Emperor of Steel

Around the end of the celebration party, Luke moved to a separate room and met with the ambassadors around the world.

The envoys offered gifts and shared friendship tokens between the two nations.

Luke wanted to have a smooth relationship between the other nations.

It was because he knew that that had to be the first thing he needed to do in order to revive his kingdom and go against the Baroque Empire.

Thanks to him being the Devil King 500 years ago, he had no intention of replicating the same situation that happened in the past.

‘To repeat the same mistakes in the past would mean I am nothing more than an idiot.’

When Luke was thinking, an unexpected envoy approached him.

“You are from the Baroque Empire?”

“That is right. I have a letter from His Majesty.”

The young nobles, who identified himself as Viscount Kurian, gave Luke the letter from Rudolf.

‘Would the Emperor celebrate my climb?’

Luke opened the letter with a doubt.

The handwriting of Rudolf, which was filled with arrogance and anger, caught his eyes.

‘Listen well, Luke de Rakan.

I have heard that you punished Mayers and the nobles. But why did you have to make a foolish move to go for the throne, which your enemy built, and create your own nation over there?

It’s not too late. Return to the Empire and be a part of Baroque and a noble from here.

If you continue to act foolishly, you will be erased from the world forever with a thousand Gigants and a million troops coming for you.’

“Huh, thousand Gigants and a million troops? I guess the Emperor is exaggerating.”

Even in Baroque’s past, the Empire had no such force.

However, currently, the nation was divided into three, and he could mobilize such force?

Luke chuckled at Rudolf’s words and looked at the man in front of him.

Viscount Kurian, who caught his eyes, was flustered. However, he tried to remain calm.

‘Quiet and calm. He isn’t an ordinary one. He might be a Sword Master?’

And as Luke thought, Kurian was indeed a Sword Master. A knight whom the emperor raised himself.

In fact, he was given a secret order to assassinate Luke.

However, the guards around Luke were very thorough, and Luke wasn’t willing to give any blindspot.

Also, he wasn’t a man that acted hastily, so Kurian had given up the thought of assassination.

“Go back and tell the Emperor that one day, I will come back with a spear in my hand.”

A spear in hand meant to hit Rudolf’s neck.

“Understood.”

Luke, who stayed calm, paused for a moment and watched Kurian.

‘The reason why he sent this man was to show me that he had such a knight by his side? I guess the Baroque Empire won’t fall so easily.’

Despite the rebellion and the invasion from the neighboring nations, the imperial power had accumulated for over 500 years, and it wouldn’t disappear so quickly.

He wasn’t sure how long the forces would stand, but Luke decided that he would never be careless when fighting against the Baroque Empire.

Whatever it was, Viscount Kurian went out, and the next envoy was from the Libiya Kingdom.

The representative was Count Felipe, who had visited Mayers for his ceremony.

“Uhm. Shaikan, well, King Reichard wants an alliance with me?”

“Yes, that is right. Our King sees Libiya and Symphonia walking on the same path.”

“Hmm, I understand.”

Luke had previously met with the Orc Hero, Shaikan.

That was why he knew what he wanted and his intentions when talking about an alliance so quickly.

“I also see a positive view of this alliance with Libiya. But, I think that it is necessary for us to have a more detailed conversation to make a treaty.”

“Then, are you saying you want a meeting?”

“Exactly. Sooner or later, the kings of the two nations will get a chance to meet,”

Luke wasn’t sure about the other nations, but he had no intention of making an alliance with the Libiya Kingdom.

So he thought that he should at least meet with Shaikan.

After talking a little more, he sent out the envoy of the Libiya Kingdom.

“Which nation is the next one?”

“Grenada.”

At the answer from Prime Minister Hans, Luke seemed shocked.

“What? Grenada?”

“That is right. Would you ask us to inform them to head back?”

“No, let them in, we’ll see.”

When Luke allowed them to enter, Hans signaled the guards.

It was then that a middle-aged man with a slight glow on his copper face came in with several people.

“I am Count Haran de Greg, the foreign minister of the Grenada Kingdom.”

When Count Greg bowed with a polite expression, Luke opened his mouth with a grim expression.

“Kuek, Count Greg. I never thought that an envoy of Grenada Kingdom would come.”

The Grenada Kingdom was at war with the Marquis of Rakan not long ago.

No, they unilaterally invaded the Marquis.

And it turned troublesome for Luke because the surprise attack of Milton came at the same time as well.

‘Such men send an envoy to celebrate by coronation, huh.’

Well, the reason was roughly understandable. However, Luke didn’t expect them to put up such shameless faces on an official event.

‘Maybe it’s because they are all pirates? Thick-skinned men.’

Luke’s body felt discomfort and released an overwhelming aura.

Count Greg, who was exposed to it, began to sweat.

Yet, he opened his mouth pretending that he was fine as he was a foreign minister.

“T-the last war was led by some stupid men who followed Mayers’ words. Please understand that it was never our King nor our Kingdom’s move.”

