WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 287: Ew, Spit It Out, It's Not Food.

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As soon as Enkrid moved to the front of the unit, a sharp-eyed scout spoke.

"Someone's coming out."

Just as he said, one man trudged out from Baronet Tarnin's side. Dim sunlight filtered through the clouds and spilled over his head.

'That size?'

He was big. About as big as Audin.

From a distance, Enkrid stared at the man who somehow seemed to warp perspective around him. The enemy came on foot, not on horseback.

Neither slow nor fast, but confident.

Walking alone into the middle of a battlefield, what could that be but confidence?

"Should we shoot?"

One of the archers asked.

"No."

Enkrid answered.

Even then, still uneasy, some of the archers raised their hands to their bowstrings, then lowered them again.

Battles usually started with arrows from the archers. That was the basic rule of war.

Woof! Woof! Grrr!

Several wolves barked behind the man. It was loud as hell, but he just dug in his ear once and shouted.

"My name is Lykanos! Send out your best fighter!"

He stomped as he spoke, and with a thud, the ground shook.

How was he that strong?

The soldiers' momentum went cold. Rem had been beaten, and the one stepping forward looked vicious. Even compared to the famed Enkrid, he did not look outmatched.

Before a battle, one of the best tactics was to crush the enemy's morale first.

A duel.

If your hand was full of trump cards, you played them.

The Black Blade had naturally prepared cards too.

Ragna stepped forward. Audin reacted too.

Enkrid drew his sword and slashed down in front of them.

Not fast, not heavy.

Whoom.

The blue-tinted blade carved a line through the air and blocked both of their steps.

"He's mine. You two handle something else."

Enkrid kept his eyes on Lykanos.

At the same time, he was already thinking about how to work through this battle and this battlefield.

How many fights would follow? And what could he gain today?

Kraiss had set the board, so what to take from it was Enkrid's part.

'Since when did I get this confident?'

Something like confidence surged in his chest, urging him into this fight.

Enkrid did not hate it.

The place he had always wanted, the place he had always aimed for, was waiting for him.

"Jaxon."

"Yes."

"When you get the chance, bring me the pig's neck."

Today was fine. The next fight was fine too. It could be later, that did not matter, but what needed to be cleaned up had to be cleaned up.

"Sure."

Jaxon nodded without much expression.

That was reassuring. He would not fail.

"Audin, Teresa. Looks like there's something big among the wolves?"

There had been three massive beasts when they infiltrated enemy ground. It looked like one was left.

No, was it even bigger than that?

It probably would not matter. Just a big magic beast.

Still, regular soldiers could not be allowed to run into that thing. Instinct said so.

"It shall be as brother wishes. Let us pray."

Audin quietly stepped back with his hands clasped, and Teresa knelt on one knee beside him and said,

"As you command."

Then Dunbakel tugged Enkrid's collar.

Ragna was there too. His face was cold, but his eyes said it clearly. He wanted to fight. He had the drive. Right now, with his sword, he could cut that thing down.

Watching Ragna fired up was more enjoyable than Enkrid expected.

He had never felt frustrated watching him slack off.

But there was no way watching talent rot could feel good.

Of course, Enkrid's heart was hard enough to let things pass when they were not important, so either way was fine.

'The drive of a genius, huh.'

Seeing Ragna with drive was fun. Just because the opposite was not painful did not mean this was not enjoyable.

And seeing himself standing beside Ragna like this was satisfying too.

"Go wild. Cut down everything you see. But only after that wolf gets blocked."

If the enemy had prepared a giant wolf, this side had a Beastfolk fiercer than wolves and a sword that could cut anything.

If those two jumped into the regular soldiers, they could tilt the battle to one side.

There was no need to whip morale up any further here. Just those two stepping forward would change the course of this fight.

A battlefield ruled by the elite few. Those two would show why that was true.

That was enough. Dunbakel nodded and snorted.

"I'll fight in a way worthy of Krimhalt's gaze."

Krimhalt was the name of the god the Beastfolk served.

The god of war and fertility.

To show it to that god meant to show a fight with nothing to be ashamed of.

That was thanks to Rem. A barbarian's torment had pushed one Beastfolk into a mad Beastfolk.

"I'll yield."

After hearing Ragna's calm words, Enkrid started walking too.

"I was wondering when you'd come out. Thought maybe there wasn't a single one of you with balls over there. You girls waiting for sunrise?"

Lykanos shouted as he tapped between his legs.

It was provocation, and words to raise his own side's morale.

He was not asking for a reply.

"Waaah! No-balls bastard!"

"Ball-less punk!"

"Freaking idiot!"

The enemy side hurled curses.

Their side shouted back too.

"You're full of it!"

"We've got them!"

"With one that's huge too!"

"You wormy bandit bastards!"

As Enkrid trudged forward through curses and cheers, Graham asked from behind,

"You can win, right?"

"Yes. Even if I die, I win."

Was he ready to die? Graham crossed his arms and hid his unease.

