REAPER SCANS
Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan
[Translator – Mr.Ghost]
[Proofreader – Harley]
Chapter 74 - Lone Plum Blossom (4)
Aimil had been waiting, desperately awaiting the delivery of Theo’s decapitated head.
That was when…
Bang!
The palace doors slammed open and swordsmen rushed in.
Tension filled the air.
“Central Director!”
“What business brings you here, sir..?”
The maids and butlers all looked fearful at Ed, who was standing in the middle of all the swordsmen. However, Ed walked over to his twin sister without saying a word.
“What is the meaning of this, brother?” Aimil glared at Ed.
Ed responded by showing her a document. “Are you still going to feign ignorance, Lady Aimil?”
“What is that, to give you the right to intrude like this?”
“It’s the order you sent using my seal without my approval.”
Aimil flinched momentarily before acting as if she had done nothing wrong.
“So what? Did I do something wrong?”
“You deployed CIB agents without permission by impersonating me. Not only that, but you ordered them to kill members of our clan, the White-Armored Dragon Cavalry.”
“......!” Aimil’s eyes widened in shock.
She couldn’t believe he was openly stating this in front of all these people. When she looked around, she saw a look of horror on the faces of the servants.
“How dare you do this to me in front of the servants…?!”
“So you are at least cognizant that your actions are disgraceful,” Ed stated, his voice sharp.
Aimil bit her lip and demanded, “Why don’t you get to the point?”
“Impersonating an officer is a grave crime, even for someone with the position of a palace lady. Mobilizing soldiers of the clan for personal matters is treason, especially when targeting the pride of the Ragnar Clan, the White-Armored Dragon Cavalry. I’m sure the clan head will be delighted when he receives this report.”
“You don’t intend to report this to the clan head, do you…?”
“Why shouldn’t I? Because of my stupid sister, my life is now on the line. At the very least, I need to find a way out for myself.”
Aimil’s face froze, finally recognizing the severity of the situation.
“Why must you be so extreme? It won’t matter as long as things go as planned! Once the dragoon platoon has been annihilated, we can just frame it all on the Black Skull…!”
“I’m forced to do this because that nonsensical plan of yours has gone awry!”
“Wh-what?”
“The Clan Headquarters just received White-Armored Dragon Cavalry Platoon 5’s report. They said that they found a third party other than the Black Skull and that they are returning after capturing four of them alive.”
“......!”
“Their report also said, ‘They appear to be connected to the Ragnar Clan. Details will be shared in person upon arrival.’”
“......”
“Do you understand what a truly stupid thing you’ve done?”
Tremble, tremble
Aimil’s hands shook while her face turned pale.
‘My plan failed…? And they’ve been captured alive? How…?!’ she thought.
Then her mind jolted as she thought of Kyle’s face. Despite having been married to him for ages, she could never read that tyrant’s true intentions.
What would he do once he heard the news? There was no doubt of it. He would not only punish her but likely even her clan of origin, the Troivan Clan.
She knew there would be no point pleading with him. Kyle's first and foremost priority was the honor and prosperity of his clan.
“B-brother! Please help me! Of all people, you must have a solution. Please help your dear sister!”
Ed simply smirked. “I always wondered why Axion was so stupid and impulsive. Turns out he simply took after his mother.”
“Brother…!”
“My dear lady, you’re such a moronic simpleton. Why did you cause a mess that you couldn’t clean it up? You should have continued being a decorative doll, and you would have lived without discontent for the rest of your life. All you had to do was accept what I fetched you—but you just had to step out of line.”
Aimil’s eyes suddenly turned furious. “You know why! If you had only kept your promise, I would never have done any of this!”
“What promise did I fail to keep?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know! Theo Ragnar! Instead of killing that damn imbecile, you tried to recruit him!”
“Hah…! I can’t believe you did it because of such a pathetic reason.”
“Don’t call it pathetic! Watch your tongue! Axion was my everything! As his mother, it’s only natural that I would avenge him! I had to take away not just his life but everything important to him to make things even—so that Axion can rest in peace!”
Tsk!
Ed clicked his tongue. He knew that there was no way to calm the madness he saw in Aimil.
“Did it ever occur to you that I only wanted to recruit Theo as part of my plan to avenge Axion?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Not only would I have managed to kill Theo, but I would have made all of Ragnar mine. That would have been the best vengeance for Axion… yet your foolishness ruined my final plan.”
“......!”
“You have ruined everything, Lady Aimil!”
Aimil could no longer look Ed in the eyes. He always looked at her with kindness, with warmth in his eyes. It would have at least been bearable if he looked at her with anger, resentment, or even coldness.
