Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 65

“McLaine will pay for this!” The angry shouts of women echoed as they were forced to leave. These were the wives and daughters of Soto Silvan, their voices filled with hate. They were given a little money and pushed out of the land that was once theirs.

No one thought about what would happen to these women. They were noble ladies who had never worked a day in their lives. Now, their husbands and fathers were gone, and they were left with nothing.

The real reason for sending the women away was to tell the people of Silvan that a new lord had arrived. McLaine wanted to calm the people down and get ready for more fighting.

Just one week after taking Silvan, a magic message arrived. It came from somewhere Logan didn’t expect at all – Bipros County.

“Bipros County?” Logan wondered aloud. The message was like a warning, but it was too late to stop anything now. The message said: [Silvan, Peretta, and McLaine, stop fighting! As the leader of the Southwest, I will help you make peace.]

“Who do they think they are, calling themselves leaders of the Southwest and telling us what to do!” Patrick shouted, his face turning red with anger. But he knew this was really happening.

McLaine’s advisors calmed Patrick down and sent a message back to the County.

[Silvan is already ours. Soto Silvan is dead. We were right to fight back because he forced us to. McLaine does not want to fight anymore.]

Perhaps they hadn’t expected the McLaine-Silvan war to end so quickly.

The County’s reply came several days later.

[A messenger from the County will come to McLaine and Peretta. They want to hear from you that you will not fight anymore. The messenger will also tell you what Bipros County wants.]

“The will of the County?”

“It’s a bit unsettling, but isn’t it an acknowledgement of our right of occupancy, considering they didn’t mention Silvan?”

“Well, it’s a bit different from what I expected, but it seems to have turned out as you wanted, Logan.”

“Except that Peretta is still quiet.”

“What else could go wrong now?” one advisor asked, sounding worried.

“Maybe something is happening at Tesron Castle…” Logan said, his voice thoughtful.

“But Clayton is there,” another replied, trying to sound confident. “Even if there’s trouble, he can defend it.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed, but he still sounded unsure. “We should be able to hold out…”

The fight with Silvan was quick, but only because McLaine used all his strength. They had even kept a secret weapon hidden in Tesron Castle, wanting to surprise everyone later.

But now, with three castles to look after, things were harder.

Before, with just McLaine and Tesron, they could keep most soldiers in Tesron and just use McLaine Castle as a symbol of power.

But now, Peretta was almost like an enemy, and they had Silvan too. McLaine was right next to Bipros land, so they couldn’t do things the old way anymore.

“We should make the town the center of our land, not McLaine Castle,” one advisor suggested. “We’ve already fixed up a big house near the magic tower for your family to live in.”

“Summer is coming, and remember we cleared out the monster forest?” another added. “We don’t need many soldiers in McLaine anymore. Nothing much will happen there.”

“We can keep the knights near McLaine Town,” a third said, “ready to send them to Tesron or Silvan if needed. I think we should split the soldiers in two groups.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed. “That sounds right.”

Change was inevitable, and because it was a positive change, the decision was made quickly.

Moreover, what they gained from this war was not just land.

“Didn’t you say we captured 75 knights?” Logan asked.

“Yes,” an advisor replied. “If you don’t count the 42 who died and the three who ran away, we have them all in Silvan’s prison. Eight of them are good knights, too.”

“Wow,” Logan said. “That’s more knights than we even have! We’re definitely getting stronger.”

“Of course!” everyone agreed. Actually, they knew it was mostly because Soto Silvan was careless and let them get captured easily. But no one said that out loud. They just smiled with their lord.

“We can get all these knights to join us, right?” Logan asked.

“Did any of them really like Soto Silvan?” an advisor replied. “Probably not. They’ll all want to join us.”

It was hard to believe any knight truly liked a cruel leader like Soto Silvan. And even if some did, McLaine didn’t need them.

Now, McLaine could pay knights better than anyone else. Plus, they were all from the same country, serving the same king.

What knight would say no to keeping his job, his honor, and even getting more money, all while working for a stronger lord? Logan was sure they would all say yes.

Perhaps the most reliable way to increase the number of knights was not selecting talented individuals but territorial warfare.

