A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

After the door opened, Rem was the first to step inside.

“Where…?”

As he entered, he tried to say something, but there was no time to speak. Something fell from above Rem’s head.

As if he had predicted it, Rem swung his axe vertically.

A flash of light from the axe sliced through the darkness of the room. As soon as Rem swung his axe, he immediately leaped to the side, almost as if he had been launched.

All of this was executed smoothly, like a prearranged sequence.

Thud.

The falling corpse was the only thing that indicated what had just happened.

“What the…?”

Krais peeked his head out in surprise.

It had been hiding in the ceiling. Holding short knives in both hands, the creature was split from chest to crotch by Rem’s axe, spilling its innards and blood onto the floor.

The stench of blood and death assaulted their nostrils.

“I thought it was just a petty crime guild.”

Krais muttered.

“These bastards.”

Rem twisted his lips into a grin.

“Cute.”

With that, he stepped further inside. The interior was quite spacious. Next to the neatly made walls of bricks, soil, and straw, a passageway branched off to the right.

As Rem strode forward,

“Is it you?”

He suddenly spoke and swung his axe. The merciless blow created a second corpse.

The one hiding next to the passageway had attempted to stab with something resembling a skewer, but it was futile.

Rem’s axe was faster.

The opposition was a crime guild. They were pickpockets and extortionists.

On the other hand, this side consisted of soldiers whose profession was combat.

Moreover, Encrid himself was an elite soldier, and the rest were even better fighters than he was.

‘I thought we had the advantage.’

Seeing it firsthand gave a different impression.

The criminal gang had hidden discreetly and thrust their knives from the shadows, and their skill was not to be underestimated.

But Rem destroyed all their ambushes. It couldn’t be said that he was rampaging wildly, but there was a quiet madness visible in him.

A madness that said he would chop anyone who came at him with his axe.

As he moved, Rem didn’t stop talking.

“Or is it you?”

He spoke every time he killed anyone.

“Is it you?”

Slash!

“Is it you?”

He split the head of the fifth ambusher and asked.

“Dead men can’t speak.”

From behind, Encrid spoke up. Rem lifted his axe, dripping with blood, and scratched his head with the handle.

“I know, but even the living aren’t answering, are they?”

Someone else must have the answers.

After passing the right-angled corridor, they saw a room to the left, another to the right, and a space that seemed to be used as a reception area straight ahead.

It wasn’t a complicated structure.

Reception room, two rooms, a place that could be used as a food storage, and a kitchen.

That was all.

And there were five dead ambushers.

None of them spoke.

“For a criminal organization, they were overly prepared. It seems these guys were indeed targeting the Squad Leader.” Krais said, examining the dead bodies. After staring at one of the faces for a while, Krais looked up.

“I don’t recognize any of these faces.”

Encrid nodded. It was a sign of agreement that he didn’t recognize them either, and that these seemed to be the ones targeting him.

‘Lucky or unlucky, who knows.’

To be honest, half of it was an excuse to avoid the devil’s powder.

He knew that a crime guild was suitable for forging identities and guiding assassins.

‘But targeting a professional soldier of the Border Guard?’

It’s not something easily attempted if one wants to live in this city. Yet, they did it.

They must have had their reasons.

Of course, those reasons didn’t matter to Encrid.

It was a shot in the dark.

A roughly aimed arrow hitting a wild boar between the eyes.

“Is this it?” Rem, who was searching the inside, said. There were no more answers, just five guys attacking with knives.

It was all over with just one rampaging Rem.

“That can’t be. With this level of preparation and if Jaxon got the information right.” Krais said. He took out a flint from his pocket, apparently because it was dark, and lit the straw lying around.

With the clink of the flint, the straw caught fire.

A flame flickered in the cold air of the house.

Using a makeshift torch made of bundled straw, Krais meticulously searched the surroundings.

Soon, he stomped his heel on one side of the reception room floor.

Thud.

There was a hollow sound. The inside was empty.

“Let me handle this.”

Audin stepped forward. A cheap fur rug was spread on the floor with a chair placed on top of it. He grabbed the end of the fur and threw it to the side.

The chair wrapped in the fur hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Then, Audin gave a hearty knock once more.

Bang.

His fist, driven vertically from a sitting position, punched a hole in the wooden door.

Audin reached through the hole, inserted his arm inside, and unlocked the latch.

“Where does this lead?”

“The headquarters.”

