The Regressed Blood Knight’s Strategy

Chapter 127

Finally, he reached Dirk.

It was something he had been anticipating for a long time.

A rush of exhilaration surged through Kane.

He can just snap Dirk’s neck in one swift motion.

"Should I just kill him now?"

Up until now, killing hadn\'t evoked any particular emotion in him.

After all, everyone here was just a character in a game.

But Dirk was different.

Thinking about how that guy used him and led him to his death made Kane grit his teeth.

If he could tear him apart with his own hands, he thought there would be no greater satisfaction.

But there was one crucial fact he could not forget.

Dirk believed that Ray had died due to his own plans.

In reality, all of Dirk\'s actions stemmed from the brainwashing of the House of Sun.

"It feels like a waste to just kill him."

Dirk had a significant role in the story.

He wasn\'t just some run-of-the-mill villain who tormented Ray Hatzfeld.

As the second prince of Hatzfeld, he possessed a lot of crucial information.

"If I use this guy, I might be able to draw out the King of Hatzfeld."

But there was something even more important.

If the House of Sun was the final boss, then the King of Hatzfeld was merely a stepping stone.

In other words, he needed to deal with Hatzfeld to reach the House of Sun, the disgusting Meyer Family.

Wouldn’t using Dirk make this path much easier?

Of course, he had no intention of letting him live.

Kane will torture him slowly, painfully.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to strip Dirk of everything he desired, sending him into the abyss.

"I’ll have to ask Gillip to fetch the Red Poison Worm."

The Red Poison Worm was a demonic creature used for mind control.

It was also known as the Blood Parasite.

It was commonly used when planting spies in other empires.

"I can already picture Dirk going berserk."

That bastard who had driven him to death.

The thought of paying him back for the torment, multiplied byt thousand, filled Kane with a sense of satisfaction.

More importantly, there was something he needed to obtain from him right now.

That was...

“What do you think you’re doing!”

It was the voice of an old man using sound amplification magic.

It was the voice of Elmar Raypen, the founder of T&co. and the head of the Continental Merchant Guild.

"So, you\'ve come, Golden Lord."

He wondered how many big fish were gathered here.

There were no less than three of the House of Sun\'s high-ranking executioners in this place.

Destroying all of them now would lead to Kane’s promotion.

* * *

[One of us has been taken down. This wasn’t part of the plan.]

Heike, the Fourth Seat, sent a secret voice message to Elmar, the Fifth Seat.

[For one of us to go down…]

[We need to do something. At this rate, they’ll die.]

[I’ll create a diversion, and you rescue them.]

[How can I hide my identity in front of someone who beat one of us so brutally?]

[Then what do you suggest?!]

Elmar snapped in frustration.

To rescue one of them, they had to be ready to take a heavy hit.

As Heike had said, the enemy was an overwhelmingly strong individual who had turned one of them into a bloodied mess.

It was impossible from the start to hide their identity, save one of them, and escape under such circumstances.

[Should we just leave them to their luck?]

[Didn’t I say we should rescue them?]

[I was just testing. I wanted to see if there’s any camaraderie between us. You do have a bit of it, huh?]

[You crazy fucking woman.]

Elmar furrowed his brow.

Even in this situation, she was trying to joke around. She had to be crazy.

[We didn’t arrive late, and they were captured much faster than expected. The fault lies with the First Seat.]

[Sounds like you\'re suggesting we abandon him.]

[That’s right. Our mission isn’t to rescue the First Seat, but to kill that Kane Rehinar and retrieve the Blood Star.]

[You\'re not wrong.]

[It’s unfortunate that we can’t save our strongest member, but what can we do? We need to enter Rehinar undetected and stick to the plan.]

Heike’s voice was firm and filled with conviction.

[Shall we proceed as planned?]

[Let’s do that.]

[Who knows? He might not kill the First Seat but just imprison him. We can rescue him then.]

