Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 69

3. Return

1

Before returning to the Rakan territory, Luke decided to visit Jason’s territory, located just outside the border. He hadn’t had a chance to look around since the Dark Moon had relocated there.

‘Besides, I have something to pick up there.’

After the Scarlet group departed and he finished his work in the Alberville territory, he summoned his subordinates.

He informed Philip and the Rakan Knights that he would be briefly inspecting Jason’s territory, but he fabricated a different story for his mercenary subordinates.

“I’m heading to the Imperial Capital for a bit.”

“What? Why the Imperial Capital all of a sudden?”

“I received an urgent message from the Holy Imperial Palace. It’ll take a few days, so don’t slack off and do as you’re told.”

“Yes, please don’t worry and have a safe trip.”

Despite their lord’s sudden departure, the mercenaries didn’t harbor any significant doubts.

It was common for powerful lords in the provinces to seek positions in the capital, engage in political networking, and maintain their influence.

Moreover, Luke’s situation was unique.

“They say the new lord is dating His Holiness the Pope, is that true?”

“It’s true. Rumor has it they even danced together at a banquet.”

“Hahaha. Was the urgent matter a date?”

“He’s in his prime. How could he focus on work while missing his love?”

Unaware of the strange rumors circulating in the territory, Luke pretended to head to the Imperial Capital and crossed the border under the cover of night.

“Wow, I’d heard about it, but this really is the edge of the border.”

Luke was struck by the sight of the winding mountain ranges and the dense forests of the highlands.

He knew Jason’s territory was underdeveloped, but he hadn’t expected the roads to be so poorly maintained.

‘It’s probably because there aren’t any valuable resources or specialties, but there must be a military reason too.’

Perhaps because of its proximity to the Holy Empire, they had simply left it undeveloped, effectively eliminating one potential invasion route for the enemy.

Conversely, even if the Baroque Empire tried to use it as an invasion route, it wouldn’t be very useful. The territories in the western part of the Holy Empire, including the Alberville territory, were heavily fortified.

‘Anyway, the Dark Moon guys must have had a tough time settling in.’

Luke felt a pang of guilt for pushing them to produce Gigantes [large, humanoid war machines] and develop Hero-class units.

“I heard the magic tower was built by remodeling the old lord’s castle? If I fly, I’ll be there soon.”

After a quick look at the map, Luke flew to the highlands where the Dark Moon Magic Tower was located.

“Have you arrived, Grandmaster!”

Meister Johas, who had received a message from his disciple Lav about Luke’s arrival, hurried to the reception room and bowed.

“Why did you come out when you’re busy? I could have found my way to your office.”

“How could I trouble the Grandmaster? I wanted to bring all the disciples out to greet you, but I thought you wouldn’t want that, so this old man came out alone.”

“I see. Well done.”

For the time being, Luke intended to keep his relationship with the Dark Moon a secret.

He knew the old-fashioned vassals of the Rakan family would be shocked if they found out, and he didn’t want to reveal his identity to other black mages except for Johas and Lav.

‘It would be a disaster if my identity were revealed to the world.’

With that in mind, Luke spoke to Johas, who was watching him closely.

“Anyway, since I’ve come all this way, I’d like to take a look around the magic tower.”

“I will guide you myself.”

Johas volunteered to lead the way.

Luke, pulling his hood down, followed him out of the reception room.

The appearance of the two men caught the attention of several black mages.

“Who is that? Judging by his attire, he looks like a noble?”

“Hmm, judging by how respectfully the Meister is treating him, he must be a high-ranking noble or official from the Republic. Maybe he’s the president’s right-hand man.”

“Is he here to pressure us to produce Hero-class units?”

“They don’t give us anything, but they want so much.”

Everyone shook their heads and soon lost interest.

Luke, chuckling at their reaction, headed to the production workshop with Johas.

2

Chiiik, chiik!

Tuk-ttak, tuk-ttak! Clang, clang!

