Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 349

349―――――

This isn’t good.

I enjoyed the brief respite, but time marches on.

Morning dawned on the last day of rest in Klausen, and Zion was holed up in the conference room from morning, collating and verifying the information that kept coming in.

—The Holy Prussian army continues to advance—The Nudia army suffers repeated defeats, the Knights of the Holy Prussian side are active, and according to reports, it is highly likely that fairies are mixed in—They are holding out with attrition warfare, but it seems difficult because there are many followers of the Light within Nudia—Above all, there are many stories that the Holy Prussian army is overwhelmingly strong—

‘…It’s definitely strange.

I remember that even though the Holy Prussian Empire was a powerful country that was not inferior to Hispania or Nudia, it was not enough to push the Nudia army at such a tremendous speed.’

In this case, Zion thinks there are three main possibilities.

One is that Nudia has become too weak, the other is that the Holy Prussian Empire has been hiding its power.

And the other is, conversely, that the Holy Prussian Empire received *additional* power from someone.

‘It’s not entirely impossible.

Because one of the Seven Wings has a very unique ability.’

If the other six wings had abilities specialized in combat, one of them was not *lacking* in combat power, but I remember that his ability was more excellent in assisting direct combat.

The Celestials called it ‘Heavenly Prayer,’ and it had the power to draw out the combat abilities of those around them a little more.

The reason why Zion hadn’t marked such an important thing until now was that, in fact, it was called Heavenly Prayer, but it didn’t even reach the level of just cheering for strength.

If it were a game, and buffs were added by praying, the Holy Prussian Empire would have already won a conquest victory and unified the continent with the Doctrine of Light.

‘So the readers called it Courage Buff.’

A magical word that doesn’t particularly provide any assist, but inspires courage in allies to win battles—a Courage Buff.

The Heavenly Prayer used by the Seven Wings was only at that level, so Zion didn’t pay much attention to it.

However, if they clashed directly with the Nudia army and lost not only in knight battles but also in battles between ordinary soldiers, and in the rotation of large armies against large armies, it was a problem that needed to be reconsidered.

‘Of course, even though the Celestials and fairies secretly helped, they may be deliberately hiding it, or it may be exaggerated information from Nudia, but we must keep the possibility in mind.’

Since Courage Buff is still a buff, Zion decided to check this as it is.

As he sat alone flipping through documents, he heard footsteps outside, and soon, click!

The door opened and a woman came in.

At first, I naturally thought it was Lilith, but when Zion raised his head and checked who it was, he let out a sigh mixed with question, ‘Hmm?’

Two sharp horns sticking out above her casually disheveled hair, reptile scales that could be seen from time to time on her forearms, and most notably, a large tail attached to her buttocks.

Ekaterina, who had never shown herself as if she had been in secluded training, appeared before him.

Worried that this woman, who was literally crazy about fighting, might make an absurd request, Zion decided to take the lead before she even opened her mouth.

“What is it?

I hope you haven’t already forgotten that you said you’d stay put until Kim Yu-hyun comes?”

“···.”

Originally, that woman had unconditionally expressed her intention to follow Kim Yu-hyun.

However, if she followed Kim Yu-hyun, he would naturally not be able to concentrate on his mission at all, and even if he finished the job, she would definitely rush to fight and waste time, and there was a very high probability that he would waste time taking care of the fallen woman again.

Kim Yu-hyun’s mission was to quickly wrap up the work in the south, clean up everything that could be a danger, and then join here immediately, but there was no way he could ruin that because of some strange lizard.

Therefore, Zion coordinated with Kim Yu-hyun to forcibly fix Ekaterina here.

In fact, he was saying nonsense such as *that* this is a test to increase your patience.

—What nonsense are you talking about?

What are you testing your patience for?

—You stupid bitch.

That’s why you can’t beat me.

—What did you say?

—Do you know what the common characteristic of true hunters is?

It’s knowing how to wait.

It means hiding your fangs, sharpening your claws, and waiting for the right time.

You don’t have that.

You can never overcome me because you just bump into me without any preparation period.

—

Looking back now, it was really incoherent nonsense.

From the beginning, Ekaterina’s abilities were her fraudulent recovery ability and her unquenchable thirst for battle.

Waiting would be more like poison than medicine for her.

However, it was certain that if Ekaterina was next to Kim Yu-hyun, Zion and Kim Yu-hyun himself would be very tired, so the two men coordinated and tried to separate her somehow.

And after a day and a half, the dragonkin finally said, Okay!

He shook his hand and nodded.

She was *convinced* by Zion’s nonsense-like logic and Kim Yu-hyun’s threat-like advice.

