There's 7 part of this chapter and it's long so the 5, 6, 7 will be on Sunday.
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The Defensive Battle at Command (1)
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Iron immediately prepared to leave the capital after receiving his official appointment letter as a commander.
When someone was appointed as a commander, they originally had to do a lot of things including greeting and meeting with various officials. Even if they loathe the idea, they had to dine with the ministers and attend the parties held by the Emperor and the Imperial Family just so their Command could receive support. It would usually take a month or two for them to finish all of these schedules.
But that was something that was required when the Central Government was still intact. What was more, they were in a war situation.
He used the excuse of being in a hurry as he quickly discussed the support that his new Command would receive with the ministers before leaving quickly to avoid being caught by the Imperial Palace.
According to the Imperial Law, the commander of the army would have absolute power during war situations. So, right now, most of the authority and decision making were in the hands of the commander. Even when the Imperial Palace was at its strongest, the Emperor had to take a step back and give way to the commanders. That was how the Commander's Judgment was respected in war situations.
So, even if Iron rudely left the capital and only stayed there for half a day, they really couldn't say anything. There was nothing they could do. After all, they had been pushed back by their favorite reason, justification. They also did not have the power to pressure him and stop him from ignoring their presence since he did not violate the law at all.
"The Center has now fallen into the abyss."
"Hooo... What's more, they are still in a political dispute despite being in this situation..."
"There's no hope in this place."
The scholars looked at Iron as soon as he appeared outside the Imperial Palace.
Since his destination was the Southeast he did not need to use the warp gate, so he headed out of the Imperial Palace to go to the Sky Tower. However, all of the people who saw him come out immediately flocked towards him.
The scholars could not hide their bitterness at all when they saw the crowd flock towards Iron, the person hailed as the Empire's best hero. It was, in fact, not an exaggeration for them to say that the Empire's power was determined by these so-called heroes. That was the reason why the masses would always argue and fight over how many heroes each region had nurtured.
There were 100 such people selected by the newspaper companies who shone brightly in the Empire during this period. The problem was that there was no one who came from the capital. It was only natural since even the Central Commander had left the capital.
Because of this, the Empire's Center was gradually falling into the abyss.
"Perhaps... the Empire that has not changed in the past hundreds of years... is finally going to usher changes."
Everyone looked at the old scholar after they heard his words. The old scholar pointed to one side.
There was a poster hand-written with red paint pasted on the walls. The paper was posted by the protesting students asking for the Empire to change. The words that were written on the large posters were the same. It was none other than the word 'revolution'.
They did not know what changes that word would bring to the Empire but there was one thing that they were sure of, the Empire needed to survive these turbulent times and adapt to these changes that they had never experienced before. The scholars speculated that the people that they hailed as 'heroes' would be at the center of these changes. The problem was that these heroes did not pay any attention to the Center.
However, these were things that Iron did not need to pay attention to. He went to the Sky Tower under the watchful eyes of the crowd and climbed on top of a drake.
The crowd looked at the departing drake with disappointment as it moved outside the capital. However, no one could stop him from leaving because he would go out to protect the Empire.
Contrary to their disappointment, the young ones' eyes were burning with passion. Some of them dreamed of becoming a person like Iron while some gritted their teeth in hopes of following the young hero who became the commander of a field army at the young age of 20. This passion gradually spread and even affected the hearts of middle-aged people. The young hero had already achieved everything but he still stood up to fight hard for the Empire, so they couldn't stay still like this. Because of this, the citizens of the Empire often gathered for discussions as they talked about the antagonistic and wrong system of the Empire.
The young hero was the spark that burned the fire of the word 'revolution'.
Perhaps this was the birth of the spark of revolution that would overturn the Empire in the near future.
However, the person who lit the fuse of this spark was busy struggling as he put his entire focus solely on the Southeast. He did not even pay any attention to the capital.
"Oh... Co... Commander."
"Huh?"
Iron was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the trembling voice of the Drake Knight.
"What's the matter?"
"That... Is someone aiming for us?"
Iron tilted his head at the knight's question.
"None at all?"
"But why are they summoned?"
The Drake Knight was talking about the huge birds that followed along with the drake that carried them. The drake was actually terrified of their presence and kept on shrinking on itself. Even though they were not threatening the drake, the mere presence of these gigantic birds was enough to scare the drake senseless. The drake almost fell down because of them.
"This..."
Iron felt apologetic, he was only able to notice only after the drake knight had informed him.
"Guys, fly a bit further from me."
― Bbiiii?
Phoenix tilted its head as it looked at Iron with its huge eyes. Its eyes were asking him why he suddenly asked them to do that.
"The drake is terrified."
Phoenix glanced at the drake after hearing Iron's words. Seeing its eyes being trained on its body, the drake flinched and cried innocently.
― Kkiwooo....
"Hey! The child is scared!"
Phoenix widened the distance between them as it looked at Iron sullenly after receiving his rebuke.
They felt good because they had been able to come out after a long time so they needed to listen calmly to his words otherwise they might be sent back inside by an annoyed Iron.
A small bird flew down and perched on Iron's head after Phoenix, Two Moons and Thunderbird flew away from him. It was none other than Baepsae, who was sitting on Two Moons' head earlier.
― Tweet!
It wanted to talk with its owner, who had been busy training the children before. Of course, Iron could only listen to it.
― Tweet! Tweet, tweet! ( You! Do you even know how to take care of your body?! )
"So... Sorry."
― Tweet, tweet! ( You're just going to overdo it and ask me to help you recover, right?! )
"Ahem, ahem! No. I really won't overdo it anymore."
