Chapter 322: A Turbulent Promotion Ceremony (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 322: A Turbulent Promotion Ceremony (1)
Around that time, Roman Dmitry—the man at the center of all the rumors—secured the safety of the prisoners and returned to Dmitry.
The very next day, Chris delivered his report with a bitter expression.
"...Immediately upon arriving in Dmitry, we began treating the wounded, but their condition is poor. Carol, in particular, is suffering from severe aftereffects of his torture. According to the healer, even if he fully recovers, being crippled is unavoidable."
Crippled.
It was a heartbreaking word.
Despite their best efforts to treat him with expensive potions, the torture had permanently damaged his nerves, leaving him with a limp in his right leg. Effectively, his life as a soldier was over. Even physically healthy men couldn't guarantee their survival on the battlefield; there was no way he could continue his service with a crippled body.
Roman Dmitry nodded. "I see. Ask those who, like Carol, suffer from lingering injuries if they wish to be classified as non-combat personnel and transferred to the 3rd Unit. If they would rather live as ordinary citizens, process their honorable discharges and compensate them through the standard procedures."
"I will handle it as you command."
The war with Kronos.
After a wave of death swept through, Dmitry had established a clear system for dealing with casualties.
At the core of this system was the 3rd Unit.
While the 1st Unit comprised Dmitry's regular soldiers and the 2nd Unit consisted of Roman Dmitry's private forces, the 3rd Unit was meant for those no longer fit for combat. In war, tragedies like Carol's were inevitable. Since those who lost limbs on the battlefield could no longer serve as frontline soldiers, Roman Dmitry assigned them a new purpose.
Thus, the 3rd Unit was born.
Though they were not deployed in combat, they took charge of the Dmitry army's non-combat operations. Their roles were diverse. Ranging from simple tasks like food distribution and supply management to duties they could handle despite physical limitations—such as intelligence management and communications—they kept the army running.
It was a profound gesture of consideration.
Soldiers who made their living by the sword would lose their livelihoods if disabled, so Roman Dmitry had organized the 3rd Unit as a safety net. It was a win-win. The veterans found a way to live on, and Roman Dmitry could maintain military morale while efficiently utilizing non-combat resources.
It was a system that truly guaranteed their futures.
As Chris left the office, a surge of pride washed over him. He was honored to serve a man like Roman Dmitry.
At the very least, the moment he faced Carol again wouldn't be steeped in shame.
* * *
Carol bowed his head.
He couldn't bring himself to look up, feeling as though his tears would burst forth at any second.
"The choice is yours. If you wish to transfer to the 3rd Unit, I will make the arrangements within a few days."
It was Chris who spoke.
Listening to Chris's words, Carol recalled the day he had returned to Dmitry.
"Honey!"
"My son!"
His family.
The people he thought he would never see again had run toward him, their faces crumpled, on the verge of sobbing. Carol had gathered them into his broad embrace all at once. Though his movements were slow and painful due to the lingering agony of his torture, the mere fact of reuniting with his family made all the suffering vanish.
When he finally asked how they had lived in his absence, Carol heard something completely unexpected.
"After we held your funeral, Young Master Roman provided compensation for the bereaved families. He even arranged new jobs for the wives who had lost their husbands. Honey, I can't tell you how happy I am right now. No matter how financially secure we were, it could never fill the void of your absence. I would gladly return every coin of that compensation just to have you by my side."
There were many cases like Henderson's.
Wives who had lost their breadwinners had managed to survive with Dmitry's help, and they wept bitterly upon realizing the husbands they thought dead had actually returned. At that moment, Carol hadn't been able to hold back his tears either. Not only had Roman waged a war to rescue Dmitry's prisoners, but the fact that he had looked after their families in the meantime made Carol's emotions overflow.
He was endlessly grateful.
For the first time in his life, he was truly, deeply proud to have sworn allegiance to Dmitry.
He looked up at Chris.
When asked about his future, Carol spoke with a solemn expression.
"Yes. I will transfer. If there is anything I can do for my liege, I am ready to take on any task. If evil forces ever threaten Dmitry, even if I cannot hold a sword or fight on this limping leg, I will strap magic bombs to my body and charge into enemy lines for the glory of Dmitry!"
