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The Central Army’s Collapse (1)

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Iron hurriedly stood up and gathered the unit leaders together after hearing the communications officer’s report.

‘The Central Army has collapsed.’

This was just the single line that was written in the report handed to him by the communications officer. However, the importance of this single sentence was far greater than any other documents that he had handled.

“Is this… true?”

“I think we need to gather more details to know about the entire situation but… it’s most likely true.”

Iron replied with a sigh at Ariel’s question.

He had already looked into all the possibilities and angles thinking that the information could probably be false but no matter how much he inferred the information seemed to be true.

He ordered his unit to halt and borrowed the magic communication network of the nearby territory and contacted the troops near the Central Army. And through this, he found out that several territories surrounding the Center had requested support. The sudden influx of the Death Corps was not only affecting the Center but also the nearby territories. This was a situation that would be very difficult to happen if the Central Army did not collapse.

“…Then, what will our unit do from this point on?”

All of the leaders turned to look at Iron upon hearing Cardro’s question.

Due to the sudden collapse of the Central Army, their Special Mobile Unit was suddenly left floating. If they would base it on importance, then they should prioritize the West. However, if an abnormality appeared in the capital, then they had to go to the Center without fail.

The only question was if they could make significant results with just their brigade-level troops alone. But the issue was too serious for them to leave the Center alone. Any commander in this situation would be left without being able to do this or that.

“….We’ll abandon the Center.”

“Yes?”

“But…”

All the officers present looked at Iron in shock after hearing the decision that he made after a long time.

“Western Command is already right around the corner. It’s too late for us to turn around and go to the Center. Whether we get killed or eaten, we have to go to the West. And, communications officer…”

“Yes, sir!”

“Find out the situation in the capital.”

“I understand!”

The communications officer saluted and left the barracks after receiving Iron’s order.

“Whether we send support to the Center or not, we will decide after arriving at Western Command. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“With the situation at hand, we have to move quickly. Gather all the troops and tell them to get ready to move.”

When Iron stood up from his seat, all of the officers also stood up and moved quickly.

“The Central Army collapsed…”

Iron’s brows were furrowed at this unexpected situation.

It was extremely shocking to know that the strongest military force in the continent, the Central Army, had collapsed right after the Northern and Northeastern Army had been halved.

After all, the Central Army was able to hold out despite the North falling into a mess in his previous life. The mess in the North had affected the East and the West while the South faced terrorism but only the Central Army remained strong and healthy back then. They kept their strength and maintained their military forces for their own survival while sending as little support as they could to the other regions.

And that strong Central Army had now collapsed. That meant that there was a problem in the capital.

“If that wasn’t the case… then they deliberately threw them away…”

If the capital was safe and sound, then Iron’s guess would be correct

As far as Iron remembered, the Imperial Family were people who would remain and live despite making trashy and shitty decisions while throwing away the rest. If he combined the information that he had as well as the possibilities that he came up with, the story was not completely unlikely to happen.

In that situation, would it be right for his troops to support the Center? However, it was still a source of headache since he couldn’t leave the Center alone either.

While he was being troubled, all of his troops had gathered and were now ready to move.

“Brigade Leader! We’ve finished all the preparations!”

“Let’s move out.”

Hearing Ariel’s report, Iron nodded his head and boarded the airship as he ordered them to move.

Not long after, the airship moved and flew straight towards the temporary Western Command. They found monsters along the way but they ignored them and went straight ahead. This just showed how urgent their situation was.

As they advanced deeper to the West, they saw the ravaged terrain from the fierce battles that took place and were still taking place. There was also a front temporarily created to block the Death Corps and prevent enemies from the inside from entering their region.

Iron stopped their advance after seeing that the situation of the war on this front was not in favor of the humans. It seemed like they were gradually being pushed back.

“The situation is urgent but we can’t just pass by them either. Tell them to prepare for battle.”

The communications officer immediately passed Iron’s orders through the airship communication line. The Drake Unit also went into formation and escorted the landing airship. The airship threw out bombs as its entrance lowered down to the ground. The drake knights also began to intercept those who tried to attack the airship.

Some of the members of the Death Corps that were pushing the frontlines back looked up at the sky and spewed out poison that targeted Iron’s brigade. Some even used magic to make the airship fall and crash.

