Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 308

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Cavalrymen galloped across the fields, the earth trembling beneath their hooves.

Thousands of soldiers marched in straight lines under a banner showing a small flame.

“Forward!”

At the head of the cavalry, a knight in heavy armor shouted the command.

Right away, the knights at the front rushed forward.

As the charging knights raised their long lances, a blue light glowed from their arms, waists, and swords, making them stronger and their weapons sharper.

The crossbow soldiers behind them gasped when they saw the knights covered in blue light.

“Whoa!”

Even before it was useful, just seeing it made the soldiers feel much braver.

Wham!

The knights, like living blue giants, charged and smashed the scarecrows in the field with their lances.

Behind them, some scarecrows, hit by arrows from the crossbow soldiers, fell apart on the ground.

“Amazing,” Patrick breathed, watching the blue knights smash through the scarecrows. A wide grin stretched across his face, showing his slightly uneven teeth.

Heinckel chuckled beside him, the silver metal of his prosthetic arm gleaming in the sun. “We were going to use the Liberatio first, you know, the really expensive one. But,” he shrugged, “this works just fine for practice, doesn’t it?” He tapped his metal fingers against his arm, a faint hum coming from it.

“That’s only natural. But it seems to work even better than we thought.”

“Yes. Now each knight has one, and as you can see, it makes a big difference.”

“Do you mean it makes our troops feel braver?”

“Yes, and it seems to make the artifacts work even better.”

“What?”

“At first, the knights thought they were just imagining things because of the lights, but now they say it’s really happening. We even asked the Magic Corps to check it out.”

“So, you’re saying they’re actually stronger?”

“Yes. Duke Clayton says it’s because all the knights in our legion have the same kind of artifact. When many knights use the same magic at the same time, it makes it twice as effective.”

“Hoo.”

“Duke Clayton said he’s never seen anything like it before. He thanked us and said he’s making good progress on the job the King asked him to do. Our legion has done it again.”

“Asked him to do? What job?”

“He wouldn’t tell me, said it was a secret.”

Heinckel looked a little disappointed, but Patrick just smiled and nodded.

“Well, Logan knows what he’s doing. He’s not just in charge of our land anymore. Don’t be upset.”

“Ah, no. Upset? How could I be…?” Heinckel waved his hands.

Patrick chuckled, seeing his old friend deny it.

“Actually, he did a lot on his own even when he was just in charge of the land. I guess being king hasn’t changed him.”

“Ah… that’s true. I was being presumptuous.”

Patrick thought to himself, “Presumptuous, indeed.” Heinckel was forgetting his place.

Patrick turned his head to hide his face tightening and changed the subject.

“What else is happening?”

“Thirty-two soldiers have awakened their Force this month.”

“Again?”

“Yes. Over 300 of the soldiers that the King recruited at the start have now awakened their Force. They’re training over there too.”

No wonder there seemed to be so many knights; it wasn’t just his imagination.

“At this rate, we’ll have more knights than anyone else.”

Patrick couldn’t hide his broad smile, and Heinckel smiled too as he gave his report.

“Yes. Only the Royal Family’s 1st Legion and our 3rd Legion have been recruiting soldiers like this for a few years.”

“Yes, that’s true. But things might change in a few years.”

“It’ll be the same even then. Most of the soldiers who fought with the King are in the 1st and 3rd Legions. You can’t get that kind of experience just from training.”

It seemed Heinckel was even prouder of the 3rd Legion than Patrick was.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re the best in McLaine. Haha.”

Patrick was pleased and clapped his old friend on the shoulder, laughing.

But when he felt the hard metal on Heinckel’s shoulder, his face changed slightly.

“…I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s alright, my lord. How long will you keep doing this? If you do that, I’ll feel even more ashamed.”

“I must never forget, even if others do. The arm you lost trying to save me…”

If they kept going, they’d have the same conversation they’d had many times before.

Seeing his lord’s sad face, Heinckel quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, what about the family crest? You said you’d decide soon.”

Patrick sighed a little.

Now that the Flame of McLaine was the symbol of the kingdom, people kept suggesting they change the family crest and name. It seemed like they were bothered that the crest was now smaller.

“…No matter how much I think about it, I can’t change it.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m just going to let Ronian, who will inherit the family, decide.”

“Your Excellency…”

Patrick laughed at Heinckel’s surprised look.

Now that his oldest son was king, the Flame of McLaine would stay with the country even if they changed the family crest.

But the lord and knight, who had spent his life protecting that flame, couldn’t bring himself to change the crest, even if it was just being stubborn.

“Well, shouldn’t we check on the soldiers’ training?”

“Yes. And it’s time for you to go back to the mansion, my lord.”

“What?”

“We got a message that the young master is coming back from the capital today. Lady Merian is planning a small party, so she wants you to come home quickly…”

“Ah, I heard about that. That woman, Ronian hasn’t been back long, and she’s already having another party.”

“Hasn’t she been waiting for him? You should understand.”

“Huh? Are you taking her side too? Just because you had a child late in life doesn’t mean you should always side with your children.”

