Emperor of Steel

Luke had been leading the 1st squad knights for the expedition on the Southern Continent.

They had 200 knights and 100 Gigants and another 50 iron mage and war mages to assist them.

Normal soldiers wouldn’t be of great help, so he brought a minimal number of troops to support the knights and be on guard during the missions.

However, in addition to the 100 Gigants led by Luke on Auster, 20 more ships for self-defense were carried.

Those Gigants were made by reverse-engineering the Crabs captured from the Grenada Kingdom in the past.

The Gigants were named Triton. They were smaller compared to the average Gigant, and its outer armor was made of wood, so it looked different from a Crab.

However, it was different as it had been equipped with a warrior class’ core engine of 1000 fight, and it could float on water because it had an air tube inside.

In any case, the marine Gigants had been lifted onto the deck via the fright lift.

Kwang! Kwang! Bang!

The ships of the Song Empire didn’t give up the battle even after getting smashed by Auster and getting hit by the shells.

As soon as they retreated, they could escape. However, the transport ship carrying the landing troops would be captured or sunk by the enemy.

In that case, even if they survived, the operation would be recorded as a huge failure, and the commander’s name would be removed along with the lives of the commander’s family members.

At least considering the remaining family members in the home country, they all thought that fighting and dying in battle would be the best option.

“Do not step back! Stand tall!”

“Approach the ships that are down and attack!”

The struggle of the Song Empire was heard.

Despite the damages they sustained from the shelling, they eventually succeeded in sticking together to fight.

When one of them was down, a dozen ships, including the Imperial Dragon, stuck to Auster.

The Song Empire sailor hung ropes and began to climb on board.

“Shoot them!”

“Stop the enemies from getting onto the deck!”

Symphonia sailors shot their arrows, trying to stop the men coming on board.

Hundreds of soldiers suddenly appeared from the Song Imperial Navy’s side.

They were the strong Moorim martial clan men belonging to the army.

Some of them were on the transport ships to assist in any possible attacks.

Wheeing! Wheeing!

They struck down the pouring arrows with their swords, and they quickly flew to the deck of Auster.

“Wh-what? These men are?”

“Stay back! They are strong men!”

Most of the Symphonia sailors didn’t know what Hwang Bo-sung was talking about.

However, knowing that they were not strong enough, they stepped behind the knights.

The knights, who were already equipped with armor, came ahead with their swords and shields.

The powerful people, who climbed on the deck, were astonished.

They weren’t surprised to see the knights but were shocked to see the large doll that was behind their backs.

“What is that?”

“Don’t tell me… A puppet?”

“No, they must be the steel dolls used by the northern men!”

The Moorim warriors were compelled to stay still.

It was because they couldn’t imagine seeing a Puppet or any Gigant in the middle of the sea.

While they were in shock, Luke ordered the knights.

“Shoot! Don’t let them go back!”

Triton rushed ahead and swung its giant sword at the Moorim warriors once the orders fell.

Following Hwang Bo-sung, the Symphonia Knights began to attack as well.

“Kuak!”

“Kuk!”

“D-don’t fall back!”

The battle proceeded one-sidedly in favor of the Symphonia Knights.

The Moorim people sent by Mak Dong-chung tried numerous things only to be wiped out by the enemy.

Among them, there were a number of Absolute power-holders of Moorim.

However, in front of the Gigant’s combat power, they were powerless, and the moment their weakness was seen by Luke, Hwang Bo-sung, Reynard, and Shirley immediately took action.

Besides, the skills of the other knights were considerably high too.

When it came to being a strong player on the field, they were one step behind, being first-class knights.

They had enough experience in war. Their not just excellent with swords but also in close combat.

“Ugh, this is bad for us. Step back!”

“Retreat!”

At the words of the Moorim people who realized that they couldn’t do much, they tried to run back while a few of them were captured.

When the Moorim warriors retreated, the morale of the Song Empire sailors plummeted.

Despite the encouragement, their situation didn’t improve.

Rather, Tritons threw in large planks or jumped onto the deck of the Song Empire and swung their huge swords. The confusion and hopelessness turned intense.

“Huhuhu!”

Mak Dong-chung burst into laughter as he saw his fleet crumbling.

The entire operation felt bad for some reason, but he never thought that he would meet such a monster in the sea.

That large ship of the enemy exceeded what they heard about from the Yemaek Navy. And the Puppet, well, he never imagined the steel doll of the northerners, which were only used on land battles, would be fighting on the ship’s board.

The steel doll named Gigant was a weapon that ordinary soldiers or Moorim warriors could ever deal with.

If he had known there was a Gigant on the ship, there was no way General Mak would engage in a battle on board.

“The entire fleet, retreat!”

He couldn’t help but order a retreat.

However, their escape wouldn’t happen that easily.

The Yemaek fleet was already blocking their retreat, and even the Imperial Dragon ship and two Tritons crossed over and created hell on the deck.

Thud Thud Thud!

“Surrender! If you surrender, I will let you live!”

The riders in the Tritons, who were on deck, screamed while moving their giant sword.

Mak Dong-chung didn’t understand what the Northern Continent rider was saying, but he didn’t have to know the language to understand what the other party was saying.

In any case, there were two options in the situation—surrender or fight.

However, Mak Dong-chung was an honorable warrior.

“You think I will beg for my life in front of the enemy? Me, the General of the Great Song Empire?!”

Mak Dong-chung struck Triton with a pole.

The rider flinched at the momentum and screamed at the man that came at him. Without his knowledge, the rider swung his sword at Mak Dong-chung.

Slash!

Mak Dong-chung, whose martial arts weren’t that outstanding, quickly fell for the giant sword.

It was a terrible death. A death that everyone on board would never forget.

“Th-that stupid…!”

Hwang Bo-jangcheon, who was recused by an allied ship after leaving the Imperial Dragon ship, swore while looking at the battle from a distance.

He did run away, but he thought that he could lead the battle to an advantage if he succeeded in leading one ship.

The battleships of the Song Empire had powerful Moorim warriors on board, so he thought that with enough men, he had the chance.

And as he thought, he managed to relay orders to the Song Empire’s ships which were in close range to the enemy’s fleet.

“Kuahhhh! Right! Go up on their ships and kill everyone! Wipe them all out!”

As if he had been conducting the operation from the beginning, Hwang Bo-jangcheon screamed.

However, the battle, which he thought he would have a chance, ended when the Puppet and knights of the enemy entered onto their ships.

The Moorim warriors, who struggled to fight with the enemy, either tried to escape or surrendered.

“Damn, turn the ship! Retreat at full speed!”

Hwang Bo-jangcheon, who became nervous, gave orders for the entire fleet.

There were still 20,000 warriors, 5,000 zen skill users, and Kangshi hidden under the deck.

However, no matter how strong they were, what could they do?

If their opponents shot their guns from a distance, the ship would capsize and the entire Kangshi troops would be annihilated.

Dozens of transport ships turned around and began to flee at full speed.

But that didn’t happen.

It was because Luke, who had been chasing them with Fly magic, cut off the mast of the transport ship with Wind Cutter magic.

Eventually, several ships ended up sinking, it was then that the Imperial Dragon ship lifted their white flag.