The corporals felt that they had received enough validation and encouragement after Iron reprimanded Sean in their stead. Because of this, they all diligently started to break the ice and carry out the repair works.

To be honest, the 1st guard post did not really need to be repaired that much since it was a guard post that was located near a critical guard post. This meant that the area was relatively safe compared to the other guard posts. Some even viewed this guard post as a place where they could rest at before continuing on to the next guard post.

However, despite knowing this fact, Iron still made them repair the 1st guard post perfectly. The first reason was because this place was the easiest place to repair. After all, it was easy to carry supplies and materials to this place which made it easier for them to repair the guard post. The other reason was because this was a place that they usually supervised whenever superiors came to check on the outpost. The higher-ups would often check the 1st~3rd guard post and assess the situation in the outpost through this. And since Iron was also a human being he was not rid of the desire to be seen in a good light by his superiors. 

Because of those reasons, the 1st guard post was perfectly and completely repaired. They even gone beyond and added some devices and instruments for additional protection before moving on to the 2nd guard post.

“Heok… heok…”

“Tired?”

“No, sir!”

Iron asked Sergeant Sean. He looked like he was exhausted since he had been breaking the ice with all his might but he still shook his head firmly to answer Iron.

Sean was not some soft tofu. If Iron was playing around while targeting him, he would definitely blow the matter up. However, he couldn’t complain at all since the boy was also working hard to break the ice with them. So all he could do was endure and work hard.

Despite working the entire morning, the distance that they had covered was only barely half of the total distance to the 2nd guard post. In fact, this speed of working was actually understandable. Since they had been breaking the ice and doing the needed repair along the way, their speed had been impacted tremendously.

The work that they had been doing was exhausting and hard. For normal people they should have taken several breaks in between but they did not do so. Fortunately, their bodies were strengthened from their mana awakening so they could push through, if it weren’t for that then they would have definitely fallen from exhaustion.

“Out… Outpost leader.”

“Why?”

“Don’t we have to save some of our energy? If a monster comes then…”

“In here? Hey, I know that it’s safe until the 3rd guard post. Are you telling me this because you feel tired?”

“No, sir!”

Sean immediately shook his head and answered loudly after seeing Iron’s glare.

“Then, we don’t need to rest. Break the ice diligently. We have to arrive at the 2nd guard post before meal time.”

“I understand!”

“Good. It’s nice to see you acting so disciplined.”

Iron smiled broadly when he saw Sean breaking the ice diligently. He was so diligent and disciplined that one would think that he was a new private that had just joined the army.

This outcome was actually not that surprising. After the soldiers had seen Iron step up and kill a giant snow rabbit that wandered in front of them, they had become meek and disciplined.

Iron was fast and efficient when he dealt with the giant snow rabbit. He also made sure to show his strength and prestige to the soldiers, especially to Sean, as he blew the limbs of the giant snow rabbit off before stabbing it on the neck and skinning it right on the spot. Sean and the soldiers were intimidated by his actions to the point that their attitudes had turned an immediate 180. Right now, they were acting the complete opposite of their attitudes from the beginning.

In fact, all of them were just speaking objectively when they said that the path until the 3rd guard post was safe. This place was the Winter Mountains and no path was truly safe enough. Monsters would continue to appear. As if to prove this, a giant snow rabbit suddenly appeared in front of them again.

The corporals started to worry about their safety when it suddenly appeared in front of them but Iron easily dealt with it. He dealt with it as easily as he dealt with the one from before. This time, he was using the pickaxe as his weapon.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

―Kiwooo…

Fear started to color the faces of the corporals that watched Iron poke holes through the giant snow rabbit’s body.

They had finally realized something after being witness to these two events.

‘Our outpost leader is beyond the category of a normal human being.’

Even the gaze that he used to look at Sean while he killed the giant snow rabbit was creepy and scary. 

“Shall we have rabbit meat today?” 

All of the people present forced themselves to laugh as they watched Iron talk like that while staring at the poisonous monster corpse. They could neutralize the poison with mana but monster meat was something that they wouldn’t want to eat if they had food so they thought that Iron was just humoring them. So, the soldiers forced themselves to laugh at his dry humor.

“Tchaap.” 

Iron couldn’t help but smack his lips in disappointment when he saw the soldiers take his words as a joke. He was dead serious about his question but none of them thought so. He felt that it was a pity that the soldiers in front of him did not know what kind of a delicacy monster meat was. It was a high class delicacy that could never be imitated by any other meat as long as it was cooked properly.

