Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 22

3. The Identity of the Lich

1

Deep within a valley in the northern reaches of the Volga Republic stood a large, imposing tower constructed entirely of black stone. This tower was known as Dark Moon.

It shared its name with the organization that occupied it, housing hundreds of black mages and their families. However, despite being black mages, the magical energy they emitted felt more intense than sinister. Their eyes burned with a strong will and a thirst for knowledge, rather than the typical chaos and madness associated with their kind.

At the very top of Dark Moon, where these unique black mages gathered, was the Meister’s [Master’s] room. Despite the late hour, the room was brightly lit, and the Meister was engaged in a serious conversation with one of his black mages.

“He uses black magic and seems to know Lady Erenes?” the Meister asked.

“Yes, according to the message from the dark elf Hairun and my own investigation, that is correct,” the subordinate replied.

Meister Yohas sighed at the confirmation. “Hmm, then he must be related to Lord Seymon.”

A few days prior, they had received astonishing news from their allied elves. The young lord of the Rakan County in the Baroque Empire might have inherited Seymon’s legacy. At first, they had dismissed it as a joke. After all, it was the hero Rakan who had been at the forefront of hunting down black mages 500 years ago. But now, his descendant had inherited the legacy of Seymon, the most powerful and infamous of all black mages? It was as absurd as a kobold becoming a 9th circle archmage.

However, the problem was that after secretly dispatching several disciples to investigate, they found a possibility that it was true.

“In fact, there was much talk about Eugene disappearing right after Lord Seymon passed away,” the subordinate added.

After Seymon’s death, some of the surviving black mages from the Darkness Magic Tower had tried to recover his legacy. However, his black magic grimoire, which he always carried, along with many other books and materials, had vanished. At the time, they had assumed that Rakan or the human allied forces had found and destroyed them, but it seemed that the hypocrite wearing the hero’s mask had secretly taken them.

“Grrr! Immediately send the elders to turn the Rakan territory upside down and recover Lord Seymon’s legacy!” Yohas ordered, his face flushed with anger. His subordinate tried to dissuade him.

“Please calm down, Meister. Lady Erenes, after hearing Hairun’s report, said that he might be a descendant of Lord Seymon.”

“A descendant of Lord Seymon, my foot! He probably just learned from the diary or black magic grimoire left by Lord Seymon. The true descendants of the black sage Seymon are only us!” Yohas retorted.

Dark Moon was the successor to the Darkness Magic Tower, founded by black mages who had once followed Seymon. Having barely survived the purge by Rakan and the human allied forces, they had been building their strength for a long time. With the republic revolution of the Volga Kingdom, they had finally revealed themselves to the world. Of course, only a select few key figures in the republic government knew of their existence.

In any case, they had almost regained the power they had when they were the Darkness Magic Tower. Meister Yohas was currently an 8th circle black mage, and there were as many as twenty elders who were 6th and 7th circle mages. They were confident that with their current power, they could fight the Veritas Magic Tower one-on-one and not lose.

“Besides, Lord Seymon was a bachelor his whole life. He didn’t even raise any disciples. So, a descendant? Is Lady Erenes senile?” Yohas scoffed.

“Ah, even so, it’s best to refrain from such remarks,” the subordinate cautioned. Dark Moon frequently interacted with the elves, and there were quite a few black mages who were either half-elf or elves themselves. If the Meister’s words were to reach their ears, their relationship with the elves would inevitably worsen.

“Hmph, do you think I want to say such things? It’s just so absurd. Anyway, investigate him further and then deal with him,” Yohas conceded.

“Understood, Meister.” Seeing that Yohas’s will was firm, his subordinate gave up on further persuasion and nodded.

“That aside, will you accept the President’s request?” the subordinate asked.

A month ago, President Vladimir had requested the development of a new Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine]. Dark Moon was a group of black mages, but they were not unaware of the changes in the times. They had been focusing on manufacturing Gigants for a long time, and now they were producing Warrior and Knight class Gigants, excluding Hero class. What the President wanted was a Hero class. He believed that in order to win the war against the Baroque Empire, they needed to possess a large number of high-performance Hero class Gigants.