The heat in the Gigante production workshop was intense.

In each workshop, dozens of mages, engineers, and workers were sweating profusely, working on producing parts in their respective areas.

Every time the magic-fueled flames and various magical machines moved, the metal took shape, and magic circles clearly appeared on the surface.

Luke, watching the process from behind, exclaimed in admiration.

“Amazing. It’s only been about two years, but you’ve managed to set up a workshop of this scale. Above all, I’m amazed at how meticulously organized it is.”

The scale of the workshops was larger than the Katarina Magic Tower, which had recently expanded its production facilities significantly.

It was comparable to the headquarters of the Veritas Magic Tower, one of the top 10 magic towers on the continent.

At Luke’s praise, Johas replied with a proud expression.

“We’ve increased the size of the production workshop by about three times compared to before, and we’ve also expanded various research labs and assembly workshops by more than twice the previous size. We’ve also maximized the efficiency of production facilities and various magical tools. All of this is thanks to the Grandmaster’s support.”

In addition to providing the territory, Luke’s slush funds had been used to construct the Dark Moon Magic Tower.

When they were struggling with a lack of funds, Luke had provided a large sum of money.

This fund was part of the gold bars produced from the mines of the Rakan Marquisate and the profits of the Kirillov Trading Company, which had been secretly stockpiled by Luke’s vassals for emergencies.

“How is the staffing situation?”

As the scale had increased, more mages, engineers, and workers would be needed to fill it.

“As a matter of fact, we’ve recalled all the disciples and members of the magic tower who were dispatched to various parts of the Republic. The remaining positions are being filled by acquiring slaves or gathering wanderers.”

According to Johas, there were far more wanderers living in hiding and cultivating fields in Jason’s territory than was known.

Most of them were people who had fled their hometowns to avoid heavy taxes, and their lives were difficult due to monsters and slave hunters.

“So, when our magic tower provides them with food and protects them from danger, they are very grateful. Of course, we don’t just give them carrots; we also use the stick by setting rules and preventing them from leaving.”

“Good. But if they know you’re black mages, they’ll be quite reluctant, won’t they?”

“Well, most of them are ignorant and don’t know the difference between regular magic and black magic, so it’s not a big problem. And we’re also educating them in a way that’s close to brainwashing.”

The slaves were even more proactive than the wanderers.

They had been promised freedom after a certain period of labor, and they harbored a strong resentment towards the world that had enslaved them.

The black mages of the Dark Moon were using their anger and rebellious nature to integrate them into the magic tower.

“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about that. The reason our magic tower has been able to operate in secret for over 500 years is because we have considerable expertise in discovering, nurturing, and managing talent.”

“That’s a relief.”

Finally, Johas led Luke to the Gigante storage area located at the innermost part of the magic tower.

There, three new Hero-class Gigantes, recently completed, stood majestically.

They were 15 meters tall from head to toe.

Their imposing physiques seemed capable of crushing any ordinary Gigante in an instant.

The heavy outer armor, covered with various magic circles, exuded a powerful force that seemed capable of splitting mountains and cleaving the sea just by looking at it.

‘Amazing! It’s like a giant from legend is standing in front of me!’

There was a reason why a lifeless weapon gave off such a powerful aura.

The intense will, determination, and sincerity of the creators were completely infused into their work.

In other words, these new Hero-class Gigantes were at a level that could be called ‘masterpieces’ beyond mere masterpieces.

After admiring the Gigantes for a while, Luke asked Johas.

“Is this what you made based on the Atlas blueprint I gave you?”

“Yes, we named it ‘Orion’.”

“Orion… Is it named after a giant from mythology like Atlas?”

Previously, Luke had given the Dark Moon a blueprint for a new Hero-class Gigante that he had stolen from the Veritas Magic Tower.

The Dark Moon had used that blueprint to accelerate the development of the new Gigante, which had been lagging, and after two years of research and trial and error, they had completed three prototypes.

