Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 110

“Just like we thought,” said Patrick, leaning back in his chair. “The Pereta family has asked to become a vassal family.”

Dwaine frowned. “We can’t go after Percival or Loopman yet, can we?” he asked Logan.

“Not yet,” Logan replied, shaking his head slightly. “They are outside our lands for now. And those men are already with the Second Prince – supporters of his in this civil war. They sent their main troops out early, as soon as the fighting began. It’s too risky for us to interfere right now.”

“Alright,” Dwaine sighed. “We’ll have to be happy with this for now.”

Logan nodded, but inside, he was already planning more. He wasn’t going to just take taxes from the Pereta family, who had once been his enemy. He wanted more than that.

‘I’ll slowly weaken them,’ Logan thought, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘Like a plant without water. Until all their power is mine.’ He imagined the Pereta family becoming weaker and weaker, and felt a surge of satisfaction.

“This is already a great achievement. The previous lords will also be pleased.”

“Maybe not. They might be cheering us on to do more, saying it’s still not enough.”

Patrick’s dry joke momentarily chilled the air, but the lord’s office felt warm, like a cozy fire on a cold day, a welcome change after the tension of war.

There were still unresolved problems, but they were matters for the future.

All immediate threats had disappeared.

“It’s time to have the party we’ve been putting off,” Logan announced.

Everyone laughed at Logan’s words, a sound that bounced off the stone walls of the office, full of relief and joy. It was the sound of men who had faced danger and come out victorious.

The war was over.

With the civil war raging and the whole country in turmoil, it couldn’t be said officially.

So, it was a rumor that spread as an open secret: McLain would no longer wage war.

And as if to prove that rumor, Logan gave a lot of money to the knights and soldiers, held banquets for the participating soldiers, and allowed them to take plenty of rest.

Morale was high because of the recent victory, but the troops were not in good shape.

There were hardly any casualties when occupying Bifrost Castle, but the sacrifices were too great when occupying Tomodo Castle before that.

The difference was even more evident when compared numerically:

Out of 152 knights, 54 died and 98 survived.

Out of 1,000 crossbow cavalry, 289 died and 711 survived.

Out of 1,532 infantry, 655 died and 877 survived.

Moreover, the most effective way McLain had been expanding his forces until now, the conversion of captured knights, was impossible.

Few knights surrendered at Tomodo Castle. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t easily join Logan. Their old lord was still alive, and they would be called traitors if they switched sides.

Of course, before that, they were sent to Roger Bifrost to show he wasn’t a threat to the Second Prince. It was a way to say, ‘See? I’m not trying to take over everything.’

Therefore, it was even more necessary to celebrate the current victory and raise morale as much as possible.

So, Logan prepared a separate party for the knights, who were the main force, in addition to the banquet for the soldiers.

It was a party with tremendous gifts prepared.

“Sir Heinkel, come forward,” Logan announced.

“Yes, sir!” Heinkel responded.

“To commend you for leading the Knights and leading the war to victory, I give you a reward of 1 million gold and land of equal value.”

Everyone watching gasped.

Not only was the reward a huge amount of money compared to the past, but also land.

He was sharing the profits gained from occupying the wealthy earldom generously with his subordinates.

‘It would have been better if the artifact warehouse was intact,’ Logan thought.

Whether the Bifrost forces had taken the twenty or so artifacts or not, there was not even a trace left.

That was a little disappointing, but Logan smiled and applauded.

“The Young Master plundered the warehouse here completely,” someone whispered.

“Then, what about us?” another asked.

“Hey, but it’s different from the commander level,” a third voice pointed out.

The knights said so, but they still had some hope.

That expectation was fulfilled before long.

It was not the same as what Heinkel received, but all the knights received a reward of at least 100,000 gold.

All the knights were happy, but Eileen was particularly pleased with the reward.

“Are you that happy?” Logan asked. “It’s not like the Floyd family doesn’t have money, right?”

“It’s the first money I’ve ever earned! And such a large amount at that…” Eileen exclaimed.

“Ah…” Logan responded.