However, only the top 10 magic towers on the continent could make Hero class Gigants, and even then, their production volume was extremely low.

“It won’t be easy, but it’s time to take on the challenge,” Yohas declared.

“But the top ten magic towers have spent a long time and a huge amount of money to develop Hero class Gigants. Is there a need for us, black mages, to follow in their footsteps?” the subordinate questioned.

Usually, the strengths of black mages lay in necromancy magic that uses corpses, mind control magic such as brainwashing, and the creation of chimeras, which are mainly in the forbidden areas. Dark Moon, claiming to be Seymon’s descendants, and seeking righteousness and the right path even in the darkness, had been developing black magic while distinguishing what to accept and what to reject from those forbidden areas.

“Even the bio-golem ‘Goliath’ that we are currently researching is comparable to a Hero class Gigant. Rather than wasting money, time, and human resources on a Hero class, which is not even our specialty, wouldn’t it be better to find a way to mass-produce this?” the subordinate suggested.

“Of course, your idea is also correct. However, in order to achieve revenge from 500 years ago, the power of the Volga Republic must grow stronger. To do that, we need to expand our Gigant forces,” Yohas explained.

No matter how powerful they were, the bio-golems still clearly showed that they were made by black mages. If they were to appear on the battlefield, the Volga Republic would become an enemy of the continent, and Dark Moon’s long-held dream would be shattered. The ultimate goal of the Dark Moon Magic Tower was to avenge what happened 500 years ago. At that time, the human allied forces of the continent had brutally slaughtered their predecessors, who were quietly conducting research without causing trouble to others, simply because they were practicing black magic. To take revenge, they would essentially have to fight against the entire world. Therefore, it was better to keep their existence hidden as much as possible for now.

“Understood. Then I will start preparing for development immediately,” the subordinate replied.

Just as the subordinate who had answered was about to leave the room, a sudden boom resounded, and the floor shook as if an earthquake had struck. Shortly after, Yohas sensed an enormous surge of mana from the main gate and jumped up from his seat.

“Th, this is!” he exclaimed.

In an instant, he deployed a space-shifting black magic, and his body disappeared from the spot.

2

“Hehehe, I didn’t expect you to be hiding here,” a mage in a gray robe said, looking at the Dark Moon Magic Tower from a nearby hill. He grinned sinisterly. “If you barely survived, you should have hidden like a rat, but you dared to steal the design of the new Gigant developed in my magic tower? Today, I will erase your traces from the world.”

Gritting his teeth, he raised his right hand high into the sky. “Dark Hole!” he shouted. As he did, a dark energy resembling an abyss appeared at the tip of his right hand. The dark energy grew larger and larger, eventually becoming the size of a human head. The mage in the gray robe threw this enlarged dark energy towards the Dark Moon Magic Tower.

Kooong—! The moment the dark energy collided with the tower, everything within a 30-meter radius was instantly disintegrated into dust and sucked into the darkness. The tower building, as well as the people inside, were instantly reduced to dust and killed without even feeling pain. Even after doing such a terrible thing, the mage in the gray robe was not satisfied, and he teleported to the main gate of the tower. He was going to destroy the tower step by step from there.

“Wh, what is it?!” a tower guard shouted.

“Intruder!” another yelled. The tower guards, who had been stunned by the sudden explosion, discovered the gray robe and raised their spears and swords. “How dare you point such toys at me, die!” the gray robe exclaimed. As he raised his hand, dozens of dark bullets appeared around his hand and attacked the soldiers.

“Kuaaaak!” one soldier cried.

“Ugh!” another groaned.

“R, retreat! He’s not someone we can handle!” a third shouted. Only then did the soldiers realize the opponent’s strength and tried to retreat hastily. However, they were reduced to mere bones and annihilated by the dark flames raised by the gray robe.

Having dealt with the annoying ones, the gray robe now raised his left hand into the sky. Just as dark energy began to form again at the tip of his left hand, about twenty people appeared in front of him, tearing through space.