Baepsae firmly grasped Iron's head tightly as it scolded him for doing an unreasonable amount of things today and any other day before. The other divine beasts looked over and found the situation funny. After all, the owner, who usually bossed them around, was being scolded hard by Baepsae.
With the increase of his divine power, Iron was able to connect more with the divine beasts. And right now, he was able to feel the joyous feelings that were continuously flowing into him from the three divine beasts.
― Tweet, tweet, tweet! ( You're not even listening to me?! Want me to wake you up? )
Iron hurriedly gathered his senses as he listened calmly to Baepsae's scolding and harsh nagging.
The Drake Knight was curious about the conversation that Iron was having with his divine beasts but he hurriedly came back to his senses and drove the drake back to the course that they needed to take.
Curious about something, he suddenly asked Iron.
"Uhm... May I ask you a question?"
"Huh? Ask away."
"Why are you riding a drake when you have your divine beasts?"
Iron's eyes widened before smiling.
"They'll get upset."
"Yes?"
The Drake Knight tilted his head in confusion after hearing Iron's answer.
"If I pick one and ride them, the other two will be upset."
"Ha... Haha..."
The Drake Knight laughed awkwardly in response to his answer. Perhaps, he was thinking that Iron was joking.
'But I'm not joking...'
This thought lingered in Iron's head as he gave the Drake Knight another reason.
"And, no one can get out of the capital unless they're riding a registered drake. Right?"
"But if you want then..."
"We can't go back and forth from the capital without doing so."
Iron shook his head firmly.
No matter how much the Center has fallen, it was still the central axis of the Empire. There was no need to give the people of the Center justification to go against him for something so useless. What was the point of making room for them to crawl back up when he could just adjust and do these things?
"Well... In the Center's point of view, it could be seen as me using the official and registered drake for my own personal use. It's probably annoying for you to go on this long-distance mission for something unnecessary."
"N... Not at all!"
"You know it all. Isn't it annoying to make a person, who's resting properly, run long distances for no reason at all. It's the same for soldiers. It's weird for me to say it but tell your superior that I was grateful. When I go back, I will make sure to tell them that your drake maneuvering is excellent."
"Th... Thank you!"
Iron smiled after sweet talking the Drake Knight as he talked to Baepsae again.
They stopped by a Sky Tower along the way to take a rest and check the surrounding situation. The situation was clearly getting more difficult the closer they got to the South. However, that did not mean that the situation in the Center was good either. There were still quite a few Death Corps left in the Center and monsters that came down from the North were frolicking here and there. In other words, the Center was in a complete mess.
However, the Southern front was being pushed back continuously so the Sky Towers in the area were all in poor condition.
"Em... Emergency!"
The emergency alarm resounded loudly while Iron was resting in one of the Sky Towers.
"Corpse Wings have appeared! Their numbers total to 70! I repeat! Corpse Wings...!"
Iron patted the shoulder of the Control Officer announcing the current situation to the Drake Knights of the Sky Tower.
"Ah, ah! This is General Iron Carter. Everyone, wait a moment."
The Control Officer's eyes widened after hearing Iron's words. He looked at him as if he was asking 'What's wrong?' but Iron just smiled at him.
The Drake Knights, who were preparing to fly on their drakes, stopped and looked at each other strangely wondering why he made such a decision when their time was not enough. Then, the sound of thunder rang loudly from afar.
"My friends want to stretch their wings a bit."
"Ah..."
The Control Officer stared blankly at the sea of flames and flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder from afar. The gigantic birds swept away the corpse wings easily, the creatures that needed almost all of the personnel present in the Sky Tower to risk their lives to kill.
The divine beasts looked like they just went out to play as they hit their opponent's wings with flashy fires and used high-speed maneuvers to kill them. It took only less than 10 minutes for the Sky Tower's dreadful enemies to die. Of course, it took this long for the divine beasts because they played around with them. Their enemies would have probably been already swept away and wiped out as soon as they appeared if they used their might.
"It's my thanks for letting me get a good rest."
Iron patted the Control Officer's shoulder once again before calling for the Drake Knight that accompanied him.
All of the people present in the Sky Tower watched as Iron, who took a brief rest in their place, flew back in the sky on top of a drake.
They just heard that a new master has been born from the rumors. However, they thought that the Central Government was just creating a hero when they created a master out of someone who just turned 20. They thought that they had created his persona to distract them from the disaster of the Empire. However, they realized that the rumor had underestimated him when they saw his performance today. The lives of dozens of soldiers stationed in the Sky Tower were saved thanks to the divine beasts who just went out to play.
Because of this, the Sky Tower Knights and the Control Officer, who easily survived the ordeal, secretly announced the incident that happened today to other places the moment Iron left. It was just in time for the Sky Tower's video crystal to release the scene when the divine beasts swept away the corpse wings. Just like that, the events of that day immediately spread to other Sky Towers.
Meanwhile, Iron had to change routes occasionally to let the bored divine beasts sweep away some monsters. And after going through several Sky Towers, he finally arrived in the Southeast.
Iron smiled when he saw the land where his Command was going to be built from far away. Then, he tapped the shoulder of the Drake Knight as he spoke.
"Here's enough. I will move by myself from here on out."
"Yes? But..."
The Drake Knight, who was trying to take Iron until the very end, looked at him in confusion. But Iron just shook his head at him.
"Things will be dangerous from here on out. I believe you don't need to take such risks, right?"
The Drake Knight, a knight that was focused on transport missions, was not a combatant and he did not need to take the risk here in the Southeast.
Iron jumped down in the air and landed on Thunderbird's head.
Not long after, a group of harpies appeared and attacked Iron which the divine beasts easily swept away.
While Iron fought these monsters alone with his divine beasts, hundreds of airships appeared among the clouds far above him.
