Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 408

408

Beyond Hope

“Sio, Sion?

I must have misheard, right?

Right?”

“No.

You heard correctly.”

“…”

Lilith, for the first time in a long while, couldn’t hide her bewildered expression as she stared blankly at Sion.

The words that came out of his mouth were so shocking, so unimaginable from her perspective.

“Are you kidding me?

I can control the monsters, but that’s only before the battle.

Once they enter the fight, there’s nothing we can do!

Why do humans and other races hate us demons so much?

More than half of it is because of the monsters’ rough and cruel nature.

And you want to unleash those vicious creatures behind our army?

What are you even saying!”

To strike the rear of this army—that was what Sion was asking of Lilith.

Knowing that monsters weren’t rational soldiers and couldn’t fake a fight.

If they were really let loose, they would rampage, killing any living thing in front of them until they died, and he wanted to use those monsters to strike the rear!

“This isn’t child’s play, Sion.

It’s not a harmless game.

If you unleash the monsters, humans here are bound to get hurt!

They could die.”

“That’s why we’ll deploy appropriate personnel behind them, won’t we?”

“Even so, it won’t be everyone.

What if this army falters and gets attacked from the front?

Then we’ll have the two-front war that humans hate the most, won’t we?”

“We have definite countermeasures.

Do you think I wouldn’t consider that?”

Lilith, exasperated by Sion’s still calm demeanor, sighed.

He was so confident that it was hard to say anything more.

“Okay, let’s say it goes well, as you say.

I unleash the monsters, and the others diligently deal with them from behind.

Even then, there will still be casualties.

The human soldiers will suffer quite a bit of damage!

What are you going to do about that!”

“Of course, there will be casualties.

Many will die, many will get hurt.

If we stop them without any losses, will that create anger or a passion for battle?”

“…What?”

Lilith was even more astonished, staring blankly at Sion.

Until now, she thought Sion was trying to minimize casualties on their side.

But the words that just came out of his mouth unexpectedly revealed that he had no intention of reducing those casualties.

“Think carefully.

Which forces are currently in the relatively rear positions in our camp?”

“That’s…”

Lilith, realizing it now, let out a sigh.

Sion had shown consideration for the Nudia soldiers, who had suffered great losses in the last battle, by placing them in the relatively rear positions.

She had thought he was just trying to appease the people by favoring Nudia, even though Hispania had suffered similar losses, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“It’s war, so of course people will die and get hurt.

We need to lose some to make the survivors rise up and fight harder.

If we need to provide food in that way, we should.

And that food should be those who are unrelated to me, those who are fighting alongside us now but were enemies in the past and could become competitors in the future.”

“Wow, you’re really… amazing in many ways.”

“It can’t be helped.

That’s the way of the world.

I’m not a saint, and I’m busy taking care of my country, my territory, and my people first.

Honestly, Nudia should be prepared for this much, right?

If they came to help, they should give something in return.

They’re willing to take it, so what can I do?”

Using monsters to attack the rear of their own forces and cause damage.

The only reason Sion was taking such a dangerous gamble was this, and only this.

“Will it really work?”

“Of course, the angel pigeons [messengers] and fanatics will foam at the mouth, saying it’s nonsense.

We’ve been fighting demons all this time, so why are we suddenly joining hands with them?

But situations are always strange, aren’t they?

Losing the top-tier angels in the previous battle and getting thoroughly defeated.

Then scraping together the reserves and defense forces to prepare for battle?

Almost completely giving up on preparing for the demons?

That alone is already suspicious, but with both armies facing each other, suddenly monsters attack from behind?

It’s obvious what this side will think, even if the other side doesn’t.”

“Some might be suspicious.”

“You need to have the *yoyu* [余裕 – Japanese for leeway or room to spare] to be suspicious.

Right now, there are monsters behind them that they fear will appear in their dreams, and fanatics in front of them shouting that they’re sinners to be burned to death.

In such a battlefield, there’s only one logic.

If you’re not an ally, you’re unconditionally an enemy.”

Pushing monsters into the rear and causing damage to the Nudia army.

And before the damage increases too much, Sion would quickly deploy the task force he had prepared to resolve the situation, while simultaneously turning that animosity and anger towards the enemies standing right in front of them.

