Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 25

6. The Power of Spirits

1

Leaving the coachman and carriage behind, Luke and Philip followed the fairies north.

Erewyn led them along a secluded mountain path. After navigating a narrow trail through the undergrowth that barely seemed like a path, they reached a precarious walkway built along a cliff face.

“Is this really the way…? Ugh!”

“Be careful, Sir Philip. One wrong step, and it’s a one-way trip to the afterlife,” Luke warned, grabbing Philip, who had almost fallen off the walkway.

Two hours later, after crossing the walkway, the group discovered a village nestled in a basin surrounded by rocky mountains.

“Is that the fairy village?”

“Yes, it’s called Zenith Village.”

The Zenith Village, with about 50 households, wasn’t much different from any other mountain village inhabited by humans. The only differences were the uniquely shaped flowers and plants and that most of the residents were fairies.

“This is a bit disappointing. I thought it would be hidden behind some mystical barrier.”

“You’ve been reading too many fairy tales,” Erewyn retorted coldly at Philip’s grumbling. However, a hint of sadness flickered in her eyes.

In the distant past, when the elves, who represented the fairies, used spirit magic, the things mentioned in fairy tales were actually possible. The villages protected by spirits were fantastically beautiful and full of life. However, as they became disconnected from the spirit realm, the elves lost their power, which led to the decline of the fairies. It was no wonder that radicals like Sylvia were desperately searching for the Tears of the Earth [a legendary artifact said to restore the fairies’ power]. At this rate, the elves and other fairies would become extinct like the ancient dragons.

“But it looks like they also farm.” Philip looked surprised as he saw the cultivated fields around the village.

“Did you think fairies only ate dew?”

“I heard they gathered things like tree fruits and mushrooms in the forest to eat.” At Philip’s words, Erewyn and the other fairies with her looked offended. Before they could say anything, Luke stepped forward.

“Sir Philip, it was the fairies who originally taught humans agriculture.”

“Huh? Is that really true, Lord?”

“Yes, the seeds of crops like wheat and barley, and vegetables that humans cultivate, were all improved by the elves from what they found in nature.” Luke learned the truth of history after becoming a black magician. To gain the power to fight his enemies, he and his subordinates had explored several ruins and discovered ancient texts. They contained not only records related to the beginning of agriculture but also the truth about ancient civilizations.

‘If that were to become known, the continental history community would be turned upside down.’

The magical empire of Avalon, which had led the lost ancient civilization. The masters of that empire, which had opposed the powerful dragons and dominated the entire continent, were not humans but fairies. Thousands of years ago, humans were merely primitive barbarians living on the outskirts of the empire. They didn’t even know how to farm, let alone raise livestock or hunt properly. They didn’t have metalworking skills either, so they made weapons and tools out of stone. As a result, they struggled to survive against beasts and monsters and were a pitiful race that barely managed to exist.

The fairies had given them ‘civilization.’ However, it wasn’t out of pure goodwill, but because they were more docile and intelligent than orcs, goblins, and kobolds. ‘In other words, it was like taming wild animals and turning them into livestock.’ At the time, Avalon needed a lot of labor, so they captured humans and used them as slaves. And in the process, humans began to learn agriculture from the elves, metallurgy from the dwarves, magic from the fairies, and martial arts from the beastmen. As humans accepted the knowledge and culture of the fairies, they became civilized, and their numbers grew rapidly. In the process, those with strong powers emerged as their blood mixed with fairies and dragons. Under their leadership, a ‘slave rebellion’ broke out, Avalon was destroyed, and the civilization created by the ancient fairies collapsed.

And now, the relationship between humans and fairies was completely reversed. This fact was almost forgotten even among the fairies, and only a few hermits like Erenes knew about it and kept silent because the truth could bring about further chaos or conflict.

‘That past doesn’t justify the current oppression of the fairies. Just as what the fairies did to humans in the past was wrong, it’s also wrong for humans to enslave or discriminate against fairies.’ Anyway, the fairies didn’t live in the mountains and forests because they liked it. They had been pushed out by humans, forced to give up their precious land and hide like this.

