Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 460

Even at the Imperial Army headquarters, marching to Ruspelheim, the mood was gloomy.

It was as if the Holy Kingdom’s declaration of a holy war and the joining of the Kassel Magic Tower weren’t enough; the enemy king was also named an Honorary Saint and Holy Hero.

In short, the situation was quickly getting worse.

“Even if we leave out the Kassel Magic Tower for now, it’s obvious we’ll have to fight the Holy Kingdom later,” Galen Dicaid, the Frostwind Magician, said. Everyone in the tent went silent.

Even though all the Empire’s superhumans were there, more seats were empty than filled at the round table in the middle of the tent.

All the Eastern legion commanders had been killed, and Frostwind was the only one left of the seven great mages of Aserian. Among the Imperial Guard’s superhumans, only Jerome Dicaid, the young, one-eyed superhuman who had been kicked out, was there.

Even two commanders of the Western 7th Legion, the main force of the Imperial Army, were dead. The Empire’s superhumans, once over 30, were now just seven.

Most of them had died on the battlefield they were headed to: McLaine. That’s how dangerous this war was.

Morale in the legion was very low. It was hard to have a meeting when no one wanted to speak up.

“Has there been any word from His Majesty yet?” Jerome, the youngest, asked. He was met with a sharp look.

“How dare you speak of His Majesty! If you hadn’t behaved so badly, we would have already taken the Holy Kingdom! Our Empire wouldn’t be in this mess if not for you…”

“Greg!”

“…I’m sorry.”

At Galen’s shout, Greg Patterson, the gray-haired commander of the Western 1st Legion, gritted his teeth and held back his anger. But he added one last thing.

“Favoritism because he’s your nephew…”

It was a quiet mutter, but everyone there heard it, including Galen.

“Do you want to fight now? If you do, I’m ready.”

“…No. I’m sorry. I’m just upset because I’m worried.”

“Hmph, fine.”

Galen knew that wasn’t the whole story, but he knew this wasn’t the time to fight each other. He made a mental note of Greg’s disrespect and turned back to the matter at hand.

“His Majesty will be here before the war. Does anyone have any ideas to improve our situation?” Galen looked at the other six people. The thin man with sharp features at the edge spoke up.

“Has the General Staff made any plans?” Terry Godwin, commander of the Western 2nd Legion, asked. Galen shook his head, annoyed.

“Most of them are frozen with fear at the idea of the Temple declaring a holy war. They’re useless.”

In this world, people depended on the Emperor for life, but they depended on the gods for eternal life after death.

In the Empire, the most powerful country, many people were loyal to the Emperor because of their faith. Most were greedy, wanting blessings in this life and the next.

The civil officials were especially obsessed with this, which was causing problems.

“Still, someone must have some sense.”

“Yes. They say that plans don’t matter and only spread out our forces.”

“Excuse me?”

“They say the most important thing is which superhuman is killed first, especially who wins between His Majesty and the King of McLaine. They say there’s nothing else we can do. They’re missing the point. The General Staff is hopeless.”

Silence fell over the round table again.

Then Dakota Allen, the large, brown-haired commander of the 3rd Legion, spoke carefully. “We still have more than twice as many troops as the enemy. The North Gak and South Jo royal families will be gathering the remains of the Eastern Legion, so we’ll have even more…”

“The problem is that the regular soldiers’ morale is low. We’re here to find ideas to fix that. As I said, the General Staff hasn’t been able to come up with any solutions to this fight with the Temple.”

They could make up for having fewer superhumans by having more regular troops.

They would have more than double, maybe triple, the troops of McLaine. The Western Legion alone, weakened by wars, had almost 250,000 soldiers, and three of the Four Directional Kings would join them.

‘If we gather the remains of the Eastern Legion, we’ll probably have 400,000, while the enemy will be lucky to have over 100,000.’

With 300,000 more troops, they could crush anyone, even an Aura Master or their grandfather, if the soldiers were well-trained and motivated.

But the problem was that the regular troops’ morale was at its lowest.

“Does anyone have any ideas? There are rumors that we’ll be punished by the gods if we go against the Holy Hero, which has never happened before! Some people are even saying that the strange event at Kyle Castle was already a punishment!” Galen shouted, but the tent remained silent.

As the atmosphere darkened, Piles Delpione, commander of the Western 4th Legion and the only female Aura user, spoke carefully. “When His Majesty arrives, naturally…”

Thump!

Galen, who had been trying to stay calm, slammed his hand on the round table.

“We need a plan before His Majesty gets here!” he shouted.

The sight of the Frostwind Magician, known for being cold and arrogant, losing his temper showed how serious the situation was, and the atmosphere became even gloomier.

“Ha, and these are the Empire’s legion commanders…”

At that mutter, the five legion commanders, except Jerome, glared.

They were all thinking the same thing.

‘We are the victorious army, you are the defeated soldiers. So what?’

Just as anger was about to explode in the tent…

“Hee hee hee, it seems like you have a lot of worries…” An old man in a black robe suddenly appeared, his voice unexpected. It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere.

“What…!”

“Who is that!”

“What is this place!”

Clang!

The legion commanders turned to the uninvited guest, but a cold gust of wind blocked the space between the old man and them.

“He is an ally. Everyone, calm down.”

“Hee hee.”

Galen said he was an ally but clicked his tongue, as if annoyed. The old man showed his few yellow teeth and smiled strangely.

Remembering recent events and rumors, it wasn’t hard to guess who the old man was.

