Emperor of Steel

To reach Alvera the capital of Konrad Territory, they had to pass through the Meltrin Plains.

It was Eisenberg, the city famous for its walls.

Originally the Konrad Region had a heterogeneous dynasty based on the dwarves.

Eisenberg, for the capital of Alvera, was built as a fortress to defend the place.

The fortress was further enlarged after the region was conquered by the Holy Empire and eventually turned into a gateway city that one should definitely pass through to reach Alvera from Bless.

In the office at the lordship overlooking the city of Eisenberg, there were two men standing.

It was the right hand of Duke Ferrierd, Marquis Parker, and Lazlie the lord of Flying Dragons.

“The army will get here by tomorrow.”

The first to speak was Marquis Parker.

He was one of the top generals of the Holy Empire, and he had spent more time fighting for the empire compared to anyone else.

However, at some point, there was a division in the empire, and the faction of Constantine had come to power, and the opposing faction of Duke Ferrierd declared self-independence and turned into the leader of the rebel army.

When the imperial army was placed in front of their region, the feelings were mutual for every lord.

There could be some comrades in the imperial army, with whom he might have fought together back in his days.

“The reinforcements have already arrived, and they have been fully briefed. The enemies won’t be able to go beyond Eisenberg,” responded Lazlie.

“Of course, that is known.”

Marquis Parker nodded his head at the words of Lazlie about the reinforcements.

As long as they participated in the rebellion, the Holy Empire was their only enemy.

The fights with the enemies and the break downs, he decided to think about those at a later time.

“No other ambush operation will work on them, right?”

“It did work very well at the start, but since they have already been hit, they will be on a constant lookout. Any more sudden acts would only end up eating more of our power, I don’t think it will make any sense to do that.”

“Then, are we just left with the option of fighting them head-on?”

According to the information from their spies, the Anti-Revolutionary War Army totaled to 150,000 with 500 Gigants and 3,000 knights.

They were hit once in the Meltrin Plains, but although they had lost some of their power, they were still way ahead of the rebels or the Konrad Kingdom.

They had the power to push away the Konrad Kingdom with great force, so Marquis Parker wasn’t terrified.

The walls of Eisenberg city were tall and thick and had incredible power inside of them.

In addition, the Holy Empire didn’t know that they weren’t dealing with just one force of the kingdom.

It was the Flying Dragons.

The Gigants, artillery, and other weapons were being supported by the other empires.

Not just that. The mercenary forces came to their aide as well, and those mercenaries filled what they were lacking.

“Maybe they will be shocked.”

The imperial forces might be shocked to see the Konrad Kingdom come with unexpected power.

An army that got crushed before the start of war could never win.

Marquis Parker, the former right-hand man of the Holy Empire, seemed confident.

“How do you plan on using the troops supported by the neighbors?” Lazlie asked with curiosity building inside of him.

“Those men are going to place their troops in front of their regions. They will have to pay a lumpy price for not taking part even after the King’s orders to convene in the war.”

In Konrad, there were dozens of other estates in addition to Duke Ferrierd’s.

Half of them actively responded to the rebel uprising, but the other half appeared here and there with no official response.

The fact that none of the nobles could have retained their place without the help of Duke Ferrierd, put them in a helpless situation.

“I see. Will the first battle be a Gigantic duel?”

At another question from Lazlie, Parker nodded his head.

“It will be. That will be the best way to boost the morale of our allies and beat the enemy.”

It had been a very long time since a Gigantic duel had taken place. Arch Duke Gregory, the strongest knight, and the other Saint Guards were the strongest opponents one could ask for.

However, for some untold reason, Arch Duke Gregory and the Saint Guards didn’t participate in the Anti-Revolutionary War.

The army still had a few Sword Masters, but they didn’t have enough Sword Masters to give them an advantage.

‘The mercenary captain and the assault captain, who came as reinforcements, are Sword Masters, right? If they are, then they might take care of all the tough ones.’

A letter from Duke Ferrierd stated that the mercenary captain of the Flying Dragons was Count Ferrero of the Baroque Empire, which meant that he would surely take out one or two Sword Masters of the enemy.

‘Okay, if we can go on like this, then we might be able to win the battle just like we have intended!’

With a hopeful look, he opened the door of the office to finish all the necessary preparations before the enemy reached them.

However, he didn’t realize that Lazlie, whom he had left behind, didn’t have the same shinning cold eyes as before.

“Oh my! My back hurts!”

“Uhk! Everything I ate this morning is going to come up!”

“I don’t think my legs can stand any longer.”

“Kuek… How long are we supposed to even do this?!”

Of the 4 squadrons that were leading the Anti-Revolutionary Army, there were hundreds of mercenaries who had begun to feel sick.

All of them, who were marching, were dragging their swords like sticks, and their faces were yellow. It was because they were carrying a military command which was many times higher than normal soldiers would.

When the sounds of struggles came out, the men, riding a horse on the left and right side, hit the mercenaries.

“Uh! What are you doing? Why aren’t you stretching your back?”

“Why is that guy sitting over there?!”

