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The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (159)

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

53 The Center’s Downfall (2)

In the end, even the Central Army was ready to leave the capital and go to their newly built Central Army Command. 

Marquis Oliver van Leopold, the Central Army Commander, stood on the podium as his troops prepared to leave. 

“We’re the last ones to leave the capital.” 

Marquis Leopold’s tone was heavy as he spoke. 

“First, I would like to apologize to the soldiers who had a hard time during this period when we were transferred out of the Capital Defense Corps. As a commander, I deeply regret putting my soldiers in such a state.” 

He bowed his head lightly as he spoke. 

The master’s apology. The worth of this apology was something that everyone knew. Receiving such an apology made the eyes of the soldiers and the officers of the Central Army turn red.

Unlike the Capital Defense Corps that only gathered the elites, the Central Army was known for being a group of garbage that were involved in all kinds of corruption. In fact, some of them truly participated in corruption but the others did not.

There were those who entered the Central Army and hid their talents just so they could support their families. There were those who were forced to enter the rotten Central Army due to the contracts that they had signed with their patron nobles. There were also those who joined the Central Army because they were tired of poverty. These people had to be called garbage and treated the same as the corrupted ones just because they fell into this garbage dump called the Central Army. 

They endured being insulted for days and years on end because they entered the Central Army that had rotted for a long period of time. 

“But from now on, everything will be different. They will never call the Central Army as the Empire’s garbage dump. We will become the pillar that supports the Empire.” 

The eyes of some of the soldiers and officers changed after hearing Leopold’s words.

The clean and pure soldiers of the Central Army looked at their commander with blazing eyes. Those who were also originally pure and clean but were forced to comply with the corruption because of the harsh reality that they lived in had shining eyes too. 

“Look forward to it. Our army will be a gathering of the elites in the future. And you will be the pioneer.” 

The soldiers cheered loudly at the end of Leopold’s words. 

With the announcement of the Central Army’s new beginning, the troops boarded the airship one after the other. 

Some said that he was a defeated general who failed to protect the Center. Some scholars said that he was just a puppet general who stood by while the Central Army fell into depravity. Some soldiers said that he was the weakest commander among the Imperial commanders. However, for the Central Army, Commander Leopold was the best commander. So, when he decided to gather his senses and tried to start anew, his officers and troops also followed him.Even those who fell into corruption for a while had settled down. After their loved ones’ lives were threatened and they had experienced the harsh reality of war, they decided to not live like this anymore. No one knew how long they would last. However, they were sure of one thing. They would not fall and collapse as quickly as they did before if they left the capital. 

“That was quite an eloquent speech.”

“I’m ashamed.”

Iron greeted Leopold with a smile as he descended the podium. Then, they both boarded the airship together. 

“By the way, if you and your troops leave together with us all at once… the capital will fall into even more confusion.”

“…There’s no helping it.”

Iron smiled bitterly as he answered Leopold’s words. 

There were obviously innocent ones among the people of the capital. There were some who were resentful when the support supplies that were supposed to be sent to the Northeast had fallen into corruption and there were also some who protested when the Empire fell into a crisis because of the complacent attitude and political plays that the Central government had. But even if they existed, the Center was too rotten for him to remain in this place. 

‘It’s better to throw them away and start anew.’

There was no longer room for rehabilitation and purification for the Center and the capital that had become rotten for a long period of time. It would be better for the Empire to abandon this place and start anew someplace else. 

With the crisis still ongoing, it could have been better for them to enter a military-centered political system rather than maintain the rotten Center. 

“Let’s go. You’ll be busy in the future… Shouldn’t we go a bit earlier and take some rest?”

Iron remained silent for a while after hearing Leopold’s words. Then, he opened his mouth. 

“I have something to say to you.”

Commander Leopold looked at him curiously when Iron spoke with a serious look on his face. 

“Is there a problem?”

“That’s not it… I don’t think it’s good to do some work for free…”

“Ahem! I also want to give you something in return but our situation is not that good right now.”

Leopold coughed loudly upon hearing Iron’s words. 

It was difficult to expect support from them since the Central Army had been thoroughly destroyed by the Death Corps together with the capital. He did not have the abilities to support Iron’s troops since it was already difficult for him to cover themselves alone. In fact, there truly was nothing that he could do for Iron since he was sure that they would have to spend a lot of difficult days in the future. That was also the reason why he couldn’t ask for help like the other commanders. He could only grumble and ask if he could take care of his troops training for a while. 

“I’m not asking for troops or resources.”

“Then, what do you want?”

Iron quickly approached Leopold as he spoke quietly. 

“I want you to look at my swordsmanship.”

“…You?”

Leopold tilted his head after hearing Iron’s words. 

Since Iron had reached the 6th Stage it just went to show that he had already established his own path. At this stage, useless advice would only make him wander away from his path. He knew that Iron knew this well. However, he couldn’t understand why he was asking for advice from him. In addition, there were many other people that could give him advice and look at his swordsmanship. From the Northeastern Commander to Lion Family Head Lioner, the line of people that could look over his progress was overflowing. 

“It’s kind of weird for me to say this myself but… I’m the weakest among the Imperial masters.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Hmm… If you say so, then I will help you. But I still believe that there’s not much I can do to help you with your swordsmanship.”

Is there anything that I can do to help someone’s swordsmanship who is walking the path of steel? 

Leopold Family’s swordsmanship was close to the basics but it was not as good as Iron’s swordsmanship. Their swordsmanship had been developed through the years so it was completely different from Iron’s swordsmanship, which was extremely close to the basics. 

“I’d like to ask you about ‘aura’.”

Leopold’s eyes widened. 

“Aura?”

“Yes.”

