I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 86

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (87)

“This is information about the ten collateral families and the knight order that belonged to the duke’s family.”

Silvia entered the office and handed him the documents.

Ethan looked at them carefully and let out a hollow laugh.

“What a mess.”

The Black Flame.

It was the name of the elite knight order that came to mind first when thinking of the duke’s family.

It was a regular knight order renowned for its loyalty, following only the head of the family and sacrificing their lives for their lord in battle.

The past of cutting the necks of the Yongin tribe alongside them was too vivid to forget.

There were talented individuals like stars in the sky.

The knight order that had received so much support that no other knight order in the world could envy them was now…

“How could their level have fallen so low?”

Ethan let out a “tsk” sound without even realizing it, so devastated was he.

How absurd.

“…Are these investigation results really true?”

He even asked Silvia, who had always provided accurate information, to repeat herself.

“…Yes. Just ten years ago, the level wasn’t this low… Many things have changed in the meantime.”

“I see.”

Ethan looked at the documents.

[Black Flame Corps]

Number of knights: 323.

It is believed that the only knight with a rank higher than 5 is the commander of the order.

Ten years ago, the level began to decline rapidly.

There were several reasons why the Black Flame Order fell into such a state.

First.

The elite knights who had served as senior knights in the past were wiped out in an instant, leaving no one to lead the trainee knights and ordinary knights.

Second.

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The ten branches of the family took all the talented recruits who joined the Black Flame Corps and made them their own.

And third.

“The upper echelons were rotten. Completely rotten.”

Ethan recalled the moment he entered the inner city.

At that time, the Black Flame Corps’ commander and the high-ranking knights known as the senior knights were having a drunken party in broad daylight. They were confident that the Ten Branches would win.

That is why they were drunk and did not even attend the opening ceremony.

The vermin who paid money to the Ten Branches and took high-ranking positions in the knight corps.

That was before Ethan became the head of the family.

At that time, it was a common sight in the royal family.

However, the master had changed.

Naturally, the consequences of their actions had to be different.

They were trash that wasn’t even worth the air they breathed.

There was no reason to spare them.

For Ethan, it was only natural to break the necks of the knight commander and the high-ranking knights who had been drinking in broad daylight.

With the upper echelons so corrupt and completely rotten, it was no surprise that the lower echelons were no better.

“They look like they’d be difficult to recycle.”

“Are you going to get rid of all of them?”

“Hmm…”

Ethan looked at the list of names, thinking seriously. He was looking for a familiar name.

Soon after.

He began to circle the names on the list.

“Except for the ones I’ve checked, get rid of all of them.”

The selection process for the Black Flame Corps was decided through dozens of tests.

Each test was difficult and challenging.

However, after the tenth branch of the royal family ascended the throne, the selection method was divided into two.

One was the original difficult method.

And the other was

“very easy and simple.”

This was done so that only the weakest would be accepted.

Now, most of the remaining members of the Black Flame Corps were from the latter group.

The Ardan family.

Now, this family was about to rise to the heavens.

They were too busy rushing forward.

They had no intention of taking care of the weak who lacked talent, willpower, and effort.

Time was a resource that should be used for things worth investing in.

“I will do so.”

“And send word throughout the duke’s domain. Gather all the knights of the ten collateral branches in one place.”

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“Yes, sir.”

The Black Flame Corps.

The number of people Eitan had circled here was less than twenty out of three hundred.

‘If I add up the number of knights from the ten collateral branches here…’

The viscounts had between twenty and thirty.

The barons had between forty and fifty.

The counts had roughly one hundred knights.

There was the existing Dragon Slayer Corps.

Add to that the knights from the five families that had recently joined.

As a result of absorbing the knights from ten families, the number was close to four hundred.

Although they had reorganized once when the Dragon Slayer Corps was first established, the number had tripled since then, so a proper reorganization was necessary.

That was why they were gathering all the knights in one place.

The official knight corps of the duke’s family had to be reorganized from the Black Flame Corps to the Dragon Slayer Corps, and their ranks had to be clearly defined so that when recruiting new knights in the future, there would be no confusion in increasing their numbers. A week passed.

All 400 members of the Dragon Slayer Corps and the remaining 20 members of the Black Flame Corps gathered at the grand training ground.

* *

The grand training ground.

The knights lined up in rows and looked up at the platform.

Duke Ethan.

He was already seated on the platform.

He looked around at the knights and said,

“Ten years ago, the tyranny of the collateral branch caused the level of the Duke’s knights to decline significantly. The Black Flames are a prime example of this.”

“……”

“The reason I have gathered you here today is simple. From now on, the Duke’s family will replace the Black Flames with the Dragon Slayers as the official knight order.”

“……!”

The official knight order had been around for hundreds of years. The Duke’s words, saying that he would completely replace it, were quite shocking.

However, no one objected.

Almost everyone present had already decided to join the Dragon Slayer Corps, and they knew that the Black Flame Corps had become so corrupt that it was impossible to even recycle them.

Ethan then said bluntly,

“You are very lucky.”

“……?”

Ethan continued, addressing the puzzled knights.

