Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 196

After the Battle (1)

1

Unlike Luke, who had gained the upper hand, Grand Duke Gregory was locked in a fierce battle with the Black Warlock Cheol-pae.

On the surface, it seemed like they were fighting evenly. However, while Gregory was dead serious, Cheol-pae still had room to spare.

“Kuh! You barbarian swordsman, you’re not bad, but I haven’t even used my full power yet. Try blocking this attack!” Cheol-pae suddenly changed his swordsmanship. As an intense magical energy, completely different from before, was released from his greatsword, Gregory’s face changed.

“That’s… !”

“Demonic Crash, or was it called the Heavenly Demon’s Sky-Piercing Slash? Anyway, I heard it’s the strongest swordsmanship in the Demon Realm.”

“The strongest swordsmanship in the Demon Realm?” The Heavenly Demon’s Sky-Piercing Slash was something Arsen had learned from the Demon Lord Bargoza, with whom he had a contract, and passed on to Cheol-pae. In any case, Gregory couldn’t help but be perplexed.

He had already reached the Sword Emperor level in swordsmanship, but he couldn’t keep up with Reina or Luke in terms of divine power. In other words, the possibility of blocking Cheol-pae’s attack, which was now displaying power comparable to a high-ranking demon, was slim. However, he couldn’t retreat either.

‘God, give me strength!’

“Die!” As Cheol-pae charged and swung his sword fiercely, a storm-like, terrifying magical energy fell towards Gregory. The moment Gregory gritted his teeth and tried to parry the Heavenly Demon’s Sky-Piercing Slash, a powerful energy flew from behind him, along with a desperate shout.

“Get down!” As Gregory reflexively lowered his body, a blast of blue lightning flew towards Cheol-pae. The terrifying blow, like the Thunder God’s hammer, shattered the Heavenly Demon’s Sky-Piercing Slash in one go and sent Cheol-pae flying away.

“Keok! Th-this is the Three Thunder God Fist!” Although it was slightly different from the energy emitted by the Fist King Hwangbo-ung 300 years ago, it was definitely the Three Thunder God Fist. A man came into the eyes of Cheol-pae, who was spitting out black blood in shock, and Grand Duke Gregory, who was delighted. He was Hwangbo-sung, the commander of the Symphonia Royal Knights, who approached with a dignified stride.

Hwangbo-sung bowed to Gregory and said, “Your Grace, he seems like a formidable opponent, so I will join the fight.”

“Thank you.”

Unlike Gregory, who was grateful, Cheol-pae’s eyes widened as he burst into anger. “Damn it! A descendant of the Fist King has appeared!” Before he died, Cheol-pae had only lost once in the Jianghu [a martial arts world]. He had been cocky, saying that he had no equal, but he was thoroughly beaten by Hwangbo-ung, the head of the Hwangbo family at the time. He was beaten so badly that he didn’t even go near the Jianghu afterward, and it became a trauma even after death.

“I will kill you and avenge the humiliation I suffered from Hwangbo-ung!” Cheol-pae, grinding his teeth, rushed towards Hwangbo-sung. The Heavenly Demon’s Sky-Piercing Slash, the strongest swordsmanship in the Demon Realm, and the Three Thunder God Fist, the best martial art in the Central Plains, or rather, the True Three Thunder God Fist developed by Hwangbo-sung, collided.

Kuaang! Kwaang!

Peopeopeong!

A terrifying shockwave spread around, turning the ground upside down and shattering buildings. However, when Grand Duke Gregory joined the fight, the battle tilted to one side. No matter how much stronger Cheol-pae had become as a Death Knight, he couldn’t overcome the combined attack of Sword Emperor Gregory and Fist Sage Hwangbo-sung. In the end, Cheol-pae became flustered and created an opening, and Gregory’s sword cut his thigh.

“Kuek, you bastard… !”

“Commander Hwangbo-sung, now!” As Gregory, who had landed a blow on Cheol-pae, quickly retreated, Hwangbo-sung, who had raised his lightning energy to its limit, unleashed the True Three Thunder God Fist once again. The energy, which had increased in power by more than tenfold, flew towards Cheol-pae.