“Stop!” Yohas shouted.

“How dare you cause a disturbance here!” another elder yelled. The newcomers were Meister Yohas and the elders of the Dark Moon Magic Tower. They had been either sleeping or researching late into the night when they realized what had happened and rushed out.

“The big shots have come out,” the gray robe said, grinning at them with a sneer.

“How dare you!” one of the elders, who had a quick temper, tried to charge forward, but Yohas stopped him. He examined the gray robe’s face and the energy forming at his fingertips, then asked in a cold tone, “Are you not Pierre, an elder of the Veritas Magic Tower? When did you learn black magic?”

Dark Moon considered the Veritas Magic Tower one of their main enemies, so they had identified all of Veritas’s executives. “Speak quickly. Did that guy teach you? Have you thought about what will happen if this fact is revealed to the outside world?” Yohas pressed.

The Veritas Magic Tower was one of the two major pillars leading the white magic world. If it were known that an elder of that tower was practicing black magic, the magic world of the continent would be turned upside down.

“Hehehe, do I look like Pierre to you?” the gray robe replied. In an instant, the gray robe’s face seemed to tremble, and then it changed into the appearance of someone else, not Pierre. Yohas and the elders were all surprised by the sight. The moment the man transformed, the mana fluctuations changed strangely. Those fluctuations were definitely not white magic, and even black mages did not emit such fluctuations. No, it was absolutely impossible for a human.

“Wh, what on earth are you? Are you a demon summoned by the hypocrites of the Veritas Magic Tower, or…” Yohas asked, swallowing hard. The elder he had stopped earlier launched a surprise attack on the gray robe. “Die! Black Spear!” he yelled.

The elder was a 7th circle black mage, and in terms of job classification, he was a combat-focused war mage. He specialized in offensive and defensive magic that focused on physical attacks, and he judged that even if the opponent was a demon, his proud offensive magic would be enough to inflict damage. In fact, he had defeated a demon summoned by a summoning magic circle in the past. However, the dark spear he created disappeared without even reaching the gray robe.

“M, my god! That’s Anti Cancel, which specializes in nullifying black magic!” another elder exclaimed. Anti Cancel was a high-level magic belonging to the 9th circle of the white magic system.

‘Among the masters of the Ten Great Magic Towers, no one currently possesses that magic. Could it be that the one before us is…!’

As Yohas pondered his opponent’s identity, the gray robe raised his right hand, pointing at the elder who had unleashed a barrage of attack magic moments before.

Suddenly, the elder coughed up blood from all seven orifices and began to melt away like a candle.

“You—fiend!”

Though usually quick-tempered, Yohas’s eyes were filled with rage at the death of the elder, whom he considered a reliable subordinate.

The other elders felt the same.

“No matter what you are, we will never forgive you!”

“Before you talk about forgiveness, try taking this. Khehehe!”

The gray robe hurled the dark energy gathered in his left hand towards Yohas and the elders, who were about to charge at him.

As the immense magic that had destroyed part of the magic tower flew towards him, Yohas activated his defensive magic with all his might.

“Shadow Shield!”

In an instant, the shadow lurking at his feet swelled up like a balloon, blocking the path of Yohas and the elders.

That wasn’t all.

Judging that one layer wasn’t enough, Yohas deployed the Shadow Shield in two, three layers.

Kwaaang—!

The moment the dark energy collided with the Shadow Shield, a tremendous storm erupted with a deafening roar.

Against the dark energy that crushed and absorbed everything around it, Yohas’s Shadow Shield was deployed to its maximum.

The shockwave from the collision of the two magics overturned the ground and stirred up thick dust.

It didn’t last long.

But to those watching, it felt like an eternity. After the dust settled, a suppressed groan was heard along with the sound of the floor scraping.

“Kuh-eok! Cough! Cough!”

It was Yohas.

Despite pouring out his magic power of the 8th circle without holding back, he was pushed back miserably.

The surrounding elders looked on in shock and disbelief, as if they couldn’t comprehend the situation.

