Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 266

266―――――

Requiem

The Holy Prussen was under a massive attack by demons!

This unprecedented event was relayed via magical communication to the 1st Army Command of Nudia, spearheading the attack on Hispannia.

The very day Nudia decided to attack Hispannia.

Demons, led by numerous monsters, were fiercely pushing against the Holy Prussen.

At the very moment the forces of evil attacked the sacred land of light, Nudia was attacking Hispannia, another human kingdom.

Unlike the command, which received news immediately, the soldiers were still unaware.

One might think this was fortunate, but it was akin to walking beneath a dam knowing it would eventually burst.

Eventually, everyone would learn about the current situation.

And everyone might become suspicious of everything, unable to do anything.

“What should we do, Commander?”

“What choice do we have?

We must continue our advance.

The main force is urging us on.”

“But look at this.

Isn’t it too coincidental?

The demons attacking the Holy Prussen and us attacking Hispannia…”

“Watch your mouth.

Are you suggesting we are demon sympathizers?

Speaking such words will only confuse the soldiers!”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Pretend you don’t know, pretend you can’t hear.

Just think about winning.

Only think about victory!”

They hadn’t even experienced a single battle, yet a strange atmosphere already permeated the command tent.

Some might ask what the problem was, why worry about such foolish things.

But considering why and under what justification Nudia initiated this massive war, it was not a foolish worry at all.

After the Hispannian army passed, fires with ominous energy consistently broke out in their wake.

Rumors spread that demon sympathizers had established themselves in Hispannia.

Within Nudia, voices emerged saying that the descendants of light were disappointed and angered by this holy war, leaving these traces as a warning to Hispannia, which was abandoning the light.

What began as mere rumors suddenly appeared in noble council meetings, as if by agreement, and they defined their acts of aggression as righteous, fighting not merely for their own or Nudia’s glory, but for the light.

With the most light followers after the Holy Prussen, and even more fanatical ones than in the Holy Prussen, public sentiment shifted towards a war atmosphere, and those who opposed it were naturally branded as those who rejected the will of light.

In other words, they were seen as demon sympathizers, so their voices naturally dwindled.

Thus, Nudia, having gained national support and justification, and having mobilized a large force not seen in over a hundred years, advanced towards Hispannia.

But, but what if?

What if the demon sympathizers were not in Hispannia but in Nudia?

And to hide this, the nobles and the royal family intentionally committed some act to turn the resentment and blame towards Hispannia, even starting a war to drive the wedge further?

‘The moment that happens, this war is a complete defeat for Nudia.’

Ibe thought, clutching her throbbing head.

There was a greater defeat than simply losing a battle and then losing the war.

That was losing the reason and justification to fight before even fighting.

That was when the army, as a group, lost its purpose and wandered aimlessly, eventually scattering.

That was the worst defeat, the greatest defeat.

If they were physically defeated in battle, they could somehow rally the remnants and resist or maintain order and retreat, but if they lost the reason and justification to fight in such a way, the entire force could simply vanish.

“Ibe.

Is there any other news from the homeland?

Any news that was wrongly delivered…?”

The nobles asked, with faces holding a glimmer of hope.

But Ibe slowly shook her head, saying that was unlikely.

“Everything is true.

A massive number of monsters are approaching the Holy Prussen, and following them, unprecedented forces of evil are fiercely pounding on the gates.

All land routes to the Holy Prussen have been cut off, and we don’t even know exactly what the situation is.”

“This can’t be…”

“The demons really attacked…?”

The demons attacked the Holy Prussen, a place called a sacred ground by the followers of light.

And immediately after that, Nudia suddenly declared war on Hispannia.

Even if there was no connection, no matter how much they said the possibility was low.

It was as if Nudia was working with the demons to wage war; the picture was drawn all too easily.

‘Even the heavens are helping Zion Clauser, aren’t they?

Nudia, which recklessly pushed for invasion with absurd nonsense, has been struck by a bolt from the blue.’

