Chapter 158
I Regressed To My Ruined Family Chapter 158
#After returning, the family was ruined (159)
The sacrifice made in previous generations.
Ardan was a family that even the king had to show respect for. Delprion said after taking a sip of tea.
“I heard there was friction with Duke Himos.”
“I did.”
“What do you plan to do with Agiles?”
“Ardan never forgets a grudge.”
It was a simple but clear answer.
Soon, a thick bundle of documents came out of Ethan’s arms.
“This…?”
“This is material to be used for pressure.”
“pressure?”
“Take a look.”
The king’s face slowly began to harden after looking at the document. From tax issues to places like secret laboratories spread out in various places.
In the document, Aguiles’s every move was written down in detail.
‘When on earth did you gather this much information?’
The Duke’s investigation contained several things that even his intelligence group, Red Moon, could not understand.
In order to gather such high-quality information, an excellent intelligence organization was needed.
‘That’s really amazing.’
The king’s eyes sparkled.
It wasn’t just a feeling of having established an outstanding intelligence organization. There has been a story that has been causing a stir in the kingdom recently.
That was the story of Ardan sweeping up the kingdom’s gold coins.
From selling card games to products with excellent designs that are selling like hot cakes to high-ranking nobles.
The wealth Ardan was accumulating at every moment was at a level that even he could not have easily predicted.
‘In less than a year at most…’
Not only did he overcome the mana surge and build up skills that even the transcendent could not ignore, but he also completed the maintenance of the family.
It was too much of a slut.
“…Can I take this information as a request to put pressure on Aguiles at this Central Council meeting?”
“That’s right.”
“I will.”
Delprion nodded willingly. From absorbing the moderate faction to destroying the general branch of the Capital Magic Association, one of the important forces in the church. This was all done by the duke. If something comes, something has to go.
‘Good.’
Lacian and Aguileth.
The two ducal families, who were constantly increasing their power, were also a threat to the king. Coincidentally, its power has increased significantly by absorbing the moderate faction.
There was no harm in doing so if he could put pressure on Agiles through the information the duke gave him.
“However, as the Duke knows, this information will not be able to take down Agiles. It’s all about getting a few rights. “I hope you understand that.”
“yes. “That doesn’t matter.”
Agiles’ power was close to 10% of the kingdom’s power.
A force with this kind of power would have a lot of room to think differently if excessive pressure was applied.
Moreover, on Agiles’ side, there is an outstanding ally called Lacian. It was not that he did not understand the king’s actions, as a civil war could break out if he were not careful.
‘Well, that’s not important.’
Ultimately, revenge is only meaningful when it is completed with one’s own hands, not with someone else’s.
For now, it was enough to put political pressure on Aguiles.
‘There’s no need to rush.’
It will not be too late to slowly chip away at their power and then move forward in earnest when the time is right.
That’s how the conversation with the king ended.
Ethan returned to his room and was deep in thought.
‘It’s Delprion.’
The previous king had a history of establishing a senate in the duchy and leaking technology to the seven families.
It must have been to increase the power of the kingdom.
Who was the king of the time?
It didn’t completely cross the line like before. However, he only continued to abet the situation.
‘You are a mysterious person.’
From defining the work of collateral relatives as ‘housework’ and blocking intervention from other families, to revealing hostility toward the religious order.
Since he woke up, the king’s actions have always been in a direction that benefits this side.
‘If you look at the policy proposed today, it seems like he is trying to rule.’
Ardan was not yet a family that could stand alone.
Recovery always takes time.
One thing was certain.
So far, Delprion and I have the same goals and there is a lot of room for us to use each other.
I had no intention of throwing away a useful hand due to emotional issues alone.
Because Ethan was not a single person, but the head of a family.
‘Time will decide.’
Will you be an enemy or ally of the king?
We’ll find out later.
It was a time when I was lost in thought.
smart.
There was a knock on the door, and soon a letter was delivered to him.
The driver who delivered the letter said:
“This is a letter from His Excellency Duke Gerond.”
Ethan’s eyes lit up after seeing the contents.
* * *
A dark night.
Ethan moved quietly and looked at Inyoung standing in the distance.
“Were we supposed to meet each other quietly?”
“What I was curious about was, weren’t we all the same? So you must have come here too.”
Immediately afterwards, Gerond glanced somewhere. A familiar energy was felt behind Ethan.
‘It’s the Marquis Lionel.’
Duke of Ethan.
On the outside, he looked like he was running wild like a thunderbolt, but his every move was filled with meticulous planning. This was a fact that could be seen just by looking at the fact that he did not come to see me alone.
“So what’s your business?”
“Couldn’t you use the mind sword?”
Sword of the heart.
It was a technique that could only be used if one had deep enlightenment even at the level of transcendence.
If you were to consider whether or not you could utilize it right now, you could.
Of course, since the body and mana are not fully equipped, it cannot be used for a long time.