Jaxon answered Krais’s question, as if he had expected this outcome.

Rem looked at Encrid.

Thanks to the burning straw torch, Rem’s eyes, which were originally gray, appeared red.

“Let’s keep going.”

Encrid spoke before Rem could even ask.

They had to see this through to the end.

This wasn’t just about eliminating a petty criminal gang but dealing with a guild-sized adversary.

It wasn’t just a ragtag group calling themselves a guild; they were organized.

If these were indeed the ones targeting him, he had to deal with them accordingly.

No fool would quietly leave those who threatened his life. Fortunately, Encrid was no fool.

“Of course!”

Rem took the lead again. The tunnel wasn’t long.

Within half an hour, they saw a passage leading upwards.

Though it was bitterly cold, Rem had already discarded any blankets or coverings when he met the beggar.

Watching Rem’s shivering back, one could sense the rage emanating from him.

“There’s someone up there.”

Jaxon, walking right behind Rem, spoke. It meant there was a guard.

“They’re expecting us.”

Krais, bringing up the rear, said.

“We can’t let these bandits run rampant within the city.”

Audin spoke again. He seemed adept at breaking down doors.

It might have been his hobby.

He climbed the poorly made dirt steps two at a time, twisted his body upwards, and hit the door with the edge of his shoulder and back.

It was a unique technique.

Encrid’s eyes sparkled as he watched.

Bang!

The sound was like an explosion. Perhaps it was an exploding fire spell.

Simultaneously, the door flew upward.

“Argh!”

The startled cries of those waiting could be heard.

Then it was Rem’s stage once again.

“Is it you!”

He leaped upwards with his enigmatic question. With his first step on the stairs, his second on Audin’s thigh, he soared through the air, swinging his hand axe. All Encrid could see from below was Rem’s backside.

But the outcome was clear. With the sound of bodies hitting the ground, blood flowed and spilled over the edge of the gaping hole.

“That brother has bad manners, stepping on someone else’s thigh like that.”

Audin dusted off his thigh and climbed up first, followed by Jaxon and Ragna. Encrid and Krais climbed up after them.

Fwoosh.

As they ascended, they were surrounded by torches.

“I was wondering what kind of crazy bastards you were.”

A voice echoed around them.

Encrid looked around. He saw at least thirty men.

Each of them was armed with something.

Spiked clubs, short swords, spears, and even blackjacks filled with sand in leather pouches were visible.

They were well-armed.

The torches illuminated the area.

Krais tossed the straw torch, which had served as their light source until now, into the hole they had emerged from and marveled.

“Wow, that’s a lot of them.”

Yes, there were indeed many.

Encrid thought the same.

“Soldiers, right?”

Among the thirty men, one stood out. He wore a fine silk shirt and trousers, and over them, a coat made of beast leather.

He was standing with a cane.

It wasn’t the kind of cane used for a leg injury.

It was a cane with a jeweled handle, carried by nobles or wealthy merchants as a symbol of their wealth.

With two perfectly good legs, the cane was merely a symbol of vanity.

“Are you the Gilpin gang?”

Encrid answered the question with another question. The aristocratic-looking man frowned. It was clear he was offended.

“Why is everyone so eager to die?”

“We’re here to ask about the ambush incident that happened within the Border Guard.”

Before Encrid finished speaking, Rem opened his mouth.

“Was it you?”

A short but pointed question.

Encrid realized he was asking about the ambush on him.

But would they really get an answer just by asking like that?

It suited Rem’s style, though.

‘Even I wouldn’t answer that.’

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The opponent wasn’t flustered, instead, he was rather confident. That confidence made him even more suspicious.

Encrid’s squad members needed no more than suspicion to act.

“It’s that bastard.” Jaxon muttered.

“Hmm, so it was him.” Ragna said, looking at the man with the cane. Considering Ragna’s usual demeanor, this was akin to a glare. He was staring directly at the man with wide-open eyes.

Normally, he walked around with his eyes half-closed.

“Brother, did you really target our Squad Leader?” Audin stepped forward and asked. A few men nearby flinched.

In the dark night, with the shadows cast by the torches, Audin’s figure seemed even larger.

Encrid was nearly 180 cm tall, and Audin was a full handspan taller than him.

He was just shy of 2 meters.

It wasn’t just his height. Up close, his entire body was muscular. His forearms were thicker than most women’s thighs.

All of Encrid’s troublesome squad members were well-built and muscular.

