Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 401

401―――――

This Opportunity

“Young Master, is it really okay to let her go like this?”

“…”

“It’s not too late. If we pursue, we can catch her. If you just give the order, I can go out and eliminate her right away.”

“It’s your turn, Kim Yoo-hyun.”

Sion tapped the chess pieces, then spoke. Kim Yoo-hyun groaned and looked down at the chessboard.

A game of pieces that seemed similar to Korean chess [a strategy board game popular in Korea] he sometimes enjoyed, yet different. In a battle between a master and a novice in Korean chess, giving up a few pieces wasn’t a problem, but in chess, each piece was important, making it a much more difficult game for Kim Yoo-hyun.

“Did you think Shya was such an untrustworthy woman?”

Kim Yoo-hyun, after much deliberation, finally moved his knight. Sion looked down at it and spoke. Confirming the doubt in his voice, Kim Yoo-hyun paused before answering.

“To be honest, she seemed decent enough. I even thought she might remain a cooperative partner rather than an enemy. The problem isn’t her, but the people around her. As you know, they are very extreme.”

“I know what you’re worried about.”
The people around Shya, the Celestial Race who instigated this situation, and the fanatical group following them.

Even if Shya, having heard our side’s perspective, conveyed any words to them, it was doubtful whether they would listen. Unfounded, hard-line arguments versus reasonable, moderate arguments.

If these two clashed, nine times out of ten, the hard-line argument would win. This is a fact that history proves in any world, at any time.

No matter how rational the logic presented, moderate arguments can never truly defeat hard-line arguments. Whether human, fairy, or Celestial Race, in the end, the loudest voice prevails.

“Shya is a top-tier Celestial Race member, so some will listen to her. If they still hope to follow the light, they will think there’s no need for us to shed blood over this pointless conflict.

But those who think that way and speak and act accordingly will be a tiny minority. The rest will shout and scream that they can’t fall for the words of those ugly sinners or fallen ones, not after how much blood they’ve shed so far.

No matter what words or logic this side puts forth, they’ll dismiss it all as lies.”

“Sion, you’ve already foreseen everything. Then why did you send Shya back? The woman I saw seemed like she would eventually shut her mouth, unable to overcome the pressure from her own kind.”

“Either way, she’s still a Celestial Race member. Moreover, she’s part of that group, so she wouldn’t want to cause discord by rejecting the group’s will. It’s not that I don’t understand or didn’t expect it.”

Clack.

Sion moved his pawn forward, continuing his thought.

“In the end, they are destined to fight us. Even if we want to avoid it, they will come crashing in. They’ll do whatever it takes. They’re the kind of people who can’t sustain themselves otherwise.”

Currently, more than half of the Holy Prussia’s main force was mobilized by the call to judge sinners. In addition, numerous followers of the light who joined later also flocked in for the holy war.

In this situation, if they suddenly say, ‘This war, as it turns out, was a war we didn’t need to fight!’ and abruptly end it, that would be the worst-case scenario.

War is important not only in its process and victory or defeat, but also in how the gathered spears and swords are scattered again and return to farming tools afterward.

If they lose their way back and start wandering, those spears and swords will quickly turn into tools for plundering and killing, wildly swung in all directions.

And since those spears and swords could fly at their own necks, those standing behind the spears and swords naturally have no choice but to watch them closely.

They rose up, saying they would judge sinners in a holy war, but after fighting fiercely and being brutally defeated, they suddenly change their tune and suggest trying to talk it out?

That very moment would be the beginning of the Celestial Race’s downfall. If they stop their offensive here, it would be tantamount to admitting that everything they had done so far was wrong, so the fanatics would obviously continue to shout to keep fighting, not to fall for their whispers, not wanting to admit they were wrong.

“Furthermore, they absolutely can’t back down first here. Even if they end the war, they’ll want us to be the ones to lay down our spears and bow our heads first. Those conceited descendants of light.”

“That’s absurd. They attacked first, so why would we be the ones to lay down our weapons?”

Kim Yoo-hyun’s expression slightly distorted, making him look menacing. Sion simply shrugged, looking at Kim Yoo-hyun’s fierce expression.

“That kind of logic doesn’t work for them. If it did, Shya would have gone back and persuaded them, and they would have been swayed to temporarily stop the war and listen to the story.

When a sense of superiority is combined with an uncompromising belief, words simply don’t work.”

