A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 426



Only Noblemtl

426. Anu, King of the East

The ostensible reason for the eastern king Anu to come as a border guard was because of Martai, but of course he had another intention.

“Is Naurilia crazy, or is the newly crowned king crazy? We must examine that. But before that, let’s first look at the face of that demon slayer.”

Anu became famous at the age of eighteen for slaying a lion in the eastern plains, and before he turned fifty, he was a hero who gathered his people in the eastern lands and founded a nation.

But he had one bad habit.

If he saw a good person, he would try to bring him to the East. He was greedy for talent.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for them.

“Do you regret becoming my brother? Then you can go back!”

Wasn’t he the best person on the continent when it came to his cheerful personality?

Once they are brought in and go through a lot of things, they all tend to become Easterners.

They fell in love with his charm and were intoxicated by his passion and dreams.

His dream was truly big, lofty, and absurd, but he was making it happen.

So, up until now, every eastern frontier has become a place where Anu’s hands and feet can safely touch.

From the age of eighteen until now, I have devoted all my life to pioneering the East.

Anyone who knew his life and saw him would recognize his charm.

‘He’s a bit stubborn and strong-willed, though.’

The brown-skinned adjutant Asaluhi thought as he adjusted his turban.

No matter what anyone says, he respects his cheerful and unyielding king.

Asaluhi believed it was his job to fill the gaps the king saw.

“Let’s go. Let’s see the guy whose dream is to kill demons.”

The rumors about Encred had spread somewhat distorted, but the King of the East had no prejudices.

Are you a crazy guy who wants to kill the devil?

That could be the case, yeah.

Martai was an excuse. It was clear that he was greedy for talent.

The King had been very busy with some recent events in the East, but now it was time for a break. The timing was good.

After arriving at the Border Guard and making some excuse to enter the city, it was no problem to find that guy named Encred.

It wasn’t that difficult to get into the training ground inside the barracks.

“Are you saying that if I ask for a sparring match, you’ll accept it? Anyone?”

In response to Adjutant Asaluhi’s question, the soldier observed the two with eyes that showed no intention of using force to stop them.

Since anyone who had come this far could not be stopped by soldiers anyway, there was an order given directly by the general.

Don’t stop it, just let it go.

Whether it was an assassin or a request for sparring, there was no need to rush in if the soldiers couldn’t stop it anyway.

Of course, there was a caveat that he would not stop them if they really wanted to fight, but it was very, very rare for soldiers to be impatient because they couldn’t fight.

The soldier opened his mouth, thinking he would let him go like that.

“Yes, but.”

Anu laughed heartily and went in first. The soldier didn’t stop him. He might have been a new recruit, but he was a veteran soldier.

Isn’t that the person who passed by Prok and Meelun, who are already guarding the city?

The general also said that if you don’t have the confidence to take down Meelun, you better not even think about attacking him.

“Yeah, he’s a kid with a lot of spirit.”

The king muttered to himself as he passed the soldier. He was a king who moved forward without any special restrictions.

The soldier looked at his opponent and, for some reason, thought that his face looked excited.

The king entered the training ground.

‘That’s interesting.’

The king felt happy.

When I briefly revealed my presence while looking at the demon slayer, the opponent showed a sense of victory.

Should I say that it is the first time in a long time that I have felt this fighting spirit?

And that too is such a clean and neat speculation.

Normally, he would not have made a move right away, but the momentum he was showing moved the king.

“I don’t know. Me too.”

To be exact, it was because I really liked the other person’s tantrum. That’s why I ended up taking action.

* * *

That’s how the Eastern Mercenary King came to stay in the unit.

‘Okay, let’s see.’

The king looked at the crowd of troops and showed his greed several times.

First of all, REM.

‘You have a good innate sense.’

He wielded two axes and his skill was no ordinary one.

The king called those he recognized his brothers, a reference to the fact that when he first entered the East, his group had been known as the ‘Brotherhood of the Yellow Hoods’.

That’s what’s been established so far.

Even among his brothers, such skill was rare.

That doesn’t mean I hadn’t seen it at all though.

The East is a harsh land. It is no less than a devil’s paradise. Isn’t that what undeveloped lands are all about?

Giant monsters appeared frequently, and there were many beasts that were even more dangerous.

It would be a relief if that were the end. From the flying demons to the demon broods that toyed with people.

Anyway, the East is the East, and even so, Rem was a man of outstanding ability. He was a rare person even in the East. And this guy wasn’t the end of it.

What about this guy named Audin?

“Let’s do it with force!”

During the training, we suddenly held hands and started testing our strength.

‘Stronger than a bloody-skinned bear?’

Anu was secretly impressed. Above all, the human-shaped bear named Audin was not the type of person who fought solely based on strength.

‘I’ve seen many strong guys.’

When I tried to slightly bend his wrist, he showed off his delicate skills.

Strength is strength, but has there ever been a guy with this kind of skill?

He is one of the most skilled people among his brothers.

Here comes the swordsman Ragnar.

A person with exceptional talent is called a genius.

This kid was definitely a genius.

He is a gift from heaven.

He is a guy who imitates and follows the core of the technology he sees.

The basic prayer wasn’t bad either.

The swordsmanship that can be seen with a single black sword is fast and heavy. A clumsy knight would be no match for him.

All of this piqued Anu’s greed, but it was no surprise.

A special sense.

A trained body.

A scary talent.

They are rare. They are truly rare, but they are not unseen.

So it wasn’t that surprising.

Just because I wasn’t surprised doesn’t mean I wasn’t greedy.

There was also one person with quite a bit of potential.

The half-giant Teresa was also coveted.

And the rest, including the guy named Roford and the shepherd named Pell.

It is a talent that raises its head with greed.

‘That’s interesting.’

Anu felt joy again.

