Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 32

Visiting the Enemy Camp

3. Initiating the Water Attack

1

Thump! Thump!

Boom! Bang! Pow!

The next morning, the battle resumed.

However, the Republic soldiers launched only a small-scale attack.

The occasional cannonballs mostly landed outside the fortress, and the Gigants [large war machines] merely made a token show of force in front of the walls before retreating.

Seeing the Republic army act this way, even the subordinates who had wondered if the enemy would only pretend to attack, as Luke had predicted, were convinced that the plan was working.

Only the rank-and-file soldiers, unaware of the details, were puzzled by the Republic army’s seemingly pointless attacks.

‘Why are they acting like that?’

‘This morning, the knights told us to just watch even if the enemy attacked. I thought they were crazy, but if it’s like this, we really don’t have to fight, do we?’

‘Anyway, we don’t have to counterattack, right?’

While the soldiers of Tolude Fortress were celebrating, the Republic army camp was closely observing the fortress’s reaction.

‘The fortress isn’t counterattacking?’

‘Yes, Commander. They don’t seem to have repaired the walls or weapons in preparation for our attack.’

Tiron, nodding at the words of War Mage Lav, who had scouted the fortress, suddenly asked, as if something was bothering him.

‘What about the movements of Luke de Rakan, the fortress commander?’

‘He… was not seen.’

‘Not seen?’

‘That was the case throughout our attack. I believe he’s probably holed up indoors since there’s no more fighting to be done.’

‘Hmm… so it’s not certain.’

‘Is something bothering you?’

At Lav’s question, Tiron tapped the documents detailing the Tolude Fortress attack records with his finger and said,

‘It’s the dry season, but the river has noticeably decreased.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, there’s a difference from the water levels recorded for each season in the documents.’

The fortress attack records also included the river’s water level and depth, as it was important data for river crossings.

Looking at the past records, Tiron realized that the current river level was significantly lower than before.

Moreover, small and large pieces of wood were frequently floating down from the upper reaches, and the river water was quite murky.

‘Could it be that…’

‘It’s highly likely that someone is tampering with the upper reaches of the Sane River.’

At Tiron’s words, Lav was startled, then raised an objection as if he didn’t understand.

‘But preparing a water attack requires considerable manpower and resources. There was no report of such manpower and resources leaving the fortress, was there?’

‘They could have moved them out before the war started. That’s why I’m saying, I’d like you to go with the scouting party and check the upper reaches. If they’re doing something unnecessary, we don’t need to keep our promise either.’

‘Understood. I’ll go right away.’

Lav, having received Tiron’s order, immediately led the scouting party towards the upper reaches of the Sane River.

The upper reaches of the Sane River were known for their rugged terrain.

The only paths were small trails that seemed to be used by animals or monsters, and there was no sign of a large group of people having passed through.

As a result, Lav and the scouting party members doubted whether the enemy was really preparing a water attack.

‘We’ve searched the area, but there are no signs of people having passed through. Did you see anything unusual, Sir Lav?’

At the scouting party leader’s question, Lav spoke about what he had seen from the air using Fly magic earlier.

‘I didn’t find any traces either. However, I saw a suspicious structure far up the river.’

‘A suspicious structure?’

‘It was too far to be certain, but it looked like a dam made of rocks and trees.’

At Lav’s words, the scouting party leader’s eyes widened.

‘Then that’s what the enemy made…’

‘It’s not certain yet. It could have been caused by a natural phenomenon like a landslide, so we’ll have to get closer to know for sure.’

At Lav’s words, the scouting party continued to move upstream.

After a while, they arrived near their destination and became very wary upon seeing thin smoke rising.

Only intelligent higher beings can use fire. It could be monsters like orcs or goblins, but it was more likely to be humans or elves.

Lav and the scouting party members swallowed hard and cautiously approached the source of the smoke.

‘Could it really be the Imperial army? If so, how many are there roughly?’

