Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 361

361―――――

A Tactical Retreat for Victory

Leaving the rearguard to the cavalry and knights, Zion immediately hurried to prepare for a retreat.

They needed to clear the battlefield, but wasting time here would mean facing the enemy head-on. Even celebrating their victory, the soldiers, exhausted from hours of intense fighting, would be at high risk of annihilation.

‘Quickly, quickly!

If we get caught, it won’t be easy to shake them off.

The Celestials coming now are at least High-ranked, maybe even some Top-ranked ones!’

Ekaterina could handle High-ranked Celestials by grabbing them by the collar and beating them up.

But Top-ranked Celestials were not opponents that even the formidable Dragon Lady Ekaterina could confidently defeat.

Moreover, they wouldn’t be so kind as to face Ekaterina alone; they would surely use a coordinated attack to end things quickly and safely.

‘Many villains die wanting 1:1 fights, but strangely, those Top-ranked Celestials pathologically hate 1:1s.

Of course, thanks to that, I succeeded in hunting down the highest-ranking demons one by one!’

Since they were skilled and strong, they wouldn’t take risks unless they had numerical superiority. This meant that if Top-ranked Celestials were coming, it would definitely be at least two of them, and they would come with the firm belief that they could win.

Those Top-ranked Celestials, though limited to two or three, would certainly be coming.

Zion believed that they would drive out the demons and ensure their superiority, as they were pathologically obsessed with that aspect.

“Zion Clauzen.”

As he diligently encouraged the tired soldiers to return to the relatively safe defensive line, a low,沉声 [deep and resonant] voice stopped him.

“Marquis Volko.”

“We could have won decisively if we had pushed through just now.

But why did you let the enemies go?

Although the enemies retreated on their own, it is still our victory, but it is only half a victory.

It cannot be called a complete victory.”

“Well…

Marquis, for me, a perfect victory is maintaining a state where our allies can always rise again and fight the enemies, rather than spilling a lot of blood to eliminate all the enemies.”

“…If we had fought more, our allies would have suffered much greater damage?”

“Even a cornered mouse will bite a cat.”

The more the zealots of the Holy Prussen were cornered, the more intense their fanaticism would become.

If it turned into a ‘you die, I die’ situation, casualties would be inevitable even if the encirclement was perfectly completed.

They hadn’t brought all 20,000 troops, so it might be seen as an acceptable loss, but Zion always recognized that the real threat was not the regular soldiers in front of them, but the zealots hiding in every corner, waiting for the chance to ambush.

Furthermore, if they all chose to die fighting, it would mean annihilating over 7,000 enemies, but it would also leave a very good ‘tale’ for the remaining enemies and the zealots scattered everywhere.

‘Our Light’s Army fought to the end against the heretics and died honorably.

Their glorious death will shine forever, so let’s all fight to the end like them and die for the light!

Like that.’

Why would such a thing be passed down as a tale of glory?

Because there were no survivors, so there was not a single survivor to tell the real story.

Zion thought that the greatest tragedy of death could be turned into a tale of glory simply because the person involved was not there.

Therefore, instead of allowing the enemies to meet an honorable death, he poured cold water on that solemn atmosphere and allowed them to return alive.

And it would be remembered like this.

The so-called Light’s Army was pushed back by the momentum of those they called sinners, gave up resistance, and simply chose to return alive.

“And just now, a report came in.”

“…A report?”

“Yes.

The enemy reinforcements are coming from the south and behind them.”

“Enemy reinforcements?

How far have they come?”

“They said two hours away earlier, so they must be halfway here by now.”

At Zion’s words, Marquis Volko looked at him with a rather bewildered expression.

That was because Marquis Volko was busy commanding the infantry in the center, and Zion was in charge of the overall battle, so all reconnaissance reports went to him.

If he had received a report that enemies were coming, he should have informed his allies and retreated, but Zion had not informed even the commanders, let alone his own soldiers, of such an important fact.

Even the commander-in-chief was only being told now!

“I am the one in charge of the overall command in this battle.”

Just as Marquis Volko was about to say something about that.

Zion opened his mouth with a relaxed smile, yet with a strangely firm face.

“The commander personally entrusted me with this task, so I hope you remember that.

And since I am in charge of all command, there is no problem with me, who is in charge of command, judging and executing the part of delivering reconnaissance reports.

Isn’t that right?”