"There is no need to go that far..."
"I will do it! I will absolutely do it! Please accept me!"
He was burning with passion.
His resolve was so intense that it actually made Chris feel a bit awkward.
Chris let out a soft chuckle.
It didn't feel bad, though.
One by one, just like this, Dmitry was building its foundation as an empire, forging an iron fortress that no other nation would dare covet.
* * *
One month ago.
At the Cairo Royal Academy, the promotion exam from Class B to Class A was underway.
Flutter.
The flag dropped.
Signaling the start of the duel, Hugo, the top-ranked student of Class B, rushed fiercely toward his opponent.
Boom!
Rumble!
He was fast.
His movement—instantly closing the distance with an explosion of Aura and cutting off his opponent's space—drew admiration from the onlookers. The problem was his opponent. While the top-tier students of the class decided their promotion by sparring against one another, those who checked the tournament bracket could only let out sighs of pity for Hugo.
It was unfortunate.
Hugo was born with exceptional talent, but his opponent was Lauren Dmitry, the absolute strongest candidate for promotion.
Whoosh.
He dodged the strike.
Deflecting the blade with a light, fluid movement, Lauren instantly spotted a flaw in Hugo's stance.
Smack!
The realization and the counterattack occurred simultaneously.
Hugo was thrown backward.
He quickly recovered his sword with a flustered face, but before he knew it, Lauren Dmitry was already lunging in below his line of sight. From then on, a frantic exchange ensued—one so fast that Hugo could barely process how the duel was unfolding. Lauren Dmitry pressed him relentlessly, refusing to grant him even a single breath. Within thirty seconds of the duel's start, Hugo's forehead was drenched in sweat.
"Ugh."
He gritted his teeth.
He couldn't lose.
Since losing this duel meant staying behind in Class B, Hugo pushed his opponent back to create some distance.
And then...
'I'll end this in one blow.'
Crash!
Rumble!
He unleashed his family's secret technique, exploding his Aura.
Timing it perfectly with Lauren Dmitry's charge, he swung his Aura-erupting sword, aiming to cleave his opponent's torso in two.
It worked!
But the very moment he felt certain of victory, the world tilted.
Stagger.
Thud.
Hugo collapsed.
Though Hugo couldn't quite comprehend what had happened, Lauren Dmitry had instantly slipped into his blind spot and struck the back of his neck with the edge of his hand. It was a swift, precise blow. Against an opponent who showed such a fierce desire for victory that he even detonated his Aura, Lauren Dmitry had secured a decisive win without exerting his full strength.
"...As expected."
"The Dmitry bloodline is truly on another level."
The professors and students alike marveled.
Lauren Dmitry.
In the past, his weak-willed personality had raised doubts about his potential as a swordsman. But now, he had made such rapid progress that people wondered if he was even the same person. Recently, the professors had all been saying the same thing: following in the footsteps of Rodwell Dmitry, the greatest talent of the Cairo Royal Academy would undoubtedly be Lauren Dmitry.
And so...
"Lauren Dmitry wins. Congratulations on your promotion."
Amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd, his promotion to Class A was finalized.
* * *
Even after finishing the promotion exam, Lauren Dmitry had stayed behind for additional training. He now sat on a locker room bench, a towel draped over his sweat-soaked hair.
Thud.
"Lauren! You kept training until you looked like that, even after the exam was over?!"
He turned to see the shocked expression of his classmate standing right next to him.
When Lauren gave a slight nod, finding it hard to even speak through his exhaustion, his classmate gave him an exasperated look.
"You're really something else. Why do you train so relentlessly? There's already no match for you in Class B, and even the seniors in Class A are wary of you. I guarantee it, you'll be promoted to Class S within half a year. You're only staying at this level because of the promotion system's rules, but you've already surpassed the academy's standards."
"Is that so?" Lauren smiled.
It was pleasant to hear, but he had no intention of getting drunk on empty praise.
"Even so, compared to my brothers, I'm nothing."
