Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 442

“…Lusphelheim,” Logan murmured, the name tasting strange on his tongue after so long.

The city in front of him was nothing like the Lusphelheim he remembered. It had been years, but the change was shocking. He remembered stories of the wide gates in the center of the huge fortress walls – walls as tall and strong as Gran’s, his own capital – always open, with crowds of people flowing in and out, trading and laughing. It felt like a cruel joke now. The gates were slammed shut, heavy and dark, and soldiers in dark armor stood like statues along the top of the walls, their spears glinting in the sun.

This was not the Lusphelheim, the bustling heart of trade in the East, that everyone knew.

Even here in their camp, a kilometer away, Logan and his soldiers could feel the heavy, bad feeling coming from the city. It was because Lusphelheim was not the city they expected. Something was wrong.

“…It’s huge.”

“Such a big city…”

“Big? Haven’t you been to Gran?”

“I have, but still…”

Murmurs rippled through the ranks.

Logan tilted his head, observing the small commotion among his own soldiers.

‘Something’s not right…’

There was no way the results of the battle on the plains hadn’t reached them yet.

According to the intelligence, only 150,000 troops remained inside—three legions’ worth.

Even for a metropolis with a million inhabitants, that was a daunting number, but they were numerically superior and qualitatively far better.

Moreover, the Empire only had two transcendents within the city, and not even a grand magic circle like the one in Aserian was active.

Even if they had managed to suppress the information, the sight of the McClean army arrayed outside the walls should have been enough to cause unrest among the Imperial soldiers.

Yet, the Imperial soldiers atop the walls were unnervingly calm. It was a strange atmosphere that couldn’t be explained by mere discipline.

Even the colors of their souls, visible in fleeting glimpses, showed mostly tension, with fear being a rare sight.

Therefore, there was only one explanation.

‘Reinforcements have arrived.’

A large force would be impossible given the time constraints, so it must be a small, elite group.

The most likely possibilities were a number of transcendents, or perhaps the Emperor himself.

Or…

‘Perhaps those Black Knights have arrived en masse.’

And Logan’s prediction proved to be accurate.

– Hear me, you impudent king of McClean!

A voice boomed from atop the walls, echoing across the fields.

With the voice, clearly amplified by magic, a middle-aged man in pure white robes appeared on the eastern walls of Lusphelheim.

He had a clean-cut face that made him look younger than he was, and his hair was a mix of blond and white.

Galen’s face was twisted in an arrogant sneer, his eyes looking down at them as if they were insects, and a performance of summoning blue and white winds in a radius of dozens of meters to draw attention.

‘…Galen Dicade.’

A cold smile touched Logan’s lips, but inside, he felt a knot of worry. This was not going to be as easy as he thought.

– How dare you invade the territory of the great Empire…

As Galen’s nonsense continued, mana of various colors began to surge from various points along the eastern wall.

Four others besides Galen.

Two of them emanated the auras of ice and tidal waves he had seen in Kyle, but the other two were unfamiliar.

A cold, hard aura and a dark, damp aura.

He seemed to know at once who they belonged to.

“Steel and Shadow. It seems the other two mages who were embedded in Aserian have come out as well.” Master Elara spoke, his voice calm but serious.

His blue eyes shone transparently; the wound to his soul had healed, but the subtle alteration could not be prevented. He would never be as strong as an Aura Master again because of his wound. But luckily, his soul power had changed a little in a good way.

“Five mages is fewer than I expected… I shouldn’t have said that. My apologies, Your Majesty.”

There was a reason for his mentor’s sudden lament.

– …Our Empire’s elite have gathered here to deliver righteous punishment…

Red auras soared among the surging mana. There were seven of them.

Logan frowned involuntarily at the sight of the enemy transcendents flaunting their power, as if trying to boost the morale of their soldiers.

“The other two Eastern Legion commanders are surely here, and that silver aura is definitely Jerome Dicade… Ha, they’ve mobilized all the transcendents remaining in the Imperial Guard. Have they completely abandoned the Western Front?”

A disbelieving voice escaped Logan’s lips. All of the Empire’s transcendents, save for the Emperor and the Western Legion commanders, were gathered in Lusphelheim.

‘The Emperor and his Black Knights must have gone to the Western Front.’

It was a considerable number, but still manageable.

On their side, there were eleven transcendents: himself, his mentor, Aileen, Ronian, the Victor siblings, Luther, Wicken, Burdel, and the two transcendents from Teronane.

And with Tyr as well, they were equal in number, and considering the overwhelming variables of himself, the Sword Saint, and Tyr, their transcendent power was far superior. And that was excluding transcendents like Louisa and Jay Ferson, whose allegiance was ambiguous.