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The Defensive Battle at Command (2)
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The drake units that flew out of the airships helped Iron kill the harpies.
Iron nodded lightly when he saw the harpies dying.
It seemed like their training was worthwhile. Even if they were only able to sweep most of the harpies away, there were no damages among their allies so he thought that their performance was praiseworthy enough.
"Loyalty! We greet the Commander!"
Iron nodded and accepted the salute of the drake units.
"Is everyone here?"
"No, sir. We're the 1st Team. We were the ones who departed first."
"Hmm... It seems like I came too early."
Despite controlling the speed and deliberately stopping by all of the Sky Towers that he could pass through, it seemed like he still arrived too early.
"It seems like it will take a few more days for the main force to arrive?"
"That's right."
"Alright. The 1st Team should go and sweep the place so we can set up an area."
Hearing Iron's orders, the drake knight delivered the communication//report crystal from the General's Airship to Iron.
After a while, the drake units and the airships followed Iron, who was taking the lead with the divine beasts. But they weren't just moving ahead.
Since they came to the Southeast, they had to clean up the vicinity of their Command. So, they began cleaning up the monsters.
The airships began to bomb the forest that was contaminated by the power of the void. Even the divine beasts let out flames and thunders that razed the forest down to the ground. They began to stabilize and organize the area that was abandoned by Southern Command by burning everything down to the ground and creating a sanctuary around it.
The Center's drake knight, who was watching from the distance, mumbled blankly.
"That's... a newly established army?"
While the drake knights moved to intercept the approaching aerial monsters, the airships continued to drop bombs and devastate the ground. Then, the assault units would descend on the ground and sweep everything clean to secure a safe area. Only after all of those things had been done would the airships land on the ground.
The Center's drake knight was speechless at the sight of the newly established army's systematic operation. However, compared to his generous assessment, Iron was clicking his tongue at them.
"The assault took too long. The enemies almost broke through the left side of the drake knights. You might have been able to handle them safely if you were able to keep them in check at a long-distance with the help of the wizards but they're not here."
Iron continued to click his tongue as he pointed out their problems one by one through the communication crystal.
He shouldn't expect too much from soldiers who hadn't finished training yet but he had no choice but to continue pointing out their problems since they had to play in real battles straight away.
Iron shook his head as he watched his men from the sky.
"At this rate, I can already say that things will be difficult."
They truly lacked time. With the state that they were in right now, it seemed like there would be too many casualties among their ranks before they could carry out the plans that he had set to stabilize the Southeast.
They were making a lot of mistakes even with Iron and the divine beasts present in the scene. So, Iron could see that they might usher huge casualties the moment they began carrying out missions and operations on their own.
They couldn't handle too much casualties with the current state of the Empire. They had to save as much troops as possible to survive whatever crisis would come their way.
"Do this place first?"
Iron watched them create a safe area and gradually expand it with a bitter look as he ordered Phoenix.
With the state that his army was in, he decided that he would be able to clean up the land easily by sweeping the monsters away.
And Phoenix, who understood his will, spat out flames and began to wipe out the blackened forest.
At that moment, the beings that were hiding in the blackened forest, roared loudly and jumped up in the air.
A colossal giant worm appeared and rushed up to try and devour Two Moons. But before it could even attempt to do so, two bright rays of light melted its body and killed it in an instant. However, the giant worm living in the blackened forest was not just one. Dozens of colossal giant worms flew up and opened their mouths threateningly towards the divine beasts.
"Mutants?"
Iron mumbled to himself as he looked at the blackened body of the giant worm.
Giant worms that grew to this size could never live in small forests like this. In addition, they would never crowd like that and be in a group of dozens. The fact that these creatures, who usually lived in the desert and the wastelands, would come and gather here meant that there was something in this place that could satisfy their terrible appetite. But it could also mean another thing. There was probably an entity that was strong enough to gather these creatures that were as free as the wind in one place.
― Kueeeeeeeeeeeeck!
A black giant worm suddenly rose up from the ground. It was far larger than the other giant worms and had a unique appearance with shells covering its black body.
"Is this a giant armored worm? I only heard about them but..."
It was a gigantic monster that Iron had only heard of before.
The giant armored worm was a giant worm that evolved after devouring void insects. However, they couldn't evolve in just a short period of time. They could only evolve after they ate void insects for a long period of time and accumulated enough void energy in their bodies. The shell covering their bodies would only appear after repeated and continuous replenishment of nutrients from void insects.
This meant that it had been a long time since void insects had lived and burrowed themselves in this place.
"Thunder."
Thunderbird immediately flew high up in the sky as it let out lightning bolts after hearing Iron's call. A powerful lightning bolt lit up the surrounding area and struck the body of the giant armored worm.
"How much did you eat?"
Iron clicked his tongue as he watched the giant armored worm shriek.
Despite the powerful strike from Thunderbird, the bastard did not collapse. It just roared loudly as it spread out murderous intent in the area.
Iron suddenly felt something as he quickly unsheathed his sword and swung it out.
Baaaang!
Iron glared at the giant armored worm as he hit a black object that was flying towards Thunderbird. Then, the outer shell that covered its body began to fly towards the divine beasts as it increased the void energy that it released.
"So, the bastard's not just a gigantic blockhead?"
Iron's brows furrowed as he talked to Thunderbird.
"Go closer."
Thunderbird took the risk and got closer as per his request. Then, he jumped down as he asked Thunder to attack the bastard mercilessly. Thunderbird let out lightning bolt after lightning bolt and struck the giant armored worm.
Iron took advantage of the gap and headed towards the giant armored worm's head.
"Let's see who's sturdier."
Then, Iron fiercely struck his sword down at its head.
