Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 19

The scariest thing in war isn’t a skilled enemy, but a stupid ally.

Looking at the various wars recorded in history, there are many cases where battles were lost that should have been won.

There are many factors, but a large part of it is due to the blunders of allied trolls [in this context, ‘trolls’ refers to individuals who intentionally disrupt or sabotage efforts].

There’s no need to go far; even in a game, if one person starts throwing [intentionally losing or playing poorly], the victory will tilt uncontrollably no matter how well the other person tries to do.

The common point between war and games was that it wasn’t about who was more outstanding, but who was more of an idiot.

‘In that sense, my existence in this war is a landmine.

A potential troll!’

A man should at least be able to participate when talking about war history!

I read a lot of books about war with that thought in mind, but that doesn’t make me a strategist.

The battlefield is a place where everything is instantly overturned and twisted even with the slightest change in situation.

There are cases where they collapse because of a false report that the vanguard died while fighting well, and in a battle that can never be won, they reorganize their ranks because the flag of the allied commander is raised on the mountain, stick to their positions until the end, and eventually achieve victory.
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‘Even in the territory, the perception of Zion Clausen is at a very low level, so if I really go to the battlefield, all I can do is be a human accessory?’

Sion sighed and checked his attire once again.

After wearing tough cloth clothes on the inside, he put on chain armor that he had only seen in cartoons, movies, or dramas.

After that, he wore a thick leather-patched top again and finished with a military uniform on top of it.

“Aren’t you wearing too little?

Knights wear plate mail instead of leather.

It looks very sturdy, even though the weight is no joke.”

“I’m not the one fighting at the forefront, so I only need to prepare for stray arrows or suddenly penetrating spears and swords. Rather, if I wear something too heavy, my stamina will be exhausted quickly and I’ll just become a burden.”

It’s not always good to wear a lot and make it sturdy.

Wearing a lot and making it sturdy means that there is more weight on your body, and if that happens, not only will you not be able to move on your own, but even the horse carrying that person will get tired quickly.

Increasing survivability when a battle breaks out is certainly important, but the worst situation is when power is lost before you even get a chance to fight properly.

“More than that, Lilith. Are you feeling okay?”

“Huh? Ah, don’t worry. It hurt, but not to the point where I can’t move.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Ah—if it weren’t for Zion, I would have torn that unlucky bastard’s face off. Did you see it? The way he glared at me and you with those rude eyes? I was so angry that I almost slapped his mouth without thinking!”

Lilith was the one who had her soul shaken and retreated as if running away from that man.

Sion, who was muttering inwardly, glanced at her and opened his mouth.

“Was that really all?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“After seeing that guy named Kim Yu-hyun, didn’t you feel any other emotions?”

“Of course I did. The murderous intent to twist his head off right away?”

It seems like the thing I was worried about isn’t going to happen.

In the novel, Lilith was deeply in love with Kim Yu-hyun and followed him around.

Of course, she suffered a lot because she couldn’t win his heart, and eventually awakened, saying, ‘If I can’t have it, I’ll break it!’ and pushed Kim Yu-hyun quite hard.

But now she didn’t seem to have any feelings for Kim Yu-hyun.

Rather, only hostility seemed to be swelling up, growling and grinding her teeth.

That meant that Lilith had almost completely come over to his side.

‘It may be natural since we made a contract of belonging in the first place.’

According to Lilith, once a contract of belonging is made, the succubus can no longer steal mana or essence from anyone she has a relationship with, or even feel sexual pleasure.

Only the contractor can give her pleasure, satisfaction, and share the mana and essence essential for maintaining life.

It was truly a perfect card to have, but Sion never let his guard down.

Lilith was strong, but the enemies he would have to face later were the ones who had even killed Lilith.

‘Even so, this is a bit much.’

Sion sighed and opened the door.

The Lion Knights Captain was standing there as if he had been waiting for Sion.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. Let’s go, Captain. Lord North, follow us too.”

The Lion Knights Captain leads the way, followed by Lord North, that is, Lilith.

He was going to disguise himself as Lord North until this war, but if things went well, Sion expected that he wouldn’t need to do that anymore.

No matter how scary a demon is, if they help you when you’re having a hard time, they become a benefactor.

No matter how kind an angel is, if they don’t help you when you’re having a hard time, they become an enemy.

Sion was planning to use that point.

“I’ve brought him.”

When the captain of the Knights spoke, I looked ahead and saw Count Lichten, who was standing there fully armed like himself.

Next to him were Countess Leona, with a face full of worry, and Aden, who was full of sleepiness, but was trying to keep his mind focused as much as possible because of the situation.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes, Father.”

“The battlefield is dangerous and no one knows what will happen. Never let your guard down.”

Are you taking a kid who’s barely a teenager to such a battlefield!

Father, this is really too much!

“I’m an adult now. Didn’t Father go to the battlefield with Grandfather from a young age?”

“I was hoping I wouldn’t pass that on to my children.”

War is neither wonderful nor glamorous.

Numerous lives collide, leaving behind blood and flesh, and disappearing in vain all at once.

That was what Sion had to face, ‘war’.

“Be careful.”

“I will return safe and sound.”

Countess Leona said so in a worried tone, and Count Lichten smiled as if to say there was nothing to worry about.

Then, he hugged Aden, stroked his head, and said he would be back.

The child, who nodded, suddenly looks at his half-brother.

There was something he wanted to say, but he was embarrassed to say it, and he couldn’t say anything rashly because of the fierce and ruthless reactions Sion had shown so far.