“March faster! Don’t you see that you’re slowing us down!”

The ones shouting were the Rakan Knights, and the ones who were marching to their death were Red Wolf’s newcomers.

Gavel and the other Garlic Mercenaries were becoming fed up with the Rakan Knights who were training them.

“Those demons!”

“They can’t be anything other than a race of demons!”

Some of the mercenaries, who were mumbling under their breath, burst into anger at Gavel.

“The captain asked me to join the Red Wolf Mercenaries!”

“What did you say? But you did agree to it!”

“Dammit! Who would have thought that things would turn out like this?”

After joining the Red Wolf Mercenaries, Gavel’s group was being pushed to death.

They were teaching sword fighting through duels, and most of them used unilateral paddle steaming.

In addition, they told newcomers to develop their physical strength. The newcomers were made to carry heavy army goods and food.

In addition, they were not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke.

“Just leave this. I am going to die before I even reach Eisenberg.”

“This! They might kill us the moment we decide to leave.”

At the suggestion of his members, Gavel slammed his hands.

In fact, he was the one who was regretting it the most.

If he could, he really wanted to go back in time and not make the same foolish mistake that he did.

But even if he could go back in time, he couldn’t be a mercenary anymore.

Even a free-spirited mercenary would have to pay compensation if they withdraw from the war, and the punishment would be severe. The punishment would be almost equal to the one given to soldiers. Soldiers that leave their armies in time of war would be given the death penalty.

The Red Wolf Mercenaries definitely belonged to the latter.

No, not even the Holy Empire could intervene if the Red Wolf decided to act.

The vilest person out of them was Philip.

‘Bastard! He hits and then hits us again and doesn’t even compliment us after doing all that!’

Philip was on a horse and riding right in front of Gavel.

The grueling march ended after two days, revealing the large and magnificent walls of Eisenberg.

The Anti-Revolutionary Army arrived at the forefront of it and settled on the plains around the wall.

“Notify all the forces! Be quick and get ready for the siege!”

At the command of the general commander, after a short break, they set up shelters and barriers around them.

At that moment, the gate opened and a group of soldiers came out.

There were several heavy armored Gigants. The one standing at the front shouted.

“I am the vice-captain of the Red Roses Knights of Konrad Kingdom, Viscount Temer! If there is anyone who can take on my sword, come forward!”

The Anti-Revolutionary Army and the riders began to discuss.

Luke heard his words and smiled.

‘Hoo! A Gigantic Duel!? A legacy of the past that we’ll get to witness once again.’

The Gigantic Duel.

It was a battle system that had each side send a Gigant to battle each other.

It was very different from wars where all the Gigant riders fought.

To make sure that soldiers wouldn’t withdraw from the war or get caught in duels between Gigants, Gigantic Duels took place before a war started to avoid loss.

Many riders applied for the Gigantic Duel and tried to show off their strength to increase the morale of their knights.

Over time, however, strategies and tactics began to diverge, and rational and computational trends began to prevail. The results seemed to be much more important than just boosting the morale and honor of the knights.

No one thought that they would be able to see a Gigantic Duel, which wasn’t taking place in the Holy Arthenia Empire.

“Well, this is the age of Gigant battles…”

“It is probably a conservative and tradition-oriented decision since this is a God based nation?”

Philip and Victor watched the situation unfold with Luke.

The Anti-Revolutionary Army was using blue Gigants.

A snarling voice came out of a blue Gigant, which was armed with a mace and a round shield.

“Huh, somebody said it was Viscount Temer. I know him. He was notorious for pissing himself in the border when he faced the Talez Kingdom.”

“Hahaha!”

“Oh, he pissed himself!”

At the words of the blue Gigant rider, all the riders began to laugh.

When the laughter began to ring in the plains, Temer’s face became red.

Twenty years ago, Viscount Temer, who joined the battlefield for the very first time, peed in the cockpit of a Gigant as it was his first time.

He wasn’t intimidated, scared or nervous. As the battle went on for too long, he didn’t have a place to go relieve himself and thus came the result.

But for the army to insult his honor by using an inevitable accident!

“You! Who are you…?”

“You are asking me? I’m the one who wanted the same woman that you liked in the past, Viscount Jukebal.”

“Kuk! Jukebal, you bastard!”

The two men worked on the same unit and liked the same woman.

Naturally, the two turned up having a bad relationship and decided to settle things with a duel.

The duel ended up being a draw.

The problem, however, was that the woman had no feelings for either of them and ended up marrying another person.

Rather than sharing the pain of being misled, the two of them, thinking it was the other man’s fault, became enemies.

“If it wasn’t for you, Lyria could have been my wife!”

“Shut up! If you didn’t tear off that note…!”

Both of the riders were arguing over it for a while.

In addition to their lingering hate and love fight, there were things about them going to a picnic during the military academy, stealing lunches and telling their instructor about going to the red light district secretly.

As a result, both the riders began to feel uncomfortable.

“Be prepared, Temer! I’ll make sure to put ‘Pissed Traitor’ on your headstone!”

