The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Translator: Pai_

With the appearance of the Aerial Fleet, the Western Army and the military forces of each region moved busily.

To block the ten corps of the Holy Alliance that stretched across the Western Front of the Empire, forces filled the fortresses, and the aerial forces of the Western Army and Mobile Field Army stood by to confront the Aerial Fleet.

Amidst the tension that made it no surprise if war broke out at any moment, the Imperial Army aimed for perfection to showcase the preparations they had made.

Supermassive fortress cannons.

Large-scale layered barriers.

A massive warp gate built at the rear of the fortress.

Numerous traps placed in front of the Western Front.

Various magic and weapons prepared to deter the Aerial Fleet.

All of this was not for the purpose of completely blocking the enemy.

They were merely measures to endure until reinforcements arrived against the Holy Alliance.

"Time is on our side. So stop thinking about blocking them completely and just buy us time."

Even German, the Western Commander, issued such an order.

Indeed, aside from the Western Army and a small number of the Mobile Field Army, most of the troops were not only far from elite, but their training condition was so poor that even calling them normal troops was generous.

However, when it came to "holding the enemy off for a short time" there was no issue.

That was because Iron and Faulden had made it so.

1. There is no time.

2. Creating elite troops in a short period is difficult.

3. The problem is that the enemy's scale is hard to handle even with elite troops.

That is why Iron changed the strategy from "completely blocking the enemy" to "enduring for a short time" even at the cost of casualties.

To that end, he thoroughly trained them in only one thing repeatedly.

The real combat training disguised as reconnaissance missions was the bare minimum to prevent them from freezing in real combat.

Because they were driven to repeatedly master just one thing in a short period, at least in that one aspect, soldiers were produced who could be somewhat useful.

As proof of that, as the enemies approached, the fortress cannons opened, and all magic cannons stood ready after being loaded.

Soldiers on the walls took positions, ready to fire their mana bullets at any time.

Even the Holy Alliance, trying to charge across the front line at once, stopped upon seeing their machine-like movements.

Nevertheless, the crisis did not disappear.

"...This is a crisis."

German swallowed dryly as he looked at the size of the enemy reflected in the visual sphere.

They had managed to somewhat match the number of ground troops by gathering forces from all regions of the Empire.

The problem was the disparity in aerial forces.

Even if the quality of airships was higher on the Empire's side, the Holy Alliance possessed powerful aerial fortresses that could compensate for that, and the constant harassment by the Birdmen against the Western Army was also a problem.

Moreover, it was questionable whether the airships' quality was truly high, as most were converted from transport ships originally used only to carry supplies, excluding the aircraft of the Western Army and Mobile Field Army.

On top of that, there were simply too few of them.

"But... why aren't they attacking?"

German frowned as he looked at the enemy.

The ones who seemed like they would crush the front line in one blow suddenly halted.

Was it because the number of troops was greater than expected?

Or because of the unfamiliar weapons?

To German, it was neither.

"What the hell are they waiting for?"

Now that the Aerial Fleet had joined, attacking would likely break through the Western Front.

No matter how desperately they tried to hold, given the inferiority in both quality and quantity, there was bound to be a limit.

Yet the enemy stopped.

Then there could be only one reason.

"To minimize damage?"

As German thought that, his expression hardened.

The enemy, who had thought the Western Front would be filled with disorganized forces aside from the command center, changed their operation plan upon seeing the faster-than-expected response from the Western Front.

To confront the Empire's top elites, minimizing damage was necessary, and when they saw the unexpectedly fast response of the Western Front, realizing they might suffer more damage than expected, they hurriedly changed their plan.

If so, then there must be a method to minimize casualties more effectively than a surprise attack, and aside from overwhelming power that could crush them instantly, nothing else came to mind.

"Overwhelming power... don't tell me!"

German jumped up from his seat.

If the Holy Alliance were to demonstrate overwhelming power at this point, there was only one way.

"The descent of God?"

The moment German muttered those words, pillars of light suddenly began to fall from the sky above the area where the Holy Alliance forces had gathered.

Kugugung!

Seeing the massive pillar of light, German urgently issued an order.

"Stop that! Fire the fortress cannons!"

At German's command, the fortress cannons from the command center were activated.

Even larger than those of the Northeastern region or the Mobile Field Army, the fortress cannon gathered mana particles.

And that wasn't the end. Aerial fortress cannons and numerous magic cannons also opened their barrels to fire.

"Fire!"

At the artillery officers' command, mana cannons fired in unison, and the large magic cannons mounted on the airships also roared.

Kwaagwagwang!

As if the Holy Alliance forces had known the Imperial Army would attack, barriers deployed to block the magi-cannons' light beams.

The power radiating from the pillar of light seemed to strengthen the barrier, completely blocking all attacks from the Imperial Army.

However, not even that barrier could withstand the most powerful fortress cannon fired from the command center.

Kuuuung!

With a massive explosion, a huge mushroom cloud formed near the pillar of light.

Furthermore, a mana explosion seemed to erupt, creating a blue mana storm that devastated the surrounding area.

Seeing that, German smiled, believing he had stopped the descent of the external god.

"Did we stop it?"

Was it a jinx?

The moment German uttered those words, the pillar of light vanished, and something began to walk out, breaking through the massive mushroom cloud.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As the ground trembled, German's expression stiffened at the sight of the massive figure.

At that very moment, a system alert echoed to all members of the Imperial Army.

[An external god has descended on the continent for the first time. Massive rewards are given to the Holy Alliance.]