“Kassel Magic Tower…”

“The Black Serpent?”

“…Those magicians.”

“Hee hee, you are right. Generals of the Empire,” the old man chuckled, his voice calm. “Now that we are friends, please put away your swords for a moment.”

Philes felt angry when she heard the relaxed voice. She had just been told off, and this man sounded like he didn’t care.

“Don’t be silly!” Philes shouted. “It’s because of people like you that everything is a mess!”

“Philes!” someone warned.

Philes, known as ‘Blood Flower’ because of her fierce fighting, was furious. Red light glowed from her fingers, like a flower opening quickly, and reached out towards the old man.

But then, BANG! A huge explosion shook the tent. The red light flower disappeared, and Philes Delphione was thrown backwards. She crashed into the tent wall and fell hard to the ground.

Everyone in the tent knew the old man had caused it with just a wave of his hand.

“Ugh!” Philes groaned. “How dare you…!”

“Attacking a friend who has come to help us win this war?” the old man said calmly. “Even if I killed you now, I don’t think the Emperor would be too upset, hee hee.”

Philes, who had quickly stood up and was about to attack the old man again, had to stop when she heard those words.

Galen stepped forward, frowning. “You were too rough, Archmage.”

“I was just protecting myself,” the old man replied.

“Philes wasn’t trying to hurt you badly,” Galen said.

“Hee hee, really? My eyes are getting old, you know.”

The Archmage calmly sat down in the empty seat, saying words that no one would believe.

Galen’s frown stayed on his face as he sat down heavily. The other commanders also sat down, looking uncomfortable and unsure what to do.

“This plan better be good, old man,” said the leader of the Black Serpent. He smiled, even though Legion Commander Philes, now covered in dust, was glaring angrily at him.

“Of course, General,” the Archmage said.

His smile seemed fake to everyone. “The plan is simple. If the army’s spirit is low, we just need to lift it up, right? Even if we have to force it.”

“What do you mean by that?” someone asked.

“I will use magic from the Cassel Magic Tower on the whole Imperial Army. If all our soldiers become fearless fighters who don’t care about dying, how can we lose?”

Everyone in the tent looked shocked and serious.

“…Are you saying you want to brainwash our soldiers? All of them?” one commander asked.

“Hee hee, if you help me, we can do anything,” the Archmage replied.

“That’s crazy!” another commander exclaimed. “Don’t you understand why we are losing? If you openly use magic like that, it will be like admitting the Holy Kingdom is right about us!”

“Do you think the Holy Kingdom will stop attacking us if we don’t do this? They even made your enemy a Saint, you know!”

Silence fell in the tent. The old man looked at the commanders with cold eyes.

“I promise you, if you agree to my plan, we can easily defeat Maclane and even the Holy Kingdom. What do you think, Galen, Magician of the Freezing Gale? Will you tell the Emperor what I said?”

“…The Emperor is not here right now.”

“Oh, really? That explains why he hasn’t replied to my messages. That’s why I came myself…”

Galen had been watching the old man’s small, sly eyes. Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. His face became serious, and he started to gather his magic.

*Crack!* A wind of white and blue magic appeared around Galen, mixed with a dark gray light. Then, it vanished quickly.

“You’re trying to trick us!” Galen shouted angrily. A freezing wind started to blow around him.

The old man’s eyes flashed for a moment when he saw the magic. Then, he put his hands together and smiled slyly, like he always did.

“Ah, I just wanted to check if you were telling the truth,” the old man said. “If I was impolite, I am very sorry, hee hee.”

The old man now acted like he was very sorry and there was no problem.

But Galen still looked very cold and angry. “Archmage, this is your first and last warning. No matter how strong a mage you are, you can’t beat all seven of us at once. If you try to trick us again…”

“Ah, I said I was wrong!” the old man interrupted. “In that case, I will help you completely for free. Is that okay, Freezing Gale?”

Galen was so surprised by this strange offer that he stopped being angry for a moment and laughed weakly.

“…Were you expecting to get paid?” Galen asked.

“Did you really think that brainwashing this huge army, something that needs to be done very fast, would be cheap?”

“Stop talking nonsense and leave if you have nothing else to say. We will decide about your plan when the Emperor comes back.”

Galen’s anger was clear. The Archmage narrowed his eyes again, but only for a second.

“…Hee hee, very well,” he said. “Maybe this is the best way.” He decided to leave, with a strange smile on his face.

“Don’t underestimate the Empire, or the Emperor.”

The old man knew they had no plan to fight back yet. They probably knew it too. But Galen looked very sure when he said this, and the other commanders nodded as if they agreed.

Even if the regular soldiers had lost hope, these commanders still believed in the Emperor. *’The Holy Kingdom people are crazy, but these guys are just as crazy,’* the old man thought to himself, clicking his tongue.

He said one last thing aloud, “…I will be getting ready in Regal, a small town south of Penna. It’s on the road to Lusphelheim, so come there when you have decided. And, if you need other help, just ask. Aren’t we supposed to be working together for now?”

“…Like I said, that’s for the Emperor to decide…”

“Yes, yes. The Emperor will decide. The Imperial Army is in such a mess. I really wonder where the Emperor is and what he is doing.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man disappeared completely.

The commanders stared at the empty space where the old man had been. They continued their meeting, but they couldn’t agree on anything and looked worried.

Three days later, when they were almost at Regal, the town the old man talked about, someone shouted, “The Emperor has arrived!” The Emperor, who everyone in the Imperial Army had been waiting for, had come to the army camp.