Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 158

Is Lightning Scary?

“We shall depart.”

It was late at night, cloaked in deep darkness.

The gates of the Dionba barony opened, and over two hundred soldiers moved out silently into the night.

Demol, the current leader of the Dionba barony, was at the head.

Those who remained in the castle, especially his mother and younger sibling, tried to dissuade him, but he shook his head.

‘This is the only way for us to survive. We must succeed!’

It was clear as day that those who had fought today would rest, and by tomorrow, they would swarm the Dionba barony’s castle.

To stop them, it would be better to wound their ankles or legs rather than rely on the solid castle walls.

That’s what Demol was thinking.

‘Fortunately, we know this terrain far better.

We know the places where we can move secretly without being detected, the points from which we can attack the Kakanka barony to cause the most chaos, and the routes we can take after the surprise attack to escape without being caught!’

Rumor had it that the fires that had erupted in the Taiker viscounty [a territory smaller than a county but larger than a manor] and the Basalla barony were of unknown origin, but Demol was certain that the fires were somehow connected to Zion Klausen.

Otherwise, how could they have collapsed so completely without proper resistance, as if watching a well-orchestrated play?

Some people were saying that it was because the gods were angry, or that the heavens were on Zion Klausen’s side, but Demol didn’t believe it.

Gods and heavens only helped those who were capable, intelligent, and acted the fastest.

‘This time, we’re going to set the fire in reverse. We’ll pay you back exactly as you did to us!’

It didn’t matter how many enemy soldiers were injured. If they were tired from not sleeping all night, and as a result, the spears and swords aimed at the Dionba barony were dulled, it would be a successful night raid for Demol.

“From now on, no sounds. Communicate only with the hand signals we practiced, and refrain from any other noise.”

The soldiers nodded at Demol’s final verbal command.

Because he had taken good care of the territory’s residents and soldiers, there weren’t many who wanted to betray the Dionba barony.

The fact that most of them volunteered for a surprise attack unit where getting caught meant certain death showed that their loyalty was indeed strong.

If Zion saw this scene, he would probably scoff, ‘It would have been nice if they had shown that loyalty to the kingdom.’

Swish, swish.

As locals of the kingdom who were well-versed in the northern terrain, Demol and his soldiers navigated the darkness without torches.

If the moonlight were too strong, it would have been a problem, but as if the heavens were helping, the clouds that had gathered in the evening were proving to be a stroke of luck.

‘The moonlight is just faint enough to show the way. Good, at this rate, we can approach the vicinity of the Kakanka barony’s castle without being detected!’

With Demol at the lead, the vanguard moved ahead, followed by the main force, and at the rear, a knight and several soldiers trailed at a distance to watch out for any pursuers.

The rearguard, keeping their distance from the main force, checked the area to see if any enemies had discovered or were targeting them, and were just about to move to close the gap with the main force when it happened.

Swish, swish, swish!

Whir!

“Ugh!”

It was an extremely low scream, but it sounded quite loud in the quiet of the night.

The knight leading the rearguard clicked his tongue and was about to turn around to scold them to swallow their screams even if their knees were to break when he saw it.

Haa!

“Gack!”

The moment the moonlight briefly shone through the clouds, something whizzed by!

Almost simultaneously, one of the soldiers standing behind him vanished into the bushes.

‘What?’

The knight, as well as the soldiers, noticed something was wrong.

Upon quickly checking the numbers, not one, not two, but a whopping five soldiers had disappeared without a trace.

They hadn’t noticed that almost half of their unit had deserted.

‘Could it be that we’ve been discovered by the enemy?’

That was the most likely scenario in the current situation.

It was supposed to be a perfect operation, so how could the enemies have known in advance and prepared?

Could there be a traitor within the barony?

That’s what the knight was thinking.

‘First, I must inform the young lord! This operation is a failure from the start!’

The knight had made his decision and was about to shout when it happened.

Kwararararng!

Kwang!

Suddenly, lightning struck, and the knight’s warning was drowned out.

It was a truly impeccable moment.

He gritted his teeth and tried to shout once more.

