Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 174

5. The Last Stand of the Monster Army

1

Kuek! Kuek!

Kueeeeek!

Kwaang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

Large monsters, like trolls and ogres, fiercely pounded the shields of the Gigants. They tried to smash them with rocks and huge uprooted trees, but the steel formation of 18 Knight and Warrior-class Gigants stood firm, like an unyielding fortress. Instead, the ogres and trolls were injured and fell from the occasional counterattacks that pierced through the shields.

“Why, why can’t we break through that!” Lenuk, watching from behind, pounded his chest in frustration. For the past few days, they had fiercely attacked the Symphonian forces blocking their path, but far from breaking through, their losses had only increased. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t tried other methods. They had tried attacking with black magic from behind and sending monsters up the mountain paths, but all of them had failed. In the end, he gritted his teeth and made a decision.

“Release the Chimera monsters.”

“What? Are you serious? That wasn’t supposed to be used now…” At Lenuk’s command, the subordinate black mage asked back with a startled expression.

“Krrk! Since you incompetent fools can’t do your job, we have to break through with them! Release them now!” The subordinate black mage, flinching at Lenuk’s fiery shout, sent a signal to the rear. Then, the formation split, and monsters of rather bizarre shapes began to appear from the rear.

Krrrrl!

Kikikikik!

A monster with an ogre’s head, a troll’s torso, and a saber tiger’s limbs. A monster with two heads and six limbs, and so on. They were monsters made by piecing together the bodies of various monsters, like patchwork dolls. They were called Chimeras.

Among the magic schools that have been passed down since ancient times, there was a school that explored the origins of life. The name of that magic school was Kamaera. However, as the mages of the Kamaera school passed down through the generations, they forgot their original purpose and became obsessed with creating stronger life forms. That was how the enhanced life forms, the Chimeras, came to be. However, due to the unethical and cruel nature of their research, which treated even humans as test subjects, they were crushed by the Holy Artenian Empire 300 years ago. The Elkasel Order and several other orders declared the Kamaera school heretical and suppressed them. But now, the Chimeras, thought to have disappeared into the annals of history, had reappeared!

“Kekeke, one Chimera should be enough to deal with two or three Gigants. It’s a shame to use what I was saving to deal with Luke, but it can’t be helped.” 100 years ago, a magic book from the destroyed Kamaera school accidentally flowed into the Veritas Magic Tower through the black market. It was Lenuk’s teacher who researched it. Lenuk also spent a considerable amount of time helping his teacher with Chimera research, and the result was the synthetic Chimeras made by combining only the strengths of monsters. However, Arsen and the leaders of the Veritas Magic Tower showed little interest in Chimeras. They thought that undead like Death Knights and Liches were much better than monsters made by piecing together other monsters. This was because Chimeras were at a disadvantage in terms of manufacturing process and mass production. But Lenuk did not accept this. Liches and Death Knights weren’t able to be mass-produced from the start either. He thought that if there was interest, they could devise innovative methods for manufacturing and mass production.

‘This time, I will use the Chimeras to wipe out the Symphonia Kingdom and show that my and my teacher’s choices were not wrong!’ How powerful would a monster be if it had the nimble movements of a saber tiger, the regeneration of a troll, and the strength of an ogre? It would be able to tear apart most Gigants with its strength. At Lenuk’s command, the Chimeras roared and charged towards the Gigants.

“Huh? What are those?” Rogers, who had retreated into the territory for a short rest and Gigant maintenance, looked puzzled as he saw the strange monsters appearing from the enemy lines. They looked like monsters, but their appearance was too bizarre.

“Th-Those are Chimeras!” A cadre from the Katarina Magic Tower, who had come to provide support, shouted with a startled expression.

“Chimeras?” The mage quickly explained to Marquis Rogers, who turned his head to look at him. After hearing the explanation, Rogers asked back with a puzzled look. “Are those Chimeras that powerful?” Large monsters were strong, but they were inferior to Gigants. Since the invention of the Gigant, humanity had defeated large monsters several times, and their performance had been proven in actual combat. But he didn’t think that a monster made by piecing together those monsters would surpass a Gigant.