“Take care of the house, Aden.”

So this time too, Sion took the initiative to narrow the distance with his brother.

“If Mother is scared, just tell her it’s nothing. Okay?”

“···Yes. Brother.”

“I’ll protect Father, so don’t worry too much. When I get back, let’s find another game to play besides playing ball.”

If another character said these lines, it would be a 1000 percent death flag [a foreshadowing of imminent death], but it’s different now.

Sion, who could be called the incarnation of survival instinct, was the subject.

“Let’s go, Sion.”

“Yes, Father.”

Saying goodbye is best done quickly, Count Lichten turned around and moved as if he would be back soon.

The Captain of the Lion Knights, a few escort knights, Sion, and Lilith followed behind him.

After a while, Kim Yu-hyun followed with Lucia, because Lucia insisted on following to support the soldiers with healing magic.

“More than that, are you well prepared?”

Count Lichten, who was walking, turned around slightly and opened his mouth.

Then, Sion, who was walking behind him, replied in a troubled voice.

“I don’t know about anything else, but it would have been better if Father had given the speech at the send-off ceremony. To entrust such an important task to me, who has never stepped forward before.”

“Isn’t it something you have to do someday? You have to experience it when the opportunity comes. And the knights and soldiers will also be curious about you.”

They will be curious.

The problem is that they are curious in a bad way, not in a good way.

As they stepped outside the castle, the soldiers of the Count’s territory, who were waiting in neat rows, greeted them.

Looking at them standing firm with a military spirit and a firm expression, it seemed that they had been selected from among the elite of the Clausen Count’s private soldiers, who were known as strong soldiers in the kingdom.

It was a fairly large attack force with forty knights and seven hundred soldiers.

‘The total number of soldiers in the Clausen Frontier Territory is about 2,000, so this is a large-scale operation that投入 [投入 – Touipou, meaning ‘invested’ or ‘committed’] almost half of them.’

In the original novel, more than half of them die in battle, creating a big hole in the Frontier Territory.

The decisive reason for the defeat was that they failed to discover the Knights of Nudia.

‘But it’s different this time.’

Kim Yu-hyun is right next to him and accompanies him.

It means that he can be sent out from the beginning of the battle, instead of appearing later like in the novel.

If things go according to plan, the best picture will be drawn perfectly, sending Kim Yu-hyun to the royal castle as in the original story, while at the same time keeping the Frontier Territory safe.

“Sion.”

Count Lichten points to the temporarily installed platform with a nod.

It was a place where the Count, who was the commander-in-chief, should have stepped up, but he yielded it to his son.

It was a great honor, but at the same time, he had to bear a huge burden.

A speech in front of soldiers going to the battlefield is more important than anything else.

It affects morale, combat ability, and loyalty, so it was desirable for someone with a lot of experience to stand in that position to encourage and support the soldiers.

‘Why are you entrusting that to me!’

I’ve only been to a public speaking event once.

In fact, it’s ambiguous to call it public speaking; it’s just that I raised my voice to be elected as the student body president in elementary school.

At that time, I just said some appropriate good things, made some fancy promises, and if I said I would give out chicken, hamburgers, and pizza at the sports day, cheers would erupt.

But now the situation is too different from then.

This is not a campaign for the student body president election, and it’s certainly not a public speaking contest.

It was to listen to someone’s encouragement before risking one’s only life to fight, perhaps the last thing they would hear alive.

‘I’m going crazy, I’m going crazy, I’m going crazy.’

Sion Clausen was almost like air to the knights and soldiers.

Despite being the eldest son of the Count, the young brat who had no external activities was going to the podium instead of the veteran Count Lichten.

If he said something wrong, it would be obvious that he would be humiliated, and he could become a 희대의 shit troll [희대의 (huidae): unprecedented, legendary; in this context, a legendary screw-up] that would eat away at his combat ability from the start.

턱―턱―턱― [sound of footsteps].

Hundreds of gazes are focused on Sion as he goes up to the platform.

Sion’s breath was 절로 막혀 [절로 막혀 (jeollo makyeo): naturally blocked, reflexively stifled] as the people who were about to go to the battlefield where death and life were divided sent intense eyes.

‘Shit, I’m going to freak out.’

Is this what it feels like to be stripped naked and thrown into a cage of ferocious beasts?

If it was just a simple spectacle, I wouldn’t be so nervous.

This was a primal sensation coming from a heavy sense of responsibility and a huge burden, fear.

“···.”

After Sion stood on the platform, a moment of silence passed.

Could it be that he forgot what to say after coming to such an important place?

Or is he too scared and frozen?

Or is he really just going to say something carelessly and go down, as the rumors say he’s a immature brat?

“···Soldiers.”

When Sion’s mouth finally opened, not only the knights and soldiers gathered in the place.

Count Lichten and the Captain of the Lion Knights, Lilith disguised as North.

Lucia, who was looking at Sion with sparkling eyes.

And even Kim Yu-hyun began to concentrate.

What will the man named Sion Clausen say in this important place?

“I can’t promise you anything.”

“···?”

For a moment, everyone gathered in the place doubted their ears.

The words that flowed from Sion’s mouth were to fight honorably, to go forward for the country and the territory, to charge towards the enemies without an inch of fear and show our anger.

It wasn’t such a cliché.

“I can’t even make promises like leading you to victory, that God will protect us, or even sending you home safely.”

As soon as those words were finished, a commotion was felt among the soldiers.

Why is someone who says that he cannot promise victory, God’s blessing, or even send them home safely to those who are going to the battlefield standing in that place!