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The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (121)

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

42 Counterattack! (1)

The two quests that appeared in front of Iron were both related to the monsters’ annihilation.

The quests were both similar to the main quest that came out during the beta test but one thing was different. He still had to choose between surviving and saving the continent, but the difficulty went up several notches. This was because forces, that he had yet to identify, were probably going to try and kill him in the future.

“Hoo…”

Iron let out a long breath as he tried to clear his complicated thoughts.

He had already made up his mind a long time ago but seeing these choices come out as a quest had shaken him up.

“Number two.”

He made his choice right after his thought cleared up. He knew that taking more time to decide on this matter would shake his resolve. So, he immediately decided before his resolve could waver.

― Warning! Choosing number 2 will make these unknown forces attack you directly. Choosing number 1 will gradually take their interest away from you and will increase your chances of survival.

“Number two.”

Even though he was given another chance to choose, Iron still replied with the same answer and without any hesitation. 

He had already learned that the modern times had an impact on this God Game. Besides, his original body had long fused with his current body which helped him recognize this world and his present as his reality a long time ago. That was also the reason why he wanted to do everything that he could.

‘I won’t avoid it.’

Iron had already surpassed the limits of his previous life the moment he reached the 6th Stage. And with his powerful divine beasts, he was confident that he would be able to fight more freely and more ferociously than in his previous life.

And above all else…

‘My growth is not over yet.’

He was walking on the right path in this life. 

In his previous life, he felt that just taking a glance at the master-level was impossible. However, since he was walking the right path, this dream was now almost within his reach. And even if he failed to cross that wall, he was still confident that he would be able to show a power that was way beyond that of a master-level once he could fully open his divine beasts’ power.

― You have chosen number 2. From now on, special quests will be given to User-nim alone. This is on top of the other users main quests. Also! You will be engraved with a stigmata that would promote the unknown forces’ hostility.

[ First Special Quest

The dark elves have stolen one of the roots of the world tree and dyed it with human blood. Because of this, the entire root of the world tree is being contaminated. If the world tree is left alone, not only the North but the entire continent may face contamination. Make sure to purify it.

― The power of purification resides in your stigmata.

― From now on, the unknown forces will monitor your performance. Please note that they might assassinate you since you have become their most dangerous target. However! If other apostles with the same stigmata appear, the risk that you will face will gradually reduce.

“Keuk!”

Pain flooded all over Iron’s body when the notification window disappeared from his view. He hurriedly grabbed his throbbing chest as he waited for the burning pain to disappear. 

Then, holy energy began to dwell in his body once the pain had disappeared. 

‘Is this the stigmata?’

Iron quickly unbuttoned his jacket and checked his chest. There, on the center of his chest, was a wound in the form of a cross.

He tried to pour his healing energy over the wound as he wiped the blood that dripped down from it. But the holy energy protested against his healing energy and prevented it from getting healed. Helpless, all he could do was wipe off the blood and wait for the pain to completely die down. Then, the blood gradually stopped from dripping as the wound scabbed and turned into a scar. 

Iron, who checked his body’s condition, was lost in his thoughts. 

Even if he stayed still, he would still be targeted by the dark elves and these unknown forces since he had chosen the second choice. 

Even if I risk the chance of being their most dangerous person, wouldn’t it be alright for me to run around as long as I don’t become their priority target?

Iron organized his thoughts as he thought of cleaning up the monsters and slowly moving towards the frontline. 

He needed to collect more data and information in case he was placed in a more dangerous battlefield so while he did that, Iron focused on his troops’ lack of tactical training.

And the dark elves who saw this jumped around in anger upon seeing Iron’s choice. It was as if they wanted to show everything that they have hidden as thousands of contaminated ents and trents appeared and combined into a corps that raided them. With their appearance, the fog that covered the Northern Forest had disappeared, revealing a huge black tree. 

“…It’s from beyond the frontlines…”

It was a letter containing an order for him. 

[ Come back to Ghost. ]

Iron sighed when he saw the letter personally written by the Commander himself.

His order was to come as he was.

And since this special operation unit was created and maintained because of him, chances are it would immediately be disbanded upon his return to Ghost. His members who were still lacking would probably be sent to the frontlines or be returned to their former units. 

For some reason he felt that it was a pity. 

I’ve raised them well but someone else will use them?

“What a pity…” 

Iron went out of the barracks with regret coloring his face. 

Perhaps he was feeling regret because he saw their rapid growth after going through countless monster annihilation operations?

His soldiers were now incomparable to themselves from the past. They were all slated to become non-commissioned officers so at the very least, their mana had awakened, but thanks to fighting battles and tiptoeing the borders of life and death everyday, more of them were starting to strengthen their bodies and reach a higher stage. 

Even the knights’ naive and confused appearance from before had transformed. Right now, all of them looked dignified and serious. 

The numerous actual battles that they fought had completely changed them.

And he felt that it was such a waste to watch them all go like that. If he was still able to raise them like this, then in a few years, they would turn into a unit that no one would be ashamed of even if they were placed anywhere. 

“Hoo… There’s no helping it.” 

Once he returned to Ghost, Ariel would return to the knights and the rangers would come back to where they were. There was no way that this special operation unit would still be maintained after all of the key figures had returned. 

He felt like he did his best raising them but someone else was going to take advantage of them.

Iron tried his best to break up his unit with a smile on his face. He looked at his sword thinking that he shouldn’t leave a bad impression for the last time on the soldiers that had fought with him and suffered with him till the bitter end. 

“Special Operation Unit…” 

Iron mumbled the name of his unit. 