“Even though you don’t have the skills to join the order, you are here today.”

“……”

His words were a painful reminder of reality.

Fifteen years ago,

it was said that one had to be as skilled as the captain of a minor noble’s knight order to become a regular knight of the Black Flame Corps.

In fact, it was well known that the commanders of small knight orders had failed the Black Flame Corps’ selection exam.

Despite his harsh words, no one dared to refute him.

“The current Duke is lacking in many ways. The city is barren, the land is dry, and the infrastructure is in ruins. Even the knights and soldiers are subpar.”

“…”

“That is why I am employing you. The situation is not good right now.”

At those words, several knights clenched their fists.

No matter how high the person on the podium was, wasn’t that too much of an insult?

The atmosphere was slowly boiling over. Seeing this, Ethan smiled wryly.

Nerian and the other members of the Dragon Slayer Corps listened calmly.

On the other hand, those who were rebelling were all newly recruited members.

Among them, the members of the 1st Squad, who had been loyal to Count Cheiman, were especially hostile.

They were all skilled warriors who had been trained by the best instructors in the kingdom.

They were all proud of their abilities.

Six-star knights.

With skills like that, they would never be ignored anywhere…

That was when it happened.

Ethan, who had been standing on the platform, descended toward the grand arena.

He drew his sword and began to draw a small circle on the ground.

“If anyone can make me move even a single step from here, I will appoint them as the commander of the Dragon Slayer Corps.”

“……!”

“All those who are confident, come forward.”

There was a moment of silence.

The knights began to move one by one. Starting with the members of the 1st Division, which consisted of 6-star knights, followed by the 5-star knights who held high positions in each province.

There were nearly twenty of them.

Ethan looked around at them and smiled.

Ethan looked at those who had not yet come forward and said.

“You there.”

“…Are you calling me?”

“Are you not confident? The leader of the 1st squad has no spirit.”

He had intended to remain silent, but

But after hearing such words from the duke, he couldn’t just stand there.

Raymon, who had been clenching his fists, stepped forward.

Ethan began to point out those who had not come forward one by one.

They all had one thing in common. Not only were they all five-star knights, but they were also extremely proud of themselves.

“Everyone come out.”

“What?”

“All of you, come out there.”

The knights asked with blank expressions and came out to the training ground.

There were nearly thirty of them.

“Thirty. That’s exactly right.”

“What do you mean?”

“The number of people whose skills are terrible but whose pride is sky-high.”

First Division.

Even those who had been Cheiman’s direct knights would have been lucky to become ordinary knights if they had joined the Black Flame Corps in the past.

Despite that, their noses were still in the air.

To Ethan, they were like frogs in a well.

“I guess I can’t blame them.”

The existing Dragon Slayers had all faced him in battle, acknowledged their own inadequacy, and bowed their heads.

However, these men had not been recruited after fighting him directly.

When their masters were all wiped out in an instant, they had simply chosen someone to follow.

It wasn’t entirely incomprehensible that they resented his words. They were still unaware that there was a sky above the sky.

“Training is always necessary.”

They were merely knights ranked between 5 and 6 stars.

He had no intention of letting them continue to strut around satisfied with that.

“The dragon slayers I will create in the future.”

It had to be reborn as an elite knight corps far stronger than the Black Flame Corps that had existed in his previous life.

“Hey, you. Was your name Raymond?”

“…Yes.”

“Are you satisfied with your abilities?”

“…I don’t think I’m lacking.”

“No, you are lacking. You are far from enough.”

“…I acknowledge that you are an outstanding knight, but I think your words are too harsh.”

The knights gathered at the training ground.

Their thoughts were no different from Raymond’s.

Even their former masters had never treated them with such contempt.

It was only natural that they felt indignant.

It was at that moment.

“Cut the crap and just attack.”

“……What?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Attack.”

Ethan drew his broadsword.

I’m going to show you what heaven is so that you can become human.

There was no point in explaining it.

I’d be lucky if they didn’t treat me like a madman.

There was a good way to deal with this.

Just act.

The knights who saw this were taken aback.

Ten six-star knights.

There were nearly twenty five-star knights.

He told them to attack all at once, not in pairs or groups?

Ethan smiled slightly when he saw the knights panic.

“Are you afraid?”

“…The duke has already imposed restrictions on us, so it’s a bit difficult for us to attack all at once…”

“Then say it’s the lord’s order. From now on, if you don’t attack me, I will consider it disobeying orders and have you all expelled from the execution squad. Use your real swords and attack with all your might.”

“But then the duke might be in danger…”

“The ones in danger are you.”

The knights chewed on their lips.

Ethan Ardan.

They already knew that he was a knight of outstanding talent and skill.

However.

This was an act that crossed the line.

He had said that he would appoint them as the head of the knights if they took even one step.

Could he really guarantee that he would not move when thirty knights were attacking him?

He was an incredibly arrogant man.

The knights began to draw their swords one by one. Soon, Ethan flicked his finger toward the thirty knights.

“Come at me all at once. I’ll let you live.”

“……It is the lord’s order!”

The thirty knights began to rush toward Ethan in the center.