“M, Master!”

“Everyone, attack him!”

As Yohas suffered a setback, the elders attacked the gray robe all at once.

They attacked the gray robe with their most powerful black magic.

“Kyahahahat! Yes, come at me all of you. I will kill you all and turn you into liches!”

The gray robe was too strong.

Even with the combined attack of six 7th circle black mages and fourteen 6th circle black mages, he didn’t budge at all.

Instead, he was alternating between black and white magic, mocking the elders.

As more than ten people died in an instant, Yohas’s face turned pale.

‘T, that’s it! That guy is definitely…!’

Yohas was certain of the gray robe’s identity.

A hypocrite who had betrayed the previous generation of black mages long ago.

A fallen being who had succumbed to the power of darkness for his own selfish desires.

His mortal enemy was right in front of him, but Yohas’s emotions leaned more towards fear than anger.

‘At this rate, everyone will die! I need to come up with a plan somehow!’

The gray robe was an absurd existence.

Each magic he hurled at the elders was at least of the 8th circle or higher.

He was not only proficient in white magic but had also reached the pinnacle of black magic.

Faced with his terrifying skills, Yohas regretted not mobilizing the full power of the magic tower from the start.

“Kuaaak! Where did such a monster come from….”

“S, surely, is it a dragon?”

The elders fighting the gray robe felt the same shock and fear.

His skills reminded them of the dragons that were said to have gone extinct in ancient times.

Dragons, a race blessed by mana [magical energy].

It was said that a holy dragon could use magic up to the 10th circle, and an ancient dragon could use magic up to the 12th circle.

Among them, there were those like the black dragons who could freely use black magic.

Having reached a realm far beyond human comprehension, they were ostracized by the gods due to their arrogance and greed for power, and eventually met their demise.

Tiamet, the last dragon who lamented the destruction of her clan, passed on the clan’s power, knowledge, and magic to her descendants born from humans.

Tiamet’s descendants later became known as the Dragonians, and the dragon’s draconic magic could be passed down through them.

“I’ve played enough, it’s time to finish this, right?”

The gray robe, after glancing over the surviving elders, began to cast magic again.

Then, an aura of the abyss, darker than anything before, rose from his left hand.

Overwhelmed by his power, which had reached a different dimension, the elders could only stare at the scene with terrified expressions.

“Khehehe, if you can block this, I will spare your lives.”

At those words, Yohas gritted his teeth and shouted to the elders.

“We can’t die like dogs! So, let’s combine our strength!”

It wasn’t just about attacking together.

Among black magic, there was also a way to combine each other’s mana into one.

Realizing his words, the elders quickly moved behind him and placed their hands on his shoulders. Then, they made a special hand seal and chanted a spell.

Feeling the elders’ mana flowing into him, Yohas unleashed the most powerful magic he could muster.

“Chaos Strike!”

Black light gathered in Yohas’s right hand, and white light gathered in his left hand.

When he brought his two hands together, the two lights mixed and swirled, emitting a terrifying aura.

“Die, you monster!”

The Chaos Strike that Yohas unleashed flew towards the gray robe.

At the sight, the gray robe smirked and shot out the abyss energy gathered in his left hand.

Kuaaaang—!

The moment the two magics collided, a tremendous explosion, as if the sun had exploded, and a fierce shockwave spread around.

“Kuaaak!”

“Keeek!”

“Keok!”

Yohas and the elders coughed up blood and tumbled to the ground.

Their bodies were a mess, and the black circles in their hearts had stopped due to the impact.

“Kekeke, did you think you could block my Black Abyss with such crude magic?”

‘Ah! Oh, progenitor!’

The gray robe, or rather, Pierre, looked down at Yohas and his group with a despairing expression and gave a sinister smile.

“It’s time to end this.”

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of dark bullets generated from his hand pierced the air and flew towards Yohas and his group.

3

“Stop!”

The dark bullets that the gray robe had fired vanished at the sudden clear voice.

At the same time, a silver-haired male elf appeared in front of Yohas and his group.

