Emperor of Steel

Count Naiman dug a trap in the woods 30 kilometers south of Torlot Fortress for ambushing the enemy army.

If the Republic army managed to occupy the Torlot Fortress and marched forward, they were planning on defeating them.

‘Huhu, we can occupy the southern part of the Volga Republic.’

In the beginning, Emperor Rudolf tried to create a moderate border dispute to kill Luke.

But he changed his mind after thinking of a plan.

He decided to get bigger gains while causing a tear.

He decided that handling Luke would be a bonus.

Emperor Rudolf was in strong favor of the Count. And the Count had been calling out for the invasion of the Volga Republic for quite some time.

However, more than a week after being contacted that the Torlot Fortress was under attack, the Northern office couldn’t see a single Volga soldier.

When he had sent the scouts earlier, they had reported that the Republican forces were going hard on the Torlot Fortress.

“These stupid people! Are they wandering around because they weren’t able to capture the Fortress?”

It had been confirmed that the Republic forces attacking the Torlot Fortress had 60,000 troops and a large number of Gigants and artillery.

With just 3,000 troops and 10 Gigants, the Torlot Fortress wouldn’t have a chance against their enemies.

However, the situation didn’t go according to his plan.

‘Did that Luke guy really manage to stop them…’

Despite the desperate and difficult situation, the Torlot Fortress hadn’t sent a messenger or any communication through magic for the past three days asking for assistance.

Did he have enough confidence in defending his Fortress without help?

Hearing the reports from the scouts, they stated that the Republic forces were exhausted.

“Tch! Those Republicans, did they bring all the wrong people? Since I can’t keep on waiting, should I order Luke to withdraw? Then the Republic forces will take over the Fortress and come all the way down here…”

Count Naiman thought about how to approach the operation.

“Commander! We have news!”

A wizard rushed over to deliver news after receiving a report.

The Volga Republic troops had emerged from the Castia mountains and attacked the west of Krom.

“What? Shouldn’t our enemies be in trouble if they come all the way here from Castia mountains?” Asked the Count.

“I don’t know sir. But if we don’t send forces right away, the place might fall.”

At the words of the wizard, Count Naiman thought for a moment and immediately gave out his orders.

“Tell the Lords in there to hold on for a few days. I’ll run over and destroy the ones attacking the Torlot Fortress.”

The Castia mountain was rugged.

Thus, Count Naiman thought that there wouldn’t be a large number of Republic forces that could pass through the forest, and he thought that the troops would be dispersed.

So he decided to hurry, he decided to take down the army that was attacking the Torlot Fortress.

“Are you going to give up on the ambush? We might be able to save the Fortress if we move the troops right away, but we might not be able to carry the majesty’s secret orders.”

Said the staff to the Count.

“I can’t do that.”

There would definitely be a chance to kill Luke Viscount later.

However, if the invasion of the Northern lands happened, the empire would suffer a great deal of damage. They could be impeached.

So he gave out the orders and had his army march toward the Torlot Fortress.

However, when he arrived at the Fortress, the situation was different from what he had imagined.

The large army of 60,000 enemies had disappeared, and the Fortress soldiers were collecting the enemy’s weapons, which were buried near the river.

“This, what just happened?” Asked the Count

“What do you mean by that? Our enemies were annihilated.”

Hobart, who had been told the news about the reinforcements, bluntly answered them upon their arrival.

“Annihilated? How the hell?”

Until yesterday, the scouts were saying that the Fortress was under attack.

And now, they managed to defeat the enemy in just one day?

“The commander built a dam upstream with a lot of hard work. So the enemies just flew in one shot.”

“No, that…!” The count stuttered.

Did he stop them all by himself?

Shocked at the news, Count Naiman almost fell from his horse.

He barely caught his balance and asked Hobart,

“The Viscount, where is he now?”

“The commander said that it would be good to destroy the Fortress of the enemy, and so after repairing the Gigants, he led the soldiers into the enemy’s mainland. The defense of the Fortress and the battlefield maintenance was left over to the officers.” Responded Hobart.

“Hu…”

The Count wasn’t sure if he was supposed to laugh or be angry.

It was a welcoming situation if the allies had defeated the enemy’s army and went to invade their land.

However, the one who was doing it wasn’t someone else but Luke.

The guy who was supposed to die was going after merit, and that couldn’t be allowed.

‘Dammit, come back, I’ll say that he disobeyed orders.’

Count Naiman told him to keep the Fortress and asked him to not enter the enemy’s territory. However, Luke decided to go in. This was his plan to get rid of Luke.

When resolved, the communication wizard ran over and delivered urgent news.

“Ku, commander! Baron Miran, Baron Hood and Baron Ochoa have been overtaken by the Republic Forces!”

“What, what did you say!?”

The Count was startled.

Before coming to Torlot, he had been told that the land was under attack by the Republic.

But, in less than two days, three estates had been taken down!

“The wizard barely managed to escape from the manor, and the enemy’s army number seems to be significant. There are a lot of troops, and the Forefront Gigant’s power was told to be very strong.”

“This, we have been deceived!” Said the Count.

Count Naiman’s heart was beating fast.

He thought that the Republic forces which had come in through the Castia mountain were just a diversion.

So, he was in a hurry to defeat the main force of the enemy in the Torlot Fortress.

But, if the enemy occupied three estates in less than three days, their power wasn’t that weak.

Perhaps, the main force of the war wasn’t the unit that attacked the Torlot Fortress, but the one that crossed the Castia mountains.

“Hurry back to Krom city!”

The three estates that fell were on the path leading to Castia mountains then to Krom.

Count Naiman realized their purpose and urgently ordered the soldiers to hurry back to the city of Krom.