Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 16

6. The Territory War Begins

1

After taking Sebastian as his subordinate, Luke used Fly magic to travel to a spot a bit away from the mountain range where tunnel construction was underway.

In the open space there, his escort knight, Philip, was diligently practicing swordsmanship alone.

“Is your training going well?”

“Ah, Young Lord, you’ve arrived?”

Philip, who had been holding his sword up and staring ahead, immediately turned his head towards Luke.

Then, he made a disappointed expression.

“But you came empty-handed? You could have brought something to eat.”

“Is food more important? Aren’t you curious about what your lord is doing?”

“We agreed not to be curious, didn’t we? In exchange, you promised to teach me the Gold Sword.”

Philip was Luke’s escort knight.

He was supposed to follow Luke around, watching and taking care of his every move, but he wasn’t able to do so.

This was because Luke always evaded him to secretly carry out various tasks.

So, whenever Philip was bored, he had to write a report, and he even got caught tailing Luke.

‘It would be simple to brainwash him with black magic… but it’s a waste to make a skilled expert knight so foolish.’

Having made that judgment, Luke made a deal with Philip a few days ago.

If he didn’t show interest in what he was doing, he would teach him the Gold Sword.

“G-Gold Sword, you say?”

“Yes, choose whether you’ll do it or not.”

If Philip had refused Luke’s offer at the time, Luke had even planned to brainwash him.

However, Philip immediately took the bait at the mention of the Gold Sword.

Even though he was frivolous and cheeky, he was still a knight.

There was no way he would refuse when he was offered to be taught the Gold Sword that created the legend of the hero Rakan 500 years ago.

After making the deal, Philip only pretended to follow Luke whenever he went outside the lord’s castle. And in his reports, he wrote things like, ‘I watched the Young Lord practice swordsmanship and even sparred with him.’

As reports with similar content came up every time, Rogers became slightly suspicious.

However, seeing that Luke’s swordsmanship skills were improving day by day, he didn’t press the matter much.

“Well, honestly, I am curious… but since the Young Lord started going off on his own, the territory has only gotten better, so I’ve decided to believe that you’re not doing anything bad.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, even if you secretly discovered and are learning the Demon King’s secrets, I believe you’ll be fine, Young Lord. You have a strong will and a righteous heart.”

Luke chuckled at Philip’s words.

He felt a bit guilty inside, but he just brushed it off as a joke.

“What if I turn you into a Death Knight?”

“Then I’ll have to beg you to make me a stronger Dullahan [a headless knight]. If I’m going to become a monster, I should at least be that strong, right?”

“Oh, my, you’re so thick-skinned…”

Luke patted Philip’s shoulder and drew his sword from his waist. He intended to teach Philip the Gold Sword and spar with him.

“Now, let’s see how much you’ve improved.”

“That’s what I should be saying. Don’t get cocky just because you can draw aura, or you’ll get a big surprise.”

The two military men exchanged blows, infusing their swords with aura as if they were fighting an enemy in a real battle.

After generating aura with magic in his previous practice spar with Rogers, Luke quickly learned how to create aura.

And he was also quickly mastering the Gold Sword.

This was because the core and most difficult part of the Gold Sword, the manipulation of mana, was too easy for him.

In terms of mana manipulation, there was no one in this world who could match him, a 9th circle archmage.

Clang! Clang—!

Each time the swords clashed sharply, the sharp energy of the aura spread out.

Their skin was slightly cut, and their clothes were tattered, but they didn’t slow down at all, engaging in a spar as if it were a real battle.

The winner of the spar, which lasted for nearly 20 minutes, was Philip, who had placed his sword against Luke’s neck.

“You’re still stronger than me.”

“Well, all I know how to do is use a sword.”

Although Luke’s swordsmanship skills were rapidly improving, he had only been practicing for a short time.

Philip had been training in swordsmanship for over 20 years since he was 5 years old, and he was also talented, so he was on the verge of surpassing the mid-level of expert and reaching the upper-middle level.

To beat him in swordsmanship?

That was absurd.

However, Philip didn’t consider himself the winner.

He knew that Luke hadn’t given it his all.

The Young Lord had been learning magic since some time ago, and according to Mute, he could use 1st and 2nd circle magic.

That was enough to use magic in battle.