“According to rumors passed down in the magic world, they played with the Gigants of that time like children. It is said that wounds from greatswords healed quickly. So we must hurry and provide support!” The current Gigants were far superior in performance to the Gigants of 300 years ago. This was because magic engineering technology had advanced over time. However, the Chimera manufacturing method would have also developed, so they couldn’t be careless.

“If they are that strong, I will have to deal with them myself.” Rogers, aboard the Orion, approached the allied camp with a thudding sound. At that moment, the Chimeras’ all-out assault began.

Kwaang! Kwajak! Pupeopeong!

“Kueok!”

“Wh-What is this strength!” The moment five Chimeras collided with the Gigant shields, six Gaiuses at the front, shoulder to shoulder, were knocked flat on their backs. The Warrior-class Gigants supporting them from behind were in a similar situation. Some were knocked over in the same way, while others were lucky enough to avoid falling. But that wasn’t the end of it.

Kueeeeek!

The Chimeras began to wildly swing their fists and claws.

Kwaang! Kwajak! Kwajajak!

And then, a truly astonishing thing happened. The shields made of steel were shattered by the fists and claws made of flesh, and the outer armor began to be cut away like paper.

“Don’t panic, counterattack!”

“They’re just monsters anyway!” The riders, who had jumped up from their seats, shouted into the transmission tubes and swung their greatswords and axes. It wasn’t just to encourage their comrades, but also to shake off the fear that was creeping into their hearts.

“Die, you monster!” The greatsword swung horizontally by a rider on a Gaius cut the neck of the Chimera at the front. The scales and skin were so tough that even a greatsword coated with Gigantic Aura [a magical energy that enhances weapons] failed to completely sever it. However, judging by the depth, it was definitely a fatal wound.

“It’s just flesh and blood… no?” Blood foam appeared from the wound of the Chimera that had been staggered by the attack, and then it healed quickly. The panicked rider gritted his teeth and swung his greatsword again.

“Damn it, this time I’ll cut off its head!” But the attack did not go as he intended. The attack missed because the Chimera had burrowed into his chest. To make matters worse, the Gaius he was riding was pushed back by the monster’s body slam.

“D-Don’t give ground!”

“Maintain the front line! Or we’ll all die!” The riders desperately blocked the way. However, the situation did not go as they wished. Gaps appeared in the Gigant front line due to the fierce attacks of the Chimeras, and small monsters such as orcs and lizardmen rushed in like a burst dam. As a result, the used Gigants transporting artillery and the mounted knights waiting in the rear had to rush to intercept.

‘Damn it, are we all going to die now?’ The faces of the soldiers, seeing the constantly retreating front line and the monsters pouring in, turned pale with fear. Just then, the fierce and ferocious roar of a core engine pounded their eardrums.

“Halt!” The owner of the roar as loud as the roar of a Hero-class core engine was Marquis Rogers. If the path was breached like this, the carefully laid plan would be in vain.

“Riders, quickly reorganize the front line! We can’t let a single one get past!” Kuang! Marquis Rogers’s machine, shouting as he rushed in, launched itself into the air. The heavy steel body, leaving a deep mark on the ground, cut through the air and fell towards the Chimeras. Upon landing, the Orion’s greatsword was swung horizontally, filled with Gigantic Aura. Kieeeek! Two Chimeras that had just knocked down two Gaiuses raised their arms to block the Gigantic Aura. However, the Gigantic Aura of a Sword Master, which could split even a Gigant in one blow, cut off the Chimera’s arms and simultaneously bisected their heads and torsos. The combination of a Sword Master, known as a one-man army, and a Hero-class Gigant was indeed terrifying. He began to cut down the Chimeras that had been toying with the Knight-class Gigants ridden by Sword Expert riders.

“As expected of the Commander-in-Chief!”

