The Duke's Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (151)

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

51 A New Phase (1)

Everyone heard God’s voice.

This was ‘God’s Order’. A voice that not only spoke to the other-worlders and the chosen ones but to all of the people living in the continent. 

― The continent will succumb to darkness if this swarm of evil devours the Imperial Palace… No matter what happens, protect the Imperial Palace, my children.

A white pillar of light appeared in the Imperial Palace that resisted the void energy as soon as God’s voice ended. 

The sudden appearance of the void and the pillar of light that spread all over the capital brought forth more confusion in a situation that was already chaotic from the monsters made in the Imperial Palace and the Death Corps that fought against each other. 

Thanks to the spirits of light that God had sent to fight against the beings of the void, the death energy that loomed all over the capital was gradually being purified. Because of this, the soldiers, who were stricken with despair, slowly came back to their senses as they gripped their weapons tightly to fight once again. The spirits also helped them absorb the light into their bodies and allowed them to express and use holy power or super powers. In other words, it was the reward for those who had fought bravely for God in this time of crisis. 

The Capital Defense Corps took advantage of the small ray of hope that was laid out in front of them as they moved to enter the capital while leaving only the minimum number of troops to protect the outside. Even the ordinary citizens began to move busily too.

However, the confusion and chaos inside the capital was already too much. It had already escalated to the point where they couldn’t determine who was their friend or who was their foe. 

The survivors were even divided in their opinions. There were those who wanted to just enter a safe building and camp out until this chaotic time was over while there were those who wanted to take arms and fight proudly with the weapons in their hands.

When these powerless citizens bravely confronted the Death Corps, balls of lights appeared near them and assisted them. This phenomenon happened every time someone tried to confront the Death Corps. Because of this, the others were also encouraged to come out with clubs and other objects that could be used to fight against the enemies. After all, even if they did not have any mana, the ball of light would assist them and temporarily give them power to confront the beings of the void.

Just like that, the capital fell into an unprecedented chaos.

Meanwhile, an airship was flying far above the sky towards this chaotic capital. 

“I think I have to go ahead first.” 

Commander Leopold grabbed Iron’s shoulder when he saw him hurriedly trying to move towards the capital first.

“Let’s go together.” 

“It’s dangerous for you with that body right now.” 

No matter how strong a master was, it would still be dangerous for him with his body that was packed with internal injuries. He was already healing as much as possible with Baepsae’s help but there was still a limit to how much he could heal.  After all, his internal injuries had been exposed to death energy for far too long and had deteriorated too much to the point that it couldn’t be healed in such a short amount of time. 

“But aren’t you still going?” 

Commander Leopold looked at the dimensional gate that was floating above the Imperial Palace. 

Iron sighed. He knew that he was not in the position to cover the entire area that was teeming with contaminated mana and beings of the void as he watched the countless cracks that popped up in the area.

“Don’t overdo it.” 

“I know.” 

He nodded slightly at Iron’s worried words. 

“Please take command of the troops.” 

“Yes.” 

Iron asked the general who was of the same rank as him before opening the door of the airship. 

He was a general who joined the Central Army troops and advanced towards the capital after winning against the Red Seductress. And there was only one reason why he trusted this man. He did not abandon his men like the other officers. Even though he ended up being injured and hurt, he dragged his body and his troops until the bitter end. He always made sure to save them whenever they were in a crisis during their battle against the Death Corps and brought them to safety by finding Iron and the rest of the Central Army. At the very least, he trusted his integrity that he wouldn’t leave these men to die.

And with that out of the way, Iron, with his head clear of other thoughts, rode on the drake and headed to the capital with Commander Leopold.

“The barriers are already broken and smashed.” 

“Yeah.” 

The barrier that was installed in the capital to prevent the entry of enemies through the sky had long been smashed to pieces. 

Several corpse wings tried to rush in the moment they saw Iron but the drake unit that moved together with them dealt with them instead. With their escort, Iron and the Central Army Commander were able to quickly fly straight to the Imperial Palace. 

“This is the worst.”

The scene that they had seen through the video clip in the airship’s communication device was nothing compared to the real deal. 

Commander Leopold couldn’t help but frown when he personally saw the monsters that blocked the Death Corps. 