Therefore.

– …Wash your necks and wait. Beg for forgiveness! The wrath of His Imperial Majesty…

Galen’s repeated threats were simply laughable.

“It’s a shame the Emperor didn’t come.”

That was how relaxed he was.

Of course, he couldn’t completely let his guard down.

“Indeed. But keep in mind, seeing as they’ve mobilized their transcendents to this extent, the forces of the Northern and Southern Claw King divisions may be heading here, even if the Western Legion or the Western Fang King division are not.”

As his mentor said, what McClean needed to be wary of now was not the number of transcendents, but the Empire’s overwhelming military strength itself. Against Imperial soldiers with rapid-fire crossbows in a siege, even knights could be in danger.

One of the advantages McClean had enjoyed until now had shifted to the enemy. If two of the Four Direction King divisions, known to be legion-sized or larger, joined forces, this battle could become very difficult.

But to put it another way, it meant that McClean had been in a superior position until then.

‘…There might be something else.’

However, no matter how much he believed in his own strength, it was a little strange that Galen Dicade had come forward and started blustering from the beginning. It was also suspicious that the transcendents who had joined the battle were openly flaunting their power before the battle even began.

Logan focused his Force on his head and amplified his spirit power. As he concentrated that power on his senses, he felt a sense of elevation as if his enlarged soul was ‘looking down’ on the battlefield for a moment.

And at that moment.

‘As I thought…’

He spotted a group of people moving urgently, hiding among the fiercely rising military flags.

Mages, whose mana could be faintly felt even from a distance, were attaching large quantities of paper-like objects imbued with mana to various parts of the walls.

‘Scrolls.’

And scrolls that seemed to be at least of the 5th Circle.

“They must have used up all the mages’ energy…”

Even if they had squeezed them dry to the point of grinding them into dust, it was still astonishing that there were at least hundreds of 5th Circle magic scrolls, each costing hundreds of thousands of gold to produce. Even for the Empire, wouldn’t that ruin their budget for the year? It was an enormous amount.

If they did that a few more times, the Empire might destroy itself.

He could understand to some extent why the Emperor hadn’t come himself.

But even that.

“…I will share the locations.”

Now that he knew, their effectiveness would be minimized.

Logan quickly finished the necessary preparations and gestured behind him with a grim smile.

“Burdel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Burdel, those mages are our first target. Take them down quickly.”

“Yes.”

At that one word, Burdel raised his longbow and aimed it at the mages of 삭풍.

Terrifying red aura formed on the three arrows notched on the bowstring.

Thwack.

With a small sound, they became three streaks of red lightning and sped through the air over a kilometer.

Wham!

– How dare you be so insolent…!

The voice amplified by magic was still vividly audible, but the red streaks that followed in quick succession no longer allowed him to speak as he pleased.

And soon.

“All troops, advance!”

Logan shouted loudly, and the McLaine army started running towards the tall walls of Loesvelheim.

Leading the charge was a Valkyrie. A bright red light seemed to shine from her whole body.

[Eileen, I trust you.]

“I won’t let you down!” Eileen replied.

She moved like lightning, going far ahead of the other knights.

Her special move, Feather Step, was so fast it was like magic. She reached the top of the wall in a blink.

Gallen saw her and yelled angrily, “She’s strong, but kill her!”

Suddenly, many arrows flew towards Eileen, like a dark cloud falling from the sky.

These arrows were the same kind used by McLaine’s army, but now the enemy was using them.

Eileen was the main target, but she moved so fast, she was like a red wind cutting through the arrows.

*Tap, tap, tap!*

The arrows bounced off her without hurting her at all.

Gallen was furious that his plan had failed so easily.

He shouted, “Don’t kill her! Capture her!”

Gallen’s loud command echoed.

Suddenly, a huge man in silver robes stood in front of Eileen on the wall. She knew who he was.

McLaine’s strong fighters had learned about all the important enemy fighters. *Vixen Holstein, the Steel Magician,* she thought.

He was a powerful magician who hadn’t fought in the last war. He lifted a huge staff, like a thick metal bar, and pointed it at her.

Vixen smirked, “Try to stop me now!”

*Whirr*.

Silver magic flashed from his staff. Suddenly, some of the arrows flying from the wall turned around and flew towards Eileen from behind.

*Pow, pow, pow!*

The arrow tips shone with an evil silver light, ready to destroy everything. At the same time, spears and swords on the wall twisted into sharp silver thorns and flew at her too.

