[{"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-739":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},428446,689,"Chapter 736: That Someone","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-739",739,"\u003Cp>What should one do with their footwork when thrusting with a spear held wide at the shaft?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brunhilt knew the answer without asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you shift your stance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid would ask that every time. And each time, Brunhilt would plant the shaft like a walking stick and sink into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It probably looked a bit silly—one swinging a spear as they pleased, the other questioning every motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this be called instruction?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her learning was extraordinary. And what’s more, she wasn’t lazy. If that’s not talent, then it’s something close to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A separate kind of gift—not what one’s born with, but the ability to enjoy even when fatigued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as she repeated basic strikes, Brunhilt’s eyes still sparkled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many times do I need to do this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A hundred times a day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when told to just repeat simple thrusts and staff motions, she smiled as if it were a joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Enkrid primarily wielded a sword, he had handled a spear before. He provided direction based on his own knowledge of the basics, guiding her with questions and answers, gradually conveying the techniques he had internalized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What mattered was how to use strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made little difference what was held in one’s hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d grasp the fundamentals on her own. What Brunhilt needed was technique. In other words, Enkrid was planting a trail of signposts along the path Brunhilt would walk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Enkrid broke off a tree branch, stripped it of twigs, and used it like a wooden sword, Brunhilt eagerly swung her spear in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spent half the day like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, something was missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brunhilt had extraordinary talent, but she kept skipping over the intermediate steps. It didn’t seem like an issue now—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it's better to fully understand things before moving on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That part deserved some thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t very well write an entire swordsmanship manual on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant he’d need to stay in this village for half a year at least.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wouldn’t be possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original plan was only to eliminate the threat. No matter how powerful the beasts were, as long as they appeared, it wouldn’t be a problem. He was just waiting for that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just need to reduce their numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a knightly thing to do. If any monsters showed up, he’d track them for two days straight if needed—slashing, stabbing, killing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, he saw no signs of them, but if he made a serious effort, it wouldn’t take long to find them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid wasn’t a top-tier hunter, but he wasn’t blind either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was easy to get lost in the mountains, but as long as you had a fixed base and didn’t stray too far from it, you wouldn’t lose your way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s not like I’m Ragna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster problem plaguing Harkventyo didn’t seem like much to Enkrid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, the sun had begun to set. In the mountains, days are short. Unless you lived on a high plain like the Zaun, that was only natural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding ridges quickly blocked the sun, casting shadows and stretching Brunhilt’s shadow far along the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The child swung her spear, still smiling. Behind her, the sunset painted the air. Orange light brushed her figure, brushed Enkrid’s, brushed the entire village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one were to get sentimental, they might say it was a warm, gentle light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hand reaching out to embrace those who had endured each day just to reach the present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And amid that light, he saw phantoms. Faces he’d failed to protect, the dead he couldn’t save, stood clear in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how many times he repeated today, those shadows never vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some stains can never be removed. Some scars may fade, but their shape always remains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Help us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had staked his life on those words—and failed. Enkrid had saved no one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone. Anyone. Somebody has to save us. It can’t end like this. It’s not fair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had called this a village of the condemned. A father who failed to kill a lord that stole his daughter, now a fugitive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some had lost everything because they couldn’t afford the city’s registration tax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the orange sunset, chaotic memories tore through his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had imagined it countless times over countless days. Would anything have changed if someone had helped back then?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That someone...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no swelling pride in his chest, but the fine hairs on his body stood, and a faint shiver ran down his skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had become that someone—the one he had dreamed of in countless imagined moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the illusions, a woman in an apron with neatly braided hair emerged and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think we’d hold resentment? If it wasn’t for you, no one would’ve stepped in. That’s why. Just... set down your burdens now. You’ve done enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ache in his chest turned to a pulse that reached his face. There was no need to hold it in. Enkrid let his tears fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t carry some grand meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was just letting emotion pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right beside him, the genius girl struck with her spear shaft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She, too, might grow up and one day become someone’s “that someone.” That thought crossed his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to the wild beastmen’s attacks, Harkventyo hadn’t slept. The skin beneath his eyes darkened from lack of rest. Anxiety and worry gnawed at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we head to the city like this...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d be forced into the slums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would that be better?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe it’s better than everyone dying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the right answer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harkventyo knew there were no right answers in life. It was one of the things he’d learned after more than forty years of living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But is that really the right way to live?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should they survive as slaves for fifty years?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or live as humans for five?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they died defending their village, they’d die with hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if they went down to the city to live...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d survive with despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, it wouldn’t be much different than living as slaves again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even breaking through the mountain range wasn’t an easy task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could I save even half?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Urgh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure crushed his mind, affecting his body until he retched. He had eaten nothing, so only bile spilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His throat burned. His eyes burned. Even his ears and nose burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt like a chunk of meat tossed into a steam cooker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and looked up—the sun had nearly vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just by seeing it, he remembered a man with black hair and an unforgettable face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That man had slain the monster in an instant. Was that swordsman their savior?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what if he wasn’t? What if he wanted something in return? Could they afford it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if he asks for my daughter?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should he give her up? If sacrificing one meant saving all, should he do it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was torture. He knew what he should do—but couldn’t do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No. That wouldn’t be it. Harkventyo knew one of life’s truths:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Salvation must be earned. No one can be saved by another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t carry this alone, Harben.