He was well aware that the Imperial Palace was rotten. However, he did not know that it was this severe. The knowledge that he knew from the Shadows was nothing but a fragment of the entire truth. They had told him that he was ignorant of how much sacrifice the Imperial Family had made for the Empire which made them have no reason to correct or stop them even if he knew that what they were doing was wrong. However, he did not expect that they would do something this terrible just so they could achieve their goals. 

“I think… You should go first, boy.”

Leopold stood up from the drake as he looked down at the Imperial Palace from above. His posture was awe-inspiring, worthy of his title, master. Below, he saw one of the beings of the void cackling loudly as it slaughtered the knights and soldiers. 

“Don’t overdo it. Support from the North and the East will arrive in half-a-day.”

“I know.”

Leopold nodded lightly after hearing Iron’s worried request once again before jumping down the drake. He immediately pulled out his sword from its sheath and cut down the devil that slaughtered the knights. 

Bang! 

Even if he was injured, a master was still a master. He was able to sweep away the beings of the void with explosions while inflicting fatal injuries to the devil. 

Iron stared at him for a moment before rushing forward with the drake. 

The unpleasant Emperor and most of the members of the Imperial Family had died. However, it did not matter, what they needed to do was to protect the Imperial Palace. 

Iron hastened his pace when an explosion suddenly occurred. 

Meanwhile, at the site where the Empire’s Great War started, the blood giant and the monsters from the void fought fiercely against the secret guards and the experiments. There was also a skeleton wearing white armor engaged in battles against the beings of the void. 

The beings of the void were trying to push the Death Lord, whose upper body was already half-gone, into the crystal behind the skeleton in white armor while the other beings were trying to stop them. Even the Imperial knights that appeared helped the knights and the skeleton in white armor to block the Death Lord and the beings of the void with all their might. However, there were many beings from the void. Some were even so strong that they were comparable to the apostles. The knights had no choice but to be pushed back little by little by their offensive. 

The Death Lord took advantage of the gap that was created by this as he moved forward. 

“No!” 

The white robed priests rushed forward and tried to block the Death Lord. The priests also had to stop them with all their might since this matter was not just about the Empire. The wizards of the Wizard Tower also rushed in but the Death Lord had already regained his strength and power after the God of Death had torn apart the barrier. Despite their struggles, the Death Lord’s blood magic easily dealt with the wizards and the priests and allowed him to eventually reach the crystal as he touched it with his remaining hand. 

The white crystal was slowly dyed black and was being contaminated with just the touch of his hand.

Everyone couldn’t help but fall into despair as they watched dimensional cracks appear one after another in the sky. The knights and the wizards moved to try and stop the Death Lord but the beings of the void were able to easily stop their wishful thinking. 

In just less than an hour, the once pristine white crystal had almost been contaminated black.

Just half of the crystal being dyed black had broken down the force that surrounded the Imperial capital which led to the expansion of the dimensional gate. And with the expansion of the dimensional gate, the death energy and contaminated mana that spread out in the surroundings had grown enormous.

And now, when the death energy was going to turn the white crystal into black…

A sharp attack fell from the sky and flew towards the Death Lord’s hand.

Slash!

― Keuk!

A young man descended as the sword light cut off part of the Death Lord’s finger that was touching the crystal. 

Holy power swept away all of the unclean energy in the surroundings as a sturdy sanctuary was created around the Imperial Palace. All of this happened the moment the young man appeared.

― Saint…

The Death Lord looked at the being that cut its finger off. 

This was the existence, the only one, that destroyed their plans and their ranks. And he had now appeared with his black steel mana sword while lightning covered his entire body. 

The gigantic bird divine beasts also appeared in the sky while a small bird flew around and amplified the holy power in the area.

― You must have seen the truth.

“I saw.” 

Iron nodded his head at the Death Lord’s words. 

The ugly truth about the Imperial Family and the reason why the situation had escalated to this point. He saw it all. After all, he saw the images that the vampire had created through their illusion magic from the video zones that had been spared in the capital. 

― Is there a reason for you to stand by the Imperial Family’s wrong actions and protect this Empire?

“But if I leave you alone then the entire continent will be swallowed up by the void, right? I don’t want that either.” 

Iron boosted his mana as if he was telling them to stop speaking nonsense. 

