Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 176

Arsene’s Ordeal

1

Deep beneath the royal palace of Livia lay a training ground reserved exclusively for the king.

“Dark Hole!”

A sinister incantation flowed from Arsene’s lips as he stood in the center of the training ground.

Then, a profound darkness, so intense it seemed to devour souls, appeared at his fingertips.

Kiiiiiiing!

As the abyss began to rotate, objects within a 30-meter radius started to disintegrate and were drawn into his fingertips.

The paving stones on the floor crumbled, and the nearby weapon racks and armaments began to break apart.

If this continued much longer, the training ground would vanish, and even the royal palace might collapse.

‘Well, that would be a problem.’

With a smile, Arsene immediately canceled the Dark Hole.

The dust that had been gathering into the abyss scattered into the air.

A semicircular pit about 30 meters in front of Arsene revealed the extent of the destruction.

“I’ve recovered about 90% of my dark magic.”

Thanks to his secluded training and focused meditation, the speed at which he was regaining his former abilities was steadily increasing.

“Now, all that’s left is to combine the power of the Draconian with dark magic.”

If he could combine these two powers, he would no longer need to fear Luke.

He could once again reign as the strongest on the continent!

‘Of course, Luke won’t just stay at that level… but he won’t be able to focus on improving his skills for a while!’

In the meantime, he would surpass him.

And he would relish the look of frustration on his face!

It was at this moment, as Arsene wore a satisfied smile, that…

Bang!

The door to the underground training ground burst open, and Jemerton rushed in with a frantic expression.

He then reported the urgent news that had arrived from the south.

“What?! You’re telling me the monster army and the Grenada pirates have already been crushed? Do you expect me to believe that!”

At Arsene’s furious question, Jemerton prostrated himself on the spot and replied.

“I-I am terribly sorry, but it is all true. I couldn’t believe it myself, so I checked several times…”

That was why his report to Arsene was delayed by several days.

He had wanted to verify the truth, but he also knew that a hasty report would likely result in his death.

And as he had expected, Arsene’s rage was immense.

“Kuaaaaaaak—!!”

At his roar, the surrounding air exploded.

“Cough!”

Jemerton, who was prostrate on the floor, turned pale and coughed up blood.

Even though he had protected his body with dark magic, he had suffered internal injuries.

This was because Arsene’s anger had been imbued with Draconic Fear [a power derived from dragons].

Arsene had currently absorbed about 60% of the Draconian’s power, and without realizing it, a portion of that power had manifested externally.

“P-Please, quell your anger!”

At Jemerton’s plea, Arsene withdrew the Draconic Fear and spoke in a loud voice.

“How in the world could a monster army of over 100,000 and a Grenada naval fleet of over 1,300 ships be crushed in less than two weeks? What were Lenuk and Kazel doing until that happened!”

Arsene had entrusted the monster army, one of the main forces of the Livia Kingdom, to the two former elders, along with the black mages, to hinder Luke.

He had also manipulated Magreta to seduce Fernan.

Yet, they couldn’t even buy him a month!

This was a devastating loss.

“Why aren’t you speaking! What happened to those two!”

“Y-Yes! Both of them are said to have died in battle.”

Lenuk, who had led the monster army, had fallen into a trap set by the Symphonia army and died, and Kazel, who had gone to Grenada disguised as a Livia Kingdom envoy, was caught and hanged while fleeing from a surprise attack by the Holy Empire army.

“Gritting teeth! Those former elders couldn’t even manage to escape?”

“W-Well, in the case of former elder Lenuk, he was sniped by a bow master named Scarlet while fighting the surrounding enemies, and former elder Kazel happened to run into Grand Duke Gregory…”

Jemerton emphasized that it was unavoidable, but Arsene’s anger did not subside easily.

“You good-for-nothing bastards! You ran off to hell so easily. If you had come back alive, I would have given you the most painful punishment.”

Arsene, who had been cursing the two former elders, suddenly asked as if he had just remembered something.

“What about the ones who went to infiltrate Brenden and the nearby cities? What happened to them?”