So, Philip thought that if the Young Lord had used even a simple spell like Flash magic, he would have been the one with a sword at his neck.

After teaching Philip the Gold Sword he had learned from Rogers for about an hour, Luke said,

“Shall we head back?”

“Yes, we shouldn’t dawdle too much.”

The two men rode the horses they had tied nearby and returned to the lord’s manor.

However, the atmosphere at the lord’s manor was unusual.

The servants and maids had tense expressions, and the knights were fully armed and moving about busily.

Luke had some idea of what was going on, but he asked a question to confirm.

“What happened?”

In response to his question, Chief Priest Maron, who was passing by with young priests carrying medicine, answered.

“What was coming has finally arrived.”

“What was coming, you say…”

“A messenger from the Imperial Palace came a little while ago, and the parchment he handed over contained a notice from the Emperor and the Council of Nobles that they had approved the territory war.”

It seemed that Count Monarch’s request had finally been accepted.

Luke, who had already prepared for this, spoke to Maron with a calm expression.

“What about the vassals?”

“They’re all gathered in the conference room, waiting for you to return, Young Lord. Please go quickly.”

Luke quickened his pace and headed to the conference room.

His heart was pounding, but he didn’t feel an ounce of fear. And the fist he clenched was hot, but his mind was colder than ever.

‘Wait for me, Monarch. I’ll smash your smirking face to pieces.’

2

“Hahaha! The approval has finally come through.”

Count Monarch, who had unfolded the parchment that the messenger from the Imperial Palace had handed over, burst into laughter.

The Emperor’s seal was clearly stamped on the parchment, indicating that the territory war had been accepted.

“Are we finally deploying?”

A sturdy knight wearing full plate armor spoke.

He was Count Monarch’s right-hand man, Viscount Kairon, an expert-level knight of the highest rank. He was also the commander of the Monarch Knights.

“That’s right. We can finally avenge the humiliation we suffered before!”

The Count wanted to invade the Rakan Territory right away, kill all the annoying people, and capture the princess.

However, he had to suppress his anger due to Baron Goth’s repeated pleas that he shouldn’t move his troops without the approval of the Emperor and the Council of Nobles.

‘Grrr! Not only did you dare to deceive me and run away, but you also killed my soldiers? I’ll crush you mercilessly after the territory war is over!’

Count Monarch’s obsession with Reina had now gone beyond obsession and reached the point of anger.

It was at this time, as he was seething with anger, that Baron Goth tilted his head and spoke.

“But Your Excellency, how exactly did they defeat the Scorpion Cavalry in the Rakan Territory?”

Although there was no evidence, everyone believed that the Scorpion Cavalry, who were chasing the Volga refugees, had been annihilated in the Rakan Territory.

The problem was that the Rakan Territory didn’t have the power to annihilate the cavalry without making a sound.

“Are you still thinking about that? What else could it be? They must have mobilized the Gigants [large, humanoid war machines].”

“If they had mobilized the three Gigants in the Rakan Territory, we wouldn’t have been able to miss it.”

Gigants were such core forces that they were closely monitored by each other.

Even now, spies in the Rakan Territory were watching the Gigants’ movements, so it was almost impossible to move the large Gigants secretly.

“And another thing, the Rakan Territory is completely a construction site. They must know that we have applied for a territory war, but they are still proceeding with construction when they should be putting all their efforts into war preparations. I really can’t understand it.”

In the eyes of the calm and composed Baron Goth, the actions of the Rakan Territory were incomprehensible.

Either they were absolutely confident that they would win the war, or they had completely given up.

Since it couldn’t be the latter, he thought that they must have something to rely on.

“This is just speculation, but the noble faction might be secretly supporting the Rakan Territory. Otherwise, it wouldn’t explain the annihilation of the Scorpion Cavalry, as well as the Shadow Knights.”

The Shadow Knights, who had been sent to assassinate Luke, had been missing for a while, but their whereabouts had recently been discovered.

Their bodies were found along with a damaged Gigant at the bottom of a cliff in the mountains.

At first glance, it looked like a fall due to a landslide.

However, there was no reason to deliberately lead a heavy Gigant down a cliff path, so it was an unusual incident.

