The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military-Chapter 267: The Battle Toward the End (2)

Translator: Pai_

The Empire’s only Field Marshal.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Military.

Iron, who had attained this tremendous position in his twenties.

As Iron, who received salutes from the entire Imperial Army, arrived at the Western Command Headquarters, he entered the building while receiving salutes from all the commanders.

“Hoo……”

Even Iron, known throughout the world, felt burdened by the heavy attention as he headed toward the center.

Then, unexpectedly, certain individuals were standing there.

“You’ve come all the way here?”

In response to Iron’s question, the man standing before him smiled gently.

Chevara, the Governor-General seated in the highest position of the Empire, slowly walked toward Iron.

“You are to become the Empire’s only Field Marshal. Of course, I had to come in person.”

At Chevara’s words, Iron showed a troubled expression.

It wasn’t just the Governor-General who had come to the Western Command.

All the senators who should have been in the Imperial Assembly were also in attendance.

Of course, among those present, there were some who did not welcome Iron’s promotion to Field Marshal.

But their inner thoughts didn’t matter.

For those remaining in politics, failing to attend this moment when the Empire produced its first Field Marshal could create problems for their future political steps.

This moment, where a hero showing a great path rose to the highest ranks of the Empire, had to be attended no matter what.

“First, we will formally proceed with the appointment of Caeden Wall as the Commander of the Northeastern Command and Ariel Favrice as the Commander of the Mobile Field Army.”

Since the ceremony was taking place at the Western Command, German proceeded with it as the representative.

“Legion Commander Caeden Wall, Deputy Commander Ariel Favrice. Please step to the center.”

At German’s words, the two stood in the center with tense expressions.

Then all of the Empire’s commanders formed a circle around Caeden Wall and Ariel.

The commanders of the North, South, East, West, Central, and even Iron, the Commander of the Mobile Field Army, each raised their weapons. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

And then, one by one, they asked.

Conviction, bravery, integrity, loyalty, and the mindset to endure the weight of sitting in the military’s highest position.

In response to these questions from the commanders, Caeden Wall and Ariel answered the same way.

That no matter what happens, they would not falter and would protect this position.

After answering the questions of the five commanders, the two looked at Iron, who was the last remaining.

“I have a question for the two of you.”

At Iron’s question, unlike when the other commanders spoke, the two showed expressions of tension.

Those who were once his subordinates had now risen to the highest position in the Empire.

Those who were once his comrades had now become his superiors and heroes who carried the Empire on their shoulders.

Now, they were receiving a question from such a person.

“Will you be able to move forward without wavering even amidst the great threat to come?”

At Iron’s question, the two looked at him with firm eyes and answered in unison.

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

At their response, Iron slightly nodded his head, making a gesture that signified it was done.

Then, Governor-General Chevara, who had been waiting in the back, brought the letters of appointment.

He handed over the letters appointing them as commanders and pinned stars on their full-dress uniforms.

“With this, two new commanders of the Empire have been born.”

At German’s words, everyone saluted and congratulated the two.

Though the Empire was in the middle of war, this was a small celebration held ahead of the harsh battles to come.

Amidst the cheers of everyone, the two commanders raised their weapons and quietly stepped aside.

And then, Governor-General Chevara personally spoke.

“General Iron, would you please come forward?”

At Governor-General Chevara’s words, Iron stood before him with a firm expression.

At that moment, including the newly appointed commanders, all the Masters formed a circle with Iron at the center.

The six commanders, the two Family Heads who had reached Grand Master level, the newly appointed Masters Sky Renz, Gaon Temphet, Aiden Leonhardt, Sierra Leonar, the Southern Tower Master, Santos, the Central Tower Master, and Cornciel, the Eastern Tower Master.

Outside the circle formed by all the Masters of the Empire, the senators symbolizing the central government of the Empire created another ring.

Then, senior officials and commanders at the level of legion commanders or higher formed a larger circle, and beyond that, the soldiers all stood in formation and raised their weapons toward the sky.

