The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military-Chapter 246: Preparing for Future Threats! (2)

Translator: Pai_

As all the Imperial Forces continued their battles against the Ancient Species for the sake of growth, it was the Ancient Species who were now in a hurry.

This was because, as the humans shifted to fights purely for safe growth rather than recklessly trying to break apart ice chunks, only the Ancient Species were accumulating damage.

Especially, the Frost Giants suffered extreme losses.

The reason was that their power had drastically diminished with the death of their king, Heurimre.

To them, a king was not merely a ruler but also one of the reasons for their very existence.

Thus, Heurimre's death was a critical blow to them.

However, the other Ancient Species were different. frёewebηovel.cѳm

With Heurimre, the strongest among them, gone, they began stepping forward, each aiming to become the central force of the Ancient Species alliance.

-This is a complete mess.

The Frost Giant Warrior Chief clicked his tongue as he watched each faction claiming to be the central axis of the Ancient Species.

While the humans were growing stronger, the Ancient Species were inciting internal strife in their struggle to seize control.

-We are... finished.

The moment their king died, the Frost Giants were essentially finished.

Even if, by some stroke of luck, they managed to win against the humans, they would not be able to endure the battles yet to come.

So, they stepped back to observe the infighting among the Ancient Species.

He just wished someone, anyone, would take control and unite the Ancient Species to fight together.

But the most likely candidates, the Dragons, were too arrogant to abandon their pride and continued to look down on the other Ancient Species.

As a result, infighting had erupted among the Ancient Species.

The Dragon Alliance, centered around the White Dragons who awakened after the Frost Giants and became the most likely candidates for leadership, and the other Ancient Species alliances, were now at odds with each other.

While the Ancient Species were baring their fangs at each other like that, the humans continued to grow stronger.

As time passed and their restricted powers were gradually unleashed, the Ancient Species were becoming stronger.

But the humans were also growing at an unbelievable rate.

-We... will retreat.

At the words of the Frost Giant Warrior Chief, the other Frost Giants quietly looked at him.

-Are you saying we should leave our king behind?

One Frost Giant warrior asked the chief.

-We can come back and recover the king’s remains later.

As the Warrior Chief said this, he looked at the drastically reduced number of Frost Giants.

Preservation of the race.

That was the secret order he had received from the king.

-We can't do that!

-You want us to abandon the king and run away by ourselves?

-That is unacceptable!

The young giants, led by the warriors, strongly objected.

But the Warrior Chief was resolute.

-We must go. That is... the king’s order...

At his words, the protesting Frost Giants fell silent all at once.

-The king’s order?

In response to the Frost Giant warrior's question, the Warrior Chief gave a heavy nod.

-It was a secret order the king gave me. If something happened to him, he told me to lead the giants in retreat. He said that was the only way to preserve our race.

-But...

-What we must do now is search for traces of Niflheim. Once that task is done... we will bring the king’s remains there.

At the Warrior Chief’s words, the Frost Giants turned to look at the massive chunk of ice that had been Heurimre.

-Do you believe the Ancient Species will be defeated, Chief?

To that warrior's question, the Warrior Chief gave a twisted smile and nodded.

With Heurimre dead, even if they combined their strength to fight, the chance of victory would not even be fifty percent.

Now, with internal conflict breaking out, defeat was certain.

‘The current Ancient Species alliance is nothing more than a tool to help the humans grow.’

The Warrior Chief sighed as he thought this.

With the king dead, he had to move solely with the survival of the Frost Giants in mind.

Therefore, there was no time left to hesitate.

-We move at night.

-Yes!

At the Warrior Chief’s decision, all the Frost Giants bowed their heads in agreement, and when night came, all the Frost Giants moved northward at once.

They departed from the region where they had awakened, traveling deeper in search of remnants of the old Niflheim.

When the Frost Giants, one of the core factions of the Ancient Species, departed, the Dragons, now completely unrestrained, revealed their trademark arrogance in full.

