Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 156

156―――――

Are you afraid of lightning?

Once he decided to start something, Beetri realized that he was too vulnerable to act alone.

Generally, the fewer people who know about a scheme, the better, but a minimum number of people were still necessary.

Fortunately, Beetri had a few knights who followed him.

Originally, the knights belonging to the territory were supposed to follow the lord, but that lord was dead, and all that remained was the former lord’s child, who was nothing more than a brat.

Moreover, the knights whom Baron Kakan had taken with him were not the ones who followed him out of loyalty, so they all survived and were able to stay by his side like this.

“What did you just say, Commander?”

“Let’s survive.”

“…How could you say something so terrible!”

The knights looked around, wary of anyone approaching.

If those words were to reach Jones’ ears, it would truly be the worst-case scenario.

Realizing that no one had heard their conversation, they sighed and turned to Beetri.

“Why would you say such a thing!

Have you forgotten that you are the only hope for this territory?”

“Maybe to Jones, but to us, this territory is nothing more than a place to die.”

“We are in the same situation.

We are already involved in everything and will surely be branded as rebels and killed.”

“If the barbarians don’t move, we can hold out here and buy some time….”

“What if the barbarians just keep watching?”

At Beetri’s words, all the knights were at a loss for words.

The reason why they, the Kakan family, were asserting their will to resist and holding out was that they believed the barbarians would hear the news of the kingdom and move on a large scale.

If their rear was not secure, Zion Clausel would no longer be able to pressure them.

They were thinking that if they could just hold out until then, they might be able to save their lives somehow.

But what if, as Beetri said, the barbarians were just watching?

‘…If the barbarians really just watch.’

‘It’s a disaster.

We’re all going to die!’

He himself, and his family, would all die.

Branded as rebels, unable to say a word in their defense.

“The knights and soldiers of the Gino barony have already surrendered and are following them since they lost their lord.

They must have made a deal to reduce the severity of the punishment if they surrendered and rendered meritorious service, even though they committed the same crime.”

“Ugh….”

“The letter that flew in today says the same thing.

It’s telling us not to do anything stupid because of a guy who’s going to die anyway, and to open the castle gates.

Then, at least our lives will be spared, and if we’re lucky, we’ll have a chance to escape the shackles of treason, so decide quickly.”

Listening to this, it all seemed to make sense.

If they were going to convey the message to Jones, to everyone in the Kakan family, to surrender, why would they bother with such a tiring task?

Even they could see that this was urging the people below to make a quick decision and jump off the sinking ship, now that they had done all they could.

‘I can escape the crime of treason.’

‘I can live.

I, and my family, can all live.’

‘If I render meritorious service, I might be forgiven.’

The knights were thinking for different reasons, but with the same conclusion.

Thinking that way, they began to look for excuses without even realizing it.

They never intended to betray the kingdom, or they came to this territory as knights because of Beetri, not Baron Kakan, so it wasn’t betrayal.

“There’s no time.

Young Lord Zion Clausel clearly wants a decision and action to be taken today.

At the latest, everything must be finished by this evening, and the castle gates must be opened.

And one more thing.”

Beetri continued slowly, in a voice that was even lower than before.

“It’s not enough to simply open the castle gates.”

“Yes?

What do you mean… surely not?”

“We need to cut off the bloodline of the traitor who shouts that he will not submit to judgment and take it with us.

That’s how we can truly surrender, how we can truly render meritorious service, right?”

The knights’ expressions hardened even more.

Simply opening the castle gates and going to them was a completely different matter from killing the head of this territory and taking his head.

Even if the punishment would be reduced even a little by rendering meritorious service and surrendering, it was still a distasteful thing for a knight to kill someone who was once the son of his lord.

‘I knew it.’

Beetri had anticipated that the knights would hesitate the most at this point.

And he had thought of how to persuade them so that he could work with them.

“This isn’t a matter of loyalty to the territory.

Looking at it more broadly, it’s a matter of loyalty to the royal family and Hispania [a kingdom or empire, depending on context, likely inspired by historical Spain].

Even though Jones is the son of Baron Kakan, if we declare that we can no longer follow him because he has declared that he will resist the royal family to the end, and we remove him and open the castle gates, others will be able to say that they will treat us with some leniency.”

“Even so….”

“Think carefully.

In the first place, we swore our knightly oath to Baron Kakan, not Jones.

Now that he’s dead, we’re free knights.”

Perhaps this was the final blow.

The knightly oath that bound them was already nullified the moment Baron Kakan died, and now no one could say anything even if they abandoned this territory.

Rather, they had gained a reason to say that they had made such a decision for the sake of the country and the royal family.

“…I will follow you.”

“Me too.”

“Good.

Now that things have come to this, let’s start right away.

We can’t let Jones find out.”

With those words, Beetri told them what to do, when to start the work, how to finish it, and how to let them into the castle.

“…Lord Jones.”

But the world is never as one wishes.

And when many people gather, there is bound to be one piece of trash among them.

“Sir Dem?

What’s going on?”

“I have something urgent to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a matter of Lord Jones’ life.”

Even in a moment of imminent danger, betrayals continued to occur.

Perhaps Zion wanted this kind of scene.

Originally, when you fall into a crisis, the true nature of that person or group is revealed.

Either they join hands and try to overcome it somehow, or they take this opportunity to betray, and then betray the betrayer.

“Commander Beetri, Lord Jones is calling for you.”

“I understand.