“Would you like to try riding it?”

At Johas’s question, Luke readily nodded.

Since his reincarnation, he had come to love interacting with and developing Gigantes as much as exploring the path of truth.

“Then, please board the one in the middle. Unlike the others, it has a special magic function added to it.”

“A special magic function?”

“You’ll know once you ride it.”

At Johas’s urging, Luke quickly boarded the cockpit of Orion.

– Please equip the Helm.

‘Huh?’

As soon as Luke sat in the cockpit, he heard the voice of a beautiful woman.

Slightly surprised, he looked around and saw an object that looked like a helmet placed in front of the cockpit.

Curiosity arose at the unusual shape that covered his head, face, and even his eyes, and Luke looked inside the helmet.

There were magic circles with small squares and magical characters engraved on them.

‘Oh, is this perhaps…’

With a gleam of interest in his eyes, Luke put on the helm.

Then, a new voice was heard in his ear.

– The Orion’s control system and the rider’s senses are entering synchronization. You may experience slight dizziness, so please remove the helmet if you feel anything unusual.

It felt like a flash of light entered his dark vision, and then his vision widened, and the scenery inside the storage area came into clear view.

However, the field of vision was much wider than what he would normally see through the panoramic site of the cockpit. It was as if he was seeing all around through the Gigante’s two eyes.

“Haha. Is this what the helm’s function is?”

Johas’s voice reached Luke’s ears as he let out a sigh of admiration.

“Grandmaster, the helm you just used has mental magic that the Dark Moon has been researching for a long time. So, when you use the helm, it feels like the Gigante and the rider have become one.”

“Indeed! If you link the senses of the Gigante and the rider in this way, you can increase the reaction speed even more!”

“I guarantee that the reaction speed will be significantly faster than any Gigante developed on the continent to date, including Atlas.”

“I suppose so. But it will take some time to adapt.”

Luke started to move Orion to feel the Gigante’s reaction speed.

He spread his arms and swung them, walked in place, and then increased his speed and ran.

Later, he picked up a practice greatsword and swung it lightly, then swung it down at a steel scarecrow standing on one side of the storage area.

Shwack-!

It was just one cut.

The steel scarecrow, which had been cut from its left shoulder to its right side, fell diagonally.

Kooong!

As the vibration caused by the scarecrow falling subsided, Johas approached and explained.

“The output is 3,700 phytes, which is higher than Atlas.”

“It seems so. But to really feel it, this doesn’t seem like enough, does it?”

“Then, how about a sparring match?”

There is nothing better than combat to test the performance of a Gigante.

Luke, who readily accepted Johas’s proposal, drove Orion out of the storage area.

3

As if they had been told to prepare in advance, five Gigantes were waiting on the training ground.

They were ‘Pierrot’, Knight-class Gigantes with an output of 2,200 phytes produced by the Dark Moon.

It was named that because of its large, round nose, and despite its comical appearance, its performance was quite excellent, to the point that it was currently being used as the main force by the capital defense forces of the Volga Republic.

“The riders on board are also highly skilled. Shall we have some fun?”

Luke slowly advanced Orion. The Pierrot riders quickly deployed, encircling Orion.

Whir-! Whir!

Hooks attached to chains shot from the gauntlets of the two Pierrots on either side.

As soon as the hooks wrapped around Orion’s arms and pulled, the remaining three launched their attack.

“Hah. That’s quite something, but it won’t work on me.”

Luke lightly activated lightning magic.

The amplified electricity from the core engine instantly surged through Orion’s arms, then through the chains to the Pierrots.

“Kuh!”

The electrocuted riders lost control, and Luke immediately counterattacked.

He yanked the Gigantes that had hooked him and hurled them at the attacking Pierrots.

“Ugh! Watch out!”

Clang! Thud!

Luke swung the Gigantes like flails, and the panicked riders hastily cut the chains.

They tried to regroup, but Luke struck first.

He plunged into the Gigantes and swung his training greatsword.