“Halt, who are you?” The hairy figures guarding the entrance to Zenith Village pointed their spears and shouted. They were lycanthropes [werewolves], one of the beastmen races, and a rather belligerent race along with the dark elves.

“I am Erewyn Lesa, who came last time. I’ve come back with the rest of the rescued members of my race.”

“Ah, it’s you, Erewyn.” Recognizing a familiar face, the lycanthropes immediately lowered their guard. But they were startled when they saw Luke and Philip and raised their spears again.

“H, humans?!”

“It’s okay. They are the ones who helped rescue our people.” At Erewyn’s explanation, the lycanthropes lowered their weapons. However, perhaps because of their strong wariness of humans, they did not take their eyes off Luke and Philip.

Meanwhile, the fairies who had been taken as slaves met the ones who had been rescued by Erewyn earlier and shed tears of reunion.

“Mom!”

“Oh, Chloe!”

Luke watched the scene with a warm smile. However, the residents of Zenith Village were not celebrating the reunion of separated families but were looking at them with worried expressions. Philip looked puzzled at the residents’ reactions.

“Why do they look so gloomy?”

“Well, it’s certainly something to celebrate that our people who were about to be captured by slave traders have been rescued, but this village doesn’t have the capacity to take care of them, who have lost their homes and families.” According to Erewyn’s explanation, Zenith Village had a natural defense in the form of rocky mountains, but the land was very barren. As a result, even if it rained on time, it was difficult to expect a good harvest.

“Moreover, the land’s fertility has recently reached its limit. We’ve been using crop rotation and fertilization, but they haven’t been very effective.”

“Ah, so that’s why the crops in the fields looked so weak.” Philip had thought that the crops were like that because the fairies didn’t know how to farm properly.

“Can’t you solve it with magic? I’ve heard stories of increasing yields with magic.”

“That’s because they squeezed the land’s fertility with magic. That kind of thing won’t help this village now.” Anyway, there was no safer place than here, so the fairies were determined not to abandon the village. Many of them thought it was better to starve to death than to live miserably in the hands of humans.

‘There is a way to solve this problem. If my guess is correct, then surely….’ Erewyn looked at Luke. Unlike other places, the grass and wildflowers near his feet were vibrant, as if they had been thoroughly watered. If she wasn’t mistaken, the small change happening around him now was related to the feeling she had sensed earlier. Having made that judgment, Erewyn approached Luke and spoke to him.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

“Let’s move to another place to talk.”

2

Erewyn led Luke to a field outside the village. Luke, puzzled as to why they had come to the field instead of somewhere else, was startled to see the crops at his feet, which had been withered, gradually regaining their vitality.

“This is…!”

“It’s only happening around you. I think it’s related to something you have in your chest.” At those words, Luke took out the charm that Reina had given him. Although it wasn’t as strong as she had felt before, Erewyn sensed a mysterious energy from the charm.

“Where did you get this?”

“…Someone gave it to me to carry when I went to perform my military service.” There was a reason why Luke had given a vague answer. He remembered the incident when the dark elves had tried to kidnap Reina. He didn’t know if they were related to Erewyn, but he didn’t want to reveal the fact that Reina had a mysterious power.

“Can’t you tell me who gave it to you?”

“It was just a resident of the territory. They said it was something that had been passed down from someone in their family.”

‘He’s lying.’ Erewyn noticed it right away. She wasn’t as good as her teacher, but she could read people’s minds a little. However, she fully understood Luke’s position. It was natural to be wary when a stranger asked about the source of a power that even you didn’t understand.

“Can I take a look at what’s inside?”

“……”

“Please. I don’t have any other intentions. I just want to help the fairies in this village.” At those words, Luke opened his metal armor and showed her Reina’s hair inside. Erewyn carefully examined the hair and took out a single strand.

Whoosh—!

