Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 15

Patrick watched the door close behind his eldest son and sighed deeply. ‘I will show you why I am doing this within a year,’ Logan had said. ‘So, until then, please ignore what I am doing.’

His son’s eyes were firm, but Patrick thought, ‘How much of that should I really believe?’ He couldn’t bring himself to fully trust Logan.

Yet, Patrick had no choice but to accept the request.

“I beg you, Father.”

It was the first time he’d heard those words since ‘that day.’

He hadn’t heard ‘I beg you’ even when Logan was doing many bad things in the past, not just these strange actions now.

‘A plea, is it…?’

It was strange that such a normal thing to say between parents and children felt so strange now. Patrick smiled sadly.

But even though he hesitated because of those words, if Logan failed to prove his words even after a year…

‘I will have to make a firm decision.’

To protect the family’s honor.

He was the head of the McLaine family, first and foremost, and had to protect it, before being a father.

“Haaah…”

Click.

With a long sigh, his listless hand opened a simple pendant, revealing the portrait inside.

Reina’s smiling face in the pendant felt like a sharp pain in his chest. He missed her so much, and now he felt lost and unsure how to help his son.

…I must have been too negligent.

The last words, scattered powerlessly, making him feel like he had failed as a father, not the head of the family.

The sound of the office door closing with a thud weighed heavily on his heart.

“Mother…”

Simply uttering the word brought back memories that now felt distant, vividly.

Even though Logan’s memories, including his past life, were from long ago and felt faded now.

The word ‘mother’ held such power.

That was why Logan’s heart grew heavier.

‘I didn’t expect him to bring up that word…’

It was a word he hadn’t mentioned until the very end, even when he was being expelled from the family in his previous life.

Thinking about it clearly, Logan knew what he was doing now was not as bad as the ‘bloodbath’ from his past life. So, he could guess why his father said that.

‘So, he still has some expectations, however slight.’

Logan let out a hollow laugh, a sound without real joy. He was still worried, even though his father had agreed.

As he walked down the hallway with such a troubled mind, a familiar voice came from the opposite side.

“Hyung-niiim!”

“Lonian?”

His younger brother, Lonian, appeared with two knights wearing uncomfortable expressions.

“Brother! Are you alright?”

Judging by his heavy breathing, he seemed to have rushed over from training again.

It was a very familiar pattern, but now that familiarity was welcome.

“Of course, I’m alright. It’s been a while, Loni.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. The rumors weren’t good, so I was worried.”

Lonian’s smiling face as he let out a sigh of relief, that unchanging attitude…

‘Huh? Something’s different?’

Of course, his younger brother’s concern for him and his relieved expression were genuine.

But his subtly excited appearance and the gleam of anticipation in his eyes were different from usual.

And even the way he seemed strangely energetic.

‘Oho? Could it be?’

With a hopeful thought, he focused his senses on the boy’s inner self, and he could feel traces of a special power, called Force, moving energetically within his body.

At that moment, Logan’s eyes widened.

“You little rascal! You didn’t just come to check on me, did you! Already…?!!”

“As expected! I knew you’d recognize it right away, Brother.”

Lonian bounced on the balls of his feet, his eyes shining with excitement. He could barely contain his grin.

And as he intended, Logan purely admired it.

“At just fourteen years old… Huh.”

In Logan’s memories, Lonian from his previous life had only awakened his Force during the territory war.

So, he had been worried that coming back to this time might have changed when his younger brother got his power.

It was strange and surprising that Lonian got his power earlier than in Logan’s past memories.

“It’s all thanks to you, Brother. I was about to come out to see you when I heard you were back, but the knights got in the way…”

“…What?”

Only then did he notice the distorted marks here and there on the armor of the knights standing behind Lonian.

The reason Lonian got his power was strange, but that wasn’t the only surprising thing.

‘He broke free from two knights as soon as he awakened?’

That meant his talent was that outstanding, and it was also joyful news that blew away his gloomy mood.

“Ha, haha, Khahaha! Well done. Well done, Loni!”

The youngest Aura user’s achievement from his previous life had become even faster.

And on top of that…

‘If I teach Loni the secret techniques of the Divine Sword as soon as his Force stabilizes?’

He could repay his debt of gratitude to his younger brother and, at the same time, lay the most solid foundation for overcoming future crises.

