I Alone Regress in a Hero Party That Was Annihilated - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#81. The Fall of Purosange (1)

The Old District near Vibuak Castle had burned.

All the survivors had taken refuge in the Star Castle atop the Rocky Area.

Thick smoke billowed up from various places.

“….”

Featherback was surveying the interior of the Castle that had become an Ash Heap with his characteristic indifferent expression.

Wooden houses reduced to mere frames, roads covered in Ash, embers floating in the air.

Every deep breath carried the smell of Fire.

Featherback passed by the collapsed Castle Walls and walked past a creaking Tin Sign.

Whooooosh―

Like the breath exhaled by the God of Death, the north wind blew.

He could see cattle bones protruding from the black Ash Pile.

A cow skull with broken horns lay overturned.

Featherback gazed at the Tomb formed by the heaped pile of cow bones.

Beyond it, he could see a Man burned black to death.

A cow Carcass crouched while embracing small calves.

That Thing was the Stable Keeper he had met before.

‘What crime have these cattle committed to deserve this! They are gentle and good cattle! They have worked hard for Humans their entire lives and committed no sins!’

His shouting still echoed vividly in his ears.

Featherback clicked his tongue lightly.

“Collect this man’s Corpse.”

“Yes.”

Hounded nodded his head.

The ten Mörsolt Knights moved the bodies of the Stable Keeper and calves to one spot in the ash heap and buried them.

“When the war ends, make sure to bury them properly in the Memorial Cemetery.”

“We will do so.”

As the Knights were nodding at Featherback’s command.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Suddenly, a Ranger burst out from within the ash heap.

He raised his face, mangled by burns, and glared at Featherback.

However.

Slash―!

Featherback swung the Dragon Fang Sword Adara and severed the Ranger’s neck.

The severed head fell onto the ash heap, creating acrid smoke.

Featherback’s gaze shifted.

“I heard the Purosange Rangers were brave, and it seems that was somewhat true.”

“Indeed. They’re too good to be under Baron Thoroughbred.”

Hounded nodded his head.

He too had already cut down four Rangers who occasionally burst out from beyond the ash fires.

Eventually, Featherback and the ten Mörsolt Knights entered the rocky area made of solid stone.

Around the Star Tower built separately on the hill, low stone walls stretched out at length.

The last survivors of Purosange would be hiding there.

* * *

Star Tower.

In that space that was no different from where a prisoner would be confined, Thoroughbred was trembling.

What made his body tremble was anger, fear, humiliation, and helplessness.

“Damn it… How, how could this happen…”

Thoroughbred sobbed while leaning against the cold wall.

In last night’s battle, ninety percent of the Purosange Rangers had died.

And half of the surviving Rangers had suffered disabilities severe enough to leave lifelong aftereffects.

The other half had fallen into serious mental derangement, making them effectively unable to fight.

The personnel who could fight now numbered only about ten.

Even they were only able to remain with their limbs intact because they had evacuated early with Thoroughbred.

“How could our Purosange end up in such a state… and to just one man…”

“…”

The old Rangers turned their heads away with sighs.

The oldest Ranger stepped forward.

“There are wounded in the backyard of the Star Tower.”

“So what?”

“How about if the Family Head offers some warm words of comfort? It would be encouraging.”

“What’s the point of encouraging those dying cripples?”

“…”

The Rangers fell silent.

Seeing their expressions, Thoroughbred burst out shouting.

“Do you think I haven’t seen those bastards lying in the backyard!? Every single one of them is blind, their lungs are cooked making wheezing sounds, their arms and legs are severed or broken, and they’re insane, grinning stupidly and drooling! What use is it to encourage such bastards now! If I go and encourage them, will those bastards be able to fight!? Will they be able to go out and cut off the head of that detestable Featherback!? If only they could do that, I would go out and encourage them a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times!”

Then one Ranger stepped forward.

“They are all comrades who fought for the Family Head last night and ended up like that. Is that what you have to say?”

“What?”

Thoroughbred drew the sword from his waist.

He glared with bloodshot eyes at the middle-aged Ranger before him.

“What did you just say?”

“Have your eardrums been cooked by the flames? I’m talking about the wounded in the backyard. Isn’t it all because of the Family Head that they ended up in such a miserable state!”

“This bastard’s got quite the mouth on him!”

Thoroughbred swung his sword at the Ranger.

However.

Clang—!

The Old Ranger’s dagger blocked Thoroughbred’s sword.

“You seem too excited, Family Head.”

“You bastard! How dare you stand in the way of the Family Head!”

“Please calm down. We speak from loyalty…”

“Loyalty? If you truly have such a thing, then go out and bring me that bastard Featherback’s head!”

Thoroughbred swung his sword again.

It pushed aside the Old Ranger’s dagger and lightly cut his forehead.

Slash—

Blood drops fell to the floor.

In an instant, the expressions of the surviving Rangers turned menacing.

But.

“Stop!”

The Old Ranger blocked the path of the other Rangers.

This Old Ranger named Warshadow lifted his blood-dripping face to look at Thoroughbred.

“Featherback. Is bringing back his severed head an order?”

“Yes! It’s an order!”