Moreover, according to a spy, they had recently seen a trailer that appeared to belong to the Shadow Knights in the Rakan Territory.

That meant that the Shadow Knights had clashed with the Rakan Territory.

“It’s dangerous to launch a rash attack without resolving these series of questions. So…”

At Goth’s words, Viscount Kairon spoke with an annoyed expression.

“So what? Are you saying we should call off the territory war?”

“That’s not it. I’m just saying that even if we do attack, we should investigate more thoroughly before invading.”

For Goth, Kairon was a very difficult person to deal with.

Not only was he outstanding in martial prowess, but he was also simple-minded and ignorant, making it difficult to persuade him with sweet talk.

“No matter what they’re doing, we can just overwhelm them with our power and crush them. Do you think we’ll lose?”

“Ah, no.”

They had an army that could never lose.

The number of Gigants alone was nearly 20 times greater, and the Count’s knights had 5 Knight-class knights, which they didn’t have.

And there were over 200 knights, including experts, and the number of regular soldiers easily exceeded 10,000.

With this much power, they wouldn’t be at a disadvantage even if they fought against the Marquis Myers Territory.

“Tsk tsk, you have a good head on your shoulders, but you worry too much unnecessarily.”

“I’m not worrying too much, I’m just trying to be cautious.”

“Don’t you know that you’ll miss the opportunity in front of you? Anyway, you bookworms…”

Baron Goth was inwardly offended by Kairon’s cold sneer, but he could only shut his mouth.

“Your Excellency! The Emperor has given his permission, so please give the order! I’ll invade right away and bring you the heads of the Rakan bastards within a week.”

Count Monarch nodded with a pleased expression at Kairon’s confident shout.

“I grant you permission to deploy.”

“Hahaha! Thank you!”

Kairon, who had taken a military salute, jumped up from his seat and left the Count’s office.

And he deployed the army that was gathered on the outskirts of Lamer City.

Luke, who had received the report that the territory war had been approved, immediately entered a strategy meeting with his vassals.

“We estimate that Count Monarch’s army will mobilize about 42 Gigants, 80 knights, and 5,000 soldiers.”

The Count couldn’t mobilize all of his forces for the territory war.

He had to leave behind a minimum number of troops to keep the noble faction lords in check and to secure the peace of his territory.

In addition to Lamer, there were 5 more cities in the Monarch Territory, and there were more than 7 fortresses guarding the border of the territory that bordered the noble faction.

“That’s a lot.”

Even with the defensive forces excluded, it was still too much for the Rakan Territory to handle.

In response to Luke’s words, Commander Rogers retorted.

“But our morale and training are superior.”

“Of course, they should be.”

Luke knew how hard he and the knights had prepared for the territory war.

However, when looking at the objective forces, the Rakan Territory was clearly at a disadvantage.

“What’s our plan? Surely you’re not just going to hole up in the lord’s castle and defend, are you?”

“Of course not. Rather, we plan to ambush the enemy in the Yotern Gorge, beyond the territory’s border.”

The Yotern Gorge, which Rogers pointed to on the map, was located on the direct route from the Monarch Territory to the Rakan Lord’s Castle.

It was only wide enough for two carriages to barely pass through, and there were hills on both sides, making it suitable for an ambush.

“What if they don’t use that path?”

There isn’t just one road from the Monarch Territory to the Rakan Territory. If they were ambushed here, and the enemy came by another route, the Rakan Territory would be defeated without a proper fight.

“Of course, that’s a possibility, but the commander of the Count’s army this time is Baron Kian. According to our information, he is a rough and hasty person who greatly underestimates our territory. So, he will probably try to end the territory war in the shortest amount of time.”

The Yotern Gorge was within the Monarch Territory. And even if they were ambushed, they would be complacent, thinking they could easily defeat about three Gigants [large, humanoid war machines].

“But we have ten Gigants, not three.” They had a total of ten Gigants, including the original three, five from the warehouse, one bought from Brenden, and one owned by the princess. With that many, even if a head-on fight was difficult, they could expect victory if the ambush worked properly.

“Not bad.” It was clear that they had put a lot of thought into it. However, Luke, who had experience in wars against several kingdoms in the past, saw some flaws.