Erewyn focused all her magic on the strand of hair in her hand. As she stimulated it with mana waves, the mysterious energy she had felt before began to rise from the hair. It was vast and magnificent, like seeing the World Tree mentioned in myths. The World Tree, which had firmly rooted itself in the earth and stretched up to the sky, was giving birth to countless lives. From nameless flowers and small insects to mythical beasts like unicorns that were already extinct, countless spirits that had been passed down in legends, and even ferocious dragons and hideous demons. And finally, fairies and humans.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Ah…!” Erewyn snapped back to her senses at Luke’s call.

“I felt some unusual energy flowing out…”

“It seems you felt it too. Perhaps this is the power from when the world was one. Although it’s only a small part of it.”

“When the world was one?”

“Pangea. It means the time when the celestial realm, the spirit realm, the demon realm, and this middle realm in the center were not divided or disconnected.” When such an ancient time, beyond even the terms ‘ancient times’ or ‘mythological era,’ was mentioned, Luke couldn’t close his mouth.

‘So, the power that resides in Reina is from that time?’ Unaware of what Luke was thinking, Erewyn continued to speak.

“Although it’s only a small part, I think we can revitalize the land near this village if we use this.”

“You know how to do that?” Erewyn nodded and took out the necessary items and materials from the subspace in her ring. She added pieces of lead and crystal, coal made from an ancient tree that had hardened like stone, and a few reagents to a small mortar, then put Reina’s hair in it.

“I once tried to create a special treasure. A treasure that my people yearned for but could not find… a treasure called the Tears of the Earth.”

‘Tears of the Earth….’ He seemed to have heard of it somewhere before. Erenes, whom he had met during his time as Simon, had definitely mentioned it. But at the time, Luke hadn’t been very interested, so he didn’t remember what he had said.

“I believed that if we couldn’t find it, we could make it. I didn’t succeed, but an unexpected byproduct came out in the process.”

“Are you talking about artificial magic stones?”

“Yes, it was an unexpected result, but I thought it could change the world. It was a big delusion, though.” Erewyn gave a bitter smile. Before artificial magic stones were created, each country was obsessed with mining magic stones. They scoured not only their own territories but also the lands of the fairies on the outskirts, and it goes without saying that nature was severely damaged in the process. Erewyn had judged that if magic stones could be made artificially, such destruction could be avoided, and she had spread the technology to several magic towers. Indeed, humans no longer clung to mining magic stones as they had before. But nature was destroyed even more severely than before. It was to secure the materials to make artificial magic stones instead of magic stones. Once they knew there was a substitute, the consumption of magic stones increased dramatically, and more materials related to them were needed. The world had certainly changed, but it wasn’t the world Erewyn had wanted. That was why she had turned her back on the world and stayed by her teacher’s side for a while. Of course, she hadn’t just been taking care of her eccentric teacher. She had continued her research on substances that could contain or control mana or the power of specific waves, like magic stones. Thanks to that, she had accumulated a lot of knowledge and was able to devise a way to save Zenith Village like this.

Whoosh!

A magical flame rose from the mortar. Erewyn mobilized all her magic power. She tried to create a fire as hot as the flames that had solidified the world created by God in the beginning. But….

‘My magic power is not enough!’ The mental and magical power she had consumed while rescuing the captured fairies over the past few days was considerable. She hadn’t fully recovered yet, so she couldn’t create the flame she had calculated. ‘I’m wrong, at this rate, I’ll just burn it all.’ Just as Erewyn was feeling discouraged, a pure white flame soared from the mortar. In her surprised eyes, she saw Luke pouring his magic power into the mortar instead of her.

“Is this enough?”

“…Don’t interfere recklessly.” Although she spoke coldly, she smiled softly, as if she was grateful for the help. And a little while later, a jewel with a green hue appeared where the flame had subsided.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, this is it.” Even to Luke, it seemed like Erewyn had made something properly. Although it was much weaker than what he had felt from Reina, the green jewel was imbued with the abundant and fresh energy of the earth. Erewyn buried it in the ground.

