A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 409



Only Krnovel

409. In the black waves

It is said that one knight can replace a thousand soldiers.

Then what if there are ten thousand people against you?

The count thought his opponent was a knight and decided to kill him. Thus, he became a ghost of ten thousand people.

‘Die.’

Become fertilizer.

Become a nutrient.

Become food.

Become a part of me like that.

The Count’s magic circle had only one effect: it brought my magical world into reality.

This gives the ghost a physical entity, making it a ghost soldier.

A wave that advances based on a body made of black soot.

The phantom that had become a black wave fell down and got up, pushed back, and surged forward.

Gwoooooo.

It was a mass that let out a terrible howl every now and then.

They were just random guys running together without any formation.

That’s why it couldn’t be fast.

Because it was more like a disorderly mass rolling in rather than an orderly military advance.

Encred looked at it and thought it looked like a swarm of ants.

Of course, each of those ants was the size of a human, so if you got swept up in them, you would die.

Will I be the only one to die?

The soldier who is scratching his arm from behind right now will also die.

“Mother! Mother! Where are you going!”

A soldier who suddenly shouts into the air and sees hallucinations will also die.

“Mazenda, I will also go to you.”

A soldier who pretends to strangle himself in a fit of depression will also die.

It was a mess. Whether it was magic or sorcery used by Count Molsen, his trickery was effective.

Not all of them were bad. There were some healthy soldiers.

“Hey. Where are you following me, you idiot? Mazenda is my brother. He didn’t do anything to you and he’s alive and well.”

A healthy soldier slapped the hand of the choking soldier and said.

“What is it? What is it?”

A soldier looked around in bewilderment and said this. His attitude was one of confusion.

You may wonder why everyone else is acting like that when you are fine.

Encred didn’t know what the spell the Count had used was, but he understood the general situation.

Although it is said that one spell can cover the entire battlefield, if you leave a certain area, you will not be affected by the soot.

The longer I stayed here, the more I would be affected.

With this level of influence and scale, wouldn’t it disappear if you just cut down the guy in charge?

It was an intuitive realization.

No other solution came to mind other than getting through this and killing the subject.

So that’s why we had to move forward.

Rem, who heard my order and saw the group of ghosts, told them to form a large group.

“I refuse.”

Ragnar was the first to answer, stumbling for a moment as he spoke.

Ragna’s physical condition was not normal either. Excessive use of Will was bound to put a strain on his mind and body.

“Brother, is there something ominous stuck in your head? Shall I take it out for you?”

Audin expressed his concern.

It seems that Rem has fallen for the tricks of the wizard up ahead, so he personally shows her kindness.

There were also quite a few wounds on Audin’s body, including the finger bones that had been cut.

It’s because the opponent was formidable to begin with.

Would Saxony be okay?

He too paid the price for his failed attempt to kill the Count by surprise earlier.

There was a small hole in my stomach. I quickly applied ointment and blocked the wound with a specially made bandage, but my body was not fit to continue fighting for a long time.

The wounded area didn’t feel very good. More than anything, a cold air rose from my stomach.

Rem was the same. He too felt sick at the price of borrowing someone else’s magic.

Among them, Encred was the worst.

There was no damage from the will, but the body itself was rolled too roughly.

It was an expected result.

Lebart took on the monster’s muscles to become a knight.

To handle it, Encred strained his strength to the limit.

Luck was on his side, Encred thought to himself.

If I hadn’t been able to implement the skill based on the Will, which is called the eye that sees an inch ahead, I would be repeating today while greeting the morning sun by now.

Even as he spoke, the black waves continued to surge forward.

It seemed as if the sea water made of black oil was approaching as a high tide. It was a sight that made me feel very uncomfortable just by looking at it.

Some of the ghost soldiers who became part of the wave rolled on the ground and even fell down, but they tried to come closer, even scratching the ground with their fingers.

Kill. I will kill. It is a soul that only shows murderous intent.

Above it appeared a tangled mass of phantom limbs. It was a sight that was not only unpleasant but nauseating.

Everyone says to reject it, but this is not a situation where you can reject it.

“Let’s take the shortcut.”

So Encrid didn’t say anything else, and Rem continued speaking calmly.

“The leader goes first, I’m the second, and there are three lazy people. The stray cats and the religious people fall back and follow behind to take care of the rest.”

The tone was businesslike. Rem’s explanation was not friendly, but Encred understood.

The days I spent learning from him were not in vain.

“Sampajin?”

When Encred asked, Rem nodded.

It was the name of a tactical formation that had been encountered once before.

It was a method that was seen as a collaboration between the Centaur Colony and the horse monsters.

Get their attention with the first wave, hit them with the second wave, and then break them with the third wave.

The waves were getting stronger. What Rem was trying to do now was to repeat the three-way battle while switching positions.

“let’s go.”

Encred didn’t hesitate. Even if he explained it a hundred times here and understood it, he didn’t have time to practice.

Above all, aren’t the hordes of ghosts now approaching us?

