Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 270

“Line up!”

The old priest shouted the order. He was the only one wearing pure white robes. The Inquisitors stood before him, all dressed in black robes and steel helmets.

It had been barely a day since they arrived at the royal castle.

Eisel Fabrun refused the king’s invitation to stay longer. He immediately gathered the Inquisitors. He wanted to leave the castle at dawn, as if it was urgent.

‘I need to get proof of this before the king tries any tricks.’

Terrible stories of disrespect to religion had been reported from the McLine local parish.

The main job was to check if the stories were true, write them down, and then tell the church leaders. They also needed to capture some of the ‘forsaken ones’.

Because the matter was serious, the Pope himself had chosen him for the task.

– There is a reliable informant, so confirmation is enough. Don’t take too long. If you mess things up because of your strange behavior….

– Absolutely not, that will never happen. Please believe me, Your Holiness.

Eisel shuddered as he remembered the Pope’s eerie eyes. They seemed to see right through him.

He had become a cardinal faster than Pamiel Gernheim and other former fellow archbishops in this parish.

At first, he was proud that his politics were working well.

But it was just an illusion.

He realized the day after he began his role that his early success was a plot by the Pope. The Pope wanted to put people with weaknesses in high positions and control them until the next Pope.

– If this information becomes public, I will have no choice but to kick you out of the church, Cardinal Eisel.

That was the moment when the cardinal, who was just below the Pope and sometimes had to check the Pope, became the Pope’s dog.

And Eisel was not ashamed of it.

He knew that most of the nine cardinals in the clergy were in a similar situation.

He tried to ignore the Pope’s voice in his head and looked straight ahead again.

“Finish the mission as soon as possible….”

Thud thud thud.

He planned to give a short speech and leave. But as soon as he began to talk, he heard a loud rumbling sound from behind him. He turned around and saw flags with a fierce eagle symbol snapping and cracking in the wind, flying high.

“The Knights?”

Heeheeheeing!

About 700 knights stopped their horses at once under the banner of the Esperanza family. This banner was now the symbol of the McLine royal family’s 2nd Corps.

The middle-aged knight at the front had neatly combed white hair mixed with sparse blond hair. He got off his horse with a faint smile and spoke to Eisel.

“Are you Cardinal Eisel Fabrun?”

He looked like he was in his 50s, but Eisel saw traces of wrinkles that ‘used to be’ there.

It was as if time had been turned back by some force. Unless the knight had received cosmetic treatment from a wizard or priest, it meant one thing.

He had trained the power of life, Force, to its limit and gone beyond normal limits, even turning back time.

“…Aura User?”

The old but young knight smiled at the mumbling and continued.

“My name is Felix Esperanza. I have been told to ‘escort’ the investigation team while you are in the kingdom.”

“Ah… you are the famous Sword Master. But an escort? We didn’t ask for that.”

“It is His Majesty’s kindness. He is very worried that something will happen to important people in a strange land.”

Like hell.

Eisel remembered yesterday’s meeting and thought it was absurd.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of interfering with the temple’s work?”

“Of course not. We are just trying to help with the investigation.”

“We don’t need help. We’ll take care of our own work.”

“Yes, please do so. We will just quietly escort you.”

The two men stared at each other.

“You’re going to follow me even if I tell you not to.”

“This is McLine’s land. Please do not refuse His Majesty’s kindness.”

Eisel looked at the Knights behind the Sword Master with a blank face. Then he nodded slowly, a sad smile on his face, as if he had remembered something.

“Heh…. Well, fine. But keep in mind that if you try anything rash, it may be seen as a challenge to the temple.”

“There’s no way that would happen.”

The Sword Master replied with a mischievous smile.

But inside, he was angry.

– Please, Master. The Inquisitors’ purpose is clear. They are using children like Stella as an excuse….

The Sword Master nodded as soon as he heard his lord’s words.

‘Dare to touch my daughter….’

The sound of ‘Daddy!’ was still vivid in his ears.

His greatest happiness was starting and ending the day with Stella’s smile.

To him, this investigation team was just a group of thugs trying to hurt his precious daughter.

‘No matter what you guys try to do, it won’t work out the way you want it to.’

The Sword Master smiled grimly as he watched Eisel turn away and order the departure.

The awkward companionship between the Inquisitors and the elite knights of the 2nd Corps lasted for three days. They didn’t exchange a single word during the journey to the Laphtan Territory.

They completely ignored each other.

That changed when they arrived at the Laphtan Territory.

After the plague, the Laphtan Territory had changed a lot. Eric Laphtan, the lord, was removed, and his cousin, Tenon Laphtan, became the new lord.

The new lord showed kindness to cover up the terrible things his cousin had done. He lowered the tax to 20%, which was a great help to the people who were still suffering from the plague.

Another change was the unique way they conducted self-governing training.

“He’s running that way! Catch him!”

“He’s already been hit once! Surround him!”

“Just a little bit more!”

People were chasing a deer that was limping from an arrow wound.

The deer realized it was trapped and hesitated. Then, the crossbows fired quickly.

Tap tap tap.

Squeal!

The deer cried and fell. Its eyes quickly lost their light. The men smiled.

“Caught him!”

“Nice!”

“Come on! Let’s drink it while it’s fresh!”

Let’s drink it.

People from other regions would have been confused by that, but the men didn’t object. They took out gourds or brass bowls from their pockets as if they had been waiting.

“Come on, everyone!”

One of the men cut the deer’s artery with a dagger. The men held out their bowls and drank the blood.

“Ugh. I can’t get used to this fishy smell.”

“It’s good for your health, so just drink it.”

“Yeah. It helped us survive the plague.”

The men smiled with bloodstains all over their mouths. It looked strange.

