The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Strange rumors started to circulate in the East.

It was said that the new stars from the Southern Wizard Tower, Central Wizard Tower and the East had been beaten black and blue by a single person. According to the rumors, Lieutenant Colonel Iron Carter, the Northeast’s Hero, smashed all three of them all by himself. 

At first, the people did not believe these hearsays at all. 

“Say something that makes sense.”

“Three versus one?”

“But he’s the Northeast’s Hero, I think he can do it?”

Although he was the most famous new star of the Empire, there was still a limit to what he could do. They believed that no matter how strong a new star was, they would still be at the same level as the other new stars. 

However, the rumors were proven to be true when some officers testified that they had seen the bloody new stars. Even the doctors that attended to the injured new stars at Command also added their words and proved it to be true. 

“They’re completely covered in blood-stains, you know?”

“To that extent?” 

“Yeah. They said that they were already one foot in the grave when they were sent back.” 

Cheap rumors spread from one officer’s mouth to another. In addition, the nurses and the doctors in the hospital secretly leaked the information that they had gathered about the new stars. Their appearance also served as a self-evident fact that proved the rumors to be true. This was because they came to the hospital and ended up having bandages wrapped all over their entire bodies. 

And just like any other news, this news began to spread rapidly to other regions. Some people who were completely attached and loyal to their own regions said that it was just fake news spread by the Northern stars. However, they had no choice but to stop their claims of this being a false rumor when Iron walked around without a single scratch on his body while the three other new stars were covered in bandages and lying dead to the world in their hospital beds. 

Because of this, Maricca, a port city in the East, was in a buzz. 

And just like that, Iron was called to the Eastern Commander’s office. 

“Hoo…” 

The Eastern Commander sighed deeply while Iron sat still with his head bowed down and his mouth shut tight. 

“The situation has gone out of control.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

The commander sighed once again while Iron maintained his posture. 

He had watched from the side so was fully aware that Iron did not do anything wrong. However, the team that he hoped to create had already collapsed and they weren’t even halfway through with their operation. What was worse was the fact that the Southern and Central regions were protesting while the Merchant Association was also secretly putting pressure on the commander because of the bloodied and bruised Daniel. 

It was a situation where the commander was pressured from all sides.

Iron was innocent but he couldn’t help but say sorry when he saw the haggard expression on the commander’s face. 

“What’s there for you to be sorry about? It’s me who has to apologize to you.” 

The Eastern Commander smiled bitterly.

With another sigh, he began to explain his situation to Iron.

“Hoo… I actually don’t care about the Southern and Central Wizard Towers. My biggest problem is Captain Daniel Cevaior.” 

Iron raised his head at the Eastern Commander’s words and looked at him in confusion.

“Does Captain Daniel have a backer?”

“Backer…” 

The commander recalled the past for a moment.

When Daniel first entered the military, he was just a rookie who knew nothing. He was a child that was pure and naive and valued honor. He was also considered a commoner since he was not a child of any officer. However, after he became an officer and stood out, his family suddenly revealed themselves. 

“Have you heard of the Jeffit Family?” 

Iron nodded slightly to Richard Burton’s question.

“Aren’t they one of the pillars of the Merchant Association in the East? As far as I know, Count Lothsil Jeffit is the current chairman of the association.” 

“That’s right. Daniel is from that family. His exact name is Captain Daniel Jeffit Cevaior.”

Iron’s expression hardened.

“So, the Merchant Association is protesting to the Commander?”

“Hoo… That’s right. In fact, the Eastern Army is receiving support from the Merchant Association without our knowledge. And during that process, Daniel’s position had climbed higher. To be exact, he played as the bridge that connected us in the middle.” 

Even if he was just a child from the family, it would be a different matter if the child made a name for himself outside and became a new star. If their child was beaten down by others, they could protest under the pretext of being the parent.

“Did Captain Daniel become a new star because of the power of the Merchant Association?” 

“That’s not it either.” 

Richard Burton shook his head firmly when he heard Iron’s question.

“At first, he came in as a commoner. However, he stood out during the military training and his status was revealed as he gradually gained fame.” 

“Ah…”

“Well, for the Jeffit family, it was like finding a child that they were never aware of.” 