Enkrid was just being honest.

He meant it literally. If that thing ahead was a wall, if it was death,

he would go over it. Then he would win.

Oddly, Enkrid stood in front of him without a hint of excitement.

His condition was neither bad nor good.

"I've got one. Probably bigger than yours too."

At those words, spoken face to face, Lykanos twisted his mouth.

Listen to this arrogant bastard talk.

"Bigger than mine?"

"I've never seen anyone bigger than me."

"...Arrogant little bastard. You. I'll crack you open. You're that guy, right? Enkrid or whatever."

The opponent already knew his name. Of course Enkrid knew him too.

He had heard Lykanos was one of the real powers inside the Black Blade Bandits.

His build was as big as Audin's, and the heavy weapon on his back told Enkrid what kind of fighting style to expect.

Soon Lykanos slid his left foot forward.

Inside the distance Enkrid had claimed.

Enkrid reacted instantly. He drew the sword at his left hip and slashed.

Lykanos, now inside range, sprang back far quicker than his size suggested.

Two steps farther than where he had stepped in.

Whoom.

The blade cut empty air.

As Enkrid's sword rose diagonally, Lykanos swung his own weapon.

Boom!

A black shadow bent in from behind his head.

As the weapon dropped vertically, Enkrid moved too.

Sssht!

He skimmed the ground and changed position. His right foot slid aside, stepping around to the enemy's flank.

The iron mace slammed down where Enkrid had just been.

Bang!

Dirt and stones exploded everywhere. Some hit Enkrid's body and head, but he ignored the small hits, took the flank, drew the dwarf's gladius, and thrust straight in.

The thrust he had learned by repeating that first day drove between Lykanos's side.

A rapid thrust.

Lykanos raised his arm and trapped the blade against his side.

The sword was caught between his arm and ribs.

An astonishing reaction speed.

He tried to twist and snap the sword right there, but it did not go his way.

"You're damn sturdy!"

Barking in rage, he swung the mace again.

Boom!

Before the horizontal mace hit, the pressure wave crushed Enkrid's face.

Without looking, Enkrid judged the mace's path by sound alone.

He dropped low.

The blunt weapon, which could rip human flesh apart with a graze, passed over his head.

Enkrid activated Heart of Superhuman Strength and twisted the gladius.

'Hup.'

With a short inhale, the muscles in his left arm swelled as if they would burst.

Krrrk!

The blade twisted like it would grind through his side and forearm.

Lykanos could not hold on and let go of the blade he had pinned at his side.

"You little shit."

Blood streamed down from the inside of his forearm.

His side armor took only a scar, but the inside of his forearm was clearly torn open.

"Does it hurt?"

Enkrid spoke while showing he was catching his breath, then drove the sword in his right hand straight down.

At the same time, he recovered the gladius and sheathed it.

Lykanos pulled back from the incoming cut.

He was not some fool who only swung a mace. His movements were concise and clean.

He had trained for years, and his combat experience was deep.

The blade cut empty air. Through that sweeping line, Lykanos kept his eyes on Enkrid.

Those dull dark-brown eyes reminded Enkrid of Jaxon.

So they looked scheming.

Thud.

Lykanos kicked off the ground and charged again. The frozen earth cracked, and hard chunks of dirt kicked up like stones.

Enkrid set his left hand on the gladius hilt.

He feinted a draw and moved his feet again.

This time he pushed off with his toes and stepped back, a backstep.

A step that dodged every stone chunk flying up between them.

'He dodged?'

Lykanos, puzzled, tried to continue the movement.

He lifted the mace to swing diagonally down from above.

At the same time, he crossed his feet and sprang forward.

Just before the opponent's movement completed, Enkrid let go of his right-hand sword in midair and slashed downward.

To anyone watching, it might have looked like he suddenly dropped his sword and slashed at empty air.

But he had a Whistle Dagger in that hand, which made it a different story.

Squeak!

One Whistle Dagger stabbed into Lykanos's face at close range.

From the moment he first drew his sword, Enkrid had expected his opponent to dodge and block, so he had swung while gripping a Whistle Dagger in his right hand.

Now it paid off.

He had also learned, just by watching Torres of the Frontier Guard over his shoulder, how to hide a short blade in a sleeve.

All of that came into play.

Lykanos's head snapped back. Then it came forward again.

Sadly, not the result Enkrid wanted.

"You ba-"

The blade was stuck in Lykanos's front teeth.

His upper tooth cracked with a snap, but he had blocked it.

"Ew, spit it out, it's not food."

Enkrid said. His provocation was always on point.

Flames surged in Lykanos's eyes as he spat the dagger out.

"I'll kill you for sure. Before that, I'll crush that too. Bigger, huh? I'll mash it till you can't even see it."

He sounded like he hated even saying it, but Enkrid claimed the psychological win too by not giving him even a smirk.

Whoom.

The mace came again. This time Enkrid gripped his sword with both hands and redirected it.