‘The problem is that if the enemies rush forward head-on during that time, the formation will inevitably become a mess.’

Fortunately, the angels’ sudden offer of dialogue resolved that problem.

Of course, while the dialogue was in progress, the enemies would be waiting in place, and in the meantime, the monsters that had secretly taken the rear would begin their attack at Lilith’s signal.

“Hey, Lilith!

Is this really okay?”

The situation felt so strange that even Bahamut, who usually didn’t, called Lilith by her name and asked that question.

To stab in the back the side with the crazy human who could play with even the top-tier angels, wouldn’t that negate the reason they had fought countless battles against the angels until now?

“I don’t know.

We’re just doing it.”

“No, what do you mean?

If we act with these guys, we can kill all the angel trash, right?

Isn’t this just doing the angels a favor!”

“That’s what I’m saying, Bahamut.

Bell.

If the angels disappear, are you going to go around telling the humans and other races that our appearance isn’t evil, that it was a misunderstanding?”

Bahamut retorted with some demonic bullshit at Lilith’s question, and even Bell tilted her head, directly refuting her words.

They weren’t some grand evil force with the intention of destroying the world, as the angels had claimed, but they also had no intention of laughing and getting along with the other guys.

They would just do whatever they felt like, sometimes doing strange things and other times quietly sleeping.

They were just going to live as demons, as they had always done.

“Right?

You just want to live as you’ve always done, right?

That’s why this older sister has made all the arrangements.”

“What are you talking about, crazy bitch?

What kind of nonsense are you spouting, calling yourself my older sister?”

Lilith bit her lip at Bahamut’s flamboyant attack this time.

She even thought about throwing him to Kim Yohan, but she decided to endure it this once since he was one of the only three remaining high-ranking demons.

“It’s not difficult.

We just live quietly as we’ve always done, then show up and cause a ruckus when people forget about us, fight with the angels a bit, and then retreat back to our land.

The rest will be taken care of by those humans.”

“…Can’t understand.”

Bell answered that in place of Bahamut.

The current humans were in a mood to kill off the angels and even the demons, so how could they just live quietly and cause trouble as they pleased?

—It’s tiring if the world changes too much.

—

Remembering Sion’s words, Lilith repeated them verbatim.

“It’s tiring if the world changes too much.”

—

As expected, he was worthy of being the strongest protagonist in the world.

Kim Yohan had blown away the top-tier angels, who could be considered strategic weapons, not just one or two, but six at once.

Of course, seeing that the angels were just scattered around without any major injuries, it seemed that he had focused on defending against the attacks rather than inflicting damage.

“Sion-gongja-nim [term of respect].

Are you alright?”

“Of course I’m alright, so stop shaking me so much.

I’m getting motion sickness.”

He just couldn’t use mana, but his body wasn’t completely weak.

He had the stamina to hold his own against a succubus, so would he collapse from this?

Sion watched the top-tier angels flutter and crash to the ground or fly away, deciding to make good use of this brief time that Kim Yohan had bought him.

“Let’s go back quickly.

We need to check how the situation is unfolding.”

There was nothing to check, as Sion himself had planned and orchestrated everything.

But if he was a true actor, a professional, he would be even more passionate about his own play and give the best performance.

As soon as Sion returned to the allied camp, Ludwig Redenien, who was still serving as his adjutant, approached him.

He anxiously checked on Sion’s safety as soon as he arrived, then began his report.

“The Nudia army, which was positioned in the rear, was ambushed a little while ago.

The enemies have been identified as a large number of monsters, and according to reports, there have already been hundreds of casualties.”

“What’s the current situation?”

“Fortunately, the knights, led by Sir Rishikida, the commander’s bodyguard, have been dispatched.

Lucia-nim [term of respect] and Sir Trisha have also been dispatched, and the northern warriors under Zhan-nim [term of respect] are attacking from behind.

It seems the rear will be cleared up soon enough.”

Of course, it would be cleared up, it definitely would be.

Monsters were more ferocious and savage than monsters, but most of them had already disappeared due to the battle with the angels.

The monsters that Lilith had brought were almost the last of the demons’ forces, so their numbers were not as large as one might think.

Furthermore, if the demons had followed up with an attack, the damage would not have ended with just hundreds of casualties, but thousands would have died and been injured, but of course, the demons did not move.

