The Regressed Blood Knight’s Strategy

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Lucky]

Chapter 93

Marquis Tegelo's words came to a halt.

He opened his mouth while looking ahead.

“Have we spotted the Rehinar family from this point?”

Tegelo's forces had almost reached Rehinar.

The Tegelo family was located in the northern part of the Empire.

If they continued south, they would arrive at Rehinar.

“Being on the Empire’s front line, the territory’s terrain shouldn’t be that elevated.”

While he furrowed his brow, the scout who had gone ahead returned.

“Your Excellency! We’ve brought back a body, likely Sir Alvin’s.”

“Show me.”

Marquis Tegelo dismounted from his horse.

He approached the body the scout brought and confirmed the face himself.

“It’s Alvin, indeed.”

Despite being a corpse, wind mana still flowed through the body.

He had died unjustly, turning into a vengeful spirit.

Lightning flashed in Marquis Tegelo’s eyes.

His voice, full of rage, echoed around.

“There are no laws anywhere that permit killing an envoy! How dare they!!!”

He barely calmed his anger and examined the cause of death.

He used mana detection to scan the traces, trying to figure out how Alvin had died.

Soon, his eyebrows twitched.

“A spear and Fire Rune?”

In that moment, the royal family of Hatzfelt came to his mind.

But he quickly shook his head.

Though the fire rune was the same, the details were different.

“Are they trying to unsettle me?”

His fury grew even more.

Not only had they killed his envoys, but they also tried to frame their deaths on a rival nation.

Such unruly deception—there was nothing worse.

Marquis Tegelo immediately deployed the Wind Fox Magic Squad.

“Wind fox Magic Squad, go ahead and tear down the walls.”

As those cloaked in sky-blue robes began to move upon his command—

One of the elder retainers called out to Marquis Tegelo.

“Your Excellency! You must not!”

The Wind fox Magic Squad paused, watching the marquis for further instructions.

Marquis Tegelo raised his hand.

The Squad halted for a moment.

“What is it now? Alvin is dead, and you’re telling me to stand idle?!”

“Your Excellency, the second princess is in Rehinar. If we attack recklessly, we’ll be branded as traitors.”

“I’m not saying we should stop the attack, Your Excellency. I’m suggesting we approach and send a warning first before striking.”

“You all think the same way?”

Marquis Tegelo asked his younger retainers.

Though they were all naturally warlike, the elder retainer wasn’t wrong.

“I agree with the elders as well. If the second princess is in Rehinar, then this situation is different.”

If they attacked Rehinar while the second princess was there, even Tegelo could suffer consequences.

Even if they managed to take Rehinar in this territorial war, they wouldn’t be praised.

They could even be branded as traitors…

“Warning them first and then tearing down the walls isn’t a bad idea.”

The elders’ expressions brightened.

“An excellent decision, Your Excellency. You’re showing magnanimity toward Rehinar.”

“If they don’t kneel and surrender, I’ll attack—even if the second princess is there. Don’t try to stop that.”

“We will follow your will, Your Excellency.”

The Wind Fox Magic Squad stepped back.

Marquis Tegelo mounted his horse and slowly moved toward Rehinar.

* * *

A guard standing watch on the northern wall shouted out,

“It’s the Wind Fox banner!”

Far in the distance, banners adorned with fox symbols fluttered.

At a glance, it was a massive army.

It looked to be at least 5,000 strong.

“Alert the Rehinar family immediately!”

The guard yelled urgently, but his voice was swiftly interrupted by someone else.

“There’s no need for that.”

It was Kane.

“Master Kane!”

“Bring Mikhail, Camilla, and Yozufa from the temple.”

The guard quickly jumped down from the wall.

Kane stood still, gazing down at the forces led by Marquis Tegelo.

“They’re severely underestimating us.”

Five thousand soldiers—

A large number indeed, but for an army led by the Northern Commander, it was relatively small.

A marquis on the empire's border should command at least 10,000 troops.

“They think 5,000 troops will be enough to make Rehinar submit,” Kane muttered.

At this, Blata spoke up.

“Let’s kill them all.”

“That’s the plan. If I wasn’t planning that, I wouldn’t have called for Desdemona.”

“Aren’t you going to wake up the monsters from the Hidden Territory?”

“I’ll start provoking them soon enough.”

Kane summoned his blood mana.

A violet haze began to rise from his palm.

The haze soon traveled through the air, heading toward the Hidden territory: Watchtower of Scouts.

Its destination was the Hidden territory, where the Blood Orc slumbered.

“Blata, I’ll need your help too.”

“Me? You want me to kill all of them?”

Blata’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

He seemed thrilled at the prospect of being asked for help, as if thinking, “Finally, it’s my time to shine.”

But the words he was waiting for didn’t come.

“No, control the blood tigersand soldiers, and scatter salt into the sky.”

“What? How boring.”

“Don’t you know that leading troops in war is the hardest task? Only someone of officer rank can do that. You’re more than capable.”

“Of~ Fi~ Cer~?”

At that moment, the word “officer” echoed in Blata’s ears.

“Will you do it?”

“Ahem, if you insist, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you.”

Blata went over to the soldiers.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light next to Kane, and a person appeared.

“High Priest Yoshua has sent me to assist you, Lord Kane.

Is there anything we can do to help?”

The men, clad in white priest robes, were Blood Priests of the Blata cult.

“Work with Blata and sprinkle salt into the sky to make it rain.”

“Is Blata here?”

“He’s right over there.”

Kane gestured toward Blata, who was with the soldiers.

“Listen up, mortals! Just follow the orders I, Officer Vladimir, tell you to, and do exactly as I say, got it?”

