Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 171

2. The Battle of the Pamir Mountains

1

Felipe, the capital of the Lybia Kingdom.

In the five-story office of the royal palace, located in the heart of the city, a man in a splendid robe gazed out the window.

The city had lost its former vibrancy, now shrouded in a deep darkness that the man found pleasing.

Behind him, an old man with a gloomy expression knelt. After a moment, the old man spoke.

“My lord, the Grenada Kingdom’s fleet has set sail. According to Elder Kazel of the Magreta and Kazel Expeditionary Force, that fool Fernand has led over 1,300 ships. It seems he intends to invade the Symphonia Kingdom, staking his nation’s fate on this endeavor.”

“Kekeke, a narrow-minded person is terrifying when they hold a grudge.”

“Also, the monster legion that departed a month ago is crossing the Pamir Mountains after traversing the wasteland. However, this is the first time moving such a large force, so their advance is slower than planned. They have requested additional reinforcements of black mages.”

“Lenuk, you fool! I taught you the magic to control monsters, and you can’t even do that properly!” Arsen snapped, turning around irritably.

Taming is the act of domesticating monsters or animals.

Shykan used the power of the Dragonians to tame the monster legion as if they were his own limbs.

However, black mages did not possess this Dragonian power.

So, Arsen developed a brainwashing magic specifically for monsters to replace it and taught it to black mages, including Lenuk.

“Leading a large force, especially monsters, across the mountains is not easy. Still, they should be able to enter Symphonia territory and attack around the same time the Grenada fleet strikes. Let’s trust them and watch patiently.”

“Kel, if they can’t even do that, they should just die.”

Arsen was naturally violent, but after taking over Shykan’s body, he became even more cruel.

He would kill even the elders of the Veritas Magic Tower if they displeased him.

And it wasn’t just killing them; he would absorb their souls, making it impossible for them to be resurrected even in the demon realm.

Therefore, Jemerton, who reported to Arsen, had to be extremely careful.

Following Nesta and Albert, even the five most powerful former elders of the Veritas Magic Tower lived in fear of being killed at any moment.

‘Did the Dragonian blood change my lord’s personality?’ Jemerton wondered, but the truth was different.

It wasn’t a side effect of gaining Dragonian power, but the humiliation of being defeated by Luke was deeply embedded in Arsen’s mind, like a dagger, making him even more ruthless.

While Jemerton was mistaken, Arsen spoke again.

“How is the refinement of the undead brought from the Hell Islands progressing?”

“We have completed the first refinement process and are 80 percent through the second. All preparations will be completed within a year.”

The Veritas Magic Tower’s hideout on the Hell Islands was destroyed by Luke.

They were attacked before they could complete the relocation, and the damage was significant.

However, they had already moved a considerable number of black mages and undead through the Grain Merchant Guild’s trade fleet.

The undead that were moved were in the final stages of refinement at the second hideout, located in a secret location within the Lybia Kingdom.

“That’s somewhat satisfactory. But since we don’t know when the second hideout will be exposed again, tell them to hurry the refinement.”

“Understood.”

He wanted to oversee the refinement himself, which would cut the time by more than half.

However, Arsen was currently posing as the King of Lybia. There must be hundreds of spies from other countries watching him.

If he was careless, the location of the second hideout would be revealed, and Luke or the Holy Empire would not stand idly by.

‘Besides, I have more important things to do than refining the undead.’

That was to absorb 100 percent of the Dragonian’s abilities and regain his original power.

If he didn’t hurry to complete those two things, he might be defeated by Luke again, as he was before.

“By the way, is the improved zombie poison spreading well?”

“We are infecting villages and cities in the inland areas first, and it seems that the results will appear in at least six months, or at most a year.”

Currently, the black mages of the Veritas Magic Tower were carrying out a plan to turn the entire population of the Lybia Kingdom into undead.

Originally, they had planned to take over the Southern Continent and turn its people into undead, but after taking over Shykan’s body, their plans changed.

The current completion rate was 50 percent, and they were spreading the improved zombie poison starting from the inland territories and cities where outsiders rarely set foot.

