WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 114: Crawling Forward, Regardless

The soldier guiding Enkrid to his quarters rubbed his eyes briefly. It felt like he’d seen something wrong.

‘Is this for real?’

It didn't seem right. Maybe his vision was playing tricks on him. The moment he saw the squad leader, the soldier named Ragna stood up abruptly.

‘Why the hell is he jumping up?’

Ragna, known for never getting up unless absolutely necessary among the squad of crazies, was suddenly standing?

This was the guy nicknamed "The Lazy Lunatic"—one who couldn’t be bothered to get up even if the enemy was charging right in front of him.

Yet here he was, springing up all of a sudden?

Everyone who had been observing him, especially those who’d seen him recently, would have expected him to remain seated, even if they had to slap their own thighs in disbelief.

‘What’s up with him?’

Just standing up was enough to surprise everyone around. That guy.

He was the one who never listened, even if you screamed in his ears to get up and move, even if an enemy soldier was attacking right in front of him.

“I’m late.”

Ragna threw out the words and picked up his sword.

“I just need to check if I’ve... regressed over time.”

As if simply standing up wasn’t enough, now he was outright proposing a sparring match? And he initiated it?

Sure, within the squad there was the occasional harsh banter, but Ragna usually never even acknowledged such things.

Yet here he was, suggesting a duel, gripping his sword like he couldn’t wait to start swinging it. It was obvious to anyone that he was raring to fight.

“Are you nuts?”

Rem blocked his way, standing in front of the lazy lunatic, Ragna.

“You know the first duel’s always mine, don’t you? Isn’t that right?”

What’s up with this guy now?

This one was known simply as a lunatic. The most unhinged one in the squad. The kind who would swing an axe without a reason. The one who’d snap first if you so much as provoked him.

Now, this lunatic was smiling. It wasn’t a mocking grin, nor a smile tinged with killing intent.

It was a genuine, pure smile. With his barbarian-like appearance, it almost made him look innocent.

“Are you hurt?”

And now he was even showing concern for others. Who would’ve thought this crazy barbarian could do anything besides splitting heads with his axe?

The soldier was one of the battalion commander’s direct subordinates.

He had been tasked with checking out what kind of person this squad leader named Enkrid was, which is how he ended up tagging along.

Yet, the scene unfolding before him now felt far too strange.

“It doesn’t seem broken.”

Now that one was getting involved.

So that guy could actually talk. There was a time when he’d get along with most of the squad members, they said.

But recently, he’d become a silent lunatic, just staring daggers at everyone. He had been so quiet people wondered if he’d lost his tongue somehow.

His name was Jaxen, if he remembered right.

They called him the “Clear-Eyed Lunatic.”

That stare—those clear eyes that looked straight at you—had a way of making your skin crawl, making you feel uncomfortably prickly.

“Did you apply ointment?”

It was strange enough that this Clear-Eyed Lunatic, that guy, was speaking at all, but now he was even stepping forward to inspect the squad leader’s wrist.

‘This has to be a dream.’

What the hell happened to them?

The last one was the Sacred Lunatic. The one whose name had already spread throughout the entire battalion.

Each of them was mad in their own uniquely twisted way. Among them, the Sacred Lunatic stood out the most.

He was as large as a boulder, but with a gentle smile perpetually etched on his face. Most notably, unlike the other lunatics, he was... kind.

Not that he ever listened to anyone.

Sometimes, when he prayed, it even looked like a halo appeared around him. It gave the impression of a soldier ready to take on an entire enemy battalion with a mere flick of his hand—if only he wasn’t too busy waiting for some divine calling.

To the lieutenant’s eyes, this guy was truly insane. A priest who hears an answer to their prayers manifests divine power.

But this guy didn’t use divine power. So what did that mean? Unanswered prayers—meaning he wasn’t a real priest.

‘What god’s will?’

Every day, he would seek out his god and use that as an excuse to shirk his duties. If you’re in the military, shouldn’t you be following orders from your superiors? If you’re going to act like this, why are you even here?

The Sacred Lunatic opened his mouth with his usual serene smile.

“Brother, you’ve been slacking on your training. Did you enjoy your time off? You get injured because you’re lazy. You should train. Train.”

Regardless of whether he truly believed in God or not, this kind-hearted lunatic scolded people with a smile on his face.

‘So the simple lunatic just keeps smiling, the Clear-Eyed Lunatic stares at his wrist, the Lazy Lunatic suddenly seems diligent, and the Sacred Lunatic is giving people grief?’

What is this? Trying to make sense of the situation felt extremely, infuriatingly absurd.