“Kuaaak! This can’t be… !” Kwaaaang-! Cheol-pae’s resentful cry could not continue to the end. It was buried by the roar of the True Three Thunder God Fist exploding. The ghost who had been taught the strongest swordsmanship in the Demon Realm was eventually defeated by the northern knight who served God and the southern martial artist who had developed the strongest martial art.

“Luke de Racaaaaaan! I will never dieeeeeee!” Shugaak-! A huge golden trajectory stretched into the sky. The giant golden sword that adorned the night sky pierced Arsen’s hideous body. Arsen, looking down at his body crumbling into ashes with a sorrowful face, opened his mouth.

“Kuk, I lost again. But remember… I am immortal!” With those words, Arsen completely disappeared.

“Hmph, immortal? Then I’ll cut you down a hundred times, a thousand times, until you die!” Luke snorted dismissively. However, he knew that this was not the end. In the first place, Arsen, being a lich, could not be destroyed unless his life vessel, which contained his soul, was destroyed. The problem was the whereabouts of the life vessel…

‘Still, there’s a place I can guess. The island of Crete, where Belfar went recently.’ According to Belfar, there was a Demon Lord named Bargoza on that island. Luke speculated that Arsen’s undead creation base would be there, but he did not rule out the possibility that the life vessel was hidden there as well.

‘No, if a Demon Lord-level demon is guarding it, then the life vessel must be there!’ He wanted to go to Crete Island right away, but first, he had to deal with the battle that was unfolding before his eyes. Even though Arsen had disappeared, the battle was still going on. The enhanced undead were inflicting considerable damage on the Continental Allied Forces and the elves in various parts of Bless, regardless of whether they were high, mid, or low-level.

“That Arsen bastard, he really created a huge undead army!” Luke had to acknowledge Arsen’s ability to create hundreds of enhanced undead while deceiving the world. After shuddering for a moment, Luke manifested a hundred Holy Bullets and poured them down on the liches in the air and the Death Knights on the ground.

Shushuk! Shushushushuk-! It was as if a shower of light was pouring down from the night sky. The Holy Bullets, amplified by the Avenger’s core engine, were so powerful that they could render low-level enhanced undead incapacitated in one shot. As a result, the undead, who had been pushing humans and elves aggressively until just a moment ago, were now busy staggering or dodging the attacks. This was a great opportunity for the mages and knights who were fighting them. They did not miss the openings and poured attacks, gradually taking down the enhanced undead.

Luke glanced at the scene and manifested Holy Bullets once more, opening his mouth. “But where is Karen?” At first, Luke had opposed Karen’s participation in the battle. Even if she was a veteran warrior from the future, she was still just his young daughter to him. However, in a situation where even one more strong person was needed, and because she was also stubborn, he had agreed.

“Karen, promise me you won’t take any risks.” Just before the battle, Reina had asked Karen this. Karen had agreed, but Luke judged that it would be difficult for that promise to be kept properly. Even if one was in the rear, there were always dangerous situations, and given Karen’s personality and skills, she would surely be at the forefront.

“Tch! All sorts of energies are mixed up, so it’s not easy to find Karen!” Luke’s expression became anxious. In the vast area, the various magic spells cast by mages, the auras of knights, the techniques of Taoists, and the magical energy emitted by the undead were all mixed up, making it very difficult to search for a specific target. However, Luke stubbornly glared and tracked Karen’s ether [a mystical energy]. And finally, he was able to find Karen.

“There she is! But what is that lich?” The lich that Karen was fighting was wielding a huge magical creature made of magical energy. Its appearance was like the mythical beast Hydra, and its abilities were almost the same. Even if the nine heads were hit by the Holy Bullets or divine power attacks that Karen fired, they would constantly regenerate and emit black magic or breathe out poisonous mist.

