Emperor of Steel

The moment when Luke took down Arsene.

In the Lamer city, a fierce battle was taking place outside the Gigant Arena, where a long-distance teleport gate was stored underground.

It was the battle between the army, who were trying to protect the city, and the Lich along with his monster troops that were trying to smash the long-distance teleport gate.

“Kuk! Slaves of darkness, quickly, come out and wipe out Symphonia kingdom!”

At the order of Nestar, Chatan, the warlock who had unleashed the Undead into the Symphonia Kingdom, began to move.

He watched the battle from a distance and kept on ordering the Undead.

Originally, it was his intention to release the Undead and walk away from the place.

However, Nestar had given him further orders, ‘Watch over the battles of the Undead and submit a detailed report on it’.

Based on the combat power of the intermediate level Undead, he intended to accurately identify the power of the troops they were producing.

Such a report was necessary if they wanted to conquer the continent in the future.

They needed to know the exact power of their Undead troops so that they could distribute them according to their abilities.

Of course, it meant that Chatan was in a dangerous position.

There was a high possibility of him dying on the ground if he encountered a Hero class Gigant or a Sword Master of the enemy side.

That was why his safety was his first priority.

However, knowing that the army of the Southern Symphonia wasn’t a match for the Undead, he felt at peace.

The Death Knights had already grasped the power of the military, and the Lich was great at performing its tasks.

The Intermediate Lich was capable of summoning hundreds of small and medium demons. The number of its demons could take down a small duchy.

Well, maybe an estate.

‘Kukk. That mighty Lich only moves according to my orders. I feel like the Devil himself!’

The fear that he felt when releasing the Undead was no longer present.

Rather, he felt extraordinary after seeing them move according to his orders and slaughter everyone in town.

“Kuakk! Sweep it all down quickly! Let’s leave Lamer in mess and move to Rakan estates! The main quarters of the Symphonia Kingdom!”

Chatan proudly raised his voice as if he was the Devil himself.

The eyes of the Lich flashed red, and the Lich rushed over to the defense forces in Lamer.

“Kuek! Stand tall!”

“Very soon, the support forces from the Holy Empire will come! We should never let them take over this place!”

The commander of the troops.

Marquis Volant, aboard his Gigant, wielded his sword and tried to encourage his men.

Just a while ago, the Holy Empire replied to their request and stated that they would be sending in reinforcements as soon as possible.

Lamer city was two weeks away from the Holy Empire if traveled by land.

Even if they used the boats, it would take around 10 days.

The only way to send support as quickly as possible was to use the long-distance teleport gate.

This was why Marquis Volant had come out of the underground shelter and led his own troops to the Gigant arena, where the long-distance teleport gate was placed.

However, their movements were stopped by Chatan.

Chatan had noticed the movements of the troops, which were gathering at the Gigant Arena. He felt that something was odd as they were gathering at an Arena instead of the city hall or any other important administrative buildings.

According to the information he had gathered during his time as a spy in the Holy Empire, King Luke had built numerous long-distance teleport gates throughout his nation even before the founding of the Symphonia Kingdom, and he used the teleport gates whenever it was urgent.

In their last battle with the Grenada Navy, it was said that Belik, who was attacking the eastern part of the Baroque Empire, had suddenly appeared and saved Lamer city.

Based on that information, Chatan was convinced that there was a fully functioning long-distance teleport gate somewhere in the Gigant Arena of Lamer city.

‘They need to hurry up and destroy the long-distance teleport gate before things turn bad for us.’

With those thoughts in his mind, he mobilized all the forces in the city and attacked the Gigant Arena.

Swoosh!

“Kuak!”

“Commander!”

When a crocodile-like demon was slaughtered, Marquis Volant’s Gigant faltered a little.

The Lich saw it and immediately used Black Spear to attack the Gigant.

Even if Marquis Volant was an expert, there was no way he could stop the dark magic attack that had been deployed secretly.

Maybe he noticed something coming his way. He quickly twisted the Gigant toward the shoulder side. If not, the core engine would have been hit and a huge explosion would have occurred.

“Commander, are you fine?”

“I am alright, but the Gigant…”

Volant’s Gigant, whose balance device got damaged, couldn’t stand up properly and failed to work.

Marquis Volant wasn’t a Sword Master. Even then, he was given command of the Navy unit. However, he wasn’t given a Hero class Gigant.

It was because the Hero class Gigant was too heavy and sturdy to be used as the Gigant was close to the waterside. It was considered to be a disadvantage at the sea battles.

Instead, Gaius, which had its core engine reinforced, was the Gigant that was given to him.

His Gigant was currently in the top ten Gigants used for battle in the kingdom.

When such a Gigant fell, it was like creating a huge gap in the troops.

It was as if enduring the battle just turned a whole lot more difficult.

“Damn it! Retreat into the Arena, Tell the artillery units to hurry!”

At the command of Marquis Volant, who had decided to give up his half wrecked Gigant, the cannons present in the Arena fired.

Bang! Kwang!