Crack! Crunch!

“Kuh. Don’t panic, counterattack…”

“No, I can’t keep up with his movements!”

The sparring match against the five Pierrots was completely one-sided.

Luke didn’t use any Gigantic Aura or the Gold Sword. The only magic he used was the initial lightning.

Nevertheless, he toyed with the Pierrots, using Orion’s overwhelming power and superior reaction speed.

“Amazing. Truly amazing!”

After the sparring match, Luke’s face was flushed as he opened the hatch and climbed out.

At his praise, Johas smiled contentedly and began to explain the development process.

“Actually, the prototype of Orion was completed three months after the Patriarch [Luke] gave us the blueprints.”

They already had experience making the bio-golem Goliath, so even though it was a Hero-class, there were no major difficulties in manufacturing it according to the blueprints.

“However, the reason the prototype was delayed was because we became ambitious while making the Gigante.”

That ambition was to create an unprecedented Gigante that had never existed in the magical world.

The elders of the Dark Moon, not satisfied with creating a Gigante with the same performance as Atlas, began to brainstorm.

As a result, they developed and installed a core engine with higher output. By incorporating mental magic into the cockpit, they were able to bring out 100 percent, no, 120 percent of the Gigante’s performance.

“Actually, some of the Dark Moon elders had been researching mental magic related to synchronization since the development of Goliath. However, they experienced trial and error in applying this magic function to ordinary Gigantes.”

Bio-golems are basically organic. They are cultivated with special magic solutions, and except for the fact that they do not have digestive organs, they are no different from the human body.

Therefore, it was easy to apply the synchronization function using mental magic.

“But ordinary Gigantes are lumps of metal. Just as organic and inorganic materials cannot be synthesized, the magic functions applied to Goliath could not be directly transferred.”

“So that’s why you developed that helm. It’s a method of converting the visual information entering the Gigante into mana waves that the brain’s nerves recognize, right?”

“As expected of the Patriarch. You grasped the theory immediately!”

“No, you guys are the amazing ones. I only had a rough idea, but I couldn’t actually create it.”

Anyway, it took some time to make the helm with the synchronization function.

“The problem is the cost. Orion, which uses a helm with a synchronization function, requires a rare magical material called radium alloy and special processing…”

“So, what was the cost of making one unit?”

At Luke’s direct question, Johas, who had been doing some mental calculations, answered.

“Including development costs, it cost a total of 600,000 pesos.”

“Hmm. That’s equivalent to the annual tax revenue of a decent barony.”

“Still, the unit price will drop once mass production begins. Orions that don’t use the synchronization helm will be even cheaper.”

Even so, the production cost of a Hero-class Gigante is enormous. No matter how excellent a weapon is, if it is expensive, you cannot have many of them.

Although he had become quite wealthy, there were limits to the resources of the Lakan March.

‘However, Hero-class weapons are strategic assets that cannot be easily obtained no matter how much money you give. Considering that…’

Luke, who was contemplating a secret plan, gave instructions to Johas.

“I’ll provide enough funds, so start by producing two standard-spec Orions per year.”

“Understood, Patriarch.”

“And let’s find a material to replace the radium alloy. If we work together, we’ll surely find a way.”

Luke stored the three prototypes in the subspace of his ring.

He planned to give them to Baron Rogers, the commander of the territory’s army, and the two knights’ commanders.

In addition to this, Luke also received six Knight-class Gigantes and twenty Warrior-class Gigantes.

These Gigantes were to be provided to the newly formed Red Wolf Knights in the Alverville territory, disguised as having been purchased from magic towers with which Luke had connections.

“By the way, Patriarch.”

It was when Luke, having finished his business, was about to turn around to leave.

Johas spoke with a slightly stiff face.

“A few days ago, I received a message from a disciple who infiltrated the Veritas Magic Tower, saying that a large amount of supplies are being secretly moved somewhere.”