‘I’ll have to properly cook some monster meat and feed it to them in the near future.’

Iron called for Charles when this thought flashed by his head. 

“Charles.”

“Corporal Charles!”

“Go down and take this corpse as well as the corpse of the one that I took care of earlier. Tell them to take care of it.”

“Yes, sir!”

The rest of the group looked at Charles in envy when they heard Iron’s orders.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to continue working?”

Iron glared at his soldiers that were staring at him in a daze as he walked forward with his pickaxe.

“There’s something coming.”

Iron suddenly stopped in his tracks. He suddenly felt that something was watching him from afar.

Iron only instinctively felt a searching gaze so he turned to look over the snow-covered hills from afar. However, the gaze and energy that spied on him immediately disappeared when he turned to look at its general direction. It seemed like it had felt his gaze and retreated in advance.

Iron had quickly gathered and concentrated his mana on his eyes but he still failed to follow its tracks. It had disappeared without leaving any tracks at all. He was wondering if it was because it was extremely far from him so he couldn’t find any tracks. Despite failing to uncover its tracks, Iron was still sure of one thing. The being that spied on him was extremely unusual.

“What is that?”

Iron quietly mumbled to himself as he raised the mana in his body. He was preparing for whatever might come at him from the shadows.

It would be dangerous if an assassin came and attacked him since his owl was currently asleep. If an assassination happened, then he would not have any trump card that would save him from death. It would have been alright if he had reached the 4th Stage but it was something that he has yet to achieve. 

Right now, the only thing that he could do was to increase his awareness and buy as much time as possible to ensure his and his subordinates’ safety.

“Is it a monster? An assassin? Or a person from the other company?” 

Nothing good would happen if the other party was hostile to them.

However, no matter how hard he tried to search he couldn’t track the presence at all. He couldn’t even sense its form.

It would have been easy for him to gauge his survival if he could sense the other party’s form. But the problem was that there was nothing at all.

However, the strange feeling that he got from the vicinity kept on bothering Iron. 

“I’m getting annoyed.” 

Iron couldn’t help but frown at the strange ticklish energy that occasionally flickered and pricked the back of his neck. 

When Iron kept on looking at one place with a frown, the soldiers next to him also started to frown. 

“Did you find something, sir?” 

Iron slowly straightened the frown on his forehead as he answered Sean Wicks. 

“Something has been staring at us. I don’t know who or what it is but… considering that it’s watching us from that distance then its talents must be considerable, right?” 

The soldiers’ expressions darkened after hearing Iron’s words. 

“Where did you see it, sir?” 

Iron pointed to the place where he last felt the gaze in answer to Sean’s question. 

“I don’t see anything.”

“Me either…” 

Iron just nodded his head when everyone said that they did not see anything. He looked as if he did not expect anything from them. He clearly knew that it would be difficult for the soldiers to see something at that distance since he himself could not see something. 

“If it’s a monster…” 

“Then it’s dangerous.” 

“Shouldn’t we stop working?” 

Sean trembled as he spoke to Iron. Everyone was risking themselves but they believed that they should at least be prepared. After all, their lives were extremely precious.

“Let’s stop working for now. And, Corporal Brian?” 

“Corporal! Brian.”

Corporal Brian immediately answered Iron’s call and stood at attention. 

“Go to the 8th guard post and gather all of the troops working there. Once you have gathered everyone, go to the 3rd guard post. The rest of you, gather at the 3rd guard post, finish the repair work and wait there. Sergeant Sean.”

“Sergeant Sean Wicks!” 

“The command of the 3rd guard post will be temporarily handed over to you until I come back. In case of an emergency, you can lead the gathered troops. Do you understand?” 

“Yes, sir!” 

Sean saluted and accepted Iron’s orders. 

“Arm yourselves to the fullest and wait on standby. If the situation turns for the worse, do you know how to act?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Good.”

Iron nodded and immediately flew down.

The sergeant and the other corporals trembled when they saw him disappear from their sights in an instant. 

“He… He’s probably a lot stronger than what we thought?” 

“You’ve already seen it, haven’t you? He has probably reached the peak of the 3rd Stage.”

“That’s right. That level of mana manipulation is something that the sergeant can’t deal with.” 