“Lord Erenes!”

Yohas and the elders cheered at his appearance.

Erenes, who had been looking at them with a pitiful expression, turned his gaze to the gray robe and gave a hollow smile.

“It’s been a while.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Of course. How could I not recognize your filthy soul, even if you are in another’s form?”

“Hahaha, as expected, a high elf with eyes that see the truth is different. The rumors that you were senile were just nonsense.”

The gray robe chuckled at Erenes’s ability to recognize him at once.

“You are quite pitiful. Where did your glorious past go, that you are now in the body of a lich…!”

‘As expected….’

At Erenes’s words, Yohas nodded as if he had expected it.

The mana fluctuations different from humans, and the absurd magical skills, were only possible for a lich [an undead sorcerer].

Moreover, the fact that a lich could normally handle white magic, which was the opposite of black magic, meant that he was a highly skilled white mage before.

As far as Yohas knew, there was only one person with such skills in the Rodisia continent, and only one who had fallen into a lich like this.

“Why don’t you take off your mask now, Arsen? Or shall I take it off for you?”

At Erenes’s words, the gray robe, or rather, Arsen, who had been smirking, released his transformation magic.

Then, his hair fell out, and the emaciated figure of a lich, with flesh dried to the bone, was revealed.

The black mages who saw the sight were shocked.

“This can’t be! A real lich!”

“But Arsen? Are you talking about that guy from the Veritas Magic Tower?”

“Good heavens! I heard rumors that he had succumbed to the power of darkness in his later years, but I never thought he would actually become a lich….”

Lich.

Among the great mages of ancient times, there were those who feared death and delved into the forbidden realm of immortality.

In return for gaining eternal life, they had deviated from the providence of God and obtained hideous bodies.

Nevertheless, they committed evil deeds and indulged in their own desires, and it was known that they had all disappeared after being punished by God.

That such a lich would appear after thousands of years!

Moreover, that his identity was Arsen, the founder of Dark Moon and the enemy of the Darkness Magic Tower!

“Five. Hundred. Years. Is it?”

Erenes immediately answered Arsen’s question.

“It’s been five hundred and thirteen years since I met you two years before Seimon died.”

The two had met once a long time ago.

It was when the human allied forces and the dark legion of the Demon King clashed in the Kingdom of Livia.

At that time, the representative of the human mages was Arsen, the master of the Veritas Magic Tower, and Erenes had met him when he stepped forward to help Seimon.

After the war ended with Seimon’s death, Arsen, who had seized his remains, succumbed to the power of darkness.

The reason why he, who was revered as a hero who fought against the dark legion and the founder of magical engineering, succumbed to black magic was all because of his own greed.

The desire to possess the Veritas Magic Tower. And the desire to dominate the continental magic world that the Veritas Magic Tower would lead.

That greed ultimately turned him into a monster called a lich.

“You should know that a lich can never escape Lord Elkasel’s wrath, right?”

Arsen chuckled at Erenes’s words.

“Heh heh heh, for the Veritas Magic Tower… there is nothing I wouldn’t do. And I am not afraid of any god who has not shown himself in this world for a long time.”

“Then I have no choice but to punish you in the name of the gods.”

In the past, their duel had ended with Erenes’s victory.

At that time, Arsen, an 8th-circle mage, was no match for him and had fled.

However, a full 513 years had passed since then.

As a lich, Arsen had mastered powerful black magic in addition to white magic.

Now, he was confident that he would not lose to anyone.

“Heh heh heh, if you think of me as the Arsen of the past, you are mistaken!”

Arsen’s body soared into the sky.

Then, a dark, abyssal energy deeper than darkness began to gather around his body.

Erenes also rode the wind and flew into the sky. He then unleashed his greatest strength, elemental magic.

“I command the elements of fire and wind, purify the unholy being before me!”

At Erenes’s cry, fire and wind appeared in the air, merging into a fiery vortex.

The fiery vortex flew towards Arsen.

“Hmph, elemental magic…”

Arsen deployed a defensive spell with one hand to block Erenes’s attack, while unleashing black magic with the other hand to counterattack.