‘What if the ambush is discovered?’ If there was a cautious person among them and the ambush was discovered, they would suffer a great loss. And also, the enemy’s Gigants were not just numerous, but also of high quality. There were five Knight-class Gigants and many riders with practical experience from the Gigant Arena. Moreover, the commander of the knights was a top-tier Expert swordsman.

‘I guess I should step in a bit?’ He had planned not to reveal his power as much as possible in this territory war. Unlike when he rescued the Volga refugees, there were too many eyes watching. Not only the soldiers of the two territories but also spies sent from other territories to observe this territory war would be watching from afar. So, if he did anything suspicious, his identity could be exposed immediately. No, even if it wasn’t exposed, it would be troublesome to be suspected of being a black magician. Anyway, he had planned to leave this territory war entirely to his vassals, but it seemed that he shouldn’t.

‘I even found a subordinate who can act without being noticed by others, hehehe!’ He smiled meaningfully inside and soon ordered the territory army to march.

3

There were three ways to get from Lamer to the Rakan Lord’s Castle. The first was to use the Neir River by boat, but the problem was that it was the dry season, so they couldn’t launch transport ships that could carry large and heavy Gigants. And if they put them on rafts and had an accident, they could lose their expensive combat weapons without even using them properly. The second was to use the road along the riverbank. However, Baron Kian did not choose this option. The road was relatively well-maintained, so there were no problems with marching, but it had the disadvantage of going around. He wanted to capture the Rakan Lord’s Castle at once and show off his power and martial prowess, so he chose the third option, a direct route. Baron Goth had warned him in advance that the enemy could ambush them, but he ignored it. He was confident that he could defeat any ambush.

The march was smooth. There were hardly any monsters in the Count’s territory, so they just had to walk. “We’ll rest here today.” As the sun set, Kian ordered the entire army to camp. Then, some of the soldiers set up camp, while others scattered to gather firewood and fetch water to make dinner. “Hmm, is that meat stew? It smells good.” Soon, his servant brought him a stew full of meat, potatoes, and vegetables, along with honey-glazed bread. Kian, who was very hungry after marching for a while, immediately bit into the bread and ate the stew.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal in the field.’ It was the first time since he had served for five years on the border with the Volga Republic when he was young. It was unfamiliar, but it wasn’t bad. ‘It should take about a week to get to the Rakan Lord’s Castle, right?’ If everyone rode horses, they could get there faster. However, they had to pull 5,000 infantry, trailers carrying Gigants, and carts carrying various supplies, so even a week was tight. ‘Let’s just think of this as war training with Marquis Myers.’ Someday, a war would break out between the Emperor’s faction and the noble faction. At that time, Count Monarch would likely have to face Marquis Myers. The two territories were close, and their forces were similar. He decided to think of it as military training for that time, and he scraped the remaining stew in the bowl with a piece of bread and finished his meal. And a little while later…….

Gurgle!

‘Huh?’

Gurgle—!

Baron Kian’s face contorted at the urgent and loud sound coming from his stomach. “S, servant!”

“Yes?”

“Give me some paper or a piece of cloth!” Kian tore off the hem of the servant’s clothes, who had come to clear the dishes, and ran into the nearby forest. But there was a problem. There were many soldiers who had arrived before him in the forest. They had each taken a spot in a secluded place and were relieving themselves. Kian, who had taken a spot behind a large tree, immediately pulled down his pants and strained his buttocks. “Whew, I feel a little better now.” As he was returning to the camp after relieving himself, he felt another problem arise in his stomach.

Gurgle!

“Damn it!” Kian, who had picked some leaves nearby, went back into a secluded place. After relieving himself three times, Kian called for his adjutant as soon as he returned to the camp. However, it took some time for the adjutant to come. The adjutant was also sweating profusely, trying to solve the sudden problem that had befallen him. “What the hell is going on? Did something go wrong with the dinner ingredients?” It seemed that the ingredients had gone bad because it was summer. Or maybe the water they had fetched was contaminated. “I was also suspicious, so I investigated. And according to the mages [magic users], there was a component in the stew that caused diarrhea.” The mages were Iron Mages who had come to support the operation of the trailers and Gigants. They also had basic medical knowledge, so they were able to find the cause quickly. “Were the cooks spies from the Rakan Territory?” At Kian’s sudden thought, the adjutant shook his head. “I interrogated them while you were taking care of your business, and they weren’t. And they said that no suspicious people had entered the kitchen while they were cooking.” “Damn it, whoever it is, I’ll tear them to pieces if I catch them. And place reliable guys to watch over the cooks.”

