how to fight.

The idiots who locked themselves up in their noble family to learn swordsmanship would swing their swords gracefully, wouldn’t they?

In the continent, those people were often mocked as practicing “noble swordsmanship.”

The one who knocked him down wasn’t like that at all.

He knew how to target the weaknesses of Frog’s slippery skin.

He aimed for his eyes and joints, stabbing and cutting them.

Had he fought like this before? Had he always been so good at fighting?

Honestly, Meellun couldn’t remember. He was sure the opponent was someone who could be defeated, but he thought that when they met again, he’d dominate.

‘All gone now.’

He was exhausted, hungry, and irritated.

“Water and dried fruit. It’s winter, so fresh fruit is hard to find.”

The guard kindly brought him food. Surprisingly kind.

Meellun thought as he drank the water and chewed on the dried fruit. There was also well-baked bread and marmalade.

“Hey, this is delicious.”

“I’m glad.”

The guard replied without any smile, his face showing signs of tension, though his limbs weren’t rigid.

‘Training is well done.’

Frog could read people’s behavior with ease.

Of course, his talent reading wasn’t the best, but—

‘Still, that guy is a bit unusual.’

This was the same opinion expressed by countless talent readers who had seen Enkrid.

Two more days passed.

Meellun realized he couldn’t break out with force, so he tried to bribe the guard, but that too was unsuccessful.

“If I let you go, I’ll die.”

“I don’t think they’ll kill a soldier for a mistake.”

He tried to charm the guard, but the soldier showed a hint of self-mockery, almost as if sighing.

Of course, Meellun didn’t catch that, but it was clear from the soldier’s words that something was off.

Another guard

“If they catch me, I’ll be fired from guard duty and fall into eternal training hell. Death might be better.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

The guard wasn’t lenient, but it didn’t seem like he could be bribed either. Even if gold was offered, he would probably refuse.

“If I get caught, I’ll really die. I don’t mind what I’m earning right now, but I don’t want to end up dead, leaving my kids behind.”

“Are you married?”

“Not yet.”

“Then who’s this kid you’re talking about?”

“My future child.”

Was this territory so sharp-tongued, even the soldiers?

With that thought, another day passed, and Meellun began to wonder if he had been forgotten in his prison.

Trapped underground without knowing day from night, a feeling of sadness began to creep in.

‘Why did I get involved in this mess?’

Another two days passed.

Meellun grew restless.

If this continued, he might be trapped here for the rest of his life.

What if he tried to break his limbs to escape?

He might be able to tear off his limbs and deal with the shackles, but no matter how much Frog he was, he couldn’t destroy the iron bars before him while bleeding like crazy with severed limbs, right?

‘What’s going on?’

Impatience began to engulf Meellun. Every day was agonizing. A Frog loyal to his desires and cravings, when would he die?

When his head was severed? When he got a terminal illness? When an arrow pierced his heart?

The heart would stop, and death would be inevitable, but there were more cruel ways to die.

A Frog couldn’t endure being suffocated to death.

Aren’t we the species driven by curiosity and desire?

“Hey, they didn’t forget about me, right?”

Having woken up from what felt like either a nap or a night’s sleep, Meellun asked the guard standing outside the bars.

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to a small table and two chairs, where, instead of a guard, four figures stood.

One was the person who had knocked him out, another looked fragile with large eyes, and the third was half-shadowed, only their face illuminated by torchlight.

The guard was absent. Finally, they had arrived. They hadn’t forgotten him, they had come to find him. Meellun felt a strange joy, realizing this moment had come at a time when change was inevitable, even if it meant facing death.

“Where did you get that powder?”

That powder had nearly made him die from the pain in his insides.

He didn’t need to immediately ask about his identity, so Meellun answered calmly. He had waited for a long time, and he had no desire to waste words and send them away unnecessarily.

“I picked it up on the way.”

“Where?”

“It was a small village.”