"The Frost Giants have left…"

Jaiden Wicks smiled as he watched the Frost Giants leave.

Since the Giants, who could be considered experts in war among the Ancient Species, had withdrawn, the Ancient Species' power was now effectively halved.

Moreover, since they appeared to be experiencing division, the coming war could only become easier.

For Jaiden Wicks and the other commanders, it was a situation that made them grin from ear to ear, but others felt differently.

Especially those who had fought against the Frost Warriors felt regret.

'If I’d had just a bit more time, I could’ve won...'

'Why now, right before surpassing the wall!'

'I was almost there!'

Those who had come within reach of Master Level were deeply disappointed.

While fighting strong opponents is a good experience, the easiest way to break through the wall is to engage in life-or-death battles with others at a similar level.

Those who had approached the edge of Master Level while growing stronger through intense and prolonged fights against the Frost Warriors, those who had grown naturally by competing with them, regretted the missed opportunity to become Masters without being stuck at the wall.

Naturally, unlike them, those lucky enough to become Masters quickly let out a sigh of relief.

"Gaon, you're lucky, huh?"

Cardro looked at Gaon with envy.

Gaon, who had been aiming for Master Level alongside Ariel for a long time, had finally broken through the wall.

In contrast, Cardro had come to the North unprepared and was still stuck at the wall of Master Level.

The same was true for Saeriden.

He had been about to cross the wall naturally along with Cardro, but due to the Frost Giants' withdrawal, he ended up stuck somewhere between Master Level and the 6th stage.

"I'm jealous."

Carl Gustav said enviously, looking at Sky Renz.

He had always known Sky was a genius.

That’s why Caeden Wall, the strongest among the Northeastern Corps Commanders, had raised him.

But he hadn’t expected him to reach Master Level so quickly.

Even Caeden Wall was still only halfway through the Master wall, murmuring that he finally saw hope.

Yet Sky Renz, who was far younger, had crossed the wall first.

"Becoming a Master is all about talent."

Fogg Coshway, commander of the Mist Corps, patted Carl Gustav on the shoulder as he looked on with envy.

Before they knew it, Oz Tereivo, the Mountain Corps Commander, had joined them and was gazing bitterly at Sky Renz, who was training intensely in the distance.

Before the monster known as Iron appeared, Sky Renz had been evaluated as the most gifted in the Northeast, and now he was finally living up to that name.

Although he became a Master later than Ariel, what mattered was that he had crossed the wall.

Even Caeden Wall, once praised as the next Master before Sky’s rise, was still struggling, so the fact that Sky Renz had crossed the Master wall in his 30s was already enough to qualify as genius-level achievement.

"If you try to match steps with a genius, all you'll find is despair. Grow at your own pace."

Fogg Coshway said with a bitter expression.

He, too, had once envied Caeden Wall.

At the time, Caeden had been growing at an astonishing pace.

He eventually became a Corps Commander in the Northeast at an exceptionally young age.

Now, with a monster like Iron around, that achievement had lost its shine, but to commanders of their generation, Caeden was already monstrous enough.

"That kid looks like a monster, doesn't he?"

Oz Tereivo said with a laugh, and Carl nodded slightly.

But Oz Tereivo turned his head to look elsewhere.

There, true monsters were dueling while staring each other down.

"Sky Renz is just a genius. The monsters are over there."

Monsters who had reached Master Level in their twenties.

Iron’s younger brother Aiden and Iron’s subordinate Ariel were fiercely exchanging blows in a sparring match.

After Crimson’s death, the ones who had stepped forward to block the Frost Giant Warrior Chief were two monsters.

They were Aiden and Ariel.

Despite having only recently reached Master Level, the monsters who faced off against the Warrior Chief had not been pushed back.

They were relentlessly training again today in pursuit of Iron.

As Carl Gustav admired them, he turned to Oz Tereivo and asked,

“If those two are monsters, then what is Iron?”

