The Regressed Blood Knight’s Strategy

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Kawaii]

Chapter 6

Boom!

A corner of the mansion was blown apart.

Rivan flew through it like a kite with a broken string.

“This is why low-level fights are fun.”

Kane jumped down through the crumbling wall.

“Ugh… How can a knight family use magic?!”

Rivan reacted the same way as the assassins sent by Hatzfeld.

After all, Rehinar was widely known as a knight family to the outside world.

So it was natural for him to react that way.

“What an idiot.”

“Coward. You’ve been pretending to be a dullard and fooling the world until now.”

Rivan staggered to his feet.

No matter how much he was caught off guard, the area hit by the fist-sized water droplet was throbbing quite a bit.

“I won’t let you get away with this.”

Rivan gripped his sword again.

Just as he was about to jump out…

“Wait.”

Kane raised his hand.

Rivan’s lips curled up at this.

“It’s too late to ask for forgiveness. I’m not in a good mood now.”

“Forgiveness? I’m telling you that you’ve got the wrong date.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a humid day, isn’t it?”

Rivan didn’t understand Kane’s words.

“Didn’t your father tell you that?”

“Stop beating around the bush and just tell me!”

“Didn’t your father tell you not to fight a Rehinar on a damp and humid day?”

“Huh. Stop running your mouth, don’t you realize we’re your counters?”

“Your brain must be full of shit. I was just trying to give you a chance.”

“Stop bragging! You’ll understand you messed with the wrong person. Don’t try to distract me.”

Rivan’s smile grew even wider.

Getting hit by the opponent’s magic was clearly a mistake.

But it was a very small and insignificant mishap.

However, unlike Rivan’s confident thoughts, Kane continued the conversation with a nonchalant expression.

“Why don’t we put it to the test? I’m just as curious as you to see how strong my “Blue Tiger’s Breath” is against yours.”

Kane released all the mana in his body.

[“Blue Tiger’s Breath (E+)” has been activated]

His hair and clothes fluttered in the wind.

Small water droplets formed around him.

The essence of “Blue Tiger’s Breath” is the power of water. Just as he could manipulate blood with “Blood Dance”, he could control all kinds of liquids.

This included the moisture in the air.

“Hahaha. You think you can beat me with the mana of a 2nd Class knight?”

Rivan laughed out loud after seeing Kane’s rank.

Rivan’s rank was early 3rd Class knight.

It wasn’t something a mere 2nd Class could go against.

“Are you stupid?”

“Do you think I’d fall for your provocation? Naive.”

Rivan used his mana breathing technique.

His body glowed with a divine radiance.

A faint green mana clung to his sword.

It was the aura of Wood.

Kane shook his head.

“What’s the point of teaching an idiot a lesson, he’s going to die anyway.”

He lunged at Rivan.

Kane approached at an incredible speed.

[‘Blue Tiger’s Breath (E+)’ has been interrupted]

[‘Phoenix’s Breath (E+)’ has been activated]

‘Since I’ve been promoted to 3 stars, my breathing is smoother than before.’

Rivan’s movements seemed slow.

The path of his sword was clear.

Kane swung his sword before Rivan’s sword could even move.

Whoosh–

The flame-wreathed sword struck Rivan’s sword.

Bang!

Once again, Rivan was unable to withstand Kane’s power and was sent flying backward.

“Ugh.”

He rolled a few times before stopping.

He tried to stand up, his pride wounded by the fact that he had been sprawled on his back.

Thud!

The sword was embedded right next to Rivan’s face.

Before he could understand anything, Kane was pressing down on his chest with his foot.

“Ughhhh…”

“What a weak ass brat. Can’t even dodge a single strike?”

Kane looked down.

A devilish smile spread across his face.

***

Sara rushed out of the mansion.

She couldn’t help but gasp at the sight before her eyes.

“Brother, since when did you start practicing swordsmanship?!”