“Huh, was that so? With just some nobles, the navy of the kingdom and the knights of the kingdom with the Royal Navy flagship moved? That is one surprising thing I am hearing.”

“W-well that was…”

“Either way, the Grenada Kingdom wasn’t as thorough as I thought.”

As Luke’s eyes kept staring at him, Greg’s head began to throb.

Count Greg, who had a strong heart, was breaking in a cold sweat.

However, it was difficult to lead a negotiation when proved guilty, so Greg repeatedly tried to deny the facts.

“As I said earlier, it was because some of Mayers’ masterminds had encouraged our military personnel. Our King was furious as well with the turn of events, so please don’t misunderstand us because of that.”

“Misunderstanding… Well, let’s call it that for now.”

When Luke said he would turn a blind eye, Count Greg felt relieved and pushed the box he carried.

“This is a gift from our King as an honor to His Majesty’s crown and for the last war, so please accept it.”

Luke looked at the gist from Grenada.

The box was made of ebony and had a transparent stone with rainbow hue.

“This… is this coral crystal?”

“Yes, it is a magic stone that has been brought out from the deepest depths of the sea.”

The coral crystal reefs that could be made into magic stones were great for making potions.

Since the power of the stone was condensed, it was possible for it to last longer, and it would improve the aura and mana of a wizard and a knight greatly.

Even though they were so efficient, they were hard to collect, and getting in huge sums were close to impossible.

“It is said that the Coral reefs are larger in size and more colorful. Even those in the box will be able to run a count sized estate for years.”

“Uhm, wow…”

“We have also prepared other gifts.”

Greg opened the boxes in turn and showed black pearls, silks, or ceramics from the Southern Continent.

As the treasure was expensive, Luke seemed satisfied.

“I’ll think of it as something to mend the damages caused by the war. I’ll accept them, but to give me such precious things, what is the real reason for you to come to Symphonia?”

Luke didn’t think that they were simply there to congratulate him on his coronation.

All this while, the Grenada had plundered the cities and towns of Rakan during the war, and they never officially apologized to them.

Not surprisingly, Count Greg opened his mouth.

“The release of Count Fernando de Salizar who was captured in the war.”

‘There it is…’

He was already guessing.

Fernando de Salizar, a promising Sword Master and the only son-in-law of Grenada’s King, Drake.

There were other possible candidates to be the successor. However, there was no one who was as talented and skilled as Fernando.

Therefore, the King decided that he wouldn’t let such a candidate be held by another nation.

“In the war between nations, there is a custom where high nobles and royalties are released after receiving a high ransom. We are willing to pay the amount. We would appreciate it if you release the Count.”

That was the mission of Count Greg, the ambassador of Grenada.

At his request, Luke opened his mouth.

“If there is a reasonable ransom, then I have no objection. But I need something more than money and jewelry.”

“Then what would you like…?”

What was he asking for?

Luke spoke to Greg who was unsure, “In the last war, I captured a ship called Hyredin. It has been in a bad state because of the battle. If your wizards and engineers would assist us in building a modern battleship of such, we will consider releasing Count Salizar.”

“T-the same class as Hyredin?”

“Yes. I was thinking that I should develop the navy of my kingdom.”

Luke had used torpedo in the last war to smash the navy of the Grenada Navy Fleet, but their battleships made Luke feel jealous.

The other ships they used were tough too, but Hyredin, which was equipped with more than 200 guns and landing Gigants on wheels, seemed like an invincible fortress in the sea.

Maybe if the troops of Luke had to face that battleship in the middle of the sea, then getting out alive wouldn’t have been possible.

But, as Luke demanded too much, Count Greg jumped out.

“That will be hard. Battleships similar to Hyredin, even our Kingdom only has 3 of them. And in order to make such ships, you need to have a large shipyard and excellent technology…”

“That is why I am asking you to send people. If you can send wizards and engineers, we can make the ship on our land.”

“Of course, that would be nice. However, for the sake of national security, the wizards and engineers of our shipbuilding regions are prohibited by national law to leak such information.”

“Is that so? Will you stick with those words even if the life of Count Salizar can’t be guaranteed?”

At the threat from Luke, Count Greg gulped.

If he couldn’t negotiate with Luke and Count Salizar was killed, his King would never let him live.

Especially when Count Fernando de Salizar was the next in line to be the King.

“I am sorry, but can’t you ask for something else…?”

“I don’t need anything else.”

Greg could only sigh, seeing Luke act stubbornly.

After a few push and pull negotiations, they eventually ended up agreeing to send enough engineers to build a merchant ship rather than a battleship.

Luke was pretty pleased with the results.

In fact, he knew his first demand was excessive.

‘The navy has trained sailors and more important ships.’

Marquis Volant, who was the commander of the 5th squad, had emphasized the need to develop the navy too.

That was why Luke decided to build shipyards and ships and then develop the battleships once the sailors were trained.