Emperor of Steel

“Everyone, cheer up!”

“A little bit ahead, and we’ll come to the Neir river. All we have to do is get some soldiers out of the way!”

After more than a day, the refugees began to move.

The health of the refugees, who were living a poor life for a long time, was getting far worse than Reina had imagined.

No matter how much they approached them and tried to encourage them, it just wasn’t enough to revive their exhausted stamina.

“Princess, it will be good to take a break.”

Victor, who was watching over the procession, spoke with a firm face.

However, Pavel was against it.

“No! Let’s move for another half day!”

“I don’t think they can manage another half day!”

“What if the Count’s army catches up?”

“I think they’ll fall faster than getting caught by them.”

Reina made a decision while the two retainers were still colliding their opinions.

“We’ll take an hour off. In the meantime, fill your hungry stomachs and get enough sleep.”

When her orders fell, the march line stopped.

Those who were tired fell back and sat down, and the hungry people began to fill their empty stomachs with whatever food they could get.

“Princess, eat this.”

Reina had eaten nothing since last night.

It was because they had been trying to encourage the people to move instead of using time on eating.

So, as she saw the bowl of warm soup brought by Pavel, she felt hungry.

However…

“Rather than me, hand it over to the others.”

“The princess is the strength of the people. Others are surely important, but it is a huge deal if the princess falls down.”

“Thank you.”

Eventually, Reina, who was handed the bowl to, was about to take a spoon full of soup when the ground started to tremble.

Dudududu!

“This! The army sent by the Count!”

“Stand up everyone! We must leave now!”

Violently, Victor and the other servants shouted at the refugees.

The refugees, who got up, began to run away. However, they didn’t have enough energy to move quickly.

Eventually, they were surrounded by the Scorpion Cavalry.

‘Dammit! Just a little more and we could have reached the river…’

‘If we only had the power to stop them, keu!’

The feelings of despair and anger came onto the faces of the princess’ retainers.

When the siege was done, a man with a colorful helmet stepped forward.

The head of the Scorpion Cavalry, Viper.

“Princess. How dare you run away from the grace of the Count, such a shame!”

“The grace of the Count? What are you talking about? What did the Count even do for us”

Victor shouted instead of Reina.

“When we took in the refugees who have no place to go, sleep or eat, that is the grace I’m talking about!”

“Shut up! Did we stay for free? We paid twice the taxes to you people, and if anything was wrong, we were dragged into forced labor.”

That was enough for the refugees.

However, no one thought of the Volga refugees as the same people of the Empire, from the nobles to the normal citizens.

Seeing them as pickpockets and making them work with no pay. Their gazes were always cold toward the refugees.

Viper crunched his nose at Victor as he spoke about the discrimination they had received over the years.

“Huh, that isn’t my concern. Listen to this princess Reina. If you follow us, we will let the refugees go. However, if you choose to refuse our offer, it will turn into a beastly blood bath.”

Viper was ordered by the Count to bring back the princess without hurting even her hair.

They wanted to do it as ordered, but there was a chance for the princess to commit self-harm, so they decided to talk it out first.

The troopers threatened with knives in their hands, and the frightened refugees withdrew.

‘What is this supposed to mean El Kassel?’

Looking at the sky, Reina asked.

If that was what God wanted, she decided to not feel despair and just accept it.

If she had any regret, it was just one. It was that she wouldn’t be able to see the dignified and cool Luke, the young Lord.

“Please don’t, princess!”

“We’ll open a path for you, and the princess can come…”

Reina tried to move forward, but the old servants were against it.

However, Reina was adamant.

“I am the last royalty of the Volga Kingdom. How can I forsake my people and run away?”

The Volga royal family had once abandoned their people.

Although she was young that mistake wouldn’t go away.

Instead of abandoning her people, Reina thought it was better to be the Count’s concubine instead.

“Kuuuuk, princess! Please kill those incompetent thoughts from your head!”

“Princess Mama! You cannot go!”

The old women and the other people were weeping tears and asking her to stop.

Till then, they had lived in the country with disgust. However, they were never as resilient as then.

“If I come with you without resisting, will you really let go of my people?”

Taking a step forward away from her people, she looked at Viper.

Viper nodded.

“Of course. I won’t even dare touch their fingers.”

Viper lied shamelessly.

Reina, who had no idea of his wickedness, went to become the hostage of the scorpion cavalry to save her people.

Upon securing the princess, Viper began to show his true colors.

“Since the princess is secured, kill all the others! The Count said that he doesn’t need trash!”

“What, what did you say?!”

“He, he deceived us!”

As the troopers stepped forward with their swords, the shocked Volga refugees screamed and panicked.

Reina shouted at the evil Viper.

“You told me you’ll let my people go if I come with you!”

“Kukuku, you’re a naïve princess. Promises are meant to be broken.”

Viper gave out a mean smile.

‘Ah ah! Oh, God! Is everything really going to end like this!?’

As the distance between the cavalry and the Volga refugees narrowed, Reina began to shed tears.

No matter how hard it was, she had vowed to not cry in front of her people, but she broke that vow without realizing it.

“Hahaha! Finally, after a long time, we will be able to taste blood!”

“Who wanted to bet on who would be able to kill the most?”

The scorpion cavalry troopers lifted their swords with cruel smiles.

They pointed their swords toward the refugees.

But then, at that very moment.

Hwarrk!?

Strong flames rose between the cavalry and the refugees.

They were bright purple flames which no one had ever seen before.