WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 93: A Coincidence, or the Inevitable Outcome of Overlapping Moments?

“Valaf-style martial arts. While practicing on a bed, the footing is awkward. So, how do you make it work?” Audin asked. Enkrid pondered for a moment before answering.

The two men, on a narrow bed, were intensely focused.

“By applying force?”

At first, Enkrid thought they were learning to throw punches in tight, uncomfortable spaces.

“No. You can’t. A bed is for lying down. We’re going to practice techniques for when you’re lying down.”

A bed is for lying down. After their first martial arts training session, Enkrid realized that Audin bathed more often than he had assumed.

Even when he had his head pinned under Audin’s armpit, there was no sour smell.

On that cramped bed, they moved their hands and feet, twisting joints and pinning each other down— or rather, Enkrid was the one being pinned.

“A bed is narrow. Prioritize quick movements over complicated ones.”

It was learning. It was teaching. A single sip of water given to a parched soul wandering the desert. That was how it felt to Enkrid.

Because of this, he concentrated with more than just a posture of attentive listening; he was utterly focused. Of course, these were techniques difficult to apply in actual combat.

But while taking on various missions, he found ways to use them here and there. For instance, when he twisted the wrist of a petty pickpocket.

“With Gielpin Guild acting as the self-proclaimed guardians of the night, it seems like the number of drifters has increased, don’t you think?”

When a pickpocket was caught, their hand was often cut off. This one looked quite young. Twelve years old at most? So Enkrid handed him over to the Gielpin Guild instead.

Later, he heard the kid got a good thrashing, but that was better than losing a hand. He tried to apply what he learned wherever possible.

However, there wouldn’t be many opportunities as good as this one.

As soon as his hand blade clashed with the Company Commander’s, Enkrid shifted his right foot back, stepping forward with his left.

By bending his knee and then kicking off the ground, he could turn that step into an explosive lunge. Using the momentum of his entire body, he thrust his right hand forward.

It was a stab— a hand blade executed thrust. The core concept was unchanged.

Just like when he had saved Crang.

When the Company Commander had torn through the tent of the medical barracks, Enkrid had a dagger in hand. Now, it was simply a hand blade.

The Company Commander reacted the same way as before. She swung her right hand from inside to out, knocking Enkrid’s wrist aside. His stab’s trajectory shifted.

Then, her foot hooked around his heel. Last time, he had been helplessly defeated.

But not now.

Just before his foot was hooked, he lifted it to avoid the trap. Maintaining the off-balance posture from the deflected stab, he used his left foot as a pivot and threw himself into a body slam.

What was the biggest difference between the Elf Company Commander and himself?

‘Weight.’

“Identify your opponent’s weaknesses and use your strengths to break them down, brother.”

Enkrid followed Audin’s advice. Instead of trading blows, he overwhelmed her.

“Mm!”

The Company Commander let out a small groan. She kicked Enkrid’s thigh with the ball of her foot. But Enkrid endured the impact and finally managed to pin her down with his body.

As he did, he grabbed her wrist and forced it outward, entangling his legs with hers between his own. This left the Company Commander lying on her side, her left hand pinned forward, and her legs bound.

“I believe I’ve won this time.”

Enkrid said, catching his breath.

The Company Commander only turned her head to look at him, their faces close enough for their breaths to mingle. She spoke after a brief moment.

“A human proposal is quite different from how elves do it.”

Her breath smelled like flowers. Another one of the Elf Company Commander’s jokes. As they remained in that position, Enkrid noticed her lips.

They looked soft.

“…That’s not what this is.”

Enkrid began to release her and stand up, but the Company Commander wrapped her legs around his waist in response.

He wobbled momentarily, but his core strength and the Commander’s light weight allowed him to hold firm.

“You’ve got a strong core.”

Was it the listener’s fault for not taking her words at face value, or the speaker’s for being so ambiguous?

‘No need to dwell on it.’

“Please come down.”

The Company Commander released him, standing up and brushing off the dust from her clothes. She slapped the dirt off her pants, particularly her rear, where the dirt had stuck from rolling on the training ground.

She was wearing tight-fitting pants, which made her actions seem somewhat suggestive, depending on how one looked at it.

“You’ve improved.”

“Yes, I have.”

Enkrid readily agreed.

He had started this to show his actual skill. He had seized the moment by exploiting a gap in her defenses and blending it with Valaf’s suppression techniques.