“Fire Explosion!” “Receive the fiercely burning flames, Wildfire!” Behind the monster, Erewin and Jegal Soha were launching a joint attack, as Karen alone could not handle it. However, their magic and Taoist techniques only inflicted minor wounds and did not deal a decisive blow. Luke was furious at the sight of his precious daughter struggling.

“You rotten bones, how dare you!” Luke, who flew like lightning, cut the monster of Goebelman in half with the Avenger’s greatsword in one blow. Kieeeeeeek-! The monster, cut in half at the waist, let out a miserable scream. Goebelman, as well as Karen’s group, were startled by the sudden appearance and attack.

“Who are you!” “Dad?” “Your Majesty!” “Ah, we’re saved now.” Erewin and Jegal Soha quickly smiled in relief. This was because Karen and their own skills were not enough to defeat the monster created by Goebelman.

“Step back, Karen. I’ll take care of this rotten bone for you.” “No, I can take care of it, so you step back.” Karen immediately refused Luke’s words. It was meaningless now, but she was once the last hope of a world that was heading towards destruction, and the only one who could oppose the Lich King. However, she was struggling against a monster created by a high-ranking lich, so her pride was hurt.

‘Besides, I’ve already figured out its weakness!’ She was tired from fighting Goebelman, but it was not without results. She had figured out the identity and weakness of the monster that resembled the mythical beast Hydra.

“I’ll take care of the enemy I’m in charge of.” “You promised your mother, didn’t you? Do that much and step back.” “It’s not a dangerous enemy, even if I struggled!” “Do you even realize that there’s a contradiction in what you just said?” While the father and daughter were bickering, the wound on the monster that Luke had cut swelled up and regenerated the destroyed part, restoring it to its original state.

Goebelman couldn’t help but be dumbfounded as Luke and Karen continued to argue over who would take care of it. “How dare you! Do you know who I am to ignore me!” As Goebelman rattled his jawbone and shouted, Luke retorted indifferently. “Who else would you be, but Arsen’s lackey.”

“What! How dare you call my lord’s name so carelessly! Just because you’re riding a steel doll, you think you have no fear!” ‘He doesn’t seem to know that Arsen was defeated by my hand a little while ago.’ It seemed that the undead were not always connected to their master in spirit or mind. Luke snorted inwardly and unleashed golden aura once more, swinging his greatsword. It was a powerful but ordinary strike.

Erewin and Jegal Soha tilted their heads as Luke launched an ordinary attack. However, Karen and Goebelman, who saw where the tip of the Avenger’s sword was pointing, were different. “Eet?” “Hiiik! N-no! The black magic stone is regenerating… !” The weakness that Karen and Luke had seen through. It was the core of the monster, called the black magic stone. In fact, the monster that resembled Hydra had been horribly modified with black magic, but its basic foundation was a slime. Therefore, it could regenerate endlessly unless the core was destroyed.

Anyway, the monster whose core had been split by Luke’s golden aura soon became limp and collapsed. “Aaaak! My masterpiece, the Dark Hydra!” Goebelman was shocked and tore at his head as his creation, which he thought would never be destroyed, disappeared. However, there was no hair to tear out on his skull, and in the meantime, Karen, who had circled around to his blind spot, launched a divine power attack.

“Holy Cross!” “Kuaaaaak!” As Karen pulled out the sword hidden in her staff and swung it in a cross shape, Goebelman’s body was cut into four pieces and soon crumbled into ashes. The golden aura, which had been momentarily exploded to its maximum, was unbearable for the lich Goebelman.

“Well done, my daughter.” “Phew, I could have finished it alone… !” Luke chuckled as he looked at Karen, who was making a sulky face, and then left the spot. There were still many enemies to defeat and allies to help.

2

Kakang! Kukukung! Belik and Dimitri were struggling against a giant Death Knight. At first, they judged that they would be able to defeat the enemy quickly with their combined attack. However, the skills of the giant Death Knight, who had been a promising member of the Hwasan Sect [a famous martial arts sect] in his lifetime, crushed their optimistic expectations.