“There are no opportunities for a woman to earn this kind of money in this country. Just this alone makes me feel like my dream has come true a little,” Eileen said, her eyes shining with happiness, brighter than the gold coins she had just received. For her, this wasn’t just money; it was proof that she could achieve something on her own, in a world that often told women they couldn’t.

Logan could only smile silently and pat Eileen on the shoulder at her tearful appearance.

But the biggest reward in this reward feast was not for the knights.

“To the Golem Magic Tower, which made the greatest contribution in the Tomodo siege, we hereby transfer the Golem Magic Tower site within the current McLain Town to the Magic Tower forever, stipulating that taxes will not be levied, and we will give a prize of 10 million gold as a reward,” Patrick announced.

No sooner had Patrick finished speaking than Clayton knelt down on the spot.

“T, thank you,” Clayton stammered. “From now on, the disciples of the Golem Magic Tower will work hard for McLain until their bones turn to dust.”

Clayton was so moved that he laughed off even the joke of the chief disciple, Grik, about why he was arbitrarily grinding down the bones of the disciples.

Support funds of 10 million gold per year and a reward of the same amount.

The incompetent Magic Tower Elder, who was always short on money and turned his disciples into manual laborers, was no more.

‘He has become a respectable magician who provides labor while receiving overflowing compensation as the owner of a proper magic tower… Ah, no. He has become a magician,’ Logan mused.

Something felt uneasy, but anyway, Clayton’s mood was the best.

“And to the families of all the soldiers who died, we promise compensation that is twice as much as that of the survivors,” Patrick declared.

The lord, Patrick’s last declaration, brought the atmosphere around him to its peak.

Thus, the party that day continued all night long.

The participants praised Logan and the McLain family every time they took a drink, without exception.

“Long live McLain!”

“I will be loyal for life!”

“Loyalty to the eternally burning flame!”

The morale of the McLain forces soared to the highest point it could not rise any further at that moment.

And Logan thought, ‘It feels so good to take credit with someone else’s stuff.’

He raised a glass for the original owner who was not present at this place, in front of Bifrost’s looted treasure warehouse.

That warm and friendly time did not last long.

Logan once again ordered the recruitment of soldiers.

The five castles of Bifrost, and Tesron, Silvan, McLain Castle, and McLain Town were all targeted for this massive recruitment across the entire McLain territory.

“First, 2,000… you said?” one administrator asked.

“Then you mean you will recruit more later… Hehe,” another added.

“More than 200 people from each of the nine castles…” a third murmured.

“It feels like the finances will be drained quickly…” a fourth worried.

“Come on, what are you spacing out for? If the Young Master tells you to do it, just do it! We have administrators replenished now anyway!” Dwaine roared, silencing the administrators’ complaints.

Fortunately, unlike Silvan or Tesron, there were not many administrators in Bifrost who exploited the people’s livelihood.

Logan now controlled Bipros, Tomodo, and McLaine Castle and Town, which was the McLaine family’s original home. People could be sent to other castles as well, so they had enough helpers even with the increased number of castles.

Because Dwayne was in charge of everything, his orders were absolute for the administrators of the conquered lands. He decided their jobs and lives.

However…

“Still, aren’t these tests a bit strange, Dwayne?” someone asked.

“That’s right! A touch test? What does that have to do with being a soldier?” another added.

“And the way it’s done is so weird… This is really…” a third person chimed in.

Anyone thinking clearly would ask questions.

However…

“Just do it!” Dwayne shouted. “Our young lord is special! Just do what you’re told, and everything will be great!”

Dwayne, the finance manager, wouldn’t let anyone question Lord Logan’s orders. His eyes shone with a crazy intensity.

Finally, the announcement, strongly supported by Dwayne, was posted in all nine of McLaine’s territories.

But the people weren’t as excited as Logan had hoped.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to be a soldier?” one person wondered. “The kingdom is in chaos. There’s war everywhere…”

“That’s right. The country is a mess,” another agreed.

“Still, wouldn’t our lord’s army be a little different?” someone asked hopefully.

“An army is an army! I can’t let my precious child get caught up in the nobles’ fighting and die,” a worried parent exclaimed.

The wars throughout the kingdom were causing fear, and rumors were spreading.