“Understood.” However, despite these measures, Kian and the Count’s soldiers had to suffer a severe storm of problems the next morning as well. “P, paper, please……!”

“I don’t have any, I used it all!”

“Damn it! Even if you’re going to poop, you should leave some leaves behind!” The uproar of bewilderment and anger from 5,000 soldiers was enormous. Enough to chase away all the few remaining monsters. After being hit hard by diarrhea medicine twice in a row, Kian had his trusted knights cook directly. And he himself, along with the mages, watched the entire process from inspecting the ingredients to cooking with his eyes wide open. But the result was the same. The mages had clearly said that there was nothing wrong, and they had even checked with silver spoons, but after eating the food, they were always plagued by the problem of having to relieve themselves. The constant parade of problems made their anuses so sore that they were afraid to even sit down, but that wasn’t the real issue. They had to eat well and rest well before the war, but they couldn’t, so it was clear that there would be a problem with their combat power. “Kaaaaaak! Who the hell is playing this prank—!” If he could see the culprit right now, he would tear them to pieces and kill them. But no matter how much they searched the surroundings and interrogated suspicious people, the culprit did not appear, and the misfortune continued.

‘Hehehe, you stupid humans! No matter how much you struggle, you won’t be able to detect my secret technique!’ Above a tree overlooking the Monarch Count’s army camp. A stray cat was lying on a branch in a relaxed pose. The stray cat grinned as it looked down at the humans’ troubled faces. He was Sebastian, a low-ranking demon who had become Luke’s subordinate. Sebastian, who called himself the greatest phantom thief of the demon world, had unique transformation and stealth abilities. And he had one more special skill, which was to create bizarre medicines by mixing herbs and poisonous plants. He mainly used them when hunting dangerous monsters in the demon world, and they were so subtle and perfect that even monsters with highly developed senses of smell and taste often failed to notice them. Sebastian set out to harass the Monarch army under Luke’s orders. He had almost no combat power, so instead of fighting, he chose to use his specialty, drugs, to sap their energy. So, whenever it was mealtime, he would secretly approach and sprinkle the medicine. The medicine he made was made by mixing several poisonous plants that only grew in the demon world, and its effects would only be activated when it entered the stomach and reacted with digestive enzymes, so it could never be detected beforehand. Moreover, there was a fact that Kian and the Monarch Count’s army had misjudged. They thought that the medicine had been added during the cooking process, but in reality, the medicine was sprinkled after the food was finished. It was also scattered like pollen through the wind during meal times. In other words, they got diarrhea from eating the medicine that had entered the food during meal times or while eating!

Thanks to this, the Monarch Count’s army had to suffer from explosive diarrhea for three days, and now they were walking around like half-corpses. ‘But I don’t know why my lord won’t let me kill those guys.’ Among the drugs that Sebastian had, there was a poison that could instantly poison an ogre. But his master told him never to use poison. If the damage was too severe, the enemies might turn back halfway, so they would have to fight again later? ‘Kyaoong, who cares! It’s just fun to see the humans suffering!’ Demons are a race with strong spiritual power, like fairies. Therefore, they show a unique reaction to the emotional waves of living things, and unlike fairies, demons tend to feel pleasure when the emotional waves are dark. Sebastian was no different. After that, he continued to circle around the Monarch Count’s army and sprinkle diarrhea medicine, and he also sprinkled some itching medicine as a sample.

