Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Days had passed since the end of the last war.

Since then, Knight Chang-Sung felt the need to rest for a while. As a result, the news of his stay at the home of Baron Andrew, a prior close friend, spread throughout the country.

The citizens who watched Knight Chang-Sung work without resting were worried he’d been seriously injured, as he was still a human being like them.

Not to mention the rumors about Baron Andrew that began to spread.

There was recent news that he had become a big investor of a company and that he was investing in the military for the war.

At first, the citizens thought he was doing it simply to make money. Their perception changed, though, when they heard that Baron Andrew and Knight Chang-Sung were close friends.

The men who’ve had to spend a decade in the army knew the problems the current military had. Rumors were spreading that Andrew wanted to improve those issues.

In addition, his active support toward Knight Chang-Sung, despite knowing that he would be criticized by other aristocrats, made very good impressions on the citizens.

‘Impressions gradually change. Even if they’re a noble, they aren’t surrounded by only other nobles. The maids, servants, and even those close to them were actually ordinary citizens. The more Andrew leaves a good impression on them, the more that impression will be transmitted to the aristocrats.’

And there would be young aristocrats who would be moved.

Youths were easily influenced by new ideas.

They easily fell into fleeting curiosity and held dreams in their hearts that adults, tired of living, put down.

While youths may sometimes appear stupid and ignorant in the eyes of those who’ve lived long, they have the power to produce results that can change the world.

As the story of Baron Andrew began to reach the ears of young aristocrats, those who were oppressed by the pressure of adults began to grow curious and courageous.

In the chaos of war, aristocrats had no time to look after their children, and it gave the children freedom of thought.

One by one, the number of those who stood by Andrew’s side began to grow.

The idea quickly began to permeate the young people’s minds. The idea that this country needs to change.

‘Let’s see… The military side.’

After examining the movements of the aristocrats through the data, I read down the paper and looked at the military situation.

For the past three months, Andrew had given full support to the army, which was neglected by the nobles due to peace.

His investments continued, and as a result, the parts that had not been improved due to insufficient finances were rapidly changing thanks to Andrew.

The military was pouring all of Andrew’s aid to ensure that the condition of the war-weary soldiers would not deteriorate. Andrew welcomed that decision and helped improve their army.

Andrew’s influence slowly strengthened the army, and it was only now, after more than three months of Andrew’s support, that the aristocrats began to notice strange changes to the military.

A month after the war began, the army they neglected began to grow very fast, and the generals who couldn’t even raise their heads in front of them began to take the initiative in the aristocratic meetings.

There was a person who started to support those generals who took the initiative.

Baron Andrew.

It wasn’t until that time when the nobles noticed.

Who was the person that stood at the center of the present-day trend?

And who did they need to stand behind in order to ride that current?

In addition, a single rumor began to spread amongst them.

The rumor of a man appearing who had inherited the royal blood.

‘It’s about time I call.’

I lightly twirled a pen in my hand and touched the edge of my lips.

Baron Andrew’s public appearance was handled by No. 10 posing as him.

With that face of his, he played Baron Andrew quite well, befitting his cheerful image.

‘In a normal situation, I would have taken that job.’

Because my identity was caught by that man, Gilbert, I had no choice but to leave that job to No. 10.

That was because Knight Chang-Sung and Baron Andrew could not be the same person.

‘And I believe the Numbers I couldn’t win over are also going to be moving as well.’

Surprisingly, No. 1 had shown no movement at all despite the fear of the other Numbers.

No. 4 said they had been out of touch for quite some time, and he added that No. 1 might have noticed they had betrayed them.

‘Still, No. 1 let the other Numbers continue their movements.’

The Number guys were more useful than I thought.

My work proceeded with ridiculous ease thanks to them working under me.

And they even slowly persuaded the other Numbers, so from No. 4 to No. 10, they were all under me.

The only ones remaining were No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3.

According to No. 4, those three were strong enough that even a hundred people couldn’t defeat them.

‘Although I don’t think that will be a problem.’

I was a little curious about the guys who raised the Numbers to be this good at gaining warfare information.

“No. 7.”

“Yes.”

I called him as I rose from my seat, brushing off my pants.

“Call No. 10. It’s about time to bring Rush.”

“Okay.”

No. 7 answered me and then disappeared while I put down the pen I was holding.

Now, three months since the first conversation with Rush, it seems that the time has come for this country’s emperor to appear.

* * *

Afterward, I visited the army Rush was assigned to with No. 10. He was Baron Andrew, and I was Knight Chang-Sung.

It was quite a remote area, and the war had just ended, so it was a mess.

To make matters worse, it was snowing, so the soldiers felt like dying.

“It’s Knight Chang Sung.”

“Baron Andrew is next to him. Why are they here?”

The soldiers recognized us and murmured.

I paid no heed to their conversation and continued on, riding my horse. After some time I arrived in front of the army base and a man rushed out.

