Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 388

“Ugh…” A groan escaped the old man’s lips. His face was deeply wrinkled, like old leather, and his hair and eyebrows were as white as winter snow. The sound startled the servants who were watching over him in the tent.

“He’s awake!” one servant whispered loudly.

“Quickly, tell everyone!” another cried.

Suddenly, the tent filled with excited whispers and hurried footsteps.

The old man, Triss, felt his mind slowly return. He tried to sit up quickly, like lightning, but pain shot through his body.

Or, at least, he tried to.

“Ugh!” A jolt of pain made the old man groan as he only managed to raise his upper body halfway. A one-eyed knight beside him quickly supported him.

“Master, you mustn’t push yourself yet.”

“…Where am I?”

“On the way back to the capital, inside the encampment. You’ve been unconscious for three weeks. Please, rest a little longer, Your Excellency.”

“…The capital? Three weeks?”

The old man, Triss, winced at the pain shooting through his body, but he couldn’t help but react to those sensitive words.

“Because of the situation, we couldn’t get help from your students. I’m truly relieved you’ve finally awakened. Galen and the mages of the Magic Corps have been trying their best…” Jerome, who was beside him, tried to explain something, but Triss raised a hand, stopping him.

“What’s the war situation? If we’re returning to the capital, does that mean…”

“Yes. The war with the Holy Kingdom is over. His Imperial Majesty has personally declared it so.”

“Hmph…” Jerome could only remain silent at the sigh, filled with complex emotions.

Just as the tent fell silent, a commotion arose outside, and soon a mage with a neat appearance entered the tent.

“You’re awake, Your Excellency.”

“…Galen.”

“I was very worried. With things having gone so wrong, I feared we might lose you…”

“Things went wrong? Tell me what happened.”

“Yes. Well…” The calm voice briefly explained the changed state of the continent after the war.

“…And so, the great plan has begun. Forget about the Holy Kingdom for now. We can deal with that later.”

Only after Galen’s explanation did Triss’s wavering gaze settle.

“…I see. Perhaps it’s for the best.”

“Yes?”

“Galen, only you remain. The rest of you, leave. I have something important to discuss.”

Jerome’s eyes moved quickly when he heard that. He remembered his mistake.

“Yes, Master.” He sighed inwardly at his master’s indifferent gaze, then gathered the servants and quickly left the tent.

After everyone had left, Triss drew a circle in the air with his finger towards Galen.

Galen’s face hardened at this, and he instantly created a barrier of wind around them to block any sound.

“It seems my lifespan is nearing its end.”

Galen’s face visibly stiffened at Triss’s immediate words.

“What do you mean…?”

“It seems the damage I sustained this time was too great. At most, I have about a year left.”

“That’s…!” The words were a shock to Galen as well.

Of course, it was conceivable that he had suffered a major blow, having been unconscious for three weeks with serious injuries.

But this was the Sword Soul, no less.

Triss gave a bitter smile as he watched Galen, who was unable to speak from the shock.

“Indeed. It’s a pity. And to think I failed to capture Noviens after all this. I have no face to show His Majesty.”

A pity?

‘Do you…’

‘…only think of your own life as a tool for His Majesty?’

Galen couldn’t hide his bewildered expression, and Triss, seeing this, gave a faint smile.

“Keep this fact to yourself for now. I will report to His Majesty myself.”

“Your Excellency, why…!”

Why do you go so far?

The mage, known for his arrogance, couldn’t understand Triss at all. He simply wondered why one of the only two people in the world he acknowledged as superiors would treat himself so harshly.

But those words couldn’t escape his lips.

“Enough! Even if I hadn’t pushed myself, I wouldn’t have lasted more than ten years. This is just a little sooner. Fortunately, I can still burn my last flame.”

“…” That’s not what I meant.

Galen could only sigh, suppressing his frustrated feelings.

Seeing this, Triss nonchalantly changed the subject.

“Where do you think our first target should be? According to the original plan?”

Galen nodded with some difficulty at the calm voice.

“…Yes. That is correct.”

“I see. Grandi… no, it’s Maclaine now. The country where that fellow became king back then…”

“Yes. A kingdom that is presumptuously showing hostility towards our empire. Though, how much significance can their struggles have?”

Galen’s words showed the Empire’s nobles’ view of Maclaine.

Triss also nodded unconsciously.

The Emperor greatly valued only one talent in Maclaine, Logan Maclaine, known as the Sun of Maclaine. And that was because of his future potential, not his current abilities.

“I suppose so. There’s a limit to what a small kingdom can do… No, wait a moment.”

Suddenly, the scene he had witnessed in the last battle came to mind.

When that scene was added to a piece of information he had known before, it became an important matter that could not be overlooked.

“…Didn’t they say that kingdom has a unique school of magic? One that uses golems as its main weapon? It was an unusual story, so I kept it in mind.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. It’s a variation of earth magic. It’s just a branch of applied magic, but for it to become the main school of a kingdom, Maclaine’s magical power must be…” Galen chuckled as he replied, not feeling the weight in those words.

Conversely, Triss’s expression became even more serious.

“By any chance, is the mage there a young girl with blue hair and different colored eyes?”

“…What are you talking about?” Galen tilted his head at the absurd words.

“In the last battle, superhumans suddenly appeared, and one of them used golem magic. Not a magical doll that is created and given spells, but golem magic that shapes the floor of the ramparts as they are and gives them combat power. Moreover, it was a girl who didn’t even look like she was of age.”

Galen’s eyes widened momentarily at those words.

But soon he gave a hollow laugh.

