The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Chapter 239: Sacrifice and Victory

TL: Pai_

The Frost Giant Warrior Chief charged forward with full force, showing his respects to his opponent as a fellow warrior.

To stop him, Crimson summoned even the last remnants of his aura.

Even though doing this with his internal injuries could only result in his death, he resolved to burn everything and stood in the Warrior Chief’s path.

Kuuuuung!

The storm of aura clashed with the frost storm, creating an intense shockwave.

The powerful collision created by two Master-level fighters was so immense that even the other Frost Giants found it hard to approach due to the overwhelming shockwaves.

And through that shockwave came a single streak of light.

-Do not interfere in a warrior’s duel!

The enraged Warrior Chief deflected Ariel’s full-power attack.

But Ariel relentlessly charged in again.

She feared that if things continued as they were, Crimson would die.

However, she, too, was soon caught by another Frost Warrior.

The other Frost Giants also blocked her way.

Their actions made it clear that they wouldn’t allow the Warrior Chief’s duel to be interrupted, thus re-establishing the battlefield where only Crimson and the Warrior Chief stood.

“Commander!”

Despite Ariel’s desperate cry, Crimson smiled warmly and stared at the Warrior Chief.

“Come.”

At Crimson’s words, the Warrior Chief gave a small nod and then attacked with all his might.

To honor the noble pride of a warrior prepared to die, the Warrior Chief, too, unleashed all his power.

As a result, the barely-standing Crimson began to get pushed back.

Though his signature Storm Sword technique was being shredded, and his sword was cracked, he stood firmly on both feet, receiving the Warrior Chief’s assault.

-With that body, you managed to withstand this strike?

The Warrior Chief, impressed, spoke in an admiring tone as he intensified his fighting spirit.

Throughout the countless battles he had experienced over the years, it was rare to encounter someone who fought so valiantly until the very end in the face of death.

This made their sacred duel all the more important.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crimson barely blocked the Warrior Chief’s relentless attacks with his Storm Sword technique.

Each time he blocked, a powerful shockwave burst forth, showcasing the overwhelming power of their clash.

But Crimson was now reaching his limit.

“Keuk!”

In the end, Crimson couldn’t hold out any longer and was sent flying backward, coughing up blood.

His aura was completely depleted, and his body could no longer continue fighting.

At this point, it would have been easier for him to just lie down and meet his end, as his body was in a complete mess.

Yet, despite it all, Crimson gritted his teeth and stood up.

-I honor your indomitable spirit.

With his body wrecked, Crimson planted his sword into the ground and barely managed to rise again.

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Watching him, the Warrior Chief gathered all his strength for a final blow.

Crimson lifted his sword with trembling arms.

Having already used up every bit of his aura, raising his sword served no practical purpose.

Yet, Crimson raised his sword to demonstrate his will.

-At the very least, I will remember you as long as I live.

The Warrior Chief, saying this, gathered all his strength into his fist as a final act of warrior’s respect.

Even though he could have killed Crimson with just a casual swing, he honored him by putting all his power into this last strike.

The Warrior Chief, pushing himself to the limit, charged at Crimson.

Kuuuuung!

The Warrior Chief’s fist stopped just in front of Crimson.

Though the sword was minuscule compared to the giant, the massive fist could not move an inch.

A young man had blocked the Warrior Chief’s fist with a white sword.

Iron, the one Crimson had risked his life to protect, had stepped in front of him, holding the fully completed white sword.

At the sight, Crimson painfully lifted his head and gazed at Iron’s back.

“Have you… completed it?”

“…Yes.”

Iron, struggling, answered Crimson’s question.

Crimson, barely standing with his trembling body, had been infused with healing power since the moment Iron blocked the Warrior Chief’s fist, but it had no effect at all.

His severe internal injuries and the force he had wrung out to the very last drop had even erased his body’s minimal healing abilities.

As a result, the physical aging he had suppressed with aura began to show.

“Show me… that my sacrifice was worth it…”

“…Yes.”

Iron barely managed to answer, his eyes filled with tears.

Overwhelmed with sorrow rising in his throat, Iron could only choke out a response as he looked at the Warrior Chief with steady eyes.

“Thank you for waiting.”

-He was a warrior I recognized. His final moments deserve respect.

Iron nodded at the Warrior Chief’s words.

Just as he said, Crimson, who had devoted his entire life to the Empire, was someone deserving of respect.

To show that Crimson’s sacrifice was worth it, Iron had to display overwhelming strength.

-…In the end, I couldn’t stop it?

The Warrior Chief’s expression hardened as he looked at Iron’s white sword.

It wasn’t as enormous or as overwhelmingly powerful as it had been when they fought Heurimre, but he instinctively sensed how formidable the power contained within that blade was.

A being who could pose a threat to Heurimre—among all the humans, only Iron had the potential to do so.

The Warrior Chief had wanted to stop this awakening, even if it meant bearing dishonor, but in the end, he failed.

Despite the Warrior Chief’s efforts to prevent it, Iron’s awakening had fully and perfectly taken place.

Kuuung!

The white sword and the blue fist, imbued with a massive amount of fighting spirit, collided in midair.

-Ugh!

The Warrior Chief had only blocked one strike, yet his fist was cut, and he suffered internal injuries.

It was utterly surreal to see the enormous fighting spirit of a giant being split by the small white sword and to witness the gigantic fist, many times larger than a human, being severed.

But that surreal situation continued to unfold.

Iron relentlessly slashed at the Warrior Chief, who kept charging at him without giving up.