For Logan, it was something he couldn’t help but be happy about in many ways.

And it wasn’t just Logan who was happy about Lonian’s achievement, of course.

That day, the news of Lonian’s Force awakening made the entire McLaine family excited.

Even if a person awakens their Force early, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will become an Aura user, but the probability certainly increases.

The McLaine barony was originally founded by an Aura user ancestor, and the whole family was buzzing with excitement at the thought that Lonian was a genius who would bring the family’s prosperity like that ancestor.

Meanwhile, people compared him to Logan even more because of his strange past actions, and Logan had no choice but to be thoroughly criticized.

Of course, the person in question was busy doing what he had to do, regardless of that.

“There were more mercenaries who are ranked as C-class who knew how to ride horses than I thought. With the condition of a long-term contract and giving them horses, all the mercenaries who are ranked as C-class in the country almost flocked to us.”

“Yes? You say it’s good? How hard that is, haaa… Well, I’ve narrowed it down to about 350 people with high credit ratings. Don’t look at me like that. I barely cut it off at that line.”

“Yes? You’re saying I should have taken more? You crazy… Ahahahaha. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Dwaine did his job too well.

A whopping 350 mercenaries who are ranked as C-class, in other words, several company-level troops, were armed and gathered in the McLaine territory.

It wasn’t enough power to do anything to the McLaine barony, but it was enough to cause trouble.

So, they had to solve their food and lodging in the dilapidated mansion in the southern part of the McLaine territory for as long as ten days or as short as five days, under the watch of the knights.

As the waiting time grew longer day by day, the mercenaries’ dissatisfaction naturally grew.

“Surely they’re not scamming us, are they?”

“An individual barony wouldn’t be crazy enough to turn against the mercenary guild…”

“You never know, they might be crazy. The rumors about that eldest son who called us are really bad.”

“Ah, I heard about that too. That guy might really be crazy.”

“Damn it, then are we just working for nothing right now?”

“Think before you open your mouth. Considering the relationship with the mercenary guild, the barony will surely compensate us.”

“What, you punk?!”

Due to Logan’s increasingly severe rumors and the stress that had accumulated in the meantime, the mercenaries were already on the verge of exploding.

And finally, the protagonist of the rumors appeared before them.

“Crossbow cavalry… you say?”

“Yes.”

At Logan’s calm answer, Kai couldn’t help but ask again.

“You don’t mean horse archers, right?”

“No. I’m going to have them use crossbows, not just bows.”

“Um… Lord Logan. Crossbows are not good weapons for soldiers on horses. Not even in battles…”

“I know.”

“……Yes?”

Crossbows were stronger than bows, but even when you loaded them on the ground, it took someone without training more than a minute to get one ready.

What if someone made a cavalry unit that used them?

Even if the riders carried several crossbows that were already loaded, they would be easily broken if attacked after shooting. They would run out of firepower in about a minute.

Kai was surprised. He couldn’t believe Logan was serious about crossbow cavalry.

But Logan wasn’t going to change his order.

“Even if you think I’m wasting money on a silly game.”

Kai looked uncomfortable.

“Just train them well for now. Trust me for now. You’ll see why this is important soon.”

Logan chuckled, watching Kai nod awkwardly.

It was just a quick comment, but it seemed Kai really thought Logan was wasting money.

However, Logan didn’t think it was important to worry about it.

What he needed to do right away was control the mercenaries and train them properly.

Logan looked at the many mercenaries standing around the training grounds of the villa.

They were a mixed group. Their clothes were as different as their backgrounds. They seemed ready to argue about anything. It was a total mess.

Just a quick look at the mercenaries told Logan everything. They were a mess. Some argued loudly, others looked bored, and their weapons were scattered everywhere. Making this noisy, disorganized group into a team that worked together? It would be a huge challenge.

‘First, I need to establish some discipline.’

A smile as cold as ice spread across Logan’s face.

“Leave it to me.”

Kai stepped forward. He knew what Logan wanted him to do.

“No, if you step in, things will quiet down, I’m sure. But only on the surface.”

“Yes?”

“Just watch. I’ll handle it myself.”

“?”

Mercenaries are motivated by money, but if you just give them money, they will think you are weak.

It was part of their hard life where everyone fights for themselves.