“Does that order take priority over the Previous Lord’s command to protect and guard the Family Head’s safety no matter what happens?”

“….”

Thoroughbred hesitated.

This was the first time this Old Ranger who had been assisting him all this while asked such a question.

A question from a battle-hardened veteran who had experienced everything since the previous generation.

For a moment, Thoroughbred recalled the last words his Father had left before dying.

‘Son. The greatest inheritance I can leave you is not the Family House or Wealth, but ‘Warshadow’. As long as that Friend is by your side, this Father will have no worries.’

The Previous Lord had assigned only one person to Thoroughbred—Warshadow, who was his longtime Friend and guardian Ranger.

And with that, he smiled, saying he had fulfilled ‘all his duties as a Father’.

And now, that Warshadow was looking at Thoroughbred.

“If that is the case, then we will follow that command.”

“Do it! Please do it! Go and bring back Featherback’s head!”

Thoroughbred squeezed his eyes shut and screamed as if having a seizure.

He couldn’t bear the gaze of that Old Ranger standing before him—it was too uncomfortable to endure.

He could no longer stand those eyes that seemed to regard him as pathetic, reproachful, yet still willing to follow reluctantly—eyes that held so much meaning.

Especially in the current situation where almost all the Rangers who had followed him were either dead or crippled.

Finally, Warshadow bowed his head.

“Thank you for everything until now, Family Head.”

Following them, all nine Purosange Rangers bowed their heads.

Rather than accepting their greeting, Thoroughbred burst out shouting.

“Get out of here quickly!”

“Then we’ll take our leave now. Please take care of yourself.”

“Stop nagging and hurry up!”

Warshadow gave a light bow and left the stone chamber.

Nine Rangers followed behind him.

Most were old Rangers whose hair had turned white.

Thoroughbred looked at the middle-aged Ranger at the very end.

The youngest of the ten, he was a friend of the same age who had spent his childhood with Thoroughbred, but he never once looked back at Thoroughbred until he left the stone chamber.

“Damn it!”

Thoroughbred struck the stone wall with his fist.

“What… what did I do wrong… I… I just wanted to make Purosange the greatest family in the Northern Region…”

But it didn’t work out.

That wasn’t how it should have been done.

He should have extended his reach while at least avoiding Mörsolt’s teeth.

The Mörsolt Family, which he thought had all the sweetness drained out and only husks remaining.

But who could have known that the green kid who crawled out of that family would be such a terrifying monster.

“Featherback, Featherback, Featherback, Featherback, Featherback… Where on earth did that young monster come from? What grudge did he have against me in a past life to so… so miserably destroy Purosange…”

Featherback’s figure flickers before his eyes.

A demon with white hair and red eyes.

That thing comes like a Wendigo from beyond the raging snowstorm and bares its teeth.

As if to punish a subordinate who dared to betray his lord, he was punishing the vassal Purosange who tried to bring down the feudal lord Mörsolt.

“No… Mörsolt was definitely in decline… We should have abandoned those old, musty customs at this opportunity… That was the only way to elevate Purosange’s prestige…”

Suddenly, Thoroughbred felt a chill.

Whooooosh—

The north wind coming through the window chilled his body.

Thoroughbred shivered and looked around.

Why did the wind that hadn’t felt cold until now feel so freezing?

He could understand the reason immediately.

The Rangers.

With Warshadow and the others gone, there was no one left to shield him from the cold wind through the window.

Thoroughbred realized that Warshadow had been blocking the north wind coming through the window with his broad back all this time.

And soon, he also realized that the Young Ranger who had protected him since he was very young—no, now an elderly Ranger well past seventy—was no longer by his side.

“Warshadow!”

Thoroughbred raised his head as if struck by lightning.

“What have I done! How could I do that to Warshadow…!”

Featherback’s life wasn’t what mattered.

The Elderly Retainers who had always been with him, who had been so natural a presence.

Their absence made Thoroughbred feel an unprecedented fear and emptiness.

“Warshadow! Come back! Everyone come back and protect me! With you all here, we can rebuild the Family House anytime…!”

Thoroughbred hurriedly left the Stone Chamber.

Right at that moment.

Clang— Claaang!

The sound of blades clashing could be heard from outside.

Thoroughbred recalled the last order he had given.

The order from earlier telling them to forget about protecting him and just bring back Featherback’s head by any means necessary.

Warshadow and the other Rangers had probably drawn their swords to carry out that command.

Then over there must be…

“Featherback! So you were there!”

Thoroughbred drew the sword from his waist.

He would drive his blade into the heart of his hateful enemy.

He rushed out intending to help Warshadow and the Purosange Rangers kill Featherback.

…However, what met Thoroughbred’s eyes as he ran outside the Star Tower was a completely different scene.

“Kugh!”

Warshadow was spitting blood from his mouth.

There was a large hole pierced through his chest.

Beside him, nine Rangers could be seen lying dead as corpses.

The being that had massacred Purosange’s last Rangers.

That was.

“Ho ho ho— I told you to stay put, but you just had to go wild and make this mess, didn’t you, Baron?”

It was none other than Shedyoldis.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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