Everything pointed to an increase in his skills, so he accepted the Company Commander’s assessment. The Company Commander paused for a brief moment before continuing.

“I suppose I should apologize for not being able to stop it.”

Her comment seemed to come out of nowhere, causing Enkrid to tilt his head in confusion.

“Just be aware that the reinforcements for your platoon will arrive today.”

Enkrid almost asked what she meant but decided against it. The Company Commander had already turned and was walking away. Would it help to question her further?

Unlikely.

From the sound of it, whatever it was would become clear with time.

‘She did say she was sorry for not stopping it.’

It was apparent that some order had come down from higher up. When it came to picking up on things, Enkrid was quite sharp. It was a survival skill he had honed with his mediocre abilities.

‘I’ll find out soon enough.’

He decided it was best not to worry about it. Instead of wasting time fretting, he’d rather swing his sword a few more times.

The Battalion Commander had been replaced. It was expected. The conflict had escalated from a series of skirmishes to the brink of full-scale war.

The battlefield had expanded, and the fighting had intensified. Naturally, the Battalion Commander had to be someone specialized in combat.

“My name is Marcus.”

Marcus, the new Battalion Commander. Once, he had aspired to knighthood but had ultimately hit the wall of his own limitations.

He had served in various units, including the Frontier Slaughterers, and was known as one of the key officers under Cypress. Unlike his predecessor, he wasn’t interested in pointless tasks.

“Our main forces seem to be the Frontier Slaughterers and the Turtle Company. The rest are just numbers to fill the ranks. We’ll strategize accordingly. Understood?”

He was a man with nothing but war in his mind. Furthermore, the rumors circulating within the unit had reached his ears.

“That Troublemaker Squad Leader? Or is it Platoon Leader now? Interesting. People say it was just luck?”

After receiving reports on all the recent events, he didn’t think it was merely a matter of luck. Anyone would have thought the same. However, Marcus took it a step further.

“Shall we test that luck one more time?”

If a single soldier were to be sacrificed, so be it. If the goddess of fortune had indeed taken a liking to him, there was no reason not to exploit that.

If it wasn’t luck? Well, then he might die. Eitherway, it was just one soldier. There was nothing to lose.

This was the full story behind what the Elf Company Commander had mentioned. She was apologizing for not being able to stop it.

“Send him.”

It was a reconnaissance mission with a side of espionage, directly ordered by the Battalion Commander. There was no way to stop it.

‘I hope he comes back alive.’

It wasn’t that she had grown attached to him.

‘He’s a rare talent.’

A clean slate, and someone tied to Crang. He had made a request, and she herself found him too valuable to lose. His skills, his daring, his courage.

She liked all of it.

So,

‘Come back alive.’

That was all she could hope for.

“This isn’t just any support mission.”

Enkrid knew that Rem was as perceptive as he was. This mission had come down while they were handling various requests.

They were ordered to cross the Pen-Hanil River, north of the Border Guard, and reconnoiter the surrounding terrain.

Enkrid visualized the map in his mind.

If you went east from the Border Guard, you reached Green Pearl. Above that was the Pen-Hanil River. And if you crossed the Pen-Hanil River and headed northeast, you’d reach a city.

It was the fortress city of Cross Guard, built strictly for military purposes. The mission’s target was the area where Cross Guard was located. So, while it seemed like a simple reconnaissance mission on the surface,

‘In reality, it’s espionage.’

The details of the mission would be revealed once they crossed the river.

“They picked out the Platoon Leader specifically?”

Jaxon, after reading through the mission briefing, frowned. Was it a troublesome task?

Yes. Enkrid knew it was.

It wasn’t the type of mission that should have come to him.

‘So that’s what it was.’

This must be what the Elf Company Commander had hinted at.

“Why? Reconnaissance? With all the talk of a full-scale war, where are we even going?”

One of the new platoon members spoke up. Enkrid recognized the face well. Henley, a soldier from the Plains Hunters. He had mentioned wanting to return to the plains once the previous battle was over.

Yet, here he was, still in the city.

“Even if I wanted to return, when a full-scale war breaks out, there’ll be no living on the plains.”

That was his reason. There were two others who had joined as well. Andrew, the once immature squad leader, was now an official squad leader.

Naturally, Mack was right beside him. So three new members had joined, and officially, Andrew was now the squad leader of this unit.

Of course, this arrangement wasn’t likely to hold any sway over Rem or the rest of the squad. There were only nine of them in total, so what was the point of having a squad leader?

