Emperor of Steel

Kwang!

“Failed this time too! What the hell is the intelligence doing?”

The Imperial Palace in the Baroque Empire.

Emperor Rudolf, who was very annoyed asked Count Voltas. It was because he was the person that the Emperor looked up at, but he wasn’t able to get the work done in the matter of Luke.

“I’m begging you, your Majesty! I have researched and checked that the reinforcements we allotted wouldn’t be able to block the army, maybe they had great luck.”

For example, the final battle at the Akbar fort.

According to the spy, the monster which had occupied the castle suddenly turned confused for some unknown reason. And at once, their control was lost and they scrambled to their respective regions.

“Perhaps a force we weren’t aware of was in work. Some forces might have intervened, considering that the number of monsters which had to attack the fort was lesser than expected.”

At the claim from Count Voltas, Emperor Rudolf took a moment and asked, “Count, who do you think is involved in this?”

“Well, the most likely suspect, in this case, is the Volga Republic.”

“The Republicans?” Asked Emperor Rudolf.

“The path is very close and the Navarre can be saved from their place too.”

If it was the Volga Republic, then they had enough motivation to do it.

But Rudolf, tapping the armrest on the chair, thought otherwise.

“Is there no way that Luke had intervened? Since he was the one placed in the situation.”

“I thought the same too and asked for a report, but during the siege, he was with the reinforcements in the Akbar Fort.”

“Yeah? Then it is definite that the Volga guys intervened. Those thieving bastards are now reaching into our tributaries…”

Frowning, Rudolf asked, “Ah, okay then, what about the two-sided magic world?”

“Yes, the Magic Federation reform assembly, which used to be the main pillar of the Magic Federation and the magic towers which were left in the Magic Federation are struggling with each other.”

Voltas explained in detail to the Emperor.

When Rudolf listened to the story, he moved his upper body and asked, “But, was there any convincing evidence in the Veritas Magic Tower? About them learning dark magic?”

The Baroque Imperial had been assisted by the Lich Arsene, who grew in the shadows of the Veritas, from generations.

Emperor Rudolf too was being helped by Arsene.

It was Arsene who used his hand to make it look like Reichard had suffered from an illness and died.

If such a situation had been revealed, the political blows to the Imperial and the Emperor would be humongous, which was why it had to be kept a secret.

But Rudolf, who felt the shackles around him, was hoping that there would be a way for the Veritas Magic tower and Arsene to appear unrelated to him and the Imperial family.

“Well, it would be really wicked if they were learning dark magic. But even if they were, they would be completely hidden.”

“Then, what to do, should we dig in?”

At the suggestion of Emperor Rudolf, Voltas was shocked.

“You mean us?”

“Yeah, not directly, I want to dig in a little more, because if we find any plausible evidence, we can make them kneel down before us.”

“But, we will have to be in an uncomfortable relationship with the Veritas Magic Tower.” Voltas said.

For the last 500 years, the Imperial and Veritas were walking hand in hand.

However, if they were able to identify their weakness, the magic tower wouldn’t afford to walk alongside it.

The power and forces of the Veritas Magic Tower couldn’t be ignored, so the Imperial wanted them below them and not alongside them.

It was the case at every time.

Four of the top ten accused the Veritas Magic Tower and were pushed out of the Magic Federation.

“The conduct of Veritas Magic tower is nasty, but even for something good, they won’t standstill. We are all home, but an act like that might make them turn.”

“So, would they stick with the Republicans?” Emperor Rudolf asked.

“It is true in the worst case. The magic tower is an organization which seeks after their interest. If we try to shake them by their roots, of course, they aren’t going to stay still.” Said Emperor Rudolf.

Count Voltas was speechless at the Emperor’s words, so he tried to say, “Better than that, your majesty, the movements in the Holy Arthenia are rather strange.”

“Holy Empire?”

“Yes. We confirmed that the Pope has died. But something happened that the next Pope’s announcement had been delayed. It was very unusual as their customs said that the Pope had to be announced immediately.”

“Maybe just taking time for making a decision?”

“A conclave hasn’t been called by the El Kassel denomination. The high priests and the paladins are talking…”

“The strong candidates for Pope?”

“Archbishop Constantine seems to be showing interest, but the whereabouts of Archbishop Michael is unknown. A conflict between the two sides or an assassination.”

“Something is definitely going on in there.”

A suspicious situation.

The conclave hasn’t been convened, and one of the leading pope candidates was missing.

In any case, the Baroque empire couldn’t neglect to observe the dynamics of the Holy Empire.

The Holy Arthenia Empire had a long history of more than 1,000 years and it was the only nation in the continent that could compete with the Baroque Empire in terms of population, territory, and power.

In recent years, the Volga had been bothering them from the north, but the Volga was only one-third of the Baroque empire.

If Emperor Rudolf prepared to take a great damage, then the Volga Republic would be taken down.

However, it didn’t seem like a good plan to damage his own nation for the sake of getting another land.

“Well, I would like to send more spies to the Holy Empire because of that. What do you think about that?”

“Well, if we get to know what is going on, then I don’t mind. Nice, make that work.”

Upon getting the Emperor’s approval, Voltas immediately went down to the intelligence department, and selected dozens of capable spies and sent them to the Holy Empire.

When Count Voltas went out, Rudolf frowned as he was left alone in his office.

“Uhm, what is that man doing now?”

Lich Arsene.

He loved Veritas magic tower so much that he didn’t mind being cursed, and he wasn’t going to stay still if Veritas was touched.

There had to be something he could do.

“I need to do something when his eyes are on the ten towers.”

Rudolf didn’t know of Arsene’s ambitions.

Perhaps the chaos in the magic world was his own bringing.

After a while, the Lich’s eyes were more likely to turn towards the Baroque Empire. No, Rudolf was sure that it would.

“But it is a burden to do anything right away, but if I keep watching, the future would be troublesome…”

When he was not sure of what to do, he called for a professional.

The Emperor called for Meishin, the head of the warlock division that he was secretly raising in the Imperial.

He was the warlock who hid secretly when Luke had come to see the Emperor for the very first time to verify the curse.

“You called, your Majesty?!”

The gloomy aura of Meishin wearing the black robe entered.

“Yes, there is something I have to ask you.”

Rudolf explained the situation in detail.

After hearing the entire story, Meishin replied, “If you can’t use your hands directly on the Veritas Magic Tower, then try to take them down by using the others.”

“Others?” Asked the Emperor who was interested in it.

“Something like using the reformers. You know, fight with them.”

“Yes, there was a way! But how do I start a fight between them?”

The two of them were in hard times, but it didn’t mean that they were in a war.

In such a situation, something had to be done for things to change.

Meishin answered without hesitation, “Some of our men are from the ten magic tower. Order them to attack the branch of the Veritas Magic tower.”

If the Veritas magic tower branch gets raided and burned, and if traces were left that the other magic towers had attacked them…

Naturally, they would try to get revenge right away.

The war would happen.

“Hahaha, that is a very great answer. Then, I’ll leave it to you. Do it cleanly.” Commanded the Emperor.

Meishin felt that it was a test from the Emperor.

If he acted skillfully, there were chances that he would be favored, and if he failed, then there were high stakes.

With stern eyes, he said, “I will do it and please the Majesty.”