Emperor of Steel

“What? The Republic Force has gone past the reinforcements and Krom has fallen?!”

Kwang!?

Emperor Rudolf, who was quietly resting in the Imperial palace, hit the table out of rage when he heard the report.

Due to his anger, the table which was made of ebony that was specially imported from the Southern Continent shattered along with the teacup that was on it.

“How on earth did that even happened?”

“A trick or an enemy deception…”

Count Voltas had begun to explain in detail about the report he had received.

Upon hearing the story, Rudolf looked desperate and angry.

He had never even thought that the Republicans would see through their plan and use it to them.

He asked again,

“But, there is no way that the Northern army would have fallen so easily? Wasn’t the Sword Master Count Kyle there to support them?”

No matter how deceptive their enemy had been, the Emperor thought that there was no chance they would have just been defeated.

“It had been said that the Duke, Dimitry, who was leading the enemy flagship, could create the Hyper Aura,” reported Count Voltas.

“Hyper Aura!!”

Rudolf jumped out of his seat.

“Yes. Even though a total of 170 Gigants rushed over to kill him, they all failed to do so and have been wiped out.”

“Dammit, those Republicans are as sneaky as ever.”

So far, whenever the Empire and the Republic entered a border dispute, it was always a head-on battle.

The Republics divided their troops into two, and none of them backed the other. However, the fact that Dimitry was able to hide his skill and achievements showed how determined the Republicans were and that made the Emperor more frustrated.

“Majesty, we need to make haste and support the North.”

“If the Northern army has collapsed, then obviously we should be sending them support,” responded the Emperor.

In the northern part of the continent, there were numerous nobles who innately supported the Emperor.

And if they were caught up into the war, Rudolf would surely be having a hard time.

Which was why he decided to go ahead.

“Order the troops and the Knights Guard right away.”

“Sorry? Will the majesty himself come?” Asked Count Voltas.

“Yes. If that Dimitry has reached the Sword Sage level, no one else can deal with him. I will have to go myself and handle him.”

Even if that was the case, the Emperor had been wanting to see some bloodshed.

However, because he was the Emperor of the empire, he couldn’t just move out of his spot and enter the battle as he wished.

However, the situation now was different.

Since the cause was to fight and stop the enemy who had invaded the north, he was going himself to stop the enemy from invading his Empire.

“To save the Northern part from this crisis, we don’t have much time. We need to move as soon as possible. We need to move by tomorrow,” said the Emperor.

“Understood, Majesty!”

Count Voltas hurried over to carry the orders to the troops. A terrifying energy rose from Rudolf’s body.

The energy was so bloody and hate-filled that the blooming flowers in the room withered, and the attendants, who witnessed it, turned white.

“How dare they invade our territory! I will not spare even a single Republican!”

The next day, the Central Army and the Knights Guard led by Emperor Rudolf moved.

They were able to reach the North in less than a week due to the constant advancement of day and night.

Rudolf’s first meeting in the north was with over one million war refugees.

The Emperor continued to march, leaving them all behind without saying anything to the suffering soldiers.

Next were the hundred Northern Army troops.

It was surprisingly the very man who led them into doom. He approached the Emperor and knelt on his knees with his head on the ground.

“Sire! Please kill me!”

Unlike the mourning cries of the other soldiers, Naiman silently asked for forgiveness and mercy.

Rudolf, annoyed with the act, asked him with a cold look,

“Where is the enemy?”

“That… The enemy has already retreated.”

“What did you say?”

According to Naiman’s story, the goal of the Volga Republic wasn’t to secure the territories.

Their aim was to bring down the military power of the Empire, burning the castles and fortress, destroying the Magic Towers and the farms in each of the provinces.

And along with that was the looting of those places’ riches, capturing its talents such as scholars, wizards, and the engineers.

The rebellious knights and nobles were told to be strangled to death, and the common people who were really much of a use for them had been thrown out of the towns and villages.

The nobles, who had been driven out, headed to the South.

“They plundered the Northern cities and territories until they decided to withdraw. Every time we tried to stop them, but with the poor power we had, we faced defeat on every side…”

“Kaaak! These men!”

Rudolf was furious. He ordered to pursue them. The idea was to kill the Republic forces before they could reach the border.

And so, Count Voltas and the other officers tried to stop him.

If an all-out war broke out between the Volga Republic and the Baroque Empire, it would only result in good things for their neighboring nations.

In fact, it wasn’t because the other nations had them checked, it was mainly because the Holy Arthenia had a good relationship with the Republic.

“Furthermore, The nobles thought that the defeat of the Northern Army is a bit unusual. There is a lot of talk in the Imperial Parliament about reducing the power of the Emperor and giving more power to the nobles instead.”

At the report from Count Voltas, the Emperor, Rudolf, decided to return back to the Imperial palace.

“But before heading back, we need to clean things.”

Muttering, the Emperor looked over at the Count, Naiman.

“You’ve done so much for me in the past years, Naiman.”

“Majesty!”

The man was pale, realizing what was coming for him, and the emperor was there standing with a gentle smile.

When he had the hope of being left alone, Rudolf pulled out his sword like a lightning bolt and cut his neck.

Slash!

It all happened so quickly that Count Naiman died a painless death.

“Majesty, Majesty… Why?” Asked Voltas.

While all his officers and servants were flustered, Rudolf called for a man who recorded the Empire’s history and said,

“Count Naiman has died fiercely in the battle against the enemies. He fought till the very end. Write that.”

“Huh? Yes, understood, Majesty.”

The clerk understood what the Emperor’s intentions were.

Count Naiman was a nobleman of the Empire.

It wasn’t going to do any good if he lost his life in a poor manner.

By treating his death as an honorable one, the Emperor tried to reduce the blame from those power-hungry nobles.

The emperor was done talking. He ordered the gathering of troops.

He decided to hold on to his anger, but he was never going to forget the defeat that he had seen.

“Kuk, now I will withdraw, but I will definitely repay this shame by any means and methods to those Republican!”

Emperor Rudolf, who was looking at the North with rage, turned over and looked in the direction of the Capital, Nemesis.