WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 239: [That Was Not Bad Either.]

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There was resolve in his words and actions.

Because that resolve showed, Enkrid's words carried weight.

He told everyone to fall back.

He said he would protect them. If he said it, he was the kind of man who would do it.

If he failed? He would deal with that when it happened.

Ragna was the last to move.

Until the very end, he stared at Swallow Blade in silence, then tossed out one line before turning away.

"See you later."

Swallow Blade ignored him.

Enkrid thought that was a bad idea.

'Ragna saying "see you later" is rare too.'

It was not something you saw often.

One by one, they withdrew until they were far beyond visible range.

When Enkrid was left alone, Swallow Blade spoke again, his face and tone stripped of humor.

"Impressive. Very impressive."

The smile vanished from Swallow Blade's face. He looked calm.

Even then, Enkrid only watched in silence with his sword still drawn.

"Let's start."

Swallow Blade said it. A brief silence fell.

Because nothing happened.

It should have been awkward, but Swallow Blade only twisted his lips into another smile.

To Enkrid, it looked like a smile forced out by sheer effort.

The original plan had been for the Half-Giant to charge first. Then Swallow Blade would rush in and exploit the opening.

But the Half-Giant did not move.

"Want to talk?"

Enkrid asked lightly. He meant to ease the awkwardness, but it did not land.

"Fuck, just shut up."

Swallow Blade glared at the Half-Giant. She stood there in her helmet without even turning.

If the two of them joined forces, they could kill him, so what the hell was that bitch doing now?

Of course, Swallow Blade had not charged in relying on the Half-Giant alone.

He was carrying something for dangerous moments too.

'If I use it wrong, I'm dead too.'

Then use it right. The more dangerous the tool, the deadlier it was when used properly.

Even after "Let's start," the Half-Giant still did not move, so Swallow Blade spoke again.

"Move."

A sharp push. Only then did the Half-Giant silently raise her shield.

Enkrid looked at her.

The helmet covered her face. The visor was just one long horizontal slit, barely enough to show her eyes, and those eyes were so narrow that even her gaze could not be read.

Still, that did not mean he could not feel her mood.

People showed what they felt through their bearing, even without speaking.

"Don't want to fight?"

Enkrid asked, facing her.

During their sparring, the Half-Giant had gradually gotten fired up, and Enkrid had felt it too.

That was before today began repeating, so a long time ago now, but some memories did not fade easily.

This was different from forgetting Edin Molsen's name.

"I am only doing my duty."

The Half-Giant answered. Her husky voice rang through the helmet. Clearly a woman, but with that rough edge in her tone.

She raised her shield at once. A gray iron wall.

The instant she set it, she leaned and kicked off the ground. Her monstrous thigh muscles and ankle strength blasted dirt upward and drove her body forward.

Boom!

The kick into the earth became a roar that shook the air.

At the same time, the Half-Giant stormed straight at Enkrid.

It felt like a mountain rushing in.

She herself sometimes called this move Landslide.

Her tilted shield came crashing down over Enkrid.

As if she meant to smash him from above.

Enkrid instantly activated Focus Point.

That strange sensation of the world slowing around him, a technique that consumed concentration, was already familiar.

Even in that heightened focus, the incoming shield was absurdly fast.

He judged that simply taking the charge and throwing it aside was impossible.

Then what should he do.

If he could not take it head-on, what about redirecting it instead?

The other side had lost momentum, but Enkrid had not. He was just about to move with the shield rush, with Landslide.

Then he felt killing intent stab into the back of his head. Sixth Sense triggered. Sense of Evasion slipped into a ready state on its own.

That bastard Swallow Blade had made his move. Enkrid thought that was not bad either.

'This might be fun.'

That was why a smile rose to his face, and seeing it made Swallow Blade feel like he would snap from disgust.

The killing intent he had held back for so long surged all at once.

'Die.'

Swallow Blade muttered inwardly, put a hand to his belt, and flicked something forward.

