The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Chapter 237: Dark Clouds Looming Over the North (4)

TL: Pai_

Two corps appeared alongside the powerful fortress cannons.

At first, it seemed doubtful that the addition of just two corps would alter the course of the battle, but the high-caliber troops who arrived with the powerful fortress cannons proved to be more than helpful.

As the corps-level formations specialized in defense by Saeriden, combined with the elite forces of the 21st Corps, began to take on the Frost Giants one by one, the previously collapsing front lines started to stabilize.

Now, the problem was the fully awakened and moving King of the Frost Giants.

“We shall win this war and reclaim our suppressed power!”

The King of the Frost Giants shouted, glaring at the humans who blocked their advance.

“Trust me! I, Heurimre, who has slain even gods, will promise you victory!”

As the King of the Frost Giants raised his enormous axe and spoke to his kin, the morale of the giants suddenly soared, and they charged at the fortress walls with ferocious speed.

“Victory as promised!”

“Let us reclaim our former glory!”

Heurimre, their king, had promised them victory.

Even during the great battles against the highest gods that dominated the Mythcal times, he had not retreated and had led them into the depths of destruction. Now, he promised that their era would return by crushing the humans beneath their feet.

“Impressive.”

With just a single cry, the morale of the Frost Giants skyrocketed.

Though their power hadn’t increased, that no longer mattered.

War is a battle of morale.

The towering morale of the Frost Giants had even begun to affect the monsters charging alongside them.

On the other hand, the humans’ morale was gradually diminishing in the face of Heurimre’s cry.

“It’s time for us to step in.”

“Hoo….”

Two Swordmasters stepped forward.

The first to draw his sword was the head of the Godly Sword family, who had made significant contributions in stopping the Phantom Tree.

Wanting to show his rival, the head of the Lion Family, what he had gained, the head of the Godly Sword family fully unleashed the power he had received as a reward.

Keiiing!

When the head of the Godly Sword family tossed his sword into the sky, it shot up rapidly and disappeared from view.

At that moment, Heurimre, who had been slowly walking forward after his victory shout, swung his enormous axe.

As befitting the King of the Frost Giants, the extreme power of frost swirled violently around him.

And just then, the sword thrown by the head of the Godly Sword family flew towards the massive storm of frost.

Kuwoooong!

A single sword fell like a meteor, completely devastating the surrounding area.

However, the attack from the head of the Godly Sword family didn’t end there.

Before anyone realized, all the swords in the vicinity floated into the air and began to fly towards Heurimre like meteors.

Each one carried enough force to be difficult for even a Master to block.

Hundreds of swords, moving according to the will of the head of the Godly Sword family, tore through Heurimre’s storm.

If it had ended there, Lioner, standing nearby, wouldn’t have been so surprised.

But as thousands, tens of thousands of strikes burst forth from the aura emitted by those hundreds of swords, all converging on Heurimre, even the mighty Lioner couldn’t help but be astonished.

“Is that the answer you’ve found?”

“Yes.”

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The head of the Godly Sword family replied confidently.

At this, Lioner nodded in acknowledgment.

The answer he had found was indeed impressive.

Lioner was confident that if the head of the Godly Sword family developed it further, he could break through the wall and become a Grand Master.

But Lioner, too, had found his ‘answer’.

“Now, I suppose it’s time to show you the path I’ve found?”

With those words, Lioner drew his own sword.

Though it was just a simple action of drawing his blade, an overwhelming aura radiated from him.

The air grew heavy, and mana began to swirl around Lioner.

The moment he saw this, the confident expression of the head of the Godly Sword family stiffened.

Even without having fully demonstrated his techniques, it was clear to him.

‘That guy has found his path too!’

Having been rivals with Lioner for so long, the head of the Godly Sword family could sense it.

The technique Lioner was about to unleash would be truly formidable.

And just as he had predicted, when Lioner swung his sword, a powerful wave of aura was unleashed.

That wave turned into a storm of aura, and it began to condense into a singular form.

At first, the massive orb of aura compressed under Lioner’s control until it reached its absolute limit.