Over the past months, Lauren Dmitry had grown quite a bit.
Much of his boyish softness had faded. As his features sharpened into something more masculine, he captured the undivided attention of the female students at the Cairo Royal Academy. However, romance and relationships were the last things on his mind. When Dmitry had been caught in the midst of a raging storm, Lauren Dmitry had suffered from an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
'My brothers are risking their lives to fight, yet I've done absolutely nothing for the family.'
Rodwell Dmitry had lost an eye, and Dmitry itself had been attacked by Kronos.
When the situation suddenly escalated into a full-scale war, Lauren had declared his intent to join the fight, but his father had refused to allow his sacrifice.
He was told to trust his brothers.
In the end, he had been forced to stay behind at the academy.
Fortunately, the war ended in victory. Yet, the fact that he had done nothing as a man of the Dmitry family left a bitter taste in his mouth. No matter how young he was, he was still a swordsman. Whenever he heard that men like Henderson had sacrificed their lives for Dmitry, Lauren found it impossible to just laugh and chat idly with his classmates.
Through the trials of time, Lauren Dmitry had undergone a profound change.
He admitted he was severely lacking compared to his brothers, but he had no intention of settling for reality and stagnating.
Squeeze.
He clenched his fists.
'Brother Roman said so. I can do it too.'
He solidified his resolve anew.
He was different from before.
Dmitry.
Fitting for the bloodline of a family rapidly rising as a dominant power on the continent, Lauren Dmitry was growing into a man truly worthy of the name.
* * *
A few days before the promotion ceremony, Count Samir arrived in Kairos.
During a meeting to discuss an appropriate gift for Lauren Dmitry, a noble who frequently traveled to and from Cairo had made a suggestion.
"There is a highly reputable professor at the Cairo Royal Academy. Not only does he maintain excellent relationships with all his students, but he is also particularly close with Lauren Dmitry. I've heard that others have sought out this professor to ask what kind of gift would be best. Instead of us hopelessly putting our heads together, why don't we just ask for his opinion?"
It was a brilliant idea.
The only problem was that they had mere days remaining before the ceremony.
Count Samir immediately boarded a Warp Gate.
The professor was such a famous figure in Cairo that normally, securing an immediate meeting would be impossible. However, thanks to a personal request from the King of Frank, the appointment was pushed through. As soon as Count Samir arrived in Kairos, he headed straight for the Cairo Royal Academy. He couldn't afford to waste a single second. He needed to find out exactly what kind of gift would capture Lauren Dmitry's heart so he could prepare it in time for the promotion ceremony.
In front of the professor's office.
He had arrived a bit early.
Since it wasn't quite time for the appointment yet, he sat on a chair in the waiting area and double-checked the gift he had prepared in advance.
'I hope he likes it.'
It was a premium wine from Frank.
Hearing rumors that the professor was particularly fond of wine, the Count had specially prepared an incredibly expensive bottle.
He still had plenty of time.
To pass the minutes, Count Samir pulled out a bestselling book known to have been written by the professor.
[...It was a pitch-black night. In a space so dark that one wouldn't even notice a person passing right in front of them, the men held their breath and watched their surroundings closely. I still cannot forget that moment. Fearing that the sound of my heart—which felt as if it would burst at any second—might be heard by the enemy, I gritted my teeth and swallowed my nerves.]
This was the content of the book.
The people of the Cairo Kingdom had reacted with explosive enthusiasm to these vivid descriptions of the events from back then.
It was certainly a fascinating read.
He had initially bought the book out of mere curiosity, but the plot was so thrilling and engaging that he ended up purchasing the entire series. Thus, he was particularly looking forward to this meeting. Even putting Lauren Dmitry aside, Count Samir was a massive personal fan of this professor.
Creak.
"You may come inside now."
At the secretary's words, he stood up.
As he stepped inside the office, the man he had so desperately wished to meet welcomed Count Samir with a bright smile.
The author of the hottest masterpieces of late.
The writer behind I Was There That Day and How Was the Legend Born.
The man, who was also a full-time professor at the Cairo Royal Academy, rose from his seat and offered a handshake.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Henry Albert."