The steel mana contained in his sword was concentrated. However, the giant armored worm was smarter than he expected. The outer shell that acted as its armor immediately gathered together and created dozens of layers on top of its head which prevented Iron's sword from piercing through its head deeply.
Thud!
Huge shockwaves swept through the blackened forest as Iron's steel mana and the bastard's power collided.
Then, dozens of giant worms that failed to mature flocked towards Iron. However, the giant armored worm was not the only one with backup. The airship flew back in the sky as they began dropping bombs while the drake knights supported them with their own artillery fire on the side.
Seeing that his steel mana was not that effective, Iron released the holy power in his body. The holy power was so powerful that it completely extinguished the void energy in the surrounding area in an instant. The giant armored worm felt the threat of the holy power as it began to writhe and trash its huge body.
"Keuk!"
Iron dug his sword deeper into its head as he gritted his teeth and tried to hold out while it struggled. Of course, he did not just stay still. He also tried to swing his sword and deal some damage to the struggling giant armored worm. But the giant armored worm looked like it wouldn't let itself be beaten easily as it let out its outer shell and countered his strikes. It still fiercely struggled even after Iron pushed his tremendous holy power into its body to eat up the void energy that lurked in its body.
However, Iron was not the only one fighting. He had no choice but to make a decision after seeing the other giant worms targeting the airships flying lowly to drop bombs in the forest.
He slammed hard on the giant armored worm's head and left it in a daze before he jumped up on Thunderbird's head. Iron failed to defeat it in one shot so all he could do was grit his teeth and issue an order.
"Retreat."
The airships and the drakes flew higher and avoided the giant worms' range the moment they heard Iron's orders through the communication crystal that was left in Thunderbird's care. It seemed like the giant armored worm also thought that Iron was not an easy opponent so it did not move to chase them.
Iron reviewed the fight earlier meticulously after the distance between them had widened. However, all he could do was click his tongue.
If he took a risk, the probability of killing it was high. If the only ones fighting were Iron and the giant armored worm, then Iron would most definitely win. The three divine beasts could also take turns with him in attacking which could increase his chances of winning.
However, the problem was the giant worms. Iron's army was also there but it would be dangerous for them to deal with them alone with their inexperience and lack of skills. That was also the reason why he ordered a retreat.
'It'll be worth trying to fight them after they have gained experience for at least a year.'
It was impossible for them to remain inexperienced after that much time had passed. In addition, their numbers were also insufficient since only the first team was here.
'What a pity.'
This thought flashed in Iron's head.
Masters each had their own preferred battlefields. Generally, Magic Masters preferred large-scale battlefields while Sword Masters preferred solo battles. Of course, the Magic and Sword Masters also had hidden one-hit kill skills, these skills could easily offset such generalization.
The problem was that Iron was a radical.
It was assessed that his ranged attacks were far stronger than any of the existing masters but his one-hit kill skill was the weakest. Although he was recognized by all of the masters as a master-class individual, his power was still vague and ambiguous. After all, the power of his divine beasts was still not yet fully released and his swordsmanship was still not at the Sword Master level. This was the reason why he had no real powerful one shot killing move like the other real masters.
Thanks to the power of his divine beasts and his title effects, his overall power was able to reach the master-level. However, there was obviously a limit since he was not a real 'master'.
"Hoo... Let's not be in a hurry."
Iron mumbled to himself as he looked at his divine beasts.
He was still growing. In fact, his divine power was increasing even right at this very moment. There would come a time when he would really reach that stage.
"It's a mess."
Iron smiled wryly when he saw the devastated land near the blackened forest.
There were still clusters of forests that remained in between but the land was completely ruined and blackened. He was sure that it would be too much for his army to handle if monsters like the ones from before were swarming all over this area.
"The Southern Commander did not abandon this place for no reason, it seems?"
From the commander's point of view, it was difficult to maintain the frontlines and search this place. However, the situation would not have become this serious if this place had been managed steadily from the beginning but it was too late now.
"This won't be easy."
Iron mumbled as he looked at the area where his Field Army Command would be built.
The area was completely devastated however it was by the river and was not that far from the front line that was being maintained by Southern Command. This area was their starting point and the area where they would begin their war to push towards the Southeast.
Iron's expression was dyed with mixed emotions as called for the communications officer after he landed on the ground where Command was going to be built.
"Tell the 2nd Team to turn back and go to the Southern Command."
"Yes, sir!"
Iron turned to inspect the devastated land after the communications officer rushed out to fulfill his orders.
He looked at the blackened ground, a result of the complete pollution and devastation of the land from the void energy. Iron thought that the fight that would be held in this place would be the first defeat that he would suffer in this life.
In fact, he could already tell the moment he stepped foot in the South that the Empire's chaotic situation was just beginning. With the Center as the bait, their enemies were able to expand their territories by polluting the land with void energy.
Iron admonished himself for thinking that this God Game would be an easy win after he realized that the danger in front of him was far greater than what he expected.
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The Defensive Battle at Command (3)
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After suffering from a tremendous defeat in the blackened forest, Iron was no longer careless.
The operation of his army tilted more on the safer side. The airships were ordered to move only after rising to the highest altitude possible. Even the drake knights were ordered to increase the numbers of people included in their formation and fly at the maximum altitude that they could fly in. In addition, the assault and logistics units were kept from moving out and were tasked to be on high alert as they defended the area around Command. This decision was implemented so that they could accurately gauge the level of the monsters lurking in the Southeast.
After settling down at the site of their new Command and giving out the orders, Iron finally had the time to look around.
