Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 462

“Finally, we’re leaving,” one of the merchants said.

“Are we really going?” another asked.

“Look over there. They’re all moving towards the east gate,” the first merchant replied.

Ron glanced at the Imperial army. He still couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Finally, they’re going,” someone sighed.

“Hooray, hooray!” a few voices cheered quietly.

“Shhh! They’ll hear you,” someone warned.

“Eh, hardly…,” another voice mumbled.

People whispered, their voices lowered in fear. They were all merchants who had been forced to give supplies to the Imperial army while it was staying in Regal.

Having their things taken away, they didn’t like the Imperials. But this time, the feeling was different. It was more than just dislike.

“I can’t hear anything but the sound of marching,” one said.

“Shouldn’t we hear voices with so many soldiers?” another asked.

“I know, right?”

“It’s scary….”

When the Imperial army first came to Regal, it was noisy. But it gradually became quieter. After three days, there was almost no noise, even in their camp.

The people of Regal started to feel afraid. It seemed strange that such a big army of over 300,000 soldiers could be so quiet.

Rumors began to spread that the Imperial soldiers had their souls stolen by demons.

As the last soldiers of the Imperial army left through the east gate, a pigeon flew out of Ron’s shop and headed east.

“Urgent news from the Flame’s Eye Regal branch. The Imperial army in Regal has started to move forward,” a voice said urgently.

But the voice that answered was calm. “Yes, it was about time. It’s later than I expected.”

“And… they say the feeling is very strange. Along with the rumors in Regal.”

“Feeling?” Damian asked, frowning.

“An army of 300,000 is moving, but there’s no sound.”

“What are you talking about?” Damian asked. It sounded impossible.

No matter how well-trained an army was, some soldiers would be nervous before a battle. Especially the Imperial army, which had problems inside and outside.

Also, he had heard rumors of many soldiers running away.

“All news from inside has stopped. Even the merchants who bring supplies haven’t come back. It’s hard to get any information,” the voice added.

Damian’s eyes widened. He remembered something he had forgotten.

“Why are you telling me this now?!” he demanded.

“We weren’t sure, so we were being careful….”

Expensive magic tools to talk to each other were not in every branch.

The voice didn’t need to say that Damian already knew. And Damian didn’t want an explanation.

“This is terrible!” Damian said.

He stood up and ran towards the war room.

“Hundreds of thousands of soldiers moving like one person? Without any noise?” Logan asked, his face serious.

“Yes. You said the Cassel Magic Tower is good at brainwashing….”

He understood what Damian meant. But it was still hard to believe.

“Even for them, so many soldiers in such a short time? That would be hard… Ria, what do you think?”

The two men looked at Victoria, who was standing nearby. She had asked about bringing her master back to life a second time.

Victoria sighed. She was worried about her master, but she had to answer her lord’s question. Luckily, she knew the answer. It was about something she had been studying for Logan.

“If there were hundreds more of ‘those things,’ it’s possible. But it would cost a huge amount of money,” she said.

“Huge? How much?”

“Even for the Empire, it would cost at least half a year’s budget. That would only pay for about ten Black Knights, but it would work better in this case.”

“I didn’t think the Empire had that much money left,” Damian said.

“If they think they will lose everything this time, they might do it.”

“Hmm,” Logan said, thinking.

Half a year’s budget for the Empire was a lot of money.

If that money disappeared, the country would be in trouble.

“So, you’re saying the Empire is willing to go broke and work with the Cassel Magic Tower?” Logan asked.

The Empire had already lost more than it could gain by taking McLaine. War always uses up resources and doesn’t give quick rewards, even if you win.

‘They could win and still fall apart afterwards.’

Had the Emperor gone crazy?

No, he must be desperate.

“Yes, that’s right. And to get ready so quickly, most of the wizards at the Cassel Magic Tower are probably exhausted,” Victoria added.

But Logan didn’t look any happier. Wizards could recover from magic exhaustion in a few days. And mental magic from weaker wizards wouldn’t work anyway, as long as he was there.

“This is awful,” Damian said.

Everyone on the continent believed in the Nine Gods, even if they had different ideas about them.

The homeland declared by the religious doctrine by the center of that faith.

Even the best army would lose hope in that situation, which he had been happy about.

“I thought I had made the Imperial army weak…,” Damian said.

He was sad that all their soldiers might have been brainwashed. The advantage they had was gone.

It was worse than that. An army of over 300,000 charging without fear was like making the enemy stronger. It was a bigger threat than adding a few superhumans.

Also, if they had started moving from Regal, the war was only days away.

He couldn’t think of a solution, and even if he did, there was too little time. The Empire had probably planned this, controlling information carefully.

Logan stared at the map, lines of worry etched on his face. The enemy was strong, and time was running out. ‘Even if it’s a bit reckless,’ he thought, a risky idea forming in his mind, ‘it needs to be a short but certain period.’

The moment that thought occurred, only one idea sprang to mind.

“…I’ve been tricked.”

Logan chewed on his lip, while Damian opened his mouth, his face ashen.

“I-I’m alright. Our allies’ morale is soaring. If I were brainwashed, I wouldn’t be able to think properly. McLaine has Your Majesty’s power, so it will be easy to fight.”

At that moment, Logan’s eyes flashed with sudden understanding, like lightning in a storm.

“…Wait a minute?”