As all eyes turned to Iron and everyone raised their weapons high, the Southern Commander and Western Commander stepped forward.

“Thank you for protecting the Empire’s South from the Phantom Tree.”

“Thank you for defending the Western Front from the Holy Alliance’s surprise attack.”

The two commanders, with words of gratitude, each brought a medal with both hands.

The highest medal of the Western Command, symbolizing an iron wall and the sky with two wings.

The highest medal of the Southern Command, symbolizing the Great Forest and plains.

These two medals were pinned to Iron’s chest.

It was the highest form of honor for defending the South and West of the Empire.

And finally...

“Thank you for protecting the newly reborn Empire.”

Governor-General Chevara said those words with a gentle smile.

Then, he pinned the highest newly established medal of the Empire onto Iron’s chest.

A medal bearing the emblem of freedom, and the light symbolizing reform and revolution.

The highest medal, allowed only to heroes who had achieved numerous feats.

Chevara, bringing the appointment letter for Iron who had become the first recipient, spoke once more.

"General Iron Carter has rendered the most distinguished service in defending the Empire and has written a record of achievement so great that none can dispute it. In recognition, we bestow upon him the rank of Field Marshal, the first in the Empire's history, as our answer to his deeds."

With those final words, Governor-General Chevara handed Iron his appointment letter and pinned an additional star on each of his shoulders.

The first in the Empire’s military to bear five stars.

Iron became the first to receive the five-star rank, which had previously been created only as an honorary rank for the Emperor.

Then, Governor-General Chevara spoke again.

“As the Empire’s crisis draws near, we bestow upon the Empire’s sole Field Marshal the position of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military. This has been approved by an overwhelming majority vote from the Empire’s central government and all its citizens.”

With those words, Governor-General Chevara smiled at Iron and handed him the appointment letter.

“Please continue to lead the Imperial Army well.”

At Chevara’s words, the commanders smiled and looked at Iron.

At that moment, a system voice rang in Iron’s ears.

[You have become the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military! As the first to achieve this in the Empire, future quest rewards will be greatly increased!]

[You have become the first Field Marshal of the Imperial Military. Future quest rewards will be increased!]

[You have collected all of the Empire’s highest medals and have risen to the undisputed rank of the Empire’s greatest hero.]

-The Hero title has been removed, and rewards are temporarily deferred.

-Rewards will be deferred until the third story of Apocalypse is cleared.

Along with the system voice, a roar erupted toward Iron from the entire Imperial Army.

Cheers and congratulations rang out for the birth of the Imperial Army’s first Supreme Commander.

Amidst the blessing-filled scene, Lioner quietly spoke.

“If it gets hard, just retire.”

At Lioner’s words, a nearby commander shot him a sharp glare.

“Hyung, if it gets hard, just come back to the family.”

Even Aiden said such a thing, and the expressions of those nearby distorted.

Even the commanders and legion commanders frowned while looking at Lioner and Aiden, leaving Iron confused with a puzzled look. Ariel, chuckling quietly, leaned in to whisper the reason.

“You’re finally done.”

“Done with what?”

“The mandatory service period.”

At Ariel’s words, Iron paused to think, then finally smiled and looked at her.

“Ah... that…”

Something he had completely forgotten while roaming countless battlefields.

The reason he had first entered the northeastern region.

Only now did it come back to him.

“So it’s over now.”

Iron, now in his mid-twenties.

And with that, his mandatory service period had naturally ended.

It wasn’t a problem now due to the ongoing war, but once the war ended, Iron’s post-war future would become an issue.

If he had been at a moderate level, or if his contributions had been minor, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

The problem was that even before becoming a Master, Iron had performed enough to be called a hero, and now he had become strong enough to be called the strongest on the continent.

If such a man retired and returned to his family?

He would become the Family Head by unanimous decision, without question.

Especially now that the heads of the Empire's top sword families had reached the level of Grand Master, losing Iron as well was unacceptable.

