[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-knight-who-eternally-regresses":3,"chapter-a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-454":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","A Knight Who Eternally Regresses",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},427998,689,"Chapter 452","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-454",454,"\u003Cp>Crunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid raised Acker and drove it straight down into the oncoming spider’s head. The blade pierced through, embedding a handspan deep into the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped on the spider’s back and yanked his sword free. Black blood trickled down the blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too many.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiders filled the distance ahead, pouring out relentlessly. But for now, there weren’t many right nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This battlefield favored counterattacks over charging forward. His instincts told him that—so it was safe to take his eyes off the front for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid’s gaze turned toward the swarm gathering in front of Oara.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spider spun its eight bladed limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a howl of slicing wind, the rotation of its blades formed a circular barrier in front of Oara.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked like a disc spun by Rem’s sling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than charging, the spider advanced one step at a time. It moved at a walking pace, and the shield of whirling blades crept forward with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching it, Enkrid thought:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What would I have done?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a different kind of fight from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Try thrusting a sword through it? No. He couldn’t. No—that wasn’t the right question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no opening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stabbing blind was just surrender, not a tactic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the spider wasn’t the only threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owlbear started moving. Strangely, there was no sound—its presence seemed to fade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even under the crimson glow of the Twin Moons, visibility wasn’t a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, the owlbear’s massive frame blended into the darkness, like it was becoming one with the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like watching Jaxon disappear before your eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hidden strike, waiting for an opening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like Lethal Thrust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ghoul strolled out from behind the spider and circled to the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its arms dangled low, claws grown long enough that even a brush with them would be fatal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is fucked.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was his honest reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid imagined himself in Oara’s place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d die. That was a wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, if he stood where she stood—what would he do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw Oara’s back. Her red cloak fluttered in the wind, and her sword pointed diagonally skyward. She gripped it with both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is fun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her murmur reached his ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could only see her from behind, yet he felt like he could picture the expression on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had to be smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smiling brighter than anything the ghoul had stolen. A radiant, unshakable smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smiling Oara.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How are a knight’s titles earned?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re earned by proving yourself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through action, through conviction—a name is forged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch closely, everyone. I’ll show you what it means to fight as a knight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara’s voice rang out, not too loud, but firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Preparations to kill a knight. Traps. Special monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything here was a threat. It was a crisis by any measure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even I couldn’t handle that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He meant right now. No need to talk about strength he didn’t have yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest he kept to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara spoke with her back and her sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From now on, they could just chew jerky and watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that’s what Enkrid did—except instead of jerky, he swung his blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two more spiders approached and were split open as their heads caught on his sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he drew the blade back in a slicing motion, Oara moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid lost sight of her for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you become a knight, reflexes and movement hit another level entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They strike at impossible angles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They move at incomprehensible speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can try to see—but you won’t keep up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid knew this from experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d fought against knight-level power before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t try to follow the dots. Look at the flow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne’s words came to mind. So Enkrid didn’t focus on each move—he followed the rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then he could faintly see it. A glimpse of the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara’s sword descended on the spider’s barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clean, precise strike met the swirling wall of blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tadadadadadang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the midst of the dark, beneath the faint light of the red moons, golden sparks burst outward, pushing back both night and moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My sword’s name is Smile.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d said that once during training. Knights wield engraved weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An engraved weapon bears a knight’s Will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It requires a master craftsman, rare metals, and the knight’s unwavering Will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then can a weapon like that exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Engraved with Will—hence the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My sword never breaks as long as I’m smiling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exactly what Enkrid had heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A weapon that becomes part of the body—infused with purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what her sword was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst the golden sparks, fine white powder scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her sword tore through the spider’s blade-arm wall and returned. And naturally, Smile was unscathed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s see how long you can keep blocking!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara’s shout rang out. The white powder was shattered fragments of the spider’s bladed limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her smile began slicing those arms down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the owlbear burst from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid, watching from afar, caught it. But up close?