Under the promise of a free period, Iron successfully caught his soldiers and rolled them under the pretext of training for the mission. At the same time, he also made them clean the area around the 4th outpost. 

From that point on, the patrol on the border started to exclude the 8th guard post. Why? It was because the soldiers that trained occupied the 8th guard post every day. Because of their training, dozens of soldiers took turns staying at the most dangerous area in the 4th outpost, the 8th guard post, so there was no need for the patrol team to work in that area.

And because Outpost Leader Iron Carter lived by the words ‘There’s no better training than participating in actual battle!’ all of the soldiers that stayed in the 8th guard post everyday were fully armed and ready to fight in battle at a moment’s notice.

“Hey! That formation is too lacking. Are you not going to do it properly?” 

“Morons! Look. Hold and shoot. Was I shaking? I wasn’t shaking, right? So why are you shaking? You’re inferior to someone young? What are you doing?” 

“Who holds a sword like that?” 

“Hey. Did I tell you to shoot like that? I already told you so many times. Are you still human if you can’t understand my words no matter how many times I’ve said it?”

“From now on, you lot are dog shits. I will treat you like dog shit until you properly do what I told you to do. Understand?” 

After returning from fighting an actual battle, they were without a doubt bombarded with Iron’s criticism.

Even though the sound of gunshots and bombardment from their fierce battles rang loudly in the area, none of them came back with any fatal injuries. Iron had always stepped forward and dealt with the monsters whenever it became too dangerous. The only problem was that whenever that happened, hell would begin for them. This was especially true if they made a mistake during the training that always came after fighting an actual battle. If they made a mistake, they would end up training the entire day without any ounce of sleep.

Because of this, the soldiers from the 3rd outpost began to protest. They were complaining that the sound of guns and bombs going off every night until the break of dawn was stopping them from having a good night’s sleep. But when a soldier came to protest, their cool outpost leader just brushed it off and chewed them hard. And the soldier that came to protest…

“Instead of twisting and squirming here, why don’t you do it too?” 

“Yes?” 

“I heard that you don’t like the sound of bombs and guns? Then, do it too. Isn’t the mission season looming over you too?” 

“Ye… Yes, sir.” 

“Then, train over there too. Why do you have so many complaints when you don’t train despite staying in the military?” 

…had his mentality broken with just a few refreshing and cool words before being sent back to his own outpost. Then, he turned around with a refreshed smile asking ‘Are you all done?’ before continuing the soldiers’ training.

The next person who came to them was the 3rd outpost leader himself. Iron, who was hoping that the vice outpost leader would come to him, welcomed the 3rd outpost leader with a bit of regret painted on his face.

“4th outpost leader.” 

“Lieutenant Iron Carter.” 

“Lieutenant McCaron.” 

The 3rd outpost leader stared at Iron after saying that. 

“I heard that you told the soldier that I sent here to do it too.”

“That’s right.” 

He was dumbfounded when Iron answered him like he did not know where the problem was. 

“I sent him in my stead but if you respond like that what would be left of me, huh?” 

“We’re training so we can’t stop the noises though?” 

“You can do it in moderation.” 

“In moderation?” 

When Iron asked him blankly, the 3rd outpost leader laughed before speaking.

“That’s right. Why are you so agitated? I don’t know if you have no eyes or if you have no sense but… The thing about military life is that you have to do things in moderation. Even if you run around like that, all you will get is exhaustion. These are all advice from experience, so you should listen well.” 

Iron grinned as he watched the 3rd outpost leader act like an immature child.

“Do you mean to tell us that we should stop training?” 

“Tch! Don’t stop, just do things roughly. The platoon missions will only be reconnaissance missions around here anyway. It’s not even a battalion mission, why are you working so hard? I don’t know if it’s because you’re a rookie but it will be good for soldiers if you do the platoon missions in moderation.” 

He spoke as if he was the one standing on high ground. He sounded like he was teaching Iron the ropes but he made sure to tell him that this should be in secret. However, Iron replied firmly at the 3rd outpost leader who was talking as if he owned the 4th outpost.