Gooooooo!

It was like the roar of a ghoul in a deep well.

‘The best training is practice.’

Encred recalled what Rem had said before and struck down Silver. He used his left foot as the pivot to split the crown of his head with a double-edged sword.

hook.

The blade fell, taking up space.

“Relax!”

Rem shouted from behind, but the sword had already been thrown away.

Bam! The head of the first phantom that rushed in was caught by the blade and split in half.

It is a black lump monster with arms and legs, but no visible eyes, nose, or mouth.

As Encred’s sword split open his skull, black fog poured out from within.

He died. I got a feeling.

And the phantoms behind me attacked again. They didn’t stop. What did it matter if the one in front of me died or not?

“To the left!”

Rem shouted. Before Encred’s eyes, a phantom was swinging something that looked like a sword.

It wasn’t an angle that could be avoided by moving to the side.

Still, he stepped aside. It would not have been possible without a certain amount of faith, but Encred stepped aside boldly.

Then, a lump like a ray of light fell from the right.

Boom! Bam!

It was the sound of Rem’s hammer smashing the ghost’s head.

Then, Rem drew the axe in his right hand at a constant speed so that it was parallel to the ground.

Couple couple book! Woorurur.

Instead of cutting it off with a single blow, the wraith was split into pieces every time it was struck by the axe blade.

Even a quick glance would tell me that this was no ordinary craftsmanship.

I divided the weight with my abs based on my body balance and arm strength, and even used the power to push off the ground with my feet.

It is the axe blade that makes you move forward without stopping.

After two such attacks, Rem also fell to the right.

The spot left by Rem was filled by another group of ghost soldiers.

Grrrrrr!

A sharp blade fell upon the roar filled with murderous intent.

Of course, it was Ragnar’s sword.

hook.

The sword cut through the space vertically, cutting through three entangled, lumpy ghosts.

One of them reached out and tried to grab Ragnar’s collar. It failed to reach, and Ragnar, swinging his sword, stepped back.

“again!”

Before Rem could even shout, Encred recognized and grasped the returning form.

How many times have I had a duel with them in the meantime?

It’s been well over a hundred times.

That’s how you fill the empty space and block the way.

When I say let go of your strength, I mean just receive it.

In other words, it was more important to miss than to hit.

Encred did so because he had grasped the gist. He gently gripped the sword, and in the form of a relic sword, he cut off the phantom’s head, knocked it away, and pushed it away.

A phantom jumped upward, but a long stick flew from somewhere.

Huh, bang!

The flying stick stabbed the ghost and then sent him flying backwards.

It seemed as if someone was throwing a javelin. It was actually someone picking up a javelin that had fallen to the ground and throwing it.

“Go ahead, brother.”

It was Audin’s work.

Saxon’s hand moved ceaselessly behind his left back.

Holding a longsword, he stabbed and killed the ghosts surrounding him one by one.

The roles were clear.

Encred and Rem are holding the lead, while Ragna in the center is defeated.

Audin is the foundation that supports all of this. Saxony moved in and filled in any gaps that arose.

With Audin and Saxon blocking the rear, the three of them only had to attack from the front.

Encred and his party were surrounded and attacked by a horde of ghosts.

The world turned black. The sky disappeared and only darkness filled the air, but my keen senses clearly recognized the positions of those who had been coordinating their movements.

Encrid relied on his senses like that.

The other four were the same. There was no need to cut the back of an ally to this extent.

If you did it on purpose, then I don’t know.

The phantom’s fingernails fell off. It also stuck its tongue out between its long fingernails. The tip of its tongue was sharp like a spear. It was a phantom with a peculiar shape.

He was struck by Rem’s axe.

The axe blade flew diagonally and split the bastard’s head obliquely.

Looking at the severed head, Encred drew his gladius and struck off the other wraith’s hand.

puck!

It felt like I was hitting heavy clay rather than iron.

A handful of hands were caught on the gladius.

There was no need to attack again. Let’s turn sideways, and Ragnar’s sword moved.

Encrid forgot why he was thinking so much.

I just kept moving forward.

The five become one and fight through the waves of ghosts.

Among them, the most tired were Rem and Audin.

One served as the foundation, while the other balanced things in the middle.

The five of them had been fighting like crazy for a long time because they were on bad terms. There were many times when they actually fought while holding hands.

The result of the argument was a duel and a fight, but it was easy to figure out each other’s habits.

If you don’t understand breathing, it’s a losing battle, so didn’t you both do your best for that?

The five of them coordinated their hands and feet very naturally.

Although it was the first time, it was no different from the knights who had trained together for over a decade.

* * *

I saw Krang, and I saw Marcus.

Pel and Asia were also gripped by an ominous premonition.

Anyone who saw the black specter, the soot, the dark clouds covering the sky would feel ominous.

Moreover, I saw the wave of ghosts washing over Encred and his party.

Encred and his mad squad are killed.

On the surface, it seemed that way.

