Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 89

89

Your base is under attack

―Following the descendants of the great light, we too shall share in its radiance.―

A rather haggard-looking male elf recited the prayer and rose from his seat.

Many of his comrades were injured driving the monsters from the edge of the mountain range to the other side, and he himself was exhausted in body and mind from the continuous missions.

The reason why they couldn’t give up, even while enduring all sorts of hardships in a foreign land far from their beloved home, was to lead their comrades to the promised land of glory and peace.

“Novashi,

report that the monsters have reached the canyon.”

“What kind, and how many?”

“Similar to last time, but thankfully, there are no trolls.”

“Hoo. When I think of the comrades who sacrificed themselves because of those green giants, I feel like my blood is boiling.”

“What can we do? This is all for the great cause. It is right to sacrifice.”

The male elf called Novashi nodded vigorously.

Even if everyone dies and disappears, other comrades will fill the empty spaces.

And when this continent is filled with chaos, hatred, and resentment, the light of salvation will finally descend.

If that happens, even the other compatriots who have been pushing them will change their evaluation and accept them as true saviors.

“The first wave must be leaving the mountains and running towards the human territories, right?”

“Yes. We only attacked up to the entrance of the mountain and then let those guys run out on their own. It’s so nice that the monsters are simple. If you push them with force, they just run straight ahead.”

Monsters stronger than trolls were difficult for them to handle, and their sacrifices were too great, so the troll was the limit for monsters that could inflict shock and fear on humans.

Still, it was enough to disrupt the humans’ rear and amplify their anxiety.

‘Humans are primitive, foolish, and backward creatures who fear, dread, distance themselves from, and hate beings different from themselves. So this is enough.’

Novashi had no doubt about it.

They were just recklessly producing offspring through promiscuous sex lives and occupying this vast land, with nothing to show for it except for their numbers and ability to form groups—the very culprits polluting the continent.

At least, that’s how it looked to them, the radical elves.

“How is the operation to shake up the humans of Nudia going?”

“A carrier pigeon arrived earlier. They said they’ll start the operation soon. If we succeed in agitating and persuading the humans, war will break out between Hispania and Nudia immediately.”

“So we just keep knocking on the back of that Clausen territory.”

“Yes, while preventing them from sending news or support requests.”

In fact, it didn’t matter much whether Nudia won or Hispania won.

But to cause great chaos on the continent, it had to be accompanied by a powerful shock and terrible fear.

Think about it. The shield that had firmly protected Hispania until now had finally collapsed.

That alone is surprising and frightening enough, but if you add the fact that they were not simply attacked by Nudia but were surrounded by suddenly swarming monsters and torn to pieces, how many humans could feel at ease?

“By now, the monsters we sent as the first wave must be dying in front of the human walls.”

“Let’s send the second wave right away, so that the humans don’t even get the feeling that they’ve won.”

Burning down and devastating the territory by sending monsters is not their purpose in the first place.

It’s to divert the enemies’ attention even a little and to prevent them from concentrating their attention on only one place.

At the same time, it’s to discourage them and make them tremble with fear by watching the monsters rushing in like crazy, knowing they’re going to die, so that they become intimidated in the real war that’s about to come and can’t use their full strength.

‘After all, the main stage is outside, not here. We’re just trumpeters to stir up the excitement.’

As Novashi was moving to signal his comrades waiting in the canyon to drive the monsters, he discovered a face that shouldn’t be there.

“Duria? Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to confirm that all the monsters sent as the first wave were dead? It’s too early.”

“No, Novashi! It’s a disaster! It’s a disaster!”

“Calm down. Don’t be like the humans; maintain your dignity.”

If it were the original Duria, she would have immediately offered a dignified apology, saying, ‘Ah, that’s right. Sorry. I must have gotten a little excited.’

“This is not the time for that! The humans slaughtered all the monsters heading to the castle! Without leaving a single one, all of them!”

“What? Are you saying that the human regular army finally came out of the castle?”

“No. If that were the case, would I be showing such an undignified appearance? Only five humans came out of the castle, five! Those five slaughtered all the monsters we sent as the first wave!”