The traces of the buildings and the ruins of the castle that remained on the site were proof that this place was quite developed in the past. Not much was left to be seen since it had already been robbed clean by hunters and relic thieves but looking at these traces was enough to tell him that this was once a prosperous city.
Besides, it would be strange if he did not establish this as the site for their Command with this plain near a huge river. However...
"It will be extremely difficult to defend."
It was difficult to defend and build a fortress in the plains compared to building and defending fortresses in the mountains and canyons. They needed to do everything by hand. From building the walls, to engraving the magic circles and creating traps. Building a fortress without the help of nature and only through the powers of humans would consume enormous amounts of resources and time.
― Tweet!
Baepsae looked at Iron worriedly. Since it was the first divine beast to sign a contract with him, it could quickly read and understand the thoughts that were going through his head. And all it could do was sigh after learning what Iron had in mind.
Iron chuckled loudly. It seemed like he found it fun to see the cute Baepsae sighing deeply.
"Worried?"
Baepsae glared at Iron when he asked it with a smile on his face. It knew that Iron had been running nonstop ever since they had signed the contract. He had spent his days busily so it knew that he had a lot of worries whenever he looked up at the sky or the distant landscape with a blank look on his face. It also knew that he would also do this whenever there was danger that he found to be too difficult and couldn't be solved with his own abilities. This was the case back in the North, the East and the Center.
"I guess I will have to work a bit harder for a while."
Iron couldn't help but confess his thoughts awkwardly after seeing Baepsae's unwavering stare.
He had no choice but to sacrifice himself since his army's system was still incomplete. And he knew that this was a situation that would persist as long as it remained incomplete. The army was created after squeezing out the other armies so if he wanted to raise them properly and not let them become monster food then he had to run around a bit more.
― Tweet...
Iron patted Baepsae's little head after seeing it worry about him.
"I won't overdo it."
― Tweet!
Iron smiled when he saw Baepsae turning its head away from him as if it did not believe in his words at all.
"I promise. This time, it's real. Trust me."
Iron's words sounded a bit coquettish as he asked the cute Baepsae to trust him. Baepsae flapped its small wings and perched itself on his head.
― Tweet, tweet, tweet! ( I'm going to watch you from over here! )
"Alright."
Iron nodded after hearing Baepsae's determined words.
The 1st Team unloaded all of their supplies as they built field tents that would temporarily serve as their camp and finally settled down at their new Command. Everyone did not slack off since they would stay at these barracks that they were currently making until all of the engineers and workers finished building their fortress.
While most of their troops moved busily to build their camp, the others went out and did some reconnaissance as they flew at a high altitude. They had already experienced it once so they knew that it was very dangerous here. Because of this, they carried out the recon mission as safely as possible and they did not experience any major accident.
Even though that initial reconnaissance was inefficient, the drake units still moved in groups while the airship units moved together. This was because they were tasked to focus on their safety. They also only began to gradually expand their search with the new Command as the center after they had prepared for emergencies.
But once the craftsmen appeared, they thought that their safety measures were too excessive. With emphasis on safety, it was only natural that the progress of their work would proceed slowly. They spent most of their time focusing on creating traps and building temporary walls that would block their enemies and placed the building of the facilities for convenience like the administrative and military facilities as their last priority.
Perhaps that was the reason why the soldiers began to complain that Iron was focusing too much on safety. They also stated that it would be better for them to finish their work quickly instead of this slow pace. These thoughts were correct up until this point. After all, it was truly better for them to finish work quickly and expand the area where they were working than to proceed slowly.
However, Iron ignored their complaints as he focused on scouting the surrounding area with their airships.
After a few days of enduring everyone's complaints...
― Bzzt! Incoming enemies!
"Position?"
Iron immediately asked the scout after receiving the report at the General's Airship.
― Around 20km southwest from us. It looks like some sort of water buffalo. But it's 10 times larger and it's entire body is covered by some kind of shell.
"Is it similar to the outer shell of the armored worm?"
― That's right.
"Alright. Keep reporting and slowly return."
― Yes, sir! Loyalty!
Before Iron could issue an order...
― Bzzt! A giant ant has appeared 60km southeast of the blackened forest.
"Are there any indications that they're coming this way?"
― There are still no signs as of now.
"Continue watching them from afar and immediately report suspicious movements from them.
― Yes, sir!
Iron sighed and was about to give his orders again when another report came in from another scout.
― Reporting! A giant black wasp appeared 80 km and 130 degrees away from the Southern Command. It's threatening the Drake Knight Order.
"Don't engage and retreat right away."
― Yes, sir!
Iron immediately responded to the scouts' reports as he gathered most of his troops at Command.
Most of them were not a threat since there wasn't much of a movement from them but the water buffalos that seemed to be mutants were running straight towards Command.
"Tell them to prepare for battle and stop all of the work that they're doing."
The Operations Officers gulped heavily as he received Iron's orders and relayed it to everyone.
"Move quickly!"
"We're in an actual battle!"
"Prepare for war!"
The officers shouted loudly as they gathered the soldiers.
The battle that they had experienced while they were on the way here was just a little taste. This was, in fact, their first proper actual battle that they would experience in the Southeast. Compared to the North, all of the monsters here were mutated. So, they couldn't properly apply the tactics that Iron had taught them before. Because of this, the officers were nervous and kept on nagging on the innocent soldiers.
"Maintaining a close formation is risky. Spread out around the camp."
"Yes, sir!"
The officers relayed Iron's orders once again as dust clouds began to appear from a distance.
"Tell everyone to break the formation!"
Iron jumped on top of Two Moons' head from the airship as he gave out his orders.
"We have to work hard and struggle until the level of our subordinates increases to some extent."
― Hoot!
