Emperor of Steel

The next morning.

The San river, which had gone back to its regular flow and level, was sparkling in the morning sun.

Unlike the breathtaking scenery of the water, the riverside had a rather intimidating scene going on.

In numerous places, the Gigants and the artillery weapons with the bodies of the soldiers were lying, revealing the devastation caused by earth and sand.

Erwin had approached Luke, who was floating in the sky to look at the terrible landscape.

“Congratulations! You are one of the commanders who will be known in the Empire’s history.” Said Erwin.

“Won’t I just be a slayer who had massacred tens of thousands of people?” Asked Luke.

“I think you will be, from the Volga Republic’s side.”

Luke had thought about it last night when he was breaking down the dam.

His actions would be remembered by someone as a hero, and for someone, he would be a murderer.

It was very rare for one to take the lives of thousands in a moment in war.

Moreover, it wasn’t a fair battle, it was a victory which had been achieved after making sure all the conditions were favorable to one side.

‘Whatever it was, I had been thrown into a war, and winning was my best choice for both me and my retainers in the estate.’

Luke seemed firm.

The act was familiar to him. 500 years ago, he was considered as a target calling him the Devil king.

During that time, the cause was revenge for the men who had been oppressed by the nobles, but a few had to die in the process.

This time, the soldiers who died were the old ones.

However, there was one puzzling thing.

The enemy took agile actions, without any thought, he had placed orders for both the divisions in his army to move out.

And as a result, there were as many casualties as had been expected.

“Did you tell them?” Asked Luke.

“… the Republics have a lot of fairies and mixed races. They all have a different sense when compared to humans.”

At the question from Luke, Erwin responded in her usual cold manner,

Luke was very convinced that the ice-cold elven woman had spoken to the enemy army. Erwin was away when Luke had gone to destroy the dam.

And no matter how much a different sense the fairies and other races had, it was certain that they couldn’t be sure unless the sight, hearing, and smell could confirm it.

And for convincing one legion to move, there had to be a stronger reason.

However, Luke had no intention of punishing her for that act. He understood her reasons to do it.

“What will you do in the future?” Asked Erwin.

“I need to fight back.”

Luke responded with an obvious answer.

He had no intention of sending back the Volga Republic’s army.

He had no specific bad feelings towards the Volga Republic, and he had no intention of giving a victory to the Empire, but he was going to take full advantage of the situation.

Through the war, he was planning on taking merit.

If he could place a few merits on his side, he would surely be rewarded.

Whether on a higher level post, or a new estate, or a shorter military service, everything would end up benefiting Luke for his revenge and survival.

“We’ll push as soon as the Gigant maintenance is over. I hope you’ll act like a good guide at that time.” Said Luke.

“It will be recorded in the Empire’s history.” Said Erwin.

“No, that would never happen.”

Luke responded firmly, with rage clearly visible in his eyes.

“I will help you overthrow the Baroque Empire.” Said Erwin.

“…!”

Erwin’s face changed a little.

Luke was surely dissatisfied with the Baroque Imperial family and it was due to the history of their two families had shared.

However, the blazing anger in his eyes wasn’t just a plain complain, but an intense will.

And that intense will felt like a strong wind.

The advent of the wind, signaling the incoming storm!

‘Was this the person that you talked about?’ Thought Erwin.

Erwin who was in her thoughts was brought back to reality with Luke’s voice.

“Let’s hurry up. If the army is made of young ones, they’ll run away quickly.”

“Understood.”

A storm that would shake the continent.

Erwin decided to put her thoughts aside. Until she was convinced, she decided to watch him much keenly.

“Ahh! How could this happen…”

Commander Tyron was pounding his chest with his trembling fist.

He ordered the withdrawal, however, around 20,000 troops had been sacrificed.

He had to analyze the damage in detail, but if one looks at the weapons and the number of each unit, a rough damage could be calculated.

However, it wasn’t just damage that was being calculated.

Due to the sudden withdrawal, the troops had left behind all the food and weapons, and none of the important canons or Gigants had been brought out.

It was because they were heavy to move.

And in the current situation, it was almost impossible to wage war without those Gigants and Canons.

Which was why Tyron tried to get back to work, however, he soon gave up.

The Gigants and the artillery units which were in the camp were all washed away.

Moreover, the soldiers were all scattered. In particular, it was the directional soldiers unit.

They were the most dissatisfied with the commander, the directional soldiers didn’t listen to the orders of moving to the riverside and were damaged heavily, and the remaining ones escaped from the camp immediately.

“Sir, first the military had been defeated…”

At the words of the lieutenant and the other staff, Tyron was getting frustrated.

No matter how much he thought, there was exactly one solution he could think of.

“How would the president even look at me!” He screamed.

He was a proud veteran of war, but instead of luring the Northern Army of the Baroque Empire, he failed to capture the Torlot Fortress.

Unfortunately, Tyron’s nightmare didn’t end there.

Luke finished the maintenance pretty early and began to counter-attack.

The army saw the Imperial army troops who were confidently pushing into the land where the Republic army was resting.

However, there was only one thing that they could do before the Gigant get to their location, it was to retreat with tears in their eyes.