So Sion waved his hand, meaning to give up. If they were people who could be reasoned with, Sion himself would have resolved it through dialogue from the start instead of doing this.

After that, the two men’s chess match continued.

They pretended not to be, but both were incredibly focused, perhaps because of their pride.

The victory was decided when Sion seemed to take the bait Kim Yoo-hyun had thrown, but then used a tactic to pull him in, capturing two of his pieces.

Although each still had their queen, with their skills being similar, Kim Yoo-hyun was at a disadvantage as time passed because he lacked pieces to use as sacrifices.

Eventually, when a situation was created where he would be checkmated if he didn’t give up his queen, Kim Yoo-hyun sighed and conceded his last resort. After a few more moves, victory returned to Sion.

“It seems you worked quite hard, but it’s still not enough.”

“You’re catching up so frighteningly that I’m starting to not want to play chess with you anymore. What are you talking about?”

Not just empty words, Sion was actually thinking that he shouldn’t play chess with Kim Yoo-hyun from now on unless absolutely necessary.

Even if he won, he gained nothing, but if he lost, his pride would be hurt, so it was only a loss for him.

“It feels like I used my brain more now than when fighting enemies.”

“That would be troublesome. In the current situation, with you, Sion, managing and fighting with everything on this side, everyone will be in danger if you show even the slightest weakness.”

“I’m more worried about you, though. The enemies now know everything about you. Not just a strong human level, but an existence that can fight and overwhelmingly surpass even the top-tier Celestial Race.

As long as you’re here, they can’t secure their absolute advantage, but conversely, if they catch you alone, they’ll be unconditionally at an advantage.”

“I know.”

Even if one is eliminated, there are still seven top-tier Celestial Race members left. Even if Shya leaves the force, there are still six left.

Kim Yoo-hyun can overwhelm one or two with an overwhelming difference in power, but the top-tier Celestial Race members are also the strongest of the strong, against whom no one could stand.

Four, or five.

Furthermore, if all the remaining ones attack at once, even Kim Yoo-hyun couldn’t easily guarantee victory.

‘Moreover, they said there are still three Seven Wings and Stigmata holders left.’

According to the detailed information revealed by Shyaella, the high-ranking Celestial Race member who had come over to Kim Yoo-hyun’s side, they had searched and found five people with something called Stigmata [holy markings or wounds].

It was said that two of them had infiltrated Hispaña, and it was expected that those two were the ones who attacked the royal castle this time.

Captain had already been eliminated by Sion’s hand, and Trisha was firmly held by Sion, so currently, there are only three Stigmata holders on the Celestial Race’s side.

One of them was said to be staying in the sanctuary to prepare for any possible defense, another was, as Sion expected, boosting the morale of the allies by praying from behind rather than fighting, and the last one was annihilating the demons who kept raising their heads.

‘Right now, they’re focusing on reducing concerns by dispersing their forces.’

To catch Kim Yoo-hyun, the worst enemy, they might bring all of them together.

In the worst case, he would have to face seven top-tier Celestial Race members and three Stigmata holders, which was too overwhelming in numbers, even for Kim Yoo-hyun.

Either way, he was still a living being made of flesh, blood, and bones, and if they gradually injured him, gaps would eventually appear, and the enemies would aim for that.

“They will definitely try to eliminate the most threatening piece first.”

Kim Yoo-hyun himself knows best that the enemies’ massive offensive will be directed at him.

That’s why he’s refraining from saying things like he’ll definitely win, in his usual calm tone.

“If the enemy is at Shya’s level, I can handle up to four simultaneously. From five onwards, I won’t be able to concentrate my attacks on one side, and if it increases beyond that, even I would have to focus on defense and look for gaps, and the moment that gap appears, I’ll have to go in immediately.”

Kim Yoo-hyun’s overwhelming victory is certain in a 1:1 battle with a top-tier Celestial Race member, but if it becomes a battle of many against one, all the advantages he has will disappear.

Kim Yoo-hyun’s strength lies in his terrifying attacks that no one dares to block.

From the start, Kim Yoo-hyun uses even defense as a means for the next attack.

If several enemies block or interfere with that strength, and another enemy comes in targeting that gap, Kim Yoo-hyun will have no choice but to be careful.

‘Kim Yoo-hyun also knows that the enemies will definitely chip away at his condition little by little.’

Kim Yoo-hyun can never be defeated in a single ‘bang’ fight.

Two good examples are Rill, who was killed in one blow, and Shya, who suffered terrible injuries.