The one asking was a fairy. They were expressionless, exuding a cold atmosphere, clearly not beneath Meellun.

Is this place full of monsters?

Was this what the border territories were like, filled with creatures like these?

Meellun continued. He had no intention of hiding anything.

“If you head west from here, it would take me two days on foot, maybe just over a day and a half on a horse. There’s a small village on a highland with a fence around it. I don’t know its name, but the village chief was a young, pretty woman. Her name was Kaisella.”

The Frogs had an aesthetic preference for beautiful humans.

“Did they send you from Black Blade?”

“Assasins? Black Blade? No.”

Meellun had been imprisoned for days, and being stuck like this for a Frog was more torturous than having his nails pulled out or his eyes gouged.

If he stayed locked up like this, he’d wither away, suppressing his desires until he died.

Ah, nothing could be worse for a Frog than that.

“This works,” Enkrid muttered as Krais chirped from behind.

“It’s working better than expected.”

Enkrid nodded while sitting in his chair.

Enkrid had a vague understanding of the Frog race from his time with Luagarne, but Krais had a different take.

That’s a curious head.

Krais’s words came back to Meellun.

“Frogs follow their desires. If this wandering Frog is like that, what do you think its desires are? If we lock them up, they might spill their answers more easily.”

Though Krais wasn’t entirely sure, it was unusual for him to even think this way.

They decided to wait it out. If left for a few days, they might not need to interrogate at all.

The judgment proved correct.

However,

“Do you know of a merchant named Fromshell? That guy had ears all over the continent. I was hired by him. To put it simply, he runs an information guild.”

Meellun was not expected to reveal everything like this. Enkrid couldn’t read the Frog’s expression, but there was no doubt that he wasn’t lying.

If a Frog were to want to lie about something like this, they would just remain silent.

That meant this had nothing to do with Black Blade.

The powder had been an accident, and it was some merchant who had made him do this job.

He was running an information guild, apparently.

It sounded plausible. That’s probably why it stuck in his memory.

Fromshell, Fromshell.

Enkrid repeated the name to himself a couple of times, memorizing it.

“Noble?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Is that all?”

“If there’s a lie in what I just said, let me be punished by the gods of impulse and the wave.”

“Can you make a pact?”

“Of course.”

For a Frog, a pact was a vow, something that must be kept.

“I was deceived too. By that bastard, Fromshell.”

Meellun snorted, and Enkrid decided he had heard enough.

No, he had heard more than he needed.

He had learned the location of the village where the powder was obtained.

“I went through all that trouble to find it, only for it to be hidden in the village.”

The fairy murmured.

“What about the combat-ready personnel?”

The fairy asked. With nothing more to add, Meellun responded freely.

“From what I saw, most of the village population are combat-ready.”

“All of them?”

“Over fifty people, I’d say.”

The Frog spoke, and Enkrid nodded.

“Will you release me now?”

Enkrid nodded again, standing up from his chair and walking to the bars.

“We’ll see.”

“What?”

“We’ll see about releasing you.”

“Hey, what about the promise?”

That hadn’t been made. Of course, Enkrid intended to release him, but before coming here, Krais had pleaded earnestly.

“Could you leave it to me?”

With that pleading look, Enkrid agreed.

“Wait, wait. Let’s talk for a moment.”

Just as Meellun was about to unleash a string of curses towards Enkrid, Krais stepped in.

His large eyes and his appearance were sure to win the Frog’s favor. However, Meellun, being a man, had no interest.

Still, he didn’t mind the large eyes.

Meellun had a tendency to favor faces with big eyes.

“Well, Meellun?”

Krais smiled innocently. Enkrid could already sense that Meellun was going to fall for it.

When Krais smiled like that, it was only when he was about to take advantage of someone.

***

Emerging from the underground prison, Enkrid was heading toward Marcus’s office.

He planned to report after finishing the interrogation of the Frog. Marcus, the battalion commander, was certainly busy, managing the territory, he could use three or four bodies. There had been news of a heretic being caught during his absence, and other incidents had occurred in the territory.

