The Duke's Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (113)

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

39 To the Frontline! (1)

Everyone was out receiving treatment after the battle at Lion Castle Fortress had ended.

The battle was so fierce that no soldier was free from injuries. Because of this, not only was the medical ward filled to the brim, even the temporary medical center built outside of the fortress was jam-packed to the point that there were soldiers being treated on the ground outside of the wards.

However, receiving treatment meant that their situation was better now. Thankfully, they could be healed even if their limbs were cut off as long as there were priests and potions. Just putting in long hours of effort could let them heal even if their bones were crushed. This was the biggest difference between this world and modern times. Because of the ridiculous ability of the priests’ holy power and potions, most of the injuries, whether it was severe or not, could be cured as long as the person was still breathing.

However, no matter the place, it was impossible to revive the dead.

“…Re…gi…ment…commander…”

The Northern Army officers couldn’t help but speak in a broken voice as they looked at Regiment Commander Zukov, who had died fighting the goblins. 

Although the regiment commander’s position remained at the colonel level and did not get any promotions because of the limitations and restrictions of his abilities, he was still a veteran in the eyes of the Northern Army and was one of the people who they respected like he was their own general.

In fact, he was a person who declined his retirement despite being offered the position of general if he departed from the army. All he wanted to do was to use his will to fight and stay active. Some would say that he was doing this to block his juniors’ path but not a single soldier from the Northern Army would say this. 

Why would a person armed with decades of experience remain active in this rotten and dying Northern Army?

They were already grateful that he remained active despite all the other officers planning to retire. After all, everyone wanted to live a comfortable life towards the end of their life spans. But Colonel Zukov was not this kind of person. 

“Keuheup! Regiment Commander!”

“You can’t go like this!”

“Regiment Commander!”

The elite troops from the Northern Army that survived the battle cried as they looked at the expression that remained on Regiment Commander Zukov’s face upon his death.

From the officers down to the soldiers, all of the troops that came from the Northern Army that were deployed at the eastern gate had died. Only a small number of soldiers from the territorial forces and the guards had survived the gruesome battle. 

This showed how much the Northern Army had fought to desperately block this front. Perhaps it was also thanks to their desperate efforts that the soldiers of the territorial forces and the guards fought hard until the end and prevented the goblins from bringing confusion to Lion Castle Fortress. 

“The Northern Army was more courageous than anybody else. The Lion Castle Fortress will never forget the noble sacrifice that the soldiers of the Northern Army have made.” 

Silverstein, as a representative, comforted the soldiers of the Northern Army. However, none of the troops from the Northern Army gave their gratitude for his words of consolation. All they could do was stare blankly at the coffins containing the bodies of their colleagues as they grieved the sacrifices made by Zukov and his men. 

The same was also happening on the Northeastern Army’s side. Plenty of troops from the Northeastern Army had died during the last battle. Even their regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Iron Carter, was seriously injured and was still unconscious. 

In fact, the knight order, those who had resigned themselves to their deaths, had the highest survival rate among the groups that fought during that battle. After all, all of the direct descendants as well as Silverstein survived the battle. 

This was the reason why all of the soldiers of the Lion Castle Fortress felt sorry for the Northern and Northeastern troops. They also expressed their deepest gratitude to these people who had risked their lives in order to help them protect this territory despite the land not being under their jurisdiction. 

[ Lion Castle Fortress’ Heroes! ]

It was a short title. However, the title of this newspaper article touched the hearts of everyone desperately fighting to protect the North.

Detailed descriptions of the ‘Lion Castle Fortress’ Bloody Battle’ filled the pages of the newspaper.

[ The Northern Army fought bravely and skillfully until their very last breath and defended the eastern gate. 

The Northeastern Army defended the northern gate until the very end even in a battle that one would deem to be a hopeless battle.

The Lion Castle Fortress’ knights rushed courageously despite knowing that they were rushing to their deaths.

