Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 338

338―――――

The Southern Turkey Hunt

“…Could you say that one more time, Young Master Zion?”

“I said you’re not going to Klausen with me. You’re heading south.”

Kim Yu-hyeon couldn’t hide his bewildered expression at Zion’s words.

He apparently hadn’t even considered that Zion would leave him behind and head to the battlefield.

“Not only that, but Trisha, Riah, and even Lucia.
The three of you will be staying at the Royal Palace.”

“Nya, nyaaaang?”

“W-wait a minute.

Zion!”

“Why!”

The three women practically screamed in unison.

They had naturally assumed they would be following Zion to Klausen, so hearing that they had to stay behind at the Royal Palace was like a bolt from the blue.

“Nyaaaang!

Reason, reason, reason!

Why do I have to stay behind, nyaaaang!”

“I can’t accept this.

I know how important this fight is!

I’ve been focusing on my training and getting beaten to a pulp by Yu-hyeon just for this day!

Why are you telling me to stay behind!”

“I can’t accept it either, Zion-nim!

Absolutely impossible!”

The opposition was much fiercer than Zion had anticipated.

He thought they would at least consider his words for a moment before nodding in agreement, but the backlash was making his head throb.

“Everyone, calm down.”

Fortunately, there was someone beside Zion who could silence those formidable women in one go.

“Have you ever seen Zion speak without a good reason?

No, right?

Why don’t you all calm down and wait for Zion to explain the reason?

You’re all too excited.”

At Lilith’s words, the three women let out a groan and closed their mouths.

They knew that Zion wouldn’t separate them without a reason, and if he really intended to leave them at the Royal Palace, there must be a valid reason.

As the atmosphere calmed down a bit, Zion thanked Lilith and addressed the three women who were watching him as if demanding a reasonable explanation they could accept.

“First, Lucia.

I want Lucia to stay at the Royal Palace and help Raido-nim [Lord Raido] defend it.

We need at least one person who can operate Raido-nim’s defense magic circle in case of an emergency.”

“There are other mages who can do that!

And I’ve been learning martial arts to help Zion, and recently even Yu-hyeon has been acknowledging me….”

“That’s why Lucia needs to stay at the Royal Palace even more.”

“Why!”

“So Riah and Trisha can search for and fight the enemies without worry.”

At Zion’s words, Lucia, as well as Riah and Trisha, who were mentioned together, widened their eyes.

As if asking what he meant, as if they couldn’t understand.

“I’m not sure if I should interrupt.”

Helen, who had been quietly listening to the story from before, carefully opened her mouth.

She nodded slightly as Zion, Lilith, and the other women waited for her to speak, and then continued.

“Think back to the Royal Palace attack that happened before.

And think about the Celestial who came to the Royal Palace of Hispania without anyone knowing.

Then you’ll understand what Zion-gongja [Young Master Zion] is worried about.”

“…You mean they might make us focus on the front and then secretly attack the rear…?”

“It’s common knowledge that shaking the inside is much more effective than attacking the outside, Lucia-nim [Lady Lucia].

If the enemies have any sense, they will definitely target the inside again.”

Lucia looked at Zion as if asking if that was true.

Zion nodded, indicating that Helen was right, and that was why they had to place trustworthy people in the most important Royal Palace.

‘There might be some guys entangled with Prince Erader.

If, by any chance, the Light Church or a Celestial dove coaxes him to rebel against the Royal Family, the nobles who have been watching and the silent cultists will immediately rise up.’

The nobles who gathered at the Royal Palace today were those who wielded some influence within the kingdom.

A group made up of so-called ‘experienced’ nobles.

Excluding the Royal Family, the three great marquises, who could be said to be the most powerful forces in Hispania, as well as Klausen in the east, Isik in the south, and the Taiga and Mescher viscountcies.

Following them were those who had played a role in the kingdom’s history.

All of them had decided to fight according to the Royal Family’s wishes, but not all of the kingdom’s nobles were like that.

There were those who were relatively far from power, those who wanted to move to the center but couldn’t narrow the gap because of those who had already established their forces, and those who were jealous and waiting for an opportunity, Zion thought.

‘At least Kashgar was taken care of a long time ago, so I’m less worried, but I still have to be careful.

Prevention is better than cure.’

The stronger the king’s power is in situations like this, the less the whole country will be shaken.

If they show a gap and Prince Erader subtly raises his head, and then mediocre nobles gather behind him to create anxiety, the kingdom’s people will naturally be shaken, and if the kingdom’s people show signs of unease, the beastmen and fairies may also judge that something is wrong.

