In the barracks of the Imperial Army, soldiers marched in disciplined formations, their boots kicking up clouds of dust that hung thick in the air. The midday sun beat down mercilessly, casting long shadows across the parched earth.
Amidst the chaos, officers barked orders, their voices cutting through the din of clashing metal and pounding footsteps. Horses whinnied as they trotted past, their hooves stirring up even more dust, adding to the haze that enveloped the battlefield.
In this desolate landscape where dust and sweat mingled freely, inside one of the tents of the barracks, a dim atmosphere prevailed.
A white haired injured soldier, his left arm tightly wrapped in stained bandages, lay on a rough cot inside a small canvas tent. Despite the bustle outside, a sense of quiet enveloped the space.
Around him, fellow soldiers moved about, offering quiet gestures of support.
The man had played a crucial role in defusing a minor skirmish, but his left arm was heavily injured. Even if it were healed, it would permanently affect his hand's movement. Unless a healer intervened, his fate seemed sealed.
He had been a Beginner Master Knight and was soon to be promoted, but now...
Some glanced in his direction with sympathy, while others were too preoccupied with their tasks to spare more than a passing glance.
A makeshift table beside the cot held meager provisions: a crust of bread, a flask of water, and a pouch of herbs. Nearby, a lone candle flickered, casting eerie shadows on the tent walls.
As the man sighed heavily, he heard a sound.
"Roland, you have a message from your home."
The man's dim eyes lit up as he took the envelope. He tore it open and pulled out the letter, but as he read it, his entire world collapsed and shattered.
A chill ran down his spine.
.....
[Roland, how have you been?]
[In the blink of an eye, you have also left home and served in the Imperial Army for nearly 12 years.]
[Last week, a heart-wrenching tragedy occurred. The whole family went on a trip. During the trip, we found a huge lair of undead monsters.]
[Your father and elder brother immediately led the knights to subdue the undead, while I and your second brother escaped. To our horror, the next day, we were attacked by undead. Your second brother gave his life to save me. Adding more weight to my heart-wrenching pain, he was killed right before my eyes, and I was also about to die when Knights from Count Wellington appeared and saved me, but it was too late as I had been affected by a curse.]
[It seems my time is also approaching, so please return…]
[My son, please return…]
[I want to see you for one last time and, if possible, die with someone beside me.]
[Your mother hopes that you can retire and return home as soon as possible to inherit the title and fiefdom of the family.]
[Your worthless mother, Avena]
Looking at the letter in his hand, Roland didn't know what to say for a moment.
Though his eyes were numb and didn't reflect his sadness, his hands trembled. He never expected such a big change to happen in his family all of a sudden.
His father and brother were attacked by monsters and died.
He, the third son who never expected to inherit the family business, suddenly became the first heir of the Weiss family.
This caught him off guard.
"This Continent, where the gods exist bestowing their miracles while demons and monsters run rampage, is truly dangerous.Despite people believing in God's benevolence where is there benevolence when people keep on dying."
"Fucking Hypocrite."
"The value of human lives is as good as tiny insects before those nefarious creatures."
"Nobody knows which will come first, accidents or tomorrow."
After a long silence, Roland couldn't help but feel the impermanence of the world.
As for the sadness of hearing the news of his father and brothers death, after seeing the death of so many colleagues in the army, he was used to this...
And he was someone who crossed over or reincarnated here.
The memories of his previous life were like watching a movie flashing before his eyes.
Each child was born without fighting or magic potential, but he had lesser potential. However, it wasn't disheartening because in his entire family, he was the only one born with some potential.
The people here cultivated the power of battle force, and by mastering it, they drew the power of sublime energy called qi. Only a person born with potential can sense qi after rigorous training.
Since he had no chance of inheritance, his father pulled some connections and sent him to the army where he climbed from a regular soldier to a battalion to the Imperial Army of Jin Kingdom.
Plus, he had been in the military camp for the past 12 years and had no contact with his previous family.
Naturally, he couldn't have a deep affection for his family, which was quite natural. Still, he felt desolate remembering their faces.
"Should I go back and inherit the family business or not?"
After reflecting on his feelings, Roland began to carefully consider this question. Returning to inherit the family business has its advantages and disadvantages. If he wants to further advance on the extraordinary path, it would be better to stay in this Legion.
The Legion is one of the five extraordinary knight legions of the Kingdom of Jin.
The benefits are all very good but only if you can survive in this hell.Everyday people die and despite saving that baldy commander, that guy hadn't even visited him or offered his gratitude.
There are intermediate and advanced Master warriors to guide daily training.
By achieving military merits, one can also obtain various auxiliary extraordinary potions for training.
There is even a chance to be ennobled and obtain a territory, but he didn't need that.
His father had spent three years of the territory's income bribing the captain of the Legion to allow the previous owner to enter the legion smoothly.
However, the aptitude or potential of this body is average. Having served in the Legion for nearly twelve years.
Now, he is nothing more than an Intermediate Master knight at the 4th rank.
Based on the current rate of cultivation, it will take several more years at least to break through the bottleneck of the 5th and then 6th to become an intermediate Master knight.
As for breaking through the 7th rank and becoming an advanced knight, it is almost impossible in this lifetime.
Since being reborn, he tried to manifest cheats graced to transmigrators; sadly, there was no such fortune in his case.
In this situation, it is very difficult for him to stand out in the Legion, where the strong are respected. A few friends of his who joined alongside him have already become his seniors.
Moreover, wars have always been frequent. Previously he was a foot soldier but after achieving 3rd rank, he was directly pulled into Legion and in the last war, his left arm had been damaged quite badly.
Unless precious elixirs were used, the damage was permanent. Encountering a war, his life is at risk at any moment.
"In that case, returning home to inherit the family business is my best choice.Staying here would only end with losing my life unless I can rank up which I can't."
Roland sighed and thought to himself.
When he first crossed over to this high-magic world, he also had grand ambitions to emulate those senior transmigrators and become the most powerful existence in this world.
But after living in this world for 12 years in vain, he had long recognized the cruelty of reality.
Not everyone was born to be the protagonist.