[{"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-834":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},428591,689,"Chapter 830","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-834",834,"\u003Cp>A Knight Who Eternally Regresses\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shinar spoke as she listened to the Dragonkin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He's re-inputting and reviewing the grammar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a process of repetition, like recalling an old memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was pulling out forgotten memories one by one, things he had once learned and mastered but hadn't used for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like heating a dull blade in the fire to set a new edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For those who live an eternal life, it could be called an essential skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An eternal life without oblivion would be a hellish pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the elder-class elves in the city of Kiraheis who did not easily show their faces, there were such individuals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were beings who hadn't shown their faces even when the city was on the verge of being devoured by a demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't because they were apathetic, but because they had already half-entered a state of eternal rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very rarely, one of those elders would awaken, and what he was doing now was similar to what she had seen then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragonkin, as Shinar had guessed, recalled his memories and spoke again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Flee. It is fine to run away. I will block it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp edge had been put on the dull blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His grammar was clear, and his sentences made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one reacted to the Dragonkin's words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all just glanced at their commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Shinar waited for his command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid had just fought this being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A conversation of swords, should he call it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In doing so, he had faintly sensed something, and whatever the Dragonkin said, he would just say what he had to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're a bit peculiar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You were fighting me just a moment ago, and now you're suddenly going to block it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weren't you the one who blocked my path to kill the Salamander in the first place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weight contained in his sword had been too heavy to be called a light whim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This opponent was not a man who spouted lies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's how Enkrid saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if his intuition wasn't always right, he was confident in this part.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Themares, judging that there was still time, responded to Enkrid's words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a question in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Themares knew he was special because he was a Dragonkin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at this moment, he thought that the man who had just spoken was even more peculiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at this steadfast will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid wasn't the only one who had sized up his opponent by crossing swords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, a Dragonkin possessed extraordinary senses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'A unique human.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's how Themares saw Enkrid as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That human is unwavering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is like a ship that is moored without a single anchor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems he would endure even if a storm raged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was mysterious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that mystery stimulated the very core of the Dragonkin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A grand dream, an intelligent being imbued with will—he was a human who was truly a delight to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was interesting, brought enjoyment, and created a sense of expectation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is this man's duty, and what is the foundation upon which this will is built?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the first time in his life that the Dragonkin had felt such curiosity, and for anyone, the first time is always intense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is something you can tell by looking at the expression of a child who has eaten a sweet cookie for the first time in their life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen beings with a steadfast will before and had shown them favor, but this was the first time it had been this stimulating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it the feeling of having seen only small ponds and lakes before, and now facing the ocean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pleasure of that magnitude welled up in Themares's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why he wished even more for him not to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A human who could evoke such an emotion in a Dragonkin was truly rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exceedingly rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of him, whatever the vertically slit yellow eyes were saying, Enkrid's mind was processing thoughts on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of them was briefly reviewing the fight from a moment ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were two reasons he had called him peculiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was his personality, and the other was his skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be precise, should it be called his changing skill?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Was he hiding his skill?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single train of thought branched off, replaying the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid recalled what his opponent had shown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white longsword had bent and parried his sword, and before that, he had exerted a coercive force with a Word of Command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No, more than that, wasn't the fight itself awkward?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How should he put this more simply?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he were to replace it with a single, very simple sentence…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'His skill at judging distance steadily improved.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first blow, his sense of distance was terrible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had made up for it with his unbelievable athletic ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging the distance is the basis of a fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's the same whether you hold a sword in your hand or throw a punch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His technique for judging that distance had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And starting from that point, everything began to change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'The position of his feet and the way he extends his shoulder.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the distance, his posture had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an unfamiliar form, but it was followed by movements that followed the logic of battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swordsmanship is what has developed to fight, to win, and to kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His opponent had faithfully followed that aspect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'The last three attacks were all sharp.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the last third one, which Enkrid had also dodged by a hair's breadth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade, bent like a white snake, had been aiming for his forearm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Parrying the blade while cutting.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a movement like a textbook, but half a beat faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He played with the rhythm and mixed in techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if he were a person who had read through a swordsmanship textbook, trained each part properly, and then mixed them back together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Is this assessment correct?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was that peculiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where did that peculiarity come from?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he out of practice in fighting, just as he was out of practice in speaking?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, was he in the middle of rehabilitation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's have one more match after this is over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone heard their conversation, but no one said anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't the first or second time Enkrid had acted like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Showing unprovoked favor, his capabilities went beyond being hard to gauge and were changing in real time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Themares felt intrigued, Enkrid felt the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to probe the depths of the Dragonkin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I must fulfill my duty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Dragonkin also said what he had to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because duty comes before anything else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a Dragonkin has no duty, they have no reason to live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, duty is that kind of thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anchor of life, the will that lets them moor in today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A presence similar to intimidation could be felt from the speaking Themares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a matter that could not be compromised, so his words were imbued with will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, on the outside, his tone was calm and ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason he felt the will contained within was because he possessed keen senses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid could even sense an elf's emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no trouble at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid, who felt an interest in the duty the opponent spoke of, asked back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what is that duty?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone was friendlier than ever before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, he had not been able to feel any malice or killing intent while fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All there was was enjoyment and goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a strange one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the opponent's duty was reasonable, wasn't it worth listening to?