Then, a soft, verdant light began to spread from the spot where the jewel was buried, reaching across the village of Zenice and the surrounding land.

Along with it, the parched soil became moist and glossy, and the withering crops and trees regained their vitality.

“W-what is this?”

“The crops are coming back to life?!”

“Hooray! We’re saved!”

The delighted villagers, realizing that Erewyn was the one who had performed this miracle, bowed to her countless times.

“How can we ever repay this kindness….”

“We fairies should help each other. And I couldn’t have done it without this person.”

When Erewyn pointed to Luke, the fairies hesitated for a moment before offering their thanks to him as well.

Although they disliked humans, this man was different. They felt it was only right to thank their benefactor who had gone to such lengths for them.

Philip watched the scene with a pleased expression.

He didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he knew that his lord had accomplished something amazing.

Having finished their business in Zenice Village, Luke and his party returned to where their carriage was.

Initially, they were worried about having to go through the narrow paths and mountain roads again, but thanks to Erewyn’s teleportation magic, they were able to return very easily.

“Well, we’ve all finished our business, so let’s part ways now. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

As Luke was saying his farewells and about to leave, Erewyn blocked his path.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

His eyebrows twitched.

Erewyn spoke with a confident expression.

“I owe you in many ways. Please allow me to repay you.”

Luke stared at Erewyn for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively with an annoyed look.

“You don’t need to repay me, just go.”

“Are you trying to make me look ungrateful?”

“That’s why I said you don’t need to repay me! And I’m on my way to fulfill my military service. If you follow me, you might get caught up in a war!”

“I don’t care. I’ll be your shield if you want.”

Although Luke refused, Erewyn had no intention of letting him go.

The power that had revived the land of Zenice Village.

That power, passed down from the world that was once one, had momentarily summoned a spirit. The reason the parched land had turned fertile and the withering crops and trees had regained their vitality was because of that.

If she followed this man, she might be able to find the treasure that could open the gate to the spirit realm, the Tears of the Earth.

Erewyn was not fond of the radicals’ actions, but she was not foolish enough to hesitate when she had a clue to reverse the declining fate of the fairies right in front of her.

Luke was well aware of her intentions.

‘She’s planning to stick by my side under the guise of repaying a debt, and find out the secret of the guardian.’

If she were an ordinary mage, he would have turned her away immediately.

However, Erewyn was a high-ranking 7th Circle mage, and she had a good intention of helping her race.

‘Honestly, I’m tempted.’

To fight against the massive enemies like the Baroque Imperial Family or the Veritas Magic Tower, he needed even one more outstanding talent.

And now, a 7th Circle mage, one who was hailed as a genius in the magic world, had fallen from the sky. How could he not be tempted?

After a moment of contemplation, Luke decided to accept Erewyn’s request.

“Alright, but you have to obey my orders. Is that still okay?”

“As long as they are not unfair orders, I will.”

“You’re still being stubborn to the end.”

“I didn’t say I would obey unconditionally.”

Luke shook his head, then had Erewyn get into the carriage and set off for Krom City.

Erewyn was relieved that she hadn’t missed the clue to find the Tears of the Earth.

However, there was something else that bothered her.

‘I was told to go south and meet the severed wind….’

Her master had clearly said that.

But now, instead of going to the southern part of the continent, she was heading back north.

Because of this, she felt uneasy as if she had disobeyed her master’s orders.

However, Erewyn could not have imagined that the person in front of her was the one who would bring a storm to the continent, as her master had said.

3

A few days later, Luke and his party arrived at Krom City.

Krom City was a military city where half of the population consisted of soldiers.

The Northern Army Headquarters and its direct units alone numbered over 30,000, and the number of various support units and merchants who supported them was also enormous.

The carriage carrying Luke headed towards the Northern Army Headquarters located in the center of the city.

“What kind of person is Count Naiman?”

At Luke’s question, Philip shared the information he had gathered from the Krom City Information Guild earlier.