Owl told Iron that it was alright. It even told him that it liked it because it was just like a warm up. However, this did not mean that Two Moons did not understand what Iron meant. It knew full well that this situation would happen frequently in the future and that Iron and the other divine beasts would have to fight every time.
They would only be able to relax and let go only after his subordinates grew to the level where Iron could trust them out on the battlefield. Until then, Iron and the divine beasts would have to run around and roll hard.
― Moooo!
Thunderbird was the first to move after hearing the cries of the giant water buffalos. The battle in the Southeast Command began with the advent of tornadoes, storms and lightning strikes. Then, Phoenix let out waves of fire as Two Moons swept the water buffalos with its black mana.
The gigantic water buffalos' fierce rush halted to a stop with the appearance of the divine beasts' wide area of attacks. However, some of them were able to stop and turn around to avoid the divine beasts' range of attacks. And just like any other beings polluted and corroded by the energy of the void, they rushed fiercely after discovering the presence of humans and uncontaminated life.
"I'm already having a headache."
Leaving those words, Iron jumped down from Two Moons' head and sliced off the head of the water buffalo that led the pack.
Unlike the giant armored worm, the skin of the gigantic water buffalos was not that hard. It was at the level where Iron's steel mana sword could easily cut through them like butter. However, this was only possible because of Iron's level of power.
Although his swordsmanship level was only at the 6th Stage, his power had reached the master's level thanks to his title effects. In fact, if you exclude the use of aura and only considered their pure body, Iron was stronger than the other masters. Even if the masters' bodies had transcended the confines of a regular human's body, their bodies were still bound to be weaker than Iron's body, which power and strength had been amplified and strengthened dozens of times.
― Moo!
― Moooooo!
The water buffalos [getid], who's eyes were filled with greed for the uncontaminated living creatures, had no choice but to step back after seeing Iron kill their kin swiftly one after the other. He looked like a cold-blooded machine with how efficient and fast he was killing them. But stepping back did not mean that they were safe. After all, their path of retreat had already been long turned into hell by the divine beasts.
However, it did not matter how strong Iron was, he still could not stop all of the mutant water buffalos. Some water buffalos out of the thousands that rushed forward were able to escape his grasp and rush towards the newly created camp. They could instinctively feel that the man, Iron, in front of them was like a monster but the humans behind him were nothing.
Bang! Bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
"Stop them!"
"Don't let them get near!"
The artillery unit fired their guns at the order of Dominic Stone. Even the troops scattered nearby fired together to stop the advance of the water buffalos as much as possible. A small number of knights also stormed out and hunted the water buffalos from the side while the airships bombarded them and broke their formation.
However, several soldiers still suffered injuries from the water buffalos that reached them. Even though they scattered quickly as soon as they learnt that they would arrive at the camp, they still weren't able to completely avoid them since they were rushing so fast. In the end, their morale slowly dwindled when deaths began to appear in their ranks.
Iron's overwhelming performance killed most of the water buffalos and prevented the full-on rush. However, they still suffered casualties. This was a very serious matter. This meant two things. One, the level of mutation in this place was extremely high. Two, his soldiers were extremely comfortable in their lives, hence they had become weak with their determination.
Just when the soldiers were going to succumb to depression, Iron, who returned to the General's Airship, spoke through the voice amplifier.
― Ah, ah. This is the Commander.
Everyone looked up the moment they heard Iron's words. Their ears perked up in reflex when they heard their commander speak.
― Get your grips! War has just begun. From this point on, enemies will continue to flock every day. You will experience this situation countless times. Are you going to be like this every time?!
All of them stared at the General's Airship in the sky as his voice echoed in the area.
― Death would be inevitable especially if the war is prolonged. Did you not have this much determination when you came here?
The soldiers listening to Iron's question bowed their heads in shame.
― Thread through the path of your comrades' sacrifices and step even further. Become more experienced, proficient and be stronger. Do not stop until you match the name 'elite'. Pull yourself together and do everything that you can! The war has just begun.
The haze covering the eyes of the soldiers disappeared. Their visions finally became clear.
― Don't be frustrated just because you're not good enough now. I will protect you until you grow stronger and can stand on your own. Trust me.
The determination finally returned back to the soldiers' eyes after hearing Iron's words.
― My troops fought in the Center and fought like they were equivalent to a hundred elites. The size has only grown dramatically from back then in this short period of time but you can be like that too. Trust me and follow my lead. Can you do it?
"Yes, sir!"
― Good. I believe you.
Iron cut off the communication crystal after leaving those words.
They were in a situation where their morale was already on the verge of declining. However, Iron's speech boosted the morale of his army once again. Even though it ended like this right now, their morale could eventually go down since their enemies would continue to attack them in the future.
But that was alright.
Iron and his troops had proven before that they could survive if they trusted him. So, even if their morale declined, they would not collapse.
As if to prove it, the soldiers at the first-line of defense were able to defend well despite the attacks of the mutants that appeared over the past few days. They firmly held on even after casualties appeared and they became exhausted.
And finally, the 2nd Team arrived.
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The Defensive Battle at Command (4)
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With the arrival of the 2nd Team, the troops were finally able to be at ease and operate well. However, Iron remained busy. After all, his army's overall level was still insufficient so he still needed to move and block most of the monsters that came their way.
― Tweet, tweet. ( Tired? )
"I can still endure."
― Tweet... ( Sigh... )
Baepsae did not nag as much as before since he knew that there was nothing else that they could do in this situation. However, Iron could feel the growing concern of the small birds gathered in front of him. He could feel their emotions and worries more clearly especially after they had assimilated.
"Let's do our best for a bit longer."
The divine beasts in the form of small birds nodded their heads at Iron's request.