Finally, at the moment when the sphere compressed to its maximum size, about as large as a person, the Lion Sword that only the head of the Lion Family could wield, lightly touched the sphere with a ‘tok’.

And in that instant…

KWAHAAAA!

The Frost Giants, who had withstood the fortress cannons, were torn apart and hurled toward Heurimre.

Seeing this, Heurimre, enraged by the deaths of his subordinates, unleashed a storm of ice.

It was the same storm of ice that had withstood even the attacks of the head of the Godly Sword family.

But the sphere, packed with the overwhelming power of Lioner, tore through the storm and shot towards Heurimre.

At that moment, hope flickered in everyone’s eyes.

They began to hope that even the King of the Frost Giants might not be able to withstand such tremendous power.

Kuuuuung!

“Impressive!”

Heurimre smiled in amusement as he blocked the sphere, which had been compressed to its limit, with his axe, enveloped in frost.

At that moment, the energy compressed inside the sphere erupted, forming a massive lion that lunged at Heurimre, ready to bite him.

In response, Heurimre unleashed his full strength.

The overwhelming power that had once reached the level of Lord God during the Mythical Era.

There was no way for him to reclaim that lost power.

Though now awakened, it would take time before he could once again reach that peak. For now, his strength was only a fraction of what it once was.

That’s why Hrimir learned techniques.

Among the techniques used by humans and monsters, ‘battle technique’ was a skill that involved thinking of something ‘stronger’ or ‘fundamental’ to one’s martial arts while creating techniques and ultimately materializing them.

Heurimre had honed in on this point.

‘If my current power is weak, then I’ll temporarily imitate my past self.’

Heurimre’s thinking was spot on, and he had finally mastered it.

Because he had once reached the highest level, Heurimre was able to grasp the essence of battle technique in a short period of time and successfully manifest it.

Kwahjik!

The massive lion was crushed and disappeared under the giant icy fist swung by the even larger frost giant.

Despite having slept for ages like an ancient god, having had his rank lowered, and his power restricted by the system, Heurimre, once the King of Giants, demonstrated overwhelming force, blasting away Lioner’s sphere with ease.

Uwaaaaaa!

While Heurimre was focused on Lioner’s lion, the hundreds of falling swords and tens of thousands of strikes were swept away by the storm of ice, disappearing in its wake.

Truly overwhelming power.

“The worst-case scenario has happened.”

“Indeed.”

At Lioner’s words, Terrion let out a bitter smile.

Even Terrion, one of the strongest among humanity, looked at his trembling hand with a frown.

The sheer pressure from the vast difference in power had caused his body to react unconsciously.

“We’ll have to work together.”

“Hoo… what a pain.”

The two Family Heads exchanged glances, both frowning, but there was no other choice.

It would be impossible to stop that monster single-handedly unless one was a Grand Master.

Even if they teamed up, it was uncertain how long they could hold out.

But they had to do it.

If they were pushed back, it would spell the destruction of humanity.

“I’ll go first.”

With that, Terrion attacked Heurimre at lightning speed.

At the same time, Lioner also launched himself, delivering a powerful slash.

As the two Family Heads threw themselves into the fray to block Heurimre’s advance, the battle became even fiercer.

All the commanders of the Empire and every Master of the Southern Confederation were fighting with all their might solely to stop the Frost Giants’ advance.

On top of that, humanity’s Divine Beings had all gathered in the northeastern region.

These individuals, once divided by nations, beliefs, and politics, had come together for one unified cause: survival.

And yet, despite their efforts, the front lines were being pushed back.

The Frost Giants were that strong.

Even with their power diminished and constrained by the system, the strength of the Frost Giants was so overwhelming that it was beyond belief.

The only reason they had been able to hold out this long was thanks to a miracle born of the collective good fortune they had amassed over time.

The weapons system that had been advanced by the otherworlders crossing over.

With countless victories, humanity had grown stronger thanks to the rewards granted by the Lord God and the system.

And finally, the restrictions placed on the ancient species and external gods, gained through the Emperor’s sacrifice.

Even with all of these factors combined, humanity was being pushed back.

The massive Frost Giants created storms of ice, and launched giant shards of ice, yet humanity held their ground.

