Emperor of Steel

When Luke arrived at Avignon with the reinforcements, the king along with his nobles welcomed him very warmly. The people of the capital gave them a very grand welcome.

The imperial forces which entered the city felt like a triumphant army and stopped their march in front of the palace.

In front of the palace, a dozen high-ranking nobles, including the king, were waiting for Luke.

“Marquis Luke de Rakan.”

At the introduction from Philip, they all seemed surprised.

The first thing was, they were surprised to see that the reinforcement commander was a young man, and the second thing was, the title that he held was marquis.

Last but not least, they were the most surprised to know that he was the descendant of the famous warrior Rakan.

‘Didn’t he have a bad relationship with Baroque Imperial?’

Henry III thought to himself.

“You must have had a hard time coming here.”

“Not at all.” Replied Luke.

Once the two were done greeting, the nobles standing behind greeted Luke.

“Ha ha ha, we have arranged a small banquet for you and your knights.”

“Though we couldn’t have outdone the Baroque Empire, we have tried the very best.”

“It doesn’t matter. The banquet, I might…”

Luke stopped himself from refusing the offer. Behind him were Philip and the other knights with gleaming eyes.

Their gleaming eyes were hot and full of passion.

Their passion was so intense that it might turn into a grudge if he didn’t comply to their wishes.

‘What is this?’ Luke thought.

At first, he was bewildered, he looked over at Anna and the other female knights who mumbled under their breath.

“Uh, there men…”

“Since this is a very beautiful country, I am very obliged.” Luke answered.

The grudges weren’t much different from a normal man. But for the sake of his soldiers, Luke accepted their hospitality.

In fact, Navarre wasn’t famous for its specialties, it was Rhodesia which was very famous.

‘I, It seems like I don’t have other options.’

Luke, who didn’t have the heart to dismiss his subordinates, decided to attend the banquet.

Laughing to themselves, the knights followed the nobles of Navarre duchy.

Colorful decorations and expensive food.

The banquet was very colorful that it didn’t seem like it was the Navarre duchy which was undergoing a monster wave.

But it was a different case for Luke.

Unlike his subordinates who eagerly visited the banquet hall like bees searching for flowers, and getting caught by the old princes or nobles.

After listening to the brilliant diplomatic matters and the news about the empire and the imperial army for two long hours, Luke escaped with an excuse to get some air.

“Phew! I thought I was going to die.”

Out of the royal garden, he moved to a unique place.

And at that place, a fluffy cat with fluffy hair and a black bat appeared.

It was Sebastian and Belfair.

In fact, it was because he had to meet those guys that Luke had made an excuse for wanting some fresh air.

“Is the information clear?”

“Yes! Definitely, master.”

Sebastian began to report first. He had been gathering the information for the past five days.

“… and, of the duchy they are gathered at the Akbar Fortress, three days to the west.”

“Akbar fortress?” Luke asked.

“Yes, it is named after the lord of the region, but it is a very large and sturdy castle.”

The Akbar Fortress had about 50,000 troops and 120 Gigants.

“Isn’t it lesser than what we thought?”

At the question from Luke, Sebastian answered immediately.

“They have had a few head-to-head fights since the monster wave, and they have lost some power.”

The nobles who saw the monsters arriving early moved ahead and faced near destruction.

The representative of the region was Count Cork.

He had scrambled to the west region and put 20,000 troops, 60 Gigants, and 300 knights into the monster’s lair.

As a result, the duchy which had fewer troops and Gigants turned much more inferior.

Luke asked once again as he was getting irritated, “What is the movement of the fortified forces?”

“As if scared, not even taking one step.”

It seemed like the people were relying on the high walls to stop the monster legion.

It wasn’t a bad choice, but it wasn’t such a great choice either. And the path to getting to the capital wasn’t just one.

It might take some time, but there were other routes to get to the capital.

“What about the western grasslands?”

Luke turned towards Belfair and asked. Belfair, bowing down reported immediately.

“There were a lot of monsters out there. However, not all of the monsters had joined it, and when the monsters decide to join in, the duchy will be at a higher stake.”

“Uhm, it won’t be easy.”

If Luke didn’t always search for other options, then he would have seen their loss rather than their victory.

Their situation wasn’t so good.

But Luke never thought that he would lose.

“By any chance, have you seen the Orc Hero?”

At the question from Luke, Belfair with an awkward expression answered.

“On my way back here, I saw him from afar. He was the most ornately dressed among the orcs, certainly not an ordinary orc. I was so nervous that I wasn’t able to approach him anymore.”

“Oh, till that level?” Luke spoke to himself.

Although a lower demon, Belfair’s sword skills were close to a Sword Master.

But if Belfair instinctively felt threatened, then the Orc hero might be of a good level.

“With such force, they even have the ability to fool the human army… was there anything else that you have noticed?”

“That was all, more than that…”

“Understood. There’s still time, so we’ll keep a closer look and see what happens. Keep investigating until I step in the frontlines.”