A Knight Who Eternally Regresses-Chapter 296: I ask of you, Father in the Heavens

"I ask of you, Father in the Heavens."

Audin knelt and quietly raised a prayer.

In that moment, he saw Enkrid’s absurd head turn.

Then came the chase, the charge, the sword strikes, the scrolls, the spells, and the explosions that made him doubt his own eyes.

Kyaaah!

As soon as he saw it, Esther leaped forward, but Audin did not try to stop her.

She was not a leopard who could not care for herself.

Then Ragna stepped in.

The clumsy knight, who often lost his way, ran straight toward Enkrid.

His steps seemed unusually light.

"Jealous?"

That blond, clumsy soldier running ahead?

"Traveler Teresa asks, when do we fight?"

Like a sheep thirsty for battle.

Still, Audin did not turn away from his thoughts.

"Untouched fruit is said to be sour when plucked; the Father said, 'Waiting ripens the fruit and the heart; I wish to give you something good,' and so he told us to wait and endure."

"Endure, yes."

Teresa quietly knelt beside him.

Yet, she was not small compared to the other soldiers. Audin was no different.

Two bears silently waited for the right time.

"Learn patience, and then move forward."

Audin silently whispered a brief blessing toward Teresa and continued his prayer.

"What is the shepherd of the Mad Platoon, the mad sheep, doing now?"

The scriptures say to help the weak and powerless. As a shepherd of the sheep, the Lord instructed to protect and lead them.

It seemed that Enkrid was doing just that.

He had saved a child, and somehow, he had cut through the ominous something wrapped around his body and made it explode.

"Father."

As he silently recited his prayer, the beasts of the maw began to lift their heads from afar and soon started charging toward them.

Dust, yellow as the earth, rose under the dark sky.

"If the beasts break through, we’re all dead! Block them!"

At Graham's shout, the heavy infantry platoon charged out.

Audin began a new prayer, brief and strong.

"I ask of you, Father in the Heavens, do you not need a dog to guard your side?"

There was no answer, but he felt it was needed.

Sending them to stand by God might be the greatest blessing for the beasts.

Audin stood up.

"I must go and deliver the blessing myself."

"The traveler Teresa will go with you."

Audin stepped forward, and Teresa followed closely behind.

The two of them walked swiftly toward the beasts, and the soldiers behind naturally cleared the way.

They walked down the path cleared by the two large figures.

***

Auu! Krrr-rrr! Kank!

Several wolves, grown large by beast magic, leapt in front of the soldiers and blocked their way.

"Hold on!"

Bang!

A wolf struck the square shield that covered more than half of the soldier’s body with its front paw. The impact made the soldier’s arm vibrate.

"Stab!"

Block and stab. The basic tactic of the heavy infantry platoon.

Several of the beasts were impaled on the spear of a powerful soldier. With a sickening crunch, their skulls shattered, or holes were punched through their chests.

But there were too many beasts. It was dizzying. You could call it a tidal wave of beasts.

Paul, a soldier from a coastal village, knew well the terror of the sea.

He often joked with his comrades, saying that even if the high waves crashed over his head, a true sailor would rise above them.

And this was that moment.

Though it was not the sea, nor the coast.

But the beasts were like waves, crashing over their heads.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Paul drew strength from deep within his stomach.

He was known for his exceptional strength in his village.

Had he not gotten angry and crippled the village chief’s son, he wouldn’t have come this far.

But now, the very strength that had maimed the chief’s son was his tool of defense and his fortress.

With all his might, pulling from the very energy that had once been his childhood strength, he swung the heavy iron mace.

At ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the end of it was a rounded spiked ball.

Whoosh, thunk!

The wolf’s skull at the very front of the wave was struck by the mace and flew off.

Blood and brain matter splattered out, raining down over his face.

Paul blinked once, then pulled the mace back and swung again.

"Ugh!"

With a yell, he struck from top to bottom.

Bang! Crack!

The mace crushed the shoulder blade of another beast, which then tumbled to the side.

Pulling the mace from the ground, he swung upward again.

Thwack!

This time, he caught another beast, striking its jaw with the upward motion.

Screee!

