CH 214

The Duke’s Eldest son Escaped to the Military (214)

Translator: Master of Djinn

67. Ancient Gods! (5)

The power with which the great sword was swung was the maximum power Iron could muster at the moment. The steel-like aura blade was unwavering, containing all the power that Iron had. As if it felt that the attack this time was unusual, the giant used both hands this time to block the aura blade. 

Boom!

The moment it blocked the blade, one of its knees bent and its body collapsed. The power the blade had had been greater than it had expected, and cut into its arms. But the giant gathered the last of its strength into its arms; starting from the leg on the side where its knee was bent, most of its body disappeared and its strength was concentrated in its arms. 

Because of the fight between the two of them, their surroundings were a catastrophe. Above them, the bright blue of the sky could be seen through the cloud, like holes had been blasted through them. 

“……die.”

As Iron said that and pressed down even harder on his sword, the two arms of the giant that had been fighting desperately until now were cut off completely. Its body fell smoothly in a straight line. The confederation’s troops stopped their attack to watch the body of the giant that had soared into the sky fall to the ground in two pieces. 

“…… it lost?”

Muradin stared blankly up at the sky. He could not believe his eyes when he saw that the giant had been cut down with one strike. 

“The…… the reincarnations have begun disappearing!”

“Keuk! It…… it lost.”

As the commissioned officers gave their reports, they swallowed the blood that surged up their throats, as if they had sustained internal injuries. 

With the dissipation of the giant, those who had made contracts with the ancient gods were now paying the price. Perhaps because the aftereffects of the defeat were great, the incarnations disappeared, while the contractors began collapsing one after the other. This meant that the ancient gods were also disappearing because of the disappearance of the giant. Seeing that, Muradin spoke to clenched teeth. 

“We have to kill him here.”

Carlos nodded in agreement upon hearing Muradin’s words. If they could not kill Iron right here, it would spell annihilation for the south. What would the two masters do if this inhuman monster became even stronger?

At that point, there would really be no future for them. 

“Everyone, aim for Iron Carter!”

“Even if we lose, we must at least kill Iron! That will be our own victory! If we can kill Iron……!”

At the two masters’ orders, the commissioned officers yelled as they led their soldiers to where Iron was standing. 

Should they thank the heavens? Because of that last blow, Iron did not seem able to draw up even an iota of power. Thinking that they would be able to kill that monster if they gave it their all, the confederation’s soldiers aimed at Iron, either throwing their weapons at him or using their abilities. On the opposite end, the Mobile Field Army hastened to block them. 

“Protect the Commander!”

“What is the Knights Order doing?! Protect the Commander!”

“Storm Troops, breach the incoming attack! We must take the Commander back to the Command!”

The very first units of the Mobile Field Army to react were the Knights Order and the Storm Troops. The Knights moved to escort him, while the Storm Troops moved to make way for them. 

“Kill him! He must die!”

At Muradin’s roar, the knights of the confederation’s army fought frantically to drill through the Knights Order of the Mobile Field Army. Right then, the main force units of Saeridan’s 23rd Corp that had been inside the Command opened the gates and rushed out. 

“Stop the enemy forces! Bring the Commander inside!”

The troops of the 23rd Corps followed Saeridan’s command, flocked in to protect Iron. 

Taking on the Mobile Field Army that had gained its current strength through several battles was not something the regular soldiers of the confederation’s army could do. 

But what about their numbers? 

If their soldiers were subpar, they had to at least use their numbers to push back. Their numbers gave them an overwhelming numerical advantage, which they used to corner their opponents. As for the two masters, even though they had grave injuries, they overdrew their strengths and continued forward to kill Iron. 

“Ma…… masters!”

A knight from the 23rd Corpr recoiled in horror when he saw Muradin and Carlos leading the approaching charge. Then Saeridan grabbed the retreating knight by his shoulder and said. 

“Do not back down.”

The knight stared vacantly at Saeridan’s face as he spoke. 

“They have sustained internal injuries and cannot even use their aura. Is it not an insult to your pride if you are afraid of such people?”

As Saeridan said that, he turned to release all his power. His mana turned blazing red and wrapped around his sword, while a flame built around his body, radiating terrifying heat. At the same time, a lion with a magnificent mane of fire appeared. 

“Even if we have been injured, do you think you can take us alone?”

“You seem too confident in your strength.”

The two masters looked at Saeridan who had come to stop them alone as if their pride had been trampled on. Right then, a powerful lightning bolt struck around the two masters, a whirlwind following right after. It was without a doubt such a powerful force that even the two masters could not make light of it, especially now, since they had exhausted almost all of their strength and were severely injured. 

“Protect the Commander!”

“Protect the master!”

With the immense magic and spirit power that followed, the knights of the confederation’s army hastened to protect the two masters. The two masters fought off the lightning that fell around them in all directions, and cut down the winds that were as sharp as knives. 

But that was not the end of the Mobile Field Army’s attack. 

–Roarrrr!

With the loud roar of the fiery lion, Saeridan used his Lion sword technique to cut down the knights [of the confederate army] while charging forward. The sword strikes were rough, but to the knights that faced them, each swing heralded death. There was a mysterious technique encompassed in the sloppy swings of the sword. 

There was of course no way that the sword technique of one of the Lion Clan, one of the two strongest families on the continent, would truly be sloppy. Having absorbed the essence of that technique and made it into his own, Saeridan’s swordsmanship was terrifying. 

“ So…… you’re a monster too.”

Muridan said with a grave expression as he looked at Saeridan. It was obvious that he was not yet at Ariel’s level of fearsomeness, and to the master’s eye, there was still a part of his sword technique that was lacking. However, he made up for that lack with his exceedingly strong flame power, bringing the full potential of the sword technique to display. If it was said that, in the Empire, Ariel was the greatest genius after Iron, then it was fair to say after Ariel was Saeridan. 

