Emperor of Steel

As the Yemaek and the rebels entered, the capital, which was under fire, changed.

Jo Won-rak reappointed the court officials while purging all those who sided with Hwang Bo-kwang and his men.

First of all, Jo Won-gyun and Hwang Bo-kwang’s aides were executed.

It was because they had committed a great deal of brutality, such as waging war with neighboring nations and trying to turn living humans into Kangshi and turning the slums into Kangshi hubs by using poison.

On the main road to the Imperial Palace, while people were watching, their heads were cut off.

Next were the ministers, who were brainwashed by Hwang Bo-kwang, and the generals of Eorim troops were all exiled together along with their family to remote areas.

Although they were only following the regent, the sins they committed as being the limbs of Jo Won-gyun weren’t easy to forgive.

So instead of executing them, they were exiled for the rest of their lives.

In addition, junior officials, military officers, and all the merchants, who were behind Hwang Bo-kwang, were exiled outside the nation or imprisoned.

They all tried to blame it on Jo Won-gyun’s administration, but no one was ready to listen to their arguments.

It wasn’t Jo Won-rak but the emperor who gave out the sentence.

The emperor, who was in a coma because of the warlocks of Hwang Bo-kwang, was able to recover because of Luke’s Divine power and healing.

However, although his body seemed to have recovered, his mind wasn’t completely sane.

“I will punish Hwang Bo-kwang, that criminal!”

Hwang Bo-in, who was watching the emperor give out the sentences, closed his eyes.

He had already expected it. His son had suffered a terrible death in which his limbs were torn out.

“In addition to that, the Hwang Bo clan will be sealed for the next 30 years. In addition to the prohibition, no activities will happen in the nation under the clan’s name.”

The elders, who were standing next to the Hwang Bo clan, sighed.

Banning all activities inside the nation meant to not engage in any affairs of the Moorim.

That meant they were very close to extinction.

However, considering the sins committed by Hwang Bo-kwang, it was fortunate that the usual punishment to destroy their entire family wasn’t given to them.

“And another great criminal, Jo Won-gyun…”

“Father! Please save me! I have nothing to do with all of this. I only did what Hwang Bo-kwang told me to!”

Jo Won-gyun, who was cuffed, begged while he was on his knees.

However, his words and attitude only made the emperor angrier.

“Shut up! Who gave the sinner the right to carelessly use his tongue?!”

“Uh!”

Jo Won-gyun shrugged at the emperor’s rage.

‘To think that this sneaky and disgusting one is my child…’

The emperor could feel the heat rise in his body.

“Jo Won-gyun, you made your own brother addicted to drugs and tried to kill your other brother. You too deserve punishment. You will no longer be considered an Imperial family member. You shall leave this nation.”

“I will be ruined! Father!”

He was exiled outside the nation, and once Luke decided to go back, he would like to take Jo Won-gyun to Symphonia Kingdom along with him.

For the rest of his life, he was going to experience hard labor in another nation and live a life that was worse than death.

However, Jo Won-gyun, who didn’t realize the plans the men had for him, was just happy to survive.

A month later, once all punishments were done, Luke met with King Biryu and Jo Won-rak to speak out his words, “My work here is done, so I will return to my place.”

Jo Won-rak and King Biryu asked, “Is the investigation about the matter done?”

“The crowning ceremony of prince Jo Won-rak will be held in two months. Won’t it be nice to see it?”

The emperor, who had a great deal of mental shock due to the war, announced the intention of the crowning ceremony.

Accordingly, Jo Won-rak was officially appointed as the crown prince, the emperor decided to give up his throne later.

King Biryu asked his men to return, only keeping a handful of escorts, and he was thinking of returning to see his son-in-law’s enthronement and marriage. However, Luke had different ideas.

“My expedition has ended up taking longer than I thought. I can’t leave my Kingdom by itself any longer.”

There was no more reason to stay back in the Song Empire after preventing it from falling into Arsene’s grasp, and he even managed to kill all the warlocks, who were supporting Hwang Bo-kwang in the past.

Most of all, the expedition ended up lasting for 3 months. Even the knights and war mages wanted to head back home.

‘The only thing regrettable was that the tracks of Arsene couldn’t be found.’

He came to the Southern Continent because he wanted to catch him and kill him. However, the warlocks, who were caught, didn’t know about Arsene’s whereabouts.

They said that they hadn’t been contacted for a while, but they didn’t know why they weren’t contacting them anymore.

If it was true that these warlocks weren’t contacted, Luke thought that it had something to do with the defeat Arsene had faced.

“Tch, then you can’t stay. Instead, how about entering an alliance between the Symphonia Kingdom, the Song Empire, and Yemaek?”

“There is no reason for me to say no.”

Luke, King Biryu, and Jo Won-rak formed an alliance to confront any dangers Arsene would throw at them.

They decided to send envoys to each other’s nations to exchange information from time to time and provide active help to each other, including dispatching troops in case of a crisis.

Actually, the alliance was proposed by King Biryu and Jo Won-rak, who only recently learned about the existence of Arsene while interrogating the traitors.

The warlocks of Arsene and the Veritas Magic Tower had enough skills to wash away the entire Southern Continent.

He thought that Luke’s help was needed to stop those who might once again reach out to the Southern Continent.

In response, Luke responded by forming an alliance, which included the Holy Arthenia Empire too.

The alliance organized, not just the information exchange and military help, but also the trade between the nations.

After discussing the issues such as lower tariffs, increasing the trade volume, and securing the settlements for merchants among the allied nations, they all signed it up.

“By the way, do you really not wish to marry one of our daughters here in Yemaek? Besides So-hye, I have another daughter.”

“Even the Song Empire would like His Majesty to think about it too.”

After seeing Luke’s power and the Symphonia army, King Biryu and Jo Won-rak kept on offering marriage proposals to Luke for the past month.

The alliance was good. However, they wanted marriage. It meant that they would turn into a family.

However, Luke shook his head.

“I am already married, and I have no intention of taking someone in as a concubine.”

That was one of the reasons why Luke kept on declining their marriage proposals.

He really hated listening to it, and the two weren’t ready to stop asking the question.

Even Lee Yong-mu once visited him and introduced his great-granddaughter.

“Well, then, if you change your mind about it, feel free to contact me.”

‘I will never contact you regarding that.’

The next day, Luke left the capital along with the Symphonia army.