Chapter 137  The Central Army’s Collapse (2)

German looked surprised at Iron’s question.

Iron’s expression began to sink when he realized that his guess was correct.

“Were you probing me?”

Iron smiled bitterly at German’s question.

“In fact, I came to Western Command to find out about the capital.”

“So, you came here to see if the Capital Defense Corps is safe.”

“That’s right.”

Iron nodded gently at German’s words.

“Hoo…”

German took a deep puff of his cigar before sighing.

“How much do you know?”

Iron went silent for a moment at German’s question. German continued to speak after seeing Iron like that.

“Tell me everything. Then, I’ll tell you everything that I can tell you to the best of my abilities.”

Iron opened his mouth after pondering over German’s words for a while.

“If the Central Army collapsed while the Capital Defense Corps was still in good shape, then it’s safe to assume that the Center had abandoned most of the areas in their region except for the minimum route that they needed to take from the capital to the outside.”

“And?”

“I believe they will continue to divide the enemies that they couldn’t take on to the other regions. There’s also a possibility that the damaged North will delay sending their support and take their time to go to the Center so they threw away the Central Army as bait to attract the Death Corps to the North.”

The Western Commander sighed quietly after hearing Iron’s speculation.

“You predicted a lot of things with only the limited information in your hands.”

German took out another cigar before placing it in his mouth and looking at Iron. Seeing that German was thinking about where to start, Iron opened his mouth carefully.

“The Death Corps, the government is the one responsible for them, right?”

“……”

German looked at Iron firmly after hearing his question.

Seeing him stop his actions of lighting his cigar and looking at him firmly like that made Iron feel convinced that his expectations and guesses were correct.

“Where did you hear that?”

Iron shook his head.

“I investigated it myself.”

Iron then told him about the commanders of the Death Corps that he had caught on his way here as well as the information that he had obtained after torturing them.

First, there were traces of experiments on their bodies.

Through his experiments, he was able to find out the traces of stitches, the abnormal skin as well as the different types of tissues on the body and the limbs of the beings. He could tell that they were made artificially through some sort of experimental surgery.

Second, the confessions that he barely received after torture.

However, by the end of it all, it seemed like they were forbidden from speaking about anything else so the identity of the person who did the experiment remained unknown. He could deduce it from this point on but there was already enough evidence from the endless anger that they had felt at the current Imperialists and the Central government as well as their angry roar whenever the name of the Imperial Family came out.

Finally, the contract insignia.

Just like the dark elves and the mermaid race, there were signs of the contract insignia on their body that allowed them to use the power of the void, an external power. Through this insignia, they, the products of experiments, were able to breathe and use death’s energy.

To sum it up, the wizards’ experiment chimeras and the alchemists’ homunculi had become terrible hybrids after signing a contract with the beings of the void.

The Center tried to hide them until the very end but they couldn’t handle them so they used the collapse of the Central Army as an excuse to diffuse them to other regions.

“That’s all of the things that I have thought about.”

German chewed on his cigar at Iron’s words before spitting it out and speaking.

“Hoo… You know more than I thought.”

German sighed as he continued to speak.

“In fact, it’s already safe to say that you already knew everything.”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s right. Just like you had inferred, the commanders of the Death Corps are the Central Laboratories’ victims. They were those who had accidentally survived the experiments a long time ago… And they had gathered together while dreaming of taking revenge on the government.”

German looked up at the sky as he said so.

“The very first survivor of the Central Laboratories’ is a vampire half-breed.”

“Ah… So…”

Iron nodded his head as he recalled the blood-sucking characteristics of the Death Corps.

“It’s highly likely that the one who signed a contract with the gods beyond the void is this very same vampire half-breed. Their lifespan was infinitely longer compared to the humans’ short lifespans so they must have prepared for this moment for a long time. In the end, the problem only grew as the Center’s secret laboratories began to be destroyed one by one.”

“So, in the end, they tried to hide their faults by hiding information but it turned out this way.”

He looked bitter when he heard Iron’s words.

As a commander, there was no way that he wouldn’t know that the dark elves, the mermaid race and the birdmen that were wreaking havoc in the West were taking their revenge on the government. After all, all of them were races that had been sacrificed by the Imperial Family for their own greed.

However, even if he knew their reason and that the Empire was the one in the wrong, he had no choice but to fight them to ensure the survival of both the Empire and mankind. After all, in this period of chaos, the division of the Empire would most likely lead to the collapse of mankind.

“Since you already know most of them, I’ll just explain the rest.”

German took a letter out and handed them over to Iron.

“A Shadow came here not too long ago.”

“Th… This…”

Iron looked at the letter that he received not too long ago before turning to German.

“The Death Corps will come to the West so prepare appropriately.”

At German’s urging, Iron opened the letter and read what was written on it.

“In fact, I didn’t understand what they meant but in the end, what they said came true. The Death Corps from the inside and the birdmen from the outside, all of them continued to attack us… Well, we prepared just in case but we still ended up giving up our Command and having our frontlines broken.”

