Chapter 292: The Power of a Single Hero! (2)

Translator: Pai_

While Iron was inside the Gate, the Auzria Continent ran without any major issues.

As long as it was under 100 days, the Gate could be cleared without much trouble.

The problem came from the Eastern Continent.

“Currently, the number of god-level beings awakened in the Eastern Continent has increased to thirteen!”

“They say the increasing number of monsters is making Gate clearing more and more difficult!”

“The rebel group is requesting support!”

“They say the domains of Hell and Demons in the Eastern Continent are gradually expanding!”

News from the Eastern Continent came in endlessly.

All the information they were supposed to receive in exchange for supporting the rebel group was uniformly disastrous.

Even in a state of near-perfect preparation like the Auzria Continent, they were barely managing; the Eastern Continent wasn't even at that level, so it was inevitable.

Fortunately, perhaps because they had formed an alliance with the Demons and Hell, the number of Gates wasn’t high.

The problem was that even those few could not be managed, and the damage was accumulating to a tremendous degree.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Faulden ruffled his hair and distorted his expression.

Right now, they could only focus on the Auzria Continent, but eventually, they also had to keep the war with the Eastern Continent in mind.

That was why they supported the rebels of the Eastern Continent as a minimum measure of preparation.

But it was only a drop in the bucket.

No matter how many weapons and supplies they sent, the overall number of troops was far too low.

Moreover, with the main forces of the Eastern Continent constantly making missteps, there was no way for a proper response.

“When will the Commander-in-Chief come out… I'm dying of work here. Sigh…”

Faulden muttered as he let out a sigh.

“If you're not careful, people might curse at you.”

“Hyung…nim?”

Faulden widened his eyes and looked at Iron floating in the air.

“Open the window.”

At Iron’s words, Faulden hurriedly opened the window so he could come inside.

“What’s got you sighing like that?”

“The Eastern Continent is a headache… More importantly, when did you come out?”

“Just now. I came straight through warp.”

At Iron’s words, Faulden smiled.

Because Iron had come out of the Gate, he thought they could finally take a breather.

“Bring me the information related to the Eastern Continent.”

If even Faulden was sighing, it meant the situation in the Eastern Continent was extremely bad.

Just as he suspected, the Eastern Continent was in the worst state.

“Are we sending reinforcements to the Eastern Continent?”

“Impossible.”

Iron shook his head firmly.

“Instead, increase the supplies we’re sending to the rebels.”

“But that won’t be a fundamental solution.”

At Faulden’s words, Iron nodded as if he already knew that much.

But there was no other way.

“Auzria isn't safe either.”

At Iron’s words, Faulden tilted his head.

“The real danger lies in the Gates over 100 days.”

At his words, Faulden's expression became serious.

“So that’s why it took you so long?”

“Yeah.”

As Iron spoke, he told him about what had happened inside the Gate.

The gods sleeping in Gates over 100 days could awaken even before the full time passed, and although only within the Gate, they could exert tremendous power.

Although Faulden had already experienced external gods, according to Iron, the god he had faced was comparable to them in that it could use a significant portion of its past power through the power of Chaos.

Although the Dragon God couldn't be compared to Thor or Tyr and its original power had been significantly weakened, it was still a formidable enemy.

That’s why, from Iron’s point of view, he could only warn him to be careful.

“It’s fine for me, but for Master Levels, it could be dangerous.”

Based on the Dragon God he had faced, being a Master Level did not guarantee safety.

“How many Gates are over 100 days?”

“Eighty-six.”

At Faulden's words, Iron made a grim expression.

“They’ll try to hold me back. It’s difficult for me alone to handle all the Gates on time.”

“But aren’t there also the two Family Heads?”

“That’s including them. Just one 113-day Gate held me for half a month. The Gates beyond that will take even more time.”

At Iron’s words, Faulden’s expression became even more serious.

The two Family Heads were also Grand Masters, but they were below Iron in level.

Even if they could win, it would take significantly more time.