Taking advantage of the war in the north and south of the kingdom, he had planned to deploy black mages to spread zombie soldiers.

In addition, he had planned to incite a rebellion by encouraging dissatisfied factions within Symphonia.

Even if the war ended quickly, contrary to his initial expectations, if zombie soldiers spread and rebel factions stirred, it would be enough to distract Luke to some extent.

But even his last resort had failed to meet Arsene’s expectations.

“U-Unfortunately, they were also caught during the infiltration process and executed.”

“Tch, nothing is going right.”

Arsene grimaced fiercely.

His head was throbbing as if it would break, due to anger and frustration.

But there was something even more infuriating.

After finishing his secluded training and attending a court meeting for the first time in a while, his vassals reported that riots and disturbances had broken out within the kingdom.

“What? You’re saying that such a thing happened in our Livia Kingdom, not Symphonia?”

“That is because the prices of goods have recently risen abnormally…”

Baitz, the finance minister and Shaikan’s cousin, stammered as he gave a detailed report.

Recently, the prices of necessities, including grains, had risen sharply. Naturally, public sentiment had exploded, and even among the local lords who were profiting from collecting taxes from these people, voices of discontent were emerging.

Nevertheless, prices did not fall and continued to rise, causing riots in the capital and throughout the country.

“How in the world did this happen? Why could such a thing occur!”

Arsene really couldn’t understand this situation.

He was secretly spreading a modified zombie poison to use the people of the Livia Kingdom as undead resources.

Since it was undesirable for noisy and troublesome problems to arise during this process, he had implemented policies that would prevent the people from rebelling as much as possible.

He had stopped the war with the Baroque Empire, which Shaikan had been ambitiously pursuing, reduced taxes, and worked to expand foreign trade.

These were all policies that would develop the country, and both nobles and commoners had welcomed them.

Yet, this was happening!

At Arsene’s anger, Baitz continued to speak with a very apologetic expression.

“That is… I have investigated, and it seems that the Grain Merchant Guild is the cause.”

“The Grain Merchant Guild is the cause?”

“Yes, I have checked several times, and it was definitely them.”

When the Grain Merchant Guild was mentioned, the officials all looked at Arsene’s expression.

Although Baitz had spoken first, they had also realized that the Grain Merchant Guild was the cause of this situation.

However, no one had tried to speak first before Baitz.

This was because the Grain Merchant Guild was a royal merchant guild under the protection of the king.

In fact, until this incident, they had contributed greatly to the Livia Kingdom to the point where they deserved to be protected.

By moving its headquarters to the Livia Kingdom, one of the leading merchant guilds on the continent had provided jobs for many people and filled the national treasury, which had been depleted by the war, by actively engaging in foreign trade.

In addition, they had contributed to price stability by importing food and necessities and selling them to the people at low prices.

Naturally, the influence of the Grain Merchant Guild spread rapidly throughout the kingdom, and the management of the Grain Merchant Guild reached the point where it controlled the economy of the Livia Kingdom.

The Grain Merchant Guild, which had been praised by the people until recently, was said to have changed its attitude.

“They suddenly raised the prices of necessities. At first, it seemed like they were raising them slightly, but later, it was almost every day…”

“Enough, I will deal with the Grain Merchant Guild myself, so you all focus on suppressing the riots and disturbances.”

Arsene, who was very upset by the series of bad news, dismissed all of his vassals.

The vassals, seeing the king’s hardened face, quickly left their seats, fearing they might get caught in the crossfire.

‘Damn it! I’m already annoyed to death, and now even these merchants are causing trouble!’

Arsene called Jemerton back and ordered him to summon all the executives of the Grain Merchant Guild immediately.

“All of them?”

“Yes, tell them that if even one of them is missing, they will taste hell.”

At the sight of Arsene grinding his teeth, Jemerton quickly bowed and retreated.

Knowing well what would happen if he hesitated, he hurried as much as possible.

2

At Arsene’s stern warning, all the executives of the guild’s headquarters in the capital rushed to the royal palace.

