Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 449

“The walls of Luthspellheim are rebuilt, thanks to the wizards,” a messenger announced.

“And the battlefield is clear. We’re still counting the dead…” another voice added.

Logan rubbed his tired eyes and nodded slowly as the reports droned on. He listened, but a feeling of unease he couldn’t explain tugged at his mind.

*What is it?*

He used to ignore such feelings. But now, stronger than ever before, he knew better. He had learned that understanding his own heart was as important as strength in battle. He wanted to understand this worry, even if it seemed to come from nowhere.

He thought and thought, but the reason stayed hidden.

The only thing that came to mind was:

*Is it… because I miss fighting the Emperor?*

That was all he could think of.

He clicked his tongue softly, a small sound of frustration in the quiet hall.

Eventually, his thoughts led in one direction.

“When will we be able to move west?”

At his question, Damian, who was speaking for the group, paled slightly. He shifted his weight, clearly unsure how to say what he needed to say. He took a breath and stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, I mentioned before that we need to take at least Penna, where the Eastern Wing Royal Family is, to stop the Empire. Do you remember?”

“Of course. And according to that plan, we took Luthspellheim first. Shouldn’t we move on to Penna now?”

Damian hesitated. “Actually… it went *too* well.”

“Indeed,” Logan replied.

“So, there’s a slight… problem.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Logan asked, frowning slightly.

Damian hurried on, “It was a much bigger victory than we expected. That’s definitely a good thing. Our losses were much lower, and we defeated a lot of the Empire’s elite soldiers. But…”

Damian chewed his lip, avoiding Logan’s eyes. He sighed softly. “The Empire has taken too much damage. If we move on to Aserian now, I don’t think they can stop us.”

Cheers erupted in the great hall. Faces beamed, eyes shone with excitement. But then Damian spoke, and the noise died down as quickly as it had begun.

In fact, similar rumors had already spread widely within Luthspellheim.

“Aren’t we going to take over the Empire as it is?”

“Almost all of the Empire’s elite soldiers are dead.”

“His Majesty defeated the Emperor too…”

“The Empire’s forces probably don’t have much left, right?”

These words came from the McLaine troops, wild with excitement after their big win.

However, a strategist’s conclusion carries more weight than the whispers of ordinary soldiers.

The unbelievable idea that the rumors could become real struck everyone.

“Let’s conquer Aserian this time! Let us make you the Emperor of the Empire instead of Ares, Your Majesty!” Luther Kyle shouted, expressing the feelings of everyone gathered.

But at that moment…

Damian’s words were like a bucket of cold water.

“We can invade, but we can’t occupy. We don’t have enough soldiers to control the land of Aserian. As a strategist, I can only regret that,” Damian said.

“What are you talking about!?” someone exclaimed.

“I mean we don’t have enough soldiers to control the angry reaction from the people of the Empire after taking over such a large area,” Damian replied.

“We can occupy it first and see…”

“The proud people of the Empire are likely to cause trouble. I mean rebellions.”

Rebellion.

The word ‘rebellion’ hung in the air. The excited chatter died down completely. A heavy silence fell over the hall.

“A rebellion will happen right after the war?”

“Yes, that’s what I regret. If you look at history, the older the conquered land and the richer the culture, the worse the rebellion. The Empire is…”

A country that has been called the strongest on the continent for at least 300 years.

Everyone’s faces hardened because they all knew that.

“If we spread our soldiers out to control all the land, we’ll be attacked in small groups by the remaining Imperial forces and retreat back to the kingdom with our kingdom drained of strength, no matter how strong you are, Your Majesty,” Damian explained.

“If we put a self-governing army there…” someone suggested.

“Who will farm now that it’s spring?” another person asked.

“Hey, hey. Don’t glare at me like that, Sword Duke. I’m just saying. I’m not that ignorant,” the first person said.

“If you know, shut up, you lump,” the Sword Duke retorted.

“Why are you doing this again… Ahem. I’ll shut up.” Luther Kyle shrank back under the glare.

Logan nodded with a small sigh. “That makes sense. But what do you think, Damian?”

Having fought for freedom himself in the past, it was a problem he understood well.

*The Empire has dozens of times more people than us.*

If a group like that rampaged internally with more than ten times the number, the country would be ruined quickly. From their point of view, it’s an independence army, but the rulers would see them as terrorists.

Damian replied with a heavy face. “Only the Empire has enough soldiers to control the Empire. And many countries around us, including McLaine, have a grudge against the Empire.”

The Western Allied Nations and the Kassel Magic Tower have joined forces.

Even if the Emperor was telling the truth when he said they would help the Empire, this would also be a chance for the Kassel Magic Tower.

*The Master of the Magic Tower won’t join himself, but he’ll have his people destroy the Empire.*

A trick to avoid the agreement. If that was possible, it sounded right.

In that case, even with the remaining forces and the Emperor’s power, the Empire would still suffer a lot of damage.

And if it’s more than that…

“If the Empire collapses like this…” Logan muttered.

“In the worst case, more than half of the Empire’s people, who have been successful for hundreds of years, could become refugees, at least several hundred million, if they don’t accept being controlled by the people who conquered them,” Damian said.

Hundreds of millions of refugees.

The words hung in the air, heavy and terrible. Faces went white. Everyone understood the horror of what Damian was describing. It was easy to imagine it causing more damage than billions of locusts.

“The Western countries won’t just sit still. Wouldn’t it be better for them and us to divide the Empire?” Logan suggested.