When he seemed to be pushed back a little, he extended the sword’s energy like a whip and swung it, and this attack was so flashy and powerful. “Damn it, is that the Yeon Sword Technique of the Southern Continent? There are too many variables in the attack!” “It’s like facing a storm.” The two did not know, but the current Hwasan Sect master was using his energy to perform the Sword Control Technique. It was not a swordsmanship he had learned in his lifetime, but a swordsmanship of the Demon Realm that he had learned from Arsen as he became a high-ranking Death Knight.

“Huk! Huk!” “Damn it!” Duke Dimitri, who was proud of reaching the level of Sword Sage, as well as Belik, who was proud of being second to none in controlling the Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine], were sweating and breathing heavily. However, the condition of the Gigants they were riding was more serious than the two of them. The armor was almost in tatters and dangling, and the greatsword in their hands was chipped or cracked in places.

‘It’ll be a problem if we get pushed back any further.’ Belik glanced back and gritted his teeth. He hadn’t noticed while fighting, but they had been pushed back to the vicinity of the Holy Palace. If they made a mistake, Reina in the Holy Palace could be in danger. Dimitri noticed Belik’s concern.

“You seem worried about the rear.” “I’m not a traitor like you.” Dimitri smiled bitterly at Belik’s retort. “As you said, I am a traitor who betrayed the Volga royal family. But I have no intention of abandoning the grace that Her Holiness has shown in saving our republic’s citizens.” Having said that, Dimitri adjusted his greatsword and continued.

“I’ll create an opening. In the meantime, you try to cut off that monster’s head.” “Tch, that traitor is trying to do all the cool stuff.” Even though he grumbled, Belik did not refuse Dimitri’s proposal. He realized that there was no chance of winning if they just kept taking the enemy’s attacks. Kiiiiiiing!

Dimitri activated his core engine, maximizing the Gigantic Aura.

He then thrust his greatsword forward, charging aggressively at the giant Death Knight.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Belik, slightly delayed, also rushed forward.

The giant Death Knight, facing the two charging at it, unleashed powerful energy like a whip.

The energy bundles, imbued with the essence of the Igyeo Sword Technique [a fictional sword style], skillfully pierced the air, targeting Dimitri first.

Dimitri dodged and deflected several attacks with his greatsword, then suddenly enveloped his Gigantic hands in Gigantic Aura and grabbed the energy bundles.

He had grasped the pattern while dodging, blocking, and countering the opponent’s flashy swordsmanship.

“Belik, now!”

“I know!”

Taking advantage of the opening created by Dimitri’s temporary blockade, Belik charged forward like a flash.

True to his nickname, the Red Lightning, he unleashed a high-speed, full-power quick sword.

Swish—!

With a short tearing sound, the giant Death Knight’s head flew into the sky.

The moment the head hit the ground, the body also fell with a heavy thud.

Thump!

“We did it!”

“Heh heh, as expected of the Red Lightning.”

“Of course! I mean, I’ve been honing my skills for the past twenty years as a mercenary… Hey, hey!”

Belik, about to boast about his hardships with a smug voice, was startled by Dimitri’s Gigantic.

A large hole was visible just below the chest plate, and red blood was flowing from it.

“W-what? What’s wrong?”

Belik rushed to Dimitri and hurriedly tore off the Gigantic’s chest plate.

“Kuh, it’s nothing. I made a slight mistake while grabbing its attack just now…”

It wasn’t so much a mistake as the energy bundles were so powerful that some pierced through the Gigantic’s armor and struck Dimitri in the cockpit.

“Damn it…”

Belik’s expression hardened as he examined Dimitri’s condition. A long gash ran from his side to his heart.

The wound was so severe that it was a miracle he wasn’t dead.

“Don’t die, traitor! I’ll get you to the Princess!”

Belik quickly supported Dimitri.

The Holy Palace wasn’t far. Even if other priests couldn’t, Reina’s divine power, close to a miracle, could save Dimitri.