In the midst of tension, they arrived at the place with the campfire.

Lav and the scouting party members were dumbfounded by the creature near the campfire.

‘A cat?’

‘It’s a cat, isn’t it?’

A tabby cat.

It was a cat standing on two legs like a person. Wearing boots, the cat was humming a song while grilling fish.

Then, it turned its head towards Lav’s group.

‘Who are these guys peeking at this Sebastian-sama? Why don’t you show yourselves?’

‘I-it even talks?’

But what surprised Lav and the scouting party members even more was something else. Suddenly, the cat’s body swelled up and transformed into a huge beast!

‘Aaaah! It’s a monster!’

‘R-run away!’

The startled scouting party members hurriedly turned and ran.

However, the cat monster, which had instantly blocked their path, spewed out a thick green smoke from its mouth.

‘Kaaah! M-my body!’

The scouting party members who inhaled the smoke convulsed and rolled on the ground.

The only person who was not affected was Lav.

He noticed that the smoke contained a paralyzing poison and quickly flew into the sky.

‘W-what on earth is that cat…?’

Having reached a safe place, Lav looked down with an incredulous expression.

It was definitely not an ordinary cat. But he had never heard of such a strange creature existing on the Rodisia continent.

As Lav was pondering while looking down, a cold voice came from behind him.

‘Hmph, you pathetic cat. If you’re going to handle it, you should have done it cleanly.’

‘……!’

Startled, Lav turned around. There stood a pale-faced man with bat wings.

Lav immediately recognized his identity from his appearance.

‘A vampire?’

‘Call me Belfar-sama, human.’

Belfar drew his sword from his waist and rushed forward.

Lav tried to fight back against the charging Belfar, gathering his magic power. But Belfar’s sword was much faster.

‘Kaaak!’

Lav, having been slashed across the chest, staggered and fell to the ground.

But he was not dead.

As a 6th Circle War Mage, he was skilled in combat, and at the last moment, he reflexively twisted his body to avoid a fatal blow.

‘Not bad. You dodged my sword by a hair’s breadth.’

Although he had avoided a fatal blow, his injury was severe.

Belfar gave a sinister smile as he saw him gasping for breath, clutching his wound.

‘Hehehe! After ending it without pain, I’ll suck all your blood.’

‘You damn demon!’

Lav glared at Belfar, who was bringing his sword down on him.

He had no intention of dying in vain, so he unleashed his trump card, which he had prepared in one hand, towards Belfar.

‘Take this, Black Spear!’

‘What!’

Belfar, who had not expected a dying man to counterattack with black magic, hurriedly tried to dodge the attack.

But he was too close to Lav to dodge.

Just when Belfar thought he would be hit by the attack, a helping hand arrived just in the nick of time.

‘Dark Bullet!’

Bang!

A purple magic bullet, flying at a terrifying speed, annihilated the Black Spear that Lav had manifested.

‘Master!’

‘Damn it, who?’

Unlike Belfar, who was delighted, Lav had a look of dismay.

His eyes caught sight of a man slowly emerging from the bushes.

Dressed in an Imperial army uniform, he was a person Lav had seen before. It was clearly Luke de Rakan, the commander of Tolude Fortress, who had come to offer surrender.

‘Thank you, Master. I’ll cut this guy’s head off right now…’

‘Stop it, Belfar. I have something to ask him later.’

With that, Luke flicked his fingertip lightly towards Lav.

Lav, having received an intangible shock to a vital point, lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Luke looked at him with an interesting gaze.

When he had gone to offer surrender before, he had encountered him in front of the commander’s barracks.

At that time, he had noticed that Lav was practicing black magic, but he had not thought that he would use Black Spear.

Black Spear was a black magic he had created during his Seymon days and had only taught to black mages who followed him.

‘Is he a descendant of the Darkness Magic Tower? Anyway, I’ll have to find out later.’