“…That’s right.”

“If such news were to be delivered in the midst of battle, the atmosphere would naturally become strange, and if the enemies did not miss that and rushed in, it would surely be harmful.

Even if we were to deal with all those enemies, our allies would have to endure enormous damage, and if we were caught up by the enemy reinforcements afterward, it could lead to the worst situation.”

“So you deliberately didn’t inform them and instead took the initiative to make the enemies retreat on their own, is that it?”

“That’s right.

And there is also a reason why I don’t want the enemy reinforcements to follow us.”

If they annihilated the enemies and returned, the arriving Celestials and the Holy Prussen army might grind their teeth and try to catch them from behind.

But if they just let the enemies go, the law of the battlefield was that they would have no choice but to spend time regrouping and reorganizing them.

“…”

After hearing all the circumstances from Zion, Marquis Volko stared at Zion silently for a moment.

If he got angry, there was no choice but to accept it, but Zion had no regrets about his decision and actions.

He was convinced that this was the best course of action, and he could say with certainty that if he had used another method, he would still be fighting the enemies.

“Really, why didn’t you just take the commander’s position then?”

After a while, Marquis Volko muttered as he got on his horse.

He grumbled, but there was no hint of rebuke in his voice, and more than anything, seeing him with a faint but clear smile, it seemed that he was not greatly dissatisfied with Zion’s decision.

“Wouldn’t I have to do that later even if I didn’t want to?

I hope you will bear with the grumbling of a young man who doesn’t want to face that later just yet.”

“My son secretly hopes that his time will come soon.

Anyway, you’re a really strange guy.

Do you know that?”

“I know.”

“What about Lichten?”

“I think you should go and ask him directly.”

At Zion’s glibness, Marquis Volko shook his head as if he had lost, and after saying that he would be under his command until he returned to the defensive line, he went to encourage the soldiers, telling them not to let their guard down until the end.

Immediately after that, Ludwig approached, apparently having deliberately avoided the spot so as not to disturb the conversation between his father, Marquis Volko, and Zion.

“You’ve worked hard, Young Master Ludwig.”

“So have you, Vice Commander.

I didn’t expect you to make the enemies retreat so easily.

Everyone was in the mood to bury their bones on the battlefield.”

“It’s just that our Hispaña soldiers pushed them so well that I just stuck a wedge in that crack.

All the credit goes to them.

And Ludwig, it’s what you did.”

At the sudden praise, Ludwig looked at Zion reflexively, saying, “Huh?”

He apparently hadn’t expected that he would praise him so directly in front of him.

“If you hadn’t driven out the enemy knights and cavalry, the battle would have dragged on.

Marquis Volko still seems a little worried about you, but you can now be said to be a knight who will truly lead the future of the kingdom.”

“…I’m still far off.”

“Yes, you’re still far off.

So don’t let your guard down.

Because the moment you do, you’ll go straight to hell.

Do you understand, Young Master Ludwig Redenen?”

At Zion’s words, Ludwig smiled similarly to Marquis Volko and answered that he understood.

At first, he was quite obnoxious and had a subtly slippery side, but after coming to his senses and receiving appropriate stimulation, he was becoming a person worthy of the Redenen Marquis family name.

‘He’s different from Zion Clauzen, who was a complete idiot until the end.’

So, Ludwig Redenen, who resisted to the end by sacrificing his own body without hesitation when Hispaña was driven to the brink.

Zion, unlike in the novel, was thinking of keeping him alive until the end and firmly seating him as the next head of the Redenen Marquis family.

The Clauzen March had a lot of authority, but it was possible because it maintained a good relationship with the country’s prestigious families, such as the Three Marquis families.

Zion was going to go beyond that and have a close relationship so that no restraining force would dare to pick a fight with Clauzen until he died.

After achieving ‘victory,’ the armies of Hispaña and Nudia safely arrived at the defensive line.

By chance, Ive had arrived there to boost the morale of the soldiers, and upon hearing the news of the victory of Hispaña and her own soldiers, she, like the others, showed a very fortunate and welcome reaction.

She was a woman who knew very well that if you caught them off guard and scored an effective hit in the midst of being busy with defense every time, the effect would be twice as great as at other times.

“You’ve really worked hard, Zion Clauzen.

I was worried that our soldiers might be wary of Hispaña, so I followed right away, but to think you would attack as soon as I arrived.”