However, their attempts had been completely nullified by Iron’s troops’ attacks.

Then, Cardro’s aerial assault unit also began their descent.

“Assault unit! Ready!”

At Cardro’s orders, the frontlines immediately moved and created a place where the airship could descend. Many from the Death Corps tried to attack the descending airship but Cardro’s unit firmly blocked their attempts. The drake unit also kept them in check and attacked them to make sure that the airship could settle down safely on the ground.

Thanks to their efforts, the airship landed safely and the brigade rushed off. Finally, Iron also got off and let out his sanctuary.

“We don’t have time. Wipe them out.”

“Yes, sir!”

The brigade quickly moved to annihilate their enemies at Iron’s orders.

The Death Corps began to disappear one by one as the attack of the troops specialized in dealing with the Death Corps were added to the attacks of the Western Army, which had been busy preventing them and being pushed back.

The Western Army enveloped by the sanctuary looked blankly as Iron’s troops annihilated the Death Corps.

Rumors had been circulating. However, just like the usual, they believed that those rumors were just an exaggeration.

In fact, among the rumors that they had heard from the Center, they had heard that a hero had appeared. This rumor had been repeated several times, however no matter how much they had hoped that a hero would appear, only the numerous Death Corps had flocked to the West.

Although this was the unit that was led by the North’s Hero, Iron, they still found it hard to believe that they could help them since he had only shown little to no contributions in terms of his commanding skills.

However, after seeing their skills in person, they could see that the rumors weren’t exaggerated but were even reduced to a large extent.

“That’s…”

“Iron’s brigade?”

“Wow…”

The Western troops were staring blankly. Even their officers were staring blankly too.

“Sanctuary… I’ve only heard it in the rumors but it seems like it’s really no joke?”

“Those hideous and terrible bastards are dying without a fight.”

Seeing the incredible scenery in front of them, the Western Army was unable to focus and stay alert. Perhaps it was also because of the battles that crossed life and death that they had endured every day that all they could do was stop and stare in a daze.

However, Iron did not say anything to them. After all, he could see that they had been squeezing themselves to their limits just from the traces on their faces. Instead of scolding them for just standing there and staring blankly, he asked Baepsae to use his powers and revitalize the troops in this wide area.

He would only do this ‘instead’ once for them in this battle. Once he and his unit had left this battlefield, they would once again fight against the Death Corps and maintain the frontline. At the very least, he wanted them to rest well even if only for a short while.

Perhaps it was because of his request that Baepsae also did its best and cheered up a bit more to heal and energize the soldiers.

“Th… thank you.”

The general approached to greet him and express his gratitude after seeing his Special Mobile Unit deal with the Death Corps quickly. He was actually the division commander in charge of maintaining this frontline. It seemed like he also fought directly on the frontline since his military uniform was worn out and his face was covered with dirt.

“It’s nothing. I’m glad that we could be of help to the Western Army.”

“Hoo… We can all take a bit of a breather because of you.”

“I want to help you a bit more but the situation is a bit unusual so we have to go to Command right away.”

“Ah… You should do that.”

The division commander nodded his head as if he was already aware of the reason as he urged him to go quickly.

“May fortune be with the Western Army…”

“May the God of Luck favor the Special Mobile Unit…”

Iron’s troops, who had the luck and fortune of the battlefield, immediately boarded their airship as soon as the battle was over.

No matter how easy it was for them to annihilate their enemies, a battle was still a battle and fatigue and exhaustion would still linger in their bodies. However, all of them had heard the news of the collapse of the Central Army so they boarded the airship silently and headed towards Western Command.

On their way, they could see the West’s frontlines. Some of them had already collapsed while some were on the verge of collapsing. Every time they encountered this and the airship couldn’t descend, Iron would ride a drake himself, create a sanctuary and call in his divine beasts to help him clear the land where his troops could land.

With several battles like this every day, the troops’ fatigue and exhaustion had reached its limit.

“It’s the Western Command.”

The Western Command, the Command temporarily rebuilt using one of the Western territories as a base, finally came into view.

They could see urgently deployed artillery and magic circles and magic bombs in the fortress as well as temporary bases for the airships and drake units. However, because they had been in urgent situations every day, everything looked precarious and unsteady that they felt extremely sorry for them.