The method of infection was very simple: they just had to secretly spread the poison in the wells.

However, it was not ideal for the people who drank the contaminated water to immediately become undead.

To maximize the effect, it was advantageous for them to become undead all at once and pour out into the surrounding kingdoms.

And the Death Knights and Liches, who had completed the second refinement, would be at the forefront.

For this purpose, Arsen improved the zombie poison that had been tested in the Holy Empire.

It would lie dormant in the host’s body and activate immediately when the black mages recited the activation words.

“If a 30 million undead legion led by Death Knights and Liches suddenly appears, no country will be able to stop it. Kekekek!”

A triumphant smile appeared on Arsen’s lips.

Even the Holy Empire, the most powerful nation on the Rodisia Continent, would not be able to stop a 30 million undead legion.

The power of the Death Knights and Liches at the forefront was formidable, but there was no match for sheer numbers.

Moreover, if they were bitten while fighting the undead, they would be immediately infected, so the number of the undead legion would increase rather than decrease as the battles continued.

Arsen was confident that his century-long plan would never fail.

“If your report is finished, you may leave.”

Arsen, who was smiling triumphantly, dismissed Elder Jemerton.

But Jemerton hesitated, saying he had more to report.

“What else is there?”

“Actually, Prince Zehart has been acting suspiciously for some time now.”

“Suspicious behavior?”

“Yes, he hasn’t returned to the country and is selling the merchant guild’s assets for cash or promissory notes. Moreover, he has a monopoly on the supply of not only food but also weapons to the Lybia Kingdom’s military, and because of this, the nobles and merchants are full of complaints.”

Zehart was the only one who returned alive from the Hell Islands.

He was currently one of Arsen’s few blood relatives. If you counted the grown direct descendants, he was the only one.

Therefore, it was difficult to easily scold him for embezzling the merchant guild’s assets and causing trouble in the Lybia Kingdom.

However, because of this, the dissatisfaction of the nobles and merchants who owned the merchant guild was deepening, so he had to report it.

Until the refinement of the undead was completed in a year, they had to be appeased and used.

“Ugh, it seems that the guy’s extravagance has flared up again. We only need to endure for a year at most, so leave him be.”

Arsen also knew that Zehart was more obsessed with wealth than magic.

He didn’t like it, but he didn’t punish him because he was the only remaining grown direct descendant.

However, Arsen had no idea what would happen to the Lybia Kingdom because of one troublemaker.

2

The Pamir Mountains in the northwest of the Symphonia Kingdom.

It was a passage that had to be crossed to enter the kingdom’s territory.

There was a road that carts could travel on, but it was by no means wide, and because it was winding, the travel time took several times longer than the distance on the map.

Moreover, the northwestern border was swarming with monsters, so there was not much traffic from merchants, and thanks to that, the roads were hardly maintained.

“Damn it, I didn’t know it would be such a difficult course!” Lenuk, who was leading a 100,000-strong monster legion under Arsen’s orders, was constantly frustrated.

The large army was moving along a narrow and winding road, and it was taking much longer than expected.

Above all, the problem was that the line of march was becoming as long as a thread.

This was because the brainwashing magic that controlled the monsters only affected a certain range, and as the line of march became longer, it was common for them to stray out of that range.

In the western wasteland, Lenuk and about 100 black mages were enough to control them, but as the shape of the marching monster legion changed from a plane to a line, they faced unexpected difficulties.

Therefore, Lenuk had no choice but to request additional black mages from Arsen.

Fortunately, the lord generously sent reinforcements, but the advance was delayed for a while in the process.

That meant giving time to the enemy, the Symphonia Kingdom army.

He was worried that the enemy might increase their reinforcements in this direction, but fortunately, there was no contact from the spies.

If there was any special movement or activity, they would have reported it immediately.

“That means the pirates’ power is that great, right? Magreta, that vixen, seems to have done a good job.”

She was a pathetic woman who didn’t know her place and dared to send flirtatious advances to the lord, but she was certainly useful.