The beast whose jaw was shattered rolled away, and another took its place.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Having felled three beasts with his own strength, Paul shouted.

"Damn, Paul!"

"Rural fool, well done!"

"Block! Block!"

Paul even threw his shield aside and kept fighting.

A few of his comrades hurriedly filled in the gaps with their shields.

He steadied his breath, readying himself to repeat this hellish task countless more times.

"Mom!"

One of his quiet, courageous comrades, looking for his mother, flew through the air.

Half his body was torn off.

With a thud, entrails and blood mixed into the falling snow.

What was that?

Krrrr.

Paul witnessed something horrifying among the beasts.

What is that?

It was larger than the others. No, it was incomparable. Even with its body lowered, its head was still too high to match Paul's eye level. He had to lift his head just to see its face. A giant beast?

No.

It wasn’t that.

Beasts were animals cursed and transformed by magic.

What stood before him was a monster. A creature with ancient magic, the mortal enemy of humankind.

A monster, a Dire Wolf.

The grey-furred beast looked down at Paul with its red eyes.

One of his comrades, who had been blocking the way, trembled violently.

The mere sight of it brought an overwhelming sense of fear. The urge to run surged up within him.

Yet, they did not flee and raised their shields.

Years of brutal training had prepared them for this moment.

And that alone was worth praise.

Krrr.

As the Dire Wolf let out a deep, menacing growl, the soldiers’ legs began to tremble even faster.

Though they wanted to resist, their primal fear couldn’t be overcome, and their bodies shook uncontrollably.

Paul was the same.

His hand trembled as it gripped the mace. His knees wobbled. Goosebumps rose on his skin. Fear clouded his vision.

'Am I going to die?'

Paul thought of the village girl who wove baskets.

'I loved her.'

He had planned to propose when he returned.

If someone like him was acceptable, he had intended to ask her to live together.

He had hoped to settle down, live happily by the sea, and share their lives.

He wanted to show her the ocean one day.

He wanted to have children, to teach them to fish.

He had so many dreams.

Paul felt death closing in.

He would die.

And if the human-shaped bear, approaching from behind Paul, hadn’t intervened, he would have.

The giant bear’s hand reached Paul’s shoulder.

"May the Lord bless you."

Strangely, with those few words, the pressure weighing down on Paul’s entire body vanished.

"Whooo, whooo, whooo."

Breathing heavily with cold sweat, the bear spoke again.

"Blessings are given even to the cursed creatures."

Blessings? What kind of blessings?

For a moment, Paul wondered, but then Audin, the large, mad soldier, sprinted forward.

For someone of his size, the speed was unbelievable. To Paul’s eyes, Audin’s form suddenly seemed to blur and disappear.

A dozen or so wolf-beasts blocked the way of the Dire Wolf, but they were useless.

Bang! Crack! Kank! Thwack! Boom!

What was that?

Paul’s eyes filled with confusion. And rightly so.

The vanished Audin had already found himself in the midst of the beasts.

It was only then that his movements caught Paul’s attention.

He extended his fists and feet, maintaining the same speed as he was running.

It resembled a battle carriage.

It almost looked like an armored, assault vehicle.

The two clubs that stretched out from the carriage made the beast horde nothing more than wild dogs or scoundrels rolling in the market.

Their skulls looked like tomatoes, squashed, burst, and broken.

Paul displayed his strength, killing three beasts, but Audin, merely passing by, killed five or six.

A few of them even flew through the air as their bodies were sent soaring.

The wild, rampaging Audin’s body soon faded and disappeared again.

It was a moment of acceleration as though showing someone what speed truly looked like.

Thud, boom!

Footprints remained where he had stood. The yellow-brown earth had been dented, leaving the mark of the one who had disappeared.

A ferocious charge accompanied by immense strength.

The Dire Wolf’s eyes followed Audin, who had disappeared.

With a swift motion, the creature’s front paw moved. The beast also showed a speed that was uncharacteristic of its kind.

Its large paws moved dynamically.

Soon, the human-shaped monster and the wolf-shaped monster collided.

Bang!

The shockwave from the collision of the two monsters spread out.

Dust billowed in all directions, resembling a storm.

The sight of the wolf monster and the human monster facing off caught everyone’s eye.

