Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 366

366

Retreating One Step for Victory

Even before King Saradin of Nudia decided to abandon the capital, refugees from all over Nudia were already heading west through the central regions.

Among the refugee groups were those who believed in the Doctrine of Light, those who were indifferent, and even those who didn’t believe at all.

Their desire was simply to be content with their current lives and maintain them until death, rather than anything to do with the will or tasks of the Light. Therefore, fleeing from the great fire of war was only natural.

Initially, they thought the west would be safe enough.

Although Nudia had recently been defeated in battles with Hispania and pushed back to its mainland, it had happened occasionally in the past, and they had later signed peace treaties. They believed Hispania wouldn’t attack further, so the west would be sufficiently safe.

However, as time passed, all they heard were news of Nudia’s defeat and the Holy Prussen’s victory.

In addition, they gradually heard terrifying news about the fanatical executions of those who resisted and did not follow the Doctrine of Light.

“Is the west really safe?”

“I heard that the County of Basura is already struggling greatly due to the war with Hispania…”

“They say it’s a place where they can barely take care of their own territory’s people, let alone people like us.”

“Will we really be safe if we go to the west?

I’m worried that we’ll just be running and running until we’re cornered on a cliff.”

“It’s dangerous here too.

I met a relative who lived in the royal castle a while ago, and they said the defense lines are constantly being breached.

It seems His Majesty is also abandoning the palace and coming here.”

“What?

Then that means the enemies will eventually come to the west!”

The refugees were sharing news and falling into increasing chaos.

The biggest reasons were the news brought by the new people constantly flocking to the west and the fear of war, but one other reason was making them uneasy.

—The west will soon fall.

—We must flee to Hispania.

—It’s safe there, we can be at ease there.

—Hispania has declared itself the Light, so it will not abandon us.

Rumors of this kind were spreading secretly, and the refugees whispered among themselves.

When they came to the west, they thought it would be a reliable and strong place as it was the border area between Hispania and Nudia, but it seemed even weaker.

It was inevitable, as it was directly hit by the aftermath of the war with Hispania, and before it could even recover, it was attacked by the Holy Prussen.

Worries that the enemies would break through the current defense lines even more easily if they attacked started to spread like wildfire among the refugees.

And that fire was burning even more intensely, fueled by the rumor that they could only survive by leaving Nudia and going to Hispania.

“We can survive if we go to Hispania!”

“It’s the newly rising sun, a nation that easily defeated even our Nudian army!”

“It’s not safe here.

Let’s go to Hispania!

We must live!”

Such words were fatal amidst the war-induced turmoil.

Eventually, those who had gathered in western Nudia began to eye each other warily, and in the dead of night or at dawn, they crossed Nudia’s territory and approached the border.

Believing in the peace treaty that Hispania and Nudia had promised, they thought that even if they were caught by Hispanian soldiers, they wouldn’t harm refugees who had no weapons.

“How is it going?”

“Foolishly, most of them nodded without much hesitation.”

“That’s the limit of the ignorant.

If they had just followed the Light, they could have lived their usual lives and focused on their daily routines.”

The ones who spread the strange rumors among the refugees gathered in secret places every night to have confidential talks.

They were discussing how many refugees were flocking to western Nudia and how anxious they were, trying to figure out how to make them leave this place and push into Hispania.

“How far have the forces of Light advanced?”

“We can’t know exactly.

We’re deliberately cutting off contact with them so that the refugees don’t notice anything strange.”

“We trust them and just need to complete our tasks.

Let’s not doubt and just believe.

They will accomplish their tasks admirably.”

“That’s right.

Furthermore, aren’t we in charge of the important task of bringing ‘them’ into Hispania without raising any suspicion?”

At someone’s words, those gathered nodded in unison, expressing their agreement.

The work done by the forces of Light, who are directly fighting against heretics and sinners in Nudia and Hispania, is certainly honorable and important.

But they firmly believed that their work was just as important.

If they were carrying out the task of directly judging sinners in the front, they were preventing those sinners from fighting back and causing them to regret their sins and drive the blades and spears of punishment into those who did not follow the Light.

“If they cross the border and penetrate into Hispania without much difficulty, and into its heart, they will be able to stab the arrogant sinners of Hispania, who dare to babble about light and justice without knowing anything and rebel against us.”

“Of course, of course.

I wonder how long those who have lost their heart and head can resist our sacred will!

Hahaha!”

They were laughing and talking as if they had already won.

Even if news had been delivered that the Holy Prussen army had been defeated in Nudia’s land, they probably wouldn’t have been too worried.

From now on, their job was to make sure that the enemy’s completely empty house,

Those who were so focused on external threats that they didn’t notice the sharp pieces of metal circulating in their blood vessels would lose their lives.

“Captain, there are more refugees over there!”

“Damn it, this is driving me crazy!”