With that in mind, Luke turned his gaze to Sebastian and Belfar and said,

‘You two keep making a fire like this and lure out the enemy’s scouting party. The existence of the dam must not be revealed until the operation is carried out.’

‘Understood, Master.’

Looking at the two bowing respectfully, Luke turned back to the dam to continue the construction.

2

Four days had passed since Luke had offered surrender.

During that time, both armies exchanged completely ineffective blank shots. The siege was carried out half-heartedly, and the defending side only pretended to block.

Tiron, the commander of the fortress assault force, was more interested in the fortress’s movements and the Northern Army’s movements than in the attack.

However, the state of the fortress remained the same, and there was no change in the movements of the Northern Army. It was as if the Emperor really intended to kill Luke, as not a single support troop had been sent.

‘Are they going to move after we take the fortress?’

Tiron, looking at the information about the Northern Army’s situation sent by the intelligence department, turned his gaze to his adjutant beside him.

‘Is there still no contact from Lav and the scouting party?’

‘No, sir.’

‘What about the scouting parties sent as follow-up?’

‘They are the same. They still seem to be searching…’

The adjutant trailed off.

The upper reaches of the Sane River are quite wide. But the fact that there were no interim reports at all was suspicious.

Tiron felt the same way.

He had a strong feeling that something was suspicious, but since he had no definite information, it was difficult to act rashly.

‘Should I just go and check it out myself?’

Just as Tiron was about to make up his mind, the adjutant changed the subject and gave another report.

‘More than that, the atmosphere in our camp is not good.’

‘Not good?’

‘It seems that the front-line officers and knights are dissatisfied with the fact that we are not rushing the fortress attack.’

The rumor that the commander of Tolude Fortress had come to offer surrender had already spread throughout the assault force.

The rank-and-file soldiers didn’t care how the war went. They just didn’t want to die or get hurt.

However, the officers and knights were different. The Volga Republic was a nation that valued ability over lineage.

If one had ability and achieved merit, even a commoner could become a knight and receive a noble title. Furthermore, by advancing into politics and gaining the support of the National Assembly members, one could even become the President of the Republic.

For ambitious officers and knights, this war was a great opportunity to gain merit. However, they were forced to fire blanks and engage in meaningless attacks to provide an excuse for the enemy commander to surrender, so they couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied.

‘Those fools, do they think this war is for their own advancement?’

‘Even so, we need to appease them.’

‘Tell them to be patient. Once the fortress falls, the Northern Army will react anyway.’

It wouldn’t be too late to have a big fight then.

Despite Tiron’s instructions, the dissatisfaction of the front-line officers and knights did not easily subside. They gathered in small groups and criticized the army’s high command.

‘I don’t know what our commander is trying to do.’

‘Does he really believe the enemy will surrender?’

‘More than that, why should we care about that viscount? He’s just a pompous and corrupt imperial noble anyway.’

‘This is why a mage shouldn’t be a commander.’

‘Wasn’t it all a lie that he led the army and achieved great merit during the Republican Revolution?’

While some knights, blinded by their desire for merit, were vehemently criticizing Marquis Tiron, a red-haired knight slipped into their midst and spoke with a subtle expression.

‘How about doing it this way?’

‘How?’

‘The enemy also knows that we are making fake attacks, so they will be off guard. Then, we launch a surprise attack.’

‘Hmm…’

‘If we’re lucky, we might be able to capture the fortress in one go. Then, the credit will be ours.’

The knights looked intrigued by his suggestion. The red-haired knight, having stirred up the knights’ hearts, turned his steps elsewhere.

After that, he wandered around the camp, subtly instigating other knights and officers. Then, he stopped in surprise in front of a barracks near the fortress. He had come face to face with someone who looked exactly like him, coming out of the barracks.

However, the other person seemed more surprised than he was.

‘Wh-what are you! Are you a doppelganger…?’

The red-haired knight quickly looked around and flashed a purple light in his eyes. Then, the ‘real’ one, who was about to shout in bewilderment, became dazed and then hazy.