Kuaaaang! Kuung!

Kwakwakwakwang—!

The battle between the two was so intense that it seemed as if the sky would collapse.

Johas and the elders were dumbfounded by the tremendous clash that violently shook the surrounding mana.

‘Good heavens! We were truly just frogs in a well!’

Johas realized his arrogance at the sight of the two’s different levels of power.

Just as everyone was watching the battle in a daze,

“Oh, lightning of infinite speed, strike down the unholy being!”

Kwarururung—!

A lightning spear that split the sky struck Arsen’s body.

At that moment, a blinding explosion occurred, and half of Arsen’s torso instantly turned to ash.

“Kuaaaak!”

Arsen, mortally wounded, crashed to the ground.

Half of his upper body gone, he glared up at Erenes, grinding his teeth.

“Kuh! I may have lost today, but I will soon wipe out all you elf bastards!”

Arsen, leaving behind a curse, turned and fled.

“Catch him!”

Johas and several elders tried to chase after the fleeing Arsen.

Erenes blocked their path.

“Stop!”

“We must kill him while we have the chance!”

He was a being of unimaginable power. If they didn’t capture and kill him now while he was injured, he would become a terrible threat.

However, Erenes firmly shook his head.

“The essence of a lich is the Life Vessel [a phylactery or container holding their soul]. Even if we destroy only the shell, leaving the Life Vessel intact, we cannot prevent his resurrection.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Johas and the elders recall the information about liches, and they lamented.

“And even though he is injured, you alone cannot kill him by chasing after him… Keoheok!”

Erenes, who had been speaking, coughed up black blood.

He had been hiding the injuries he had sustained while fighting Arsen until now.

“E, Erenes-nim!”

Johas, startled, rushed to support him.

Erenes, who had used healing magic on himself repeatedly, said with a pale face.

“He will surely return. And it is highly likely that he will not be alone next time.”

At his words, Johas and the elders’ faces darkened.

They could barely handle one lich, but what if he came back with a horde of subordinates?

The destruction of the Dark Moon Magic Tower would only be a matter of time.

Erenes glanced at the black mages and sighed, looking up at the sky.

“Is the war that stopped 500 years ago about to begin again?”

The fallen star had risen again, and Arsen, one of the main culprits of the war at that time, had reappeared.

It seemed that this series of events was signaling the prelude to another war that would plunge the continent into bloodshed, and Erenes felt a tightness in his chest.

‘If only I could use spirit magic at times like this…’

The ancient elves knew how to use spirit magic in addition to magic.

Spirit magic, which was used by making contracts with spirits of the spirit realm, was so powerful that humans were no match for the elves.

However, at some point, the middle realm where the spirit realm and the Rodisia continent existed was severed.

The two worlds were completely isolated from each other.

The elves, who could no longer make contracts with spirits, gradually declined and became a minority race, pushed aside by humans.

Now, they were trying to reconnect with the spirit realm for the survival of their race, but the whereabouts of the Tears of the Earth, the key to opening the dimensional gate, were unknown.

They suspected Princess Reina, but what if she didn’t have it or didn’t know its whereabouts?

‘Then there is no future for our elves.’

Shaking his head to clear his mind of bad thoughts, he prayed and prayed that Princess Reina would have the Tears of the Earth.

4

The imperial capital of the Baroque Empire, Nemesis.

A simple carriage entered through the southern gate.

The carriage, which bore the crest of the Rakan barony, carried Luke and Philip.

“Lord, if you keep craning your neck like that, you’ll be called a country bumpkin.”

No matter what Philip said, Luke couldn’t take his eyes off the magnificent scenery of the imperial capital outside the carriage window.

‘It’s at least three times bigger than it was 500 years ago.’

Before becoming a black mage, Luke had worked at the Veritas Magic Tower headquarters in Nemesis.

Therefore, the imperial capital was not unfamiliar to him.

However, over the past 500 years, the country’s ruler had changed, and as it had grown into an empire, Nemesis had also undergone many changes.