The blood priests were left speechless at Blata’s adorable, yet commanding presence.

Yoshua Brant, the cult’s leader, held Blata in the highest regard.

He had repeatedly warned the blood priests to never harbor any irreverent thoughts.

However, it was the blood priests' first time seeing Blata today.

They had imagined a majestic divine beast, but instead, a pudgy little figure was waddling around awkwardly.

The stark difference between what they had expected and what they saw left them momentarily confused.

“Despite his appearance, he's a ferocious species, so make sure to follow his orders.”

One of the blood priests, lost in thought, quickly snapped back to attention.

“Yes? Y-yes!”

The inside of Rehinar’s territory was becoming more and more hectic.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of warning bells echoed throughout the estate.

This wasn’t an unusual occurrence lately.

Even the citizens of the territory kept their distance from the northern wall.

Moments later, High Priest Yoshua climbed up the wall.

“I heard you summoned me.”

“You know why I called, right?”

“It’s the Tegelo forces, isn’t it? Should we turn them into blood?”

Yoshua was no longer the same as before.

He was now the high priest of the Blata cult.

Ever since transforming into a four-star character, his personality had changed as well—becoming far more aggressive!

“Can you use blood mist?”

“If you mean the blood fog, yes, I can.”

“When I give the signal, cast the blood fog around the Tegelo forces.”

“Understood.”

As they made preparations for war, Marquis Tegelo approached the wall.

* * *

Marquis Tegelo looked up at the young man standing alone, staring down at them from atop the wall.

‘He looks just like the Guardian Lord.’

He immediately recognized Kane.

The firstborn son of the Rehinar family, whom Duke Carl cherished the most.

He had fooled the world, hiding Kane's identity under the guise of a dullard.

But now, everything had been revealed.

‘He may look the same, but he’s a fool. His father worked so hard to protect him, and yet here he is, coming out on his own.’

Tegelo was gravely mistaken.

He thought Duke Carl had concealed Kane’s identity to protect him.

But that was far from the truth.

The Kane he believed to be dullard was not the real one.

Due to a scheme by the King of Hatzfelt, the souls of the two had been switched.

Ray was supposed to be a Dullard in last life.

‘But he’s probably not in this life due to it being a different story line or butterfly effect’.

Unaware of this, Marquis Tegelo called out to Kane in a loud voice.

“Where is Duke Carl? Why has a brat like you come to greet me?”

At Tegelo’s provocation, Kane responded.

“You're not worthy of meeting my father.”

“You must not have learned anything from him. Judging by the way you speak so rudely to your elders.”

“Why bother showing respect to an enemy? You’ll be dead soon anyway, so what’s the point of courtesy?”

Kane’s casual tone conveyed his indifference, clearly irritating Marquis Tegelo.

The muscles near Tegelo’s eyes twitched in annoyance.

“You little brat, you know how to get under your opponent’s skin, don’t you?”

At that moment, Tegelo noticed tiny white particles floating up into the sky.

Salt.

While stalling for time with provocations, it seemed that other plans were being made within the territory.

"To think that such a fool has completely severed Beno's mana circuits…."

The eyes of Marquis Tegelo gleamed.

"I'll personally end your life with my own hands."

This was both a vow and a declaration from Marquis Tegelo towards him.

"Wind Fox Magic Corps, move forward!"

The marquis's magic troops lined up beside him.

Kane provoked him once again.

"You must know the second princess is here, right?"

The Wind Tiger Magic Corps waited only for Tegelo's command.

"It doesn't matter. Destroy that wall where the scum is standing!"

At Tegelo's command, the Wind Fox Magic Corps simultaneously activated their magic.

When they extended both arms and pressed their palms together, a magic formation appeared in front of them.

"Whirlwind Strike!"

A whirlwind shot out from their hands.

The mana of fierce winds, powerful enough to pulverize the sturdy wall.

But their opponent was Kane.

He didn't block the whirlwind.

[‘Blood Phoenix’s breath’ has been activated.]

Instead, he drew his Blood Sky Blade and swung it.

"I'll send it back to you."

[Skill ‘First form of the Phoenix Spear technique: Flames of Severence’ has been used.]

The blade of fire flew like a bird.

The moment it was about to collide with the whirlwind!

The phoenix soared up and rode the wind.

Before they knew it, the wind had reversed.

The Wind Tiger Magic Corps couldn't hide their confusion.

The magic they had cast was now being reflected back at them.

In haste, they canceled their magic and raised a barrier.

The phoenix riding the whirlwind descended upon them.

Boom!

Dust clouded their vision.

At that moment, something sharp pierced through the dust.

It was an arrow.

Kane turned his body to the side to avoid the arrow aimed at his face.

Then, he reached out and caught the arrow.

"That almost put a hole in my face."

Kane pretended to wipe his chest in relief.

The one who had fired the arrow at him was Marquis Tegelo.

With a smirk, Kane spoke to him.

"If you want to test my skills, don’t come at me with mediocre attacks. If you try to figure me out slowly, you’ll end up in despair."

Kane was calm and composed.

To return Marquis Tegelo's favor, Kane changed the form of blood sky blade into a bow.

"As a courtesy, I’ll show you my archery skills as well."

He crossed the two Blood Sky blades into the shape of a cross.

Pulling back the right Blood Sky Sword, now horizontal, a bowstring made of mana instantly appeared.

"I’ll praise you if you manage to block this."

[Skill ‘Meteor of the Exploding Phoenix’ has been activated.]

The same archery that had annihilated the Dyer forces—

The Meteor of the Exploding Phoenix was unleashed.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Lucky]