There was only one person who could make sense of this mess. The lieutenant turned his gaze to Enkrid. He continued speaking without caring whether anyone listened or not.

“It’s not broken.”

After saying that, he glanced around and continued.

“I just need a bit of rest. That’s not the issue—what have you guys been doing this whole time? Why is this squad known as the squad of lunatics instead of troublemakers?”

It had only been about eight days. How did a squad known for causing trouble turn into a squad of lunatics in that short time?

Enkrid’s question made sense. And as usual, Rem answered confidently.

“I think it happened because the squad leader wasn’t here. It’s all the squad leader’s fault. Yeah, it’s all on you.”

The simple lunatic spouted his nonsense.

“And the sparring?”

The Lazy Lunatic responded.

“If you disregard a minor injury, it’ll cause trouble at a critical moment. Remove the bandages first. Lunatics? Who says that? I’ve never heard of such nonsense.”

“I have no idea what you mean, Squad Leader.”

Following suit, the Clear-Eyed Lunatic and the Sacred Lunatic each gave their own quirky answers.

The lieutenant expected Enkrid to reprimand them harshly. Calling themselves the lunatic squad, that’s definitely a problem, even if their leader had been absent for a while.

Especially considering Andrew, who had just stopped crying, was standing right beside them.

The guy with a swollen, bruised eye—clear evidence that things weren’t quite right within the squad.

“What happened to his eye?”

Sure enough, Enkrid pressed them.

“We sparred. For the sake of improving his skills.”

And at the simple lunatic’s response...

“Hmm, well done.”

He nodded in agreement. Well done? His eye’s all swollen? Swollen so badly you can barely see it?

“Even so, I’m not leaving. I’m sticking with the leader.”

And now, this guy named Andrew, who had been timidly avoiding confrontation, was suddenly acting like a different person in front of Enkrid.

Normally, he’d just watch silently, but now he seemed defiant, almost confrontational.

“Yeah, that’s why I like you. Want to go for a round? Just wait, I’ll have a little fun with our squad leader first.”

Rem’s face was all smiles. It seemed like a genuinely happy smile. At least, that’s how it looked to the lieutenant. After that, the lunatics mumbled amongst themselves, waiting for Enkrid to scold the squad thoroughly.

“Go find out why they summoned him. Why they think they need that lucky bastard.”

The lieutenant had volunteered to guide a mere squad leader, which, of course, was an order from the battalion commander. So he had to report on whatever this guy did, waiting for Enkrid to make a move.

But that was all there was.

The Clear-Eyed Lunatic undid the bandages. Out of nowhere, a black panther appeared, blinking its blue eyes and yawning.

Nyaa.

Enkrid stared at him, and the other squad members followed suit, turning their gaze to the lieutenant.

“Aren’t you going?”

Enkrid asked. It didn’t sound like an invitation to stay and hang out.

“Oh, right, I’m going. Take care and get some rest.”

The lieutenant turned and left. After he was gone, Rem tilted his head and asked.

“Why was he following us around? He’s been rolling his eyes around all day.”

“Rolling his eyes?”

“He kept staring at us. I thought he was asking me to kill him, so I was planning to decorate his head with my axe tomorrow.”

“You crazy bastard, that’s not just assaulting a superior, it’s murder.”

“Is that so?”

He probably wasn’t asking out of ignorance. Especially when he was grinning like that, he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Leave it alone. Don’t cause any unnecessary trouble with your superiors. That guy’s a direct subordinate of the battalion commander.”

“If things go south, I’ll just resign.”

Of course, that wouldn’t be a typical resignation. In Rem’s case, resignation would probably look more like a daring escape from the military with two axes in hand.

While Enkrid and Rem bantered back and forth, Jaxen pulled out some ointment, knelt down on one knee, and began applying it to Enkrid’s wrist.

A cool, tingling sensation spread across his wrist. It felt cold, refreshing, and strangely itchy.

It didn’t seem like just any regular ointment. Maybe it had just been a while since they last met. Why was he being so proactive with treating injuries now?

Regardless, Enkrid said what he had to say.

“Let’s try to match what the higher-ups say a bit more.”

The reason they’d urgently summoned him was something he’d already heard on the way over.

The battlefield situation was on the brink of chaos, morale was plummeting, and there were internal disturbances within the squad.

The nickname “lunatic squad” was a testament to their notorious behavior. They couldn’t just behead them all to set an example and enforce discipline, because that would be a waste of talent.

And if they tried to manage them patiently, well, these guys would probably cause even more trouble.

‘The company commander must have tried to protect them.’

That pixie-like company commander, whatever he was thinking, had always looked out for him and the squad members in subtle ways.

