The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

The Duke’s Eldest son Escaped to the Military (209)

Translator: Master of Djinn

66. A War Begins (2)

Rendered speechless by Iron’s confidence, the two commanders nodded after a short while.

–I understand.

–I wish you luck in the battle.

Having received the commanders’ support, Iron bowed as he smiled.

If they didn’t trust in the Empire’s greatest hero, then who could they trust?

Having thought that, the two commanders decided to put their faith in Iron and focus only on their frontlines.

In the meantime, the confederation’s troops steadily advanced towards the southeastern Command, where Saeridan was keeping guard.

“What about the Commander?”

“He’s two hours away. He’s almost here.”

The intelligence officer replied immediately to Saeridan’s question. Saeridan gave a small nod when he heard the reply. Then he turned to listen to the scouts’ report, while looking at the confederation army’s formations.

“What is…… this confidence?”

As if ready to push back the entire southeastern command, the opposing army had placed all their main units at the very front. The two masters and the strongest among the other-worlders were quickly approaching. Since Saeridan had returned to the Command, there was nothing blocking them; they subdued the monsters in the area and arrived in the territory of the command in no time.

“Prepare for battle.”

“Yes, sir!”

At Saeridan’s order, all the troops that were in the Command began preparing for battle. As the 23rd Corps prepared, the command defence guards also began getting ready for combat. The storm troops, the knights division, artillery division and even the rangers were all deployed. All the airships rose into the air simultaneously, the drake knights densely surrounding the ships. The merchants and commoners who were inside the Command went into the bunker, while all the soldiers who had been previously tasked with maintaining public order went up the Command’s walls.

As everyone in the Command was preparing for battle, Saeridan and the other commanding officers continued to observe the enemy forces.

“They don’t even look the slightest bit afraid.”

Saeridan looked at the situation unfolding on the video crystal before bursting into a short laugh. He was utterly dumbfounded. Trusting in the masters that were leading them, the confederation’s army continued to advance despite being in the range of the command’s fortress guns. If they advanced just a bit more, they would be in the range for artillery fire.

Saeridan was sure that they had intel about the command. After all, the battle they had fought in the southeast was famous not only in the Empire, but throughout the entire continent. Despite that, the enemy forces were advancing so fearlessly.

“Shall we respond with some fire?”

“I think we should.”

Carl, who had approached Saeridan at some point, stood beside him, a dumbfounded look on his face.

In the absence of the commander, Carl had been in charge of the command’s defence. On top of that, he was also in charge of the entire air force unit, including the drakes and the airships. This meant that Carl was in charge of both the large mana guns that had been installed on the airships and the command’s fortress guns.

“We should knock them down a bit.”

Immediately Carl finished his sentence, the commissioned officers moved to begin operating the fortress guns. The airships that were gliding through the skies also released the large mana guns they were fitted with.

“Let’s have some fun while sending them packing.”

Carl smiled at Saeridan’s words, before giving the order.

“Fire!”

As soon as Carl spoke, all the fortress guns fired at the same time. The airships opened fire as well, flashes of blue light coming from the mana guns as they shot at the enemy.

Multiple barriers unfolded around the confederation’s army, stopping the shots. But the fortress guns’ immense firepower was not something magic barriers alone could stop.

It was at this time that an enormous figure appeared.

“They had a hidden power?”

Saeridan looked at the giant-like figure that had appeared all of a sudden. It was an incarnation of an ancient god, its incarnate body not yet fully formed. It had come down to reveal itself for a short while.

An ancient god could only appear if the several people who had awakened by its power joined their strengths and paid a certain price.

However, its power was indeed great.

“It seems they are planning to force us back.”

“No matter what, we have to hold on until the Commander arrives.”

Carl replied to Saeridan with a scowl on his face.

As they were speaking, the artillery began to fire at the command of the artillery unit’s captain. The cannonballs, fortified with a special material, fell like rain, pummelling the incarnation that was moving from the enemy frontline. Right after that, the fortress guns and mana guns that had refuelled fired again. The flashes of light from the mana guns painted the sky blue as they flew towards the confederation’s army, while a huge number of reinforced cannonballs were let loose.

As is to be expected, the confederation’s army began their counteroffensive. They also launched long-range attacks using their artillery, and the awakened amongst them used their abilities to attack.

Flames surged from the barren earth, while flashes of lightning swept through the sky: these attacks were all done by the awakened.

But awakened people did not exist on the side of the confederation’s army alone.

All the people of the Empire had awakened too.

Although their skills were still weak because it had not been long since they awakened, they united their individual powers and withstood the large scale attack. The soldiers stopped the lightning that drilled past the barriers and the surging flames all on their own.

But then, the two strongest individuals in the confederation’s army, stepped forward.

“Are they masters?”

As Saeridan spoke, he opened the window in front of him and flew forward. The other commanding officers also headed for the walls of the Command, the same thought as Saeridan’s running through their heads.

Now that the Commander was present, they had to go head to head with the masters and buy some time.

“You think things like yourselves can stop me?”

Carlos sneered as he looked at the commanding officers who had gathered on the walls.

But instead of responding, the commanding officers of the Mobile Field Army drew their swords instead.

Feeling their resolve, Muradin grabbed Carlos by the shoulder and drew his own sword instead.

“I respect your courage. I’ll be sure to give you a clean death.”

Immediately he dropped that sentence, Muradin flashed to the gates of the southeastern command and made a huge sword. Behind him, Carlos made an unhappy expression before turning away.

It was a sword attack with the full power of a master. Even if high-ranked knights wrapped a magic barrier around themselves and joined all their powers, there was no way they could stop that attack.

However, that thought was soon disproved.

Kwoong!