She was able to move a naval power like a puppet without much effort.

‘Still, it’s not good for that woman to get too arrogant…’ No matter what anyone said, the coming new era had to belong to the Veritas Magic Tower.

He thought that there should be no place for a lustful woman who had only learned low-level magic like seduction.

It was when Lenuk was lost in thought that the advance of the monsters moving forward stopped.

‘What is it?’ He tilted his head and immediately connected to the magic communication, scolding the black mage at the front.

“Why have you stopped? Is there a collapsed road or something?”

– The road is blocked by a landslide… We are quickly clearing it.

“Ugh, hurry up! We can’t delay any longer!”

Perhaps because the road was not maintained, the mountain path was often collapsed or blocked by landslides.

Every time that happened, they had to do some work, and Lenuk was annoyed that the monsters’ strength, which should be used to kill the enemy, was being wasted.

Kooong!

A rumbling sound was heard from somewhere, and then the screams of the monsters were heard.

“What the hell happened again?” Lenuk saw the dust rising in the distance and called the subordinate in charge of that area through magic communication.

Then, the image of a subordinate black mage covered in dust appeared in the crystal ball.

“What happened?”

– Well, suddenly, there was a loud explosion on the hillside, and rocks and boulders came pouring down.

Hundreds of monsters, including a few trolls and ogres, were crushed by the rocks, hit by the stones, or fell off the cliff outside the road without being able to do anything.

– Judging by the smell of gunpowder from the fallen rocks, someone did it on purpose… Kehek!

The subordinate who was reporting had his throat pierced by an arrow that flew from somewhere.

“Ah, no!” Lenuk was startled and quickly called his subordinate’s name, but the magic communication was terminated, probably because he was already dead.

“Could it be, is there an enemy ambush?” Judging by the fact that the arrow came from above, it was certain that a small number of elite soldiers skilled in climbing mountains were hiding.

‘Even if their numbers are no more than a thousand, they can inflict great damage on our side.’ It was said that even a drizzle could soak your clothes.

Even a 100,000-strong army could suffer great losses if they were repeatedly attacked from the flanks or rear while moving in a long line.

Above all, if a black mage died, the nearby monsters that had lost control would run wild and cause even greater damage to their own side.

‘The fact that the road has collapsed or landslides have occurred so far must also be a trick by those guys to delay our advance. I can’t let them play us like this.’

Lenuk told his subordinate black mages to quickly clean up the chaos in the rear and then select monsters such as orcs, gnolls, and kobolds who were good at climbing mountains to track down and eliminate the ambushes.

But he didn’t realize it: even the fact that he was giving these orders was part of the enemy’s plan.

“They have begun to disperse their forces and search the mountains.” Scarlett, who was commanding the special forces, nodded at the scout’s report and gave an order.

“Good, erase as many traces as possible and move to point 3 quickly. Set up traps to stop the enemy’s pursuit as you see fit.”

“Yes, Commander!”

Scarlett, who had become a Bow Master two months ago, came to Berangze Castle with the 1st Army led by Marquis Rogers.

Originally, she was in charge of reconnaissance missions to observe and report on the enemy’s movements, but the operation was changed midway, and she also took on special warfare.

In the process, the troops were reinforced and organized into a separate special forces unit of 1,000 men.

The reinforced troops were mostly of the fairy race rather than humans, especially elves and lycanthropes.

They were all agile, good at climbing mountains, and skilled at handling bows and explosives.

“Commander, the surrounding area has been cleared, and the traps have been set up.”

“Good, let’s move immediately.”

Scarlett and the special forces members moved quickly up the mountain like squirrels.

Then, they saw a group of monsters crawling up from below.

The distance was quite far, so the monsters did not notice the special forces.

However, it was clearly visible to Scarlett, who had exceptional eyesight as an archer, and the fairy members.

‘Mostly orcs, kobolds, and gnolls.’ Scarlett focused on a human in a gray robe who was being guarded by a group of orcs.

A mage controlling the monsters.

Scarlett didn’t know that the opponent was a black mage, but she was sure that he was a target to be eliminated.

