Iron’s expression was already distorted from the pain when he woke up but hearing the bullshit that Crimson had told him made it distort even further. However, even if he did not like the situation, he knew that he couldn’t stay idle any longer. 

He did not know when the family head would come so he needed to do the things that he needed to do before preparing himself for their eventual meeting. He still had to visit the Ghosts that sacrificed themselves and make sure that his troops were all safe. There was still a lot left to be done.

So, Iron stayed still until the injuries on his body had healed and recovered to some extent. And as soon as he felt that his body could move, he immediately started warming up with some simple exercises. He wanted to be able to move normally as soon as possible. 

“Sigh…” 

Iron couldn’t help but sigh when he checked his body’s condition. 

Perhaps it was because he had forcefully increased his mana despite having severe injuries in his body during his fight with the dark elves that his physical condition was extremely bad. He couldn’t even dare dream about moving his mana with such poor conditions lest he inflict more serious injuries to himself. 

But were there any traumas left behind? No, that wasn’t the case either. Although he did not have any serious injuries,  it was still difficult to find a place in his body that was not battered and bruised since he rolled around evading but eventually getting hit by arrows and all kinds of weapons towards the end. 

“It seems like I still have a long way to go before I recover.” 

Even though he had suffered from severe injuries, he was able to survive thanks to having a temporary and forced assimilation with the phoenix. So, he was grateful that he could still feel this pain. 

“Would it have been better if I broke the quest?” 

Despite doing his best to prevent the dimensional crack from opening and proceeding perfectly, he was still unable to finish the quest completely. Iron had wondered what kind of reward he would receive if he had completed the quest when he first received it. But it seemed like breaking it was much better than being stuck in this situation right now. 

While he was busy trying to recuperate, unexpected visitors came to visit him. 

“Outpost leader!” 

Corporal Charles and some of the corporals came to visit him. 

Iron was aware of the soldiers’ salary but they brought him drinks and flowers as they sat around on chairs and even on the empty side of the bed. He felt moved at their thoughtful actions.

“Are you alright?” 

“It’s worth enduring.” 

“I don’t think so.” 

When Corporal Charles had asked him if he was alright, Iron had answered that he was alright but Corporal James shook his head and disagreed with him.

Although Iron had said that he was alright, the bandages that covered his entire body were not very convincing at all. 

“Anyway, are all of you alright?” 

“Corporal Brian has some slight injuries. And I have sent the privates and the private first classes that were seriously injured to Command.” 

“Brian? I think that guy’s okay though?” 

“Monsters attacked us after the outpost leader left alone. Brian was the one who had the best condition among us so he willingly stopped the rushing monsters with close combat…” 

“It’s a relief that he’s still alive.” 

Iron smiled when he heard the end of Corporal Charles’ report.

“How about the outpost?” 

“The vice outpost leader is doing well.” 

“What about the sergeant?” 

Iron asked after the person that he was most anxious about, Sergeant Sean Wicks. 

“He’s working hard. After rumors about the outpost leader started to circulate, he continued working hard so that the outpost leader won’t be able to grab a flaw that you could criticize on.” 

“Rumors?” 

Iron looked at Charles’ strangely. 

“That’s… There are rumors that the outpost leader is a Ghost and that you have made a major contribution in this mission. They say that you’ll probably receive a medal too.” 

“There are rumors like that?” 

“Yes, sir. Command even came to the outpost and asked about the outpost leader.” 

“Hmm… Is that so?” 

Iron nodded seriously when he heard Charles’ words. 

“As expected! I know that you’re extraordinary… I knew with just one glance that our outpost leader is an incredible person!” 

“Tha… Thanks.” 

Iron reacted awkwardly to their praise. 

He spent their time together asking Corporal Charles and James and the other corporals about their current situation and other things related to their outpost. The soldiers only left before evening. 

Contrary to what he was worried about, it seemed like the outpost was working well and running safely. Fortunately there seemed to be no deaths among his soldiers. All of this was thanks to the reinforcements’ timely arrival. 

Relief washed over him when he thought that none of the Ghosts, although they were seriously injured, and his soldiers died from this incident.

“Huh?” 

“Is your body holding up well?” 

A familiar face appeared when the door opened after he heard someone knock. Carl Gustav, who was seriously injured, entered his medic room with bandages wrapped tightly around his body.

“Are you alright?” 

“More better than you, I suppose? I heard that you wouldn’t be able to move and manage your mana for a while.” 

“…The price I paid is quite cheap.” 

Iron smiled bitterly.