“It’s hard to say this myself, but it was all planned.”

“Yes, I know.

You didn’t lead all your troops, but left half of them on the defensive line to prepare for the worst, and you also took the northern warriors separately to scour the surroundings.

Anyway, for the first time in a long time.

His Majesty the King, who rarely hears good news, will be pleased too.

If things go well, he might reverse his decision to leave and just stay in the royal castle…”

“That won’t do.”

At Zion’s immediate interjection, Ive blinked her eyes and said.

He had broken the enemy’s momentum and inflicted great damage, so their advance would definitely be slowed down, but why was he suddenly doing that?

‘He still doesn’t know the terror of the Top-ranked Celestials.

You absolutely can’t think of it as just Kim Yoo-hyun playing around a little while ago.’

Kim Yoo-hyun, who was facing the Nudia army alone (to be exact, Ekaterina was there, but she was stopped several times by Kim Yoo-hyun, telling her to have mercy), only wielded his sword at the time.

He faced thousands of soldiers with almost no mana and almost only physical abilities.

But in this war, there would be no enemies who would show such mercy anymore.

He had kicked the mouths of those who were arrogant and complacent in their beliefs.

So far, so good, but if that pigeon was not only as big as a broiler but also had the temper of a ferocious Angry Bird or worse, that would be a problem in its own right.

‘We were on a winning streak, but we were hit pretty hard by an unexpected counterattack, so they must be very angry.

If we just face the attacks that are flying in with all their might because they feel good there, all our bones will be broken.’

The reason why Zion ordered the march so urgently and immediately divided the troops in half to attack was all due to such considerations.

First, he hits them hard once to break their momentum.

After that, he doesn’t block the enemy’s attacks, which have become as poisonous as they can be, and just buys time.

He would abandon the defensive line and even give up the royal castle as he retreated.

In the meantime, the demons would target the rear again, and when the Top-ranked Celestials were torn apart to protect the sanctuary and the distance between them was quite far, he would mobilize all his forces to push them back in one fell swoop.

Minimizing the damage on his side and maximizing the impact on the enemy.

That was the best picture Zion wanted.

“Ive Gi Restion.

Do all the commanders of Nudia currently follow your orders?”

“I received military authority from His Majesty the King, so I suppose they do.”

“Don’t say ‘I suppose.’

Please answer clearly.”

“…Since I received military authority, if they don’t follow my orders, it will be considered a violation of the royal command and they can be executed immediately.

Is that enough of an answer?”

“That’s enough.”

As Zion nodded, Ive stared at him with a strange look.

She was silently asking why he was suddenly asking such a question, especially at this timing.

The answer that came from Zion’s mouth was shocking to both her and Nudia.

“What, what did you say?”

“We have to abandon the defensive line.

We have to retreat as is and move to the western defensive line that we set up.”

“What suddenly!

Are you testing me again by any chance?”

“I’m not that free.”

“Then it’s even stranger!

Someone who has come back victorious is suddenly talking about retreating.

He’s even saying that we should abandon this defensive line.

Do you know how many soldiers have lost their lives and been injured to defend this place?”

From Ive’s point of view, it was a ridiculous and frustrating thing to say.

They had been pushed back little by little until they were pushed back to this point, but the warriors of Nudia were stubbornly defending this place.

The army of the Holy Prussen, the fairies, and the zealots who kept bothering them.

Decisively, even the Celestials, who appeared every now and then and dropped their morale.

Ive was really going crazy because Zion Clauzen, who was not someone else, but a war hero she thought she could trust and rely on a little, was saying such things, even while enduring enormous bleeding against all those enemies.

“You don’t think I wouldn’t know that, do you, Ive.”

“…”

“I know the importance of this defensive line very well.

If we give up here, there will be a perfect entrance route to the central region, and there will be no suitable terrain or gate to stop the enemies until we reach the royal castle.”

“Why is someone who knows that…”

“So the enemy will come rushing here with even more tremendous preparations.

They were caught off guard and badly beaten today, so they will be sharpening their knives in their hearts and bracing themselves.

If we just face the approaching typhoon head-on, if we just stand in front of the approaching waves, our bodies will not be able to withstand it before we can even overcome it.”

“The enemy will attack even more strongly than they have so far?”

“More strongly than any offensive Nudia has ever received.

I’m sure of it.

They will definitely do that.”