The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Translator: Pai_

The war was over.

With the sacrifice of the Lord God, Muspel's flames disappeared, and in that moment of opportunity, the attack of the 'hero' who staked everything finally brought complete end to Destruction.

As Destruction ended, the system also completely vanished.

As if it had finished its task, it disappeared after handing out enormous rewards to people.

Then many people rejoiced at the end of the war.

With even the system gone, they became certain that Destruction had truly ended, and expressed their joy with cheers.

And they shed tears in relief at having survived.

Amidst everyone's cheers, the day the system disappeared was commemorated with a festival held across the entire world on the same day.

But not everyone felt the same.

[In honor of the hero who sacrificed for the world]

A massive statue honoring the hero.

The massive statue depicting the jet-black sword that symbolized him and even the Divine Beasts became so sacred that it was revered not only by the Empire but also by all the newly established nations.

And in front of it, a woman stood, looking up at the sky with sorrowful eyes.

[One of the Seven Strongest Protectors of the Empire - Ariel Favrice]

Once the commander of the Mobile Field Army, she had now become such a great figure that this kind of title followed her.

As one of the only seven Grand Masters in the Empire, she was advancing to such an extent that even future Grand Masters would find it difficult to catch up.

That very woman was again today honoring the hero in front of the statue.

She was not alone.

All the commanders and troops from the Mobile Field Army, who had long fought together, came to this place whenever the time came to honor the hero.

"You're here again today?"

"……Cardro."

Cardro, who was expected to become the next Grand Master, stood in front of the massive statue with a smile.

Even though he had become a central figure of the Empire and part of the core of power, he still came to this place each time.

"What about you?"

"Me, well……."

Cardro looked up at the statue with a faint expression.

A hero who had taken the lead more than anyone else in stopping Destruction and had left after living a life full of hardship.

Cardro, who had been his friend and admired commander, continued to work hard to follow in his footsteps even to this day, and silently bowed his head in tribute.

As Ariel and Cardro silently looked at the statue, thinking of their longed-for superior, people began to gather in front of the statue one by one.

They were all from the Mobile Field Army and members of the Leonhardt Family.

"You were already here."

Aiden, one of the Seven Protectors of the Empire and now a Grand Master, looked at Ariel with a bitter smile.

"What about the Family Head……."

"He has arrived."

As Aiden said that and looked back, Lioner was seen gazing at the statue from afar.

Lioner, who had still not stopped training in order to catch up to Iron, who had reached the realm of Transcendence.

And Terrion, who continued his own training not to fall behind Lioner.

Thanks to the two of them, humanity continued to grow without pause.

Even though many years had already passed, humanity was still walking the path that Iron had pioneered.

"I miss hyung. I thought… when the war ended… we could train together again like before……."

As Aiden spoke, his eyes turned red with tears.

It was the same for the other Leonhardt brothers standing behind him.

Having reached the greatest heights in the history of the Family and become a myth, they missed him all the more.

The one who felt the most regret over his absence was Caeden.

"If he was going to leave like this……."

Caeden, who had refused to acknowledge Iron and deceived himself emotionally, unable to treat him warmly.

That was why he missed the vanished Iron even more.

As Caeden and the rest of the nobility began to silently mourn for Iron, military personnel including those from the Mobile Field Army began to arrive one after another and join in the tribute.

Before they knew it, a great number of people had gathered around the statue.

Though they had given way to the Mobile Field Army and the Leonhardt Family, the hearts of all Imperial citizens were the same when it came to the hero who had protected the continent.

Centered around the Imperial plaza, countless people rang small bells to honor the hero.

In the solemn scenery that was the same as always, only the sound of bells echoed.

“Oh? Mom!”

“Shh! Quiet……”

The child grabbed her mother’s skirt and pointed with her finger, but the mother brought her finger to her lips and scolded the child.

However, the child kept holding on to the skirt and pointed again in the direction of the statue.

At that, the mother also looked in the direction the child’s finger was pointing.

There, the giant statue was beginning to emit light little by little.

