Emperor of Steel

Bang! Kwang!

In Lamer city where the explosions weren’t going any easy, fires began to blaze around the city.

Gigants and the city soldiers were fighting in the heat of the flames.

Their enemies turned out to be oddly looking monsters. Monsters that were completely different from what they had seen on the continent.

The Gigants were all on the vacant grounds while soldiers were scattered throughout the city.

“More, quickly!”

“We need to get rid of them before they destroy the entire city!”

A group of soldiers was moving through the alley of the city.

Those free-spirited outfit of theirs weren’t regular army soldiers, but the mercenaries hired by the Kirillov chamber.

The mercenary troops of Kirillov were different from the other mercenary groups in the kingdom.

Most of them were the refugees of the Volga Republic or former knights or military leaders of the Volga royal family.

As a result, they weren’t just skillful but also organized and loyal to their tasks.

What did they have?

They had around 10 Gigants, which could take down a few estates.

In addition, they were able to mobilize around another 20 to 30 Gigants from the Gigant Arena in case of an emergency.

In addition to the mercenaries, there were also regular troops, so the city of Lamer had the strongest military force in the Symphonia Kingdom, excluding the Brandon city.

That was why when the Grenada Navy attacked them in the past, they were able to stand their ground instead of getting captured.

However, currently, Lamer city seemed to be in a bigger crisis.

Streets were noisy all over the city because of the sudden appearance of demons and monsters.

Kyahhh!

“Tch! Everyone! Stick to the wall!”

A monster with two wings was flying over the city.

The mercenaries decided to hide in the shadows of the buildings and decided to move once it passed them.

However, the monster, which they thought would fly away, had landed on the roof of the building above them and attacked them with its beak.

“Eukkk!”

An unlucky soldier got his torso pierced.

The soldiers around him were frightened at the sight of it but decided to fight rather than flee.

“Damn! Die, you monster!”

“Do not step back!”

While the soldiers with spears kept their distance from the monsters, the archers released their arrows.

Yet, even after getting stuck with arrows on his head and torso, the monster still moved.

“Everyone, out of the way!”

A mercenary stepped out with a large metal tube.

The metal tube was filled with gunpowder. It was something referred to as the hand cannon as it was held and used by hand.

The mercenary pushed the hand cannon into the monster’s mouth.

Shoot!

The moment the trigger on the cannon had been pressed, the eyes of the monster exploded.

As the monster dropped dead, the captain of the mercenary cut the monster to confirm its death.

“Dead! Keep moving ahead!”

There were many monsters they had to deal with.

They didn’t have the luxury to rest, so they began to walk ahead.

Pung! Kwang!

The residents, who escaped to the shelter in the underground of the city, looked at Pavel with confusion and fear on their faces.

Pavel, along with the commander of the 5th squad, Marquis Volant, was in the shelter, seeking measures to subdue the mysterious enemies, who were raging havoc in southern cities, including Lamer.

“Right now, the one attacking Lamer city isn’t a warlock but a Lich. And the ones carrying out the destruction in the other cities seem to be Death Knights.”

At Marquis Volant’s words, Pavel asked, “How could that be?”

“Well, according to the reports from the troops who were engaged in a battle with them, the enemies were able to move even after getting hit by attacks that no human could survive.”

Shortly after the founding of the Symphonia Kingdom, Luke had given titles to the Volga refugees who worked for him.

As a result, Pavel had the same title as Marquis Volant, yet Volant was speaking very respectfully to the elder man.

It was because he was closest to Princess Reina, the companion of Luke.

“What the?! What kind of a person?!”

At Pavel’s outburst, the commander spoke, “It must be the person who summoned all the high ranking demons in our Kingdom.”

Honestly, all the demons that were summoned in Symphonia were because of Luke.

However, everyone believed that it was an act of hostility by the forces of the Baroque Empire and the Veritas Magic Tower’s remnants.

“All of this happened while the navy training was going on!”

As Pavel said, the main force of the 5th squad, the navy, was training on a large fleet.

It was attacked when the most powerful of them weren’t present for the training.

Unlike Pavel who thought of it as unfortunate, Marquis Volant felt glad by it.

The Lich that attacked them didn’t seem to be good with just dark magic, but it was also good at summoning monsters.

Navy forces trained to fight against sailors would be no match for knight troops let alone a monster.

If they had all been training on the fleet, then Volant would have lost the navy troops he had been training for the past year.

“I made a request for assistance, but it might take time for the navy troops to return. The same goes for the Central army.”

“Uhm, is it because of the monsters in the Anbury city?”

“Yes, it was said that this is causing confusion in the headquarters, whether to split the forces and subdue the enemy or hit one at a time.”

The important thing was that no one could be waiting for reinforcements.

In the midst of their waiting, the city would be damaged beyond repair.

‘I am glad the underground shelters were still accessible.’

The port cities, which had been attacked by the Grenada Navy, had taken considerable damage last year.

That was why Luke ordered for the underground shelters to be prepared in case the residents had to escape because of an unexpected crisis.

Many dwarf technicians, who were good at excavation and construction, had helped them in the construction.

“However, it is lucky that Lamer city had great defensive forces and high ranking mercenaries, but the other cities might be facing rather unfavorable situations.”

“Death Knights are that strong? Can’t they be dealt with using Gigants?”

When Pavel asked, Marquis Volant sighed.

“According to the report, the Death Knights are attacking innocent people rather than going into battle with Gigants.”

“Kuke, that is unforgivable!”

When it turned difficult for the Gigants to move in the city to catch the Death Knights, soldiers, knights, and even wizards were mobilized.

Nevertheless, the subjugation was still tough.

They couldn’t go for a Death Knight as individuals as it would attack them, and when they moved in groups, it would fly away.

“Phew, then, are they all waiting for the Central Army to send in support troops?”

“That doesn’t seem like an easy option either. According to the message we got from Chief Commander, the monster in Anbury is known to be stronger than His Majesty…”

“Uh, then…”

“It is totally normal for His Majesty to be given support as a priority.”

The king, Luke, a symbol of strength in the Symphonia Kingdom.

Even if the south was devastated, the army would surely choose to save and support Luke.

“So we have no choice but to wait for…”

“Domestic power can no longer be mobilized…”

When Marquis Volant said that, Pavel looked at the man with sparks in his eyes.

“If our domestic forces can’t, then what about from abroad?”

Volant was the first to respond.

“Well, I heard that the Holy Empire was just having a hard time with the zombies…”

Moreover, from what Pavel knew, they led the Saint Guards led by Arch Duke Gregory and the pope. They were still in Jackson.

Even if they did come, they would take a lot of time to reach the port cities.

“Shouldn’t we at least try? We’ll contact them first.”

At Volant’s words, Pavel hurriedly told the communication wizards to contact the Holy Empire.

Hopefully, they would hear a piece of good news from that side.