“Why do people say it’s favoritism to the child? It’s favoritism to the parents! Anyway, leave the cleanup to me and go inside quickly.”

“Ahem, really. Alright, alright.”

As he turned, he saw the sunset sky.

Life had been peaceful lately.

Even though he was enjoying a life he couldn’t have imagined seven or eight years ago, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness in one corner of his heart.

‘A family party… Logan, it would have been even better if you were here too.’

He knew it was a foolish thought.

The younger one had returned home after several years of training, but the older one had long gone far beyond reach.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have been a little more affectionate when they were younger.’

The thought that he had to raise the orphaned child more strictly made him feel particularly bitter today.

The king, known as the Sun of McLaine, was just his eldest son to him. A son whose face was now difficult to even see.

Suddenly, the sun, positioned in the sky above and shining upon the world, seemed cruel.

‘Reina… I think our son has grown too, far too well. Heh…’

It was a day when his deceased former wife came to mind more than usual.

That was how the father’s day was ending.

“The Legion’s training is progressing well, and expansion is continuing steadily. In the 3rd Legion, in the McLaine territory, over 300 men selected by His Majesty have already become knights. Everyone is now confident in the criteria for selecting soldiers.”

“The first supply of mass-produced artifacts has also been completed. The discovery of synchronization effects from temporary manifestation has resulted in a further enhancement of the entire Knights Order’s strength.”

“Good.”

The Legion, which could be said to be the foundation of McLaine’s power, was showing continuous growth, just as the heart-warming report stated.

And in addition to that.

“The dispatched knights report that the militia training is now on track. The officially counted number of militiamen alone exceeds 500,000.”

An enormous number of reserve soldiers, more than twice the size of the regular army.

Feeling reassured, Logan reviewed the power he had built up so far, one by one.

‘The Legion system has now firmly established itself.’

He had brought all the kingdom’s soldiers together into Legions. Before, they were spread out across the land. Now, he controlled all the military power. The Eastern alliances could have been a problem, but he had made them his allies.

He brought in one of the transhuman mercenaries who had participated in the previous life’s Empire war as an ally, and slaughtered the rest.

The noble slayer, who was a source of internal trouble in Grandia, had now become his loyal bodyguard, and the surviving transhumans from before had grown step by step in the unified kingdom.

His biggest worry, his younger brother, had grown even more than expected, acquiring techniques that he didn’t have in his previous life.

Moreover, Eileen, who had died during the First Civil War in his previous life, had awakened as a transhuman, so McLaine’s transhuman power had already far exceeded expectations.

‘For now, I’ve done everything I can.’

It was an achievement he could be proud of.

But Logan forcibly restrained his relaxing mind.

‘Even so, we are still at a disadvantage.’

In his previous life, Grandia suffered devastating damage and was annexed by the Empire with only six of the eight legions of the Eastern Empire and a portion of the central army.

If the Empire’s power remained unchanged in this life, he thought he could somehow overcome it.

“…That can’t be.”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Logan shook his head and refocused his thoughts.

There was no way the Emperor would be foolish enough to do that.

‘He will probably mobilize all eight legions of the Eastern Empire, and the Imperial Family’s central army will be dispatched on a larger scale than in the previous life. If we’re unlucky, the Western Legions will also participate.’

As he listed them one by one, he could only feel overwhelmed again, and Logan had no choice but to strengthen his determination.

Then, his thoughts naturally turned to another countermeasure to fill that deficiency.

“Was there any other report from Duke Clayton?”

“Didn’t His Majesty say he would receive that report directly?”

The Prime Minister, Roberts Floyd, tilted his head and looked at his son-in-law and monarch.

Logan, wearing an awkward expression, cleared his throat and turned his head.

“Ah, that’s right. Then let’s stop here for today. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“If the official business is over, may I ask you a question from a personal standpoint?”

“Well… go ahead, Father-in-law.”

The word ‘Father-in-law’ always brought a broad smile to Roberts’ face.

But the words that came after that smile bewildered Logan.

“About the things that I and the ministers gave you before. I was wondering if you are seeing any effects….”

Roberts trailed off.

His narrowly opened eyes looked meaningful, but Logan couldn’t think of anything at all.

However, there was something he could guess.

‘Is it something that happened when I was away?’

But if it was important, Rick or Dwayne would have mentioned it separately.

Thinking it was a private matter, Logan simply nodded lightly.

“Yes. It’s definitely good.”

“Oh, is that so? Then can we expect good news soon?”

What on earth is he talking about?

Logan’s expression, unable to understand, became a little awkward.

At that moment, a voice came from outside the office, rescuing him.

– Duke Damian Nadal has requested an audience.

“Father-in-law. Then, for a moment…”

“Ah, yes. I will step down.”

Damian’s report was directly to the King, so Roberts slowly turned away, unable to hide his disappointed expression.

Soon, Damian opened the door to the office and entered, but his expression was not good at all.

Before Logan could ask the reason, Damian hurriedly blurted out.

“Your Majesty. It’s news from the Empire. The Second Prince…”