That was why all the commanders had wanted to make Iron a Field Marshal, and the central government had also unanimously approved the matter, not wanting to lose Iron to a mere family.

“You don’t need to care about the annoying stuff.”

At Lioner’s words, Iron gave a faint smile.

“I’ll think about it.”

With that, Iron turned to look at the commanders.

“At the very least, I won’t be leaving the military until the Destruction is over.”

At Iron’s firm answer, the commanders nodded in agreement, though not entirely satisfied.

At least until the war ended completely, they would be able to keep Iron in the military.

Anyway, until the Destruction was over, battles would continue without end, and Iron would fight on the front lines, but for the military, it was also a matter of pride.

In large-scale wars, Iron would be fighting as a member of the military, and that was a point of pride for them.

The pride that the strongest warrior on the continent belonged to the military.

“We’ve kept him.”

“Indeed.”

The commanders smiled broadly, proud that they had held on to Iron, and looked toward Lioner.

In response, Lioner, Aiden, and the rest of the Lion Family glared at them with displeased expressions.

Amidst their tense exchange of aura, a small celebration was held to commemorate the birth of the Empire's Supreme Commander, and everyone laughed and enjoyed it for the first time in a long while.

However, Iron and the other commanders couldn’t enjoy it purely.

“We’ll need to divide the military into three.”

While everyone chatted noisily, the gathered Master-level individuals held a meeting for the war to come.

“Is it because of the three pillars?”

At German’s question, Iron nodded.

“If you watch the footage, you’ll understand, but we need to assume that at least one god will descend.”

With those words, Iron explained his experience of fighting Thor, who had descended through the concentrated power at the core axis.

He explained how strong Thor was and that even Terrion and Lioner, who were at the early stages of Grand Master level, would have difficulty facing such a being alone.

That was why preparations were necessary.

Equipment that could protect soldiers’ minds from being swept away by the storm of ideological power.

And weapons to support the two Grand Masters.

These two things were needed.

“One can be solved to some extent by imbuing my divine power into the equipment.”

The method used in the southeast to grant divine power to the equipment supplied to the Mobile Field Army.

It was a system where divine power was infused through massive magic stones, and then weapons were either produced with it or empowered through it for mass production.

The problem was the descended gods.

Long discussions were held to find a solution.

They debated whether Masters could assist in a battle between a god and a Grand Master, or whether they could provide support through fortress cannons, layered barriers, or large-scale magic.

All Masters and scholars devised strategies based on Iron’s experience, and the meetings continued late into the night.

“Sigh… While others are partying, I’m stuck doing overtime…”

As Jaiden Wicks grumbled with a tired expression, a commander chuckled.

There was a grand celebration outside, yet the top commanders were working overtime day and night, it was almost laughable.

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

“What can we do when the Field Marshal himself isn’t going out…”

As German said this while looking at Iron, the other commanders laughed.

“Hmm-hmm… It looks like we have the draft ready. Shall we rest for a bit?”

At Iron’s words, Jaiden Wicks laughed and replied.

“How can we rest? We don’t even have enough time to practice what the Supreme Commander just laid out for us.”

At Jaiden Wicks’s words, the other commanders sighed and stood up.

It was fine for the Mobile Field Army directly led by Iron, the special forces, and the northeastern army, but the rest of the military had to practice how to fight gods alongside the two Grand Master Family Heads.

“Commander Ariel is lucky.”

“Commander Caeden, too. Damn it… I should’ve aligned with the Supreme Commander earlier!”

The commanders said such things, expressing envy toward the two commanders.

Seeing this, the two Family Heads revealed their irritation.

“If you’re jealous, become Grand Masters too.”

“Tsk tsk!”

At the pouting faces of the two Family Heads, the commanders laughed and tried to soothe them.

Thanks to Jaiden Wicks’s joking, the tense and exhausting atmosphere of the meeting briefly lightened, and as the final checks were completed, the meeting concluded and full-scale training for the operation began.

***

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