“He is a fervent pro-emperor noble and a veteran general who has served in the military for 30 years.”

“What about his swordsmanship?”

“He is an upper-level expert, but he is better known as a strategist than a swordsman.”

“Then my military life won’t be easy.”

Luke looked troubled.

The Emperor would try to eliminate him, the only direct descendant of Rakan, by any means possible.

However, he wouldn’t send assassins directly or order his death. The knights both domestically and internationally who worshipped Sword Emperor Rakan would be furious.

‘He’ll probably try to trap me in the border dispute with the Volga Kingdom. Then, Count Naiman will be the one who carries out the Emperor’s orders….’

If he were a simple-minded general who only knew how to charge forward, it would be easier to deal with him.

But his opponent was the worst kind of strategist.

“Still, a third of the headquarters is made up of nobles, so he won’t be able to do as he pleases.”

“The problem is that we can’t say that the nobles are on our side.”

“I suppose so.”

Because Luke had rejected Marquis Myers’ offer, the Rakan family and the nobles were not enemies, but they couldn’t be said to be on good terms either.

“What is the strength of the Northern Army?”

“They have 300 Gigants [large, humanoid war machines] and a total of 100,000 soldiers. And….”

Half of the Northern Army’s forces were deployed on the border with the Volga Republic.

Several fortresses had been built along the border, and each fortress was garrisoned by hundreds to thousands of soldiers.

The other half of the forces were stationed in rear cities, including Krom City, and were said to be fully prepared to rush to the front lines in case of war.

“What is the situation at Fort Tolude?”

“According to the records, there are 3,000 soldiers stationed there. Three thousand-man units, 10 Gigants, and about 120 knights, including apprentice knights.”

“What is the state of the unit?”

Since it was the unit he would be directly commanding, Luke asked with considerable interest.

“The most recent unit collapse was earlier this year. The Volga Republic launched a determined attack, and although they barely managed to repel the enemy, they suffered quite a few casualties.”

At Philip’s explanation, Erewyn, who was sitting next to him, recalled the story she had heard before crossing the border.

After five days of fierce attacks, they had succeeded in breaking through the gates of Fort Tolude, but they had to retreat with tears in their eyes because enemy reinforcements had arrived.

“Anyway, after that, they were replenished with new recruits and soldiers drawn from other units, but the unit’s morale and training level are not good.”

Fort Tolude was said to be the place that soldiers disliked the most.

This was the same for officers, knights, and nobles, and it was said to be a headache even within the Northern Army.

“Lord, how about asking to be transferred to another place?”

Philip asked with a serious expression.

He knew that Luke’s martial and magical abilities were outstanding. However, war was not something that one individual could do.

In a war between nations, thousands upon thousands of soldiers, Gigants, and mage corps were mobilized, so even if he was strong, there was a high possibility that he would be in danger.

However, Luke shook his head as if he had something else in mind.

“No, there’s no need to do that.”

“Then how about contacting your territory and asking them to send more knights or mages?”

“We’ve only just laid the foundation, so we can’t afford to reduce our forces. And Philip, do you not have confidence in protecting me?”

“It’s not that….”

“I believe that crisis and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. It will be tough, but I might be able to get stronger faster. So, don’t say anything more about it.”

“Tch, I understand.”

Shortly after, the carriage stopped in front of the headquarters building.

After confirming his identity with the sentry, Luke entered the building with his party.

Inside the headquarters building, quite a few officers and soldiers were working busily.

They glanced at the unfamiliar figures with curiosity for a moment before focusing on their work again.

“Commander! Lord Luke de Rakan has arrived.”

At the adjutant’s shout, a deep voice was heard from inside the commander’s office.

“Let them in.”

As Luke and his party entered, guided by the adjutant, they saw a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed mustache sitting behind a large mahogany desk.

The short man with broad shoulders stood up from his seat and welcomed Luke and his party.

“Welcome to the Northern Army.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

Luke shook hands with Naiman and then sat down.

