Emperor of Steel

The night filled with darkness.

There were people approaching the Odessa, the border of the Libiya Kingdom.

Knights in black robes and faces painted with black ashes.

They crossed the wall while the guards had closed their eyes for a moment.

When the wizards flew in with the help of the Fly magic, they dropped ropes, and the knights used them and climbed up.

Immediately getting down the beneath the walls, they exchanged their eyes and sent hand signals.

They were acting like a close-knit group of troops which were infiltrating the enemy estates, however, their targets weren’t barracks and armory storehouse.

They moved to the most densely populated residential area along the way, and upon arriving the common well in the residential area, they began to work.

“Be careful! One small mistake and we will all die.”

When the wizard pulled out the bottle from his sleeve, the knight who was looking at him from behind nagged.

The knights who belonged to the Duke of Baroque Empire had entered the enemy lines to spread the plague.

Just before leaving, they were informed that the disease which the bottle held had effects that were terrifying beyond one’s imagination.

Just smelling the liquid was enough to make one feel feverish, and within a few days of time, they would turn dehydrated like a mummy and succumb to death.

“I need to get married to my fiancé next month. I don’t want to get sick of it and die a miserable death, so do it right.”

“Kukk. Don’t worry. I will do it as safely as possible.”

The wizard wearing a leather glove and mask which covered his face opened the cap of the bottle very cautiously.

No, well, he was trying to open it.

Slash! Swooh!

Suddenly, something moved in the dark and cut the right arm of the wizard which was holding onto the bottle.

“Oh my god!”

The soulful scream of the wizard filled the silence in the residential area.

The wizard who got his right arm cut off swiftly grabbed the falling solution and ran to the alley on the other side.

“Who, who was he?”

“Seek him and catch!”

Puk!

The knight following the wizard suddenly stopped.

The knights got stabbed by dozens of blades which came in through the darkness and died immediately.

‘No, no!’

While troops of the duke panicked, the surroundings turned bright.

As magic lamps flashed everywhere, hundreds of soldiers, knights, and monsters appeared into the ally and the roofs of the residential areas.

When did they perform for such a siege?

They weren’t able to assess what had happened, they were frustrated and in doubt.

“Kyakya! We were looking forward to you guys coming in here.”

The man who cut the wizard’s arm snatched the bottle with a smirk on his face.

“Dammit, we were pulled into a trap!”

When there was no time to escape, the expression of the Baroque troops turned pale.

They weren’t able to understand what was going on.

The plan they were able to execute wasn’t known to anyone, there were a few people who knew about it, and Emperor Rudolf constantly changed the troops for the plan without revealing their intentions.

Then, how did the Libiya kingdom get to know?

Who among them had betrayed their troops?

In any case, the operation had to be aborted and they fell into the trap. And they had to get out of the city as soon as possible and report it to their heads.

“We will deal with them! The wizards head back quickly!”

“Kuek, we are sorry!”

The knights pulled their sword bravely and rushed towards the Libiya troops.

Meanwhile, the wizards flew to the sky with magic or concealed themselves with invisibility magic.

“They are running away. Catch them!”

The Libiya kingdom was already prepared and wasn’t going to let their enemies escape.

The soldiers and knights who built troops beforehand knocked down the troops of the duke with a spear, and the archers on the roofs of the houses used their arrows to take down the wizards escaping in the sky.

Those who were wearing the invisibility spells were caught by the monsters who had a great sense of spell.

“Kuek!”

“Dammit! Those damn traitors!”

The members of the Baroque troops struggled to the very end and turned into bodies that crashed to the ground.

“Your Majesty, we have captured all the spies of the Baroque Empire who infiltrated the border cities and forts.”

Shaikan, who had been watching the affairs until late at night, looked forward to hearing the report from his cousin brother, Mitchell.

“That is good. And the disease?”

“It was reported that all the bottles were safely recovered.”

“Huhuh. Nice! Very nice!”

A pleased smile made its way onto Shaikan’s lips.

“I guess the information given by King Luke was accurate.”

“Yes, reports sent by the commanders showed no errors at all. In addition, as a result of the interrogation of the prisoners, they had no idea that their operation had been leaked.”

Shortly after the last visit of Luke during the treaty signing, the Intelligence of Symphonia handed over the top-secret documents.

It contained the details of time and places where the Baroque Empire’s troops were going to spread the disease.

And, the elite troops of a Baroque Duke were dispatched.

“Then, all that’s left is the counter-attack?”

“Yes, at the same time we need to take over and we need to start the operation ‘Reaper’s sickle’. Probably by then, the agents handed over their vials of disease and crossed into the Baroque border.”

As Mitchell said, skilled knights and agents snuck into the Baroque Empire in the same way as Rudolf planned.

However, Libiya’s agents weren’t aiming for a fort or town.

They were aiming for the capital, Nemesis.

It was Shaikan’s goal to spread the disease in Nemesis to disrupt the Empire’s peace.

“Kuekk. Rudolf! I will send back the gist you just sent me, so accept it well! Kuahhhahah!”

Just thinking about it made Shaikan laugh out loud.