[{"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-502":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},428259,689,"Chapter 508","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-502",502,"\u003Cp>\"Meat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much would you like?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A lot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid devoured enough food for twenty men in a single sitting. He was known for eating plenty, but this time, even by his standards, it was excessive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was all high-calorie food-beans, meat, thick sauces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several soldiers nearby blinked wide-eyed as they watched him eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is that part of training too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looks like it... should we try it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't do anything stupid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bell, now a commander, tapped one of his soldiers on the head and warned him. Imitating what Enkrid did was a good way to die early. Bell knew that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had he realized it? Probably when Enkrid saved Commander Venzance. He'd always known Enkrid wasn't ordinary, but that was when he truly began to think he was extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saving someone in the middle of a battlefield was one thing, but running into a burning barracks to save a comrade-even one who hated him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn't something Bell had the courage to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether anyone cared or not, Enkrid continued eating like that through the evening, and the next day too. It was an absurd amount of food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem, seated beside him, gave him a look as if asking what the hell was going on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You decide to start using your stomach like an ogre or a giant?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ogres were known for gluttony and cannibalism. Giants were just famous for eating everything in sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both had massive bodies, so it made sense they'd need a lot of food. But Enkrid was neither.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Rem's comment wasn't exactly out of place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I just wanted to eat well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You heading somewhere?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what the hell...?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem squinted suspiciously, but let it go. If the guy wanted to eat, let him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid ate like that for four more days. Ate well, shat well, slept well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And each morning and evening, he meticulously washed every part of his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No fever,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shinar said once, placing a hand on his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said it because he wasn't sparring or doing anything unusual-just eating, drinking, sleeping, and doing light training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though that \"light training\" would still be nearly impossible for an average soldier to follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to how he usually moved, it looked like he was taking it easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid was preparing, as if for a ritual. Eating, drinking, resting, washing-like someone getting ready for a great battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While he spent the week this way, a breeze came and blew the heat away. Autumn wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid sat on a tree stump, waiting for dinner, letting the breeze hit him. He thought back to the West-to one of their cultural practices: shamanism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shamanism is founded in invocation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it wasn't like he was about to start chanting or conducting a ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just believed that purifying the body and mind before undertaking something important was helpful, not harmful. It was about settling his mindset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plenty of eyes were on Enkrid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem thought, This bastard's finally lost it, but he was also curious. It felt like something was going to happen. The atmosphere said as much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though outwardly, he just hummed a tune and sharpened his axe with a whetstone that looked like it cost more than some swords forged from Valerian steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem used it like it was nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragna sensed something solemn in Enkrid. He looked like someone enjoying normal life-but also like someone ready to start sword-dancing at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly lunged at me with a sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Audin was deep in silent prayer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>O Lord Father, please bless this little captain brother of mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't know what Enkrid was planning-but he was definitely planning something. Audin's heart was full of support, but also an undercurrent of unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why? He didn't know. Just felt like the Lord was trying to warn him that the \"little brother\" was about to do something reckless again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Audin continued his silent prayer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lord Father, he's always been this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a single moment of Enkrid's path had been without risk or madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the god of war and struggle descended to give a vision, even he would probably say, \"What the hell is this guy doing now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no divine voice came. So Audin just kept praying with all his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please guide him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anxiety faded. The Lord would help. Audin offered his blessing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jaxon sat with arms crossed, holding a dagger in his right hand and a book in his left. It was such a natural pose that no one would think he was armed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dagger was the one he had carried during his first mission. It wasn't enchanted or special, but holding it made him feel calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn't even used it on that mission-finished everything with a single throat strike-but it still held meaning. Death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen and dealt death too many times to count. And his instincts told him: whatever Enkrid was doing right now-it was dangerous. Possibly fatal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He might've asked himself, because to the untrained eye, this looked like nothing-just Enkrid living his normal\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the ominous feeling said otherwise. Enkrid was up to something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he watched. Even though he had work elsewhere, he stayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eating, drinking, sleeping, shitting, washing, resting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the weirdest part?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of it was weird.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ate more, drank more, slept more, and rested more than usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well-I didn't confirm the shitting part, Jaxon thought. But if you eat that much, obviously...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More food. More sleep. More rest. And he did it all like he was fighting for his life. That's how it looked to Jaxon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shinar was the closest one to Enkrid physically. She sat in a chair across from him, only a few steps away. She seemed like she was observing him-like she was appreciating a portrait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her usual sculpted expression, she watched him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fiancé, don't take too long.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a quip. When she underwent spirit augmentation-with the spirits of the forest-she had taken a journey within herself. A dangerous journey with low survival odds, but one she believed she'd return from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, it looked like Enkrid was preparing for a similar journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone asked what that meant, it could be dismissed as a joke, usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid looked at her and smiled. His eyes curled, and his lips lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had her smile always seemed so rare to him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the same for Shinar. This might've been the first time she saw him smile like that-softly, like he was trying\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>to reassure her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm not going anywhere.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was that time when the sun starts to slip behind the horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before the sunset truly began, Esther approached. Though \"witch\" might've been the more accurate term, the nickname Black Flower had stuck. She didn't mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Living in the world meant dealing with all kinds of labels\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reacting to every single one was a waste of time. She knew what her role was and where she should focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Enkrid happened to be one of those things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it a duty? No. More of a desire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And desire came before duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's how Esther lived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She watched Enkrid's smiling face quietly. His black hair and blue eyes-much like her own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you waiting for?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn't matter what preparations he was making or what he planned to do. Right now, she was just looking at the\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid in front of her and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The sunset.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>looked like he was waiting for something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to see it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esther nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fffrrr.