“If you have time to admire, get up and reorganize the front line!” While Rogers bought time, the Gigant riders reorganized the front line. With no more influx, the small monsters that had entered through the gaps were quickly dealt with. It was fortunate for the Symphonia Kingdom army, but it was a frustrating situation for Lenuk, who was leading the monster army.

“Damn it, send all the remaining Chimeras!”

Kekekekek!

Krrrlrrrk!

At Lenuk’s command, another group of Chimeras charged into the bottleneck area. When combined with the remaining Chimeras, their number reached as many as 50. Rogers relentlessly swung his sword, cutting down the charging Chimeras. Even if he was a Sword Master, it was impossible for him to block them all alone. However, due to the terrain of the bottleneck area, the situation where he would be surrounded by 50 at once did not occur, and with the Gigants who had reorganized the front line assisting in the attack, a major crisis was avoided.

‘The problem is the other areas….’ The Symphonian forces blocking the other two paths did not have anyone with his skills. If there were monsters like Chimeras there as well, it was only a matter of time before they were breached. It was when Rogers was inwardly worried about this point.

Flash! Flash! In the far rear, light reflected from a mirror flashed. It was the signal that Marquis Rogers and the units holding the bottleneck area had been waiting for.

‘It seems they have finally completed the trap!’ It had taken longer than instructed, but they had managed to hold out. With a triumphant smile on his face, he gave an order to his adjutant behind him.

“Issue a retreat order to the units blocking the three paths. Execute the plan.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!” Shortly after, the Symphonian forces blocking the paths began to withdraw in order, starting with the artillery and infantry, as previously agreed. Once the units had all withdrawn, Rogers and the Gigant unit also retreated from the bottleneck area, pretending to be exhausted.

2

“The Symphonians are running away!”

“It seems they couldn’t hold out against the Chimeras after all!” The black mages, watching the Symphonia Kingdom army retreat, cheered with joy. It seemed that the stress they had suffered from the Symphonia Kingdom army over the past few days had been relieved.

“Kekeke, we even pulled out our trump card, there’s no way they could keep blocking us with those metal dolls.” Lenuk said, shrugging his shoulders with a triumphant look. Although unexpected damage had occurred due to the intervention of a Hero-class Gigant in the middle, he thought that a Sword Master or two could never stop the Chimera unit. And his judgment was correct.

“What is the situation in the other places?” Lenuk, curious about the situation in the other places, asked. Fierce battles were also taking place in two other locations besides this one. After being blocked in one place, Lenuk looked at the map and found other paths through the mountains. He had dispersed the monster army and sent them there, but the Symphonia Kingdom army was blocking them there as well, so battles had broken out. He had sent about a dozen Chimeras with each group, so he thought that if there were no one with the skills of a Sword Master, they would be able to break through.

“Unlike us, it seems there were no Sword Masters in the other places. Thanks to that, they say they were able to kill more Symphonians than here.”

“Really? Then it seems we can just push them all the way to Berangje Castle.” Lenuk, inwardly smiling with satisfaction, issued an order to the entire army through magical communication.

“It has been delayed for too long! Each unit must hurry and advance to take over Berangje Castle!”

“Yes, Elder!” Berangje was the first castle that appeared after crossing the tiresome Pamire Mountains. It was the largest and most populous place in the vicinity. Lenuk was planning to hold a feast of blood for the monsters once they took over Berangje Castle, as they had struggled to cross the mountains.

Kieeeek!

Kikikiki!

The monsters that had escaped the bottleneck area all began to run towards Berangje Castle. The black mages who had barely passed through the bottleneck area were worried that the cunning enemy might have hidden traps or ambushes again. Fortunately, there were none, but they were attacked by the Symphonia Kingdom army that suddenly appeared from the rear.

“Kill them all! We can’t let them reach Berangje Castle!”

Kieeeek!

As the cavalry charged, archers riding large mountain goats on the cliffs rained down arrows on the monster army.

The battle had just begun, but the damage was already significant, as the monsters were caught off guard while advancing.

“What? Are you saying over 3,000 monsters were killed in the blink of an eye?”