Logan had strange thoughts because they had won so easily. *If Soto Silvan had just been a little smarter,* he thought, *many more people would have died. We wouldn’t have captured so many knights, and all the enemy soldiers would be dead.*

He knew that soldiers were important. They could become knights one day. They were also fathers, sons, friends, and husbands to people in McLaine.

Everyone was so happy about capturing the knights that they almost forgot that over a thousand enemy soldiers had lived and surrendered. That was a good thing too.

Everything had turned out better than anyone hoped.

*This won’t be so easy next time,* Logan thought. He knew that war usually meant losing people and using up supplies.

Future enemies wouldn’t be as foolish as Soto Silvan. They might think Tesron was just luck, but they wouldn’t think taking Silvan was lucky.

Logan told himself not to get too excited about winning. He also told his father and advisors to remember this.

But even so, everyone in charge of McLaine kept smiling for a long time.

While everyone was still happy and celebrating in Silvan, busy with the captured knights and soldiers, a messenger from Bipros arrived. He came to Silvan, not to McLaine’s main castle.

Envoy: “The Count is very sorry about all the fighting McLaine has been doing every year.”

Patrick: “I’m sorry too! Other lands keep attacking McLaine when we’re just trying to live in peace.”

Envoy: “…The Count knows there might be some confusion between us. He wants to help us make peace before things get worse.”

Patrick: “Make peace? The war is finished! McLaine doesn’t want to fight anyone else. We won’t attack Peretta unless they attack us first.”

Envoy: “This peace talk is because Silvan asked for it. Things have changed now, but…”

Patrick: “They started the fight! And now they want peace talks? Soto Silvan must be very shameless!”

At Patrick’s words, everyone in the grand hall except for the envoy nodded.

However, the envoy’s next words changed the atmosphere of the grand hall in an instant.

Envoy: “The Count thinks that all these fights keep happening because Bipros County hasn’t been a good leader. We haven’t brought everyone together in the Southwest.”

Everyone looked confused. What did that even mean?

Envoy: “So, to celebrate Lord Roger Bipros turning fifty next month, the Count wants to meet with the *heirs* of all the important families in the Southwest. We will talk about the future of our lands…”

*BANG!*

Patrick slammed his fist on the table, breaking it.

“What nonsense! Send our heirs? Talk about the future? Do you think McLaine is under Bipros’s control?!” Patrick roared, his anger filling the room like a dangerous storm. The messenger, sweating and shaking, still looked Patrick in the eye.

The messenger stood nervously in Patrick’s office. Sunlight streamed through the window, lighting up the dusty room. He was an envoy from Earl Bifrost, a powerful lord in the Southwest. The envoy cleared his throat and unrolled a scroll. He read in a trembling voice, “Earl Bifrost says that those who do not wish to attend the meeting are not required to come. However…”

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. *Gulp.*

Forcing himself to speak, the envoy continued, “Bifrost will only help families who accept him as the Lord of the Southwest. And he says that those who oppose him cannot discuss the future together.”

Patrick McLaine’s face turned red with anger. “Hmph! A threat disguised as politeness! But McLaine will never give in to threats!”

As Patrick’s anger rose, an unseen force seemed to fill the room, pressing down on the envoy like a heavy weight. The envoy gasped, his eyes wide with fear.

Logan stepped forward, a calm smile on his face. “Father,” he said gently, “I think it might actually be interesting to go.”

Patrick stared at his son, surprised. “What did you just say?”

“I respect your opinion, so I dismissed the envoy for now. But…”

Patrick recalled his last memory from the Great War, a terrible battle against Bifrost’s forces. His face flushed with anger and old pain.

He thought, *The young master is indeed brilliant.*

He knew they were mocking him for not recognizing reality.

“No matter what excuse we make, we cannot bow our heads and enter Bifrost! I’d rather die than do that!”

Whoo-oong.

The surging force heavily pressed down on the air in the office.

“I will never allow it!”

However, the opponent just happened to be Logan.

Logan smiled calmly. He walked to the window where a flowerpot sat. He picked up a handful of soil and looked at his father. “Shall I throw this at you now, Father? To calm you down?”

“Huh…”

At the sight of Logan grabbing a handful of soil from the flowerpot by the window, Patrick, who had been furious, could only stare at his son with a dumbfounded expression.

“Let’s hear what you have to say. What are you thinking?”

With a light sigh, Logan’s answer followed.

“We cannot defeat Bifrost no matter what we do right now.”

Two Supreme Knights, fifteen High Knights, and over 300 knights in total in two knight orders.

That was just a portion of the Earl’s publicly stated power, who possessed five castles and the vast Bifrost Plains.

Even that alone was a difference in power that they could never overcome in the current situation.

“Moreover, the current situation seems to be unfolding well at first glance, but in some ways, it is also precarious.”

Unlike the old McLaine, who was far from the kingdom’s center and had nothing to gain.

The current McLaine, having taken over Teslon and Silvan, one after another, would certainly be drawing attention from Bifrost.

With their territories bordering each other, trying to assert unnecessary pride could really lead to being trampled.

‘I need time.’

Time to merge the Silvan Knights, overwhelmingly subjugate Pereta in the future, and reorganize their forces.

And time for him to properly learn the three forms of the Divine Sword’s secrets, befitting his level of growth, and for the knights to grow as well.

His father would not be unaware of that either.

But.

“The situation is different from the other border lords in the region. If Bifrost tries to use its position as lord, the other territories will all rebel.”

Back when McLaine’s ancestor committed atrocities four generations ago, the situation in the southwest was very complicated.

Despite succeeding in the rebellion, Bifrost failed to eliminate the bloodline of the old lord, and the royal family embraced McLaine, who had committed crimes, to preserve its lineage.

Even after that, unlike the other border lords and lords in the region, Bifrost could not force the nobles of the southwest to submit.

How did it come to be? There was hardly anyone left who knew all the complicated circumstances of the time, but reality was reality.

So, his father’s words were not without merit.

However, the situation had changed slightly without Patrick knowing.

“Percival and Loopman, north of Bifrost, have long submitted to Bifrost. I confirmed this when I went to the capital.”

Of course, it was a fact he had seen in his past life, not in the capital, but it was enough to change his father’s mind.

“……What?!”

“If anyone rebels, it would be Pereta, but as you know, our situation with them is currently…”

“Huh, how could that…”

“If we rebel here, we might be trampled as an example.”

“When did the situation get so bad…? I am so pathetic. The enemy was secretly making things harder for us, and I wasn’t even paying attention.”

Seeing him slump down, looking as if his energy had drained away in an instant, Logan soothed his father in a calm tone.

“There’s no need to blame yourself. I only happened to hear about it in the capital.”

“……It’s because the family is weak that you have to suffer humiliation. I’m sorry, my son.”

It was the same as allowing Logan’s wishes.

“You know my skills. Nothing will happen. Let’s just think of it as seeing how the land where our ancestors lived has changed.”

‘There was something I had to check anyway.’

Seeing his father’s expression, which looked so bitter, he simply swallowed the last words that had come up to his throat.

“Master! Is it true that you are being sold off to enemy territory?!”

The events that had taken place in Silvan’s Great War seemed to have been distorted as they spread.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Hamar stood there, his face red and sweaty, his dwarven beard sticking out every which way. He looked desperate, as if he had rushed over suddenly during work.

“What nonsense is spreading around…”

“Master, if you die, what will happen to you? And to your promise to me?”

“I’m not dying! And I’m not being sold off either. Filter out the rumors a bit, will you!”

“Most of the ridiculous rumors about the master turned out to be true!”

“……”

Logan couldn’t find anything to say in response, as it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Anyway, take this with you wherever you go.”

“What?”

Hamar thrust a sword into Logan’s hands. It was a sturdy weapon, the metal still warm from the forge. The scabbard was plain leather, but Logan could see the beginnings of intricate dwarven carvings.

Leaving behind a single sword that he had thrust out, Hamar turned around and left.

“What is this…”

“Be sure to come back alive!”

Bang!

Hamar didn’t even listen properly and kicked the door open and disappeared in an instant.

“Good grief. I’m not going to die, I tell you…”

Even as a hollow laugh escaped him at the absurdity of it all, he couldn’t help but turn his gaze to the sword left behind by the dwarven craftsman.