Emperor of Steel

A few days later, Luke and his party arrived at Krom.

Krom was a military town with soldiers being half of its population.

There were more than 30,000 units in the northern command and the subordinate units, and a number of logistics units along with the merchants supporting them.

Luke’s wagon headed to the North.

The command office was located in the center of the city.

“What kind of person is the head?”

At the question of Luke, Philip gave him the information that he had learned from Krom’s guild.

“A veteran general who is an avid emperor noble and spent 30 years for him.”

“And his sword skills?”

“Advanced Expert, better known for being a hindrance to his opponent than his skills in fencing.”

“Then, the military life isn’t going to be so easy.”

The emperor would definitely try to get rid of Luke, the only lineage of Rakan.

He wouldn’t just send an assassin or give out the orders to his subordinates to kill Luke. If the Sword Emperor Rakan’s worshipers knew, then there would be outrage all over.

‘Maybe there is a good chance that he’ll try to trap me in the border conflict with the Volga Republic. And the man who had gotten the orders from the Emperor would surely use the sword on me…’ Thought Luke.

It would be easy to deal with a general who just does assaults with plain force.

However, the opponents were the worst obstacles.

“And one-third of the headquarters are nobles, so no one can just do what they feel like.” Philip said.

“But, the problem is that we can’t surely say the nobles are on our side either.” Luke said.

“That is one thing.”

Luke had rejected the proposal from Marquis Mayers, and that made them turn their back on Rakan Viscount and considered him as the noble, even then, the alliance couldn’t be the best thing either.

“And the power of the Northern Army?”

“300 Gigants and a total of 100,000 troops. And…”

Half of the northern army forces were on the border for the Volga Republic conflicts.

Several forts were built along the borders, and thousands of soldiers had been stationed in each fort.

The other half of the power had been deployed in the city rear, including Krom, which was considered as a war zone.

“And the situation of Torlot?” Luke asked.

“Firstly, there are 3,000 troops stationed there; 3 nobles, 10 Gigants, and around 120 knight apprentices.”

“And the status of the troops?”

Luke asked with a lot of interest as it was going to be his own unit.

“The most recent collapse of the troops had happened earlier this year. They had planned to attack the Volga Republic and managed to defeat the opponent but we had suffered a lot of casualties.”

At the explanation from Philip, Erwin recalled a story she had heard before crossing the borders.

After 5 days of onslaught, they succeeded in defeating Volga gates at Torlot, but they retreated with tears in their eyes as the reinforcements of the enemy had arrived.

Torlot was known to be the most reluctant place for soldiers.

It was the same with officers, knights, and the noble, it was trouble inside the Northern Army.

“Lord, why didn’t you just ask him to assign you to another place?”

Philip asked with a serious expression.

He knew that Luke’s magic and his fencing skills were excellent, however, the war wasn’t a display of individual skills.

In wars between the nations, thousands of soldiers, Gigants, and wizards were used no matter how dangerous the situation was.

Luke just shook his head and answered,

“No, there is no need to.”

“Then, why don’t you contact the estate and ask them to send more knights or wizards?”

“We have come to the end, and I can’t back off and wait. And, Sir Philip, you don’t have the confidence to keep me safe?”

“That isn’t it…”

“I think crisis and opportunity are like the two sides of a coin. We may struggle, but soon we will get stronger. So don’t worry anymore.”

“Tch, understood.”

After a while, the wagon stopped in front of the command office building.

Luke confirmed his identity to the guards and then went inside the building with his party.

Many officers and soldiers seemed very busy in the command office building.

They all looked at the strangers who entered the office with curiosity.

“Commander! Luke de Rakan of Rakan Viscount has come.”

At the call of the officer, the commander asked for them.

“Send them in.”

When Luke and his party walked in with the guidance of the lieutenant, they found an elderly man with a nice mustache sitting behind a large mahogany desk.

He jumped from his seat and opened his arms the moment he saw Luke.

“Welcome to the Northern Army.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Luke sat down after shaking hands with the middle-aged man.

The Count, Naiman glanced at Luke’s party and asked,

“Are these two your attendants?”

Normally, when a young noble who controls a territory enters the army, he was always accompanied by an escort or an attendant.

In order to finish the military service safely, it was customary to see that they were convenient in the military.

It was because they wanted him back safely.

‘One knight and one wizard?’ Thought the Count.

He felt the energy of the man who was wearing the knight’s uniform and from the one who has covered the entire body with a white robe.

The two couldn’t be ignored.

“There have been a lot of works going on, so I couldn’t bring in a lot of people.”

“Is that so? If that is the case, you can’t bring many.” The Count responded to Luke’s words.

He nodded and asked again,

“When I look at you, you seem like the first generation Rakan.”

“My father?” asked Luke.

“Yes, he and I were comrades who fought on the same field.”

Luke’s father had died seven years ago in the war that had happened with the Volga Republic.

He too tried to revive the fallen fame of the family but had died.

“Your father and I didn’t share the same unit, but we were still close mates. The first time we met was in the capital barracks assembled for war. During that time your father…”

Count Naiman began to tell Luke the story about his father with dull eyes.

Luke pretended to listen, however, his heart had no intention to hear.

It was because he had no memories of the first generation Rakan.

The body did belong to Luke, but the soul was of Saymon, so the response was completely natural.

The more he listened to Count’s story, the more he understood it.

That was…

‘This man. He is surely related to the death of the first generation.’

They weren’t in the same unit, but he knew more than he had to about how the warrior had died.

Luke’s father had been trapped and then killed.

Those thoughts made Luke feel glad.

‘I’ll grant you the revenge.’ Thought Luke.

At that time, Count Naiman, who was done with his story about the father, spoke again with a faint smile,

“I want to help you, who has your father’s face. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Luke held himself back from asking anything.

He remembered the story that Philip had told him a while back in the wagon.

‘Torlot’s logistical support is a mess right?’ Luke thought to himself.

“I need you to provide me with consumables such as clothing, military gun powder, and large-caliber artillery shells.”

In his heart, Luke wanted to ask for the support of the Gigants.

However, Luke wouldn’t be able to hand over 30,000 gold for combat yearly.

So he asked what was needed the most.

“And that will be all?” Asked by the Count.

The Count just found Luke very strange because of the request he placed.

If Luke would have asked for a Gigant to support, then he would have used it as an excuse and not support Luke with anything.

But when he mentioned the other things, he had no other option but to accept it at once.

“That would be enough. And I want to take the goods and the permit for the other equipment to the military right now so that they could be moved through the trailer.” Said Luke.

“Okay, we’ll get you all prepped up right away.”

Count Naiman created a permit on spot to approve the trailer.

The gunpowder and the artillery shells were being sent.

“Thank you so much for the attention you have given to us, Sir.”

“I can do that much.”

After having a few more words, Luke had been formally enlisted.

And Luke left the Northern Command office.

“He isn’t like the usual ones.”

The mouth of the Count opened as he watched Luke’s wagon and the trailer left.

He had heard rumors about the war with Count Monarch.

The appearance and presence of Luke, however, seemed to be much greater than the rumors.

It wasn’t just force. He knew how to deal with people. Which meant that he was smart.

The two attendants who accompanied Luke seemed very daunting.

They were face to face with the commander who moved 10,000 troops and yet was relaxed, and the shock and uncanny feeling he felt when he saw the three was very strong.

They weren’t the skills that could be found so easily in the current world.

“I wanted to know why the Majesty was so concerned about it. The weeds must be plucked before they grow bigger.”

After dealing with the father, he was going to deal with the son. And the thought made the Count smirk.