“The enemy force was considerable. It looked like at least several thousand.”

A black mage, who had barely survived by hiding among the dead monsters, reported in a fluster.

According to him, the force that had just appeared was larger than the skirmishers who had attacked before they reached the bottleneck.

“Several thousand… Is there really a place around here where that many enemies could hide?”

At Lenuk’s question, another black mage stepped forward and said,

“I used Fly magic to check from the sky, and there were three or four basins in the mountains where an army could be stationed.”

“Hmm, that means…”

“The enemies at the bottleneck may have intentionally retreated. They might be planning to trap us in the middle and attack from both sides.”

At his subordinate’s words, Lenuk looked at the map in front of him.

At the end of the mountain range, there was a fan-shaped forest.

It was the point where the three paths crossing the Pamire Mountains converged, and beyond this point, the plains continued all the way to Berangje Castle.

“If we’re surrounded before passing through the forest, we’ll suffer considerable losses.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“Please divide some of the troops to us. While we search and eliminate the enemies behind us, you, Lenuk, can continue to advance to Berangje Castle with the chimera and the main force.”

“We’re already split into three, and you want to divide us again?”

“The troops that were previously divided will meet up in the forest, won’t they? The troop numbers won’t decrease further here. More than anything, if we delay any longer, the progenitor [Arsen] won’t be pleased.”

“Hmm…”

At the mention of Arsen, Lenuk broke out in a cold sweat.

Since the advance was already delayed more than expected, he couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Alright, we’ll do as you say. But you must rejoin the main force immediately after eliminating the enemy.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

In the end, Lenuk accepted his subordinate’s proposal.

Thus, 20,000 monster troops were divided and headed towards the basins where the Symphonia Kingdom army was hiding.

Symphonia’s scouts were watching this series of events, but the black mages, focused only on making up for lost time, failed to notice this.

While the monster army was dividing and heading towards the basins as the Symphonia army intended, Aslan, who was leading the engineering corps and setting up traps in the fan-shaped forest, climbed a nearby hill and looked towards the western part of the Federation.

At that moment, a scout on horseback rushed over and urgently reported,

“Our troops that retreated from the bottleneck are coming!”

Dudududu!

Soon, as the scout had said, allied forces came rushing in from three directions of the mountain range, raising clouds of dust.

Knights on horseback and infantry arrived first, followed by artillery soldiers and medium-sized Gigantes [giant humanoids] carrying cannons on their shoulders.

Last was the Gigante unit led by Rogers.

The Gigantes were in poor condition, having stayed behind to hold off the enemy.

Few had shields, and some had their outer armor almost completely stripped off.

“They’re in a terrible state.”

Aslan clicked his tongue.

He had received reports on the war situation, but he had been too busy setting up traps to pay attention to how the battle was progressing.

‘Still, it’s a relief. They’re exhausted, but the damage doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.’

There was no way to stop the monsters without sacrifices.

However, the damage seemed less than initially expected, so Aslan breathed a sigh of relief.

The Symphonia army, having joined up in the forest, hurriedly moved out to the plains and re-established their formation.

They planned to rest for a while, reorganize their lines, and then attack again when the monster army fell into their trap.

“The enemy is approaching!”

Not long after the allied forces arrived, the monster army appeared.

The monsters, who had been fiercely pursuing them, stopped for a moment when they saw the Symphonia army forming ranks on the plains.

They seemed to be waiting for their own troops coming from other directions.

They were probably planning to charge all at once and push through to Berangje Castle once they had all joined up.

“Whew! I heard we killed quite a few, and the troops were divided into basins with other traps, but there are still so many.”

A war mage who was accompanying them clicked his tongue, and Aslan shrugged and replied,

“There will be even more when the ones who went elsewhere join up.”

As he said that, dust rose from two directions in the mountain range, and another group of monsters appeared.

They must have been the ones who had attacked the other paths.

Anyway, once they had all gathered, Aslan looked at the war mage and said,

“Now! Start the fire attack.”

At Aslan’s request, the war mage began to chant a spell.