“I will take care of my own outpost. Only if I get a complaint from the 2nd company commander and receive disciplinary actions will I fix this.” 

“Hey! Don’t you understand what I’m telling you? Can’t this get into that head of yours because I’m speaking amiably? Is what your senior saying funny to you? Huh? You bastard, are you acting like this because I’m from the opposite company?” 

McCaron, the 3rd outpost leader, showed off his force as he grabbed Iron’s shoulders roughly. But Iron just smiled nonchalantly when he saw him trying to raise his mana to suppress him. 

Iron gauged his skills and realized that this man’s experience paid off since he could still easily draw out his mana with ease.

McCaron was a lieutenant who had eaten enough jjambap for 4 years. He was also a talented person who had reached the 3rd Stage after gaining a lot of experience on the field. But to Iron, his show of skill was just plain ridiculous.

“Why do you even trust Captain Franco? Are you on that line? Huh? But what can you do? Our company commander is a Major(Jin). Besides, if you’re a rookie, you have to act like a rookie. What are you doing trying to rebel against your senior? Do you want to receive training from me, huh?” 

McCaron tried to stop Iron from resisting by speaking about his company commander. But Iron just grinned when Iron saw him act like that. In McCaron’s point of view, Iron’s smile looked like he was mocking him. 

“But no matter what you do, you can’t threaten the opposite company’s important outpost leader. And what rebellion are you trying to say when we’re both at the same rank?” 

“You bastard…” 

Grab!

Even before McCaron could finish his words, Iron grabbed the hand that he had placed earlier on his shoulder and forcibly removed it from his body. He looked like he was not afraid of him at all.

“And if you want to threaten me, you should develop your skills first. This is a bit…” 

“You fucking bastard…” 

McCaron’s eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at Iron who continued to speak with a grin on his face.

“Lastly. If you want to argue and complain, then you should go and argue with the search unit commander.” 

“What?” 

McCaron couldn’t help but ask blankly when he heard Iron’s words. 

“Go and tell your Major(Jin) company commander that he should complain to the search unit commander to stop my training. I’ll stop the training when I receive a formal order.”

McCaron did not know if Iron was a noble bastard but he still couldn’t help but tremble when he realized something from Iron’s words. He seemed to have realized that what he was doing was not for a normal platoon mission. 

However, Iron was no ordinary noble bastard. He had experience in politics, military and even had the right connections in this place. 

“If you want to test if Captain Paulo is better than the search unit commander or not, go ahead and file a complaint.”

Iron raised his momentum as he spoke those words. McCaron couldn’t help but shrink and take a step back when he felt a force that was a stage higher than his. Iron slowly approached him. But when he tried to step back, Iron pulled his clothes which in turn pulled his head down as he softly spoke in his ears.

“I don’t know how far Company Commander Paulo’s backing is but… If you just believe in that and go around recklessly like this, you will most definitely die. Shall we test it if you don’t believe my words?”

Iron let go of his clothes and patted his chest to straighten them when he finished what he wanted to say. He was smiling happily. McCaron realized that he had been expecting this from the very beginning. Iron bowed his head and stepped back before looking at him with an innocent expression on his face. 

However, even if Iron stepped back willingly, McCaron still couldn’t say anything. He instinctively realized that Iron and the search unit commander were in on something. And there was something huge that backed them up. He felt frightened when he finally realized that there was a huge fight happening under the table but he did not dare to ask to know more. All McCaron could do was return to his outpost without doing anything. He knew that he was in a situation where he could not open his mouth nor could he let go of the rope that he held. 

The soldiers who watched the scene unfold couldn’t help but stiffen. They thought that their outpost leader would take a step back and listen to McCaron since he was one of the few lieutenants who had gained a lot of experience on the field. But he was even able to put pressure on such a person without blinking his eyes. 

“Did you all enjoy the sight?”

The soldiers felt nervous when Iron turned to them with a smile. 

“Since you have rested enough, you can start training again. Right? I think we can now slowly ease our way to the advanced course.”

Then, he gathered the soldiers in front of him.

“You must have been bored trying to kill giant rabbits all the time, right? It’s about time we move on to the next monster area.”