However, there were absolutely zero emotions in his gaze.
Absolute apathy.
It was as if he didn’t even consider her human.
But then it finally clicked for Aimil. These were his true feelings, the way he had always looked at her behind her back. His appearance reminded her of someone. Someone who had dominated Aimil’s heart and mind since her youth.
“As we have now lost the Dragon Slayer Sword, the core component of our plans, Father will no longer consider you his daughter.”
Aimil’s face turned white. ‘Father…’
The trauma of her childhood that she had been suppressing swelled up.
“I will figure this matter out. However, you will have to be satisfied with forever being a canary in a cage.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Escort her to her quarters,” Ed ordered.
“Brother? Brother! Get your hands off of me! Let me go!”
Aimil was forcibly dragged away by Ed’s agents.
Ed looked away from her without a second thought and quickly swept his eyes across the room. He saw the maids and butlers standing around, trembling in fear.
“D-director! P-please spare me! I’ll do anything you ask of me! Please…!” the head butler begged, clinging to Ed’s leg.
The butler knew what his fate would be after having overheard such an important conversion.
“If you wanted to live, you should have served Lady Aimil better. Stopped her from stepping out of line,” Ed looked at the head butler with contempt.
Then Ed ordered, “Kill them all.”
Shhnk, pshhk—
Slash!
The agents swiftly drew their swords, and the palace filled with screams.
However, it didn’t take long for the screams to quiet down and for the palace to become a bloodbath.
Morgan, the second deputy director, approached Ed.
“Everyone’s been taken care of, sir.”
“Replace everyone with vetted personnel. We cannot ever allow a repeat of today’s event.”
“Yes, sir! I will make sure they are competent.”
“And…” Ed held back what he was about to say and went quiet.
However, Morgan lowered his head, understanding what his boss wanted to say.
“I will also take out all the captives, sir.”
“What a shame. Especially Sidra. It’s a big loss. Tsk,” Ed clicked his tongue as he started walking away.
‘Because of my stupid nephew and little sister, the coup has been foiled. Whatever I try, I feel like I’m in the palm of Robert’s hand.”
Ed thought of the Black Dragon, who has been long a roadblock from the shadows.
The Central Intelligence Bureau and the Black Snow. The two organizations had been feuding over the relics of the primordial dragon in the shadows for a long time.
Despite knowing this fact, Kyle simply watched how it played out.
The two organizations had been at a standstill for many years, but recently the scales started tipping in favor of the Black Snow. More precisely, the various schemes by the CIB had been getting foiled, and the one at the center of it all was someone he had never anticipated.
‘Theo Ragnar. Ever since getting tangled with him, things have been a mess.’
Splash—
The sound of Ed stepping on a puddle of blood echoed.
‘No. I should have acknowledged him from the beginning. He was never someone Axion could handle. He’s able to play in the same league as me. It’s my mistake for failing to recognize that.’
The ferocity hidden beneath that pretty face made Ed doubt if he was truly only fifteen.
‘That’s why…’
Creak!
Ed opened the doors, his eyes growing tranquil.
“…I will now consider you my mortal enemy. I’ll face you with all I’ve got.”
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Mr.Ghost]
[Proofreader – Harley]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
With the return of Platoon 5, a rumor quickly spread across Wintera.
“Platoon 5 of the White-Armored Dragon Cavalry returned after successfully rescuing the hostages.”
It was very obvious news. Normally, no one would pay much attention to it. However, it was a detail of the mission that captivated people.
“The greatest contributor is said to be the Flash Tiger.”
The heroic tale of Theo Ragnar, the Flash Tiger, was sensational.
The survival of the presumed dead dragoons. The rescue of the hostages. The ambush from an unexpected enemy. The counterattack against the enemies—even capturing some of them alive.
People raved about the fact that not only did Theo play an instrumental part in all of it, but he went toe-to-toe against the Hammer Baldy, Slo Geng.
“Isn’t Hammer Baldy pretty infamous? But he fought him in combat!”
“Even taking into account that rumors tend to exaggerate, it’s still an unbelievable feat.”
“I thought he was amazing when he broke the awakening ceremony record, but this is something else… Doesn’t this mean he’s now beyond being a trainee swordsman and is on the level of combat swordsman?”
“I think so.”
“He’ll likely be re-evaluated soon. This might be a new record for promotion into combat swordsman!”
Throughout all the gossip, the rumor mill was in agreement.
The growth rate of the Flash Tiger was meteoric, an unbelievable speed for a fifteen-year-old child.
