Not A Regressor - Chapter 285

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

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 285
Dogs and Wolves (10)
“Why is the Royal Palace…?”
Ha-eun gazed at the Royal Palace with smoke billowing from it, her expression darkening.
“Hold on.”
Kwon O-jin fired his wire shooter toward the mansion’s roof and ascended.
Once atop the roof, I could pinpoint exactly where the explosion had occurred.
‘The hound of Lyra Constellation.’
I activated the stigma of Canis Major Constellation and pushed my senses to their absolute limit.
A splitting headache accompanied the sight—the distant location shrouded in smoke magnified as if viewed through a telescope.
“That’s….”
What I saw at the Royal Palace wreathed in smoke was a fierce clash between silver-maned Beast-humans and black-maned Beast-humans locked in brutal combat.
Watching Leoru, the chieftain of the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe, lead the charge at the forefront as his forces surged toward the Royal Palace, I could instantly grasp what was unfolding.
‘A rebellion.’
A week ago.
The image of Leoru trying to tell me something as I mentioned going to meet Horus flashed through my mind.
‘Was that what he wanted to say?’
Leoru had been planning a rebellion.
Given the current state of the Kan Kingdom, it wouldn’t have been an impulsive decision.
‘The confrontation between the Pro-Demon Faction and Anti-Demon Faction caused by the mass exodus of the Demon Race.’
For the past hundred years, the Demon Race had ruled the Kan Kingdom, but for some reason, they had vanished from it.
Barely five Demon Race members remained.
In such circumstances, the sudden news of war preparations had driven the already anxious populace to the brink of despair.
The ‘Anti-Demon Faction’ had judged this the perfect opportunity to completely expel the Demon Race from the Kingdom.
And at the center of that ‘Anti-Demon Faction’ was.
‘Leoru.’
Now everything was beginning to make sense.
When Horus saw me declare I would kill him if he was connected to the Heavenly Demon, Leoru’s attempt to say something must have been about this rebellion.
‘But he couldn’t have told me.’
The Anti-Demon Faction, relatively lacking in military strength, would have desperately needed our combat power—people with the same objectives as us.
Yet they couldn’t have drawn outsiders they’d just met into such a massive conspiracy as a rebellion.
“…We need to head to the Royal Palace.”
I descended from the mansion roof and stared at the smoke-shrouded Royal Palace.
The absence of the Demon Race members who should have been at the mansion meant their plan had already reached their ears.
If they’d been discovered despite an unannounced surprise attack, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how this rebellion would end.
“These idiots…!”
Riak, having grasped the situation, bared his teeth savagely and glared toward the Royal Palace.
Just as he was about to dash toward it.
Vrrrrmmm!
A faint vibration emanated from my pocket.
Kwon O-jin pulled out the communication orb from his pocket, which was trembling and radiating light.
[Oh, Kwon O-jin!]
Lilu’s breathless voice came through.
[P-please help us, Kwon O-jin! The Demon Race and the Black-maned Tribe are attacking the village…!]
“…Damn it.”
Kwon O-jin’s expression twisted harshly.
The moment the rebellion began, the Demon Race and Black-maned Tribe attacked the village as if they had been waiting for it.
The implication was clear.
‘They’re planning to use the villagers as hostages.’
If the Demon Race already knew the rebellion would happen,
then why would they need to engage in a bloody battle with the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe’s warriors to suppress it?
“Are you at home right now?”
[Yes, yes! Leo and I are hiding in the warehouse!]
“I’ll be there soon, so don’t leave that place no matter what.”
[Okay, understood!]
After ending the call, Kwon O-jin turned his gaze toward Isabella and Ha-eun.
Both of their expressions had hardened at the sound of Lilu’s urgent voice.
“You two head toward the village.”
“What?”
“…Are you planning to go to the Royal Palace alone?”
“No.”
Kwon O-jin turned back to Riak and continued.
“I’ll go with Riak.”
And of course,
Vega, who was hiding in my pocket, would also come with me to the Royal Palace.
“…That’s far too dangerous.”
Isabella shook her head and continued.
“I’ll go to the village alone. After all, there won’t be many forces attacking an empty village.”
In the village where the warriors had departed, only children like Lilu and Leo, and elderly beast-humans remained.
No matter how savage the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe was, they wouldn’t have sent a large force just to subdue the helpless elderly and children.
Certainly, Isabella alone would have no difficulty wiping them out.
But.
“Rescuing the captured beast-humans while simultaneously fighting them would be difficult for you alone.”
“That’s….”
“Wiping out the ones attacking the village isn’t the end of it, is it?”
Isabella bit her lip and lowered her head.
As Kwon O-jin said, wiping out the group attacking the village would be a very simple task for her.
But protecting the captured beast-humans while simultaneously eliminating them was an entirely different matter.
No matter how strong Isabella was, it would be difficult to fight them while protecting others.
Of course, even with Ha-eun going along, rescuing all the captured Silver-maned Wolf Tribe members would be difficult, but at least they could save more of them than if Isabella went alone.
“There’s no time to dawdle.”
I urged Ha-eun and Isabella forward.
“Sigh, I really can’t live like this.”
“…Understood.”
The two women, who had been watching me with worried eyes, sighed and turned to leave.
“We’ll come help you right after we finish. Until then… please don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yeah, just trust me.”
I laughed and gave them a thumbs up.
Ha-eun and Isabella, who had been regarding me with eyes full of doubt, soon set off toward the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe’s village.
The silhouettes of the two women rapidly receding into the distance.
“Let’s head toward the Royal Palace too.”
“…Will you be alright, boy?”
The Royal Palace likely held not only the Demon Race but also the core forces of the Pro-Demon Faction.
Even if the number of Demon Race remaining in the Kingdom wasn’t large, each one of them was a powerful being who had inherited the Heavenly Demon’s strength.
Attacking them one by one when they were separated was one thing, but engaging them head-on carried far too much risk.
“It won’t be alright.”
I gazed at the Royal Palace with smoke rising from it and chuckled softly.
Just as Riak had said, heading to the Royal Palace now without Isabella and Ha-eun was a reckless move.
Even if Riak and Vega came with me, they were bound by the Divine Law’s restrictions and couldn’t unleash their true power.
“…Then why?”
“I told you before.”
The day I learned about Riak’s past.
We had already discussed something similar then.
“Enduring doesn’t solve anything.”
“…This isn’t something that can be solved by enduring.”
“Then I have to do my very best.”
Crackle!
Blue lightning gathered around my legs.
“What’s your plan?”
I turned to look at Riak.
It was time to hear the answer I hadn’t heard back then.
….
Riak gazed at the Royal Palace with eyes sunk deep in thought.
[Riak.]
Vega flew to him and gently stroked his head.
[I remember when we first met.]
A silver wolf so battered and broken that death would have been no surprise.
Weeping, saying no one could protect him.
[I have watched you regret the past for so long.]
[The goddess’s voice seeped in warmly.]
[Follow the path your heart desires. This time… do not regret it.]
“…Vega.”
Grrrr.
Riak gnashed his teeth fiercely.
His frozen footsteps surged forward with renewed purpose.
“Let’s go, kid.”
“Yeah.”
Crackle!
Two torrents of azure lightning shot toward the Royal Palace.

