A Knight Who Eternally Regresses-Chapter 243: A Hunger for Life

Martai had a coniferous forest to the north, flatlands and the Border Guard to the west, the Eastern Kingdom’s territory to the east, and a rather large forest to the south.

That forest was called the "Grateful Forest."

“So why is it called the Grateful Forest?”

Torres tried to familiarize himself with the surrounding terrain of the newly established territory.

A soldier, one from the Rangers, walked alongside him and answered.

Behind him, five Border Defense soldiers followed.

“Because it’s grateful.”

Torres, his face crinkling in confusion, almost asked if the soldier was mocking him, but before he could, the soldier continued.

“Have you been to the coniferous forest to the north? It’s not a place where people can live. Even a Ranger wouldn’t go in there. Do you know what it’s called? It’s called the Cliff Forest.”

Torres had heard of it. It was a famous place.

The northern part of Martai was a coniferous forest, a boundary that divided the continent.

Why was it called Cliff Forest? Because entering it was as good as falling to your death.

“But here to the south, we have a forest full of fruit and beasts. The people living around here have been so grateful for it for a long time that they named it that.”

The Grateful Forest, huh.

Was it a name with character, or not?

Torres didn’t think much of it as he continued his patrol, absorbing the terrain.

Then, something happened.

Kihihihiiing!

It wasn’t the usual whinny of a horse, but a screeching, ear-piercing scream, filled with malice and bloodlust. It was the scream of a monster.

“What’s that?”

A horse appeared on the outskirts of the Grateful Forest, entering Torres’s sight.

Of course, it wasn’t just any horse. What kind of horse would have its fangs bared like that?

“Could be a beast?”

“Could be?”

Horses were herbivores, and it was rare for herbivores to become monsters. Of course, it wasn’t impossible.

Torres frowned and then relaxed, gesturing.

Was there only one? Or were there more behind it?

Had they not noticed us yet?

That was possible.

“A horse beast, huh? That’s something.”

The soldier from the Rangers spoke.

“Are there no forest rangers inside the woods?”

Martai had deployed Ranger units throughout the surrounding forests. Forest Rangers were essentially scouting units based in the woods.

This continent was constantly plagued by the threat of beasts and magical creatures, so periodic patrols were a given.

“There are.”

The soldier answered again.

He had a habit of not speaking everything at once, breaking his sentences into pieces.

“While beasts and monsters have appeared in the Grateful Forest before, this area is generally considered safe, and beast appearances are rare.”

As he spoke, the soldier seemed to have dry mouth and swallowed before continuing.

“About a squad’s worth of men rotates through here.”

“Even now?”

“Yes, even now.”

Behind the horse beast, a few more monsters appeared.

It was a Man-Beast Dog. Their torn skin and the red bloodstains between their jaws were visible.

“Full alert.”

Torres’s judgment was quick and appropriate.

What happened to the Ranger unit that had entered the forest? Were they wiped out?

At the very least, he judged that they had been ambushed and could no longer function properly. They withdrew.

Had they been overwhelmed by such a small number?

Or was it a surprise attack?

Whatever the reason, there must have been some circumstances.

The group of beasts, including the horse beast and the Man-Beast Dogs, didn’t charge at them.

Torres found that odd.

“Do these beasts just lick their lips when they see humans?”

“Huh?”

He was already longing to see the face of Zimmer, the one who had assigned him this foolish soldier.

Didn’t he understand anything from a single sentence?

“Ah, no. That’s not it. The last patrol didn’t find anything. No trace of such a group either.”

That was strange. The Rangers, who were supposed to patrol the Grateful Forest, had found no trace of them, yet a group of more than ten beasts had suddenly appeared?

And why were the horse beasts and the Man-Beast Dogs mixed together?

It was peculiar.

The few watching monsters slowly approached.

Torres didn’t wait and went out to meet them.

“Kill them all.”

Kaak!

A few of the Man-Beast Dogs charged. The horse beasts retreated.

It wasn’t a difficult fight.

Torres and his group killed three or four of the Man-Beast Dogs, while the horse beasts just stared at them and then fled. Into the forest.

Going deeper inside was deemed too dangerous, so they stopped there.

After wiping the bloodied sword on the Man-Beast Dog’s fur, Torres spoke.

“We’ll need to report this.”

Torres returned and reported to the former Border Defense Commander, who had now become the lord of the territory. The lord judged that more beast groups might be out there and requested a mission from the Border Guard.

The request for the mission was beneficial in many ways, which is why they hadn’t handled it internally.

Moreover, the Border Defense had many other tasks besides dealing with beasts.