“Cough! I’m sorry. I wanted to protect your wife and children…”

Dimitri, pale, apologized for what happened twenty years ago.

Before the Republican Revolution, they had been close, the best swordsmen representing the Volga Kingdom.

However, the Republican Revolution changed everything.

Dimitri, choosing the Republican faction for the sake of the devastated masses, and Belik, the vice-commander of the Royal Knights, were forced to become enemies. Belik, whose family and the royal family were destroyed by the revolutionaries, came to see Dimitri as his nemesis.

“Idiot, don’t talk! If you have the strength to ramble, hold your breath!”

Belik hurried towards the Holy Palace.

However, Dimitri kept apologizing.

Eventually, his wound worsened, and he lost too much blood, reaching a point of no return.

“Belik… I’m sorry…”

Dimitri, uttering his last words faintly, finally dropped his head.

Belik shook his head in disbelief at his limp figure.

This wasn’t right. He shouldn’t die like this.

He had planned to settle the score after this battle, holding him accountable for his past sins.

But to fall so meaninglessly like this!

“Get up! Get up right now, you cowardly traitor!”

Belik grabbed Dimitri’s collar and shook him.

But no matter how much he yelled, he couldn’t bring back the man who had already passed away.

“Get up, I said! We were supposed to settle things!”

Belik trembled with an unknown sense of injustice. His vision blurred, and he couldn’t see anything.

Dimitri, once a comrade and for a long time, an enemy.

Hot tears of the Red Lightning fell onto his corpse.

With Arsen and all the high-level undead eliminated, the subsequent battle was anticlimactic.

The mid- to low-level undead were already weakened by the divine power emitted by the Divine Amplification Magic Circle and the Avengers.

When the strong, including Luke, joined the fray, the tide turned instantly.

The battle ended around dawn.

The human and elven warriors, who had struggled against the enhanced undead, raised their arms and cheered as the fighting ended.

“Whoa! We defeated the enemies!”

“Long live the Continental Alliance! Long live the Elven race!”

“Long live His Majesty Luke!”

For the knights and mages who risked their lives, this battle would be remembered forever.

It was that fierce and magnificent.

As Luke listened to the cheers, Duke Gregory and Hwang Bo-sung approached him.

They looked tired from dealing with the mid- to low-level undead all night, but they offered their congratulations with bright expressions.

“Your Majesty, you’ve worked hard!”

“Duke Gregory, you’ve worked hard as well.”

“As expected, Your Majesty Luke is the strongest warrior in the Northern Continent, no, in the entire Middle Realm!”

“Thank you, Princess Cho Mimi. I will never forget the help of the Song Empire.”

While Luke was greeting his comrades, Brat came with the elven leaders who had participated in the battle.

“Your Majesty, thank you for allowing us to participate in this meaningful battle.”

“I am the one who should be grateful. Thanks to you, we were able to prevent an unprecedented disaster.”

Luke respectfully bowed to Brat and the elven leaders.

The leaders’ shoulders puffed up at his gesture.

To receive thanks from a human king was something they had never imagined even ten years ago.

“We will definitely repay this favor.”

“Of course, you must repay it.”

“Hoho, I will remember it without forgetting.”

Kurgan, the elder of the Red Hammer Tribe, and Fairy Queen Ariete smiled contentedly.

After greeting everyone, Luke headed to the Holy Palace.

Reina was waiting for him there.

“Honey, you’ve worked hard.”

As Luke entered the main hall, Reina, who had been kneeling and praying in the center of the hall all night, stood up and spoke calmly.

Although she hadn’t participated directly in the battle, she knew from the priests’ reports how fierce it had been.

Like the legends of the Demon Gods from the mythical era, Arsen and the enhanced undead army were very powerful.

If they hadn’t prepared thoroughly, the Holy Empire and Bless might have been destroyed.

“We were able to win because the Continental Alliance and the elven warriors fought hard. More importantly, are you alright?”

Reina hadn’t just been praying quietly.

