Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 451

“What?” Logan asked, his voice echoing slightly in the vast training ground. The clang of his sword against a practice dummy had just faded.

Before him, an old priest bowed deeply. “I asked, Your Majesty,” the priest repeated, his voice trembling slightly, “would you help us capture the traitor, Haman Killbrew?”

Archbishop Lime Dahl of the Lusphelheim Temple, he had introduced himself. *Traitor*. The word hung in the air, heavy and unsettling.

“That sacred sword is a traitor… I’ve heard the rumors…”

Logan wondered if the Archbishop had only heard rumors. He knew he had been deeply involved in the incident with Haman before.

However, he did not know what had happened afterward that had caused a skilled person like Haman to be openly hunted.

‘Is it because he was trying to collect the holy relics?’

Of course, he couldn’t reveal that.

Logan frowned, his voice careful. “What exactly happened to make Haman a traitor?”

At those words, Archbishop Lime Dahl kept sweating and bowing his head.

How many times since becoming an archbishop had he bowed his head so much?

Even amidst the embarrassment of the awkward situation, the answer came quickly.

“Since it is a matter of the Central Temple, I do not know the details. I am merely delivering the ‘request’ of His Holiness Austin, the Interim Pope.”

At those words, Logan chuckled.

“You don’t need to know the reason, just follow the Temple’s word?”

“No, no! How could I dare say such a thing to the Sun of McLaine? This is merely a deeply earnest and respectful request.”

“Then I can refuse?”

“…Pardon?”

Logan smiled coldly at the old priest’s wide eyes.

“I wonder what you were expecting, but it seems the Temple is unaware that we are at war.”

As Logan said that and turned around, the golden aura that had been heating up the entire training ground slowly began to subside.

Thud.

“What do you think I am doing right now?”

The gauntlet lightly tapped the armor, and the sword held in that hand.

Lime Dahl sweated, not just from Logan’s powerful presence, but also from the weight of his difficult request.

Logan was constantly training in the training grounds except for the time he received reports on the progress of war preparations.

Lime Dahl had come to him, almost insisting, despite knowing this.

“W-well, of course, I know the situation is not favorable. However, at least consider the sincerity of our support for the ‘Healers’…”

“To ask for elites to capture a sacred sword ahead of the war?”

“…If you do so, the Temple will never forget your grace.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“…Pardon?”

Tsk.

‘I’d rather help Haman than help the Temple.’

He wanted to say that honestly, but openly antagonizing the Temple in the current situation was too much.

But there was no need to bow down.

‘I have nothing to lose.’

Logan knew the Temple’s rules well. Even though Pope Austin was only ‘Interim,’ he couldn’t easily change orders from the Pope before him.

That meant that the clergy accompanying the McLaine army under the thin guise of healers would be here until the end of this war, whether they liked it or not.

He had heard many stories about Austin, who was also the former Pope.

He was not the type of person to bypass the rules and play tricks.

However, it was not wise to push the bishop too hard, so Logan, as king, had no choice but to say what he had to say.

“…We cannot afford to waste national power in unnecessary places at this time, with the war looming. McLaine has already done its part by helping the Holy Kingdom defend Noviens. I hope the Temple will consider the circumstances.”

The words that started informally ended with a polite refusal.

It was difficult even for the archbishop to argue further when the king of a nation, especially the king of McLaine, who had emerged as the dominant force on the continent, said so.

In fact, Lime Dahl had come with a hopeful heart, knowing it was an unreasonable request, so he had no choice but to step back at that point.

“…I will convey your message.”

“Ah, but the fact that you came to me at this time means that the sacred sword is near here?”

“…Yes. To be precise, we believe he is heading to Kyle Castle in the kingdom. Therefore, there may be some disturbances there, so I ask for your understanding in advance.”

“Kyle?”

Why there again?

The archbishop, receiving that gaze, shook his head with a troubled expression.

“Since you said you would not help, I cannot say more, Your Majesty.”

Logan thought this was likely a trick by the Archbishop to get more information.

However, Logan had no intention of falling for such an obvious trick.

“Hmm, I understand. Then, please be careful on your way.”

“…Yes. Then.”

Logan simply shook his head lightly, brushing off his curiosity.

No, he pretended to do so.

And after the archbishop left the training ground, he was lost in thought with a serious look.

‘A skilled person like Sir Haman is moving alone and exposing his destination? And why Kyle?’

He didn’t seem like such a thoughtless person…

An uneasy feeling settled in Logan’s stomach.

The strange feeling of oppression that had suddenly struck him a while ago was settling in one corner of his heart again.

And now, he couldn’t just ignore that feeling. Knowing the dangers of the gods’ hidden side and his entanglement with them, it was stranger to think that Haman’s sudden actions had nothing to do with him.

Perhaps, the unknown feeling of oppression he had felt a while ago was related to this matter.

‘The Nine Gods…’

The thought that came to mind, because of this vague anxiety, was enormous and unsettling: The Nine Gods.

Naturally, the conclusion led to one thing.

He had to help.

However, there was a problem.

‘How to help Sir Haman without being obvious…’

No matter how much he thought, only one thing came to mind.

The once bustling streets of Lusphelheim were now eerily quiet, shops shuttered, and fear hanging heavy in the air like the smoke from distant fires.

[Follow the control until the war is over. Then, nothing will go wrong.]

The voice of the conqueror resonated in their minds, clear as a bell, yet feeling like a physical touch, wrapping around their thoughts and demanding obedience.

“Yes, yes. Of course! Of course!”

“Honey, why are you suddenly kneeling…”

“You do it too, quickly!”