Thanks to that, Kim Yu-hyun was able to head south without worry, and Zion was able to safely transport the tightly sealed bomb to Klausen while hiding it from others as much as possible.

‘I was a little worried that the bomb wouldn’t be able to withstand it and would eventually explode.’

I wondered if the day the bomb would explode was today.

In order to buy some time for Kim Yu-hyun to join here, he used a tremendous amount of time—two days—for his rest in Klausen, but if you calculate it, Kim Yu-hyun would have reached the south around the same time they arrived in Klausen.

Even if the enemies moved immediately, and even if Kim Yu-hyun handled things quickly, he thought it would only be possible when they crossed the Nudia border and reached the central region, so this woman who was already showing signs of explosion was by no means a welcome guest.

“Don’t worry, human.

I haven’t forgotten my promise with Kim Yu-hyun, that monster man.”

“…Really?”

“People call me a crazy bitch, but at least I keep my promises in my name.

Of course, if it’s too absurd nonsense, I’ll just drop it, but it’s still bearable.”

“Then why did you come to me?”

“To see when we’re going to fight.

Instead of Kim Yu-hyun, with those Celestials.”

Come to think of it, one of the reasons why he was able to persuade Ekaterina was that he whispered that there would be a fight with the Celestials.

Even if it wasn’t as much as Kim Yu-hyun, the Celestials were always mentioned along with the demons when referring to the strongest races.

‘Dragonkins are practically extinct because they fight each other, so let’s move on.’

“I’ll let you fight when the time comes.

Don’t worry, they’ll come looking for you on their own without being so impatient.”

“Don’t you think you’re being too slow to see it that way?”

“Slow?”

“Yes.

Why are you stopping here and wasting two days when you can just go to Nudia or whatever like you’ve been doing?”

Could this also be part of my test?”

“….”

‘What test? Isn’t it just that you can’t understand something obvious?

You crazy dragon girl.’

Zion couldn’t say it out loud, so he just sighed lightly and cursed at Ekaterina in his heart.

“Hey, dragon girl.”

“Ekaterina.”

“Yes, Ekaterina.

What did Kim Yu-hyun emphasize to you?”

“Wait, wait.

You’ll get stronger that way.

And the chances of winning increase.”

“Yes, that’s what he said.

I want to add one more thing to that.”

“What are you doing adding or subtracting from that opinion?”

Zion widened his eyes as if he was surprised by the somewhat logical rebuttal.

Of course, he thought she would just listen silently, but it seemed that Zion Klausen was just a bug on the street to her.

It’s true that Zion is weak, but from the dragonkin’s point of view, such weaklings are really worse than bugs, but there was one thing Ekaterina was overlooking.

Even Kim Yu-hyun, the strongest in the world, is very sensitive to Zion’s words.

“It’s even funnier when you say that.

I’m a human who gives advice to Kim Yu-hyun, so is a guy who has never beaten Kim Yu-hyun going to ignore my advice?”

“….”

In short, it was a rather strange *argument*: my really strong friend listens to me well, so is it right for a loser like you to ignore my opinion?

However, this would have a significant impact on Ekaterina, who desperately wanted to overcome Kim Yu-hyun.

“You’re so arrogant that you can’t beat that man no matter what you do.

Kim Yu-hyun is neither arrogant nor conceited.

He is a true monster who listens to other people’s opinions, realizes important things from them, and uses them as a stepping stone to victory.”

“…Tsk.”

Ekaterina turns her head and expresses her dissatisfaction.

However, I could immediately notice that the energy ignoring Zion had weakened a lot in that gesture.

“It’s nothing special.

What I’m going to advise is this:

Fight when you fight, rest when you rest.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s as it sounds.

Rest when you rest.

No matter how strong your recovery ability is, no matter how much you crave battle, you will inevitably accumulate fatigue without knowing it.

When you fought Kim Yu-hyun, there were times when you couldn’t last as long as usual, right?”

“…!”

Ekaterina shows a subtle surprise at Zion’s words.

As if to say, how do you know that, as if you can talk as if you saw the fight between you and Kim Yu-hyun right in front of you, when you have hardly ever seen it properly.

‘Of course.

Because Kim Yu-hyun told me.

He said that he sometimes fights you stronger than usual, and sometimes weaker, to train you.’

However, Ekaterina doesn’t seem to know that part yet.

Zion was thinking of using that point in reverse to throw her a bait that would allow her to listen to him a little better, as if he were a wise man who knew everything.

“That’s the proof.

It’s true that the wounds on your body heal, but the fatigue accumulated inside doesn’t heal.