Everyone wondered what the end of all this growth would look like. However, curiosity over Theo made people miss a crucial fact.
This mission might have uncovered a conspiracy.
* * *
[Dragon Slayer Sword: Balmung
· Type: Broadsword, «Mystic».
· Attack: ??? (Unknown)
· Requirement: ??? (Unknown)
· Effect: ??? (Unknown)
*This item is currently sealed. The «Mystic» must first be unsealed in order to read the item’s information.]
Theo clicked his tongue after reading the Balmung’s status window.
‘It’s as I thought.’
There were things called «Mystic» in this world, remnants of the Mythic Age when gods are said to have lived among humans. They were said to be like a mirage, rarely falling into someone’s hands.
However, when you did obtain one, you were said to obtain quite literally a ‘mystical’ power.
Balmung, with the myth of slaying an Evil Dragon, was one of them.
‘Ed managed to obtain Balmung’s Mystic, the legacy of the Dragon Slayer… He must already know how to unseal it. What’s the method?’
Upon encountering a secret, Theo was greatly curious. Seeing if he could somehow uncover a clue, he was about to touch the blade, when…
Vwoom! Vwoooom!
The Drake Blade and the White Moonlight Blade both rang in protest.
Fwooo—
The Balmung, defying Theo’s touch as well, released an energy.
Theo ended up with a small cut on the tip of his finger.
‘Because it has a myth of killing a dragon, I must be incompatible with it. I’m too closely associated with dragons.’
However, that only made Theo spiteful. He wanted to dominate and use this sword.
‘It’s likely connected to its Mystic…’
But with having no way to figure it out right now, Theo tossed it back in his inventory. He had at least achieved his goal: preventing it from falling into Ed’s hands.
Knock knock!
“I, Evelyn Nerevil, have returned with the thirty-two members of Platoon 5.”
Hearing his superior officer’s voice, Theo snapped back to reality. His entire platoon had gone to see Julius to report their return.
“Come on in.”
After getting the approval from the inside, they entered.
Julius stood up from his seat and greeted them joyously, “Welcome back, our heroes! Haha!”
“My apologies, sir. We did not arrive in time to save Sir Trainor and the others from being injured,” Evelyn said with her head lowered.
Julius shook his head, “No, no. I’m simply glad that your platoon returned alive with them. Injuries can be treated, but lost lives can never be recovered. You did well.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“On a lighter note, I heard that the new recruits were instrumental,” Julius’s gaze turned towards Theo and the Lanke siblings.
The platoon all collectively matched his gaze.
“They were incredible. They have good heads on their shoulders! I mean, seriously. Who knows how things would have turned out without them.”
“Commander, can you only recruit newbies like them from now on?”
“Yeah. Please stop bringing in weirdos.”
Proud of their juniors, Selford and the others patted them on the heads.
Theo proved himself to be invaluable, but Erika and Hulkus’s appearance were essential in the capture of the CIB agents.
“They are sure to become pillars of our unit,” Evelyn agreed with everyone’s assessment.
Her compliment made it harder for Julius to contain his smile.
“Good work, all of you. It’s comforting to have such promising subordinates.”
‘I’m being complimented by the Demon Dragon…! This feels like a dream!’ Hulkus was in a daze after being complimented by his idol.
Erika smiled with pride.
Only Theo was unreadable.
“Well then. Since you’ve all had a tough time, go get some rest. We will notify you of your rewards later.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
The platoon collectively saluted Julius.
“As for Captain Evelyn and Theo Rangar, stay behind. There are matters to discuss.”
The rest of the platoon left the commander’s office, patting Theo on the back for a job well done on their way out.
Once only the three of them remained, Julius returned to his usual playful self.
He turned to Theo with a smirk and said, “I heard you read it.”
Theo nodded his head. He immediately knew what Julius was talking about. The Lone Plum Blossom.
“Yes, sir. Thanks to it, I was able to draw the fifth claw.”
“I remember you only being capable of three during the awakening ceremony. To already be at five… That’s very fast,” Julius said while stroking his chin. “Just keep in mind that being fast isn’t always good.”
“I will be careful not to build a foundationless sandcastle.”
“Good. Maintain that attitude. I do have something to ask.”
Theo stood even more upright. He knew that the next question would be the core of this conversation.
With a flicker of ominous light in his eyes, Julius asked, “My swordsmanship contained within the Lone Plum Blossom… What did you think of the demon dragon’s sword?”
‘I knew it. Finally…!’ Theo clenched his fist.
It was the moment he had been waiting all along.
Julius was about to share his teachings.
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