[Didn’t expect you to be this cold.]

It was decided that they wouldn’t save the First Seat.

Elmar gathered mana to his throat and shouted.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Kane’s head turned to the side.

“And who the fuck are you to step onto Rehinar’s land without permission?”

Elmar locked eyes with Kane’s purple, glowing gaze.

‘What’s with those eyes…?’

Elmar felt his heart sink.

Despite Kane’s innocent expression, his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

The mana radiating from Kane’s body pulsed with killing intent.

Contrary to the confident shout he had just let out, Elmar found himself at a loss for words.

Just as he struggled to speak, Joseph appeared in a fluster.

“You’re safe, Young Master! Is the Second Princess all right? And what about Sara and Rose...?”

After confirming their safety, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ah, I’m so glad everyone’s unharmed. By the way, this person here is the one who saved us….”

He stopped mid-sentence.

A person was dangling from Kane’s hand.

“And who might that be?”

“The second prince of Hatzfeld.”

“Gasp!”

Joseph put on quite the act, his face expressing genuine shock.

It was an impressive performance.

“…Did you say this person saved you?”

As Kane asked, he placed his hand over Dirk’s heart.

“Graaagh!”

Dirk screamed in agony.

The pain was so intense that he passed out with his eyes rolling back.

A restriction had been placed on him, preventing him from using mana for the time being.

After casting a sympathetic glance at Dirk, Joseph replied, “This person is Elmar Raypen, the head of the Continental Merchants Guild.”

“El… mar, is it?”

“The Golden Lord? Oh no! I mistook you for an enemy and have been quite rude. I am Kane Rehinar.”

Kane greeted him politely.

Meanwhile, confusion flashed across Sara’s mind.

‘Is my brother greeting someone this politely?’

Ever since he returned from the demon forest that time, his personality had become reckless, regardless of whether the other party was a count or a marquis.

To Kane, social status didn’t matter.

He was the type of person who would act with his fists if things didn’t go his way.

So seeing him bowing his head like this? It was uncharacteristically respectful, even if the person he was addressing was a benefactor.

While Sara tilted her head in curiosity, Joseph continued with the introductions.

“There is one more important guest. This is Lady Heike, head of the Antidote School from the neutral kingdom of Orchid.”

Kane’s reaction grew even more pronounced.

He looked as if he was in the presence of a great figure.

“I’ve heard so much about the ‘Saint of Antitode’! My name is Kane Rehinar.”

“Oh my, being called a saint is too much,” Heike replied, covering her mouth with her hand as she smiled modestly.

“So, what brings you two to this cursed region?” he asked.

Joseph answered on their behalf.

“They had sent word to the Rehinar family in advance to establish contact. It seems their message didn’t reach us since we were out on fieldwork.”

“Were you on your way to Rehinar?”

“We got a little lost along the way,” Heike said, glancing at Elmar.

Kane almost couldn’t hold back a laugh at that.

When Hatzfeld advanced, he knew exactly where they had been stationed.

All lies.

‘What’s the point of acting so poorly, Are they begging to be killed?’

During wartime, any third-party force was supposed to withdraw, no matter the reason.

Staying could lead to misunderstandings.

It could imply they intended to participate in the war,

or they might use the chaos to plant spies or gather information.

Or, they could be opportunists looking to profit from the conflict between the two nations.

There were many reasons for such protocols.

Elmar’s sudden involvement in the skirmish was a clear breach.

However, Kane didn’t nitpick over it.

He already understood their intentions.

His plan was to use that knowledge to extract information from them and then eliminate them.

“We were going to defeat the enemy and head back; why don’t you join us? Sir Joseph, prepare to withdraw.”

“But she hadn’t arrived yet.”

“There’s no need to worry. She’ll follow.”

Her opponents were the Red Dragon Mages.

There was no way Anna, an assassin of the 7th Class, would be defeated.

Assassins were the type of enemy that mages struggled with the most.