She had used the holy objects and temples scattered throughout Bless to construct the Divine Amplification Magic Circle, but to maintain its power, it was necessary to constantly supply divine power.

Reina and dozens of high-ranking priests took on that role.

They sent their divine power while offering prayers for victory all night in this hall connected to the Divine Amplification Magic Circle.

Perhaps because of that, Reina, as well as the archbishop and cardinals, looked pale.

Their divine power seemed depleted, but fortunately, their lives didn’t seem to be in danger.

“Don’t worry about me. More importantly, how much damage did our forces suffer?”

As expected of a saint, she asked about the damage to their forces first.

Luke, silent for a moment with a slightly darkened face, spoke with difficulty.

“942 people died, and 1,832 were injured. The number of Gigantics destroyed is countless. We tried to prepare as much as possible, but they were so strong that we suffered a lot of damage.”

Luke had received a report from Erewin, who was collecting the casualties.

The casualties of the support troops from the Volga Republic were the most severe.

They had fought hard to repay Reina’s grace in saving their country, and many had died in battle.

“I heard that Duke Dimitri, who led the support troops, also died in battle.”

“I know. Sir Belik collected his body a little while ago.”

Reina, with a sad expression, made the sign of the cross and offered a prayer, wishing that the fallen could rest in peace by the side of the Lord Elkasel [a fictional deity].

Luke said to her as she prayed.

“Don’t be too sad. Their sacrifices are regrettable, but thanks to them, the people of Bless were able to survive. And this Middle Realm was also able to escape Arsen’s clutches.”

If Arsen and the enhanced undead army had been allowed to run rampant, the Middle Realm would have been devastated.

If that had happened, hundreds of millions of people living in the Rodisia Continent and the Southern Continent would have been sacrificed.

The sacrifice of the Volga Republic army was a noble sacrifice that prevented countless future slaughters and massacres.

“That’s true. But to truly make their sacrifices shine, we must destroy the Life Vessels so that Arsen and the liches can never be resurrected.”

The Death Knights had been permanently eliminated in this battle.

However, the liches were different.

Unless their Life Vessels were destroyed, they would be resurrected again and again.

Arsen had already been resurrected once.

For true peace, the Lich King and the other liches had to be permanently eliminated.

“I’ve already thought of a place where Arsen might have hidden his Life Vessel. As soon as the aftermath of this battle is over, I plan to mobilize all the forces of the Continental Alliance to eradicate the root of evil.”

Luke decided to attack Crete Island.

The Continental Alliance’s forces had been greatly weakened by fighting the enhanced undead army. Many Sword Experts and Master-level fighters had died or been injured.

However, they couldn’t delay the attack.

“I hope we can eliminate them before they are completely resurrected.”

“Me too.”

Just because they had a Life Vessel didn’t mean they could be resurrected immediately.

It took time to regenerate their broken bodies. And even if they were resurrected, they couldn’t immediately regain their former abilities.

‘It would take at least a year, or even several years, for Arsen or the liches to regain their former strength.’

Luke made that judgment by calculating the time Arsen had been in hiding after his defeat in the past.

They had to find and eliminate them all before they were resurrected and regained their former strength.

Otherwise, another sacrifice might occur, or people might have their bodies and abilities stolen secretly, like Shaikhan.

‘Arsen, I will not give you another chance to be resurrected and run wild!’

Luke clenched his fist and made a firm resolution.

3

The battle cleanup took three days.

The priests of Bless and the surrounding areas gathered to treat the injured, and the bodies of the fallen were collected and sent to their homelands or buried in sunny places.

After the memorial service for the fallen, the surviving soldiers held a festival to celebrate the victory with the residents of Bless.

Luke and Reina initially opposed this festival.

It hadn’t been long since the memorial service, and the city of Bless was in ruins, making reconstruction urgent.

In addition, they had to prepare for the attack on Crete Island and help the kingdoms of Castia and Irea, which had been attacked by Arsen.

However, the residents opposed it.

“We believe that there should be some celebration after winning such a great battle,” said Priest Luther, representing the public sentiment.

