Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 63

The ground vibrated with a heavy rhythm – dududududu – the sound of hundreds of horses galloping fast. Dust kicked up from the dry earth, swirling around the legs of the horses.

“A month for a reply? They are taking a long time, aren’t they?” Padreig’s voice was rough, like rocks grinding together. It reached Logan even over the loud noise of the hooves and the clinking of armor. Padreig rode at the front of their soldiers, his red banner with the golden lion flapping in the wind.

“They’re probably giving themselves time to form an alliance.”

“Even so, it’s a bit long. Besides, Fereta isn’t responding, which is odd.”

“Fereta will respond when we occupy Silvan. Or we might hear from them during the battle.”

“Yes, perhaps. Though by then, it will all be too late.”

Padreig turned his head, his lips curving into a smile as he watched the knights. His eyes shone with pride at the sight of them.

The sight of the brave knights leading the charge, followed by a thousand soldiers with their weapons, made him smile even though war was coming.

Feeling calm, Padreig then thought about other interesting things.

“I hear your slave has become someone who can use the Force. Did you know this would happen when you took him in?”

“Yes.”

“Planning to make him a knight?”

“That is what I want to do, once we return.”

“Hmph. Who knew you could spot such talent?”

“I was lucky.”

Smiling a little, he looked back at Viktor. Viktor was still wearing a soldier’s uniform and riding at the front of the troops, just behind the knights.

Now that Viktor could use the Force, he could become a knight right away, but Logan decided to wait.

‘He is still new to this. I don’t want him to fight the knights too soon, or he might get hurt.’

Even though Logan was thinking about this, Viktor looked unhappy.

Logan had burned Viktor’s slave papers in front of him, so it wasn’t about his position. Maybe…

‘He wants to fight a strong enemy.’

Logan chuckled.

He already had a good rival in mind for Viktor.

Lonian was at McLaine Castle, practicing his special sword skills.

The two talented people would be great rivals.

‘You’ll have many chances to fight later. Be patient for now.’

The real challenges were still hidden.

The best weapons for the future still needed careful training.

“Hyah!”

“Come on, let’s go! Time to defeat Soto Silvan!”

So, for now, it was time to use the important people of the present, not the future.

There were two McLaines, seventy-three knights, one thousand three hundred and ninety soldiers, and three hundred and thirteen mercenaries.

The group of almost 1,800 riders had rested well and rode for half a day.

Then, they saw the Silvan forces on the walls of the castle. The Silvan soldiers looked worried.

Soto Silvan, come out and fight me!

The voice was loud and echoed everywhere. It traveled almost a kilometer and made the soldiers on the walls shake.

“W-what is that?”

“The Flame Banner?”

“R-report to the lord!”

The soldiers panicked and ran around. Then, knights in silver armor came out from below.

Each knight had a symbol of crossed longswords inside a flame.

A slightly fat, middle-aged man stood at the front. He looked over the walls, his face twisted in a scowl.

“McLaine is actually attacking! The crazy fools dare to underestimate me!”

“Lord, let me lead the attack! I will stop Padreig McLaine!”

“We will crush them! All 120 Silvan knights are ready!”

“The 2,512 soldiers have been ready since we heard their silly threats!”

The knight commander spoke proudly. He had recently become a High Knight. His soldiers shouted to encourage him.

McLaine’s forces were bigger than expected, but the Silvan forces still had more soldiers.

Soto Silvan hadn’t thought they would really come, even after getting the magical message. He couldn’t believe they were there.

‘Callian has become a High Knight too. You are not the only High Knight in this area anymore, Padreig McLaine. You are going too far.’

Soto Silvan was very angry. Then, he suddenly stopped and his face became serious.

“…What about Fereta? Is there still no answer?”

“Silence. It seems they are still talking about it.”

“Lord, even if Fereta sends help, it will take half a day. We don’t need to wait…”

“No, that’s not it. What if Fereta attacks us from behind after we defeat McLaine?”

“What?!”

“Isn’t it strange? McLaine attacked right after we sent a letter of protest, and Fereta is silent. Callian, do you think this is normal?”