‘…Huh?’

That was before he saw a pair of gleaming eyes right in front of him.

“Kyaaang!”

—

‘Rain is not allowed, please. Please!’

Having almost reached the Kakanka barony, Demol couldn’t shake off his anxiousness.

He had thought nothing of the gathering clouds, but seeing the sudden lightning, it seemed like it was going to rain.

If the fire he had painstakingly started was extinguished by the rain, the meaning of the surprise attack would fade, and conversely, a pursuit party could be formed to attack them.

Therefore, he formed an attack formation without waiting for the rearguard.

He believed they would arrive in a little while anyway, and for now, he planned to attack immediately.

‘Due to the characteristics of the territory, the soldiers’ barracks are likely to be located right at this point, and the houses that are easily flammable are also located nearby! Once a fire starts, it’s the perfect place for it to spread!’

Demol immediately ordered the soldiers to prepare fire arrows.

The method was to light the bundles at the front of the arrows upon receiving a signal and shoot them all at once.

Since there were no insiders to respond, it would be impossible to burn down the entire castle, but it would be enough to make it impossible for the soldiers, who were tired from fighting all day, to rest.

Clatter!

Perhaps because they were well-trained, the soldiers quickly distributed the arrows even with only faint moonlight.

It seemed there was a reason why they were confident in the surprise attack.

The soldier at the very end gave a hand signal that the distribution was complete, and Demol nodded and was about to order the soldier next to him to light the arrows.

Kwararararng!

Lightning struck, and for a moment, all the surrounding sounds were buried.

Demol, who had flinched for a moment, turned to look beside him again.

‘What…?’

No one was there.

The soldier who had been standing right next to him had vanished in an instant.

Demol quickly looked around, but only the arrows and bow that seemed to belong to the soldier were left in place, and nothing else was visible.

Then suddenly, he felt something sticky on his fingertips.

He tried to see it in the faint moonlight, but the clouds had become thicker, and it was difficult to see.

Flash!

In that instant, a blue lightning flashed once more, showing it clearly.

The red blood of a person was smeared all over Demol’s hand.

“Ugh!”

A soldier’s scream was heard from somewhere.

He had told them not to make any noise, but the fact that they were screaming like that was clear evidence that something unusual was happening.

“Ah!”

Swish!

“Gack!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Short, fleeting screams erupted here and there.

The intervals were too short.

Soldiers were disappearing as if they were being attacked from all directions.

‘Could it be that they knew everything from the start?’

As soon as that thought reached him, the confidence that had filled Demol’s head instantly turned into fear.

Even in the midst of that, soldiers continued to disappear.

From the right, from the left, from behind.

Screams were heard from all directions.

Flash!

The moment lightning struck again, Demol could see it.

A beast was prowling through the bushes, targeting them.

“Re, retreat!”

He had told them not to make any noise, but if the situation had become like this, everything was meaningless.

From now on, they had to return to the Dionba barony alive, no matter what.

“Ugh!”

“Wh, what is it!

Uwaaah!”

Kwararararng!

Soldiers continued to disappear each time lightning flashed.

Afterward, all that remained in their place was the red blood that people had shed.

If it had continued to be bright, it wouldn’t have been so frightening.

The moonlight that had been shining little by little was now completely obscured by the clouds, and only darkness remained, and in that short time, the intense streaks of light had completely ruined the vision that had been adapted to the darkness.

When lightning struck and they were exposed to the light, they couldn’t see anything when they fell back into the darkness.

“Aaaah!”

Kyaak!

“Gack!”

And while they couldn’t see anything, screams continued to be heard.

Following that, the sound of something being dragged, the sound of gasping as life was cut off.

The sound of struggling and sobbing for help, and even the thunder that swallowed everything.

Kwararararng!

“Huk! Huk!”

Demol ran frantically.

Now, all thoughts of a night raid had been shattered in his mind.

All that remained in his mind was the desire to somehow escape from the unidentified monster.

He wanted to go home alive.

“Aak!”

Haaaaak!

“Gack! Aak! Aah!”