A sudden idea flashed in Logan’s mind as he listened to Damian.

“What did you just say?”

“W-Well… we have you, Your Majesty. That should be enough, right?”

“No, not that… Wait a second, if we do this right, it might just work?”

Damian’s eyes lit up as Logan mumbled, thinking aloud.

However, before he could even open his mouth, Logan cut him off.

“Lia, when you analyzed those things, were the patterns almost the same? No, no. Is it true that the magic of one school has a certain pattern?”

“…Yes, that’s right. Usually.”

“Then you can tell me the pattern of that magic, right?”

“It’s possible, but why would His Majesty, who isn’t a mage, want to know that…?”

“No, I think I can use it. I don’t know until I try, but I think it’s possible enough.”

Maybe we can use it against them.

A wide, triumphant smile spread across Logan’s face, chasing away the worry lines.

Damian and Victoria felt the anxiety in their hearts disappear without a trace. Whether it was because of their experience of seeing their lord by their side, or just a change created by the power of the Aura Master, they couldn’t tell.

“Lia, let’s talk more about that pattern for now. Damian, you go back and prepare for war. Leave this to me and Lia.”

“…Yes. I trust you, Your Majesty.”

Damian, who was usually quick to argue, simply nodded obediently.

‘A strategist shouldn’t be like this.’

He was dumbfounded by his own behavior, but the words didn’t come out of his mouth. He just thought that what that person said must be right, and that thought occupied his mind.

‘…Is that what my lord, who always does things without a plan, is saying?’

Why does it sound so natural?

It was strange, but soon Damian forgot even that slight sense of rejection and just turned around with a smiling face.

‘Hmm. He’s being obedient for once.’

Logan tilted his head without realizing it when Damian, who he thought would ask for a reason, just backed down.

But he didn’t pay much attention to it. The immediate problem was more urgent now.

As he was about to start a conversation on the subject, Victoria brought up something embarrassing.

“I can tell you the pattern, Your Majesty. But before that, you didn’t answer my question about my teacher…”

Pause.

“Ah, right. That’s what we were talking about…”

Logan bit his lip and blamed himself.

He knew she would be curious, but he unconsciously avoided the topic. He didn’t want to say bad things to a child who was a mage but not yet an adult, and who had no choice but to rely on her family or teacher.

But now that the story had come this far, he couldn’t avoid it any longer.

“…I’m sorry. I haven’t found a way to restore Clayton yet. The saintess’s recovery is related to the power of God…”

Victoria’s face fell, her eyes losing their light like candles snuffed out.

“…I see.”

“I’m sorry, Lia. But someday I will definitely be able to revive him. So please, trust me for now.”

Victoria forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her sad eyes. It was a fragile, wavering smile that broke Logan’s heart a little.

If Logan, the lord of this country, was the one who saved her and her brother’s fate, Clayton, her teacher, was the one who developed her talent and made her able to do her part in a rapidly changing world.

Moreover, the reason her teacher collapsed was to protect her, so she always felt guilty when she thought of him these days.

However, the lord in front of her had always proven her words with actions. No matter how reckless it seemed, even if everyone around her shouted that it was absolutely impossible.

Perhaps that’s why she felt a new hope in her lord’s words, which had no basis at all.

“Yes, I will trust you.”

“…Okay. Then let’s talk about that pattern again.”

In the old lord’s office, dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight that pierced through the high windows of Luthphelheim Inner Castle. The room was lined with shelves overflowing with ancient books and scrolls, the air thick with the scent of aged paper and beeswax.

Logan and Victoria stayed up for three days straight, researching the Cassel Magic Tower, or rather, the scroll left by the Emperor.

Four days later.

“It’s the Imperial Army!”

Starting with the cry of the sentry on guard, the whole castle began to stir.

“Everyone to your positions.”

“Check the weapons and supplies!”

“Mages to your positions!”

The McLaine forces moved quickly.

Logan’s voice, filled with power, echoed in their minds.

[We will surely win! Believe it.]

“Waaah!”

The resolute voice instilled tremendous courage in everyone’s hearts.

That wasn’t all.

Soon, the layout of the allies and approximate information about the approaching enemy were transmitted to their minds. The soldiers reminded themselves of their respective roles, and this led to solid confidence.

“There’s no way we can lose.”

“We have His Majesty!”

“Glory to McLaine!”

“Respect to the Unquenchable Flame!”

The soldiers shouted without being told.

Feeling the morale soaring as if it would reach the sky, the McLaine army looked at the approaching Imperial army.

But then.

A booming voice echoed from the Empire’s side: ‘Ruthless invaders! In the name of the Empire, we will punish you, McLaine! You have deceived even the temple, and you will pay!’

The voice of tremendous volume that burst out from the Empire’s side silenced the commotion of Luthphelheim for a moment.

“What is this…?”

“Ugh, what’s wrong?”

“What’s going on?”

A sense of fear filled them with just one voice.

The soldiers stroked their arms, which were covered in goosebumps, and looked to their ruler for courage once again.

And those of them who were near the central wall could see Logan’s face twisted in horror, his eyes wide with disbelief.

– Something’s wrong.

The moment they thought that.

Suddenly, a monstrous fireball erupted above them, blotting out the sky. It pulsed with heat, and the air crackled with energy. The ground seemed to tremble beneath its fiery presence.