“……Perhaps not.”

“Exactly. Those guys are working together! The traitors!”

There was no proof, but Soto Silvan was sure of it.

He couldn’t explain why the two families were acting so strangely otherwise.

“The scum dare to… Ugh.”

Just then, as he was shaking with anger and clenching his fist…

Are you scared! Soto Silvan! Hide your head like a scared fox! I will cut it off myself!

The insulting shout from outside the castle made him more determined.

“Contact Bifrost. Tell them that after we defeat McLaine, we will give them something worth half of what they want.”

“……Pardon?”

“Do whatever it takes to stop Fereta from moving!”

“A-Understood!”

“And gather the knights, all the soldiers! Crush the McLaine dogs completely! Before the Fereta bastards arrive!”

“Yes!”

Snap.

“They dare to stab me in the back like this? After I defeat McLaine, you’re next, Max Fereta.”

Soto’s angry look was now aimed at his rival to the south, not at the enemies outside the castle.

“Wouldn’t it be better to charge into the castle after the soldiers provide covering fire? With our knights’ skills…”

“No, not yet. It would be bad if Lord Silvan escaped. Wait.”

“Father is right. If the knights jump over the walls and start fighting, the castle will be damaged. They’ll think they are stronger, so they will come out soon enough.”

“Still, there’s no reaction…”

“I know Soto Silvan a little, and he’s a man who can’t handle insults. Just wait a bit.”

‘How could the heir, who grew up in the McLaine territory his whole life, know that man?’

Heinkel didn’t say anything, but he watched the enemy forces start to move around.

A moment later…

Boom.

The castle gates opened, and the Silvan forces began to come out.

There were a hundred knights in armor with the symbol of crossed longswords inside a flame, over a thousand riders, and even more pikemen.

“About 3,000 regular soldiers, that’s a lot.”

“It’s what we expected.”

“Of course.”

Even though the Silvan forces were about 1.5 times bigger than McLaine’s, the McLaine leaders were not worried.

On the contrary…

The McLaine, have no shame…

“All troops! Charge!”

Before the enemy commander could finish his shout, Padreig’s sword glowed red, and he pointed it forward without hesitation.

“Waaah!”

“Let’s go!”

“I’ll take the lead!”

The McLaine soldiers were confident and spurred their horses forward, charging together.

“T-those insolent…”

His soldier was angry, but Callian just smirked.

“Look at them charging. They are just soldiers.”

For some reason, McLaine’s soldiers were not leading with their knights. Instead, ordinary soldiers, their armor lacking any crest, were rushing ahead of the knights.

Seeing them charging in a spread-out line instead of a unified force, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Soldiers making such a reckless charge with the knights behind them? Unbelievable!

“They look like a mess.”

“Indeed. But their equipment is good. McLaine must be rich.”

“Should we attack them?”

“Definitely!”

Full charge!

Unlike the disorganized enemy, Silvan’s army advanced in perfect formation: knights charging at the forefront, supported by a thousand cavalrymen.

A perfect formation was, after all, one whose effectiveness had always worked.

Once the knights and cavalry broke through the enemy’s center, the remaining foes scattered in disarray, easily dealt with by the large group of spearmen.

Callian already saw their victory.

However, the battle began to unfold in a surprising way.

“Ready!”

From the center of the messy line, a middle-aged mercenary with gray hair barked an order. McLaine’s soldiers moved together and raised their crossbows.

Soon, the distance between the two armies closed to within 300 meters.

“Fire!”

Tap tap tap tap!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows fell on Silvan’s army like heavy rain.

Neigh!

“Aargh!”

“What? What is this!”

“Ugh!”

Clang! Clang!

“Arrows! Close ranks!”

Callian shouted belatedly, but by then, the front lines had already crumbled.

Even some of the knights, surprised, were falling amidst the hail of arrows. The cavalry following behind were totally unprotected and were being smashed.

Neigh!

“Aaaargh!”

Soldiers fell, tangled, and the Silvan formation fell apart quickly.

“Increase speed!”

At Callian’s serious command, the knights closed the distance, using all their Force.