“Huh! I’ll bash your skull into pieces!”

The two riders had finally begun to fight.

Rushing in, their shields clashed. The two Gigants soon fought a fierce battle between a mace and sword.

Kwang! Chang-!

Unlike their quarrel, the two riders were good enough to duel.

It was quite exciting to see gigantic 10-meter tall Gigants duking it out.

“Viscount Jukebal go and win this!”

“Viscount Temer! Don’t get pushed around!”

The soldiers began to cheer from both sides by screaming the name of their respective rider.

Kwang! Pah!

Both Gigants would strongly collide, moved back or tumble down.

The skills of the two experts were very similar.

In addition, both the Gigants seemed to be a knight class, so they didn’t fight for long.

“It looks like Jukebal might win.”

Philip who was watching the game predicted.

“No, Temer will,” stated Luke

“Uh? You think so? But Jukebal’s sword skills are good, and his Gigant’s performance seems to be better as well.”

Philip asked Luke with a face that looked like he didn’t understand the reason.

“Of course, Jukebal is better in terms of skills and Gigant performance, but Temer is a Rune Knight”

“Uh? Rune Knight?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem like it has been too long since he has learned magic, but in tight battles like this one, just one variable can change the entire game.”

Luke read the stream of mana that was flowing through Temer’s Gigant and realized that he was a Rune Knight.

Not surprisingly, when Jukebal, who was ready to take his victory, raised his mace for a final blow, Temer began to cast his magic.

“Grease!”

“Uh!”

Although he was a 1st circle secondary magic, the magic released at that state was fatal.

As the floor slipped, Jukebal’s Gigant lost balance and leaned forward. Temer pierced him with his huge sword without missing the timing.

Kwak!

Temer’s giant sword pierced the breastplate accurately and through the cockpit.

“Ahh!”

The soldiers of the Anti-Revolutionary Army couldn’t help but scream when they saw Jukebal fell. They all seemed sad.

Thump!

As the rider lost, Jukebal’s body fell.

“Wah! We won!”

“Long live Viscount Temer!”

On the walls of the Konrad Kingdom, the soldiers threw their helmets in the air and celebrated.

Temer looked proud after seeing the fallen Gigant of Jukebal.

Although he was victorious, he felt sad after realizing that the enemy’s life was gone.

But when he turned around, the Gigant riders from the Anti-Revolutionary Army jumped in.

“Wait, Viscount Temer! I will be the one to deal with you next!”

“Who might you be?”

At the question from Temer, the knight from the Anti-Revolutionary Army drew out his sword and revealed his identity.

“I am Alfred, a senior paladin representing Marius. I want to take revenge for my close acquaintance.”

Alfred wasn’t a close acquaintance of Jukebal. He had just appeared there under the command of Bishop Maxim.

Commander Bishop Maxim, the 2nd squadron commander, asked him to apply for a duel to revive him from the embarrassment that he suffered during the ambush.

“Huh, the fallen priest who sells the name of God.”

Marius was training paladins in the name of protecting temples and believers in various parts of different nations.

And the paladins that were born for that purpose lead the way to help rather than fulfill their duties. In the presence of officers and bishops, they had to follow another set of rules.

Alfred raised his voice at the criticism of Temer.

“How dare you say such things! Kneel and repent!”

“Repent you say? Don’t try to be funny! The one who should repent is your denomination! Your Lord will surely punish you!”

“Ahhh!”

Alfred, who could no longer listen to Temer, rushed in while screaming.

Thump!

The Gigant Alfred was riding on was Paladin.

It was a knight class developed seven years ago by the Arthenia Royal Magic Tower.

“Holy Sword!”

A pale radiant glow began to emerge from Paladin’s giant sword and attacked Temer’s Gigant.

“Huh, a holy sword? You can’t beat me with such a weak and sneaky trick!”

Temer reacted without rushing in or losing his calm.

Kang! Kang!

The two Gigants, anticipating what was going to happen next, engaged in a fierce battle.

Originally, Alfred’s skills were intermediate.

However, with the ability of the Holy Paladin and the unique sword skills of the Holy Sword, he was able to push Temer, a Sword Master.

Normally, that wouldn’t be enough to push him, but Temer had already used most of his energy in his fight against Jukebal.

In addition, he was adversely affected by the situation.

“Uh, Grease!”

When he began to get pushed, Temer used magic.

However, it didn’t work. As soon as his magic began to appear, the antimagic circle engraved on Paladin’s glove neutralized the magic.

Temer was flustered and tried other spells such as Wind and Press in addition to Grease, but none of them worked.

“You think you can win with that?!”

“Kuk! If you are so perfect…”

Slash!

Eventually, Temer’s Gigant’s head flew off when it was his by Paladin’s sword, ending the game.

“Uhm, did you see that? We paladins can do this, Huhuhu!”

As the subordinates struck the final hit, Bishop Maxim, with proudness on his shoulders, smiled and spoke triumphantly to the nobles around him.

Seeing him act like that, Count Marcus couldn’t help but feel sick.