“This is an order. It won’t last long!”

Asia shouted deliberately in a cold tone. She was also talking to herself.

She is a knight of the Knights Templar.

Although I have never dealt with spells, I have had quite a bit of experience dealing with wizards.

I deliberately woke up my cool head and thought about it again.

How long can such large orders be sustained?

It won’t be long.

That was right. However, if they could only hold out for the time it took for one candle to burn out, both armies would suffer a near-destructive blow, and the soldiers possessed by ghosts would most likely become something other than human.

Asia didn’t know until then.

“You have to break through the barrier.”

She said.

Krang was still looking at the spot where Encrid had disappeared.

Is he really dead?

“Damn it, Your Majesty!”

Marcus shouted. The battlefield was going crazy.

It was clear that the Count was possessed by something. Even if he was a wizard, how could he do something like this?

Should I have called the Knights Templar?

Pell fixed the idol killer.

‘Shall we go in and take a look?’

I had a thought as I looked into the waves of ghosts. It seemed possible.

No. The answer was to just hold on for now.

The horde of ghosts continued to swarm Encred’s party.

As Pel had cut down one or two of them, the rushing phantoms were immune to the Idol Slayer. In that case, it would be a matter of cutting them down one by one and defeating them.

Asia also gathered her subordinate squires into a circle, and then stepped forward.

Slash to the left, turn around, and stab to the right. With two strikes, she killed and destroyed two ghosts. Before she could even see the one spewing out fog, Asia did a backflip.

Although it wasn’t a feat that could be performed while wearing plate armor, Asia was able to perform a near-feat somersault while wearing partial armor including a breastplate.

After avoiding it like that.

thud!

A ghost jumped up and fell on the spot where Asia was.

Asia didn’t even have time to catch her breath before she elbowed the side. It was towards the ghost soldier who had already approached her.

Bam!

It felt like I had hit a rock. Even the ghost’s body wasn’t soft.

He strikes and uses the force to slash his sword in the opposite direction. A vertical slash with added force cuts down another ghost.

Asia felt dizzy.

‘How long can I hold this out?’

If it’s a fight against time, is holding out the answer?

If only the surroundings of Krang had somehow held out.

He was not an ordinary soldier.

“Save me!”

“Eww!”

A phantom soldier with physical substance rushed at a healthy soldier.

If you look at it objectively, it’s not that great, but the problem was the numbers.

It didn’t stop. It kept on pounding. The ghost soldier knew no fear.

A crisis brings opportunity.

All across the battlefield, there were those who could be called heroes.

These are the people who demonstrate their abilities in times of crisis.

The old but experienced commander did so.

That was the case with the young but courageous soldier.

They gathered their colleagues around them and held on.

But how long must we hold out?

How long do I have to hold out to survive?

The curtain of despair was drawn. The dark clouds that blocked the sun seemed to speak of their tomorrow.

That you will be possessed by a ghost and die, or be torn and stabbed to death by ghost soldiers.

* * *

Encred swung his sword again and again, forgetting himself and his situation in the darkness.

‘it’s tough.’

It’s so hard that I find myself saying those words on my own.

But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t do it. As I kept doing it, I got the hang of it. Instead of hitting it with force, I would conserve my strength and twist it to let it flow.

Rem makes up for what’s lacking.

If that’s not enough, Ragna will make up for it.

As we fought, we sometimes retreated two or three steps, but in the end, we made progress.

If you take two steps back, you get three.

If you take three steps back, you’ll get four.

The biggest contribution was made by Rem, who coordinated the formation in the middle.

Instead of dodging the falling wraith’s hand, Encred took it with his sword and slashed it away.

It flows and cuts. Originally, the ghost itself was not something that could be cut by ordinary iron, but it also had a weakness that arose from having a physical entity.

That means you can kill anyone with a normal knife.

Encred endured and endured again, repeating the stabbing and cutting motions.

The surroundings were just filled with something pitch black.

Black soot, waves of ghostly soldiers, just darkness, a black mass filling all directions, hands with murderous intent.

The world is filled with such things.

And yet.

“ah.”

A sigh of pleasure comes out. I am content to swing the sword again and again.

“Are you crazy?”

In between, Rem’s voice could be heard. It was clear that she had seen Encred’s face.

Are you laughing in this situation?

As I continued to fight and advance without stopping, the darkness around me soon cleared away.

Encred swung his sword once in the air and then stopped. There was no ghost.

No, there were. Behind them lay the corpses of countless ghost soldiers, their blood pouring down like a mist.

Only then did Encred realize that he had penetrated the heart of the ten thousand phantoms and raised his head.

There was a count sitting on a black chair.

The Count glared at Encred with wide eyes.

The side that fought fiercely had a quiet and calm look on their faces.

Encrid just watched, catching his breath.

But the gaze of the person who was waiting was filled with bewilderment.

When something incomprehensible happens, human reactions are generally similar.

“how?”

The count was no different.

That was because something happened that was beyond his common sense.