Regressor of the Fallen Family novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Amidst the resounding thunder of over ten thousand cavalry charging across the field, shaking the very earth beneath them, a middle-aged man with red hair and eyes led at the front, repeatedly shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Charge! Charge!”

Comprising chiefly of McLain’s crossbow cavalry, this force of nearly ten thousand riders had been cherry-picked from the elites capable of the swiftest movement after the battlefield had been secured. However, even for such elites, continuously galloping for over a day with just minimum rest was an arduous task.

Eventually…

Heeiiinngh!

At the rear of the column, a horse that had struggled to keep pace finally collapsed powerlessly.

“Jensen!”

His comrades cried out his name in desperation as they ran alongside him, but…

“Leave any stragglers behind! Just look forward and charge!”

The steel-hard shouting of the chief instructor Kaisolon fixed the crossbow cavalry’s gaze back to the front.

It was an incident that had occurred several times already.

Not one among them was spared from exhaustion, yet in front of them, their lord continued to shout with veins bulging in his neck.

“Do not slow down! We rest only to the bare minimum!”

His cry was laden with determination to swiftly close the distance they had lost to Logan while tending to the battlefield.

With their lord setting such an example with his bloodshot eyes, the soldiers had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow.

Yet, amidst their forced charge…

A group of soldiers could be seen approaching from a distance.

“It’s the armored banner of the Armored Viscount!”

As a soldier recognized the standard of the house, Padric’s brows drew closer together.

‘We’re in a rush as it is.’

What they could see was at best, around fifty knights accompanied by a group of soldiers ten times their number.

Although McLain’s crossbow cavalry had lost its knights, they were the elite of the elite.

Confident that they would easily melt through a small group of knights with their rapid-fire crossbows, Padric thought that if those fools approached without seeing any knights and became hostile, they would simply smash them to pieces.

“Prepare for battle, all troops!”

Padric’s charged command shifted the rushing soldiers’ gazes.

Arming crossbows and drawing swords and spears, the soldiers quickly readied for battle.

Just a few gasps for breath were enough to complete the preparations, a clear testament to their rigorous training.

However, they would have no need to wield their weapons.

“Lord Count! I am Samuel Armored, the Viscount! We wish to join McLain’s forces!”

The portly middle-aged man at the forefront, waving his banner frantically, clearly was not preparing for battle.

No weapon was drawn, no discernible movement made; the man even bowed his head as if fearful of any misunderstanding.

‘Hm?’

Padric scrutinized them with a piercing gaze and then nodded his head.

Two days had passed since the decisive battle.

By now, there wasn’t a soul who didn’t recognize that McLain’s victory had become the irresistible tide. It was then Padric finally considered that such individuals might seek to join his cause, in fact, there would likely be many.

But his response was simple.

“Continue the charge!”

Dududududu.

As if they had not heard the Viscount’s cry, McLain’s forces continued their gallop unabated. The color drained from Samuel Armored’s face as he had boldly cried out.

“Wait a moment…!”

The pressure of facing the charge of ten thousand troops head-on was immense.

“Viscount Armored, make way! If you do not yield, we will force our way through!”

Padric’s voice resounded thunderously across the field, startling the Viscount and his forces.

“Bu-but, my Lord Count! I came to support…”

“Silence! If you want to support, then follow on your own accord!”

Dududududu.

The ten thousand cavalry continued to dash across the field, and Samuel Armored, who had raised his banner high hoping to ride the tide of the main force, had no choice but to swiftly make way.

“Blast it…!”

An unsettling event.

But he knew why he had come.

McLain had triumphed in the decisive battle and risen as the predominant power.

If he wanted to join forces now, he had no other option.

“Follow them by any means necessary!”

He too, clenched his teeth and tried to catch up to their rear.

Heeiiinngh.

However, Samuel Armored’s hopes did not seem likely to be realized so easily.

In the following two days alone, just like him, there were ten noble families comprising of small and medium-size forces that had latched onto McLain’s tail—a formidable group of over five thousand.

Dududududu.

“How many men are there?”

“Truly McLain…”

“Is the world really changing?”

Buzzing murmurs filled the air.

Troops streamed through the city gates.

Those on the streets or peering from their hidden homes were gripped by a heavy fear.

Just moments ago, they had watched over a thousand knights rush towards the royal castle. And now, such a massive army followed in pursuit.

While the political machinations of the nobles were not for the common folk to intercede, in times such as these, they could not help but feel a sense of crisis.

And Padric’s cry, once inside the outer castle, further amplified the anxiety felt by the capital’s citizens.

“Units one to five secure the east of the inner castle, six to ten take the south, eleven to fifteen the north, the rest search the west! Detain all nobles and bring them to the royal castle! If they resist, it is permissible to kill!”

“Yes!”

“Bu-but, Lord Count! What should we do?”