4

Thud. A soldier who had been staggering along the road collapsed. He had been relieving himself more than eating for the past three days, and he had fainted from dehydration and exhaustion. As the soldier collapsed, a cart approached and loaded him into the cargo hold. The cart was already full of exhausted patients like him. “Kuek! What the hell is this ridiculous situation!” Kian gritted his teeth as he looked at the soldiers’ condition. They hadn’t even left the Monarch Count’s territory yet, and a third of the soldiers had collapsed from exhaustion. The knights and mages, who were physically stronger and protected by mana, were a little better off, but they were not in normal condition either. There were dark circles under their eyes, and there was no one whose face was not half-gone. “Commander, shouldn’t we report to our lord and delay the march?” At the adjutant’s words, he firmly shook his head. “We can’t. It’s better to die fighting than to say we can’t fight because we’re exhausted from diarrhea.” That was a reason that would not work for him, a proud and arrogant knight. “But if we keep going like this, the soldiers will all collapse before we even fight the enemy. The knights and mages are still holding on, but they won’t last long either.” If they suffered like this for a few more days, some of the knights and mages would also collapse. If they, the core forces, collapsed, they wouldn’t even be able to operate the Gigants, and then it would be the same as losing before the battle even started. “……For now, let’s go to the border with the Rakan Territory and then decide.” In the end, Baron Kian also knew that it was unreasonable, so he suggested a compromise. The next morning, the Monarch Count’s army finally reached the vicinity of the Yotern Gorge. If they passed through the Yotern Gorge, which was about 1 kilometer long, they would reach the border with the Rakan Territory. “Everyone, just a little more strength. I’ll let you rest well after we pass through the gorge.” At Kian’s shout, the soldiers began to exert all their remaining strength. “Commander, shouldn’t we send out a search party?” The adjutant approached and advised.

It’s standard military procedure to send out scouts and search parties when encountering suspicious terrain. This is to avoid potential ambushes, traps, dead ends, and other unforeseen dangers.

“There’s no way the road is cut off. Surely they wouldn’t have come into our territory to set up an ambush?”

“Still, you never know….”

“Then, are you volunteering to go?”

At Kian’s question, the adjutant fell silent.

In truth, he was just as tired and unwell. However, he was enduring it with his expert-level skill and tenacity.

“If you don’t want to either, let’s just move on.”

When the adjutant didn’t answer, Kian glanced around and made a decision.

In fact, the other knights who were listening to their conversation also clearly showed that they didn’t want to scout.

‘Well, the soldiers aren’t in good shape, and we know the Yotern Gorge well enough….’

So, the adjutant decided to skip the scouting.

There were no signs of anything until the vanguard entered the gorge and more than half of the unit had followed.

So, the adjutant relaxed.

‘So, the Rakan Territory guys are just scared out of their wits and holed up in their lord’s castle, huh?’

There were those who had been watching the Monarch Count’s army, which was letting its guard down, from a little while ago.

They were the Rakan Territory forces on the hill.

Among the soldiers who were perfectly camouflaged with various disguises, the faces of Rogers, Philip, and Victor could be seen.

Among them, Philip glanced down and made an incredulous expression.

“Did they not even eat breakfast? Why are those guys so weak? And what are all those soldiers doing loaded onto the carts?”

A significant number of the soldiers were sprawled out like baggage on wagons and carts.

Not only that, but the soldiers who were walking were pale and clearly exhausted.

Moreover, even the knights on horseback were dozing off, and the mages were just sitting blankly on the trailers.

“It seems like something went wrong, seeing as they skipped scouting when entering the gorge.”

Rogers muttered, folding his one-eyed telescope [a monocular] next to Philip.

It was standard procedure to scout the ridges on both sides when an army passed through a gorge.

And in case of an emergency, they should have been operating a few Gigants [large, humanoid war machines] in rotation. But they weren’t even doing that.

Moreover, even if they didn’t scout, a knight or mage with a keen sense of mana [magical energy] should have been able to detect the strange energy emanating from the gorge.

But they seemed too lethargic to even maintain that sense.

“I can’t understand it. Baron Kian shouldn’t be this incompetent.”

The old knight Victor, who had joined to help the Rakan Territory forces, tilted his head as if puzzled.

While assisting Princess Reina in Lamer, he had heard enough about Kian.

As the commander of the Monarch County’s knights, he was a swordsman who had reached the highest level of expert.

Moreover, he had also recorded 30 consecutive wins in the shortest period of fifteen days at the Lamer Gigant Arena.

But to show such a poor performance in military strategy and tactics.

“Tch, I even went through the trouble of disguising myself so they wouldn’t spot us.”

“It’s better to be thoroughly prepared than to be caught off guard. Don’t be too disheartened.”

Victor patted Philip on the shoulder and boarded his Gigant, Mir.

At that moment, Rogers, who was already on his Gigant, gave an order through the communication crystal.