Sion would see that obvious fact, but it would not be visible to others who were immediately frightened and incredibly nervous about the whole situation.

All they could see were the monsters rampaging behind them and the fanatics in front of them who were trying to deceive them and finish them off.

Sion mounted his horse and moved forward to the soldiers who were slowly but surely wavering.

Then, in the loudest voice he could muster, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“They deceived us!

They spoke of dialogue with their glib tongues, and with their dirty hearts, they held a knife to our throats!

Even!

By colluding with the demons they called evil!”

In fact, if you look closely, you can see that something is strange and quite *heosulhada* [허술하다 – Korean for 허술하다, meaning 허술하다].

But in the current situation, no one would be suspicious or object.

If you got stabbed in the back by the enemy right in front of you and said such a thing, you would have no excuse even if you got stabbed by your comrade next to you.

“Now everything is simple!

Win!

Triumph!

And prove that we are the descendants of light that they have abandoned!

Arise, humans!

Fairies!

Beastmen!

Push back those who impersonate the light and establish your justice!”

These were the words of someone who had said he would die for everyone just a moment ago.

You are the descendants of light, you are good and just, we are the ones who judge those ugly people, the ones who punish sinners!

‘Ugh, it’s such a pain that I can’t use magic at times like this!’

Sion felt like he would really lose his voice if he shouted any louder, so he pulled out the sword from his saddle and raised it high into the sky, hoping it would work.

The intense afternoon sunlight bounced off the sword, and the moment the man sitting on the spotless white horse shone like that, the soldiers of Hispania were the first to prepare to charge.

Clang!

Clang!

They held shields, spears, and drew swords.

Following that, the beastmen warriors finished their battle preparations with the cool roar of King Guss, followed by the roars of all kinds of beasts, and the fairies, not to be outdone, began to draw their bows.

Nudia, who had been in the relatively rear position and was staggering from Sion’s special effect, soon regained her senses and prepared for the final battle.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Dirty bastards!

Ugly bastards!”

“Kill!

Kill!

Kill!”

The logic of looking at the opponent in such a large group becomes very simple.

Ally, or enemy.

If you’re not on my side, you’re just an enemy to be killed.

In that sense, those who had even brought in the demons were now the unforgivable enemies who had to be defeated in this place, driven out, and prevented from rising again.

“Master!”

“Sion!”

The women who came rushing in again in the meantime.

Rishikida seemed to have cleared out all the monsters in the back with perfect timing, standing right next to Sion, with Lucia and Trisha standing side by side next to him.

Zhan started running, leading the northern warriors at the right time, signaling that he was ready to take orders.

Lia was standing side by side with her Myoeun clan warriors, hissing, and Lilith had retreated for a while to wait in this area to pick up the wounded and lagging pigeons later.

Until just a moment ago, they had secretly hoped that everything would end without a fight.

But now that they had been swept up onto the stage in a single moment, all they could do was throw themselves into this scene that was reaching its climax.

The fear was fading, and all that remained in their minds was anger, animosity, the belief that they were right, and conviction.

Everyone was showing a fierce momentum as if they were about to explode at any moment, but the reason they weren’t exploding was that the man who was their fuse, their beginning and end, had not yet given the order, so they were waiting.

‘Yes!

Be angry to your heart’s content, shout as much as you want!

And bring it to me!

The final act of this play!’

In the meantime, Kim Yohan finally stood at the very front of everyone.

Then, likewise, he finished his battle preparations and glared at the sharp enemies who seemed ready to rush towards the allied forces at any moment, aiming the humming sword at them.

Now all the main actors were on stage, everything was ready.

All that remained was the starting signal from the director who had orchestrated everything.

‘This is the real assemble.’

The reason why everything was falling into place and why he was feeling even better was that this final battle was not the end point of the play he had *jjadun* [짜둔 – Korean for planned or devised].

Everyone gathered here was only filled with the thought that they must win this war, but Sion was only thinking about how he would use this war in the future.

Did Sion simply envision this fight and come this far?

Beyond that, at the end of that war, there was finally the best ending he wanted, so he had brought this battle to this place, at this time.

Hmming a tune to himself, Sion dropped one last drop of oil into this raging fire.

“Let’s go.

Let’s go!”

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

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