Even Krais had sculpted abs, maintained for every woman he met.

But Audin’s physique was overwhelmingly imposing.

If the thickness of muscles were the measure of a man, Audin might be one of the greatest men on the continent.

“Is it true, brother?”

“What nonsense is this? Why would we send an assassin to kill a mere soldier, let alone a Squad Leader?”

The man seemed to flinch at Audin’s presence and spouted unnecessary words.

“We didn’t say anything about sending assassins.”

They mentioned an ambush, not assassins.

At Encrid’s words, the aristocratic-looking man grew even calmer.

“So what?”

What did they expect?

They were over thirty armed criminals. Well-armed, too.

It was clear they had known Encrid’s group was coming. Somewhere, there had been a leak of information.

So, what changed?

Nothing.

At least, that’s what Encrid thought.

The same applied to the crimes they had committed.

There was no evidence. So, whether they admitted to it or not didn’t matter.

So, nothing mattered.

That went for both the enemy and Encrid.

What use was evidence when it came to exterminating a crime syndicate?

So, what to do now?

Even among the crime guild, there were likely those who had grabbed a weapon out of sheer desperation.

Should they all be killed?

Encrid had no such intention. So, he decided to give them a chance.

Shing.

Encrid silently drew his longsword and etched a line in the ground.

A few flinched at the sight of the drawn sword, but no one attacked.

A line formed on the frozen winter ground.

It wasn’t clearly visible with only the torches as light sources, but the meaning was what mattered.

A short line appeared in the wide clearing.

Encrid pressed the tip of his sword against the line he had drawn and spoke.

“Anyone who has never killed the weak, who will quietly go to prison, who does not want to die, drop your weapons and cross over.”

This wasn’t a battlefield.

Even if they were criminals, from now on, it would be a one-sided slaughter.

The enemy might not know this, but Encrid did, and so he gave them a chance.

“Think carefully. Otherwise, you will all die today.”

He spoke of slaughter. Such was the world. It was an era where killing and being killed was not unusual. Yet, murder was never pleasant.

If this were a battlefield.

If it were for survival.

Then it might be unavoidable, but this wasn’t the case.

So, he gave them a chance.

“What did he say?”

“Huh? Who’s gonna die?”

“Has he gone mad from fear?”

“Hey, buddy. Did you piss yourself?”

The criminals mocked Encrid heartily. One even twirled his finger next to his head, mimicking madness.

In the end, no one crossed the line Encrid had drawn.

“What are you doing?”

Rem asked. Encrid didn’t feel embarrassed. He had intended to give them a chance from the beginning.

“Brother, their eyes are blinded by the devil, they won’t believe until they see.” Audin whispered.

Killing them all would be a poor choice.

Encrid chose a different approach.

“Who’s the best with a sword?”

By demonstrating his skill, he would broaden their options.

Unlike before, he was now confident.

Confident that he could win against most opponents.

Encrid stepped forward, his sword drawn.

“Come on, face me.”

The guild leader sneered, as if watching a show.

A challenger stepped in front of Encrid.

“You’re pretty cocky, aren’t you?”

He looked like a former mercenary. His long beard made it difficult to guess his age, but he didn’t seem older than forty.

“You’ll die acting like that. Just give up while you can…”

Valen Mercenary Sword Technique.

Interrupting mid-sentence to strike.

That was the technique the opponent used. It reminded Encrid of his past self.

The opponent abruptly thrust his spear while still talking.

His spear-handling skill was impressive.

But it wasn’t as good as the first elite soldier’s thrust.

And it was far inferior to Mitch Hurrier, who had blocked Encrid’s path with his spear.

Encrid dodged the incoming spear and closed in on his opponent, raising his sword.

A strike from below.

Thrust!

It was a single strike.

The duel was decided in one move.

The opponent’s skill level was similar to Encrid’s past self.

Because of this,Encrid realized his own growth.

‘At this level…’

He didn’t need to repeat today. He could gauge his opponent’s level at a glance.

With the fight ending in one move,the man, impaled by Encrid’s sword, gurgled and bled. Encrid pushed him aside with force.

As he pulled out his sword with a whoosh, the man’s body, lying on the cold ground, trembled and hot steam rose from the spilling blood.

Silence descended upon the scene, mingling with the cold air. A single sword strike was enough to assert his dominance.

Everyone’s gaze on Encrid changed.

Encrid asked again,

“Anyone else want to come over?”

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