Internal turmoil is like a domino, they said.

The moment you think it’s okay for one of these to fall, that there won’t be any problems, you’re already reaching the moment when everything is collapsing.

“Of course, there are the Royal Palace Defense Forces and the Royal Knights, but if they move, the anxiety may increase.

It’s much better to have new ‘heroes’ appear that the kingdom’s people didn’t know about than to have military forces that everyone knows about moving, and it will create less anxiety.

They might even like it more.”

“···Huh?”

“Nyaang?”

“A chaotic world creates heroes, they say.

It’s an opportunity, isn’t it?

You have to show the enemies who are unknowingly hiding inside the kingdom the skills you’ve been building up while being beaten up by Kim Yu-hyeon.”

At Zion’s words, Lucia, Riah, and Trisha glanced at each other.

Of course, their biggest desire was to be by Zion’s side, but if they all rushed in, it would naturally become a red ocean [overly competitive situation], and even if they wanted to show off their skills, they might be pushed back by competitors and end up just watching.

If that happened, they would naturally lose the grounds to demand compensation from Zion later, so it was an inevitable situation to worry about.

“Above all, the people of the kingdom will instinctively be reluctant to clash with the Celestials.

If they hesitate but the enemy doesn’t, then a disaster will occur.

We have to stop that.

Riah, Trisha.

And Lucia.

I know you three have been practicing against Kim Yu-hyeon.”

Lucia taking charge of the frontal attacks, Riah looking for openings, and Trisha landing the finishing blow.

From some point on, the three of them had been fighting Kim Yu-hyeon in that way.

They quickly acknowledged that they couldn’t win against those who were stronger than them with their individual skills, and they shifted to a direction that aimed for a quick victory rather than worrying about pride or anything else.

“···Is this really something only we can do, Zion?”

“Yes, Lucia.

If Lilith-nim [Lady Lilith] moves from the Royal Palace, there will be an uproar saying that a demon has appeared, and Kim Yu-hyeon has work to do in the south.

Lishikida is officially my escort knight, so it would look strange if she was separated from me.

Zane is coming, but she has to lead the warriors and run across the battlefield, so she’s out too.

That leaves Lucia, Riah, and Trisha as the only skilled people I can trust.”

“Nyaang.

Zion, can’t we just ask the beastmen for help?”

“No, Riah.

The beastmen and fairies are all fed up with the Celestials’ requests for sacrifice.

We must never ask them to fight for the humans here.”

“Zion, then wasn’t there a reason why you’ve been so good to our beastmen and fairies until now?”

“That’s not true.

Absolutely not.”

Asking them to fight and saying they will fight are clearly different.

The beastmen and fairies are probably still assessing the situation.

Zion thought that the two races, who were once rivals, were trying to confirm each other’s true intentions while also trying to see if they could really trust the humans.

Since they would reveal that they would participate in the war on their own if they gained the upper hand, there was no need to raise their noses by asking them to participate.

‘They’re proud races, so if we bow our heads even further, we won’t be able to handle them later.

We need to instill the perception that humans are as good as them, or even better, to prevent any noise.’

The war had just begun, but Zion was thinking beyond that war.

The saying that soldiers think about war and politicians think about the aftermath was fitting the situation perfectly.

“It’s not a pleasant task, but it seems there’s really no other way besides us.”

Lucia said with a sigh.

There were definitely few who understood Raido’s magic as well as she did, and it was easier for Riah to stay in contact with the beastmen in the Royal Palace than in the distant east.

Of course, Trisha wasn’t particularly relevant compared to them, but if she was attached to Zion when Lilith and Lishikida were already by his side, there might be too many people doing nothing.

Lucia knew very well that Zion hated having people with nothing to do just idling around.

“Nyaang… but will enemies really come to the Royal Palace?”

“Zion-nim himself said the defense here is amazing.

Then they would have to send a considerable number of troops or skilled people, but wouldn’t that make things difficult for the enemies in Nudia?”

“All they need to do is shake the enemy’s heart first.

And there are those who have been specially prepared for that, Trisha.”

One of them was you.

Muttering inwardly, Zion especially looked forward to Trisha’s performance.

A Seven Wings [high-ranking Celestial] with a Saint Mark [divine blessing] is killed by another Saint Mark holder who was originally supposed to be a Seven Wings.

Moreover, now that the Celestials have broken out of the sanctuary, the Saint Mark will not be transferred to another person and will disappear as it is.

