WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 243: Because She Yearned to Live

= = =

Martai had a conifer forest to the north, plains and Border Guard to the west, Eastern Kingdom territory to the east, and another fairly large forest to the south.

That forest was called Grateful Forest.

"But why is it called Grateful Forest?"

Torres was trying to get used to the terrain around the territory where they had newly settled.

A soldier with a Forest Ranger background walked beside him and answered.

Five Frontier Guard soldiers followed behind them.

"Because we're grateful."

At the soldier's reply, Torres nearly made a face, thinking, Is this bastard making fun of me? Before he could react, the soldier continued.

"Have you ever gone to the conifer forest up north? People can't live there. Even Rangers don't go in. Do you know its nickname? Cliffwood."

Torres had heard of it too. It was famous.

The northern part of Martai was conifer forest, the boundary line that split the continent.

Why Cliffwood? Because going in there was no different from falling to your death, and the name stuck.

"But down here in the south, this forest has plenty of fruit and game. People who lived around here since long ago were so grateful that the name ended up like that."

Grateful Forest, huh.

Did that name have character, or none at all?

Without much thought, Torres kept learning the terrain while on patrol.

Then it happened.

Kihiiiiing!

A screech tore through the air, nothing like a horse's cry. It carried malice and killing intent, enough to make his skin crawl. It was the cry of a Magic Beast.

"What is that?"

In Torres's field of view, near the edge of Grateful Forest, stood one horse.

Of course, it was no normal horse. How could any ordinary horse grow fangs that long and exposed?

"Looks like a Magic Beast?"

"Looks like?"

Horses were herbivores, and herbivores turning into Magic Beasts was rare. Not impossible, just rare.

Torres frowned, then relaxed his brow and gestured.

Was that all, just one? Or were there more behind it?

Had they still not been noticed?

Maybe.

"A Horse Magic Beast, that's interesting."

That came from the former Ranger soldier.

"Are there no Forest Rangers in that forest?"

Martai had scattered Ranger units through the nearby forests. Forest Rangers meant recon troops that used the woods as their battlefield.

This continent always suffered threats from Magic Beasts and Demon Creatures. Routine patrols were a given.

"There are."

The soldier continued again.

He had that habit of speaking in broken segments instead of saying everything at once.

"Grateful Forest has had Demon Creatures and Magic Beasts before, but this side was originally safe enough to be called a safe zone, with very few Magic Beast sightings."

Maybe his mouth had gone dry from talking. The soldier swallowed once, then spoke again.

"A single squad-sized team rotates in there."

"Right now too?"

"Yes, right now too."

Behind the Horse Magic Beast, several more creatures came into view.

They were Man-Faced Hounds. Between their muzzles he saw torn flesh and red bloodstains.

"Everyone, alert formation."

Torres's judgment was fast and correct.

What had happened to the Ranger team that went into the forest? Wiped out?

At minimum, he judged they had been attacked and could no longer function, so he pulled back.

Did they really get taken down by just that many?

Or maybe it was an ambush?

Either way, there had to be a reason.

The pack of Magic Beasts, Horse Magic Beasts and Man-Faced Hounds, at least ten in total, did not charge.

That puzzled Torres too.

"Do the Magic Beasts around here just lick their lips when they see humans?"

"Huh?"

He wanted to see Zimmer's face as soon as possible for assigning him this idiot of a soldier.

The guy never understood anything in one go.

"Ah, no. No, they don't. The previous patrol had no issues. They didn't find any sign of a pack like this."

That was strange. Rangers who moved through Grateful Forest had found no traces, and now over a dozen Magic Beasts appeared as a group?

And what was with Horse Magic Beasts mixed with Man-Faced Hounds?

Something was off.

A few of the watching creatures started creeping closer.

Torres did not wait. He stepped out to meet them.

"Kill them all."

Kaaak!

Several Man-Faced Hounds lunged. The Horse Magic Beast backed away.

It was not a difficult fight.

Torres and his group killed three or four Man-Faced Hounds, while the Horse Magic Beast watched blankly, then ran back into the forest.

Going inside was judged too dangerous, so they stopped there.

Torres wiped his bloodied sword roughly on a Man-Faced Hound hide and spoke.

"We need to report this."

Torres returned and reported to the former Frontier Defense Captain, now the lord. The lord judged there were probably more Magic Beasts and submitted a request mission to Border Guard.

A request mission had benefits in many ways, so they did not force internal handling.

Besides, the Frontier Guard had more to do than just clear Magic Beasts.

Public order inside the territory was not fully secured yet.

