Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 428

“A rumour about a divine sword?” The old man, Silas, muttered, his brow furrowed. “What in the world happened in the Holy Kingdom?”

Even though he couldn’t see him, Silas knew the person on the other end of the small, silver communication device would be bowing deeply. He could almost hear the nervous shuffle.

“[I’m checking, Archmage,” the voice replied quickly. “But it’s taking time. Tracy can’t help much anymore; they’ve lost their influence after what happened.]”

Silas tapped his fingers impatiently on the armrest of his ancient chair. “Find out now,” he ordered, his voice sharp. “I have a bad feeling about this whole thing.”

His expression wasn’t just subtle; it was a mask of deep unease. Something felt very wrong.

Having lived for over a hundred years and reached the realm of the Archmage, he sometimes felt strange premonitions. It was more than just intuition or knowledge; he vaguely sensed things he shouldn’t have been able to know.

Most of these premonitions concerned his safety, a kind of survival instinct.

‘That Emperor, who reached the realm of the Archmage so quickly with inherited power, would never understand,’ Silas thought.

The important thing was that this bad feeling, which had been absent for decades, had recently returned.

So, while gathering information from everywhere, especially about the Emperor, this rumour surfaced.

And strangely, the bad feeling disappeared just before he heard this rumour.

The fact that he didn’t know why he had that premonition or why it disappeared made him uneasy.

‘Did the divine sword do something for me? That’s ridiculous,’ he mused.

As Silas was lost in thought, the voice in the communication device continued.

“[In the Holy Kingdom, they’re treating the rumour as fact. Former Pope Austin has returned temporarily and is greatly increasing the number of trackers, the so-called Snake Catchers.]”

“Tsk.”

“…If the divine sword could have been brainwashed, things wouldn’t have become so twisted. There’s no need to worry about insignificant things like them. Find out the reason for sure and report back.”

As he spoke, he had a vague idea of what was happening. The story added to the rumour about the divine sword brought a certain possibility to mind.

If it was something related to the holy object that could threaten his safety…

“Could it be an Apostle?”

“[Sorry, what was that?]”

“…No, never mind.”

In fact, it still didn’t make sense.

Why would the commander of the Holy Knights stop an Apostle?

‘He’d welcome it with open arms, more like,’ Silas thought.

The gods would lose divinity every time they sent down an Apostle. Unless he sensed the consciousness materializing, there would be no reason to rush things.

No, it had to be that way.

He felt a little uneasy, wondering if he was just thinking hopefully, but he decided to stop worrying about it.

‘Everything is just speculation anyway. I’ll have to wait for information,’ he thought.

Right now, it was more urgent to manage the enormous variable that had already arisen.

“What about that Logan McLane?”

The old man’s voice was filled with deep annoyance.

This ‘fate-changer’ had actually beaten the Empire. It was unbelievable. Powerful weapons, superhumans appearing out of nowhere, and this one person strong enough to kill the Sword Soul and stop the Emperor! Everything had changed so suddenly.

And because of this mess, the dark energy they needed for their plan, the energy they were gathering in the east, was far from enough. There were even rumours that the guy who was supposed to be the sacrifice had died, so the old man was, in many ways, going crazy.

“[Elder Louisa and Gerard are also unable to meet at the moment. The rumour that they are at least in critical condition seems credible.]”

“……Is it possible that the one who changes fate would fall so easily?”

Even as he muttered, the old man’s expression remained stiff.

If that guy really died, he would need a lot more sacrifices.

It couldn’t be.

It mustn’t be.

“What’s the truth behind the rumour that he fought the Emperor?”

“[Gerard said he saw it himself. However, he was easily beaten back until someone intervened, and he barely survived.]”

“Easily beaten back, huh….”

That also didn’t please him. The Emperor wouldn’t have held back, so the fact that he could withstand it was proof of considerable skill.

‘The highest level of Aura User, among the strongest… No, he won against the Sword Soul. Should I really consider him an Aura Master, as the rumours say? Surely not, even if he is the one who changes fate. Not at that age…,’ he pondered.

He regretted that the information about the one who changes fate, passed down in the Tower, had been lost.

All they knew now was the record that he was ‘the cause of changing the world’s flow, fate’ and his golden aura. The information even overlapped with that of their ancient enemies, and it took them ages just to classify the two.

“The information lost in the battle with the Imperial Family is too precious.”

For example, the records of the Magic Saint’s bloodline disappeared. If they could secure the ancestor’s bloodline, the preparation for the ritual would have been much easier, but it was a pity.

What good was it to have the information that the ancestor’s three holy objects reacted to the direct bloodline? The records of that direct bloodline had disappeared.

“[But the Tower Lord has restored a great deal of knowledge. If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t even be able to prepare for the ritual.]”

“……Yes. That’s true.”

In fact, the old man had pride. And he believed in that pride as much as he could.

When that glorious day came, he would become the first Apostle of that being and take all the power on earth in place of that being who had ascended.

So, now was the time to check all the variables first.

“If a variable arises, we can change the plan accordingly.”

“[Yes, sir.]”

“Who is this third party who stopped the Emperor?”

“[He’s a mercenary named Haymon. He was seriously injured and fainted as a result, but when he woke up, he ambushed Logan McLane.]”

“What? Hee hee… That’s absurd.”