People said the Steel Magician was strongest when surrounded by weapons, and now he was showing his full power.

But Eileen just thought, *I knew this would happen.* She had layers and layers of red aura around her, and her powerful body was ready for anything.

Finally, the silver magic hit Eileen.

*Kwaaaah!* A huge explosion shook the wall.

Vixen smiled, his face sharp with confidence. “That’s what you get for being reckless!”

But then, *Flash!* A beam of bright red light burst out from the silver thorns around Eileen, hitting Vixen in the stomach.

“Gah!” He tried to move away quickly, but it was too late. A hole, as big as a coin, appeared in his side.

The silver thorns that were meant to stop her, and the red beam that had perfectly hit the weak spot. Beyond them stood Eileen, the Valkyrie, who had taken the explosion without flinching.

“You witch!” Vixen cursed.

Eileen smirked, a cold smile. “I am Eileen Floyd, Queen of McLaine. Remember my name, because I will be the one to defeat you.”

She had stopped the Steel Magician and hurt the enemy’s first attack. Eileen, who had done her job perfectly as the leader, coughed out a little blood and smiled fiercely.

“[Ria, now.]”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Victoria said, even though she knew Eileen probably couldn’t hear her.

She started to prepare her magic.

Just then, part of the wall broke apart, and three huge golems appeared, each as tall as a house.

*Creak*.

“Golems!” someone shouted.

“Aaaargh!”

“Stop them!” Victoria couldn’t hear the shouts clearly, but she could feel the enemy moving through the wall, the ground, and the stones. She knew what was happening.

*Your golems are strong enough to fight even aura users,* Logan had told her.

*But it’s smarter to use them against magicians. Do you know why?*

She remembered his advice. It had helped her understand her golems’ best use.

*Yes, I understand now, Your Majesty,* she thought.

Her golems were made to be super strong. At their best, they were as strong, fast, and tough as powerful aura users. And now that she was stronger, she could control three golems at once!

She thought she could easily beat three strong aura users, but then she remembered Logan’s words again: *You don’t know how to fight with a sword…*

*Because I don’t,* she thought.

Victoria closed her eyes, thinking about her lord’s words. She and her golems looked for the targets he had told her about.

Fighting a knight when you don’t know swordsmanship is like a strong person fighting a knight with bare hands. You will always lose alone, and even with help, it’s hard to win.

*You don’t need to do that,* Logan had said.

*So…* *Capture the magicians,* she finished the thought.

Near one of her golems, Victoria felt magic that was freezing cold, and another magic that felt like a flood of water.

*Nelly Corda, the Ice Master, and Lexi Linderman, the Tide Master,* she realized.

As soon as she knew who they were, the golems jumped off the wall and ran towards the two magicians.

*Unlike Eileen, you are a natural enemy to other magicians,* Logan had said.

*Because…* *…Magicians also don’t know swordsmanship,* she thought.

When a golem as strong as an aura user fights a magician, it’s like an aura user fighting someone who can’t use a sword.

Victoria felt her courage grow and used all her power. She could almost see the fear on the faces of the two magicians as they saw the golems coming.

*They probably feel like they are facing three aura users who are even stronger than them,* she thought. She was right.

“This is, this is…!” one magician stammered.

“N, no way! Find that witch!” yelled the other.

Their screams echoed across the wall.

Meanwhile, the giant knight from McLaine, Luther, had gone around to the right and was now smashing the north gate of Loesvelheim.

*Kwaaaah! Rumble.*

“I am Luther Kyle, the Great Strength!” he roared. “You Empire dogs!” Knights from the Empire ran towards the huge fighter who was breaking down the gate, but they were easily defeated.

Wicken, his friend who could control wind, was helping him, carrying him with gusts of wind since the battle started.

*Whoosh!*

“Don’t get too excited,” Wicken said. “Deal with these knights first, you big oaf!”

“Stop complaining! I know what I’m doing!” Luther replied.

*Kwaaaah!* [Wicken, take Luther to the north gate. I’m sending the First Legion to help. There are no strong fighters there, so cause as much damage as you want. But be careful with the magic scrolls…]

The silver wind and Luther’s huge warhammer destroyed the north gate of Loesvelheim, which wasn’t even very strong. It showed that plans and formations didn’t matter when facing a powerful aura master who could understand the enemy’s strategy instantly.

“But you know,” Wicken said, “they’re not giving us this easy job because we’re weak, are they?”

“Quiet, you oaf!” Luther said. “Just hurry up so we can go east!” At the start of the war, the Empire’s army in Loesvelheim started to fall apart quickly.