Rumors were also spreading that the so-called Eastern Mercenary King was displeased that Martai had fully shifted to Naurillia.

In reality, a few soldiers from the east even deserted at night.

"Letting them go is the right call."

Zimmer had advised that too. Leave them, and they were easterners anyway. Sooner or later they would become blades that stabbed their own side.

Tough, fierce, and stubborn.

That was what an explorer from long ago had said about eastern nomads.

After that, Torres focused on other tasks. The Demon Creatures in southern Grateful Forest would be handled by those who came from Border Guard.

Most likely, the lord of Martai and Battalion Commander Marcus of Border Guard both wanted natural exchange between the two territories, so this was probably part of that intended redistribution of work.

For two days after that, Torres and Zimmer struggled over how to organize a territorial security force.

During that time, he also received observation reports from Rangers newly assigned to patrol duty in Grateful Forest.

"It doesn't seem like a large-scale colony has formed."

That was good news.

Still, why was the Ranger squad wiped out? More desertion?

Desertion, maybe.

* * *

A few days later, a unit came in from Border Guard for the request.

There were fewer than ten people at most.

One of them looked familiar.

Among Enkrid's companies was the beastwoman with golden eyes who had once belonged to the Black Blade Bandits.

Martai's own forces could clear them, but this was the first step in building exchange between the two territories.

"I'm counting on you."

Torres spoke to them, and the group approaching nodded.

The soldier with the habit of breaking his speech took the lead as guide again.

Those carrying out the mission followed behind him, led by the beastwoman.

Better to use Border Guard soldiers than hire mercenaries.

In winter, Magic Beasts ran wild.

If they kept handling these increasingly troublesome Magic Beasts and Demon Creatures, the two territories would naturally start operating like one command.

By spring, even if the Mercenary King threw his weight around, Martai would also gain enough strength to endure it.

Torres had no worries.

Border Guard soldiers were high quality. They were not people who would fall to a few Horse Magic Beasts or Man-Faced Hounds.

And with that beastwoman here as well.

Nothing should happen. Obviously.

* * *

"Look at this, where did you learn that?"

Rem asked, and Dunbakel answered.

She said she had done mercenary work, watched people next to her, and stole what she could learn.

Back in her homeland, no one had taught her anything.

A cursed transformation paired with golden eyes was more than enough to make everyone reject her.

She tied her long white hair back, twitched her catlike nose, and Rem grinned and raised his fist.

"Start."

Start what? The start of violence, the start of a beating.

A day that started with getting pummeled ended with getting pummeled. No, had ended.

Was this memory, or pain born from mental trauma?

As Dunbakel walked, a chill ran through her. She rubbed both arms with her hands as if hugging herself.

"Cold?"

"No."

A soldier asked from behind, but the beastwoman shook her head.

For beastfolk, cold was not a sensitive issue. Their body temperature ran hotter than humans, and they were warm-blooded too.

Beastfolk were especially weaker to heat than cold. In other words, strong against cold.

Their body hair was thicker than humans' and grew more easily.

The soldier stopped talking after that question.

Dunbakel headed toward the place where Magic Beasts had appeared and sank into thought.

More exactly, she was going over the way Rem had taught her.

Had it helped?

She wanted to say no, but she couldn't.

"Is this really teaching?"

"No, have you seen a more idiotic beastfolk than you? Then what do you think I'm doing right now?"

"Punching and kicking."

At her blunt answer, that crude barbarian gave a deep smile.

"How did you survive this long? With that little awareness."

She got hit again. After about two days of taking hits, she had thought, I'm going to die like this.

She had crawled under Enkrid to survive, and Dunbakel longed to live.

It was the first time she realized such a hot craving existed inside her.

If I want to live, what do I do?

Her body reacted before her head.

After being beaten countless times, her body learned first. Dunbakel stole and learned Rem's movements.

"Now we can finally have a conversation."

That had been the right answer.

"Figure out how to steal and learn on your own. If you don't want to die, that's what you'll do."

If anyone had seen that barbarian's eyes at that moment, their bladder would have shaken. Dunbakel had been the same.

With a strange face that looked excited and annoyed at once, Rem beat Dunbakel again.

If I want to live, what do I do?

Steal and learn.

She did exactly that. It took one week to forget what she had learned from mercenary work, and one more week to steal it again and carve it into her body.

"I have something I'm curious about."

Around then, Dunbakel had spoken first.

No matter what Rem might say, she wanted to clear up her question, so she asked.

"You seem to teach the Independent Company Commander kindly?"