Johas had long ago infiltrated some of his young disciples into the Veritas Magic Tower, his sworn enemy.

They had become established spies and had been steadily bringing information. Recently, they had delivered a piece of news.

A considerable amount of magical items and food were being secretly transported from the Veritas Magic Tower to an unknown location.

The fixed spy was not yet in a high position, so he could not find out the location or scale.

“Hmph, has Arsen’s foxhole finally revealed itself?”

Although the Immortal Legion and the Holy Empire’s Imperial Magic Tower had intervened, Arsen and the Veritas Magic Tower had several opportunities to wipe out the reformists.

But they kept dragging their feet.

Luke thought that they had something up their sleeves, and it seemed that a clue had finally been found.

There were several things they could do with magical items and food.

They could secretly raise a magic corps, mass-produce black mages, or create undead like zombies or ghouls.

‘I should go take a look. I have a gift I want to give them.’

Luke, with a meaningful smile, returned to the Alverville territory. After handing over the Gigantes he had brought, he returned to the Lakan March with Philip and Hwangbo-sung.

4

“You’ve worked hard, Lord.”

“I’m so glad you returned safely.”

As soon as Luke returned, his retainers welcomed him all at once.

Luke, who had moved to the conference room, told them about what had happened in the Holy Empire.

Although he omitted some matters that had to be kept secret, his retainers were surprised and impressed as his story progressed.

“Ah!”

“Such a thing happened!”

“It’s such a relief that you reunited with Princess Reina.”

They were all as happy as if it were their own business that Luke had met Reina again, who had become the Pope of the Holy Empire.

They had been watching from the sidelines how much Luke had missed her for the past two years while she was missing.

“But it’s really hard to believe that the Princess has become the Pope of the Holy Empire.”

“What’s so unbelievable? Looking at the Princess’s faithful actions, she’s perfect for the position of Pope, isn’t she?”

“Indeed, there is no one more suitable for the position of Pope than her.”

After a while, when the atmosphere had calmed down, Luke issued a strict order to keep the fact that Reina had become Pope a secret.

“The reason Reina didn’t return and stayed is to stabilize the Holy Empire and support me. The problem is that there are still forces within the Holy Empire who are dissatisfied with Reina. The Constantine faction that was recently ousted is also one of them.”

“Hmm…”

“Although Grand Duke Gregory is supporting her, we must not leak any information that could give them an excuse.”

The problem was also in the Baroque Empire.

If it became known that the new Pope of the Holy Empire was Luke’s lover, Reina, the Emperor’s faction would immediately try to keep him in check.

Luke’s retainers were not the type to misunderstand his words, so they all nodded.

“Anyway, has anything else happened?”

Luke had roughly heard about the situation in the territory through Argos’s informants.

However, he did not know about recent events.

Hans, the butler, answered on behalf of the others.

“A few days ago, someone who introduced himself as Prince Aslan of the Conrad Kingdom requested an audience with you, Lord.”

‘Prince Aslan?’

As far as Luke knew, the Perriad ducal family had escaped from Elbera and disappeared.

He had heard that they had fled to some distant place, but Prince Aslan had appeared alone in the Baroque Empire and requested an audience?

“So, what happened?”

“We thought it was suspicious, so we postponed the audience for various reasons, and he just left. It seems he was probably a fake.”

“Is that so?”

Dozens of people came to see Luke every day.

Among them, there were many who claimed to be the successors of some fallen kingdom or the heirs of noble families, but nine out of ten were swindlers trying to extort money from him.

“Oh, by the way, did Finance Officer Dixon leave safely?”

“Yes, he left secretly ten days ago with the lower-level administrators he had selected to help him govern the Alverville territory.”

“Good. But have you still not found any trace of that guy, Shaikhan?”

While Luke was in the Holy Empire, the orc hero Shaikhan had come to the territory and inflicted a crushing defeat on Rogers and Copper, as well as the high-ranking knights.

He had also attacked Belfar, who was quietly training.