“then?”
“Would you like to discuss the mind and sword with me?”
‘Discussing the mind and the sword.’
Duke Gerond was one of the obvious main enemies, but regardless, this was a rather interesting topic.
This is because the human mind contains the philosophies and values that we have lived our whole lives with.
Instead of saying a hundred words, you can understand much of the essence of an object just by striking your heart and sword once.
Conversely, it would mean that Gerond also understands his true nature…
‘It’s not bad.’
Ethan was not one to turn down such an offer.
After releasing the illusion, he closed his eyes and remembered a sword.
A sword that cut down countless dragons.
Divine sword Dranion.
Unlike its current state, which was a half-replica, the new sword that had been ‘perfectly’ restored in the image was held in his hands.
The materialized imagination was sucking up mana.
It is a sword that cannot be maintained for long.
Ethan looked at Gerond.
A sword was floating around him. It was a sword made entirely of mana. When he saw Gerond’s heart sword, his eyes lit up.
This was because Gerond’s level was not far behind compared to his previous life.
‘At most, the difference is about two steps.’
In the kingdom of Heidern in his previous life, there were only two beings who could be called transcendental. One was herself and the other was Ysera, who was called the goddess of water. If you think about it, it was an amazing amount of progress.
If you think of those who are transcendent right now, aren’t there as many as four? And that’s in a situation that was a long time ago from the time of my previous life.
The skills of the dragon people and the skills of Ardan.
The two may have mixed together and reached a level different from before.
Ethan was sure at this moment.
The transcendent people we have seen so far.
If you fight with all your might against transcendents like the Duke, Marquis Lionel, and Duke Himos…
‘If you do well, you’ll be able to make both arms disappear.’
However, if Gerond is your opponent, it will be difficult to cut off even a finger, let alone an arm.
A strong person like this was rare even in his past life. It was an amazing leap forward for a family that had been treated as second place for most of its life.
Meanwhile, Gerond, who saw Ethan, nodded.
‘What a bizarre creature.’
Body and spirit usually go together.
But Ethan was different.
He was clearly not a transcendent. Considering only the physical body, you have to be really good at it to be able to say that you have reached the beginning of the level of superhumanity.
Nevertheless….
‘The spirit is already half-complete.’
Although he has an experience of transcendence, he is not a transcendent person. This was the first time even Gerond, who had lived for countless years, had seen such a bizarre being.
That’s what sparked my curiosity. So I sent a letter and Ethan responded.
It was time to find out more about him.
“Let’s begin.”
With Ethan’s words, a single heart sword narrowed the distance.
The will engraved on the sword of the heart was simple.
-Cut it.
Like the Yongin people who broke countless waists in two.
Because it was a sword that moved solely through imagery, its speed was beyond imagination. Before I knew it, the heart sword was cutting into Gerond’s waist.
thud!
The sword was blocked with a heavy sound. Before I knew it, the sword floating around Gerond was blocking the divine sword.
When the two heart swords collided, one of them opened his eyes wide and the other one’s eyes were shining with interest.
The former was none other than Gerond.
It was because he understood Ethan’s essence.
He went through many wars.
thud!
He was a knight who slaughtered countless dragon people.
thud!
He was a war hero with iron blood.
Three crashes.
‘…!’
Gerond was astonished at the nature of the object spewed out by the Heart Sword.
Gerond was not the only one who understood the opponent. Because images were starting to come to Ethan too.
thud!
A person who lives only for the revival of the family.
thud!
A person whose every action is merely a means for the sake of his family.
And the last one…
Boom!
‘Hmm.’
Ethan smiled.
The sword of the heart is the collision of mind and will. Depending on the level of one’s level, the scope of one’s ability to read the other person’s essence also varied.
The reason why Gerond wanted a clash of hearts and swords. That may be because he was confident in hiding his own essence and deeply understanding the essence of the other person.
However, Gerond did not know until he struck the heart sword. The fact that Ethan’s experience completely surpasses that of his previous life.
Just as Gerond was reading Ethan’s essence that was ‘intentionally’ revealed, Ethan was also reading his essence.
Although Gerond realized it at the last moment and tightly covered the essence.
Due to the late reaction, it was not possible to hide it completely. Even though it was blurry, I could read the direction he was thinking.
‘Dealing with Lacian may be easier than you think.’
My mind became blurred.
With the performance of my current body, three collisions was the limit.
It was an extremely inefficient technology right now. Gerond’s eyes darkened as he saw the blurred heart sword.
‘How far did you read?’
I knew that I could use mind sword.
However, Gerond could not have imagined that his level would be so sublime.
At best, I was planning to reveal only the shell of its essence.
Rather, the result was the opposite.
It was Ethan who showed the shell, and it was he who showed the substance.
“….”
He frowned as if embarrassed. Because the exchange rate was extremely unreasonable.