‘If we wait a little longer, they will reach the place where the traps are set up. Then…’

Scarlett drew the string of the bow in her hand.

The bow she was currently using was a special horn bow made in Yemaek, which she had received as a gift from Hwang Bo-sung, who had returned from the Southern Expedition last time.

It was smaller than the bows of the Rodisia Continent, but its elasticity was so strong that it took her a while to get used to it.

But it was worth the effort. It had almost twice the range and penetration power of the bow she had used before.

Kwaddeudeudeuk!

At that moment when she was pulling the bowstring.

Bang! Boom!

Kweeek! Kweaek!

The leading orcs were caught in the explosion, a trap set by the special forces just before their retreat.

The black mage, startled, shouted something and halted the monsters’ advance. At that moment, Scarlett released the string of her special horn bow.

Whoosh- Thwack!

The arrow sliced through the air, aimed directly at the black mage.

The black mage, having sensed the attack by the sound, sneered. He had anticipated such a surprise and had already cast a shield spell.

However, the arrow pierced through his shield as if it were paper, lodging itself in his forehead.

“Gack! Th-This is impossible…”

It was the result of the bow master’s skill combined with the power of the Yemaek horn bow, renowned in the Southern Continent, especially this special bow crafted by the finest artisan. But the dying mage had no way of knowing that.

Shortly after, as the black mage breathed his last, the black magic controlling the monsters dissipated.

Squeak?

Squeak! Squeak!

The orcs, gnolls, and kobolds, looking bewildered as if they had just woken from a deep sleep, scattered in all directions. Meanwhile, Scarlett’s special forces quickened their pace towards the third point.

3

“Grrr, those damn bastards!”

Lenuk trembled with rage.

He had been tormented by the enemy’s special forces for five days since the initial surprise attack.

The enemy would cut off their path, halt their advance, blow up cliffs, or send boulders tumbling down whenever they had the chance.

They even left behind mocking signs, like this one:

’80 kilometers left to Berangje. Here’s a shortcut for you slow-witted fools still wandering in the mountains.’

Crack!

The sign at the fork in the road was shattered by a magic bullet fired by Lenuk.

Seeing this, the subordinate black mage was terrified and tried to calm him.

“Please, calm down, Elder Lenuk! You could be sniped by the enemy if you’re not careful!”

“Shut up! Do you think I’ll die just because some wooden stick flies at me!”

Lenuk, an 8th circle black mage, wasn’t afraid of being sniped, but his subordinates were not the same.

The enemy relentlessly targeted only the black mages, day and night.

Sniping during the march was common, and fire arrows rained down on their sleeping quarters.

One black mage even died absurdly after falling into a stake trap while trying to pick a rare herb by the roadside.

As the number of black mages dwindled, controlling the monsters became more difficult.

In fact, the large army, which had numbered over 100,000, had decreased to about 90,000. More had fled due to the black mages losing control than had died.

It would have been fortunate if they had only run away.

Fierce creatures like ogres attacked the surrounding monsters as soon as their brainwashing was undone.

Anyway, as these disturbances and snipings targeting the black mages became frequent, Lenuk organized a pursuit force to eliminate the enemy’s special forces.

But it was to no avail.

The special forces would escape like rats, or the pursuers would fall into the traps they had set, causing the pursuit force to be destroyed several times.

“This won’t do! If I don’t personally step in and annihilate these rats…”

“Please, calm down. If the 8th circle black mage, Elder, leaves his post, more monsters will defect.”

“So, you’re saying I have to keep hiding until we get down the mountain! While watching the monsters dwindle!”

Most of the black mages were currently hiding behind the monsters or concealing themselves with invisibility magic.

Some even disguised themselves as orc shamans.

“…There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“There’s no suitable solution at the moment.”

At his subordinates’ resigned answers, Lenuk snapped his staff in half with both hands, venting his frustration.

But even he didn’t have a good solution.

“Tsk, you useless things… Continue the march!”

At Lenuk’s urging, the monsters, who had briefly stopped, began to march again.