Even when the Giant Warriors charged forward, the Masters and knights fought back with all their might, managing to hold the line.

But the one thing that drove humanity to despair was a single giant.

“The two Family Heads… are they really being pushed back like that?”

A despairing murmur escaped from one of the officers.

Even with the combined efforts of the two Family Heads, the strongest among humanity, it was painfully obvious to any observer that they were being overwhelmed.

Lioner, who had pioneered a new path by incorporating the essence of battle technique into his swordsmanship, reaching the level of Aura Blade.

Terrion, who had perfected a phantom sword technique, using the power he gained from defeating the Phantom Tree to create an ultimate sword technique of blinding speed.

Yet, despite both of them giving their all, their attacks were being utterly crushed by Heurimre’s overwhelming power.

The massive lion created by Lioner was blocked by the giant’s arm, and most of Terrion’s tens of thousands of slashes were swept away by Heurimre’s roar, with the remainder unable to pierce through the giant’s body, formed from raw Qi.

Even though the pinnacle of their lifelong skills had been obliterated by the sheer force of Heurimre’s strength, the two Family Heads did not give up.

Now covered in blood, the two of them charged towards Heurimre with everything they had.

They knew that if they fell, humanity’s hope would be lost.

They had lived their entire lives with arrogance, focused solely on their swords, but now they staked their lives on protecting humanity.

Inspired by the devotion of the two Family Heads, humanity managed to stave off despair and hold the front lines.

And at the heart of it all, commanding the entire army, was Crimson.

“Cough!”

-Is this the limit? You held out well with that aged body.

Among the Frost Giant warriors, the strongest one, with cold blue eyes, looked at Crimson.

A manifestation of his past self, mirroring Heurimre, the form of the frost warrior gazed indifferently at Crimson, who was coughing up blood, and threw a punch.

Even while coughing blood, Crimson swung his sword, unleashing a storm of aura.

Kuuuung!

The frost giant’s fist, formed from Qi, was blocked by the aura storm, but it didn’t matter. The giant immediately threw another punch.

Crimson, at an age where retirement was long overdue, had repeatedly postponed it due to one dire situation after another.

‘Is my long-delayed retirement going to be achieved through death?’

Crimson muttered to himself, a bitter smile on his face.

Though he barely managed to hold on with his vast experience and skill, he was reaching his limit.

With his abilities, he could no longer stop the giant warrior in front of him.

-Impressive. If it weren’t for me,, the Chief of Warriors, many other warriors would have died.”

The giant, who had introduced himself as the Chief of Warriors, looked at Crimson with a mix of pity and respect.

But in battle, mercy did not exist.

Seeing that the human no longer had the strength to continue, the warrior, with a sense of honor, prepared to end it in one blow.

The frost giant raised his Qi to its peak, preparing to deliver the final strike in a gesture of respect for his fallen foe.

Watching the frost giant, Crimson gathered the last of his strength.

Just as the giant, transformed into a massive blue figure, was about to strike Crimson down…

-Who dares to interrupt the sacred duel of a warrior?!

A streak of sword energy flew towards the Warrior Chief.

Though enraged by the interruption, the Warrior Chief couldn’t ignore it.

KWAANG!

“Who… are… you…?”

“Sorry for being late.”

A familiar face.

The genius who had been active in the northeast in the past.

Ariel, who had been hailed as the greatest genius of the academy alongside Iron, had appeared.

“If you’re… here… then…?”

“The Commander is over there.”

At Ariel’s words, Crimson turned to look at Heurimre, who was radiating an overwhelming presence in the distance.

Between the two Family Heads, who were now struggling to hold their ground, a massive white sword descended.

Even Heurimre had to raise both arms to block the sheer power of the strike.

And at that moment, a notification rang in everyone’s ears.

[Stop the Frost Giants, the core of the second Apocalypse story.]

[A Sub Quest ‘Survive’ has been generated. Survive the overwhelming destruction. Just surviving will bring you immense rewards!]

[A Hidden Quest ‘Assist humanity’s hope and defeat Heurimre’ has been generated!]

Suddenly, several quests appeared.

And at their center was the Empire’s ‘hero’ who appeared spreading white wings.