At the head of the Silvan knights, covered in red energy, were the high-ranking knight Callian and Silvan’s commanders, even protecting their horses with Force as they charged.

But then…

‘I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them.’

The Silvan knights, clenched their teeth, were just about to reach McLaine’s front line when…

“Disperse!”

At the gray-haired mercenary’s shout, McLaine’s cavalry scattered to the left and right, avoiding the knights.

“Target the soldiers, not the knights!”

Callian and the Silvan knights could do nothing but clench their teeth at the mercenary’s taunt; they couldn’t turn their horses around.

McLaine’s knights were emerging from the center of their lines, piercing through the gaps where the enemy cavalry had scattered.

“Take this if you dare!”

With that confident cry from the red-haired giant, a blade of red Force, over two meters long, erupted from the tip of his sword.

‘A Force Blade!’

Before he could even fully understand what it meant, Callian jumped off his horse quickly and leaped aside.

Craaaack!

Slash!

“Aaaargh!”

As the crimson blade, nearly three meters in length, swung left and right, knights who had withstood even the rapid-fire crossbows were cut in half or in three pieces at once, their bodies tumbling to the ground.

“High-rank!”

With the Silvan knights’ pale-faced screams, the seventy-odd knights completely split the Silvan knights in two as they passed through.

“Annihilate the enemy!”

At Patrick McLaine’s roar, McLaine’s knights turned around quickly and dismounted.

They immediately charged towards the still-greater number of Silvan knights, bravely fought with their swords.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

“You, you fiends!”

“Die!”

Each swing of their swords carried a powerful force, overwhelming the enemy.

Perhaps it was the force of their attack, but the McLaine knights’ strength was stronger than the Silvan knights.

“H-How can this be…”

Callian, standing in the middle of the battlefield, stared at the scene with a shocked face.

Henderson, a McLaine knight already renowned for his strength, was happily swinging his big sword on the battle he had waited for.

Power he couldn’t have dreamed of even half a year ago surged through his entire body.

He had fought monsters before, but the experience of fighting knights was something else entirely.

To think that he, with his current skills, could overwhelm two ordinary knights as strong as he used to be at once!

That excitement of fighting gradually added strength to his greatsword.

His power was noticeably enhanced, his senses heightened.

His sword, riding on a wave of force that made him feel as though he could cut down anyone, became more accurate.

And then…

Slash!

“Kraaah!”

The moment the enemy’s scream echoed, Henderson suddenly felt his Force increase by more than 30%.

And he could also use that enhanced Force more efficiently by another 30% or more.

He instinctively knew that this was the feeling his teachers told him about.

“Come out, all of you!”

Henderson, who had grown into a mid-level knight during the battle, roared fiercely as he sought his next target.

‘Ho ho. Henderson too?’

Heinckel smiled as he watched several of his subordinates grow into the next level during the battle.

‘The Lord’s training was worth it.’

The battle, which should have been difficult, didn’t feel that way at all.

Perhaps sensing this, one of the Silvan knights clenched his teeth and swung his sword at him.

“Your smile won’t last!”

Clang!

His movements were much stronger than the surrounding ordinary knights.

Five mid-level knights, likely commanders of the Silvan knightly order, surrounded Heinckel, but they were the ones being pushed back.

“I-It’s a high-rank knight!”

“Even Commander Callian wasn’t this strong…”

Heinckel grinned as he heard their cries of sadness.

Having broken through been stuck at mid-level for a long time and reached the realm of high-rank after mastering the Iron Blood Sword, five mid-level knights were not a difficult match for him.

Rather…

‘Mid-level knights are valuable.’

He even showed the even able to fight them carefully because he wanted to capture them alive.

At the same time, Heinckel looked around the battlefield for strong enemies.

The only thing that could be a danger was a high-rank knight.

Their army’s most powerful weapon was charging towards the castle, and he was prepared to deal with the high-rank knight if necessary.

But he smiled and turned his head as he saw Patrick running fast towards the enemy’s high-rank knight.

‘I just need to defeat them quickly.’

We have won this battle.

A confident smile spread across Heinckel’s face.