“I can’t believe that’s Western Command…”

One of the officers couldn’t help but mumble in regret. The same was true for the others. All of them were feeling regret and pity for the Western Command, the place that was known to be the sturdiest and hardest fortress in the Empire, that had now been destroyed and hastily rebuilt in this place.

― Bzzzz! Which army are you from?

“We’re the Special Mobile Unit sent by the Northeast for support.”

― Bzzz! Is it the unit that Brigadier General Iron is leading?

“That’s right.”

The communication tool went silent for a while after Iron’s answer. Then, a voice was heard again.

― We welcome the support of the Special Mobile Unit. The Western Commander wants to see Brigadier General Iron right away.

“I will find him as soon as we land.

― I understand. Only the flagship carrying Brigadier General Iron will be able to enter the Command’s center. The rest will have to go to the eastern side.

The airships moved under the guidance of the communications officer while the airship carrying Iron slowly moved to the center of Command.

“You should go to the eastern side too. I’ll go down alone.”

“Yes, sir.”

The officers on the airship saluted Iron as they received his orders. Iron opened the door and jumped down after receiving their salute. Then, Two Moons appeared and picked up Iron to help him descend.

As he got off of Owl and landed on the landing area, a middle-aged man with four stars on his shoulders approached Iron.

“Loyalty! I’m the Special Mobile Unit’s Commander, Brigadier General Iron.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m the West’s Commander, German Lunte Stadt.”

The middle-aged man shook hands with Iron. The hand that reached out for a handshake was covered with bandage as is the rest of his body.

“How…”

Iron couldn’t help but tilt his head in shock and confusion after seeing a master like German get injured to the point that he needed to be covered in bandages.

“It’s an injury that I had received when the Command had collapsed. Because it’s an injury caused by mana, this is already the limit of potions and healing magic.”

German raised his bandaged arm slightly with a bitter look on his face.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the news?”

“I heard that the Central Army has collapsed.”

“Hoo… I have something to say about that. Let’s go inside for now.”

German used his crutches and headed towards Command with his limp. After hearing his subordinates’ nagging, he finally led him to a secluded place inside Command.

“Hoo… I’ll be straightforward. What are you going to do?”

“…Yes?”

The Commander sighed and lit up a cigarette after seeing Iron’s widened eyes.

“I’m asking if you’re going to help the Center or if you’re going to stay in the West and help us.”

“Ah… To be honest, I haven’t decided on what to do yet. I wanted to collect more information first before making a judgment. That’s why I came straight to Command.”

The Commander looked at him as if he did not expect this answer from Iron. In fact, he thought that Iron would immediately go to the Center and help them.

“Boy… You seem to know about something?”

The Western Commander looked at Iron. Iron also looked at him before telling him some of the things that he knew.

“Did the Capital Defense Corps intentionally abandon the Central Army?”

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The Central Army’s Collapse (2)

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German looked surprised at Iron’s question.

Iron’s expression began to sink when he realized that his guess was correct.

“Were you probing me?”

Iron smiled bitterly at German’s question.

“In fact, I came to Western Command to find out about the capital.”

“So, you came here to see if the Capital Defense Corps is safe.”

“That’s right.”

Iron nodded gently at German’s words.

“Hoo…”

German took a deep puff of his cigar before sighing.

“How much do you know?”

Iron went silent for a moment at German’s question. German continued to speak after seeing Iron like that.

“Tell me everything. Then, I’ll tell you everything that I can tell you to the best of my abilities.”

Iron opened his mouth after pondering over German’s words for a while.

“If the Central Army collapsed while the Capital Defense Corps was still in good shape, then it’s safe to assume that the Center had abandoned most of the areas in their region except for the minimum route that they needed to take from the capital to the outside.”

“And?”

“I believe they will continue to divide the enemies that they couldn’t take on to the other regions. There’s also a possibility that the damaged North will delay sending their support and take their time to go to the Center so they threw away the Central Army as bait to attract the Death Corps to the North.”

The Western Commander sighed quietly after hearing Iron’s speculation.

“You predicted a lot of things with only the limited information in your hands.”

German took out another cigar before placing it in his mouth and looking at Iron. Seeing that German was thinking about where to start, Iron opened his mouth carefully.

“The Death Corps, the government is the one responsible for them, right?”

“……”

German looked at Iron firmly after hearing his question.

