Eternally Regressing Knight

“Things don’t always go as planned.”

Enkrid muttered quietly as he moved.

“Esther.”

He pressed his left big toe, lowering his waist. In a sharp, low stance, he leaned forward.

In a single swift motion, two daggers whizzed by, embedding themselves into the back wall of the tavern.

Enkrid drew his sword.

The tavern room wasn’t wide enough to swing a longsword.

Especially with the wall blocking the entrance.

They believed in that fact.

What would be the point of drawing a sword here? What could he possibly do?

Enkrid could almost hear the servant’s thoughts.

He pressed his left hand against the scabbard, adjusting the angle.

Instead of a horizontal slash, he transitioned to a vertical strike and drew his sword.

With a powerful upward swing, the sword cleaved through the servant, from his groin to the middle of his chest.

The sound was soft but distinct—a whisper of fabric, leather, muscle, and bone being sliced.

The sword had been that fast.

Enkrid had gauged the distance perfectly, cutting just deep enough—no more than the width of a finger.

At this depth, a person would die.

The adjustment of his sword belt and the careful positioning of his foot were all for this single strike.

It felt satisfying.

“Ugh, crack!”

The servant let out a short scream before collapsing, his insides spilling out as his lungs and vocal cords were undamaged.

“Dammit!”

The tavern owner, now revealed as a thief, drew a short sword and yelled.

But he didn’t step forward.

Hadn’t he seen his servant die with a single blow?

Then, from above, a shadow descended and struck the thief’s skull.

Thud, crash!

The blow shattered his neck, and his face was marked with three deep claw marks as his nose and eye sockets were crushed and torn.

It was the power of a predator’s paw.

The leopard panther, usually calm, was terrifying in battle.

Esther, the one who had struck the fatal blow, landed next to Enkrid.

With a light thud, she stood easily, her movements seeming faster than usual.

Enkrid could sense his own body’s condition through the precision of that strike.

I feel light as a feather.

His body was in excellent condition. Truly, he felt great.

“Mm.”

Enkrid’s light admiration was interrupted as he noticed the wide-eyed, grizzled man in the back.

He soon spoke.

A cry mixed with tension, fear, and excitement.

“You’re dead!”

With that cry, there was a sharp, snapping sound.

Enkrid’s acute instincts immediately pinpointed the source—it was from behind.

“What the hell is this?!”

Another shout followed, sounding from a bed. There were two beds, and specifically, it came from the one chosen by Jaxen.

Soon, the sound of fabric tearing filled the room.

The thief hidden inside the bed had tried something, but it seemed blocked by the fabric added to the ceiling by Jaxen.

As the fabric tore, something dropped.

“Ugh!”

Esther made a sound as she saw what fell. It was a leather-like sphere, and it soon burst.

It wasn’t an explosion, per se.

There was no pressure or light, just green smoke quickly spreading.

Although Enkrid didn’t smell it, he felt dizzy—the unmistakable scent of poison.

And then, an arrow flew in through the window.

Enkrid slashed his sword quickly, deflecting the arrow.

With a thwack, the arrow’s middle splintered and bounced off the floor.

While blindly shot arrows were always dangerous, dodging daggers at close range was far more challenging.

This wasn’t a serious threat.

But the poison gas was another matter.

His gaze shifted.

Behind the dead servant and tavern owner, the grizzled man slammed the door shut.

Trying to lock me in and kill me with poison?

Enkrid held his breath, not hesitating. He quickly turned to his side. Outside the window, an arrow was aimed at him, and behind the door, the grizzled man was standing firm.

Was it better to break through the door?

No, considering the situation, there was probably something prepared on the other side as well.

It was a gut feeling.

And it was right.

The grizzled man had prepared the poison spheres the moment he saw Enkrid’s swordsmanship.

The poison would twist the insides, causing vomiting until death after two or three doses.

However, the effect had a limited range, and if it wasn’t inhaled, it wouldn’t do any harm.

If Enkrid tried to break through the door, the same poison would be spread into the corridor.

The grizzled thief thought to himself.

You fool. How dare you come here.

The man didn’t know who the enemy was. To him, they were just fools who had stumbled into the wrong place.

This village, a key base of the Black Blade Thieves, was supposed to be guarded by skilled individuals. Even though their recent leader had recruited elite assassins, there were still formidable members left.

Most importantly, this was one of their strongholds.

The grizzled man, despite his appearance, was a crafty strategist, capable of setting up complex plans.

He had anticipated everything, made his judgments, and restricted his enemy’s actions.

He believed it would go according to his plan.

Enkrid, however, didn’t care what the grizzled man was doing, or what was happening around him.

That could all be dealt with later.

Just from Esther’s reaction, Enkrid knew the poison gas was dangerous.

But it wasn’t spreading quickly. It was a heavy smoke.

While smoke wouldn’t normally have weight, that’s exactly how it looked to the eye.

Rather than spreading out, it lingered thickly in the air.

The problem was that the smoke was overlapping with the spot where Enkrid had been standing.

But that was easy enough to avoid.

Without a second thought, Enkrid turned his body. He didn’t need to pause for a breath.

The tavern had been hastily constructed. It was made of wood, and the walls were thin.

Even the voices of Shinar and Finn could be heard.

This was no accident; the thieves had intentionally made the walls thin so they could eavesdrop easily. Of course, Enkrid didn’t need to care about such details.

He turned and swung his sword toward the wall.

The blade sliced through the wall with a single stroke.

He repeated this twice more, then kicked the wall.

Several beams and planks broke with a heavy sound, creating just enough space for a person to move through.