Ibe couldn’t imagine that Zion had brought in the demons.

To think that far, Ibe was still a bit kinder and more normal than Zion.

Sighing, Ibe steeled herself.

Either way, the war had already begun, the border had been crossed.

It wasn’t something they could just brush off by saying, ‘Ah, sorry.

It was a mistake.’

‘No, rather, victory has become even more crucial.

It’s become even simpler now.’

Ibe thought, and opened her mouth to the command, which was still in confusion.

“Everyone, calm down.

It might actually be a good thing.”

“Yes?”

“Ibe, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean that we must win this war at all costs, even for the sake of Nudia’s survival.”

The nobles reacted as if to say, what was she talking about, when the reason and justification to fight were about to disappear.

Ibe forcibly suppressed the urge to beat her chest in frustration and continued.

“The demons attack the Holy Prussen, and Nudia attacks Hispannia.

The common point here is ‘attack.’

People can’t help but believe that these two events are related.

Because the timing is so perfect.”

“That’s right.”

“Then we must reverse that with the result.

The demons will be defeated.

Like before, they will eventually be driven back and confined to the mortal lands [the human world].

But what if we, Nudia, also lose?

Then we will be branded as demon sympathizers forever.

Forever.”

“T, that must not happen!

Absolutely not!”

‘Of course not.

Are you even saying that?

I’m going crazy with frustration.’

Ibe sighed, truly worried about how to carry out this war while trusting such individuals.

“But if we win, the way others see us will change.

The Holy Prussen won against the demons, and we won against Hispannia.

And we listen to Hispannia’s assurance that they will identify and eliminate the demon sympathizers and then withdraw.

That’s how we must conclude this.”

At her words, the officers of the command finally exclaimed and showed a bit of relief.

Ibe’s words meant that since everything would be done in the direction the victor wanted, they should somehow win, regain justification, and push the blame onto Hispannia as they had originally intended.

‘Honestly, even if we win this war, we’ll gain almost nothing… but at least it’s better than losing everything in defeat.

You would definitely think so too.

Right, Zion Clauser?’

If Zion had heard Ibe’s words, he would have shouted, ‘What nonsense!’

If there’s nothing to gain from winning, just surrender!

Along with those words.

“What’s the situation with the main force?”

“There are conflicting opinions: some say we should turn the army back because the Holy Prussen has been attacked; we should help the Holy Prussen; others say even if we turn the army back here, trust will have already fallen to the bottom, so the demons should be stopped by the Holy Prussen, and Nudia should suppress Hispannia, where the demon sympathizers are.”

“Turning the army back to the Holy Prussen now would take at least two weeks of marching, are they even serious?

Not even considering the logistics.”

“So we were also judging that it would be better to just push forward as we are.”

“You are the commander of our 1st Army.

You make the decisions.

My opinion is just advice.

So the decision should be made by you and those gathered here.”

Although she said that, Ibe’s words contained another meaning.

If they couldn’t make a judgment, if they couldn’t make a decision.

There was a suitable person here, so they could transfer all the commander’s authority to Ibe, to herself, as well.

Not now, but she was telling them to seriously consider it at least once in the future.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been thinking about.”

“What is it?”

“We leave the Clauser March [a territory or region under the control of the Clauser family] to the main force following behind, and we just push quickly into the interior as we are.

They’re moving with the intention of supporting the Clauser March, so if we exploit that gap, wouldn’t something work out?”

At those words, Ibe hummed and tilted her head.

The entire border couldn’t be blocked by the shield called Clauser.

It only blocked the main roads and plains near the roads that could quickly lead to Hispannia.

Therefore, even if it was a narrow path, it was possible to sneak into Hispannia while deceiving Clauser’s eyes.

The problem was that there was a very high possibility of facing another enemy in front while having an enemy at their back.

Any army in the world would suffer great damage if attacked from both the front and the rear simultaneously.

The scattered enemies only concentrated their attacks on one place, while the concentrated allies had to divide their attacks to enemies on all sides.