‘It’s nothing. You were just surprised to see yourself in the mirror. Understand?’

‘Surprised to see myself in the mirror… surprised to see myself in the mirror…’

The real one, caught in the black magic’s brainwashing, repeated the same words and wandered off blankly. After he disappeared, the red-haired knight released the Reflect magic on his body.

Then, he transformed into Luke de Rakan, wearing the Imperial army uniform.

‘That should be enough, right? If I stir up any more trouble, I might really get caught.’

Luke had noticed that the Republic’s fortress assault force was not a well-integrated organization when he visited to offer surrender. Thinking he could exploit this, he infiltrated the enemy camp while building the dam, gathering information and devising a plan to divide the enemy.

The Republic’s fortress assault force was currently composed of 10,000 central army troops and 50,000 local troops who were former private soldiers of noble lords. Due to their different systems, there were some problems in the transmission and execution of orders.

Moreover, the local troops were reluctant to take orders from the central army officers and knights, and the central army was reluctant to take orders from the local troops’ commanders. Nevertheless, there was a commonality between the two sides: their desire for advancement. They had a strong desire for war merits and a sense of competition related to it.

Therefore, the words Luke had thrown out while passing by greatly shook their hearts and created a rift in the unity of the assault force.

‘Now I need to go back and prepare. And also prepare the final blow…’

Luke activated his Invisibility magic and disappeared. Then, he leisurely left the Republic army camp and headed towards the fortress.

3

On the morning of the fifth day. That day, as usual, the Republic army’s attack began.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

‘Today, we will definitely capture the fortress!’

‘Long live the Republic! Long live the President!’

However, this day’s attack was quite different from the meaningless attacks of the past few days. The cannonballs repeatedly struck the walls or fell inside the fortress, and the enemy Gigantes [large, humanoid war machines] and assault troops, charging fiercely, rushed forward as if they would break down or climb over the walls.

The Imperial soldiers’ eyes widened at the fierce and savage attack, similar to when they first attacked the fortress.

‘Wh-what is this?’

‘These guys are really trying to attack?’

‘Now that I see it, the nonsense they did for the past few days was a trick to make us lower our guard!’

‘If you have time to chatter, fight the enemy!’

‘Cannonballs are falling! Hurry up and resupply…!’

‘Stop the enemy Gigantes from climbing the walls!’

Urgent shouts were heard from everywhere. Each time, the soldiers and Gigantes inside the fortress busily moved around the walls. However, a serious cry, which had not been heard even during the fierce battles of the past, erupted from the eastern wall.

‘The wall, the wall is collapsing!’

The eastern wall was heavily cracked, as if it would collapse at any moment. It had been severely damaged in the previous battles, and no proper repairs had been made due to Luke’s orders.

‘Wh-what should we do?’

‘What are you doing! Don’t just stand there, quickly bring logs to reinforce it!’

At Alex’s shout, the soldiers who had been wringing their hands ran to the warehouse to get reinforcements. However, Alex could not guarantee that the wall would be safe until they returned.

But it was at that moment.

‘Everyone, get out of the way!!’

A Gigante appeared with a loud shout. Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Gigante was Achilles, Luke’s personal unit. Achilles ran towards the eastern wall, shaking the ground fiercely. And he threw his heavy steel body towards the collapsing wall.

Kwaaaang!

‘Uwaaagh!’

‘Kuaaaagh!’

The wall collapsed. It exploded outwards, not inwards. Due to the impact, the Republic Gigantes, who were diligently breaking the wall, tumbled backward, and the assault troops, who were preparing to break through, were covered by the wall fragments.

‘Th-that’s absurd…!’

Alex couldn’t close his mouth, his narrow eyes wide open. When he heard the shout to get out of the way, he thought Luke was just trying to stop the wall from collapsing with the Gigante’s power. But he broke it instead!

‘The wall has collapsed!’

‘Everyone, break through!’

