I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 56

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (57)

The battle at the inner castle.

The knights gathered from the two male writers and the knights of the inner castle clashed swords with each other.

On average, the knights of the Duke of Dekun were superior, but it was the knights led by the Grand Duke who had the upper hand in the battle.

The battle was not decided solely by skill.

There were many indirect factors that influenced the outcome, such as the atmosphere and the morale of the members.

From that perspective, the knights of the viscount were facing the worst possible situation.

That was why they began to be taken prisoner one by one.

Soon,

“The Grand Duke has captured Viscount Rokan!”

“The commander of the knights has been taken prisoner!”

A tremendous roar echoed throughout the castle. It was because the core members of the inner castle had all been taken prisoner.

“I… I surrender!”

The knights lowered their swords with grim expressions on their faces.

With Lord Lokhan, who had sworn allegiance to them, now a prisoner, continuing the battle was meaningless.

Thus, all the knights of the inner castle were taken prisoner. However, there was no need to take the foot soldiers prisoner. Most of them had already laid down their weapons before the battle even began.

Ethan lifted the unconscious Lokhan and shouted with mana.

“The lord of the viscount’s family will change!”

“Waaah!”

The people of the viscount’s domain lit up.

The Grand Duke.

His skill was terrifying. He didn’t give an inch against the knight commander, who was known as the strongest knight in the vast viscount’s domain!

Everyone in the hall witnessed the scene clearly.

Although he did receive help from the knights in the middle, even taking that into account, the Grand Prince’s skill was astonishing.

Ten years in a coma.

The destruction of the Mana Hole.

These were hardships that even an ordinary knight would not be able to overcome in a lifetime.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

Not only did he overcome them in just a few months, but he was now spreading his wings toward the sky!

“As expected of the Ardan family.”

Guardians of the kingdom.

The family of great heroes.

The former glory of the greatest swordsmanship family in the Western Continent still shone through the Grand Duke.

The descendants of heroes are truly different.

Even those who knew nothing about swordsmanship could clearly see the difference.

“From now on, the viscountcy will begin to change.”

The words of the Grand Duke filled the eyes of the vassals with hope.

They still vividly remembered the words he had spoken.

The viscountcy of the past.

The viscountcy of Dekun would return to the days that everyone had longed for!

“…Long live the Grand Duke!”

“Long live!”

The people of the domain began to cheer at the top of their voices.

* *

Two days after Edan defeated the Duke of Lokkan.

When the knight corps sent from the House of Pernes arrived near the duchy, they received some news.

“Deputy Commander!”

“What is it?”

“The Grand Duke has completely occupied the viscount’s territory!”

At those words, Deputy Knight Commander Gerrek flinched.

“Already?”

It had only been two days since they had set out.

The knights had only just arrived near the viscount’s territory.

They had originally planned to wait a day or so in this area to hear news before deciding how fast to advance.

He had expected them to be firmly defending the inner castle gates, which would have been securely locked by now.

But completely destroyed?

It was beyond belief.

“Could it be that Viscount Lokhan opened the gates?”

“No. Based on the rumors, it seems that the Grand Duke broke through the inner defenses on his own.”

“How?”

Gerek asked questioningly.

The inner castle was where the core forces were gathered. That was no different for the Duke of Dekun.

The commander of the knights there was known to be close to a sixth-rank knight, and there were nearly three fifth-rank knights.

How could the Grand Duke break through that?

The knight’s expression darkened at Gerrek’s words.

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

“That’s… The Grand Duke advanced toward the inner castle… And then a battle ensued. The high-ranking knights of the family rushed in, but they were unable to subdue the Grand Duke…”

“…What?”

It was unbelievable.

The inner walls of the family’s castle.

There must have been knights swarming there. He broke through that formidable defense alone?

Gerek flinched.

“…This would be difficult even for a country.”

It wasn’t impossible.

However, in order to perform as well as the Grand Duke, he would have to use some techniques he had been secretly practicing.

Considering that, it was truly an amazing feat.

“Tell me in detail.”

“Yes. Here’s exactly what happened…”

The summary was simple.

The Grand Duke jumped over the inner wall and faced the knight commander and other high-ranking knights.

Despite their joint attack, he did not fall and cut the pulley that was holding up the castle gate.

After that, the vassals and knights who had followed the Grand Duke entered the castle, and the castle collapsed.

“…I see. You may go now.”

“Yes.”

After the knight finished his report and left the tent, Gerrek looked around and took out his communication device.

Soon, the face of Count Cheiman appeared.

“What’s going on?”

“The viscount’s residence has been completely captured.”

“…I was afraid that might happen since I couldn’t get in touch with him.

“I heard the report from the knight.”

Gerek reported exactly what he had just heard.

“…That’s an astonishing rate of growth. In your opinion, what level would you say the Grand Duke is at right now?”

“At the very least, he’s a 5-star knight. At most… I’d say he’s probably a 6-star knight.”

“Huh…

Cheiman laughed in disbelief. The fact that the Grand Duke’s mana hole had been destroyed had been confirmed by the heads of the ten branch families.

In such a situation, how could he become a knight worthy of a 6-star rating in less than four months?

His growth rate seemed limitless.

There had never been a knight in the history of the Western Continent who had grown so quickly.