Moreover, if Iron were to enter a Gate that was close to 200 days, there was no way to estimate how much time would be consumed.

That meant there would be Gates over 100 days that had to be cleared without Iron or the two Family Heads, only with the remaining forces.

“We’ll need to summon the Divine Beasts. We need to prepare for that too.”

At Iron’s words, Faulden nodded heavily.

“I’ll focus on the Gates. The two Family Heads will probably do the same. All the Master Levels, including the Commanders, and the high-level combat forces of each Command will focus solely on clearing the Gates. Do you understand what that means?”

“Yes. I’ll prepare with everything I’ve got.”

Faulden replied with a serious expression, but Iron wasn't too worried.

If this had been before the Destruction began, he might have thought they would be pushed back on the front lines by monster waves and suffer heavy losses like in his previous life.

But not anymore.

Science and magic, which were advancing at an incredible pace, were continuously churning out new weapons.

Almost all resources were being used to manufacture weapons.

“I’ll focus all my power on clearing the Gates. I’ll deal with them as quickly as possible, so the military must also stabilize the Auzria Continent as quickly as possible.”

As Iron said this, he pointed with his finger at the 666-day Gate, which appeared to be the most dangerous of all.

“We stabilize Auzria, and then we prepare for that.”

“…Yes.”

Faulden lowered his head and responded to the order.

And not long after, the Supreme Commander’s order was delivered to all military commands.

“From now on, special forces and Master Levels from each command will focus solely on clearing Gates.

Maintaining the front lines and subjugating monsters will be handled exclusively by the regular forces.

Also, the knights of each family will be organized around the Godly Sword and Lion Families and deployed for Gate clearing.

This is an order issued by the Supreme Commander.

I know it’s difficult, but I ask for your understanding that this is an unavoidable order in order to overcome this crisis.”

An order directly issued by the Supreme Commander.

It caused quite a shock throughout the military.

Until now, Iron had granted autonomy to each command, but this time, he was urging them to obey without exception.

However, upon hearing the reason, everyone had no choice but to accept it.

There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know that Iron personally cleared an A-rank Gate over 100 days.

If such an order came right after Iron returned from the Gate, it meant that Gates over 100 days were that dangerous.

“Is the Supreme Commander inside?”

“He has already left for a Gate.”

Faulden answered while looking at the Commander of the Central Army, who had rushed over.

“Phew… Didn’t he say what we’re supposed to do?”

At the Central Army Commander’s words, Faulden shook his head.

Unlike other regions, the central region had no Gates over 100 days.

It would have been good if the Supreme Commander had designated a region for them to support, but since he didn’t, the Central Army Commander had come looking.

“If he didn’t say anything, it likely means he’s leaving it up to the Commander’s discretion.”

At Faulden’s words, the Central Army Commander sighed.

“That’s even more of a burden.”

Saying that, the Central Army Commander pulled out several sheets of paper from his inner pocket.

“These are support requests sent by commanders from each region.”

“Hmm…”

Faulden also showed a troubled expression, as if he hadn’t considered this.

But soon, he came up with a clever idea.

“It might be a good idea to have one of the Masters stay behind to block monsters.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just as I said. Wouldn’t it be better for you and the Central Army Special Forces to be dispatched to any front that shows signs of collapsing?”

At Faulden’s words, the Central Army Commander furrowed his brow.

At first, he wondered if he was being looked down on.

Being one of the weaker commanders in the Empire, he thought Faulden might be disrespecting him, but that wasn’t it.

The Central Army’s special forces, which had been broken once, had now all been equipped with new weapons and had become the most modern army in the Empire.

However, their overall level was a bit lower.

In other words, it was a force specialized in dealing with a large number of weak enemies rather than strong forces.

“Since the Supreme Commander delegated authority to you, your judgment must be correct.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

As Faulden bowed his head and spoke, Leopold gave a small nod and stepped back.

Though the Central Army Commander returned to his original post, that wasn’t the end of it.