The Republic Gigantes, who had hesitated for a moment due to the collapse of the wall, began to rush in. Luke, who was riding Achilles, drew his greatsword. And he fought against the Republic Gigantes that were rushing in.

‘Die!’

Luke, having deflected the attack of the Republic Gigante who was charging at the front, quickly turned his greatsword and stabbed it into the abdomen where the enemy unit’s core engine was located. Crack!

‘Huuuuh!’

The rider of the enemy Gigante hurriedly twisted his unit, so he was able to avoid the greatsword directly hitting the core engine. Luke kicked the damaged enemy Gigante away and launched a magic attack at another enemy Gigante that was rushing in.

‘Fireball!’

Whoosh!

Although Fireball was a simple attack magic, its power was comparable to Fire Explosion because it was amplified by the Gigante’s core engine. Moreover, Luke’s magic power was extraordinary, so the Gigante hit by the Fireball was destroyed to the point where half of its upper body, including its head, was blown away.

Luke, having seized the greatsword of the destroyed enemy Gigante, continued to fight against the Republic Gigantes who were attacking him in succession, wielding two greatswords.

‘Help the commander!’

‘Quickly repair the wall!’

While the Gigantes ridden by Philip and Kaper supported Luke, the mages squeezed out their magic power and filled the collapsed part of the wall with Stone Edge magic. The soldiers also helped with the repairs by pushing in sacks of dirt, logs, and broken cannons.

While the Imperial soldiers of the fortress were fighting fiercely, a long bugle call was heard from the Republic army camp.

‘What is it? It’s a retreat signal?’

‘It doesn’t matter! Keep pushing forward!’

The Republic officers and knights who had launched the attack tried to ignore the retreat signal. However, after the shelling stopped and even the auxiliary infantry retreated, they had to retreat with tears in their eyes.

‘Whew, we won.’

Although he had induced it, Luke let out a sigh of relief because the enemy’s attack was unexpectedly fiercer than he had anticipated. Anyway, the enemy had retreated, and he could imagine what would happen in the enemy camp afterward.

‘That’s when we strike a proper blow.’

Luke, judging that it was time to break the dam he had worked so hard to build, opened Achilles’ hatch and flew to the upper reaches of the Sane River.

4

‘Who told you to launch such an attack!’

As Luke had predicted, the Republic army camp was in an uproar. Tiron, who had full authority over the fortress assault force, rebuked the commanders of each unit for actively attacking the fortress, ignoring his orders.

‘It’s one thing to drop the rice in the pot [a saying meaning to ruin something], but this is too much! If we had left it alone, they would have opened the gates tomorrow, so why did you do this useless thing!’

‘I’m sorry, Commander. Some hot-blooded subordinates were blinded by their desire for merit…’

‘Shut up! It would be one thing if one or two had committed such a deviation, but how do you explain that the Gigante unit, the artillery unit, and the infantry unit all launched a systematic attack? Doesn’t that mean that they had conspired beforehand!’

The commanders could only sweat profusely at Tiron’s scolding, unable to say anything. His words were true. This attack was truly a major accident.

It was a problem that the promise made with the fortress side had been broken, but it was an even bigger problem that the front-line officers and knights had ignored the military orders issued by the headquarters. The military is based on the principle of command and obedience.

A corps that is not controlled is just a disorganized rabble, and no matter how large the number, it will collapse like a sandcastle. That is why Tiron, who belatedly heard about the situation, was furious and issued a retreat order.

‘This war is not just about capturing the fortress! We also have the mission of luring the Imperial Northern Army, but how can we carry it out properly like this!’

‘W-we are sorry, Commander.’

‘Please forgive us… The local troops were former private soldiers of the lords, so please understand that they are not yet accustomed to being controlled by the central army.’

It was when the commanders of each unit were trying to make excuses on behalf of their subordinates. Tiron said with a firm expression.

‘I don’t want to hear it! Immediately find the people involved! I will show you the severity of my military law!’