It wasn’t just the problem of being attacked from all sides.

What about logistics?

What about reserves?

If support was delayed even a little or completely cut off, there was a very high probability that a significant number of soldiers would be annihilated or completely disintegrated.

‘…But in the current situation, it might not be so bad.’

The main force would also realize that Nudia itself could no longer stop this war that Nudia itself had started.

Even if they just retreated without winning, there would be more humiliation and blemishes left than the worst defeat, so they would definitely try to win against Hispannia and seize a favorable position.

That way, the reason they launched the attack would appear not as attacking humans in response to the demons’ attack, but as warning Hispannia for trying to protect demon sympathizers.

The main force would arrive immediately, pressuring Clauser, and their 1st Army would secure supply lines beforehand and then ignore Clauser and quickly enter the interior of Hispannia.

The fact that they could be surrounded and attacked from the front and rear meant that, conversely, the Clauser March could also be attacked from the front and rear.

They could pressure Clauser along with the main force, causing them to collapse on their own, or they could sweep away the cities and noble territories in the area, accumulating damage to Hispannia and forcing them to negotiate rather than wage war.

That way, before each side saw too much blood, Nudia could secure justification, and Hispannia, although it would bear the stigma of having demon sympathizers hiding in the country, could avoid losing several noble territories in the east, including Clauser.

‘However, the important thing is whether Hispannia will try to take on that stigma.’

If they thought there was a high possibility of losing Clauser and the eastern territory, they would negotiate, saying, ‘Yes!

It seems like there are a few demon sympathizers hiding in our country.

We’ll catch them and send their heads to the Holy Prussen, so please, our executors of justice, go home!’

But if they could sufficiently crush Nudia and, on the contrary, put all the blame on Nudia.

If they had enough ability, they would define all of Nudia’s actions as invasion and try to wage this war with all their might as well.

“Zion Clauser…”

Ibe muttered that name in a small voice without even realizing it.

The news reaching Nudia was all terrifying.

When she first saw him, he was clearly twenty years old, just becoming an adult.

Even now, after quite a bit of time has passed, Zion is twenty-one years old, just at the age to properly learn about the world.

But he changed everything as he pleased, as if he could see through the entire flow of the world.

When he visited the northern barbarian tribes, with whom Hispannia had a fairly long-standing relationship, a friendly atmosphere suddenly flowed between them, and recently, the woman who was said to be their leader was invited to the inauguration of Hispannia’s new king and even received a clear noble title from the queen, albeit an honorary one.

The suppression of pirates, which was expected to take at least half a year, was completely finished in just one month, excluding travel time.

With aerial bombardment using griffins, which no one had dared to imagine.

‘Right now, our Nudia has to face Hispannia, which has such a man.

If we make even one mistake, he will definitely latch onto it and drag it out to the end, eventually causing Nudia itself to sink.’

Ibe, who didn’t even imagine that Zion’s operation had already begun, that the demons’ large-scale invasion of the Holy Prussen was Zion’s work, pondered how to deal with him.

She was a bit scared and nervous, but at the same time, she was strangely excited.

The chess match she had with him before was a 1:1 draw.

Of course, Zion had been careless in the first match, so she had won, and then she had been completely crushed by an unexpected move, but either way, the record was 1:1.

‘I can put an end to that match this time, Duke Zion Clauser.

I’m really looking forward to what kind of genius move you’ll throw at me again.

I’ll try not to disappoint you either, so don’t let your guard down.’

In reality, Zion himself wasn’t paying any attention to Ibe.

Ibe was burning with the determination to clearly imprint her name on the man named Zion for the first time in a long time.

Although she still thought that Zion Clauser was much more outstanding than herself, Ibe thought that even griffins sometimes fell from the sky, and that even geniuses couldn’t always do everything without mistakes.

And she would induce that genius’s mistake and stab him in the back as he fell.

Nudia’s other young talent made up her mind that way.