“How terrifying.”

“Yes, that’s right. His talent seems limitless.”

“Hm…”

“What should we do?”

“This support is essentially meaningless.”

That was true.

The only consolation was that they could at least make it look like they were doing something.

Through this reinforcement, he would be able to shake off the image of having abandoned his own faction. ―Hmmm. Deputy Knight Commander.

“Yes, my lord.”

―Do you think the 1st Division can take on the Grand Duke?

The 1st Division.

It was a secret knight division composed of the elite among the knights of the Count’s family. It consisted of only ten members.

Each of them had reached the latter half of the sixth rank.

The reason for keeping such skilled warriors a secret was simple.

They were those who had accepted the techniques of the dragon tribe without reservation.

The policy of the Kingdom of Haidern was to reject the dragon tribe.

Even if only for the sake of public opinion, it was difficult to use them openly.

Gerek nodded vigorously in response to the count’s question.

“Even if one of them attacks, I think we have a high chance of winning. If two or more of them attack, victory is guaranteed.”

The commander of the Duke’s knights was a 6th-rank knight, but he was still only a novice knight.

It was embarrassing to even compare them to the knights of the 1st squad, who were skilled enough to fight evenly against even a 6th-rank veteran.

Chayman nodded in satisfaction at Gerec’s confident answer.

“All right. I understand. You may return now. There is no need to bother the Grand Duke at this time.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cheyman stared blankly at the dark crystal ball.

“Is it true that the lion’s cub is different from the rest?”

The Grand Duke.

He was too dangerous to be left alone. However, it was also difficult to deal with him right away.

He had not yet fulfilled his purpose.

“I must do as Hans said.”

Lower taxes and block the distribution of the Dragon Clan Scriptures.

Even if it seemed like bowing down for now, there was no better way to turn the Grand Prince’s sword toward Irdan’s faction.

If he could completely destroy one faction, he could endure that much humiliation.

He called for his butler.

“Do as the head of intelligence said.”

“Yes. I will contact the other families belonging to the faction as well.”

“Do so, but do not make it public. At the very least, it must not come to Irdan’s attention.”

“I will do my best to cover it up.”

Chayman nodded and handed him a letter.

“Deliver this to the Grand Duke at the Duke of Dekun’s residence.”

“Yes.”

The butler holding the letter left the office.

* * *

Inside the viscount’s office.

Ethan and Silvia were already there. She read through the reports she had given him one by one.

“The information is more thorough.”

Ethan quietly admired the information, which was written in even greater detail than before.

The reports she had compiled were almost like academic papers.

Silvia bowed her head and said,

“With the expansion of our territory, it has become much easier to expand our organization and recruit new talent.”

“What about money? Are you short on funds?”

Come to think of it, Lawrence had never requested any financial support while expanding the intelligence organization.

There was no way that money wasn’t needed to expand the organization.

Of course, some of the money from the territory was made available to him.

“That won’t be enough.”

It was highly likely that the budget was quite tight.

She shook her head at Ethan’s words.

“It’s not just money. Now that we’re moving into the open, we’ve started generating revenue separately.”

“The open?”

“Yes. We’ve already established several branches.”

When she finished speaking, Silvia handed him a piece of paper.

It was a systematic organization chart.

Ethan’s eyes lit up when he saw it.

There was already an information organization embedded in every village that seemed to be of considerable size.

He couldn’t help but wonder when they had expanded their power to such an extent.

Soon after, Silvia’s eyes lit up when she saw the map hanging in the office.

“Now, the southern part of the duke’s domain is no different from the territory occupied by His Highness.”

She picked up a pen and colored in the area. The territory of the 10 collateral branches was located in the southern part of the duke’s domain.

It was the southernmost area of the southern part.

The territory began to be colored black.

“They’ve taken quite a lot.”

Seeing the territory they had taken over on the map gave him a strange feeling.

That meant she had taken about one-sixth of the territories of the 10 collateral branches.

“Is your next destination the Itun family?”

“That’s the plan.”

The Itun family.

They belonged to Irudan’s faction.

Silvia nodded.

“I think the reason the Grand Duke did not completely hide his power is to reveal some of it in order to wage a power struggle with the two factions in the future… Is my thinking correct?”

“More or less.”

The Baek family, the leaders of the two factions.

It was impossible to occupy this place in one fell swoop. Even the number of knights they had was so large that it was embarrassing to compare them to the Ja family.

This was true not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality.

With the seeds they had sown so far, they would be able to occupy the House of Ja without any trouble.

“I will prepare accordingly.”

“Yes. Good work.”

Silvia left the office.

* *

After talking with Silvia.

She found the captured Viscount Lokhan. Like the other barons, he was locked up in a dark dungeon.

“What is it?”

“I have something to ask you.”

This nobleman was connected to the Dragon Clan. Otherwise, he would not have been able to spread the Dragon Clan’s techniques to the knights.

“Do you know what this is?”

He took out a silver emblem from his pocket.

It was one of the items he had found in the pocket of the magician of the order, known as the Chief Priest, after hunting him down.

The moment he showed it to him.

The viscount’s eyes widened.

“He knows.”

If he didn’t know, he wouldn’t have reacted like that.

Now it was time to extract the information.