All of the troops remained in the ramparts and fought desperately and eventually succeeded in defending the fortress. 

The Lion Castle Fortress’ Bloody Battle, through everyone’s desperate efforts, was miraculously won. ] 

The people were extremely enthusiastic when they saw the paintings painted in black and white, which were based on the magical recordings of the battle, that captured the desperate scenes during the battle in Lion Castle Fortress. There were also short testimonies given by the survivors that were included in the newspaper which made them feel even more moved and enthusiastic. 

At a time when the frontline was gradually being pushed back, the release of the news about the ridiculous contributions that everyone had made in the Lion Castle Fortress gave a boost to the morale of everyone fighting in the entire Northern region. 

And there was another one!

The name Iron Carter was deeply engraved in everyone’s minds, when this hero, the hero who protected the Northeast, once again defended the North. They have heard of his name and his contributions in the East from time to time through the newspaper but they did not pay him much attention due to the urgent situation here in the North. However, he had made his name known once again by making ridiculous contributions here in the North. 

In just a span of days, the news about the Lion Castle Fortress’ Bloody Battle, which had spread in an instant in the North, was already spreading all over the Empire.

While everyone was excited about the news of Lion Castle Fortress, Iron, who had fainted before, had now regained his consciousness.

“Keuk!” 

“Re… Regiment Commander!” 

The medic soldier immediately ran out to call for the medic doctor and the priest as soon as Iron regained his consciousness. After a while, the medic doctor came in with a few officers. 

Iron looked at them and said…

“The… battle?”

The officers smiled when they heard Iron’s hoarse voice asking them about the situation.

“It’s over. The monster corps has retreated.”

Iron felt relieved when he heard the officer’s words. Then, he proceeded to ask about the events that happened after he had fainted. He also heard of the things that happened in the other areas of the Lion Castle Fortress, something that he wasn’t able to pay attention to since he was busy protecting the northern gate. 

“So, Colonel Zukov has left us?”

Iron looked bitter.

“Was the Colonel sent to Northern Command?”

“No. His remains are still here in the Lion Castle Fortress. It seems that the people of Lion Castle will hold a simple funeral ceremony for them before sending them to Command for formal procedures.”

Iron frowned at the officer’s words as he tried to get up from his seat. 

“You can’t get up yet!”

Iron couldn’t help but check his condition when the medic doctor freaked out and dissuaded him from moving.

“But I can already move…”

“It hasn’t been a long time since you have regained your consciousness. You are still very unstable.”

“I’ll just go and see the soldiers. After that, I’ll come back and follow your instructions.”

The officers bowed quietly when they heard Iron’s words. The medic doctor remained silent for a moment before nodding his head quietly.

After receiving the permission of the medic doctor, Iron, with the help of the officers, headed to the place where the bodies of the Northern and Northeastern Armies’ soldiers were enshrined. There were so many coffins arranged in the Lion Castle Fortress’ plaza that it was hard to see everything in just one glance. It took him a while but he eventually saw a crudely decorated coffin at the center of all the coffins. It was the coffin where Colonel Zukov was laid to rest.

Iron looked at Colonel Zukov’s coffin silently. Then, he looked at the coffins of the soldiers of the Northern and Northeastern Armies before quietly placing a bouquet of flowers in front of a temporary memorial stone placed in the plaza. 

“…Everyone, thank you for your hard work.” 

Iron bowed his head and prayed for the soldiers’ repose. 

He had experienced this countless times in his past life and had seen the deaths of his colleagues in his present life. But for some reason, he felt more depressed as he looked at the coffins of the soldiers today. 

The lack of troops and supplies had placed them in a very disadvantageous position. But everyone had worked together to protect the castle even if they were in a situation where they might be wiped out. However, they were in an unbelievable situation where some had died and some had remained alive.