The demons, which were chasing after the retreating defense troops, were knocked down by the shelling.

However, they still ran as if they could feel no pain.

Eventually, the monsters that were hit began to knock down the barricades at the entrance and pushed into the Gigant Arena.

“Kya! Kya! Go ahead and find the long-distance teleport gate! If we can break it, these guys are done!”

At Chatan’s orders, the Lich and the monster went searching around, leaving the defense forces.

They managed to find a passage down to a basement. At some point, the demons that came to the third basement of the Arena found the long-distance teleport gate.

“S-stop them!”

“Whatever we have to do, stop them!”

The Gigants, which were placed in the 3rd basement floor, desperately tried to stop them.

However, they were all the Gigant that had been destroyed in the battle and only the emergency repairs on them were done, which meant they couldn’t be used as a full-fledged battle Gigant.

The wizards, who were in charge of the teleport gate, tried to use their magic attacks and stop them. However, they were war mages, so they couldn’t do much damage to the demons.

The demons, not being able to feel any pain, shook their tails at the teleport gate.

Woong!

The moment the gate was about to be smashed to pieces, a white Gigant with blue light around it could be seen near the gate and wielded its huge sword toward the demons.

Slash!

Kukkkk!

The demon screamed out desperately, as the crocodile shaped one’s torso got slashed in two.

“Th-that is…!”

“The Hero class Gigant of the Holy Empire, Veda!”

The moment people in the 3rd basement began to cheer, Veda plunged ahead, leaving its afterimage and smashing the demons that were running in to destroy the long-distance teleport gate.

Kyakk! Kyah!

Kikkki!

In the blink of an eye, dozens of large demons were killed.

The small and medium-sized demons that came later into the room shuddered and moved back as they saw the golden aura shining on the sword of Veda.

They were quick to notice that the energy being released from the sword was not something they would be able to survive and that the opponent in the Gigant was a strong person who was nothing like the defense troops.

“How dare you all step on Middle-Earth’s soil! I swear to God. I will smash everyone with my own hands!”

Fearing the words that came out of Veda, the demons tried to run away but were still smashed to pieces.

Every time the sword of Veda moved, the beasts were cut down as if they were pieces of meat.

Marquis Volant and his men, who run behind the demons, which had infiltrated the basement were shocked by the performance of Veda.

The Gigant surely had a great ability and performance, but the skill of the rider was even better.

“Who is the rider…?”

“A-Arch Duke Gregory! The Arch Duke himself has come to support us!”

At the end of his subordinate’s words, Volant immediately glanced at the words engraved on the gloves of Veda.

It had the clover symbol embedded in it, which represented Arch Duke Gregory.

“Arch Duke Gregory has come to support us!”

“Woahhh!”

Arch Duke Gregory, the only commander of the Saint Guard.

It was known that the man was the most powerful swordsman in the continent. The morale of the defense forces, which had plummeted to the ground, rose like fire.

As if responding to the cheers for him, Arch Duke Gregory moved forward and turned toward the demons.

After sweeping the demons in an instant, he climbed up and decided to slaughter the demons that were outside the Gigant arena.

Once the flow of the battle changed, Chatan couldn’t help but panic.

“Th-that is Veda of the Holy Empire? That too, the one which belongs to Arch Duke Gregory!”

Chatan was very far away.

However, his eyes were able to recognize the clover symbol on the glove of Veda.

“Damn it! a Sword Sage has appeared!”

He was trying to destroy the long-distance teleport gate as he didn’t want this scenario to happen. However, everything was in vain.

Chatan had a choice to make, either to fight with the Lich or run away.

He wanted to choose the latter option as he preferred it the most.

However, it felt like running would waste away the ability of the Lich.

He was told that the Lich was an 8th circle archmage, and if the Lich was able to summon demons, it might as well take down the Sword Sage.

‘Arch Duke Gregory is a stumbling block to our conquest. If I can kill him here, my position in Veritas will surely go up.’

All this while, Chatan was only a spy and was never promoted to a higher position.

Chatan, who was burning with greed, gave orders to the Lich.

“Kill Gregory! Ignore the other men if you want!”

Kiiik!

The Lich immediately took note of the orders and began to move.

When the Lich summoned demons again, a huge demon that resembled an eel popped from the ground.

It had dozens of layers of sharp teeth, and a mouth big enough to swallow an entire Gigant and crush it.

Kuuuk! Kyakkk!

The demon worm, which looked like an eel, was called Megius, a rare demon in the Devildom.

Not just living things, but when extremely hungry, it had the tendency to eat rocks and boulders.

The scales around its body were so tough that not a slight scratch would appear even from the strongest attacks.

That was why even the highest-ranking demons in the Devildom avoided getting in contact with it.

“He looks so ugly.”

It was Gregory’s first time to see Megius, and he didn’t know how dangerous it was.

Gregory’s Veda lifted its sword and rushed toward Megius. However, Veda was swallowed by Megius, who opened its mouth.

Gulp.

Immediately after swallowing, the sound of something getting crushed in its mouth could be heard.