The Death Lord frowned when he saw his reaction.

― It would be better if this place was occupied by the external gods. If it’s you, I’m sure you must have noticed it already. 

“So, you’re telling me that God intentionally made the Imperial Family like that?” 

The curse was given to the Imperial Family under the guise of noble sacrifice. They were forced to protect the Empire and prevent its destruction. And it was through this curse that the white crystal, the pillar and the axis of the continent, was well-kept and protected. However, it resulted in the devastation and degradation of the Imperial Family. It was to the point that they ignored the countless crimes and misdeeds that the Imperial Family had made.

In fact, from the gods’ viewpoint, mankind’s suffering was nothing compared to the situation of the entire continent. And the same was true for the other races. For these gods, who wanted to protect the continent and the world, it did not matter if a few of these races disappeared. It would just be like a few bugs disappearing from their sight.

― God is not that great. He…

“But that does not mean that the external gods are fair. The devils are even worse.” 

The Death Lord gathered his power after seeing that any further discussion with Iron, who’s stance was firm, was meaningless.

The blood giant shook its fist, wanting to destroy the entire white crystal together with Iron. However, with Iron there, it could only be a futile attempt. Owl’s two beams of light melted the blood giant’s fist while Phoenix’s flames and Thunder’s lightning blew away a part of the blood giant’s upper body. 

The Death Lord had no choice but to move personally. Even though parts of his body had already turned to dust and disappeared, his abilities still remained. After all, he was someone who had defeated the Central Army Commander, a master, and he was still able to push Iron with his sheer power. 

Baepsae fluttered towards Iron and gave him a boost in strength. It amplified Iron’s holy power together with his vitality, which allowed him to exert a far stronger force than usual leading to the amplification of his overall force.

With that much boost, Iron believed that he was temporarily on par with the Death Lord. In addition, his opponent has already been weakened by the sanctuary. And he was also the enemy’s bane so he thought that it was worth the try. 

― …Tricky.

“It will be hard for you to break through me in a short period of time.”

― Who knows. Do you think time is always on your side?

The Death Lord smiled at Iron as if he did not believe his confidence. 

The Imperial Palace’s barrier had been broken. In fact, all of the barriers that protected the capital had been broken.

It was because of the barriers that they were able to receive far more power from the two gods that the Death Lord had signed a contract with, especially after the dimensional gate had opened.

The blood of the corpses scattered around the Death Lord coagulated and gathered together on the Death Lord’s body, which had disappeared and turned to dust, as it slowly recovered his body. 

At the same time, gigantic beings began to pop out of the dimensional gate one after the other.

“Apostle…” 

Iron’s expression hardened when the other dimension’s god’s apostle tried to squeeze in through the gate. 

A master was needed to deal against something like that but it would be difficult with the power of the Central Army Commander right now. It was already hard to deal with it alone even if he was at peak condition but with his injured body it would be a miracle if he lasted 30 minutes. 

As the Blood Apostle and Death Apostle tore through the gate, the blood giant that the Death Lord had created also became stronger. 

In just a blink of an eye, the situation had turned hopeless for them. 

However, amazingly enough, as if the world was trying to put everything into balance, a warp magic was suddenly created in the middle of the capital. The magic was unstable as if it was something that wasn’t done through a warp gate but it was able to successfully send a person to the capital. And it wasn’t just one. The strong appeared one after another through the magic circles that had been painstakingly drawn by the wizards in the air all over the place. 

The Death Lord’s expression hardened when he felt the depth of their strength. 

“All of the commanders of the Empire are here. Even the family heads of the two strongest families in the Empire are here… If it’s like this, I wonder who’s the one who really has an advantage?” 

With all of the barriers in the capital broken, all of the masters in the Empire were able to gather using different temporary warp magic. 

Even if the Imperial Family was proven to be guilty, the absolute and unquestionable powerhouses of the Empire gathered together to purge the evil that disturbed the capital’s peace and protect the empire. 

“Shall we begin the 2nd round?” 

Iron straightened his posture. 

The Death Lord frowned as he boosted his power. He had no more place to go. He couldn’t back down anymore. Each of them had started this war for their own purposes. 

This war where one side wanted to protect and the other wanted to destroy…

***

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