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man over sixty approached. His back was hunched, his eyes clouded with age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone will choose their life. That’s how they’ve always lived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that swordsman demands the impossible, we’ll fight to the last man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had read Harkventyo’s thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have to deal with the monsters first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the order of things. The dusk faded into black. Perhaps disturbed by that blackness, two moons and countless stars shone all the brighter in competition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Harkventyo had no room in his heart to enjoy beauty. His thoughts were full of dread brought by untimely danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that dread struck like a bell being violently rung. It didn’t make a clear, refreshing sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harkventyo’s village lay in a small basin surrounded by old trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From above, it would appear like a perfectly drawn circle, cleverly hidden in the mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The loud crack of one of those natural barriers snapping echoed like thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bear!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone shouted. Harkventyo recognized the voice as Jerry’s. Sharp-eyed, sharp-eared, and skilled in crafting bows and arrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been restless lately, setting traps on the outskirts after sensing odd movements. He wasn’t the only one losing sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harkventyo grabbed the spear leaning by his half-buried house and ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s a bear beast, even you’ll die! Everyone, hide!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A frail old man screamed with surprising volume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But hiding wasn’t the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harkventyo knew it instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rushed toward the sound, and found the source of the crash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stood on two legs—massive in size. They often said “as big as a house.” This was exactly that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that hulking creature was spraying black blood everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More precisely, what he saw was a beastman with its neck half-severed, swinging its claws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in front of it, a man knocked aside the bear’s arm—barehanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should he rub his eyes? Was he really seeing this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such thoughts were understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harkventyo had never seen a knight before. In fact, most people lived their whole lives without seeing one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only because the shifting tides of the continent had stirred once-hidden martial orders did the presence of knights become something even the battlefield-born could recognize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this village was hidden. Its people knew nothing of continental politics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So naturally, they had never imagined such a sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even defeating the wild dogs was astounding. Their movements had been nearly invisible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this—this was on another level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had at least been able to fight off the wild dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a bear beast? One the size of a house?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before anyone shouted \"bear\"—even before the tree fell—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had awoken with a bad feeling and immediately sprang from bed. Aside from his clothes, the only gear he had was a pair of cloth gauntlets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even have time to put them on. He simply grabbed Three Iron and went outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slapped the beast-leather flap at the entrance, making a sharp pop, and stepped out into the reek of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was a scent, finding the direction was easy. As he sharpened his senses, he heard the telltale crack of snapping branches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something big was coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its presence was undeniable. As Enkrid moved toward it, someone under the moonlight spotted it and cried out—\"Bear!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive shape burst from the pitch black, the kind that made your knees buckle just looking at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is, for most people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid leapt forward and grabbed the man standing in front of the bear by the back of the neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man froze mid-scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Predators—monsters especially—can paralyze humans just by being seen. That’s the basic principle of a monster’s aura of dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prey’s fear locks their body in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first step of the Will of Rejection...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was casting off fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thought crossed Enkrid’s mind as he ran. Idle thoughts were allowed—he had rushed out, but now that he was outside, he had room to think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That room came from acting fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flung the man behind him. The man’s legs left the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“U-uh, whuh—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t even scream properly. Fell flat on his ass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bear monster came in, slashing with its claws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite its bulk, it was incredibly fast. The way it redirected its strike mid-motion to slash at Enkrid instead of the man—it showed it had solid judgment, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid raised his sword at an angle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade of Three Iron might have looked like a child’s arm facing a giant’s axe—but that arm batted away the giant’s weapon with ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CLANG.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its claws are thick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moonlight was bright. Not quite midday, but bright enough to make out the monster’s form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One eye is missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scar over it was old. There was also a crescent-shaped patch of fur on its chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After becoming a monster, it gained greater strength and claws as hard as steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few more traits popped into his head, but he dismissed them. He # Nоvеlight # was still adjusting to the Lua Gharne-style tactical swordsmanship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He absorbed all incoming data—but it was also important to ignore the unnecessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, he’d overload.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he did. He ignored what wasn’t needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He batted away the descending claw with the dull edge of Three Iron—and followed it with a slash to the neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade traced two arcs through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One deflecting, one cutting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>THWACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black blood sprayed everywhere, and the beast let out a guttural roar—no, a scream of pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in that state, it reached out with its other hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that’s information I need.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Becoming a monster granted it stubborn vitality. Even with its throat torn, its blood vessels tangled together and began to regenerate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And despite the pain—it kept attacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bear’s other hand swung down. Enkrid blocked it with his bare hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That freed his sword-wielding hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bear monster resisted to the very end. It opened its mouth wide, trying to bite off Enkrid’s head even with its dangling neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A savagery beyond ordinary insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that’s a surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid thought—and triggered Blade of Coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He moved as if he’d planned it all along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three Iron curved from a straight line into a sweep—and stabbed into the bear’s cheek, stopping it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>THUNK! CRUNCH!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It bit down on Three Iron. Enkrid yanked his hand back and stepped forward with his right foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, he switched to a left-handed stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His right hand pulled the sword back—his left fist swung forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster’s head—still clamped down on the blade—was right where he needed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid’s ankle and waist rotated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His outstretched left hand delivered a blow that combined Balraf-style martial arts with a mid-sword strike he’d learned from watching Ragna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Will surged through the punch—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bear’s head exploded, and gore sprayed off to the side. Enkrid flicked his hand in midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without gauntlets, the black ichor soaked into his fingertips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he looked ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with the bear monster dead, the stench of blood lingered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the darkness, two panther monsters watched him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he ran—they were within reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mind moved—body followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM—the heel of Enkrid’s boot kicked off the earth like a blast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The light of Three Iron, reflecting the moon, streaked forward like a drawn line—headed straight for the panther monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>",2400,"2026-05-30T08:28:34.162Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","eae227c3288993d0b9c3ccf3561414a791ccaa15efc385f395fae1994e023aa0","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-740","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-738",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]