The internal security of the territory wasn’t fully stabilized.

There were also rumors that the Eastern Mercenary King wasn’t happy about Martai fully taking over Naurillia.

In fact, a few soldiers from the East had deserted during the night.

“Just let them go. They’re from the East. They’ll become knives to stab us in the back anyway.”

Zimmer’s advice was there too. They were stubborn, tough, and persistent.

An explorer once described the Eastern nomads like this.

After that, Torres focused on other matters. The monster problem in the southern Grateful Forest would be dealt with by the Border Guard.

Perhaps the lord of Martai and the Border Guard’s Commander, Marcus, would naturally seek to establish better relations between the two territories, which might explain the redistribution of tasks.

Torres, after that, spent two days planning with Zimmer to form the territory’s security forces.

In the meantime, he received a report from the newly assigned Ranger squad about their observations of the Grateful Forest.

“There doesn’t seem to be a large colony.”

That was a relief.

But then again, why did the Rangers get wiped out? Another desertion?

It could be desertion. That might have been the case.

***

A few days later, a group of soldiers from the Border Guard arrived for the requested mission.

There were barely even ten of them.

One of them seemed familiar.

It was a beastkin with golden eyes, a former member of the Black Blade band of thieves, who had once served under Enkrid’s command.

Though Martai’s forces could have handled the task themselves, this was the first step toward fostering exchange between the two territories.

“Please take care of it.”

Torres spoke to them, and the ones approaching nodded in acknowledgment.

A soldier, who had a habit of breaking his words into segments, stepped forward to give directions.

Leading the way was the beastkin woman, followed by others ready to carry out the mission.

“Rather than hiring mercenaries, better to use Border Guard soldiers.”

In winter, beasts were a major nuisance.

Dealing with the increasing threats of beasts and monsters, the two territories would naturally become more united under a single banner.

By spring, even if the Mercenary King tried to make a fuss, Martai would be strong enough to endure.

Torres wasn’t worried in the least.

The Border Guard soldiers were of high caliber. They wouldn’t be easily defeated by mere horse beasts or Man-Beast Dogs.

And with the beastkin among them?

There should have been no problem at all.

***

“Look at that. Where did you learn that?”

Rem asked, and Dunbakel replied.

She had learned by watching and stealing techniques from others while working as a mercenary.

In her homeland, no one had ever taught her anything.

The cursed transformation and the combination of her golden eyes had been more than enough for everyone to reject her.

She tied her long white hair back and twitched her cat-like nose, prompting a wide grin from Rem as he raised his fist.

“Let’s start.”

Start what? Violence, of course—an onslaught of beatings.

Her day began with being beaten and ended the same way. No, it had ended like that.

Was it a memory, or the torment caused by lingering trauma?

As Dunbakel walked, she shivered as if cold and instinctively rubbed her arms as if hugging herself.

“Cold?”

“No.”

A soldier asked from behind, but the beastkin shook her head.

For beastkin, cold wasn’t usually a sensitive issue. Their body temperatures were higher than humans’, and they were warm-blooded.

Beastkin were more susceptible to heat than to cold. Their thicker and faster-growing body fur helped them endure lower temperatures.

The soldier didn’t ask anything else after that.

Dunbakel, heading toward the area where beasts had reportedly appeared, fell into thought.

Specifically, she reflected on how Rem had taught her.

Had it been helpful?

She wanted to say no, but she couldn’t.

“Is this really teaching?”

“What kind of dumb beastkin are you? Then what does it look like I’m doing?”

“Punching. Kicking.”

At her honest response, the savage barbarian’s grin deepened.

“How have you even survived so far? Being this oblivious.”

And she was beaten again. After two days of enduring it, she thought she might die.

Desperate to survive, she had crawled to Enkrid’s side. Dunbakel had discovered, for the first time, a burning desire within herself:

How do I survive?

Her body, not her mind, had answered first.

Beaten countless times, her body had begun to awaken. Dunbakel learned by stealing and imitating Rem’s movements.

“Now we can finally have a conversation.”

That was the right answer.

“Learn by stealing. If you don’t want to die, that’s what you’ll have to do.”

Anyone who saw that barbarian’s eyes back then would have felt their bladder tremble. Dunbakel was no exception.

Rem’s expression was a bizarre mixture of exhilaration and irritation as he struck her again.

How do I survive?

By stealing and learning.

That’s what Dunbakel did. It took her a week to unlearn what she’d absorbed as a mercenary and another week to steal anew and master it.

“I have a question.”