Meanwhile, the scouts belonging to Klauzen [a region in Hispania] were on the verge of going insane.

Even though they were already on edge because refugees were slowly gathering, the number of people who kept gathering near the border and entering Hispania’s territory at night or dawn was increasing day by day.

As a result, they had to go out on patrol at night, and of course, going out at night was several times more tiring and difficult for both the rider and the horse than going out during the day.

It seemed that more and more refugees would gather in the future, and the scouts’ stamina was already becoming a problem, so they couldn’t help but feel troubled.

“Captain.

What on earth should we do with them?

Sending them back or holding them near the border like this is only a temporary solution, isn’t it?”

“Do you think I don’t know that!

But there’s nothing we can do.

They are people of Nudia, a place that has signed a peace treaty with our Hispania, and also people of the country that Duke Volko Ledenen and the heir of our Margrave Klauzen, Lord Zion Klauzen, and many other nobles went to help with over 20,000 soldiers.

It’s only natural that we can’t treat them carelessly.”

Even though they were refugees who had left their hometowns and come all the way here, they were still people of Nudia.

They were people that Hispania couldn’t treat carelessly. If they used force and strange rumors spread, the already chaotic western Nudia could instantly turn into a fierce state.

‘For that reason, both the Knight Commander of the Lion Knights and Margrave Lichten have issued strict orders not to treat them carelessly.

They said that unless they directly harm our Hispanian side first, we should never harm them first, no matter what happens.’

In this situation, the two men always emphasized that they had to be careful about everything.

In particular, there would surely be those who would sow discord between Hispania and Nudia among the innocent and pitiful refugees, and try to pour the energy of chaos into that gap, so they told them to always be on guard so as not to give them any unnecessary excuses.

What was more frightening than anything else in the world was public sentiment, and the rumors and stories created from people’s mouths and tongues.

The moment powerless refugees suddenly turned into bandits, it could lead to not only the disruption of the supply lines to the Hispanian army fighting in Nudia’s land, but also the immediate danger to the Nudian royal family.

“Everyone, stop!

Stop!

This is Hispanian territory from here.

You cannot enter any further!”

The scouts belonging to Klauzen stopped a group of refugees who were trying to cross the border again and shouted in a stern voice.

However, instead of running away or looking scared when they met the cavalry, they greeted them with happy faces and said.

“Please save us!

I heard Hispania is safe.

Please, if you can’t, at least take the children!”

“Please accept us.

Please!

Isn’t it good to have more territory residents?

We’ll do anything if we can just be safe.

We were chased all the way here from the south to avoid the Holy Prussen army and the fanatics of the Doctrine of Light.

Please!

They say there’s nowhere safe in Nudia.

Please let us go to Hispania!

Please, please!”

“You can’t do this!

We haven’t received a request from Nudia to accept refugees yet, and there might be enemy spies mixed in among the refugees!

Until the official results come out, no one can cross the border!”

“We are not spies!

Absolutely, absolutely not!”

“If you’re suspicious, take the children at least.

We’ll come to pick them up soon!

Please!”

The refugees’ sad stories had already been heard countless times.

There was no way to know if it was real or just made-up nonsense.

But they all seemed desperate, and they were all trying to get into Hispania somehow.

They said it was safe, they could live, they could get away from this war without any worries.

Everyone said the same thing.

“Hoo.”

This time again, the scouts ended up sending the refugees back to Nudia.

It was their job, and it was the best way for Klauzen and the eastern territories, and for all of Hispania, but they couldn’t feel good as people.

“Captain.

What if the Holy Prussen army suddenly rushes in and kills them?”

“It may sound cold, but they are people of Nudia, and we are soldiers of Hispania.

What we have to protect is Hispania and our kingdom’s people who live in that land.

If we accept them right now, we may feel comfortable at that moment, but if they go into Hispania and cause all sorts of disturbances, can we still feel comfortable then?”

“…”

“Don’t say foolish things.

And don’t worry about unnecessary things.

Didn’t Lord Zion go to Nudia with soldiers to prevent such things from happening?”

The gloomy soldiers cheer up a little when Zion’s name is mentioned.

It wasn’t pretense, the trust that Zion Klauzen gave was truly enormous.

“That’s true.”

“Indeed, even the descendants of Light wouldn’t be able to treat Lord Zion carelessly.”

“Of course.

Perhaps he is truly a person sent by God.

Otherwise, how could he have achieved so many accomplishments at such a young age?”

As expected, it was the eloquence of a scout captain with a lot of command experience.

With a few words, he soothed his soldiers and helped them regain their shaken hearts. He pulled on the reins, changed direction, and continued.

“The Lord is fulfilling his duty.

That is, to protect Hispania and Klauzen from all threats and to inform the people of the kingdom of what true light, true good, and true justice are.

In line with that, we must also faithfully fulfill our duties.