“Then, wouldn’t Captain Daniel hate the Jeffit family… or is it not the case?”

Richard Burton nodded his head. 

“It was like that at first. But the power of money is extremely great. It’s so great to the point that it can change a clean and honest person…” 

Richard Burton felt bitter as he spoke. 

Being recognized by a family while being given tremendous financial support. Perhaps that was the reason why Daniel Cevaior changed little by little. Still, Richard hoped that Daniel would be able to protect his belief to develop even further until the very last moment and uphold the honor of the Eastern Army. However, even that hope had disappeared. 

“The existence of Captain Daniel Cevaior is very important to the Eastern Army. This is because of his connections. Not only with the Merchant Association but also with private associations.” 

At first, the Merchant Association and the private associations’ support towards Daniel was to further develop the Eastern Army. They funded the army so they could study stronger weapons and build more powerful warships. However, after being exposed to enormous funds and power, his attitude changed little by little. In the end, he was tied to the money and his beliefs changed. 

“It’s my fault that Captain Daniel has become like this. In the past…”

“From the Merchant Association’s point of view, it must have been their golden opportunity to gain a strong influence in the Eastern Army.”

From the Merchant Association and the Jeffit Family’s view, they now had a justified cause to strengthen their influence on the Eastern Army. In addition, even the Southern and Central Wizard Tower were also putting pressure on the commander. 

Of course, if the commander personally came out with the evidence, they would definitely stop protesting. It was a problem that would be quickly solved if they denounced Daniel’s cowardly actions as well as the attacks of the new stars that aimed for Iron’s life. 

But Richard Burton did not want to throw his opportunity away. Rather, he looked like he was even trying to make things bigger. 

Perhaps it was because he had read his thoughts that Iron finally opened his mouth carefully.

“Should I help you out?”

Richard Burton agonized for a moment at Iron’s question. He was thinking if it was right to get Iron’s help now. 

“How much influence do you have in the Northeast?” 

Iron slightly tilted his head upon hearing Richard Burton’s question.

“Let me ask that again. Can you bring the Ghost here with your power?” 

Iron pondered for a while before answering Richard Burton.

“Is that an unofficial question or an official one?”

“Let’s say it’s an official question.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s possible. I can use the dimensional crack as a justification… The only question that remains is whether the Eastern Army can accept it or not.”

Making a formal request to the Northeast would put a scratch on the pride of the East. 

The Northeastern Army, who always kept the worst in mind, did not think too deeply on requesting support from other regions. However, the other armies were not of the same mind. They were extremely reluctant to bow their heads and ask for support from other regions. This was because the warlords of their regions wanted to hold on to their pride.

“There’s nothing that we can do about it since the situation has already come to this. If I could, I would like to do it myself but… it’s hard for me to send a request.” 

Richard Burton looked bitter. 

He knew that the pride of the local warlords was completely useless. However, regardless of his views, a lot of people in the East were reluctant to bring in troops from other regions. They feared that their power would sway and weaken once other forces came in their region. So, if the commander directly requested support, the Eastern Warlords might rebel which would result in the fall of the commander’s authority and the military’s control over the East.

If it were the usual, they could just use the opening of a dimensional crack as an excuse to request for support. But the problem was that the Northeast and the North had safely blocked four dimensional cracks on their own. The Northeastern Alliance had blocked four on their own, and they only had one here in the East. So, it hurt their pride to ask for support elsewhere when they only had a single one to deal with.

Richard Burton couldn’t help but feel annoyed while he faced these complex problems. However, there was no other way for him to return.

“Did you call for me here with the intention of attracting the core power of each region?”

Iron thought that Richard Burton’s purpose was to attract the core players from each region, just like what the Northeast did. If an Eastern Army official officially requested this, it would undermine their honor. But if the core figures from the North and the Northeast were attracted to the East on their own, the damage and backlash that they would receive would definitely be minimized.

Seeing that Richard Burton did not answer him, Iron was convinced that he was correct. 

There were actually three main ideas that Richard Burton had come up with.

Iron looked at the Eastern Commander after figuring out those three ideas. 

“However, I still believe that it’s too much. If we bring in the Northern Army just to keep the Merchant Association in check, there will definitely be officers that are dissatisfied with the commander later on.”

“I know that.”