There were also some who went off the rails here.

“There’s even a wizard.”

Esther, who had been transformed into a human, stopped caring about the king after seeing him once. She didn’t even pretend to see him. She didn’t seem interested at all.

All of this may be amazing, but there was something even more amazing to Anu.

There was one guy leading them all.

‘defeat.’

What does it mean to be true?

Anyone with a certain level of skill has high self-esteem.

They were all the same.

Neither Rem, Ragnar, nor Audin should have deviated significantly from this category.

But what is this?

‘What is this guy?’

All that negativity is turned upside down by one guy.

“Can we spar?”

To be true is to have one’s abilities denied.

What you feel before you feel victorious is a sense of defeat. It is like the devil’s whisper that lingers in your mind for a long time and eats away at you.

That’s just how negative emotions are.

Especially those who were completely broken in front of me.

Anu accepted the other person’s stubbornness, but he did not accept it kindly.

I broke all the techniques my opponent used.

And yet.

“Are you busy?”

They pounce and pounce again.

Defeat is corrosive to one’s existence, especially when one’s skills are outstanding.

But it wasn’t interest.

I’m not a huge fan of the concept of a knight, but even by that definition, it was pretty good.

Even based on my brothers, I think I could probably count on one hand.

He didn’t care that someone of that caliber lost.

‘Is there no such thing as pride?’

Or maybe you have something bigger than pride.

Anu recalled his past defeats.

I wasn’t feeling very good, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Because I had to move forward.

The opponent was the same.

A homogeneous smell, Anu smelled something like that.

“Let’s do it, sparring.”

King Anu nodded.

An opponent who had no intention of defeat took up his sword.

Encrid lost, Anu won.

Even though the result won’t change.

“Thank you.”

This is what the real guy said. Looking at the passion and enthusiasm in his eyes, losing wasn’t something that was easy.

I dream bigger than that.

“I will pioneer the East.”

Anu said.

Encred stared at his opponent, wondering what he was saying.

“Let’s talk about it next time.”

Anu laughed heartily.

It would be really exciting if we could just capture all these guys and take them to the East.

* * *

After a few days, it was immediately clear to everyone, without asking anyone, why the King of the East had come.

“You’re really talented. How about going on a journey of exploration with me?”

He coveted talent. He didn’t hide it.

Rem blinked at those words.

I was getting used to my new axe and was cutting down a thick piece of wood to make a log chair.

With every swing of the axe, the raw tree was cut down and chipped away.

There was sawdust and wood chips piled up around it.

Anu knew just by looking at his skill in making wooden chairs.

‘This kid’s axe skills are amazing.’

At first I thought I had seen his skills somewhere before, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized he had a unique sensibility.

“If I’m great, what about you?”

Rem asked in a rough tone. It wasn’t Rem who cared whether the other person was a king or a knight.

“Can you compare me to him?”

Anu shook her head and answered.

What do you mean, compare yourself to others?

“Why is your speech more unlucky than our captain’s?”

“… … Asaluhi, is this blasphemy? Is this lese majeste?”

It was a joke.

Even if people made a fuss about it being a real insult, Rem probably wouldn’t care.

‘Let’s go west.’

Rem made up his mind again. Without the spell, it would be burdensome to swing the axe first at whatever the King of the East did in front of him. Rem found that really annoying.

If you fight with determination, you won’t just lose, and there are things you learn through sparring.

Still, I was still upset.

‘Let’s go west.’

Rem was forced to make up his mind again.

The king was not a fool. He knew how to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses.

If I made jokes with Rem like a manzai, I said to Ragna the words he most wanted to hear.

“Yeah, I have a lot of work to do in the East, so wouldn’t you like to come help me out?”

“Do you need guidance?”

“No, I don’t need it.”

“Finding shortcuts or creating new paths is my specialty, but I’m busy right now.”

Once he got angry, Ragna was worse than Rem.

So, since he had decided not to listen, Ragnar’s heart was like Audin’s fist. It was steel.

The king was tireless. He kept saying similar things to everyone.

Especially when I saw Dunbakel, I made a suggestion that I thought was bold.

“Do you want to be my daughter?”

“Why me?”

Dunbakel took it in Rem’s style.

“Do you want to be my wife? Sorry, but I don’t need a companion.”

“What are you saying, I don’t like old people.”

The King of the East was not offended by such words. He just laughed heartily.

Everyone had similar thoughts. Could this kid be the king of the East?

The best of them was Christ.

“Your Majesty, King of the East! Is that true? Is it true that there are mountains of gold in the East?”

The king laughed heartily again and said.

“You don’t need it.”

It was clear who he needed. He was a good fighter.

Adjutant Asaluhi was used to this kind of thing and remained calm.

* * *

Ragna looked at the two who had finished sparring in front of him.

‘Changing the tempo makes an ordinary stab look like a great technique.’

What is technology?

In the end, it’s just for stabbing and cutting what’s in front of you.

Ragnar sank into himself.

His talent was beyond outstanding, it was outstanding and superior. To the extent that it seemed as if there was no one with greater talent than Ragnar.

His fighting up to now has stimulated his talent.

Even though we are humans who can move forward without any opportunity, what would happen if there was an opportunity right in front of us?

Review, discard, and recall everything you’ve learned so far.

Ragnar was lying in bed, looking outside.

This was possible because the training ground of the madmen’s unit was directly connected to the dormitory.

Encred’s opinion was that it was good to be close, even though there was some dust, and it was Chrys who foresaw this and created this structure.

Thanks to that, Ragna was able to forget himself and immerse himself in the sword while watching the training ground.

Also, because of this structure, Ragna now looked like he was sleeping.

“That kid is being lazy again, I wonder how long he’ll last.”

These were the words of Rem, who was making a log chair and a table.