It was also necessary to boost the morale of the soldiers and comfort the anxious citizens.

So, Luke and Reina decided to hold a victory celebration for only one day.

When the wine and food stored in the Holy Palace were released, pubs and restaurants that had not been affected by the battle offered their places for free.

Nobles and high-ranking priests also contributed to the festival with their private funds.

“Wahahaha! At that time, I was using my Gigantic to…”

“When my sword broke, I was at a loss. But suddenly, Duke Gregory…”

“Kya! You should have seen His Majesty Luke fighting against the Lich King! It was so amazing that the fragments were flying even to us, who were two kilometers away.”

The squares and pubs were packed with people.

The knights, mages, and elves who had participated in the battle were recounting their exploits and eyewitness accounts.

While the participants were enjoying the festival, Luke was having a magic communication with President Vladimir.

“You said you occupied the capital of the Lybia Kingdom?”

– Yes. According to the generals I sent, the Lybia Kingdom’s response was even worse than expected.

‘That’s probably because they didn’t have proper weapons or military supplies.’

Luke had been undermining the economy of the Lybia Kingdom even before attacking the Baroque Empire.

Perhaps because Arsen was obsessed with raising an undead army, he didn’t pay much attention to the affairs of the country.

It could be said that Luke’s intention to make him focus on that and not concentrate on other things had backfired.

After the last undead crisis, President Vladimir moved the Republican army stationed in Baroque to attack the Lybia Kingdom.

Luke also agreed and had Marquis Rogers and Count Philip, who were stationed in Nemesis, help.

It was a country where most of the people had already become undead and left.

The Lybia Kingdom army, starving and armed only with rusty weapons, collapsed too easily without putting up much resistance.

– The nobles who remained in the capital did put up a fight, but they didn’t last long.

“Were there any remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower?”

– We had strengthened the forces of the priests and magic corps in preparation for them… but they didn’t appear. I suspect they fled.

Shaikhan’s cousins and Duke Butler resisted to the end and died.

Some nobles were said to have fled to areas that had not yet been occupied.

Therefore, Vladimir, as well as Luke, believed that there was a possibility that the Veritas remnants had fled.

They couldn’t imagine that Arsen was so obsessed with undead creation that he had killed even his own subordinates.

– There will be no problem with the upcoming mop-up of the remnants, but I’m worried about the lack of troops to manage the occupied territories. Especially since we left the Baroque Empire empty…

President Vladimir said with a worried face.

“You don’t have to worry about that. The support troops from Song and Yemaek have arrived, so we can leave the rear to them.”

– The support troops from the Southern Continent have already arrived? How many troops are there?

Vladimir asked with a brightened face.

“The Song Empire has 100,000, and the Yemaek army has 50,000. I think this number of troops is enough to provide rear support.”

– That’s good. But how will we solve the problem of them being unfamiliar with the language and geography?

“Both countries have taken that into account and have formed their command with people who are familiar with our culture. We can send advisors to assist them.”

Luke discussed the management of the occupied territories, such as Baroque and Lybia, in detail for about an hour.

If they didn’t manage it properly, outlaws would run rampant, and the innocent people living there would suffer, so they couldn’t help but pay attention.

As the conversation was about to end, Luke asked what he had been curious about.

“Was Duke Dimitri’s funeral held properly?”

At his question, President Vladimir nodded with a hardened face.

Dimitri was a meritorious subject of the founding of the Republic and a swordsman representing Volga.

Therefore, the president and the leaders of the Republic had a hard time accepting his death.

– It’s a regrettable thing for us… but I think it was something we had to endure.

“Thank you for saying that. I will definitely punish the culprit and make sure that the sacrifices of Duke Dimitri and the Republican knights are not in vain.”

– I ask you to do so.

After finishing the magic communication with Vladimir, Luke immediately began to organize the expeditionary force to Crete Island.

Since a big shot called the Demon Duke was holding out there, they had to organize their forces thoroughly.