“Save me, save meeeee!…”

Kwarararng!

Kwang!

Screams continued to be heard from all directions.

The moonlight that had been serving as a signpost had disappeared, and the world was filled only with the light of lightning that ruined their vision.

Demol and the soldiers were all running, becoming beasts writhing in the desire to live.

Kyaaaaak!

However, the monster that was cutting off their breath seemed to have no intention of letting them go so easily.

Its movements, tearing through the bushes as if to hunt down even one more person, gained momentum.

And each time the bright yellow-golden eyes flashed, the enemies marked as prey disappeared one by one.

“Aak! Aaaak!”

Those who had nothing to do with him.

Those who had not harmed him, nor had any particular grudges.

But he wanted it, hoped for it, and asked for it.

Then the reason was sufficient.

The reason to smear the blood and flesh of these humans on his fangs and claws.

In just a few seconds, nearly dozens of attacks were launched.

The soldier, who had been instantly turned into rags, began to die, blood gushing from his face and neck.

Then, the beast with gleaming eyes searched for its next prey once more.

And in the distance, he could see a man running madly, who seemed a little different from the other prey.

“Hmm.”

He crouched down slightly, ready to run out and pounce in an instant.

The tail at the end of his buttocks swayed, and his ears twitched incessantly, conveying the locations of other prey heard from all directions to her in real-time.

Flash!

When lightning struck and the sound of thunder covered the area, the beast that had been crouching down burst out in an instant.

Then, with claws sharper than blades, it tore apart the neck and shoulder area of the prey that had been running madly.

“Aaaak! Aak!”

Red blood soared into the air, and Demol collapsed to the ground.

Confirming that the prey had been properly hit by its attack, the beast chose its next victim as if it wouldn’t be able to escape at this point, and rushed towards him.

And a short time later, a soldier was bleeding from his neck and dragged somewhere.

‘Kuh…! What the hell, what the hell is it? Damn it, what the hell is it!’

Tears and snot streaming down his face, Demol tried to crawl away from this place, even if he had to crawl on one arm.

He wanted to live, and he wanted to convey this terrible news to the territory.

That everyone would die, that the man named Zion Klausen was just a monster himself!

“Kuh…!”

Demol, enduring the pain that felt like his arm was falling off, crawled on the ground.

But after a while, he was blocked by something and became unable to even escape.

Something pressing down on his back.

And at that moment, lightning flashed once more, and he was finally able to see the true form of the monster that had been hunting them so cruelly.

“Still, you ran quite far.”

The monster, no, the mysterious woman, was sitting right in front of him, looking down at him as if she was watching how far he would crawl, licking her hand, which was stained red with blood, with her tongue, which was also stained red with human blood.

“Don’t be too upset.”

“Kuh…?”

“There are no personal feelings. It’s just that my partner wants it, so I can’t help it.”

Wagging her tail, with golden eyes that shone clearly even in the darkness.

The woman opened her mouth slowly, with a bright smile that didn’t fit at all with this hellish landscape.

Flash!

Flash!

““Why do you keep doing that? Are you perhaps scared of lightning?””

Lilith tilted her head, playfully asking that question to Zion, who kept looking up at the sky and thinking about something.

Then Zion gave an answer, quoting a line he had seen in a movie sometime.

“It’s not the lightning that’s scary, it’s what appears when the lightning strikes that’s scarier.”

Kwararararng!

Flash!

Nyaaang!

Along with the thunder and lightning, it sounds like the shrill cry of a cat is heard from somewhere.

‘Is a cat just a cute animal that’s cute wherever it goes? Absolutely not.

Because I’m a butler, it just shows me cute appearances and plays with me appropriately. Go outside. They’re creatures that become beasts, beyond the level of gangsters.’

It’s a Tteoluk [affectionate term for a clingy person] that sings a lullaby at home and asks to be petted.

But the existence that awakens the beast instinct within me the moment I go outside is none other than the Nyan-i [Korean slang for cat].

Thinking of the enemies who were probably experiencing terrible hell right now, Zion specially wished them to die a little more painfully.