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would’ve felt like fighting Jaxon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden rising strike—that was his specialty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owlbear didn’t use a blade—it swung its fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feathered fists slammed toward Oara’s back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—at the moment it seemed it would hit, Oara’s body folded smoothly. She drifted sideways like fabric in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reflexes beyond belief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Enkrid, it looked like a choreographed movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owlbear’s punch whiffed. Boom! The air shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The force of the punch echoed like a thunderclap. A fist that tore sound itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—Oara’s face, her feet, her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gentle smile. A stepping foot. A twisting wrist. A curving blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her sword swung toward the owlbear’s neck. A white flash struck its throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owlbear hunched its shoulders, pulling its neck inward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feathers around its neck bristled and blocked the blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kakakakak!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade looked like it would slice through, but only sheared feathers and grazed the skin, scattering dark blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feathers tore apart like iron shards under her blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the spider stepped forward, dropping its barrier and swinging its eight bladed legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two arms slashed down vertically. Two swept diagonally. Two stabbed at her thighs. Two jabbed at her feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eight did their job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara, mid-swing at the owlbear, drew her sword back—leaving eight afterimages behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her blade [N O V E L I G H T] met each of the spider’s slashes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid’s senses heightened to their sharpest point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His ears picked out eight distinct sounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pak. Phuk. Tchik. Pik. Jizik. Seokduk. Kwak!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fight that required full concentration, total sensory control—just to observe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara deflected five limbs, then cut, ripped, and shattered the other three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing it all was impossible. But the aftermath told the story. His mind raced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She twisted her wrist to slash, thrust, and strike…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could all that come from just a wrist?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes. That’s what made a knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By twisting, thrusting, and ripping, one spider limb dangled in tatters. A follow-up slash cleaved the next. The last was struck with the flat of the blade—bent in half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spider’s shattered arm dangled uselessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could someone move like that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know. He couldn’t understand it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was the place he wanted to reach. The path he wanted to walk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragna. Shinar. The Mercenary King. Azpen’s knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the four of them gave their all—what would it look like?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, Oara was showing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mere sword-wielder speaking of omnipotence—that was what it meant to be a knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A breath of awe. His eyes were stolen. It was inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You nuts or something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem muttered beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s too many of them. Like… way too many.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne said, sensing something deeply wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If even dull Frokk said so—it was serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dunbakel stood next to them, trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid couldn’t look away from smiling Oara. Every nerve, every thought—fixed on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oara!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soldier shouted the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara answered the call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the ghoul stabbed its arm toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speed and angle—Enkrid could tell at a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster fought like a knight. Oara struck the owlbear’s fist with her right hand, and blocked the ghoul’s claws with her left arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a feat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She used her bracer to deflect the claws, twisting the angle away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scratch marks formed on the bracer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, one of the spider’s bladed arms struck Oara’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara endured it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She twisted her body to deflect the blow. But she didn’t stop there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sword that had just blocked the owlbear’s punch was now buried in the spider’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Missed it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid hadn’t seen the strike at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spider died. The owlbear melted back into the shadows, and the ghoul stabbed with alternating arms—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Head. Chest. Stomach. Thigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its target was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just one hit—that’s all it needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara blocked every strike with her sword and bracer, alternating as needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the owlbear swung wide from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he wasn’t standing there, it felt like the wind from the strike brushed against his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A horizontal swing leveled with the ground. The strike zone was too wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara didn’t block it—instead, she leapt straight up from her spot and kicked off the owlbear’s swinging arm, launching herself into the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twisting her body midair, Oara brought her sword down from above. The curved blade split into three in his vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An overwhelming fusion of power and speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ghoul moved both arms. A mirrored motion of how Oara had deflected it earlier with her bracer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an exchange of offense and defense like they were possessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t matter who won—both sides fought like it was the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack. Thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara’s sword split the ghoul’s head. At the same time, the ghoul’s claw pierced Oara’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won, you disgusting son of a bitch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara said, still wearing that same smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her half-torn red cloak fluttered in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owlbear, whose face had been half-split long ago, still had a strip of that cloak hanging from its claw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ghoul—Jericks—fell to the ground with a loud thump, his skull split vertically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uwaaaaaaah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roman roared. A cry of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s too many. Something’s spewing them out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne said. Spider monsters were still emerging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Aisia had gone inside, and yet nothing had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it over now? At the very least, it felt like they had bought themselves a breath of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Enkrid’s assessment in the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dunbakel flinched, feeling all the muscles in her body contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why? She didn’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear sometimes pushes instinct beyond its normal limits. That was what happened to Dunbakel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sensed it and spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something’s coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes turned toward one direction as she opened her mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara’s gaze followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid was slower to turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was right in front of Oara, who had just slain three monsters. A new creature cloaked in crimson muscle appeared. Two legs, two arms, wings stretched wide like a bat’s membrane, and a broken horn protruding from its forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among monsters, there were special ones. Across the continent, such beings were called “Demonkin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that only appear in places called the Grand Demon Zones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dunbakel smelled sulfur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster, like it had risen straight from hell, sprinted in a long blur the moment it appeared and slammed into Oara. It crushed her—who had spent her last bit of strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barely managing to block the attack, Oara caught the blade with her left hand and held her sword’s grip in her right, stopping the monster’s edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Everyone, run.