Above all, Iron’s heart was heavy at the fact that the troops of the Northern and Northeastern Armies that survived the Lion Castle Fortress’ bloody battle was only less than half. He had no choice but to feel this heavy weight on his heart since he survived in a situation where he might have been one of the people that were lying on these coffins here right now. 

“The time after every battle is always the hardest.” 

Iron smiled bitterly as he returned to his ward with the help of the officers. All of the people in the Lion Castle Fortress who saw this scene, looked at the memorial stone with a heavy heart. Even those who cheered for the end of the battle also paid their tributes to the dead with heavy looks on their faces.

After everyone said their gratitude and paid their tributes to the dead, the airships from both the Northern and Northeastern Commands finally flew in. They also took the surviving troops back to their respective Commands after they had carried and moved the coffins of their dead. 

Iron was also under the list of the seriously injured that had to be transferred back to Command, but he refused. Instead, he went to the Lion Castle Fortress and spoke to the executives. 

“If you leave things like this, the monster corps will gather again. Before they can do that, we have to annihilate the monsters first.” 

Iron was speaking with reason but unfortunately, the troops of the Lion Castle Fortress could no longer afford to continue this battle. It would be nice if he could gather the troops of the territorial forces and train them again but it was also a bit difficult. This was because the frontlines had started to recruit a large number of troops to fill in the gaps that had been left in their ranks. Currently, only battalion-level troops that had been sent by the Northern Command and the Northeastern Command were guarding the Lion Castle Fortress. 

Iron was also well aware of this fact but if they left things as they were, the monster corps would be created once again. So, he was extremely impatient. Even if it was hard right now, they needed to move. However, it was impossible for them to understand with just his words alone. 

‘Would Colonel Zukov agree if he was still here?’ 

The experienced Colonel Zukov would most likely understand what he was saying. Zukov would have taken the risk and moved but unfortunately, the new battalion commander had chosen stability rather than take the risk. 

It was also difficult to force them since they were of the same rank and he had technically more experience than himself. He could possibly pressure them if he revealed that he was the eldest son of the Lion Family but it seemed like the executives were already done backing him up. This was because they also believed that recovering from this extreme damage took precedence over others. 

In fact, their thoughts were not wrong. 

But what if the monster corps were created again and raided them?

To be honest, they thought that it was strange for him to think about something like this. After all, the monsters had also received serious damages to their ranks and it was not common for these monsters to be swallowed by other monster corps. So, everyone thought that he was just thinking too far off the left field.

However, based on Iron’s experience in dealing with the monster corps countless times in his past life, the monsters would unite once again and go south. Since they did it back then, then it was clear that they wouldn’t do something that much different right now either. 

But Iron had no choice but to give up on persuading them since he couldn’t show them sufficient evidence that would prove his claims. In the end, all Iron could do was leave Lion Castle Fortress bitterly and go to the communication unit. 

“Hoo… Please tell them that I’m going to the frontline.” 

The communication’s soldier looked at him in surprise when he handed him the letter that contained his will. 

“Are you going to the frontline in your current state?” 

Iron nodded lightly at the soldier. 

If this was reality and was something completely different to what I thought when I was younger then… 

If he was just thinking of going back to the modern times, then he would have never made this decision. However, his body right now was fused with his real body. So, this was now his real self. If that was the case, then he had to do everything that he could. Besides, knowing the fact that the results of whatever happened here would affect the situation of his modern world, he thought that he should try his best. That was why he never intended to watch the North fall into chaos once again and be ravaged by monsters, just like what happened in his previous life. 

“We have to win the battle at the frontline.” 

Iron thought so and did his very best to heal and recover. Perhaps it was because the potion was poured all over his body that most of the trauma injuries that he had received were well on their way to becoming fully healed. The only thing left were his internal injuries. But with Baepsae’s abilities, it would be healed quickly. So, Iron devoted himself to healing and recovering his physical condition as he waited for the day when he would be deployed to the frontlines. 

And finally, an officer from the frontlines came to find him.

***

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