[{"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-711":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},428418,689,"Chapter 708: What Seems Impossible on the Surface","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-711",711,"\u003Cp>Swordsmanship began with movements designed for the efficient transmission of power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The width of the stance necessary to generate strength, how to grip the sword, how to channel force from the ankles through the waist, shoulders, and wrists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Researching postures that transmit force, and refining how to swing a sword from those postures—that was swordsmanship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head of the house swung his sword as if to demonstrate the fundamentals of swordsmanship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped forward with his left foot and swung the sword from right to left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it was just a basic swing grounded in form, everything around him shifted in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sound disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surging wind and raindrops were sucked into the sword’s arc and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid watched the head’s sword and heard a ringing tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Piiiiiiiiiiiiiii.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a strike that devoured everything—storms, lightning, all of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pinpoint focus activated involuntarily, and everything slowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head’s movement and the charging monsters split into separate motions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His insight dragged a fraction of the future forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head’s sword drew a single arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thick, intense line traced downward from right to left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like slashing through the air with a rough, paint-laden brush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two monsters trapped in that arc would be split apart and die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with their dying claws, they would strike the head’s shoulder and flank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monsters’ intent, attacking from above and below, was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ringing ended in an explosion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid gave a low hum and nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The future he saw through insight had twisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn’t surprising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It defied expectations—but wasn’t that to be expected from Zaun’s lord?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head’s sword moved faster than the monsters charging him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two monsters were cleaved apart and sent flying into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With dull thuds, the two beasts hit the muddy ground like slabs of meat, oozing black blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head retracted his sword and let it hang loosely, then spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come forth, Heskal. I will judge your crimes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swaaah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the curtain of rain, the path revered by sword-worshipers—the pilgrimage in honor of the god of swords—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Down that path, lined-up monsters were visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one of them stood in formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the lord must have seen it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one who saw that would think today’s battle would be easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man who knew Zaun’s strength stood there—as their enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had come prepared to win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with one swing of the lord’s sword, the entire mood shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Schemes? Traps? What of them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could they possibly be shields capable of surviving this blade?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was what the head’s sword seemed to be saying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then ask.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opposite him, Heskal stood among the monster troops and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t swayed by the pressure exuded by the head, nor by the atmosphere he’d created.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His presence stood out to all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing tall before the head, he affirmed his identity—he was the one behind all of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met through the fine curtain of rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The falling rain seemed colder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thunderclap tore across the dark clouds, as if splitting the two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t the head or Heskal who broke the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heskal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From their standoff, someone limped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His pupils trembled endlessly, though surely not as much as his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, Riley. I thought the lord would have locked you up. But then, he’s a clever man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bringing you here even while doubting you—it must’ve been to shake me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swaaah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rain held no malice or goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It lacked emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So did Heskal’s voice and demeanor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No malice. But no warmth either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you used me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley clenched his jaw as he spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bit down so hard that blood trickled from his mouth, soon diluted and washed away by the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless one was standing right next to him, they wouldn’t have seen it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Enkrid was already there, beside him, and saw it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t intended to stand by Riley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This is a good spot.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was because Riley stood at Zaun’s center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A good place to watch the field and influence the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Were you fooled by an illusion spell? Or was something held over you? Did you need an antidote for poisoning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley muttered, rejecting reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But none of his words made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For others, having their life held hostage might have explained things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Heskal wasn’t that kind of man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would rather die than betray Zaun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the weight of the name he’d built over decades in Zaun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heskal showed no hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back straight, shoulders squared—what radiated from him was righteousness and dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think that’s possible?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heskal denied it with the same soft, gentle tone he always used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley’s shout pierced through the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He appeared calm, but inside he was screaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heskal didn’t click his «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» tongue or scold him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He calmly asked the head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think I would waver from this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You try everything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head didn’t deny it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He acknowledged that one reason for bringing Riley was to shake Heskal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Give it up. It’s over now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heskal said again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid, meanwhile, continued watching the motionless mass of monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gauged their density and tried to count them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little over a thousand?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be a scout, one must know how to assess enemy strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid could do at least that much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What surprised him was how those monsters didn’t move at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Were they trained? Or mentally controlled?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either way, they were a formidable enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm and arranged monsters looked like an army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A repeatedly trained unit is called elite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just because of individual strength—but because, from a commander’s perspective, they act as trained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Untrained or inexperienced soldiers in battle don’t know what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some flee. Some hide. Some charge mindlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if they maintain formation and fight—that’s elite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘They’re like the standing army of the Border Guard.