Even though they lowered the age to 15, not enough men applied to be soldiers.

Strangely, McLaine Town, where Logan had worked the hardest, had the fewest applicants.

They barely had enough people, making it hard to choose the best through the tests.

To make things worse, there was a strange reason for this.

“Did the people in the territories talk and force others to join because they thought I’d be angry?” Logan asked, surprised. “Just to meet the quota?”

“…Not everyone, but it seems some are doing that,” someone replied.

“Ha… This is…” Logan was speechless.

He realized that people cared more about staying safe than about the small chance of becoming important as a soldier. He couldn’t help but laugh sadly.

Logan was angry at first. He used to be a fighter who risked his life for big ideas. But now, he didn’t understand how normal people in his lands thought.

The situation was similar in the five territories of Bipros, where taxes were low and life was peaceful.

But, surprisingly, Silvan Castle had five times more applicants than needed. The people there had suffered under a cruel ruler and were now willing to take a chance for a better life under McLaine.

Nearly 3,000 people were tested, even though they only wanted 2,000. But the tests didn’t go well.

Logan’s new soldier test had two parts.

First, wooden blocks were hung around each person, like clumsy necklaces. The examiner picked up a block. *Whack!* It flew through the air, aimed at the person’s head. They had to dodge without seeing it coming. This tested their sixth sense.

Even though the blocks didn’t hurt much, some people didn’t even try to dodge and got hit.

“Hey! Are you even gonna try to move? Why did you even sign up then?!” the examiner yelled, frustrated.

The second test was even worse.

Experienced knights used wooden swords. The test was to see if people could sense danger and choose the less dangerous sword. This tested their survival instincts. But many people didn’t take it seriously.

Of course, it must have been scary, but many just closed their eyes and didn’t even try to look.

After 10 days of testing, they only found about 1,000 suitable soldiers, far fewer than expected.

This was even after they lowered the standards.

“A thousand people, even after lowering the standards?” Logan asked, surprised. “Is that all?”

“The number of people who passed that strange test isn’t the main problem right now…” someone said.

“Ahem. Sorry,” another person said. “The report says that more than half of the applicants from Bipros territory and McLaine Town didn’t seem to want to be there at all.”

“Ha…” Logan sighed.

This was a bigger problem than it seemed.

The test wasn’t just to find soldiers for the current trouble. It was to find future knights who could defend against the empire.

But with so little interest…

‘This is difficult… Should I stop it for now?’ Logan wondered.

He could choose soldiers quickly and use them to stop the chaos, then teach new standards later. But that would take at least one or two years.

With only seven years until the war with the empire, those one or two years could decide whether they had thousands of knights or not.

“…I have to do it right from the start,” Logan thought.

Even if he forced them to train, those who didn’t want to be there wouldn’t last. He was in a difficult situation.

But then…

“Why are you so worried?” Dwayne asked. “There’s an easy way.”

“What?”

Dwayne smirked and said, “Give them money. A thousand gold coins to those who pass the soldier test. Families will rush to sign up their sons.”

A thousand gold coins was enough to change their lives.

“Ah…” Logan said, surprised.

“Even if 2,000 people join, it will only cost 2 million gold,” Dwayne said. “That’s nothing for our territory now.”

‘Two million gold is nothing… I can’t believe I’m saying that,’ Logan thought.

‘It’s good to be alive,’ he mused.

Dwayne was practically dancing with excitement.

“Will that work?” Logan asked.

“Yes? What do you mean?” Dwayne replied.

“I’m asking if people who say it’s too dangerous to join will change their minds just for money,” Logan clarified.

“Heh heh,” Dwayne chuckled. “Didn’t I tell you? Money can solve anything.”

“No. Still, that’s…” Logan hesitated.

“I’m telling you again, Dwayne said sincerely. “Remember this.”

“What…?”

“The only reason money can’t solve something is if you don’t have enough money! That’s the truth! A truth more real than any holy book!” Dwayne declared.

“…” Logan nodded, overwhelmed by Dwayne’s passion, but he didn’t really believe it.

Until a week later, when he heard that 2,000 more recruits had passed the standards.