“Huh? Is it… magic?”

The mother said that, but since she had learned a bit of magic herself, she knew well that it wasn’t.

Nor was it Divine Power.

A statue glowing with an unknown power.

At first, the light was faint, but it gradually grew stronger until it became so bright it was hard to look at.

[A different dimension is under the threat of Destruction. Will you go to save it?]

As the system voice that had vanished for years returned once again, everyone was thrown into confusion.

Some feared that Destruction was starting again, but as they calmed down and read the message again, they realized it wasn’t referring to this place.

“Another dimension?”

“……Why would we go there?”

Everyone questioned why they had to save another dimension.

Then the system gave an explanation.

[If all dimensions collapse, the forces of Destruction may once again come to this place.]

“Huh?”

“Then……”

Destruction, which might someday return.

To prevent that, they had to help the other dimension.

As the people began to waver, the system spoke again.

[It is the world of the otherworlders who once helped you.]

“Ah!”

“Then… we should… help them, right?”

Some people nodded, thinking they had to help. Others shook their heads.

The continent had only just begun to recover.

They couldn’t drive the people who had barely survived back into another battlefield.

To those people, the system spoke its final words.

[Your ‘hero’ is there.]

As if to say, will you still not go?

[Will you go to save it? (Yes/No)]

People stared blankly at the system window.

Some rubbed their eyes, wondering, ‘Is this real?’

While everyone was still in confusion, one person was the first to move her finger.

“I’m going first.”

As Ariel finished her words and was wrapped in light, Cardro smiled and followed behind her.

Then one by one, many soldiers began to be enveloped by the light.

“This will be fun.”

“Guess I’ll get to see my son’s face after a long time.”

Even the two warriors known as the continent’s strongest were swallowed by the light and vanished.

Before anyone realized it, many soldiers had disappeared from the plaza.

Those who had built families, for their loved ones, for their families, looked at the system window with eyes full of lingering feelings.

But they shut their eyes tightly and forced themselves to turn away.

And then, they prayed for their hero.

“I hope those who went there will be able to help the hero……”

At the prayer of one woman, the remaining people closed their eyes and prayed.

That their hero would stop Destruction even there……

---

Dungeons that had appeared on Earth at some point.

If left alone, they would begin to spew out monsters after a certain amount of time, so they had to be cleared no matter what.

Of course, they weren’t entirely bad.

They were also places where various ores, magic stones, and plants could be found.

However, because they were so dangerous, there weren’t many who could clear them safely.

A very small number of Hunters.

Only they could safely clear them.

But recently, as people who had been to another world began to appear, Gates were no longer considered dangerous zones.

Moreover, with their arrival, Earth changed drastically.

Kim Jung-tae.

Harry Williams.

Rovanov.

Jaime.

Hikardu.

Al-Assad.

Led by these six strongest individuals who had returned from another world, the dungeons were cleared safely.

Everyone said that the world would now become a safe place, but those who had returned from the other world all said the same thing.

“We must prepare for a greater threat.”

“Destruction is coming.”

“We must grow even more than now.”

Those who returned from the other world insisted that humanity must possess the strength to face the great threat.

But not everyone believed it.

Some thought, ‘That won’t happen to us’, and only schemed how to make more money in the currently stable situation.

Even so, led by the Hunters who had returned from the other world, most Hunters continued to strive to become stronger.

The Hunters who came back from the other world with overwhelming power grew even stronger and became the central figures leading the world.

However, not all Hunters who returned from the other world were like that.

“Ha……”

A man sighing as he rolled around inside a dungeon, working hard.

“Baepsae, is this really the best we’ve got?”

-Tweet!

As the Baepsae perched on his head sighed and urged him to roll again, the man had no choice but to raise his sword once more.

Once the man who had saved the world, Iron… no, now Lee Jung-hoo, sighed deeply.

The price of fusing with Ra had been extremely high.

As a reward for saving the world, he had been able to return with all his original powers and the Divine Beasts.

But the system was not so lenient.

