Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 18

The Rebirth of a Dedicated Reader – Episode 18

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If asked about Lilith’s swordsmanship, Zion could nonchalantly say it was nothing special.

Her strength was, after all, unsettling the mind; physical combat was more of a last resort, or a desperate struggle.

Of course, she was better than ordinary knights, but nowhere near Kim Yu-hyun.

‘Lilith can just play along and back out, but Kim Yu-hyun is the problem.’

From the moment they met, she had singled him out as a sparring partner, and even at the training grounds, she paid no attention to the other knights, focusing solely on him.

There was no way Kim Yu-hyun would target someone without a reason.

He must have noticed something, felt something for sure.

‘This is driving me crazy, really.’

The Succubus Queen Lilith was a crucial asset and a trump card that he absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

If she were to die in a duel with Kim Yu-hyun before they even entered the main storyline, or if her identity were exposed, creating a hostile atmosphere, it would be a truly terrible situation for Zion.

It was like pouring salt instead of sugar, or vinegar instead of cooking oil [making a mistake that ruins everything].

Whoosh!

Lilith still managed to make the first move.

Or perhaps Kim Yu-hyun deliberately conceded it, but the important thing was that she held the initiative.

At first, Kim Yu-hyun dodged Lilith’s attacks with nimble movements.

But soon, he began to use his wooden sword to block her attacks in advance.

Thwack!

Thud!

The wooden swords collided, producing dull sounds, but if they were real swords, sparks would have flown along with the clash of steel on steel.

Imagining Kim Yu-hyun wielding a real sword, Zion trembled, almost wetting himself.

He only had one life, and death was too close.

‘Damn it!

Lilith, fight!

Go, sis!

Even if you can’t win, at least land one hit!’

Cheering her on in his mind, Zion watched the duel between the two ‘men’ with great interest.

Unaware that Count Lichten was watching him more intently than the duel.

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, Kim Yu-hyun concluded that his opponent had surprisingly decent swordsmanship.

Although her stance was slightly awkward, she showed no hesitation in targeting vital points, indicating that she had seen her fair share of combat.

‘But not yet.’

The moment he made eye contact with him upon entering the reception room.

His body suddenly vibrated, and every sense and cell began to stir.

The unique aura and pressure emanating from a strong opponent were transmitted to his body.

Of course, the sensation disappeared like smoke after a while, but Kim Yu-hyun was already convinced.

That the knight named Noss was hiding his true skills.

‘I don’t know how long he can hold out, but he’ll have to reveal his true abilities.’

With that thought, Kim Yu-hyun turned the tip of his sword, which had been focused on defense, and slowly transitioned to offense.

‘What, this bastard.

Pretty good for a human, huh?’

Lilith, for her part, was also surprised.

She had already judged from the start that his swordsmanship and movements were unusual, but she didn’t expect him to read her movements so quickly and try to break them down.

She had no intention of hiding her skills, but she didn’t feel the need to take him seriously, so she was just playing along, but he was teasing her as if asking her to show off more.

‘···That bastard, Zion, is watching.’

She had boasted so much about how great she was in front of her contractor, but if she were to be defeated by a mere human, it would shatter the Queen’s pride.

Biting her lip, she began to mix in feinting motions.

In that brief moment, during those few exchanges of swords, he had noticed that her center of gravity was supported by her left leg and was trying to break her stance by targeting that spot.

If that was the case, she could give him what he wanted and take something bigger in return.

Lilith quickly came to a decision and feigned a slight loss of balance in response to Kim Yu-hyun’s attack.

Her left leg was exposed to attack.

As expected, he would immediately lunge in, and as Lilith expected, Kim Yu-hyun quickly exploited the opening.

‘I knew it!’

Lilith quickly turned her sword.

And just as she was about to strike the opponent’s exposed side with the hilt.

Thwack!

‘···Ugh?’

Lilith frowned at the sudden pain.

And she was genuinely surprised by what unfolded before her eyes.