Baepsae also relieved Iron's exhaustion with its power of healing and vitality to some extent but no matter how many times Baepsae did this, the fatigue that he had accumulated could not be completely relieved. Just like with magic or heal, the first time would have wondrous effects but if it was repeatedly used then the effect would inevitably be reduced. What Iron needed the most right now was rest. But the situation right now kept Iron on stretching himself thin.
At first, the attacks only came every few days but now they would attack every day. This meant that until Command was completed, Iron would have to go out himself and prevent most of the mutant monsters' attacks. Even after the 2nd Team had arrived, he still stood at the forefront alone for a month straight and swept away the enemies. The Field Army Troops also tried to help Iron and lessen the burden on him since they were gradually getting better from the repeated battles daily.
They all had eyes so they could see how much Iron was overdoing things right now... So, they gritted their teeth and fought.
The 3rd and 4th Teams arrived while all of this happened and they gradually grew in numbers. The army finally started to take the shape of the Field Army that he had envisioned. Although the airships had to move back and forth busily to continuously transport the newly established Field Army's troops, their efforts helped hasten the process and the military system gradually began to take shape. The newly arrived troops also began taking up useful positions and building camps around the site of the collapsed castle where their Command was going to be built on.
After countless twists and turns, they were finally able to secure the minimum safety of the site which allowed the construction workers and administrative officials dispatched to Command to come in.
The first building that they focused on was the Command Center. They also started building defense facilities around the still intact walls of the castle to ensure and maintain stability. Thanks to the hard work of the 1st and 2nd Teams, who did the basic construction of Command despite their grueling schedule, the construction was proceeding smoothly.
With the construction workers, focused solely on the infrastructure, taking over the shoveling and construction work, the soldiers were finally able to focus on fighting and blocking their enemies. In fact, they found their schedule much easier than before.
"Is the system finally in place?"
Iron sighed deeply as he looked at the field army troops gathered together.
Although there were still a lot of temporary field camps, a lot of facilities for their convenience had already been built which brought ease to the expressions of the soldiers. Especially the 1st Team. They were the team who suffered the most and was given as much rest as possible to make up for it and their expressions were now more relaxed and at ease.
"You've worked hard."
Ariel sighed and looked at Iron when he told her that after she came in to report.
"Please... take a bit of rest."
"Hmm? Do I look that tired?"
She replied lowly after seeing Iron rubbing his face.
"...Yes."
"Hmmm... But I get revitalized by Baepsae every time..."
"It has already been a long time since you exceeded your limits, right?"
Iron gulped down the words that he was about to say after hearing her question.
"You need to take a real rest right now."
Iron smiled bitterly at Ariel's words.
He also wanted to take a rest. However, that was something that only he could do after his army was well-organized.
Even though the 1st and 2nd Teams had become more experienced and proficient after experiencing a lot of battles, the other teams were not the same. In addition, the 1st Team, who experienced the most battles, still came up short in Iron's eyes. There were still places where they were as clumsy as ever and there were still soldiers who acted quite comfortably despite the situation.
"Please trust us. We'll do our best to stop them even without the Commander."
"That's just a gamble."
Iron shook his head firmly.
"This weapon was made thanks to the Commander so it's... possible."
Ariel tapped her sheathed sword.
They tried to find a way to efficiently make use of Iron's holy power, which was being released every day. And the method that they found was making holy water. This holy water was then used during the smelting process which created holy weapons, albeit weak in holy power. They applied his holy power into their weapons and injected it into their bombs in preparation for hunting the beings of the void. This was the reason why their airships' bombs could effectively kill thenemies now.
However, that was clearly not enough for their situation right now.
"They are completely different from the Death Corps. We are not their bane now. We have to approach them differently."
"But aren't they still beings of the void?"
"That might be true. But they had already gone beyond mutating and had already started accepting the energy of the void. They're not just simple mutants."
Ariel tilted her head in confusion after hearing Iron's words.
She was not aware of this since she stayed in the Northeast with Cardro until the end to help Iron manage the troops. However, the officers of the 1st Team had been with Iron from the very beginning so they were fully aware about the meaning of his words.
"They have achieved their own evolution through the energy of the void and have already gone beyond a simple mutation."
The most powerful mutant that Iron and the 1st Team had seen was the giant armored worm. It was a being that could freely use the energy of the void and use their mutated outer shell as a weapon. In addition, their outer shell also consisted of several layers and was much harder than any other ordinary mutants. They knew that the void energy that it could harness was no joke after confronting it in just one battle.
"Giant armored worm. I'm sure you've heard about it, right?"
"...Yes."
"To kill that bastard I need to have at least Thunder or Phoenix or even both of them together with me."
Ariel's expression hardened ever so slightly after hearing Iron's words. Her expression finally became solemn after realizing that Iron could not deal with the opponent with his power alone.
Excluding the power of the divine beasts, Iron was already at the peak of the 6th Stage. The swordsmanship and physical prowess that he had shown in all the battles that he had participated in was beyond any other on the same stage. This made everyone assume that his power was already infinitely closer to the power of a master.
But this person said that he can't deal with it alone?
That meant that the giant armored worm was extremely close or was at least at the master level.
"Is it a master-level?"
"That's not it. If it's a master-level monster then all of my divine beasts had to stick together to kill it. However... it just means that it's more complicated than that."
She nodded lightly after hearing Iron's words.
"I don't know how many more of those guys will be here. With the wide area of the blackened forest, there is a high possibility that more than one of these creatures are lurking in here. According to the results of the reconnaissance... There are three places that have been discovered including the place where the giant armored worm is currently living."
They had only scouted 100km around the Command but they had already discovered three such places. However, there was a chance that there were many more forests like this blackened forest that existed in the Southeast.
