Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 21

The Lord’s voice echoed in the large hall. “Surely,” he said, his eyes sharp, “someone in that mercenary group knows how to lead?”

Logan hesitated for a moment. “Yes, there is,” he replied, “but I started this company. So, I…”

Lord Patrick slammed his hand on the table, making the vassals jump. “You are my eldest son! Do you really want to fight alongside common mercenaries? Do you want to win glory that our enemies will take credit for?!”

Many of those listening nodded at the Lord’s rebuke. Their expressions clearly showed what they thought of the mercenary company.

But Logan did not back down.

“I’m not that important in the Knights,” Logan stated. “It would be more beneficial to the overall forces if I moved separately with the mercenary company.”

“What?!”

From the start, Logan had planned to operate with the mercenary company in the territory war.

The repeating crossbow was perfectly made, and joining the Knights—a measure taken for the worst-case scenario—was no longer a consideration. His continued participation in the Knights’ training had only been for his own development and to consider the future after the territory war.

‘Father will command the Knights anyway. It’s better for me to move with the mercenary company. At least those fellows will pretend to die if I tell them to,’ Logan thought.

From Logan’s perspective, it was the most rational decision, but naturally, Patrick did not see it that way.

“Have you considered the negative impact it would have on our allies if you were captured or killed while moving with the mercenary company?!” Patrick questioned.

“That will not happen,” Logan replied confidently.

“Do you think war is child’s play?” Patrick roared. “Do you think the lowly mercenaries you trained are an invincible force? Or are you so foolish that you cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy?!” His anger was obvious in his last words.

Patrick thought his immature son was failing to grasp reality and was only asserting his own opinions even in an emergency.

But the things that would frustrate him were only just beginning.

“I am neither foolish nor ignorant of reality,” Logan stated calmly. “I am simply finding the place where I should be, the place where I can exert the most strength.”

“And that is merely your toy soldier brigade?” Patrick sneered.

“My mercenaries were not playing with toy soldiers!” Logan retorted. “I will prove it by achieving successes in this war.”

Logan met his father’s angry gaze, his own eyes steady and firm. To Patrick, it just seemed like a tantrum, which only fueled his anger further.

“…If you insist on doing so, from this moment on, I will not consider you my son,” Patrick declared. “Even if you are captured in this war, or even if you die in battle, I will treat you as someone unrelated to our family. Is that alright with you?”

The vassals gathered were astonished and widened their eyes at Patrick’s extreme statement.

But the Grand Heir’s answer was even more surprising.

“You may do so,” Logan replied without hesitation.

“…Are you trying to make me angry right now?!” Patrick shouted, his face turning red. “What on earth are you thinking! Do you think everything in the world will go your way! Are you really that thoughtless!”

“Fine. Do as you please,” Patrick said, trying to control his anger. “But do not forget my words. In this war, you should not expect to be treated as a direct member of the family!”

“I will certainly achieve successes,” Logan affirmed.

“Ugh! Honestly…” Patrick muttered, shaking his head.

Perhaps because of the crisis situation, Patrick was even more unable to control his emotions than usual, but unfortunately, Logan was not the only one shaking Patrick’s composure.

“L, Lord! It’s an emergency!” a servant announced, bursting through the door. Even though they were in a family meeting, the servant’s urgent tone conveyed the gravity of the situation.

Even though there could be no greater emergency than a state of war, the news the servant brought was truly disconcerting.

“The Kairos family has informed us that they will not be providing military support!” the servant exclaimed. “They say the timing is not right, and there are issues with cash flow…”

At those words, the vassals’ gazes all turned to Merian.

Instantly, Merian’s mind went blank, and she stammered, offering excuses. “Th, there must be some mistake. That can’t be!”

She raised her voice as if she couldn’t believe it, but the servant gave a firm confirmation with a hardened face. “Dwayne said that he has confirmed the matter several times.”

At those words, Merian’s complexion turned pale in an instant.