Leopold carefully asked after hearing Iron’s affirmative. 

“By any chance, you…?”

“Ah! I haven’t reached the wall yet.”

Iron immediately shook his head when Leopold inquired if he had already taken a step towards the master level. 

“Uhmm… You can’t really reach that stage this fast, right?”

Leopold burst out in awkward laughter saying that he was just imagining too much. 

How long was it when he reached the 6th Stage, how can he reach the master level already?

Iron had reached the 6th Stage so fast that he was considered to be the youngest person to have ever reached this stage. And if he reached the master level this fast Leopold would definitely feel that the world was unfair.

He was only barely able to reach the wall of the master level during his 40s. But he could not cross the wall until he was almost 50. No matter how much of a genius Iron was, it would probably be over the line if he crossed the master’s level now.

“Just like you know, it wouldn’t matter that much even if I tell you about aura.”

He had already studied the master’s aura for a long time. However, it did not mean much unless he had reached the wall. It wouldn’t be helpful even if scholars talked about it for days and wrote hundreds of papers about it.

Even if one knew it in their heads, they could only create aura after experiencing and training their mana thoroughly. In fact, most of the people who reached the wall were usually frustrated and had always turned towards the papers about aura. However, in the end, only a few of them broke through the wall. In other words, the master level was a stage that could not be achieved just by knowing about it. 

“I don’t remember it well but… I felt a strange sensation before.” 

“A strange sensation?” 

“Yes. It was during the time when I was stopping the Death Lord’s blood storm. All of my force had been compressed…” 

Iron recalled the time he fought the Death Lord. He explained the sensation that he felt back then. He felt the strange sensation when he had compressed all of his remaining strength into his sword. He did not know if it was just another innate ability or it was another attribute of steel. So he wanted to find out about it.

“Uhm…” 

Leopold rubbed his chin in thought after hearing his words.

“Anything else?” 

“I will tell you the details once we arrive at Command.” 

Iron looked around and said these words when Leopold urged him to explain more. Only then did Leopold see the people glancing at the two of them. 

“Alright. I believe… I can help you with this much.”

Iron was delighted with his words. 

He was frustrated after being stuck at this point so he felt happy that someone was able to help him. Even his face brightened at the thought of receiving this help. 

While Leopold and Iron were talking about a lot of things on board the airship, both of their remaining troops had also boarded the airship. Plenty of their troops had already gone to the newly built Central Army Command in advance that was why only a small number of airships flew over the capital this time. 

The people of the capital lamented when they saw the airships flying over their heads. They felt sorry that even the two masters and their troops, the capital’s last hope, had left. 

“Will the days of hell begin from now on?”

The academy professor, who decided to leave for the Northeast, looked at the airships that were leaving. The final force that could stop the Empire’s capital from falling into chaos finally left today. It did not matter to him who left or who would leave soon, but the people that were left behind would experience hell every day. 

The number of people leaving the capital has increased significantly. It seemed like they had realized that there would be no future in the capital. The people of the Empire moved to different places day after day.

The capital city, a city that boasted the largest population, faced a shrinking population due to the large number of migrating people. 

“Someday… I hope this place revives once again…”

The professor sincerely hoped that the capital, the city that shared the longest history with the Empire, would revive once again as he looked at the sky. 

However, contrary to his wishes, the capital’s situation worsened by the day after Leopold and Iron’s departure.

Violent protests continued day after day in the capital the moment the Central Army left. The nobles were hastily cutting their tails off and passing on the blame while the Central officials were forced to do hurried administration due to the lack of personnel. The ministers, who promised that they would hire more personnel, were all distracted as they played politics. They only focused on trying to gain more power and walking on this tight rope. The chaos and confusion in the capital did not matter to them at all. 

There was even the 4th Prince who still kept on biting and holding on to the Emperor’s seat until the very end and the 1st Prince who couldn’t stop him properly. On the side were the 2nd and 3rd Princes, who watched the scene in interest, knowing that they did not have any chance at all. 

As they bit and fought each other in politics, the anger of the public grew even greater. The situation in the capital grew worse by the day. And the Empire’s high Central government was gradually running straight towards its collapse. 

“Morons!”

“Let’s gather the masters and form a military government!”

“Kill all the nobles!”

People spat and cursed. 

“I heard that the East is doing well these days?”

“Shall we go to the North?”

“Tch! The South also needs to recover quickly but… my maternal family is killing me these days.”

The Central nobles focused on the news from the other regions and turned a blind eye to the Center that’s gradually falling down into the abyss. 

In that situation, the Central officials also began to let go. After all, the situation did not improve despite them trying their hardest. It did not matter if they tried hard. Everything was meaningless unless the Imperial Family and the ministers sitting at the top were sorted out.

But the Imperial Family and the nobles that they followed were just busy fighting against each other. They all devoted themselves in their political battles to gain a handful of the power that was left. 

In fact, all of them were aware that these political battles were no longer meaningful. The Center has already virtually fallen down the abyss. And the era of the Central aristocrats was already coming to an end… However, they knew that they would at least be able to live with the sweet fruit of victory, even if it was just during their generation, as long as they won this battle. 

Even though they knew that it would take a long time for them to stand up and organize the situation in the capital, they still had to fight and gain that handful of power. They weren’t masters. They only relied on their connections and their past glories instead of their abilities so this handful of power was the only way for them to survive. 

That was why they still gathered in the Imperial Palace and engaged in their faction fights while the Imperial public gathered in the square to protest. The officials sat on the sidelines and the intellectuals began to leave for other regions. 

That was how the capital of the Empire, a place with glorious history, met its downfall amidst the chaos and confusion. 

A long time later, the scholars said this…

This was the worst era in the history of the Empire.

***

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