The underground prison was located in a corner of the barracks, and as soon as they left, Enkrid spoke.

“I’d like an explanation.”

The fairy commander was involved in this. He had kept things vague, mentioning the search for the village earlier, but now there was no Frog around to listen.

“Classified mission,” the fairy responded, his green eyes locking onto Enkrid’s.

Enkrid thought he would have to hear it from Marcus.

But just as he was about to think that, the fairy continued, “But what’s the point of secrecy between us?”

“If it’s important. Let’s keep it a secret,” Enkrid quickly replied.

“No, it’s about the Black Blades, those monsters who’ve rooted themselves in the kingdom,” the fairy said.

“Let’s keep it a secret,” Enkrid insisted again, but the fairy seemed unfazed.

“They kidnapped an alchemist and made a drug,” the fairy continued.

“I don’t think you’re listening to me,” Enkrid muttered.

“Obviously, it’s not a regular drug. It’s one that’s forbidden by the kingdom and opposed by the Alchemist Guild. Of course, they might accept research results behind closed doors, but—”

Enkrid gave up on stopping him. The explanation revealed the drug was far from ordinary. The Frog had taken it, causing his eyes to spin wildly.

“Normal people who take it turn into berserkers, but once the effects wear off, they die from the backlash.”

The fairy mentioned the Black Blades’ base of operations. He had been on a lot of external missions to track it down, and he’d recently brought Finn for a similar purpose.

“Finn seemed suited for that kind of job,” the fairy added.

Enkrid listened quietly and then turned to Jaxen, who seemed to know something.

“Do you know anything?” he asked.

Jaxen explained, “I was looking for something, and it turned out the Black Blades were involved. While I was in Martai, I found traces of alchemy in a drug used by one of their messengers.”

Enkrid’s suspicions were confirmed. He had been right to think that Jaxen was hiding something.

But Enkrid didn’t push further. He didn’t need to. Jaxen wouldn’t be the type to admit anything unless necessary.

“Alright, let’s go with that,” Enkrid finally said.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Jaxen asked with a neutral expression.

“I believe you,” Enkrid replied, thinking of Audin and the trust he had in Jaxen. He believed him, wholeheartedly.

As they arrived at Marcus’s office, the guards saluted, and the fairy commander and Jaxen entered. They were met by a pile of documents and Marcus, who looked up from his work.

“How does it feel to be assassinated right in the heart of the territory?” Marcus asked.

Enkrid replied sincerely, “It feels like crap.”

“Same here.”

There was something unspoken between them, an understanding shared with just a few words.

Enkrid had thought about it ever since dealing with the assassin, rummaging through his belongings. Why should he always be the one getting hit?

He had asked Krais, “If you were the head of the Black Blades, where would you strike to cause the most pain?”

“Probably strike at someone’s gold pouch,” Krais had answered.

“Any group would feel it if their pockets were empty,” Enkrid had replied, and it made sense.

If that was the weakness, then surely there was a way to exploit it.

After a brief report, Marcus’s orders came down.

“This is not a request or revenge. This is an order from the head of the territory,” Marcus said, his eyes gleaming.

“Crush them,” he commanded.

Enkrid nodded. It was clear. The Black Blades needed to be taken down.

The idea of always being the victim bothered him, and it lingered in his thoughts.

“Until further notice, you have independent operational authority. Shinar, that includes you,” Marcus added.

“Understood,” Shinar responded in a cold tone, unlike his usual demeanor with Enkrid.

Enkrid found it strange. It was a thought that crossed his mind.

‘Why target me?’ he wondered. He had heard similar comments when he had joined mercenary groups. Perhaps it was just his appearance.

Either way, Enkrid knew one thing: he was going to make the Black Blades regret underestimating him.

He would show them that they weren’t the only ones who could go on the offensive.

———————————————————————-
TL here! Thank you for reading!

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