Major figures from each command came to request support or ask what they should do, making Faulden even busier.

But it wasn’t only the Central region that was overwhelmed.

As each command's main forces were pulled away to focus on Gate assaults, the frontlines began to collapse rapidly.

Everyone shifted to stronghold-centered defensive operations.

Even so, the number of monsters pouring out was overwhelming.

“They want... us to block this?”

“Is that even possible?”

The soldiers stared at the monsters swarming in, pitch-black and endless.

Spewing contaminated energy as they surged in, the monsters were as numerous as an ocean.

Just then, the Empire’s new weapons lit up.

The newly enhanced magic cannons shone brightly, and bullets fired into the air split into thousands, raining down like a storm.

Each bullet separated into hundreds of magical bombs, devastating the ground below.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

If Hell were to descend, would it look like this?

Corrupted monsters, even with half their bodies blown off, squirmed and regenerated as they crawled toward the humans. Some of the giant types devoured their injured kin to heal themselves.

It was a horrifying scene, one that could have broken their spirits, but instead, the Empire’s troops fired their magic rounds without fear.

They held on with the belief that reinforcements would come if they endured.

In the worst-affected North, they survived thanks to reinforcements dispatched from Central after holding the fortress to the bitter end.

Because the Central Army Commander himself had come to their aid.

And the same was true for the South, East, and West.

Though it was merely a special unit led by a single Master, their presence saved the crumbling frontlines.

As if the Gates understood they were being targeted, they began spewing out even stronger monsters, but humanity continued to resist and endured to the end.

And to prove that the efforts of mankind were not in vain, the special forces of each military branch successfully cleared Gates one by one.

Despite suffering heavy casualties, they began clearing the Gates one at a time.

The elite forces from each noble family, led by the Godly Sword and Lion Families, also performed admirably.

Thanks to the gathering of top-tier knights, they managed to clear several high-tier Gates.

The two Family Heads were no exception.

Though it took a lot of time, they succeeded in clearing Gates nearing 200 days.

But there was one being who managed to clear more high-tier Gates alone than all of them combined.

Kuuuuung!

“Th… thank you for your hard work.”

“Next.”

The man, drenched head-to-toe in blood, immediately asked for the location of the next mission area, prompting the officer to hastily report the next Gate.

“Y-Yes! Among Gates over 300 days, only one 325-day and one 666-day Gate remain. But both are located in the desert region.”

At the officer’s report, Iron, the Supreme Commander of the Empire and the strongest warrior on the continent, silently fell into thought.

“How many A-rank Gates over 100 days are left?”

“It has been reported that about twenty remain. Of those, sixteen are scheduled to be cleared by special forces and the two noble families. And the 280-day and 295-day Gates are currently being cleared by the two Family Heads.”

At the officer’s explanation, Iron gave a small nod.

“I’ll head to the desert region first.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Inform the Divine Beasts of the current danger zones. They’ll be providing support.”

As Iron said that, he looked at his Divine Beasts.

“Go have some fun before entering the Gate.”

At his words, the Divine Beasts let out cries and rubbed their heads against Iron.

And shortly after, they soared off in their respective directions.

Shortly after news spread that Iron had cleared the Gate, reports of the Divine Beasts’ feats from various regions of the Empire followed, and word spread that the collapsing frontlines had once again stabilized.

“Ah…”

An old man living in the capital let out an exclamation of awe at the unbelievable news.

A single hero had cleared multiple of the most dangerous Gates and even stabilized the retreating frontlines.

Was there ever such a being even in the long history of the Auzria Continent?

Could it be that we are witnessing a new myth being born?

With that thought, the old man stood up and bowed deeply in gratitude before the statue of Iron erected in the plaza.

Seeing the old man, passersby also followed suit and offered their thanks to Iron.

The value of a single hero.

Some say it is equal to that of a legion or even a nation.

But within the Empire… no, within the entire Auzria Continent, the status of the hero named Iron was truly as great as that of a god.

***

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