“That guy?”

At Carl’s question, Oz Tereivo paused for a moment, then smiled gently.

“A god.”

“…What?”

“He’s a god or rather, a transcendent? Either way, it’s certain that he’s not the same kind of being as us.”

At his words, Carl and Fogg Coshway gave dry laughs and nodded in agreement.

A growth rate that could not be explained with terms like genius or monster.

Iron had already risen to the rank of humanity’s strongest in his twenties and was still growing.

No one could say how far he would go, but there was a growing belief that he might even surpass the level of the great heroes whose names were recorded in the Mythical Era.

While the Northeastern commanders were starting to view Iron as something beyond a monster, almost another species altogether, Iron himself was quietly training in a corner.

He was reviewing his battle with Heurimre.

And meditating, trying to recall the sensation of power shown by Hræsvelgr and Heurimre in their final moments.

With his internal injuries preventing any physical training, meditation and reflection were all Iron could do for now.

Even moving aura during meditation could risk aggravating his injuries, so he had to refrain from that as well.

‘What was that power…’

The power Heurimre had shown.

At Iron’s current level, he could not comprehend what it truly was.

However, Hræsvelgr had shattered that power with the force of a storm and struck Heurimre.

The problem was that when the storm was being formed, the power did not seem to be on the same overwhelming level as Heurimre’s.

“An unknown path, perhaps?”

Iron murmured to himself and gave a faint laugh.

Hræsvelgr and Heurimre had shown him that he still had a long way to go.

To be honest, Iron had been slightly arrogant after reaching Grand Master.

But his battle with Heurimre made him realize that was mere hubris, and he understood he needed to climb even higher to prevent Destruction.

Thanks to that realization, he was able to continue growing without stopping.

Just the fact that he wasn’t resting on the title of humanity’s strongest and was still growing, Heurimre was someone Iron could only be thankful for.

“This is frustrating.”

Every time Iron tried to move his aura, a flicker of pain surged through him.

Even now, he was flooding his body with divine power to accelerate his healing, but recovery from internal injuries was slow.

-Tweet!

“Huh?”

Just as Iron frowned from the pain of his internal injuries, Blue Baepsae suddenly appeared and landed on his head.

-Tweet tweet tweet!

As soon as Blue Baepsae appeared, it created green healing power and made it seep into Iron's body.

And then, the pain that even divine power couldn’t suppress began to fade little by little.

“Wow… that’s incredible.”

Feeling the intense internal injuries gradually healing, Iron let out a spontaneous exclamation.

In response, Blue Baepsae puffed out its little chest with pride.

-Tweet!

As if demanding to be properly served, Blue Baepsae tapped its head repeatedly. Iron gave a knowing smile and asked,

“What about the others?”

-Tweet tweet tweet!

“It’s going to take more time? Hmm…”

Iron gave a small nod at Blue Baepsae’s words.

Since it had come out to help immediately after evolving, it seemed to need more time to stabilize.

But it didn’t matter.

There was nothing urgent right now, so Iron was more than willing to let it take the time it needed to come out in perfect condition.

“But what about you?”

-Tweet! Tweet tweet tweet!

To Iron’s question, Blue Baepsae explained that it also needed time, but had come out briefly because Iron’s internal injuries were severe.

Touched by the Baepsae’s gesture, Iron thanked it and stopped his training to focus solely on healing his injuries.

He wanted to recover quickly so the Baepsae could return to its task.

While Iron and Blue Baepsae were concentrating on healing together.

“…Commander.”

At the cautious voice that entered, Iron opened his eyes.

It was Faulden, who hadn’t come near Iron until now, knowing he was in seclusion to treat his injuries and train.

For Faulden to come find him now, it could only mean something serious.

Iron quietly asked,

“What is it?”

"The west is... showing signs of movement."

At Faulden's report, Iron stood up from his seat with an expression that what was to come had finally come.

***

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