Around that time, Dunbakel initiated a conversation.

No matter what Rem said, her curiosity burned, and she asked.

“You seem to teach the Independent Platoon Leader kindly. Why?”

Was that some kind of berserk switch?

Dunbakel didn’t know. She was entirely mistaken. She had only asked out of curiosity, not out of complaint.

“What the f**k?”

That was the start. Without a word, Rem picked up his axes. Dunbakel was forced to draw her scimitar.

Boom!

It was a relief she didn’t die in a single blow.

“That man!”

Rem spoke as they fought. How he managed to move so fluidly while talking so much was a mystery.

Dunbakel could barely catch her breath, but Rem continued to taunt her while moving.

“No matter how much I explain!”

“No matter how much I demonstrate, he doesn’t improve!”

“He doesn’t!”

The last words were spoken close enough that she could feel his breath.

Surprisingly, his breath didn’t smell bad. Beastkin had sensitive noses and easily picked up odors, but she detected nothing foul.

“Does that bother you? If it bothers you, why don’t you roll around like the captain does every day?”

From the beginning, it had been a misunderstanding. She was only curious. She hadn’t been complaining.

The barbarian seemed uninterested in any response, seizing the opportunity to pummel her instead.

At the end of her recollections, a soldier’s voice brought her back to the present.

“We’ve arrived. That’s the Grateful Forest, and the reason it’s called the Grateful—”

Leaving the babbling soldier behind, Dunbakel stepped forward. Though unintended, her left eyebrow twitched, trembling slightly as it arched.

Her beastkin instincts flared a warning.

“Wasn’t it supposed to be a dozen horse beasts and Man-Beast Dogs?”

Dunbakel asked.

“Yes, uh, so it’s called the Grateful Forest because...”

The guide, cutting his words off mid-sentence, tilted his head in confusion.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

Dunbakel’s golden eyes focused beyond the forest.

Her vision pierced through the shadows, aided by battlefield experience and the innate intuition of a beastkin.

Dunbakel sensed danger.

Beastkin, giants, Frokk, elves, and dwarves.

Among them, giants were strongest in raw power.

Elves were the most sensitive.

Frokk had a keen eye for talent along with one exceptional ability.

Beastkin were known for their superior physical constitutions.

“You idiot, you’re not even using half the potential of your body.”

She had copied the swordplay of human mercenaries, believing it was the right answer.

Though he was a brute, the barbarian’s teaching hadn’t been wasted.

“Don’t limit your body’s physical abilities in combat.”

Rather than sticking to rigid stances and formal techniques, trust your body’s natural movements and fight like a berserker.

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That was Rem’s advice.

Even if she didn’t go as far as berserking, controlling her body and moving as he had instructed was the right approach.

Since then, Dunbakel had seen remarkable improvement in herself.

It was time to test her abilities.

Rrrrnnng.

A dozen horse beasts and Man-Beast Dogs?

Not even close.

From one side of the forest, more and more creatures emerged.

There were at least twenty horse beasts, and she couldn’t even be bothered to count the Man-Beast Dogs.

Dozens of red eyes glowed from deep within the forest.

“Hey, you. Go and call for reinforcements.”

Dunbakel told the soldier leading them.

“Huh?”

Why did this idiot never understand anything the first time?

Smack!

Dunbakel didn’t hesitate, striking the back of his head.

“Ouch!”

The guide stumbled forward, clutching his head with a bewildered expression.

What was he going to do about it?

“If you don’t want to die, run.”

Unconsciously, Dunbakel had started talking like Rem, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

The guide, holding his head, started running.

The soldiers, tense from what had suddenly become a life-or-death battle, whispered among themselves.

“Damn, what the hell is this?”

“What kind of request doesn’t even bother to get proper intel?”

Dunbakel cracked her neck from side to side.

If this was all there was to face...

There was no real danger.

She had enough confidence now to think that.

“Do you want to live? Don’t want to die? Then fight back.”

Rem’s voice echoed faintly in her mind.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, her training sessions with him—the trials with that barbarian—had instilled an overwhelming desire to live.

Separate from reproduction, it was a blazing passion for life itself.

Her golden eyes burned with that fire.

Ting.

Dunbakel drew her scimitar.

“Don’t step in front of me or to my sides.”

With those words, the beastkin leaped forward. Dirt and pebbles exploded from beneath her feet, and her body blurred, leaving an afterimage.

Two horse beasts reacted simultaneously.

Hieee!

Their short, monstrous cries echoed as the creatures, built for running, charged at her with tremendous speed.

Dunbakel and the two beasts collided in a single line.