It seemed that he was behind the monsters that were causing a commotion in the Baroque Empire, so he had ordered Hudson, the head of Argos, to find his whereabouts.

“We’ve mobilized all the Argos agents to search, but he’s still nowhere to be found.”

“Is that so? Then there’s nothing we can do. Let’s stop the search.”

Luke was concerned about Shaikhan, but he didn’t feel too impatient.

He thought that if he had business with him, he would come back here again.

“What’s the atmosphere like between the noble faction and the emperor’s faction? Is there any sign of civil war?”

At Luke’s question, Hans thought for a moment before answering.

“Recently, the Emperor’s faction has become more active. Because of that, the conflict is increasing, but they seem to be refraining from any definite clashes.”

‘Should I step in?’

Luke had solid evidence that the Emperor had intervened in the civil war of the Holy Empire.

If he handed this over to the noble faction, they would not stand still.

If he played a little trick, it would be possible for it to escalate into a civil war.

“What did you do with Princess Magreta?”

“Sir Sebastian appeased her and she left a few days ago. Oh, how much she tried not to leave… If it hadn’t been for Sir Sebastian, it would have been a huge hassle.”

“Well, Sebastian is better at dealing with women than I am.”

The retainers of the Lakan March knew Sebastian as a talented person who Luke had secretly recruited when he went to support the Navarr Principality.

Although he was a frivolous playboy, he was a master of disguise, so he was the only person who could replace Luke when he was absent.

“By the way, Baron Rogers and Commander Copper are not here.”

Luke, who had glanced around the conference room, asked.

“The shock of being defeated by Shaikhan was so great that they’ve been training all day. Shall I call them?”

“No, I have something to give them, so I’ll go see them a little later.”

Luke shook his head and continued the meeting.

After about thirty minutes of receiving reports related to the territory and taking action, the topic of the meeting shifted to ‘newly appointed talents in the territory.’

“We’ve selected about 300 lower-level administrators through the exam this time. I heard that you also found some big catches in the Holy Empire, Lord?”

“I was going to introduce them anyway.”

As Luke clapped his hands, the door to the conference room opened and a person entered.

The stranger, with his unfamiliar features, greeted everyone with a unique gesture, overlapping his fist and palm.

“Is that…?”

“Yes. That’s Lord Hwangbo Sung, whom we recruited from the Holy Empire, along with Sir Scarlett.”

“Ah! That’s the Fist Master!”

The vassals, who had initially looked bewildered, soon exclaimed in admiration.

“Now that you’ve become my vassal, let’s get along well.”

“Understood.”

The vassals, including Hans, were always welcoming of new talent.

Moreover, this wasn’t just any talent, but a master-level powerhouse.

Everyone approached Hwangbo Sung, shaking his hand or chatting with him, offering a warm welcome.

“He’s still not fluent in our language, and he comes from a different culture, so his way of thinking is different. Please be patient if he makes a slip of the tongue.”

“Haha. You don’t have to tell us that.”

Luke smiled inwardly, seeing the vassals readily nodding their heads.

There was a reason why he had brought Hwangbo Sung all the way to the Rakan territory.

He intended to use him, with his different culture and ideology from the Rodisia continent, to challenge the old and outdated ways of thinking among the Rakan vassals.

‘Of course, they won’t change so easily.’

He knew the vassals’ mindsets wouldn’t change overnight.

However, no matter how long it took, Luke was determined to continue pushing for change.

Because there was no guarantee he could keep the secret of his power hidden forever.

5

The training ground was located at the Knight Order headquarters.

On one side, there was a personal training area for the knights.

There, two knights were sweating profusely, diligently swinging their swords.

One wielded a Gold Sword, and the other a Silver Sword. They were none other than Baron Rogers and Commander Copper.

The two, having suffered defeat at the hands of Shaikhan, were now dedicating themselves to sword training with renewed determination.

As a result, their skills had improved considerably.

