The 12-year war has ended.
The Empire declared war on the entire continent single-handedly.
Everyone laughed at the Empire.
No one believed that even the Empire could win a war of conquest against the entire continent.
The Empire answered those laughs with conquest.
The war lasted for 12 years, starting with the immediate surrender of all kingdoms facing the Empire in just one month.
Countless minor kingdoms of the Allied Nations were conquered, but ultimately, the Empire could no longer sustain the fighting and declared an end to the war.
Did their national strength decline over those 12 years?
No.
Although many kingdoms remained, the Empire’s forces were sufficient to defeat all of them.
Magical Weapons.
The Empire actively utilized Magical Weapons crafted by alchemy, not humans, and developed technology capable of killing countless individuals with only a small number of personnel.
While the humans of the kingdoms died, the Empire’s Magical Weapons, made of steel and alchemy, were merely destroyed.
So why did the war end?
Extremely put, everything had an advantage over the continent.
If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t have started a war against the entire continent in the first place.
Therefore, it was necessary to consider.
Why was the Empire forced to stop the war?
“We should have been wary of a single swordsman.”
Here, in the deepest secret room of the Empire’s intelligence agency, this is the topic of discussion.
“The Empire was forced to stop the war because it could not overcome a single swordsman.”
An officer from the Empire’s intelligence agency displays the profile of a man on the screen.
The light from a magical artifact, crafted by alchemy, illuminated a photograph of a black-haired youth and his detailed information.
“Hans Wilhelm. Age 27. He was a commoner born on a farm in a now-destroyed kingdom.”
“Were his parents Sword Masters?”
A senior officer of the Empire’s intelligence agency raised his hand and asked.
Deeply gashed scars from blades remained on his bearded face.
“If not, there’s no way he could be that strong.”
“There were rumors to that effect. Some speculated he was the child of parents who were Sword Masters, or possessed such talent, who went into hiding. Unfortunately, that is not the case.”
As the intelligence officer snapped his fingers, numerous people appeared, focusing on the profile of the man named Hans.
“These are his siblings. Officially confirmed to be nine individuals. And the investigation into his parents has also concluded.”
“What did it reveal?”
“They were ordinary farmers. Yes. In a typical… poor family where they had many children to utilize as a labor force for farming, he was born the fifth son.”
“…….”
A child from an ordinary farming family.
“His official enlistment in the military was 12 years ago.”
“Did he enlist as soon as the war started?”
“The war reached his kingdom, and he took up his sword when his kingdom was forcibly conscripted.”
A young boy, far removed from war, enlisted in the army to survive.
Up to this point, this was the typical case of boy soldiers mobilized by the Allied Kingdoms in their war against the Empire, who had perished.
However, he was different.
“The Federation’s <Red Devil>. Starting when he, at the age of 20, defeated our Empire’s Sword Master, Duke <Viktor>…”
“Nine Sword Master-class Magical Weapons were shattered. And the kingdoms he took from numbered seven.”
“Yes. The war was effectively halted by this one swordsman, Hans Wilhelm.”
The Empire was defeated.
By a single human.
“Conquering the entire continent is possible. If this Hans Wilhelm did not exist.”
“Is that the intelligence agency’s conclusion?”
“Yes. This is the consensus not only of the intelligence agency but also of all relevant government departments.”
“…This is madness. Is this the result of all the Empire’s intellectuals putting their heads together?”
The Empire had no choice but to stop the war.
Simply because a single swordsman was the guardian of the kingdoms.
“We can defeat the entire continent without him, but we cannot defeat that one person?”
“We can defeat him. However, it would result in the mutual destruction of the entire Empire.”
“How can that be called ‘winning’?”
“That is why the Emperor stopped the war. To halt the skirmishes that have continued for three years since the establishment of the current <Armistice Line> and for the Empire to perfectly unify the continent.”
The Emperor declared.
The war was completely ended on the grounds that superior talents could no longer be continuously killed by a single swordsman.
How could it be possible for one person.
To be defeated by a mere one person- The endless defeats suffered by the Empire because of that one individual were too numerous to be summarized within a single page.
“So, our Empire has created a hero, and our dream of continental unification has been blocked by that hero?”