Even if they can inflict some injuries on Kim Yoo-hyun’s body by fighting recklessly, the damage to their allies will be greater, and each time a vacancy is created, they will be further away from victory, so they will never engage in such a reckless fight.

Then the only attack method the Celestial Race can take is one.

To chip away at Kim Yoo-hyun little by little, creating and exploiting gaps, and preserving their forces as much as possible.

Sion thought that they would do the same this time, as they had been collapsing the demons in that way.

‘Of course, it’s not like this side hasn’t prepared anything in the meantime.’

Even if they can’t all be cut down in 1:1 like Kim Yoo-hyun, there are several people by Sion’s side who can fight similarly enough to hold them back.

What they want is a scenario where all the strong people on their side gather to take care of Kim Yoo-hyun while the allied side holds out, but Sion has no intention of allowing such a scenario.

It was said that the original strategy was to prevent the enemy from doing what they wanted to do, so the method Sion wanted was very correct.

“You seem worried that the enemies are focusing on me, but on the contrary, I don’t think you, Sion, would just stand by and watch.”

Kim Yoo-hyun also knows the strength of the skilled people around Sion.

He has clashed with Lilith, Rishikida, Lucia, Lia, and Zhan at least a few times.

He not only sparred with them, but also told them all the ways to compensate for their weaknesses and strengthen their strengths, so that they can now exert twice the power than their usual skills.

Therefore, he wasn’t particularly nervous even at the words that the enemies would openly target him.

Anyway, walking on the edge is very familiar to him, and even until now, it was a series of hellish lives where he had to fight alone, but now there are people to entrust his back to.

And there are many people he wants to protect and live with.

“In my opinion, the moment the enemies decide to fight us seems to be the time you want the most, Sion.”

At Kim Yoo-hyun’s words, Sion smiled and muttered ‘Correct.’

This side also used the fight with them as an excuse to achieve great integration in an instant.

Nudia and Hispaña were competing countries that were growling at each other just a few years ago.

The relationship with the different races wasn’t particularly good, and the fairies and beastmen hated even facing each other.

Those people are now joining forces, uniting, and gathering in one place to stand against the descendants of light who threaten to burn them all to death.

Thus, war was rather acting as an advantage.

“Of course, this side has more to gain from the fight. However, we must reduce the damage. The best thing is to win without fighting, but if we have to fight, we should inflict maximum damage with minimal damage.

Not only physically, but also by showing this side’s overwhelming superiority to the point where they can’t stand up again.”

“So you told me to move the fairies and beastmen.”

“Both races tend to listen to the words of the strong. Even if I go and shout, they won’t even listen with half an ear. If this were a time of peace, it might be different, but if we have to urge them to war, you are more suitable than me, an extremely ordinary human.”

“I was scolded for not being good with words. I had no choice but to swing my sword a few times, and that worked better.”

It was said that a crazy guy with a sword is scarier than a crazy guy with a pen.

If Kim Yoo-hyun threatened with a sword, even Sion himself would kneel down and beg right away.

“Sion, I have one more question I’d like to ask.”

Sion nodded as if to tell Kim Yoo-hyun to go ahead.

“When I looked into it before, Lilith left a very slight trace when she came here. It was too insignificant to have been done on purpose, and when I thought about whether Lilith would have been unaware, she wasn’t such a fool.

I was wondering if you knew about that matter.”

“Ah, that?”

Sion was wondering why that question hadn’t come up yet.

If it was a cheat character like Kim Yoo-hyun, he would have definitely discovered that small trace, but he seemed to have been silent because he thought Sion had done it on purpose.

“When there’s nothing to lose, you tend to doubt even the most delicious bait. Because if you get caught, you can be dragged along and completely ruined.

But when you’re desperate for something, you want to bite even suspicious bait. Moreover, if it’s something that doesn’t even look like bait, you’ll bite it even more gladly.”

“Then…”

“Let them bite it gladly. I’ll just not bother if they don’t bite, but if they do, I’ll say thank you and drag them right out of the water.”

They probably won’t be able to help but bite.

They’re calling this side demon followers, sinners, and fallen ones, and now they have evidence to prove it.

They have evidence that can destroy the increasingly cohesive forces in one fell swoop.

They will regard this as a god-given opportunity, a chance given by heaven.

Perhaps at the moment they think that way and bite it, if there is a god, they will whisper these words.

‘Welcome to hell.’

―――――――Afterword―――――――

Recommendations are always welcome!