The opponent had pretended to fall for her feint and, in turn, targeted her arm.

Just as Lilith had thought, he had struck her forearm hard with the hilt of the wooden sword.

“Kuh!”

It was a heavy blow and an unexpected attack, so her balance was truly disrupted.

That was the most vulnerable weakness in a duel, and Kim Yu-hyun was not generous enough to let his opponent catch their breath.

Thwack!

Drawing a smooth line, he struck Lilith’s shoulder hard.

Then, as if water flowing, he moved out of range, took a light breath, and re-gripped his wooden sword.

“Don’t try to be clever.”

The moment those words came out of Kim Yu-hyun’s mouth, Lilith’s eyes flashed with fire.

How dare a mere human, a Succubus Queen, say such things to her.

Even in front of her contractor, Zion!

‘That rude bastard.’

For a moment, she wanted to dominate his mind, relentlessly break him, and order him to kneel and lick her toes while she crushed his face.

As anger poured out like an erupting volcano, Noss’s eyes, which had been transformed, began to turn red again, albeit briefly.

‘Hmm?’

Kim Yu-hyun couldn’t have missed that change.

Sensing an ominous energy from his opponent, he subtly distanced himself and prepared to attack at the first opportunity.

‘Should I kill him?’

Lilith hesitated.

In her nature, she would have killed anyone who looked down on the Queen without question.

But now she was a woman bound by a contract of servitude.

And her contractor had clearly given her this order.

‘Never reveal your true intentions or power.’

‘Ah, why―.

Can’t I even kill those who act up?’

‘No.

Absolutely not.’

‘Why, why, why!

There are times when I want to rampage!’

‘I don’t want to lose Lilith-nim [a respectful suffix in Korean].’

‘···Huh?’

It was a 300km fastball [an extremely fast pitch in baseball, metaphorically meaning a sudden and unexpected statement] of restraint thrown at an unexpected moment.

Standing there blankly, staring at Zion, who was holding her shoulders, Lilith, foolishly, could only blush and couldn’t even answer.

‘Promise me.

That you’ll listen to me.’

‘Uh, uh···.’

‘Say you promise.

I’ll really die if I lose you, sis.’

‘Ah, I understand.

I promise··· I promise.’

Zion finally smiled as she squirmed and answered.

How hateful and pathetic she was, just moving her lips blankly there.

She was supposed to be the succubus, so why was she always the one being dragged around!

‘Tsk··· I made a contract with a weirdo.’

Lilith sighed and continued to move her body.

‘What.’

The opponent’s momentum, which seemed like he would devour her at any moment, vanished in an instant.

Even the ominous glint in his eyes and the murderous intent emanating from his body were all gone.

Kim Yu-hyun clicked his tongue and felt a surge of anger.

He was being underestimated again, being forced to hide his skills against him.

Wasn’t this too much of a disregard?

‘If that’s the case, I have no choice.

I’ll push him to his limit in one go and make him instinctively unleash his power.’

Whoosh!

Kim Yu-hyun’s movements changed in an instant.

Until just now, his movements were still somewhat visible, but now he was moving so fast that even the Lion Knights Commander could barely keep up.

‘What is that man?’

Movements that even he, the commander of the border count’s knights, couldn’t properly follow.

Lion was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even laugh.

Where did such a formidable figure suddenly come from!

‘···Ah, damn it!

Sir Noss!’

Sir Noss was now facing an opponent that even he found difficult.

And as he expected, Sir Noss was quickly struck in several places.

Just as he was about to rush in to stop their duel, fearing that something terrible might happen.

“···!”

At some point, Kim Yu-hyun’s sword stopped abruptly in mid-air.

And right in front of it, a young man was standing.

“L, Lord!”

“Hyung [older brother in Korean]!”

Even if it was a wooden sword, at that speed, it could cause at least a fracture, or even death in the worst case.

But Zion Clausen, who had never respected the knights, who had never shown any interest in martial arts, had jumped right into the middle of a fierce duel.