Over the past few days, Aslan and the engineering corps had buried hundreds of barrels of pitch, sulfur, gunpowder, and magic stones engraved with explosion magic circles in the fan-shaped forest.

They had dug deep into the ground and buried them with pine resin and fragrant herbs so that monsters with sensitive noses, like gnolls [hyena-like humanoids], wouldn’t find them.

Mages had set up explosion magic circles near these flammable materials.

They were a kind of detonator.

“Fire Explosion!”

The war mage, having finished chanting all the spells, shouted the final activation word.

However, despite the fact that an explosion should have occurred, there was no reaction.

“W-Why isn’t it working?”

The war mage, with a flustered expression, chanted the spell again.

However, even after trying again two or three times, the magic circle did not explode.

“Ugh! It seems there’s something wrong with the magic circle.”

“Then we’re in big trouble!”

At the war mage’s words, Aslan jumped up.

The core of this Storm Break operation was the fire attack.

But the fire attack had failed from the start!

“Damn it, why isn’t it working? I clearly set up the magic circle properly. Is there a problem with the magic stones? Or maybe…”

The flustered war mage muttered to himself, panicking.

On the other hand, the monster army, having finished joining up and reorganizing, was preparing to charge towards the plains in earnest.

‘If this continues, the allied forces on the plains will suffer great losses. Not only that, but the people who have taken refuge in Berangje Castle will also be in danger!’

Even if they were breached here, the Symphonia Kingdom army would eventually be able to defeat the monster army.

However, the damage to the army and the people would increase exponentially.

Aslan, remembering the faces of the simple villagers who had been with him for the past few years and had taken refuge in Berangje Castle, jumped up from his seat.

He immediately mounted his horse and shouted to a soldier who was managing the remaining military supplies after setting up the traps,

“Hey, give me that box!”

“Huh? What are you going to do with it…?”

He snatched the small box from the soldier and spurred his horse, galloping fiercely towards the forest.

Dududududu!

The box that Aslan was clutching tightly in his arms contained high-grade magic stones engraved with explosion magic circles.

3

“What is that?”

“Is he a suicide hopeful?”

Two black mages in charge of the right side of the monster formation tilted their heads, seeing a single horse galloping up a low hill.

It was approaching too closely to be a scout, and there was only one of them, so it couldn’t be an attack.

Nor could it be a messenger sent by the enemy commander. He wasn’t carrying a white flag.

“Oh, uh?”

Someone will take care of it.

While the black mages were delaying their response, Aslan plunged into the forest.

Shhh!

Kiek! Kiek!

Orcs and goblins nearby swung their spears.

Aslan skillfully maneuvered his horse to avoid the attacks and continued to push deeper inside.

Swish! Swish!

The deeper he went, the more densely packed the monsters were, making it impossible to completely avoid attacks.

In the end, his body was covered in large and small cuts.

However, Aslan gritted his teeth and did not stop pushing forward.

If he stopped here, he would no longer be able to see the smiles of the villagers who had treated him so warmly.

‘I absolutely can’t let that happen!’

Perhaps his wish reached the heavens.

He finally reached his target point and jumped off his horse, rolling on the ground.

Then, he took out a high-grade magic stone from the box he had been holding tightly in his arms, until his left arm was tattered with wounds, and slammed it onto the ground.

The two black mages, who had been watching the suicide hopeful(?) from before, widened their eyes when they saw the high-grade magic stone that had come out of the box.

“T-That… !”

“S-Stop him! It’s engraved with an explosion magic circle!”

The complex patterns on the surface and the highly unstable feeling emanating from the magic stone.

It was clearly a magic stone engraved with an explosion magic circle.

And judging by the considerable energy waves, it was definitely high-grade.

As the monsters rushed towards Aslan at the black mages’ shouts,

Kuaaaaaang—!

With a tremendous explosion, the monsters that had surrounded Aslan were engulfed in flames and soared into the sky.

Chwieeek!

Kieeeeeeek!

Pained screams erupted from the monsters engulfed in flames.