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was similar to when he had accepted Dunbakel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was acting on a whim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it was because he had intuitively known that the being before him would not attack the city or harm civilians with malice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My duty is to protect the being behind me,\" the Dragonkin said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone was impassive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no intense emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nor did it seem like he had any convictions or principles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All that could be seen was a single sense of duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'And yet his Will is full.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a truly strange opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word he had chosen resonated in his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was what Enkrid had been doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the opponent discussed duty, he too could discuss duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if duty and duty conflict, whose should take precedence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The truth is decided by the law of the continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the stronger one is right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, was killing this man and the Salamander the best option here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the thought that came to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid knows the way of the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is completion, but there is no perfection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you obsess over perfection, you will be trapped in today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you wish to go to tomorrow, you must not linger on the element of perfection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, is there value in a day that is simply sent away?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A day of doing one's best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he wanted such a today, he deliberated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For that best, Enkrid asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Protect?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who protects whom?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if in answer to that question, something flew down from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid's sixth sense reacted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he wasn't fighting, his thoughts accelerated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something unseen was falling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be precise, it wasn't that he couldn't see it, but that he had felt something that hadn't happened yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body, having sensed death or a threat equivalent to it, reacted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A red line fell from above his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if someone were wielding a very long and thin whip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because his sixth sense had activated, his body moved three steps to the side, leaving an afterimage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red line drew a line on the ground where Enkrid had dodged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no roar or explosion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only apsssshsound and a thin hole of unknowable depth was created.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A haze-like smoke rose from the hole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the path the red line had passed, a hot air that distorted even the warm air remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hot wind brushed Enkrid's cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had been hit, any part of him would have been instantly severed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'As much as Ragna's Sunrise.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was sharp and hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its length was such that it would have been fine to line up five ordinary men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep and long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he hadn't dodged, he would have offered up an forearm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, no one was hit by that long whip-lash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as they were watching, wondering what was happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not difficult to figure out the origin of the whip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had shot out from between the mass of the flame cloud, which had now lowered and was closer to the party than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A tongue,\" the Dragonkin said briefly and pointedly, and Enkrid understood him well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're saying that was the Salamander's tongue?\" he asked, glancing at the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragonkin nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't know what 'protect' meant, but Enkrid understood one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As long as I don't kill it, it's fine, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragonkin had told him to retreat, and in the middle of a fight, he had shown his back and tried to protect the party by cutting through the fireball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid grasped the situation with his intuition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The opponent was protecting the Salamander while also preventing that fireball from causing harm to the surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the question that came at the end of that entire thought process, the Dragonkin answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then is what the Dragonkin is trying to do now discipline?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood that it was something similar to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'A terribly misbehaving brat.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is he trying to lay a hand on him because he's the kind of kid for whom the rod is sometimes the only medicine?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let's do it together.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid proposed a temporary alliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragonkin nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man's will is supremely pure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It couldn't be for nothing that the elf who knows no lies was with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're not going to take him out and go?\" Rem asked from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 'take out' Rem was talking about was probably directed at the Dragonkin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was his name Themares?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a Dragonkin whose name he had come to know from hearing him mutter it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Enkrid had the will, it would not be impossible to subdue the Dragonkin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight would be easier if even one member of the party joined in, but…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All units, prepare for battle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enkrid ignored him and said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interesting thing was that no one showed anything like rebellion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were men who had followed his stubbornness well even in the days of the madmen squad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the same now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They do not question what their commander does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They just do what they have to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, it was a confidence shown because subdueing one Dragonkin and even killing the Salamander if things went south was something easily achievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The parasite demon of fire, who had entrusted its thought-form to the Salamander, sneered at them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'If I can't have it, no one can.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the ascetics of the demon realm, this was something only he could do: waking the Salamander that had entered a state of hibernation or dormancy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He intended to burn all the bastards who had gotten on his bad side to a crisp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that a part of the continent would burn in the process was none of his business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other beings who wielded influence on this continent would complain, but he could just ignore them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the Salamander had opened its eyes, this area would probably be destroyed to the point where reconstruction would be impossible for some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'But it always comes back eventually.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new vitality blooms in the places the Salamander has burned and passed through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it has the power of regeneration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though countless would be burned to death in the meantime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The parasite of heat chuckled, even though it was only a thought-form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Die, all of you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He led his thought-form and stimulated the Salamander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Agony, pain, and suffering were transmitted through the thought-form to the main body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rather enjoyed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The parasite of heat knew that if he could not shake off this enjoyment, he would not be able to achieve what he wanted, but…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'How can I give this up?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was thrilling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he were human, his eyelids would have trembled at the pleasure that was several times stronger than the pleasure felt in a sexual act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Now, die, all of you.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let's add some more seasoning to this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By adding human screams, pain, and suffering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought-form could not control the Salamander, so it watched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It savored the sight of the otherworldly phantom beast swinging its two forelegs after having swung its heat-ray tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought-form perceived them as forelegs, but to those directly facing them below, it would look different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Salamander's forelegs were fireballs themselves, which would crush and burn the gathered men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'How will you burn to death?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, the demon's expectations were not met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sky-blue light shot out and cut through one of the fireballs, and the other was met by a white light that did not back down, and the flames died down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Hmm?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Salamander's two feet were pushed back.\u003C\u002Fp>",2554,"2026-05-30T08:28:35.159Z","2026-06-01T04:30:45.896Z",1,"novelbin.me","7b962f015d2dcf66aff13236ba20edf0eb2666d4630c987ebc5d63939cedf47d","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-835","a-knight-who-eternally-regresses-chapter-833",882,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-knight-who-eternally-regresses-cover.jpg"]