There was an inherent incompatibility between mages and assassins.

Joseph nodded and began preparations to retreat.

Kane passed by Dirk and approached Gregor.

The old man had already lost consciousness.

Kane applied the same mana restraint he used on Dirk to Gregor.

“Argh… Ugh!”

Gregor woke up with a howl of pain, only to faint again.

Kane personally dragged the two back as they made their way out.

“Would you like to come with us?” he asked.

Elmar and Heike couldn’t help but nod at Kane’s bright smile.

They had sensed a murderous intent from them when they approached earlier.

It was only for a brief moment, but they clearly felt it.

An intent to kill them.

‘Rehinar will be your hell.’

Elmar and Heike had no idea.

That Rehinar would become their grave.

* * *

Kane returned to Rehinar with the two captives in tow.

“Welcome to the Rehinar estate.”

As they passed through the western gate and reached the center of the estate, Yoshua and the Blood Priests came to greet them.

“We heard the news late. Are you alright?” Yoshua asked.

“I’m fine,” Kane replied.

“That stinking Hatzfeld, even ripping them to shreds wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me,” Yoshua muttered angrily.

“Head Priest Yoshua,” Kane interjected.

“Yes, my lord?”

“Take this one and go to the prison.”

“Who is this…?”

“He’s the leader of the group that attacked me.”

A dangerous gleam flashed in Yoshua’s eyes.

He too bore the Blood Rune, and his aura exuded a menacing intensity.

“If you’ve kept him alive, it must be for interrogation.”

“I’ll escort these two guests, so go ahead and wait in the prison,” Kane instructed.

“I’ll be waiting.”

As they moved past the central area and approached the family grounds, Elmar and Heike’s expressions grew tense.

Kane, noticing their unease, smiled and asked, “Is something bothering you? You both look a bit unwell.”

“No, it’s just... I might’ve eaten something bad. My stomach is feeling off,” Heike stammered.

“I think I’m just nervous, being in such an unfamiliar place,” Elmar added awkwardly.

Their excuses were flimsy at best.

‘They’re probably terrified that my father might suddenly appear,’ Kane mused.

The person most feared by the House of the Sun was none other than Duke Carl—his father.

He was one of the Twelve Star Lords, a supreme figure capable of seeing through the true nature of any executioner.

That was why Elmar and Heike were so on edge.

‘The changes in Rehinar are more than enough to keep them alert.’

Upon reaching the estate, Fabi, the Vice commander of the Guardian Knights, appeared.

“Do we have guests?” Fabi inquired.

“Fetch Old Daniel. These are guests,” Kane replied.

“As you command,” Fabi responded and quickly disappeared.

But not long after, an unexpected figure emerged.

It was Cedric, the commander of the Guardian Knights and bearer of the title ‘Blue Flash,’ someone who always remained close to Duke Carl.

“What brings you here, Uncle?” Kane asked, surprised.

“I sensed unfamiliar mana within the estate, so I came to investigate,” Cedric replied, his presence as sharp as a blade.

His domain extended over the entire estate.

Since he had left the Duke alone in his chambers, his senses were heightened to the peak.

Cedric’s gaze settled on Elmar.

Elmar swallowed hard.

He was facing the ‘Blue Flash,’ a formidable High-tier 7th Class knight.

Suddenly, a shadow dropped between them.

“My lord, I’ve completed my mission and returned,” a voice announced.

It was Anna, the Ghost of Rehinar.

The scent of blood clung to her, not her own but that of her enemies.

“Well done. Take some rest,” Kane said.

“No need, my lord. I’ll handle guiding these guests myself,” she offered.

As the head maid, she was quick-witted and perceptive.

Without needing Kane to ask, she took on the task of monitoring the two.

Elmar and Heike were secretly panicking as more and more powerful figures kept appearing.

‘What in the world has changed in Rehinar?!’

‘Why are they all so strong?!’