German mumbled ‘I wish I had prepared better back then…’ as he regretted his negligence.

But in Iron’s eyes, German was like a monster for being able to defend and protect his troops despite the constant internal and external pressure. What he did was already amazing enough.

He could see why he was considered as the best Commander in the Empire.

His outstanding commanding abilities were beyond his master-level strength which made him into a man that was worthy of respect of the other army commanders.

“When the Command collapsed and the front had been smashed, a Shadow contacted me again after I had gathered my troops here. They said that this was because of the North.”

Iron tried to say that it wasn’t after hearing German’s words. German reached out his hand and calmed him down when he saw his appearance.

“I know that the Shadow asked for the elves’ bodies. I also know why the North rejected them. Don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, it seems like the Center is trying to collect and experiment with the bodies of the elves, the birdmen’s bodies that we had secured as well as the bodies of the mermaids that had fallen in the East. They’re probably dreaming of staging a counterattack with whatever they could create from that experiment.”

“Do you know what it is?”

German’s mouth turned shut at Iron’s question. It seemed like he was trying to tell him something but in the end all he did was smile and remain silent.

Iron frowned when he realized that he had caught some taboos.

“There’s only one thing that I can tell you. They’re not clinging to the masters anymore.”

“What do you mean…”

“The Shadows said that once their plans are completed, they can end the current crisis with the power of the Center alone.”

Iron frowned at the words of the Western Commander.

“Completed…”

“The experiment that lasted for a long time has finally come to an end. Well… Unlike us, who gave away the bodies of the birdmen, the North who did not give them the bodies of the elves will not be able to expect any help from the Center.”

German said so but he looked like he wasn’t expecting much from them. He knew full well that the West would have already been wiped out even before the Center could help them.

Iron gritted his teeth as he watched German’s bitter expression. He felt repulsion towards the Center that was more atrocious than in his previous life. If he could, he wanted to commit rebellion right away.

German spoke lowly when he saw the resentment and hatred that appeared in Iron’s expression.

“I want to kill them right away but… we still need the Imperial Family.”

German looked at Iron as he said so.

“Necessary evil.”

“You’re talking about… the necessary evil to maintain the Empire?”

“There is that, but what I’m talking about when I say necessary evil is different.”

Iron tilted his head at his words. However, he only smiled bitterly. It seemed like he could no longer tell him anything. Iron nodded when he saw German looking at him as if he needed to find out the rest by himself.

German brought up the question he asked earlier to change the mood.

“Aside from that, let me ask you again. Are you going to help the Center or are you staying here in the West?”

Iron pondered for a moment at his question.

With the current situation, it was better for him to help the West. However, after hearing German’s explanation, he kept on feeling that he needed to go to the Center.

“Necessary evil…”

The meaning of these words that German couldn’t answer. He suddenly wanted to know the answer.

German patted him on his shoulder with his intact hand when he saw him murmuring to himself.

“You’ve decided.”

“…Yes?”

“Aren’t you going to help the Center?”

Iron immediately tried to say no but no words came out of his mouth. German spoke quietly when he saw him like that.

“I’ll support you with supplies, go to the Center.”

“But it’s still dangerous here in the West.”

“I know. But how can you help me here with just your brigade-level troops?”

Iron couldn’t answer his questions.

“Aren’t you the Death Corps’ bane?”

German laughed.

“Sweep them away. Then, gather the collapsed Central Army and save Marquess Leopold.”

Then, German whispered quietly in Iron’s ears.

“The North is our only hope. I can’t move hastily because I was banned from doing so after hearing their secret. But the North is different.”

“Ah…”

“Find out about it. And use it as basis on how the North will move.”

Iron’s head, which was made complicated by German’s words before, finally cleared up.

The tangled threads began to unravel one by one.

His priorities were being set one by one and his direction and how he should move while trying to unravel the secrets of the Empire was also being set.

The selfish Imperial Family and their victims. And the gods who caused confusion on the continent by helping their victims as well as the people that stopped them.

He wanted to find out their complicated stories.

He felt like he could reach the end of this story with how he was right now.

“Find out about the secret that I can’t tell you myself.”

“I’ll do that.”

Iron replied confidently to German’s words. German smiled. It seemed like he liked the confident look on Iron’s face.

“Good. However… since we will be supporting you with supplies, we have a request.”

“Please feel free to say it.”

Iron bowed at German’s words.

“Since you’re going to the Center, move in the northwest direction. You’re still a bit weak.”

Iron smiled and nodded at German’s playful look.

“I’ll wipe out the Death Corps whenever I encounter them.”

German nodded. He looked as if he was satisfied with Iron’s answer as he headed back to the Commander’s Office.

“We only built it temporarily so we don’t have much. The only thing I can treat you with is cheap tea. Is that alright?”

“It’s alright if I drink water but I’d be grateful if there’s tea.”

“Goodness. Aren’t you a smooth talker?”

German patted Iron’s back vigorously as he said so. Although he was injured and was limping, one could see that his steps were filled with strength. Even if he lost confidence, Iron felt that this commander would not collapse.

***