This was the weapon that had earned him his nickname.

A blade made from thin wrought iron, the Flexible Sword.

It had been wrapped around his waist. What had looked like a strip at his belt became a blade and shot out long and straight.

It was half again longer than an ordinary longsword. The tip looked like a pointed iron whip.

Chirararang!

With the wavering ring of that thin blade, the tip flew at the back of Enkrid's head like a venomous snake.

It happened just as Enkrid raised his left hand toward the shield crashing at him like a landslide.

* * *

"I keep thinking this is because of me."

Kraiss muttered, and Rem glanced over.

"Why?"

"The guide map. And I left things loose even though I knew."

Kraiss had drawn and sold a map of the territory's internal layout.

That map had likely served as their route guide, and he could have used the Gielpin guild to monitor them, but he had not.

If guild people were sent against true experts, they would die in droves.

He had chosen practicality. That was what kept pricking him.

"If you put it that way, then the Battalion Commander should take responsibility."

Finn said it from behind. Dunbakel stood at her side, and this beastkin looked like she had not thought it through at all.

She just asked, plainly doubtful.

"Is it okay to leave him there?"

Rem answered first.

"Well, if we do not leave him, are you sneaking back to help? You sure you will not get caught?"

Some beastkin were born with a hunter's instinct, but Dunbakel was not one of them.

She was a warrior, not a hunter.

"I think I'd get caught."

"Then why bring it up?"

"If that man dies, I have no reason to stay here."

It was honestly strange how openly she said it.

That was basically saying she stayed here for Enkrid alone.

Rem thought that, then kicked at Dunbakel's shin with a low kick. Her training had not been wasted, so Dunbakel lifted and twisted her leg on instinct and blocked Rem's foot.

Smack!

There was impact, but little pain. She had already spent a long time exposed to brutal violence.

Now she could block this much.

"Well done, beastkin bastard. Now stop worrying. Are you even in a position to worry?"

After that, Rem tore into Dunbakel's skill level with pure venom.

"An animal that cannot even protect itself is worried about who? Who exactly? The captain? You? You are worried about that captain who just awakened Will? And you think you can beat that pervert with the weird sword? Oh, no? No confidence? Then you still want to jump in? Is your skull broken, or did you leave your brain somewhere? Why carry that head around if it cannot even be used as a helmet stand."

From animal to helmet stand, the rhythm was not perfect, but it still came out like one complete poem.

"Four and a half stars."

Kraiss rated the poet named Rem.

He worried, but Kraiss still trusted him. The burden that this had started because of him was there, but he still trusted him.

If he had noticed earlier, he should have fortified things better. That part was regret. A moment of regret was enough.

Reality was in front of him. He had to face it.

Since it had already happened, Kraiss chose to trust.

No one else, that captain had stepped forward himself.

Even now, Kraiss still could not forget the captain's back when he had saved him.

'Because he is that kind of captain.'

On top of that, Enkrid's skill had grown to an unbelievable level lately. He had improved. He was still climbing.

So Kraiss trusted him.

More than anything, right before they pulled back, when Kraiss saw that black-haired man standing under the blue sky, two syllables rose in his mind before he knew it.

'Knight.'

What kind of person was a knight.

It could not be a title only for those with superior force.

'A knight is one who protects.'

Enkrid had said that once. And just like those words, if he said he would protect, he would protect.

"What a damn mess."

Rem grumbled, then stopped walking. They were already very far away.

Worry and watching were separate things. Being too far to see properly felt like a real waste.

The lazy bastard beside him seemed to feel that even more.

Lately, he had looked unusually motivated. For that crazy lazy bastard, it was rare.

The moment Ragna stopped, he turned back and readied himself.

To Rem, that was preparation.

He did not even draw his sword. He only stood there and faced Enkrid's direction.

'That is preparation.'

If things went bad, he would sprint at once. That was how it looked. Though it probably would not come to that.