The Warrior Chief, unable to last even a few minutes, became battered and prepared for his final, life-or-death strike.

At that moment, with a loud roar, the two family heads fighting Heurimre were sent flying in opposite directions.

“Ariel, can you hold them?”

“I will stop them, no matter what.”

Ariel had already approached Iron’s side.

Her entire body was stained with blue blood, and behind her, Frost Giants and a Frost Messenger lay on the ground, their heads severed.

“I trust you.”

“Yes!”

At Iron’s words, Ariel gave a small nod and then stared at the Warrior Chief.

“From now on… you will not take a single step forward.”

Ariel, with blazing eyes, declared as she glared at the Warrior Chief.

To fulfill Iron’s command and to honor the dignified end of her respected commander, Ariel gathered every ounce of her strength.

Seeing her resolve, the battered Warrior Chief silently gathered his fighting spirit once again.

He, too, wished to defeat the young genius before him for the sake of his king.

‘It’s dangerous to leave her unchecked.’

As he fought, the Warrior Chief realized that this woman with her insane talent, who kept growing during battle, needed to be stopped here.

-I will break through… no matter what.

In response to the Warrior Chief’s words, Ariel did not answer but instead swung her sword.

Before she knew it, starlight gathered around her, pressing down on the Warrior Chief.

In response, the Warrior Chief summoned a massive giant made of his fighting spirit and charged forward.

As Ariel and the Frost Giant Warrior Chief began their intense clash, Iron, too, stood in front of the Frost Giant King, Heurimre.

-Unexpected. So, you’ve really broken through that wall?

Heurimre looked at Iron, surprised that he had broken through without succumbing to despair.

The point of despair where the Frost Giant prodigy had given up was far above the level Iron had just reached, but the longing to reach the unattainable light beyond the towering wall had been the same.

Because of that, Heurimre had expected this exceptional human to despair as well.

But the human standing before him had overcome it.

He had succeeded in finding a new path, even at the cost of abandoning everything he once had.

“Enough with the idle talk.”

Iron raised his white sword as he looked at Heurimre.

-Is there any need to rush?

At Heurimre’s question, Iron summoned his aura and responded.

“I need to prove it before my hero closes his eyes—that his efforts were not in vain… that his sacrifice was worth it.”

At his words, Heurimre glanced at the old man standing far off, his sword buried in the ground.

The old man, whose life was slowly fading, was watching both Iron and the young prodigy.

A warrior who had staked everything, believing until the end that Iron would break through the wall.

Having lived for many long years, Heurimre had encountered very few as honorable as him, so he raised his axe in respect.

-…Very well. Let’s do this for him.

With those words, Heurimre swung his giant axe.

At some point, a blue crown of ice had formed on his head.

Just as Iron was giving his all, Heurimre also intended to fight with his full strength.

At that moment, Iron swung his white sword and charged at the giant.

Even though the axe and sword hadn’t yet collided, a booming sound echoed through the air, sending shockwaves outward.

It was a phenomenon that normally wouldn’t occur.

There were no gigantic aura blades or axes made of fighting spirit, yet the two powers clashed in midair. The scene was bizarre.

But the two family heads who had been thrown aside understood what was happening.

‘The space has warped!’

Before Iron’s and Heurimre’s weapons even made contact, space itself had already twisted, signaling the start of their power struggle.

The force of their attacks was colliding in the very paths they were swinging, each trying to claim dominance over the other’s territory.

No one could explain exactly why this was happening, but it was clear that this was the domain of a Grand Master.

“That is….”

“The true next level, isn’t it?”

The phenomenon where the space itself twisted before their weapons could meet and their powers collided.

Even the surrounding mana split between Iron and Heurimre, clashing around them.

Now, the family heads finally understood why they had been so easily overpowered, despite attacking Heurimre with strength similar to his.

On the surface, their power seemed similar, but Heurimre had a vastly superior grasp over the surrounding mana and could wield it far more efficiently. That was why they couldn’t handle him.

It had been the same for Iron when he first charged at Heurimre.

But now, things were different.

The battle was at such a high level that even the family heads couldn’t help but be impressed.

It was the same for all those watching.

Everyone, while observing Iron and Heurimre’s fight, found renewed resolve and began fighting with everything they had.

-Break through! For the king!

“Hold the line! For the Empire!”

Both sides, driven by the need to survive and win, fought with even greater ferocity.

In the midst of this battle for victory between humans and giants, a frail old man, devoid of all strength, stood watching the battle between the Giant King and humanity’s greatest hero with a blank expression.

“…I wasn’t wrong.”

Watching Iron, who was proving that the choice Crimson had staked his life on wasn’t a mistake, a gentle smile spread across his face.

“What a shame.”

He wanted to spend more time with the young hero who was writing a new legend.

It had been a long time since Crimson had walked alongside a hero, and he wished to continue walking beside him.

But it seemed that fate had decided his journey would end here, as if saying that this was as far as he could go.

He stared blankly at the sky.

“A… satisfying… life… indeed.”

Crimson, with a satisfied expression, looked up at the sky.

Despite the cold winds swirling and the intense mana raging all around, the sky seemed unusually warm to him today.

In that moment, as the wind that had accompanied him for so long felt especially gentle… Crimson’s eyes slowly began to close.

His mind, having fought beyond its limits, now told him it was time to rest, pulling him into the depths of sleep.

The last thing he saw before he fully closed his eyes was the image of a young hero, writing a great legend.

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