Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 20

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‘Why is he suddenly acting like this?’

‘Why is the Young Lord doing that?’

‘Hey, hey, why is he suddenly like that!’

‘Young Lord Zion?’

‘Hmm?’

These were the inner thoughts of Count Lichten, the Lion Knight Commander, Lilith, Lucia, and Kim Yu-hyun, in that order.

He should be boosting the morale of the knights and soldiers with grand speeches, but instead, he’s saying things that drain their energy!

“C-Count, Count Lichten,

Wouldn’t it be better to stop the Young Lord?”

The first to speak was, surprisingly, Lilith.

She seemed anxious that the soldiers might react poorly or do something even worse.

The Lion Knight Commander kept silent but alternated his gaze between Zion and Count Lichten with a worried expression.

This made Count Lichten bite his lip, contemplating whether he should intervene.

“Let’s observe a bit longer.”

An unexpectedly calm voice.

Lucia said so with an indifferent expression.

Then, she calmly looked around with composed eyes.

“The Young Lord Zion I know wouldn’t say anything without thinking.

So, everyone, trust and wait.

If you truly believe in him, that is.”

“···.”

“Yu-hyun.

What do you think?

Is he someone we need to worry about?”

At Lucia’s question, Kim Yu-hyun, who had been silent until now, looked at Zion on the platform before speaking.

“He is strong, that man.”

“So, that’s what he says.

So, everyone, relax and watch.

See how the Young Lord ignites a fire in their hearts.”

Since Lucia was so confident, Count Lichten closed his mouth, deciding to trust her.

With the final decision-maker having made up his mind, Lion also didn’t argue further, and they waited for Zion’s next words.

“···.”

Zion paused for a moment, waiting on purpose.

He wanted them to be confused enough, so that they could accept reality.

‘Useless hope is just torture, and impossible promises erode trust.’

This is war.

Who can guarantee victory or defeat, be sure of God’s blessing, or promise to return home safely?

If someone were to say such things to Zion, he would beat them to within an inch of their life and turn them into a living corpse, then finish the job.

“···But.”

But there is one thing he can say for sure to them.

This is not something to measure victory or defeat, to ask for God’s will, or to hope for a miracle.

“I promise you this one thing.

When we win and advance, I will always be in front of you, and when we lose and have to retreat with tears in our eyes, I will always be behind you.

And above all.”

Looking down at the knights and soldiers, Zion continued with a confident voice.

“I will not leave anyone behind on that damn battlefield.”

“···.”

“Although not everyone can return unscathed…

Whether dead or alive, we will all return together to our hometown and to the homes where our families are waiting.”

“···.”

“This is the only promise I can make to you.”

With those words, Zion came down from the platform without hesitation.

As he returned to his seat, there were no cheers, no applause, no other noises.

Only the quiet sounds of the knights and soldiers filled the space.

“Zion.”

“Young Lord!”

The first to greet Zion as he returned to his seat were Count Lichten and the Lion Knight Commander.

Zion nodded to the two men who smiled as if to say he had worked hard and returned to his seat.

Then, Lucia quietly approached him and gently held his hand.

At the sudden action, Sir Noth, that is, Lilith, gasped and tried to rush at Lucia, but fortunately, Zion stopped her from doing so.

“···Lucia?”

“You are amazing, Young Lord Zion.”

“I just said some things that anyone could say.”

“It’s something anyone can say, but it’s not something anyone can ‘do’.”

“···.”

“You already seem to have no intention of breaking that promise.”

As Lucia said, it was true.

The speech Zion had just given was not just for the knights and soldiers.

Zion himself had laid a foundation that required him to bear some risk.

‘I need a place for Lilith to be active.

Especially a place where melee combat will unfold.’

He can’t disguise himself as Sir Noth forever.

And he can’t let people think that demons are harmful forever.

The time of one year is both long and short.

Even now, the real enemies’ plans are progressing steadily, and soon the entire continent will be engulfed in flames.

‘It will be the stage to officially announce Lilith’s appearance.’

To do so, he had to be right near the battlefield.

Lilith, disguised as Sir Noth, was officially his escort knight, so if Zion stayed in the rear, she would be in a position where she couldn’t even swing her sword properly.

That’s why Zion deliberately chose that speech, and now even the Knight Commander and Count Lichten couldn’t stop him in order to avoid seeing Zion break the promise he had made himself.

‘Still, it’s really fortunate.

I just remembered that line from that movie.

Thank you, Mr. Gibson! [Mel Gibson, actor and director, likely referencing a war movie]’

Zion sent a thank you to Mr. Gibson in his heart.

If it hadn’t been for that scene in the movie, it would have been difficult to carry out this plan.

“I’m a little worried, but on the other hand, I feel relieved.”

“About what?”

“About the thoughts I have about you.

And… Hehe.”

Lucia deliberately trailed off, with a faint blush on her cheeks.

A beautiful woman with a pure aura was giving off a subtle smile, making Zion feel dizzy for a moment.

Of course, he came to his senses immediately after hearing Sir Noth’s uncomfortable clearing of his throat, but still.

“Young Lord Zion.”

Just as he was enduring Lilith’s storm of nagging, such as whether he liked being flirted with by another woman so much, and why he volunteered for such a dangerous task, Kim Yu-hyun suddenly spoke.

“If it’s not rude, there is something I would like to ask.”

“What is it, Kim Yu-hyun?”

“Are you really going to keep your promise?

That promise that someone like you would take the lead and the rear in a battlefield where anything could happen.”