At his words, the commanders’ faces turned pale all at once. Disobeying orders was a serious crime that could not be avoided by immediate execution in wartime. If they were wrong, the officers and knights could be massacred.

‘Commander, please reconsider!’

‘I can’t! It is only right to strictly apply military law for the sake of future mission execution!’

‘It was just a mistake by the hot-blooded young knights. Please forgive them…’

While the command tent was in an uproar, the Republic army camp was also in a state of turmoil. Among the officers and knights who had disobeyed orders, some were belatedly regretting their ‘crazy actions,’ but there were more who were showing dissatisfaction, saying, ‘What did we do wrong?’

‘Damn it, if we had continued the attack a little longer, we could have captured the fortress!’

‘That’s right, if the commander hadn’t interfered…’

“Shut up! Because of your pointless actions, the Imperial bastards in the fortress are resisting to the very end!”

“What’s going on?”

The chaotic and unsettling atmosphere did not easily subside even after the sun set that day.

The person with the biggest headache because of this was Commander Marquis Tyron. It seemed as if the unit would be split in two if things continued this way.

Together with his staff and commanders, he held a long meeting regarding this incident and the upcoming fortress attack.

However, they failed to come up with a definite solution.

What was even more frustrating was that they had missed the opportunity to take over the fortress for free.

‘Should I send a messenger to explain that it wasn’t intentional? No, even I wouldn’t believe it. And if Luke had no intention of surrendering in the first place…’

The most concerning thing was that there was no news from Rav and the reconnaissance units sent to the upper reaches of the Sand River.

If they only knew what was happening upstream, they would have acted without hesitation, unlike now.

Whether to attack and occupy the fortress, or to send a messenger to negotiate again.

‘Should I fly up there myself to find out?’

Tyron had thought about flying up there himself more than once out of frustration.

However, while that might be possible for an ordinary mage, he was currently the commander leading an army of 60,000.

No matter how many staff and commanders he had under him, he couldn’t just leave his post.

Moreover, as today’s events showed, the unity of this fortress assault force was not very good. If he took his eyes off them even for a moment, an even more serious situation could occur.

“Haa, nothing seems to be working out.”

During the revolution in the past, there were no such troublesome issues.

The distinction between when to advance and when to retreat was clear, and the revolutionaries were filled with pure zeal to carry out their ideals.

However, such a sight was rarely seen in the young knights and officers of today.

It was when Tyron was letting out a long sigh that an adjutant rushed in from outside and reported.

“Your Excellency! It’s a disaster, Your Excellency!”

“What’s all the fuss about?” Tyron said, scolding him, but he was startled by the adjutant’s following words.

“Some soldiers and knights are now leaving the camp.”

“What? Leaving the camp?”

Leaving the camp without the order of a superior was desertion.

Following the insubordination during the day, now desertion!

Tyron, who was beyond angry and dumbfounded, heard an unusual story from the adjutant.

“But most of the deserters are elves or their half-bloods. They say they must abandon this camp and run away. They say a terribly ominous energy is rushing in fiercely…”

‘Ominous energy, you say?’

If it were ordinary soldiers, he would have ordered them to be summarily executed without much thought.

However, the elves and those with their blood were different.

Even though the elves of this era had lost the power of the spirits, many of them had a fundamentally different mental sense than humans.

Therefore, the intelligent ones easily became mages, and even those who were not had considerable intuition.

If it were just one or two, it wouldn’t matter, but if the elves and those with their blood felt a sense of foreboding as a group, it meant that there was some basis for it.

Moreover, wasn’t Tyron himself expecting an element that could cause anxiety a few days ago?

“Let those guys go. And issue a retreat order to the entire army.”

“Your Excellency?”

“Hurry! If you dawdle, we could all die!”

At Tyron’s urging, the adjutant hurriedly ran out of the tent.

Soon, a bell signaling an emergency rang throughout the camp, and the commanders delivered the commander’s orders to the bewildered knights and soldiers.

