Emperor of Steel

“Hahaha! It has been a long time since I have heard such refreshing stories.”

Vladimir, who had been reported about Emperor Rudolf’s actions, burst into laughter.

He couldn’t stop laughing, imagining what Rudolf might have looked like.

“What is Duke Dimitry doing now?”

Sylvia, the second chief of Volga Intelligence, responded,

“Most of the troops and the normal soldiers are all camped in front of the caves in the Castia Mountains.”

“If it is the tunnel in the Castia Mountain, there might be an Imperial army invasion this time?” Asked Vladimir.

“Yes, we have prepared a trap in case the Imperial army sends out forces. However, it might not be necessary.”

The Volga Republic had deliberately leaked the information about the tunnel to the Imperial army.

If the Imperial army planned on using it for revenge, it was Dimitry’s plan to make the tunnel explode using gunpowder and explosion magic circles which were prepared in advance.

However, the Imperial army wasn’t that stupid. The scouts and retaliation expedition troops had been canceled as Rudolf went back.

“Tell them to come back. And what about the Southern border? Does it still have the Imperial army there?”

When the president changed the topic, the expression of Sylvia slightly distorted. It almost looked like it was something she didn’t want to talk about.

“Already 7 castles have been robbed. The directional guards installed in the place had been disintegrated, and the military quarters have been destroyed.”

Duke Kutzov, the Central army commander, opened his mouth in anger.

While Dimitry had devastated the Northern part of the Empire, some Imperial forces had invaded the Southern border of Volga.

For a while, they were all largely helpless due to the excessive directional troops which had been sent to the Torlot Fortress raid under Commander Tyron.

Above all, no one in the office could understand how such valuable weapons like Gigants and Canons could just be lost.

“But, the situation will calm down soon. I have sent reinforcements.”

At the response from Duke Kutzov, the president nodded.

“We should do that. It was a small drawback, only if we had the Torlot Fortress, it would have been a perfect victory.”

“That is true. Due to the failure of Tyron in luring the Northern army, Duke Dimitry had struggled a lot and prepared for a new ambush. Well, even then, it still is a huge win for us.”

“Tch, Marquis Tyron is getting old. There are so many people thinking that. In the past, he might have seen through the enemy, but…”

Marquis Tyron had frankly reported the demise of the troops, which was why the people in the president’s office were able to talk about it.

Vladimir too had seen the report.

He couldn’t blame Tyron. Despite having poor power, the enemy commander had the ability to deceive and launch a counter-attack to the Volga troops properly.

“Was his name Luke de Rakan?” Asked the President.

“I heard that he was the descendant of the Sword Emperor Rakan.”

“I’m glad he is the descendant of a warrior. If it would have been someone else, they wouldn’t stop

with just destroying the military quarters.”

Although the borders were devastated, the loss of human and public property was far less when compared to what the Volga did to the Empire.

There were very few imperial Gigants troops run by Luke, and only the castles and the Fortress were damaged. The cities and towns weren’t touched at all.

Vladimir had taken a liking to the knightish attitude Luke displayed.

‘I want to praise him, but.. will the fairies jump out? Everyone regards Rakan as a supporter.’

In addition, according to the intelligence report, he was someone very close to Princess Reina.

Even if princess Reina had no political greed, she was known to be a symbol of peace, and they had no plan of letting her go.

‘And even if this Luke guy is going to be an enemy in the future, I don’t have to worry much. Since that warrior family is well-known to be short-lived, and if that too doesn’t work, Sylvia will go and use her hands.’

Unlike the very optimistic position of the president, Sylvia wasn’t in a position where she could take care of Luke.

It was because he seemed to be related to Saymon and Erenes.

In addition, recently, Erenes, who had gone to Luke’s estate, had asked for the battlefield information for Reina.

‘For now, I need to keep a close eye on him,’ thought Sylvia.

Sylvia decided to wait for the reports of the Dark Elves, who accompanied her.

She had to see why Luke was able to use Saymon’s dark magic, and why he knew about Erenes once the report came back.

After a successful handwork, Luke moved from the Gigant after sweeping the territory of the Volga Republic borders.

Major forces such as Gigant and canons were sent with the raid troops. There seemed to be no force in the south of the Volga which could stop Luke and his attacks.

Luke traveled through and captured 7 castles. He captured military quarters and took their weapons and seals. He took the gold coins and silver ingots from the government officers and nobles’ residences.

In the process, they hadn’t touched the villages. They left the farms, the shops, and workshops all intact.

They even bought food at reasonable prices when needed.

“The Volga Republic forces have destroyed the city of Krom and devastated the Imperial Northern territories.”

“Yeah?”

The guide, Erwin, gave Luke the messages, which had been relayed for the communication wizard that was left behind the Fortress.

Philip, Kaper and the other riders were shocked, but Luke stayed calm.

“Did they divert their focus elsewhere? The army that attacked the Fortress had many directional troops than the elite central army… But even then, it makes no sense.”

“Right. The Northern soldiers came very late.”

There was a reason for the Northern army to have reached the Torlot Fortress late.

Earlier this year, Count Naiman had been ordered to isolate and kill Luke and that was why the Northern army didn’t respond to their call for reinforcements. They stopped the communications.

That was why the Torlot Fortress had no news about any possible attack on them.

“That is huge. If the Republic army attack from behind, the Fortress will…”

At the concern of Philip, Luke shook his head.

“It won’t happen. As far as I know, the Northern part of the Empire is the realm of the Emperor. If he knows that the Republic forces are going wild, he won’t stand still and watch.”

And the Republican forces weren’t fools either. They wouldn’t make any more fuss and capture a small fortress.

Luke knew that his Fortress wouldn’t be attacked again.

“Whatever, it is obvious that it is time to retreat,” said Luke

Belfair, who was looking around last night, found and captured some Republican scouts.

Upon interrogating them, they stated that they were part of the reinforcement troops which had been sent to spy on Luke’s unit.

Luke’s minor elite force of Gigants didn’t sweep through the high area, but they were able to fight the large support groups of the enemy.

That was why Luke didn’t hesitate to retreat.

‘Let’s return to the Fortress. We don’t have to rush, so don’t miss out on the loot.’

The next day, Luke led the unit and retreated from the Volga Republic.

The reinforcements had rushed over, but all they could do was watch Luke’s unit cross over the San river without doing anything.

“Do you want us to attack them by the river?”

When asked by the lieutenant, the commander of the reinforcement shook his head.

“No, our mission was to drive them out, not annihilate them.”

The famous Tyron wasn’t able to win there either.

Even if he won against such a situation, it was likely that the Republic forces would suffer a great deal.

In addition, they had been ordered to refrain from further expansion.

If the capital was preparing for Duke Dimitry’s triumph, it would be a huge problem if many had died from the war, even if they win.

Thanks to that, Luke was able to get back to his territory after sneaking into the Republic.