A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 282 : Southern Invasion (6)

Back at the guild house of 'Hunter'.

"Hmph, there's no need to look at me like that. This is only natural for me."

"..."

As I watched the Beastkin training outside through the manor window, Tom Hardist spoke to me.

I didn't understand what he was talking about at first, but I could soon guess his intention.

"Excessive rewards tend to make one's mind lax. I don't know what you went so far to prepare, but I'll decline in advance."

"..."

"Because this is what I should naturally be doing."

It seemed he thought my visit to the Murim Empire to meet the Emperor was to get him some kind of gift.

Not explaining the details of my trip seemed to have created a misunderstanding.

...Well, it wasn't incomprehensible.

From Tom's perspective, it wasn't strange to have such expectations.

'...'

Indeed, the 'Hunter' guild had become much more established than before.

It wasn't just better than before; since the 'Northern Subjugation War', it had shown much steeper growth than U-jin had expected.

Just looking at the scale of the Beastkin's training in front of me, it had grown exponentially compared to before, with nearly dozens of times more people participating in soldier training.

Of course, compared to the Hero-class elite troops who had participated in the Northern Subjugation War, their level was somewhat lower, but even so, the forces the Beastkin were forming were not something to be taken lightly.

Since the difference in individual skills was inconsistent and the variance was much larger, it was hard to call them a Hero-class force exactly, but most of them were Beastkin warriors with abilities superior to ordinary soldiers.

It was difficult to quantitatively say how many percent better they were than ordinary soldiers, but in U-jin's opinion, they wouldn't be lacking if used as 'Hero candidate' class forces by the Order.

And that was no small feat.

There were over 100 Hero-class elite troops and over a thousand Hero candidate-class troops.

It was a scale so powerful that most minor kingdoms of the Order couldn't even dream of it—no, it wasn't just beyond minor kingdoms; even among mid-sized nations, only a few could field such a force.

And even this wasn't the end.

Although they had settled in to some extent since starting soldier training, that was only because the comparison was the previous state of the Beastkin; they still had a long way to go in learning and training.

In other words, there was still plenty of room to reach even higher peaks.

From the perspective of Tom Hardist, who could roughly glimpse their potential beyond what was practically visible, it was only natural for him to feel proud in his heart as he watched the army the future Beastkin would form.

However.

'...'

Of course, Tom Hardist's role as a training instructor was significant.

But my thoughts were a bit different. In my opinion, the 'Northern Subjugation War' was more decisive.

The 'intangible value' of the Beastkin Nation participating in the Northern Subjugation War and achieving great feats played the biggest role in forming the independent military of the Beastkin Nation seen today.

It had to be that way.

Because of the treatment the Beastkin had received from the Order.

'...'

They were once the most traditional and powerful force in the neutral zone, but after becoming refugees of the Order Alliance, they had lost their roots and bloodlines, living on without a proper identity.

It wasn't just a lack of identity; the entire race had been treated as a 'race of slaves' within the Order—that was the reality the Beastkin had faced until now.

A race of slaves who lived lives of obeying others or performing low-level manual labor without personal freedom. That period wasn't short either.

It had been over 100 years, and with the change of generations, few remained who remembered their former glory.

But the participation of the Beastkin in the Northern Subjugation War awakened a new awareness in them.

The fact that their elite soldiers played a major role served as a kind of proof that they were not merely a race of slaves.

Winning one war didn't drastically change something in their blood, but the biggest obstacle the Beastkin faced was a problem in the mental realm.

Most had received growth-inhibiting drugs in prison and had a strong aversion to drugs, even refusing the special medicine Jerry created to dilute…

They had even refused the special medicine Jerry personally created to dilute the toxicity of the growth inhibitors and increase the resilience of their mana circuits, due to the strong aversion to drugs they had developed after being forced to take growth-inhibiting drugs in prison.

From that point on, however, most of them began to cooperatively participate in the Beastkin's recovery process.

Those who had been steeped in defeatism and frozen in fear began to take their first steps forward.

From then on, things progressed at a rapid pace.

With Jerry's drug administration cycle shortened and Tom Hardist's training to strengthen their nature as Beastkin—including physical conditioning—the recovery rate began to show much faster progress than the three-year recovery period Jerry had originally estimated.

In fact, even when the Beastkin Nation was proclaimed, it was hard to ignore a sense of inadequacy, but now, it felt like the title 'Beastkin Nation' truly fit.