– Target the enemy’s Gigants as planned. Prevent them from boarding at all!

5

The Monarch Count’s army had completely entered the gorge, down to the last man.

Since there were still no signs of anything, the knights and soldiers had completely let their guard down.

They were just looking at the exit in the distance, hoping to get out as soon as possible.

So, they didn’t even realize that the Rakan Baron’s forces had appeared above the gorge.

Whoosh— Bang!

Whoosh— Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, rocks and logs flew like cannonballs from the hill.

They were thrown by the 10 Gigants that had been lying in ambush, and their target was the Monarch Count’s Gigants loaded on the trailers.

“Kuaaak!”

“Wh-what is it?!”

“The enemy is on the hill! The enemy has appeared!”

Only then did the Monarch soldiers, who had discovered the Rakan Baron’s forces, shout in surprise.

Whether they shouted or not, the 10 Gigants of the Rakan Baron’s territory continued to throw rocks at the trailers.

“Damn it! Protect the trailers!”

“Riders, get on your Gigants quickly!”

Baron Kian, realizing their objective, was startled and ordered the knights. And he himself ran towards his personal Gigant.

‘Damn it, I’ve been had!’

What is the easiest way to defeat the opponent’s Gigant?

Is it to win with skill in a battlefield where sharp greatswords and flashy Gigantic Auras [a magical energy that enhances weapons] are rampant? Or is it to target and destroy the core parts?

No.

It was to prevent the riders from boarding the Gigants.

A Gigant without a rider was just an expensive tin can. That’s why, since the Gigant appeared as the ruler of the battlefield, operations targeting this weakness have been carried out frequently.

In particular, this kind of boarding prevention operation was often carried out by those who were behind or had no Gigant power.

Of course, tactics to counter this also emerged.

For example, operating a few Gigants in rotation at all times, or transporting riders in the cockpit on trailers.

However, the Monarch Count’s army was complacent and had been suffering too much from problems outside of combat, so they had not taken any precautions against this.

Still, there were always those who were quick to act.

Some of the riders who were riding together on the trailers managed to open the hatches and board the cockpits.

“Damn bastards, ambushing us so cowardly?”

“We’ll make you pay for this!”

The Monarch County riders were convinced that the trials of the past few days were the dirty work of the Rakan Baron’s territory.

So, they ground their teeth and poured mana into the crystal ball.

But the ignition that should have started with a loud noise didn’t start.

“Wh-what! Why isn’t it moving?”

“Is it broken?!”

One of the panicked riders came out again. And just as he was about to say something to the mage, he spotted several rocks flying towards the trailer.

“Damn it, get out of the way!”

The rider, grabbing the mage by the waist, jumped off the trailer.

Clang! Bang! Bang!

At the same time as he jumped, rocks flew and hit the Gigant’s hatch in succession.

Then, the hatch, which had been holding up at first, caved inward.

‘Damn it!’

If the hatch is broken or dented, it doesn’t open well. So, there were cases where they had to tear it off and get in.

The rider stamped his feet in frustration as he looked at his Gigant.

‘What is it? Why isn’t anyone moving the Gigants?’

Rogers, continuing to throw rocks, tilted his head in puzzlement.

The operation targeting the Gigants had worked successfully.

However, he didn’t think that he could stop all the Gigants.

There would be riders who were already inside the Gigants, and there would be riders who would quickly get in, avoiding the rocks and log attacks.

Still, he thought that about half of them would be able to move, but not a single Gigant was getting up from the trailers.

– Commander! Why the hell are those guys like that?

Philip, who was riding Sting II, asked through the communication crystal, as if he had the same thought.

– I don’t know either. Anyway, it seems like we’ve roughly suppressed the Gigants, so let’s charge.

– Tch, I was expecting a magnificent battle of greatswords clashing against greatswords….

– This isn’t the Gigant Arena. Even if it’s not fun, winning is the most important thing on the battlefield.

Rogers, scolding Philip, drew his weapon and shouted loudly through the transmission channel.

“Everyone, charge!”

Thump thump thump thump!

“Waaaaah!”

The Rakan Territory forces, led by 10 Gigants, began to push down from the gorge.

Their numbers were not large, but the Monarch Count’s army, which was in chaos and shock, could not find a way to respond and was just floundering.

