Emperor of Steel

Once the meeting with Vladimir was done, Reichard immediately headed back to Libiya Kingdom at a terrifying speed.

It was because he had to refer to the requests and deals made with the Volga Republic and talk with the members in his kingdom.

But while he was heading back, an unexpected situation occurred.

That too was something which shouldn’t have happened.

“Your Majesty, the soldiers in Samora city caused a riot.”

“What, riot? And the reason for it?”

At the report given by the military commander—Duke Butler, Reichard frowned.

Being in war with the Baroque Empire, Reichard had paid a lot of attention to the military affairs as well as the other nation’s military.

He constantly supplied the needed munitions so that the morale of his soldiers and knights wouldn’t fall, and the salaries for the military personnel was a lot more than the Baroque Empire.

Even then a riot had occurred?

“Did someone embezzle the funds sent to the military?”

“That isn’t it. It is that they just seem to hate the idea of going back into the battlefield.”

The damage caused by the riot wasn’t so huge.

Rather than looting the civilians, the soldiers only marched in the streets and focused on their anti-war protests.

However, the officer who tried to stop the riot was killed and a few other casualties had incurred due to a fight between the troops who had come to suppress them.

“UH! Those cowards! Make sure all the people who are involved in the riot are taught a lesson!”

“It would be nice to do that. But, we won’t really be able to punish even a single one of them.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

When Reichard asked not understanding, Duke Butler began to explain the background of those who participated in the riot.

“The soldiers who were in the riot are conscripts. Originally, most of them were workers who had jobs in the markets or worked in the mines, but since the founding of the nation, they all lost their jobs.”

It was because of Reichard that they had turned unemployed.

Reichard had proceeded with the construction of the national projects, clearing the wastelands and developing mines by using the low-level monsters such as goblins and kobolds.

Monsters seemed a lot more efficient than humans, simply because all the monsters needed only the food and no other expenses.

This saved the national budget a lot and reduced the taxes to gain support from the people, but the position of the lower-income people who lost their jobs overnight was different.

“Did we conscript them as soldiers to solve the unemployment problem?”

“Yes, but there are many who are dissatisfied and upset with it.”

Enlisting the unemployed increased the number of soldiers available in the Kingdom, and the unemployed were given jobs and salaries.

It was a good theory, however, the reality seemed different.

If it wasn’t for the current situation, Reichard’s intentions would’ve been applauded.

But currently, they were at war.

Moreover, the opponent was the Baroque Empire.

It was said that the Baroque was going through civil war and border battles at the same time, yet, it was still the strongest nation with military power.

There was no way the conscripted soldiers wouldn’t be afraid.

Even though they didn’t want to fight, they were forced to fight, which turned them anxious and dissatisfied with the position they were in.

“Why does the King keep dragging the war?”

“If the need for soldiers is that great, can’t he just increase the number of monsters?

“I want to go back to my hometown! Even if it means selling meat, I’ll at least be able to live without worrying about it when I die!”

The dissatisfaction in the soldiers piled up, and eventually, it led to the situation of a riot happening.

“This isn’t something which can just be overlooked. It was said that similar signs are happening in the other units in charge of the conscript training.”

“Uhm…”

If Butler’s words were true, they couldn’t be punished.

If the hearts of the trembling soldiers weren’t put at ease, the same situation would keep coming back.

Well, if Emperor Rudolf knew about the situation and decided to put his finger in it, the situation would turn out of control.

‘The number of monsters I can control has a limit. And I am already at my limit.’

Even if Reichard had inherited the Dragon’s blood, it wasn’t like he could control the infinite monster.

He didn’t say it to his officials, however, he was already at his limit.

Which was why it was difficult to replace the conscripts with the monsters.

The difference between the efficiency of the two nations regarding the war was different.

‘Should I stop the war for a while? No, that will turn into trouble for us. I even made the agreements with the Republicans, and I can’t give Rudolf the time to settle the civil war in his empire.’

He couldn’t do that, everything he did till now would end up turning useless.

When Reichard was in conflict, Duke Butler spoke to him.

“I believe that we need to stop the war for a while and clean up the nation. We have been constantly running in one direction only.”

“You mean to act like Symphonia?”

“Yes, that was what I meant.”

At Reichard’s question, Duke Butler nodded his head.

Butler was intrigued by the Symphonia Kingdom.

It was because they had handed over the enemy to Vanden, who had betrayed Butler and went towards Rudolf.

Thanks to that, Butler was able to loosen the pain that was eating him away.

“The Minister of Commerce and Industry insists that the Navy should be cultivated and we should start engaging trade with the Southern Continent. You might already know, but the trade with the Southern Continent has reached astronomical heights.”

Not only did Marquis Rakan conquer the Milton Kingdom, but it was all because of the goods and resources that it earned with the Southern trade that it was possible to establish the Kingdom without worrying about the Baroque Empire.

In the west of Libiya Kingdom, there were ports that were already built.

However, the scale was paralleled to the Southern ports in the Symphonia Kingdom, Lamer city.

“I heard that a while back, some unfortunate turn of events happened in the Symphonia Kingdom’s port cities, even with Lamer city. If we take advantage of the opportunity, we will be able to take goods from the South.”

It wasn’t unreasonable to make a huge amount of money through the trade and attract the trade towards their own port cities.

“Fine. It doesn’t seem to be an easy decision, so I’ll think about it and let you know.”

“Yes, then I will head back.”

When Duke Butler went out, Reichard kept tapping his fingertips on the table.

“Symphonia… Symphonia…”

During the same time, the two nations had declared themselves to be independent from the Baroque Empire.

However, the situation of Symphonia and Libiya was entirely different.

Unlike Libiya which was constantly fighting the Baroque Empire, Symphonia only moved till Sherwood city, the military hub, and ceased all the war activities from then and focused on domestic affairs.

‘They are capable ones. The Rakan’s retainers, the Volga Kingdom’s remnants, and along with that are the fairies who are known to be the most competent in commerce. That too many valuable officers.’

They were all talents which Luke had around him, they built their nation on trust and loyalty.

Unlike Luke, Reichard was less reliable.

His family was mainly the Ebra family, centered on Mitchell and Wienz.

The others, like Count Felipe, were afraid of the King, and the ones like Princess Margareta bowed their heads to take advantage of the power and authority.

‘Although there are a few to trust, it is still a huge problem that we don’t have enough talented and skillful people to take on the tasks.’

If there were people who were bright in the nation’s financial and industrial development, there wouldn’t be any need for Reichard to feel so troubled.

However, the Libiya Kingdom didn’t seem to have any such talented men.

Well, even if there were, they tried to move to other nations, the monsters had power, and they didn’t want to stay in a Kingdom which was always at war.

On the contrary, there were men who weren’t afraid of war.

They were the knights and mercenaries who dreamed of success, the Iron mages who moved to sell their Gigants.

With the Iron mages, Reichard didn’t neglect his deals with them.

It was because the battle with the Baroque Empire required Gigants, the main force of war, and wizards to repair it.

Which was why he combined several medium-sized magic towers in the Kingdom and made the Royal Libiya Magic Tower.

And if one was an Iron mage, they were used regardless of them coming from small or medium-sized troops to make the Gigants.

Thanks to that, even if the Gigant’s lacked in power, the number made up for it.

‘This is frustrating, but I need to start looking around the Gigant workshops.’

Reichard, who thought that, got up and headed to the workshop in the Royal Libiya Magic Tower, which was in the south of the Royal Palace.