It was easy to see why drinking blood was forbidden, but the people kept drinking as if nothing was wrong.

It was now a normal sight in Laphtan. The culture of the Grant Territory, which had disappeared 70 years ago, had returned.

It was a culture created by the desire to live after the plague. If you knew the story, it was hard to criticize it, no matter how disgusting it was.

In this world, some people believed they knew right from wrong without question. They didn’t care about reasons or situations. For them, right was right, and wrong was wrong, always.

The men who were drinking deer blood were about to meet the strictest of these people. People who would hurt or even kill others if they broke their rules.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the air, cold and flat. “Those who drink the blood of the living must die. It is forbidden.”

The deer blood drinkers looked up, startled. The voice was so empty of feeling, it was almost like a machine speaking.

One man, his face pale, whispered, “…What did he say?”

Another, looking around nervously, asked, “…Who is that?”

Before they could understand what was happening, the people in black robes pulled out war hammers and maces and rushed towards them silently.

“Blast!” someone shouted.

Clang!

Wham!

Someone yelled, “Hold on, everyone, let’s calm down!”

Kaga-gak.

Luckily, knights stepped in front of them. The Inquisitors looked very angry and dangerous.

“Hieeek!”

“Zenon! Get out of the way!”

A fierce battle broke out suddenly between the knights and the suspicious group.

Esel shouted from behind the terrified men.

“Are you attacking the church, Swordmaster?!”

“Not at all. We are just trying to keep the kingdom’s citizens safe,” the Swordmaster replied.

The voices of the two experienced men clashed.

“They have broken the rules!” Esel exclaimed.

“They are simply trying to protect their health. Doesn’t the Cardinal know that deer blood can cure sickness?” the Swordmaster countered.

Esel retorted, “That’s nonsense! If you keep stopping us, people will think Maclane is against the church! Priests, punish these disgusting people!”

“Knights, protect the kingdom’s citizens!” the Swordmaster commanded.

“Yes!” the knights responded.

The battle priests in black robes moved silently, and the knights stood ready.

Esel shouted, “Anyone who stops us is an enemy of the church! Crush them!”

With Esel’s command, the battle between the Inquisitors and the knights began.

“Everything is by the will of God,” one of the Inquisitors proclaimed.

Divine power, usually unseen, now glowed around the Inquisitors like bright light.

At the same time, the Inquisitors moved faster and swung their war hammers and maces at the knights.

When the Inquisitors attacked suddenly, the knights, working in pairs, made blue light come from their gloves, belts, and swords. This light made a strong shield in front of them.

Kwaaaang!

The battle priests stepped back after the collision.

Unlike the battle priests, the knights were excited and full of fighting spirit. They felt a sense of accomplishment, experiencing the power of the Inquisitors, which they had only heard about in stories.

On the other hand, Esel’s face twisted as he watched.

The knights were strong, but the blue-glowing equipment bothered him.

‘Could they all be artifacts?’ Esel wondered.

Sensing something was wrong, Esel glared at the Swordmaster.

“Are you really going to do this?!” Esel demanded.

“We are simply doing our duty as knights,” the Swordmaster replied calmly.

Esel clenched his fist.

The Inquisitors, who were as strong as high-ranking knights, couldn’t break through the knights’ defenses. Even the Chief Inquisitors, who were stronger and numbered only 50, were struggling.

“Such power from divine power is fascinating,” one knight said.

“The will of God is great!” another exclaimed.

Kwaaaang!

“It seems it is only great, but not strong,” Luis, the Swordmaster’s assistant, mocked as he easily blocked the Chief Inquisitor’s attack.

The former Chief Knights from Esperanza were also pressuring them in pairs.

The Inquisitors used Holy Weapons. These weapons were not as deadly as Force Blades, but they could do many things. However, they could not break through the shields of the knights. These knights were very skilled and well-trained from many wars. They also had special magical items that made them stronger.

‘How can this be…’ Esel thought, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Esel had been through a lot in his life. He was chosen to lead this team not because he was a good fighter or a good person, but because he was powerful in politics. He knew it was almost impossible for just one group of knights to be this strong.

‘How could the knights of such a small kingdom be this powerful?’ he wondered.

He realized these were not just any knights, like the Esperanza Knights. These were the best knights from the Maclane Kingdom, the 2nd Corps.

Esel didn’t understand the difference because he hadn’t paid attention to the changes in the Maclane Kingdom.

But he had a secret weapon.

“You will regret this, Swordmaster,” Esel said confidently.

“I doubt it,” the Swordmaster replied.

Crack.

“I ask you, brothers, show them the true will of God,” Esel commanded.

The five priests who had been standing behind Esel stepped forward. Light spread from them.

“By the will of God!!” they shouted together.

The Inquisitors began to push back the knights.

The five priests ran towards the battlefield, glowing white-hot.

Esel clenched his fist.

‘As expected!’ he thought.

The ‘Agents,’ who had divine power like bishops, were stronger than top-tier knights. Their Aura alone could cut through Force Blades and strengthen the battle priests. In group battles, they were like tactical weapons.

However…

“An interesting trick,” a voice mocked.

Thwack!

Arms flew into the air, and the white light began to disappear.

“Ugh,” the Agents groaned, something they rarely did.

Their arms were being cut off, and a strange aura was disrupting their divine power.

The onlookers were shocked.

“T-This can’t be!” someone exclaimed.

The Agents were trained to fight Aura Users. They shouldn’t be defeated so easily.

This meant the Aura User was much stronger than they expected.

The Swordmaster remembered what his student and leader had told him. He smiled coldly.

“What will you do, Cardinal? Are you going to end it here?” the Swordmaster asked.

Esel’s face paled. “These crazy bastards!?”