Baron Kian almost vomited blood after boarding his Knight-class Gigant.

No matter how much mana he poured into the crystal ball, the Gigant wouldn’t start.

‘Why is the machine, which was fine when I checked it this morning, like this!’

But the problem was that it seemed like all 42 of them were like that, not just his.

Unable to bear it any longer, Kian yelled at the Iron Mages [mages specializing in working with metal] outside.

“Magician Robinson! What the hell is going on!”

“Th-that’s, I also…!”

Robinson, the leader of the Iron Mages and a 5th circle mage, was also flustered and couldn’t continue his words.

To know the detailed reason, they had to take off the Gigant’s armor and look inside, but there was no way they could do that during a battle.

“Make it move somehow right now….”

It was when Kian was about to urge them to make it move.

Suddenly, a shout was heard from above the gorge, and the Rakan Territory forces, led by Gigants, began to descend.

“Damn it, knights, step forward! Hold them off until we fix the Gigants!”

To fight a Gigant barehanded, you had to be at least an expert.

This was because you couldn’t cut through a Gigant’s armor without a sword imbued with Aura [a magical energy that enhances weapons].

There were less than 20 experts among the knights he had brought. Moreover, they were now so physically exhausted that it was uncertain whether they could even stop the Gigants.

But now was not the time to be picky.

Kian, who had come out of the Gigant, drew his sword and gave an ultimatum to the magician Robinson.

“I’ll give you 10 minutes. If you don’t fix it within 10 minutes, I’ll cut off the heads of all the useless mages with this sword, so keep that in mind!”

After making the threat, Kian mounted his horse and charged towards the Gigants with his subordinates.

“Kyaoong, my lovely treasures….”

While Kian was jumping up and down, Sebastian, who was far away from them, was rubbing his face against a magic crystal and smiling.

There were large magic crystals all around him.

As a demon with outstanding spiritual power, Sebastian liked magic crystals more than any other jewel.

In particular, there were many large magic crystals in the middle realm that were hard to find in the demon world. And they were inside those foolish-looking steel giants.

So, Sebastian had secretly approached an hour ago and removed the central magic crystal in the core engine.

It was possible because of Sebastian’s unique stealth and theft abilities, which were unique to demons and especially notorious as a phantom thief, which humans could not imagine.

If the Count’s mages had been properly alert, they would have detected the theft of the magic crystal, even if they hadn’t detected his approach.

However, they had been suffering from worries for the past few days, and they were so weakened that they couldn’t even pay attention to the flow of mana.

Anyway, because of Sebastian, it became impossible for the Count’s Gigants to move.

It was something that would make Kian vomit blood if he knew, but Sebastian didn’t care. No, the more they felt unhappy, the happier Sebastian felt.

“Should I give a few of these to my master? Then he will surely see this body again, right?”

Not only praise, but his treatment might change in the future.

Having judged that, Sebastian filled a large sack with magic crystals and left the place.

While the greedy and evil demon was retreating,

The 80 Count’s knights led by Kian collided with the 10 Gigants of the Rakan Territory.

At first, it seemed like the knights who had desperately stepped forward were superior.

However, the opponent was the Gigant, the ruler of the battlefield.

And the Rakan Territory forces also had knights and apprentice knights assisting the Gigants, and even ordinary soldiers were supporting them by shooting arrows from behind.

In the end, the Monarch’s knights couldn’t last 10 minutes.

Most of them were kicked or trampled to death by the Gigants, and even the expert-level knights who were fighting fiercely, making scratches on the armor, were slaughtered by greatswords.

The only ones who survived and escaped were a few knights, including the commander, Kian.

The remaining mages surrendered immediately when the Rakan Territory forces approached, and the ordinary soldiers also threw away their weapons and surrendered.

The mages were those hired by the Count with money, so their loyalty was not high, and in the case of ordinary soldiers, it didn’t matter who won the territorial war.

Of course, the biggest reason they surrendered was because they didn’t have the energy to run away.

Anyway, the Rakan Territory forces unexpectedly achieved an easy victory in the first battle. And they obtained enormous spoils of war and prisoners.

However, they, who were excited about the victory, had no idea that a completely unexpected situation was unfolding in the lord’s castle.