WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 28: Ambush and Blue Eyes

Enkrid sighed in relief as he watched the recon squad leader stagger.

'I barely pulled it off.'

Knocking the sword away with the back of his hand was a trick he could only manage half the time, but with practice, he had become more accustomed to it.

It was possible because he had learned this guy's peculiar habits. Otherwise, it would have been a difficult trick to even attempt.

However, from Enkrid’s perspective, it was different. From the side, it simply looked like a vast difference in skill. He had deflected the incoming blade without batting an eye and struck the solar plexus to incapacitate his opponent. A trick that would seem impossible without an overwhelming difference in skill.

“You’re a low-ranking soldier?”

How many times had he heard that? It was getting tiresome.

“I didn’t take the promotion test. Didn’t think I needed to.”

Enkrid had already prepared a perfect answer for the follow-up question. He cracked his sore wrist left and right.

No problems.

He had done all the necessary training while swinging his sword. Strength training was a given. In terms of pure strength, Enkrid was among the top in the unit. That’s why this result was possible.

“From now on, I’m the squad leader.”

Enkrid declared. It felt like he had just crossed a mountain.

The recon squad leader didn’t argue. He just stared blankly, mumbling, “You, you...” and then fell silent. No one objected. The influential rough-looking soldier quietly followed Enkrid.

It was as expected. After that, they continued to find a way out.

“Enri, what’s your dream?”

After rearranging the formation and moving to the front, Enkrid walked with Enri beside him. It was after the commotion had settled. Enri seemed dazed but quickly composed himself at Enkrid’s words.

“What?”

“What do you want to do?”

Enri blinked several times, then, seemingly flustered, he mentioned a rather detailed wish.

“Uh, well, to survive and live with a florist widow.”

Right. Everyone had their own goals.

“First, we need to get back alive. What about you?”

He turned his head and asked the one behind him. Andrew was right behind Enkrid. The first thing Enkrid did after rearranging the formation was to place Andrew directly behind him. He even let him keep his weapon. Enri thought Enkrid was truly fearless.

What if Andrew stabbed him out of spite?

Enkrid knew that if he got stabbed, he would just start the day over, but Enri didn’t know that. Andrew sighed deeply at the question.

“Fine. I lost.”

He said.

“So, what do you want to do, soldier?”

He was demoted from squad leader to soldier. No one objected. The difference in skill had been too clear.

“To revive my family.”

A fallen noble, indeed.

“Then you also need to get back alive.”

Enkrid said.

Everyone looked at the newly appointed squad leader, wondering why he was doing this. He repeated the same question and gave the same answer each time.

“To earn money, you need to return alive.”

This was his response to the soldier who said his dream was to save money and open a shop.

“Your lover is pregnant? If you don’t want your child to grow up without a father, you need to return alive.”

One of the thug soldiers was already a future dad.

“You all have the same goal.”

Enkrid continued.

“So let’s all get back alive.”

They couldn’t understand why he was doing this, but no one questioned him. Enkrid made eye contact with everyone. Normally, such an action would be meaningless, but given what he had said earlier, it wasn’t. 

The allied soldiers, including Andrew, thought about what they had left behind. Enkrid wanted them to have a sense of purpose. He had started with violence and intimidation, but now they needed to fight well on their own. 

It was a method he had tried several times. Instilling a desire for life in their hearts. It was a very effective method. It was much better to break through as a group of ten than to do it alone. In fact, they might even attempt an ambush instead of just escaping. An ambush could completely change the situation.

‘It might work.’

If there was even a glimmer of hope, he would try it several times. If he was prepared to die, he could do it. After several trials and errors, Enkrid memorized the enemy’s location and numbers. He spent several more days beating down the squad leader.

“What’s your dream?”

He repeated the same words every day. It could have been tiresome, but Enkrid spent each repeated day diligently.

He had gained two key things. 

An ambush and a standard.

‘Let’s do this.’

After all those repeated days, he was now ready. He had practiced enough through countless repetitions.

“Let’s all get back alive.”

When Enkrid turned around, the entire recon squad nodded. They all thought it wasn’t a dangerous mission but his constant talk made their hearts stir.

“Let’s go.”