Snake Sword. He meant to flow it aside and strike.

'Brutish...'

Even with Heart of Superhuman Strength active, the other side still had more raw power.

'Will?'

It was enough to make that thought rise on its own.

If there was a Will of Refusal, then there could be a Will that granted monstrous strength too.

He failed to fully redirect it, and mace and blade locked together.

From that position, Lykanos forced power through the mace. He set his other hand at the far end and inhaled sharply.

He meant to crush him down by force. Enkrid stepped his left foot back.

His knee bent halfway with a jerk.

He had been pushed by pure power.

Pressing down from above, Lykanos spoke.

"What? Thought you couldn't be pushed in a strength match? Hey, you little bastard, did you think you're the only one who's strong?"

'No, there are plenty stronger than me. Always.'

Not even counting Audin, he still was not confident he could beat Rem, Ragna, or Teresa in a pure strength contest.

"Your front tooth cracked."

Because Lykanos had braced, Enkrid could clearly see the front tooth that had blocked the dagger was broken.

"I think women will hate that."

Enkrid's perfectly timed one-liner was enough to drag out Lykanos's fury.

"Raaaargh!"

The beast roared.

Enkrid drew in even the force behind that roar.

Was the opponent easy to provoke?

A brief question slipped into the middle of the fight, then vanished.

No time, no room for that.

The opponent was strong. Very strong.

He was nothing like those sloppy mercenary bastards bragging about being near squire level.

While locked weapon to weapon, Lykanos took his left hand off, made a fist, and swung.

Thud!

Enkrid tightened his trapezius and turned his head to deflect the hit.

Valaf-style Grappling, body-flow deflection.

He did not just take it and move on.

While taking the hit, he twisted his posture and kicked the opponent's shin.

Thump!

A heavy sound rang against the guard.

"That hurts, bastard."

Lykanos said, then let go of his weapon entirely.

Then he tried to grab Enkrid by the collar with his right hand.

Enkrid used his left. He drew his second sword, the gladius, aiming to slice off every finger.

Lykanos seemed to predict even that and pulled back the hand he had extended. Hands and feet flew back and forth. Enkrid mixed in sword strikes and kept up close-range combat, but landed no fatal hit.

The exchange was full of ferocity and killing intent, but none of the attacks could finish the other.

Blood ran from a split on one side of Enkrid's head, and Lykanos, whose helmet flew off mid-fight, had a busted lip and a cut cheek, blood streaming down.

Besides that, Enkrid took a hit to the stomach, failed to fully flow it, and his breathing tightened a little.

In that opening, he smashed Lykanos's jaw with his toe and even pulled off a near-acrobatic martial move, spinning once in midair before dropping down, leaving Lykanos dizzy for a moment.

By the time they finally separated, neither was in normal condition.

"Been a while since I met one like you."

"I see guys like you often."

"First time I've seen one that doesn't lose a single word."

"Ah, I'm used to that."

Used to winning.

Crunch.

Lykanos ground his molars. His face looked rougher now with the broken front tooth, but the killing intent had not changed.

"You damn bastard."

After saying that, Lykanos swung the mace the same way, and Enkrid felt something was off.

Something had changed. He could not say what.

And he had no room to open distance and dodge big.

So he had to block. He raised his sword and set it softly against it. This time, unlike before, the mace did not hold and push, it flowed to the side.

Kagagak!

In the instant he redirected that thick iron club after blade contact, in that split and re-split sliver of time,

Lykanos moved at least twice as fast as before.

Enkrid's concentration flared harder than ever.

The mace?

That was just a shell. In slowed time, Lykanos drew his real weapon.

A skewer-like thin sword hidden inside the mace like a sheath.

He thrust.

It was faster than any sword Enkrid had ever seen.

The instant he blocked one blade, it felt like an arrow of light shot toward him.

Before his eyes could fully register it, it touched his body.

Just before that sword could skewer through his torso, with his brain and eyeballs burning in hyper-focus, Sense of Evasion activated.

Enkrid twisted on instinct. Because of that, the blade grazed his side and dug into his right upper arm.

Every moment flowed like a dream, like a passing scene.

The ring of a drawn blade, the sound of steel digging into flesh, the pain that followed.

None of it existed.

In that split, flowing scene, he moved by reflex alone, because he always lived each day thrashing not to die.

The next movement was the same.

He twisted his body, pulled free his right arm, and whipped up the sword in his left hand.

The gladius became a terrifyingly fast slash and slammed into his opponent's face.

Enkrid's blade carved from the jaw up past the left eye.

Thud, crack!

Different tearing sounds rang between them, and both stepped back.

No, it was closer to being bounced apart.

"Shoot!"

Someone shouted.

After that, both armies loosed arrows whether those two were in the way or not.

The duel ended, and the full battle began.

Enkrid staggered and dropped to one knee.

Someone from behind grabbed him.

"We're pulling back."

It was Jaxon.

Enkrid nodded.

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