Because Iron had become a Transcendent, and thus could disrupt the world's order, he was forced to start growing from the beginning again.

Perhaps because of that, all the Divine Beasts turned into baby birds and now possessed only a tiny speck of Divine Beast Power.

Still, it wasn’t completely hopeless.

“This thing’s pretty neat.”

The new ability he gained upon crossing over, shamanism.

It was a power that could implement buffs through totems or manifest wide-area abilities.

These days, he was finding a bit of enjoyment in developing it.

“Phew… that was rough.”

-Tweet.

As Lee Jung-hoo exited the dungeon and wiped his forehead with his sleeve as if exhausted, the Baepsae shook its head in disbelief at Jung-hoo pretending to wipe sweat despite having practically played around.

Just then, a vibration came from the phone in Lee Jung-hoo’s pocket.

“Hello? Oh! Jung-tae?”

-Hey! How long do I have to cover your back, huh? Stop playing around saying you’re growing your totem and get stronger already!

“…I’m not playing.”

-Don’t bullshit me. I know exactly what your skill level is, you piece of ^@$^%#$&%$!

As the curses came through, he immediately turned off the phone.

He’d probably get chewed out later, but that was a problem for future him.

-Tweet! Tweet tweet!

The Baepsae scolded him like it was telling him to get his act together, but Jung-hoo only laughed.

“Let’s play just a little longer. I worked hard, didn’t I?”

At Lee Jung-hoo’s words, the Baepsae sighed and turned its head away.

The one who had helped Iron, who had lost all his powers and was left in despair after crossing over, was none other than Kim Jung-tae.

Though he had no manners and mocked him every time they met, he was still the one who had helped him most diligently.

Of course, Kim Jung-tae didn’t help without a reason.

“They probably figured they couldn’t handle it on their own, so they’re helping me.”

They had experienced what Destruction was like themselves, and that’s why they were pushing Lee Jung-hoo to grow stronger.

Still, even taking that into account, he was grateful.

Even though Iron had not returned, the six who came from the other world had gone out of their way to seek out and take care of his family, and among them, the fellow Korean Kim Jung-tae had given him the most help.

“Huh? A Gate? All of a sudden?”

On his way back from the dungeon, Lee Jung-hoo was startled by a stream of light descending from the sky.

The size of the Gate was no joke, and his eyes widened.

-Tweet tweet!

The Baepsae scolded him, saying “You should’ve grown sooner!”

Under the Baepsae’s scolding, Lee Jung-hoo tilted his head.

“What… what is this?”

From the Gate connected to a massive light stream, a familiar energy could be felt.

And shortly after, that familiar energy flew toward him.

“Huh?”

A woman he hadn’t seen in a long time, someone he thought he’d never see again, stood before Lee Jung-hoo.

“……It’s been a while.”

The unfamiliar silver-haired woman greeted him with a longing smile, and Lee Jung-hoo, who had stood dazed for a moment, smiled gently in return and replied.

“Yeah. It’s been a while.”

***

《The Duke's Eldest Son Escaped to the Military》 ends here.

Afterword

Hello.

This is .RottenApple., the author of 《The Duke's Eldest Son Escaped to the Military》.

It sure took a long time to reach the end.

Honestly, the reason I started writing this novel was because soldiers suddenly started gaining popularity, and that led me to write it. But along the way, the story changed quite a bit from the initial concept thanks to the advice of many readers.

Still, I’m glad the ending I had in mind from the beginning remained unchanged.

To those who pointed out that the initial momentum was lost in the middle, and those who told me the plot was going off track at times, thank you, thanks to your feedback, I was able to stay centered and make it to the end.

I want to once again thank everyone who offered advice.

And lastly, I sincerely thank those who consistently supported and cheered me on, and followed this story to the very end.

This story had many shortcomings, but it was thanks to you, the readers, that I was able to bring it to a conclusion.

I don’t know what the next story will be, but I promise to return with a novel more refined than this one. For now, this humble writer will take his leave.

To all the readers who stayed with me until the end, thank you so much!

***

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