Crack! Crack! Crunch!

“A-Arch duke!”

The complexion of Marquis Volant and the other men turned pale.

Never did they imagine that Arch Duke Gregory, the man who had come to save them all, would die in the mouth of a demon.

‘We are done! We are all going to die!’

Everyone’s faces were drenched in despair.

Woong!

A bright light began to shine from the body of Megius.

A golden light that seemed to be like a hundred slashes appeared from inside Megius.

Slash! Slash!

In an instant, Megius turned into dead meat, and Gregory’s Veda appeared once again.

Veda was completely smeared with the blood of the demon. However, there weren’t any signs of damage to it.

The sound of cracking inside the mouth of the demon wasn’t the Gigant being shattered. It was the sound of Megius’ teeth being crush by Veda’s Gigantic Aura.

“Th-that can’t be!”

While Chatan was panicking, Gregory pointed the sword with Gigantic Aura toward the Lich.

The Lich simply avoided the attack using Blink.

However, the giant sword, which halted in the air, produced dozens of swords that rushed at the Lich.

Actually, it wasn’t the sword that was divided. It was the Gigantic Aura that had transformed itself into multiple swords.

“This is a sword skill that I made by basing it on the second half of the Gold Sword, ‘Patriot Sword’. You will be the first sacrifice for it!”

Wheeing! Wheeeing!

Gregory attacked the Lich by controlling his aura.

With dozens of aura swords flying in like thunderbolts, the Lich got beaten without hesitation.

At first, the Lich tried to endure the attack with dark magic.

However, all of the Lich’s attempts were getting smashed. Soon, its body turned into ashes.

‘Oh my, even an intermediate Lich got defeated in an instant…!’

The Lich had the power to destroy an entire city.

He was told that the Lich could even handle a Sword Sage, but it just got defeated in front of his eyes.

Chatan trembled, not knowing what to do.

He couldn’t feel the confidence that was overflowing in him a while back.

‘I n-n-need to run right away! If I get caught by them, I’ll die!’

Thinking so, Chatan fled immediately to avoid being spotted by Arch Duke Gregory.

However, after a while, he stopped.

“Look here, where are you going in such a hurry?”

A wizard wearing a white robe with a silver cross on it blocked his path.

He seemed so kind that he would have passed as a priest rather than a wizard.

However, the fierce amount of magic from his body gave out his identity.

‘H-he is the Meister of the Holy Arthenia Magic Tower! Marquis Reas!’

An 8th circle archmage and the Marquis of the Holy Empire, Reas.

He had come to Lamer city along with Arch Duke Gregory.

Gregory was in Jackson and was able to reach Lamer in a matter of hours thanks to Reas’s ability to transport.

If Marquis Reas hadn’t traveled several times from Bless to Jackson using the long-distance teleport gate, Gregory wouldn’t have been able to come in time to help the Symphonia troops.

He came to Lamer city and prepared to use his magic attacks and join the battle in his own way.

However, he had very little work to do since Arch Duke Gregory had done everything.

Luckily, his eyes ended up catching a suspicious man.

“King Luke said not every warlock is a bad one. Certainly, we did meet the good ones and were offered huge help.”

“Uhh…!”

“But you are an evil warlock.”

“Die, Reas!”

As Chatan rushed at him, he used Dark Blitz to attack.

If the one taking the attack was a normal wizard, the results would have been in favor of Chatan. However, Reas was an archmage who was used to both Magi and Divine power.

This was why Chatan decided to launch an attack, and during the time in between, he decided to tear the teleport scroll and run away.

However, Marquis Reas wasn’t stupid enough to fall into Chatan’s tricks.

“Holy Arrow!”

“Ack!”

Reas used his left hand and blocked Dark Blitz and sent a magic attack toward Chatan.

The Holy Arrow, which penetrated Chatan’s chest, crushed his black circle.

“Kuakkk! Akkkk!”

Once the Black Circle on his heart broke, Chatan could feel the pain of his entire body that was tearing apart.

However, the pain was temporary.

His body began to burn from the inside.

The Divine power of Marquis Reas began to purify the body of Chatan.

“S-save me… Please…”

“If you aren’t able to bear this little pain, how do you plan on enduring the pain you will get in hell?”

Reas spoke coldly and turned his head away as Chatan’s body turned into white ash and flew away with the wind.

“Oh my, I was a little late.”

Realizing that someone was left, Arch Duke Gregory rushed over, but the man had already died.

“Huhuhu. Arch Duke, we still have to take care of the other Undeads in the city.”

“Right, Death Knight?”

Arch Duke Gregory recalled that the remaining Undead in the southern part of Symphonia was 5 and not 1.

Meeting with Marquis Volant, he managed to get accurate information.

“I wonder how strong Death Knights are.”

“I am looking forward to it too.”

Whoong!

Once the teleport magic circle drawn by Reas got triggered, the two of them disappeared, leaving behind a trace of hope.

The next day.

The unexpected Undead mess that struck the southern part of the Symphonia Kingdom ended with the destruction of the 5 Undead.