In that moment, what emotion should replace the fear and terror usually felt in such situations?

There are moments when individuals who are otherwise far from reach, standing together on the battlefield, become pillars of strength.

Enkrid’s Mad Platoon was one of those.

"Blessing!"

Audin shouted again, swinging his fists.

The Dire Wolf dodged with an unexpectedly quick movement and immediately attempted to bite.

Bang!

Audin’s fist and the beast’s claws clashed. The club had long been discarded, but why did it sound like that when his fist met the beast’s claws?

And what was this blessing?

The blessing Audin spoke of was, of course, something that would send the wolf to the heavens.

In other words, what was in his hands.

Violence, powered by raw strength.

The greatest blessing for the beast was to die and stay by God’s side.

And Audin was prepared to give it to the creature.

"Are you just going to watch?"

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The cry of the commander leading the infantry erupted.

At the sound of it, Paul lifted the flail he had dropped earlier.

"Let’s clear them all out!"

"You mad fool, form up! Anyone who breaks formation will die!"

"Paul, you country bumpkin. If you want to play with Desian, shut up and keep the formation!"

The platoon leader angrily shouted.

Paul complied.

A joy filled him, realizing he was still alive.

Of course, it wasn’t time to enjoy it yet.

The battle was still ongoing, and he was right in the heart of it.

But Paul felt like he wouldn’t die.

He had survived even with the Dire Wolf in front of him.

Was he really going to die to some wild, dog-like beasts?!

"Shields up!"

"Shields up!"

The heavy infantry platoon, the pride of the Border Guard, once again raised their impregnable defense.

Though they were not the ones to lead a powerful charge, the best course of action now was to defend and maintain formation.

Their efforts were soon rewarded.

"If you have it, use it."

That was Kraiss’s saying from the third battle.

Graham followed those words.

"Charge."

At his command, a spear flew toward the side of the beast.

"Is that your secret weapon?"

Hee-ing!

The cavalry appeared, a force that had not been shown before.

"Whee-ee."

A mercenary soldier at the front blew a long whistle.

At the signal, the horses began to charge.

Those who had been hiding inside the walls dashed out in a line.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

As the cavalry galloped, the ground shook with the sound of hooves.

The cavalry was made up of soldiers who had confidence in their mounted combat, hastily assembled.

Though hastily formed, they had not lost their mobility.

They lacked training and skill, but charging and clashing was something they could do well.

More importantly.

Hee-ing!

A wild horse, much larger than the ordinary combat horses that had joined the fray, charged ahead and did something completely reckless.

"What is that?!"

The mercenaries were stunned, but the seasoned fighter instinctively did what needed to be done.

He swung his greatsword in time with the wild horse’s charge.

As the horse charged, he swung the blade at an angle, and the beast’s skull was struck.

Thud!

The beast’s head flew off.

The wild horse, apparently excited, charged into the monster with its forehead, then quickly backed off and accelerated once more, charging again.

It repeated this several times, and to the mercenary, it was a sight like nothing he’d ever seen.

"A trick?"

He was astonished, but knowing that the horse was on their side, and that it had been brought by Enkrid, he let it slide.

Trying to understand it would only give him a headache.

Amidst the chaos, Teresa passed by the beast horde and headed toward the back.

Several beasts, underestimating her, attacked her alone.

Teresa dealt with them calmly.

With her shield raised and her sword gripped like a club, she swiped at them, pushing them back.

Clang!

A few of the beasts she struck spun around, frightened.

Should she kill them?

Teresa briefly considered, but knew it was too late.

"You."

Before her stood the Wolf Bishop. When had he come? Was he truly someone born and raised in the demon realm, as the rumors said?

It was a sudden thought.

Above all, he was the one who had sent her here.

"Heretic."

The bishop said, and Teresa responded.

"I’m the wandering Teresa. I have no idea what you’re talking about."

She denied knowing him. Teresa was more shameless than expected. The bishop’s memory of her was not the real Teresa. She had died, after all.

So, it was only right to act shamelessly.

"What?"

"I don’t know you, so why are you saying that?"

The Wolf Bishop seethed with anger.

"You wretch!"