The techniques he learned through training were ingrained in his body. He no longer needed to repeat today. Enkrid didn’t move cautiously. There was no need. He had roughly memorized the enemy’s positions.

“Have you been here before?”

Enri, a former plains hunter, asked. He was standing alongside Enkrid at the front.

“A few times.”

It would be strange if he hadn’t. He moved so confidently.

“Ah, I see.”

After walking a bit more, Enri asked again.

“Are you a hunter?”

“No, I learned a bit from a hunter I know.”

Reading tracks and the direction of bent grass, that’s why. Enkrid had learned these things from Enri. Looking back while guiding the way, he saw the rough-looking soldier sticking close to Andrew.  With that face, he would make children scream and run away if he became a real nanny. On the battlefield, he would be an excellent bodyguard.

Enkrid thought as he looked at Andrew and the rough-looking soldier.

‘If a battle breaks out, the rough-looking soldier will definitely follow Andrew.’

Even while walking, he repeatedly visualized the escape route he had found. When they reached their destination, Enkrid raised his right fist to stop the squad.

“Phew.”

He took a deep breath in the spot they stopped. Everyone looked at him, wondering why they had stopped. They were just at the edge of the grass field.

But no one spoke first. Enkrid was a domineering squad leader. He never discussed the direction or route. He was unilateral.

But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, the purpose of a patrol mission was to recon a certain area. If it were an important reconnaissance mission, more personnel would have been assigned. It didn’t seem like this unit’s role was that crucial. In any case, they just needed to do what was necessary and return.

“Shoot.”

Enkrid pointed in one direction and commanded. Enri, holding a crossbow, stared blankly at Enkrid.

A flustered Enri asked, “Huh? Where?”

It was a repeated event. There was no helping it. They didn’t have repeated todays.

“Shoot. I won’t say it twice.”

Enri wasn’t dense. Enkrid’s tone was cold, with an unyielding will. He was pointing beyond the tall grass. Nothing was visible. There were no signs of movement.

But Enri followed orders. He had seen Enkrid fight. Despite the rumors, Enkrid was not to be underestimated. 

He drew the bowstring and nocked an arrow, the string taut. Enri glanced at Enkrid before releasing the arrow in the direction he pointed. Because the squad leader had ordered it.

With a whoosh, the arrow flew and hit something with a thud. At the same time, there was a cry of pain.

“...Huh?”

Enri was startled. At that moment, only two were not surprised.

The veteran rough-looking soldier and Enkrid.

“Follow me, Andrew.”

He had placed Andrew right behind him for this moment. 

Although he lacked real combat experience, Andrew was still a decent soldier. If he had decent skills, he had to be utilized effectively.

In previous repeated days, Enkrid had made the mistake of trying to solve everything alone. Now, he knew that wasn’t necessary.

As Enkrid charged forward, Andrew reflexively followed, and the rough-looking soldier cursed and followed behind them. When the three soldiers reached the other side of the grass, they saw a corpse with a bolt stuck in its forehead and soldiers milling around it.

It was Azpen’s crossbow unit. About ten of them. 

Enkrid started with a lethal move. A thrust. Stepping forward with his left foot, he twisted and drove his sword into the neck of an enemy soldier.

“Guh!”

Blood gushed from the wound in the soldier's neck. The soldier tried to grab the sword with his hand.

Enkrid kicked the dead soldier’s abdomen and withdrew his sword. A black hole appeared where the sword had been, and dark blood gushed out. 

Meanwhile, Andrew swung his shortsword beside him. His swordsmanship was clumsy. He was clearly flustered by the sudden order to follow. He had just reflexively attacked upon seeing the enemy.

Clang!

The enemy soldier, who had thrown away his crossbow, blocked with a dagger.

‘Clumsy.’

But that was okay. Andrew’s presence here was also for the option he brought along. The rough-looking soldier moved. He didn’t shout or make any aggressive moves. He circled behind the enemy soldier who had blocked Andrew’s shortsword and grabbed his jaw with one hand and his head with the other, then sharply twisted in opposite directions.

Crack!

The enemy soldier’s head twisted at an impossible angle.

He was dead. The rough-looking soldier drew his shortsword from his waist and spun like a top.

Whoosh.

His shortsword sliced through the neck of the soldier behind him, between the helmet and chest plate. The skin on the neck split open. Blood spurted out.