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shit, run.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Balrog? No... a fragment of one, maybe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne recognized the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment it appeared, it dominated everything. The presence it exuded overwhelmed the entire battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if to say, this is what real pressure feels like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feet of every soldier froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some soldiers were still dying to spider limbs during all this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others just stood, mouth agape, without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dunbakel was steeped in fear. Her beastkin eyes allowed her to see the situation more clearly than anyone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw Oara’s trembling arms. She felt her heart shrink under the creature’s suffocating pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She should’ve turned and run without looking back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But fear scrambled her brain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without even realizing it, Dunbakel charged forward and swung her curved blade at the newly arrived monster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster didn’t even move the hand pressing down on Oara—it simply kicked up with one leg and struck Dunbakel’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her skull shattered, and blood gushed out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dunbakel!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid shouted. The Will of Rejection activated. His body moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I said run.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara muttered as she moved, forcing the hand pinning her down off with both of hers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several exchanges followed, but the results weren’t good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oara’s neck snapped from a blow to the head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it because of the wound from the ghoul?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—even without that, she had already spent everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was poisoned, deeply and terribly. Her body wasn’t fit for prolonged battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why the monster waited until now, when she couldn’t fight properly, and pounced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a vile thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A monster beyond reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid stepped forward with his sword, knowing this would be a pointless death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his body didn’t listen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t the only one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the moment he saw Oara die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s die smiling!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roman shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s die smiling!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oara!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oara!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oara” was their rallying cry, named after her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Oara’s city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city protected by Knight Oara.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elation surged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, people would call you insane for rushing in knowing you’d die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this place was full of such lunatics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thing—whatever it was, a fragment of a Balrog or worse—was on par with a knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The three monsters before were weaker.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference in power was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spiders still charged in endlessly. And above their heads, thread-made arrows continued to rain down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same arrows that had killed Millio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid exchanged five blows with the Balrog fragment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even those were close to miraculous in their sharpness and agility, but in the end, a kick landed in his side and sent him flying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then he saw Roman—dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He heard Rem, collapsed and coughing blood beside him, muttering:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Should’ve just gone earlier…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting with Dunbakel, they all died. It was a massacre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city Oara wanted to protect was falling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid took it all in. As breathing grew harder, the world around him began to darken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d died enough times to know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bad hit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the armor wrapped like bandages couldn’t absorb the blow. The impact tore through him—broken ribs had pierced and ripped through his organs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kuh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He coughed. Blood poured out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would die soon. Just before his eyes closed, Enkrid saw the Balrog fragment slaughtering soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each swing of its club killed two, sometimes three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It held Roman’s weapon—the one it took after killing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! Smash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything burst, shattered, flew apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ughaaagh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s die smiling!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soldier screamed those words just before death. Enkrid didn’t know his name, but he knew the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything Oara had fought to protect was crumbling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid shut his eyes. A short, yet endless tunnel of darkness passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The raft rocked with the motion of waves. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a violet lamp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re going to like this next wall,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>said the ferryman with glee. Enkrid had no time to reply. He closed his eyes—and opened them again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>KIIIIAAAACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That scream—he now knew it was from a Screaming Spider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d awakened before midnight, but the day hadn’t started with morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day began the moment he woke from sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this time, today was especially short.\u003C\u002Fp>",2617,"2026-05-30T08:27:55.568Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","7aa8f3a942d3af191b1a2f94dc0fddef6e9aa8a3c4efcc805bd6e750fe349f20","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-418","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-417",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]