She couldn’t help but be surprised, thinking that Kane was using magic.

But something even more surprising unfolded before her eyes.

Whoosh–

Bang!

“No way!”

Fire erupted from Kane’s sword.

It was a flaming sword.

Unable to withstand the impact of the sword, Rivan flew far away and then rolled on the floor.

“How did you…?”

Sara stared at Kane as he used the Fire Rune, forgetting that he was using magic and swordsmanship both..

For a moment, she was lost in her thoughts.

Sara came to her senses and ran to Kane.

“Brother! What have you done to Rivan!”

Sara was worried.

What if the Dyer family finds out? They would be furious if they heard that Rivan came to Rehinar and was beaten to a pulp…

Maybe this could even lead to a war between the families.

That was why Sara had tolerated Rivan’s arrogance so far.

If she had done it her way… the outcome would’ve been different.

But now the Dyer family could use this as an excuse to swallow Rehinar.

Kane knew his sister’s worries and reassured her.

“That bastard started it first.”

“You should’ve thought about the aftermath!”

“I can handle the Dyers alone. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just kill this asshole and shut him up. Dead can’t speak.”

“What?”

Sara was startled by Kane’s nonchalant tone.

“You don’t want to marry this bastard anyway, do you?”

“That’s true, but… to improve our family…”

Kane cut her off again.

“Who told you to improve our family conditions? It is my duty as the eldest son to carry out that mission.”

“And by what means?”

“I can protect you at the very least.”

“But killing Rivan would make the situation more dire.”

“Just say that Rivan went into the demon forest to retrieve a gift for you and ended up losing his life.”

He always thought things through when he acted.

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Kawaii]

Sara’s skin crawled at Kane’s cold smile.

‘I was wondering why the atmosphere felt so ominous, but it was because of my brother.’

My brother, who couldn’t even kill an ant.

Was now trying to kill a human?

She wondered if the person before her was really her brother.

Could it be that the mana of the demon forest had invaded his brain, as Rivan said?

Sara swallowed hard and looked into Kane’s eyes.

A different look than usual.

There was no trace of affection in Kane’s eyes.

“Sara.”

“Yes?”

“Capture all the bastards from Dyer. Don’t let a single one go.”

“Really?”

“I’ve already beaten Rivan. That means the situation is irreversible.”

“…Father will be furious if he finds out.”

“We’ll just have to finish it before Father returns from the battlefield.”

Sara stared at Kane intently.

No matter how hard he tried to change his personality, could it change so drastically?

She was very confused.

“Rivan’s death will be covered up. The current Dyers are preoccupied elsewhere.”

The current Dyer Family Head was engrossed in something else.

Awakening the Wood Wolf they so desperately desired.

The Head of the Dyer family was an illegitimate child from a branch family, not a pure-blood.

He had simply staged a coup d’etat to rise to his current position.

Therefore, the symbol known as the Wood Wolf did not exist in the current Count’s family.

This was because the Wood Wolf disappeared along with the death of the previous pure-blooded Family Head.

‘He must be burning with impatience to find the Wood Wolf’s egg by now.’

[TL/N: Author used egg not cub.]

Anyway, the Dyer Family Head would soon find the Wood Wolf’s egg.

However, he would only realize it was a fake two years later.

‘At best, he’ll just send out a search party. That’s the kind of man the Dyer Family Head is.’

He didn’t even particularly care about his own children.

Not the eldest, nor the unruly second son.

Rivan Dyer wasn’t even a candidate for the successor of the family.

‘Rivan Dyer is just the beginning.’

As Kane was thinking of wiping out the Dyers, he saw Camilla running towards him.

“I told you not to come out until you’re fully healed… You really don’t listen.”

She seemed to have only received light first aid.

Kane quickly opened Camilla’s status window.