He seemed to be the Security Forces Chief and addressed Andrew first.

“Hello, Baron Andrew. Thank you for coming such a long way.”

“No, it’s an important matter, so of course I needed to come. Ah, there are some cold-weather supplies loaded on the wagon behind me. Give those to the soldiers, since those going to war shouldn’t be suffering from the winter chill.”

“Yes, thank you so much!”

At Andrew’s words, a big smile grew on the face of the Security Forces Chief.

The war broke out in winter, and to top things off, supplies weren’t being properly distributed. With the supplies Andrew himself brought, the reaction of the Chief was natural.

Seeing No. 10 act so well, I got off the horse first, followed by Andrew.

Then, leaving the horses to the soldier who approached, we went inside with the Chief.

“I will turn on the heater right away.”

“No need. We’ll be taking one person and leaving right away.”

“You said you were taking one of the soldiers, but may I ask why? After all, it is against the law to take a person recruited for conscription without reason.”

When the Security Forces Chief asked while scratching his, Andrew gave a light smile.

“He’s the one who will become the emperor in charge of those laws.”

“…Emperor? What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been the Security Forces Chief for quite some time now. I’m sure you’ve heard some things, like how His Majesty was living away, or how the remaining members of the royal family fought over the throne…”

“Ahem.”

The Chief cleared his throat.

“There is a person who has the blood of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“R-really? Then…”

“Don’t worry about how your unit treated him or anything like that. Well, I’ve only met him once, but he doesn’t appear to be that kind of person.”

Andrew looked at the Chief and patted his shoulder with a big smile.

“Now, do guide him to us. His name is Rush. He must be a soldier who joined recently.”

“I-I will quickly bring him over.”

As the Chief rushed outside, Andrew dropped his smile.

“No. 10. No. 9 has been by Rush’s side, right?”

“Yes, because the country was in chaos, I got no reports saying there were any attempted assassinations of Mr. Rush. It seems that his military life was safe.”

“Alright.”

I nodded hearing No. 10’s answer.

That moment, however, was when the network tool in my bag’s pocket suddenly rang.

Trying to listen to it, I heard No. 9’s urgent voice coming from the artifact.

— Ms. Ha Chun-Sung! No. 3 has appeared! Right now, No. 3 is here to kill Mr. Rush!

I immediately stood up from my seat.

I looked to No. 10, telling him to stay here and immediately started to run to the location.

“Respond calmly. Protect Rush as much as you can. I’m nearby, so hold on for at least one attack. Use the potion I gave you if necessary.”

I brought out the aura I hadn’t used in a while and started racing there.

No. 9 constantly updated me on Rush’s location.

The moment I arrived, the sound of swords clashing rang out.

The Security Forces Chief was loudly shouting to protect Rush at all costs, and the bodies of several soldiers and officers were strewn across the ground.

Finally, I saw No. 9 engaged in a fierce fight with another person.

I kicked off and immediately grabbed No. 9 by the back of his neck, pulling him back and delivering a kick to the stomach to the man in front of me.

“Oh? You blocked that?”

He blocked it with the scabbard without making a noise. He threw the broken scabbard onto the ground and stepped back.

Then he pulled a longsword from his waist. This time, I let out a laugh from behind the helmet.

“Ha! I see that you’re quite strong? Exactly what I wanted. There must be quite a few Sword Masters on this Floor.”

I noticed quickly.

This guy was weaker than Gilbert, but he reached the level of a Sword Master.

No. 4 didn’t exaggerate for nothing.

This was what I wanted.

I threw my greatsword to the ground.

The sword wasn’t my taste in the first place.

My eyes lit up as I was finally able to pull the Heavenly Star Sword, tied to my waist, out after a long while.

Let’s show him that one can fight a Sword Master even without aura.

“No. 9, take Rush and stay back. I have to ask him if more guys are here.”

“Yes.”

He replied and walked toward Rush who was hiding in the corner.

Rush, who couldn’t understand the situation, shouted my real name after realizing my identity.

“Chun-Sung!”

“Rush, keep my real name a secret. Right now, I’m Knight Chang-Sung.”

With my answer to Rush, No. 3 charged and utilized his aura.

The aura’s attribute was fire. As the flame-like aura danced and flickered, he swung at me. I moved the Heavenly Star Sword to counter.

Ping!

A slight echo came from my chest armor.

I immediately reacted and pulled back. His sword passed by on that exact spot, and I noticed that was No. 3’s swordsmanship.

No. 3 attacked without rest.

Every time, his sword brushed past me in unexpected places with a ‘ping’ sound.

I whistled. It was an interesting skill.

The moment I turned my head to avoid the longsword aiming for my neck, No. 3 switched from a stab to a slash, intending to decapitate me.

He was handling his sword with detail. Seeing all that, I simply smiled.