As a result, you have to endure the battle with Kim Yu-hyun day by day, but it keeps fluctuating.”

“…How do you know that?

You’re a human who can’t be said to be excellent at fighting.”

“There are two types of people when it comes to fighting.

The one who fights well, and the one who sees well.”

“The one who sees well?”

“Humans call that ‘advice’, and there are some who completely miss the mark, but there are occasionally humans who have no talent for fighting but have insight into seeing it and giving advice.”

“Is that you?”

At Ekaterina’s question, Zion nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

Originally, Ekaterina’s reaction would have been to find Zion suspicious and coldly tell him not to talk nonsense, but she couldn’t.

‘…That human man’s combat ability is definitely disgustingly low, but Kim Yu-hyun, that man, subtly follows him and values him.

Is it true that this human has insight into seeing things as that human says?

Is he getting help from there and following him as a sign of respect for him?’

Kim Yu-hyun is strong.

He is a true strongman that even I, a dragonkin, cannot *easily dismiss*.

If such Kim Yu-hyun subtly follows him, Ekaterina whispered to herself that there must be a reason worthy of it.

Of course, Zion didn’t have an eye for seeing other people’s fights well, but a head that already knew everything.

“…Keep talking.”

Eventually, Ekaterina crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair as if she was going to listen.

Afterwards, she thought that if the words of that human man named Zion really helped in the fight between her and Kim Yu-hyun, it would be better for her to listen to his words and concentrate a little more.

“I’m sorry, Ekaterina.”

However, how could Zion be such an easy man?

He had even ignored her a little while ago, saying she was weak or something, so he was definitely not a man who would just let it go.

“Can you get out of here?”

“…Huh?”

Ekaterina blinked her eyes and looked at Zion.

Until now, those who could say such harsh words to her were those who were confident in their skills, and those who could be said to be objectively clear.

Kim Yu-hyun, or at least Lilith.

However, the human man in front of her, Zion Klausen, is just at an ordinary level, even if you look at him in a good way.

It was *absurd* that he should be called weak rather than strong.

It was perhaps natural for Ekaterina to be dumbfounded when Zion was telling her to get out with such a confident expression.

“What, what did you say?”

“The time for an important meeting here will start soon.

Get out of here because you’re in the way.”

“….”

In an instant, flames soared in Ekaterina’s eyes.

Even if she had been brutally *defeated* by a human, that only applied to Kim Yu-hyun.

She had never imagined in her dreams that a human who couldn’t even handle mana would treat her like this.

‘Should I kill him?’

Murderous intent rises.

Even if you give him a good score, he’s just a human; to be honest, he’s just a bug.

It was clear that he would just be crushed and die if he just threw a punch or swung his tail.

However, Ekaterina could only burn flames in her eyes and could not move her body.

The warning that the monster gave her as he left was eerily replayed in her head.

—Don’t cause an accident while I’m away.

Especially if I hear that you have been rude to Zion Gongja-nim [Mr. Zion], I will pull out your limbs and throw them to the *lustful* monsters.

And when it regenerates, I’ll leave only your neck and pull it out again and throw it again.

Instead of fighting, which you like so much, you will fall into the hands of monsters and live without being able to die.

That’s good too, right?

Will you lose your mind and go crazy in the end, or will you endure to the end?

You’re fighting yourself.

—

The moment she heard Kim Yu-hyun’s words, Ekaterina realized with the dragonkin’s excellent sense.

That the words she was saying now were by no means a simple threat, and that the monster was truly capable of doing such a thing without any emotion.

She certainly has pride in being a dragonkin as much as she likes to fight.

So she didn’t want a future where she would be killed by someone stronger than herself without taking her own life.

The future that Kim Yu-hyun was talking about was truly disgusting and chilling just to imagine for Ekaterina.

“Can’t you hear me?

Get out of here.”

“….”

So Ekaterina couldn’t get angry at Zion’s words and just had to look at him.

She stared at Zion for a moment, sighed, and eventually got up from her seat.

“Okay.

I’ll get out of here as you wish, so tell me when it’s all over.

Is that enough?”

“That’s enough for me to agree.

Don’t worry.

I keep my promises too.”

It’s good to scratch Ekaterina’s insides appropriately.

No matter how much Kim Yu-hyun is there, that woman is a dragonkin, and dragonkins have pride like other races.

She immediately changed her attitude and smiled as if asking her to wait a little, making it difficult for Ekaterina to even express her dissatisfaction.

Watching the dragonkin quietly open the door and leave the conference room, Zion nodded.

‘You should make good friends.

Connections are the best, personal connections are the truth, and backing is the best.’