* * *
“Huff, huff!”
Leoru gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently.
His silver fur, matted with blood, clung to his body in a sickening mass.
Before him lay hundreds of Black-maned Tribe warriors and two Demon Race beings, their bodies mangled and motionless.
The Silver Mane Tribe warriors who had assaulted the Royal Palace—proving they were once Khan’s kin—had demonstrated overwhelming ferocity.
“C-Clan Chief!”
“At this rate…!”
Desperate voices cried out from the tribe members.
No matter how formidable the Silver Mane Tribe warriors were, they could not overcome such a devastating numerical disadvantage.
Leoru, who had fought at the vanguard with unmatched valor, collapsed to the ground.
“Stop now.”
A dark-haired man stood before the gasping Leoru.
He gazed down at the fallen Leoru with bitter eyes.
“H-Horus…!”
Leoru glared at Horus with eyes burning with hatred.
Horus averted his gaze from Leoru’s blazing stare, turning his head away slightly.
“What’s wrong~?”
There stood a man with disturbingly heavy makeup caked on his face—Kalike—who let out a cackling laugh while applying powder to his visage.
Horus glared at him, his fists clenched.
“…Did you do this?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about~?”
Kalike shrugged with a sly expression.
Horus fixed Kalike with a cold, piercing stare.
“The gates were open.”
Entering the Royal Palace required passing through two checkpoints.
The outer fortress beyond the capital and the inner fortress surrounding the Royal Palace.
While the outer fortress had lax security, the inner fortress was meticulously guarded around the clock by Black-maned Tribe warriors.
Without an insider’s assistance, there was no way such a massive force could have infiltrated the Royal Palace undetected.
In other words, someone had pushed the Silver Mane Tribe forward.
A ‘rebellion’ to incite.
“Hohoho! Quite right. We’ll need to administer a stern punishment to the guards later, won’t we?”
Kalike burst into an affected laugh, twisting his crimson lips upward.
Thick sinews rippled across Horus’s clenched fist.
“Kalike…!”
Horus trembled, his fist quivering as his eyes flooded with crimson rage.
Kalike sneered at the sight of Horus’s fury.
“In any case, you should capture those wretches quickly, shouldn’t you? That way, when we venture beyond the veil into that other world, we’ll have brave warriors to fight valiantly at the vanguard, won’t we?”
“Do you think they’ll submit?”
Horus let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
Even wounded and fallen, Leoru’s eyes still blazed with fierce determination.
“We will not become dogs like you, Horus!”
Leoru wiped the blood from his lips and staggered to his feet.
“Hohohoho!”
Kalike’s shoulders heaved with laughter, finding this situation unbearably delightful.
“I wonder. Could you truly say that even with your children’s lives hanging in the balance?”
“What did you just…?”
Leoru’s eyes widened in shock.
“You bastard, what have you done to our village…?”
“Hoho. Well, who knows~?”
“Ah, ah, ugh.”
Leoru stumbled backward, his face drained of all color.
Kalike approached Leoru slowly, extending his tongue in a long, deliberate gesture.
“Enough talk. Kneel, you mangy mutts.”
A chilling voice echoed through the air.
“How dare you wretched dogs bare your fangs without recognizing your master….”
Kalike’s words were still flowing when—
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and six strands of wire shot from all directions, coiling around Kalike’s body.
Kalike’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the wires binding him.
“What in the…?”
“What else, you bastard.”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
A torrent of azure lightning surged through the wires, striking Kalike’s body with devastating force.

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