Another strongman who could stop the Emperor had joined the fray.

And then he ambushed Logan McLane?

It didn’t make sense.

“Is there a rumour that this Haymon guy saved King Logan?”

“[There’s no such talk at all. In fact, we wouldn’t have known if it hadn’t been for Gerard’s report. The battle became too chaotic at the end….]”

He chuckled at that.

That was fortunate.

“It’s a fixed gamble. He must be fine.”

“[Still, many people saw Logan McLane’s hair turn half white. He vomited blood more than once after the battle. He’s definitely not in good condition.]”

“Well, that’s even better. We just need him to be alive.”

The problem, however, was that the superhuman who ambushed him was skilled enough to stop the Emperor, and the fact that such a skilled person was in McLane was a major variable.

‘Such a skilled person can’t be common. But why would Logan McLane need to fake his death right now?’

A man skilled enough to stop the Emperor was framed for ambushing the King of McLane and disappeared.

The first thing that came to mind was that Logan McLane had betrayed Haymon.

He had cooked the hunting dog he no longer needed.

But judging from his past actions, that wasn’t a very likely option.

‘He ambushed the target and defected to the Empire to become the Emperor’s man? No, no. Too sloppy. Above all, it’s a waste to use such a skilled person in that way. Hmm…,’ Silas pondered.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t guess the reason. He simply didn’t have enough information to begin with.

As he continued to ponder, he suddenly wondered about the identity of this Haymon.

‘Wait, how could such a skilled person suddenly appear like this?’

If he stopped the Emperor, he should also be considered at least the highest level of Aura User.

“Haymon, Haymon, huh… Hmm? Could it be Harmon?”

He chuckled even as he said it.

It wasn’t like children playing dress-up; there was no way he would have made up such a simple pseudonym.

But….

‘Who else was at the highest level of Aura User besides the divine sword?’

The probability that a strongman at the highest level of Aura User, who could compete for the title of the continent’s best swordsman, had been unknown until now and suddenly appeared in McLane.

And the probability that the divine sword Harmon had disguised himself and helped McLane.

That narrow choice added weight to that absurd speculation.

If Haymon was Harmon.

‘Then the divine sword faked an ambush in McLane and then went to the temple and caused that mess? Is he crazy? Why did Logan McLane cooperate with that?’

It was twisted.

Too twisted.

“Wait, the missing Pope… Wasn’t the Saintess from McLane?”

“[Yes, that’s right.]”

“Hmm, could it be because of that one connection…?”

After pondering for a long time again, the old man clicked his tongue when he couldn’t find an answer and changed his words.

“……Cancel the previous order. Find the divine sword before everything else. The missing one seems to be the biggest variable.”

It seemed that he had to find the divine sword first to solve this tangled question.

“[Yes, I understand.]”

“And what’s the progress on the other matters?”

“[The Western War seems to be a bit of a problem. If the Emperor participates directly, the Western 10 nations are likely to be easily defeated.]”

“Tsk.”

The old man’s face slightly frowned when the word Emperor came out, but the answer came quickly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“[Sorry, what was that?]”

“Our purpose is only to accumulate blood and chaos. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses. We just need the war to last a long time.”

“[Shouldn’t we take some measures to make that happen? If we leave it alone, it might be destroyed in an instant.]”

“The Western 10 nations have as many as 15 legions; they can’t be that stupid….”

“[…The commanders have all become as good as fools.]”

“What?”

“[Watching McLane defeat the Empire on its own, each of them is preparing to occupy the Empire on their own.]”

“On their own? Even an occupation?”

“[Yes. The atmosphere within the alliance is that they have already won against the Empire. Perhaps because they are too far away, McLane’s achievements are only treated as rumours, but at the same time, the atmosphere of looking down on the Empire is prevalent throughout the Western 10 nations.]”

“Ha…. Why are there so many stupid people in the world.”

The old man lamented sincerely.

That’s why they were easy to deal with sometimes, but when they did something so foolish, it felt like his insides were turning upside down.

He had racked his brains to come up with a plan, but the target wasn’t smart, but too stupid to work?

How frustrating was that?

Gnashing.

The few remaining teeth clashed nervously.

“……Tell Banjoni for now.”

“[That short… No, the new Elder?]”

“Yes. Tell him to shake up the underworld of Aserian. Delay the Emperor’s direct intervention as much as possible, and then mobilize the Magic Knight Order to participate in the 10 nations as mercenaries.”

“[I’m sorry, but with just that….]”

“His Evil Black Sword is a disaster comparable to great magic for the lower ranks. It will be enough to create sacrifices. That’s what I taught him to use it for in the first place.”

“[……I understand.]”

The man in the communication device still had a suspicious expression, but he didn’t question it any further.

“And tell Louisa and Gerard to cooperate with McLane with all their might. They must build trust until that day comes. At least they must be able to move him once when they want to.”

“[You mean the place of the ritual. But I heard that the McLane royal family knows Elder Louisa’s identity, will he really follow it no matter how much trust he builds?]”

“It would be nice if he followed willingly, but if he doesn’t, there will be a way to make him. Tell them to build trust for now. He doesn’t seem to be the type to easily abandon relationships.”

“[Sorry, what was that?]”

“You don’t need to know. Just do as I say.”

The old man smiled faintly and ended the communication.