At Kim Yu-hyun’s question, Zion gave a faint smile.

‘You little brat, I have to keep it because of you, so don’t worry.

A liar, a person who only talks big, and a leader who retreats at the most important time.

Those are all the guys you despise and hate!

You’re trying to test your brother?’

Unlike his appearance, Kim Yu-hyun is a guy who is subtly resentful and doesn’t easily let go of his prejudices about first impressions, the protagonist of this novel.

I didn’t particularly want to get close to that terrifying guy, but he was an essential trump card to prevent the destruction of the continent, so I had to avoid doing anything stupid that would lower his favorability.

“Well, wouldn’t you know if you saw it?”

Whether I’m just a guy who talks big or not.

―

The expeditionary force that left Lichten County marched quickly.

They crossed the border in the morning and succeeded in crossing over to the Kingdom of Nudia in just one morning.

Since Nudia had officially declared war anyway, there was no diplomatic problem.

Everything was proceeding according to their plan, but at first, the knights and soldiers couldn’t help but try to suppress their anxiety, and that was because of Zion, who was in the vanguard.

The vanguard always stands at the forefront, leading the main force and identifying and dealing with the enemy’s scouts in advance, a role with a heavy responsibility.

Therefore, an experienced commander always took the lead, but today, Zion Klausen, a young sprout, was taking on that role.

They wondered if the enemies would soon be swarming from all directions, but they were able to enter deep into Nudia’s territory without being attacked even once.

Nudia’s scouts did appear along the way, but Kim Yu-hyun took care of them, so the reconnaissance report couldn’t even be passed on to the enemies.

Even Lilith secretly scanned the surroundings and informed Zion of the location or route of the scouts, so Zion was able to know the location of the scouts or predict their movement path like a ghost.

‘I didn’t know Young Lord Zion was like this?’

‘I can’t believe it.

The enemy’s scouts are all being crushed!’

Even the seasoned veterans and knights were impressed.

At this point, it was as if he had deliberately hidden his talent and then revealed it all at once.

“Yu-hyun.

Young Lord Zion seems to be a really amazing person.”

“···.”

As Lucia said so with a blushing face, Kim Yu-hyun groaned.

He was acknowledging that his earlier concerns were unnecessary, as Zion was doing his job without him having to step in.

‘Advance quickly to the place where Nudia’s military camp is located.’

The enemies would have planned to end their march today and camp near the castle of Lichten County to carry out a siege.

But soon they began to fall helplessly before the forces of Lichten County that had invaded deep into their territory.

“Ugh!”

“W-what!

Why are the enemies in our land?”

“The scouts!

What the hell did the scouts do!”

The process of heading to war is very long and complicated, but once the battle begins, the progress is so simple and short that it takes the excitement out of the viewer.

The side that collides with the enemy and whose front line collapses and retreats is bound to lose.

It was only natural that there were more casualties when one side retreated than when the two forces clashed in the first place.

“Attack!”

“Push them without a break!

If we break the enemy’s vanguard, we can end not only the current battle but the war itself!

Keep pushing!”

“Aaaagh!”

Hundreds of soldiers are intertwined to become a giant shield, and those giant shields collide.

The knights fight with the opposing knights and try to aim for the back of the shield in any way possible.

In a way, battle is just a tug-of-war.

But the side that is pushed back once in that tug-of-war has to give up everything.

The momentum, the victory, and even their lives.

Thud, thud, thud!

At that moment, a sound that shook the heavens and the earth began to be heard from behind the Nudia Kingdom army.

Thanks to this, the Lichten County army fell into a slight confusion, and conversely, the Nudia soldiers were emboldened and resisted even more strongly.

“The Knights are here!”

“It’s the White Leopard Knights!

We can win!”

The shouts of the Nudia soldiers were heard from all directions.

Zion bit his lip slightly.

‘Is their appearance a little early?

Originally, the soldiers here were collapsing, and the Lichten County army was about to turn around when they rushed in.’

The big picture matched, but the small details kept going awry.

Zion clicked his tongue and shouted to Kim Yu-hyun, who was waiting in the back.

“Kim Yu-hyun!

Take care of those knights first!

If they approach our army’s formation, this side will collapse as it is, so wipe them all out!”

“···I will.”

Swish―.

Finally, Kim Yu-hyun drew his real sword.

The protagonist in the novel who cut down everything with just one sword.

He was the culprit who caused the power balance to collapse in the second half with his fraudulent stats and swordsmanship.

‘Woo-ha-ha!

You bastards!

You’re all dead now!

You don’t have a guy like that in your country, do you?

Our Yu-hyun is so strong!’

A battle between dozens of knights and one person.

To anyone, it was close to that one person’s suicide charge, but Zion was confident.

Because that one person was none other than Kim Yu-hyun, the protagonist of this novel.

…However, in his excitement, Zion overlooked one fact.

Kim Yu-hyun becomes the strongest on the continent in the second half, and there are still several people who can face him in the beginning.

Sebastian, Raido, and several other powerhouses of Kim Yu-hyun’s level were in the Kingdom of Hispania.

And as a matter of course, the Kingdom of Nudia also possessed such powerhouses.

[Author’s Note] ‘I cannot promise to bring you all back safely.

But I will be the first to set foot in the battle area, and I will be the last to leave.

I will not leave anyone behind me.’

―We Were Soldiers.(2002)―

I will continue to increase the tempo so as not to drag it out.

Recommendations are always a great help!

The more you press, the more the amount of serialization increases!