Breaking through the wall, he entered the next room.

This was supposed to be where Shinar and Finn were, but instead, three men with gleaming eyes were inside.

“Dammit?”

One of the men muttered. Their language was foul.

Enkrid didn’t hesitate. Since the smoke hadn’t spread to the next room, he took a deep breath and swung his sword.

Slash, slash, thud!

Two quick slashes severed the necks of two men, while the last one was stabbed through the heart.

The frog would be horrified.

After a brief thought, Enkrid punched the wall near the window with his gloved fist.

Crash!

The window frame and part of the wall shattered.

Even though the structure was built with wood, there were bricks mixed in. Enkrid crushed everything with sheer strength.

More arrows flew from outside, but Enkrid easily dodged them, smashing a few as he leapt out.

He landed on the roof of a nearby house and quickly rolled off to the side.

As he rolled, arrows continued to land where he had been, one of them even aiming at his expected path.

While rolling, Enkrid slapped the roof with his palm.

The roof broke apart with a loud bang, creating a hole, and the recoil sent Enkrid’s body spinning faster to the side.

Arrows continued to embed where he had just been.

After rolling softly down from the roof, Enkrid leaned against a wall.

Just as expected, a hand reached out from a nearby window.

Since he had already anticipated this, Enkrid didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the wrist and twisted it.

There was no need for any special technique—he just used his strength.

The sharp sound of breaking bone was accompanied by a scream.

Crack!

“Ahhhhh!”

These assassins lacked the patience of the ones before. Their screams came far too quickly.

Enkrid yanked the broken wrist forward with force.

There was a loud thud and a strangled grunt from beyond the wall.

They were either unconscious or dead.

Letting go of the broken wrist, Enkrid turned and stood in the wide open space in front of the tavern.

Things never went smoothly.

Not everything went as planned.

That was only natural.

So, what to do next? He would adapt as needed.

The Black Knife Thieves guarding the village didn’t know this, but with Enkrid’s abilities, stamina, and skill, he didn’t even need the fairy company commander’s troops.

The thieves didn’t know that.

“Who the hell is this guy? Kill him!”

Someone shouted.

Enkrid couldn’t help but think that these fools were truly something.

The ones who revealed themselves weren’t just a few.

There were at least twenty, and the number was still growing.

From somewhere, figures with gleaming eyes and weapons began to appear, one after another.

“You fight too well…”

One of them, a soldier blocking the front, was the one who spoke in a trailing tone.

This was the person Enkrid had noticed when he first entered the village.

In his judgment, the soldier with the trailing speech was the best weapon handler, the most skilled among them all.

“Ugh… why not just die quietly…”

The tone didn’t seem like an act.

Kaaak!

Before long, Esther, having rushed out of the tavern, landed next to Enkrid.

“The rest of your party is probably already dead…”

Enkrid didn’t respond with a smile or a word.

He simply scanned the surroundings.

Then he asked, “Is this everyone in the village?”

“You’re quick to catch on.”

The answer came from behind him.

The sound of clinking metal followed, and a woman with claws on both hands appeared.

She was young, and her three sharp blades gleamed ominously.

Enkrid looked at her face and thought, Was that what she was hiding in her thigh back then?

The claws were long enough to pierce through a person’s torso.

She was a woman whose movements Enkrid had noticed before.

She was the second person Enkrid had focused on.

The third one wasn’t visible.

“Where are you from? You seem like a soldier, not a mercenary. Who gave you orders? Which fool sent you?”

The woman asked again.

Enkrid spoke up.

“Nothing left under there? Didn’t you hide a jar of honey or something there?”

Her brow furrowed at his answer. They had been exchanging questions instead of giving answers.

“Don’t you realize what’s happening?”

“If it’s not a jar of honey, then maybe a jar of medicine,” Enkrid casually replied, scanning his surroundings. He hadn’t answered her question, but he had already gathered most of the information.

The number of people surrounding them had exceeded thirty, maybe fifty. They all moved lightly, and every one of them was skilled with a blade.

Still…

‘They seem less skilled than the border guards who came to visit.’

There were a few clumsy ones among them—those who had just picked up their weapons.

A few movements looked familiar.

They had the same scent as the assassins from before.

That was no surprise. The Black Blade Thieves had recruited top assassins from somewhere.

They were all from the Black Blade Thieves’ base.

This was the place they called their den.

Even so, a few highly skilled individuals remained to guard the village.

Two of them had surrounded Enkrid from the front and back.

“From the awkward acting to the uncomfortable attitude. What are you really?”

The woman didn’t get angry. She tried to provoke him gently, but it didn’t work. She seemed to be holding her composure well.

“Either we kill you or capture you and interrogate you…”

The former soldier spoke from behind.

Enkrid still thought these people were impressive.

The growing number of enemies, their actions, and the situation they were in.

The conclusion was clear.

This entire village was a bandit stronghold.

‘To turn an entire village into a den of thieves.’

It was proof of the Black Knife Thieves’ immense power.

Where were all these bandits coming from?

Should he be afraid?

No.

Enkrid couldn’t help but smile to himself.

Esther glanced at him from the side.

‘Why is he smiling?’

Enkrid was genuinely pleased. The power of the Black Knife Thieves seemed extraordinary.

Difficulties, danger, obstacles, crises, walls, death, the boatman, and the overwhelming uncertainty ahead.

Enkrid knew how to enjoy difficulty.

The harder it was, the more fun it became. And the more fun it was, the more motivated he felt to act.

So when asked if the ones surrounding him were a threat, Enkrid concluded:

‘Not at all.’

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TL here! Thank you for reading!

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