What is our duty?”

“To protect the border.”

“Yes.

We are the ones who protect the border.

Even if the other party is unarmed Nudian civilians, no one can cross the border without an official decision.

So let’s be faithful to our duties.

You can have hesitation, but don’t have doubts.

That is the greatest disrespect to the warriors of Hispania who are fighting like crazy in that distant land of Nudia, and to Lord Zion.”

“Yes!”

With a loud answer, the cavalry began to carry out their duties again.

With the thought that even though more refugees would gather in the future, if they worked harder, this seemingly endless task would eventually decrease again.

—

A huge castle located some distance from the border.

It was the seat of the Margrave of Klauzen, the most powerful force in eastern Hispania, fulfilling the duty of the Margrave in charge of the border.

Instead of being the first to face the war between Nudia and Hispania as before, this time it was acting as an intermediate point to help the Hispanian expeditionary force to support Nudia.

The aftermath of the war had not yet directly reached them, but Margrave Lichten, Knight Commander Lion, and the Griffin riders remaining in the territory continued to receive and report reconnaissance reports, and they were realizing that things were getting more and more serious.

“The number of refugees is increasing day by day?”

“Yes.

Not even a day, but dozens of reports are coming in every few hours.

They are all about Nudian refugees trying to cross the border and enter Hispania.”

“…Best.”

“Dickinson’s report is all true.

I’m looking around little by little beyond the border of Hispania, and I can clearly see that people are gathering in western Nudia.

It’s only natural that they can’t accommodate all of them there, so isn’t it obvious where the refugees will end up going?”

Margrave Lichten sighed at the Griffin riders’ report.

Until now, the number of refugees had not been very large, but recently the number had literally started to ‘explode’.

After the number increased so much that it became the daily routine of the Klauzen scouts to stop those who tried to cross the border and enter Hispania almost every day and send them back to Nudia.

Some may ask if it is not the right thing to do from a humanitarian point of view to accept refugees from neighboring countries who have fled the horrors of war, but Margrave Lichten thought that it was the nonsense of stupid people who did not even look after their own country and just looked at that.

They were not going to become loyal territory residents as soon as they entered Hispania, and since they were people who had come from other countries, it was obvious that they would cause friction with the people of Hispania who originally lived there.

And it was certain that the friction would never develop in a beneficial direction.

‘Even though we have officially established peaceful relations and sent support troops, animosity and vigilance towards each other will still remain deeply in people’s hearts.

Especially among our eastern people.

In such a situation, isn’t it obvious what will happen if refugees flock in?’

There is a high probability that if the people of Hispania and the refugees of Nudia show a bad relationship with each other and eventually fight, it will quickly turn into an emotional fight.

Even if that was the only problem?

It would be great if they were all refugees, but it is impossible to know how many enemies are hiding their identities inside.

There may be spies, as well as those who are trying to issue orders to the followers of Light who are still remaining inside Hispania, or there may be enemies hiding with the purpose of attacking Hispania themselves.

Even if they mobilize a huge number of soldiers to identify them after the border is opened, there will eventually be places that are breached.

It is several times easier to find a gap and enter than to find a gap and block it.

“Did the royal family say they were discussing the refugee issue, Knight Commander?”

“Yes.

The Nudian royal family contacted the Hispanian royal family before abandoning the capital.

They asked if it would be possible to accept even some of the refugees.

They said that it would be very dangerous if western Nudia became saturated, so wouldn’t it be better to move at least a small number to Hispania?”

“…Her Majesty must be having a headache too.

If they accept them, they will be worried about the people of the Kingdom of Hispania and the future political situation of the Kingdom, and if they refuse, they will have to start with the issue of the Nudian royal family’s pride, and if they continue to block the refugees, it will eventually explode and lead to even worse results.”

It’s really a headache, Margrave Lichten muttered and gave an order.

Until the order is issued, they should strengthen the border and prevent refugees from entering Hispania as they have been doing so far.

However, a few days later, an order was issued from the Hispanian royal family.

Not all of them, but they should gradually bring refugees into Hispanian territory little by little.

However, after thoroughly inspecting them and as soon as they enter Hispania, they will not scatter, but will stay in a designated place and decide whether to move them further inland or send them back to Nudia depending on the situation.

There were opinions that it was a very dangerous decision, but Queen Vanessa made the decision after careful consideration.

If they kept blocking them and couldn’t reach a conclusion until the enemies rushed in, she thought about the possibility that they would all turn into enemies and rush into Hispanian territory like a flood.

In war, the most important thing is to eliminate everything that could benefit the enemy and use what could work to your advantage.

Vanesa thought about that part and decided to accept some of the Nudian refugees, even though there was a slight risk.

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

Recommendations are always a great help···!

I like pre-orders, comments, and coupons, but I still like recommendations the most ㅠㅠ