In an instant, what came to Novashi’s mind was a group of humans heading to the castle yesterday.

They were in the deep mountains, so information was very slow to come in, and of course, they didn’t know who was in the procession or what their purpose was in heading to the castle, but now it was clear.

“···It seems the Count’s son who went to the royal castle has returned. If so, it also means that the high-ranking knight we were so wary of has returned.”

“I think so. There’s no one who can cut down monsters so easily unless they’re a high-ranking knight.”

At Duria’s answer, Novashi clicked his tongue.

According to their investigation, the Clausen Margrave territory had a total of three high-ranking knights, one of whom was the commander of the knights, and the other two were senior knights.

If it were any other ordinary territory, they would have immediately mobilized their best forces to subdue the monsters and clean up to the entrance of the mountain, but for them, there was an enemy they could never take their eyes off of.

That was the kingdom of Nudia, located just a stone’s throw away.

Therefore, they were focusing on defense as much as possible against the monsters’ attacks and were always fully prepared for any possible provocations from Nudia.

Novashi laughed at the humans every time.

They were so busy biting and tearing at each other that they couldn’t even properly respond when arrows flew from behind them, and it was quite funny to see them only looking ahead.

‘But as of yesterday, one more high-ranking knight has joined. Have they decided that they now have enough power to directly counterattack with a high-ranking knight, a mage to support him, and auxiliary forces?’

The monsters they send are all trolls at best.

They are deadly enough for low-ranking knights or soldiers, but they are not very threatening to intermediate knights who skillfully handle mana [magical energy], and to high-ranking knights who boast even greater skill, they are nothing more than goblins.

“···So you’re saying that with a high-ranking knight and a few supporting personnel, they can sufficiently crush the monsters here without forcing fatigue on the soldiers. Tell me more accurately about them.”

“The one who’s clearing out the monsters by wielding a sword is a woman, and as expected, she’s a high-ranking knight. And behind her were one woman and three men. The woman was using magic to support the knight.”

“Indeed, they’ve decided that it’s enough to have a mage support them. Did you confirm the three human men?”

“Two young men and one old man. All three looked like knights.”

“···The location?”

“Not far from the mountain, but rather a bit away from the castle.”

As expected.

In the end, they put out their most powerful card.

If they deploy a high-ranking knight, they can easily massacre the monsters.

For them, many allies are rather cumbersome, so they act on such a small scale.

Novashi groaned.

High-ranking knights are almost at the peak of strength among humans.

Even if they are following the descendants of light, they are powerful beings who can seriously injure or even kill them if they make a mistake.

‘If we kill a high-ranking knight or at least make one of their arms unusable, it would be the best benefit for us. Our main purpose here is to create confusion, but if we break their powerful weapon before the main force even starts, it would be the best of the best. But···.’

But, there were one or two suspicious points that anyone could see.

High-ranking knights are the most powerful and at the same time the most cherished force, with only three in such a large territory.

But they had been saving that card until now and suddenly put it in.

‘Could it be that they judged that they could now operate a high-ranking knight because the number has increased by one?’

Of course, that’s possible.

Three and four high-ranking knights show a difference beyond just one more.

But even so, the fact that they chose a battle location not close to the castle but rather close to the entrance of the mountain, which could be considered enemy territory, was suspicious enough.

No matter how high-ranking a knight is, they are still living beings, so they have to eat, rest, and sleep.

If they are completely surrounded and forced to bleed, even a high-ranking knight can’t do anything about it.

‘So I thought they would fight in a place where they could receive support from the castle even if a high-ranking knight came out. This is too suspicious. It’s like the guy who set up this game threw us a delicious bait and is tempting us to stick our heads in.’

It’s a trap.

Yes, this is definitely a trap.

A trap to lure them out of the mountains by humans who can’t directly enter the mountain range.

“Novashi, what should we do? High-ranking knights are no match for these monsters. It only raises the morale of the humans in the castle.”

“That’s right.”