Richard Burton’s tone sounded as if things couldn’t be helped. 

Iron tilted his head in curiosity. 

You’re willing to take that risk to push the Merchant Association away? That’s complete bullshit.

The Merchant Association would never try to take control of the Eastern Army unless they were sure that the commander was already defeated. If the situation was only at this level, Iron was sure that they knew about the risks. 

‘Wait…’

Iron looked at the commander in surprise after he organized his thoughts. 

“You’re really smart. Just like what I have heard.”

The commander smiled when he saw that the boy in front of him had already thought far ahead in just that short amount of time. 

If you expect something to happen someday, will you try to find the reason?

And as if to signal the start, a dimensional crack has appeared. If they compared it to the Northeast, there was a high probability that the occurrence of the dimensional crack in this place also had other forces from behind that promoted and pushed it forward. 

The commander must have figured it out.

“There’s something going on in the East?”

“That’s right.”

“The Merchant Association is not the problem… Then, there must be something bigger hidden in the dark?”

“Yes.”

Iron’s brows furrowed upon seeing the commander nod his head. 

“I’m not that sure either. However… just like what the dark elves did in the Northeast, I can assume that there are such beings present here too.”

“Do you have any suspects?”

“I have selected a few most likely species.”

Richard Burton turned around and handed over the documents containing the information that he had collected so far. 

“Mermaid… race?”

“It’s a race that has been destroyed by the Empire. However, some of them have likely survived that catastrophe.”

“The mermaid race… they are probably carrying great hatred towards the Empire.”

“That’s right. If there are survivors, I’m sure that they have waited for many years just to get their revenge at the Empire.”

Iron nodded his head in agreement.

Then, he read the information that Richard Burton had handed over.

“Transforms into a human being?”

“That’s right. That’s the reason why I think the current Command is a dangerous place.”

Richard Burton’s eyes glowed.

“There must be mermaids that have infiltrated this place. After all, they’re already making a huge splash in Maricca Port City…”

“If we left for Ghost Island with the main force, the Command would be in danger.”

“That’s right. Some of them might even have colluded with some of the Eastern forces.”

Iron immediately realized how dangerous Eastern Command was upon hearing Richard Burton’s words. 

It was already a difficult situation for the Eastern Army as they tried to deal with the dimensional crack on their own. But they were even faced with a situation where they had to worry about unknown enemies and the regional forces that might have colluded with those said enemies. 

Faced with such a situation, the commander had no choice but to bring in external forces to the East even if his honor was trampled and his authority was cut off. 

“I thought that if I gathered as many forces as possible in the East, I would be able to get their help if their future key figures got injured or perhaps in the event of a huge dimensional crack similar to the Northeast appearing.”

“Because of me, the Imperial Family might intervene.”

“They have already intervened.”

Iron frowned when he heard the Eastern Commander’s words.

“Who came?”

“The Fourth Prince.”

As expected of the quick-witted Imperial Family. They had already smelled the opportunity and crawled towards the East. 

“You must be tired since the Imperial Family is trying to intervene.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Richard Burton’s mission as the Eastern Commander was to protect the East. As long as he could protect the East, he did not care about the insults that would rain down on him.

“Commander, if you promise me… I will give you a bit more help.”

“But you’re already helping me too much by bringing the Northeastern Army here?”

“Since you’re already receiving a lot, I’ll give you some more.”

Richard Burton tilted his head at Iron’s words. Even if he was the Northeast’s Hero, there was still a limit to what he could do. He wondered what else he could help him with at this point.

“How about bringing the Leonhardt Family here?”

“The Lion Family? Will they even come all the way here?”

“There’s about a 30% chance… if I asked for a favor.”

“Hmmm… Does the Lion Family owe you something?”

Iron shook his head at Richard Burton’s question.

“They don’t owe me anything. But… I’m a bit related to the Leonhardt Family.”

“You?”

Iron smiled when he saw that the commander never thought that he would be connected to such a family. 

“Ho… That’s unexpected. Are you a descendant from a branch family?”

“That’s not it either… I’m the son of the current family head.”

Richard Burton’s eyes widened at his response. Iron smiled at the commander as he continued to speak.

“Well, I ran away from home. But I’m still his son so there might be a bit of a chance that he’ll listen to me if I ask him.”