However, their faces showed no signs of satisfaction.

‘This isn’t enough to face Shaikhan!’

‘Can’t I deploy the Gold Sword faster and stronger?’

They were so engrossed in their training that they didn’t even notice Luke and Hwangbo Sung watching them.

“My lord, the one over there seems to be a lower-level Sword Master. The other seems to be a top-tier Expert.”

“Yes, they’ve both improved by one level since I last saw them. They must have worked hard. We should thank Shaikhan.”

“I want to spar with them. A duel with a strong opponent makes a warrior’s blood boil.”

Hwangbo Sung asked for permission, clashing his fists together.

However, Luke shook his head.

“Not now. I have something to give them. I’ll give you a chance later, so you can fight to your heart’s content then.”

“You must keep that promise.”

After making the promise with Hwangbo Sung, Luke approached the two.

The two, diligently swinging their swords, ignored Luke, thinking it was Sebastian. They were too focused on their training.

However, they soon showed startled expressions.

“L, Lord?”

“My lord!”

The intense aura emanating from his body was not something a fake could display.

Luke quickly helped them up as they hastily paid their respects.

“Hahaha. I heard the story. You were crushed by Shaikhan, weren’t you?”

At those words, Rogers and Copper’s faces turned red.

“Grrr! If I meet him again, I will crush him with my own hands.”

“I will never lose so easily next time.”

“Good fighting spirit. If you maintain that mindset, you will surely be able to surpass Shaikhan.”

Rogers, whose expression had softened at Luke’s praise and encouragement, asked a question.

“But when did you return?”

“Just a little while ago. I have a gift for you, so follow me.”

“A gift… you say?”

“Yes, it’s a special gift, so you can look forward to it.”

Luke led the two to the Katarina Magic Tower.

As they entered the Katarina Magic Tower’s core area, Meister Mute and dozens of mages and blacksmiths were gathered, buzzing with excitement.

‘What is it?’

‘Is something going on?’

Unlike Rogers and Copper, who looked puzzled, Luke chuckled.

He knew why they were acting like that.

As they got closer, they could hear their conversation.

“W, what on earth is this machine…!”

“We were happy to have developed a Knight-class, but we were just frogs in a well [a metaphor for being ignorant of the wider world].”

“Where on earth did our lord get these Gigants [large, humanoid combat machines]?”

“If it’s a Gigant of this level, it must have been made by a top-tier tower among the ten great towers. With whom does our lord have connections?”

“Aren’t the ten great towers busy with the Magic Tower War? When did they develop such a new Gigant?”

In the center of the room, where the mages and blacksmiths were looking, three Gigants stood, boasting their massive forms.

The mages and blacksmiths, too busy talking among themselves to notice Luke’s arrival, belatedly discovered him and showed surprised expressions.

“L, Lord!”

“Could you move aside a bit?”

“Yes.”

As the mages and blacksmiths stepped back, a path was created.

As Luke approached the three Gigants, Mute quickly approached him, his face flushed like a girl in the throes of love.

“Hehe! How is it, Sir Mute? Have you examined them all?”

“Yes, my lord. They’re so amazing that I’m speechless.”

The three Gigants were the Orions that Luke had taken out of his subspace before meeting Rogers and Copper.

Since the Katarina Magic Tower would be responsible for maintaining and managing them once they were handed over to his subordinates, he had brought them out for them to examine first.

Mute, completely captivated by the performance of the new Hero-class Gigant Orion, asked.

“Where on earth did you get these incredible Gigants? Could it be the Holy Artenia Imperial Magic Tower?”

Luke, who had gone to the Holy Empire, had returned with a new Gigant. It was natural to have such suspicions.

However, Luke shook his head.

“It’s not there.”

“Then, could it be the Veritas Magic Tower?”

As far as Mute knew, there were only two magic towers that could create a new Hero-class Gigant with an output of 3,700 phytes [a unit of magical energy] and the latest magic engineering technology.