“Stop it.”

Kim Yu-hyun’s wooden sword was right in front of his eyes.

He could have lost his life with the slightest mistake, but Zion was indifferent.

No, indifferent was an understatement.

He was cold but noble, confident, and overwhelming.

“···What is it?”

Kim Yu-hyun was also quite surprised by Zion’s sudden appearance.

If he had reacted even a little later, his head would have been smashed and he would have died, but whether he knew it or not, the young man in front of him was staring at him with cold eyes.

“It seems that the victory was already decided when Sir Noss’s attack was blocked and your attack landed, but you’re still pushing him to the point of death.

That seems too harsh.”

“We are in a duel.”

“That duel is your victory.

So stop.”

“The match is not over yet.”

“It is over.

So this is it.”

At the forceful demeanor, Kim Yu-hyun unconsciously twitched his lips and glared at Zion with fierce eyes.

Soon, murderous intent radiated out, making it difficult for most ordinary people to even breathe.

“···.”

But Zion was still glaring straight at Kim Yu-hyun, his cold eyes gleaming.

It wouldn’t have been strange if a sword fight broke out, but neither side moved first.

“Why are you doing this?”

Kim Yu-hyun, who had finally withdrawn his momentum, opened his mouth.

“Wasn’t it you, Zion Clausen, who suggested that we have a duel to prove myself to the knights of the border count?”

“But now you’re stopping it.”

“Because it’s already been proven.

There’s no need to shed any more unnecessary blood.”

“It is foolish for someone who wields a sword to judge whether shedding blood is useful or not and then draw their sword···.”

“It’s not foolish.

Kim Yu-hyun.

The more someone wields a sword, the more they should know its weight.”

At Zion’s words, Kim Yu-hyun flinched and looked at him.

The words he had just spoken were the same as those of a man he had once admired so much.

“Seeing blood.

Taking someone’s life is never a light matter.

The moment you get used to it, the one who wields the sword becomes just a killing tool, a swordsman with no reason or meaning to exist.

So···.”

Gulp―.

Kim Yu-hyun unconsciously swallowed hard.

Then, he bit his lip and clenched his fist tightly.

There was a voice, faint but clear, as if coming from a distant place.

‘So stop being foolish and do it moderately.

Little brother.’

“So stop being foolish and do it moderately.

Kim Yu-hyun.”

Zion said that and pointed to Sir Noss, who was sitting behind him, that is, Lilith.

“He’s my man.

I said before that it’s natural for an owner to protect their people, right?

It’s the same this time.

Let’s just let it go.”

Kim Yu-hyun stared at Zion for a moment, then nodded as if he understood.

Then, he apologized to Sir Noss, Lilith, for being excessive and stepped back.

‘···Damn, I aged ten years.’

If it had continued like this, Lilith’s head would have been smashed, or her identity would have been revealed.

Or he would have just ended his life.

It was truly a divine move to recall the words of Kim Yu-hyun’s senior at that moment.

“Are you alright, Sir Noss?”

“Ah, yes.

I’m fine···.

Zion.”

It was a middle-aged man who was flustered and embarrassed.

Of course, Zion knew that the contents were Lilith, but the shell was making him nauseous and giving him goosebumps.

After helping Lilith up, Zion looked at Count Lichten, who was sighing in relief, and opened his mouth.

“Father.

I think everyone will acknowledge Kim Yu-hyun’s skills at this point.”

“···Yes.

The commander of the knights seems to have judged it to be sufficient as well.”

The commander of the Lion Knights, who had been staring at Kim Yu-hyun with a dazed expression, nodded at those words.

And so, Kim Yu-hyun officially stayed at the Clausen border count’s castle for some time.

And two days later, the dawn of the preemptive departure ceremony arrived.

[Author’s Notes]

4 consecutive chapters completed.

I kept my promise, so now I’m going to breathe!

If you give me more recommendations in the future, I’ll come back with more consecutive chapters···.

(This is an author who died from overwork in the future)