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Chapter 234: Dark Clouds Looming Over the North

<h3>Chapter 234: Dark Clouds Looming Over the North</h3>

At the news, the entire Mobile Field Army flocked to the place where the Phantom Tree had been.

Everyone, except those out on missions, had gathered for Iron’s return.

“Everyone’s welcoming me quite enthusiastically, huh?”

At Iron’s question, Karl smiled as if to say it was understandable.

No matter how much war experience they had gained and trained to help the ever-suffering commander, in the end, Iron had once again borne the sacrifice.

Because of that, not just the commanders, but all the troops trained with gritted teeth.

At the very least, when Iron returned, or in the next battle, they would not let him make the same sacrifice again.

“It seems I’ve caused everyone a lot of stress.”

Iron spoke with a wry smile.

Even Karl, who was standing right next to him, looked noticeably gaunt.

The same was true for Ariel, Kardro, Saeriden, and the other commanders who had rushed over.

“You’ve all worked hard.”

Iron said as he patted the commanders who had come running on the shoulder, one by one.

Then, when he saw Ariel, his eyes widened.

“You…”

Ariel’s condition was barely distinguishable from a complete wreck.

Her daily grueling training, sparring, and pushing herself to the limit had drained her mental strength, making it surprising that her body had even recovered.

But that wasn’t what had shocked Iron.

Though her physical condition was terrible, the mysterious aura he felt from Ariel was enough to astonish even him.

‘Is it the boundary?’

Ariel had already been preparing to challenge the wall before arriving in the Great Forest.

But after accumulating so much combat experience and receiving rewards here, it seemed she had unknowingly crossed the boundary and stepped into it.

However, from Iron’s perspective, Ariel seemed unaware that she had entered the boundary.

‘Ha… But I can’t exactly tell her myself…’

If Iron were to say, ‘You’re standing at the boundary of a Master!’ right now, the wall she had broken down with so much difficulty might reconstruct itself.

So, he silently fretted while pretending not to notice and continued encouraging the other commanders.

Amid the cheers celebrating the Mobile Field Army’s return, he headed to the temporarily set-up command post.

“I can tell everyone has been working hard in my absence.”

As Iron looked around on his way to the command post, he instantly grasped the overall level of the Mobile Field Army.

Although their level had risen thanks to the rewards they had gained from clearing the first story of the apocalypse, their effort to assimilate those rewards was apparent.

The traces of grueling daily training were evident everywhere, and even the soldiers showed signs of rough, tough training.

“But… where’s Faulden?”

“I’m here.”

As the saying goes, speak of the tiger and he will appear. Faulden entered the command post, carrying a mountain of documents, which he placed on the desk.

“This… is?”

“The paperwork you guys delayed while focusing on your training.”

At Kardro’s question, Faulden ground his teeth, glaring at the commanders.

Especially Nyx Cole, the leader of the Rangers responsible for reconnaissance, and Kardro, who handled the air force, were sweating nervously, avoiding Faulden’s gaze.

“You really came back at just the right damn time, didn’t you?”

With those words, Faulden handed the thick stack of documents over to Iron.

“This is the current situation in the North.”

“Is it serious?”

“It’s very serious.”

Faulden responded with a grave expression to Iron’s question.

Upon hearing that, Iron hastily flipped through the information Faulden had compiled.

“Has the war started?”

As he spoke, Iron frowned while quickly reading through the report on the Northeast.

“It’s more detailed than I expected.”

“I’ve dispatched the entire Raven unit to the North.”

At Iron’s words, Faulden answered with a tired look on his face.

“What about the West?”

“We’re receiving information from the Western Command. However, the North’s situation is so severe that we don’t have the resources to send our intelligence agents to the West.”

“Hm… So, given the current situation in the North, we can assume that all the intelligence agents of the Mobile Field Army are focused on the North?”

“Yes. Even with that, we’ve had to borrow the strength of the Ravens. I’ve already gotten permission from the leader of the Ravens.”

At Faulden’s words, Iron tilted his head in curiosity.

“Now that I think about it, where is Gaon?”

At Iron’s question, Kardro, who was standing nearby, answered on his behalf.

“He’s currently training.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. Due to the nature of his training, we couldn’t disturb him, so he wasn’t able to attend this meeting.”

At Kardro’s response, Iron stroked his chin, falling deep into thought.

He was already well aware of Gaon’s training methods, so he nodded in understanding.

“Does Gaon still need more time?”

“…It seems so. His control is still unrefined compared to his abilities, so it will take time for him to adapt.”

With Kardro’s report, Iron gave a small nod and received additional reports from the other commanders.

The key figures were Faulden and Karl.

Knowing the North was in danger, Karl had already begun preparations to move supplies there, while Faulden had sorted through a vast amount of information to prepare for any emergency. Thanks to their efforts, the Mobile Field Army was ready to mobilize at any moment.

At most, they only needed a day or two to recover before they could move to support the North.

“The Godly Sword Family Head has already moved to the North, hasn’t he?”

“…Yes. It seems, due to signs of the Frost Giant King awakening, he departed even though his body hadn’t fully recovered.”

While Iron was pondering over Faulden’s answer, Gaon, having finished his training, arrived at the command post.

“Apologies for being late.”

Iron waved his hand dismissively as Gaon bowed his head in apology and received a brief report on the Raven unit.

Had Gaon been completely focused on his training until now?

Faulden seemed to know more about Raven’s operational status than Gaon did.

“Faulden.”

“Yes.”

“How long have you been in charge of Raven?”

“Since the end of the Great Forest operation.”

At Faulden’s reply, Iron fell into thought.

“Hm… it seems a reorganization is in order.”

Iron said this while looking at the commanders.