But the explosion was not over.

Kukung—!

With a sound as if the ground was shaking, the ground cracked open, and huge flames began to erupt from within.

Occasionally, the surface of the earth would burst open with explosions.

The fan-shaped forest where the monsters had set up camp was instantly engulfed in flames.

“W-What is going on?!”

Lenuk, who was standing at the front of the formation preparing to charge, was at a loss at the sudden turn of events.

Why was the forest, which had been fine just a moment ago, now a sea of fire!

“I-It seems we’ve fallen into a trap set by the Symphonia bastards!”

Even though they had been quite cautious while chasing the enemy here, they seemed to have been caught in a fire attack.

The bastards had clearly set up a decisive trap in this forest after lulling them into a false sense of security with a double or triple layer of schemes.

“Ugh! Then we need to stop the flames first!”

Lenuk hurriedly gathered the black mages and ordered them to put out the fire.

However, it was already too late when he gave the order.

Hundreds of barrels of pitch, sulfur, and magic stones engraved with explosion magic circles had detonated in rapid succession, and the resulting fierce flames were impossible for dozens of black mages to extinguish.

Moreover, the hot, rising air currents collided, causing whirlwinds of fire to form in various places.

Kiek! Kiek!

Kwiik! Kwiik!

Kuaaaang!

The monsters, swept away by the fierce flames, no longer obeyed the control of black magic and began to rampage.

Large monsters with a strong instinct for survival trampled over smaller monsters, and smaller monsters clung to larger monsters, creating chaos.

It was no different for the chimeras.

‘It’s over! There’s nothing more we can do!’

In the end, Lenuk and his group gave up on putting out the fire and decided to escape.

However, the flames and fire were more intense towards the mountain range, so they ran towards the plains, which were relatively less affected.

“That’s a relief. I was worried it wouldn’t go off.”

Marquis Rogers, who had been watching the fan-shaped forest turn into a sea of fire from afar, breathed a sigh of relief.

When the monster army had first finished joining up in the forest, he had thought that the fire attack would take place as promised.

But as time passed, and the monsters finished preparing to charge, there was no sign of an explosion.

Just as he was about to contact the engineering corps hiding on a nearby hill via magic communication to find out what was going on, the fire attack began with an explosion.

“But a moment ago, a single horse was seen galloping towards the forest. What happened?”

At Rogers’ question, the adjutant, who had belatedly finished magic communication with the engineering corps, answered with a shocked expression.

“T-That is, the fire attack was originally a dud.”

“What? Then what is that scene?”

Rogers asked, pointing to the forest that was burning fiercely, and the adjutant hurriedly explained,

“After chanting the spell several times, but the fire attack did not occur, the engineering corps commander Aslan took a high-grade magic stone and charged into the forest alone.”

Aslan had detonated the trap by blowing himself up with the high-grade magic stone after reaching the point where the detonator of the trap was planted.

“Huh! Unbelievable!”

“It seems we need to report this to His Majesty after this battle is over.”

“Of course, we must.”

If it hadn’t been for Aslan’s sacrifice, this battle would have been quite difficult.

If they had fought the monster army on the plains without a fire attack, there would have been a high chance of being breached, and if that had happened, Berangje Castle in the rear and the surrounding castles and villages would have suffered great damage.

‘Aslan, you have saved many lives.’

After a moment of silence, looking at the fiercely burning forest, Rogers drew his sword.

Swish—!

Pointing the tip of his sword at the enemies who were just beginning to flee, he shouted loudly enough to shake the plains.

“Soldiers, listen up! Engineering Corps Commander Aslan has sacrificed his life to successfully carry out the fire attack! If you don’t want his sacrifice to be in vain, you must not let a single monster escape! Remember the hero’s name and slaughter the monsters fleeing from the forest!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

At Marquis Rogers’ resounding shout, the Symphonia Kingdom army began to charge towards the forest, shouting in unison.

That day, the 100,000-strong monster army was trapped and annihilated at the entrance to the Pamire Mountains and the plains.