He tried to hold out desperately despite his depleted mana for 20 minutes. This was so the phoenix could exert its full strength and vent its anger. Because of this his body had been stretched taut and was now in this poor condition. His internal injuries were already quite severe back then so he felt lucky that he was still alive and he did not keel over and die.

“Are the others alright?” 

“Fortunately. Thanks to you, the dark elves ran and flocked to your location so they were easily rescued by the rangers that came a bit later. Well… It will be hard to move for a while, let alone doing a mission.” 

Carl Gustav raised his bandaged arm as he spoke. 

When Iron saw Carl in this state, he couldn’t help but look apologetically. 

“You’ve had such a hard time but… the mission failed eventually.” 

Carl Gustav stared at Iron when he heard his deprecating words. 

“The level of this mission is extremely difficult. No one expected you, the youngest of the Ghosts, to do this much.” 

“Is that so?” 

“That’s right. It’s already a relief if you could follow behind and become Ghost’s tail. But you even did more than us. Your accomplishments are more than enough.”

Carl Gustav lightly tapped Iron on the shoulders. 

“You will be given a break, what will you do?”

“I think I’ll focus on improving my skills.”

Iron clenched and unclenched his fist as a bitter smile hung on his face. He knew that he was not of any help during their fight with the dark elves.

He thought that he could pay for his meals because he had his divine beasts with him, but when it came to skills, he was only a hindrance to the Ghosts. Perhaps this was the reason why he felt a sense of crisis that he hadn’t felt after a long time.

This incident had made him realize that he was relieved. He was relieved at the fact that he would definitely reach the 5th Stage before he reached the age of 20 with the current state that he was in. He finally knew that he was being relaxed and complacent since his goal in this life was already at his fingertips.

However, after experiencing the fight with the dark elves, his relaxed mindset had completely changed. No matter what, he wanted to improve his skills.

“Improving your skills… I think your skills are more than enough for now, but if you feel that way…”

Movements suddenly came from behind the door before Carl could finish cheering Iron on.

The both of them turned to look at the door in confusion when they heard the jingling of the knob. When the door opened, the two of them saw a blonde middle-aged man outside.

Carl immediately realized that he would be a nuisance especially after seeing Iron’s stiffening expression. So, he stood up quietly to leave.

“I think you have an important guest. I should get going. Take good care of yourself.”

“…Yes. Captain should take good care of yourself too.”

Carl thought Iron was cute when he called him captain. He smiled at him before turning around to leave the room. 

The blonde middle-aged man looked at Iron coldly as he waited for the door to close quietly. 

“It’s been a while.”

“I went here just in case… but you really hid yourself in this place.”

The Lion Family’s head, Lioner Leonhardt Rohr, was looking at Iron coldly. 

“Jaiden.”

“In this place, I’m called Iron.”

Lioner’s eyebrows furrowed when he heard Iron’s words. However, he just furrowed his brows and looked at him uncomfortably.

Iron did not know but he was guessing that it was because he did not bring shame to the family after leaving that he was left without any scolding. He felt a bit thankful to his major contributions since he did not get an earful right at this very moment.

“I came here personally to ask you one thing.”

“Please ask.”

“The reason why you left the family.”

Iron fell silent after hearing what Lioner wanted to know. He thought deeply for a moment before letting out a huge sigh and opening his mouth to answer.

“The Lion Family’s sword technique is not for me.”

“Fine. That’s what the youngest told me too. He said that you are on a different path than the Lion’s path.”

Lioner looked sharply at Iron as if he wanted to stab through his very being. His gaze was so penetrating that Iron felt that he was being tested if he was truly telling the truth. 

After looking at him with those deeply penetrating eyes, Lioner opened his mouth while quietly increasing his momentum.

“Is it really because of the sword technique?”

Iron nodded his head with gritted teeth. He tried his best to hold out against Lioner’s momentum.

Of course, there were various reasons, but the Lion Sword Technique was also a huge part of the reason why he left the family. So, technically what he said was also the truth. 

“Sword technique… So, what swordsmanship did you choose?”

“My own path.”

Iron stared at Lioner firmly as he answered him with his unshakeable will.

Lioner’s gaze had a hint of surprise when he heard his answer. After quite some time, he finally reduced the momentum that was pressuring Iron. It was as if he had accepted his reasons. 

“Your path… That’s right. There’s no right or wrong answer to becoming strong.”

Lioner agreed with Iron’s words. Then, he pondered over his words before speaking quietly once again.

“Is there a reason why you chose to be in the military? If it’s just the basic swordsmanship, then you could have just learned it from the family, right? I think it would have been better for you and your strength if you stayed in the family?”

Iron smiled bitterly when he heard the clear suspicion in Lioner’s words. 