Bringing his squad members here was probably for a similar reason. It was clear to Enkrid how big of a problem it looked for a squad to refuse to step up just because their leader wasn’t around.

So they brought him here.

Aside from worrying about how they’d taken him away, Enkrid understood this much. Of course, Kraiss had filled him in during the whole trip.

But there was one problem they’d overlooked.

‘It’s not like they actually listen to me.’

Even when breaking up fights, he couldn’t do it with words alone—he had to get physically involved. These weren’t the kind of people who’d just follow orders to go out and fight.

And right now was no different. None of them were paying any real attention to what Enkrid was saying.

They brushed it off. They had no intention of playing along with what the higher-ups wanted.

‘Well, what can you do?’

This was the Troublemaker Squad, or the Lunatic Squad, after all. Jaxon, reapplying the bandage, spoke with his head slightly lowered.

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard, but in the end, it’ll be your own burden to bear.”

Even if he tried to stop them, they wouldn’t listen. Jaxen took a step back.

“Yeah, I’ll bear that burden.”

After they exchanged those few words, it was then that Kraiss, who had been standing silently behind, finally spoke up.

“Am I invisible or something?”

“Huh? You’re here?”

“I saw you.”

“Welcome, Brother.”

The three, excluding Jaxon, responded in turn. Jaxen just nodded slightly in acknowledgment. After all, he and Kraiss had crossed paths a few times for various reasons.

Mostly to exchange information, set up meetings, or deal with some drugs. Kraiss, knowing better than to expect anything from these guys, found this much enough.

After that, it was time for the sparring matches. As they gathered outside the barracks, Enri finally spoke up.

“It’s intimidating just to speak to them. In a way, you could almost respect Andrew for stepping up like he did.”

Enri’s face was unscathed. In a sense, that meant he knew how to handle himself.

‘In another sense, it just means he’s only gotten this far.’

He hadn’t clashed with any of the other squad members, but it also meant he hadn’t grown close to any of them either.

Enkrid didn’t judge people lightly.

But he understood the discernment of his own squad. If none of them kept Enri close, it meant they didn’t expect him to contribute meaningfully to the squad.

That said, he never told anyone to just pack up and go home. Who was he to say that?

Especially when he himself had been told to quit countless times, and yet he still found himself wielding a sword.

He never gave up.

He never backed down.

He crawled forward, even if he had to.

That was Enkrid now.

Even if it meant crawling forward, taking half-steps, he kept moving. Even after his wrist was injured facing Frog, he could still show something.

Something that had changed. Something he’d built up over time. He felt he could do that now, too. As long as his wrist didn’t strain too much.

It didn’t seem too difficult.

“I go first.”

Rem stepped up, smiling, swinging his axe. He didn’t even announce the start. Enkrid met his swing with his own sword.

Rem’s arm bent like a whip, and his axe’s edge seemed to follow suit, curving and bending.

Enkrid’s sword curved to meet it. As they swung at high speeds, afterimages were left in the air as the axe and sword met.

Clang!

A single clash, an exchange of strikes. That alone was enough to twist Rem’s lips into a smirk.

“Well, would you look at that?”

Rem muttered as the smile on his face deepened. The clanging of metal against metal, ringing out in the dead of night, caused a commotion among the nearby soldiers.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s those lunatics again?”

“What is it this time?”

When they realized it was the Lunatic Squad, the crowd naturally gathered to watch. It wasn’t just the usual infighting; there was a new face, making it a spectacle worth watching.

Some even recognized that face.

Like Benzence, or Bell from their previous battles.

Or the squad leader who stitched up Enkrid, or some of the border guards, or those who had faced Enkrid in the promotion trials.

Clang, clang, clang!

Sparks flew as steel met steel, filling the air with noise.

Everyone watched the sparring match between Rem and Enkrid in silence, speechless.

“What... the hell is this?”

Someone’s muttered words summed up the thoughts of all the onlookers.

Enkrid—yes, that Enkrid.

Even if he had recently been promoted to a senior soldier.

He had once been far inferior to them.

A subject of ridicule, often called a fool of a squad leader, that guy...

Clang, clang, clang!

Was now swinging his sword so fast it blurred, parrying and thrusting as he clashed with Rem’s axe.

Going toe-to-toe with Rem, who had recently earned even more notoriety as a lunatic, cutting down dozens of enemies and earning admiration from some of the troops.

At least, that’s how it looked to them.

And that wasn’t all.

“We can discuss the rest later. There are others waiting for their turn.”

In the middle of the match, Rem stopped.

Behind him was Ragna.

Then Audin followed.

They took turns sparring with Enkrid, and he wasn’t easily pushed back by any of them.

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