With the sergeant as comparison, the corporals tried to estimate Iron’s level from the display that he had shown them earlier.

Sean also nodded in agreement. He had finally realized that Iron was a person that one couldn’t overcome and compare with. If he had crossed the line just a bit further, he was sure that Iron would have already dealt with him using his own hand. If that happened, then hell would definitely welcome him until the day of his discharge.

He felt fortunate that he had realized this now. 

“Let’s first gather the kids and do what the outpost leader has ordered. We’ll get tired if he picks on us for no reason at all.” 

The corporals moved as they answered Sean’s words with agreement. However, they still grumbled whenever Sean was not looking. In the first place, all of this happened because of Sergeant Sean’s suggestions. If they had lived in moderation from the moment the outpost leader arrived, they would not have experienced something like this. When they looked back at the outpost leader’s behavior when he first arrived here, they realized that he was a reasonable person. 

So, the corporals kept on complaining about Sergeant Sean. And Sergeant Sean just desperately hoped that Sergeant First Class Maldini would be able to do something about his wrong judgement since he was his backer. 

While the corporals and Sergeant Sean were busy fulfilling Iron’s orders all the while buried deep in their thoughts, Iron had already gone down to the outpost and gathered the troops. 

“Everyone! Stop whatever you’re doing and gather at the 3rd guard post in full gear.”

“What’s going on?” 

“I saw something suspicious.” 

The expression of the vice outpost leader turned serious when he heard Iron’s answer.

“Is it a monster?” 

“I don’t know yet. The moment I tried to find out more, it disappeared.”

The vice outpost leader’s expression turned gloomier. If the strongest in their outpost failed to grasp the opponent’s tail then it meant that it was something dangerous. At the very least, he was sure that him and the other soldiers would not be able to compete and fight against it. 

“It’s dangerous.” 

“Vice outpost leader, please report this to the company commander right away.” 

“Wouldn’t it be better if the outpost leader went there personally?” 

Iron firmly shook his head when he heard Jack’s question. 

“I have to stay and lead the soldiers to investigate.”

“It’s dangerous.” 

“If it was going to attack, then it would have attacked us right away. Don’t worry, we will just go up to the guard posts and investigate the vicinity. We still have to finish all of the constructions that have been put off for a long time too.” 

All the vice outpost leader could do was nod in agreement when he saw Iron smiling at him like that. He looked like he had given up dissuading Iron. He knew that nothing would come out of it even if all of his saliva dried out.

“ I understand. Please be careful.” 

After getting his agreement, Iron immediately gathered the soldiers in the outpost and led them to the 3rd guard post.

Bang!

Iron immediately looked up when he heard a loud explosion.

It seemed like the sound came from the direction of the 3rd guard post. However, he couldn’t see the situation since the 2nd guard post covered his sight. But the intermittent explosions that rang in their ears were telling him that the situation up there was extremely dangerous.

Then, the emergency bell from the 3rd guard post rang loudly.

Now, he was sure that the men that he left there were now engaged in battle. Iron hurriedly looked behind him.

“Corporal Charles.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll go up first. Lead the troops and join us as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

Iron headed for the 3rd guard post right after Corporal Charles’ agreement.

His speed was so fast that he was able to see the battle in just a few jumps. Even the gunshots that rang faintly just earlier were now ringing loudly in his ears.

“Giant snow rabbits? But why are there a lot?”

From his position, he could easily identify the monsters that his men were currently battling against. He knew that their level was not that dangerous. However, the problem was that there were a lot of them. 

Iron hurriedly jumped forward. He bypassed several sets of stairs before landing near the vicinity of the 3rd guard post.

As soon as he stabilized his footing, he immediately took out his gun and fired at the monsters. His top priority was to draw away some of the monsters that were attacking the 3rd guard post away from them and towards himself.

Bang!

Iron fired his gun.

Just like a signal, his first shot was followed by several gunshots. The gunshots came from above the 3rd guard post.

Fortunately, the soldiers that Corporal Brian had gathered from the 8th guard post had come down and began to help the soldiers at the 3rd guard post.

Gunshots continued to ring as they started their battle against the giant snow rabbits.

***

Notes

[Rank + Name when greeting or answering Iron] – Just like Loyalty! It was a form of greeting to their superior. If you have watched D.P. you would be able to see this form of greeting in the military. This is like another version of Loyalty.