***

Camilla Einrich (Lv.10)

Grade: ★★☆☆☆

Age: 20

Occupation: Failed Knight of Kane

Mana: Water Rune (E)(1 Rune)

Favorability: 35 (Interested)

– Base Stats –

[HP: E]

[Mana: E+]

[Constitution: E]

[Strength: D-]

[Agility: D- ]

Traits: Iron Wall (C)

Skills: Water Swordsmanship (E-)

Her abilities were far from sufficient to protect the Grand Duke.

Kane’s plan was to strengthen her even more so he could gain more help in the early stages.

‘I wonder how strong she’ll become.’

Kane fed Camilla a character shard.

[Used a 3-star Camilla Einrich shard.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

…

…

[Cannot level up any further.]

She had reached max level 40 in one go.

[Would you like to to promote? (Y/N)]

‘Oh.’

[No promotion conditions are required.]

Normal characters do not have promotion conditions up to 3-star.

Those are conditions only attached to rare characters.

Camilla was a normal character given as a starter, so she would only have promotion conditions from 4-star onwards.

Moreover, since she was given as a 2-star character, she could be promoted directly to 3-star immediately if character shards were available.

[Camilla Einrich has been promoted to 3-star.]

[Camilla Einrich (Lv.1)]

Grade: ★★★☆☆

Age: 20

Occupation: Failed Knight of Kane

Mana Affinity: Water Rune (D-)(1 Rune)

Favorability: 35 (Interested)

-Base Stats-

[HP: D]

[Mana: D-]

[Constitution: D-]

[Strength: D]

[Agility: D+]

Traits: Iron Wall (C), Separation Anxiety (B)(NEW)!

Skills: Water Swordsmanship (E-)

Upon promotion to 3-star, she jumped from mid-2nd class to early 3rd class, two ranks higher.

Unfortunately, she also gained the useless trait “Separation Anxiety.”

[Separation Anxiety

Type: Trait

Rank: B

Description: Worries about being abandoned by her master. To prevent separation anxiety, time spent away from her master must be kept short.

Effects: Increased loyalty, strong fighting spirit, self-sacrifice]

It was a double-edged sword of a trait.

If used well, it could maximize Camilla’s abilities, but if left alone for too long, her stats would plummet.

Because of this trait, users who had played the game were reluctant to choose her.

‘This is where the real fun begins.’

Only true veterans know how to use Camilla Einrich.

Kane had a way to make this cute but useless character strong.

He deliberately fed Camilla his 3-star shard that he had saved.

[Camilla Einrich has absorbed a 3-star shard of ‘Kane Rehinar.’]

[Level up.]

[A Hidden Class has been unlocked.]

[‘Failed Knight Camilla’ has been changed to ‘Iron Knight Camilla.’]

[Trait “Separation Anxiety” has been downgraded from B to B-.]

[Iron Knight

Type: Hidden Class

Description: The title of Iron Knight is given only to those with innate qualities for guarding. The person guarded by her will have a lower chance of dying.

Effects: -40% death probability for the guarded target, +30% defense for the guarded target.]

By developing the Iron Knight class according to the guide, even a basic character could achieve remarkable efficiency.

Furthermore…

[The Rune(1 Rune) has been changed to Mark(2 Runes).]

The Rune was upgraded.

‘I’m still at 1 Rune even at 3-star because of my Dullard trait, but Camilla is already a Mark.’

A light shone from her shoulder.

Mana was flowing out through her armor.

‘The mark appeared there.’

[TL/N: ‘1 Rune’ is a ‘Rune’, ‘2 Runes’ is called a ‘Mark’, and ‘3 Runes’ is called a ‘Bond’.]

Whenever she uses mana in the future, a short flash of light will appear from her clavicle.

Of course, it wouldn’t always shine through her armor like now.

‘Anyway, this should be enough to subdue the Dyer troops that Rivan brought.’

He shouted at her.

“Camilla!”

“Yes?”

She replied as she approached quickly.

“Subdue the Dyer troops.”

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Kawaii]