A declaration of the end of war, not an armistice.
“End of war.”
It couldn’t be helped.
“Is it truly appropriate to call it a ‘treaty’?”
“Yes. The reason negotiations proceeded to an end of war, not a truce, is singular.”
A large red seal stamped next to the man named Hans Wilhelm.
“Retirement.”
That was the most definitive word to declare that a soldier would no longer be active-
“On the condition that the Empire would no longer wage war, we discharged him.”
“…….”
“If the Empire were to try to wage war with swords and spears again, he would revoke his discharge and re-enter the army.”
“In the end.”
All the citizens of the Empire could only agree.
“Because of a single hero, does our dream of continental unification end here?”
Because of the existence of one person, the Empire was defeated.
“…Is the <Red Devil> of the Allied Kingdoms a monster?”
***
The Kingdom has won.
We won a war that everyone declared impossible to win.
War hero.
This was the greatest achievement I, who had no special talent except for physical strength, could accomplish in this era, and I became a conquering general, a nationally recognized hero.
12 years.
It was long.
Born the fifth son of an ordinary farming family, a boy who had to work hard day and night on the farm to avoid being sold off, there was one unavoidable thing.
Conscription notice.
It was awful.
To receive a conscription notice again, even after receiving one in my past life in Korea.
Yes.
I am a reincarnator.
I was an ordinary 20-something young man in South Korea, and I was in an accident on my way home from working overtime at my company.
I was reborn as a young man from a farming family.
Some people would have used their modern cheat knowledge to start businesses with their childhood friends from their poor farming families, or perhaps they would have lived cheat lives with innate talent in magic.
I did too.
I had something like a cheat, but looking back now, it was just a talent that was among the top in this era.
Martial prowess.
Even when I was farming, I thought it was just a strong body that didn’t get tired from farming work, but on the battlefield, I discovered I had an innate talent for swordsmanship.
My 12 years of activity as a soldier could fill countless pages if compiled into a war history book-
‘Why would any of that matter.’
The past filled with blood, sweat, and death doesn’t matter.
What matters is the present and future I can enjoy based on that past.
What remains is a peaceful and leisurely harem life.
I was promised a pension.
As I saved numerous kingdoms, I arranged to receive annual payments equivalent to 10 billion won in Korean currency as a pension.
I didn’t think of taking more, and decided to settle for a reasonable amount given the post-war reconstruction issues.
I acquired a mansion.
After eliminating a traitor within the kingdom and receiving the traitor’s mansion as compensation, I became the owner of a building with as many as 100 servants.
As for women, I could choose freely.
It wasn’t impossible to form a harem of 20-year-old virgin women and indulge in pleasures day and night.
It would be like Hollywood actors taking dozens of beautiful women under 25 on a cruise trip, or like a businessman in a movie having one-night stands with 12 female models a year, as seen in their monthly photo shoots.
Moreover, since it was a world with magic, I could enjoy consequence-free pleasure to my heart’s content by utilizing contraception magic.
Age difference?
Considering the 12 years I worked hard for the kingdom and the continent, there would be no problem with forming a harem of young, beautiful women in their 20s.
If I felt like starting a family perhaps in about 10 years, I thought it might be possible to choose any woman as the mother of my child and get her pregnant.
That’s how much I contributed to the Federation.
Although there were talks that I was too young to retire, I personally welcomed the Empire’s proposal to my retirement with unparalleled enthusiasm and succeeded in my discharge.
The end of misfortune, the beginning of happiness.
I thought I could live such a luxurious life.
“Marry Princess Knight Sylvia.”
“……What?”
To me, the King declared.
“You, the war hero, are qualified to marry my daughter! Haha!”
Sylvia.
Princess Knight.
She is 37 years old this year, a woman who dedicated everything to the war against the Empire.
I enlisted at the age of 15 and dedicated myself to the kingdom for 12 years.
I served as a soldier for 12 years.
I saved numerous countries occupied by the Empire.
I fought with my life on the line and defeated the Empire’s aces.
After the victory, when I intended to retire, the nation gave me a reward.
Post-war.
The reward given to me.
“Marry my daughter.”
I was forced to marry a 37-year-old woman — a 10-year age difference.