Count Naiman glanced at Luke’s party and asked.

“Are these two all of your attendants?”

Usually, when a young noble who was the son of a high-ranking noble or had a title enlisted, they would bring a string of guards and attendants.

This was to ensure their safe military service, and it was customary for the military to accommodate them.

This was because their own children would have to go to the military later.

But this young lord had only brought two guards.

‘One is a knight, and the other is a mage, right?’

He could feel the aura of strong individuals from the one wearing a breastplate over his knight’s uniform and the one who had covered his face with a white robe and hood.

They were not to be easily dismissed just because there were only two of them.

“The family has been busy, so I couldn’t spare many people.”

“Is that so? Then there’s nothing we can do about it.”

He nodded and then opened his mouth again.

“But looking at you, I’m reminded of the late Lord Rakan.”

“Are you talking about my father?”

“Yes, he and I were comrades who fought on the same battlefield.”

The real Luke’s father had died in the war with the Volga Republic seven years ago.

He had gone to war to try to revive his declining family, even if only a little, and had died in battle.

“Your father and I were not in the same unit, but we still had some acquaintance. We first met at the barracks on the outskirts of the Imperial City, where we were called up for the war. At that time, your father….”

Count Naiman began to tell stories about Luke’s father with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

Luke pretended to listen, but he felt bored inside.

This was because he had no memories of the late Lord Rakan.

Since his body was Luke’s but his soul was Seymon’s, this was a natural reaction.

The more Luke listened to Count Naiman’s story, the more he realized one thing.

That was….

‘This man is closely related to the death of the previous lord.’

Even though they were not in the same unit, he knew the circumstances of the previous lord’s death in more detail than necessary.

He even thought that he might be the culprit who had trapped and killed Luke’s father.

As he thought that, he suddenly felt amused.

‘I will avenge you.’

Luke promised to his body.

At that moment, Count Naiman, who had finished talking about the previous lord, smiled kindly and said.

“I want to help you, even if it’s just for your father’s sake. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Luke was about to say that he didn’t need anything, but he stopped himself.

He remembered what Philip had told him earlier.

‘The supply support at Fort Tolude is a mess, right?’

“Please provide me with clothing, military rations, consumable weapons such as gunpowder, and large-caliber cannons and shells for use against Gigants.”

He wanted to ask for Gigants if he could.

However, there was no way that Count Naiman would hand over a combat weapon that cost at least 30,000 gold per unit.

So, he asked for the things that he thought were most necessary among the things that he could provide.

“Is that really all you need?”

Count Naiman looked at Luke with a strange look in his eyes.

If he had asked for Gigants, he would have made various excuses and not provided anything.

But since he had only mentioned the things that he could provide, he had no choice but to accept, since he had already said that he would help.

“That’s enough. And I would like to take the clothing and military rations right away, so please load them onto the trailers.”

“Alright, I’ll have them prepared right away.”

Count Naiman immediately wrote a permit approving the supply of military goods and trailers.

And he promised to send the gunpowder and cannons during the next supply.

“Thank you for your consideration, Commander.”

“It’s nothing.”

After exchanging a few more words, Luke officially enlisted.

And then he left the Northern Army Headquarters.

“He’s not an ordinary one.”

Count Naiman, who was watching Luke’s carriage and trailer leave through the window, opened his mouth.

He had heard the rumors about the territorial war with Count Monarch.

But the Luke he had seen in person seemed even more impressive than the rumors.

It wasn’t just his martial prowess. He also knew how to deal with people. In other words, he was intelligent.

And the two fellows who had accompanied Luke were also formidable.

Their relaxed attitude while facing the commander who moved an army of 100,000, and the intense aura emanating from their bodies, made it clear that they were quite strong.

It was not easy to find someone with that level of skill even in a decent territory.

“I can see why His Majesty is so concerned about him. After all, weeds must be pulled out before they grow bigger.”

A cruel smile appeared on Count Naiman’s face as he was about to deal with the son after the father.