Who would even listen to him?

“I think I’d be better suited for this,” Henley said.

“It’s because this isn’t just reconnaissance, brother.”

Audin smiled softly as he spoke, causing Henley’s shoulders to flinch. That was the typical reaction for anyone meeting Audin for the first time.

A giant of a man speaking softly with a smile— his overwhelming fists and bulk made it an awkward, intimidating sight. It would take some time for Henley to adjust.

“A direct order from the Battalion Commander? Can’t we just ignore it?”

Ragna, who had been peering at the briefing, threw out a thoughtless remark. Ignoring it would be insubordination, you idiot.

Normally, this would have been an annoying assignment. It was clearly a high-risk mission.

They were being sent to a fortress city in an enemy nation on the brink of full-scale war. Just getting close would be a perilous journey.

‘The objective is probably to gather intelligence from a spy within the city.’

Enkrid roughly guessed the mission’s true purpose. It seemed plausible. It was a necessary task. Someone had to do it. Typically, this type of mission would be handled by specialists.

‘The Company Commander said she couldn’t stop it.’

That meant it was directly orchestrated by the Battalion Commander. That explained why the Battalion Commander’s seal was on the orders.

“What do we do?”

The squad leader who had delivered the orders looked around hesitantly.

“What do you think we do?”

Enkrid didn’t hesitate. It was a mission, after all.

‘If it’s real combat…’

He would always welcome it.

More importantly, he had recently reaffirmed that by doing his best in any situation, he could learn and discover new things.

He even felt a thrill. What kind of challenges would arise? Was this another barrier placed by the Ferryman? Or was it just another event passing by?

A coincidence? Or the inevitable outcome of overlapping moments?

None of it mattered.

If something stood in his way, he would just push through. That was how Enkrid lived his life.

“I accept the mission.”

The expressions of the entire squad turned sour at his words.

“We’re coming with you.”

Ragna said, but it wouldn’t be that simple.

Although Enkrid couldn’t know for sure what the Battalion Commander intended, the orders included a command for the rest of the squad to stay behind under the new squad leader’s command.

Judging by the orders,

‘They’re keeping those who are likely to shine on the battlefield while sending only me away.’

It was anyone’s guess what the Battalion Commander was thinking.

Who could say?

Perhaps the Battalion Commander had taken the talk of a lucky soldier and decided to test that luck with a crazy mission.

Marcus, the Battalion Commander, wasn’t exactly normal either. That made sense. He had a reputation of a war-crazed officer.

He would do anything to win. Enkrid was just the start.

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it and come back safely.”

There was no chance of dying. As long as the days repeated themselves, and as long as he accepted each new day as a challenge, that was a certainty.

As Enkrid casually reassured them, Rem’s eyebrows shot up.

“Handle it? Safely? You really think that’s possible? You’re still not there yet. This won’t do. Let’s have some special training. Special training!”

Ragna, Jaxon, and Audin reacted much the same as Rem.

“Have you found your rhythm?”

“Let’s learn how to stab someone from behind.”

“Haha, it’s time to delve deeper into Valaf-style Bed Combat.”

Andrew, standing nearby, glanced at everyone before speaking up.

“Hey, I’m the squad leader, so I think everyone should follow my orders.”

The orders had come from above. Andrew wasn’t being arrogant this time; he was simply trying to follow orders.

That was all, but…

“Are you kidding me?”

Rem snapped. His usual outburst, nothing extraordinary. He suddenly lunged forward and punched Andrew in the head. His fist moved so fast it was almost invisible.

Before Andrew could react, Rem had closed the distance and struck him. With a dull thud, Andrew’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed sideways. Mack caught him.

“What?”

Seeing Andrew fall, Mack looked up, enraged. Rem’s response was immediate. Assaulting a superior. It was a label often attached to Rem’s name.

Rem glared, and Mack, after confirming that Andrew was only knocked out, said,

“I didn’t say anything.”

What could they do? The difference in power was too great. Any attempt at resistance would be met with violence.

That was something they already knew. That was why they hadn’t wanted to be here. However, they couldn’t stop Andrew from volunteering.

‘Sigh.’

Life was a mess. Mack lamented his situation. Henley, eyeing the scene, came to a conclusion.

‘If I talk back, I’m dead.’

Now he understood why this was called the Troublemaker Squad. He had come here thinking only of Enkrid, but he was beginning to regret that decision.

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