The first was the increase in high-rise buildings.

Due to the dense population, there were many three- and four-story buildings, which were rare in the past.

In the downtown area, buildings over 10 stories were not uncommon.

And another thing.

The outer city was divided into several districts.

In the past, it was simply divided into the city center where the royal palace was located, the inner city where nobles and wealthy merchants lived, and the outer city where ordinary people lived.

But now, the outer city was clearly divided into residential, commercial, and military districts.

‘As the population increased and the city developed, it was districted out of necessity.’

The Baroque Empire was a country founded by a vile usurper, but there were also emperors who ruled well enough to be called wise rulers during its 500-year history.

Those capable emperors introduced various systems and policies to strengthen the imperial power, and the reorganization of the imperial capital was one of them.

By properly dividing the districts, administration became smoother and more convenient, and even if an attack or rebellion occurred, they could easily defend and respond proactively.

‘But in the end, it’s something people did, so there must be loopholes.’

It wouldn’t be bad to look for weaknesses now in preparation for when they attack the imperial capital later.

“Is that the Gigant Arena?”

Luke asked, pointing to the circular arena visible in the distance on the right.

It was coiled like a huge castle among the high-rise buildings and luxurious mansions, and as Philip had said in the past, it was incomparable in size and scale to the Gigant Arena in Lamer City.

“That is the Royal Gigant Arena, which the empire is proud of.”

The Royal Gigant Arena is where the best clans and riders from all over the empire compete, showing off their outstanding skills.

Many tourists from all over the Rodisia continent flock there to see the thrilling matches they put on.

“Then what is that place?”

Luke asked, pointing to another building on the opposite side.

Unlike the circular arena, it was a rectangular building with sharp angles.

“That is the headquarters of the Imperial Knights. It’s where I was briefly stationed after graduating from the Imperial Military Academy.”

A faint mix of anger and wistfulness flickered in Philip’s eyes.

He had graduated from the Imperial Military Academy with outstanding skills.

He was ambitious to follow the elite course and become a hero-level Gigant rider, but what awaited him was hardship.

Not only was he unable to access the Gigant due to the jealousy and envy of high-ranking nobles’ children, but he was also framed and forced to leave the Knights.

‘Those bastards are probably still doing well, aren’t they?’

Philip turned his head, vowing to take revenge on the trio who had set a trap and framed him, whenever the opportunity arose.

“But I don’t see the Veritas Magic Tower. I heard it was in the imperial capital.”

Luke asked, as he did not see the Magic Tower headquarters even though they had passed the place where the Veritas Magic Tower used to be.

“The Veritas Magic Tower has moved to the northern outskirts of Nemesis. I heard that the Magic Tower kept growing, so it couldn’t stay in the imperial capital.”

Although not as much as the Baroque Empire, the Veritas Magic Tower had also grown steadily.

The Magic Tower, which had grown to rival the Imperial Magic Tower of the Holy Artenia Empire as the best on the continent, had hundreds of mages and blacksmiths, and even more support staff, as well as various workshops, warehouses, and research facilities.

As the number of personnel and facilities in the Magic Tower increased, they had secured a large site in the northern outskirts of Nemesis 300 years ago and completely relocated there.

“Thanks to that, a street for mages and merchants who make a living off them was created in the north of the imperial capital. So, as a joke, that area is called Veritas Town, as it has become a district for mages.”

“I see.”

While Luke and Philip were having a conversation, the carriage, which had passed through the gate of the inner city, began to travel on a road paved with luxurious flagstones.

Dudududu!

Unlike the outer city, the inner city was lined with old-fashioned mansions.

There were relatively few people, and it was even quiet, but occasionally, noble ladies in fancy carriages or mobiles and nobles on horseback in stylish riding clothes passed by.

As they crossed the streets of the inner city, government buildings began to appear. There were various departments such as the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Imperial Household Agency, as well as the parliament where nobles held meetings.

After passing even the government buildings, spires tens of meters high finally came into view.

It was the imperial palace, the heart of the Baroque Empire.