And the experienced warrior from his past knew exactly how to take control of them.

* * *

“Hey, look over there.”

“Hmm?”

“Oho? A flame emblem. A young noble, is it?”

“Shhh, that’s probably the eldest son.”

The quiet talking that started as Logan came closer to the villa grew into a loud noise as he walked into the large courtyard used for training.

“Look at that peach fuzz.”

“Is he even old enough yet?”

“I’d bet anything he isn’t.”

“What good is your hand to anyone?”

Some of the comments were okay…

“Isn’t that Harun’s Kai behind him?”

“Who?”

“Kai, the famous A-lister.”

“Ah, I think I’ve heard of him.”

Some people recognized Kai following behind Logan.

“Ptooey. You can practically see the silver spoon in his mouth.”

“Ah, this difficult and unfair life. Every time I see nobles, I feel sick.”

“Lucky guy, born to the right parents. Damn, I don’t even know what my parents look like.”

And then there were others who didn’t try to hide how hard their lives were.

There were many different reactions, as different as the people in the crowd.

But Logan was looking for someone in particular.

“Wearing armor, no less. Oh, and a sword too. Planning to play soldier, is he?”

He was looking for the one who thought he was hidden well enough to laugh quietly without being heard.

Logan stopped and pointed right at him.

“You, there.”

“Yes? Are you talking to me?”

“Do you think it’s funny that I’m wearing armor and carrying a sword?”

“…Wh-what are you talking about?”

The mercenary didn’t think Logan had heard everything he said. He looked away and pretended he didn’t know anything.

“Well, I guess you might think that way. If you were good enough, that is.”

“Yes?”

“But what skill does a C-rank mercenary have to judge others? You don’t know your place.”

When Logan said that, the faces of the people who had been quietly making fun of him, and the few mercenaries who had liked him a little, turned cold.

“You’re proud for someone who doesn’t know his place, aren’t you? Did my words upset you? Good.”

Logan walked to the middle of the training ground, looked around, and spread his arms wide.

“It doesn’t have to be that simpleton over there. If anyone here can fight me and hit me even once, I will pay them their full year’s salary right away and let them leave. I promise this as a noble, and all of you here are my witnesses.”

Everyone stared at him with surprised and doubtful faces because of Logan’s unexpected words.

When no one moved even though Logan was challenging them, Logan nudged Kai’s knee behind him.

Kai sighed and stepped forward.

“I’m sure some of you know me. My boss here keeps his word. Anyone who wants to try is welcome to.”

“Really?!”

“Wow!”

“Me! Me!”

Only then did the mercenaries realize that Logan was serious, and they quickly became loud and excited.

Logan raised his hand and pointed right at the mercenary who had made fun of him first.

“Alright, shall we start with you?”

“Very well! No take-backs!”

The mercenary who stepped forward confidently was huge, well over two meters tall.

His big muscles and size were so impressive that you might have thought he was an A-rank mercenary instead of a C-rank.

And it wasn’t just for show. The way he lifted the two flails crossed on his back, one in each hand, was scary.

“Isn’t that Hale?”

“Huh? Isn’t that guy B-rank?”

“Not yet, I think? Well, maybe after this job?”

Of course, Logan thought it was funny.

‘So, he was confident, was he?’

The mercenary took a confident step forward and shouted.

“Alright, then, the client can go first!”

“Me first? You’ll regret that, you know?”

“I’ve been fighting longer than you’ve been alive, so don’t worry about me.”

“Ho, really? If you insist.”

Crack!

Logan’s reply was still in the air when his fist shot out like a lightning bolt. The sound ripped through the training ground, sharp and brutal as an axe splitting thick wood. The mercenaries blinked, surprised. One moment, the big mercenary was sneering. The next, there was a blur of motion, a flash of gold from Logan’s armor, and a gust of wind that ruffled their hair. Then, they saw it – the mercenary’s jaw, twisted at a sickening angle, flying upwards as if launched from a catapult.

The eyes of the mercenaries around him widened as they watched.

Thwack!

Crunch!

Plop!

“Ugh…”

The mercenary’s broken body fell across the ground.

“If you’re going to talk big, you should be good enough to back it up.”

Logan, with a face showing no feeling and a cold sneer, looked around.

“Anyone else want to talk big?”

Every mercenary around him looked away from Logan.