[{"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-690":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},428547,689,"Chapter 687: Swordsmanship of Calculation","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-690",690,"\u003Cp>Nightfall came quickly in the mountains. The early twilight faded fast, and soon the sky above was lit by the moon and stars, taking the sun’s place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t sprinting flat-out, but they were running at a decent pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever the terrain evened out, their speed doubled. Their steps grew faster, and the moon and stars overhead stretched into streaks above them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screeeech!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wild boar-like monster they passed along the way flinched in shock, gave chase briefly, then gave up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it been more persistent, it might’ve experienced the rare sensation of its intestines spilling across the earth—but the creature was lucky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grida raised her hand over her sword’s grip, then lowered it. She decided, in that brief instant, that killing a monster here and spreading the scent of blood would attract other creatures. Better not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Running on flat land almost felt like a break.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True to Magrun’s earlier words, the path veered into rougher terrain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jagged stones jutted from the ground, and tree roots—looking like natural traps—were scattered around, brushing against their feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could have tripped someone. But they were knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of them were hindered by such obstacles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anne, the only one who couldn’t keep up at this pace, had already swallowed two small pills and fallen into a sleep that made her seem practically dead, slumped against Ragna’s back—nothing to worry about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish! Crack! Thwack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the front, Magrun swung his sword, slicing through a few branches. The severed limbs flew backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He avoided a few roots and chose solid footing, and when they encountered a boulder up to their waists, not one of them touched it—they simply leapt over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From below, the incline might’ve drawn sighs. But they passed without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they ran, Enkrid sank into thought. Doing two things at once had long since become second nature—dodging obstacles while thinking was easy now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes, adapted to the dark, navigated with just the light of the moon and stars. Unless he was sprinting full-speed, adjusting his footing mid-stride wasn’t difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This, in fact, was the perfect time to think about swordsmanship. Or so Enkrid thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like reaching out instinctively when something flies toward you, or like a dried meat vendor turning skewers over a fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could apply Will that naturally, then even when reacting to surprise attacks, his strikes would carry power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d already realized this once. But unless he put it into practice repeatedly, it wouldn’t become instinctive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid knew himself. Just recalling a thought wasn’t enough—it had to be drilled in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which is why he welcomed this kind of surprise attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lost in thought, his instincts flared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something’s coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time he sensed it, Ragna—carrying Anne—suddenly shifted his stride, kicking out sideways and changing direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud! The ground where he’d stomped caved in, forming a shallow pit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with that much force, his boots wouldn’t break. Their soles were reinforced with steel, and the outer layers were made of troll leather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Enkrid’s perspective, he saw the customized boots—commissioned specially by Kraiss—kick up soil in slow motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then something long and black shot through the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ambush!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragna dodged first. Grida’s shout came next. Enkrid, right behind Ragna, unsheathed Penna and swung it at the exact moment Grida shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slice!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fairy-forged blade, famed for its cutting edge, slashed diagonally through the shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid knew as he struck. His dark-adapted eyes caught it in the moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A forearm, covered in dense black scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could also tell by the sensation in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s tough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with an ordinary sword, he would have cut it—but not as cleanly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thick, black-scaled arm. That was the information his eyes and touch gave him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no scream. Instead, dark blood sprayed through the air—deliberately aimed at Enkrid’s face by the flailing stump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His high-speed cognition ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ caught the intent immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s turning a severed limb into an attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t a tactic ordinary monsters would use. Their instinct when injured was usually to retreat or flail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Black!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grida shouted again, but Enkrid had already avoided the blood spray and darted left. Ragna had gone right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid used the frog-step he’d learned from Lua Gharne, bouncing off the ground and swinging Penna horizontally this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Attack shines in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every move was imbued with Will, clean and efficient—almost like a preset motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade, gleaming like moonlight, tore through the air in a shining arc and cut down everything in its path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The night’s darkness, and the black-scaled Scaler hidden within it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splatter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster, half-severed, collapsed on its side, gushing black blood and entrails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid held his stance after the strike. The rest of the group paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at these bastards.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grida muttered, staring forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No scent, no presence easily detected. But from the darkness, vertical, beast-like pupils revealed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of pitch-black eyes floated, each with a vertical slit glowing faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssssssshhh...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their howls spread from the hidden underbrush and beneath thick tree roots. Another Scaler pack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid assessed the path they’d traveled and the group blocking the way ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not magic, not curses—just Scalers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fewer in number than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch the ones with black scales. Some have special abilities.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grida warned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps those abilities served in place of magic or spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one Enkrid had just slain—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was tougher than the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was that all? Probably not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did they send these monsters in a hurry because we deviated from the expected route?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then how did they know where they were?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simple. They observed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How do you track enemy movements on a battlefield?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You send scouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enemy must’ve done the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they’d sent obvious scouts, they’d be noticed. So perhaps they used unpredictable, unnoticeable methods?