“Ah, no. It’s not that scary of a feeling…”

“Ugh, come on!”

They had been living each day trembling in anxiety, and now they were slowly calming down.

One day, the citizens of Lusphelheim were terrified and prostrated themselves on the spot when a voice suddenly echoed in their minds.

Whether they were inside their homes or on the streets.

In fact, most of the citizens who had antipathy towards McLaine unknowingly swore to obey the words of the conqueror due to the unprecedented miracle.

Surprisingly, after that, they felt strangely at ease, and the conquering army with the flame emblem no longer felt scary. They felt a subtle sense of stability in the fact that they were people who followed the same voice as them.

The citizens of Lusphelheim, who had been suffering from extreme tension, unconsciously hoped that the small sense of stability that had suddenly come would continue.

And that wish, without them knowing, turned into a liking for the owner of the voice.

The next morning.

[Do not prevent the citizens of Lusphelheim from gathering. Only the possession of weapons is prohibited.]

No one thought that the words echoing in their minds again were a lie.

How could there be deception in the voice of the ruler directly conveyed to their minds?

The citizens, who had been trembling in the fear of war, began to open the doors they had tightly locked one by one and come outside.

“…Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Huh? It’s okay?”

Creak.

The citizens cautiously stepped out onto the streets.

They met their acquaintances for the first time in a while under the surveillance of McLaine soldiers scattered everywhere. The topic of their conversation was naturally the owner of that voice.

“…They say he’s a hero sent by God. Is it really true?”

“Yeah. How can there be such stability…”

“I didn’t even get this feeling from the Temple.”

“Hey, that’s too far.”

“It’s not wrong…”

Murmur murmur.

The streets of Lusphelheim were slowly regaining their vitality.

Without the citizens realizing it, their hostility towards the McLaine army was noticeably decreasing.

And that became a great source of strength for someone in the inner castle.

Whoosh.

The golden aura pulsed around Logan, making the air shimmer like heat rising from hot sand.

The power of faith… To think this was really possible. It’s hard for me to believe.

Logan chuckled in disbelief as he felt the Force that had been depleted by the all-night training crazily filling up.

It wasn’t just that the Force was being restored.

His soul was subtly but definitely being elevated.

Even at this moment, his level was slowly rising. The experiment had succeeded.

“I didn’t expect it to go this far…”

Of course, even if he maximized the power of his soul, the limit was to keep only this city within his sensory range.

But what if that grew several times, several dozen times?

And if there were people who admired him overflowing within it, like the McLaine mainland?

‘The limit of an Aura Master. Overcoming that limit doesn’t seem so difficult anymore.’

He wondered why the Sword God or other Aura Masters hadn’t overcome the limit, but the moment he thought of that, he immediately had a guess.

‘…There were no kings among the past Aura Masters.’

A thought struck Logan. ‘Kings…’ he mused. ‘None of the Aura Masters in history had been kings themselves.’

Since the beginning of history, there have been only five recorded Aura Masters, even including uncertain legends.

The first Aura Master who defeated an evil dragon in ancient times and saved the world. (Perhaps the legend of the Sword God was distorted and passed down.)

The hero who stopped the expansion of the Demonic Forest 700 years ago and silenced the Demon King, the Demon King Slayer.

The War God, Bren Dicaid, who appeared in the Ares Kingdom 500 years ago and established the foundation of the empire.

Solon Ireo, the guardian of the Gaia Kingdom who stopped the western expansion war of the Ares Empire 200 years ago.

And Jerome Dicaid, who would have reached that level in about 20 years if he had gone through his previous life.

Even including the case of his previous life, there were only five.

Even if he excluded the Sword God or the Demon King Slayer, whose names were not properly passed down, all three of the remaining were subordinates of kings or emperors.

No matter what merits they had, the hearts of the soldiers and the hearts of the people would not have gone entirely to the individuals.

Even the Sword God, who was said to have the power of wishes before him, ultimately failed to overcome the limit, so perhaps that guess was the most valid.

“Yeah. That must be it.”

Besides, the reason why he can handle this power much easier than he thought may be because the power of wishes given when he regressed is too great…

“What is that, Your Majesty?”

Demian, who had been waiting patiently, was pacing back and forth with an anxious look.

“Ah… I made you wait.”

“Yes. Please tell me what that important matter is quickly. I’m so worried that my legs are already shaking.”

Demian, with a pale face, licked his dry lips while speaking, as if he wasn’t just joking.

It was a very rude tone and attitude for someone speaking in a private audience with the king.

Logan sighed, seeing Demian’s worried face. “Alright, alright,” he said. “There’s probably no need to worry *too* much.”

The king, who had committed many sins and was planning to commit more, could only turn his gaze away.

Demian’s voice rose. “Your Majesty, you’re agreeing too easily! And you won’t look me in the eye! Whatever you’re planning, it’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

“…I haven’t said anything yet?”

“Anything! Anyway, it’s not okay!! The war starts in at least two months!”

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle as Demian, who had been showing the 모습 of a reliable strategist until recently, was suddenly acting like a child.

‘His intuition is too good.’

Besides, this guy seems to be resembling Rick more and more.

‘I need to warn him not to hang out too much.’

He knew he would object, but Logan briefly escaped reality because the reaction was too extreme.

However, he quickly came to his senses when he saw the desperate look towards him and carefully brought up the main point.

“I’m going out for ‘just a moment,’ so make a double. Rick, who has done it a few times, is in Gran, so…”

“Your Majesty!!!”

Demian’s scream echoed in the training ground, hanging in the air like a warning.