Regressor of the Fallen Family

“Is it already the New Year….”

“Time flies, Lord Logan. It’s already been two years since we first met.”

“Yeah, it’s already been that long.”

As winter reached its peak, a new year began.

The distribution of food rations was still ongoing.

It was said that the citizens of the territory, who now had more leisure than in the past, were even holding New Year’s celebrations.

However, outside of Teslon Castle, regardless of such festive moods, soldiers were still sweating through their training.

“One!”

“Ha!”

“Ha!”

Despite the biting winter winds, soldiers clad in iron armor continued to swing their swords, drenched in sweat following the intense swordsmanship training that proceeded their 10 km run.

“No more dropouts. As you mentioned, only those with the requisite physical strength and perseverance remain.”

“It appears so.”

After ninety days of training.

Starting personnel: 1,000.

Dropouts: 12.

Deceased: 1.

Those who passed basic training: 987.

Regular soldiers: 502.

Excluding regular soldiers, with knights and other forces including a mercenary troop, the number totaled about 1,300—more than Logan initially planned.

He couldn’t help but be satisfied with these results.

“Basic training seems nearly complete. The production of the crossbows you mentioned has also progressed considerably. Not enough to equip all soldiers yet, but we have 400 new ones.”

“Good. Hamar has worked hard.”

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle when he thought of Hamar tirelessly producing crossbows and directing village construction immediately upon returning from leave.

Every time they met, she seemed to curse him with her glare, but at least until a civil war broke out this winter, the plan was to keep things tight.

Thanks to her, the foundational military power he had planned was nearly in place.

Then.

“Now, it seems we can undergo a real battle.”

“…A real battle?”

“You’ll find out. Look forward to it.”

Kai’s face was expressionless, wrapped in a sense of unease, but Logan simply smiled faintly.

* * *

“You want to clear the Monster Forest for timber supplies for the town… Is this also your idea?”

“The Monster Wave is bound to occur sooner or later anyway. Since we don’t know when the monsters will come rushing out, let’s take this opportunity to clear the forest.”

“Do you think the Monster Forest, left untouched by our House’s ancestors for hundreds of years, will be easily logged?”

“Yes. Now that we have sufficient forces. Of course, that includes when the knights have been mobilized.”

Logan had faith in the repeating crossbows that had already been tested several times against the monsters of the southern forest.

The subjugation of the Monster Forest was feasible because he had confidence that even dozens of the lowest-tier monsters could be handled in an instant.

And Padric agreed.

“Hmm. A forest at the base of the mountain range should be easy. The knights need real battle training too.”

“Oh? Then, the inheritance of the Ironblooded Sword…”

“The basics have been mastered by all. But practice leads to proficiency.”

“I agree. Only real combat can enhance skills.”

At the moment the most powerful father-son duo in the domain joined hands in satisfaction, the grueling fate of the MacLaine troops had been scheduled without their knowledge.

* * *

“Is everyone ready?!”

“Yes!”

Faces drained as if they weren’t even Force users.

Yet unnaturally, they responded robustly with bright smiles.

‘The real fight is more comforting.’

The knights were reduced to half their previous selves due to the extreme swordsmanship training disguised as drills in recent months.

At that moment, all of them shared a single resolve.

But.

“However many low-tier monsters the Monster Forest holds, a scratch earns you three days of personal sparring with me. Understood!”

Padric’s roar momentarily silenced the rowdy knights.

“What?”

“Some ridiculous…”

“This is insane…”

Soft curses began to spill from the mouths of a few heads bowed low.

But when these curses burst out from various places at once, the atmosphere of the training ground instantly became like a bustling market, and with Padric’s grimace, silence returned.

“Oh? You don’t have the confidence to face mere low-tier monsters without injury? Is that all the MacLaine knights amount to?”

Fortunately, no foolish knights took the bait.

It wasn’t the level of monsters that was the issue.

An unprecedented large-scale subjugation mission was underway, and being told not to even get scraped by a twig—it was like being told to walk on eggshells rather than charging valorously.

But their lunatic lord added yet another ridiculous requirement.

“Line up in rows and cut down the trees with a formation call. And in between, deal with any monsters that pop out. Utilize the Ironblooded Sword to the maximum, and never retreat. Hold your ground!”

“Huh…”

“They really want to kill us…”

“What if the monsters escape?”

Low-tier monsters had strong instincts for battle, unlike humans. If not faced with an overwhelming force, they’d never charge at knights. And if too many monsters attacked at once, there would inevitably be some that escape.

Chasing them would negate the purpose of maintaining the formation.

It was a relevant question considering the overall situation, but the answer was simple.

“Leave them be.”

“Excuse me?”

“Trained soldiers will be arranged behind us. We need to test their training results, too.”

So, in essence, the knights’ mission was practically that of lumberjacks.

The knights’ pride was subtly wounded, yet they presented no argument.

Over two months of training, they experienced first-hand the extremity of their lord-turned-superior knight’s stubbornness.

The knights suppressed their past squabbles and united firmly to withstand the madness of their lord.

Any opposition now would only lead to nightmares of one-on-one combat training with their lord.

“Now, everyone, take your positions! I’ll have your back!”

To the knights, it seemed their lord meant he’d knock them senseless if they didn’t perform.

The visors of their helmets could barely conceal the ferocity in their eyes.

* * *

“The monsters will flee towards the backs of the knights. Don’t let a single one escape.”

“Yes!”

“First wave, crossbows. Those that approach too closely will be confronted by the standby troops. Understand?”

“Yes! Understood!”

Tension was evident on the soldiers’ faces.