“Immediately abandon the camp and retreat to the mainland across the river. Pack the minimum amount of weapons and supplies and move.”

“Yes? What’s going on?”

“Has the Imperial Northern Army arrived?”

“I don’t know either. Just do as you’re told!”

Tyron’s orders were known throughout the camp, but the speed of response varied from unit to unit and person to person.

The central army, which was loyal to the commander’s orders, acted quickly, and those who usually trusted the elves’ unique intuition also quickly packed their gear.

However, the local armies, who did not take the elves seriously or had many complaints about the commander, only grumbled and did not move properly.

“Geez, what is this supposed to be?”

“Anyway, a mage shouldn’t be a commander.”

“What if nothing happens after all this?”

However, even those who were grumbling and sitting still could not hold out until the end. Soon, the sound of disaster approaching began to be heard.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“What on earth is that sound?”

“It’s not an earthquake, could it be…”

“Damn it, it’s a water attack! The Imperial bastards are launching a water attack!”

If it had been daytime, they would have been able to see the terrifying torrent of water pouring down from the upper reaches.

However, since it was night, they could only hear the sound of the water rushing in fiercely.

Rather, that fact brought even greater fear to the Republic army.

Those who had already crossed the river hurriedly ran to higher ground, and those who moved late threw away their gear and ran, or pushed their allies to cross the river in a scramble.

Swoosh!

“Aaaah! Help me!”

“Keek!”

The fierce torrent of water, which instantly covered the dried-up river, swallowed those who were slow to act.

Not only the low-ranking soldiers but also expert-level knights were helplessly swept away.

Large and small stones and logs that floated down with the water struck the survivors struggling in the dark and rough currents.

But sadly, no one dared to offer them a helping hand.

5

The next morning.

The Sand River, with its water level returned to normal, sparkled in the morning sunlight.

Unlike the dazzlingly beautiful scenery of the water’s surface, the scenery of the riverbank was terrifying.

Everywhere, there was a gruesome scene of giants, cannons, and other weapons, as well as the corpses of soldiers, mixed together and buried in the sediment.

Erewine, who was floating in the sky and looking at the horrific scene, approached Luke and opened her mouth sarcastically.

“Congratulations. You’ve become a great general who will be remembered in the history of the Empire.”

“Why don’t you just call me a mass murderer who slaughtered tens of thousands of people?”

“That’s probably how it is from the perspective of the Volga Republic.”

Even Luke had thought that as he was collapsing the dam last night.

His actions would be remembered as a hero to some, and as a mass murderer to others.

Even when a war broke out, it was rare for tens of thousands of lives to be taken in an instant.

Moreover, it was not a fair fight, and a victory through strategy was bound to be a good topic of conversation among the gossips.

‘Anyway, I was thrown into war, and fighting and winning was the best choice for me, my territory, and my vassals.’

Luke wore a determined expression.

He was used to criticism. Even 500 years ago, he was the target of resentment as the Demon King.

At that time, he also advocated for a cause for revenge and a world where people could live like people, but quite a few people died on both sides.

The soldiers he had dealt with this time were only a handful compared to the battles of the past.

And there was one puzzling point.

Despite his efforts to cause a division in the enemy ranks, the enemy had taken surprisingly quick action.

Because of that, there were fewer casualties than initially expected.

“Did someone tell them?”

“…There are many elves and their descendants in the Republic army. They all have a different mental sense than humans.”

Erewine answered Luke’s question with a non sequitur.

Luke was convinced that this ice-cold elf woman had tipped off her country’s army. Because Erewine was away when he collapsed the dam.

And no matter how different their mental sense was, it was an unreliable sense compared to sight, hearing, or smell.

He thought that there must be another reason to give a legion the confidence to move.

However, Luke had no intention of blaming her for her actions. He understood her feelings.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Counterattack, of course,” Luke replied as if asking the obvious.

He had no intention of letting the Republic army go so easily.