Although they were one of the leading merchant guilds on the continent, they were merely a branch of the Veritas Magic Tower [a powerful organization of mages].

There was no way that such a branch could disobey the orders of Arsene, who could be considered its root.

And even if there were those who did not know his identity, there were no people so bold as to dare disobey a summons from the king of the country where the guild’s headquarters was located.

In any case, the summoned executives prostrated themselves in the grand hall, receiving Arsene’s murderous gaze.

“I believe you know why I, who am so busy, have summoned you pigs.”

“…”

At Arsene’s cold words, the guild executives broke out in a cold sweat.

Some of them, as if they had already expected this situation, tightly closed their eyes.

“Tell me honestly. Did you tamper with trade for the sake of your own enrichment?”

Corruption and irregularities can arise anywhere.

Arsene, who had lived for hundreds of years as a lich [an undead sorcerer], had witnessed such things countless times.

He had even committed irregularities himself.

Therefore, he did not think that the Grain Merchant Guild, which had established an absolute position in the Livia Kingdom under his protection, would not be corrupt.

“If you confess now who took how much, I will spare you from hell.”

At his stern warning, the executives frantically rolled their eyes and looked at each other.

“I-I will tell you everything!”

Then, a corpulent middle-aged executive in the front row was the first to open his mouth.

“It’s all because of the guild master, Zehart.”

“Y-Yes, that’s right. The guild master has been indiscriminately drawing funds from the guild…”

“We were on the verge of bankruptcy… so we had no choice but to try to make up for the funds that had flowed out.”

As the corpulent middle-aged executive opened his mouth, the other executives rose up like a swarm of bees and denounced the guild master, Zehart.

Arsene’s anger surged to the top of his head at their dog-like barking.

Zehart was a lazy fellow who was not very interested in magic, but he was definitely a descendant who had inherited his blood.

Yet, they were trying to shift all the blame onto him just because he was not present!

“You bastards! How dare you lie to my face!”

“Hmph, mayflies!”

As Parnassus annihilated the mercenaries with Dark Bullet, the people who were enjoying gambling on the first floor screamed and fled.

“Aaaah! It’s a murderer!”

“Everyone, run away!”

Despite the commotion, Parnassus and Torres didn’t even flinch.

Their priority was securing Zehart’s safety.

“Zehart’s guild leader is in the Golden Hall on the third floor. Everyone, hurry.”

At his command, the intelligence agents rushed to the third-floor VIP gambling hall, the Golden Hall.

They quickly eliminated the mercenaries that appeared and reached the third floor, smashing through the thick South Continent hardwood door and entering.

“Zehart’s guild leader, His Majesty has ordered you to be brought…”

Torres, about to speak to Zehart, flinched and froze.

Parnassus was the same.

Instead of Zehart and his escort mercenaries, whom they expected to find in the third-floor Golden Hall, they found knights and mages wearing armor bearing the Castia royal family crest.

‘W-What is going on…’

“I didn’t believe it, but the Symphonia King’s message was correct. It said that spies of the Livia Kingdom, in league with black mages, would attack this place…”

A figure clicked his tongue and stepped forward.

Red hair and a strong presence.

Dressed in splendid armor, he was Count Romaire, a high-ranking sword master of the Castia Kingdom.

Torres was shocked to see him.

As far as he knew, Count Romaire was training the Royal Knights in the capital.

But why was he in Carthage, and here of all places?

“Attack! Don’t kill them all; we need to question some of them, so capture a few alive!”

“Yes, Commander!”

At Count Romaire’s shout, the Royal Knights responded and rushed towards the masked men.

The accompanying royal mages weren’t idle either.

Having already cast their spells, they unleashed their most powerful attack magic on the black mages behind the Livia intelligence agents.

The surprise attack amidst the confusion caused massive damage to the Livia side.

“Damn it, it’s a trap! Everyone, retreat!”

Torres hastily ordered a retreat.

Parnassus also used message magic to order his black mages to disengage and flee.

However, escaping was not easy.

There were those blocking the stairs leading down.

“Z-Zehart-nim?”