It was more than just the anxiety of facing a first real battle after training.

Prior to the training, Logan had declared that those who showed talent in this real battle would be selected as knight trainees.

The soldiers’ eyes blazed with eagerness. Logan, however, remained calm as he observed them.

‘As I suspected… the feeling I had during training wasn’t a mistake. This test might be pointless…’

Among those he kept an eye on, he noticed a few had made progress.

While observing the soldiers’ training, Logan discovered something peculiar.

A faint change emanated from a minor group of soldiers, including Victor.

In contrast with others, they seemed to accumulate Force in slight increments.

It was a trifling capability, barely calling it Force, merely a fragment or scent, but it was a distinctive feeling.

Many of them had been selected for their senses, some were from existing soldiers, and a few, though a minority, had only been picked for their physical prowess.

It was an unfamiliar experience for Logan.

Possibly due to the incremental strength of his Force core and the amplification of his senses to match, this was a subtle yet significant discovery.

‘It seems possible to select those with a high likelihood of becoming Force users without such tests.’

Focusing further on this difference brought Logan to that notion.

As his senses continued to grow and he observed these soldiers’ achievements to find a common factor and create a pattern, perhaps…

Maybe he could even clarify the ‘talent in the Force’ that even the future Empire had failed to precisely identify.

If he managed to unveil something not discerned by any form of magic, it would truly be an event that could alter history.

‘So it’s necessary to confirm that my feeling wasn’t an illusion.’

This Monster Forest expedition was not only a real battle training but also an information-gathering mission related to it.

Without exception, those who failed to demonstrate skill in battle were of no use.

With that thought, Logan had already picked out notable soldiers and had them wield swords instead of crossbows to observe their close combat performance.

‘In that sense, maybe it’s actually good that only about 400 crossbows have been supplied.’

With 150 soldiers in mind, along with another 150 who excelled in martial training.

Logan expected the distinction they would show now to provide information to prepare for the future.

As Logan brightened his eyes examining each of them,

“Begin!”

“Ha!”

At the edge of the forest, knights arranged in lines simultaneously belted out a cry.

Crack, splinter.

A sound of something being torn apart followed, and exactly 73 trees began to sway in unison.

Bam!

While there were small variations depending on the knights’ skill, southern mountain ironwood trees—guaranteed by Hamar for construction, untouched by human hands, each as thick as a man’s torso—fell.

Such a task would have definitely been impossible for the MacLaine knights of the past.

“Wow!”

“I can’t believe it works…”

Amidst the astonishment of the watching soldiers, the knights themselves erupted into cheers.

Having been relentlessly drilled for two months, they freshly realized the power of the Ironblooded Sword, the intermediate-level sword technique focused on forceful strikes.

And as they heard the knights’ cheers, Padric joined in with a small smile and immediately shouted.

“Move right! Redeploy in horizontal formation!”

South of MacLaine Castle, half a day’s distance.

A forest possibly a kilometer long started to get trimmed from the edge.

Rumble.

They had been working for over three hours.

As the booming sound of falling trees became familiar and the soldiers began to yawn one by one.

Nine golems of about 2 meters in height, and one even larger at over 3 meters, were busily moving the felled trees.

Unlike people, the golems were neither intimidated by the loud cries from the animals and monsters within the forest nor slowed down by fear – their unwieldy movements bore immense strength as they effortlessly transported the trees to the rear.

As Logan was giving a thumbs up to Clayton and his disciples,

Shriek!

An unpleasant raspy breath followed, and then small humanoid monsters with black horns, only about half the size of an average person, poured out of the forest.

“Goblins!”

With the knights’ shout, the boring ambiance instantly shifted.

Low-tier monsters living collectively in the forest.

Small but quick, and efficient with small weaponry like daggers and poison darts.

But…

“Of all things, the first to come out is…”

Slash!

“Goblins!”

Scrape.

“So boring!”

Slice.

“Squeak!”

The first wave of goblins that rushed out were swiftly dealt with by the knights at the forefront.

“Kiek!”

However, with the cries from deeper within the forest came more goblins not confronting the knights directly, but scattering left and right.

“Formation! Crossbows!”

“Ha!”

“Sweep away the escaping ones! Open wing formation to the left and right!”

Currently, the goblins scattered from places crowded with people, but if left alone, they’d regroup. And a horde of goblins without a home could deal fatal damage to commoners.

Luckily, having anticipated this, the soldiers reacted quickly.

Ratatatat.

Broken into 100 squads of 12, the soldiers spread to the sides and pursued the goblins.

And then,

“Fire!”

Following the squad leaders’ orders, the firing commenced.

Ratatat.

The bolts fired from the crossbows rained down like streaks of light.

Lacking speed to outpace horses or leather tough enough to withstand arrows, these feeble low-tier monsters began to be slaughtered without resistance.

In their midst, one particularly large, red-skinned goblin fell under concentrated fire from the soldiers.

“We got the Hobgoblin! Leave the escaping monsters! Back to base!”

Without their Hobgoblin leader, the goblins couldn’t form a group.

Knowing this, the soldiers, following their training, returned to their original formations, leaving the scattering goblins behind.

“Ha ha ha! See that?”

“I killed two!”

“I got three!”

“This is nothing! I can’t believe I was scared of these things.”

Soldiers exchanged their experiences with flushed faces, comparing their battle exploits.

Most were new recruits on their first engagement.

The appearance of the goblins provided a welcome kick of energy to soldiers bored of repeated drills.

But that was a fleeting moment.

“Kyao!”

An eerily different wail echoed, turning their faces to stone.

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