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From behind her, Odd-Eye approached. Enkrid, still seated, reached out and petted the horse's mane. Odd-Eye bowed his head to let the hand reach, circled Enkrid once, then stepped to the side and stood still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From another spot, Teresa, overcome with feeling, began to sing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a hymn she'd recently begun learning. Teresa's voice was rough and clear at once-an unlikely combination that carried her song beyond pleasant and into something that rang sharply in the chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She worked magic with her voice alone-magic that instruments usually conjured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne, resisting the urge to puff her cheeks, didn't blink once as she listened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lopod swallowed hard, immersed in the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pell, overwhelmed by the sheer presence of it all, felt utterly out of place. He wondered why he was even here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was watching Enkrid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun leaned westward, and the world began to soak slowly in amber light-from the cloudless sky down to the\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunset touched Enkrid's face. He drew in a long, even breath... and slowly exhaled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something was about to happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone could feel it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few moments, Rem's hand stopped sharpening his axe with a srrrk-srrrk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The precious whetstone, brought up from the southern provinces, slipped from his hand and thudded against the\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem broke the silence, and Ragna rose to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Audin's pupils dilated as he stared at Enkrid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jaxon was already beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had been breathing slowly, deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jaxon brought his hand under Enkrid's nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had sensed something stir inside Enkrid's body. What he hadn't expected was that it would end like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He's dead,\" Jaxon said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A death beyond belief. Sudden. Without reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, the day came to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right before it all began, after finishing his preparations, Enkrid waited for sunset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his favorite time of day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun tilted westward, painting the world orange. Letting the breeze carry him, Enkrid sat on the stump by the\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>barracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, Rem sharpened his axe. Jaxon read a book. Ragna lounged in a daze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shinar watched him from a short distance. Odd-Eye stood beside her, also facing the horizon. Esther, eyes half- lidded and seemingly indifferent, plopped down onto the ground with casual grace. She looked like a noble lady\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but acted like a country woman taking a break on the roadside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Audin prayed. Teresa sang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was a full instrument in itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lord, Lord, my Father does not retreat from battle and aids in judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lord, Lord, my Father does not tolerate injustice and aids in judgment...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he listened to Teresa's song, Enkrid drew Will and sent it to his toes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem, Ragna, Shinar, and Jaxon-all had progressed to knight-level combatants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was natural to question it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it that easy to grow stronger?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reality was more complex: Enkrid himself had become a catalyst. Environment, innate talent, and the drive\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>sparked by watching him had all combined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid didn't know that. And he didn't think mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply sought a method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rem had said he discovered his affinity for shamanism at a young age-his body had a different constitution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From that, he developed his ability to wield shamanic power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't something easy to understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It just came to me. I tried it, and it worked.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's what Ragna had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shinar had told him a brief journey was necessary-a journey into herself to understand spirit and flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't a physical journey, but a mental one-a disconnection from the world that required maintaining the core\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Audin?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn't reached knight-level yet, but he was close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"His vessel is different.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was already complete. Audin, too, was hiding something. If he revealed it, he would fight like a knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Enkrid asked him, he answered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I only followed the revelations the Father gave me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Words so steeped in belief they were hard to understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, they were answers he had gathered through past conversations. This was just the process of recalling them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what about Oara?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't know. Couldn't ask her-she no longer existed in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mercenary King? Azpen's knights?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone likely had their own method. For most, talent probably paved the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It just happens.\" That's what they all said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You had to be born with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Born to walk the path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Born to progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You had to be born with it. That was talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid had no such talent. Not for knighthood. He knew that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So-was he supposed to give up? Let despair chain him down?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he supposed to stitch his torn and faded dream into some crude patchwork and call that enough?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he had no talent-better than anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was the first swordsman, the limping mercenary who trained him, lying back then?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe. Maybe even then, he had sensed the truth but looked away because it hurt too much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't remember exactly what he'd felt at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But * Novelight✶ he'd never once believed the path to knighthood would be easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the beginning to now, it had always been like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dead ends had always stood before him. If he'd let those stop him, he'd have quit already.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid hadn't stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because all the years, all the pain, all the battles had planted something deeper than talent-resolve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I don't have talent, is there no other way?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked for side paths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chimera Knight had taken one. Using shamanism-was that possible too? Maybe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid didn't want a shortcut. He sought another path entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The method he thought of was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How do I leave the door open? How do I make Will saturate my entire body at all times?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it didn't come naturally-what if he forced it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he did just that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He summoned Will and locked it into his toes, then drew it up through his body, piece by piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had learned what a knight's strike truly was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything he'd learned until now helped him do this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thrusting drills. Every moment that had brought him here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled from it all-unleashed Will-and spread it from his toes to his entire being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Will reached full saturation, his body trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silent death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>force-unseen but felt-gripped his heart and made it halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A painless death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But also a death brought on by the wall of talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That death spoke to Enkrid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's a wall you built yourself-but one you cannot overcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he opened his eyes, the Ferryman was there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Ferryman echoed the voice of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Enkrid, just as always, answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no tremble in that voice.\u003C\u002Fp>",2381,"2026-05-30T08:28:24.043Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","4dcdbf3d698648860cf21ef978ed8babd87960bb4137ee4db9a3ae4c17771844","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-503","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-501",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]