Seeing him stop his actions of lighting his cigar and looking at him firmly like that made Iron feel convinced that his expectations and guesses were correct.

“Where did you hear that?”

Iron shook his head.

“I investigated it myself.”

Iron then told him about the commanders of the Death Corps that he had caught on his way here as well as the information that he had obtained after torturing them.

First, there were traces of experiments on their bodies.

Through his experiments, he was able to find out the traces of stitches, the abnormal skin as well as the different types of tissues on the body and the limbs of the beings. He could tell that they were made artificially through some sort of experimental surgery.

Second, the confessions that he barely received after torture.

However, by the end of it all, it seemed like they were forbidden from speaking about anything else so the identity of the person who did the experiment remained unknown. He could deduce it from this point on but there was already enough evidence from the endless anger that they had felt at the current Imperialists and the Central government as well as their angry roar whenever the name of the Imperial Family came out.

Finally, the contract insignia.

Just like the dark elves and the mermaid race, there were signs of the contract insignia on their body that allowed them to use the power of the void, an external power. Through this insignia, they, the products of experiments, were able to breathe and use death’s energy.

To sum it up, the wizards’ experiment chimeras and the alchemists’ homunculi had become terrible hybrids after signing a contract with the beings of the void.

The Center tried to hide them until the very end but they couldn’t handle them so they used the collapse of the Central Army as an excuse to diffuse them to other regions.

“That’s all of the things that I have thought about.”

German chewed on his cigar at Iron’s words before spitting it out and speaking.

“Hoo… You know more than I thought.”

German sighed as he continued to speak.

“In fact, it’s already safe to say that you already knew everything.”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s right. Just like you had inferred, the commanders of the Death Corps are the Central Laboratories’ victims. They were those who had accidentally survived the experiments a long time ago… And they had gathered together while dreaming of taking revenge on the government.”

German looked up at the sky as he said so.

“The very first survivor of the Central Laboratories’ is a vampire half-breed.”

“Ah… So…”

Iron nodded his head as he recalled the blood-sucking characteristics of the Death Corps.

“It’s highly likely that the one who signed a contract with the gods beyond the void is this very same vampire half-breed. Their lifespan was infinitely longer compared to the humans’ short lifespans so they must have prepared for this moment for a long time. In the end, the problem only grew as the Center’s secret laboratories began to be destroyed one by one.”

“So, in the end, they tried to hide their faults by hiding information but it turned out this way.”

He looked bitter when he heard Iron’s words.

As a commander, there was no way that he wouldn’t know that the dark elves, the mermaid race and the birdmen that were wreaking havoc in the West were taking their revenge on the government. After all, all of them were races that had been sacrificed by the Imperial Family for their own greed.

However, even if he knew their reason and that the Empire was the one in the wrong, he had no choice but to fight them to ensure the survival of both the Empire and mankind. After all, in this period of chaos, the division of the Empire would most likely lead to the collapse of mankind.

“Since you already know most of them, I’ll just explain the rest.”

German took a letter out and handed them over to Iron.

“A Shadow came here not too long ago.”

“Th… This…”

Iron looked at the letter that he received not too long ago before turning to German.

“The Death Corps will come to the West so prepare appropriately.”

At German’s urging, Iron opened the letter and read what was written on it.

“In fact, I didn’t understand what they meant but in the end, what they said came true. The Death Corps from the inside and the birdmen from the outside, all of them continued to attack us… Well, we prepared just in case but we still ended up giving up our Command and having our frontlines broken.”

German mumbled ‘I wish I had prepared better back then…’ as he regretted his negligence.

But in Iron’s eyes, German was like a monster for being able to defend and protect his troops despite the constant internal and external pressure. What he did was already amazing enough.

He could see why he was considered as the best Commander in the Empire.

His outstanding commanding abilities were beyond his master-level strength which made him into a man that was worthy of respect of the other army commanders.

“When the Command collapsed and the front had been smashed, a Shadow contacted me again after I had gathered my troops here. They said that this was because of the North.”

Iron tried to say that it wasn’t after hearing German’s words. German reached out his hand and calmed him down when he saw his appearance.