“Can’t we get rid of the high-ranking knight? If we gather all our comrades and ambush them at once, it doesn’t seem impossible.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s what the enemies want. The monsters are just a smokescreen, and they’ve realized that there’s a real enemy behind them. They know that there’s an enemy forcing the monsters onto them.”

At his words, Novashi’s colleague nodded, expressing his agreement.

But Duria, who was standing next to him, seemed to have a different opinion.

“I think this is an opportunity—the best time to give a more definite lesson to the humans who think they are superior beings and act recklessly.”

“Calm down, Duria. The enemy is a high-ranking knight. Even if they are humans, strong guys are strong.”

“That’s why we should kill them even more. When have we ever been afraid of dying? Even now, dozens of comrades have died from ambushes by large monsters while dragging those monsters from the other side of the mountain range. That human bitch wielding a sword is destroying all that effort, and you’re not even angry, Novashi?”

“Of course, I’m angry, but we should be even more careful for the sake of our comrades’ sacrifices. Our goal is to create confusion when our comrades attack Clausen using Nudia, not to fight head-on.”

“That’s why we should get rid of the high-ranking knight or at least injure them. If we leave them alone, we won’t be able to do anything and just have to watch. We’ve almost used up all the monsters anyway. The humans of Nudia lost last time, so wouldn’t the probability of losing be even higher with one more high-ranking knight?”

Duria’s words made sense.

Their purpose is to ‘consume’ Clausen little by little.

From that point of view, making a high-ranking knight unable to fight and removing them from the war could be considered the best ‘consumption’.

It not only loses combat personnel but also lowers the morale of the human army, increases the anxiety of the territory, and makes the human nobles react even more passively.

‘It could be a greater force for the comrades who are working in Nudia. Hmm, what should I do? It’s obvious to anyone that it’s a trap, but knowing that, the bait is too big and delicious, so I’m worried.’

It was natural for Novashi’s 고민 [worry] to be prolonged.

Knowing that, even Duria, who had been actively offering opinions, was quietly waiting for his answer.

In the meantime, one of the male elves standing next to him cautiously opened his mouth.

“How about this? There’s a very good way to hit the high-ranking knight while we don’t show ourselves to those lowly humans.”

“What is it?”

When all the elves gathered in the place turned their eyes to look at him, the man stroked his chin and continued.

“The ‘those guys’ that the comrades who were luring the monsters caught. Although they are not fully grown adults, they are small and nimble enough that even a high-ranking knight would have a hard time.”

At his words, the elves, including Duria, exclaimed.

It was as if they had forgotten about it until now.

“···Not bad.”

Novashi also nodded as if he liked the opinion quite a bit.

Once a rough picture was drawn, the hesitant look disappeared as if washed away, and in its place, the flow began in the direction of doing things very 확실하게 [thoroughly] once they were started.

“It’s better to do it 확실하게 [thoroughly] once we do it. First, send all the monsters to be sent as the second wave, and when the high-ranking knight enters the battle, send those guys. And immediately after that, we snipe the high-ranking knight with arrows from afar. It would be good if we succeed, but even if we fail, we must be able to check the high-ranking knight’s pursuit, so all members except the essential personnel in charge of communication will participate.”

“Puhahat. I wonder if even a high-ranking knight can handle the monsters alone, block those guys, and fend off our arrows.”

“Maybe they’ll become a hedgehog. Even if we can’t kill them, our victory is if we only injure them.”

Once the operation plan was established, the elves scattered in all directions, boasting their unique quick movements.

Those who were driving out the monsters once again made the monsters run towards the territory.

Some began to prepare something that had been tied up with blindfolds and ropes, and the rest maintained their bows and arrows.

‘If the operation is really successful, it will be easier for the comrades in Nudia to succeed. Then, naturally, the humans will be 스스로 [themselves] engulfed in 혼란 [confusion] and fear and struggle, and we will be one step closer to the day when the descendants of the great light 강림 [descend].’

Hoping for that glorious day, Novashi clenched his fist.

···Without even thinking about the nightmare that would unfold in the future.