Seeing this, Enkrid kicked the ankle of the soldier beside him. The soldier, who was wary of the sword in Enkrid’s hand, toppled over. 

Enkrid kicked the fallen soldier’s head.

Thud! Crack.

The soldier’s neck snapped, and he let out a strange cry as he passed out.

“An ambush!”

“Enemy attack!”

Only then did the enemy soldiers shout in alarm. And only then did the rest of the allied soldiers, including the brawler-turned-thug, join the fight.

“Kill them all.”

Enkrid commanded.

Ping!

As soon as he finished speaking, Enri’s bolt flew. The bolt pierced the chest of the soldier in front of Enkrid. The bolt penetrated the enemy’s gambeson with a thud, and red blood oozed out.

“You son of a—”

The enemy tried to speak. Enkrid didn’t let him finish. He thrust his sword into the enemy’s neck.

“Phew.”

He exhaled, letting his muscles relax after the intense movement.

In the meantime, the clashing of swords rang out. He didn’t need to face them all alone.

Remembering this realization, he turned his body.

Hiss!

A grating sound came from three steps ahead. It was a scene he had seen many times.

The cry of a wary beast. 

He turned his gaze and confirmed the source.

Black fur.

That presence was why some of the enemy crossbow soldiers had been careless. Enkrid had scouted several places for an ambush during repeated todays.

He had chosen this spot as the most advantageous at the cost of his life. The reason lay over there. The small beast wandering in the grass had drawn the attention of the crossbow unit.

It was an entity worthy of such distraction. He already knew. It wasn’t intentional, but it had been helpful. 

The owner of the black fur looked at Enkrid with blue eyes. Enkrid’s blue eyes also looked at it.

Their eyes met.

One of the enemy soldiers clicked his tongue and stabbed a short spear at the black-furred beast.

‘It helped me.’

He had no intention of letting it die. Enkrid brushed his chest and extended his arm forward. His outstretched arm, with all fingers extended, stopped perpendicular to the ground. With that motion, the knife lodged in his chest flew through the air.

With a whizz, the knife embedded itself in the enemy soldier’s shoulder. Thanks to that, the soldier with the spear hesitated.

Hiss!

Seizing the moment, the small beast, barely the size of an arm, let out a fierce cry and bit the soldier’s calf. Blood and flesh splattered.

It didn’t stop there. The beast clawed at the wounded area with its forepaw. Its claws and fur were smeared with blood. After clawing, it swiftly retreated.

“You damn bastard!”

The soldier with the bitten calf stabbed the ground with his spear, but the black-furred beast had already evaded.

‘That creature.’

It was a clever and fierce young black panther. 

The enemy soldier with the knife in his shoulder was killed by the rough-looking soldier before he could scream. Appearing behind the enemy, he sliced the throat with a swift motion.

The last remaining enemy was killed by Andrew. It seemed he had repeatedly stabbed the body with his shortsword and then finished it off by stabbing the face.

Andrew, having killed the enemy, panted heavily. He wasn’t the only one. Breathing heavily could be heard from all around.

“Huff, huff, what the hell is this?”

An astonished ally asked. The face was familiar, but Enkrid couldn’t recall the name. Instead, Enkrid spotted the body of a fallen ally among the dead enemies. No matter what he did, this guy always died. This time, it seemed he had been stabbed in the face by an enemy spear.

It was a gruesome sight. He had tried to save him several times, but the guy always ran off mid-fight, messing things up. This was something he learned from repeated todays.

“They’re enemy soldiers. Didn’t you know this could happen on a patrol mission? Don’t forget. We need to get back alive.”

Enkrid once again instilled a desire for life in the squad members.

“This way.”

The rough-looking soldier then spoke up.

“That leads further inside, squad leader.”

“Disobedience? If you were going to rebel, you should have done it earlier.”

Enkrid brushed off the objection and continued walking silently. As if there were no other options but to follow.

Silent pressure and coercion.

It had to be this way. There was no time to explain everything.

As he ran, he glanced to the side and saw the young black panther’s eyes. Blue eyes, like deep lakes. Enkrid turned his head, seeing eyes similar to his own.

It was time to fight for survival, not to bond with an animal.

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