“I know that the Shadow asked for the elves’ bodies. I also know why the North rejected them. Don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, it seems like the Center is trying to collect and experiment with the bodies of the elves, the birdmen’s bodies that we had secured as well as the bodies of the mermaids that had fallen in the East. They’re probably dreaming of staging a counterattack with whatever they could create from that experiment.”

“Do you know what it is?”

German’s mouth turned shut at Iron’s question. It seemed like he was trying to tell him something but in the end all he did was smile and remain silent.

Iron frowned when he realized that he had caught some taboos.

“There’s only one thing that I can tell you. They’re not clinging to the masters anymore.”

“What do you mean…”

“The Shadows said that once their plans are completed, they can end the current crisis with the power of the Center alone.”

Iron frowned at the words of the Western Commander.

“Completed…”

“The experiment that lasted for a long time has finally come to an end. Well… Unlike us, who gave away the bodies of the birdmen, the North who did not give them the bodies of the elves will not be able to expect any help from the Center.”

German said so but he looked like he wasn’t expecting much from them. He knew full well that the West would have already been wiped out even before the Center could help them.

Iron gritted his teeth as he watched German’s bitter expression. He felt repulsion towards the Center that was more atrocious than in his previous life. If he could, he wanted to commit rebellion right away.

German spoke lowly when he saw the resentment and hatred that appeared in Iron’s expression.

“I want to kill them right away but… we still need the Imperial Family.”

German looked at Iron as he said so.

“Necessary evil.”

“You’re talking about… the necessary evil to maintain the Empire?”

“There is that, but what I’m talking about when I say necessary evil is different.”

Iron tilted his head at his words. However, he only smiled bitterly. It seemed like he could no longer tell him anything. Iron nodded when he saw German looking at him as if he needed to find out the rest by himself.

German brought up the question he asked earlier to change the mood.

“Aside from that, let me ask you again. Are you going to help the Center or are you staying here in the West?”

Iron pondered for a moment at his question.

With the current situation, it was better for him to help the West. However, after hearing German’s explanation, he kept on feeling that he needed to go to the Center.

“Necessary evil…”

The meaning of these words that German couldn’t answer. He suddenly wanted to know the answer.

German patted him on his shoulder with his intact hand when he saw him murmuring to himself.

“You’ve decided.”

“…Yes?”

“Aren’t you going to help the Center?”

Iron immediately tried to say no but no words came out of his mouth. German spoke quietly when he saw him like that.

“I’ll support you with supplies, go to the Center.”

“But it’s still dangerous here in the West.”

“I know. But how can you help me here with just your brigade-level troops?”

Iron couldn’t answer his questions.

“Aren’t you the Death Corps’ bane?”

German laughed.

“Sweep them away. Then, gather the collapsed Central Army and save Marquess Leopold.”

Then, German whispered quietly in Iron’s ears.

“The North is our only hope. I can’t move hastily because I was banned from doing so after hearing their secret. But the North is different.”

“Ah…”

“Find out about it. And use it as basis on how the North will move.”

Iron’s head, which was made complicated by German’s words before, finally cleared up.

The tangled threads began to unravel one by one.

His priorities were being set one by one and his direction and how he should move while trying to unravel the secrets of the Empire was also being set.

The selfish Imperial Family and their victims. And the gods who caused confusion on the continent by helping their victims as well as the people that stopped them.

He wanted to find out their complicated stories.

He felt like he could reach the end of this story with how he was right now.

“Find out about the secret that I can’t tell you myself.”

“I’ll do that.”

Iron replied confidently to German’s words. German smiled. It seemed like he liked the confident look on Iron’s face.

“Good. However… since we will be supporting you with supplies, we have a request.”

“Please feel free to say it.”

Iron bowed at German’s words.

“Since you’re going to the Center, move in the northwest direction. You’re still a bit weak.”

Iron smiled and nodded at German’s playful look.

“I’ll wipe out the Death Corps whenever I encounter them.”

German nodded. He looked as if he was satisfied with Iron’s answer as he headed back to the Commander’s Office.

“We only built it temporarily so we don’t have much. The only thing I can treat you with is cheap tea. Is that alright?”

“It’s alright if I drink water but I’d be grateful if there’s tea.”

“Goodness. Aren’t you a smooth talker?”

German patted Iron’s back vigorously as he said so. Although he was injured and was limping, one could see that his steps were filled with strength. Even if he lost confidence, Iron felt that this commander would not collapse.