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few clues clicked together. His mind reflexively followed the chain of cause and effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bat monster from the first day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bats navigate with sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the goal was just to observe, that’d be enough. And if someone knew this terrain and had sharp eyes, they could even track them by the sound of snapping branches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking about it—predicting their path might’ve failed, but intercepting them in real-time? That was easy enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why they sent the Scalers here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their goal is to delay us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t just aiming for Anne this time. The hostility toward her remained, but now they were more focused on blocking the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delays were not strategically beneficial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go ahead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Enkrid’s decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his words, Grida asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll catch up. Leave some traces behind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asking if he’d be okay would be pointless. Even if the enemy had specialized monsters with black scales—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This side has a specialized knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grida thought that and nodded at Magrun. He took the lead, and Ragna left without even turning back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His posture was clear—there was no reason to worry, nothing to consider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would the Scaler pack split? No. When Enkrid stopped, so did they.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had the enemy anticipated this split? Who knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were still too far behind the curtain to make that judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So for now, he’d focus on what was in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid faced the group blocking the path, and with a hint of enjoyment, said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s play.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If his enemies had intelligence, they’d have felt a chill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe the monsters did too. Who could say?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shing, chiiing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sheathed Penna and drew the Three-Iron Sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blades of True Silver and Black Gold jostled, each vying to be drawn first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa, easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Enkrid calmed the two blades, the enemies surged, mistaking it for an opening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They closed in from both flanks. Enkrid struck them down, one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the right, he slashed upward with True Silver toward the sky. On the left, he brought Black Gold down in a heavy cleave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shnk, slice!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if wings had sprouted from their backs, the Scalers were split vertically, blood spraying as their bodies fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moonlight caught on Enkrid’s smile—smooth and effortless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s keep going.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was maddening, as if he could almost grasp something—but not quite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke and lifted his sword above his head, two black-scaled Scalers reached toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were psychokinetics. He felt invisible threads wrapping around his limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stronger than the manticore?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—about the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the extent of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not worth his attention. He could tear through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crackle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no sound, but it felt like that as Enkrid broke through the psychic threads with sheer force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even rush at the enemies who used it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he calmly slashed and stabbed the nearby monsters one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Left foot forward—heavy cleave in midguard stance. Then a long forward thrust with his rear right foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunk, stab!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing three lines of killing intent from behind, he pivoted and slashed backward. Three strikes shattered their wooden spears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes fast enough to blur. Other times slow and deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only as fast or slow as needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defense like waves. Offense like lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... must they be separate?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why divide attack and defense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the level of a high knight, swordsmanship becomes seamless. So he simply fought that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as he thought it, his body responded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A psychokinetic tried to bind his sword, while another thrust a long wooden spear from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its tip was dark—poisoned, clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s not about training or skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid reshaped an earlier concept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d once divided swordsmanship into Finisher, Sustain, and Versatile—and then into Skill and Training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He changed that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s about Sensation and Calculation—not Skill and Training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That felt more accurate. And even if someone focused more on one, the other would naturally follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Pell couldn’t calculate, Rophod would beat him easily. But if Rophod lacked Pell’s instincts, he’d lose in a single strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he refined his thoughts, his twin blades moved as one—not separate techniques, but seamless flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each repetition brought refinement. Each strike improved over the last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I’m doing now is calculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He assessed possibilities, determined the highest probability, and acted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It all happened as naturally as breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was arrogant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They say high knights use Will instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looks effortless, but it’s repetition beneath repetition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natural use of Will, more swordsmanship, and more repetition. That’s what it is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, he could see where he was lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swordsmanship of Calculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could do it now—but what of instinctive swordsmanship?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mad Platoon told him to hide his specialty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid chose to gain another one instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone saw him, they’d call it madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Rem might.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But despite the wandering thoughts, his blade never faltered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knight is calamity—cuts through hundreds alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid made that old continent’s proverb a reality, carving through the monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a scratch on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even bother looking back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he deemed it over, he turned and followed after his companions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the Scaler pack had done was delay them slightly—and give Enkrid a bit of live training.\u003C\u002Fp>",1823,"2026-05-30T08:28:33.327Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","c557408cdcf885dd420f079e4fa3c3da91801107ba6082b1e4b3ea43916fa8f2","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-691","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-689",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]