Muridan’s sword that had been headed to cut down the gates to the Command as well as the commanding officers was blocked enroute.

It was two lions that had blocked his attack, one shining brilliantly, the other dark as night. Behind the lions stood the knights division and storm troops, supporting them. Everyone of them was proficient in the lion swordsmanship, so they gave more power to the lions of the leaders of the knights order and the storm troops. The two lions absorbed that power and became twice as strong as they were initially; every time the two leaders swung their swords, they moved and withstood Muridan’s sword attacks.

But then Muridan began using the power he had received from his ancient god. Rocks flew up towards the sky, and formed thousands of steel swords.

But those were also blocked.

“A flame lion this time?”

Muradin looked to find what had blocked his powers. It was the sword that Saeridan, commander of the 23rd Corp had drawn that blocked his attack. He had united the lion swordsmanship with his own fire powers to make a sword technique that was unique to him.

In addition, the two leaders’ swords had also blocked his aura blade.

“Tsk, tsk! It seems you’re struggling because of these little things.”

Carlos spoke, looking at Muridan as if he was pathetic. Muridan attacked again with all his strength, the veins on his forehead tense and palpable.

Even if he had been judged as weak among the masters, he was still a master. With the addition of the powers given to him by the ancient god, he was a qualified catastrophe.

Boom!

With his sword technique on full display, the two lions that had fended him off for a short while were pushed back a far ways.

Like the Leopold family’s sword technique, the power of Muradin’s sword technique could be amplified the longer he used his sword. Because of that special quality, the knights order and the storm troops were eventually forced to retreat bit by bit.

As they were being forced back by Muradin’s overwhelming power, Carlos also raised his sword. It was a quickblade of the highest quality. Such a sword belonged only to Carlos.

In order to stop him, all the Rangers, Saeridan and the Ravens stepped forward.

Clang clang clang!

Carlos completely parried the Ravens’ surprise attack as well as Rangers’ long range attack, swinging his sword with a leisurely expression on his face. With one blow, he cut through Saeridan’s flame lion.

“Cough!”

“It must feel like your insides are being crushed. It’s the power I got from the ancient gods. The moment you block it, it will rend your insides.”

Having fused his sword technique with the power of the ancient gods, bringing it close to perfection, Carlos’ power was so strong that no one dared to go up against it.

With the attacks of the two masters, the troops and even the 23rd Corps were in danger of being defeated. To add to the mix, the other-worlders began attacking the Command zealously.

Meanwhile, the confederation’s army troops looked on at the battle happening before them. Seeing their commanders’ immense strength, their morale went through the roof. It seemed they would be able to take down the command within a few minutes.

As they were thinking this, the masters who had been showing their might in all its splendour were suddenly pushed back.

Boooom!

There was the sound of a massive explosion. It was two flashes of light that had forced the two masters back, a power that everyone in Mobile Field Army could not be any more familiar with.

“Tsk! That’s a shame.”

Carlos looked regretfully at Saeridan and the Rangers that he had almost finished off. Muradin definitely felt the same way too.

Those defending the Command had been stronger than they expected, so they’d struggled a bit. But if they’d had just a bit more time, they could have decimated the main forces of the Mobile Field Army.

“Is that…… divine power?”

They felt an energy surrounding and suffocating them. Muradin frowned as his swung his sword. His sword cut through the energy, a light shining as it was cut.

“You’re here.”

“……are you the Empire’s hero?”

Muradin and Carlos both looked at the young man that had forced them to retreat.

However, the man did not respond and raised his sword instead. Immediately the same powerful force surrounded them, while enormous divine beasts appeared in the skies. Simultaneously, the aura from the sword, his divine power and holy power closed in on them, and weighed down on the two masters.

“Impudent!”

“You dare think of pressing us down!”

With rotten looks on their faces, the two masters released all of their strength.

Suddenly, an immense power began to gather in the skies.

-The lion of the Lord God!

-He must die!

-Kill him!

-Kill!

All of a sudden, several incarnations began appearing all over the place. They showed deep animosity towards Iron, raring to kill him.

That instant, a notification alarm rang in the ears of everyone there.

[God Game’s Apocalypse first story, the war between the ancient gods and the Lord God begins.]

-Huge reward for the victors! Losers receive only death and extinction. Please fight to win this war.

-Reward significantly increases all skills and abilities.

-Second awakening possible depending on level of contribution to victory.

The notification came out of the blue, and could be heard on both sides of the war. Seeing that everyone had heard the same thing, they looked at each other’s faces. Soon, greed began to glisten in their eyes.

“It seems this war is more important than we’d thought.”

At Iron’s words, Muradin and Carlos’ faces hardened as they tightly grasped the swords in their hands.

Watching them, Iron spoke to the divine beasts.

‘Block the incarnations as much as possible.’

The divine beasts cried in response and nodded their heads.

Those things were incarnations of the ancient gods, but they were yet incomplete.

After having their powers stripped continuously from them for a long time, and their ranks reduced, the ancient gods were infinitely weaker than they had been in the mythical times. And now, since their incarnations had not formed fully, they were all the weaker for it.

Still, their considerable numbers could not be taken for granted. There were all sorts of incarnations, but some of them were so strong that even a level 6 would have a difficult time facing them.

“Are you planning to fight us without your divine beasts?”

“Even without them, I alone can take you.”

When Iron replied to Muradin that he was more than enough to fight them, Carlos charged at him in anger.

“Impertinent thing!”

Carlos roared in rage and flew at Iron, his quicksword at the ready. Muradin rushed as Iron right after him.

As the two masters used their full strength to attack him, Iron did the same too.

With the fight between the masters begun, the confederation’s army and the Mobile Field Army began to battle in earnest.