The others flinched at his words.

Everyone looked at Iron with tense expressions, nervous about the sudden announcement of a reorganization.

“It seems fitting that Raven should come under Faulden’s command.”

Though everyone was surprised by Iron’s words, Gaon accepted it without any change in his expression.

The others, however, looked curious, wondering where Gaon, who was currently ranked among the top two in power within the Mobile Field Army aside from Iron, would be placed.

“Gaon.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll take command of the 21st Corps.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at Iron’s statement.

“The 21st Corps will be turned into an elite corps. We’ll merge the remaining personnel into the 23rd Corps. There won’t be any significant changes to the 22nd Corps.”

Since Iron had witnessed how Gaon had been growing Raven into an elite unit, he devised a corps management strategy that suited him.

The 21st Corps would become an elite force, the 22nd Corps would specialize in air force and reconnaissance, and the 23rd Corps, with the largest number of troops, would focus on defense.

With these clearly defined specialties, Iron also clarified the direction for his direct units.

First, he clearly distinguished the roles of the Knights and the Assault Troops.

“The Knights will focus on defense, while the Assault Troops will focus on subjugation missions. The Rangers will specialize solely in reconnaissance. Leave combat to the Assault Troops.”

“Yes, sir!”

The captains of the direct command units bowed their heads and answered to Iron’s order.

There wasn’t much for Iron to say to the Magic Unit or the Spirit Unit.

If there was anything to note, it was that many had made contracts with spirit beasts and spirits in the Great Forest, so the Spirit Unit would be significantly expanded.

Karl was handling the logistics well, so there was no need to interfere there, and since Raven would be under Faulden’s command, his authority had greatly increased. However, since Faulden had already been operating Raven, Iron was simply formalizing the structure.

“Then, Commander Ariel is…”

Kardro mumbled, glancing at Ariel.

The other commanders had the same thought.

Despite her somewhat awkward position, Ariel remained expressionless, simply waiting for Iron’s command.

Looking at her, Iron finally spoke.

“Ariel will move with me for the time being. Her position will remain on hold. I plan to appoint her as Deputy Commander and have her lead the entire army when I am absent.”

At Iron’s statement, Ariel’s eyes widened in shock, and her pupils trembled.

Seeing Ariel’s reaction for a moment, Iron turned his gaze to Kardro.

“Kardro.”

“Yes!”

“Prepare to move to the North first.”

“Yes.”

Iron nodded at Kadro’s unhesitating answer, then spoke to the other commanders.

“Gaon and Saeriden, move once the reorganization is complete.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

After giving orders to both Gaon and Saeriden, Iron looked at the remaining heads of the direct units.

“All direct units, except for the Knights, will immediately move to the Northeastern Command. Leave only the minimum personnel at the headquarters and use the Northeastern Command as your temporary base.”

“I’ll notify the Northeast in advance.”

At Faulden’s words, Iron gave a small nod and then spoke to Karl.

“Karl, I’ll need you to stay in the Southern region and handle supply management.”

“Understood.”

“When the war fully starts, you should join us as well.”

After issuing all the commands, Iron took Ariel with him and left the command post.

Looking at Ariel, who had become even more gaunt than the others due to her struggles to surpass the wall to become a Master, Iron let out a sigh.

It was fortunate that she wasn’t stuck at the wall in despair, but her current state, where she was pushing herself beyond her limits, was not ideal either.

‘I’ll have to help her.’

With that thought, Iron led her to a quiet area in the Great Forest.

When they arrived at an open space, Iron quietly observed her and asked.

“Ariel.”

“Yes.”

“How close do you think you are to becoming a Master?”

Ariel remained silent for a moment, deeply contemplating his question.

After thinking for a while, she finally opened her mouth, speaking with difficulty.

“I believe I’ve reached the wall. However… I still lack the realization to break through it.”

As Ariel spoke, she bit her lip.

She felt like she was almost there.

But the wall of becoming a Master remained as firm as ever.

When they defeated the Phantom Tree and she received her reward, she thought she was close to reaching the Master level, but that had been a mere illusion.

“Phew…”

Seeing her expression, Iron sighed and shook his head.

The issue Ariel was currently facing was simple.

She was placing the idea of becoming a Master on too high of a pedestal.

That thought was preventing her from realizing that she had already entered the boundary and was holding her back.

On top of that, her feelings of guilt toward Iron, for not being of much help in the recent battle, were compounding her frustration. Even though she had broken through the wall, her mental block was creating another obstacle.

Iron looked at her firmly and spoke decisively.

“Before I head to the North, I’m going to make you my Deputy Commander.”

Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise at Iron’s words.

“Endure it. And break through. If you do, you’ll become a Master.”

With that, Iron released a powerful force around him.

But it wasn’t just a simple surge of power.

He summoned the energy of nature, swirling it around, and pressed down on Ariel with overwhelming strength.

“Kuk!”

“Are you feeling guilty for not being of much help during the battle in the Great Forest? Is that why you’ve been overworking yourself, pushing your body beyond its limits in your training to become a Master?”

Ariel couldn’t respond to Iron’s question.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer, but rather that the pressure Iron was exerting on her made it impossible for her to speak.

“If you want to be of help to me, break through this. If you can’t, you’ll wander for years before reaching the Master level. So… make sure you break through.”

With those words, Iron spoke firmly to Ariel.

“Throw away the guilt and all those useless thoughts. Focus entirely on breaking through this force. From this moment on, don’t think about anything else, just concentrate on your sword. Even so, it will be difficult to break through.”

As Iron spoke, he gathered even more of nature’s energy.

Before long, a massive storm formed around the Great Forest, turning the area into a training ground for Ariel and Iron alone.