-The Lord God's barrier, maintained through the Emperor's sacrifice, is activated.

-The descent is incomplete, having occurred near the Lord God's domain.

-The number of believers used as a summoning medium is small. As a result, most of the god's power is restricted.

German frowned as he heard the alert.

The only relief was that the external god's power was being restricted in various ways.

German let out a sigh of relief.

But as if to betray him, the system voice echoed once again.

-Because the protagonist of the Apocalypse story attempted the descent of a god, a buff is granted. All future descents of gods will have their power restrictions reduced by 30%.

-Due to the descent of the external god, the god's believers receive a powerful buff.

-Holy Alliance forces receive a temporary buff due to the god's descent.

"You son of a..."

German unconsciously started to curse and quickly turned his gaze to the external god.

As everyone was thrown into confusion by the worst news from the system, the Holy Alliance forces began to move as if they had been waiting for the descent.

"The enemy is moving!"

"Their... their Aerial Fleet is moving!"

German, listening to the officers' reports, hurriedly grabbed his weapon.

"Order the troops to engage!"

"Commander! Where are you going?"

To the officer's question, German pointed to the massive giant of light reflected in the visual sphere, as if to say it was obvious.

"To stop that thing."

At German's words, the officers fell silent.

Eyes filled with doubt: "Can he really stop that, even as a Master?"

German himself didn't believe he could stop the descending god alone.

But at this moment, the only one who could at least hold that external god in place was himself.

"Whew..."

As German jumped down from a high floor and quickly made his way to the top of the wall, he drew his sword to stop the external god.

Kuuung!

A giant sword descending from the sky halted the advance of the massive external god.

As its advance stopped under the jet-black sword, German's eyes widened.

The familiar wave of aura, and the enormous jet-black Aura Blade.

At those two symbols of humanity's strongest, a smile crept onto German's lips.

"Commander Iron!"

The moment German muttered that, the giant Aura Blade once again split the enormous body of the external god.

Iron's Aura Blade mercilessly sliced the massive body over and over again, as if toying with it.

From the split areas, light burst out and the body was restored again, but once more, it was cleaved by Iron's sword. This process repeated over and over.

Eventually, the massive body could no longer regenerate and vanished in a storm of light.

"Ku...... Is it over?"

The moment German muttered that, he covered his mouth.

Before his words had even finished, someone with immense power flew out from within the storm of light and landed in front of Iron.

"An external god... definitely different from the Ancient Gods."

As Iron murmured those words, the man wrapped in light spoke to him in an arrogant tone.

-You dare compare me to such filth?

"Filth... for someone like that, you seem like trash relying on corrupted power."

At Iron's words, the arrogant man's brow furrowed.

-So you've become a Grand Master and now see nothing above you. Insolent thing.

As the external god spoke, he swung a lance of light toward Iron.

Iron instinctively blocked it, then charged at the external god while swinging his sword.

A massive amount of light gathered and flew at Iron from all directions, but he deflected all of it and blocked the god's lance.

At that, the external god frowned and tried to retreat.

However, Iron had a trait where, once he gained the upper hand, he never let go and relentlessly pursued.

And this time, that very trait manifested again.

-Relentless thing.

As the external god muttered and swung his lance, a tremendous force of light surged toward Iron.

At that moment, Iron's sword, infused with immense divine power, shattered the light slash and pierced the external god.

"Light is just a distraction? The real deal was your combat technique."

Iron looked at the external god who had discarded his lance and created a gauntlet of light to block Iron's sword.

And as the external god remained silent instead of replying arrogantly, Iron realized his assumption had been correct.

"Besides, you're not perfect."

Recalling his battle with Heurimre, Iron swung his sword.

The dignity and techniques shown by the king of the Frost Giants, who had gone toe to toe with a top-tier god.

Comparing that with this external god, Iron concluded that although this god may possess more raw power, he was equally incomplete.

What Iron realized upon reaching Grand Master.

It was the ability to more perfectly embody his mental image.

'A perfect sword that can contain anything.'

That was the sword Iron envisioned and manifested, and by additionally fusing divine power and aura, he achieved explosive strength.

Thinking of Heurimre, Iron came to feel that perhaps gods were merely beings who used their perfectly realized inner visions.

And now, that thought became a certainty.

"An incomplete realization of your mental image. You really thought you could beat a Grand Master with that? God or not, you've got no shame."

-...

At Iron's words, the external god fell silent.

Iron, as if he had not expected an answer in the first place, raised his sword.

The restriction on using his original power wasn't just about quantity of strength.

Even the realization of his own mental image, something he should be able to manifest perfectly, was limited.

With his level of existence diminished and his ability to project his mental image restricted, even a god would find it difficult to defeat a Grand Master.

"Not all of you will be as weak as this. But... it's manageable."

-...Yes. With most of my power restricted, it seems defeating you is impossible.

The external god spoke as if acknowledging Iron's words.

Just then, another pillar of light appeared, and yet another external god descended.

That god then attacked Iron at the speed of light.

Kaaang!

-But what if there are two of us?

Though the external god spoke with a faint smile, Iron's expression did not change.

With incomplete power, even adding one more made no significant difference.

As if anticipating that, the external god raised his weapon.

At that moment, a massive pillar of light formed from one of the aerial fortresses.

-The medium used to summon the external god is temporarily enhanced. Therefore, the restriction on the external god is also temporarily lessened.

As the system message rang out, the level of the light-wrapped man before Iron began to rise sharply.

-Now then! How about this?

***

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