That’s how ridiculous it sounded.

“A girl? Not even of age? What nonsense are you spouting? You must have seen wrong…”

“I, in battle?” Triss’s eyes flashed sharply.

Common sense and the Sword Soul.

Galen’s mind leaned towards the latter, and his expression also became serious.

“…I suppose not. Huh, is it possible to reach the realm of a mage before adulthood in this era? Haha, what a monster…” Galen started saying things that didn’t make sense anymore.

Incomprehensible words continued for a while after that, but Triss waited without scolding him.

Soon, Galen, like a mage, quickly recovered from his surprise.

“…Considering the uniqueness of the magic, it seems to be the school of that kingdom, but we need to investigate just in case. Even if it’s Your Excellency’s word, it will be hard for others to believe.”

“His Majesty will believe it. That’s enough.”

“Yes. But confirmation is necessary. Underestimating the enemy is dangerous, but overestimating them will also result in wasting national power.”

“Alright. Do so. However, you must investigate thoroughly. All the superhumans who newly appeared in Noviens seemed to be a group.”

“What do you mean…?”

“If that girl belongs to Maclaine, it means there are at least five more superhumans unknown to Maclaine.”

“Ha… How on earth does that small kingdom…”

“If that’s really the case, we need to completely re-evaluate Maclaine’s power. If we don’t want to stumble over a pebble on the first step of our great undertaking.”

“I will report immediately.”

“Good. And… what did His Majesty say he would do with the Black Serpent? He’s not the type to leave it alone after using it as a pretext.”

“That’s with the Special Surveillance Department…”

The superhuman who rose from his seat three weeks after the fierce battle of the capital. The Sword Soul, who had given himself a one-year deadline, began to burn his last flame passionately.

Maclaine’s northwest, a fortress built at the focal point of the ‘Hunter’s Road,’ Shield. Shield fortress was a giant of grey stone, its walls towering against the sky. The air was filled with the clang of metal and the shouts of soldiers.

It was built to ensure the safety of the northern highway and protect merchants, but the massive fortress contained warehouses for storing food and weapons, and barracks for soldiers. The walls were much thicker than those of a normal castle, and the internal roads led directly to the walls and gates.

Anyone who had been inside the fortress would immediately recognize it as a castle built for war.

The elites of Maclaine’s 2nd Corps gathered at that fortress for war.

“Attention!” Lewis, who had entered the commander’s residence in the center of the fortress, saluted, and Sword Master just nodded and looked out the window.

Troops moved in perfect order, weapons were being installed in various places on the wide walls, and busy movements were chaotically visible.

“How are the soldiers?”

“The soldiers are inevitably tense given the current situation, but they are not doing as badly as I thought.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Perhaps because their condition has improved since entering the fortress, there have been no major problems except for a few soldiers who caused accidents due to their overflowing energy. Thanks to that, the atmosphere has actually improved.”

“Ah… is that so? Haha.” A smile spread across Sword Master’s face.

The magic circle installed in the fortress was officially a secret.

The 30% increase in vitality and the increase in the rate of physical recovery were ambiguous enough to be dismissed as a ‘condition’ problem unless they were knights who were reasonably confident in their body control.

“The morale is rising thanks to keeping the secret weapon a secret, this is another unexpected result.”

“It’s a good thing for us.”

“Yes, indeed. How about the other side?”

“There are no particular problems. First of all…” Lewis’s answer was straightforward.

The war had already been prepared for for several years, and the preparations were proceeding smoothly.

The 2nd and 3rd Corps blocked the Shield Fortress in the north and the Armor Fortress in the south, and the 1st Corps, which gathered around Kyle Castle in the center, which would be the largest battlefield, was assisted by the 4th and 5th Corps, and the basic arrangement was to send support north and south in case of emergency.

When the signal flares of war officially rose, more than 500,000 militiamen would gather at key locations with repeating crossbows.

Of course, the militiamen could not be compared to regular soldiers, but it was estimated that the firepower from their numbers alone would be equivalent to the power of one or two corps. In addition, if it was a siege warfare where the effectiveness of crossbows could be maximized, it was a reliable potential that was evaluated to be able to expect even greater power.

“Good.”

“Yes.”

“Minimize training, but make sure discipline is maintained. The war that will determine the fate of the country is just around the corner.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“And His Majesty has conveyed some information, but for now, only you should know about it.”

“Yes? What’s going on?”

“This time, His Majesty said it was something he didn’t even predict.”

“?”

“When the war starts, the priests of the temple will treat the soldiers in the fortress. For now, they will be disguised as the Healer’s Guild.”

“Yes!?”

It was definitely a surprising story.

Under the pretext that the temple does not interfere in the world’s disputes, it did not provide assistance to any country or territory during wartime. However, they had conveyed their intention to break that unwritten rule that had been going on for hundreds of years for Maclaine’s sake.

Even if they were disguised as the Healer’s Guild, if they were not going to treat only a selected few, the word would inevitably leak out. And that was bound to greatly shake the status of the temple, which had firmly maintained its political neutrality.

“…Why on earth?” It was a good thing, but Lewis could not help but be perplexed because he did not know the reason.

“He said it was because of a debt he owed in the past.”

“Yes?”

“There is such a thing. Anyway, that’s how it turned out, so leave the center of the barracks empty and do formation training. Pick out troops for security as well.”

The situation where an action to screw over the Empire had returned as another big card.

A smile could not help but spread across Sword Master’s face.

And then.

– Your Excellency, urgent news!

A hurried voice announcing the start of the war echoed from outside the door.