However, they did not take the shortcut that the Symphonia army had told them about.

Even though the map and the information given by the spies clearly indicated it was a shortcut, it was narrower and rougher than the other paths.

‘If we rashly enter, we’ll be in trouble if we fall into the traps they’ve set.’

Lenuk made that judgment and chose a path that he thought would be safer.

Unaware that the shortcut was actually a safe path.

“The enemy is coming this way!”

Upon the scout’s report, Marquis Rogers once again examined the defensive line built by the troops blocking the path.

Along with the wooden barricades set up as obstacles in front of the allied forces’ position, several layers of barbed wire, a recent dwarven invention, were laid out.

The barbed wire was like a thorny thicket made of twisted wire, effective enough to stop humans and small to medium-sized monsters, if not giants.

Behind the wooden barricades and barbed wire, there were several small pits, each with sharpened stakes driven into them.

This was also a means to halt the monsters’ charge.

‘Even if they break through this, there are giants.’

Six Knight-class giants, Gaius, blocked the path like a wall, their large steel shields pressed tightly together.

The Warrior-class were positioned behind the Gaius, ready to help them from being pushed back or to throw rocks, stones, and javelins from the rear.

“The cannons in the rear are also manned by giants, right?”

“Yes, retired old giants are in charge of transporting the cannons.”

The area where the defensive line was currently deployed was quite spacious for a mountain path.

It was an open space where merchant caravans used to rest for camping or meals. Marquis Rogers planned to block their advance here.

He would have built a fortress or a castle if he could.

But there was not enough time, and it was difficult to find usable rocks nearby.

So, he devised the deployment of the artillery unit.

He deployed cannons in the rear and ordered them to move their positions after firing more than three shots.

Staying in one place could lead to damage from the enemy’s magic or large monsters’ throwing attacks.

Of course, the soldiers alone could not move the cannons quickly, so retired, experienced giants were tasked with transportation.

“I don’t know if we can hold out. Even if we block them with giants and attack with cannons, there are nearly 100,000 monsters…”

“We have to hold out somehow. If we hold out well here, the desperate enemies will look for a detour.”

There were two other paths down the mountain besides this one, and similar-sized defense forces were already deployed there.

If any of the three were breached, the monsters would immediately set foot in Symphonia territory.

If that happened, the damage to the people and soldiers would be great.

“How is the work of the engineering units deployed in the decoy area going?”

“The work is not going smoothly, and it will take at least five more days.”

According to the adjutant’s confirmation, the operation was modified midway, and the work was not going smoothly due to many obstacles in the basins chosen as decoy areas.

“It’s too late, tell them to finish it within three days.”

“Understood.”

If he and his subordinates did their best, they could hold out for about five days.

But Rogers did not want to leave the 1st Army in the west for long.

He couldn’t be sure that the monster army was the only enemy moving at the same time as the Grenada Navy.

“If I were the enemy, I would prepare to cause unrest or rebellion in the country… What does the commander-in-chief think?”

Luke had asked this during a private meeting before the war.

Rogers agreed with Luke’s prediction.

It was unlikely that the enemy would come from the east, where the Holy Artenia Empire was located, and the Baroque Empire in the north was too busy fighting the Volga Republic to pay attention to this side.

Therefore, if the enemies wanted to shake the Symphonia Kingdom, domestic unrest or rebellion was likely.

The intelligence department had already identified potential rebellion candidates. Some aristocratic factions and radical republican organizations, etc.

Of course, they were just candidates, and it remained to be seen whether they would actually sympathize with the enemy and cause unrest.

“The enemy’s vanguard has appeared!”

A sentry stationed on the mountain peak shouted.

Whoosh!

Rogers jumped onto his beloved Orion [a type of war machine].

Standing on its shoulder pads, he looked at the approaching enemies.

Trolls, ogres, lizardmen, and all sorts of large and small monsters were marching in a dark line.

It looked like a huge serpent crawling.

“They’re finally coming, let’s see what you’ve got!”

Rogers clenched his fist and immediately boarded his Orion.