Was that some kind of trigger switch?

Dunbakel had not known. In other words, this had been a huge misunderstanding. She had only been curious. That was all.

"Fuuuuck?"

That was the start. Rem lifted his axe without answering. Dunbakel had to draw her Scimitar too.

Bang!

It was lucky she didn't die in one hit.

"That human!"

While fighting, Rem had said it. It was almost absurd how he moved and kept talking.

Dunbakel had no room to catch her breath, yet Rem moved nonstop and never stopped talking.

"No matter how much I explain every step!"

"Even when I show examples, he doesn't improve!"

"He just doesn't improve."

The last line had been said right up close, at a distance where their breath touched.

Unexpectedly, his mouth did not smell foul. Beastfolk had sensitive noses and caught scents easily, but even so.

"So that was your complaint? If that's your complaint, roll around every day like the captain."

It had been a misunderstanding from the start. She asked because she was curious, not because she had a complaint.

The crude barbarian looked like he had no intention of hearing any answer and just kept pressing as if he had found an excuse.

At the end of her thoughts, she heard a soldier's voice.

"We're here. That's Grateful Forest, and the reason it's called Grateful Forest is..."

Leaving the rambling soldier behind, Dunbakel stepped forward. Her left eyebrow twitched without intention. The raised brow trembled.

The beastfolk instinct inside her sent a warning.

"Didn't they say there were around ten Horse Magic Beasts and Man-Faced Hounds?"

Dunbakel asked.

"So that's why it's called Grateful Forest, uh? Yes."

The guide who always broke his speech tilted his head.

"Everyone, prepare for combat."

Dunbakel spoke. Her golden eyes looked past the forest.

Her sight could pierce darkness. It was intuition born from battlefield experience plus beastfolk instinct.

Dunbakel sensed danger.

Dragonkin, giants, Frog, beastfolk, elves, dwarf.

Among them, giants were the strongest in raw strength.

Elves were the most sensitive.

Frog had eyes that judged talent, plus one outstanding ability each.

People said beastfolk had superior physiques.

"You idiot, you're not even using half of what your body can do."

She had watched human mercenary swordplay and copied it. She moved thinking that was the right answer.

Rem was a crude barbarian, but his teaching had not been empty.

"Don't fight with limits on your physical ability."

Not fixed swordsmanship from preset stances, but trusting your body's athletic ability and fighting like a mad thing.

That was Rem's words.

Maybe not all the way to madness, but moving that way while staying in control of her body had been the right answer.

After Rem pushed her like that, even Dunbakel herself felt her skill had grown sharply.

Now was the time to test that skill.

Grrrrr.

One Horse Magic Beast and a pack of Man-Faced Hounds?

Not even close.

She saw the number of things creeping out from one side of the forest.

Horse Magic Beasts alone were at least over twenty, and there were so many Man-Faced Hounds she did not even want to count.

Deep inside the forest, far more than dozens of red-glowing eyes shone.

"Hey, you go request support."

Dunbakel said to the guide soldier.

"Huh?"

Did this bastard really never understand anything in one go?

Smack!

Dunbakel did not hesitate. She smacked the back of his head.

"Ugh!"

After taking that hit, the guide bent at the waist, then looked up. One hand pressed his struck head. His eyes were full of shock.

So what.

"Run if you don't want to die."

Dunbakel was speaking like Rem now, but this was no time to notice that.

The guide soldier started running with his hand still on the back of his head.

The soldiers tensed as the mission to exterminate Magic Beasts suddenly turned into a life-and-death battle.

"Fuck, what is this all of a sudden."

"What are we supposed to do when they post a request without even checking properly?"

Dunbakel cracked her neck side to side.

If this number was all of them for now.

There was no danger.

That was her judgment. She could show that much confidence now.

"Do you want to live? Don't want to die? Then fight back."

Rem's voice rose faintly in her mind.

She hated even thinking about it, but her sparring with Rem, those trials with that barbarian, had repeatedly given Dunbakel craving.

A craving for life that bloomed and burned, separate from reproduction.

That burned in her eyes.

Shing.

Dunbakel drew her Scimitar.

"Don't come in front of me, and don't come beside me either."

With those words, the beastwoman sprinted forward. Thud, dirt and gravel burst under her feet. Her body blurred, leaving an afterimage.

Two horses on the other side reacted at the same time.

Hiiing!

A short Magic Beast cry rang through the air, and beasts born to run slammed in with brutal speed.

Soon, Dunbakel and the two Magic Beasts met on one line, crossed, and passed each other.

= = =

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried