Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 92

Logan watched the wizards getting ready to cast their spells, and he was excited.

Everyone from the Golem Tower was there, except for young Victoria.

Clayton was with ten of his students. Among them were Grik, Enan, and Truth, who were some of his best. They took out blue crystals of different sizes from their robes.

These were mana stones, rare minerals made from nature’s magic energy.

As they held the mana stones and chanted together, the magic circles in their hearts seemed to stir up the energy around them.

Soon after, Clayton took ten high-quality mana stones, each worth 100,000 gold, and pushed them into the ground.

Rumble.

At the same time, ten huge earth golems, each 5 meters tall, burst out of the ground, making the earth crumble.

“Whoaaa!”

Clayton’s golems were already famous in McLaine, but many of the knights and soldiers were seeing them for the first time, so they shouted in surprise.

Those who had seen Clayton’s giant golem when the dam was built were confused by these smaller golems.

‘Why aren’t they using that giant golem from before?’

Also, these golems had very large arms for their size, and instead of hands, they had flat, shovel-like shapes.

But Logan smiled as he watched.

‘Just making the golems has created a pit 10 meters wide.’

Logan thought Clayton’s confident words would become true.

He became even more sure when he saw eleven more golems, each 2-3 meters tall, made by Grik and the others, making the pit even wider.

Logan nodded, satisfied, and the golems began to move.

Rumble.

“Huh?!”

“What, what are they doing?”

“Digging…?”

Everyone had expected the golems to charge at the enemy camp, but instead, they started digging into the ground like crazy with their large, shovel-shaped hands.

“What are they doing?”

At the front of the confused McLaine soldiers, the wizards from the Golem Tower kept drawing up magic energy.

They had to keep the golems going with expensive mana stones and help them ‘work’ with other spells.

“Taaah!” Clayton shouted, already sweating.

Whirr.

Rumble.

Each time the wizards used their magic, the ground they touched crumbled like soft tofu.

The golems and wizards began digging a tunnel 500 meters away from the enemy castle, a distance too far for arrows to reach.

‘Now, how will you react?’

Logan looked at the enemies on the castle walls, his face showing his worry.

“Wizards?!” Jerome, the defense captain, noticed the change before his soldiers did.

Even with arrows flying everywhere, Jerome, a good knight, could see clearly.

“Those guys have wizards too?”

His heart, which had been calm for a moment because the enemy’s attack was failing, started to beat fast again.

Wizards, especially a group like this, could change things on the battlefield.

But the wizards’ next actions confused him after he had been so worried.

“A tunnel?”

Jerik, who had also seen the wizards, looked at Jerome in the same way.

They quickly talked about it.

“Digging underground from that far away? What are they doing?”

“I know. It would be impossible in a day or two, even with magic.”

“Then why are they doing it?”

“Well, those earth dolls are a bit worrying…”

The brothers looked worried, then shook their heads at the same time.

“Still, we shouldn’t open the castle gates and go out.”

“Yeah. We just need to hold out.”

The brothers tried to calm their worries and ignore the strange situation.

But as the hours passed, and the sun rose high and then began to set, they became more and more worried because the enemy didn’t do anything important.

The wizards and golems that had appeared at first had disappeared into the tunnel they were digging.

And on top of that…

“They’re not even shooting arrows anymore?”

“What are those guys thinking?”

“Leave them be. It’s good for us if they’re wasting time.”

Jerome shook his head, trying to hide his worry.

And then, at that moment…

Rumble.

“Uwak!”

“What, what is it?!”

“The castle walls are shaking…”

The vague worry became real when the soldiers screamed as the ground shook strongly.

“The castle walls?!”

“What’s going on?!”

Seeing the soldiers in chaos, Jerome shouted to his brother.

“How likely is it that the castle walls will collapse?!”

“Surely not, eh. No way.”

“Didn’t you feel it shaking just now?”

“…Still, we shouldn’t go out. Holding out until the main force arrives is our priority.”

“What if the castle walls collapse? Why do you think those guys haven’t attacked until now! They’re up to something!”

The unexpected shaking caused the brothers to disagree.

And.

“Let’s take out the wizards with a small group of good soldiers. Without them knowing!”

Jerome, who was more worried, was the defense captain of Tomodo Castle.

“Let’s only send knights. Go around through the southern forest, trying not to be seen. If you feel uneasy, just come back. Got it?”

“…Alright. Let’s check them out.”

In the end, the brothers stopped waiting and decided to do something.

Tomodo Castle.

The western castle walls were tense because of the suspicious movements of the McLaine forces, but the other walls were more relaxed, guarded by only a few soldiers, ready for anything.

The southern castle wall, with a forest nearby, had a few more guards.

Everyone was watching the west, so the southern gate opened, and a group of cavalry came out.

“Is the area safe?”

“No problems.”

“No signs of the enemy either.”

Jerik nodded and led twenty knights as they rode their horses forward together.

They headed south, and the sound of only twenty horses couldn’t be heard beyond the western castle walls.

Jerik and the twenty knights quickly entered the southern forest.

‘We can go through the forest to the enemy’s rear.’

The enemy camp was still far from the forest, but it was closer than the castle.

‘Attack quickly and retreat.’

If they could quickly attack the enemy wizards as planned and retreat fast, they had a good chance of success.

Everyone knew that wizards couldn’t fight well against knights in close combat.

They had watched the enemy camp before, when they stopped coming closer. They saw only a few guards behind the main group.

Even if the enemy was ready, they thought they could retreat to the castle before the enemy knights moved.

When Jerik saw the entrance to the tunnel in the enemy’s rear after riding through the forest, he felt even more confident.

‘Five knights. Enough.’

There were not many guards at the tunnel entrance, and they were looking the wrong way, away from the forest.

Just then, Sir Gail, a senior knight who had come with the raiding party, grabbed his shoulder.

“Jerik, wait. Could this be a trap? There are too few guards,” Gail said, his voice laced with concern.

Gail’s words made sense, but that didn’t change Jerik’s mind.

“If it’s a trap, are we turning back?” Gail asked.

“Still…” Gail hesitated.

“If something feels wrong, we retreat. But until then, we charge in with everything we’ve got,” Jerik declared.

He didn’t explain that most enemy knights were with the main group and it would take them time to get here.

This was a time for courage, not for being too comfortable.

“Let’s go!” Jerik commanded.

Jerik ignored Gail’s worry. He had made his decision. “Charge!” he ordered, his voice low but firm.

Scritch, scritch. The bushes rustled as the knights burst from the dark trees. The air was still and quiet, except for the soft sounds of their horses. No one shouted. They knew silence was their friend, for now.

Thud, thud, thud. The sound of twenty horses running fast on the ground echoed in the quiet air. The guards at the tunnel finally looked up, surprised.

However, what was surprising was…

“Enemies!” one guard shouted.

“From behind! It’s a raid!” another yelled.

The enemies, upon seeing them, immediately dove into the tunnel without even trying to fight back.

Considering the numbers—twenty against five—it was a normal reaction, but the lack of hesitation made Jerik uneasy.

‘A trap…’ Jerik thought.

No, that’s not it. The enemy knights’ positions have already been confirmed.

Even if something is different from what we expected, only a few knights could arrive at this rear position in time.

Besides, it’s too late to back out now anyway.

Jerik gritted his teeth and put more strength into his legs.

“Faster!” he shouted.

With his shout, the speed of the Bifrost knights increased even more.

Jerik, charging towards the tunnel at the very front, felt something shooting out from the dim darkness within.

“Tch!” Jerik clicked his tongue.

It was a threat that could have been dangerous, as he was charging at maximum speed, but he didn’t slow down.

Tap tap tap!

Instead, he knocked away the incoming objects with his senses alone and continued to charge forward.

‘Arrows?’ Jerik wondered.

To be precise, they were strange crossbow bolts that had hit the castle walls at the start of the war.

They were pouring down from the front quickly, carrying more power than he had expected.

But he was a senior knight, among the strongest in Bifrost.

As he used his Force to its peak, his armor stopped the bolts that tried to get through, and his sword slashed away all the arrows coming from the front.

However, no matter how much he used the Force, he couldn’t protect his horse as well.

“Neigh!” the horse cried.

Plop.

“Damn it!” Jerik cursed.

The charge had to stop when the horse fell, but nothing could stop him from stepping forward, one foot after another.

However, not all his comrades were as strong as he was.

Splash!

“Neigh!” another horse cried.

“Ack!” a knight screamed.

Screams came not only from the horses but also from the mouths of his comrades who had followed him in.

He couldn’t turn around to see because he was busy blocking the pouring bolts, but feeling the shaking in his armor, it seemed that ordinary soldiers who couldn’t strengthen their armor with the Force wouldn’t be able to handle this attack.

‘Still, advance!’ Jerik thought.

This attack meant that there were no knights here who could fight them.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I must capture them and leave,’ Jerik resolved.

As his eyes got used to the darkness of the tunnel, Jerik gradually saw shapes. He spotted about 300 soldiers continuously firing crossbows and mages in robes hiding behind them. A grim smile appeared on Jerik’s face as he charged towards them.

Since he was already close and the soldiers were between the charging knights and the mages, the mages wouldn’t be able to respond well.

Also, because they were inside a tunnel that could fall apart if they used too much magic, they wouldn’t move carelessly.

He thought that if they could defeat these enemies and return before reinforcements arrived, all would be well.

But at that moment…

A lump of metal suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

Wham!

Fortunately, his sword, acting on instinct, hit it directly.

“Gack!” the figure choked.

He saw a heavy figure tumbling backward, making a choking sound.

It was someone crouching in front of the crossbow-firing soldiers.

One of them, carrying a metal shield as big as his own body, had stepped forward to block him.

“Get out of the way!” Jerik roared.

He felt most of the crossbows instantly change direction and aim at him.

Jerik felt scared and quickly used the Force to strengthen his armor.

Tap tap tap!

Thud. Thud.

“Eek!” someone cried.

Too many bolts hit his armor to be stopped by his sword.

If he hadn’t strengthened it with the Force, he would have been badly hurt very quickly.

Even a senior knight was pushed back.

He couldn’t be sure he would be safe if this attack continued, but luckily, he wasn’t alone.

“Sweep them all away!” Sir Gail shouted.

Sir Gail, another senior knight, was a step behind but came to the front with him, drawing the enemies’ attacks.

The knights who followed him scattered to the left and right, drawing the enemies’ attention and running forward.

Though they had lost their horses, knights could be faster than horses in short bursts.

Wham!

“Aaargh!” a soldier screamed.

The soldiers who had bravely pushed their shields at the knights in front of the crossbowmen were knocked away all at once.

The rain of bolts that poured down again in that gap forced his comrades to retreat, but Jerik was sure.

It was only a matter of time before they broke through the enemies and cut off the mages’ heads after a few more attacks.

But that thought changed in less than a few seconds.

“Earth Wall!” a mage shouted.

“Swamp!” another mage yelled.

With the shouts of the mages lined up behind, walls of earth rose in the places where the soldiers had fallen, and the ground they were standing on turned into a swamp, causing their feet to sink.

“What, what is this magic!” Jerik exclaimed, bewildered by the unexpected attack from the mages, whom he had thought would be unable to respond if they narrowed the distance and kept the enemy soldiers between them.

“The horses are all taken care of. Now, let’s play with us,” a relaxed voice said.

Along with the voice, a middle-aged knight with brown hair heavily mixed with white, along with the five missing knights, blocked their retreat.

‘A senior knight!’ Jerik realized.

Jerik knew right away that the middle-aged man was a powerful figure who had reached the same level as himself.

The number of knights was far short, but if they were held back and those strange crossbows targeted them from behind…

‘We could be trapped here!’ Jerik thought.

He quickly made a decision as soon as he understood the situation.

The raid had failed.

They had to save as many of their soldiers as possible and return to the castle.

But just as he thought that…

From outside the tunnel, a voice that made him worried was heard from far away: “All troops, charge!”