Tell him I’ll be there soon.”

After sending the soldier away, Beetri and the knights who followed him headed to the place where Jones was waiting for them, each with a resolution.

The fact that they could go armed because of the state of war was truly the best move.

But the moment Beetri met Jones’ face, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

People tend to show when they are nervous, and they tend to show when they are not happy.

Currently, Jones was showing it too much.

‘Could it be?’

He realized.

If they were thinking of turning the sword against him, then among those who turned the sword against him, there could be someone else who would turn the sword again.

And he had forgotten that all the things he had planned could reach Jones’ ears!

“Kill them all!”

“You son of a bitch!”

If it had been a narrow reception room, he would have rushed in and cut off Jones’ head, but the place they were told to gather was a wide hall.

And the soldiers and knights who followed Jones were all lying in ambush.

Two of Beetri’s knights were instantly incapacitated by the arrows that flew in.

‘But it’s still a fight worth fighting!’

This is a small elite group of knights, and there are more knights on this side.

If they somehow break through the soldiers and cut off Jones’ head, the soldiers will retreat on their own.

“We must kill Jones and take the evidence!”

“You dirty traitors!”

“Shut up!

It was a natural thing to do the moment you declared that you would hold a sword against the kingdom to the end!”

Until just before, they had been holding hands and trying to endure, but now they were struggling to survive because of a few words.

The place where they had been boasting about their wealth and laughing until recently had now become a scene of chaos where swords were wielded and blood was pouring out, but no one cared.

And no matter what happened inside the castle, Zion was not worried at all.

‘If they raise their swords to get rid of him, thank you, and if they say they’ll live well together to the end, just kill them all.’

With that thought, Zion was leisurely thinking about what to do in the future inside the tent when he suddenly felt a commotion outside.

“Master!”

“Is there already a commotion inside the castle, Rishi?”

“Yes, yes!

That’s right.

As you said, Master….”

As expected, the words of the wise are never wrong.

When many people gather, there is bound to be trash.

Zion had sent the poem, anticipating that even if it wasn’t Commander Beetri, who was the most likely candidate for betrayal, a mid-level figure in the castle would betray him.

He had done everything he could, so he told them to escape from the sinking ship.

Who knows.

If they surrendered quickly and brought a gift, he might be able to use his influence to help them escape the crime of treason.

‘But there are side effects.’

Vice Commander Schumacher had reported that, unlike the Kakan family, the Dionba family was well united.

In other words, it was not easy to encourage betrayal, and if they saw their neighbors collapsing helplessly due to betrayers, they would strengthen their resolve and burn with the will to resist.

‘That means it’s no longer effective to coax them to betray.’

Thinking that way, Zion got on his horse and headed forward.

From inside the castle, which had been quiet and steadfast until a few hours ago, shouts, screams, and flames, though not as much as Trisha’s, were rising.

It seemed that a disturbance had occurred among the soldiers, following the fight between Commander Beetri and Jones.

“Master!”

At the point Rishi pointed to, the tightly closed castle gates were opening, and the drawbridge was coming down.

No matter what else, the Kakan family could no longer hold out now that the drawbridge was down.

“Young Lord.

Are we going to enter right away?”

Vice Commander Schumacher approached and asked if they should completely occupy the Kakan family.

But Zion shook his head, indicating his refusal.

“It could be a trap.

If we push the soldiers into that narrow place in an uncertain situation, we could be ruined.”

“Then are we just going to watch?

We have an accomplice inside, but it would be a loss if they were suppressed.”

“Originally, a house that has been shaken once will shake again even if only a breeze blows.

Don’t worry.

And if we confirm that it’s not a trap, we’ll go inside.”

“Yes?

Does that mean… you’ve already sent someone in to check the atmosphere inside the castle?”

To be exact, it wasn’t a person, but a monster.

Muttering to himself, Zion nodded for now.

At that moment, Zion saw the Kakan family’s flag, which had been hanging on the castle gate, swaying and falling into the moat.

That was the signal he and Kim Yu-hyun had set up, or rather, the signal they had decided on.

‘It’s not a trap, it seems like they’re really in a frenzy trying to backstab each other.’

It wasn’t surprising because it was a picture he had roughly expected.

Originally, those who think they are a little better tend to cherish themselves too much.

They are nothing when they are among the talented, but they think their existence is very precious because they are among the untalented.

“Baron Repoem.”

“Yes, Young Lord Zion.”

“Let’s go in.

It’s not a trap, so don’t worry and go quickly.

When you go in, suppress those who resist, regardless of gender or age.

It’s okay to kill them.

However, as I always say, looting is absolutely forbidden.

Even though it’s the land of traitors, it’s still the territory of the kingdom.”

“I understand.”

It was Baron Repoem, who was now faithfully working to catch and destroy his former comrades who had taken up arms against the kingdom.

Watching the soldiers in formation quickly rush into the Kakan family, Zion looked at the last remaining castle in the distance.

If they subdue the Dionba family, the north will be neatly organized.

The rest of the work was to be left to the regular army and their commander, who would be coming up from the royal castle soon.

‘How should I mess with them this time?’

It was the moment when he was racking his brains to figure out what method to use to make the victims feel extremely dirty.

Thud―.

At that moment, when not only Zion but even Rishi, who had been paying attention for a while, had not noticed.

Someone grabbed Zion from behind and rushed forward.

Kwarreung!―.

Flash!

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

Please reduce the ultimate skill cooldown!