"We will be at a disadvantage as time goes by."
The more they feed on the void insects and the more void energy they consume, the stronger they would become. This meant that they had to start and finish this battle at some point in the near future. They needed to deal with them soon otherwise, a lot of time would pass and they wouldn't be able to handle them anymore.
"We have to save as much of our ranks as possible and cultivate them into elites. Once they reached a certain level... we will see what happens."
Ariel could only nod heavily at Iron's words.
"The mutant water buffalos, giant ants and giant wasps are still difficult to fight with our army's current capabilities."
Casualties still appeared even after the divine beasts had swept most of their enemies away. Iron knew that they would have no choice but to suffer enormous damage the moment he collapsed or was tied up with some other powerful opponent.
"But... you can't stay like this forever."
Iron looked extremely worn out. He might think that it was still alright since he had experienced and suffered through something worse in his previous life but that wasn't what it looked like to the people who saw him.
During the Northern War, Iron still looked relaxed even at the most difficult situation. However, that wasn't the case right now.
After fighting in battles, he would listen to the reconnaissance units' reports and issue the orders personally. However, if it was just that, Ariel wouldn't have to be so worried. He even inspected the new Command [getid] and the defense facilities that were being built. It was safe to say that it was not enough for him to have two bodies with the amount of work that he was doing.
"If you're really worried then hurry up and improve the knight order."
"...Yes."
Ariel looked apologetic as she answered Iron. Seeing this, Iron told her...
"If the Knight Order plays their role properly then I can think of taking a bit of a break. Besides, it wouldn't be that hard since Cardro and Carl are here now."
"I will make sure to fulfill our part as soon as possible."
"Good."
Iron smiled and nodded his head at Ariel's answer. He finally breathed out and stretched his body.
"Uhhhm! But you don't have to worry that much, I won't overdo it. Since all of the key figures have arrived, I think I'll have some time to relax."
"...Yes? Relax?"
Ariel's eyes widened.
Is there any room for Iron to relax and reduce his work under our current situation?
The more she thought about it the more likely she knew that it wouldn't decrease.
It was only natural. After all, the more the Command was set on track, the more work he would face.
"Yeah. I'm going to let Carl experience administration and I'm going to let Cardro experience the work outside of Command. The two of them will be in charge of coordinating and managing the materials and supplies that we will receive. So, I can finally have some time to relax."
"....The two of them... are going to be busy."
Ariel shivered when he saw him smile while talking about relaxing and making time for himself. Iron looked at her and smiled as if he found her expression fun. Then, the emergency bell rang loudly.
"This... they're back again, I see."
Iron stood up.
His expression screamed that he was extremely tired of dealing with them. He came out of his office with his sword after hearing the report of the reconnaissance unit that there was a group of monsters flocking towards Command.
Iron nodded lightly when he saw a large number of troops rushing towards the area where the enemies were flocking to.
"The system is definitely in place."
Iron smiled in satisfaction when he saw the soldiers running and scoping the area without waiting for any special orders. Then, he jumped on top of the approaching Phoenix.
Just like that, a sanctuary was once again set to prevent the monsters from invading. This had already become a daily occurrence.
'I just need to endure a few more months... then it will be worth it.'
This thought flashed in Iron's head as he checked his troops' movements through the air.
Just like he thought, the soldiers had become more proficient. Above all, their overall level had risen sharply thanks to their frequent battles against monsters and their constant mana management practices.
There were huge amounts of void energy in the Southeast which basically turned all of the monsters here into mutants. However, this enormous amount of void energy was purified and turned into mana via Iron's sanctuary so the concentration of mana in Southeastern Command had risen steeply over the course of their stay here. In fact, there was a chance that even ordinary people would be able to sense mana if this trend continued on.
With this kind of environment, the soldiers' skills would naturally improve. After all, they were continuously running their mana and fighting in actual battles while being exposed to holy power everyday.
The entire field army was now even able to hold out on their own, albeit only a short period of time, after repeatedly practicing and fighting every day. As proof of this, an entire unit was able to survive despite one of the soldiers committing a fatal mistake.
"Hey! Are you someone who just fought once or twice? How can you make such a mistake?!"
"Ah... Sorry. I made a mistake because I felt a bit stiff today."
The soldier apologized as he cracked his stiff neck.
"Stop lying. What bullshit, we're all recovering in real time..."
"Hey. Hasn't it been a week since we last took a break? The recovery magic has already reached its limit the day before yesterday."
The soldier, who made a mistake, looked awkward after receiving the other soldier's scolding.
The entire squad was left in danger because the soldier who was supposed to aim for the giant ant's weakness accidentally attacked its outer shell. However, this was not something that they only experienced once so the soldier was able to skillfully maneuver and aim for its weakness again.
"Stop being so hard on him. He was still able to take care of it well."
"Sigh... It's because we have to suffer if someone makes a mistake. Look at the youngest. His movements have already gone stiff."
"Ah! For real... I'll buy you a drink. Alright?"
"Call!"
The soldier, who was being scolded, readily accepted his proposal as if he was waiting for this. Then, all of the members of the unit cheered loudly.
There were times when an entire unit could take a break. On such days, drinking alcohol was allowed. Those days were the days when the soldiers' wallets were robbed clean. And the soldier who was being robbed clean was still happy, after all they had won.
"They're now relaxed."
Iron smiled as he watched the cheering unit from afar.
Half a year later, the army finally exceeded the minimum standard that Iron had set for them. Iron could now believe in his army's skills and could finally begin expanding his Command's influence in the Southeast.
"It's worth a try now."
An officer suddenly rushed in just when Iron uttered those words to himself.
"The great worms are moving!"