“I, I will check myself!” she exclaimed, standing up abruptly from her seat and hurriedly moving her feet. A familiar bulk entered the hall belatedly, confirming the facts once more with a somber expression.

“There is no need, Madam,” Dwayne said. “It is indeed the Kairos family’s official refusal. At the same time, they have declared that they will cut off financial support to our McLaine as of today.”

Dwayne’s words caused shock beyond mere astonishment.

The issue of financial support, which could become an even bigger problem later on, was not the immediate topic of conversation. However, the fact that the Lord’s in-laws, who had been considered perfect allies, had withdrawn their support in an emergency, and the shocking news that there would be no immediate reinforcements, threw the hall into chaos.

“No! No!” Merian cried out.

“M, Mother. Please calm down,” Ronian pleaded.

“Something is wrong! No, it’s a mistake! It must be a mistake!”

“Mother!”

As Merian ran out of the hall with a pale face, Ronian, who had been staring blankly at her retreating figure, bit his lip tightly and slumped into his seat.

Logan approached his brother and patted him on the shoulder. “It’s alright. Everything will be fine.”

“…Brother,” Ronian said, his voice filled with despair. In a desperate situation, his brother’s words of hope seemed like a comforting bluff, so Ronian could only lower his head further.

That was how great the shock the Kairos family had delivered was.

The other vassals could only murmur with confused faces, unable to step forward rashly, and merely watched the Lord’s face, which was flushed red, and sized up the situation.

In that chaos, only one person calmly organized his thoughts.

‘So, it’s happening again,’ Logan thought.

The Kairos family’s refusal to assist in the territory war had also happened in his previous life. Whether there was some other reason or it was simply drawing a line, considering that Ronian had cut off contact with his maternal family even when he became an Aura User and revived the family later on, it was safe to say that there was almost no chance of this relationship being restored.

Of course, it was meaningless to Logan no matter what happened.

‘With this, my stepmother will not be able to exert the same influence as before. If we win the territory war, there will be no more obstacles within the family,’ Logan mused.

Rather, it felt as if one bothersome obstacle had been removed.

That was why Logan could step forward without hesitation.

“I will leave first to prepare,” Logan announced. “If there are any further instructions, please contact me separately.”

It was a hollow echo that no one responded to, but Logan’s steps as he left the hall were without hesitation.

“War… is it?” Kai asked.

“Yes. You’re not surprised,” Logan replied.

“If a war hadn’t broken out, I would have wanted to start one,” Kai responded.

“What a terrible thing to say…” Logan chuckled.

“Isn’t it natural human psychology to want to use a weapon once you have it?” Kai asked with a grin.

At Kai’s words, the mercenaries standing behind him burst into laughter. Although they were mercenaries accustomed to war, their confidence seemed excessive.

‘But perhaps it’s justified,’ Logan thought, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

The winter before, the monster attacks on McLaine Castle were much weaker than usual.

The family seemed calm about it. Some people said these things just happen sometimes. But Logan knew better.

“Last winter’s monster attacks were bigger than ever,” Logan thought.

And most of the monsters were killed by a mercenary band of only 300 soldiers.

They weren’t just boasting or being proud. They were sure of themselves because they knew they were strong.

“Right then! Let’s teach these Tesron dogs a lesson!” someone shouted.

“Yes, Lord!” the others replied loudly.

The McLaine family was worried because of the sudden war.

Only 314 people among them were sure they would win.

The war started faster than the McLaine family expected.

“Lord Tesron’s soldiers are at the western border! We know Lord Haman Tesron is leading them,” a messenger reported.

“Those enemies are not following the rules…” Patrick said, surprised.

Almost as soon as war was declared, Lord Tesron’s soldiers were already in McLaine territory.

They must have moved as soon as the war was announced, since their main force left Tesron Castle.

And the enemy had more soldiers than anyone thought.