He didn’t have any particular bad feelings towards the Volga Republic, and he didn’t want to give the Emperor a victory, but he intended to take full advantage of the opportunity he had seized.

He planned to gain merit through this war.

If he gained merit, he would get rewards accordingly.

Whether his rank was raised, he was granted a new territory, or his service period was shortened, it would be beneficial to his revenge and survival in many ways.

“As soon as the giants are repaired, we’ll push forward. I hope you’ll do a good job as a guide then.”

“You’ll be recorded as a traitor in history.”

“No, that won’t happen.”

Luke, who said that so firmly, revealed the anger he had kept deep in his heart and burned his eyes.

“Because I’ll make sure you play a part in overthrowing the Baroque Empire.”

“…!”

Erewine’s expression changed.

Because of her family history, she thought that Luke had a lot of dissatisfaction with the Baroque Imperial family.

However, the burning anger she felt in his eyes just now was not a simple dissatisfaction, but a strong will.

That strong will felt like the wind.

A wind that would become a storm.

‘Could this person be the one my teacher talked about?’

Erewine, who had been wondering, came to her senses at Luke’s urging.

“Anyway, let’s hurry. If we dawdle, the bastards will all run away.”

“Okay.”

A storm that would shake the continent.

Erewine decided to put that thought aside for now. She needed to watch him a little more before she could be sure.

“Ah! How could this happen…”

Commander Tyron pounded his chest countless times with his trembling fist.

Although he had hurriedly issued a retreat order, at least 20,000 soldiers had been sacrificed in this water attack.

The detailed damage would have to be assessed, but the approximate damage could be calculated by looking at the regimental flags of each unit that had been recovered so far.

However, it was not a situation where they could just estimate the damage.

In their hasty retreat, they had abandoned most of their food and weapons, and most importantly, they had not been able to take any of the giants and cannons.

Because they were the heaviest.

Without giants and cannons, it was almost impossible to carry out the war.

Therefore, Tyron tried to cross the river again to recover them, but he soon gave up.

Giants and artillerymen had come out of the fortress and were setting up camp in the Republic camp that had been swept away.

Moreover, the soldiers were scattered by the aftermath of the water attack. In particular, the local armies had the most desertions.

The local armies, who had the most complaints about the commander, had suffered great damage because they had not listened to the orders and had been slow to move, and because of that, they had the most deserters.

“Your Excellency, it would be best to withdraw the troops and reorganize…”

At the suggestions of the adjutant and staff, Tyron made a frustrated expression and let out a long sigh. No matter how much he thought about it, that was the most realistic option.

“How can I face my commander-in-chief!”

He had set out as a veteran, but he had failed to lure the Imperial Northern Army and had not even captured the Tolud Fortress.

But unfortunately, Tyron’s nightmare did not end there.

Luke, who had quickly finished repairing the giants, began a counterattack by crossing the river.

The Republic army gnashed their teeth as they watched the Imperial giants marching so boldly into the Republic’s territory.

However, all they could do was retreat with tears in their eyes, as they were no more than ants in front of giants.

Emperor of Steel [EN]

Emperor of Steel [EN]

강철대제
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In the realm of dark magic, Shaymon stood unrivaled, mastering the deepest and most formidable arts. Yet, his unparalleled prowess became his undoing when he was wrongfully accused of being a Demon King and met a premature death. Defiant in his final moments, Shaymon's indomitable will propels him 500 years into the future, granting him a second chance at life. However, fate plays a cruel jest: he is reborn as the descendant of his former nemesis, the revered Sword Emperor. In this new era, where the legacies of magic and swordsmanship intertwine, Shaymon must navigate the intricate dynamics of his inherited lineage while confronting remnants of his past. Armed with ancient knowledge and a renewed purpose, he embarks on a journey to reclaim his destiny, challenging the very fabric of time and power. Dive into a tale of reincarnation, redemption, and the relentless pursuit of truth in "Emperor of Steel."

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