“What to do? I’m not the guy named Zehart.”

Sebastian, disguised as Zehart, gave a cold sneer and spoke to Count Caper and the Unicorn Knights who had come with him.

“His Majesty Luke’s order is to wipe out all the Veritas bastards!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the knights’ swords flew towards the intelligence agents and black mages.

“D-Dodge! Ack!”

“Damn it! Don’t push!”

The intelligence agents and black mages, attacked from the front and back, were unable to respond properly in their panic.

Parnassus and Torres barely managed to escape the chaos and get outside.

However, a large force was stationed outside Elysium, as if they had been waiting.

“Good heavens, it’s the Carthage garrison! When did they… ?”

The force, with large shields lined up like barricades, seemed to number at least a thousand.

Not only that, there were also Gigantes [large, humanoid war machines], and priests were stationed here and there.

Moreover, war mages were looking down from the sky.

‘It’s over. There’s no way to escape!’

Torres, in despair, slumped down on the spot.

Unlike him, Parnassus struggled to the end to escape.

However, he was subdued by the priests’ divine power and the paralyzing poison that Sebastian had slyly released.

They had gone to capture the troublemakers of the Livia Kingdom, but instead, they had given Arsene an even bigger headache.

4

“Your Majesty, the King of Castia has sent his thanks.”

“Hahaha. Of course, he should.”

At Duke Hans’ report, Luke responded as if it were only natural.

“But did he say he would accept my proposal?”

“Yes, he said he would attend the magic video conference that Your Majesty proposed.”

Carthage was a direct territory of the Castia royal family.

It was a place that supported the royal family’s finances with its powerful financial resources, but here, spies of the Livia Kingdom, who had joined hands with black mages, were causing a disturbance.

Naturally, the King of Castia had no choice but to be furious.

“Do the other kings say they will attend the magic video conference?”

“Yes, Her Holiness Reina of the Holy Empire, or rather, the Pope, was the first to send her intention to attend, and President Vladimir of the Volga Republic and King Charles of the Ireah Kingdom have also said they will participate.”

Immediately after dealing with the monster army and the Grenada pirates, Luke pondered what kind of response to take in the future rather than holding a victory party.

Since he had been tricked by Arsene, he had to return the favor, and a big one at that.

Then he thought of a meeting with the leaders of various countries on the Rodisia continent.

He wanted to meet them in person, but that would take a lot of time and the procedures were complicated.

So, he thought of a magic video conference.

The topic of the conference was sanctions against the Livia Kingdom and the Baroque Empire, which had joined hands with the Veritas black mages.

In the meantime, the various kingdoms of the Rodisia continent had sometimes opposed the Baroque Empire, which was allied with the Veritas Magic Tower, and sometimes turned a blind eye, depending on their own interests.

However, now that even the Livia Kingdom had joined hands with the black mages of the Veritas Magic Tower, the atmosphere was such that they could no longer stand idly by.

If they continued to allow the black mages to expand their power, their own countries might be in danger.

“If all goes well at the summit in four days, we might be able to form a military alliance.”

Luke was planning to join hands with the kingdoms of the Rodisia continent and subdue his enemies, the Baroque Empire and the Livia Kingdom, which Arsene had taken over.

He thought it was time to boldly carry out the long-delayed northern expedition.

Realistically, the Symphonia Kingdom alone could not punish the two countries, but he judged that the northern expedition would be possible if other countries helped.

“What are your plans for the allied countries of the Southern Continent?”

At Hans’ question, Luke answered as if it were obvious.

“Of course, they must participate.”

If a military alliance was formed at the summit in four days, he was going to contact the two countries and ask them to send troops.

“If Yemaek or the Song Empire also participate, it will be a very large war. Even if such a scale is achieved, the opponent will not be easy.”

There was a reason why Hans was taking a cautious approach.

Even though the Baroque Empire was very corrupt, it was still a great power with remaining potential.

In addition, the Livia Kingdom had been steadily increasing its military power since its founding, although it had recently been faltering.