Damian shook his head. “While the Western countries and we are fighting over land, the powerful lords in the Empire might join together and fight back. There’s also the problem of the rebels I mentioned. This is a disaster waiting to happen, but we don’t have enough soldiers to control more Imperial land than Penna right now.”

“Did things get worse even though we won?” Luther Kyle blurted out, confused by Damian’s statement.

“It’s not worse. It’s just that dealing with what happens *after* we win is harder than we thought,” Damian replied.

“That’s what I mean… Ah, I understand! I won’t say anything now!” Luther said.

Damian sighed, a small smile playing on his lips as he pretended not to notice Luther shrinking back under another glare, and continued.

Damian leaned forward, a small smile on his face. “Things are going well for us,” he said in a low voice. “So, I think we should change our plan a little, depending on what happens in the Western War.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharp. “How?” he asked.

“We will still take Penna, like we planned,” Damian explained. “But then,” he emphasized, “we will see how badly the Empire is hurt in the west. If they are weak enough, we can decide to push further.”

“…We must advance towards Penna as soon as the preparations are complete.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then, what is the best-case scenario for us?”

“Naturally, the mutual destruction of the Empire and the Western Ten Nations.”

“If that happens, we’ll have many options, but I suppose it’s unlikely?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, what’s the most probable outcome?”

“The Western nations are defeated by the Empire, and the Empire’s Western Legion also suffers significant losses.”

“And we use that chance to go even further?”

“Yes. At that point, we can take Aserian and really hurt the Empire. Of course, in that case, we should only take what we can and return to Penna and Lusphelheim.”

“So, Penna is the line where invasion turns into possible occupation.”

“It might be easier now, but we still need to get ready for what happens next.”

“The next situation?”

“If we take Aserian, people in the Empire will start to doubt the Emperor and his family. Even if they get their capital back, people will not trust them anymore. Maybe powerful nobles will join together against him, or one of the strongest leaders will rebel…”

“…The Empire won’t be destroyed, but it will be divided.”

“That is the most probable outcome, or rather, the best outcome we can create. Ah, of course, if we can kill the Emperor in battle, it will almost certainly happen.”

As he said that, Damian looked at Logan, his eyes full of hope, and Logan nodded with a smile.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

A few days later, a communication orb was delivered to Logan, who was busy preparing for the advance. The orb looked smaller and more advanced than anything anyone had ever seen.

Even the person who brought it was quite unexpected.

“Ronian? What is it?”

“I’m sorry, Brother. I promised her I would do one thing for her. I know it sounds crazy, but please just listen to her story. You don’t have to believe her if you don’t want to.”

“Her?”

At Logan’s question, Ronian simply looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

Logan, unable to hide his confusion, took the orb, and soon it showed a familiar face.

“[Are you well, Your Majesty?]”

Black hair, blue eyes, and skin so pale it was almost white—a beautiful woman.

Logan’s face twisted at the sight.

“Princess Louisa?”

“[I know it’s rude, but I need to tell you something, so I’m talking to you this strange way.]”

“I’m sure. If you had appeared before me, I would have strangled you.”

“[I will not make excuses for that. We followed the Tower Master’s orders, and we betrayed Your Majesty. But you must hear this.]”

“Why should I?”

“[Because you *must* know what the Tower Master is planning.]”

“Ha?”

Listen to a traitor?

He looked at his brother, dumbfounded, but the brother who had caused this mess simply lowered his head apologetically.

As if noticing this, Louisa spoke again in a desperate voice.

“[You might think I’m a traitor. We had to work for both sides. We had no choice. You can ignore it later. Just listen.]”

Louisa’s expression looked truly desperate as she said that.

“[I know you don’t believe me. So, I will start by telling you about my father and my difficult past. Can you give me a little time, Your Majesty?]”

Soon, a long story flowed from her lips, and that story unintentionally captured Logan’s interest.

Only 10 days later, unexpected news reached the McLaine army, which was preparing to advance west from Lusphelheim.

“Wipe them all out!”

Clang!

“Fire!”

Tap tap tap.

“Kraaah!”

“Kkeuek…….”

“Die!!”

A battlefield where swords and spears clashed, arrows rained down, and magical explosions continued. Kellerheim, once one of the Empire’s renowned major cities, had become a hell where mountains of corpses piled up everywhere, and rivers of blood flowed. And that was happening to the Allied forces occupying the city.

“W-where are our mages!?”

“Damn it! Where did they all go!?”

The knights guarding the walls of Kellerheim as members of the Western Allied Nations repeatedly looked back and questioned. However, those bizarre mages, whom the leaders of the ten nations had dragged in even by resorting to unreasonable measures, were nowhere to be seen.

“What about the Archmage!? Where is that man!?”

Bless Grid, a superhuman from the Tole Kingdom, shouted angrily. Only five superhumans remained in the Allied forces. But the approaching Imperial forces included five legion commanders, a one-eyed superhuman, and even the Frostwind Sorcerer. The Emperor, known as the Archmage, was nowhere to be seen, but the Allied forces were already at a disadvantage in terms of superhuman power. They had fewer soldiers and worse weapons.

They were only hoping for help to arrive, but there was no sign of anyone coming.

“What the hell is going on!?”

Pabia, another superhuman from the Lyndon Kingdom, was also yelling for help. But things kept getting worse for the Allied forces. Much worse.

“T-the gates are open!”

“Who!?”

“I-I don’t know! All the gates are open!”

“Damn it!”

Shouts poured in from all directions. As if mocking McLaine and the world’s predictions, the tide of the Western War was tilting towards the Empire’s overwhelming advantage.