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monsters looked like they had undergone drills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tough enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why, fuck, why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley’s heart had broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant Heskal held great weight inside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley’s body trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the heart collapses, the body follows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could you say he was cut emotionally?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, Heskal was a masterful swordsman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t drawn a blade, yet had cut down a man’s soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid sensed the pressure radiating from those around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lua Gharne had once said—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of idiot commander doesn’t know the state of their own troops?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s good to know the enemy, but it’s pointless if you don’t know yourself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Lua Gharne’s tactical doctrine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had heard it over and over again from her—and he practiced it now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The ones who are angry.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who are sad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who remain calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each radiated a different emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was an unusual one among them—it would be the giant, Anahera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her breath snorted fiercely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was ready to leap forward at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her fingers twitched, gripping her sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If left unchecked, she’d fully unleash the traits of her giant bloodline—like a Beast of Red Blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If used in actual combat, she’s easily knight-level or more.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid placed Anahera outside the group in his mental map, then divided the others as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who grieved would still fight well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those panicking would only increase casualties if thrown into battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those ready now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who needed time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those better off holding the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘And the enemy has shamans.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even ignoring mages, shamanic curses preyed on emotional weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Curses burrowed into weak hearts—that was what Rem had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he was right, based on firsthand experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clear thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unshaken judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid drew a battlefield map in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, Enkrid of the Border Guard. You wanted to return, didn’t you? Why stay now? What could you possibly gain by staying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heskal called out to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t approach—shouting from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It might seem cowardly, but really, it was smart positioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the head and his wife both targeted him, he’d die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t giving them that chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What was your dream? You said you’d tell me. I couldn’t leave without hearing it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid shouted back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even through the rain, their voices reached each other clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So curious, are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since I was a kid, I couldn’t sleep if I didn’t understand something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least when it came to swordsmanship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything else he mostly ignored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really are an amusing one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, Heskal showed something like emotion—interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Behind me is one who seeks to become a god.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not many don’t know the name of the alchemist Dremule.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A legendary name etched into the continent’s history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Anne were here, she’d argue whether that made any sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dremule was Raban’s teacher—a mad alchemist who developed the seed of plague, a mass-murdering lunatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should’ve been long dead—a ghost of the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heskal calmly stated his dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just as he molds divinity, so too will I.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I will shape godhood the same way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The content was absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But isn’t absurdity to be expected in dreams?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What seems impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s difficult to achieve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What one deeply desires—we call all of that a dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘He didn’t say everything.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaping divinity could be just a means to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To what end?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he feared death, he would’ve said immortality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he wanted to revive a dead son, he would’ve talked of resurrection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Heskal added nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only revealed that his dream, which he’d promised to share later, was to steal divinity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all he wanted to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few short words bought time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in that time, a few people reacted exactly as Enkrid had hoped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You lunatic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley Zaun cemented his allegiance with a single curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a sword of Zaun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tremor in his eyes had lessened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the waves stayed the same, a steady sailor wouldn’t be rocked so easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what Riley Zaun had done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Not bad.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid thought well of the change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several more silently prepared for battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even excluding Riley, many had once received something like salvation from Heskal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plenty were still swaying in the waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They shouldn’t be used in battle yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The head, his wife, Lynox, me, Ragna.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those were the five knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were two more you could say stood between knight and quasi-knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant Anahera, and the man who had stood opposite Riley—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had once been recognized by Lynox, but had wandered, overwhelmed by the talent around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t left for over ten years like others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that didn’t mean his wandering was any less difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone has their own hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And everyone walks their own path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His wandering had taken him to the village of retirees for a few months—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And also to the village of hunters, the village of brokers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that wandering, he returned and steadied his heart again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was like Anahera—possibly even better in real combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Anahera’s a giant. That explains it.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man who opposed Riley, who had once wandered—Kato Zaun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He used all sorts of techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even knew a bit of Ail Caraz’s martial arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d armed his body with bladeless hilts and hidden knives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They called him Kato of the Bladed Armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five plus two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zaun had about seventy people who could fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More remained behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the extent of Zaun’s true fighting force.\u003C\u002Fp>",1893,"2026-05-30T08:28:34.162Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","ff7d80e92052a0e0691b5a9f799269b6d77ce84d4fbae2dadaca7bd572c4e4d2","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-712","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-710",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]