From its name, one could assume that this was a unit that gathered the elites but they were just a ragtag of disorderly men when they started. The real elites were sent to the core of their units and his special operation unit gathered the rest of the insignificant people. 

Because of that, Iron knew full well what runs through the mind of his men. 

Others might look at his men as if they were envious of these talentless men soaring and achieving great merit. However, even though they were the envy of others, they would still be pushed back by the real ‘talented’ people. And their hearts…

I have also felt frustrated by my lack of talent even if I tried so hard to stand side by side with them.

Some of his troops might eventually feel frustration. And Iron wanted to tell them his experiences. 

After making up his mind, he told Ariel to call in the troops. 

“I have received an order today.” 

Iron unfolded the letter that he had received from Command and showed it to them. 

“I believe each and every single person has also received their orders.” 

The troops’ eyes shook at his words. This was because it finally sank in that this unit that played along the borders of life and death every day would now be scattered. 

“As of today, our troops will begin the process of disbandment. I will also have to return to Ghost. But before that, I called you here today to convey my last words to you as your commander.” 

Everyone flinched when they heard the word last. Iron looked at them as he unsheathed his sword and gave them the last gift that he could give them.

Shiiing.

His sword came out of the scabbard. Although the sword was filled with chips here and there from all the battles that he had been through, this was a sword that was changed and transformed to fit him perfectly. 

“As you all know, I’m walking the Path of Steel. Some of you would say that it’s pathetic while others would say that it’s just a trivial attribute.” 

Iron had a bitter smile on his face as he said so. 

“I don’t know if you will believe me, but I was never talented when it came to swordsmanship. Sword technique, powerful force, sharp eyes for the sword, reaction speed, all of them are dependent on talent. But if I have that talent, would I even do this and continue trying?” 

Iron injected his mana into his sword as he continued to speak.

“Perhaps I am also similar to all of you. When I was young, I saw a genius and a number of talented individuals that came close to that level. When I saw them, I felt like I could never chase them normally.” 

Everyone looked at Iron’s bitter smile in suspicion. However, his eyes were filled with sincerity and showed them that his words were not false. 

“My meager talent made it hard for me to understand and imprint complex swordsmanship on my body. That’s why I chose the simplest swordsmanship. The basic swordsmanship that’s fit for dunces like me.” 

His sword was developed from the basic and imperial basic swordsmanship. These were the only two swordsmanship that he had ever trained in this life. 

Ariel knew that well. She also knew that he worked harder than anybody else. That was the reason why she knew that his words were truly based on facts. 

It felt strange that this man who had incredible experience, a lot of effort and a knowledge far beyond what anyone had would feel frustrated because he lacked the sword skills that a genius had. 

“The real geniuses can’t be chased. If you try to chase them, you will just work for nothing and end up feeling frustrated.”

Everyone nodded heavily at Iron’s words. 

Entertaining the idea of standing next to those geniuses was just plain arrogance. Instead of feeling elated, they would most likely just be frustrated. 

“Of course, they would say that you can reach those ‘geniuses’ with effort. However, can effort alone be able to let you do that? Even if you train without sleeping, will you really be able to reach them?”

Everyone bowed their heads at Iron’s words. 

“The talented also put in their effort. Some of them even enjoy the process of training. You can’t chase them simply with effort. Then, what should you do? The answer is just one thing.”

Iron swung his sword lightly. It was an outrageously perfect sword strike. This was the most suited sword path for him that he had trained and repeated countless times. 

And that was what the troops were seeing right at this very moment.

“Experience. Just like what I said earlier, I can’t understand complex swordsmanship and my body can’t follow. That’s why I chose this simple swordsmanship. However! I put my experience into my swordsmanship.”

Iron looked at his sword with a burning gaze.

“Even though I felt frustrated and desperate hundreds of thousands of times, I still did not give up. I continued to melt my experiences into my sword as I fought against monsters and clenched my teeth to survive.”

“Ah…”

One of the soldiers looked at Iron’s steel sword in awe. Not long after, all of the members of their unit exclaimed as they looked at Iron’s sword. For some reason, they felt like they could see the years of efforts that he endured and lived through to achieve this level of proficiency. 

“All of you have to make your own choice. Whether you should take the risk and gain more experience or sit on the right line and lead a peaceful life. I don’t think any of these choices are better than the other. After all, each choice has its own strengths and weaknesses.”

Giving up was not a bad thing. After all, if Iron was also given the choice to live peacefully, he would gladly take off his military uniform and move to that place right away. 

“However, if you so decide to chase after the people who had gone ahead of you. Please keep two things in mind.”

Iron raised two fingers as he continued to speak.

“First! Never cross the line. Try to figure out your current skills and never cross that line.”

That was what happened to him in his previous life. So, he wanted them to understand their limits well and make sure to always remain vigilant. He was surviving like that in this life, and the more he did, the more experience he had gained. 

Surviving this period of confusion was no different than being strong in and of itself. Even if they did not have enough force, their choice would still not be wrong since they were equipped with weapons and experiences. 

“Second! Even if you’re exhausted and tired, don’t give up and always try. Some would think that what you’re doing is impossible but no matter what they say make sure that you still do it. That way, you won’t regret it when your life reaches a really dangerous and critical moment.”

Iron let out a long breath. 

“This will be the end of my gift to you. I hope that you survive this dangerous battlefield and survive until the end.”

At the end of his words, all of the soldiers saluted him as they looked at Iron’s back with determination. 

“Loyalty! Thank you for your hard work!”

Iron smiled as he entered the barracks once again after receiving his troops’ farewell. 

After a while, Iron, who had quickly packed his luggage, entered the airship that would take him beyond the frontlines to where the Ghosts were.

***

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