One was the Holy Artenia Imperial Magic Tower, and the other was the Veritas Magic Tower.

Since it wasn’t the Holy Artenia Imperial Magic Tower, the Veritas Magic Tower was the only other candidate.

However, even after mentioning the Veritas Magic Tower, Mute inwardly shook his head.

As far as he knew, the Rakan Marquisate and the Veritas Magic Tower were not on good terms, though not quite enemies.

Moreover, Luke had been treated poorly by the Veritas Magic Tower branch when he went to Brenden City to buy a Gigant before.

But now, they were suddenly selling a Hero-class Gigant, and a brand new one at that?

‘That’s impossible. Then where on earth did that Gigant come from?’

While Mute was lost in thought, Luke smiled and answered.

“Hehe. You’ll get hurt if you know. For now, let’s just say it was developed by our magic tower.”

‘Did he perhaps secretly (?) bring it?’

Although rare, there were cases where assets from rival magic towers were secretly stolen, or assets hidden by a fallen magic tower were seized.

In the current chaotic magic world where the Magic Tower War was taking place, it was something that could happen.

So Mute didn’t ask any further questions about it.

“Oh, have you checked the cockpit?”

“Yes. I went inside just now, and one of them had equipment different from the existing Gigants.”

“You’re talking about the helm. As for that helm…”

Luke explained what he had heard from Johas.

After hearing the story, Mute looked even more impressed.

“Oh, to synchronize the senses of the Gigant and the rider by applying mental magic! That’s a very innovative idea.”

“You’ll feel it’s even more amazing when you actually operate it.”

Luke spoke to the two knights, who were peeking out from behind him, engrossed in watching.

“Get in.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t I say I had a gift for you? That Gigant is the gift.”

At Luke’s explanation, Rogers and Copper’s mouths dropped open.

“A, are you really giving it to us?”

“Yes. Oh, and the one on the far right is to be given to Sir Philip, so leave that one out.”

Luke intended to give the three Hero-class Gigants to the three most outstanding warriors among his vassals.

He had lost Kratos in the civil war in the Holy Empire, so he was also tempted by the Orion.

However, he decided to yield for the sake of his vassals who had worked hard.

‘If I give out rewards like this, the others will work harder for me. And the one I’ll ride will be one I make myself.’

“Thank you, my lord!”

“I will be loyal to you until the day I die!”

“I know, so hurry up and get in. We need to do a test run, don’t we?”

At Luke’s words, the two knights opened the Orion’s cockpit hatch with joyful faces and boarded.

Whoooosh!

Soon, two Orions moved with the fierce sound of their core engines.

Rogers and Copper slowly got used to the Hero-class controls, taking various poses and performing basic maneuvers with the Gigants.

After about twenty minutes of getting used to the Gigants, the two began to move the Orions in earnest.

Thump! Thump!

The two Orions roamed the core area, engaging in a virtual battle.

The mages and blacksmiths, who had stepped aside, exclaimed in admiration every time they heard the majestic sound of the core engines and the Gigants’ footsteps.

“Oh, such agile movements for such a large size!”

“Look at the reaction speed of the Gigant that Baron Rogers is riding! It’s completely different from the existing Gigants!”

“We must work harder to create a Hero-class as well.”

“You don’t have to tell me that? I’m going to start researching right away from today.”

Luke showed a satisfied expression at the reaction of the mages and blacksmiths. One of the reasons for showing the Orions was to stimulate the Katarina Magic Tower, and it seemed to have worked quite well.

‘I shouldn’t just encourage my subordinates. I also need to work harder.’

The person who created the combat golems, which can be said to be the origin of Gigants, about 500 years ago was the Demon King Seymon, none other than Luke himself.

Even though he was in the position of relearning the magic engineering of this era, he couldn’t let his pride be hurt by falling behind.

‘Wait, you juniors. I’ll create something that will surprise you!’

Luke inwardly vowed, imagining the strongest Gigant he would ride.