Just like he said, the Leonhardt Family was not a bad place to grow up in. But that was only the case if he had the necessary support. However, the biggest problem of them all was that there were too many risk factors in that place. Even the Northeast, a place considered as one of the most dangerous areas in the continent, was a place that would pay attention and make sure that their young would survive as much as possible during their growth period. But the Leonhardts did not have that compassion at all. It was a risk that he couldn’t take, especially if he wanted to survive. 

“Do you know how many children die in the Leonhardt Family?”

“…If you can’t survive and last longer than that then you don’t deserve to live in the Leonhardt Family.”

Lioner went silent for a while before he answered Iron.

He was also someone who had endured the harsh training of the Lions and even became its family head. Even if they appeared to be harsh to others, they firmly believed that they must abandon the weak. This was so their children could be filled with poison and obsessiveness with strength. This was Leonhardt’s age-old nurturing style. A style that made them reign as the strongest family in the North. 

“Yes. That’s the reason. With my trash talent, I wouldn’t be able to survive the harsh and direct training method. Although I’m incompetent and only started my training later than the others, I believe that I should still be able to survive. But everything that felt hazy before had become clear when I found the right swordsmanship for me.”

“Is that why you left the family? To survive?”

Iron nodded bitterly at Lioner’s question. 

Just like what Iron had said, Lioner knew that he would have become a cripple by now if he remained in the family. The Lion family would have definitely dropped him in the beast forest to survive alone if he was found out to be a completely useless person. There, he would be subject to the harsh training of the direct descendants of the Lion family. He would even be forced to train his intuition through all kinds of methods that almost bordered inhumane. The training was so harsh that Lioner was sure that Iron would have already fallen at this point in time.

Even after knowing this fact, Lioner’s greed for Iron still remained.

“Come back.”

“The Lion Sword Technique is not the right fit for me.”

“It doesn’t matter. The Lion Family is a family that seeks strength not just swordsmanship.”

Lioner looked at Iron as he said that. 

“What will I even do there when I come back? Will you give me the seat of the head of the family? Or will you give me something amazing enough so I can leave the military behind?”

“No. But I can forcibly take you away.”

Iron snorted at Lioner’s threats. 

“I guess the military is just that easy then.”

“No. But they should be clear on whether they will choose the master or they will choose someone with a divine beast.” 

“What…” 

“On the condition that I can bring you away, I will be staying here personally for 2 years.” 

Iron looked shocked when he heard Lioner’s words.

“Why are you even willing to do that?” 

“Because I have to correct my mistakes. I had thrown you away because I believed that you would be useless with your talents, especially when compared to the youngest. But I know now that you’re a useful person. So, I should correct my mistakes.” 

Iron sighed. 

“I refuse.” 

“Then, I’ll forcibly summon you.” 

“What do you even want to do with me!” 

Lioner stared at Iron’s angry figure. 

“Do you want to prove that your reason to choose the military over the Lion Family is correct?” 

Iron shut his mouth when he heard Lioner’s question. 

“Then prove it. Prove that our method to foster and nurture our children is wrong. Only then will I give you freedom.” 

“I just hate it.” 

Iron gritted his teeth as he answered Lioner. 

“Is there anything you want?” 

“Yes.” 

Iron immediately answered Lioner’s question. Hearing him respond immediately, Lioner couldn’t help but look at him with interest. After all, it had been a long time since someone had dared to tell him what they wanted. 

“What?” 

“I’ll only tell you after I have proven that my choice is right.” 

“Is this some sort of bet? Interesting.” 

Lioner smirked arrogantly at him. His smirk was only a small curl of the corner of his lips but just like a lion, his expression was filled with arrogance. 

“Fine. In the next two years, prove that your own path is correct here in the Winter Mountains.” 

“Two years?” 

“Yes. The deadline is only as long as I stay here.” 

“No way. Are you going to live with me here?” 

Lioner smiled when he saw Iron’s astonishment. 

“I made time and left those two years empty just so I can take you away. Even if I do it by force. So, I have to use that time well. Don’t you think so too?”

“……” 

He said this because Lioner found it fun to see his son’s hateful glare and open dislike of him. 

“Just so you know, the youngest had just recently entered the 4th Stage.” 

“Ah…” 

“If the youngest catches up to you then it means that your path is meaningless. Prove that you're not just running head on at something by force.” 

Lioner leisurely opened the door to his room and stepped out as he left these words behind. 

“I’ll wait and see what the path that you chose is like.” 

***

ANNOUNCEMENT

There will be no update tomorrow. Update will resume the day after tomorrow. See you!