"By the way, why is she squeezed in there?"

I asked, looking at Shim Cheong, who was growling out of place among the Beastkin. Tom Hardist stepped back as if he didn't quite know himself and replied.

"...She said she had to lead by example as a senior disciple."

"...A senior?"

"I did teach her some training methods briefly once before. It seems she's referring to that time."

Come to think of it.

『Fasting anaerobic exercise is the shortcut to physical training.』

『...I'm hungry.』

Thump!

『Furthermore, it is excellent for elevating the mental strength required to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.』

『I'm hungry.』

Bang!

『In other words, nothing is better than fasting anaerobic exercise for developing both body and soul.』

『I said I'm hungry!』

...I did recall her doing some sort of bizarre training before we headed to Aileen Village to meet Valencia.

Apparently, based on that, she considered herself Tom Hardist's disciple(?).

"...Does that actually help?"

"I don't know either."

"...Shouldn't you at least know?"

"However, I don't think it will be entirely meaningless. The training methods passed down traditionally in my family are of high quality."

Well.

Even if it worked for the Beastkin, would it still apply outside that category?

A question suddenly arose, but I shook my head. In any case, Cheong-yi wasn't someone I could contain, and even if I stopped her, I had nothing to teach her.

...No, she was a vessel that no one could contain.

She was someone born with a talent for martial arts more intense than anyone else's by blood.

Tom Hardist had also taught her some basic training, but it was more about fundamental physical conditioning rather than the realm of actual martial arts.

In other words, even the great Tom Hardist lacked the ability to teach Shim Cheong martial arts.

Of course, the fact that their marital paths were polar opposites likely played a role, but even so, the fact that even Tom Hardist couldn't handle her wasn't something easily accepted as natural.

Well, whether her training was right or wrong, the point she would eventually reach would be the highest of all.

Her performance in the Northern Subjugation War alone was proof enough.

Although she hadn't been given any special training methods or guidance, she had already grown stronger than anyone.

Her control over the magical beasts she had in the Shandong Peninsula had grown to more than double, and she was now wielding the Demonic Sword Chi-you without any sense of incongruity, as if she were almost synchronized with it.

Looking at that exponential growth, it didn't seem like an achievement gained from training all on her own; it felt like she had reached a level of synchronization with the 'Demonic Sword Chi-woo' that went beyond merely exchanging feelings to a point where they could actually converse.

I also thought I caught glimpses of her using various traditional martial arts of the Demonic Cult that I wasn't familiar with.

Well, the only martial art of the Demonic Cult I knew was the 'Heavenly Demon's Descent Step', but regardless, if she hadn't created them herself, it was likely the case.

If it were the former, there was even less for me to interfere with.

Furthermore, while Tom Hardist was winning up until the Northern Subjugation War, that was only possible because of the elite Beastkin troops supporting him.

Even though Tom Hardist moving alone was also akin to a disaster on the battlefield.

Although I hadn't witnessed much myself, based on what I had heard, the prowess Cheong-yi displayed seemed to be remarkably prominent even among the forces that came to support the Northern Subjugation Army.

Given her overwhelming growth rate, it seemed she would catch up to Tom before long.

Well, since Tom was specialized in one-on-one combat rather than one-versus-many, it might not be a very meaningful comparison, but that was the case on the battlefield anyway.

"...She's a total monster."

Perhaps Tom had also glimpsed her potential early on, as he didn't voice any disagreement. While I was observing the growing Beastkin forces like that—

Step, step—

"...Partner."

Jerry suddenly appeared and approached me, calling out.

And then.

"...I think you'd better check this out."

He pointed his finger outside without preamble.

The person Jerry was pointing at was none other than Eliya.

"...What's wrong with her?"

Sitting on a chair outside the window reading a book, she suddenly turned pale, and as if that wasn't enough—

Thud—

She tumbled backward off her chair.

It wasn't the first time Eliya had been flustered, but since Jerry went out of his way to tell me, I also felt an ominous premonition.

It didn't seem like she was acting that way for no reason.

Creak—

I immediately opened the window and asked Eliya to go outside.

"What's the matter? You even fell over all of a sudden."

"H-Hero."

Her face, which had turned an unusually strange color, came into view.

And then.

"It's a mobilization!"

"...A mobilization?"

Shocking news came from her mouth.

"They say the southern part of the Order has been invaded by t-two legion-level Demon King's Armies!"

"……!"