In particular, since Arsene had taken over the Livia Kingdom, it had the power of Shaikan’s Draconian [a powerful warrior race] and the black magic of the Veritas Magic Tower, so it would be necessary to endure enormous sacrifices to occupy it.

Of course, Luke had not failed to take this into account.

“As you said, it won’t be easy. That’s why I’ve prepared one more thing for the Livia Kingdom. A secret plan to weaken their military power.”

“A secret plan?”

“Hehehe, they’ll be surprised when the war breaks out later.”

Luke gave a sinister smile, like the master of a conspiracy.

“Are you perhaps referring to shaking the economy of the Livia Kingdom?”

Hans also knew that Luke had used Sebastian, a master of disguise, to put the Livia Kingdom’s economy in trouble.

However, he did not know that Luke had also given orders to Belfar in addition to Sebastian.

‘What Belfar did will cause more serious problems later than what Sebastian did.’

While the Livia Kingdom was in turmoil due to the economic crisis, Belfar had turned the major military suppliers who supplied military supplies to the Livia Central Army into his familiars [magically controlled servants].

And he used them to tamper with the weapons and food being supplied.

Swords and shields that looked fine on the outside but were made of cheap scrap iron, or sacks of wheat and barley that were mixed with sand or soaked in water to deceive the weight.

He even instructed them to fill the magic stones that went into the main weapon, the Gigantes, with inferior ones that did not meet the standards.

‘Belfar is only controlling a few familiars, but those few will taint hundreds.’

If the upper stream is clear, the lower stream will also be clear.

If the people at the top commit corrupt acts, the people below will also try to take care of their own interests by all means while watching their superiors.

For now, this corruption and the deficiencies they caused will not show their effects.

However, when the war actually breaks out, it will certainly contribute greatly to eroding the combat power and morale of the Livia Kingdom’s soldiers.

‘Of course, we must also thoroughly prepare for that.’

Just like a well-made loaf of bread will grow mold if left unattended, corruption and decay can occur anywhere.

This was no exception for the Symphonia Kingdom.

When the Storm Break operation was carried out in the Pamire Mountains against the monster army, there was a problem with the magic circle not working properly.

At that time, they were able to avoid the crisis thanks to Aslan’s sacrifice, but Marquis Rogers did not just let it go.

He thoroughly investigated the reason why the magic circle did not work, and as a result, he found out that some of the magic stones used in the firestorm magic circle were substandard.

And he immediately identified and severely punished the war mages and suppliers involved.

There were also problems in the navy, as well as in the army.

The suppliers who supplied the navy’s staple food, hardtack, did not dry it properly, so some warships had to eat moldy bread during the Greg Sea Battle.

The water containers for drinking water were also poorly made, causing precious water to leak or rot.

Because of this, Luke had to deal with the suppliers as soon as he returned to the port after the naval battle.

Even now, they were identifying and punishing the traitors who had been instigated by the Livia Kingdom, while at the same time conducting a high-intensity audit of each department of the kingdom.

“By the way, have you found out the whereabouts of the undead that were moved from the Hell Islands?”

“Well, Baron Hudson is mobilizing all of the intelligence department to find them, but he says there are no results yet.”

As a result of reading Zehart’s memories, Luke learned that more than half of the undead from the Hell Islands had been moved to the Livia Kingdom.

However, Zehart did not know where the undead that had landed on the west coast of the Livia Kingdom had been moved to.

They must be doing the final refinement somewhere, and if they are completed as they are, it will be quite a headache.

Each of them was quite strong.

If hundreds of such undead rushed down at once, or scattered in all directions and caused a commotion, it would not be easy to deal with them even if the continental allied forces were mobilized.

“What is the reason why you haven’t found out yet?”

“Well, they are very thoroughly concealing and obstructing it in the Livia Kingdom, so it is not easy to investigate the information.”

“Hmm… If any suspicious areas appear, report them to me. I’ll investigate it myself.”

“Understood.”

After talking a little more with Duke Hans, Luke headed to his private training ground.

He would have to face Arsene in the near future, and he needed to train steadily for that time.