Unlike Ariel who was right on the verge of becoming a master, Saeridan still had a long way to go. But from Muradin’s point of view, it was only a matter of time. 

Different from Rodem and Ludem, Saeridan had found his one path. And at the end of that path, he was bound to meet the obstacle called ‘master’. Clearing that obstacle was a wholly different problem, but at the very least he was strong enough to get to that level. 

‘Is everyone in the Lion family a monster?’

Muradin shook his head from side to side as he thought. Carlos standing beside him had the same thoughts too. The Lion family had already produced an outstanding master like Iron. Even if the current generation ended with Iron, it was safe to say that these were the glory days for the Lion family, the best days in the family’s history. However, the second son, Kaiden, and the youngest son, Aiden, were also performing exceptionally well, especially Aiden whose talent was so crazy that he had perfectly reproduced the White Lion’s sword technique. As if to prove that, he had already begun closed-door training in order to become a master. Perhaps, after his closed-door training, the Empire would gain yet another master. 

Now, even Saeriden, who he had thought was nothing special, was also showing that kind of talent too. 

“……let’s retreat.”

“You!”

Carlos tried to stop Muradin’s order urgently, but Muradin shook his head. 

They had no more hope. 

At some point, the captain of the Mobile Field Army’s magic unit, Allan Reishor, and the captain of the spirit unit, Peter, Marvio, began approaching quickly. If the two of them met up with the many magicians and spiritists that were under their command, then Muradin and Carlos would have an even tougher battle on their hands. 

Bang! Bang!

“Ahhhh!”

“Sto… stop them!”

“Don’t let him reach the masters!”

The knights tried desperately to stop the monster-like Saeridan who was charging at them. However, he smiled wickedly and moved as if he wanted to attack the masters, but actually turned to mow down the knights. 

“Clever bastard.”

Carlos gritted his teeth as he looked at Saeridan’s fierce moves, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. 

A peal of a whistle that indicated the order to retreat sounded all over the battlefield, and immediately the confederation’s army began to withdraw. 

The giant they had trusted in had disappeared, and as a consequence, even several ancient gods had disappeared. In such a situation, it was next to impossible for them to defeat the Mobile Field Army. Even though they had more troops, because they had so many soldiers whose abilities had disappeared or who had sustained bad injuries, they only looked formidable on the outside, when really it was the Mobile Field Army that had true overwhelming power. 

“Everyone, charge! Don’t just let the enemy return!”

All the defence troops followed Saeridan’s orders immediately. 

“Destroy the enemy!”

“After them!”

“Kill them all!”

In a dramatic turn of events, even the six other-worlders who had been fighting Ariel and the other commanding officers also tried to retreat. 

“You thought we would just let you go?”

Ariel swung her sword as she looked at Rovanov. She struck at Rovanov’s arm at a speed so fast it was almost invisible to the eye, but because of a sudden light magic that came flying, her attack came to nothing. 

“……the captain of the Rangers is in danger.”

Ariel ground her teeth at Cardro’s words. At the same time, Kim Jungtae sneered at her in ridicule. 

“It seems you will indeed be letting us go.”

At Kim Jungtae’s words, Ariel scowled. They could almost see victory. But the problem was Nyx Cole. Among the six commanding officers, he was the one with the lowest skills. At the moment, he was unable to hold on any more and had been fatally injured. As a result, where they had formerly thought they could win, things had once again become too close to call.

“We’ve already won.”

Upon hearing Cardro’s words, Ariel stopped feeling disappointed, and instead turned to Kim Jungtae.

“……piss off.”

Kim Jungtae shrugged his shoulders at her words and stepped back. The rest of the six other-worlders hurriedly retreated as well. If they delayed even a little, they were in danger of being surrounded and captured by the Mobile Field Army. 

“And the Commander?”

“He is in a critical condition.”

Gaon Temphet replied to Ariel’s question. As soon as Iron used all his strength to deal the giant one final blow, he lost consciousness and collapsed. Because he had used every last drop of power he had, he now had physical and psychological problems. 

“But since he has holy power and Baepsae, he will definitely recover.”

“Yeah.”

Ariel nodded in response to Cardro’s words, while examining the battlefield. As he watched the Mobile Field Army’s troops in fierce pursuit of the fleeing confederation’s army, it finally dawned on her that they had won. When the giant had appeared, victory had seemed nigh impossible, but they had managed to win. 

As she was taking in the victory, a notification came. 

[The first battle of the Apocalypse’s first story has ended in victory for the Lord God. Therefore, the Lord God’s side will be granted their reward. Those who led to victory via direct combat will receive a huge reward.] 

[Excellent job stopping the giant. Depending on your performance, you will receive different rewards.]

The sound of the notification proved that the battle was truly over. The Mobile Field Army that had been in the midst of chasing the enemy forces cheered loudly. The commissioned officers tried to order them to continue the chase, but when they saw everyone cheering, they eventually gave up. The commissioned officer who was trying to issue the order was himself also busy confirming his reward. 

On the other hand, the confederation’ s army was in agony: because of their defeat, they had to bear a penalty. 

“……let’s return.”

At Muradin’s order, the defeated confederation army pulled itself together and began preparing to return to the Southern Kingdoms’ Confederation. 

As the news of how the Mobile Field Army’s overwhelming victory in the first battle between the south and the Lord God spread all over the Empire and the continent, Iron who had collapsed from exhaustion opened his eyes. 

At first he still felt faint, then his face took on a serious expression as he looked at the notification window that had popped up in front of him.