4

“Attack them all! Tear them to pieces, leaving not a single one alive!”

Lenuk, seething with anger, gave the order to attack as soon as he spotted the Symphonia army blocking the path.

He intended to vent the resentment he had accumulated from being tormented by the special forces.

Kreeeeek!

Kiek! Kwooooooo!

The monsters at the forefront, as soon as the order was given, roared and charged all at once.

The first to rush in were the nimble goblins and kobolds.

They jumped over the wooden barricades in an instant and continued their charge, not caring about the barbed wire laid out in front of them.

It wasn’t because they were brave.

They were brainwashed and unable to make their own judgments and decisions about unfamiliar obstacles.

This reckless charge led to massive casualties.

Keck! Keaek!

Kiek! Kieeeek!

The goblins and kobolds entangled in the barbed wire writhed in pain, but the more they struggled, the more entangled they became, unable to escape.

The ones following behind stepped on their immobilized kin and jumped over the traps.

However, the barbed wire was layered several times up to where the Symphonia army was.

Moreover, the Symphonia army did not just let the monsters cross the barbed wire.

“Fire! Stop their charge!”

As Marquis Rogers gave the order, the archers positioned on the mountain path rained down a hail of arrows.

The goblins and kobolds could not even cross half of the barbed wire zone due to the downpour of arrows.

In their place, medium and large monsters such as lizardmen, orcs, trolls, and ogres stepped forward.

The lizardmen and orcs also hesitated when they got caught in the barbed wire, but the trolls and ogres were different.

They broke the wooden barricades and tore out the barbed wire as they advanced.

However, they could not ignore the traps under their feet.

Kuaaaang! Kuaang!

An ogre, whose sole was pierced by a sharp stake in a pit, fell to the ground.

It wasn’t serious enough to kill him immediately, but he couldn’t move properly after injuring his foot.

At the staggering monsters, the leading Gaius and the Warrior-class giants behind them threw javelins and hurled rocks.

Wham! Thud! Boom!

The cannons in the rear also spat fire.

The cannonballs, flying in an arc, mercilessly pounded the monsters crowded on the narrow path.

The screams of the monsters echoed endlessly on the mountain path.

“Grrr! What are you doing!”

Lenuk’s fist trembled as he watched the monsters failing to advance properly.

“The enemy has built the traps too meticulously… And the fallen monsters are becoming obstacles.”

“I don’t want to hear it! Quickly clear away those who can’t move and advance! And why are you leaving the soldiers shooting arrows from the mountain path alone! Wipe them out immediately!”

At Lenuk’s shout, the subordinate black mage made a troubled expression.

“What if we cause a landslide by unleashing magic attacks in that direction? If the path is blocked, we’ll waste more time.”

“You fool! Attack with magic that won’t cause a landslide! Wipe them out with lightning magic or something!”

At Lenuk’s shout, the black mages hurriedly attacked the enemy on the mountain path with lightning magic.

Crack! Boom! Crackle!

“Whoa!”

“Magic attack! Everyone, lie down!”

As dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky and lightning struck down, the soldiers quickly ducked.

There was no place to take cover on the peaks of the mountain path.

Nevertheless, there were very few casualties. They had anticipated and prepared for such an attack.

“The military mages were right. Lightning strikes sharp and pointed places!”

“It was a good idea to stick long spears around us.”

As the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, an officer shouted.

“Stop chatting and find the location of the guys who just cast magic and tell the artillery!”

It would be good to snipe them with arrows, but it was difficult to hit the mages accurately because the monsters were guarding them in double and triple layers.

“Yes, understood!”

The archers quickly signaled the artillery with flags. And soon after, a barrage of cannonballs rained down on the place where Lenuk and his subordinates were.

“Tsk, these guys dare…!”

Thanks to the shield magic, Lenuk and the black mages were not hurt at all.

However, the attack just now was enough to infuriate him.

“I will never let these things die peacefully!”

Lenuk gritted his teeth and declared retribution.

He was the commander of a large army who had to maintain his composure, but he was now unleashing a volcanic rage like never before.