"Father will protect him."

Audin murmured beside them. The same prayer as always. Jaxon had disappeared much earlier.

The moment they left visible range, he became a wildcat and vanished.

Esther had not even followed.

The mage, who happened to be in human form today, had only said this:

"I'm busy. Do not annoy me."

That was all. Words from a blue-eyed beauty with no trace of worry. The sort of person whose face carried that odd mystery that made it obvious she was a mage.

Yet outside, she still pretended to be a panther. A complete faker.

'She acts like she does not care, but she would not leave the captain's arms.'

Rem was chuckling at that thought when he saw someone hurrying over from the opposite side.

"Is that true? They took hostages?"

Battalion Commander Marcus had come with a fast-moving group of soldiers. Most were archers. Squad Leader Benzence was there too.

As soon as things broke out, only a few people, including Rem, had moved first. Then Marcus got the report and brought the archery unit over.

"Yes. But you do not need to worry. They said they will kill the hostages if anyone approaches, so you need to wait here for now."

Kraiss stepped up and answered.

The Battalion Commander came in person for this.

Then again, if Enkrid had awakened Will, he was high-grade manpower now.

Thinking that, Rem watched the back of Kraiss's head as he spoke.

Then it happened.

"What kind of nonsense is that? Are we trading a few hostages for a commander!"

Edin Molsen stepped forward from behind Marcus. Faded blond hair, almost yellow. He shouted like he was scolding them.

"Guide me there now! I will step in and punish that bastard!"

Since when had he worried about the captain this much?

Edin Molsen flared his nostrils in anger. That snorting look was the same as always. The only strange part was that this time he was doing it for Enkrid.

"Leave it."

Rem had no choice but to step in and say it.

"What?"

The end of Edin Molsen's eyebrow shot up. A man with a talent for showing anger with his face.

He was a pain, but they could not kill that noble's son again.

That would be a real disaster.

Rem forced his patience and spoke.

"I said leave it. Nothing will happen."

His tone was close to certainty.

What bullshit is that?

Edin said as much with his face. Rem forced his patience again and spoke.

"Ah, it will be fine."

Rem had been Enkrid's last sparring opponent.

While fighting him, he lost one axe, and at the same time realized something.

'Not a threat.'

The Half-Giant's skill was not bad, but Swallow Blade was no match.

And with Enkrid as he was now.

'Fighting the Half-Giant while tearing that sneaky bastard's head off would be easy.'

On top of that, that sly wildcat had already moved, had he not.

"So we watch a little, then go enjoy the show."

Rem said it again, but Edin still had no reason to back down.

"Move. Insolent barbarian."

Edin spat those sharp words and stepped forward.

A chilling killing intent sliced across Edin's neck.

Edin thought he had died. No, he had almost reached the instant before death.

His guard blocked it.

"You're going too far."

"I told you to listen, but you keep pushing, hm? You think crossing the line is okay?"

Rem grumbled.

What was that just now?

Edin touched his own neck. Oppression? Or something like it?

"Could you always do that?"

The guard asked.

Only Rem could fully understand that question. Audin understood it too.

Ragna looked uninterested. He still stood turned toward Enkrid's direction. He did not care who arrived behind him.

"I saw it this time and just copied it a little."

Was Oppression really something you could copy just by watching?

The guard thought Rem was mocking him, but he did not draw his sword.

This was not the time to start internal conflict.

"The captain said he would protect and save, so we wait."

Rem said it again. Faced with that fierce pressure, Marcus kept his mouth shut.

Better to stay quiet than bring up rank and command here and embarrass himself.

A politician's instincts, as expected.

"We wait."

Marcus settled the situation. Edin Molsen threw a few more tantrums, but that was it.

They stopped and waited.

There was no need to wait long for news from the front. They had left visual range, but that did not apply to Rem.

Even from far away, he could roughly read the situation from movement alone.

"Let's go."

Then Rem spoke. He could see it was ending.

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