“There are over 100 knights! And over a thousand regular soldiers!”

“There are also almost ten thousand soldiers who were forced to fight! It’s a huge war!”

“What?! Haman has gone completely crazy!” Patrick shouted, shocked by the news.

It wasn’t a war between countries, but a fight over land within the country, using a made-up reason.

But the attackers, not the defenders, were using soldiers who were forced to fight.

In those days, battles were fought mainly by knights, who were almost like magical warriors compared to regular people.

Even if there were many forced soldiers, they could only help win a battle that was already going well, or make a loss last longer.

‘Haman Tesron is desperate to get that ancient McLaine treasure,’ Logan thought, knowing the real reason for the war.

Even Logan thought it was strange, and the McLaine family was already very busy and now even more chaotic.

“Crazy enemies! Ten thousand forced soldiers? Did he take them from the people in his territory?” someone asked.

“A hundred knights?!”

“How did this happen?”

Forced soldiers were one thing, but the enemy’s main force, the knights, had grown a lot.

“Haman has risked everything in his territory,” someone said.

Patrick gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached.

“What’s ready on our side?” he asked.

“We have 53 knights ready.”

“We have 552 regular soldiers ready.”

“It will take about another day to get the forced soldiers ready.”

“Logan’s mercenary band of 314 soldiers is ready.”

Patrick frowned, barely hearing his eldest son’s report in his worry.

‘Why is this happening?’ he wondered.

There was no one stupid enough to start a war just because of old family arguments.

And Patrick knew that the McLaine territory wasn’t worth fighting for.

He was very curious, but with the enemy attacking, the reason didn’t matter.

‘Patrick, you are Lord McLaine. You can’t fall apart now. Think of your family, your people. You have to be strong,’ he told himself.

Patrick stood up straight, trying to stay calm.

His family was not as powerful as it once was, but he was still a lord.

He couldn’t look worried or weak.

“Gather all men who can fight! We will fight with all our strength!” he ordered.

“Yes, Lord!” the others replied.

“We’ll march out as soon as everyone is ready! We’ll crush those enemies who dared to enter our land!”

Even with all the forced soldiers, the McLaine family only had about 5,000 soldiers.

Even without counting the forced soldiers, the enemy had twice as many knights and regular soldiers.

The enemy was much stronger than they thought.

So, Patrick ordered a battle in the open field, not a defense in the castle.

The retainers agreed without question.

‘This was the only way, even if it was dangerous,’ Logan thought grimly.

Logan listened to his father’s orders with a frown.

Fighting in the open, even though they had fewer soldiers, was the only choice.

At that time, the knights were the most important part of the war.

A group of strong knights in armor could destroy anything in their path.

The walls of McLaine Castle were tall and strong, but they couldn’t stop a large group of knights.

It was better to fight in the open where they could gather their forces, than to have a messy battle after the walls were broken.

And the McLaine family had something else to help them.

They had Patrick McLaine, a very strong knight.

He was one of the strongest knights, a level that very few reached.

Even a knight who was only halfway to the top was considered as good as the best knights in most groups.

But Patrick was so strong that he could fight more than ten of those top knights at once.

So, Patrick and his retainers thought that even though the McLaine knights were only half as many as the Tesron knights, they would not lose because they had Patrick leading them.

Territorial wars ended when the real leader, the lord, surrendered or died.

If Patrick captured or killed Haman Tesron, the war would end.

‘…or so they think,’ Logan thought.

Logan smiled sadly, remembering his past life.

It was a war between territories far away from the capital.

Usually, the winner was the one with the strongest fighters, not the one with the smartest plans.

The family’s plans were not very good, but they weren’t completely wrong.

‘If I didn’t know that the family would lose…’

But now, Logan and his mercenary band were there, which was different from his past life.

‘So I’ll change what happens. I must!’

Logan stood to the side, feeling ignored in the busy hall. He clenched his fist, his eyes shining with determination.