Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 29

The first light of dawn was just beginning to break.

Luke was out of bed earlier than ever before.

It wasn’t just a desire to quickly finish his morning training that had him rushing to wake up.

‘Something feels off.’

For some time now, the flow of mana had been unusual.

That unusual flow was coming from across the river, from the enemy’s fortress, Karim Fortress.

It wasn’t due to an increase in troops or the number of enemy Gigants [large, humanoid war machines].

There was a sharp, familiar energy, a feeling he had sensed before, just before a major battle during his time in Seymon.

‘Is war finally about to erupt?’

As before, he couldn’t easily calm his tense heart.

A war maniac might have been thrilled, but Luke was different. He had to consider the situation after the fight, not just the fighting itself.

That was the case now as well.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The fortress bell tower rang loudly.

Knowing that what he had anticipated was finally happening, he went outside to see knights and soldiers running around with tense expressions.

At the Gigant hangar, they were hastily preparing to deploy the war machines.

“Lord, the enemy is advancing towards our fortress!” Philip reported, and Luke hurried to the ramparts.

Across the river, the enemy was swarming in a black mass.

With Gigants at the forefront, they advanced relentlessly towards Tolude Fortress.

‘I don’t understand. Why are they leading with the Gigants?’

To reach Tolude Fortress, they had to cross the Sand River first.

The Sand River had a fast current and was quite deep, making it difficult to cross without preparation.

They would need to set up a pontoon bridge with engineers or have enough rafts or barges ready in advance.

But the enemy had none of that equipment.

“Those guys, could it be…”

Just as he was wondering, figures that appeared to be mages flew into the air from the enemy camp.

They arrived at the Sand River ahead of the leading Gigant unit and began to gather magic power to cast a specific spell.

Whoosh—!

A cold ice storm swept in, covering the surface of the water with thick ice.

“That’s!”

He had a hunch, and it was as he expected.

But what surprised Luke even more was something else.

The Blizzard magic the mages had just manifested was not ordinary white magic.

It looked like white magic on the surface, but the magic formula at its core was black magic, based on a method he had devised in the past!

‘Who the hell are those guys? Could they be from the Darkness Magic Tower…?’

But Luke didn’t have time to dwell on the past.

“Enemy Gigants are crossing the river!”

The urgent cries of the artillerymen echoed from the ramparts.

As if responding to their cries, the enemy’s Gigants began to rush across the frozen river towards Tolude Fortress.

Thus began the prelude to the war between the Baroque Empire and the Volga Republic.

(To be continued in Iron Emperor Volume 4)

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