‘I guess the god wanted to give the Celestials at least a minimum penalty when they revealed their dirty intentions.

Ah, should I say the Author-nim [Author-like figure] instead of god?’

In fact, Zion immediately executed Captain, who was imprisoned in the Royal Palace’s underground prison with his limbs crushed, as soon as he heard the news that the Celestials had begun to move in earnest.

If he had been given a little more time, he would have recovered his body with the power of the Saint Mark, so it could be said that it was a close call.

―Uuuuu!

A bug that gnaws at the kingdom!

―Kill him!

―

The people of the kingdom, who already thought that the Holy Prussen and the Celestials had betrayed Hispania, cheered, cursed, and swore at the death of their tormentor.

A death that was merely miserable to some was an important driving force for uniting the forces for others.

‘Thank you, Captain.

I’m sorry, but I can’t repay this favor.’

One of the Seven Wings’ wings, who died without even being able to properly use the Saint Mark.

With this, the enemy can only use five wings in total.

Zion was expecting at least one or two of those wings to secretly cross the border into the kingdom and try to mess up the Royal Palace or somewhere else.

“···I understand why Gongja [Young Master] is worried about the Royal Palace.

If I were the enemy, I would definitely target the parts that could cause confusion first.”

Kim Yu-hyeon, who had been silently listening to Zion’s words, opened his mouth.

“But if that’s what you were thinking, wouldn’t it be better for me to stay in the Royal Palace?

Moreover, the enemy’s main force is still the ones coming from the east.

If I go down to the south, it will take at least a week to finish the work there and return to Gongja’s [Young Master’s] side.”

“···.”

A week, he says.

Zion muttered inwardly and once again realized the abilities of that crazy protagonist monster.

There are mountains in the southeast of Hispania.

Without tunnel-drilling technology like in the 21st century, or even technology to build roads on mountains, it’s impossible to head straight from the south to the east.

In the end, they have no choice but to take the route from the south to the center, and then from the center to the east, which is a long journey that takes at least ten days even when riding a horse.

‘But that monster is saying he’ll just run and make it in a week.

Are you really crazy, human?’

What’s even scarier is that Zion knows that Kim Yu-hyeon will really do it.

Of course, he will expend a lot of energy, but Kim Yu-hyeon will probably arrive in a week.

“As you said, the enemy’s main force will inevitably be in the east.

They will be concentrated where the allied forces of Nudia and Hispania are gathering.

Kim Yu-hyeon.

But it’s not good to just clash there head-on!

It’s more advantageous to find and attack the weak points, and if they’re going to target something, they’ll try to fill it with a place that can cause relatively great damage, with a more dramatic attack method.”

“···I don’t really understand what you mean.”

It wasn’t just Kim Yu-hyeon who didn’t understand Zion’s words.

Lilith, Lucia, Riah, Trisha, Lishikida, and even Helen.

Everyone gathered there seemed to not know exactly what Zion’s words meant.

“Helen?”

“Yes, Zion Gongja-nim [Young Master Zion].”

“If you grab anyone in Hispania and ask them to name the richest place in the kingdom, which region do you think people will choose?”

“···Wouldn’t it be the south?

All sorts of goods come and go through maritime trade, it’s relatively far from the war, and the land is fertile, so a lot of crops are produced.

Of course, in the current situation, trade is blocked, so it may not last….”

“Still, they’ll say that the south is the richest region for a while.

Right?”

“Yes.

I think so.”

Yes, such a wealthy place.

A place that the people of the kingdom think is the most important after the Royal Palace.

If such a place is attacked and turned into a sea of fire in a way that no one expected, at an unexpected time, morale will plummet from the start.

Moreover, there was a lot of iron in the south that was brought in from the Holy Prussen, so there were many armories that manufactured weapons using them, and if that place was damaged, it would be the start of a truly chaotic party.

‘I unintentionally taught them how to damage those parts.’

Unlike demons, all Celestials have wings.

Not just for decoration, but wings that can really fly.

Most of the other races, including humans, had fear and awe of the Celestials who freely roamed the sky and the earth, and the Celestials had always used that part.

However, even Celestials have bodies that are more focused on living on the ground than in the air, so they couldn’t stay in the sky for long.

A way for the Celestials to dominate the sky, throw flames on the earth, and directly and for a long time strike the south of Hispania without much risk.

“Kim Yu-hyeon.”

“Yes, Zion Gongja-nim [Young Master Zion].”

“You don’t get seasick, do you?”

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

I do.

Help me.