“Not… yet the mission…”

“Ah! Don’t worry. We will just investigate. Even if we’re in the other areas, we’re still near the 8th guard post so you don’t have to be too scared.”

Charles tried to resist, albeit his efforts being a bit too timid, but it did not work on their outpost leader at all. The soldiers’ faces turned pale when their outpost leader easily blocked the words of their comrade. 

It seemed like the price for leisurely watching the fight between their outpost leader and McCaron was a more advanced course of training. They even went deeper into more dangerous areas for practical training under the guidance of Iron. 

The soldiers felt like training was just a guise and they were really doing a dangerous reconnaissance mission whenever they went deep in those dangerous areas. The intensity of the training was so difficult that it felt like it was something that they would only do during serious missions.

However, no complaints were heard from them. It was only a short training period but they felt that there was a huge difference in them. Unlike before, where only the corporals did most of the work during the hunt, the privates and the private first classes were now able to help them and do their own parts so everyone felt a bit comfortable with their training. 

And as they continued to sweep the area around the 8th guard post, the monsters started to take a step back as if they could feel a sense of crisis from them. 

Iron would have originally felt very confident in everything since the monsters that engaged in an all out war against the humans calmly stepped down. But he just felt that it was strange. 

“Is there a crack in the Winter Mountains?”

Iron tried to infer the situation based on the facts and information that he had experienced in his previous life. But the more he thought about it, the more serious his expression became. 

Right now, he was thinking if he should report what he had inferred or not.

The fact that the monsters’ territories had narrowed rapidly as they started to get out of their sights meant that they either moved somewhere to live or they began to unite. The only reason why monsters would show this phenomenon was when a powerful being settled down or a small crack opened in the area. 

“There’s so little information about the Northeast at this point in time.”

Iron had gathered a lot of information in his previous life because he had been sitting in a high position. However, even if he had a lot of information, he still lacked information about the Northeast. This was because the Northeast had already been destroyed way before he started gathering information. 

In the end, Iron had no choice but to scratch his head and try to make his original plan more detailed while speeding up the process. He also sent a report to the search unit commander just to be safe. 

“Platoon mission… I have to become a captain quickly. I don’t want to eat shit just because I can’t do it.”

After his bout with McCaron, Iron was surprised that he dared to send a letter of protest saying that he was disrespectful to his senior. Even Captain Franco told him to be a little cautious. So, to avoid such tiring situations, he had no choice but to speed things up and make the most of all of his efforts to get promoted quickly.

There  were some limitations and restrictions when it came to promotion in the modern times, but there was no such restriction here. As long as someone made a contribution that couldn’t be ignored, they would be awarded with a medal. So, as long as he properly accumulated enough merits in the Winter Mountains as an outpost leader, being a captain was not a pipe dream.

“It’s too filthy so let’s become a captain!”

Iron declared before going to sleep. He needed all the rest that he could have since the missions would start tomorrow.

He fell asleep after grinding his teeth in determination and woke up at dawn.He gave his soldiers some free time after a long time and was surprised to see them already waiting in full gear when he walked out of his office.  

“The mission starts today.”

The soldiers felt nervous when they heard Iron’s words. 

He had warned them several times that it would be dangerous to the point that they were trained hard and put into actual battle before it started. If their training was already that hard, then it just went to show that their mission would be extremely dangerous.

When the soldiers finally felt the danger, they couldn’t help but gulp as they stared at Iron. 

“We didn’t fight in real battles just for nothing so don’t be too scared.” 

Iron joked as he spread and fixed the paper containing their mission on the wooden board. He would now begin to explain the mission that he had been hiding the information of for quite some time.

“This is our mission.” 

Iron pointed to the place that he had circled and marked with an X. 

“From today onwards, we will be wiping out the monsters in this area. Once we’re done with that, I will suggest to the company commander that we build a forward base here.” 

The soldiers began to panic when they heard the mission description. 

There were several monster territories located in the circle and the X mark was the center of it all. Although the center that was marked with X was empty, it just showed that it was a place that was extremely dangerous to the point that all of the monsters avoided it.

And that place was where they were supposed to go.

***

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